Ancient Near East

Introduction

The following guide is intended to provide general direction and assistance to researchers exploring aspects of the Ancient Near East. This is not an exhaustive guide, but rather a place to start.

Library Resources — Databases

The following are just a few of the indexes that will cover articles dealing with the Ancient Near East. Journal articles will keep you up to date on developing situations. Of the library's many research databases, the following are most likely to help you locate information on archaeological discoveries in the Near East. To access any of the following databases from off campus, you will first need to log in using your library number (located at the bottom right corner of your Osprey card). To login now, click here. Please note that you will need to be logged into the library system in order to access these databases off campus. To log in and return to this page, click here.

• Anthropology Plus (FirstSearch). Anthropology Plus brings together into one resource the highly respected Anthropological Literature from Harvard University and Anthropological Index, Royal Anthropological Institute from the UK. Anthropology Plus provides extensive worldwide indexing of journal articles, reports, commentaries, edited works, and obituaries in the fields of social, cultural, physical, biological, and linguistic anthropology, ethnology, archaeology, folklore, material culture, and interdisciplinary studies. The index offers excellent coverage of all core periodicals in the field in addition to local and lesser-known journals. Coverage is from the late 19th century to the present. Link to Anthropology Plus from the library's Sociology, Archaeology, and Anthropology databases (http://www.unf.edu/library/guides/basessociology.html).
  
  
• Humanities Full Text (WilsonWeb). Humanities Full Text is a bibliographic database that cites articles from English-language periodicals, plus the full text of selected periodicals. Periodical coverage includes some of the best-known scholarly journals and numerous lesser-known but important specialized magazines. Full-text coverage begins in January 1995. Link to Humanities Full Text from the library's Art & Design databases (http://www.unf.edu/library/guides/basesart.html).
  
  
• JSTOR. JSTOR is a not-for-profit organization with a dual mission to create and maintain a trusted archive of important scholarly journals, and to provide access to these journals as widely as possible. JSTOR offers researchers the ability to retrieve high-resolution, scanned images of journal issues and pages as they were originally designed, printed, and illustrated. The journals archived in JSTOR span many disciplines. Originally conceived as a project at The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, JSTOR began as an effort to ease the increasing problems faced by libraries seeking to provide adequate shelf space for the long runs of backfiles of scholarly journals. JSTOR is not a current issues database. Because of JSTOR's archival mission, there is a gap, typically from 1 to 5 years, between the most recently published journal issue and the back issues available in JSTOR (see JSTOR: The Moving Wall for more information). UNF Library subscribes to JSTOR I and II, which provides full text coverage of over 240 academic journals. Link to JSTOR from the library's History databases (http://www.unf.edu/library/guides/baseshistory.html).
  
  
• Science Direct. ScienceDirect is a Web database for scientific research that contains the full text of more than 1,000 Elsevier Science journals in the life, physical, medical, technical, and social sciences available through the Internet. To provide a starting point for the research process, and to expand the literature coverage beyond Elsevier Science journals, ScienceDirect also contains abstracts from the core journals in the major scientific disciplines making Science Direct the most comprehensive database of primary literature in the sciences available today. Link to Science Direct from the library's Sociology, Archaeology, and Anthropology databases (http://www.unf.edu/library/guides/basessociology.html).
  

Reference Books (2nd Floor)

Reference materials provide quick answers on a variety of subjects. The UNF Library's Reference Collection should have specialized encyclopedias, dictionaries, and handbooks for nearly any subject you want to cover. To lay the groundwork for your search by determining dates, exact names, and other relevant facts, try consulting one of the following standard reference sources available in the UNF Library's 2nd floor Reference Collection. You should also use the library's catalog to search for more specific areas. For example, if you are looking into the role of women in the Ancient Near East, try looking for the keywords "women" and "ancient near east" in the advanced search screen. You can also limit the search to the Reference Collection by choosing Reference from the Location pull-down option.

Locating Library Materials at UNF and in Other Library Systems

The authoritative source for locating materials in the UNF Library's print and media collections is the library's catalog. Available from the library's home page on the Internet, the catalog allows the researcher to locate materials in the library using a variety of approaches, including keywords, titles, author names, and subject headings. Although it is generally the least precise way to search, keyword searching is frequently the best approach for retrieving a browsing list of resources related to a topic.

Using the UNF Library's Catalog

To begin a keyword search in the UNF Library Catalog, follow the link from the library's home page to the UNF Library Catalog and select the keyword option that appears in the selection menu at the left of the screen. In the input box located in the center of the screen, type in a word or phrase that describes the topic that you are wanting to pursue.

By default, the system ferrets out all materials in the library that have the keywords or phrases somewhere in the descriptions of the items. This may mean title words, author words, subject headings, and even tables of contents. The search illustrated above looks for items that contain the phrase "archaeological digs" and provides a listing of those items that match. Note that the two-word phrase is entered inside of quotation marks. This indicates to the library catalog that the words should match only if they are found next to each and in the order entered. This strategy also works in a majority of library databases and even in Google.

The result of the search is a listing of items that match the keyword phrase. The illustration above shows that results are ranked by relevance, that is, the best matches will appear at the top of the list. This might not always be the best way to organize the results, so you can change also list items by date, by author, and by title. The first two items in the list above are located in the library's main book collection, the General Collection. All materials in the General Collection can be checked out at the 1st Floor Access Services Desk. Present the books and your Osprey1Card (the official campus picture I.D.) to the attendant on duty.

Titles are highlighted in blue and linked to further descriptions. An item description will provide additional information about the item, including what subjects it focuses on. Subject headings will also be linked so that you can cross-reference an item to related materials on the shelves. In short, all items in the library's catalog are cross-referenced using subject headings, author names, title words, call numbers, and any other pertinent information. As you work more with the system, you will find all kinds of short-cuts built in that will save you hours of time as you scan through the library's collections.

Of the items that matched the search on archaeological digs, the second one seems to be the best. The book Jersusalem: Caught in Time is located on the 4th floor of the library. Clicking the book's title provides you with a further description of what to expect when you find the book. The illustration below shows that the book has 160 pages and includes illustrations and a color map. Under the Notes caption you'll also see that the book includes a bibliography on pages 159-161 and it is indexed. Linkable subject headings include "Jerusalem--History--19th century--Pictorial works" and "Photography--Palestine--History--20th century." Clicking a link will perform a new search of the catalog for all other materials that match that subject heading.

Additional information on the book might be available through Google Books. Follow the link in the item description to find out what more you can learn from Google. Sometimes this might include a summary of the book, key excerpts from the book, sample pages, links from web pages and journals, and even book reviews.

Simple keyword searching is not the best approach in the library's catalog, but it is a beginning. Further refinement of the search topic is possible by using the Advanced Search screen. Simply click the Advanced Search button that appears above the search box in order to switch to an advanced search.

Research Tip >>>>>>

The library's collections are arranged by call numbers on the shelves. Behind the call numbering system is a fairly complex and sophisticated subject hierarchy known as the Library of Congress Classification System. If you spend some time getting comfortable with the LC system, you will soon discover that your searches become better and more productive.

Following are some subject headings related to archaeology and the ancient Near East that may be useful to you when you do a search of the library's collections. When entering these headings, change the search area from Anywhere to Subject Heading.

• Archaeology
• Archaeology--Methodology
• Archaeology--Middle East
• Ashdod (Israel)
• Assyria
• Babylon
• Babylonia
• Bible O T--Antiquities
• Civilization, Ancient
• Dura-Europos (Extinct city)
• Ebla (Extinct city)
• Elam Excavations (Archaeology)
• Egypt--Antiquities
• Egypt--Civilization--To 332 B.C.
• History, Ancient
• Iraq--Antiquities
• Iraq--Civilizatiion--To 634
• Israel--Antiquities
• Jordan--Antiquities
• Middle East--Antiquities
• Middle East--Civilization--To 622
• Middle East--History--To 622
• Nineveh (Extinct City)
• Palestine--Antiquities
• Palestine--History--To 70 A.D.
• Petra (Extinct city)
• Philistines
• Sumerians
• Syria--Antiquities
• Underwater Archaeology
• Zarephath (Extinct city)
  

The example below shows the subject heading "middle east--antiquities" entered as a Subject Heading search in the catalog.

The result of the search is a relevance-ranked listing of items that match the keywords in the Subject Headings. As with any search, you can reorganize the results to show the most recent first or the oldest first. The first matching item in the list is a book entitled Dancing at the Dawn of Agriculture. It is located in the library's online book collection, NetLibrary. You can actually link to the book using the "Read this in netLibrary" link at the top of the item and read the book online.

Notice in the description below that this book is 326 pages long, has illustrations, includes a bibliography on pages 297-317, and has an index. Additional subject headings that help describe the book include "Agriculture, Prehistoric -- Middle East," "Art, Prehistoric -- Mediterranean Region," and "Mediterranean Region -- Antiquities." If you wanted to find information about archaeological resources for a specific Middle Eastern country, you could do a new subject search of the catalog using the country name and the keyword antiquities, for example "Iraq -- Antiquities."

To browse other topics that appear in your current search results, look in the left panel of your search result screen for the option to narrow the search by Subject: Topics. Click the "Show More" option under the listed headings and you'll retrieve an alphabetical listing of all the subjects that are covered in your current search. You can click one to narrow the search or begin a new search by typing in one of the topics as a Subject Heading search.

After you become more accustomed with how the system works, you can likely second-guess the system and find other subject headings that will work. Keep in mind that, if your first subject search does not work, you can always do keyword and browse items for the correct subject headings.

WorldCat

To launch a search of library catalogs world wide, try using FirstSearch's WorldCat. WoldCat is a bibliographic database of books, manuscripts, computer data files, maps, computer programs, musical scores, films and slides, newspapers, journals, sound recordings, magazines, and videotapes cataloged into library collections all over the world. The database has added more than 50 million items since 1971 and covers materials created before 1,000 BC to the present in over 400 languages. You can link to the WorldCat database from the library's database listing for Books and choosing the Library Catalogs option (http://www.unf.edu/library/guides/basesbooks.html).

Google Books

Google, in partnership with publishers and a number of major public and university libraries, is scanning and making available a searchable book database that allows you to search the full content of millions of books. Those books that are no longer under copyright are provided in full through Google Books. Those that are copyrighted might include previews of individual pages or sections of the books or might provide publisher descriptions that will help you to decide whether to locate the materials. Searching is as simple as searching Google itself. Enter a string of keywords and/or phrases (enclose each phrase in quotes) and Google with provide you with a listing of books that include those keywords and phrases. Items that can be viewed in their entirety online can be selected by choosing the "Full View" option under the Google Books search box. You can get to Google Books from the Google home page or by pointing your browser directly at http://books.google.com.

Web Resources

The following websites may be useful for tracking down information on current or past archaeological digs in the Near East. Descriptions provided are taken directly from the cited websites.

Take great care when using Web sites as resources for academic research. Try to determine who is providing the information, if it is legitimate, and if it is suitably detailed and authoritative for scholarly use.

For general tips on evaluating Web sites and other electronic resources, refer to Evaluating Sources -- A Checklist for Electronic Sources.

• ABZU: A Guide to Information Related to the Study of the Ancient Near East on the Web. Abzu is a guide to networked open access data relevant to the study and public presentation of the Ancient Near East and the Ancient Mediterranean world. Abzu has been available on the Internet since 5 October, 1994. Available: http://www.etana.org/abzu/
• Ancient Near East .net. From prehistory to the end of Antiquity in the 7th century CE, embracing the diverse and exotic lands at the meeting point of three continents, the Ancient Near East (together with Egypt) occupies a vastly influential position in world archaeology and ancient history, art, culture and religion. Passionately dedicated to electronic resourcing and content provision, Ancient Near East.net forms a dynamic blog, forum and portal site evolving to meet the diverse needs of the Ancient Near East research community (scholars and laypeople alike) for content, ideas, resources and information exchange. Available: http://ancientneareast.net/wordpress/
• Ancient Near East and the Mediterranean World. (University of Chicago Library). With support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Division of Preservation and Access, the University of Chicago Library has completed a project that preserves deteriorated research materials relating to the history, art and archaeology of the ancient Near East and the ancient Mediterranean world. Materials published between 1850 and 1950 were drawn from the Library's outstanding Ancient Near East and Classics Collections. The Library addressed the preservation and access needs of the collections using three options: microfilming of 2,420 volumes, rebinding and providing enclosures for 6,530 volumes and digitizing thirty-five volumes. Available: http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/dl/proj/neh2/
• Ancient Near Eastern Art. (Metropolitan Museum of Art). Available: http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/department.asp?dep=3
• ETANA. ETANA is a cooperative venture of a consortium of scholarly societies and universities to develop and maintain a comprehensive Internet site for the study of the ancient Near East (ANE). Academic, library and technical staff of the partner organizations will collaborate to share intellectual and technical resources in the development of the project. Available: http://www.etana.org/
• Francis W. Kelsey and the Ancient Near East Expedition of 1919-1920. Available: http://www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/kelsey/title.html
• Near East Archaeological Society. Available: http://www.neasweb.org/
• Netherlands Institute for the Near East. NINO initiates, supports, and conducts scholarly research in the civilizations of the ancient, classical, and medieval Near East. In particular, it concentrates on the archaeology, history, languages, and cultures of Egypt, Levant, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Persia. In addition to its scientific research, NINO supports and advances the cultural relations between the Netherlands and the Near East. NINO is an independent foundation with ties to the academic community of the Netherlands. It is located on the premises of Leiden University and is associated with the university through a memorandum of cooperation. Available: http://www.nino-leiden.nl/
• Oriental Institute, University of Chicago. The Oriental Institute is a research organization and museum devoted to the study of the ancient Near East. Founded in 1919 by James Henry Breasted, the Institute, a part of the University of Chicago, is an internationally recognized pioneer in the archaeology, philology, and history of early Near Eastern civilizations. Available: http://oi.uchicago.edu/
• Semitic Museum at Harvard University.  The Semitic Museum was founded in 1889, and moved into its present location in 1903. It originally was the home of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, a departmental library, a repository for research collections, a public educational institute, and a center for archaeological exploration. Among the Museum's early achievements were the first scientific excavations in the Holy Land (at Samaria in 1907-1912) and excavations at Nuzi and Tell el-Khaleifeh in the Sinai, where the earliest alphabet was found. During World War II, the Museum housed Naval offices and was closed to the public. Available: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~semitic/
• W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research. The W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research (AIAR), founded in 1900, as the American School of Oriental Research in Jerusalem, provides a base for a broad range of American-led scholarly research projects in ancient Near Eastern studies, from the prehistoric to the early Islamic periods. Located in an historic building in Jerusalem, the Albright offers fellowships for doctoral and post-doctoral studies, and maintains residential and research facilities for its fellows, including an extensive library. The Institute fosters North American participation in, and provides support for, archaeological excavations and surveys; promotes working relationships with related institutions in Jerusalem and the neighboring communities. Available: http://www.aiar.org/
• Yahoo's Internet Guide to Archaeology in the Middle East. Available: click here

Obtaining Materials not Available at the UNF Library

As you search for information, you will discover materials not currently available in the UNF Library's print, media, or electronic collections. Carefully document the resources that you identify (be sure to note author name(s), full title information, publishing information, dates and any other identifying characteristics) and make a request of the UNF Library to locate the materials for you. Your requests can be entered electronically using UNF Library's ILLiad system (available by clicking Interlibrary Loans on the library's home page. If you have never used ILLiad before, you will first need to complete a brief profile screen that provides the library with your contact information. Once you have completed this, you can use the system to request materials from any library in the United States. Simply log in using your UNF ID (N number) and password.

Interlibrary Loans are normally provided to current UNF researchers at no charge. Special charges for loans or copies will be levied only after the UNF Library has received your prior approval.

Citing the Materials You Have Used

Take great care to document the important information about the sources you have identified as you search for them. Most of the databases allow you to mark and print or email the article references, which will provide you with written documentation for use later in your bibliography or works cited page. Information typically required for citing a book includes author's name, title, place of publication, publisher, and date. Information typically required for citing a journal article typically includes the author's name, the article title, the journal title, the volume, issue, and date, and the inclusive pages for the article. The databases usually provide all this information, thus eliminating your having to reconstruct it from copies of the articles.

When setting up your bibliography, use the documentation style recommended by your professor. Two of the most frequently used styles are MLA (Modern Language Association) and APA (American Psychological Association). The Library maintains a quick guide to both MLA and APA citation styles and makes it available through the library's Web site. If you would like to use this guide, link to the Citation Guide (Bibliographic Styles) available from the Library's guides collection. For complete guidance on either of these documentation styles, consult the full style manuals available at the Reference Desk on the second floor of the library.

RefWorks.

The Library subscribes to a citation management system called RefWorks which can help you to collect, organize, and cite materials that you find using the library databases. You will need to sign up to use RefWorks and create a free account. For further information about RefWorks and to sign up to use it, visit the Library's RefWorks Information guide.

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This guide was designed by Reference Librarian Jim Alderman and was last updated September 2008. Questions and comments regarding this guide should be directed to Jim.