Equinox Publishing Limited

Art as theology; from the postmodern to the medieval.

Art lost its sacred character during the late Middle Ages, says Andreopoulos (Christian theology, U. of Wales-Lampeter), and modern art — both popular and classical — is losing its place as a distinct entity, replaced by a growing religious awareness or practice that is consistent with, though still far from, the medieval view. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Company. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Crossing Jordan; North American contributions to the archaeology of Jordan.

Established in 1968, the American Center of Oriental Research has worked together with the Department of Antiquities of Jordan to support North American archaeologists working in Jordan. Together with the American Schools of Oriental Research, it organized the Tenth International Conference on the History and Archaeology of Jordan, which aimed to highlight the contributions of North American scholars to the archaeology of Jordan. Editors Levy (anthropology and Judaic studies, U. of California at San Diego, US), Daviau (Near Eastern archaeology, Wilfrid Laurier U., Canada), Younker (Old Testament and biblical archaeology, Andrews University, US) and Shaer (Department of Antiquities of Jordan) present 54 papers from the conference. Following discussions placing Jordan within the wider theoretical developments of the field and providing an overview of the history of North American archaeological research in Jordan, seven papers discuss methodological contributions, including the use of geographic information systems, high precision radiocarbon dating, geoarchaeology, paleoecology, and conservation and preservation initiatives. These are followed by nine deep-time studies together with presentation of research on the prehistoric era, the Bronze Age, early states and the Iron Age, the Hellenistic and Roman periods, Nabatean civilization and its Jordanian heartland, the Byzantine period, and Islamic civilization in Jordan. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Debating orientalization; multidisciplinary approaches to change in the ancient Mediterranean.

Orientalism has variously been considered a cultural phenomenon, revolution, movement, or outdated concept of an exotic "Other." In a volume derived from a multidisciplinary forum on the subject held in 2002 at St. John's College, Oxford — while the editors were researching cultural exchange in Etruria and Sardinia, Riva (Mediterranean archeology, U. College London) and Vella (classics and archeology, U. of Malta) introduce this issue and related debates. Ten papers attempt to clarify "Orientilizing" by treating topics including approaches to constructing historical periods, methodologies, and the diversity and power relations of hybrid cultures influenced by Oriental ideas and material culture. Illustrations include study site maps and artifacts. Distributed in North America by David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The end that does; art, science and millennial accomplishment.

Generated by the Center for Millennial Studies at Boston U., this last in a set of three volumes examines influential millennialist movements and texts. Gutierrez (religion, Sweet Briar College, Virginia) and Schwartz (cultural historian/visiting scholar, U. of California, San Diego) introduce 19 offerings that include poems and studies of historical and contemporary end-time views. The eclectic topics discussed include Christian apocalyptic fiction, Spiritualism, Y2K, and Seattle's Space Needle in a doomsday scenario. The glossary defines utopic and dystopic terms. Distributed in North America by David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Handbook of geophysics and archaeology.

A pioneer in sub-surface imaging techniques, Witten (geophysics, U. of Oklahoma) died suddenly in February 2005 before the printing of this book, which he had developed from the course he long taught on geophysics for non-science majors. Distributed in the US by the David Brown Book Company. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)