Joseph Lehner

The University of Sydney, Archaeology, Faculty Member

Institute of Nautical Archaeology, Bodrum Research Center, Affiliated Scholar

University of Central Florida, Anthropology, Courtesy Assistant Professor

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I am an anthropological archaeologist who specializes in early state level societies in the Near East. I am particularly interested in developing theory in the evolution of cooperation and complex economic behavior associated with large-scale societies. I am currently focusing on raw material acquisition networks and the technology in Central Anatolia during periods of political and economic integration.

My principal work is at Kerkenes Dag, the site of a 7th-6th century BC urban center in what is now the Yozgat province of central Turkey. I also collaborate with the German Archaeological Institute project at Bogazköy-Hattusa, the Johns Hopkins Archaeological Water Histories of Oman Project, and the Institute of Nautical Archaeology Cape Gelidonya Shipwreck Project. In addition to conducting fieldwork in Turkey, I have also worked in Egypt, India, Oman, and Alaska.

https://sydney.edu.au/arts/staff/profiles/joseph.lehner.php
http://kerkenesproject.org
http://sites.krieger.jhu.edu/arwho/
Supervisors: Craig Melchert, David Scott, Charles Stanish, and Elizabeth Carter
Phone: +614 1000 5192
Address: Department of Archaeology
A14 - The Quadrangle
The University of Sydney
Sydney, NSW 2006

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Books by Joseph Lehner

Ausgrabungen und Forschungen in der westlichen Oberstadt von Hattusa II: Das Mittlere Plateau zwischen Sarıkale und Yenicekale

by Andreas Schachner, Joseph Lehner, and Meltem Doğan-Alparslan

Zwischen 2007 und 2009 wurde auf einem strategisch günstigen Plateau in der Oberstadt der hethiti... more Zwischen 2007 und 2009 wurde auf einem strategisch günstigen Plateau in der Oberstadt der hethitischen Hauptstadt Hattusa ein Gebäude freigelegt, das wohl als Residenz des Kommandanten der königlichen Leibgarde zu identifizieren ist. Die Architektur und Funde ermöglichen Einblicke in das Leben der hethitischen Eliten. Byzantinische Befunde sprechen dafür, dass das Dorf des 10. Jhs. n. Chr. größer war und überregionale Kontakte bestanden.

Dissertation by Joseph Lehner

Cooperation, the Craft Economy, and Metal Technology during the Bronze and Iron Ages in Central Anatolia (PhD Dissertation 2015)

One of the most important transitions in human evolutionary history is the emergence and developm... more One of the most important transitions in human evolutionary history is the emergence and development of large-scale complex societies. The role of copper and bronze in the context of the emergence of Bronze and Iron Age states in the Near East is poorly understood due to a relative lack of comprehensive analysis of diachronic archaeometallurgical data. Excavations from Boğazköy and Kerkenes Dağ in central Anatolia have recovered one of the largest, diverse, and stratified corpora of copper objects and metal production debris, spanning the period from the Early Bronze Age, ca. 2300 BC, until the Late Iron Age, mid-5th century BC. Analysis of over 1100 objects employing energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF), in field portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF), and select lead isotope analyses using multiple collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS) demonstrate that the rise of political complexity is closely tied to increases in trade and the management of commodity chains. Textual evidence illustrates how the Hittite state in particular managed the mobilization of metal commodities and finished goods as taxes, gifts, and payments for labor. Metal trade is further linked to state finance systems to explain how production and trade are tied to strategies of economic integration and interregional networking in Anatolia and beyond in the Near East and Mediterranean regions.

Papers by Joseph Lehner

Detecting and Mapping Slag Heaps at Ancient Copper Production Sites in Oman

by Joseph Lehner, Michael Harrower, Bernhard Pracejus, Ioana A . Dumitru, Smiti Nathan, and Barbara Helwing

Remote Sensing, 2019

This study presents a new approach for detection and mapping of ancient slag heaps using 16-band ... more This study presents a new approach for detection and mapping of ancient slag heaps using 16-band multispectral satellite imagery. Understanding the distribution of slag (a byproduct of metal production) is of great importance for understanding how metallurgy shaped long-term economic and political change across the ancient Near East. This study presents results of slag mapping in Oman using WorldView-3 (WV3) satellite imagery. A semi-automated target detection routine using a mixed tuned matched filtering (MTMF) algorithm with scene-derived spectral signatures was applied to 16-band WV3 imagery. Associated field mapping at two copper production sites indicates that WorldView-3 satellite data can differentiate slag and background materials with a relatively high (>90%) overall accuracy. Although this method shows promise for future initiatives to discover and map slag deposits, difficulties in dark object spectral differentiation and underestimation of total slag coverage substantially limit its use. Resulting lower estimations of combined user's (61%) and producer's (45%) accuracies contextualize these limitations for slag specific classification. Accordingly, we describe potential approaches to address these challenges in future studies. As sites of ancient metallurgy in Oman are often located in areas of modern exploration and mining, detection and mapping of ancient slag heaps via satellite imagery can be helpful for discovery and monitoring of vulnerable cultural heritage sites.

Joseph Lehner

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