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The Archaeology of Roman Britain: Biography and Identity (Routledge Studies in Archaeology)
by Adam RogersWithin the colonial history of the British Empire there are difficulties in reconstructing the lives of people that came from very different traditions of experience. The Archaeology of Roman Britain argues that a similar critical approach to the lives of people in Roman Britain needs to be developed, not only for the study of the local population but also those coming into Britain from elsewhere in the Empire who developed distinctive colonial lives. This critical, biographical approach can be extended and applied to places, structures, and things which developed in these provincial contexts as they were used and experienced over time. This book uniquely combines the study of all of these elements to access the character of Roman Britain and the lives, experiences, and identities of people living there through four centuries of occupation. Drawing on the concept of the biography and using it as an analytical tool, author Adam Rogers situates the archaeological material of Roman Britain within the within the political, geographical, and temporal context of the Roman Empire. This study will be of interest to scholars of Roman archaeology, as well as those working in biographical themes, issues of colonialism, identity, ancient history, and classics.
The Archaeology of Sanitation in Roman Italy: Toilets, Sewers, and Water Systems (Studies in the History of Greece and Rome)
by Ann Olga Koloski-OstrowThe Romans developed sophisticated methods for managing hygiene, including aqueducts for moving water from one place to another, sewers for removing used water from baths and runoff from walkways and roads, and public and private latrines. Through the archeological record, graffiti, sanitation-related paintings, and literature, Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow explores this little-known world of bathrooms and sewers, offering unique insights into Roman sanitation, engineering, urban planning and development, hygiene, and public health. Focusing on the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Ostia, and Rome, Koloski-Ostrow's work challenges common perceptions of Romans' social customs, beliefs about health, tolerance for filth in their cities, and attitudes toward privacy. In charting the complex history of sanitary customs from the late republic to the early empire, Koloski-Ostrow reveals the origins of waste removal technologies and their implications for urban health, past and present.
The Archaeology of Science
by Michael Brian SchifferThis manual pulls together--and illustrates with interesting case studies--the variety of specialized and generalized archaeological research strategies that yield new insights into science. Throughout the book there are templates, consisting of questions, to help readers visualize and design their own projects. The manual seeks to be as general as possible, applicable to any society, and so science is defined as the creation of useful knowledge--the kinds of knowledge that enable people to make predictions. The chapters in Part I discuss the scope of the archaeology of science and furnish a conceptual foundation for the remainder of the book. Next, Part II presents several specialized, but widely practiced, research strategies that contribute to the archaeology of science. In order to thoroughly ground the manual in real-life applications, Part III presents lengthy case studies that feature the use of historical and archaeological evidence in the study of scientific activities.
The Archaeology of Shamanism
by Neil S. PriceIn this timely collection, Neil Price provides a general introduction to the archaeology of shamanism by bringing together recent archaeological thought on the subject. Blending theoretical discussion with detailed case studies, the issues addressed include shamanic material culture, responses to dying and the dead, shamanic soundscapes, the use of ritual architecture and shamanism in the context of other belief systems such as totemism. Following an intial orientation reviewing shamanism as an anthropological construct, the volume focuses on the Northern hemisphere with case studies from Greenland to Nepal, Siberia to Kazakhstan. The papers span a chronological range from Upper Palaeolithic to the present and explore such cross-cutting themes as gender and the body, identity, landscape, architecture, as well as shamanic interpretations of rock art and shamanism in the heritage and cultural identity of indigenous peoples. The volume also addresses the interpretation of shamanic beliefs in terms of cognitive neuroscience and the modern public perception of prehistoric shamanism.
The Archaeology of Slavery and Plantation Life
by Theresa A SingletonThis volume represented a compilation of interdisciplinary research being done throughout the American South and the Caribbean by historians, archaeologists, architects, anthropologists, and other scholars on the topic of slavery and plantations. It synthesizes materials known through the 1980s and reports on key sites of excavation and survey in the Carolinas, Barbados, Louisiana and other locations. Contributors include many of the leading figures in historical archaeology.
The Archaeology of Slavery in Early Medieval Northern Europe: The Invisible Commodity (Themes in Contemporary Archaeology)
by Marek Jankowiak Felix BiermannThis volume is the first comprehensive study of the material imprint of slavery in early medieval Europe. While written sources attest to the ubiquity of slavery and slave trade in early medieval British Isles, Scandinavia and Slavic lands, it is still difficult to find material traces of this reality, other than the hundreds of thousands of Islamic coins paid in exchange for the northern European slaves. This volume offers the first structured reflection on how to bridge this gap. It reviews the types of material evidence that can be associated with the institution of slavery and the slave trade in early medieval northern Europe, from individual objects (such as e.g. shackles) to more comprehensive landscape approaches.The book is divided into four sections. The first presents the analytical tools developed in Africa and prehistoric Europe to identify and describe social phenomena associated with slavery and the slave trade. The following three section review the three main cultural zones of early medieval northern Europe: the British Isles, Scandinavia, and Slavic central Europe. The contributions offer methodological reflections on the concept of the archaeology of slavery. They emphasize that the material record, by its nature, admits multiple interpretations. More broadly, this book comes at a time when the history of slavery is being integrated into academic syllabi in most western countries. The collection of studies contributes to a more nuanced perspective on this important and controversial topic. This volume appeals to multiple audiences interested in comparative and global studies of slavery, and will constitute the point of reference for future debates.
The Archaeology of Time (Themes in Archaeology Series)
by Gavin LucasIt might seem obvious that time lies at the heart of archaeology, since archaeology is about the past. However, the issue of time is complicated and often problematic, and although we take it very much for granted, our understanding of time affects the way we do archaeology.This book is an introduction not just to the issues of chronology and dating, but time as a theoretical concept and how this is understood and employed in contemporary archaeology. It provides a full discussion of chronology and change, time and the nature of the archaeological record, and the perception of time and history in past societies. Drawing on a wide range of archaeological examples from a variety of regions and periods, The Archaeology of Time provides students with a crucial source book on one of the key themes of archaeology.
The Archaeology of Urbanism in Ancient Egypt
by Nadine MoellerIn this book, Nadine Moeller challenges prevailing views on Egypt's non-urban past and argues for Egypt as an early urban society. She traces the emergence of urban features during the Predynastic Period up to the disintegration of the powerful Middle Kingdom state (ca. 3500-1650 BC). This book offers a synthesis of the archaeological data that sheds light on the different facets of urbanism in ancient Egypt. Drawing on evidence from recent excavations as well as a vast body of archaeological data, this book explores the changing settlement patterns by contrasting periods of strong political control against those of decentralization. It also discusses households and the layout of domestic architecture, which are key elements for understanding how society functioned and evolved over time. Moeller reveals what settlement patterns can tell us about the formation of complex society and the role of the state in urban development in ancient Egypt.
The Archaeology of Utopian and Intentional Communities (American Experience in Archaeological Pe)
by Stacy C. KozakavichReconstructing the past of intentional communities from across the United StatesUtopian and intentional communities have dotted the American landscape since the colonial era, yet only in recent decades have archaeologists begun analyzing the material culture left behind by these groups. This volume includes discussions of the Shakers, the Harmony Society, the Moravians, the Oneida community, Brook Farm, and Mormon towns. Also featured is an expanded case study of California's late nineteenth-century Kaweah Colony, offering a new perspective on approaches to the study of utopian societies.Surveys of settlement patterns, the built environment, and even the smallest artifacts such as tobacco pipes and buttons are used to uncover what daily life was like in these communities. Archaeological evidence reveals how these communities upheld their societal ideals. Shakers, for example, constructed homes with separate living quarters for men and women, reflecting the group's commitment to celibacy. On the other hand, some communities diverged from their principles, as evidenced by the presence of a key and coins found at Kaweah, indicating private property and a cash economy despite claims to communal and egalitarian practices.Stacy Kozakavich argues archaeology has much to offer in the reconstruction and interpretation of community pasts for the public. Material evidence provides information about these communities free from the underlying assumptions, positive or negative, that characterize past interpretations. She urges researchers not to dismiss these communal experiments as quaint failures but to question how the lifestyles of the people in these groups are interpreted for visitors today. She reminds us that there is inspiration to be found in the unique ways these intentional communities pursued radical social goals.
The Archaeology of Wak'as: Explorations of the Sacred in the Pre-Columbian Andes
by Tamara L. BrayIn this edited volume, Andean wak'as—idols, statues, sacred places, images, and oratories—play a central role in understanding Andean social philosophies, cosmologies, materialities, temporalities, and constructions of personhood. Top Andean scholars from a variety of disciplines cross regional, theoretical, and material boundaries in their chapters, offering innovative methods and theoretical frameworks for interpreting the cultural particulars of Andean ontologies and notions of the sacred. Wak'as were understood as agentive, nonhuman persons within many Andean communities and were fundamental to conceptions of place, alimentation, fertility, identity, and memory and the political construction of ecology and life cycles. The ethnohistoric record indicates that wak'as were thought to speak, hear, and communicate, both among themselves and with humans. In their capacity as nonhuman persons, they shared familial relations with members of the community, for instance, young women were wed to local wak'as made of stone and wak'as had sons and daughters who were identified as the mummified remains of the community's revered ancestors. Integrating linguistic, ethnohistoric, ethnographic, and archaeological data, The Archaeology of Wak'as advances our understanding of the nature and culture of wak'as and contributes to the larger theoretical discussions on the meaning and role of–"the sacred” in ancient contexts.
The Archaeology of Watercraft Abandonment
by Nathan Richards Sami Kay SeebThe historical importance and archaeological potential of deliberately discarded watercraft has not been a major feature of maritime archaeological enquiry. While research on the topic has appeared since the 1970s as books, chapters, and articles, most examples have been limited in focus and distribution, and in most cases disseminated as unpublished archaeological reports (i.e. the "gray literature".) So, too, has there been a lack of a single source representing the diversity of geographical, historic, thematic, and theoretical contexts that ships' graveyard sites and deliberately abandoned vessels represent. In contrast with much of the theoretical or case-specific literature on the theme of watercraft discard, this volume communicates to the reader the common heritage and global themes that ships' graveyard sites represent. It serves as a blueprint to illustrate how the remains of abandoned vessels in ships' graveyards are sites of considerable research value. Moreover, the case studies in this volume assist researchers in understanding the evolution of maritime technologies, economies, and societies. This volume is intended to expose research potential, create discussion, and reinforce the significance of a prevalent cultural resource that is often overlooked.
The Archaeology of the 11th Century: Continuities and Transformations (Society for Medieval Archaeology Monographs)
by Christopher Dyer Dawn M HadleyThe Archaeology of the 11th Century addresses many key questions surrounding this formative period of English history and considers conditions before 1066 and how these changed. The impact of the Conquest of England by the Normans is the central focus of the book, which not only assesses the destruction and upheaval caused by the invading forces, but also examines how the Normans contributed to local culture, religion, and society. The volume explores a range of topics including food culture, funerary practices, the development of castles and their impact, and how both urban and rural life evolved during the 11th century. Through its nuanced approach to the complex relationships and regional identities which characterised the period, this collection stimulates renewed debate and challenges some of the long-standing myths surrounding the Conquest. Presenting new discoveries and fresh ideas in a readable style with numerous illustrations, this interdisciplinary book is an invaluable resource for those interested in the archaeology, history, geography, art, and literature of the 11th century.
The Archaeology of the Arabian Gulf
by Michael RiceThe archaeological remains in the Gulf area are astounding, and still relatively unexplored. Michael Rice has produced the first up-to-date book, which encompasses all the recent work in the area. He shows that the Gulf has been a major channel of commerce for millenia, and that its ancient culture was rich and complex, to be counted with its great contempororaries in Sumer, Egypt and south-west Persia.
The Archaeology of the Atlantic Northeast
by Matthew Betts Gabriel HrynickA notable contribution to North American archaeological literature, The Archaeology of the Atlantic Northeast is the first book to integrate and interpret archaeological data from the entire Atlantic Northeast, making unprecedented cultural connections across a broad region that encompasses the Canadian Atlantic provinces, the Quebec Lower North Shore, and Maine. Beginning with the earliest Indigenous occupation of the area, this book presents a cultural overview of the Atlantic Northeast, and weaves together the histories of the Indigenous peoples whose traditional lands make up this territory, including the Innu, Beothuk, Inuit, and numerous Wabanaki bands and tribes. Emphasizing historical connection and cultural continuity, The Archaeology of the Atlantic Northeast tracks the development of the earliest peoples in this area as they responded to climate and ecosystem change by transforming their glacier-edge way of life to one on the water’s edge, becoming one of the most successful and longstanding marine-oriented cultures in North America. Supported by more than a hundred illustrations and maps documenting the archaeological legacy, as well as discussions of unanswered questions intended to spur debate, this comprehensive text is ideal for students, researchers, professional archaeologists, and anyone interested in the history of this region.
The Archaeology of the Bronze Age Levant: From Urban Origins to the Demise of City-States, 3700–1000 BCE (Cambridge World Archaeology)
by Raphael GreenbergThe Levant - modern Lebanon, southern Syria, Jordan, Israel and Palestine - is one of the most intensively excavated regions of the world. This richly documented and illustrated survey offers a state-of-the-art description of the formative phase of Levantine societies, as they perfected the Mediterranean village economy and began to interact with neighboring civilizations in Egypt and Syria, on the way to establishing their first towns and city-state polities. Citing numerous finds and interpretive approaches, Greenberg offers a new narrative of social and cultural development, emulation, resistance and change, illustrating how Levantine communities translated broader movements of the Near Eastern and Mediterranean Bronze Age - the emergence of states, international trade, elite networks and imperial ambitions - into a uniquely Levantine idiom.
The Archaeology of the Cold War (The American Experience in Archaeological Perspective)
by Todd A. HansonThe Cold War was one of the twentieth century's defining events, with long-lasting political, social, and material implications. It created a global landscape of culturally and politically significant artifacts and sites that are critical to understanding and preserving the history of that conflict. The stories of these artifacts and sites remain mostly untold, however, because so many of the facilities operated in secret. In this volume, Todd Hanson examines the Cold War's secret sites through three theoretical frameworks: conflict archaeology, the archaeology of the recent past, and the archaeology of science. He presents case studies of investigations conducted at some famous--and some not so famous--historic sites that were pivotal to the conflict, including Bikini Atoll, the Nevada Test Site, and the Cuban sites of the Soviet Missile Crisis. Hanson illustrates how, by examining nuclear weapons testing sites, missile silos, peace camps, fallout shelters, and more, archaeology can help strip away the Cold War's myths, secrets, and political rhetoric in order to better understand the conflict's formative role in the making of the contemporary American landscape. Addressing modern ramifications of the Cold War, Hanson also looks at the preservation of atomic heritage sites, the phenomenon of atomic tourism, and the struggles of America's atomic veterans. As the Cold War retreats into the annals of history, and its monuments fade away, so too do the opportunities to gain deeper insight into the successes--and the failures--of the era. Hanson suggests topics for future archaeological research and reflects on the implications of failing to study or preserve North America's Cold War heritage. A volume in the series the American Experience in Archaeological Perspective, edited by Michael S. Nassaney
The Archaeology of the Colonized
by Michael GivenThe first book to integrate fully the archaeological study of the landscape with the concerns of colonial and postcolonial history, theory and scholarship, The Archaeology of the Colonized focuses on the experience of the colonized in their landscape setting, looking at case studies from areas of the world not often considered in the postcolonial debate. It offers original, exciting approaches to the growing area of research in archaeology and colonialism. From the pyramids of Old Kingdom Egypt to illicit whisky distilling in nineteenth-century Scotland, and from the Roman roads of Turkey to the threshing floors of Cyprus under British colonial rule, the case studies assist Dr. Given as he uses the archaeological evidence to create a vivid picture of how the lives and identities of farmers, artisans and labourers were affected by colonial systems of oppressive taxation, bureaucracy, forced labour and ideological control. This will be valuable to students, scholars or professionals investigating the relationship between local community and central control in a wide range of historical and archaeological contexts.
The Archaeology of the Early Medieval Celtic Churches: No. 29 (The Society for Medieval Archaeology Monographs)
by Nancy EdwardsThis volume focuses on new research on the archaeology of the early medieval Celtic churches c AD 400-1100 in Wales, Ireland, Scotland, south-west Britain and Brittany. The 21 papers use a variety of approaches to explore and analyse the archaeological evidence for the origins and development of the Church in these areas. The results of a recent multi-disciplinary research project to identify the archaeology of the early medieval church in different regions of Wales are considered alongside other new research and the discoveries made in excavations in both Wales and beyond. The papers reveal not only aspects of the archaeology of ecclesiastical landscapes with their monasteries, churches and cemeteries, but also special graves, relics, craftworking and the economy enabling both comparisons and contrasts. They likewise engage with ongoing debates concerning interpretation: historiography and the concept of the Celtic Church, conversion to Christianity, Christianization of the landscape and the changing functions and inter-relationships of sites, the development of saints cults, sacred space and pilgrimage landscapes and the origins of the monastic town .
The Archaeology of the Holy Land
by Jodi MagnessThis book provides an introduction to the archaeology and history of ancient Palestine - modern Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian territories - from the destruction of Solomon's temple in 586 BCE to the Muslim conquest in 640 CE. Special attention is paid to the archaeology of Jerusalem and the Second Temple period, in the time of Herod the Great and Jesus. For each period, the book offers a historical background for the Mediterranean world and the ancient Near East, as well as the events in Palestine. Major sites such as Masada, Caesarea Maritima, and Petra are examined in archaeological and historical detail, along with the material culture - coins, pottery, glass, and stone vessels - of each period. This book provides a thorough overview of the archaeology of this historically vibrant part of the world.
The Archaeology of the Homed and the Unhomed (The American Experience in Archaeological Perspective)
by Daniel O. SayersThe first comprehensive discussion of the historical archaeology of homelessness In a time when the idea of home has become central to living the American dream, The Archaeology of the Homed and the Unhomed brings to the forefront the concept of homelessness. The book points out that homelessness remains underexplored in historical archaeology, a fact which may reflect societal biases and marginalization, and it provides the field’s first comprehensive discussion of the subject.Daniel Sayers argues that the unhomed and the home have been inherently interconnected in the real world across the past several centuries. Sayers builds a conceptual model that focuses on this dynamic and uses it to generate new insights into pre‒Civil War communities of Maroons and Indigenous Americans, Great Depression‒era hobo communities, and Midwest farmsteads. In doing so, he highlights the social complexities, ambiguities, and significance of the home and the unhomed in the archaeological record. Using a variety of data sources including documentary records and material culture and drawing on extensive fieldwork, Sayers illuminates how homelessness is created, reproduced, and disparaged by the dominant culture. The book also emphasizes the importance of applied archaeology. Through these studies, Sayers contends that activist archaeologists have a role—and responsibility—to share their knowledge to help policy makers and stakeholders understand the unhomed, homelessness, and the American experience in this area. A volume in the series the American Experience in Archaeological Perspective, edited by Michael S. Nassaney and Krysta Ryzewski
The Archaeology of the Iberian Peninsula: From the Paleolithic to the Bronze Age (Cambridge World Archaeology)
by Katina T. LilliosIn this book, Katina Lillios provides an up-to-date synthesis of the rich histories of the peoples who lived on the Iberian Peninsula between 1,400,000 (the Paleolithic) and 3,500 years ago (the Bronze Age) as revealed in their art, burials, tools, and monuments. She highlights the exciting new discoveries on the Peninsula, including the evidence for some of the earliest hominins in Europe, Neanderthal art, interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans, and relationships to peoples living in North Africa, the Mediterranean, and Western Europe. This is the first book to relate the ancient history of the Peninsula to broader debates in anthropology and archaeology. Amply illustrated and written in an accessible style, it will be of interest to archaeologists and students of prehistoric Spain and Portugal.
The Archaeology of the Medieval English Monarchy
by John SteaneThe Archaeology of the Medieval English Monarchy looks at the period between the reign of William the Conqueror and that of Henry VIII, bringing together physical evidence for the kings and their courts. John Steane looks at the symbols of power and regalia including crowns, seals and thrones. He considers Royal patronage, architecture and ideas on burials and tombs to unravel the details of their daily lives supported with many illustrations.
The Archaeology of the Mediterranean Iron Age: A Globalising World c.1100–600 BCE
by Tamar HodosThe Mediterranean's Iron Age period was one of its most dynamic eras. Stimulated by the movement of individuals and groups on an unprecedented scale, the first half of the first millennium BCE witnesses the development of Mediterranean-wide practices, including related writing systems, common features of urbanism, and shared artistic styles and techniques, alongside the evolution of wide-scale trade. Together, these created an engaged, interlinked and interactive Mediterranean. We can recognise this as the Mediterranean's first truly globalising era. This volume introduces students and scholars to contemporary evidence and theories surrounding the Mediterranean from the eleventh century until the end of the seventh century BCE to enable an integrated understanding of the multicultural and socially complex nature of this incredibly vibrant period.
The Archaeology of the North American Great Plains (Cambridge World Archaeology)
by Douglas B. BamforthIn this volume, Douglas B. Bamforth offers an archaeological overview of the Great Plains, the vast, open grassland bordered by forests and mountain ranges situated in the heart of North America. Synthesizing a century of scholarship and new archaeological evidence, he focuses on changes in resource use, continental trade connections, social formations, and warfare over a period of 15,000 years. Bamforth investigates how foragers harvested the grasslands more intensively over time, ultimately turning to maize farming, and examines the persistence of industrial mobile bison hunters in much of the region as farmers lived in communities ranging from hamlets to towns with thousands of occupants. He also explores how social groups formed and changed, migrations of peoples in and out of the Plains, and the conflicts that occurred over time and space. Significantly, Bamforth's volume demonstrates how archaeology can be used as the basis for telling long-term, problem-oriented human history.
The Archaeology of the Nātha Sampradāya in Western India, 12th to 15th Century (Archaeology and Religion in South Asia)
by Vijay SardeThis book studies Nātha sampradāya through archaeological evidence for the first time. Drawing on a pioneering approach to the study of ascetic traditions, it investigates not only the nature of the Nātha sampradāya’s religious architecture but also examines the extent to which they shared space with other religious groups such as the devotees of Siva and Sakti, Buddhism, and Islam, especially with the Sufi tradition. Focusing on western India, the book sifts through a variety of archaeological evidence and documentation of their temples, caves, and maṭhas. It critically analyses iconographic representations of ascetics on temple walls and sculptural representations of yogic postures or āsanas. Further, these representations are discussed within a pan-South Asian framework to highlight both the commonalities of the tradition across the subcontinent and the regional specificities, along with their chronological spread. Breaking new ground, this volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of religion, especially Hinduism, history, archaeology, and South Asian studies.