LibGuides: Archaeology: Background Information

About Background Information

Finding background information at the beginning of your research will help you find pertinent scholarly sources and write a more convincing argument. Background information in reference books or databases can provide:

Introduction to key issues
Major dates and events
Quick definitions or descriptions
Keywords and subject-specific vocabulary terms that can be used for database searches
Bibliographies that lead to additional resources.

Reference Sources

e-Reference Books

The Cambridge Companion to the Aegean Bronze Age by Cynthia W. Shelmerdine (Editor)
Publication Date: 2010-11-28
This book is a comprehensive up-to-date survey of the Aegean Bronze Age, from its beginnings to the period following the collapse of the Mycenaean palace system. In essays by leading authorities commissioned especially for this volume, it covers the history and the material culture of Crete, Greece, and the Aegean Islands from c. 3000--1100 BCE, as well as topics such as trade, religions, and economic administration. Intended as a reliable, readable introduction for university students, it will also be useful to scholars in related fields within and outside classics. The contents of this book are arranged chronologically and geographically, facilitating comparison between the different cultures. Within this framework, the cultures of the Aegean Bronze Age are assessed thematically and combine both material culture and social history.
Encyclopedia of Archaeology by Pearsall, D. (ed.)
Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient near East by Potts, D.T. (Ed.)
Overview of ancient material culture in the Near East through Late Antiquity. Features up-to-date surveys and the latest information from major new excavations and includes major reviews of the origins of agriculture, animal domestication, and archaeological landscapes.
Mycenaean Central Greece and the Aegean World by Margaretha Kramer-Hajos
Publication Date: 2016-08-15
In this book, Kramer-Hajos examines the Euboean Gulf region in Central Greece to explain its flourishing during the post-palatial period. Providing a social and political history of the region in the Late Bronze Age, she focuses on the interactions between this 'provincial' coastal area and the core areas where the Mycenaean palaces were located. Drawing on network and agency theory, two current and highly effective methodologies in prehistoric Mediterranean archaeology, Kramer-Hajos argues that the Euboean Gulf region thrived when it was part of a decentralized coastal and maritime network, and declined when it was incorporated in a highly centralized mainland-looking network. Her research and analysis contributes new insights to our understanding of the mechanics and complexity of the Bronze Age Aegean collapse.
Oxford History of Ancient Egypt by Ian Shaw
Further reading section is at the end of the book.

Blackwell Companions to Ancient World
Book series of collected essays by different authors. Essays provide a good introduction to scholarship on a subtopic and provide references to important scholarly books and articles in that area. Many are available as e-books.

Print Reference

Brill's New Pauly : Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World : Antiquity
Call Number: REF DE5 .N3513 2002
Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East by Meyers, E. (Ed.)
This comprehensive five-volume work analyzes the archaeological and linguistic data that pertain to the broad cultural milieu of the ancient Near East, the crossroads of three of the world's most influential religions--Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Ranging from prehistoric times up to the early centuries of the rise of Islam, the work covers the civilizations of Syria-Palestine, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Iran, Arabia, Cyprus, Egypt, and the coastal regions of North and East Africa. It includes 1,125 alphabetically arranged entries on sites, languages, material culture, archaeological methods, organizations and institutions, and major excavators and scholars of the field.

e-Reference Databases

These databases below allow you to search across entries from hundreds of scholarly encyclopedias, dictionaries, and handbooks at once.

Oxford Classical Dictionary This link opens in a new window
Subjects: Classics and Archaeology, Theological Studies, History
Description: Scholarly encyclopedia containing full text. Mainly focused on ancient Greece, Rome, and related parts of the Mediterranean region and Ancient Near East. Each entry includes a bibliography.
Contents: Encyclopedia
Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window
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Searches across many reference books from Oxford University Press, including The Oxford Companion to Archaeology.
eHRAF Archaeology This link opens in a new window
Subjects: History, Archaeology, Anthropology, Ethnography
Description: Research database containing full text. Includes materials from 1970s-present. Mainly focused on North America, Central America, South America (central Andes), South Asia, Egypt, and Mesopotamia. Ethnographic and archaeological overviews and full text of related scholarly sources. Focuses on Stone Age (50,000 BCE) through ancient history (300 CE) and indigenous peoples post-antiquity to 1800s.
Contents: Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journal Articles; Book Chapters; E-books
Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new window
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Subjects: Art History, Studio Arts, Classics and Archaeology
Description: Research database containing full text. Essential reference work containing the Grove Dictionary of Art and the Benezit Dictionary of Artists.
Contents: Dictionaries; Encyclopedias

For Ancient Art

These 2 e-Reference databases and 1 print book are recommended for getting a quick orientation to topics related to ancient art.

Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new window
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Subjects: Art History, Studio Arts, Classics and Archaeology
Description: Research database containing full text. Essential reference work containing the Grove Dictionary of Art and the Benezit Dictionary of Artists.
Contents: Dictionaries; Encyclopedias
Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window
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Subjects: MANY
Description: General encyclopedia containing full text.
Contents: E-books; Encyclopedias

Art in the Ancient World by Amiet, P.
Call Number: REF N5345 .A88