Glenn M. Schwartz

Last updated
Glenn M. Schwartz
Born
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationYale University (BA, PhD)
Known forTell al-Raqa'i, Umm el-Marra, Kurd Qaburstan
AwardsP. E. MacAllister Field Archaeology Award,
G. Ernest Wright Book Award
Scientific career
FieldsArchaeology, Near Eastern Studies
InstitutionsJohns Hopkins University
Thesis Excavations at Tell Leilan: Stratigraphy and Pottery of the Late Third Millennium B.C.  (1983)
Doctoral advisor Harvey Weiss
Website Johns Hopkins Profile

Glenn M. Schwartz is an American archaeologist specializing in the archaeology of ancient Syria and Iraq. [1] He is known for directing excavations at sites such as Umm el-Marra and Kurd Qaburstan and his contributions to the study of early urbanism, state formation, and collapse in the ancient Near East. [2] [3]

Contents

His work has resulted in an international reputation, particularly for discoveries at Umm el-Marra, such as elite burials provisioned with gold, silver, and lapis lazuli artifacts, [4] [5] now-extinct royal equids, [6] [7] and evidence of the world's oldest alphabetic script. [8] [9]

Schwartz is the Whiting Professor of Archaeology in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at the Johns Hopkins University. [1]

Early life and education

Schwartz is from the Mount Washington area of Baltimore, MD, [10] and earned his B.A. in Archaeology from Yale University, graduating magna cum laude in 1976. [1] He continued at Yale to complete an M.A. and M.Phil. in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations in 1980, and a Ph.D. in 1982, [1] supervised by Harvey Weiss. [11] His dissertation focused on ceramic periodization at the archaeological site of Tell Leilan in Syria. [12]

Career

Since 1987, Schwartz has held appointments at the Johns Hopkins University, including Chair of the Department of Near Eastern Studies from 2012 to 2018. [1] He has also held guest appointments at international institutions, such as the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris and the Free University of Berlin. [1]

He has directed several prominent archaeological projects:

Research contributions

Schwartz’s early investigations focused on the excavation of Tell al-Raqa’i, a small, rural settlement dating to the third millennium BC, to explore the dynamics of rural-urban relationships in ancient Syrian communities. [15] Emphasizing the importance of viewing these societies as existing along a continuum between urban and rural, the research highlighted the economic, political, and cultural integration of rural communities with those of local urban centers, as well as their involvement in broader regional networks. [14]

His next project shifted focus to investigate Umm el-Marra, a medium sized Bronze Age city located on the Jabbul Plain of Northern Syria. [13] The research advanced the understanding of Early Bronze Age urbanism in Syria by focusing on a medium-sized city, offering a counterpoint to research at the largest contemporary cities such as Ebla, Mari, and Tell Brak. [13] One of the more spectacular discoveries, the elite mortuary complex, [13] provided rare and detailed evidence for the burial practices of one of Syria’s earliest urban societies. Situated at the heart of the community, the complex contained human remains buried alongside luxury goods made of gold, silver, and lapis lazuli, as well as the elaborately arranged burials of both mundane and high-prestige animals. The kunga, a donkey-wild ass hybrid well-known from historical sources, was among the animals buried alongside elite individuals. [16] The overall findings are unparalleled in third-millennium BC Syrian archaeology and illuminate the roles of ancestor veneration, social memory, and animal symbolism in shaping early urban communities. [13]

When work at Umm el-Marra was interrupted in 2010 due to regional instability, [17] Schwartz initiated a new project at Kurd Qaburstan, a 100-ha walled urban site dating to the second millennium BCE located on the Erbil Plain in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. [18] Research conducted from 2013 to 2022 significantly advanced the understanding of Bronze Age urbanism in northern Mesopotamia. [18] Excavations revealed evidence of a compact Late Bronze Age occupation on the high mound as well as substantial Middle Bronze Age remains. [19] Key discoveries from the Middle Bronze Age include monumental architecture, a temple in the lower town, and a monumental high mound building featuring mudbrick walls preserved up to 1.5 meters high. [20] Geophysical surveys identified a densely occupied urban layout, including a city wall with towers at regular intervals, [20] demonstrating that Kurd Qaburstan's lower town was densely occupied. [21]

Selected publications

Schwartz is the author and editor of numerous influential books and journal articles [1] in the fields of Archaeology and Anthropology, including:

Awards and honors

In addition to awards for his publications, Schwartz has received numerous grants and fellowships from organizations such as the National Science Foundation [26] and the National Geographic Society. [1]

In 2022, he was the recipient of P. E. MacAllister Field Archaeology Award, a lifetime achievement award given by the American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR) honoring archaeologists who make exceptional contributions to the field. [27]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Glenn M. Schwartz". Near Eastern Studies. 2016-03-16. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  2. 1 2 "About the Expedition". Umm el-Marra, Syria. 2013-09-10. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  3. 1 2 "Home". Kurd Qaburstan. 2013-09-10. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  4. Wilford, John Noble (2000-10-03). "Dazzling Tomb Found in Syria Leaves Archaeologists Puzzled". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  5. Wilford, John Noble (2006-10-24). "Artifacts Unearthed in Syria Hint at Ancient Burial Rituals of Elite". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  6. Gorman, James (2022-01-14). "The Kunga Was a Status Symbol Long Before the Thoroughbred". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  7. Bennett, E. Andrew; Weber, Jill; Bendhafer, Wejden; Champlot, Sophie; Peters, Joris; Schwartz, Glenn M.; Grange, Thierry; Geigl, Eva-Maria (2022-01-14). "The genetic identity of the earliest human-made hybrid animals, the kungas of Syro-Mesopotamia". Science Advances. 8 (2): eabm0218. Bibcode:2022SciA....8..218B. doi:10.1126/sciadv.abm0218. ISSN   2375-2548. PMC   8759742 . PMID   35030024.
  8. Naddaf, Miryam (2024-11-26). "Evidence of oldest known alphabet unearthed among Syrian tomb treasures" . Nature. 636 (8041): 18. Bibcode:2024Natur.636...18N. doi:10.1038/d41586-024-03876-3. ISSN   1476-4687. PMID   39609550.
  9. Pappas, Stephanie. "World's Oldest Alphabet Found on an Ancient Clay Gift Tag". Scientific American. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  10. "Things I've Learned with Archaeology professor Glenn Schwartz". College Confidential Forums. 2010-04-05. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  11. EttanEhsan (2025-01-23). Interview with Archaeologist Dr Glenn Schwartz: Discovering the Oldest Alphabetic Script in History! . Retrieved 2025-01-24 via YouTube.
  12. "A Ceramic Chronology from Tell Leilan". Near Eastern Studies. 1989-09-10. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Animals, Ancestors, and Ritual in Early Bronze Age Syria: An Elite Mortuary Complex from Umm el-Marra | UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology". www.ioa.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  14. 1 2 3 Schwartz, Glenn M. (2015). Rural archaeology in early urban northern Mesopotamia: excavations at Tell al-Raqa'i. Monumenta archaeologica. Los Angeles (Calif.): Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press. ISBN   978-1-938770-04-3.
  15. Schwartz, Glenn M.; Curvers, Hans H. (July 1992). "Tell al-Raqā'i 1989 and 1990: Further Investigations at a Small Rural Site of Early Urban Northern Mesopotamia" . American Journal of Archaeology. 96 (3): 397–419. doi:10.2307/506065. ISSN   0002-9114. JSTOR   506065.
  16. Magazine, Smithsonian; Gamillo, Elizabeth. "This Ancient Wild Ass Was the Earliest Known Animal Hybrid Bred by Humans". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  17. "Saving the Middle East's Past With Twitter and Other Online Tools". The Chronicle of Higher Education. 2014-08-13. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  18. 1 2 Schwartz, Glenn M.; Brinker, Christopher D.; Iii, Andrew T. Creekmore; Feldman, Marian H.; Smith, Alexia; Weber, Jill A. (December 2017). "EXCAVATIONS AT KURD QABURSTAN, A SECOND MILLENNIUMb.c. URBAN SITE ON THE ERBIL PLAIN" . IRAQ. 79: 213–255. doi:10.1017/irq.2017.2. ISSN   0021-0889.
  19. Schwartz, Glenn M.; Creekmore, Andrew T.; Smith, Alexia; Weber, Jill A.; Webster, Lyndelle (December 2022). "KURD QABURSTAN ON THE ERBIL PLAIN: FIELD RESEARCH 2016–2017" . Iraq. 84: 189–230. doi:10.1017/irq.2022.2. ISSN   0021-0889.
  20. 1 2 "2017 Excavations". Kurd Qaburstan. 2022-10-13. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  21. Creekmore, Andrew (2019). "High-Density Urban Living at Middle Bronze Age Kurd Qaburstan, Iraq".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  22. Akkermans, Peter M. M. G.; Schwartz, Glenn M. (2003). The Archaeology of Syria: from Complex Hunter-Gatherers to Early Urban Societies (c. 16,000-300 BC). Cambridge world archaeology. Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-79230-1.
  23. Porter, Anne; Schwartz, Glenn M., eds. (2012). Sacred killing: the archaeology of sacrifice in the ancient Near East. Winona Lake, Ind: Eisenbrauns. ISBN   978-1-57506-236-5.
  24. "Previous Award Recipients - American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR)". 2017-03-28. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  25. Islam, Moni (2024-12-03). "2024 ASOR Honors & Awards - American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR)" . Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  26. "NSF Award Search: Award # 0137513 - An Elite Mortuary Complex at Umm el-Marra: Ancestor Veneration and the Emergence of Syrian Complex Society". www.nsf.gov. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  27. Ostovich, Marta (2022-12-05). "2022 ASOR Honors & Awards - American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR)" . Retrieved 2025-01-23.