Pilgrimage and household in the ancient near East

Author
McCorriston, Joy
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Year
2011
Language
English
Call Number
BL619.P5 M43 2011
Reference Only
Off
Number of Pages
291
Library of Congress Subject Heading
Pilgrims and pilgrimages -- Arabian Peninsula -- History
Library of Congress Subject Heading 2
Households -- Iraq -- History
Abstract

In this book, Joy McCorriston examines the continuity of traditions over millennia in the Near East. Tracing the phenomenon of pilgrimage in pre-Islamic Arabia up through the development of the Hajj, she defines its essential characteristics and emphasizes the critical role that pilgrimage plays in enabling and developing socioeconomic transactions. Indeed, the social identities constructed through pilgrimage are key to understanding the long-term endurance of the phenomenon. In the second part of the book, McCorriston turns to the household, using cases of ancient households in Mesopotamian societies, both in the private and public spheres. Her conclusions tie together broader theoretical implications generated by the study of the two phenomena and offer a new paradigm for archaeological study, which has traditionally focused on transitions to the exclusion of continuity of traditions.