Psychology and Antiquity: A Prehistorian's Perspective

When the Babylonians and Medes sacked the Assyrian royal palace at Nineveh in 612 B.C., they set about a systematic program of destruction of its contents, conspicuously including the spectacular relief sculptures that lined the walls of its rooms and corridors. The product of immense labor and skill and originally painted in vivid color, the low relief panels are rightly regarded as some of antiquity’s finest artistic achievements. Most disciplines in the social sciences have had their debates about appropriate paradigms. After a period of “scientificization” of archaeology—particularly prehistory—in the mid 20th century, archaeology went through a “post-processual” phase. Archaeology had its roots in enlightenment antiquarianism, and began in earnest with the great period of exploration of the 19th and early 20th centuries. It professionalised in the context of unprecedented access by western powers to major sites on a scale unheard of today.