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In the prehistoric Copper Age, long before cities, writing, or the invention of the wheel, Old Europe was among the most culturally rich regions in the world. Its inhabitants lived in prosperous agricultural towns. The ubiquitous goddess figurines found in their houses and shrines have triggered intense debates about women's roles. The Lost World of Old Europe is the accompanying catalog for an exhibition at New York University's Institute for the Study of the Ancient World. This superb volume features essays by leading archaeologists as well as breathtaking color photographs cataloguing the objects, some illustrated here for the first time. The heart of Old Europe was in the lower Danube va...
Fully illustrated, Prehistoric Figurines brings a radical new approach to one of the most exciting, but poorly understood artefacts from our prehistoric past. Studying the interpretation of prehistoric figurines from Neolithic southeast Europe, Bailey introduces recent developments from the fields of visual culture studies and cultural anthropology, and investigates the ways in which representations of human bodies were used by the pre-historic people to understand their own identities, to negotiate relationships and to make subtle political points. Bailey examines four critical conditions: * figurines as miniatures * figurines as three-dimensional representations * figurines as anthropomorp...
This volume focuses on the role and means of archaeological experimentation in understanding the processes involved in the manufacture and use of past artifacts. When asking for contributions, we suggested the five stages of an experimental approach as main-themes: 1. Selection and acquisition of raw material, identical to those present in the archaeological assemblages. 2. Production of replicas following the technological transformation schemes identified by the direct study of archaeological items. 3. Experimental use as indicated by the publications/ethnographic comparisons or as suggested by the morphology/use-wear evolution of the archaeological items. 4. Microscopical analysis of use-...
This book explores the uncharted territory of the history of archaeology under Communism through the biographies of five women archaeologists from the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Poland. They were working in medieval archaeology, with a specific focus on the (early) Slavs. The choice of specialists in medieval archaeology has much to do with the fact that in the five East European countries considered in this book, medieval archaeology began to develop into a serious discipline less than a century ago. The main catalyst for the sudden rise of medieval archaeology was a dramatic shift in emphasis from traditional political and constitutional to social and economic history. In five countries, the rise of medieval archaeology thus coincides in time, and was ultimately caused by the imposition of Communist regimes. The five women were therefore true pioneers in their field, and respective countries.
This long awaited book discusses both ancient and modern shamanism, demonstrating its longevity and spatial distribution. The book is divided into eleven thought-provoking chapters that are organised into three sections: mind-body, nature, and culture. It discusses the clear associations with this sometimes little-understood ritualised practice, and asks what shamanism is and if tangible evidence can be extracted from a largely fragmentary archaeological record. The book offers a novel portrayal of the material culture of shamanism by collating carefully selected studies by specialists from three different continents, promoting a series of new perspectives on this idiosyncratic and sometimes intangible phenomenon.
Going West? questions how the Neolithic way of life was diffused from the Near East to Europe via Anatolia. The contributors have focused their studies on the vast area of the Eastern Balkans and the Pontic region between the Bosporus and the rivers Strymon, Danube and Dniestr, offering an overview of the current state of research regarding the Neolithisation of these areas and also providing useful starting points for future investigations. Using previous studies as a basis for fresh research, this volume presents exciting new interpretations by analyzing recently discovered materials and applying modern methods of interdisciplinary investigations.
Presents evidence to support the author's woman-centered interpretation of prehistoric civilizations, considering the prehistoric goddesses, gods and religion, and discussing the living goddesses--deities which have continued to be venerated through the modern era.
Its outstanding feature is the inclusion of journal articles. For more than 50 years the periodicals have been indexed, as well as compilations such as Festschriften, and the proceedings of congresses.