Post-Childe, Post-Wirth: Response to Smith, Ur and Feinman

Taylor, Peter (2015) Post-Childe, Post-Wirth: Response to Smith, Ur and Feinman. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 39 (1). pp. 168-171. ISSN 0309 1317

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Abstract

This is a reply to a critique of Jane Jacobs' cities first' thesis with respect to agricultural origins. The critique's basic premise is that the archaeological record regarding the development of agriculture precedes the earliest cities and therefore the thesis is empirically refuted. Accepting this archaeological record for agriculture, the dispute centres on the archaeological record for city origins. Substituting a process definition of citiescity-nessfor a thing' definition (e.g. monumentality), this reply opens up pre-Mesopotamian possibilities for city networks while conceding the difficulty in empirically obtaining evidence in earlier periods. Thus Jacobs' thesis cannot be absolutely refuted, and an exciting agenda for urban research emerges for archaeologists and social scientists.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	L700 Human and Social Geography
Department:	Faculties > Engineering and Environment > Geography and Environmental Sciences
Depositing User:	Becky Skoyles
Date Deposited:	09 Apr 2015 15:48
Last Modified:	13 Oct 2019 00:21
URI:	http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/22024

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