Archaeology in the Backwater: Peter Akkermans in the Balikh and the BadiaH. Huigens and K. DuistermaatBibliography of Peter M.M.G. AkkermansCompiled by H. HuigensI. Death And SocietyCause and Manner of Death at Late Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad: A Forensic DiscussionE. SmitsBetween Life and Death: Continuing Bonds at Late Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad, SyriaK. Croucher and J.-H. PlugThe Syrian Excavations at Amrith VIII – The Tombs Excavated in 1954M. Al-Maqdissi and Eva IshaqAnd The Flames Went Higher: A Study of a Late Bronze Age Pyre-Pit Grave from Tell Sabi Abyad, SyriaKeshia A.N. AkkermansOn Ends and New Beginnings: Monumentality and Changing Funerary Landscapes in Palmyra (3rd – 8th century CE)Lidewijde de JongII. Settlement and SocietyThe 9th Millennium BCE in the Northwestern Badia of Jordan: Wadi Jilat 7 and Mushash 163K. BartlDefining the Boundaries: Radiocarbon Dating Late Neolithic Tell Sabi AbyadJ. van der Plicht and J.-H. PlugDevelopments in Food Storage at Late Seventh Millennium BCE Tell Sabi Abyad, Syria: Buildings with Suspended FloorsM.L. BrüningRound Versus Rectangular. Some Thoughts on the Interpretation of Early Houses.D.J.W. MeijerWhere There’s Smoke, There’s… Ritual? Interpreting Burnt Buildings of the Cypriot ChalcolithicV. KlinkenbergShifting Societies in Chalcolithic CyprusB.S. DüringWorkers of Assyria Unite! Building the Walls of Dur-ŠarrukēnA. PolitopoulosIII. Images, Objects, and SocietyDividing the World, Directing the Mind: Boundaries, Art and Ritual at Göbekli TepeM. VerhoevenFigurines in Transition. Changes in Figurine Practices at Tell Sabi Abyad from the Initial Pottery Neolithic to the Transitional Phase (ca. 7000 – 5900 BCE)M. ArntzHidden Hunters: Hunting Scenes as Micro-Landscapes in Black Desert Rock ArtN.Ø. BrusgaardT-Scraper or an ‘Eccentric Bucranium’? Interpretations of an Enigmatic Artefact from the Ruwayshid Flint Mines in North-East-JordanB. Müller-NeuhofExperiencing Gypsum PlasterB. Nilhamn and S. KumeStirring the Spirit: Magical Treasure Hunting and Europeans in West Asia (ca. 1800-1930 CE)K. BerghuijsThis book is a tribute to the remarkable achievements of Peter M.M.G. Akkermans in the archaeology of West Asia. A focus on previously overlooked periods and regions has been the hallmark of his work. Instead of investigating the traditional key transitions and core regions that have been central to the archaeology of West Asia, Peter always aimed to shed light on the ‘in-between’ periods and regions, often dismissed as being ‘marginal’ (in his words ‘marginal to whom or what?’). Through his long-term, systematic research in the ‘backwaters’ of the Balikh and the Badia, Peter demonstrated that these supposedly ‘marginal’ places and periods have, in fact, very rich and complex archaeological histories and are of key importance for understanding West Asia’s past and present. Throughout his long career Peter has collaborated with and inspired many researchers, and he has mentored generations of upcoming archaeologists. Here, a selection of his former students and colleagues present a series of studies on societies and periods at the margins of research in West Asia. The contributions, written by an international group of authors, are organised in three broad themes that have also featured in Peter’s career: ‘death and society’, ‘settlements and society’, and ‘images, objects, and society’. We are convinced that colleagues working on West Asian archaeology who have appreciated the work of Peter M.M.G. Akkermans will find much of interest in this volume.