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Books > Humanities > Archaeology
This comprehensive and absorbing book traces the cultural history of Southeast Asia from prehistoric (especially Neolithic, Bronze-Iron age) times through to the major Hindu and Buddhist civilizations, to around AD 1300. Southeast Asia has recently attracted archaeological attention as the locus for the first recorded sea crossings; as the region of origin for the Austronesian population dispersal across the Pacific from Neolithic times; as an arena for the development of archaeologically-rich Neolithic, and metal using communities, especially in Thailand and Vietnam, and as the backdrop for several unique and strikingly monumental Indic civilizations, such as the Khmer civilization centred around Angkor. Southeast Asia is invaluable to anyone interested in the full history of the region.
This volume features bioarchaeological research that interrogates the human skeleton in concert with material culture, ethnographic data and archival research. This approach provides examples of how these intersections of inquiry can be used to consider the larger social and political contexts in which people lived and the manner in which they died. Bioarchaeologists are in a unique position to develop rich interpretations of the lived experiences of skeletonized individuals. Using their skills in multiple contexts, bioarchaeologists are also situated to consider the ethical nature and inherent humanity of the research collections that have been used because they represent deceased for whom there are records identifying them. These collections have been the basis for generating basic information regarding the human skeletal transcript. Ironically though, these collections themselves have not been studied with the same degree of understanding and interpretation that is applied to archaeological collections.
Alfred Edersheim's well-researched account of everyday Jewish life at the time the New Testament Gospels took place remains one of the best texts on the subject ever authored. This edition includes the author's appendixes. The reader is taken back to Israel and the surrounding areas more than 2,000 years ago. How the society would appear to the casual traveler, what customs the people practiced, how everyday life proceeded in the Jewish homestead and towns, and how women were treated are topics which Edersheim examines. The author goes into much detail, presenting an evocative picture of a sophisticated ancient society. We also hear of the political landscape of the era, particularly concerning the Pharisees - the leading social and political movement of the time - and its interactions with rival movements such as the Sadducees and Essenes. Religious rites, the layout and ceremonies of ancient Jewish synagogues and temples, and the creation of the ancient religious Talmudic literature, are related.
After listening to his mother-in-law talking about her experiences in the Second World War, David Bolton set out to record the wartime memories of British women before it was too late. Many of those he interviewed were child evacuees, some were single mothers, two were ambulance drivers and another was the girlfriend of an American GI killed on D-Day. Other women remembered their experiences working as a young doctor in a POW camp, in a munitions factory filling shells or as a codebreaker at Bletchley Park. War Stories archives the memories of over fifty women in their own words, supplemented by memoirs and diary entries. All tell their very personal war stories with honesty, humour, an amazing memory for detail and a boldness sometimes bordering on the confessional - perhaps because this was their last chance to describe what it was really like to be female in those extraordinary times.
The Pittsburgh region, while well known for steelmaking, was likewise an important glass manufacturing center in this country's history. This book provides detailed accounts of the region's glassmakers from the first factory dating to 1795 through 1910. Glassmaking started out modestly with small glasshouses in Pittsburgh and up the Monongahela River in New Geneva during the final few years of the 18th century. By the close of the 19th century, the Pittsburgh region was producing more than half of all domestic window glass and the lion's share of most other forms of glass in the United States. The original purpose of this manuscript was to assemble and record as accurately as possible the history of all of the glassworks and the glass manufacturers that operated them in Pittsburgh and the immediate surrounding region. This book was designed to be a reference guide for anyone who is interested in the history of glass in western Pennsylvania. The years companies were operating, where the glassworks were located, what types of glass and specific glass items did they make, and what marks did they use is just some of the information that can be found in this book. There are hundreds of individual companies and name changes listed in this volume. It contains as much information about each company that could practically be included. Even the most minor name or address change was recorded exactly as noted by contemporary sources. As much as possible, contemporary reference sources, such as city directories, early newspapers, maps, and journals were used to provide accurate and complete histories of the glasshouses. Generally, the better-known companies will have much more of their history available. However, every known glassmaker and glasshouse was included, regardless of how little information about them could be found. This book is intended to aid researchers in the determination of the age and the origin of marked pieces as well as narrowing down potential manufacturers of unmarked objects. The liberal reproduction of original advertisements and maps as well as the photographs of glass marks were included to complement and augment the narrative. The format of this book was established to facilitate its use as a reference guide.
Medea, the sorceress of Greek myth and Euripides' vengeful heroine,
is famed for the murder of her children after she is banished from
her own family and displaced by a new wife. Her reputation as a
wronged 'Everywoman' of Greek tragedy has helped engender her
lasting appeal to the modern age. However, this firmly rooted
status has also caused many of the intricacies of her timeless tale
to be overlooked.
Although archaeologists are using GIS technology at an accelerating rate, publication of their work has not kept pace. A state-of-the-art exploration the subject, GIS and Archaeological Site Location Modeling pulls together discussions of theory and methodology, scale, data, quantitative methods, and cultural resource management and uses location models and case studies to illustrate these concepts. This book, written by a distinguished group of international authors, reassesses the practice of predictive modeling as it now exists and examines how it has become useful in new ways. A guide to spatial procedures used in archaeology, the book provides a comprehensive treatment of predictive modeling. It draws together theoretical models and case studies and explains how modeling may be applied to future projects. The book illustrates the various aspects of academic and practical applications of predictive modeling. It also discusses the need to assess the reliability of the results and theimplications of reliability assessment on the further development of predictive models. Of the books available on GIS, some touch on archaeological applications but few cover the topic in such depth. Both up to date and containing case studies from a wide range of geographical locations including Europe, the USA, and Australia, this book sets a baseline for future developments.
Investigations of archaeological intrasite spatial patterns have generally taken one of two directions: studies that introduced and explored methods for the analysis of archaeological spatial patterns or those that described and analyzed the for mation of spatial patterns in actuaiistic-ethnographic, experimental, or natu ral-contexts. The archaeological studies were largely quantitative in nature, concerned with the recognition and definition of patterns; the actualistic efforts were often oriented more toward interpretation, dealing with how patterns formed and what they meant. Our research group on archaeological spatial analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has been working for several years on both quantitative and interpretive problems. Both lines of investigation are closely related and are important complements. In order to demonstrate the convergence of archaeological and actualistic studies for the understanding of intrasite spatial patterns, we organized a sympo sium at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Society of American Archaeology in Toronto, Canada, in May 1987. The symposium, titled "The Interpretation of Stone Age Archaeological Spatial Patterns," was organized into two sessions. The six papers presented in the morning session, five of which comprise Part I of this volume, focused on ethnoarchaeological and experimental research. Michael Schiffer was the discussant for this half of the symposium. Our intention for the ethnoarchaeological contributions to the symposium and volume was the delin eation of some of the significant accomplishments achieved thus far by actualistic studies regarding the formation of spatial patterns."
The fifth and fourth millennia BCE saw major cultural changes in the southern Levant and Northeast Africa: the spread of agriculture; developments in animal husbandry; increased contact between cultures; and the use of alloy bronze. 'Metal, Nomads and Culture Contact' integrates archaeological data from across the Chalcolithic period to contextualise these changes. The book examines the introduction of metal to the southern Levant, Egypt and Lower Nubia and the role of pastoral nomadism in cultural interaction and exchange. 'Metal, Nomads and Culture Contact' will be valuable to scholars of archaeology and anthropology.
How did human thought evolve into the highly complex process it is today? In the field of evolutionary cognitive archaeology, cognitive science and archaeology intersect to provide a more complete and grounded picture of the mind. With the combination of cognitive theories and archaeological evidence, this burgeoning field is only beginning to tap into the potential for a better understanding of the development of specific cognitive abilities. Cognitive Models in Palaeolithic Archaeology explores hominin cognitive development by applying formal cognitive models to analyze prehistoric remains from the entire range of the Palaeolithic, from the earliest stone tools 3.3 million years ago to artistic developments that emerged 50,000 years ago. Several different cognitive models are presented, including expert cognition, information processing, material engagement theory, embodied/extended cognition, neuroaesthetics, visual resonance theory, theory of mind, and neuronal recycling. By examining archaeological remains, and thereby past activities and behavior, through the grounded lenses of these models, a mosaic pattern of human cognitive evolution emerges. This volume, authored by many leading authorities in the field of cognitive archaeology, will attract scholars and students of cognitive evolution and paleoanthropology, who will find a new understanding of hominin cognitive evolution and substantive conclusions about our hominin evolution as opportunities for further research.
The Etruscans are one of history's great mysteries -- a sophisticated society that flourished at the heart of the Classical world and then vanished, leaving relatively few archaeological remains and few records of their culture. The Etruscans were adept at magic, and Etruscan books of spells were common among the Romans but they have not survived. While greatly influenced by the Greeks, the Etruscans retained elements of an ancient non-Western culture, and these archaic traits contributed greatly to the civilization once thought of as purely Roman (gladiators, for example, and many kinds of divination). Leland retrieves elements of Etruscan culture from the living popular traditions of remote areas of the Italian countryside where belief in "the old religion" survives to an astonishing degree. Recorded when many of these secret beliefs and practices were fading away, this remarkable volume deals with ancient gods, spirits, witches, incantations, prophecy, medicine, spells, and amulets, giving full descriptions, illustrations, and instructions for practice.
Drawing data from a classic region for Paleolithic research in Europe, this book explores how early modern humans obtained lithic raw materials and analyzes the different utilization patterns for locally available materials compared with those from a greater distance. The author locates these patterns within an ecological context and argues that early modern humans selected specific mobility strategies to accommodate changes in subsistence environments.
Museum collections are often perceived as static entities hidden away in storerooms or trapped behind glass cases. By focusing on the dynamic histories of museum collections, new research reveals their pivotal role in shaping a wide range of social relations. Over time and across space the interactions between these artefacts and the people and institutions who made, traded, collected, researched and exhibited them have generated complex networks of material and social agency. In this innovative volume, the contributors draw on a broad range of source materials to explore the cross-cultural interactions which have created museum collections. These case studies contribute significantly to the development of new theoretical frameworks to examine broader questions of materiality, agency, and identity in the past and present. Grounded in case studies from individual objects and museum collections from North America, Europe, Africa, the Pacific Islands, and Australia, this truly international volume juxtaposes historical, geographical, and cross-cultural studies. This work will be of great interest to archaeologists and anthropologists studying material culture, as well as researchers in museum studies and cultural heritage management."
It 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 unique text discusses the mathematical principles behind Megalithic stone circles, and how these were used for observing lunar cycles in prehistoric times. The author, A. Thom, shows that stone circles were precisely planned and laid out in accordance with certain geometric figures in the classic Pythagorean tradition. Containing some mathematical and astronomical details, along with notes on site survey and location, this book is ideal for amateur enthusiasts and academicians of archaeology, astronomy, and mathematics.
" Includes over 400 black and white photographs and radiographs depicting various views of bones " Presents side-by-side displays of photographs and radiographs of the same bones " Identifies significant comparisons among adult, juvenile, and fetal bones, along with bone contrasts in adults of different ages " Emphasizes visual elements by providing a detailed index and minimal text Human Skeletal Anatomy and Radiology: A Photographic Atlas features over 400 black and white photographs and radiographs revealing views of bones, or collections of bones, from both a distant perspective and a more detailed angle. This atlas of skeletal anatomy covers general and specific anatomic terms, includes side-by-side presentations of photographs and radiographs of the same bones to aid in recognition, and notes important comparisons among adult, juvenile, and fetal bones. Intended as a field guide for investigations and a lab guide in gross anatomy and skeletal specimen studies, this atlas provides easy and rapid identification of bone material.
Bringing together a wealth of research in social and cultural
anthropology, philosophy and related fields, this is the first book
to address the contribution that an understanding of personhood can
make to our interpretations of the past Applying an anthropological approach to detailed case studies
from European prehistoric archaeology, the book explores the
connection between people, animals, objects, their societies and
environments and investigates the relationship that jointly
produces bodies, persons, communities and artefacts. The Archaeology of Personhood examines the characteristics that define a person as a category of being, highlights how definitions of personhood are culturally variable and explores how that variation is connected to human uses of material culture.
Using archaeology and social anthropology, and more than 100 original line drawings and photographs, An Archaeology of Images takes a fresh look at how ancient images of both people and animals were used in the Iron Age and Roman societies of Europe, 600 BC to AD 400 and investigates the various meanings with which images may have been imbued. The book challenges the usual interpretation of statues, reliefs and figurines as passive things to be looked at or worshipped, and reveals them instead as active artefacts designed to be used, handled and broken. It is made clear that the placing of images in temples or graves may not have been the only episode in their biographies, and a single image may have gone through several existences before its working life was over. Miranda Aldhouse Green examines a wide range of other issues, from gender and identity to foreignness, enmity and captivity, as well as the significance of the materials used to make the images. The result is a comprehensive survey of the multifarious functions and experiences of images in the communities that produced and consumed them. Challenging many previously held assumptions about the meaning and significance of Celtic and Roman art, An Archaeology of Images will be controversial yet essential reading for anyone interested in this area.
‘We felt an urge to document what we had witnessed. If we who had experienced it, I reasoned, did not reveal the bitter truth, people simply would not believe the extent of the Nazis’ evil. I wanted to share our life, the events and our struggle to survive.’ Thomas Geve was just 15 years old when he was liberated from Buchenwald concentration camp on 11 April 1945. It was the third concentration camp he had survived. Upon arrival at Auschwitz- Birkenau, Thomas was separated from his mother and left to fend for himself in the men’s camp of Auschwitz I, at the age of 13. During the 22 months he was imprisoned, he was subjected to, and forced to observe first-hand, the inhumane world of Nazi concentration camps. On his eventual release Thomas felt compelled to capture daily life in the death camps in more than eighty profoundly moving drawings. Infamous scenarios synonymous with this dark period of history were portrayed in poignant but simplistic detail with extraordinary accuracy. Despite the unspeakable events he experienced, Thomas decided to become an active witness and tell the truth about life in the camps. He has spoken to audiences from around the world and continues to raise awareness about the Holocaust. The Boy Who Drew Auschwitz presents a rare living testimony through the eyes of a child who had the unique ability to observe and remember every detail around him and chose to document it all.
This volume examines the commensal politics of early states and empires and offers a comparative perspective on how food and feasting have figured in the political calculus of archaic states in both the Old and New Worlds. It provides a cross-cultural and comparative analysis for scholars and graduate students concerned with the archaeology of complex societies, the anthropology of food and feasting, ancient statecraft, archaeological approaches to micro-political processes, and the social interpretation of prehistoric pottery. |
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