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Historically, urban centres are seen as consumers that draw in labour and resources from their rural hinterlands. Zooarchaeological studies of key urban sites in Southwest Asia demonstrate the movement of livestock, but the region-wide application of these findings has not been tested and the logistics of urban provisioning remain poorly understood. Here, the authors analyse zooarchaeological data from 245 sites in the Levant and Mesopotamia to examine patterns of livestock production and consumption over a 5000-year period. They find that although preferences varied over time and space, urban sites consistently relied on rural satellites to overcome local limitations to support their large and diverse populations. Keywords: Middle East, Levant, Mesopotamia, zooarchaeology, urbanism, land use, food production, Introduction Urban centres in most regions of the ancient world, including Southwest Asia, are characterised by relatively high population densities and the presence of inhabitants who do not engage in [...]

The GINI project investigates the dynamics of inequality among populations over the long term by synthesising global archaeological housing data. This project brings archaeologists together from around the world to assess hypotheses concerning the causes and consequences of inequality that are of relevance to contemporary societies globally. Keywords: socioeconomic inequality, income, Gini coefficient, households, distributions of housing, Introduction Growing economic disparity around the world has prompted a renewed interest in the long-term dynamics of inequality (Borgerhoff Mulder et al. 2009; Flannery & Marcus 2012; Piketty 2014). Archaeology [...]

Some human settlements endure for millennia, while others are founded and abandoned within a few decades or centuries. The reasons for variation in the duration of site occupation, however, are rarely addressed. Here, the authors introduce a new approach for the analysis of settlement longevity or persistence. Using seven regional case studies comprising both survey and excavation data, they demonstrate how the median persistence of individual settlements varies widely within and among regions. In turn, this variability is linked to the effects of environmental potential. In seeking to identify the drivers of settlement persistence in the past, it is suggested that archaeologists can contribute to understanding of the sustainability and resilience of contemporary cities. Keywords: urbanism, settlement systems, comparative analysis, statistical modelling, sustainability, Introduction Why do some cities and settlements last longer than others? Although archaeologists have studied thousands of early sites--particularly through regional surveys--the question of settlement persistence has rarely been addressed. [...]

And now, the end is near, and so I face the final curtain. Or at least the final NBC, as I am stepping down as Reviews Editor to spend more [...]

Every year the Antiquity office receives over 300 volumes for review, and we manage to get through nearly half. Of these, this year we have acquired seven that deal with [...]

Recent survey and excavation conducted in the Mil Plain region of the southern part of the Republic of Azerbaijan challenges traditional notions of Neolithic sedentism. Here, the authors present their findings, and propose that prior to its abandonment towards the end of the sixth millennium BC, the occupation of the region was comprised of numerous highly variable short-term sites and multi-mounded sites (Qarabel Tepe), as well as anchoring sites (Kamiltepe). This indicates multi-scalar patterns of mobility of a much more complex nature than had previously been supposed, making this region quite unique for the Late Neolithic of South-western Asia.Keywords: Azerbaijan, Neolithic, mobility, settlement, social complexity, IntroductionThe study of human mobility has manifold political and ethical implications. Individual and group mobility patterns arise from varied factors, such as environmental conditions, economic needs and changing technological capacities. [...]

RACHEL J. CRELLIN. 2020. Change and archaeology. London: Routledge; 978-1-138-29254-3 hardback 85 [pounds sterling]. The question of how and why change happens in the past is central to all historical [...]

LIDEWIJDE DE JONG. The archaeology of death in Roman Syria: burial, commemoration, and empire. 2017. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 9781-107-13141-5 hardback 74.99 [pounds sterling]. J. PEARCE & J. WEEKES (ed.). [...]

ANABEL FORD & RONALD NIGH. The Maya forest garden: eight millennia of sustainable cultivation of the tropical woodlands. 2016 [2015]. Abingdon & New York: Routledge; 978-1-61132-998-8 paperback 24.99 [pounds sterling]. [...]

The strategic significance of the Dariali Gorge, the main pass across the central Caucasus, has long been recognised. It forms a border today as it has done for much of the past 2000 years. But how was an effective military force sustained in an isolated Alpine environment? Excavations, osteoarchaeology and landscape survey have revealed that the Early Middle Ages saw as much investment in controlling this key route as there was in Antiquity. Guarded by the same Muslim-led garrison for at least a quarter of a millennium, its survival in a harsh environment was made possible through military effort and long-distance food supplies. Keywords: Georgia, Caucasus, Late Antiquity, early medieval, fortification, isotope analysis, osteoarchaeology, Introduction The territory of modern Georgia has long been on the fault-lines of political influence and expansionist ambitions of major western, eastern and northern powers. Subdivided by mountainous terrain, the [...]

The origins of urbanism are a controversial subject, with neo-evolutionary progress through graduated stages of 'civilisation still having significant influence despite criticism, while others in the field prefer more diverse, regionally based trajectories. Using data collected over 30 years and applying the full range of archaeological and historical sources, the authors offer an alternative reading of the evidence, identifying multiple pathways to urbanism within a single region--northern Mesopotamia. Here, early urbanism was a phased and pulsating phenomenon that could be sustained only within particular geographic parameters and for limited periods. Older urban hubs, growing slowly, were accompanied by rapidly expanding new sites, with the combination of the different forms demonstrating the complexities of urban growth. Keywords: Fertile Crescent, Late Chalcolithic, Early Bronze Age, urbanism, tell, survey, database, regional exchange, Introduction The development of large-scale urban centres has long been a research focus for archaeologists, especially in areas of the world where complex societies are considered to have arisen ex [...]