ABSTRACT

The chronological framework developed through Culture Historical studies is employed as a time line by virtually all archaeologists working in southern Mesopotamia. Just as Culture Historical research required new methods to address novel issues, so too did studying the state through a Processualist lens lead to the development of new research designs. Researchers in Mesopotamia gradually became aware that the people they knew from the Bible were late manifestations of earlier civilizations. Robert McCormick Adams was one of the major figures responsible for translating the principles of Processualism into research strategies pursued in southern Mesopotamia. Adams's comparative research into processes of increasing sociopolitical complexity has also inspired numerous archaeologists conducting investigations within and beyond the Processualist school. Immanuel Wallerstein is a sociologist who early in his career was concerned with the unequal economic relations that pertain on a global scale and the historical roots of those inequities.