Syro-Hittite Monumental Art and the Archaeology of Performance: The Stone Reliefs at Carchemish and Zincirli in the Earlier First Millennium BCE

Alessandra Gilibert

Published by De Gruyter 2011

Syro-Hittite Monumental Art and the Archaeology of Performance

The Stone Reliefs at Carchemish and Zincirli in the Earlier First Millennium BCE

Alessandra Gilibert

Volume 2 in the series Topoi – Berlin Studies of the Ancient World/Topoi – Berliner Studien der Alten Welt

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110222265

Overview
Contents

About this book

The ceremonial centers of the Syro-Hittite city-states (1200-700 BC) were lavishly decorated with large-scale, open-air figurative reliefs – an original and greatly influential artistic tradition that has captivated the imagination of its contemporaries as well as that of modern scholars. This volume explores how Syro-Hittite monumental art was used as a powerful backdrop to important ritual events, and it opens up a new perspective by situating the monumental heritage in the context of large public performances and civic spectacles of great emotional impact. The first part of the volume focuses on the sites of Carchemish and Zincirli, offering a close reading of the relevant archaeological contexts. The second part of the volume discusses the embedment of monumental art in ritual performance and examines how change in art relates to change in ceremonial behavior, and how the latter relates in turn to change in power structures and models of rulership.

First volume of the new series Topoi - Berlin Studies of the Ancient World
Connected to the excellence cluster Topoi
Opening new perspectives within the study of the function of monumental art

Author / Editor information

Alessandra Gilibert, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.

Reviews

"[...] Gilibert’s volume is a well-written, interesting, and creative analysis of the architecture and relief programs at Carchemish and Zincirli. It will be crucial reading for the burgeoning number of scholars interested in Syro-Anatolian archaeology and also constitutes an essential case study for all archaeologists interested in performance and the materialization of ideology cross-culturally."
James F. Osborne in: American Journal of Archaeology 10/2012

"[...] Gilibert’s book is a solid work that embeds a traditional art historical perspective into a more dynamic way at looking at the relationship between visual art and archaeological contexts in the process of reconstructing ancient ceremonial performances. This perspective is very innovative, especially for the study of ancient Near Eastern societies, and gives a multidimensional perspective on archaeological material that is now envisioned as part of a broader network of signifiers in which the material culture, the landscape, and the architecture are all connected in the cognitive schemata of the ancient people."
Nicola Laneri in: BMCR 2012.01.32

Topics

Frontmatter Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	I
Contents Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	V
LIST OF FIGURES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	VII
List of Tables Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	IX
Bibliographical abbreviations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	XI
Acknowledgements Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	XIII
1 Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2 The Syro-Anatolian region in the Iron Age Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	5
3 Carchemish Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	19
4 Zincirli Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	55
5 The embedment of monumental art in ritual performance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	97
6 Art and ritual performance in diachronic perspective Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	115
7 Conclusions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	133
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	139
Catalogue of monumental items Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	159
Index of concepts Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	223

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter
Audience: Academics, Libraries, Institutes
Pages
- Front matter: 13
- Main content: 223
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 100
Keywords: Hittites; Mesopotamia; Assyria; Archeology of Crowds; Visual Communication

eBook

Published: May 26, 2011
ISBN: 9783110222265

Hardcover

Published: May 17, 2011
ISBN: 9783110222258