Archaeological theory Books

Book SynopsisExcavations carried out by Oxford Archaeology in advance of the building of the Oracle shopping centre revealed a long sequence of development of the Kennet floodplain at Reading. This volume reports on the substantial evidence recovered for medieval and post-medieval water management, milling at the Minster Mill and St Giles Mill, the tanning, leather working and dyeing industries, and an unusual building interpreted as the 12th- to 13th-century cookhouse of Reading Abbey. The stories of two well-known Reading sites, the Oracle Workhouse and the Yield Hall, are followed from the medieval period up to the 19th century. Substantial specialist reports include pottery, glass, leatherworking, dendrochronology and clay pipes.Trade Review...this is a valuable advance in the demystification of an English medieval town. -- Medieval Archaeology Medieval Archaeology haeology

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Mediterranean landscape record is recognized for its length and richness and the opportunity it offers to study the interaction between humans and their landscape. This volume explores a variety of current archaeological issues in the context of specific landscapes from southern Spain through Greece and Cyprus to Jordan and from antiquity to recent times. Over the last 25 years, researchers have initiated a dramatic expansion in theoretical approaches—both anthropological and classical. Over the same time span, a huge volume of field survey projects has been carried out in the Mediterranean arena. The contributors to Mediterranean Archaeological Landscapes take stock of what has been learned, identify lacunae, and consider new approaches to our understanding of the rich surface landscape record of the Mediterranean. Their goal is to explore theoretically diverse interpretative themes and the methods that make those approachable.

Read more less

Book SynopsisLandscapes of Movement originates from the premise that trails, paths, and roads are the physical manifestation of human movement through the landscape and are central to an understanding of that movement. The study of these features connects with many intellectual domains, engaging history, geography, environmental studies, and, in particular, anthropology and archaeology. These diverse fields together provide not only a better understanding of infrastructure but also of social, political, and economic organization, cultural expressions of patterned movement, and the ways in which trails, paths, and roads reflect a culture's traditional knowledge, worldview, memory, and identity. The contributors to Landscapes of Movement document these routes across different times and cultures, from those made by hunter-gatherers in the Great Basin of North America to causeways in the Bolivian Amazon to Bronze Age towns in the Near East, examined through aerial and satellite photography, surface survey, historic records, and archaeological excavation. The essays consider many factors in the development and use of trails, paths, and roads, including labor, technology, terrain characteristics, landscape features, access, and ownership. Diverse scales of movement are also addressed, ranging from paths between home and fields to roads used for long-distance journeying. Overall, the book makes the case for the centrality of paths, trails, and roads as an organizing element of human lives throughout history. PMIRC, volume 1Table of ContentsFigures Tables Foreword Preface 1 Making Human Space: The Archaeology of Trails, Paths, and Roads —James E. Snead, Clark L. Erickson, and J. Andrew Darling 2 Kukhepya: Searching for Hopi Trails —T. J. Ferguson, G. Lennis Berlin, and Leigh J. Kuwanwisiwma 3 Trails of Tradition: Movement, Meaning, and Place —James E. Snead 4 O'odham Trails and the Archaeology of Space —J. Andrew Darling 5 Reconstructing Southern Paiute-Chemehuevi Trails in the Mojave Desert of Southern Nevada and California: Ethnographic Perspectives from the 1930s —Catherine S. Fowler 6 From Path to Myth: Journeys and the Naturalization of Territorial Identity along the Missouri River —María Nieves Zedeño, Kacy Hollenback, and Calvin Grinnell 7 A Road by Any Other Name: Trails, Paths, and Roads in Maya Language and Thought —Angela H. Keller 8 When the Construction of Meaning Preceded the Meaning of Construction: From Footpaths to Monumental Entrances in Ancient Costa Rica —Payson Sheets 9 Emergent Landscapes of Movement in Early Bronze Age Northern Mesopotamia —Jason Ur 10 Agency, Causeways, Canals, and the Landscapes of Everyday Life in the Bolivian Amazon —Clark L. Erickson 11 Precolumbian Causeways and Canals as Landesque Capital —Clark L. Erickson and John H. Walker 12 Routes through the Landscape: A Comparative Approach —Timothy Earle Appendix 1. Coding of the Cases of Paths, Trails, and Roads Discussed in the Conference —Timothy Earle Appendix 2. Comparative Variables for Trails, Paths, and Roads References Contributors

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe study of sanctuaries and sacred contexts in Magna Graecia and southern Italy has undergone profound changes in recent years. The discoveries of weapons in some sanctuaries (e.g. Caulonia) in museum magazines (e.g. Paestum) together with monographic studies on specific weapons (e.g. tanks) today allow systematic research of weapons in votive contexts. Especially important is the possibility of comparing ritual practice in different cultures. This volume collects contributions on the complexity, prevalence and significance of war in votive contexts of southern Italy between the Archaic and Roman periods.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisHomeric Chalkis is situated on the coast of Aetolia at the very ‘gateway’ of the Gulf of Patras. The foundation occurred during an important period in early Greek history when trade and movement of peoples along the Gulf intensified with a resulting strong pull to the coast. Well-preserved stratigraphies date the foundation to the early seventh century BC and testify to a flourishing settlement in the sixth century lasting till the early fifth century BC when the site was temporarily given up. Walls and roads follow a rectilinear layout. A broad spectre of pottery shapes and wares attest to innovative local and regional workshops already from the onset of the settlement. Alongside the pottery, tools for complex textile manufacture were found in all houses, among which were many small, pyramidal loom weights and spools. These findings indicated a high degree of experimental weaving techniques and demonstrated how the courtyard house, as a new house model, was particularly well suited to accommodate this manufacture, probably mantels. The results therefore offer important new evidence on relations between gender behaviour and Greek houses.The catalogue is richly illustrated with profile drawings, plans, black-and- white and colour photos and accompanied by discussions of the material.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis‘Ritual Failure’ is a new concept in archaeology adopted from the discipline of anthropology. Resilient religious systems disappearing, strict believers and faithful practitioners not performing their rites, entire societies changing their customs: how does a religious ritual system transform, change or disappear, leaving only traces of its past glory? Do societies change and then their ritual? Or do customs change first, in turn provoking wider cultural shifts in society? Archaeology possesses the tools and methodologies to explore these questions over the long term; from the emergence of a system, to its peak, and then its decay and disappearance, and in relation to wider social and chronological developments.The collected papers in this book introduce the concept of ‘ritual failure’ to archaeology. The analysis explores ways in which ritual may have been instrumental in sustaining cultural continuity during demanding social conditions, or how its functionality might have failed – resulting in discontinuity, change or collapse. The collected papers draw attention to those turbulent social times of change for which ritual practices are a sensitive indicator within the archaeological record. The book reviews archaeological evidence and theoretical approaches, and suggests models which could explain socio-cultural change through ritual failure. The concept of ‘ritual failure’ is also often used to better understand other themes, such as identity and wider social, economic and political transformations, shedding light on the social conditions that forced or introduced change.This book will engage those interested in ritual theory and practices, but will also appeal to those interested in exploring new avenues to understanding cultural change. From transformations in the use of ritual objects to the risks inherent in practicing ritual, from ritual continuity in customs to sudden and profound change, from the Neolithic Near East to Medieval Europe and Iron Age Africa, this book explores what happens when ritual fails.Table of ContentsIntroductionVasiliki G. Koutrafouri and Jeff SandersForeword: Introductory Thoughts on the Theme of “Ritual Failure. Archaeological Perspectives”.by Timothy InsollThe Passage of Matter: Transformations of Objects and Ritual Meanings in the Neolithic of the Near East.Marc VerhoevenThe sky almost never falls on your head – why ritual rarely failsJeff SandersRitual Failure in the Business Records of Mesopotamian TemplesMichael KozuhRitual Failure and the Temple collapse of prehistoric Malta.Caroline Malone and Simon StoddartFrom wells to pillars, and from pillars to…? Ritual systems transformation and collapse in the early prehistory of CyprusVasiliki G. KoutrafouriWhen Ancestors become Gods: The Transformation of Cypriote Ritual and Religion in the Late Bronze AgeDavid CollardColonial Entanglements and Cultic Heterogeneity on Rome’s Germanic FrontierKarim MataThe Dead Acrobat: Managing Risk and Minoan IconographyEvangelos KyriakidisDiscussion: Defining momentsby Richard Bradley

Read more less

Book SynopsisWith Experiments Past the important role that experimental archaeology has played in the development of archaeology is finally uncovered and understood. Experimental archaeology is a method to attempt to replicate archaeological artefacts and/or processes to test certain hypotheses or discover information about those artefacts and/or processes. It has been a key part of archaeology for well over a century, but such experiments are often embedded in wider research, conducted in isolation or never published or reported. Experiments Pasts provides readers with a glimpse of experimental work and experience that was previously inaccessible due to language, geographic and documentation barriers, while establishing a historical context for the issues confronting experimental archaeology today.This volume contains formal papers on the history of experimental methodologies in archaeology, as well as personal experiences of the development of experimental archaeology from early leaders in the field, such as Hans-Ole Hansen. Also represented in these chapters are the histories of experimental approaches to taphonomy, the archaeology of boats, building structures and agricultural practices, as well as narratives on how experimental archaeology has developed on a national level in several European countries and its role in encouraging a wide-scale interest and engagement with the past.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this second part of The Schliemann Diaries we follow Heinrich Schliemann (the famous 19th century archaeologist, trader and traveller) through his diary on his second journey: his travels to America from December 1850 to March 1853. The original diary was written in English and for a small part in Spanish. This publication is a transcription and translation of Schliemann’s travel diary.In 1850 the millionaire Schliemann decided to end his job as trader in Russia and to try his luck in the United States. He travelled via Europe to New York and Washington and then via Panama on to the goldfields in California. He made a second fortune in Sacramento with buying gold dust and with banking. After two years he returned to Europe and got married in St Petersburg.In this diary Schliemann describes his travels from the perspective of a wealthy business man in the mid-19th century and writes about the landscape, his visits to the theatre, the hotels he used, his much discussed meeting with the American president, his lucrative banking business in California, etc. His travels and accommodation weren’t always without danger. Schliemann describes in detail the extreme heat and humidity, fatal illnesses, rainstorms, floods, mosquitoes, robbers, murderers and swindlers.Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890) was a shrewd trader and later in life he became one of the best known archaeologists of the 19th century for discovering the legendary city of Troy and the golden masks of Mycenae. Schliemann also made many travels around the world and recorded his experiences in several diaries. In this series, all Schliemann’s travel diaries will be made available to a wider public by means of a transcription, an English translation and an introduction. These publications will present a new image of the trader and archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann and the world in which he lived.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this book an analysis of over 300 animal bone assemblages from English Saxon and Scandinavian sites is presented. The data set is summarised in extensive tables for use as comparanda for future archaeozoological studies.Animals in Saxon and Scandinavian England takes as its core four broad areas of analysis. The first is an investigation of the diet of the population, and how food was used to establish social boundaries. Increasingly diverse diets are recognised, with high-status populations distinguishing themselves from other social sectors through the way food was redistributed and the diversity of taxa consumed.Secondly, the role of animals in the economy is considered, looking at how animal husbandry feeds into underlying modes of production throughout the Saxon period. From the largely self-sufficient early Saxon phase animal husbandry becomes more specialised to supply increasingly urban settlements. The ensuing third deliberation takes into account the foodways and interactions between producer and consumer sites, considering the distribution of food and raw materials between farm, table and craft worker. Fundamental changes in the nature of the Saxon economy distinguish a move away from food renders in the middle Saxon phase to market-based provisioning; opening the way for greater autonomy of supply and demand. Finally, the role of wics and burhs as centres of production is investigated, particularly the organisation of manufacture and provisioning with raw materials.

Read more less

Book SynopsisJacob van Breda de Haan is known as the author of the name Phytophthora nicotianae n.sp., the causal agent of ‘black shank’, an important disease of tobacco. Who was he? Where did he work? What did he publish? He published in Dutch, 1896, in a Dutch colonial report series. Next question: what more on tobacco diseases was written in obscure, colonial Dutch documents? Another scientist, Thung Tjeng Hiang, better known as the first Wageningen professor of plant virology, presented two original papers in Dutch on ‘black shank’ with the word ‘epidemiologie’ in their title, 1931 and 1938. Therewith Thung was an early bird in plant disease epidemiology.The foundational paper by van Breda de Haan and two important papers by Thung are presented here in English translation. Both authors worked in the former Dutch East Indies, present Indonesia, the first on the island of Sumatera, the latter on that of Java. Both were in the service of tobacco planters; they had to solve immediate problems as fast as possible. In a pioneer situation, van Breda de Haan was confronted with a sudden seedling disease which devastated the tobacco seedlings in the seed beds and which, yes, could lead to ‘black shank’ in adult plants. Thung, working in a well-organized environment, had to prevent ‘black shank’ in the tobacco plantations.Both authors were successful in controlling disease by means of a combination of ecological intervention and chemical treatment. Whereas van Breda de Haan could only dream of genetic control, Thung could incorporate the use of a fairly resistant cultivar in his recommendations. The 1896 paper has epidemiological observations scattered throughout, without using the word epidemiology. The 1931 and 1938 papers are probably ‘firsts’ in the Dutch phytopathological literature having epidemiology in their title, one an early study in quantitative, comparative epidemiology and the other an early version of landscape epidemiology.The three papers are preceded by a sketch of tobacco cultivation in the former Dutch East Indies, describing the position of the two authors in the tobacco scene; they are followed by a long-due biography of a forgotten plant pathologist, Jacob van Breda de Haan

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe original circumstances in which archaeological remains came into being are crucial for the interpretation of the material record. Burials are first and foremost a result of a very traumatic event in a society – the death of one of its members. It is due to this context that burials represent a primary source for understanding past societies’ attitudes towards death.Barbara Hausmair traces death concepts and their influence on mortuary rituals in early medieval communities in what is today known as southwest Germany. Using the cemeteries of Bad Mingolsheim, Horb-Altheim and Weingarten as case studies, the author compares archaeological patterns based on grave goods and grave arrangements with anthropological data on age, sex, pathologies, trauma and migration patterns of the deceased. By connecting the observed patterns with social theories on human death behaviour, Hausmair dissects the complex network of the burial communities’ social structures, death concepts and the newly constructed identities of the dead in the afterlife. Her thanatological approach provides original insights into the relationships between burial practices and ideas about death in Merovingian-period Alamannia by sensibly combining theoretical considerations with a thorough analysis of archaeological material. TEXT IN GERMAN.

Read more less

Book SynopsisArchaeological writing is faced with an impasse: it has become repetitive and remote from the reading public. No large-scale excavations are taking place because of the large sums of money required. Archaeological theories are rapidly overturned and archaeological methods are trapped in the technocracy of Archaeometry. The Excavation Manual has emerged from a crisis of this kind. Its texts, written in simple, everyday language, attempt to hint at this situation. Sometimes they are merely descriptive and sometimes condemnatory or satirical. Above all, however, they envisage the renewal of archaeology in action. Text in Greek.

Read more less