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The definitive publication of the ten year Southern Hebrides Mesolithic Project. The project aimed to document Mesolithic settlement on the islands of Islay and Colonsay and, in intepreting it, to throw light on a number of major issues: the colonisation of Scotland following the last Ice Age; the nature of early postglacial settlement patterns; the transition to Neolithic and farming communities. The report is divided into nine sections describing the development of the project, palaeoenvironmental studies on raw materials, sea level change and vegetation history. Later sections cover the results of archaeological surveys and excavations, the computer modelling of site location and foraging behaviour and the experimental replication of tool use. The monograph concludes with an overall interpretation of the diverse strands of evidence regarding Mesolithic settlement in this region. A core element is the publication of Bolsay Farm on Islay and Staosnaig on Colonsay. The key feature of the project, however, is the application of a landscape approach to hunter-gatherer archaeology through multi-disciplinary research.
Shetland has a history unique in Europe, for over the past two centuries it was a place where women dominated the family, economy, and the cultural imagination. Women ran households and crofts without men. They maintained families and communities because men were absent. And they constructed in their minds an identity of themselves as 'liberated' long before organised feminism was invented. And yet, Shetland is a place which was made by the most masculine of societies - those of the Picts, Scots and above all the Vikings - and its contemporary identity still draws on the heroic exploits and sagas of medieval Norsemen. This book examines how against this tradition Shetland became a female place, and offers answers as to how, in this most isolated island community, the inhabitants transgressed and reversed their traditional gender roles. Reconstructing this 'woman's world' from fragments of cultural experience captured in written and oral sources, this book will appeal to scholars in the fields of social and cultural history, social anthropology, gender and women's studies.
This volume of papers is dedicated to Peter Woodman in celebration of his contribution to archaeology, providing a glimpse of the many ways in which he has touched the lives of so many. The twenty-one contributions cover many aspects of predominantly Mesolithic archaeology in Ireland, mainland Britain and North-west Europe, reflecting the range and breadth of Peters own interests and the international esteem in which his work is held. His particular interest in antiquarians and the material they collected began early in his career and Part 1 presents papers which deal with artefacts and finds by antiquarians. Part 2 is concerned with papers on fieldwork projects, both new sites and sites which have been re-investigated, predominantly focusing on the Mesolithic period. Part 3 presents papers on the theme of people and animals, particularly the topic of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition from different angles.
A reconsideration of the seminal projectile point typology In the 1964 landmark publication The Formative Cultures of the Carolina Piedmont, Joffre Coe established a projectile point typology and chronology that, for the first time, allowed archaeologists to identify the relative age of a site or site deposit based on the point types recovered there. Consistent with the cultural-historical paradigm of the day, the “Coe axiom” stipulated that only one point type was produced at one moment in time in a particular location. Moreover, Coe identified periods of “cultural continuity” and “discontinuity” in the chronology based on perceived similarities and differences in point styles t...
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).
This book explores the health of ancient Egyptians living in the New Kingdom village of Deir el-Medina. Through an interdisciplinary approach that combines skeletal analysis with textual evidence, the book examines how social factors, such as social support, healthcare access, and economic stability, played crucial roles in buffering individuals from stress and promoting good health. This is the first, comprehensive book on the bioarchaeology of Deir el-Medina including data from human remains spanning the site’s New Kingdom occupation. This book highlights how the Social Determinants of Health can be used to explain how past people maintained their health.
The Archaeology of Identities brings together seventeen seminal articles from this exciting new discipline in one indispensable volume for the first time. Editor Timothy Insoll expertly selects a cross-section of contributions by leading authorities to form a comprehensive and balanced representation of approaches and interests. Issues covered include: gender and sexuality ethnicity, nationalism and caste age ideology disability. Chapters are thematically arranged and are contextualized with lucid summaries and an introductory chapter, providing an accessible introduction to the varied selection of case studies included and archaeological materials considered from global sources. The study of identity is increasingly recognized as a fundamental division of archaeological enquiry, and has recently become the focus of a variety of new and challenging developments. As such, this volume will fast become the definitive sourcebook in archaeology of identities, making it essential reading for students, lecturers and researchers in the field.
For more than a century, the study of hunting and gathering societies has been central to the development of both archaeology and anthropology as academic disciplines, and has also generated widespread public interest and debate. The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Hunter-Gatherers provides a comprehensive review of hunter-gatherer studies to date, including critical engagements with older debates, new theoretical perspectives, and renewed obligations for greater engagement between researchers and indigenous communities. Chapters provide in-depth archaeological, historical, and anthropological case-studies, and examine far-reaching questions about human social relation...
"This book offers critical insights into lithic technology and cultural practices concerning stone tools"--Provided by publisher.
Informed by the latest research and in-depth analysis, Prehistoric Britain provides students and scholars alike with a fascinating overview of the development of human societies in Britain from the Upper Paleolithic to the end of the Iron Age. Offers readers an incisive synthesis and much-needed overview of current research themes Includes essays from leading scholars and professionals who address the very latest trends in current research Explores the interpretive debates surrounding major transitions in British prehistory