Ancient Turkey

by Antonio Sagona, Paul Zimansky

Overview

Students of antiquity often see ancient Turkey as a bewildering array of cultural complexes. Ancient Turkey brings together in a coherent account the diverse and often fragmented evidence, both archaeological and textual, that forms the basis of our knowledge of the development of Anatolia from the earliest arrivals to the end of the Iron Age.

Much new material has recently been excavated and unlike Greece, Mesopotamia, and its other neighbours, Turkey has been poorly served in terms of comprehensive, up-to-date and accessible discussions of its ancient past. Ancient Turkey is a much needed resource for students and scholars, providing an up-to-date account of the widespread and extensive archaeological activity in Turkey.

Covering the entire span before the Classical period, fully illustrated with over 160 images and written in lively prose, this text will be enjoyed by anyone interested in the archaeology and early history of Turkey and the ancient Near East.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415289160
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	03/10/2009
Series:	Routledge World Archaeology
Pages:	432
Product dimensions:	7.44(w) x 9.69(h) x (d)

About the Author

Antonio Sagona, Professor of Archaeology at the University of Melbourne. He is an elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries (London) and the Australian Academy of Humanities, and has carried out fieldwork in Turkey, the Caucasus, Syria, and Australia.
/Paul Zimansky, Professor of Archaeology and Ancient History at the State University of New York, Stony Brook. He has excavated in Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey. His academic specialties are Hittite and Urartian cultures, early cities, and the archaeology of writing.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 2. Earliest Arrivals: The Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic (1,000,000–9600 BC) 3. A New Social Order: Pre-Pottery Neolithic (9600–7000 BC) 4. Anatolia Transformed: From Pottery Neolithic through Middle Chalcolithic (7000–4000 BC) 5. Metalsmiths and Migrants: Late Chalcolithic and the Early Bronze Age (ca. 4000–2000 BC) 6. Foreign Merchants and Native States: The Middle Bronze Age (2000–1650 BC) 7. Anatolia’s Empire: Hittite Domination and the Late Bronze Age (1650–1200 BC) 8. Legacy of the Hittites: Southern Anatolia in the Iron Age (1200–600 BC) 9. A Kingdom of Fortresses: Urartu and Eastern Anatolia in the Iron Age (1200–600 BC) 10. New Cultures in the West: Phrygia, Lydia and the Aegean Coast (1200–600 BC)

Editorial Reviews

'This is the volume those of us who teach and study the archaeology of Turkey have been waiting for. At last, in one superbly presented, elegantly illustrated, meticulously researched and lucidly written volume we have a rich and innovative overview of the archaeology of Turkey from the Palaeolithic to the Persian conquest. This highly readable volume, packed with detail and insight, will go straight to the top of my reading lists for courses dealing with Turkey specifically and for the ancient Near East more broadly. There has never been a better introduction to the pre-classical archaeology of Turkey.' – Roger Matthews, Professor of Near Eastern Archaeology, University College London, UK

"This reviewer . . . feels deeply grateful for this indispensable companion to Ancient Turkey, and concurs with the praise given by Roger Matthews: 'this is the volume [we] have been waiting for.' " -Thomas Zimmerman, Faculty of Humanities and Letters, Department of Archaeology, Bilkent University, Turkey, Antiquity

'a well-written and easy-to-read volume that every student and scholar of ancient Anatolia ought to have on their bookshelf.' – Claudia Glatz, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research

'...a much recommended purchase.' – Archeologie

From the Publisher