The British Palaeolithic

The British Palaeolithic PDF Author: Paul Pettitt
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0415674557
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 616

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Book Description
The British Palaeolithic provides the first academic synthesis of the entire British Palaeolithic, from the earliest occupation to the end of the Ice Age. It fills a major gap in teaching resources as well in research by providing a current synthesis of the latest research on the period.

The British Palaeolithic

The British Palaeolithic PDF Author: Paul Pettitt
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0415674557
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 616

Get Book Here

Book Description
The British Palaeolithic provides the first academic synthesis of the entire British Palaeolithic, from the earliest occupation to the end of the Ice Age. It fills a major gap in teaching resources as well in research by providing a current synthesis of the latest research on the period.

Applied Soils and Micromorphology in Archaeology

Applied Soils and Micromorphology in Archaeology PDF Author: Richard I. Macphail
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107011388
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 631

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Book Description
This book uniquely focuses on all aspects of archaeological soil micromorphology, based upon the authors' joint sixty years of worldwide studies.

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 Environment and Aggregate-Related Archaeology

The Environment and Aggregate-Related Archaeology PDF Author: Tony Brown
Publisher: Oxbow Books
ISBN: 1782972803
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
This volume provides a synthetic review of the background and archaeology that has emerged through archaeological interventions associated with the quarrying of sand, gravel, and rock for aggregates. The book covers all periods from the Lower Palaeolithic to Medieval, and is organized on a regional basis. The review, which also contains as yet unpublished data, shows how the variety and preservation of archaeology can greatly expand our understanding of the relationships of humans to their changing environments.

Mapping Past Landscapes in the Lower Lea Valley

Mapping Past Landscapes in the Lower Lea Valley PDF Author: Jane Corcoran
Publisher: Mola (Museum of London Archaeology)
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Accompanying CD-ROM contains ... "archaeological gazetteer and databases."--CD-ROM label.

Star Carr Volume 1

Star Carr Volume 1 PDF Author: Nicky Milner
Publisher: White Rose University Press
ISBN: 1912482053
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 409

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Book Description
This first volume of Star Carr provides an interpretation of the Star Carr site, one of the most important Mesolithic sites in Europe. Discovered in the late 1940s by John Moore and then excavated by Grahame Clark from 1949-1951, the site is famous in the archaeological world for its wealth of rare organic remains, including significant wooden artefacts. However, since the original excavations there has been much debate about how the site was used: was it a residential base camp, a hunting camp or even a ritual site? The 2003-2015 excavations directed by Conneller, Milner and Taylor aimed to answer these questions. In use for around 800 years, the Star Carr site is much larger and more complex than ever imagined. The excavations show that Mesolithic groups were highly invested in this place and continued to occupy the site despite changes in climate. The findings include the oldest evidence for ‘houses’ in Britain, large wooden platforms along the edge of the lake, antler headdresses and a unique, engraved shale pendant which represents the earliest form of Mesolithic art in Britain. There is evidence for activity areas, such as crafts and tool repair associated with structures, an axe factory, as well as a number of caches. New finds of antler frontlets have increased our understanding of the diversity of human interactions with animals. “If these do not get a gong, something will have to be done about archaeology book awards.” Mike Pitts, British Archaeology Despite the degradation, these excavations have provided a new understanding of life in the Early Mesolithic, particularly enhancing our understanding of how important wood (a material rarely recovered) was for Mesolithic people. The findings challenge many of the preconceived views of this period in terms of the character and scale of activity and the degree of investment in a particular place in the landscape.

The Archaeology of Britain

The Archaeology of Britain PDF Author: John Hunter
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 0415135885
Category : Archaeology
Languages : en
Pages : 343

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Book Description
A comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to all the archaeological periods covering Britain from early prehistory to the industrial revolution. It provides a one-stop textbook for the entire archaeology of Britain.

The Archaeology of Greater London

The Archaeology of Greater London PDF Author: Trevor Brigham
Publisher: Museum of London Archaeological Service
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 382

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Book Description
It is nearly 25 years since the last major survey of the archaeology of the London region was written. In that quarter-century some of the most extraordinary evidence of our past has come to light: a 9,000-year-old hunting camp in Uxbridge, a 2-mile-long prehistoric bank-and-ditch cursus monument at Stanwell, the spectacular Roman heart of the City, the Saxon trading emporium on the Strand, the largest medieval cemetery excavated in Europe at Spitalfields, and Shakespeare's Rose Theatre at Bankside. This book, completed with the substantial support of English Heritage and the City of London Archaeological Trust, represents the latest and most comprehensive attempt to place these treasures in their context. It also draws together the knowledge of specialists and experts to provide a framework within which future archaeological discoveries and research may be considered. The result is an accessible and fascinating insight into the rich diversity of human experience that has combined over the last half-million years into the metropolis of Greater London today.The Archaeology of Greater London is presented in 10 period-based chapters, with 13 accompanying full-colour maps and an extensive bibliography and gazetteer of sites end finds.

The Archaeological and Forensic Applications of Microfossils: A Deeper Understanding of Human History The Archaeological and Forensic Applications of Microfossils

The Archaeological and Forensic Applications of Microfossils: A Deeper Understanding of Human History The Archaeological and Forensic Applications of Microfossils PDF Author: M. Williams
Publisher: Geological Society of London
ISBN: 1786203057
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
Microfossils are an abundant component of the sedimentary rock record. Their analysis can reveal not only the environments in which the rocks were deposited, but also their age. When combined, the spatial and temporal distribution patterns of microfossils offer enormous utility for archaeological and forensic investigations. Their presence can act as a geological ‘fingerprint’ and the tiniest fragment of material, such as a broken Iron Age potsherd, can contain a microfossil signature that reveals the geographical source of the materials under investigation. This book explores how microfossils are employed as tools to interpret human society and habitation throughout history. Examples include microfossil evidence associated with Palaeolithic human occupation at Boxgrove in Sussex, alongside investigations into human-induced landscape change during the Holocene. Further examples include the use of microfossils to provenance the source materials of Iron Age ceramics, Roman mosaics and Minoan pottery, in addition to their application to help solve modern murder cases, highlighting the diverse applications of microfossils to improving our understanding of human history.

Making One's Way in the World

Making One's Way in the World PDF Author: Martin Bell
Publisher: Oxbow Books
ISBN: 1789254051
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
The book draws on the evidence of landscape archaeology, palaeoenvironmental studies, ethnohistory and animal tracking to address the neglected topic of how we identify and interpret past patterns of movement in the landscape. It challenges the pessimism of previous generations which regarded prehistoric routes such as hollow ways as generally undatable. The premise is that archaeologists tend to focus on ‘sites’ while neglecting the patterns of habitual movement that made them part of living landscapes. Evidence of past movement is considered in a multi-scalar way from the individual footprint to the long distance path including the traces created in vegetation by animal and human movement. It is argued that routes may be perpetuated over long timescales creating landscape structures which influence the activities of subsequent generations. In other instances radical changes of axes of communication and landscape structures provide evidence of upheaval and social change. Palaeoenvironmental and ethnohistorical evidence from the American North West coast sets the scene with evidence for the effects of burning, animal movement, faeces deposition and transplantation which can create readable routes along which are favoured resources. Evidence from European hunter-gatherer sites hints at similar practices of niche construction on a range of spatial scales. On a local scale, footprints help to establish axes of movement, the locations of lost settlements and activity areas. Wood trackways likewise provide evidence of favoured patterns of movement and past settlement location. Among early farming communities alignments of burial mounds, enclosure entrances and other monuments indicate axes of communication. From the middle Bronze Age in Europe there is more clearly defined evidence of trackways flanked by ditches and fields. Landscape scale survey and excavation enables the dating of trackways using spatial relationships with dated features and many examples indicate long-term continuity of routeways. Where fields flank routeways a range of methods, including scientific approaches, provide dates. Prehistorians have often assumed that Ridgeways provided the main axes of early movement but there is little evidence for their early origins and rather better evidence for early routes crossing topography and providing connections between different environmental zones. The book concludes with a case study of the Weald of South East England which demonstrates that some axes of cross topographic movement used as droveways, and generally considered as early medieval, can be shown to be of prehistoric origin. One reason that dryland routes have proved difficult to recognise is that insufficient attention has been paid to the parts played by riverine and maritime longer distance communication. It is argued that understanding the origins of the paths we use today contributes to appreciation of the distinctive qualities of landscapes. Appreciation will help to bring about effective strategies for conservation of mutual benefit to people and wildlife by maintaining and enhancing corridors of connectivity between different landscape zones including fragmented nature reserves and valued places. In these ways an understanding of past routeways can contribute to sustainable landscapes, communities and quality of life