Book Series LEMA, vol. 2

Conceptualizing Bronze Age Seascapes

Concepts of the Sea and Marine Fauna in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Second Millennium BCE

Mari Yamasaki

  • Pages: approx. 180 p.
  • Size:216 x 280 mm
  • Illustrations:21 b/w, 6 col., 9 tables b/w., 3 maps b/w
  • Language(s):English
  • Publication Year:2023


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  • € 85,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
  • ISBN: 978-2-503-60647-7
  • Paperback
  • Forthcoming (Dec/23)

Forthcoming
  • € 85,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE


Subject(s)
BIO

Mari Yamasaki is a Near Eastern archaeologist specialised in the Eastern Mediterranean. Her research focuses on concepts of maritimity and ancient perception of underwater spaces. In 2021 she completed her PhD on the conceptualisation of the sea in the Eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age at Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, where she also taught courses in Mediterranean and Cypriot archaeology. Her fieldwork includes excavations and surveys in Italy and Cyprus, both on land and underwater.

Summary

The Mediterranean has, for millennia, formed the heart of an intensive trading network of ideas, goods, and people. For the ancient populations of the Levant, Cyprus, and Southern Anatolia, interactions with the sea — from fishing to seafaring, and from trade to dye production — were a constant presence in their life. But how did the coastal peoples of the Bronze Age understand the sea? How did living on the shore influence their lives, from daily practices to mythological beliefs? And what was the impact on their conceptual world? This volume seeks to engage with these questions by addressing the relationship between environment, diet, material production, perception, and thought formation though a combination of archaeological analysis and engagement with primary sources, and in doing so, it offers unique insights into the conceptual world of the ancient Mediterranean maritime cultures of the 2nd millennium BCE.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
List of Common and Scientific Names of Fish and Molluscs Mentioned in the Text

Part 1. Framework
Chapter 1. Introduction
Objectives
Organization of the Book
Chapter 2. History, Theory, and Methods
State of the Art
Theoretical Framework
Chronological Framework
The Evidence

Part 2. Regional Chapters
Chapter 3. Levant
Faunal and Material Cultural Evidence
Textual Evidence
Discussion
Chapter 4. Cyprus
Faunal and Material Cultural Evidence
Textual Evidence
Discussion
Chapter 5. Southern Anatolian Coast
Faunal and Material Cultural Evidence
Textual Evidence
Discussion

Part 3. Overarching Analysis
Chapter 6. Concepts of Marine Fauna
Marine Fauna as Food
Fish and Molluscs: Offerings and PurityMarine Fauna as Status or Commodity
Visual Concepts of Marine Fauna
Chapter 7. Concepts of the Sea
The Sea as a Place
The Sea as a Supernatural Force
The Sea as a Divine Entity
Chapter 8. Conclusions: Concepts of seascapes

Works Cited
Index

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