The Archaeology of Ancient Cities

Cities are the largest “artifacts” investigated by archaeologists–entities that have been under academic scrutiny for a long time. Urban places are both physical and social agglomerations, fostering the most intense interaction of any human settlement. Archaeological evidence illustrates how ancient cities worldwide were similar in origin, development, and maturation, showing considerable isomorphism with modern cities. This book explores issues of definition and the essential elements of cities, offers a new heuristic typology of cities, and reviews case studies of six ancient cities (Copan, Great Zimbabwe, Gyeongju, Hierakonpolis, Rome, and Teotihuacan) with illustrative exercises at the end of each chapter. Cities have been characterized as “social reactors” working much like a star in creating an explosive increase in human connectivity. Urban planning, both ancient and modern, helps us understand the essence of this–the most exciting and vibrant product of the human tendency to nucleate.

Cities are the largest “artifacts” investigated by archaeologists–entities that have been under academic scrutiny for a long time. Urban places are both physical and social agglomerations, fostering the most intense interaction of any human settlement. Archaeological evidence illustrates how ancient cities worldwide were similar in origin, development, and maturation, showing considerable isomorphism with modern cities. This book explores issues of definition and the essential elements of cities, offers a new heuristic typology of cities, and reviews case studies of six ancient cities (Copan, Great Zimbabwe, Gyeongju, Hierakonpolis, Rome, and Teotihuacan) with illustrative exercises at the end of each chapter. Cities have been characterized as “social reactors” working much like a star in creating an explosive increase in human connectivity. Urban planning, both ancient and modern, helps us understand the essence of this–the most exciting and vibrant product of the human tendency to nucleate.

• By (author) Glenn R. Storey

"Storey has put together an original, well-constructed, and much needed primer on urban studies. The exercises that conclude each chapter serve as excellent foci for class discussion. I recommend this work as an excellent text in a variety of courses, and wish I had access to it when I taught cultural evolution." David B. Small, Lehigh University

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". . . the exploration that Story presents in this volume leaves reader with a much more complicated picture of the intertwined social and physical struc- tures that formed ancient cities. Overall, he stresses that our own experience as members of contemporary urban communities affect and colour our ability to glean information from the material signatures of the most complex expressions of our collective existence." Morrow, Giles Spence, Canadian Journal of Archaeology 45 (2021) 

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"This brief volume consists of a primer on ancient urbanism for an undergraduate-level course, employing a global and cross-cultural perspective to introduce its subject. It achieves this breadth the examples discussed range from the Americas to Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceaniain a way that sets it apart from other textbooks on ancient urbanism." Collins-Elliot, Steven A., Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology u Vol. 41, No. 2 (2021) 

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"Overall, urban novice or old hand, this is a useful book that shares the palpable depth and breadth of Storey's knowledge of many complex aspects of cities, both in terms of data and theory. Every reader is bound to get something out of this volume." --Gaydarska, Bisserka, Antiquity, Volume 95, Issue 383, October 2021 

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"He combines his years of experience in researching and writing about Roman urbanism, plus archaeological side-trips to Teotihuacan and Copan, with a truly worldwide knowledge of early cities that not only introduces beginning students to archaeology and ancient urbanism but one that general readers and professionals in a number of fields, such as urban planning, history, architecture, and, more generally, the social sciences and humanities, will find enlightening." --Emerson, Thomas E., Illinois State Archaeological Survey, MCJA Book Reviews Volume 45, 2020 

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"Highly recommended. All undergraduates." --CHOICE, June 2021 

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"This book covers theoretical and methodological perspectives and diverse case studies through accessible writing, making it a nice addition to introductory courses on urbanism. To this end, the exercises provided at the end of each chapter are interesting and informative. . . . alternative perspectives and analytical tools are provided, all of which should support fruitful discussion in both teaching and future research." --Murakami, Tatsuya, American Antiquity, 23 June, 2021 

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"Storey embraces a truly global approach to understanding what makes the city a unique social arrangement and connects the archaeology of ancient urban centers with contemporary concerns such as density, sociability, and planning. Anyone interested in the uniquely human phenomenon of urban life should read this lively and accessible book." Traci Ardren, University of Miami 

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"Most people live in cities but few students learn how this came to be. This book represents a first-of-its-kind resource: a highly readable and well-documented primer for courses dealing with the origins and variability of early cities. Provides students with foundational frameworks for understanding the deeply rooted human experience with urbanism." David M. Carballo, Boston University 

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