Contributions au séminaire tenu à l'Université de Chicago les 7 et 8 mars 2008

Bibliogr. Index p. 285-288

What was the relationship between pastoral nomadic tribes and sedentary peoples in the ancient Near East ? After decades of research, scholars are more aware than ever of the challenges posed by this deceptively simple question. Textual biases, poor archaeological visibility of nomadic remains, and tenuous ethnographic parallels all pose obstacles to reconstructing the complex dynamics of tribe-state interactions in antiquity. This conference brings together a diverse group of archaeologists, historians, and anthropologists to explore new ways of approaching the study of nomadic populations and encounters between tribes and states. Although great strides have recently been made in the study of these issues, new approaches have called into question the very categories we use to describe tribe-state interactions. Furthermore, archaeologists, anthropologists, and historians have been addressing these issues in relative isolation. This conference thus offers a unique opportunity to set an agenda for the study of ancient Near Eastern nomadism from a cross-disciplinary perspective. The first steps will be to assess the current state of research on ancient pastoral nomadism, tribes and the state, and to reach a consensus about the use and misuse of data and terminology. Once a common framework is established, we can begin to address new theoretical and methodological approaches to the lingering questions of tribe-state interactions. A central aim of the conference is to equip attendees to apply the diverse techniques of various fields and various regions of the Near East to their own work. The two-day conference is organized with those goals in mind. The emphasis of the conference will be as much on discussion and debate as on the presentations themselves. Papers will be circulated among participants in advance of the conference and there will be ample opportunity for response and discussion.
(Source : éditeur)