From the Prehistory of Upper Mesopotamia to the Bronze and Iron Age Societies of the Levant. Volume 1. Proceedings of the 5^th “Broadening Horizons” Conference (Udine 5-8 June 2017)

This volume contains 21 papers presented at Sessions 1 (The Neolithic–Chalcolithic transition in Upper Mesopotamia. Subsistence strategies, economy, society and identity; key note speaker M. Frangipane) and 2 (The Levant in the Bronze Age: crossroad or frontier between different cultures?; key note speaker A. Maeir) of the 5th edition of the “Broadening Horizons” Conference, which was held at the University of Udine from 5th to 8th June 2017. Broadening Horizons is an international meeting that aims to offer an opportunity for relatively informal discussion, especially (though not exclusively) for young/early career archaeologists specialized in the ancient Near East and disciplines relevant to the main theme of each congress session. All the papers have passed a double blind peer-review process and provide significant contributions on a number of topics – among which material culture (e.g. pottery tradition and architecture), settlement pattern, social changes, cultural transmission and economic dynamics – that are of fundamental importance for the archaeology of Mesopotamia and the Levant

Semantic Domains in Akkadian Text

The article examines the possibilities offered by language technology for analyzing semantic fields in Akkadian. The corpus of data for our research group is the existing electronic corpora, Open richly annotated cuneiform corpus (ORACC). In addition to more traditional Assyriological methods, the article explores two language technological methods: Pointwise mutual information (PMI) and Word2vec.Peer reviewe

CyberResearch on the Ancient Near East and Eastern Mediterranean

CyberResearch on the Ancient Near East and Neighboring Regions provides case studies on archaeology, objects, cuneiform texts, and online publishing, digital archiving, and preservation. Eleven chapters present a rich array of material, spanning the fifth through the first millennium BCE, from Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, and Iran. Customized cyber- and general glossaries support readers who lack either a technical background or familiarity with the ancient cultures. Edited by Vanessa Bigot Juloux, Amy Rebecca Gansell, and Alessandro Di Ludovico, this volume is dedicated to broadening the understanding and accessibility of digital humanities tools, methodologies, and results to Ancient Near Eastern Studies. Ultimately, this book provides a model for introducing cyber-studies to the mainstream of humanities research

Ebla 3D project: documenting and 3D reconstructing a vanishing site

A multidisciplinary workshop to propose a full 3D model comprehending all the aspects of the ancient environment of Syrian site of Ebla. Thanks to new technologies should give the opportunity to reconstruct, navigate and discover the whole panorama of the ancient town

A Tale of Production, Circulation and Consumption: Metals in Anatolia during the Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age

The present dissertation aims at investigating the social and economic value assigned to metal by Anatolian communities and how it changed over time accordingly to the growth of social complexity and interregional connections. the adoption of a holistic approach embracing the whole metal life cycle will allow the systematization of the vast array of regional evidence into a coherent ‘big picture’ and – at the same time - achieve a more refined understanding of the interconnections existing between the major steps in the life cycle of metals - i.e. production, circulation and consumption, and their synergic significance in revealing how metal was perceived by real people. Focussing on the interaction between metallurgical technologies, metal artefacts and the real people that developed and utilised them, the dissertation represents an attempt to integrate scientific results with theoretical and contextual studies. Each step of the metals’ life history will be addressed through different lines of analytical approach, in order to reconstruct a coherent narrative of the major developments that occurred in the relationship between metals and Anatolian communities during the LC and EBA

Research in the Archival Multiverse

Over the past 15 years, the field of archival studies around the world has experienced unprecedented growth within the academy and within the profession, and archival studies graduate education programs today have among the highest enrolments in any information field. During the same period, there has also been unparalleled expansion and innovation in the diversity of methods and theories being applied in archival scholarship. Global in scope, Research in the Archival Multiverse compiles critical and reflective essays across a wide range of emerging research areas and interests in archival studies; it aims to provide current and future archival academics with a text addressing possible methods and theoretical frameworks that have been and might be used in archival scholarship and research

Research in the Archival Multiverse

Over the past 15 years, the field of archival studies around the world has experienced unprecedented growth within the academy and within the profession, and archival studies graduate education programs today have among the highest enrolments in any information field. During the same period, there has also been unparalleled expansion and innovation in the diversity of methods and theories being applied in archival scholarship. Global in scope, Research in the Archival Multiverse compiles critical and reflective essays across a wide range of emerging research areas and interests in archival studies; it aims to provide current and future archival academics with a text addressing possible methods and theoretical frameworks that have been and might be used in archival scholarship and research

Between Imagined Communities and Communities of Practice - Participation, Territory and the Making of Heritage

Community and participation have become central concepts in the nomination processes surrounding heritage, intersecting time and again with questions of territory. In this volume, anthropologists and legal scholars from France, Germany, Italy and the USA take up questions arising from these intertwined concerns from diverse perspectives: How and by whom were these concepts interpreted and re-interpreted, and what effects did they bring forth in their implementation? What impact was wielded by these terms, and what kinds of discursive formations did they bring forth? How do actors from local to national levels interpret these new components of the heritage regime, and how do actors within heritage-granting national and international bodies work it into their cultural and political agency? What is the role of experts and expertise, and when is scholarly knowledge expertise and when is it partisan? How do bureaucratic institutions translate the imperative of participation into concrete practices? Case studies from within and without the UNESCO matrix combine with essays probing larger concerns generated by the valuation and valorization of culture.Community and participation have become central concepts in the nomination processes surrounding heritage, intersecting time and again with questions of territory. In this volume, anthropologists and legal scholars from France, Germany, Italy and the USA take up questions arising from these intertwined concerns from diverse perspectives: How and by whom were these concepts interpreted and re-interpreted, and what effects did they bring forth in their implementation? What impact was wielded by these terms, and what kinds of discursive formations did they bring forth? How do actors from local to national levels interpret these new components of the heritage regime, and how do actors within heritage-granting national and international bodies work it into their cultural and political agency? What is the role of experts and expertise, and when is scholarly knowledge expertise and when is it partisan? How do bureaucratic institutions translate the imperative of participation into concrete practices? Case studies from within and without the UNESCO matrix combine with essays probing larger concerns generated by the valuation and valorization of culture

The Future(s) of Web Archive Research Across Ireland.

The central aim of this thesis is to investigate the current state of web archive research in Ireland in line with international developments. Integrating desk research, survey studies, and case studies, and using a combination of research methods, qualitative and quantitative, drawn from disciplines across the humanities and information sciences, this thesis focuses on bridging the gaps between the creation of web archives and the use of archived web materials for current and future research in an Irish context. The thesis describes web archive research to be representative of the web archiving life cycle model (Bragg & Hanna, 2013) which is inclusive of appraisal, selection, capture, storage, quality assurance, preservation and maintenance, replay/playback, access, use, and reuse. Through a synthesis of relevant literature, the thesis examines the causes for the loss of digital heritage and how this relates to Ireland and explores the challenges for participation in web archive research from creation to end use. A survey study is used to explore the challenges for the creation and use of web archives, and the overlaps, and intersections of such challenges across communities of practice within web archive research. A qualitative survey is used to provide an overview of the availability and accessibility of web archives based in Ireland, and their usefulness as resources for conducting research on Irish topics. It further discusses the influence of copyright and legal deposit legislation, or lack thereof, on their abilities to preserve digital heritage for future generations. An online survey is used to investigate awareness of, and engagement/non-engagement with, web archives as resources for research in Irish academic institutions. Overall, the findings show that due to advances in internet, web, and software technologies, there is a need for the continual evaluation of skills, tools, and methods associated with the full web archiving lifecycle. As technologies keep evolving, so too will the challenges. The findings also highlight the need for creators and users/researchers to keep moving forward as collaborators to guide the next generation of web archive research. At the same time, there is also the need for the continual evaluation of legal deposit legislation in line with the fragility of born digital heritage and the technological advances in publishing and communication technologies

Exploring Written Artefacts

This collection, presented to Michael Friedrich in honour of his academic career at of the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, traces key concepts that scholars associated with the Centre have developed and refined for the systematic study of manuscript cultures. At the same time, the contributions showcase the possibilities of expanding the traditional subject of ‘manuscripts’ to the larger perspective of ‘written artefacts’