The Archaeology of Measurement: Comprehending Heaven, Earth and Time in Ancient Societies

by Edited by Iain Morley , Colin Renfrew

• ISBN13: 9780521119900
• ISBN10: 0521119901
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-04-26
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

The construction of formal measurement systems underlies the development of science, technology, economy and new ways of understanding and explaining the world. Human societies have developed such systems in different ways, in different places and at different times, and recent archaeological investigations highlight the importance of these activities for fundamental aspects of human life. Measurement systems have provided the structure for addressing key concerns of cosmological belief systems, as well as the means for articulating relationships between the human form, human action, and the world. The Archaeology of Measurement explores the archaeological evidence for the development of measuring activities in numerous ancient societies, as well as the implications of these discoveries for an understanding of their worlds and beliefs. Featuring contributions from a cast of internationally renowned scholars, it analyses the relationships between measurement, economy, architecture, symbolism, time, cosmology, ritual, and religion among prehistoric and early historic societies.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Number: Counting, Mathematics, and Measure:

Conceptualising quantification before settlement: activities and issues underlying the conception and use of measurement

Measurement in navigation: conceiving distance and time in the Neolithic

The token system of the ancient Near East: its role in counting, writing, the economy and cognition Denise

Grasping the concept of number: how did the sapient mind move beyond approximation?

Numerical cognition and the development of 'zero' in Mesoamerica

Recording measure(ment)s in the Inka Khipu

Materialising the Economy:

Measuring by weight in the late Bronze Age Aegean: the people behind the measuring tools

The concept of weighing during the Bronze Age in the Aegean, the Near East and Europe

Measuring the Harappan world: insights into the Indus order and cosmology

Dimensions and Belief:

Architectural measurements in the Indus cities: the case study of Mohenjo-Daro

Teothuacan City layout as a cosmogram: preliminary results of the 2007 measurement unit study

Aztec dimensions of holiness

Establishing direction in early Egyptian burials and monumental architecture: measurement and the spatial link with the 'other'

Calendar and Cosmology:

The measurement of time and distance in the heavens above Mesopotamia, with brief reference made to other ancient astral sciences

Evolution of the calendar in Shang China

The measure of time in Meso-America: from Teotihuacan to the Maya

Measuring time, sacred space, and social place in the Inca Empire

Measuring time in the European Neolithic? The function and meaning of Central European circular enclosures

The Spirituality of Measure: 19. The roots of spirituality and the limits of human mensuration

Worldview, measurement and 'the roots of spirituality'

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