Geoff Emberling

At a time when archaeology has turned away from questions of the long-term and large scale, this collection of essays reflects on some of the big questions in archaeology and ancient history - how and why societies have grown in scale and complexity, how they have maintained and discarded aspects of their own cultural heritage, and how they have collapsed. In addressing these long-standing questions of broad interest and importance, the authors develop counter-narratives - new ways of understanding what used to be termed 'cultural evolution'. Encompassing the Middle East and Egypt, India, Southeast Asia, Australia, the American Southwest and Mesoamerica, the fourteen essays offer perspectives on long-term cultural trajectories; on cities, states and empires; on collapse; and on the relationship between archaeology and history. The book concludes with a commentary by one of the major voices in archaeological theory, Norman Yoffee.

Emberling's (Oriental Institute Museum, U. of Chicago) illustrated text supplements an exhibition held at the Oriental Institute, January to August 2010, and highlights the interconnected stories of t

This publication was produced in conjunction with the eponymous exhibition held at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago in 2008, with the intention of giving visitors an idea of how muc

Museums and the Ancient Middle East is the first book to focus on contemporary exhibit practice in museums that present the cultures of the ancient Middle East. Bringing together the latest thinking f

Specialists in ancient languages of various regions offer insights into cuneiform in Mesopotamia and Anatolia, Egyptian writing, alphabetic writings, Anatolian hieroglyphs, China, and Mesoamerican hie