Ritual, performance, and politics in the ancient Near East /
Ristvet, Lauren,author.
"In this book, Lauren Ristvet rethinks the narratives of state formation by investigating the interconnections between ritual, performance, and politics in the ancient Near East. She draws on a wide range of archaeological, iconographic, and cuneiform sources to show how ritual performance was not set apart from the real practice of politics; it was politics. Rituals provided an opportunity for elites and ordinary people to negotiate political authority. Descriptions of rituals from three periods explore the networks of signification that informed different societies."--Provided by publisher.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
I. Performing politics -- Politics and ritual in the past and present -- The 2500 year celebration at Persepolis -- French Revolution -- Royal processions in Majapahit -- The Fiesta de Santa Fe -- Maya ancestors and patron deities -- Ritual, religion, and practice -- Performative traces -- Movement, history, and tradition -- II. Movement -- An event that models : the Ebla coronation ritual -- Movement and perception -- Kingdoms, cities, artisans, and officials -- Borders, city walls, and open spaces -- Limiting access -- Inclusive spaces -- Beyond the city -- Collective representations: pilgrimages and political power -- Pilgrimages and sacred journeys at Ebla -- The archaeology of pilgrimage at Ebla -- The Syrian ritual -- Materialized symbols : cult centers in the countryside -- Gre Virike -- Hazna -- Jebelet al-Beda -- Tell Banat -- Actors, audience, and mise-en-scene : pilgrimage centers? -- Constructing kingdoms -- Death, ancestors, and power -- Conclusion: Urban spaces, pilgrimage networks and the rise of political complexity -- III. Memory -- An event that presents : the Feast of Istar and the Kispum ritual -- Memory, mourning, and legitimacy -- Political instability -- Tribal politics -- The dynamics of resettlement -- History and the politics of emplacement -- Middle Bronze Age economics -- Collective representations : the past in the past -- Literature, history, and the ancestors -- Divine will and divinationtoc-entry -- Materialized symbols : death, ritual and the authority of the past in daily life -- The archaeology of death and ritual -- Ancestors, monuments and politics -- The past, heirlooms and legitimacy -- Actors, audience, and mise-en-scene : ancestors, tribes and politics -- Kings and the politics of commemoration -- Tribes, towns, councils, and ancestors -- Conclusion: Mourning and memory -- IV. Tradition -- An event that re-presents : the Akitu Festival -- Invented traditions -- Hellenistic Babylonia -- The city and countryside -- Settlement, irrigation, and trade -- Seleucid urbanism -- Domestic practices -- Consuming empire? : pottery and foodways -- Figurines and domestic life -- Coins, debt, and payment -- Collective representations : scholarly texts, history, and the transmission of knowledge -- Preserving scholarly knowledge -- Astrology, astronomy, and history -- Materialized symbols : temples and tradition -- Rebuilding the temple -- The temple, the assembly, and civil authority -- Archives, administration, and community -- Actors, audience, and mise-en-scene : kings, priests, and festivals -- Conclusion: Performing tradition -- Community -- Performance and public events in the ancient Near East -- Performing community -- States and instability -- Political strategies -- Continuity.
"In this book, Lauren Ristvet rethinks the narratives of state formation by investigating the interconnections between ritual, performance, and politics in the ancient Near East. She draws on a wide range of archaeological, iconographic, and cuneiform sources to show how ritual performance was not set apart from the real practice of politics; it was politics. Rituals provided an opportunity for elites and ordinary people to negotiate political authority. Descriptions of rituals from three periods explore the networks of signification that informed different societies."--Provided by publisher.
Ritual
Rites and ceremonies
Political culture
Pilgrims and pilgrimages
Political customs and rites
Festivals
Social archaeology