Archaeology and material culture

doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521838238.019

17 - Archaeology and material culture

from PART IV - THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF EARLY ISLAMIC HISTORY

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 March 2011

Marcus Milwright

Edited by

Chase F. Robinson

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Chase F. Robinson: Affiliation:
The Graduate Center, The City University of New York

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Summary

The last four decades have witnessed a massive expansion in the archaeology of the Islamic past in regions stretching from the Iberian Peninsula to Indonesia. While the coverage of research is far from complete – for instance, the first/seventh- and second/eighth-century occupation phases in key cities such as Baṣra, Damascus and Baghdad remain largely unexplored, and excavations are not permitted in the Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina – archaeology is now able to provide important insights into the study of the early Islamic period. Aside from its obvious role in the discovery and recording of artefacts, the discipline’s most notable contribution to the study of early Islam is in the identification of economic, demographic and environmental processes that occur over the course of decades or centuries.

A recurrent concern in the archaeological study of early Islam is the degree to which the physical record exhibits significant continuity with the centuries prior to 1/622 (i.e. the Late Antique period). Conversely, the analysis of spatial and temporal patterns in the archaeological record from the first/seventh to the fourth/tenth centuries can reveal the emergence of new socio-cultural or economic phenomena. These competing dynamics are examined here with reference to four themes. The first part summarises the earliest evidence for a distinctive Muslim identity in the archaeological record.

Keywords

early Abbasid caliphate country residences archaeological record Muslim identity urban environment Islamic material culture Late Antique period irrigation systems international trade Greater Syria

Type: Chapter
Information: The New Cambridge History of Islam , pp. 664 - 682

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521838238.019 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2010

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17 - Archaeology and material culture

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