Chapter Summary
Aims of the book. The book presents cities in the Mediterranean basin and the Near East, from ca. 8,500 BC to AD 300. The approach is archaeological, that is, based on the material remains from ancient times, with a focus on architecture, a key element in recreating the appearance of an ancient city. The historical and cultural contexts will be made clear throughout, to give a fuller understanding of the archaeological remains.
The city defined. A city can be defined in many ways. Two main categories of definition are form and function. In its form, the city is the largest unit of human habitation, larger than a town, village, or hamlet. A formal definition also includes a catalogue of the types of buildings and features created and their organization in the city layout. The variety is huge. Public buildings (religious, administrative, military, palaces, commercial, manufacturing, recreational) vs. private buildings (palaces again, and houses) is one divide. Organization, or planning, might see the temples or palaces placed in the center, houses on the outskirts. Districts or neighborhoods might be well defined. Streets might be straight, crossing at right angles. For each of these aspects, opposite ways of creating the urban environment are also attested.
Functional considerations might include the political (who rules), the social (the social hierarchy), and the economic (with consequences for the hinterland or even other cities). International connections might be important. The geographical setting is often a significant factor in the rise of a city.
Both formal and functional aspects of a city change through time. Ancient cities often declined; many were abandoned. Sometimes we can explain why this happened, sometimes not.
The reader of this book should keep in mind the above categories of definitions, for they will help bring order to the information presented ahead.
Childe’s ten criteria. In 1950, the Australian prehistorian V.G. Childe listed ten features that characterized a city (listed in the book), an influential definition that helped clarify the rise of cities from earlier towns and villages in the Ancient Near East. His proposal should not be considered the final word, but is still useful as a starting point for discussion.
Sources of information. Buildings continuously used from ancient times, ancient buildings no longer used, archaeological excavations and surface surveys, ancient written sources, and ethnographic research all contribute to our knowledge of ancient cities and the lives of their inhabitants.
Determining dates. Assigning dates to ancient cities and events can be complicated. Relative dates (the sequence of earlier and later, without reference to calendar dates) is determined by stratigraphy at archaeological sites, and by seriation. Stratigraphy is based on the Law of Superposition: remains of a later context lie on top of an earlier context. Seriation is based on the presence or absence, or on the frequency, of stylistic traits among objects considered, in order to construct a sequence of manufacture.
Absolute dates can be determined by scientific methods, such as carbon 14 dating, or from evidence supplied by ancient historical records (often fragmentary, and hence problematic).
Terminology. The terms for periods treated in the pre-classical section of the book – Neolithic (= New Stone Age), Bronze Age, and Iron Age – were invented in the early nineteenth century to describe the progressive use of different (and improved) materials for tools. Ancient progress is no longer seen as this simple; there was much overlap of materials. These period terms have been retained nonetheless, but now denote chronological periods.
Flashcards
Study guide
- How would you define a city? Take some time to develop an answer, for this will give you a useful framework for organizing and digesting the information presented in the chapters ahead. You might think of the city in which you live, or one with which you are familiar. How would you analyze it? As you read through this book, modify your method of analysis. How well do criteria developed to analyze a modern city help you understand ancient cities?
- Determining relative dates. Are you clear on how relative dates are determined? Do you understand the principles of tell formation and stratigraphy?
- Determining absolute dates. It’s surely not necessary to memorize all the information given about historical records in Egypt and Mesopotamia. However, you should have some idea about: Manetho; the significance of astronomical observations in Egypt and Mesopotamia; King Lists; and high, middle, low, and ultra-low chronologies in the Ancient Near East.
- For general knowledge, you should know the history of the calendar we use today: the contributions of Julius Caesar and Pope Gregory XIII; when the birth of Jesus was assigned a calendar date; and how the foundation of Rome was connected with the birth of Jesus. Do you know the meaning of BC, AD, BCE, and CE?