The end of the Middle Bronze Age in Palestine during the 16th century B.C.E. coincides with the expulsion of the Hyksos and the rise of the 18th Dynasty in Egypt. During the transitional period between the Middle Bronze Age and the Late Bronze Age in Palestine (circa. 16th∼15th century B.C.E.), many sites that had enjoyed prosperity in the Middle Bronze Age suffered destruction that was so devastating that they were left abandoned until the Late Bronze Age I period. What exactly happened to cause such prosperous sites to be destroyed and abandoned during the transitional period? To answer this question, we have surveyed Egyptian texts from Ahmose to Thutmosis III and ten key sites: Hazor, Megiddo, Shechem, Shiloh, Jericho, Gezer, Tell Beit Mirsim, Tell el-'Ajjul, Tell el-Far'ah (South) and Tell el-Dab'a (Avaris). The results are as follows: Destruction was observed at all sites with the exception of Megiddo, Tell el-Far'ah (South) and perhaps Tell el-Dab'a, whose graves were thoroughly plundered. There is a consistency in the date of destruction; it occurred in the MB/LB transition while Jericho was destroyed sometime in the Middle Bronze Age. Sites after destruction also show some consistency: They experienced overall collapse as gaps of occupation followed. The fact that Egyptians, led by Ahmose, plundered the graves of Avaris, suggests that the action was punitive. After establishing his campaign residence at Avaris, Ahmose planned to break the power of the Hyksos in southern Palestine and attacked Sharuhen. Thutmosis III's claim that he took 119 cities might not be an exaggeration: His siege of Megiddo lasted seven months, which would have allowed the Egyptians to dispatch auxiliary forces against other cities. After considering various causes that could account for destruction, we have concluded that the only one that can explain why destruction consistently occurred in the same phase, and why gaps of occupation consistently followed destruction, is the Egyptian campaigns.

Jokes were considered low and insignificant in traditional Chinese literature. Ssu-shu hsiao is witty and provocative, different from other conventional and contemporary jestbooks for its parodic relationship with the Four Books, which were the core-texts of Neo-Confucianism and civil service examinations. The purpose of this study is to examine the late Ming jestbook, Ssu-shu hsiao, and analyze its cultural value, sociopolitical implications, and psychological concepts. This dissertation is divided into four chapters. Chapter one contains two important parts: It establishes the ground of historical studies relevant to the significance of the Four Books and Five Classics as well as the tradition of humor and jest. Part two provides an introduction of the text Ssu-shu hsiao and a description of my interpretive strategy. In order to help the reader understand the Chinese and Western theories of humor and literary tropes related to Ssu-shu hsiao, I direct my discussion to the following issues: imitation, allusion, quotation, parody, intertextuality, and paradox. Through the comparison between Ssu-shu hsiao and two other contemporary jestbooks, Hsien-hsien p'ien and Hsiao-fu, we can understand that the jokes of the late Ming were considered as public property used by people regardless of authorship. Chapter two investigates jokes in relation to the civil service examinations. Through examination books in the bookmarkets, we know the commercialized texts available for the prospective examinees; such a cultural phenomenon sheds light on the derailing of educational function from the level of self-cultivation to that of profit-making. The downward transformation of intellectual status from the Sung dynasty to the Ming resulted from defects in various factors. Jokes concerning the examination consisted of those making fun of the forms and contents of the eight-legged essays. The methods that enable one to become an expert of this type of prose include the memorization of the Four Books, Five Classics, and their commentaries, imitating the words and teachings of ancient sage-kings. Chapter three deals with the Sung-Ming pedagogical authority, Neo-Confucianism or the so-called "True Way Learning," and its activity of "learning by discussion" (chiang-hs Ueh). The factional disputes, philosophical debates, and the problem of legitimacy are signaled by the jokes targeting the Ch'eng Brothers and Chu Hsi. The equalization of the scholars of "True Way Learning" and "mountain-recluse" ("shan-jen") was an indication of the decline of intellectual status in the late Ming. Chapter four discusses gender and sexuality in the bawdy jokes of Ssu-shu hsiao. Dirty jokes expose the conflict of moral principle and pleasure-pursuit. The male jokesters manipulated gender stereotypes humorously by which we can probe into the problems such as the practice of concubinage, the remarriage of widows, and female same-sex relationship and adultery. Joking on male same-sex sexuality is also discussed. A conclusion recapitulates the key issues of the previous chapters.

Recent deconstructionist trends within Syro-Palestinian archaeology and biblical studies have now converged on the Israelite Monarchy causing two major ceramic reappraisals of the Iron Age I and II Periods. The result is a proposal for a new low chronology in Syro-Palestinian archaeology. These trends are creating more problems than they are solving by naively assuming ceramic change was consistent throughout Syro-Palestine and manipulating the archaeological data to fit the new models. The dissertation addresses the radical archaeological and historical reconstructions of the current trend by focusing on the Iron Age I-II transition in the northern parts of the Philistine coast and Shephelah (foothills)--Aijalon Valley Region. Excavations at Tel Miqne-Ekron provide new evidence for an evaluation of recent chronological proposals and aide in the development of a ceramic corpus of the Aijalon Valley Region. As a border site between the coastal region and the hills, Tel Miqne is an important site to isolate and compare regional variations and the complex socioeconomic variables that pattern the archaeological record. The dissertation is divided into three parts. Part I includes a review of current work in Syro-Palestinian Iron Age research and an overview of ceramic theory development. Part II contains the core database: (1) development of the Tel Miqne Stratum IV typology, and (2) a comparanda, with other sites in the region and attempt to isolate the chronological and spatial patterns of the Iron Age transition (11/10th century B.C.E.). Part III contains the results and interpretations. This study concludes that: (1) ceramic change is not chronologically homogeneous and therefore regional variation must be incorporated in all ceramic analyses; (2) the proposed new Low Chronology for the Iron Age in the southern Levant cannot be supported by the archaeological evidence; and (3) the Aijalon Valley Region reflects the complexity of the Iron Age transition as many ethnic elements and political groups vied for control of the important crossroads and access to coastal ports.

This paper proposes a plan for an archaeological survey of the ancient Greek city of Tegea, in Arcadia. Excavations at the temple of Athena Alea in Tegea have uncovered evidence of cult practice that extends into the tenth century BC, which provides the basis for further archaeological investigation. An archaeological survey would connect known developments within the religious sphere to developments in the social and political spheres of the surrounding territory. The survey will be an intensive, pedestrian, and all-period survey, will follow the methodology of the Cambridge/Bradford Boeotian Expedition, and will use computer databases and GIS. From the diachronic changes in settlement pattern discovered, we can infer the answers to questions regarding the social, political and economic structures in all periods from the Neolithic to modern times. The materials collected by the survey will provide opportunities for research beyond their immediate usefulness to the survey itself.

<p>This dissertation examines the role of Gregory I (r. 590-604 CE) in developing permanent ecclesiastical institutions under the authority of the Bishop of Rome to feed and serve the poor and the socio-political world in which he did so. Gregory's work was part culmination of pre-existing practice, part innovation. I contend that Gregory transformed fading, ancient institutions and ideas&mdash;the Imperial <i>annona</i>, the monastic soup kitchen-hospice or <i>xenodochium</i>, Christianity's "collection for the saints," Christian <i>caritas</i> more generally and Greco-Roman <i> euergetism</i>&mdash;into something distinctly ecclesiastical, indeed "papal." Although Gregory has long been closely associated with charity, few have attempted to unpack in any systematic way what Gregorian charity might have looked like in practical application and what impact it had on the Roman Church and the Roman people. I believe that we can see the contours of Gregory's initiatives at work and, at least, the faint framework of an organized system of ecclesiastical charity that would emerge in clearer relief in the eighth and ninth centuries under Hadrian I (r. 772-795) and Leo III (r. 795-816). Gregory's efforts at caritative organization had significant implications. This dissertation argues that Gregory's response to poverty and want in Rome from 590 to 604 CE permanently altered the trajectories of both ecclesiastical charity and the office that came to oversee its administration. </p>

<p> Rediscovered in the 1930s by the Mantle family, Mantle's Cave contained excellently preserved feather bundles, a feather headdress, moccasins, a deer-scalp headdress, baskets, stone tools, and other perishable goods. From the start of excavations, Mantle's Cave appeared to display influences from both Fremont and Ancestral Puebloan peoples, leading Burgh and Scoggin to determine that the cave was used by Fremont people displaying traits heavily influenced by Basketmaker peoples. Researchers have analyzed the baskets, cordage, and feather headdress in the hopes of obtaining both radiocarbon dates and clues as to which culture group used Mantle's Cave. This thesis attempts to derive the cultural influence of the artifacts from Mantle's Cave by analyzing the feathers. This analysis includes data from comparative cave sites displaying cultural, temporal, or site-type similarities to Mantle's Cave. In addition to the archaeological data, ethnographic data concerning how Great Basin, Southwest, Great Plains, and northern Mexican peoples conceive of and use feathers will be included. Lastly, theoretical perspectives on agency, symbolism, and the transmission of cultural traditions will be used in an effort to interpret the data collected herein.</p>

<p> Land and water use at archaeological sites is a growing field of study within Mesoamerican archaeology. In Mesoamerica, similar to elsewhere in the world, landscapes were settled based partially upon the characteristics of the environment and the types of food and water resources available. Across Mesoamerica, landscape concepts were also important to religious beliefs and ritual activity in a manner that may have had the potential to influence the power dynamics of a site. This thesis focuses on the management of water at the site of Takalik Abaj in Guatemala during the Middle to Late Preclassic periods (c. 1000 B.C. - A.D. 250) in order to analyze potential ritual and political functions of the water management system. Using spatial data within GIS, this thesis examines the flow of water across the site as directed by its topographical features. The archaeological record of Takalik Abaj and comparisons to water management systems at other Mesoamerican sites are also used to investigate the functions of the water management system. Thesis findings suggest that the water management system of Takalik Abaj was multi-faceted and that ritual functions tied to the control of water may have contributed to the identities and power of the elite.</p>

<p> This thesis establishes a link between conceptions of female virtue and the practice of veiling by women from ancient to medieval times in the Mediterranean region. This is evidenced by the consistent advocacy and prescription of veiling in ancient and medieval theological texts, including Jewish, Christian, Zoroastrian, and Islamic texts. Veiling practices are shown to have a religious foundation, grounded in the ideas of honor and virtue. These notions were reflected in society over time with veiled aristocratic noblewomen and unveiled marginalized classes. While acknowledging class-based theories of female veiling, the thesis concentrates on the religious factors for veiling, particularly for medieval Muslim societies. The argument of this thesis is that while veiling did not originate in Islamic societies, Muslims validated the practice through their own literature and laws. The paper also includes evidence of female seclusion, which co-exists with the spread in the practice of veiling by women. </p>

<p> Because of the lack of provenance or accompanying text, the depictions of anthropomorphized animals on ancient Egyptian New Kingdom ostraca and papyri have long puzzled Egyptologists. Attempts to understand the ostraca usually focus on the role reversals where predatory animals serve their natural prey, which is evident in some of the motifs. Some scholars have suggested that these images are satirical and served as an outlet for mocking elite society. However, their social and cultural context, which has not been thoroughly explored until this dissertation, shows that it is unlikely that the images were considered to be negatively charged social satire. Rather, it is more likely that they were envisioned as humorous parodies of primarily elite imagery that were produced by individuals who considered themselves to be elite as well. "Anthropomorphized Animal Imagery on New Kingdom Ostraca and Papyri: Their Artistic and Social Significance" is also the first time the vignettes are given a full art historical treatment in which the formal qualities of the drawings are studied and evaluated. As a result, this dissertation addresses the aesthetic value of these drawings in ancient Egypt, which will be of interest to the discipline of art history on more general terms as well. Another section of this dissertation discusses the narrative potential of the papyri and ostraca on which these anthropomorphized images are drawn. Though the narrative qualities of these images have been discussed before, this dissertation addresses the broader concerns of visual narrative construction in ancient Egyptian art, which has thus far been given little scholarly attention. The figured ostraca and papyri on which these anthropomorphized animals are drawn show that visual narrative construction in ancient Egypt is not necessarily linear and sequential, but can also embody fluid, and more open-ended narrative constructions that is evident in not only the decorative programs of elite tombs, but in written ancient Egyptian literature as well.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--The University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / (UMI)AAI3266946. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-05, Section: A, page: 2017. Adviser: Thomas G. Palaima.