Mobile Peoples – Permanent Places: Nomadic Landscapes and Stone Architecture from the Hellenistic to Early Islamic Periods in North-Eastern Jordan

By (author) Harmen O. Huigens

Book cover: Mobile Peoples – Permanent Places: Nomadic Landscapes and Stone Architecture from the Hellenistic to Early Islamic Periods in North-Eastern Jordan

Extent: 270 pages

Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing

Subjects: Ancient Near East

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(October 2019)

ISBN: 9781789693133

7.99 x 10.87 inches

Price: $90.00

In stock

This study explores the relationship between nomadic communities in the Black Desert of north-eastern Jordan (c. 300 BC and 900 AD) and the landscapes they inhabited and extensively modified. This book focuses on the architectural features created in the landscape some 2000 years ago which were used and revisited on multiple occasion


Mobile Peoples – Permanent Places explores the relationship between nomadic communities who resided in the Black Desert of north-eastern Jordan between c. 300 BC and 900 AD and the landscapes they inhabited and extensively modified. Although these communities were highly mobile, moving through the desert following seasonal variation in natural resources, they significantly invested in the landscapes they frequented by erecting highly durable stone architecture, and by carving rock art and inscriptions. Although these inscriptions, known as Safaitic, are relatively well studied, the archaeological remains had received little attention until recently.
This book focuses on the architectural features, including enclosures and elaborate burial cairns, that were created in the landscape some 2000 years ago and which were used and revisited on multiple occasions. It explores how nomadic communities modified these landscapes by presenting new data from remote sensing, field surveys, and excavations. To better understand the purpose of these modifications and how this changed through time, the landscape is further analysed on various temporal and geographic scales.
This book particularly deals with the archaeological landscapes of the Jebel Qurma region of north-eastern Jordan. It is part of the Landscapes of Survival project, a research programme based at Leiden University that has brought together both archaeologists and epigraphers to work on this fascinating region.
Preface
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Chapter 2 - The Natural Environment of the Jebel Qurma Region
Chapter 3 - Surface Surveys in the Jebel Qurma Region: Methods and Results
Chapter 4 - Residential Spaces in the Jebel Qurma Region
Chapter 5 - The Mortuary Landscape of the Jebel Qurma Region
Chapter 6 - Discussion
Chapter 7 - Conclusion
Bibliography
Appendix A - GIS procedures
Appendix B - Description of find contexts of consulted ceramic parallels

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Preface
Chapter 1 – Introduction
Chapter 2 – The Natural Environment of the Jebel Qurma Region
Chapter 3 – Surface Surveys in the Jebel Qurma Region: Methods and Results
Chapter 4 – Residential Spaces in the Jebel Qurma Region
Chapter 5 – The Mortuary Landscape of the Jebel Qurma Region
Chapter 6 – Discussion
Chapter 7 – Conclusion
Bibliography
Appendix A – GIS procedures
Appendix B – Description of find contexts of consulted ceramic parallels
  • By (author) Harmen O. Huigens

‘Firmly placed in the longue durée tradition, Huigens’ book offers a fresh and evidence-rich approach to the archaeology of the Jordanian bādiya. In particular, the identification of nomadic inhabitancy into Late Antiquity and early Islamic times, ... is convincing and well overdue given the discoveries over recent decades in the highlands of Jordan to the west. The bādiya is a vast space in need of considerably more work into the many facets of nomadic society over time, as Huigens’ book plainly demonstrates.’ – Alan G. Walmsley (2023): Bibliotheca Orientalis LXXX N° 5-6