Workshops and Special Panels

New Horizons in Old Assyrian Studies

Organizer: Gojko Barjamovic

The seven papers of this double panel present current research in the field of Old Assyrian studies with interest to an audience of Anatolianists. They include presentations on Anatolian economy, geography, demography and iconography in the period immediately prior to the unification of the Hittite state.

Participants:

  • Mogens Trolle Larsen: Demographics and Business in Bronze Age Kaneš
  • Hakan Erol: Old Assyrian Metal Trade, its Volume and Interaction
  • Oya Topçuoğlu: A Fresh Look at Acemhöyük in Light of Glyptic and Archaeological Evidence
  • Agnete Wisti Lassen: Seals and Sealing Practices among Anatolians in the Old Assyrian Period
  • Edward Stratford: Anatolian Geography from the viewpoint of Old Assyrian Sources and pXRF
  • Adam Anderson: Anatolians, Archives and Social Space at Kaneš
  • Gojko Barjamovic, Thomas Chaney, Kerem Coşar, Ali Hortaçsu: Structural Gravity Models and Continuities of Trade

Material Culture of Anatolia in the 2nd Millennium B.C.

Organizer: Oya Topçuoğlu

The topic of this panel is defined broadly as the material culture of Anatolia in the 2nd millennium BC. This period, which covers the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, is characterized by important cultural transformations in Anatolia. A move toward larger urban sites is observed in the archaeological record, as a result of expanding commercial contacts across the region. Writing was introduced into the region by Assyrian merchants who established a trading network between the city of Ashur and central Anatolia. The extensive written records left behind by these merchants allow us to reconstruct the complex history of the Middle Bronze Age in great detail. New research shows that shortly after the breakdown of the Assyrian commercial network, the independent city-states in central Anatolia were unified by the early Hittite kings, leading to the development of one of the great powers of the ancient Near East, with extremely rich artistic, literary and cultural traditions, which continued to impact Anatolian culture long after the dissolution of the Hittite kingdom. Both the native material cultural of Anatolia and the foreign influences introduced into the region between 2000 and 1650 BC prevailed without a major break until the wide-spread collapse of Bronze Age cultures around 1200 BC.

This panel explores this rich and diverse material culture which characterized Anatolia from the arrival of Assyrian merchants at the beginning of the millennium until the dissolution of the Hittite kingdom. Papers will examine the material culture of Anatolia using innovative, interdisciplinary methods and approaches.

Participants:

  • Dr. Yağmur Heffron (University College London): The kārum period in Anatolia: towards a historiography of archaeological interpretation
  • Nancy Highcock (New York University): “From Your Sister’s Things…” Clothing Pins and Women’s Economic Agency across Early Second Millennium Anatolia and Assyria
  • Pınar Durgun (Brown University): The Retrospect of Death: Continuation and Change of Mortuary Traditions in Second Millennium Cemeteries
  • Dr. Müge Durusu-Tanrıöver (Bilkent University): Textual and Material Representations of the Hittite King

Südburg Workshop

Organizers: Elisabeth Rieken and Petra Goedegebuure

The Südburg inscription, attributed to a king Šuppiluliuma, is one of the most enigmatic Hieroglyphic Luwian inscriptions of the second millennium BC. Quite a few scholars have tried to decipher the large number of unique logograms, identify and establish the meaning of lexemes, or clarify the syntax and the discourse structure. This has resulted in different views regarding the nature of the events presented in the inscription, the geographical spread of these events, and, last but not least, the attribution of the inscription to Šuppiluliuma I or II. Fortunately the conference will be attended by several experts in Hieroglyphic Luwian, and we therefore invite everyone, expert or not, to participate in this workshop to discuss some or all of the following topics:

  • The reading of especially the geographical place names. For example, what location is hiding behind TONITRUS(URBS)?
  • The meaning of lexemes
  • Syntax and sentence boundaries
  • The date of the text

The hand copy and transliteration of the inscription will be made available in advance.

The following materials are available for download:

Call for Papers (closed)

ICH 10 invites the submission of workshop proposals. Workshops should emphasize current topics of particular interest, and can include a mix of regular papers, invited presentations and panels that encourage the participation of attendees in active discussion. Workshops will cover one session with three to four speakers.

Each workshop proposal (maximum 3 pages) must include:

  • Title of the workshop
  • Description of the topic covered (1 page maximum)
  • Workshop Organizers (names, affiliation and contact information)
  • A short biography of the organizers (up to 200 words)
  • Names of potential participants (indication that speakers accepted to participate is a plus)
  • Planned format of the workshop
  • Draft Call for Papers

Please submit your proposal to ich10@uchicago.edu by May 31, 2017.