This thesis examines the potential of semantic web technologies to support and complement scholarship in Assyriology. Building on prior research, it is unique in its assessment of the suitability of three existing OWL ontologies (CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model, FRBRoo and Ontomedia) to adequately capture and represent the heterogeneous and incomplete narratives published as composites by the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature. Its agenda sits firmly within the interdisciplinary context of the Digital Humanities and Web Science, and it describes a process centered on the development, implementation and valuation of an ontological representation system (mORSuL), designed to reflect the needs, desires, challenges and opportunities of Assyriological research paradigms. Underlying the process are two fundamental assumptions: firstly, that semantic technologies can be used to support academic endeavours in the Humanities, and secondly, that the benefits of doing so can be identified and evaluated. The thesis culminates in the conclusion that these existing ontologies are mostly suitable for the representation of the narrative content of these ancient texts, requiring only a few additions and changes.

This thesis has attempted a reconstruction of Sennacherib’s campaign against Judah in 701. The purpose of this resconstruction has not been to reach a definitive picture of the events of 701 but rather to come to the best possible hypothesis based upon a wide study of the relevant texts. The best historical hypothesis concerning what happened in 701 must attempt to give equal weight to each piece of evidence in each relevant area, whether literary or archaeological. My justification for returning to this much-discussed area therefore is that previous scholarship has failed to meet this criterion for giving the best historical hypothesis. Over the course of my investigation I examined the relevant Assyrian inscriptions, not merely those relating to the third campaign, and the purported instances of biblical evidence, as well as engaging with archaeological and literary considerations. I showed that the most important theories offered up to this point each contradict or contend with an important piece of contrary evidence. Then, I suggested a view of my own which is, as far as possible, commensurate with all the evidence available.

The main purpose of this work is to present short biographical accounts of the lives of the scholars who were either natives of or visitors to Nishapur from the beginning of the eighth century to the first quarter of the thirteenth century.

xx, 404 p. : ill. A print copy of this title is available through the UO Libraries under the call number: KNIGHT DS911.72.K36 1995 / This dissertation is concerned with the formation of the Silla Kingdom, a protohistoric state located in the southeastern portion of the Korean peninsula. Combining theoretical issues and empirical data concerning state formation, I present a case study of how one prime mover, warfare, played a role in the formation of the Silla Kingdom between the first and fifth centuries A.D. Two hypotheses associated with the significance of warfare were formulated and tested against both historical and archaeological data. To examine alternative models about the role of irrigation works and long-distance exchange in the development of the Silla Kingdom, I analyzed relevant historical documents, stelae, and selected archaeological data. Both documentary and archaeological data suggest that irrigation works and long-distance exchange were not sufficiently influential to claim critical roles in the emergence of the state in southeastern Korea. To test hypotheses formulated about the role of warfare, a number of bronze and iron weapons excavated from burials in southeastern Korea were quantified and analyzed in conjunction with data on wars mentioned in the historical documents. In particular, an analysis of empirical data on various kinds of metal weapons that probably were used in battles strongly supports the premise that warfare was a significant factor in the state formation process of the Silla Kingdom between the first and fifth centuries. Both historical and archaeological sources also reveal that there was a continuous local indigenous development from lower-level sociopolitical stages to higher-level ones in southeastern Korea, finally dominated by the Silla kingdom. Furthermore, based upon the results of mortuary analysis, I conclude that the Silla Kingdom became a state-level society sometime between the middle of the fourth and the beginning of the fifth centuries during the reign of King Naemul (356-402 A.D.). / Committee in charge: Dr. C. Melvin Aikens, Chair; Dr. Vernon Dorjahn; Dr. William S. Ayres; Dr. William G. Loy

The primary objective of this creative project is the exploration of Korean celadon pottery. This unassuming style of pottery has been highly revered in Asian cultures and has been called the "first under heaven" by the Chinese scholar Hsu Ching (Covall 46). But for Westerners, little is known. This makes the unique features of Korean celadon pottery a subject worthy of study, particularly the celadon vessels of the Koryo Dynasty.For this research, I first studied the Goryeo or Koryo Dynasty (918-1392 A.D.) during which time Korean celadon was revealed, developed to its zenith and declined. Secondly, I concentrated on the clay body, the style and shape, and the glaze and decorating techniques used in celadon vessels of the Koryo Dynasty.As a result of this study I have used the knowledge gained to 1). develop a body of pottery work which will incorporate Korean type clay, celadon glaze and the decorating techniques of incising, relief, impressed designs, inlay and carving or open work. 2). I have produced a disciplined-based art education curriculum which can be used in teaching advanced ceramics (10th-12th grades) high school level. / Department of Art

xvi, 341 p. : ill. A print copy of this title is available through the UO Libraries under the call number: KNIGHT GN855.K6 R6 1997 / The primary purpose of this dissertation is to reconstruct sociocultural development in the North Han River Valley in Korea during the prehistoric and proto historic periods ( ca 6000 B .C.-A.D. 300). Based on theoretical ideas about the close relationship between cultural behavior and the natural environment as well as synthetical observation of archaeological data in the North Han River Valley, I have proposed the following testable hypothesis in regard to 'sociocultural development in the North Han River Valley : that its unique ecosystem brought about a subsistence pattern unique to the region. The North Han River Valley's specific geographical formation, connected with the Lower Han River Basin by way of the river system, brought it under the crucial influence of the latter's more advanced cultural elements. The circumscribed environment derived from the distinctively developed geomophological formation of the North Han River Valley influenced autochthonous sociocultural development in the region. Enumerating the most basic factors, the affluent riverine resources of the Valley enabled Chiilmun period inhabitants be heavily dependent on riverine fishing supplemented by the hunting and gathering of wild vegetation. Riverine fishing as well as hunting and gathering richly supplemented the agrarian economy which became dominant in the Valley after the appearance ofMumun people in later prehistoric times. Due to population saturation of limited arable lands, Mumun agrarian people became increasingly circumscribed and could not evolve into a state-level society. In association with this factor, the geographical proximity of the Valley to the Lower Han River inevitably brought it under the influence of advanced cultures emerging in the Lower Han River Basin. This process, which began in the later Mumun period, actually has continued to the present, passing through the protohistoric State Formation period and Paekche kingdom. / Committee in charge: Dr. C. Melvin Aikens, Chair; Dr. Song Nai Rhee; Dr. William S. Ayres; Dr. William G. Loy; Dr. Philip Young

No description available.

Iran, a country rich in mineral resources, has a long history of metal working. Copper objects first appeared in the 7th millennium BC and in the following millennia, copper became the material of choice for the production of many objects. Artefacts of iron began to appear in the mid 2nd millennium BC and by the mid 1st, iron had replaced bronze for most uses, but the reasons for this change remain unclear. This thesis seeks to examine the transition from bronze to iron metallurgy from a new angle. By looking at changes in copper-based metallurgy between the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, it attempts to better understand the context in which iron metallurgy developed. To that end, the results of previously published chemical analyses of over 5000 copper-based objects from Iran and neighbouring regions and the lead isotope analyses of about 380 objects were assembled in a database. The tin, arsenic, nickel, antimony and silver concentrations in particular are studied. The data is divided into 16 metal groups based on the absence or presence of the latter four elements. The study of the main groups allows us to describe interesting new patterns of metal movement and recycling. It appears that before the end of the Bronze Age, a number of copper sources and/or trade routes from both east and west declined, leading to a reliance on more local sources for copper and tin in the Iron Age. The practice of recycling from the 3rd millennium BC onward is also evidenced. Overall, it seems that iron appeared within a thriving bronze industry, with a good access to metal resources and a developed understanding of the possibilities offered by copper (alloying, recycling, mixing…). Was it then the more ‘permanent’ nature of iron that attracted the ancient metal-workers and led to its advent?

No description available.

No description available.