Chronolog

https://tidsskrift.dk/Chronolog/issue/feed Chronolog 2024-05-28T22:48:35+02:00 Anne Drewsen chronologjournal@gmail.com Open Journal Systems Welcome to Chronolog Journal! Chronolog is a journal for students concerned with the history, culture, archaeology and language of ancient Southwest Asia and Northeast Africa. The focus of the journal is to provide students at the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies (CCRS) at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) and students affiliated with the department through conferences or collaborations, the opportunity to have their first scholarly article published in a peer reviewed journal. The second issue of Chronolog is out now! https://tidsskrift.dk/Chronolog/article/view/145892 Palaeogenomics and the Palaeolithic of Southwest Asia: Trends, Issues, and Future Directions 2024-05-28T22:11:12+02:00 David L. G. Miedzianogora david.miedzianogora.23@ucl.ac.uk

Palaeogenomics is the study of ancient subfossilised remains on a genome-wide level, and it has revolutionised the study and understanding of the deep past. This is also the case in Southwest Asia, where especially the Bronze and Iron Ages have seen substantial research. However, due to the poor preservation of DNA in the region, the Palaeolithic remains largely understudied despite the possibility of novel interpretations of this key period. Here, I review several ways that palaeogenomics has begun changing our understanding of the Palaeolithic of the region in three key areas: the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa, the interactions between Neanderthals and modern humans, and the formation of Southwest Asian population structures. Most of these interpretations are based on data from outside of Southwest Asia, and I argue that a closer integration between palaeogenomics, archaeology, and local stakeholders are necessary to begin solving the issues surrounding the poor preservation of DNA in the region. If this can be done, palaeogenomics holds many possibilities for future Palaeolithic research.

2024-05-24T00:00:00+02:00 Copyright (c) 2024 Author https://tidsskrift.dk/Chronolog/article/view/145893 Predynastic Egyptian Frog Vessels in (Inter)regional Context 2024-05-28T22:33:22+02:00 Jacob Glenister jacobgl@sas.upenn.edu

Tiny vessels in the shape of frogs are one of the many theriomorphic stone objects produced by the artisans of Late Predynastic Egypt. This paper identifies 15 such vessels ranging widely across Egypt, from Naqada and Naga ed-Dêr in the south to a recent find at Tell el-Farkha in the Delta. Detailed investigation of their forms reveal two distinct types regardless of point of origin: most belong to the “sitting” type which rests upon its legs, but two examples follow another set of conventions best described as “prone” with the legs splayed out and the animal resting on its stomach. Of the latter category, the frog from tomb N7304 at Naga ed-Dêr is particularly significant, for its lapis inlays and archaeological context point towards connections with the greater Mesopotamian world. Comparisons with material from Susa and Uruk from the same period permit a better understanding of this object and confirm and augment prior conclusions about the tomb’s occupant.

This article explores the use of legendary, ancestral, and divine figures in consolidation and legitimization of power, drawing on a theoretical framework provided by David Graeber and Marshall Sahlins in their book On Kings (2017). It takes its offset in literary narratives and their use in legitimizing kingship: First, the Sargon Birth Legend is investigated, and it is shown how this text might be understood as a part of a larger-scale legitimization of Sargon II and his dynasty’s claim to the Assyrian throne. Then, Saxo Grammaticus’ Gesta Danorum is examined in relation to its role in Danish king Valdemar and his dynasty’s claim to the throne, and to sovereignty from the Holy Roman empire. It is analyzed and compared to the Assyrian case, to show the manners in which history-making and self-association to powerful ancestors and divine agents are used to legitimize and consolidate power in both cases. Finally, it is argued how the uses of these texts, and their characters, can help elucidate our understanding of the appropriation and transmission of narratives within intercultural frameworks, and the divinities and legendary figures in them, as potential universal tendencies in the legitimization and consolidation of power.

2024-05-28T00:00:00+02:00 Copyright (c) 2024 https://tidsskrift.dk/Chronolog/article/view/145895 From Desk to Field 2024-05-28T22:48:35+02:00 Maria Diget Sletterød lnf949@alumni.ku.dk Anna Silberg Poulsen mzc592@alumni.ku.dk

<span class="TextRun SCXW235971022 BCX2" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.4167px; font-family: Calibri, 'Calibri_EmbeddedFont', 'Calibri_MSFontService', sans-serif;" xml:lang="EN-GB" data-contrast="auto">We have invited our two editors, Maria and Anna, who currently work in contract archaeology to elaborate on their experiences of how it is to transition from studying to working, and what it is like to work in Denmark as an archaeologist who has graduated from TORS.  It is a product of our experiences, and neither of us have many years of field experience, but we do know what it is like to be new in the field of contract archaeology.  The essay is structured like a Q & A session as we felt that was the best way to address the concerns, we had ourselves when we started, as well as a few submitted questions.