{"id":1251,"date":"2009-06-22T23:07:55","date_gmt":"2009-06-23T03:07:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/s265039441.onlinehome.us\/philpaine\/?p=1251"},"modified":"2018-08-08T23:39:54","modified_gmt":"2018-08-09T03:39:54","slug":"17742-edward-l-ochsenschlager-iraqs-marsh-arabs-in-the-garden-of-eden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/?p=1251","title":{"rendered":"17742. (Edward L. Ochsenschlager) Iraq\u2019s Marsh Arabs in the Garden of Eden"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a bril\u00adliant book. Ochsen\u00adschlager was engaged in an impor\u00adtant archae\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal project in Iraq, start\u00ading in 1968. The site was the Sumer\u00adian city of Lagash. Puz\u00adzled by some unglam\u00adorous, but intrigu\u00ading arti\u00adfacts, he start\u00aded look\u00ading for analo\u00adgies among the local peo\u00adple to inter\u00adpret them. The local peo\u00adple includ\u00aded Bedouin tribes, the agri\u00adcul\u00adtur\u00adal Beni Hasan, and the famous Mi\u2019\u00addan [Marsh Arabs] who lived in the reed-filled swamps at the con\u00adjunc\u00adtion of the Tigris and Euphrates. All these peo\u00adple (in 1968, at any rate) lived mate\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal lives thought to very close\u00adly resem\u00adble that of the ancient inhab\u00adi\u00adtants of the land when it was Edinu, the Bib\u00adli\u00adcal Eden (hence the book\u2019s title). Thus, the author was drawn into the pecu\u00adliar dis\u00adci\u00adpline of \u201ceth\u00adnoar\u00adchae\u00adol\u00ado\u00adgy\u201d, in which most archae\u00adol\u00ado\u00adgist still feel uncom\u00adfort\u00adable. Archae\u00adol\u00ado\u00adgists are com\u00adfort\u00adable with places and objects. They aren\u2019t anthro\u00adpol\u00ado\u00adgists. When they try to be, even in the laud\u00adable quest to under\u00adstand ancient arti\u00adfacts, they can eas\u00adi\u00adly screw up. Ochlen\u00adschlager is unusu\u00adal\u00adly sen\u00adsi\u00adtive to the pit\u00adfalls. One of the things that archae\u00adol\u00ado\u00adgists attempt to inter\u00adpret is sud\u00adden changes in mate\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal cul\u00adture, such as the dis\u00adap\u00adpear\u00adance of a type of arti\u00adfact and the sub\u00adsti\u00adtu\u00adtion of another:<\/span><\/p>\n

We dis\u00adcov\u00adered that it was not always easy to under\u00adstand rea\u00adsons for mod\u00adern change ini\u00adti\u00adat\u00aded with\u00adin the com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty unless one was present and privy to con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adtions con\u00adcern\u00ading it imme\u00addi\u00adate\u00adly before and dur\u00ading the process of change itself. Short\u00adly after change occured the pre\u00advi\u00adous jus\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtions giv\u00aden some\u00adtimes dis\u00adap\u00adpeared to be replaced by a new set of jus\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtions more cul\u00adtur\u00adal\u00adly accept\u00adable. In a way, then, the endur\u00ading rea\u00adsons for change became part of a new mythol\u00ado\u00adgy. These stud\u00adies also remind us that our knowl\u00adedge of the past some\u00adtimes relies on shaky inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adtions and cav\u00ada\u00adlier assump\u00adtions, and shows us that it is alto\u00adgeth\u00ader too easy to mis\u00adun\u00adder\u00adstand the sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcance of phys\u00adi\u00adcal evi\u00addence. Change in per\u00adson\u00adal atti\u00adtude, in the avail\u00adabil\u00adi\u00adty of trained crafts\u00adpeo\u00adple or raw mate\u00adri\u00adals or in cir\u00adcum\u00adstances of life can alter tra\u00addi\u00adtions overnight, make cheap things expen\u00adsive and expen\u00adsive things cheap, make some\u00adthing either more or less desir\u00adable, and mod\u00adi\u00adfy or change the roles of men, women, or chil\u00addren in soci\u00adety. Some\u00adtimes high\u00adly vis\u00adi\u00adble change is of lit\u00adtle cul\u00adtur\u00adal sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcance, while major cul\u00adtur\u00adal change can be accom\u00adpa\u00adnied by lit\u00adtle or no change in the mate\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal record.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The book pro\u00advides a good intro\u00adduc\u00adtion to the Mi\u2019\u00addan [some\u00adtimes writ\u00adten as Ma\u2019\u00addan], a peo\u00adple who fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00aded me since I read Wil\u00adfred The\u00adsiger\u2019s The Marsh Arabs<\/em>. It does\u00adn\u2019t just focus on strik\u00ading mate\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal cul\u00adture fea\u00adtures like their famous guest hous\u00ades made of reeds (which close\u00adly resem\u00adble build\u00adings rep\u00adre\u00adsent\u00aded on Sumer\u00adian cylin\u00adder seals four and half thou\u00adsand years ago). Ochlen\u00adschlager exam\u00adined the mak\u00ading, use, and trans\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adtions of every arti\u00adcle he could find \u2014 weapons, stor\u00adage con\u00adtain\u00aders, cook\u00adware, boats, musi\u00adcal instru\u00adments, chil\u00addren\u2019s toys. This could only be done in a seri\u00adous way over many years, with extreme sen\u00adsi\u00adtiv\u00adi\u00adty in deal\u00ading with peo\u00adple, earn\u00ading their trust and over\u00adcom\u00ading the per\u00adils of mis\u00addi\u00adrec\u00adtion and mis\u00adin\u00adter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adtion. None of this is easy, and he shows exact\u00adly how it can be done right, or bad\u00adly. Almost any\u00adone who reads his\u00adtor\u00adi\u00adcal or archae\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adtions of mate\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal evi\u00addence should read this book.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of the most delight\u00adful parts con\u00adcern chil\u00addren\u2019s toys, and they reveal one of the mar\u00advelous sub\u00adtleties of human behav\u00adiour to which most his\u00adto\u00adri\u00adans are oblivious:<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1968 chil\u00addren in the vil\u00adlages over the age of 3 or 4 always made their own toys out of mud. Aban\u00addoned mud toys could be found every\u00adwhere in vil\u00adlage court\u00adyards, along\u00adside the canals and marsh\u00ades, and even in the fields. Unfor\u00adtu\u00adnate\u00adly, domes\u00adtic toy mak\u00ading dis\u00adap\u00adpeared rapid\u00adly. Man\u00adu\u00adfac\u00adtured plas\u00adtic toys, avail\u00adable in near\u00adby mar\u00adket town, replaced them. By 1970 a wide vari\u00adety of cheap plas\u00adtic toys was avail\u00adable to those of every eco\u00adnom\u00adic lev\u00adel. Most chil\u00addren were attract\u00aded to these plas\u00adtic toys because of their bright col\u00adors and their rel\u00ada\u00adtive dura\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty. At first chil\u00addren would con\u00adtin\u00adue to make toys that were not avail\u00adable in the mar\u00adket out of mud, but that came to an abrupt end in 1972. So pop\u00adu\u00adlar had the new plas\u00adtic toys become that most vil\u00adlagers could find no rea\u00adson to con\u00adtin\u00adue using mud toys short of lack of mon\u00adey. Indeed cheap\u00adness came to be thought the sole cri\u00adte\u00adria for con\u00adtin\u00adu\u00ading to make toys out of mud, and this impact\u00aded that part of the father\u2019s hon\u00ador which depends on his abil\u00adi\u00adty to pro\u00advide ade\u00adquate\u00adly for his fam\u00adi\u00adly. To make a mud toy under these con\u00addi\u00adtions was to bring dis\u00adhon\u00ador on the family.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

With\u00adout some knowl\u00adedge of the role of hon\u00ador and its require\u00adment that men pro\u00advide strong finan\u00adcial sup\u00adport to their fam\u00adi\u00adlies in these vil\u00adlages, what rea\u00adsons would archae\u00adol\u00ado\u00adgists give for the sud\u00adden and com\u00adplete dis\u00adap\u00adpear\u00adance of mud toys? Bold col\u00adors and increased dura\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty seem the most rea\u00adson\u00adable, and in part log\u00adi\u00adcal, answers, as the vil\u00adlagers found these attrib\u00adut\u00ades attrac\u00adtive at first. But log\u00adic alone does not begin to explain why old forms dis\u00adap\u00adpeared com\u00adplete\u00adly and with such speed; the com\u00adpelling pow\u00ader of col\u00ador and dura\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty must not be over\u00ades\u00adti\u00admat\u00aded. The chil\u00addren them\u00adselves were a real prob\u00adlem. When they had only the few ani\u00admal forms sold in the suk to play with, they some\u00adtimes had to be forcibly stopped from mak\u00ading addi\u00adtion\u00adal toys of mud. They missed the free\u00addom of mak\u00ading any toys they could imag\u00adine and play\u00ading any game they wished. The kind and num\u00adber of toys avail\u00adable now lim\u00adit\u00aded their games. Attrac\u00adtive col\u00adors and dura\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty may have giv\u00aden impe\u00adtus for the change, but it was the chal\u00adlenge to fam\u00adi\u00adly hon\u00ador that made par\u00adents for\u00adbid their chil\u00addren to make mud toys.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

It takes a remark\u00adable per\u00adson to make such an obser\u00adva\u00adtion. This book is full of such things.They\u2019ll inspire an acute read\u00ader to under\u00adstand not only the cul\u00adture of the marsh\u00ades, and the arti\u00adfacts of the ancient civ\u00adi\u00adliza\u00adtion of Lagash, but also many puz\u00adzling aspects of human life in general.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is a bril\u00adliant book. Ochsen\u00adschlager was engaged in an impor\u00adtant archae\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal project in Iraq, start\u00ading in 1968. The site was the Sumer\u00adian city of Lagash. Puz\u00adzled by some unglam\u00adorous, but intrigu\u00ading arti\u00adfacts, he start\u00aded look\u00ading for analo\u00adgies among the \u2026<\/p>\n

Read more \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[946,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-b-reading","category-br-reading-2009"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1251"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8006,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1251\/revisions\/8006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}