Oxbow Books started life in 1983 in a shed in the garden of St Cross College, Oxford. It was founded by academic and museum archaeologist, David Brown, whose vision was to publish archaeology, ancient history andEuropean history: medieval period, Middle Ages as high quality, reasonably priced books and to distribute and retail the widest range of titles possible.
They publish in many areas and series such as Cretan Studies Greek & Roman Pottery From Sphakia and Oxbow Classics in Egyptology
Book SynopsisExplanations in Iconography: Ancient American Indian Art, Symbol, and Meaning is a significant contribution to archaeology and to- iconography studies – a discipline that has gradually been coming into its own. Iconography is a rich and fascinating field when applied to the complex and enigmatic imagery on many ancient Pre-Columbian artifacts. When viewed through the lens of early ethnographic records and American Indian oral traditions – as well as information from knowledgeable American Indian elders – it opens a world of understanding and clarity until recently unknown in the field of anthropological archaeology. It brings us closer to the people who created the artifacts and offers a glimpse into the symbols and beliefs that were important to them. Chapters cover a wide variety of artifacts and imagery from several ancient American Indian cultures, drawn from a variety of regions, mainly in the Midwest and Eastern United States. These artifacts include petroglyphs and pictographs (rock art), mounds, engraved shell cups and gorgets, burial architecture and grave furniture, pottery, copper repoussé, and other media. Ancient graphics, engravings, mounds, and all were created to deliver a message to the viewer – many of which are finally coming to light. This volume encourages the reader to look more deeply into the meaning behind ancient imagery and arts, and give the past a chance to be known.Table of ContentsContributors Preface 1. I Thoughts and ideas on how iconography works – a basic primer on how to do iconography Carol Diaz-Granados 2. SON OF THE SUN: Iconography in rock art and artifacts that reveals important associations between symbolism associated with Dhegiha religion, celestial bodies and Western Mississippian Ideology James R. Duncan and Carol Diaz-Granados Vestiges of the Birdman at Etowah Vestiges of the First Man Lineage at Etowah (Georgia) Adam King 4. The House Between Life and Death: Interpretations About the Organization of Mound 3 at the Lake Jackson Site J. Grant Stauffer 5. Effigy mounds and rock art of midcontinental North America: Shared iconography, shared stories Bradley T. Lepper, Robert F. Boszhardt, James R. Duncan, and Carol Diaz-Granados (reprint from North American Archaeologist, with permission) 6. “Paired Figures Confronting a Forked Pole:” So What’s Up with the Forked Pole? George Sabo III and Alex W. Barker 7. The Hero Twins in the Lower Mississippi Valley David H. Dye 8. Arguments for the Age of Serpent Mound Bradley T. Lepper, James R. Duncan, Carol Diaz-Granados, Tod Frolking (reprint from Cambridge Archaeological Journal, with permission) 9. Contextualizing Mississippian Statuary from the Mississippi/Ohio River Confluence Steven L. Boles 10. The Great Importance of the Great Serpent James R. Duncan Index
£999.99
Book SynopsisThe Late Minoan III Necropolis of Armenoi, Crete (ca. 1390–1190 BC) is the only intact, complete Late Minoan necropolis presently known, of which 232 tombs have been excavated. The research project was the first large-scale genomic sampling of skeletal material from a single site in Bronze Age Greece, as well as being the first time a multi-disciplinary approach with ancient DNA as its focus has been conducted on a large, well-curated necropolis assemblage. As such it provides a unique opportunity to answer archaeological questions, the most important of which are kinship, an analysis of the origin and ancestry of those buried in the tombs, the homogeneity of the population or otherwise, and diet. The analysis programme was only possible because the tombs had not been seriously disturbed, and human skeletal remains had survived and been expertly conserved. The results of ancient DNA, stable isotope analysis, osteological analysis, and radiocarbon dating are presented, providing the first detailed record of ancestry and kinship in this iconic period of Eastern Mediterranean prehistory.In addition, the long-debated problem of the location of the wealthy city of da-*22-to, referred to many times in the Linear B tablets, is addressed and key evidence is presented. The rich finds in the Necropolis, the town excavation, and in the environs, support the interpretation that the ‘city’ that built the Necropolis is da-*22-to.Table of ContentsFigures and Tables Conventions and Abbreviations Chronology Acknowledgements Map of Site 1. Introduction 2. The Archaeology of the Late Minoan III Necropolis of Armenoi: an Introduction 3. The Bioarchaeological Analysis of Human and Faunal Skeletal Remains 4. Multi-isotopic Measurements of Human Remains at the Late Minoan III Necropolis of Armenoi 5. The Archaeological Significance of the DNA and Stable Isotope Results 6. The Identification of da-*22-to 7. The Archaeological Evidence which Supports the Identification of the Late Minoan III City of Armenoi as da-*22-to
£999.99
Book Synopsis
£40.50
Book SynopsisPresents, with a fully illustrated catalogue, the first study of 133, more-or-less complete, surviving Limoges enamels in the medieval Norwegian Church province (12thâ14th century). The central theme is the cultural context of the enamels, trade routes and their visual vocabulary, supplied by the ecclesiastical conventions, that they convey.
£999.99
Book SynopsisFirst ever national synthesis of the Neolithic Impressed Ware ceramic tradition that dominates the Middle Neolithic period in Britain and Ireland, arranged by region, and written by acknowledged experts in their field.
£52.07
