Understanding Ancient Fortifications:

Ballmer, Ariane; Fernández-Götz, Manuel; Mielke, Dirk Paul

doi:10.2307/j.ctvh1dqkc.4

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…Ballmer et al . 2018). Accounts of defensive behaviour in non-farming societies are comparatively rare, and the topic remains largely absent from recent handbooks on hunter-gatherers and on conflict archaeology (e.g.…”

Section: Territoriality Social Diversification and Fortification In H...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The world's oldest-known promontory fort: Amnya and the acceleration of hunter-gatherer diversity in Siberia 8000 years ago

Piezonka,

Chairkina,

Dubovtseva

et al. 2023

Antiquity

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Archaeological narratives have traditionally associated the rise of social and political ‘complexity’ with the emergence of agricultural societies. However, this framework neglects the innovations of the hunter-gatherer populations occupying the Siberian taiga 8000 years ago, including the construction of some of the oldest-known fortified sites in the world. Here, the authors present results from the fortified site of Amnya in western Siberia, reporting new radiocarbon dates as the basis for a re-evaluation of the chronology and settlement organisation. Assessed within the context of the changing social and environmental landscape of the taiga, Amnya and similar fortified sites can be understood as one facet of a broader adaptive strategy.

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Section: Territoriality Social Diversification and Fortification In H...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The world's oldest-known promontory fort: Amnya and the acceleration of hunter-gatherer diversity in Siberia 8000 years ago

Piezonka,

Chairkina,

Dubovtseva

et al. 2023

Antiquity

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“…At oases, as elsewhere, the ramparts mark and delimit a political territory (Müth, 2016). The dates of their construction constitute a major aspect of the knowledge of local “socio‐political realities” at any given moment (Ballmer, Fernández‐Götz, & Mielke, 2018: 1–2).…”

Section: Conclusion: the Walled Oases Phenomenonmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Likewise, the caravan oasis of Sijilmassa, whose central city on the Wādī Ziz, also fortified, was at the centre of repeated conflicts between nomadic and oasis‐based sedentarists (Lightfoot & Miller, 1996: 98). The walled oasis constituted, in fact, a physically marked refuge, which served to circumscribe a “paradisical” and “civilised” zone of sedentary life in the face of the “chaos” of the surrounding desert (Ballmer, Fernández‐Götz, & Mielke, 2018: 1–2). However, this nomadic threat coming from the desert is not so easily identifiable in antiquity, whether by archaeology or epigraphy (Macdonald, 1993).…”

Section: Conclusion: the Walled Oases Phenomenonmentioning

confidence: 99%

The “walled oases” phenomenon. A study of the ramparts in Dūmat al‐Jandal and other pre‐Islamic sites in north‐western Arabia

Charloux¹,

al-Malki²,

AlQaeed³

2021

Arab Archaeol Epigr

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The present article focuses on a long‐lasting phenomenon that has not yet been treated from a regional and comparative perspective, despite its exceptional character: the walled oases of north‐western Arabia. It appears that several oases in the region (Al‐Ḥuwayyiṭ, Dūmat al‐Jandal, Ḥāʾiṭ, Khaybar, Qurayyah and Taymāʾ) were entirely, or in large part, enclosed by outer walls prior to the Islamic era. These compounds comprised not only densely populated areas but the whole oasis territory, including rural zones and sometimes burial grounds. Measuring several kilometres in length, these immense defensive schemes required considerable investment by indigenous populations for their construction and maintenance until their disuse. According to our research, the walled oases phenomenon in north‐western Arabia originated sometime in the late fourth−early third millennium BCE, possibly inspired by Early Bronze Age southern Levant defensive concepts, and further expanded in connection with the emergence of the trans‐Arabian trade and the caravan kingdoms. These conclusions are based on the detailed technological study of the ramparts of the oasis of Dūmat al‐Jandal and on the analysis of satellite imagery and scientific literature on other sites in north‐western Arabia.

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“…Warfare as a process profoundly impacts the human experience. The fortification of settlements in many parts of the world defined ancient notions of culture, community, and wilderness (Ballmer et al 2018; Tracy 2000). The creation and maintenance of martial landscapes can provide a means for social differentiation, which includes the perpetuation of social hierarchies (Johnson 2002; Müth et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tactical and Strategic Landscapes: A Study of Maya Fortification at Tzunun, Chiapas, Mexico

Hernandez

2023

Ancient Mesoam

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Although studies of warfare are now common in Maya archaeology, much remains to be learned about strategy, tactics, and various other practical factors in the process of making war. An emphasis on the concrete and practical is necessary to both acknowledge agency and understand how conflict relates to the human experience. Through an examination of documentary and archaeological data in a comparative framework, I elaborate on practices of Maya fortification construction and how the creation of a martial landscape ties into relations of power during the Late Postclassic/Early Spanish Colonial period (a.d. 1200–1600). During this period, in the region of Mensabak, Chiapas, Mexico, Maya peoples fortified a peninsula according to principles of defense-in-depth. In other words, they created layers of fortification to slow and stall an attack. My analysis reveals how the creation of a martial landscape shaped local culture by incorporating elements of sacred geography and ritual landscape to perpetuate social inequality.

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Understanding Ancient Fortifications:

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

The world's oldest-known promontory fort: Amnya and the acceleration of hunter-gatherer diversity in Siberia 8000 years ago

The world's oldest-known promontory fort: Amnya and the acceleration of hunter-gatherer diversity in Siberia 8000 years ago

The “walled oases” phenomenon. A study of the ramparts in Dūmat al‐Jandal and other pre‐Islamic sites in north‐western Arabia

Tactical and Strategic Landscapes: A Study of Maya Fortification at Tzunun, Chiapas, Mexico

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