Modern development studies as a resource for understanding working animal use in later human prehistory : the example of 4th-3rd millennium BC Mesopotamia
This thesis develops and employs a novel interdisciplinary tool for examining the practical implications of early systematic working-animal use in prehistoric contexts, on which only fragmentary evidence is otherwise available. I explore the potential of this tool â modern development studies â through an extended case study: the use of working animals in Mesopotamia, in the 4th and 3rd millennium BC. The aim throughout is to broaden substantially the range of archaeological and historical inference, rather than to propose new high-level models. For achieving this aim, I use close qualitative analysis of the large body of published official and NGO studies of working-animal use today, particularly in regions where working cattle and donkeys are recent adoptions and mechanisation is minimal. These data, little-used as yet in archaeology, shed light on the day-to-day practicalities of working-animal adoption and management â breeding, supply, and maintenance. They further provide significant new bottom-up insights into common community-level social and economic levelling mechanisms such as hiring and lending of working animals, suggesting a revision to established models of social inequality relating to
Goulder, Jill Rosamund
Modern development studies as a resource for understanding working animal use in later human prehistory : the example of 4th-3rd millennium BC Mesopotamia. This thesis develops and employs a novel interdisciplinary tool for examining the practical implications of early systematic working-animal use in prehistoric contexts, on which only fragmentary evidence is otherwise available. I explore the potential of this tool â modern development studies â through an extended case study: the use of working animals in Mesopotamia, in the 4th and 3rd millennium BC. The aim throughout is to broaden substantially the range of archaeological and historical inference, rather than to propose new high-level models. For achieving this aim, I use close qualitative analysis of the large body of published official and NGO studies of working-animal use today, particularly in regions where working cattle and donkeys are recent adoptions and mechanisation is minimal. These data, little-used as yet in archaeology, shed light on the day-to-day practicalities of working-animal adoption and management â breeding, supply, and maintenance. They further provide significant new bottom-up insights into common community-level social and economic levelling mechanisms such as hiring and lending of working animals, suggesting a revision to established models of social inequality relating to
modern development study resource work animal use late human prehistory example mesopotamia develop employ novel interdisciplinary tool examine practical_implication early systematic working animal use prehistoric context fragmentary_evidence otherwise available explore_potential tool modern development study extend case_study use work animal mesopotamia aim throughout broaden substantially range archaeological_historical inference rather propose_new high_level model achieve_aim use close qualitative_analysis large_body publish official study working animal use today particularly region work cattle recent adoption mechanisation minimal data little used yet archaeology shed_light day_to_day practicality working animal adoption management breeding supply maintenance provide_significant new bottom_up insight common community level social_economic levelling mechanism hire lend work animal suggest revision establish model social_inequality relate