The Safavid dynasty (1501-1722) originated in one of the many Turkish, possibly Kurdish, dervish orders begun shortly after the Mongol invasion. Its founder, Isma'il, took advantage of the chaotic political situation at the end of the fifteenth century to establish control over the territory that comprises most of current-day Iran. Safavid rulers ......
Archaeologists define stone artifacts that are altered by or used to alter other items through abrasion, pecking, or polishing as "ground stone". This includes mortars and pestles, abraders, polishers stones, and hammerstones, and artifacts shaped by abrasion or pecking, such as axes, pipes, figurines, ornaments, and architectural pieces. The ......
The issue of religious authority has long fascinated and ignited scholars across a range of disciplines: history, anthropology, the sociology of religion, and political science. Religious Knowledge, Authority, and Charisma juxtaposes religious leadership in premodern and modern Islam with examples from the Judaic tradition. By illustrating various ......
Archaeology in the Great Basin and Southwest is a compilation of papers by friends and colleagues that honour Don D. Fowler. The volume encompasses the breadth and depth of Fowler's work in archaeology and sister disciplines with original scholarship on the human past of the arid west. Included are theoretical, methodological, and empirical papers ......
Since the late 1800s, when professional fossil hunters vied with each other to bring the largest and most complete specimens to the museum market, Utah has been one of the most fertile grounds for dinosaur discovery. Because rock from the Mesozoic era covers more than 25,000 square miles in Utah, the state is a natural museum of the great age of ......
The Prehistory of Gold Butte uses a theoretical perspective rooted in human behaviour ecology and other foraging models to present the results of one of the largest and most comprehensive archaeological investigations ever undertaken in southern Nevada, involving the systematic survey of more than 31,000 acres, the documentation of more than 377 ......
The Grand Canyon-long recognised as one of North America's premier natural wonders-has stirred human imagination and creativity, leaving an indelible mark on all who have encountered its spectacular vistas and intricate landscapes. Stories of the canyon's early inhabitants to its modern day visitors are as varied and deep as the canyon's cliffs. ......
The Day-to-Day Life of the Workers on the Madeira-Mamore Railroad
When construction of the Madeira-Mamore Railroad began in 1867, Bolivia had lost its war with Chile, causing it to become landlocked and unable to ship its minerals and other products from the Pacific Coast. Since Bolivia needed to find a way to move products from the Atlantic Coast, the government decided a railroad should be built around the ......
Latter-Day Lore gathers nearly thirty seminal works in Mormon folklore scholarship from its beginnings in the late nineteenth century to the present in order to highlight the depth, breadth, and richness of that scholarship. This examination of LDS folklore studies reveals theoretical, methodological, and topical shifts that also reflect shifts in ......
