Bleda S Dürıng
Biographic Data
| ID | 3584664 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Bleda S Dürıng |
| GIVEN NAMES | Bleda S |
| FAMILY NAME | Dürıng |
| SIGNATURE | DÜRING B S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Leiden University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9874-067X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 29 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 109 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 29 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2001 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
A new window into agricultural practices in Chalcolithic Cyprus
Connecting Cyprus
How and why communities on Cyprus connected with the broader eastern Mediterranean in the third millennium BC has been much debated. In particular, the nature of the so-called Philia horizon, with its clear affinities with Anatolian assemblages, has been the topic of widely divergent perspectives on what happened and what role people on the island played. Using a constructed boundary perspective, I will reconsider the manner in which communities …
Gatekeepers, Geographies, and Access in the Archaeology of West Asia
Power and Identity at the Margins of the Ancient Near East
Inequality Before the Bronze Age
The emergence and nature of social inequality has been the topic of a substantial amount of research in recent years, with one group of scholars concluding that social inequality increased significantly with the rise of urbanism on the basis of the application of Gini measures, and another group arguing that social inequalities existed long before urbanism and that not all urban societies were class societies. Here, we present the case of Chalcol…
The Taphonomy of Middle Assyrian Cuneiform Tablet Clusters
In this article we report on the taphonomic analysis of several Middle Assyrian tablet clusters to identify the way these objects ended up in the ground. Rather than in-situ archives that were left behind during some catastrophe, we argue that these tablets were often deliberately discarded. Specifically for the tablet clusters we examined, we propose that they were first temporarily discarded in “office bins.” We claim that the occurrence of clu…
Beyond dots with dates
Landscape archaeology, as a type of research based on a systemic surface survey and that results in quantifiable datasets of high quality, has started to be practiced in southeastern Arabia only in recent years. In this paper, I will briefly review the short history of landscape archaeology in the area and its relevance. I will then present the approach and methods used in the Wadi al Jizzi Archaeological Project and discuss some of the results o…
Pre-oil Globalization in a Rural Community
This article aims to study whether the increase of agricultural settlements in the Sultanate of Oman during the Late Islamic period (c. 1500-1950) was related to pre-oil globalization, as attested in the wider Gulf region. This is done by analysing the archaeological dataset of the agricultural village of Sahlat, with a focus on the ceramic material, located in the Suhar region. The assemblages collected by the Wadi al-Jizzi Archaeological Projec…
Transformative copper metallurgy in Chalcolithic Cyprus
The extraction and smelting of the rich copper ore deposits of Cyprus and the manufacture of copper objects on the island are thought to have begun during the Philia phase (c. 2400-2200 BC). Here, the authors present the results of lead isotope analysis undertaken on Late Chalcolithic (2900-2400 BC) metal objects from the site of Chlorakas-Palloures. The results facilitate a reassessment of the timing of the start of transformative copper technol…
The Imperialisation of Assyria
The Assyrian Empire was the first state to achieve durable domination of the Ancient Near East, enduring some seven centuries and, eventually, controlling most of the region. Yet, we know little about how this empire emerged from a relatively minor polity in the Tigris region and how it managed to consolidate its power over conquered territories. Textual sources, often biased, provide a relatively limited source of information. In this study, Ble…
Urbanism in the Ancient Near East
Ancient Empires on the Ground
A summary is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.
Towards a Patchwork Perspective on Ancient Empires
Skeletons in the fortress
The assemblage of Late Bronze Age burials from Tell Sabi Abyad provides us with a unique window into the burial customs of the burgeoning Middle Assyrian Empire in the former lands of Hanigalbat. Our understanding of the settlement is aided by the fact that the site has been more or less completely excavated, and because we have rich in situ contexts that include nearly 400 cuneiform tablets. The burial assemblage is remarkable because of the div…
Breaking the Bond
Obsidian Exchange Networks in Prehistoric Anatolia
The reconstruction of obsidian exchange networks has been one of the success stories of archaeology. However, despite over five decades of research on this topic, investigations have focussed predominantly on a number of well documented exchange networks, creating an incomplete understanding of Prehistoric interactions. In this paper the focus is on an ephemeral obsidian exchange network in Northern Anatolia that has been little investigated. On …
Cide ve Şenpazar 2009-2010 Yılı Arkeolojik Araştırmaları
Kastamonu ili, Cide ve Şenpazar ilçelerinde gerçekleştirilmekte olan Cide Arkeoloji Projesi, Leiden Üniversitesi Arkeoloji Fakültesi, Glagow Üniversitesi Arkeoloji Bölümü ve Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi Sanat Tarihi Bölümü'nün ortaklığında yürütülen uluslararası bir arkeolojik yüzey araştırmasıdır. Proje 2009 yılında başlatılmış olup 2011 yaz sezonuyla tamamlanması hedeflenmektedir. Çalışmalar kapsamında tarih öncesi çağlardan Osmanlı Döne…
The Prehistory of Asia Minor
In this book, Bleda Düring offers an archaeological analysis of Asia Minor, the area equated with much of modern-day Turkey, from 20,000 to 2,000 BC. During this period human societies moved from small-scale hunter-gatherer groups to complex and hierarchical communities with economies based on agriculture and industry. Dr Düring traces the spread of the Neolithic way of life, which ultimately reached across Eurasia, and the emergence of key human…
A Note on the Prehistory of the Devrek Region, Northern Turkey
Settlement and Society
The Early Holocene occupation of north-central Anatolia between 10,000 and 6,000 BC cal
This paper investigates why we lack convincing evidence for human activities in north-central Anatolia for the period between 10,000 and 6,000 BC cal. This paucity of data can be contrasted with substantial evidence for Neolithic communities in south-central Anatolia from about 8,500 BC cal, and of earlier hunter-gatherer communities in that region. This difference in our data is especially problematic because in terms of ecology both regions app…
Reconsidering the Çatalhöyük Community
With an area of 13 ha and an estimated population running into the thousands, Çatalhöyük is one of the largest settlements of the Near Eastern Neolithic. On the basis of its size, the site has often been interpreted as a town or city, without due consideration whether the settlement has the characteristics associated with these concepts. Furthermore, the normative categorization of the settlement has led to a neglect of how the local community at…
Reconsidering the Çatalhöyük Community
With an area of 13 ha and an estimated population running into the thousands, Çatalhöyük is one of the largest settlements of the Near Eastern Neolithic. On the basis of its size, the site has often been interpreted as a town or city, without due consideration whether the settlement has the characteristics associated with these concepts. Furthermore, the normative categorization of the settlement has led to a neglect of how the local community at…
Building Continuity in the Central Anatolian Neolithic
The buildings of the Central Anatolian Neolithic, best known from the intensively excavated sites of Çatalhöyük and As?kl? Höyük, possess an impressive degree of continuity, allowing us to trace them through multiple phases of reconstruction and over the course of several centuries. This building continuity has commonly been interpreted as a functionally determined feature and a demonstration of the conservative nature of society, but beyond that…
Material and Craft Networks in the Prehistory of Asia Minor
Households and communities in the central Anatolian Neolithic
The neolithic communities of central Anatolia are generally reconstructed as being constituted by relatively autonomous and homologous households occupying discrete residences and performing most domestic activities in the house. In this reconstruction households are seen as the uniform and unproblematic basic component of society. This paper aims to problematize this modular conception of central Anatolian Neolithic societies, and wants to draw …
Breaking the Bond
Worthy is the Lamb
Neolithic Çatalhöyük (central Anatolia) is well known for its elaborate animal symbolism. However, while sheep are the most abundant animal in the faunal assemblage at the site, they are virtually absent in the art and among the animal parts incorporated into the architecture. Thus it is striking that the first and so far only animal burial found at Çatalhöyük is a lamb placed with a human body, a sharp departure from usual human burial practice …
Social dimensions in the architecture of Neolithic Çatalhöyük
Çatalhöyük is an important symbol of the Neolithic in Anatolia. Within the buildings of this settlement spectacular ‘art’ was found, and beneath the floors of these buildings elaborately furnished burials were unearthed. Among the characteristics of the settlement the absence of streets constitutes a central element for understanding this period. Despite the unique and well known remains found at the site, its architecture has not been studied sy…
Reconsidering the Çatalhöyük Community
With an area of 13 ha and an estimated population running into the thousands, Çatalhöyük is one of the largest settlements of the Near Eastern Neolithic. On the basis of its size, the site has often been interpreted as a town or city, without due consideration whether the settlement has the characteristics associated with these concepts. Furthermore, the normative categorization of the settlement has led to a neglect of how the local community at…
Obsidian Exchange Networks in Prehistoric Anatolia
The reconstruction of obsidian exchange networks has been one of the success stories of archaeology. However, despite over five decades of research on this topic, investigations have focussed predominantly on a number of well documented exchange networks, creating an incomplete understanding of Prehistoric interactions. In this paper the focus is on an ephemeral obsidian exchange network in Northern Anatolia that has been little investigated. On …
Transformative copper metallurgy in Chalcolithic Cyprus
The extraction and smelting of the rich copper ore deposits of Cyprus and the manufacture of copper objects on the island are thought to have begun during the Philia phase (c. 2400-2200 BC). Here, the authors present the results of lead isotope analysis undertaken on Late Chalcolithic (2900-2400 BC) metal objects from the site of Chlorakas-Palloures. The results facilitate a reassessment of the timing of the start of transformative copper technol…
Beyond dots with dates
Landscape archaeology, as a type of research based on a systemic surface survey and that results in quantifiable datasets of high quality, has started to be practiced in southeastern Arabia only in recent years. In this paper, I will briefly review the short history of landscape archaeology in the area and its relevance. I will then present the approach and methods used in the Wadi al Jizzi Archaeological Project and discuss some of the results o…
Building Continuity in the Central Anatolian Neolithic
The buildings of the Central Anatolian Neolithic, best known from the intensively excavated sites of Çatalhöyük and As?kl? Höyük, possess an impressive degree of continuity, allowing us to trace them through multiple phases of reconstruction and over the course of several centuries. This building continuity has commonly been interpreted as a functionally determined feature and a demonstration of the conservative nature of society, but beyond that…
Burials in context
The burial customs practised at Neolithic Çatalhöyük have raised a substantial amount of interest, due to factors such as a tradition of intramural inhumation, elaborate grave goods including organic remains in an excellent state of preservation, and a posited link to scenes in wall paintings supposedly showing vultures pecking at humanoid figures. In consequence, numerous publications have discussed the burial practices of the site, and the syst…
Connecting Cyprus
How and why communities on Cyprus connected with the broader eastern Mediterranean in the third millennium BC has been much debated. In particular, the nature of the so-called Philia horizon, with its clear affinities with Anatolian assemblages, has been the topic of widely divergent perspectives on what happened and what role people on the island played. Using a constructed boundary perspective, I will reconsider the manner in which communities …
Gatekeepers, Geographies, and Access in the Archaeology of West Asia
The Early Holocene occupation of north-central Anatolia between 10,000 and 6,000 BC cal
This paper investigates why we lack convincing evidence for human activities in north-central Anatolia for the period between 10,000 and 6,000 BC cal. This paucity of data can be contrasted with substantial evidence for Neolithic communities in south-central Anatolia from about 8,500 BC cal, and of earlier hunter-gatherer communities in that region. This difference in our data is especially problematic because in terms of ecology both regions app…
Social dimensions in the architecture of Neolithic Çatalhöyük
Çatalhöyük is an important symbol of the Neolithic in Anatolia. Within the buildings of this settlement spectacular ‘art’ was found, and beneath the floors of these buildings elaborately furnished burials were unearthed. Among the characteristics of the settlement the absence of streets constitutes a central element for understanding this period. Despite the unique and well known remains found at the site, its architecture has not been studied sy…
Burials in context
The burial customs practised at Neolithic Çatalhöyük have raised a substantial amount of interest, due to factors such as a tradition of intramural inhumation, elaborate grave goods including organic remains in an excellent state of preservation, and a posited link to scenes in wall paintings supposedly showing vultures pecking at humanoid figures. In consequence, numerous publications have discussed the burial practices of the site, and the syst…
Households and communities in the central Anatolian Neolithic
The neolithic communities of central Anatolia are generally reconstructed as being constituted by relatively autonomous and homologous households occupying discrete residences and performing most domestic activities in the house. In this reconstruction households are seen as the uniform and unproblematic basic component of society. This paper aims to problematize this modular conception of central Anatolian Neolithic societies, and wants to draw …
Worthy is the Lamb
Neolithic Çatalhöyük (central Anatolia) is well known for its elaborate animal symbolism. However, while sheep are the most abundant animal in the faunal assemblage at the site, they are virtually absent in the art and among the animal parts incorporated into the architecture. Thus it is striking that the first and so far only animal burial found at Çatalhöyük is a lamb placed with a human body, a sharp departure from usual human burial practice …
Reconsidering the Çatalhöyük Community
With an area of 13 ha and an estimated population running into the thousands, Çatalhöyük is one of the largest settlements of the Near Eastern Neolithic. On the basis of its size, the site has often been interpreted as a town or city, without due consideration whether the settlement has the characteristics associated with these concepts. Furthermore, the normative categorization of the settlement has led to a neglect of how the local community at…
Reconsidering the Çatalhöyük Community
With an area of 13 ha and an estimated population running into the thousands, Çatalhöyük is one of the largest settlements of the Near Eastern Neolithic. On the basis of its size, the site has often been interpreted as a town or city, without due consideration whether the settlement has the characteristics associated with these concepts. Furthermore, the normative categorization of the settlement has led to a neglect of how the local community at…
Building Continuity in the Central Anatolian Neolithic
The buildings of the Central Anatolian Neolithic, best known from the intensively excavated sites of Çatalhöyük and As?kl? Höyük, possess an impressive degree of continuity, allowing us to trace them through multiple phases of reconstruction and over the course of several centuries. This building continuity has commonly been interpreted as a functionally determined feature and a demonstration of the conservative nature of society, but beyond that…
Settlement and Society
The Early Holocene occupation of north-central Anatolia between 10,000 and 6,000 BC cal
This paper investigates why we lack convincing evidence for human activities in north-central Anatolia for the period between 10,000 and 6,000 BC cal. This paucity of data can be contrasted with substantial evidence for Neolithic communities in south-central Anatolia from about 8,500 BC cal, and of earlier hunter-gatherer communities in that region. This difference in our data is especially problematic because in terms of ecology both regions app…
A Note on the Prehistory of the Devrek Region, Northern Turkey
The Prehistory of Asia Minor
In this book, Bleda Düring offers an archaeological analysis of Asia Minor, the area equated with much of modern-day Turkey, from 20,000 to 2,000 BC. During this period human societies moved from small-scale hunter-gatherer groups to complex and hierarchical communities with economies based on agriculture and industry. Dr Düring traces the spread of the Neolithic way of life, which ultimately reached across Eurasia, and the emergence of key human…
Cide ve Şenpazar 2009-2010 Yılı Arkeolojik Araştırmaları
Kastamonu ili, Cide ve Şenpazar ilçelerinde gerçekleştirilmekte olan Cide Arkeoloji Projesi, Leiden Üniversitesi Arkeoloji Fakültesi, Glagow Üniversitesi Arkeoloji Bölümü ve Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi Sanat Tarihi Bölümü'nün ortaklığında yürütülen uluslararası bir arkeolojik yüzey araştırmasıdır. Proje 2009 yılında başlatılmış olup 2011 yaz sezonuyla tamamlanması hedeflenmektedir. Çalışmalar kapsamında tarih öncesi çağlardan Osmanlı Döne…
Breaking the Bond
Obsidian Exchange Networks in Prehistoric Anatolia
The reconstruction of obsidian exchange networks has been one of the success stories of archaeology. However, despite over five decades of research on this topic, investigations have focussed predominantly on a number of well documented exchange networks, creating an incomplete understanding of Prehistoric interactions. In this paper the focus is on an ephemeral obsidian exchange network in Northern Anatolia that has been little investigated. On …
Skeletons in the fortress
The assemblage of Late Bronze Age burials from Tell Sabi Abyad provides us with a unique window into the burial customs of the burgeoning Middle Assyrian Empire in the former lands of Hanigalbat. Our understanding of the settlement is aided by the fact that the site has been more or less completely excavated, and because we have rich in situ contexts that include nearly 400 cuneiform tablets. The burial assemblage is remarkable because of the div…
Urbanism in the Ancient Near East
Ancient Empires on the Ground
A summary is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.
Towards a Patchwork Perspective on Ancient Empires
The Imperialisation of Assyria
The Assyrian Empire was the first state to achieve durable domination of the Ancient Near East, enduring some seven centuries and, eventually, controlling most of the region. Yet, we know little about how this empire emerged from a relatively minor polity in the Tigris region and how it managed to consolidate its power over conquered territories. Textual sources, often biased, provide a relatively limited source of information. In this study, Ble…
Pre-oil Globalization in a Rural Community
This article aims to study whether the increase of agricultural settlements in the Sultanate of Oman during the Late Islamic period (c. 1500-1950) was related to pre-oil globalization, as attested in the wider Gulf region. This is done by analysing the archaeological dataset of the agricultural village of Sahlat, with a focus on the ceramic material, located in the Suhar region. The assemblages collected by the Wadi al-Jizzi Archaeological Projec…
Transformative copper metallurgy in Chalcolithic Cyprus
The extraction and smelting of the rich copper ore deposits of Cyprus and the manufacture of copper objects on the island are thought to have begun during the Philia phase (c. 2400-2200 BC). Here, the authors present the results of lead isotope analysis undertaken on Late Chalcolithic (2900-2400 BC) metal objects from the site of Chlorakas-Palloures. The results facilitate a reassessment of the timing of the start of transformative copper technol…
Beyond dots with dates
Landscape archaeology, as a type of research based on a systemic surface survey and that results in quantifiable datasets of high quality, has started to be practiced in southeastern Arabia only in recent years. In this paper, I will briefly review the short history of landscape archaeology in the area and its relevance. I will then present the approach and methods used in the Wadi al Jizzi Archaeological Project and discuss some of the results o…
Inequality Before the Bronze Age
The emergence and nature of social inequality has been the topic of a substantial amount of research in recent years, with one group of scholars concluding that social inequality increased significantly with the rise of urbanism on the basis of the application of Gini measures, and another group arguing that social inequalities existed long before urbanism and that not all urban societies were class societies. Here, we present the case of Chalcol…
The Taphonomy of Middle Assyrian Cuneiform Tablet Clusters
In this article we report on the taphonomic analysis of several Middle Assyrian tablet clusters to identify the way these objects ended up in the ground. Rather than in-situ archives that were left behind during some catastrophe, we argue that these tablets were often deliberately discarded. Specifically for the tablet clusters we examined, we propose that they were first temporarily discarded in “office bins.” We claim that the occurrence of clu…
Material and Craft Networks in the Prehistory of Asia Minor
Geography (25 works) · Archaeology (22 works) · History (21 works) · Ancient history (17 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (17 works) · Ancient Near East History (14 works) · History (11 works) · Art (9 works) · Political science (9 works) · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History (7 works)