Aris Politopoulos
Biographic Data
| ID | 277996 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Aris Politopoulos |
| GIVEN NAMES | Aris |
| FAMILY NAME | Politopoulos |
| SIGNATURE | POLITOPOULOS A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Leiden University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7613-1264 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 9 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 29 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 9 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2017 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Anarchist Theory and Inequality in Archaeology
This article considers anarchist archaeologies and how an approach to inequality shaped by anarchist values and modes of analysis can help us narrate more complex pasts and build more equal futures. The nature and impact of inequality are central concerns across humanities and social science disciplines. Archaeologists have long studied social differentiation, focusing primarily on the origins and cross-cultural articulation of inequality. An ana…
An Anarchist Archaeology of Equality
Scholars of the past frame the ‘origins’ or evolution of inequality, usually using archaeological or anthropological evidence as a basis for their arguments, as an intentional, inevitable, important step towards the development of states, implicitly framed as the pinnacle of human political and economic achievement. Anarchist archaeologies reject the idea of hierarchy as a positive or inevitable evolutionary outcome underlying the path to civiliz…
This was fun
An abstract is not available for this content. As you have access to this content, full HTML content is provided on this page. A PDF of this content is also available in through the ‘Save PDF’ action button
Finding the fun
Games and other forms of play are core human activities, as vitally constitutive of cultural and social practices in the past as they are today. Consequently, play, games and fun should be central in archaeological theory, but our review shows they are anything but. Instead, very few studies deal with these concepts at all, and most of those that do focus on how the affordances play offers link it to ritual, power or other 'more serious' phenomen…
Persia's Victory
The series Sid Meier’s Civilization is one of the most enduring and successful historical video games to date. With six installments and various spin-offs dating back to 1991, it has influenced the way many players perceive history. From its very first iteration, the series featured several Near Eastern civilizations from several periods. Our research on the game’s portrayal and interpretation of the cultures of the Near East has shown that, whil…
Virtual Ziggurats
The ziggurat is one of the most enduring symbols of the ancient Near East: From paintings to movies to books to video games, versions of the stepped constructions emerge in popular culture and imagination all the way from classical Greece until today. One could even argue that the ziggurat is a transhistorical symbol; it has existed as a symbol not only produced by and related to the ancient Near East, but has transcended its original historical …
Romans and Rollercoasters
Engagement with, or research and teaching driven by, play has long been only a minor aspect of archaeological scholarship. In recent years, however, spurred on by the continued success of interactive entertainment, digital play has grown from a niche field to a promising avenue for all types of archaeological scholarship (Champion 2011; Champion 2015; Mol et al. 2017a; Morgan 2016; Reinhard 2018). Firstly, this article provides an introduction on…
History Is Our Playground”
Overview Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed series is one the entertainment industry's most popular titles set in the past. With a new game released on an annual basis—each full of distinct historical places, events, and people—the series has unfolded across post-classical history, from the Levant during the Third Crusade to Victorian-era London. The 2017 release of Assassin's Creed: Origins , which entailed a massive reconstruction of Hellenistic Egypt,…
From the Stone Age to the Information Age”
Video games are one of today's quintessential media and cultural forms, but they also have a surprising and many-sided relation with the past (Morgan 2016). This certainly holds true for Sid Meier's Civilization (MicroProse & Firaxis Games 1991–2016), which is a series of turn-based, strategy video games in which you lead a historic civilization “from the Stone Age to the Information Age” (Civilization ca. 2016). Sid Meier's Civilization VI , the…
History Is Our Playground”
Overview Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed series is one the entertainment industry's most popular titles set in the past. With a new game released on an annual basis—each full of distinct historical places, events, and people—the series has unfolded across post-classical history, from the Levant during the Third Crusade to Victorian-era London. The 2017 release of Assassin's Creed: Origins , which entailed a massive reconstruction of Hellenistic Egypt,…
Finding the fun
Games and other forms of play are core human activities, as vitally constitutive of cultural and social practices in the past as they are today. Consequently, play, games and fun should be central in archaeological theory, but our review shows they are anything but. Instead, very few studies deal with these concepts at all, and most of those that do focus on how the affordances play offers link it to ritual, power or other 'more serious' phenomen…
From the Stone Age to the Information Age”
Video games are one of today's quintessential media and cultural forms, but they also have a surprising and many-sided relation with the past (Morgan 2016). This certainly holds true for Sid Meier's Civilization (MicroProse & Firaxis Games 1991–2016), which is a series of turn-based, strategy video games in which you lead a historic civilization “from the Stone Age to the Information Age” (Civilization ca. 2016). Sid Meier's Civilization VI , the…
An Anarchist Archaeology of Equality
Scholars of the past frame the ‘origins’ or evolution of inequality, usually using archaeological or anthropological evidence as a basis for their arguments, as an intentional, inevitable, important step towards the development of states, implicitly framed as the pinnacle of human political and economic achievement. Anarchist archaeologies reject the idea of hierarchy as a positive or inevitable evolutionary outcome underlying the path to civiliz…
Persia's Victory
The series Sid Meier’s Civilization is one of the most enduring and successful historical video games to date. With six installments and various spin-offs dating back to 1991, it has influenced the way many players perceive history. From its very first iteration, the series featured several Near Eastern civilizations from several periods. Our research on the game’s portrayal and interpretation of the cultures of the Near East has shown that, whil…
From the Stone Age to the Information Age”
Video games are one of today's quintessential media and cultural forms, but they also have a surprising and many-sided relation with the past (Morgan 2016). This certainly holds true for Sid Meier's Civilization (MicroProse & Firaxis Games 1991–2016), which is a series of turn-based, strategy video games in which you lead a historic civilization “from the Stone Age to the Information Age” (Civilization ca. 2016). Sid Meier's Civilization VI , the…
Romans and Rollercoasters
Engagement with, or research and teaching driven by, play has long been only a minor aspect of archaeological scholarship. In recent years, however, spurred on by the continued success of interactive entertainment, digital play has grown from a niche field to a promising avenue for all types of archaeological scholarship (Champion 2011; Champion 2015; Mol et al. 2017a; Morgan 2016; Reinhard 2018). Firstly, this article provides an introduction on…
History Is Our Playground”
Overview Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed series is one the entertainment industry's most popular titles set in the past. With a new game released on an annual basis—each full of distinct historical places, events, and people—the series has unfolded across post-classical history, from the Levant during the Third Crusade to Victorian-era London. The 2017 release of Assassin's Creed: Origins , which entailed a massive reconstruction of Hellenistic Egypt,…
Persia's Victory
The series Sid Meier’s Civilization is one of the most enduring and successful historical video games to date. With six installments and various spin-offs dating back to 1991, it has influenced the way many players perceive history. From its very first iteration, the series featured several Near Eastern civilizations from several periods. Our research on the game’s portrayal and interpretation of the cultures of the Near East has shown that, whil…
Virtual Ziggurats
The ziggurat is one of the most enduring symbols of the ancient Near East: From paintings to movies to books to video games, versions of the stepped constructions emerge in popular culture and imagination all the way from classical Greece until today. One could even argue that the ziggurat is a transhistorical symbol; it has existed as a symbol not only produced by and related to the ancient Near East, but has transcended its original historical …
This was fun
An abstract is not available for this content. As you have access to this content, full HTML content is provided on this page. A PDF of this content is also available in through the ‘Save PDF’ action button
Finding the fun
Games and other forms of play are core human activities, as vitally constitutive of cultural and social practices in the past as they are today. Consequently, play, games and fun should be central in archaeological theory, but our review shows they are anything but. Instead, very few studies deal with these concepts at all, and most of those that do focus on how the affordances play offers link it to ritual, power or other 'more serious' phenomen…
An Anarchist Archaeology of Equality
Scholars of the past frame the ‘origins’ or evolution of inequality, usually using archaeological or anthropological evidence as a basis for their arguments, as an intentional, inevitable, important step towards the development of states, implicitly framed as the pinnacle of human political and economic achievement. Anarchist archaeologies reject the idea of hierarchy as a positive or inevitable evolutionary outcome underlying the path to civiliz…
Anarchist Theory and Inequality in Archaeology
This article considers anarchist archaeologies and how an approach to inequality shaped by anarchist values and modes of analysis can help us narrate more complex pasts and build more equal futures. The nature and impact of inequality are central concerns across humanities and social science disciplines. Archaeologists have long studied social differentiation, focusing primarily on the origins and cross-cultural articulation of inequality. An ana…
History (7 works) · Archaeology (5 works) · Art (5 works) · History (5 works) · Law (5 works) · Political science (5 works) · Sociology (4 works) · Computer Science (3 works) · Digital Games and Media (3 works) · Law (3 works)