Distant Worlds Journal

Migrants or Monks. The problems of a migration scenario in first to fourth century Caḍ́ota by the Niya River

2017-10-18T00:58:00+02:00

In the past decades migration has been the dominant explanation employed by scholars to explain how the Kharosthi script and other innovations from North-West India spread to the Tarim Basin region during the first centuries CE. This article is a case study which seeks to challenge this migration scenario, based on a close study of the textual and material evidence available from the Krorainian Kingdom which occupied parts of the Southern Tarim Basin in antiquity. First evidence which challenges the migration scenario is presented, looking both at linguistic and literary evidence, as well as evidence for continuity in local practice and belief. An alternative scenario based on exchange and interaction is proposed towards the end of the article, arguing that to suppose large scale migration is unnecessary to explain the phenomenon at hand. For this alternative the article draw upon ideas from recent archaeological studies on the pre-historic Central Eurasia.

Battle for Middle Way: Bhāviveka’s Dialectical Strategy in Context

2017-10-18T00:58:00+02:00

In a tumultuous socio-historical context, the Buddhist Madhyamaka philosopher Bhāviveka designed a coherent battle strategy that was to set the tone for the development of later philosophical compendia in India and beyond. Bhāviveka’s writings, especially his magnum opus, the Madhyamaka-hṛdaya-kārikā (MHK), his only text preserved in Sanskrit, is not only a rare window into the complex intellectual panorama of sixth century India, but it offers a vivid picture of an engaged Buddhist philosopher ascertaining various dialectical and exegetical strategies suited to the
challenges at hand. The first part of this paper is a briefing on the sociohistorical context in which Bhāviveka intervened. The second section borrows from ‘social-ecological coexistence theory’ to examine that context as a dynamic ecosystem. Finally, the mission assigned by the author to his bodhisattvas is presented in his own words, from the MHK’s opening section, the bodhicitta-aparityāgaḥ.

Entangled Itineraries. A Transformation of Taweret into the 'Minoan Genius'?

2017-10-18T00:58:00+02:00

This paper deals with the appearance of the Minoan Genius in the Aegean Middle and Late Bronze Age. In its earliest depictions, a strong Egyptian influence is apparent, which raises questions about the distribution and transfer of motifs, things and ideas through space and time. Starting in Egypt, the appearance and function of Taweret will be illustrated first, followed by the development of the Minoan Genius, presented in some specific examples. In the second part, some theoretical concepts will be discussed that deal with travelling and distribution of objects and ideas. Therefore, some stations of a possible encounter will be
highlighted, illustrating some possibilities of transfer by people, who have to be understood as an active part within a Mediterranean meshwork of exchange. In merging theory and the archaeological record, some stepping stones of cultural entanglement can be worked out and will demonstrate how
motifs can travel and merge within different cultural entities.

Weibliche Mobilität im Alten Ägypten II: Frauen auf Reisen in pharaonischer Zeit

2017-12-01T09:12:04+01:00

Für ägyptische Frauen sind im Zeitraum vom Alten bis zum Neuen Reich (2575-1070 v. Chr.) Reisen im In- und Ausland belegt. Allerdings ist die Belegdichte sehr gering. Nichtsdestotrotz sind Schlüsse über die Motivation für ihre Mobilität möglich, die z.B. in der Ausübung beruflicher Pflichten bzw. Tätigkeiten oder Verheiratung besteht. Nicht nur Frauen der Elite, sind auf Reisen belegt. Der Corvèe-Dienst bedingt einen gewissen Grad an Mobilität auch für Frauen der unteren Gesellschaftsschicht. In Hinsicht auf die genutzten Verkehrsmittel ist festzustellen, dass sie sich auf dem Landweg, ebenso wie Männer, mit Sänften bzw. Streitwagen fortbewegten. Spezielle geschlechtsspezifische Fortbewegungsmittel auch für den Wasserweg sind nicht nachzuweisen. Die Mobilität von Frauen erstreckt sich nicht allein auf Kurzreisen, Reisestrecken von ca. 650 km wie
von Memphis nach Theben sind keine Ausnahmen. Die mit dem Ortswechsel verbundenen emotionalen, sozialen und kulturellen Implikationen werden in den ägyptischen Textquellen kaum thematisiert.

One Step Beyond. Migration als kulturelle Praxis

2018-02-05T12:26:03+01:00

Migration is a conditio humana, firmly rooted in the cultural matrix of human society. The current discourse has been shaped by problematic concepts and research approaches. Migration has been and often is seen as an irregular occurrence and exception. But even pre-modern societies were characterized by high mobility. Numerous studies at pre-modern and modern migrations show that individual migration is usually part of a comprehensive and superordinate historical process and can only be understood within this frame of reference. Migratory movements mostly have pioneers, run along tightly defined routes, occur in networks, immigrants of same origin settle in spatial proximity, migrations are demographically selective and accompanied by return migrants. In combination with new methods from life sciences, for archaeological migration research, this opens up new perspectives.

Preface: Migration and Change: Causes and Consequences of Mobility in the Ancient World

2017-10-18T00:57:59+02:00

The Distant Worlds Journal (DWJ) is an online peer-reviewed journal established especially for presenting the research of early-career scholars on the ancient world. Each edition of the DWJ centres on a specific question or topic pertinent to the diverse disciplines engaged in the study of ancient cultures. In our third edition, we investigate a phenomenon that has shaped today’s society as well as the ancient world: migration and mobility. Particular attention will be paid to what we know about its causes and consequences: Why does migration happen, what are its effects and how do we as
scholars deal with migration and mobility of past peoples?

Impressum

2017-10-20T08:34:40+02:00

2017-10-20T08:34:55+02:00

Title

2017-10-20T08:35:12+02:00

A Case Study in Professional Ethics Concerning Secondary Publications of Unprovenanced Artefacts: The New Edition DSS F.Instruction1

2017-05-30T10:44:00+02:00

A recent development in scholarly discourse in the fields of early Judaism and early Christianity is an increased awareness of the influence that the publication of unprovenanced material has on the illicit trade in antiquities. The primary concerns are that publications legitimize artifacts that are potentially looted, forged, or illegally imported, and that such material has the capacity to contaminate the academic corpus of ancient texts. As a consequence, a number of scholarly societies, most recently the Society of Biblical Literature, have enacted policies that reject any initial announcement, presentation, or publication of unprovenanced material in their venues. This article discusses an ethical issue not considered thoroughly under these policies: the ethics of publishing unprovenanced material following the initial publication. Though technically permitted, do subsequent publications help or harm? In order to explore this topic, this article utilizes as a case study the publication of DSS F.Instruction1, an unprovenanced fragment formerly published as part of 4Q416 that was reconsidered in a new edition.

Introduction: The Publication and Citation of Inscriptions from the Antiquities Market and Contested Regions

2017-05-30T10:43:58+02:00

Professor Christopher Rollston reflects on some of the difficulties faced by (especially junior) scholars in dealing with the publication of an archaeological artifact that hails from the antiquities market or from a contested region.

Cuneiform Tablets and the Antiquities Market: The Archives from Dūr-Abī-ešuḫ

2017-05-30T10:43:59+02:00

In this paper, different issues of dealing with unprovenanced antiquities are discussed from the Assyriologist’s point of view. How should one deal with unprovenanced artefacts? Should they be published at all? Is it satisfactory to publish only the artefacts? What is the importance of acquisition history, and to what extent should one trust the data provided by dealers and auction houses? Since the Old Babylonian (20^th–17^th centuries bce) city of Dūr-Abī-ešuḫ was virtually unknown until the early 2000s, its unprovenanced archives offer an excellent opportunity to address these issues. One can observe the appearance of cuneiform tablets from these archives in the main European and American centres of antiquities trade, as well as the scarcity of data concerning their acquisition history. However, since the main bulk of tablets still await publication, these observations must be considered preliminary. In an Appendix a previously unknown tablet from Dūr-Abī-ešuḫ, housed in a German private collection, is published for the first time.

2017-06-13T12:55:26+02:00

Impressum

2017-06-13T12:56:00+02:00

Preface: Dealing with Antiquity. Case Studies and Methodological Considerations in the Ethical Engagement of Ancient Materials

2017-05-30T10:43:57+02:00

The Distant Worlds Journal is an online peer-reviewed journal established especially for presenting the research of early-career scholars on the ancient world. In seeking to encompass a broad range of distinct academic fields, each edition of the DWJ takes as its starting point a question or specific topic pertinent to the diverse disciplines engaged in the study of ancient cultures. In the opening edition of this journal, papers explored the question of how the meaning of an object changes throughout its “life” in the past and present. This second edition of the DWJ, “Dealing with Antiquity”, has shifted in focus to the role and responsibilities of the researcher, and has served as a platform to consider how those working in academia could deal with unprovenanced, recently surfaced ancient materials in a way that advances knowledge, as well as being ethically sound. This is a persistent issue behind the scenes of research across academic disciplines, but one that is growing ever more relevant in contemporary times.

Title

2017-06-13T12:53:28+02:00

New Evidence for the Identification of the Figure with a Bow in Depictions of the Buddha’s Life in Gandharan Art

2016-10-20T08:58:26+02:00

This paper aims to draw attention to some literary sources concerning the century-long debated identity of a male figure holding a bow, depicted in scenes of Śākyamuni’s Great Departure in Gandharan Art (figs. 1–4). These literary sources, that seem to have been overlooked by most art historians, may offer a clue as to his identity. Since the paper’s main contribution lies in raising new questions, the authors would like it to be seen as a preliminary report on work in progress.

Problems Related to the Use of the Category of Magic in the Writing of Greek and Roman History

2016-10-20T08:58:17+02:00

The study of ancient magic is complicated by the fact that most of ancient Greek and Latin terms usually translated by “magic” or “magical” were used in different and contradictory ways. Approaches trying to reconcile rather than expose these different meanings can be divided in two large groups: the so-called essentialist approach, exemplified here by the work of H.S. Versnel and the sociological approach, represented here by the work of P. Bourdieu. Against these two approaches, it has also been argued that the modern term “magic” should be abandoned. Against this last position, I will first repeat – as Versnel and others already did – that we cannot represent alien (i.e. foreign or ancient) categories of thought without using our own categories. Finally, I will present Versnel’s methodology, its problems, and the solution that Bourdieu’s notion of the religious field can provide. While not without problems, it gives an idea of what could be gained by tinkering with common-sense notions rather than assuming that their definitions are self-evident.

The Interrelation between Rhesus and its Genuine Poet: A Problematic Case of Reception?

2016-10-20T08:58:19+02:00

Rhesus, a tragedy mainly attributed to Euripides, had critics already in antiquity: as the second Ὑπόθεσις of the play makes evident, its alleged poor quality caused some ancient scholars to express doubts about its authenticity. The authorship of Rhesus is still under debate. For instance, Vayos Liapis often claims that the surviving Rhesus is a play written in the fourth century BCE by an actor named Neoptolemos (Liapis 2009; 2012). Unsurprisingly, these claims about inauthenticity are again interwoven with the alleged poor poetic value of the play. This connection generally established between Euripides and works of high aesthetic value raises some intriguing questions: is the reception of a text influenced by our convictions about what is classical? Is there an actual connection between an object and its meaning, or are we the ones that form the meaning based on our own beliefs?

Kontingenzbewältigung, Sinnstiftung und Lebenssinn durch die JHWH-Relation am Beispiel von Hiob 38,1–42,6

2016-10-20T08:58:16+02:00

Das biblische Hiobbuch (5.–2. Jh. v. Chr.) gibt in den Gottesreden (Hi 38,1–42,6) durch die Rezeption und Umarbeitung des Topos vom Schauen Gottes aus den Psalmen (Ps 11,7; 17,15; 42,2 und 63,2–4), indem es auf die traditionell mit einer Gottesschau einhergehenden Segenswirkungen (z.B. Ps 11 mit einem Erweis von Gerechtigkeitsverwirklichung und Ps 42 mit einer Wende der Not) verzichtet, eine Antwort auf die Frage nach Kontingenzbewältigung angesichts von Leid sowie nach einem sinnstiftenden Umgang mit leidvollen Situationen und darüber hinaus nach dem Sinn des Lebens im Horizont des JHWH-Glaubens. Nach Hi 42,5f. liegt die Antwort auf diese Fragen in der Gottesbeziehung des Einzelnen.

The Evolution of the Patriarch Enoch in Jewish Tradition

2016-10-20T08:58:24+02:00

At a single paragraph in the Bible, Enoch presents a somewhat etiolated figure among the other patriarchs; and yet, outside the Bible, his presence is enormous and ever changing. In this article I examine how the reception of Enoch has evolved over the centuries and millennia since his appearance in Genesis. Initially in the form of several small booklets from the 4th–1st centuries BCE, Enoch is understood as inventor of writing and heavenly traveller, visiting God on his throne and comprehending the astronomical mechanics; but by the time of the medieval Kabbalists he has been transformed into the great angel Metatron, the prototype of all mystics who seek heavenly wisdom, and present at the creation of the universe. In these cases, the theme of the learned seer has developed to meet the expectations of the Jewish communities who were drawn to him, and yet there is a surprising continuity of character even over thousands of years and miles.

Transmission and Interpretation of Therapeutic Texts. Šumma amēlu muḫḫašu umma ukāl: a Case Study

2016-10-20T08:58:30+02:00

Among the Assyro-Babylonian medical texts the therapeutic series šumma amēlu muḫḫašu umma ukâl, probably composed during the reign of Assurbanipal, is an extremely interesting case study in order to explain how medical texts were received and medical knowledge transmitted among professionals. The series deals with the particular group of diseases affecting the head and is related to other groups of diagnostic and therapeutic texts. Moreover, it was the object of a commentary preserved in a tablet from Uruk (SpTU 1.47) dating from the fifth century BCE. This later document attests to the efforts of understanding difficult words and illustrates the continuity in the interpretation and study of ancient texts. The comprehensive consideration of these texts allows facing the problems concerning the instruments and methods Mesopotamian intellectuals used when employing technical lore and the texts that transmitted it.

A ‘Maritime Aspect’ in Late Bronze Age Cyprus?

2016-10-20T08:58:14+02:00

Late Bronze Age Cyprus was involved in an increasing exchange of goods and ideas throughout the Mediterranean. As it is linked with far-reaching trade routes, the development of Cypriot culture is said to be in direct relation to the production and distribution of copper, even to be responsible for the emergence of local elites and also connected with ritual activities and procedures. As the actual exchange of copper is based on maritime trade, an attendant ‘maritime aspect’ has been proposed. By charging objects with an apparent maritime connotation, as it was done for seashells, images of marine animals on pottery, graffiti of ships and so-called ‘stone anchors’, scholars are shaping these objects into icons of a ‘maritime aspect’, which has a great impact on the interpretation of local ritual practice during the Late Bronze Age. In this paper, the interpretation of this ‘maritime aspect’ is revisited and previous assumptions are challenged. Especially addressing the so- called ‘stone anchors’ can lead to the assumption of a more situational structure in ritual assemblages.

Trading Goods – Trading Gods. Greek Sanctuaries in the Mediterranean and their Role as emporia and 'Ports of Trade' (7th–6th Century BCE)

2016-10-20T08:58:29+02:00

Greek sanctuaries are well known primarily as places within the community to feast and worship the gods. Since the late 7th century BCE, certain sanctuaries, such as Gravisca, Pyrgi or Naukratis, were founded in frontier zones, where they provided access to other cultural groups and featured peculiar economic characteristics. Karl Polanyi defined these sanctuaries as ‘ports of trade’. Sanctuaries with the function as ‘ports of trade’ or ‘emporia’, typically do not consist of large settlement structures, but offer features for trade and exchange, a protecting neutrality, and function as a gateway between at least two parties. The archaeological record indicates an important Greek presence in ‘ports of trade’ situated in frontier zones. Additionally, administrative structures and exchanged goods suggest a completely transformed trading strategy from the late 7th/early 6th century BCE onwards. This paper argues that ‘emporia’ were the key institution for the beginning of an intensive Mediterranean long distance trade in the Classical World.

Räume als Träger wechselnder Bedeutungen. Die Gestaltung spätrömischer Empfangssäle im Kontext von salutatio und convivium

2017-09-08T09:27:02+02:00

Für Angehörige der (spät)römischen Eliten war der eigene Wohnsitz ein zentrales Medium der Statusrepräsentation. Die spätantike domus, mit ihrem Fokus auf großen, aufwändig gestalteten Empfangssälen, diente als Bühne für eine Vielzahl an Handlungen, bei denen Hausherr und Gäste miteinander interagierten. Architektur und Dekor der Räume waren dabei gezielt darauf abgestimmt, die verschiedenen Akteure an ihrem jeweiligen Platz innerhalb der spätrömischen Sozialhierarchie zu verorten. Einzelne Besucher standen jedoch in einem jeweils ganz unterschiedlichen Verhältnis zum Hausherren und trafen zu ganz verschiedenen Anlässen mit ihm zusammen. Der Morgenempfang von Klienten, die salutatio, und das abendliche Gastmahl, das convivium, unterschieden sich sowohl hinsichtlich ihrer Teilnehmer als auch ihres Ablaufs, fanden aber oft in den selben oder sehr ähnlichen Räumen statt. Anhand dieser beiden Anlässe wird deutlich, wie die Gestaltung spätantiker Empfangsräume auf die verschiedenen Handlungen und Akteure Bezug nahm und mit welchen visuellen Strategien in abweichenden Kontexten die jeweils erwünschte Bedeutung kodiert wurde.

Cultural Transmission and Semantic Change of Ceramic Forms in Grave Goods of Hellenistic Etruria

2016-10-20T08:58:27+02:00

This contribution addresses semantic change in ceramics as connected to identity construction. With three case studies from Hellenistic Etruria, beaked situlae, lagynoi and amphorae, I aim to answer the following research question: How can a change of vessel functions in funerary contexts express the changing cultural identities of the deceased and their family? The choice of funerary contexts allows an approximation of the change of meaning through the analysis of the distance between daily life and ritual function of the objects. Each case study presents a different relationship between changing meaning and identity construction: the beaked situlae, related to the social identity of new social layers; the amphorae, related to local cultural identities during the process of Romanisation; and the lagynoi, related to the construction of multicultural identities in newfounded agricultural settlements. The distinct patterns of the three forms suggest the possibility of analysing stratified and complex societies by the study of changing meaning.

Nichts als Schrott? Nahöstliche Panzerschuppen aus dem Apollonheiligtum in Didyma

2016-11-14T11:24:34+01:00

Die zahlreichen Eisenfunde aus den griechischen Heiligtümern, der primären Quelle zur materiellen Kultur des archaischen Griechenlands, erfuhren bislang nur wenig Beachtung, denn ihr häufig schlechter Erhaltungszustand ermöglichte es nur selten, sie kunsthistorisch anzusprechen. Erst die jüngsten Aufarbeitungen der Fundkomplexe aus Olympia zeigten ihre Aussagekraft. In diesem Kontext ist auch die geplante Vorlage der Eisenfunde aus dem Apollon-Heiligtum von Didyma zu verstehen. Unter ihnen verdienen 20 spezifische Plättchen rechteckigen Formates erhöhte Aufmerksamkeit – sie wurden allesamt als Panzerschuppen neuassyrischen Typus identifiziert. Ihr ursprünglich funktionaler sowie statuskennzeichnender Charakter, als eine für assyrische, schwerbewaffnete Eliteneinheiten bestimmte Panzerung, ist jedoch nicht mit dem Fundkontext als Weihung innerhalb eines ionischen kultischen Bezirks in Einklang zu bringen. Im Folgenden wird daher versucht, mithilfe des Ansatzes der Objektbiographien die einzelnen, chronologisch versetzten Deutungsebenen dieser Gegenstände zu dekonstruieren und gleichzeitig die damit verbundenen sozio-kulturellen Räume zu konzeptualisieren.

Introduction: Biographies of Things

2016-10-20T08:58:33+02:00

How do things relate to people? This is a much-discussed topic of recent years. While it originally lay in the domain of sociologists and anthropologists, it has now very much entered the intellectual world of anyone who deals with material culture, in whatever form. The study of objects is also intimately related to other debates, for instance over agency, art, the life histories of people, and the interplay between things and people.

Preface: Continuities and Changes of Meaning

2016-10-20T08:58:32+02:00

It is our pleasure to introduce the Distant Worlds Journal (DWJ), an online peer-reviewed journal established especially for presenting the research of early-career scholars on the ancient world. In seeking to encompass a broad range of distinct academic fields, each edition of the DWJ takes as its starting point a question or specific topic pertinent to the diverse disciplines engaged in the study of ancient cultures. In our opening edition, “Continuities and Changes of Meaning”, we thus wish to take up a question that both scrutinises and captures the very essence of scholarly endeavour: how does the meaning of an object change – or resist change? – throughout its “life” both in the past and, as an object of academic research, in the present? It was our aim in choosing this topic to not only address the changing functions, contexts, and interpretations of objects in antiquity, but also to problematise our own modes of interpreting the (material and textual) remains of societies temporally distant from our own.

Impressum

2016-10-20T08:58:36+02:00

2016-10-20T08:58:38+02:00

Title

2016-10-20T08:58:39+02:00

Distant Worlds Journal

Migrants or Monks. The problems of a migration scenario in first to fourth century Caḍ́ota by the Niya River

Battle for Middle Way: Bhāviveka’s Dialectical Strategy in Context

Entangled Itineraries. A Transformation of Taweret into the 'Minoan Genius'?

Weibliche Mobilität im Alten Ägypten II: Frauen auf Reisen in pharaonischer Zeit

One Step Beyond. Migration als kulturelle Praxis

Preface: Migration and Change: Causes and Consequences of Mobility in the Ancient World

Impressum

Table of Contents

Title

A Case Study in Professional Ethics Concerning Secondary Publications of Unprovenanced Artefacts: The New Edition DSS F.Instruction1

Introduction: The Publication and Citation of Inscriptions from the Antiquities Market and Contested Regions

Cuneiform Tablets and the Antiquities Market: The Archives from Dūr-Abī-ešuḫ

Table of Contents

Impressum

Preface: Dealing with Antiquity. Case Studies and Methodological Considerations in the Ethical Engagement of Ancient Materials

Title

New Evidence for the Identification of the Figure with a Bow in Depictions of the Buddha’s Life in Gandharan Art

Problems Related to the Use of the Category of Magic in the Writing of Greek and Roman History

The Interrelation between Rhesus and its Genuine Poet: A Problematic Case of Reception?

Kontingenzbewältigung, Sinnstiftung und Lebenssinn durch die JHWH-Relation am Beispiel von Hiob 38,1–42,6

The Evolution of the Patriarch Enoch in Jewish Tradition

Transmission and Interpretation of Therapeutic Texts. Šumma amēlu muḫḫašu umma ukāl: a Case Study

A ‘Maritime Aspect’ in Late Bronze Age Cyprus?

Trading Goods – Trading Gods. Greek Sanctuaries in the Mediterranean and their Role as emporia and 'Ports of Trade' (7th–6th Century BCE)

Räume als Träger wechselnder Bedeutungen. Die Gestaltung spätrömischer Empfangssäle im Kontext von salutatio und convivium

Cultural Transmission and Semantic Change of Ceramic Forms in Grave Goods of Hellenistic Etruria

Nichts als Schrott? Nahöstliche Panzerschuppen aus dem Apollonheiligtum in Didyma

Introduction: Biographies of Things

Preface: Continuities and Changes of Meaning

Impressum

Table of Contents

Title