This dissertation explores the ethics and norms associated with contracting in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt as a contribution to the institutional study of ancient contract and its relationship to the economic history of the Roman world. Although ancient contracts in the Hellenistic tradition (i.e., non-Roman law contracts) have been studied rigorously from a legal perspective, there has been no systematic study of contract as an economic institution in the eastern half of the ancient Mediterranean. The first three chapters argue that such a study is a historical desideratum and seek to establish the theoretical and methodological basis and scope of such a project. Theoretically, the most decisive factor in determining the nature, extent, and success of contract as an economic institution is actual enforcement, as opposed to mere legal "enforceability." While the modern (Western) state has been justly credited with having had a transformative effect on contract by publishing clear rules (i.e., contract law) and providing effective "third-party" enforcement, even modern contracts depend on the enforcement activities of the individual parties and the power of social norms. Historically, there is no question that the ancient state, Rome included, was less invested and less effective in its support and promotion of private contracting than its modern counterparts. Ethics and norms therefore played a larger and more important role in ancient contracting than they have in the last century and as such need to be studied in their own right. The nature of the project also argues for Egypt being the primary locus of study, since the papyri afford us the most complete access to ancient individuals and organizations using contracts to organize transactions. After the theoretical and methodological discussion, there follow explorations of several important social values and norms with respect to contracting in Graeco-Roman Egypt, including trust (pistis), "respect" (eugnōmosynē), and "breach." The results show how "personal" contracting was and reveal some of the ways in which individuals bridged the inevitable "trust gaps" in their efforts to build credible commitments with those outside the immediate circle of their trusted intimates. It also illuminates the discourse of reputation, a key lever in ancient contract formation and enforcement. Finally, the notion of breach is shown to have become both more common and to have evolved conceptually in written contracts over time. It is argued that these changes in the idea and drafting of breach should be interpreted in light of a larger pattern of historical and legal development spanning the second century BCE to the second century CE, a period which witnessed an increasing "moralization" of contract, itself an adaptation to an enforcement regime heavily dependent on ethics and norms. The last chapter offers a synthesis of the findings and a prospectus of the next phase of the project, which turns to the role of the state, arguing that it was generally more effective and activist than the current opinion allows.

Before the mid-1980s Lambayeque style artifacts were often mislabeled in museums, private collections and catalogues as representative of the Chimú style. This “Chimuization” (Zevallos Quiñones 1971) of Lambayeque style objects was symptomatic of long-standing confusion between the two sets of material culture, which are now better defined thanks to ongoing archaeological projects in the north coast regions of Peru where the objects were produced. The semblance between these artistic traditions, which was responsible for their initial classificatory muddling, is often mentioned anecdotally in works concerning the late Middle Horizon and Late Intermediate Periods of Andean prehistory during which the styles flourished. The exact nature of the relationship between them, however, awaits a thorough, directed study. This dissertation aims to address this lacuna in pre-Columbian art historical scholarship by means of a comparative iconographic analysis focused on a specific type of figural imagery that was ubiquitous in each corpus and associated with institutions of divinely sanctioned rulership. The primary sample of images compiled and reviewed by this project is limited by medium to those found on ceramic vessels. Ultimately, however, iconographic representations and objects of ritual use in various media are positioned as different facets of the same overarching aesthetic concept, offering one possible model for interpreting the visualization of divine rulership in ancient cultures more generally.

The impact of Roman power on the pre-existing administrative and economic systems of the conquered provinces has been a significant issue of scholarly debate for decades. In the last two decades attention has shifted from the idea of Romanization as a top-down phenomenon to a much more articulated process, in which the element of cultural interaction between the conquering power and the conquered populations was central and led to the creation of locally hybrid cultural forms. This dissertation analyzes the ways in which local cultures and identities interacted with Roman ones in the years between Attalus III’s testament and the end of the Flavian age. I chose to focus my research on these centuries as they include four key moments for the Provincia Asia: 1) the moment of its institution in 129/6 BC with the related issues due to Aristonicus’ rebellion and the necessity of establishing effective provincial administrative and economic structures; 2) the years between the Mithridatic wars and Caesar, when the province spiraled into debt and the Asian monetary system had to adapt to the extra taxation requested by Sulla and then to the change in the role of the societates publicanorum, who were deprived of the farming of the decuma by Caesar; 3) the years of the Civil War between Antony and Octavian and its aftermath, which gave increasing importance to the conventus and to the introduction of Roman currency into the province, both in the circulating monetary pool and as an account unit; 4) the post-Augustan age, which saw an increasing standardization in the ‘local’ monetary systems of the province, with respect to both silver and bronze coinage, and the final ‘victory’ of the conventus over the pre-existing administrative structures, as shown by the fact that even municipal taxation and local cults were by then organized according to the conventus system. The model of ‘middle-ground imperialism’ is useful for understanding the process of progressive standardization of Asian administrative structures and monetary system, not as a top-down process but rather as a bilateral interaction between Roman and local cultures, as I have shown in the case of the progressive standardization of Asian provincial administrative structures (Chapters 1 and 2) and monetary systems (Chapters 3, 4, 5, 6). According to this research the transformative age for the Romanization of the Provincia Asia was not the Augustan Age, but the Second Triumviral Age. The main heuristic tools for drafting the picture of the administrative and economic life of Provincia Asia are a database of Asian civic issues (both silver and bronze) between 133 BC and AD 96 that I have constructed out of the data in BMC, SNG Copenhagen and SNG Deutschlands – van Aulock (for pre-Antonian issues) and in RPC I-II (from Mark Antony up to the Flavians), and three epigraphic databases that include the epigraphic attestations of denarii, assaria and drachmae in the province of Asia between the 2nd century BC and the 2nd century AD, for a total of 372 inscriptions. All these databases are included here as Appendices (I – X).

This dissertation analyzes the performance of rabbinic expertise in the cultivation of donor and social networks in late antiquity. Through analysis of narrative depictions of rabbis and donors in Palestinian Rabbinic literature, I illustrate the social relationships created and maintained through gift-giving. I argue the rabbis used social networks to cultivate the legitimacy of the rabbinic project, facilitated by the authorizing power of donations. I demonstrate how donations to rabbis served as a means of legitimizing the rabbinic office as they formed into a self-conscious guild whose authority rested on the performance of expertise. These donations were not so simply received, however, as the rabbis disdained reciprocal forms of patronage associated with the broader Roman empire. Therefore, I demonstrate how the rabbis drew from systems of donation in the biblical text in order to assuage the association of their donors with formal patronage. In drawing from the biblical system and applying to their own historical times, the rabbis blended the gift types of tithes, charity, benefaction, and patronage. In this way, narrative accounts of tithes, charity, and informal gifts to rabbis can be read for the dynamics of reciprocal expectations sometimes encoded in the narrative account. With careful attention to rabbinic exegetical strategies, I trace the reception of biblical ideas about giving to their manifestation within the particular context of Roman Syria Palaestina.

Chan, Tze Wai. / "August 2011." / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstract --- p.ii / List of Illustrations --- p.iv / Note on Abbreviation --- p.v / Chapter Chapter 1: --- Prologue --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter 2: --- Homeric War and the Greek Military Culture --- p.12 / Homeric Age and the Study of Greek Warfare --- p.12 / Metallurgy --- p.18 / The Inception of the Greek Way of War --- p.30 / The Idea of Warfare --- p.44 / Chapter Chapter 3: --- The Emergence of the Greek Way --- p.52 / The Hoplite Warfare and the Greek Essences --- p.52 / Homeric Tradition and Hoplite Warfare --- p.59 / Encountering Foreigners --- p.73 / The Greek Way of War --- p.87 / Chapter Chapter 4: --- The Transformation of Greek Warfare --- p.92 / The Legacy of the Persian Wars --- p.92 / The Introduction of New Elements --- p.98 / Response of the Hoplite Tradition --- p.113 / Militarization of the Greek Way --- p.121 / Chapter Chapter 5: --- Epilogue --- p.130 / Bibliography --- p.133

Tibaat is a Preclassic and Classic period Maya residential complex located in Pulltrouser Swamp, a raised- and drained-field agricultural site in the Orange Walk district of northern Belize. The swamp's relic agricultural system and adjacent settlement areas, including Tibaat were investigated by a two-year National Science Foundation-supported archaeological project, the first intensive examination of the cultural remains and ecology of a large Prehispanic Maya wetland farming system Mapping and excavation at Tibaat's seven occupation groups revealed a combination of traits unique among lowland Maya settlements documented to date, including extremely economical domestic construction and an unusual segmented distribution pattern. Excavation also revealed an almost exclusively utilitarian ceramic inventory, a probably agrarian-associated lithic complex, and evidence for long-term Classic period residential continuity of Maya social groups Tibaat's unusual settlement character is significant because of its association with the raised- and drained-fields in Pulltrouser East and the swamp-wide subsistence system of which they were a part. Archaeological evidence suggests that the swamp's planting platforms were part of a large Classic period intensive agricultural system distributed through much of the eastern lowland wetlands. Productivity data from modern mesoamerican aboriginal and experimental raised-field complexes suggests that this large farming system may have provided significant amounts of food for residents of the eastern lowlands, perhaps supporting several hundred thousand inhabitants in the Late Classic period when the system was probably at its peak. Because of its potential productivity this widespread intensive agricultural system provides new perspectives on issues concerning prehispanic Maya society, such as cultural origins, ecology, settlement structure, trade, and the Classic collapse / acase@tulane.edu

The present study is an attempt to isolate the structure and the developmental periods of the Olmec representational system. A systemic view and comparative analysis of this art yielded a breakdown of its component parts, established their range of variability, and provided an understanding about their articulation. Recurrent patterns of articulation revealed the major themes of the system. The term Olmec is limited to a specific art style, and not to the civilization The human form was the system's underlying form. Three main themes, or iconic complexes, emerged: the realistic Baby Face, the composite anthropomorph, and the composite zoomorph. Each theme showed specific associated motifs which, in some cases, were shared by the other two. The fundamental structure underlying the entire system is dual, one determining the naturalistic expression and the other the composite expression The temporal sequence of the Olmec representational system may be divided into three major periods. Olmec I (1200-1000 B.C.) is characterized by the presence of the composite zoomorph iconic complex, and by hollow and solid clay figurines depicting individuals with the realistic Baby Face type of visage. Monumental sculptures were apparently carved during the second half of the period. Olmec II (1000-700 B.C) is characterized by the appearance of the composite anthropomorph and its associated symbols. Portable carving was introduced in the form of realistic Baby Face individuals, the composite anthropomorph, stone copies of utilitarian objects and objects of adornment. New forms such as seated realistic Baby Face figures holding the composite anthropomorph and the same individuals dressed as the composite anthropomorph are added to the extant inventory of altars and colossal heads. Beginning at about 700 B.C., new forms and stylistic aspects are introduced into the system without significantly altering its structure, establishing the Modified Olmec period (700-400 B.C.). Composite representation related to serpent and avian pars pro toto elements became dominant. The realistic Baby Face individual is replaced by one with plain realistic features, the focus of representations carved on rock outcroppings, stelae, or painted on walls. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) / acase@tulane.edu

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Classical Languages and Literatures, June 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 205-210). Also available on the Internet.

I am interested in locating assumptions about democracy and logos in the Greek democratic city-state which have been carried over into the modern, democratic national-state. The assumptions, I argue, offer insights into the hegemonic view among rhetoricians that antagonistic rhetoric is inappropriate in our contemporary democracies. In Chapters One and Two, I analyze the development of democracy in Ancient Greece in order to uncover the assumptions upon which that system was based. I argue that these assumptions are dominated by what I call "the ideology of sovereign right." In Chapter Three, I illustrate how this ideology has been carried over into contemporary treatments of democratic argumentation that have had influence in the field of rhetoric and composition. I argue that the Western tradition has privileged and continues to privilege the Aristotelian logic of non-contradiction, and thus, has left no legitimate place for antagonistic rhetoric. In Chapter Four, I return to ancient Greece to investigate the struggle over the construction of the rational that took shape in pre-Socratic philosophy. I argue that prior to the Socratics, another treatment of rationality developed, one based on the logic of contradiction, which provides a place in rhetoric for antagonism. In Chapter Five, I argue that dialectical materialism, as opposed to Aristotelian dialectics and post-structuralist notions of rationality, challenges the ideology of sovereign right embedded in democratic systems. In the Epilogue, I comment on the significance of this argument for the field of Rhetoric and Composition.

Zhoukoudian Locality 15 is one of the most important Paleolithic sites in North China. It plays an essential role in assessing Pleistocene hominid adaptation and behavior, and defining Paleolithic cultural/technological traditions and transitions in North China and greater East Asia. However, the paucity of published original research hinders the accessibility of this rich archaeological collection and forces many discussions concerning this locality speculative and far-fetched. This dissertation makes a comprehensive study of this site and the rich data-set from it. Major topics covered by this study includeGeology, stratigraphy, chronology, paleoenvironmental reconstruction, lithic analysis, and a discussion of the current practice and theoretical framework of Paleolithic research in China. The centerpiece of the study is lithic analysis, including artifact typology and variability, core reduction, tool retouch and modification, and raw material exploitation and economy. Through these analyses, a series of theoretical and empirical questions are addressed, such as the nature of stone tool variability at the site, the capability and preferences of the Locality 15 hominids in handling the available raw materials and modifying lithic tools, the restrictions of raw materials placed on stone tool technology and stylistic features, the interaction between nature and hominids at the site, and the proper placement of the Locality 15 industry in Paleolithic cultural traditions and developments in North China. This study found that sophisticated direct hard hammer percussion was employed as the principal flaking technique to exploit vein quartz at the site, which is very distinctive from the Sinanthropus industry at Zhoukoudian Locality 1. However, the presence of Levallois technology at the site, as often mentioned, cannot be verified by this study. The dominant tool type is simply modified sidescrapers. The stone tools' informal features, minimal modification, and variability in morphology and edge are perceived as closely related to raw material quality and availability and mainly the function of the original blank forms. The Locality 15 materials are also recognized as a direct challenge to the scheme of identifying a three-stage cultural transitions and models classifying distinct Paleolithic technological traditions currently prevail in North China and East Asia.