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Archaeological Review from CambridgeV o l u m e . A p r i l

Ar c hae ol o gy andCu l t u r al M i x t u r e

Edited by W. Paul van Pelt


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Contents

IntroductionW. Paul van Pelt

From Hybridity to Entanglement, from Essentialism to PracticePhilipp W. Stockhammer

Postcolonial Baggage at the End of the Road: How to Put the Genie Back into itsBottle and Where to Go from ThereEleftheria Pappa

Beyond Creolization and Hybridity: Entangled and Transcultural Identities inPhilistiaLouise A. Hitchcock and Aren M. Maeir

Convivenciain a Borderland: The Danish-Slavic Border in the Middle AgesMagdalena Naum

Problematizing Typology and Discarding the Colonialist Legacy:Approaches to Hybridity in the Terracotta Figurines of Hellenistic BabyloniaStephanie M. Langin-Hooper

Signal and Noise: Digging up the Dead in Archaeology and Afro-Cuban PaloMonteStephan Palmi

Hybridity at the Contact Zone: Ethnoarchaeological Perspectives fromthe Lower Omo Valley, EthiopiaMarcus Brittain, Timothy Clack and Juan Salazar Bonet

Considering Mimicry and Hybridity in Early Colonial New England:Health, Sin and the Body "Behung with Beades"Diana D. Loren

Our Children Might be Strangers: Frontier Migration and the Meeting of Cultures

across GenerationsHendrik van Gijseghem

Ethnogenesis and Hybridity in Proto-Historic Period NicaraguaGeoffrey G. McCafferty and Carrie L. Dennett

Bi-Directional Forced Deportations in the Neo-Assyrian Empire and theOrigins of the Samaritans: Colonialism and HybridityYigal Levin

Networking the Middle Ground? The Greek Diaspora, Tenth to Fifth Century BCCarla M. Antonaccio

AboutARCThe Archaeological Review from Cambridge is a bi-annual journal of archaeology.

It is run on a non-profit, voluntary basis by postgraduate research students at the

University of Cambridge.

Although primarily rooted in archaeological theory and practice,ARCincreasingly invites

a range of perspectives with the aim of establishing a strong, interdisciplinary journal

which will be of interest in a range of fields.

Archaeological Review from Cambridge

Division of Archaeology

University of Cambridge

Downing Street

Cambridge

CB2 3DZ

UK

http://www.societies.cam.ac.uk/arc

Volume 28.1 Archaeology and Cultural Mixture

Theme Editor W. Paul van Pelt

Production W. Paul van Pelt

Cover Image Designed by Be atalic, 2013 (www.beatalic.com; [email protected])

Printed and bound in the UK by the MPG Books Group, Bodmin and King's Lynn.

Published in April 2013. Copyright remains with the authors. Opinions expressed in con-

tributions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors.

All images are the authors' own except where otherwise stated.

ISSN 0261-4332

Committee, Archaeological Review fro m CambridgeApril 2013

General EditorsKatie HallDanika Parikh

TreasurerW. Paul van Pelt

SecretaryKate Boulden

EditorsTessa de RooGeorgie Peters

Book ReviewsPenny Jones

SubscriptionsSarah Musselwhite

Publicity and EventsRenate FellingerLeanne Philpot

Back Issue SalesSarah Evans

ITKathrin FelderMat Dalton


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The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Ritual and Religion edited byTimothy InsollREVIEWEDBYPAMELAJ. CROSS

The Idea of Order: The Circular Archetype in Prehistoric Europaby RichardBradleyREVIEWEDBYJOHNMANLEY

The Funerary Kit: Mor tuary Practices in the Archaeological Recordby Jill L. BakerREVIEWEDBYVANPIGTAIN

The Ten Thousand Year Fever: Rethinking Human and Wild-Primate Malaria byLoretta A. CormierREVIEWEDBYLEONIERAIJMAKERS

Human Adaptation in the Asian Palaeolithic: Hominin Dispersal and Behaviourduring the Late Quaternaryby Ryan J. RabettREVIEWEDBYPATRICKJ. ROBERTS

Ethnozooarchaeology: The Present and Past of Human-Animal Relationshipsedited by Umberto Albarella and Angela Trentacoste

REVIEWEDBYJANESANFORD

Archaeological Theory in Practiceby Patricia Urban and Edward SchortmanREVIEWEDBYVALERIARIEDEMANNL.

Ancient Egyptian Technology and Innovation: Transformations in PharaonicMaterial Culture by Ian ShawREVIEWEDBYKIMBERLEYWATT

Forthcoming Issues

Subscription Information

Available Back Issues

Book ReviewsEDITEDBYPENNYJONES

Cultural Mixing in Egyptian Archaeology: The 'Hyksos' as a Case StudyBettina Bader

Mixing Food, Mixing Cultures: Archaeological PerspectivesMary C. Beaudry

Hybridity, Creolization, Mestizaje: A CommentParker VanValkenburgh


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360 Book Reviews 361Edited by Penny Jones

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Ancient Egyptian Technology and Innovation:Transformations in Pharaonic Material CultureBy Ian Shaw

. London: Bristol Classical Press

pp. B/w illus. Tables.

ISBN: ----

Reviewed by Kimberley Watt

Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge

This book addresses the issue of technological change in ancient Egyptby exploring how technology affected its inhabitants' lives, societyand economy through time. Shaw states that the aim of this book is to

"bring together the basic evidence for many different aspects of change

and evolution in Egyptian technology" (page vii). It creates a base from

which to push forward current discussions about technologies, which are

transforming the clich that Egypt was a monolithic society, reluctant to

change.

The evidence in this book clearly demonstrates that the Egyptians

did not limit themselves to previously known and accepted technologies.

They exploited new materials and learnt new techniques when they

deemed it necessary or profitable. They also welcomed technologies

imported from elsewhere. This occurred throughout their history, from

the Predynastic Period to Roman times.

Ancient Egyptian Technologies and Innovationnot only presents clear

evidence for technological change, but highlights critical issues about

the social and technical processes involved in technological innovation

and improvement. Each chapter focuses on specific technologies and

presents the evolution of the skills and processes involved. This provides

a starting point for discussions of the reasons for these innovations and, if

possible, their broader social implications.

The ten chapters of this book present technological innovations

in ancient Egypt using physical, visual and textual evidence, and draw

accurate parallels from the rest of the Mediterranean and Near Eastern

world. In the first chapter, Shaw starts with an examination of the

relationship between science and technology. Here, he questions the

validity of applying modern conceptions to earlier periods, through

a case study of the issues encountered when attempting to translate

Egyptian mathematics into modern theorems, and through a study

of the engineering underlying Egyptian architecture. Shaw further

demonstrates the need to detach our modern conceptions by illustrating

the difficulty of understanding 'medical' texts and identifying equivalent

modern diagnoses, and by highlighting the close links that existed

between Egyptian medicine and magic.

In Chapter Five, Shaw explores the tension between innovation and

conservatism in Egyptian society through a study of the development

of stone-working technologies. The design of architecture was closely

associated with traditions and sacredness and innovations were always

given a traditional coating to fit them in the conservative discourse. The

concomitance between conservationism and innovation in Egyptian

society is also addressed through examples from the mummification

process and medicine.

In Chapters Six and Seven, Shaw examines innovations through

the importation of materials and new models of technology. He draws

on numerous examples, from chariotry, composite bows and glassproduction, through to the integration of iron technology in the late first

millennium. In Chapters Five and Eight, the social and political implications

of technologies are examined via sections on the relationship between

elites and craftsmanship, and on military knowledge and strategies. At

the end of the book, three appendices are included, which briefly present

astronomy and the measurements of space and time in ancient Egypt.

The strength of this book resides in the use of the latest Egyptological

discoveries and research, with numerous examples illustrating the issues


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362 Book Reviews 363Edited by Penny Jones

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and arguments discussed. In addition to Egyptian examples, a broader

perspective is offered by looking at ideas from medicine in the Greek

world and weaponry technologies from the Hittite world.

In terms of the less successful aspects of the book, Shaw's use of

terminology can be questioned. Even though the difficulties of dealing

with 'innovation' are explained in the introduction, Shaw does not define

its meaning, nor the differences between innovation and evolution, or

alteration and transformation processes. As these concepts are quite

similar, clarification would have been welcome.

Another shortfall is that the topics surveyed are limited to those

commonly studied in Egyptology. The book continues the traditional

emphasis on stone production, mummification and war technologies,

whereas developments in mud brick techniques and building elements

are not considered. Transformations in Egyptian faience's colours or

changes in the composition of plaster throughout time are interesting

innovations too, but these subjects are not discussed. While a selection

of topics examined within the scope of this book had to be made, an

introduction to the broader range of topics being considered by current

research would have been welcomed.

Undeniably, this book appears as a follow-up to the masterpiece

Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technologiesby Nicholson and Shaw ()

and there are numerous references to it in the current book. However,

by presenting the most recent finds and discoveries and renewing theinformation available on these technologies, this book represents a

valuable new addition to the literature on technologies in ancient Egypt.

Too often in Egyptology material culture is set aside from political,

economic and social studies. This clich is rightfully challenged, as

Shaw clearly demonstrates that technologies and their evolution were

embedded in Egyptian society. Even though there are some minor flaws,

this attempt to create a general framework for technological innovation

is excellent and opens up new angles for future research.

ReferencesDobres, M.A. . Technology and Social Agency. Oxford: Blackwell.

Kemp, B.J. .Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization. London/New York: Routledge.

Nicholson, P.T. and Shaw, I. (eds) . Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.


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Forthcoming Issues

Archaeological Review from Cambridge.

Humans and AnimalsNovember

Edited by Kathryn J. Boulden and Sarah Musselwhite

The relationship between humans and animals has long been a prin-cipal topic of archaeological enquiry, with questions of domestica-tion, diet and ritual forming the basis of discussion of the development

of 'civilized' society. Archaeological discussions have drawn on both hard

and social sciences in exploration of the relationship between humans

and animals beyond subsistence and there is a growing appreciation ofthe diverse roles that animals have played in human history. However,

there has been neglect of considering how people interact with the full

diversity of animals with which they inhabit an environment. The heavy

focus on how humans have exploited animals for their own purposes has

resulted in relatively fewer studies that investigate the symbiotic nature

of many human-animal interactions and the social role of animals in daily

life. This issue explores these alternative perspectives, underlining the

diversity of animal and human relationships in archaeological contexts.

Archaeological Review from Cambridge.

Social Network Perspectives in ArchaeologyApril

Edited by Sarah Evans and Kathrin Felder

The concept of the 'social network' is becoming an increasinglypopular topic of discussion, both in modern society and academicresearch. Within archaeology, the exploration of past social interactions

via relationships present in the material record forms a principal topic. A

growing number of archaeological studies are applying network analysis

in order to address the nature of human interconnectedness, mechanisms

of knowledge and meaning transmission and the role of objects in

social relationships. Archaeology's contemporary entanglement with

social networks is further emphasized by the great effect modern social

network media have on academic practice by enabling an enhanced

communication within and between the academic and public domain.

Issue . explores and addresses the unique challenges that

materiality, the spatial and temporal scales, and the fragmentary nature

of the archaeological record pose on envisaging human interaction in

the past. Covering a wide temporal and geographical range from the

Palaeolithic to the Modern Day, the contributions to this issue provide

a rich cross-section of enquiry into the theoretical underpinnings and

specific methodological requirements of archaeological applications

of network analysis. The case studies presented promote an increasedintegration of the rich analytical toolbox available to archaeological

research with existing network approaches from other disciplines, and

reflect on archaeology's own changing networking practices. Together

they highlight the significant and unique contribution archaeology is

able to make to the growing field of social network analysis.


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For further information please see our website:

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Available Back IssuesThe following back issues can be ordered. For the order form and up-to-

date prices please see our website:

http://www.societies.cam.ac.uk/arc/backissues.html

1.2 General Issue

2.1 Archaeology and the Public

8.2 Writing Archaeology

9.2 Affective Archaeology

11.2 Digging for a Laugh

12.1 General Perspectives

12.2 The Hierarchy of Being Human

14.1 History and Archaeology14.2 An Archaeological Assortment

15.1 The Archaeology of Perception and the Senses

15.2 Disability and Archaeology

16 Contending with Bones

17.2 Early Medieval Religion

20.2 Issues of Food and Drink

21.1 Technologies: Changing Matters; Changing Minds?

21.2 Embodied Identities

22.1 The Materiality of Burial Practices

22.2 The Disturbing Past

23.1 Archaeological Histories

23.2 Movement, Mobility and Migrations

24.1 Invention and Reinvention

24.2 Beyond Determinism

25.1 Violence and Conflict in the Material Record

25.2 Boundaries and Archaeology

26.1 Archaeology and Economic Crises

26.2 Collaborative Archaeology

27.1 Science and the Material Record


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