The Centrality of Aleppo and its Environs

This study analyses the relationship between Aleppo and settlements in the city’s hinterland based on spatial statistics. A theoretical extension of the term central place is used in reconstructing Aleppo’s central character. Locally the city served as a centre for trade, exchange, and cult activity. In a regional and supra-regional context, advantages deriving from the topographic location led trade, exchange, and craft to take on different functions. This study demonstrates that, in contrast to other important cities in the ancient Middle East, Aleppo could maintain its long-lasting significance as a central place due to the combination of different functions

On the Analysis and Interpretation of Pottery Production and Distribution

Ceramics are particularly well suited for investigating general patterns of the distribution of premodern products. Archaeometric methods, used to determine raw materials and production techniques, permit the identification of places of production. The work of the research group presented here pursues two objectives: (i) to investigate the usefulness of portable X-ray fluorescence equipment for the analysis of ceramics and (ii) to identify, interpret and study distribution areas of ceramic products in comparative prospective. The paper discusses key economic concepts, sets out the archaeometric methodology and presents initial results in the context of two examples

A Comparative Analysis of Case Studies from the Old World

The present contribution deals with the concepts of marginal habitats in selected regions of the ancient world, ranging from modern Spain to the Jordanian desert and from Turkey to the Ethiopian highlands. Central to this research is the hypothesis that the occupation of areas beyond the ‘normal’ settlement patterns corresponds to colonization processes which reflect specific social strategies and may have stimulated the development of new technological skills. A review of ‘marginality’ research in various disciplines indicates that there is no comprehensive definition of the concept, which can be approached from a multitude of perspectives and with manifold objectives. A survey of the eight case studies and two more in-depth discussions of the sites of Musawwarat (Sudan) and Ayamonte (Spain) highlight the potentials as well as the limits of the archaeological investigation into past marginalities. Patterns of spatial marginalization are the easiest to detect. The studies also show that we must not limit our analysis to the adverse factors connected to different kinds of marginalities. Instead, our analyses suggest that spatially marginal areas were deliberately chosen for settlement – an integration with core-periphery approaches may help us to understand these scenarios, which have received little attention in ‘marginality’ research in archaeology or elsewhere so far