Altorientalische Kleinfunde.

• Author: Brown, Brian
• Position: Book review

Altorientalische Kleinfunde. By EVA STROMMENGER and PETER A. MIGLUS. Ausgrabungen in Tall Bi'a/Tuttul, vol. 5. Wissenschaftliche Veroffentlichungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft, vol. 126. Wiesbaden: HARRASSOWITZ VERLAG, 2010. Pp. ix + 323, plates. [euro]98.

The latest installment of the excavation reports of the German-Syrian archaeological project at the third-second millennium B.C.E. settlement of Tell Bi'a (ancient Tuttul) in Syria presents the small finds. Previously published volumes have focused on the architecture and stratigraphy, texts, and seals, while an upcoming publication will cover the ceramics. The present volume 5 collects and presents full information on small objects manufactured from clay/terracotta, stone, metal, bone/ivory, and various other materials. An introduction, two bibliographies, a catalog of published objects ordered by find numbers, and, of course, copious illustrations round out the publication.

Excavation director Eva Strommenger and several of her colleagues take the reader through chapter 2, devoted to the clay/terracotta objects, perhaps the most interesting category of artifacts due to its size, diversity, and issues of interpretation. The objects are presented in a standard typological format. encompassing the categories of anthropomorphic and theriomorphic figurines, models of wagons/chariots, daily objects and architecture, musical instruments like pipes, incense burners, utensils like baking plates, and, interestingly, several model livers that apparently report the results of actual hepatoscopies. The typological division of these objects generally makes sense, though as is often the case, there are outliers that don't fit in the group to which they are assigned (e.g., the figurine in Taf. 7.15 looks different stylistically from the other exemplars in its group, K2a: Group K6, to take another example. seems to be a grab-bag).

Even after the extensive excavation at the site, the chronology of the figurines and possible changes between the Early Dynastic and Akkadian periods remain problematic (p. 5). This is unfortunate, because this kind of everyday object--with its various different manufacturing techniques and stylistic groupings--might be sensitive enough to provide some indication as to whether or not the material culture changed noticeably in the wake of the appearance of an expansive and militarily dominant power.

Small but interesting discussions appear throughout the text raising...