68 afleveringen
Thin End of the Wedge Jon Taylor
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- Geschiedenis
Thin End of the Wedge explores life in the ancient Middle East. There are many wonderful stories we can tell about those people, their communities, the gritty reality of their lives, their hopes, fears and beliefs. We can do that through the objects they left behind and the cities where they once lived. Our focus is on the cultures that used cuneiform (“wedge-shaped”) writing, so mostly on ancient Iraq and nearby regions from about 3000 BC to about 100 AD. Thin End of the Wedge brings you expert insights and the latest research in clear and simple language. What do we know? How do we know anything? And why is what we know always changing? Why is any of this important today? We won’t talk to you like you’re stupid. But you won’t need any special training to understand what we’re talking about. This is an independent production by me as an individual. It is not supported by my employer or any other organisation I am involved with, and the views expressed here do not necessarily reflect theirs.
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66. Rune Rattenborg, Seraina Nett, Gustav Ryberg Smidt: Geomapping Cuneiform
Rune, Seraina, and Gustav discuss their recently completed project on geomapping cuneiform. Where were inscriptions found and where are they now? How many tablets are there? What counts as a tablet anyway? They reveal the challenges of integrating datasets, and explore the potential opened up by knowing where inscriptions really come from. 4:18 GLoW project7:44 data collection10:51 how many tablets are there?13:50 provenance problems17:06 why 'where' matters20:50 what distribution tells us24:...
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65. Omar N'Shea: Masculinities in Mesopotamia
Omar discusses the importance of studying gender as part of assyriology. What are the big themes now, and how did we get here? He focuses on two areas of special interest: masculinity, and eunuchism. What can we expect from the conference on gender studies (GeMANE) hosted in Malta this April? And what is the context of assyriology in Malta?0:37 Introducing Ellie2:56 the importance of studying gender5:39 current trends8:59 gender beyond only women11:54 masculinities16:21 eunuchs23:58 org...
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64. Ali Kadhem Ghanem: Managing the site of Ur
The site of Ur is easily one of the most important in Iraq. In this interview, originally recorded in late 2021, we hear from the person responsible for managing that site. Ali talks about Ur's significance, and its role in local life. What are the plans for the development of this key site? 4:18 introducing Lina7:02 importance of Ur7:34 what tourists can see8:39 information for visitors9:12 what Ur means to Iraqis10:15 excavations11:04 site conservation11:49 future of tourism12:19 cultural a...
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63: Enrique Jiménez: the electronic Babylonian Library
Enrique introduces us to a major new resource in digital assyriology: The electronic Babylonian Library. What does it offer and what are its aims? He discusses the issues facing the field and the potential of digital tools, including AI, to help solve them. To what extent can Babylonian literature be reconstructed now, and what we can do with it? 2:08 what is the eBL?4:59 how much Babylonian literature do we have?6:16 the non-literary fragments10:27 why launch now?11:50 what's the reaction / ...
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62. Prize-winning assyriology
At the Rencontre in Leiden this summer, the IAA awarded its annual prizes celebrating the excellence of early career scholars. There were prizes for the best dissertation, best first article, and a research subsidy. I tracked down the prize winners to ask them about their work. 2:17 Clélia Paladre2:57 thesis on Iranian glyptic4:38 the Proto-Elamite phenomenon6:14 working at the Louvre7:31 Tomoki Kitazumi8:29 translating in the Hittite empire11:45 interpreters in the ancient Near East13:...
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61. Shigeo Yamada: Yasin Tepe: on the margins of empire
Shigeo shares the results of fieldwork at a site that was once a key city on the edges of the Assyrian empire. How do we know which city it was? He describes the key finds, and interprets their significance. What can we learn from a necklet?2:22 Yasin Tepe4:54 goals6:38 identification as Dur-Ashur9:12 results12:44 who lived there?13:44 inscribed necklet of a slave18:49 future work23:20 TsukubaShigeo's Academia Shigeo's ResearchGateMusic by Ruba HillawiWebsite: http://wedgepod.orgYouTube: http...