This page will contain information about the comparative study of ancient cities and urbanism. I am starting out with information and references to my own work on this topic, but I plan to expand and add material and links as I have time.

Book Series: Ancient Cities of the New World

Transdisciplinary Research Project: "Urban Organization Through the Ages: Neighborhoods, Open Spaces, and Urban Life" (we now have an incipient website)

Principal Investigators: Christopher Boone, George L. Cowgill, Sharon L. Harlan, Michael E. Smith, Barbara Stark, and Abigail York

We will spend about four years investigating urban neighborhoods and open spaces across space and time.

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• In a recent issue of the journal Science, Michael Heckenberger and colleagues call some Amazonian village sites "urban" settlements. See my critique of this label on my publishing blog (with citations, etc.).

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• Interesting links:

The Codes Project: An Anthology of Regulations that have Shaped Urban Life. A very interesting online project that includes ancient urban codes from Mesopotamia and the Islamic world.

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  Some papers on ancient cities:

Article: Smith, ME. (2008) City Planning: Aztec City Planning. In: Encyclopaedia of the History of Non-Westsern Science, Technology and Medicine, 2nd edition, edited by Helaine Selin. vol. 1, pp. 577-578. Springer.

Article: Smith, Michael E. (2007) Form and Meaning in the Earliest Cities: A New Approach to Ancient Urban Planning. Journal of Planning History 6(1):3-47.

Article: Smith, Michael E. (2005) City Size in Late Postclassic Mesoamerica. Journal of Urban History 31:403-434.

Book chapter: Smith, Michael E. (2002) The Earliest Cities. In Urban Life: Readings in Urban Anthropology, edited by George Gmelch and Walter Zenner, pp. 3-19. 4th ed. Waveland Press, Prospect Heights, IL

Text from a Poster: Smith, Michael E. (2008) Urbanism in the Southwest? A New Perspective. Paper presented at the Southwest Symposium 2008, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.

Encyclopedia chapter:  Smith, Michael E. (2001) Urbanization. In The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures: The Civilizations of Mexico and Central America, edited by Davíd Carrasco, pp. 290-294. vol. 3. Oxford University Press, New York.

BRONZE AGE ORIENTATION DAY

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For More Information:
Michael E. Smith's Home Page || || List of Articles & Downloads

To send an email message, click here: mesmith9@asu.edu

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© 2009, Michael E. Smith (revised 1/26/2009)