Dissertation
Analyzing lived experience from the streets of Roman Egypt: a historical archaeological approach to settlement sociology
University of Iowa
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
Summer 2022
DOI: 10.25820/etd.006834
Abstract
The study of urbanism in Egyptology has been sorely neglected until recently. Previously the field was dominated by royal cities and monumental architecture while ignoring regular settlements. Urban theory was almost non-existent in these studies. When looking at urbanism in Roman Egypt, the adherence to Roman administrative labels for settlements highlights the need for a new framework from which to study settlements in ancient Egypt.
This research seeks to understand how a person’s lived experience is reflective of an urban environment and to lay the groundwork for a study of settlements through experiences at a street level. It does not rely on an urban-rural dichotomy, but rather, by placing them on the urban-rural continuum where they are ranked according to the degree of urban characteristics they have in relation to other settlements. To this end, two settlements in the Fayum, Oxyrhynchus and Karanis, were examined through archaeological and papyrological materials to understand what characteristics of urbanism could be seen from the streets, and how this differed between spaces that were more urban and those that were less urban. The lived experience from a street level was evaluated in relation to how a person experienced a settlements hinterland, number of craftsmen, amount of trade, and public amenities.
The research found that more urban spaces have hinterlands and a greater degree of heterogeneity in the population, while less urban spaces have catchment areas and a more homogenous population. More urban spaces have more craftsmen and trade which fill the settlement with a greater variety of goods as well as a larger number of public amenities to enhance their experience. However, a consequence of a settlement’s urbanism is a greater degree of separation between social contacts leading to boredom and loneliness while surrounded by a crowd.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Analyzing lived experience from the streets of Roman Egypt: a historical archaeological approach to settlement sociology
- Creators
- Kerri Suzanne Lorigan
- Contributors
- Glenn Storey (Advisor) - University of IowaAnna Boozer (Committee Member) - City University of New YorkBjorn Anderson (Committee Member) - University of IowaScott Schnell (Committee Member)James Enloe (Committee Member)
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
- Degree in
- Anthropology
- Date degree season
- Summer 2022
- Publisher
- University of Iowa
- DOI
- 10.25820/etd.006834
- Number of pages
- xii, 287 pages
- Copyright
- Copyright 2022 Kerri Suzanne Lorigan
- Language
- English
- Description illustrations
- illustrations (some color), charts, maps (some color), graphs, tables
- Description bibliographic
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 242-269).
- Public Abstract (ETD)
- More work is needed to understand the relationship between cities and settlements in ancient Egypt. While the kings’ houses and tombs are important, we also need to understand how regular people lived in the past. One of the best places to look at this issue is in the settlements in Roman Egypt. Settlements, such as Oxyrhynchus and Karanis, can provide us with written and physical evidence to study the experiences people had living in those settlements. The best way to understand the difference between cities and settlements is to compare them to each other and decide if they are more or less urban than other settlements. To study how urban a place is, this study looked at the relationship between the settlement and the lands surrounding it, the number of people who made crafts instead of farming, how many items came into the settlement from other places, and what types of things does a settlement have to make life easier or to entertain the people who live there. The study found that more urban places are connected to many of the smaller places around them and have lots of different people while more rural places have contact with a smaller area and the people are much more alike. Urban spaces have more trade and craftsmen but fewer close friends and contacts, while rural spaces have more agriculture and larger groups of acquaintances.
- Academic Unit
- Anthropology
- Record Identifier
- 9984285050802771
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