Thin End of the Wedge

Jon Taylor
  • 5.0 (17)
  • HISTORY
  • UPDATED BIMONTHLY
Thin End of the Wedge

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.

  1. NOV 21

    71. 2024 IAA Prize winners

    This is a special episode presenting the prize-winning research of three early career scholars: William McGrath, Alessia Pilloni, and Christopher Jones. What prizes did they win, and what was their research about? We hear about the latest news from Isin II period history, astrology in the Late Babylonian period, and a military coup in the Neo-Assyrian period. 1:24 William McGrath2:10 dissertation6:08 key conclusions9:10 publication plans10:48 what's next?13:45 Alessia Pilloni14:27 ...

    54 min

  2. OCT 11

    70. Simo Parpola and the State Archives of Assyria project

    This episode was recorded live at the Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale conference held in Helsinki in July 2024. Simo Parpola reflects on his long and momentous career. He explains how he became an assyriologist, and how he came to focus on the Assyrians. A key collaboration led to one of the most significant projects in assyriological history. What was it like to study large groups of tablets in the days before bulk digitisation? How did they identify so many joins remotely? Simo...

    29 min

  3. SEP 11

    69. Carolyne Douché: Carpology in the archaeology of ancient western Asia

    Carolyne introduces us to the study of ancient plant remains, especially carpology--the study of seeds, fruits, and flowers. In her case study she takes us to the site of Logardan in the Kurdish region, and explains what she could learn from the remains found in kilns. We discuss the role and uses of dung.2:02 archaeobotany4:08 how to train5:09 site of Logardan6:37 role of archaeobotany9:47 comparison with results from other fields12:30 main results from Logardan14:00 why use dung?18:28 dung ...

    33 min

  4. AUG 2

    68. Witold Tyborowski: Finding a job during Hammurabi's reign

    Witold discusses the labour market under Hammurabi of Babylon. What kind of work could you get, and what would you be paid in exchange? Who would be looking for employment, who would take them on, and who held the balance of power? 1:45 how we know about getting a job2:54 who are the job seekers?3:48 how common was it?4:58 what jobs are there beyond harvest time?6:17 what kind of people are working?8:19 how good were conditions?11:12 different jobs for men and women?13:03 do workers replace y...

    39 min

  5. JUN 5

    67. Amy Gansell: Dressing Assyria's queens

    Amy discusses the multi-sensory presence of the queens of Assyria. What was queenly dress and what meaning did each part of it convey? How does the evidence from art compare to what we learn from archaeology? Can we identify personal choice? She also talks about what it's like to wear queenly clothes, and what experimental archaeology can tell us. 2:45 sources for textiles5:13 experimental archaeology6:37 tombs of the queens8:35 art versus archaeology9:50 queenly dress14:28 symbolism17:...

    42 min

  6. MAY 10

    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:...

    42 min

  7. APR 3

    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...

    36 min

  8. MAR 6

    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...

    29 min
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Trailer

5
out of 5
17 Ratings

About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    Jon Taylor
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2024
  • Episodes
    73
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2024 Thin End of the Wedge
  • Show Website
    Thin End of the Wedge

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