Early Temples Research Articles

Fifteenth-Century Melaka’s Networked Ports-of-Trade and Maritime Diasporas in the Bay of Bengal and Western Indian Ocean

Abstract Internationally Western scholars have emphasized the importance of pre-fifteenth-century Western and Eastern Indian Ocean, South Asian, Bay of Bengal, South China; regional Java and wider Southeast Asia commercial, landed, maritime, and societal networking; and Islamic, Hindu, Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism. Notably where there were upstream agrarian hinterlands of early historical Southeast Asia polities, royal courts, temples, cultural centers, and traditional farming were relocated in the vulnerable regional downstream coastal ports-of-trade. This essay recenters the discussion of the changing role of Melaka’s trade ports and their engagement with maritime based trade as conducted by various regional populations.

The Long Road Out of Eden: Early Dynastic Temples, a Quantitative Approach to the Bent-Axis Shrines

This study was conducted to quantitatively assess the architectural data stemming from 70 buildings usually considered as bent-axis temples, a type of Mesopotamian temple mainly constructed from 2900 to 2300–2200 BC. The study reviews, region-by-region and site-by-site, the dimensions of the rooms considered the “holy of holies”, registering width, length, and surface area. The results are discussed in comparison to the previous reception rooms of the tripartite buildings, considered the original matrix from which these shrines developed. The chronological and regional differences that are outlined provide some insights about the kind of social units that were involved in the use of those buildings, which were key structures in the urban fabric of Early City states.

Early medieval religious-memorial monuments of gadabay region of Azerbaijan

Gadabay situated at the western part of Azerbaijan Republic. There are many early medieval Christian temples, churches and monasteries which concern to Caucasian Albania in Gadabay region. This article is dedicated to early medieval temples and religious monuments of Caucasian Albania in Gadabay. It was researched Gadabay temple, Chaldash, Chanakhchi, Girdiman (Pir Javanshir), Agh kilse (White church), Ayrivang temples and Hamshivang monastery in last decade. These historical monuments established during early medieval period of Caucasian Albania. Early medievalreligious situation of the country was largely studied by Azerbaijani Albanian scholars. As it is known from the sources, in the early Middle Ages the religious situation in Albania as a whole was extremely complicated. Thus, idolatry persisted, and Christianity and Zoroastrianism struggled to spread. There was a fierce struggle between their ideologues and supporters. The defense of Zoroastrianism by the Sassanids and Christianity by the Romans and then the Byzantines by all means that the inter-religious struggle went beyond the borders of the country.When thinking about the structure of the society that existed in the Gadabay region in the early Middle Ages, it would be more correct to refer directly to sources on the history of Albania. The study of early medieval archeological monuments of Gadabay region used ancient and medieval sources, materials of historical, archeological and ethnographic researches carried out in various monuments, samples of material culture kept in museums, funds and private collections. As it is known, the works of Strabo, Plolemy, Kirokos Ganjali and especially the Albanian historian M. Kalankatuklu provide very valuable information about the history of Albania. Of course, the study of all this in relation to archeological materials and in a comparative manner is great scientific importance.M. Kalankatuklu states that during the reign of the Albanian Tsar Arsvagen and Prince Khurs of Girdiman, "there are still pagans left in Girdiman". At that time, Christianity was already widespread in the country.

БРОНЗА ДАВРИ ИБОДАТХОНАЛАРИДА УЧРАЙДИГАН АЛТАРЛАР

It is scientifically illuminated about the Altar, the place of religious ceremonies in the early temples of Bronze Age in Central Asia, and structure of altars of the temples in ancient countries which Margiana and Bactria as well as that in the countries of the Ancient East in this article.

Previously Unidentified Tuff in the Archaic Temple Podium at Sant'Omobono, Rome and its Broader Implications

This study reports on the discovery that the podium of the archaic temple in the Forum Boarium of Rome was built with a previously unknown tuff, of non-local origin. On the basis of detailed comparative petrographic and geochemical tests, it has been established that the blocks employed to build the earliest temple so far discovered in Rome belonged to a distinctive facies of tufo lionato that had never been characterized before, in contrast to what was reported by previous excavators. The blocks must have come from a quarry in the Anio River Valley, several kilometers from the construction site, making the Sant'Omobono temple the earliest known Roman building that extensively employed imported materials. The metrology of the blocks is also unique. This particular volcanic stone was probably chosen for its much greater resistance to weathering compared to the local tuffs, a trait that was essential in the flood-prone location, not far from the Tiber riverbank, where the temple was situated. The labor-intensive sourcing may also explain the dainty size of the temple podium in comparison to other sixth-century bc temples in the region. The choice made by the builders indicates far greater sophistication and technical awareness than they have generally been credited with. The new discovery is placed in the context of the quickly accumulating archaeological record of sixth-century bc Rome, which suggests a dramatic increase in the number and scale of monumental projects in the expanding city.

Centres and Peripheries in the Early Temple Period

Centres and Peripheries in the Early Temple Period

Localizing the Different Faces of Archaeological Landscapes in South India

Siruthavoor is a village situated 40 km south of Chennai in south India. The people of this village share their landscape with archaeological remains of south India’s past, including Iron Age–Early Historic burials and medieval temples. As an archaeologist, having witnessed and been both an indirect and direct participant in the changing reactions, actions, and perceptions of the community towards these monuments, I use this paper to explore the implications we can draw from the interaction between archaeological landscapes and various actors, spanning a period of twelve years. In India, as in many other countries, archaeological landscapes, monuments, and objects face the possibility of alteration, conservation, preservation, or destruction. The factors involved in this, I argue, are specific to localized conscious and unconscious decision-making by people living around such archaeological sites. Delving deeper into these issues will help us understand these often seemingly inexplicable choices that imperil the continued presence of archaeological monuments in the contemporary landscape. The behind-the-scenes events that occur in the ‘field’ of archaeology often remain untold, and yet they hold a lot of information. Through this narrative, this paper explores some of the subjectivities that we need to acknowledge as academics.

The Astronomical Orientation of Ancient Greek Theatres in Relation to the Topography and the Greek Mythology

The study of the astronomical orientation of monuments in Greece has been strengthened over the last decade by the development and application of contemporary methods of measurement and analysis. The study has highlighted important findings related to monuments from the Antiquity up to the modern era. This study includes monuments of the classical antiquity, early Christian basilicas, Byzantine temples and mosques. However, an equally important Monument category is the ancient theatres. These monuments due to both their size and usefulness became the subject of study in this paper. This paper presents the results of a systematic research concerning the determination of the astronomical orientation of six ancient theatres in Greece. At the same time, the interpretation of their orientation and their possible relation to the mythology, the position and movement of constellations and the topography of their site is also studied. The geometric data produced with modern accurate methods of measurement and analysis certainly contributes to a more thorough study and interpretation of the placement and orientation of such large ancient constructions. This systematic research is carried out for six of the most important theatres in Greece. These are the ancient theatres of Dionysus, Delphi, Epidaurus, Ancient Epidaurus, Argos and Sicyon.

Imagining the Other and Constructing Israelite Identity in the Early Second Temple Period, written by E. Ben Zvi and D. V. Edelman

Imagining the Other and Constructing Israelite Identity in the Early Second Temple Period, written by E. Ben Zvi and D. V. Edelman

Building Zion: The Material World of Mormon Settlement

The history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—familiarly known as Mormons—has hardly been neglected in recent scholarship, with the Mormon community developing its own highly sophisticated methodology that no longer reflects minority defensiveness. The Mormon story also lends itself quite well to not only biography and narrative but also the analysis of material culture. Mormonism, a religion in which metaphysics does not play a major role, is a “this-world” faith in which material abundance is a sign of divine favor and for which the afterlife stands in direct continuity with the present earthly realm. Thomas Carter makes a valuable addition to a scholarly corpus that includes earlier works on Latter-day Saints (lds) architecture and planning by Laurel B. Andrew (The Early Temples of the Mormons, 1978), Richard V. Francaviglia (The Mormon Landscape, 1978), C. Mark Hamilton (Nineteenth-Century Mormon Architecture and City Planning, 1995), David J. Howlett (Kirtland Temple, 2014), and Colleen McDannell's memorable discussion of Mormon undergarments in Material Christianity (1995). Carter's focus is in line with lds historiography—namely, the tension between Mormonism's seeming exoticism, as exemplified in its distinctive temples, their rituals, the practice of polygamy, and its all-Americanness, illustrated, for better or worse, in the iconic wholesome life-style of the Mitt Romney family.

Bhavānīśaṅkar Temple Inscriptions

The Bhavānīśaṅkar temple is one of the early temples of Odisha. It is situated close to the northern compound wall of the Liṅgarāja temple in the old town of Odisha. At present it is a ruined temple and only the eastern side of the temple was exposed sometime in the 1970s and no proper record is maintained about it. The exposed wall contains a number of short inscriptions, which may be dated to the seventh century ce on grounds of palaeography. The inscriptions record some personal names and refer to the deity for whom the shrine was erected. The characters of the inscriptions and the stylistic peculiarities of the extant images and motifs are now only parameters to fix the date of the temple. The paper attempts to study the character and contents of the short inscriptions and to contextualise them with the early building activities of Odisha.

Chronicling the Chronicler: The Book of Chronicles and Early Second Temple Historiography, written by Paul S. Evans and Tyler F. Williams

Chronicling the Chronicler: The Book of Chronicles and Early Second Temple Historiography, written by Paul S. Evans and Tyler F. Williams

Reaching to Heaven: Similarities between Early French Gothic Cathedrals and Medieval Bagan Temples

Reaching to Heaven: Similarities between Early French Gothic Cathedrals and Medieval Bagan Temples

Book Review: Imagining the Other and Constructing Israelite Identity in the Early Second Temple Period

Book Review: Imagining the Other and Constructing Israelite Identity in the Early Second Temple Period

Imagining the Other and Constructing Israelite Identity in the Early Second Temple Period.Edited by Ehud Ben Zvi and Diana V. Edelman.

<i>Imagining the Other and Constructing Israelite Identity in the Early Second Temple Period.</i>Edited by Ehud Ben Zvi and Diana V. Edelman.

돈황 막고굴 벽화에 나타난 불교사원 종.경루의 건축형태 및 배치에 관한 연구

Bell and Sutra Towers are the important elements of early Buddhist Temples. However, we still do not know the exact informations of them. So this paper studies the Bell and Sutra Towers in the Mural Paintings of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes to find out the specific architectural form and layout of them. The results are as follows: Bell and Sutra Towers in Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes have variety of architectural types and plans, and the octagonal 'Gak(閣)' is the most common type of Bell and Sutra Towers. Bell and Sutra Towers are mostly located in the north side of the Temples. To be more concrete, they are located on top of the north-corridor in the Temples. With regard to the east-west layout, it seems to be that there are no fixed rules.

Review of Remembering and Forgetting in Early Second Temple Judah (FAT, 85; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2012).

Review of Remembering and Forgetting in Early Second Temple Judah (FAT, 85; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2012).

Early (300−100 B.C.) temple precinct in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico

Archaeological investigations during the past two decades in Mexico's Valley of Oaxaca have documented the appearance of key public buildings, such as the royal palace and multiroom temple, associated with the rise of an archaic state at ca. 300-100 B.C. A fuller picture is now emerging from the site of El Palenque, where recent excavations have defined a temple precinct on the east side of the site's plaza. This precinct exhibits characteristics similar to those of the temple precincts of later Mesoamerican states described by Colonial period sources. The excavation data document a walled enclosure containing three multiroom temples, two special residences identified as priests' residences, and an array of ritual features and activity areas. The temple precinct's components are interpreted as comprising a hierarchy of temples staffed by a specialized priesthood. A series of radiocarbon dates indicate that the precinct's differentiated components were all in use during the 300-100 B.C. period of archaic state emergence. The El Palenque temple precinct is the earliest temple precinct excavated thus far in the Valley of Oaxaca.

Religion in ancient Etruria

This lively translation of Devins, Dieux et Demons is the first English-language edition of Jean-Rene Jannot's highly informative examination of Etruscan religion. Jannot tackles this elusive subject within three major constructs - death, ritual, and the nature of the gods - and presents recent discoveries in an accessible format. Jane K. Whitehead's translation updates Jannot's innovative text and introduces readers of all types - students, scholars, and the general audience - to this thorough overview of ancient Etruscan beliefs, including the afterlife, funerary customs, and mythology. Provocative insights and thoughtful discussions contribute to an understanding of the prophetic nature of Etruscan culture. Jannot investigates the elaborate systems of defining space and time that so distinctly characterize this ancient society. Jannot offers a unique perspective that illuminates the origins of some of our own modern religious beliefs. This updated edition includes more than 100 illustrations that depict early temples, statues, mirrors, tablets, and sculptures.

An Example of Preclassic Mayan Writing?

Archaeological discoveries at San Bartolo, Guatemala, have provided a rich trove of information about Maya culture. Painted hieroglyphs in an early temple at this site suggest that Mayan writing had developed by 200 to 300 B.C.