Peopling the Mesolithic in a Northern Environment

Peopling the Mesolithic in a Northern Environment PDF Author: Lynne Bevan
Publisher: British Archaeological Reports Oxford Limited
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
A session held at the TAG conference in Cardiff in 1999 sought to steer Mesolithic debates away from traditional lithic approaches and instead considered social aspects of Mesolithic life. The seventeen papers given here, many of which are from that conference, discuss a wide range of subjects: the people behind the lithics', interaction with the landscape, with animals, food and subsistence, body ornament and burial practices, settlement, violence and death, revisiting Star Carr. Contributors are: Marek Zvelebil, Peter Jordan, Lynne Bevan, Biddy Simpson, Jenny Moore, Malcolm Lillie, Richard Chatterton, C Richards, R J Schulting, Christophe Cupillard, George Nash, I J N Thorpe, Rebekah Judeh .

Peopling the Mesolithic in a Northern Environment

Peopling the Mesolithic in a Northern Environment PDF Author: Lynne Bevan
Publisher: British Archaeological Reports Oxford Limited
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 216

Get Book Here

Book Description
A session held at the TAG conference in Cardiff in 1999 sought to steer Mesolithic debates away from traditional lithic approaches and instead considered social aspects of Mesolithic life. The seventeen papers given here, many of which are from that conference, discuss a wide range of subjects: the people behind the lithics', interaction with the landscape, with animals, food and subsistence, body ornament and burial practices, settlement, violence and death, revisiting Star Carr. Contributors are: Marek Zvelebil, Peter Jordan, Lynne Bevan, Biddy Simpson, Jenny Moore, Malcolm Lillie, Richard Chatterton, C Richards, R J Schulting, Christophe Cupillard, George Nash, I J N Thorpe, Rebekah Judeh .

Chronology and Evolution within the Mesolithic of North-West Europe

Chronology and Evolution within the Mesolithic of North-West Europe PDF Author: Philippe Crombé
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1527554686
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 847

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Book Description
Since its development in 1949, radiocarbon dating has increasingly been used in prehistoric research in order to get a better grip on the chronology of sites, cultures and environmental changes. Refinement of the dating, sampling and calibration methods has continuously created new and challenging perspectives for absolute dating. In these proceedings the focus lies on the contribution of carbon-14 dates in current Mesolithic research in North-West Europe. Altogether 40 papers dealing with radiocarbon dates from 15 different countries are presented. Major themes are the typo-technological evolution of lithic and bone industries, changes in settlement patterns, burial practices, demography and subsistence, human impact on the Mesolithic environment and the neolithisation process. Some papers also deal with more methodological aspects of carbon-14 dating (e.g. calculation of various reservoir effects, the use of cumulative calibrated probability distributions), and related techniques (e.g. stable isotope analysis for palaeodiet reconstruction).

The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Hunter-gatherers

The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Hunter-gatherers PDF Author: Vicki Cummings
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199551227
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1361

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Book Description
This book provides a comprehensive review of hunter-gatherer studies, undertaking detailed regional and thematic case-studies that span the archaeology, history and anthropology of hunter gatherers, concluding with an in-depth review of the main opportunities, research questions, and moral obligations that lie ahead.

The Mesolithic in Britain

The Mesolithic in Britain PDF Author: Chantal Conneller
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000475158
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 437

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Book Description
The Mesolithic in Britain proposes a new division of the Mesolithic period into four parts, each with its distinct character. The Mesolithic has previously been seen as timeless, where little changed over thousands of years. This new synthesis draws on advances in scientific dating to understand the Mesolithic inhabitation of Britain as a historical process. The period was, in fact, a time of profound change: houses, monuments, middens, long-term use of sites and regions, manipulation of the environment and the symbolic deposition of human and animal remains all emerged as significant practices in Britain for the first time. The book describes the lives of the first pioneers in the Early Mesolithic; the emergence of new modes of inhabitation in the Middle Mesolithic; the regionally diverse settlement of the Late Mesolithic; and the radical changes of the final millennium of the period. The first synthesis of Mesolithic Britain since 1932, it takes both a chronological and a regional approach. This book will serve as an essential text for anyone studying the period: undergraduate and graduate students, specialists in the field and community archaeology groups.

Life and Death in the Mesolithic of Sweden

Life and Death in the Mesolithic of Sweden PDF Author: Mats Larsson
Publisher: Oxbow Books
ISBN: 1785703889
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 145

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Book Description
Over the last 20 years a vast number of new and important Swedish Mesolithic sites have been excavated and published in different ways as articles, books and site reports. As yet there has been no study that tries to bring the loose ends together and so the main task of this important new work by one of Sweden’s leading prehistorians is to provide an extensive overview of some of the main sites and results. The time span is long: c. 10 000-4000 BC and the amount and choice of data very large so rather than attempt to describe everything in detail Mats Larsson focuses on a series of fundamental research perspectives concerning Mesolithic lifeways and settlement patterns and chooses key sites to illustrate them. The emphasis is on southern and middle Sweden, though the country’s northern regions are in no way forgotten. This companion piece to the author’s recent successful volume Paths Towards a New World: Neolithic in Sweden, written for a general audience is also a must for all those archaeologists interested in the Mesolithic of Northern Europe and would be students of prehistory

Rituality and Social (Dis)Order

Rituality and Social (Dis)Order PDF Author: Alessandro Testa
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000223701
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
Carnival has been described as one of the foundational elements of European culture, bearing an emblematic and iconic status as the festive phenomenon par excellence. Its origins are partly obscure, but its stratified and complex history, rich symbolic diversity, and sundry social configurations make it an exceptional object of cultural analysis. The product of more than 12 years of research, this book is the first comparative historical anthropology of popular European Carnival in the English language, with a focus on its symbolic, religious, and political dimensions and transformations throughout the centuries. It builds on a variety of theories of social change and social structures, questioning existing assumptions about what folklore is and how cultural gaps and differences take shape and reproduce through ritual forms of collective action. It also challenges recent interpretations about the performative and political dimension of European festive culture, especially in its carnivalesque declension. While presenting and exploring the most important features and characteristics of European pre-modern Carnival and discussing its origins and developments, this thorough study offers fresh evidence and up-to-date analyses about its transversal and long-lasting significance in European societies.

Cult in Context

Cult in Context PDF Author: Caroline Malone
Publisher: Oxbow Books
ISBN: 1782974962
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1043

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Book Description
Gods, deities, symbolism, deposition, cosmology and intentionality are all features of the study of early ritual and cult. Archaeology has great difficulties in providing satisfactory interpretation or recognition of these elusive but important parts of ancient society, and methodologies are often poorly equipped to explore the evidence. This collection of papers explores a wide range of prehistoric and early historic archaeological contexts from Britain, Europe and beyond, where monuments, architectural structures, megaliths, art, caves, ritual activity and symbolic remains offer exciting glimpses into ancient belief systems and cult behaviour. Different theoretical and practical approaches are demonstrated, offering both new directions and considered conclusions to the many problems of studying the archaeology of cult and ritual. Central to the volume is an exploration of early Malta and its intriguing Temple Culture, set in a broad perspective by the discussion and theoretical approaches presented in different geographical and chronological contexts.

The Birth of Neolithic Britain

The Birth of Neolithic Britain PDF Author: Julian Thomas
Publisher:
ISBN: 0199681961
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 521

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Book Description
The beginning of the Neolithic in Britain marks the end of a hunter-gatherer way of life with the introduction of domesticated plants and animals, polished stone tools, and a range of new monuments. Julian Thomas offers a coherent argument to explain the process of transition between the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods.

Finding Fairness

Finding Fairness PDF Author: Justin Jennings
Publisher: University Press of Florida
ISBN: 0813057728
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 333

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Book Description
In this ambitious work, Justin Jennings explores the origins, endurance, and elasticity of ideas about fairness and how these ideas have shaped the development of societies at critical moments over the last 20,000 years. He argues that humans have an innate expectation for fairness, a disposition that evolved during the Pleistocene era as a means of adapting to an unpredictable and often cruel climate. This deep-seated desire to do what felt right then impacted how our species transitioned into smaller territories, settled into villages, formed cities, expanded empires, and navigated capitalism. Paradoxically, the predilection to find fair solutions often led to entrenched inequities over time as cooperative groups grew in size, duration, and complexity. Using case studies ranging from Japanese hunter-gatherers to North African herders to protestors on Wall Street, this book offers a broad comparative reflection on the endurance of a universal human trait amidst radical social change. Jennings makes the case that if we acknowledge fairness as a guiding principle of society, we can better understand that the solutions to yesterday’s problems remain relevant to the global challenges that we face today. Finding Fairness is a sweeping, archaeologically grounded view of human history with thought-provoking implications for the contemporary world.

The Bioarchaeology of Ritual and Religion

The Bioarchaeology of Ritual and Religion PDF Author: Alexandra Livarda
Publisher: Oxbow Books
ISBN: 1785708295
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 695

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Book Description
The Bioarchaeology of Ritual and Religion is the first volume dedicated to exploring ritual and religious practice in past societies from a variety of ‘environmental’ remains. Building on recent debates surrounding, for instance, performance, materiality and the false dichotomy between ritualistic and secular behavior, this book investigates notions of ritual and religion through the lens of perishable material culture. Research centering on bioarchaeological evidence and drawing on methods from archaeological science has traditionally focused on functional questions surrounding environment and economy. However, recent years have seen an increased recognition of the under-exploited potential for scientific data to provide detailed information relating to ritual and religious practice. This volume explores the diverse roles of plant, animal, and other organic remains in ritual and religion, as foods, offerings, sensory or healing mediums, grave goods, and worked artifacts. It also provides insights into how archaeological science can shed light on the reconstruction of ritual processes and the framing of rituals. The 14 papers showcase current and new approaches in the investigation of bioarchaeological evidence for elucidating complex social issues and worldviews. The case studies are intentionally broad, encompassing a range of sub-disciplines of bioarchaeology including archaeobotany, anthracology, palynology, micromorphology, geoarchaeology, zooarchaeology (including avian and worked bone studies), archaeomalacology, and organic residue analysis. The temporal and geographical coverage is equally wide, extending across Europe from the Mediterranean and Aegean to the Baltic and North Atlantic regions, and from the Mesolithic to the medieval period. The volume also includes a discursive paper by Prof. Brian Hayden, who suggests a different interpretative framework of archaeological contexts and rituals.