Abstract:

This book is a presentation of the basic concept of social, environmental and cultural connectivity in past societies, as embodied in a diversity of disciplines in the Cluster of Excellence ROOTS. Thus, rather pragmatically driven ideas of socio-environmental connectivities are described, which form the basis of the Cluster of Excellence in its research.

A discussion of the fluidness of the term ‘connectivity’ and the applicability of the concept opens the arena for diverse interpretations. With various case and concept studies, the reader may advance into the perspectives that develop from the new interdisciplinary interaction. These include both rarely considered dependencies between nomadic and urban lifestyles, and aspects of water supply and water features, which represent an area of connectivity between the environment and agglomerated human settlement structures. Moreover, diachronic aspects are presented in various studies on the role of connectivities in the development of social inequality, the use of fortification or also waste behaviour, and the creation of linguistic features in written media.

In sum, facets of connectivity research are revealed that are also being investigated in numerous other disciplines with further results in the Kiel Excellence Cluster ROOTS.

Contents

Preface of the series editors
Lutz Käppel, Johannes Müller, Wolfgang Rabbel

Preface of the volume editor
Johannes Müller

Introduction

Social, environmental, and cultural connectivity: A concept for an understanding of society and the environment
Johannes Müller, Lutz Käppel, Andrea Ricci, Mara Weinelt

On the concept of connectivity
V.P.J. Arponen

Nodes of connectivity: The role of religion in the constitution of urban sites in nomadic Inner Asia
Jonathan Ethier, Christian Ressel, Birte Ahrens, Enkhtuul Chadrabaal, Sampildonov Chuluun, Martin Oczipka, Henny Piezonka

Water supply, settlement organisation and social connectivity
Annette Haug and Ulrich Müller

An archaeological perspective on social structure, connectivity and the measurements of social inequality
Tim Kerig, Johannes Bröcker (†), René Ohlrau, Tanja Schreiber, Henry Skorna, Fynn Wilkes

Connectivity and fortifications
Oliver Nakoinz, Anna K. Loy, Christoph Rinne, Jutta Kneisel, Tanja Schreiber, Maria Wunderlich, Nicole Taylor

Connecting linguistics and archaeology in the study of identity: A first exploration
John Peterson, Nicole Taylor, Ilja A. Seržant, Henny Piezonka, Ariba Hidayet Khan, Norbert Nübler

The dimensions of refuse: Discard studies as a matter of connectivity
Jens Schneeweiß

Ideology and identity in grammar: A diachronic-quantitative approach to language standardisation processes in Ancient Greek
Ilja A. Seržant and Dariya Rafiyenko