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Books > Humanities > Archaeology
Among the Germanic tribes who ruled the fragments of the western Roman empire, the Ostrogoths enjoyed the greatest wealth and splendour. Conquering Italy itself from the warlord Odoacer, they inherited the buildings, traditions, and administrative apparatus of imperial rule, and revived the empire in Spain, southern Gaul and the northwest Balkans. Aspects of their history and empire examined here include their ethnic identity in Italy and relations (as Asian heretics) with the Catholic Church; the vicissitudes of sixth century Rome, the monuments of the period in Ravenna; their influence on the economy, settlements, and social structures throughout Italy; the interweaving of society and administration with their internal and external politics; and the history of their Spanish empire. There are also studies of the Goths in eastern Europe before the emergence of the Ostrogoths, and under Hunnic rule. The whole significantly advances an understanding of how medieval Europe evolved from the combination of Roman civilisation with Germanic outsiders. Contributors: S. BARNISH, G.P. BROGLIO, T.S. BROWN, P.C. DIAZ, D.H. GREEN, W. HAUBRICHS, P. HEATHER, M. KAZANSKI, A. KOKOWSKI, F. MARAZZI, G. NOYE, I. WOOD
A mosquito-infested and swampy plain lying north of the city walls, Rome's Campus Martius, or Field of Mars, was used for much of the period of the Republic as a military training ground and as a site for celebratory rituals and occasional political assemblies. Initially punctuated with temples vowed by victorious generals, during the imperial era it became filled with extraordinary baths, theaters, porticoes, aqueducts, and other structures - many of which were architectural firsts for the capitol. This book explores the myriad factors that contributed to the transformation of the Campus Martius from an occasionally visited space to a crowded center of daily activity. It presents a case study of the repurposing of urban landscape in the Roman world and explores how existing topographical features that fit well with the Republic's needs ultimately attracted architecture that forever transformed those features but still resonated with the area's original military and ceremonial traditions.
In this revised and updated edition of Archaeology: A Very Short Introduction, Paul Bahn presents an engaging introduction and a superb overview of a field that embraces everything from the cave art of Lascaux to the great stone heads of Easter Island. This entertaining introduction reflects the enduring popularity of archaeology--a subject which appeals as a pastime, career, and academic discipline, encompasses the whole globe, and spans some 2.5 million years. From deserts to jungles, from deep caves to mountain tops, from pebble tools to satellite photographs, from excavation to abstract theory, archaeology interacts with nearly every other discipline in its attempts to reconstruct the past. In this new edition, Bahn brings his text completely up to date, including information about recent discoveries and interpretations in the field, and highlighting the impact of developments such as the potential use of DNA and stable isotopes in teeth, as well the effect technology and science are having on archaeological exploration, from nuclear imaging to GPS. Bahn also shows how archaeologists have contributed to some of the most prominent debates of our age, such as the role of climate change, the effects of rises in sea-level, and the possibility of global warming. This edition also includes updated suggestions for further reading.
Paris Then and Now captures the changes that have taken place in the French capital from the heady days of the Belle Epoque through to the 1940s. Matching classic archive images with the same viewpoint taken today the book provides a stunning visual history to Europe's most beautiful and romantic city. Paris d'hier et d'aujourd'hui retrace les changements operes dans la capitale entre les jours insouciants de la Belle Epoque et les annees 1940. Par la confrontation d'images photographiques d'archives avec des photos d'aujourd'hui prises sous le meme angle de vue, ce livre propose une histoire visuelle de la plus belle et de la plus romantique des villes d'Europe. Inclus: Arc de Triomphe, Grand Palais, Champs Elysees, Place de la Concorde, Statue de Strasbourg, Ministere de la Marine, Cour du Louvre, Comedie Francaise, Rue de Rivoli, Place Vendome, Eglise de la Madeleine, Opera de Paris, Galeries Lafayette, Boulevard des Capucines, Gare St. Lazare, Fontaine des Innocents, Theatre du Chatelet, Hotel de Ville, Centre George Pompidou, Place de la Bastille, Pont Marie, Cathedrale Notre-Dame, Pont Neuf, Pont St. Michel, Rue de Bievre, Shakespeare and Company, La Sorbonne, Station de Metro Odeon, Cour de Rohan, Carrefour de Buci, Rue de Constantine / Rue de Lutece, Pantheon, Palais du Luxembourg, Cafe de Flore, Place Saint Medard, La Ruche, Usine Citroen / Parc Andre Citroen, Rue Berton, Tour Eiffel, Place du Trocadero / Palais de Chaillot. Pont de L'Alma, Gare d'Orsay, Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise, Place de la Republique, Parc des Buttes Chaumont, Canal Saint-Martin, Gare de L'Est et Gare du Nord.
'A beautiful book.' Daily Mail 'Exhilaratingly curious.' Evening Standard 'Gripping.' Spectator 'Brilliant.' Penelope Lively 'Indefatigably researched.' Country Life 'Beautifully illustrated.' Monocle Mudlarking, the act of searching the Thames foreshore for items of value, has a long tradition in England's capital. In the late 18th and 19th centuries, mudlarks were small boys grubbing a living from scrap. Today's mudlarks unearth relics of the past from the banks of the Thames which tell stories of Londoners throughout history. From Roman tiles to elegant Georgian pottery, presented here are modern-day mudlark Ted Sandling's most evocative finds, gorgeously photographed. Together they create a mosaic of everyday London life through the centuries, touching on the journeys, pleasures, vices, industries, adornments and comforts of a world city. This unique and stunning book celebrates the beauty of small things, and makes sense of the intangible connection that found objects give us to the individuals who lost them.
The Allen Site in southwestern Nebraska has nurtured the interest of archaeologists and paleontologists with abundant signs of a long history of human, animal, and environmental activity. Douglas Bamforth focuses primarily on Paleoindian land use represented by the Allen Site and the adjacent smaller sites collectively known as the Medicine Creek Paleoindian sites. The Medicine Creek sites, located in the central Great Plains, highlight aspects of early Native American lifeways that are obscured by the emphasis in most Paleoindian examinations of large bison kills. Research at Medicine Creek has stressed reconstruction of both the overall regional environment and of local microenvironmental variation, along with human responses to both of these. Advances in analysis and well-preserved remains from the Allen site in particular document the extraordinary range of species that Paleoindian groups harvested in addition to bison and open serious questions about widely accepted reconstructions of Paleoindian land use. In addition, the well-stratified evidence for long-term residential use of the site offers a rare chance to consider patterns of adaptive change over the course of the Paleoindian period. "Contributors"
A Population History of India provides an account of the size and characteristics of India's population stretching from when hunter-gatherer homo sapiens first arrived in the country - very roughly seventy thousand years ago - until the modern day. It is a period during which the population grew from just a handful of people to reach almost 1.4 billion, and a time when the fact of death had a huge influence on the nature of life. This book considers the millennia that were characterized by hunting and gathering, the Indus valley civilization, the opening-up of the Ganges river basin, and the eras of the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughal Empire, British colonial rule, and India since independence. By observing India through a demographic lens, A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day addresses mortality, fertility, the size of cities, patterns of migration, and the multitude of famines, epidemics, invasions, wars, and other events that affected the population. It draws together research from archaeology, cultural studies, economics, epidemiology, linguistics, history, and politics to understand the likely trajectory of India's population in comparison to the trends that applied to Europe and China, and to reveal a surprising and dramatic story.
Palaeopathology is an evidence-based guide to the principal types of pathological lesions often found in human remains and how to diagnose them. Tony Waldron presents an innovative method of arriving at a diagnosis in the skeleton by applying what he refers to as 'operational definitions'. The method ensures that those who study bones will use the same criteria for diagnosing disease, thereby enabling valid comparisons to be made between studies. Waldron's book is based on modern clinical knowledge and provides background information on the natural history of bone disease. In addition, the volume demonstrates how results from studies should be analysed, methods of determining the frequency of disease, and other types of epidemiological analysis. This edition includes new chapters on the development of palaeopathology, basic concepts, health and disease, diagnosis, and spinal pathology. Chapters on analysis and interpretation have been thoroughly revised and enlarged.
Over the last thirty years, new scientific techniques have revolutionised our understanding of prehistoric economies. They enable a sound comprehension of human diet and subsistence in different environments, which is an essential framework for appreciating the rich tapestry of past human cultural variation. This volume first considers the origins of economic approaches in archaeology and the theoretical debates surrounding issues such as 'environmental determinism'. Using globally diverse examples, Alan K. Outram and Amy Bogaard critically investigate the best way to integrate newer lines of evidence such as ancient genetics, stable isotope analysis, organic residue chemistry and starch and phytolith studies with long-established forms of archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological data. Two case study chapters, on early Neolithic farming in Europe, and the origins of domestic horses and pastoralism in Central Asia, illustrate the benefit of a multi-proxy approach and how economic considerations feed into broader social and cultural questions.
The Black Sea lies at the junction of three major cultural areas: Europe, Central Asia, and the Near East. It plays a crucial role in enduring discussions about the impact of complex Near Eastern societies on European societies, and the repercussions of early urbanization across Eurasia. This book presents the first comprehensive overview of the Black Sea region in the prehistoric period. It penetrates artificial boundaries imposed by traditions, politics, and language to encompass both the European and Asiatic coasts and both Eastern European and Western scholarly literature. With a critical compilation and synthesis of archaeological data, this study situates the prehistoric Black Sea in a global historical context. By adopting the perspective of technology and innovation, it transcends a purely descriptive account of material culture and emphasizes society, human interaction, and engagement with the material world.
Knives were vital to medieval man for a whole range of uses, from the domestic to the wider social context: Anglo-Saxon pre-Christian burials bear silent witness to this dependence in the many cases where knives are found among the grave-goods. Forged and hafted with great skill, sometimes with elaborately decorated scabbards, knives are of intrinsic fascination, besides being indicators of the popular artistic tastes of the time. This book catalogues, discusses and illustrates over five hundred knives, scabbards, shears and scissors dating from the mid-12th to the mid-15th centuries and found in the City of London, particularly along the waterfront sites, where recovered items can be accurately dated by dendrochronology and coin finds. It is a fundamental work of reference for medieval artefacts and material culture, an essential handbook for excavators all over Britain and much of Europe. JANE COWGILL, MARGRETHE DE NEERGAARDE and NICK GRIFFITHS are former members of the staff of the Museum of London.
"Gauging the impact of one scholar's contributions to modern archaeology" For an appreciation of the growth of American archaeology over the second half of the twentieth century, one need look no further than the career of Gordon R. Willey. A preeminent archaeologist and New World theorist, Willey made innumerable contributions to the prehistory of the Americas and helped establish the leading methodological and theoretical paradigm used in American archaeology. This volume of original essays gauges the wide-ranging impact of Willey's lifework. The editors have selected ten of his key publications and solicited assessments of their lasting influence from well-known archaeologists. These works cut across geographic regions and areas of inquiry and represent some of the most challenging intellectual questions in archaeology, explaining Willey's methods while revealing how greatly his work shaped the field. The articles reflect the importance of Willey's research in coastal Peru in developing the field of Andean archaeology, and show how his application of the settlement pattern approach to the Belize Valley forever transformed the archaeology of Mesoamerica. This volume not only analyzes Willey's impact on culture history and archaeological thought but also shows his human side, places his writing in historical context, and offers a unique overview of the growth of American archaeology over the past six decades. To understand the work of Gordon R. Willey is to understand the history and future direction of American archaeology.
This book documents analyses of the Late Cretaceous dinosaur nesting sites of the Lameta Formation at Jabalpur, Districts Dhar and Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh; Districts Kheda and Panchmahal (Gujarat); and the Pisdura, Dongargaon and Pavna sectors in the Chandrapur Districts of Maharashtra, which are exposed in India along an east-west and central axis. In this work, special emphasis has been given to the dinosaur nesting sites of the east-central Narbada River region, including its regional geology. The work was undertaken to provide detailed information concerning dinosaur eggs, eggshell fragments, nests and clutches found in the Lameta Formation of peninsular India. Prior to the present work there had been no detailed review of systematic work on the taxonomy, and of micro- and ultrastructural studies of dinosaur eggs and eggshells from the Lameta Formation. The study documents the field and laboratory investigations that facilitated the reconstruction of the morphotaxonomy, models for the burial pattern of eggs and eggshells, taphonomic implications,and the palaeoenvironmental context and palaeoecological conditions during the Late Cretaceous at the time of the extrusion of the Deccan traps, which may have been partly responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs. The need to follow a parataxonomic classification for Indian dinosaur eggs and eggshell types is very apparent, and this book addresses this aspect in some detail. The emphasis on the application of parataxonomic schemes is based on the description of new oospecies and their comparison with previously known forms. The present work has led to the recovery of numerous nests, many collapsed eggs and hundreds of dinosaur eggshell fragments from the localities situated near the east, west and central Narbada River regions. It will be of interest to academics and professional palaeontologists, and all students of dinosaurs.
This volume explores the importance of Norwich as the second city of England for 500 years. It addresses two of the most ambitious Romanesque buildings in Europe: cathedral and castle, and illuminates the role of Norwich-based designers and makers in the region.
From the 1790s until World War I, Western museums filled their shelves with art and antiquities from around the world. These objects are now widely seen as "stolen" or "plundered" from their countries of origin, and demands for their return grow louder by the day. In this pathbreaking study, Justin M. Jacobs challenges the longstanding assumption that coercion, corruption, and deceit were chiefly responsible for the exodus of cultural treasures from northwestern China. Based upon a close analysis of previously neglected archival sources in English, French, and Chinese, Jacobs finds that many local elites in China acquiesced to the removal of art and antiquities abroad, understanding their trade as currency for a cosmopolitan elite. In the decades after the 1911 Revolution, however, these antiquities went from being "diplomatic capital" to disputed icons of the emerging nation-state. A new generation of Chinese scholars began to criminalize the prior activities of archaeologists, erasing all memory of the pragmatic barter relationship that once existed in China. Recovering the voices of those local officials, scholars, and laborers who shaped the global trade in antiquities, The Compensations of Plunder brings historical grounding to a highly contentious topic in modern Chinese history and informs heated debates over cultural restitution throughout the world.
Now available in paperback, Egyptomania takes us on a historical journey to unearth the Egypt of the imagination, a land of strange gods, mysterious magic, secret knowledge, monumental pyramids, enigmatic sphinxes and immense wealth. Egypt has always exerted a powerful attraction on the Western mind, and an array of figures have been drawn to the idea of Egypt. Even the practical-minded Napoleon dreamed of Egyptian glory and helped open the antique land to explorers. Ronald H. Fritze goes beyond art and architecture to reveal Egyptomania's impact on religion, philosophy, historical study, literature, travel, science and popular culture. All those who remain captivated by the ongoing phenomenon of Egyptomania will revel in the mysteries uncovered in this book.
Clothing was crucial in human evolution, and having to cope with climate change was as true in prehistory as it is today. In Climate, Clothing, and Agriculture in Prehistory, Ian Gilligan offers the first complete account of the development of clothing as a response to cold exposure during the ice ages. He explores how and when clothes were invented, noting that the thermal motive alone is tenable in view of the naked condition of humans. His account shows that there is considerably more archaeological evidence for palaeolithic clothes than is generally appreciated. Moreover, Gilligan posits, clothing played a leading role in major technological innovations. He demonstrates that fibre production and the advent of woven fabrics, developed in response to global warming, were pivotal to the origins of agriculture. Drawing together evidence from many disciplines, Climate Clothing, and Agriculture in Prehistory is written in a clear and engaging style, and is illustrated with nearly 100 images.
Drawing on over fifty years of research and study, archaeologist Jon L. Gibson comes to well-founded yet bold conclusions about the Archaic mounds in the Lower Mississippi Valley and the peoples who made them. Examining topics ranging from the architectural incorporation of cosmic cycles and standard measures to traditional native myths and magical beliefs, Archaic Earthworks of the Lower Mississippi Valley is the definitive study of the history and ethos of a much-debated era.
"The Southern Ocean is a wild and elusive place, an ocean like no other. With its waters lying between the Antarctic continent and the southern coastlines of Australia, New Zealand, South America, and South Africa, it is the most remote and inaccessible part of the planetary ocean, the only part that flows around Earth unimpeded by any landmass. It is notorious amongst sailors for its tempestuous winds and hazardous fog and ice. Yet it is a difficult ocean to pin down. Its southern boundary, defined by the icy continent of Antarctica, is constantly moving in a seasonal dance of freeze and thaw. To the north, its waters meet and mingle with those of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans along a fluid boundary that defies the neat lines of a cartographer." So begins Joy McCann's Wild Sea, the remarkable story of the world's remote Southern, or Antarctic, Ocean. Unlike the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic Oceans with their long maritime histories, little is known about the Southern Ocean. This book takes readers beyond the familiar heroic narratives of polar exploration to explore the nature of this stormy circumpolar ocean and its place in Western and Indigenous histories. Drawing from a vast archive of charts and maps, sea captains' journals, whalers' log books, missionaries' correspondence, voyagers' letters, scientific reports, stories, myths, and her own experiences, McCann embarks on a voyage of discovery across its surfaces and into its depths, revealing its distinctive physical and biological processes as well as the people, species, events, and ideas that have shaped our perceptions of it. The result is both a global story of changing scientific knowledge about oceans and their vulnerability to human actions and a local one, showing how the Southern Ocean has defined and sustained southern environments and people over time. Beautifully and powerfully written, Wild Sea will raise a broader awareness and appreciation of the natural and cultural history of this little-known ocean and its emerging importance as a barometer of planetary climate change.
In this book, Sabine R. Huebner explores the world of the protagonists of the New Testament and the early Christians using the rich papyrological evidence from Roman Egypt. This gives us unparalleled insights into the everyday lives of the non-elite population in an area quite similar to neighboring Judaea-Palestine. What were the daily concerns and difficulties experienced by a carpenter's family or by a shepherd looking after his flocks? How did the average man or woman experience a Roman census? What obstacles did women living in a patriarchal society face in private, in public, and in the early Church? Given the flight of Jesus' family into Egypt, how mobile were the lower classes, what was their understanding of geography, and what costs and dangers were associated with travel? This volume gives a better understanding of the structural, social, and cultural conditions under which figures from the New Testament lived.
In Stone Tools in Human Evolution, John J. Shea argues that over the last three million years hominins' technological strategies shifted from occasional tool use, much like that seen among living non-human primates, to a uniquely human pattern of obligatory tool use. Examining how the lithic archaeological record changed over the course of human evolution, he compares tool use by living humans and non-human primates and predicts how the archaeological stone tool evidence should have changed as distinctively human behaviors evolved. Those behaviors include using cutting tools, logistical mobility (carrying things), language and symbolic artifacts, geographic dispersal and diaspora, and residential sedentism (living in the same place for prolonged periods). Shea then tests those predictions by analyzing the archaeological lithic record from 6,500 years ago to 3.5 million years ago.
Bringing together 25 case studies from archaeological projects worldwide, Engaging Archaeology candidly explores personal experiences, successes, challenges, and even frustrations from established and senior archaeologists who share invaluable practical advice for students and early-career professionals engaged in planning and carrying out their own archaeological research. With engaging chapters, such as 'How Not to Write a PhD Thesis on Neolithic Italy' and 'Accidentally Digging Central America's Earliest Village', readers are transported to the desks, digs, and data-labs of the authors, learning the skills, tricks of the trade, and potential pit-falls of archaeological fieldwork and collections research. Case studies collectively span many regions, time periods, issues, methods, and materials. From the pre-Columbian Andes to Viking Age Iceland, North America to the Middle East, Medieval Ireland to remote north Australia, and Europe to Africa and India, Engaging Archaeology is packed with rich, first-hand source material. Unique and thoughtful, Stephen W. Silliman's guide is an essential course book for early-stage researchers, advanced undergraduates, and new graduate students, as well as those teaching and mentoring. It will also be insightful and enjoyable reading for veteran archaeologists.
Paleozoology and Paleoenvironments outlines the reconstruction of ancient climates, floras, and habitats on the basis of animal fossil remains recovered from archaeological and paleontological sites. In addition to outlining the ecological fundamentals and analytical assumptions attending such analyzes, J. Tyler Faith and R. Lee Lyman describe and critically evaluate many of the varied analytical techniques that have been applied to paleozoological remains for the purpose of paleoenvironmental reconstruction. These techniques range from analyses based on the presence or abundance of species in a fossil assemblage to those based on taxon-free ecological characterizations. All techniques are illustrated using faunal data from archaeological or paleontological contexts. Aimed at students and professionals, this volume will serve as fundamental resource for courses in zooarchaeology, paleontology, and paleoecology.
The remains of ancient Thebes constitute one of the largest and most remarkable archaeological sites in all of Egypt and indeed the world. The discoveries made at this site, now the modern town of Luxor, are responsible for much of our knowledge of ancient Egyptian civilization. After excavating and researching the city of Thebes for many years, Nigel and Helen Strudwick here offer the first comprehensive introduction to it, one that will be welcomed by both armchair travelers and visitors to that popular tourist destination. Handsomely illustrated, the book features eighty photographs thirty in color and twenty maps and plans.After reviewing the topography of the site, the Strudwicks recount the history of Thebes from the city's rise in the late Old Kingdom to the peak of its power in the New Kingdom and to its gradual decline in the Greco-Roman period. They discuss the central role played by the gods in the community's religious life, and take us on a tour of the great temples of Karnak and Luxor on the East Bank of the Nile and of the temples and tombs of kings, queens, princes, and ordinary individuals on the West Bank.Drawing on their intimate acquaintance with ancient Egyptian society, the authors re-create the lives of Thebans during the New Kingdom. They conclude by assessing Greek, Roman, Coptic, and Islamic influences on the area as it exists today and by providing an overview of the archaeological research undertaken there."
This title presents a lavishly illustrated and fascinating exploration of the art, architecture, and archaeology of one of the world's best preserved Roman cities. The remains of the ancient city of Pompeii, frozen in time following the tragic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79, have provided archaeologists and historians with invaluable evidence into the daily life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire. "Secrets of Pompeii" is a superbly illustrated volume that takes a fascinating look at how ancient Romans interacted in their public squares and marketplaces, how they worshipped, decorated their homes, and spent their leisure time - at the theatre, in the gyms, and in the baths and brothels. Featuring full-colour photographs of architectural remains and exquisite details from a range of ancient artworks, including wall paintings, sculpture, mosaics, and carved reliefs, this book offers an unparalleled glimpse into a lost world. |
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