Across the Anatolian Plateau: Readings in the Archaeology of Ancient Turkey.

• Author: van den Hout, Theo
• Position: Book review

Across the Anatolian Plateau: Readings in the Archaeology of Ancient Turkey. Edited by DAVID C. HOPKINS. Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research, vol. 57 (2000). Atlanta: AMERICAN SCHOOLS OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH, 2002. Pp. ix + 209, illus.

This volume contains a combination of articles previously published in two issues of the quarterly Biblical Archaeologist as well as new essays specifically written for this collection. The Biblical Archaeologist (BA) issues dealt mostly with Anatolia of the Hittite period. The first of these came out in 1989 (and not 1986 as given by Hopkins in his preface, p. ix) and was a theme number guest-edited by Ronald Gorny (BA 52.2-3, June/September 1989) under the title "Reflections of a Late Bronze Age Empire: The Hittites." It contained introductions for a wider audience to "the archaeology and history of Anatolia ... relatively unknown to those outside the field" (BA 52.2-3 p. 59). The articles on the interplay between environment, archaeology, and history written by Gorny himself, political-military history of the Hittite kingdom and empire by Gregory McMahon, Hittite literature by Ahmed Unal, and Hittite religion by Gary Beckman have been included in the present volume. For reasons not stated, the contribution on "Hittite Art" by Jeanny Vorys Canby has been left out. Updates on these articles are mostly stylistic (e.g., active constructions instead of passive ones) and bibliographical. Only the essay on literature by Ahmet Unal has been more extensively revised and expanded. The original BA issue was one of the first "glossy" and more popular magazines to present a coherent picture of Hittite history and civilization with well-written essays, beautiful photos, and clear drawings in an attractive layout.

The 1995 issue (BA 58.2; not 1993 as given by Hopkins in his preface, p. ix) with Ronald Gorny again as guest editor, was dedicated to Peter Neve, who in 1993 had resigned as chief excavator at Bogazkoy/Hattusa. Where BA 1989 had tried to give a well-rounded overview of the Hittites and their empire, this one was a more loosely organized tribute. Some of the articles that were included in the present book looked at more general topics like "Plants and People in Ancient Anatolia" (Mark Nesbitt), "Swords, "Armor, and Figurines" on metallurgy in the Late Bronze Age (Aslihan Yener), and "Hittite Pottery and Potters" (Robert Henrickson). The latter article is literally marginal ("a hinterland...