Iron Age Myth and Materiality: an Archaeology of Scandinavia AD 400-1000 considers the relationship between myth and materiality in Scandinavia from the beginning of the post-Roman era and the European Migrations up until the coming of Christianity. It pursues an interdisciplinary interpretation of text and material culture and examines how the documentation of an oral past relates to its material embodiment.

While the material evidence is from the Iron Age, most Old Norse texts were written down in the thirteenth century or even later. With a time lag of 300 to 900 years from the archaeological evidence, the textual material has until recently been ruled out as a usable source for any study of the pagan past. However, Hedeager argues that this is true regarding any study of a society 's short-term history, but it should not be the crucial requirement for defining the sources relevant for studying long-term structures of the longue dur e, or their potential contributions to a theoretical understanding of cultural changes and transformation. In Iron Age Scandinavia we are dealing with persistent and slow-changing structures of worldviews and ideologies over a wavelength of nearly a millennium. Furthermore, iconography can often date the arrival of new mythical themes anchoring written narratives in a much older archaeological context.

Old Norse myths are explored with particular attention to one of the central mythical narratives of the Old Norse canon, the mythic cycle of Odin, king of the Norse pantheon. In addition, contemporaneous historical sources from late Antiquity and the early European Middle Age - the narratives of Jordanes, Gregory of Tours, and Paul the Deacon in particular - will be explored. No other study provides such a broad ranging and authoritative study of the relationship of myth to the archaeology of Scandinavia.

Iron Age Myth and Materiality: an Archaeology of Scandinavia AD 400-1000 considers the relationship between myth and materiality in Scandinavia from the beginning of the post-Roman era and the European Migrations up until the coming of Christianity. It pursues an interdisciplinary interpretation of text and material culture and examines how the documentation of an oral past relates to its material embodiment. While the material evidence is from the Iron Age, most Old Norse texts were written down in the thirteenth century or even later. With a time lag of 300 to 900 years from the archaeological evidence, the textual material has until recently been ruled out as a usable source for any study of the pagan past. However, Hedeager argues that this is true regarding any study of a society's short-term history, but it should not be the crucial requirement for defining the sources relevant for studying long-term structures of the longue duree, or their potential contributions to a theoretical understanding of cultural changes and transformation. In Iron Age Scandinavia we are dealing with persistent and slow-changing structures of worldviews and ideologies over a wavelength of nearly a millennium. Furthermore, iconography can often date the arrival of new mythical themes anchoring written narratives in a much older archaeological context. Old Norse myths are explored with particular attention to one of the central mythical narratives of the Old Norse canon, the mythic cycle of Odin, king of the Norse pantheon. In addition, contemporaneous historical sources from late Antiquity and the early European Middle Age - the narratives of Jordanes, Gregory of Tours, and Paul the Deacon in particular - will be explored. No other study provides such a broad ranging and authoritative study of the relationship of myth to the archaeology of Scandinavia.

This book addresses the complex question of the significance of regions in the creation of Romanesque, particularly in relation to transregional and pan-European artistic styles and approaches. Individual chapters explore the generation and reception of forms, the conditions that give rise to the development of transregional styles and the agencies that cut across territorial boundaries. There are studies of regional styles in Aquitaine, Castile, Sicily, Hungary and Scandinavia, workshops in Worms and the Welsh Marches, the transregional nature of liturgical furnishings, the cultural geography of the new monastic orders, metalworking in Hildesheim and the valley of the Meuse, and the links which connect Piemonte with Conques.

Building on discussions in Contemporary Archaeology this book challenges the border between material and discursive culture, advocating for a novel conception of capitalism's artifacts. The artifacts examined within (temperatures) are instantaneous electric pulses, algorithmic outputs, and momentary fluctuations in mercury. The artifacts of the capitalized never sit still, operating at subatomic and solar scales. Temperatures, as numerical materials precariously straddling the colonially constructed nature-culture divide, exemplify the abstraction necessary to pursue the perpetually accelerating asymmetrical growth of wealth-a pursuit that engenders multiple environmental and economic calamities. This book offers indispensable contributions to science studies, urban geography, semiotics, the philosophy of materiality, the history of thermodynamics, heterodox economics, performative scholarship, and queer ecocriticism.

Daily life and living conditions in the Byzantine world are relatively underexplored subjects, often neglected in comparison with more visible aspects of Byzantine culture, such as works of art. The book is among the few publications on Greek Byzantine populations and helps pioneer a new approach to the subject, opening a window on health status and dietary patterns through the lens of bioarchaeological research. Drawing on a diversity of disciplines (biology, chemistry, archaeology and history), the author focuses on the complex interaction between physiology, culture and the environment in Byzantine populations from Crete in the 7th to 12th centuries. The systematic analysis and interpretation of the mortality profiles, the observed pathological conditions, and of the chemical data, all set in the cultural context of the era, brings new evidence to bear on the reconstruction of living conditions in Byzantine Crete. Individual chapters look at the demographic profiles and mortality patterns of adult and non-adult populations, and study dietary habits and breastfeeding and weaning patterns. In addition, this book provides an indispensable body of primary data for future research in these fields, and so furthers an interdisciplinary approach in tracing the health of the past populations.

Graffiti are ubiquitous within the ancient world, but remain underexploited as a form of archaeological or historical evidence. They include a great variety of texts and images written or drawn inside and outside buildings, in public and private places, on monuments in the city, on objects used in daily life, and on mountains in the countryside. In each case they can be seen as actively engaging with their environment in a variety of ways. Ancient Graffiti in Context interrogates this cultural phenomenon and by doing so, brings it into the mainstream of ancient history and archaeology. Focusing on different approaches to and interpretations of graffiti from a variety of sites and chronological contexts, Baird and Taylor pose a series of questions not previously asked of this evidence, such as: What are graffiti, and how can we interpret them? In what ways, and with whom, do graffiti communicate? To what extent do graffiti represent or subvert the cultural values of the society in which they occur? By comparing themes across time and space, and viewing graffiti in context, this book provides a series of interpretative strategies for scholars and students of the ancient world. As such it will be essential reading for Classical archaeologists and historians alike.

The County of Lancashire - and the City of Lancaster in particular - have a richer archaeological heritage than is often appreciated. This was most dramatically demonstrated in November 2005 with the discovery of a massive stone bearing the image of a triumphant horseman and his fallen foe. This was without doubt one of the most significant finds of recent years. But who was the horseman, could the many fragments ever be satisfactorily be reassembled, and what did this stunning object mean for our history? To hope to answer these questions, and to put this artefact where it might be enjoyed by Lancastrians and visitors alike, would take the co-operative efforts of numerous museums, four universities, and the enthusiastic support of local people. This richly illustrated volume represents a first attempt - by archaeologists, classical historians, conservators and curators - to tell the stone's story, and in doing so to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding Insus, son of Vodullus.

The Routledge Handbook of Medieval Rural Life brings together the latest research on peasantry in medieval Europe. The aim is to place peasants - as small-scale agricultural producers - firmly at the centre of this volume, as people with agency, immense skill and resilience to shape their environments, cultures and societies. This volume examines the changes and evolutions within village societies across the medieval period, over a broad chronology and across a wide geography. Rural structures, families and hierarchies are examined alongside tool use and trade, as well as the impact of external factors such as famine and the Black Death. The contributions offer insights into multidisciplinary research, incorporating archaeological as well as landscape studies alongside traditional historical documentary approaches across widely differing local and regional contexts across medieval Europe. This book will be an essential reference for scholars and students of medieval history, as well those interested in rural, cultural and social history.

The New Biblical Archaeology reflects the major changes happening today in the historical archaeology of the Holy Land. Whereas traditional Biblical archaeology was a highly descriptive and subjective discipline, The New Biblical Archaeology represents a fundamental paradigm shift brought about by the application of objective science-based dating methods, Geographic Information Systems, anthropological models, and an array of computer-based and digital technology tools. Today, The New Biblical Archaeology can serve as a model for how researchers in other regions of the world can investigate the relationship between ancient texts (both sacred and profane) and the archaeological record. Examples include the Vedas and India, the Homeric legends and Greek Classical Archaeology, the Sagas and Icelandic archaeology, Islamic Archaeology and the Umayyad, Abbasid, and Ayyubid periods. In this book, over 20 noted archaeologists and Biblical scholars join together to answer a wide range of questions that bear on future research such as: What are the most important issues in Biblical archaeology to be researched now and in the near future? Why are Biblical archaeology, the Bible, and Ancient Jewish history important in the curriculum of universities in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and other parts of the world today and in the future? How should graduate students be trained to be professionals in the interdependent fields of archaeology and Biblical studies in the future? Using their own research projects, these scholars show how their work can be used to build a foundation for future research in Biblical archaeology, Ancient Jewish history and the Biblical studies.

During much of the twelfth century the Crusaders dominated the military scene in the Levant. The unification of Egypt and Syria by Saladin gradually changed the balance of power, which slowly begun to tilt in favour of the Muslims. This book examines the development and role of Muslim fortresses in the Levant at the time of the Crusaders and the Mongol invasion, situating the study within a broad historical, political and military context. Exploring the unification of Egypt with a large part of Syria and its effect on the balance of power in the region, Raphael gives a historical overview of the resulting military strategies and construction of fortresses. A detailed architectural analysis is based on a survey of four Ayyubid and eight Mamluk fortresses situated in what are today the modern states of Jordan, Israel, Southern Turkey and Egypt (the Sinai Peninsula). The author then explores the connection between strongholds or military architecture, and the development of siege warfare and technology, and examines the influence of architecture and methods of rule on the concept of defence and the development of fortifications. Drawing upon excavation reports, field surveys and contemporary Arabic sources, the book provides the Arabic architectural terminology and touches on the difficulties of reading the sources. Detailed maps of the fortresses in the region, the Mongol invasion routs, plans of sites and photographs assist the reader throughout the book, providing an important addition to existing literature in the areas of Medieval Archaeology, Medieval military history and Middle Eastern studies.

Concepts of agency and identity have penetrated very little into practices and research agendas in Near Eastern archaeology. This volume addresses this lack, and initiates a new level of theoretical discourse in the field. Several themes run throughout the chapters in the volume, including: how agency theory can be employed in reconstructing the meaning of spaces and material culture; how agency and identity intersect and how archaeologists might investigate this intersection; how the availability of a textual corpus may impact the agency approach. An overarching goal of this volume is to advance the theoretical discourse within archaeology, and particularly among practitioners of archaeology in the Near East. The volume is interdisciplinary, including contributions derived from the fields of philology, art history, computer simulation studies, materials science, and the archaeology of settlement, architecture, and empire. It offers chapters ranging in time from the Neolithic to the Islamic period, and covers cultures and sites located in the present-day regions of Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, and Israel.

Originally published in 1946, this book presents in what can arguably be described as an unusual way, a slice of Scottish social life by applying to prehistory the principles of Marxism as practised by Soviet scholars of Russian prehistory. Using archaeological evidence, the author distinguishes 6 stages - from the earliest definable groups of immigrants to the Iron Age. There are 10 appendices, devoted to the typology and classification of tombs, pottery, implements and fortifications.

Punjabi is the language of the Punjab - the land of five rivers - of northern India and Pakistan. Primarily written in three distinct scripts, a unique feature of the language is that, along with Lahanda and the Western Pahari dialects, it is the only modern Indo-European language spoken in South-East Asia which is tonal in nature. It is recognised as one of the several national languages of India and Pakistan, and approximately forty-five million people speak Punjabi as either a first or second language.This Descriptive Grammar accounts for the linguistic and sociolinguistic properties of Punjabi and Lahanda/Multani. It explores the standard language, giving a comprehensive account of syntax, morphology and phonology. With a descriptive, typological and cognitive examination of the language, this is a comprehensive and authoritative description of modern Punjabi . This volume will be invaluable to students and researchers of linguistic theory and practice.

This Handbook is a state-of-the-field volume containing diverse approaches to sensory experience, bringing to life in an innovative, remarkably vivid, and visceral way the lives of past humans through contributions that cover the chronological and geographical expanse of the ancient Near East. It comprises thirty-two chapters written by leading international contributors that look at the ways in which humans, through their senses, experienced their lives and the world around them in the ancient Near East, with coverage of Anatolia, Egypt, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Syria, and Persia, from the Neolithic through the Roman period. It is organised into six parts related to sensory contexts: Practice, production, and taskscape; Dress and the body; Ritualised practice and ceremonial spaces; Death and burial; Science, medicine, and aesthetics; and Languages and semantic fields. In addition to exploring what makes each sensory context unique, this organisation facilitates cross-cultural and cross-chronological, as well as cross-sensory and multisensory comparisons and discussions of sensory experiences in the ancient world. In so doing, the volume also enables considerations of senses beyond the five-sense model of Western philosophy (sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell), including proprioception and interoception, and the phenomena of synaesthesia and kinaesthesia. The Routledge Handbook of the Senses in the Ancient Near East provides scholars and students within the field of ancient Near Eastern studies new perspectives on and conceptions of familiar spaces, places, and practices, as well as material culture and texts. It also allows scholars and students from adjacent fields such as Classics and Biblical Studies to engage with this material, and is a must-read for any scholar or student interested in or already engaged with the field of sensory studies in any period.

By means of these four sites, this book explores a variety of issues contemplating the transition from the Early to the Late Ceramic Age in the Lesser Antilles. Studies of pre-Columbian material culture (ceramics, lithics, faunal, shell and human bone remains) are combined with additional microanalyses (starch and phytolith analyses, micromorphology and thin sections) to sort out the processes that triggered the cultural transition just before the end of the first millennium AD. The multi-disciplinary approach to address these sites Saladoid shows the current state of affairs on project-led archaeology in the French West Indies and should be of great value to both researchers and students of Caribbean archaeology, material cultures, zooarchaeology, environmental studies, historical ecology and other related fields.

Stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to central Canada, North America's great interior grasslands were home to nomadic hunters and semisedentary farmers for almost 11,500 years before the arrival of Euro-American settlers. Pan-continental trade between these hunters and horticulturists helped make the lifeways of Plains Indians among the richest and most colorful of Native Americans.

This volume is the first attempt to synthesize current knowledge on the cultural history of the Great Plains since Wedel's Prehistoric Man on the Great Plains became the standard reference on the subject almost forty years ago. Fourteen authors have undertaken the task of examining archaeological phenomena through time and by region to present a systematic overview of the region's human history. Focusing on habitat and cultural diversity and on the changing archaeological record, they reconstruct how people responded to the varying environment, climate, and biota of the grasslands to acquire the resources they needed to survive.

The contributors have analyzed archaeological artifacts and other evidence to present a systematic overview of human history in each of the five key Plains regions: Southern, Central, Middle Missouri, Northeastern, and Northwestern. They review the Paleo-Indian, Archaic, Woodland, and Plains Village peoples and tell how their cultural traditions have continued from ancient to modern times. Each essay covers technology, diet, settlement, and adaptive patterns to give readers an understanding of the differences and similarities among groups. The story of Plains peoples is brought into historical focus by showing the impacts of Euro-American contact, notably acquisition of the horse and exposure to new diseases.

Featuring 85 maps and illustrations, Archaeology on the Great Plains is an exceptional introduction to the field for students and an indispensable reference for specialists. It enhances our understanding of how the Plains shaped the adaptive strategies of peoples through time and fosters a greater appreciation for their cultures.

This volume is the result of collaboration between SPMA and the Association des archeologues du Quebec (AAQ); its guest editor is William Moss, Chief Archaeologist for the City of Quebec. The publication has arisen from the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the city's founding by Samuel de Champlain in 1608, an occasion which gave momentum to a number of important archaeological projects in the city and surrounding region, and provided an excellent opportunity to present their results. It contains sixteen papers, all translated from French, the language of Quebec City. They include accounts of exciting discoveries relating to the port, the great chateau on the crag above it, the defences, and the newly discovered remains of the short-lived colony of the 1540s. The papers underline Quebec's status as one of the leading centres of urban research in North America. The volume provides the only modern overview of archaeological work in the city in the English language.

This volume shows how hunter gatherer societies maintain their traditional lifeways in the face of interaction with neighboring herders, farmers, and traders. Using historical, anthropological and archaeological data and cases from Africa, Australia, and Southeast Asia, the authors examine hunter gatherer peoples--both past and present--to assess these relationships and the mechanisms by which hunter gatherers adapt and maintain elements of their culture in the wider world around them.

This volume presents the terracotta miscellaneous finds from the Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore at Acrocorinth. The finds comprise 21 classes, including protomes and masks, altars, plaques, models of various personal and household items, and loomweights and other textile tools (the latter initially studied by Gloria S. Merker and brought to publication by Nancy Bookidis). In addition to providing a catalogue of the finds arranged according to their subjects, the authors compare these finds with similar objects found elsewhere in Greece and refer to literary, epigraphical, and visual sources to understand their possible uses and meanings and the character of religious activity that may have triggered their dedication in the sanctuary. This volume will greatly facilitate comparative studies of ancient Greek miscellaneous finds and will be an important reference for historians of Greek art as well as of Greek religion.

The Routledge Handbook of the Archaeology of Indigenous-Colonial Interaction in the Americas brings together scholars from across the hemisphere to examine how archaeology can highlight the myriad ways that Indigenous people have negotiated colonial systems from the fifteenth century through to today. The contributions offer a comprehensive look at where the archaeology of colonialism has been and where it is heading. Geographically diverse case studies highlight longstanding theoretical and methodological issues as well as emerging topics in the field. The organization of chapters by key issues and topics, rather than by geography, fosters exploration of the commonalities and contrasts between historical contingencies and scholarly interpretations. Throughout the volume, Indigenous and non-Indigenous contributors grapple with the continued colonial nature of archaeology and highlight Native perspectives on the potential of using archaeology to remember and tell colonial histories. This volume is the ideal starting point for students interested in how archaeology can illuminate Indigenous agency in colonial settings. Professionals, including academic and cultural resource management archaeologists, will find it a convenient reference for a range of topics related to the archaeology of colonialism in the Americas.

Kennewick Man, known as the Ancient One to Native Americans, has been the lightning rod for conflict between archaeologists and indigenous peoples in the United States. A decade-long legal case pitted scientists against Native American communities and highlighted the shortcomings of the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), designed to protect Native remains. In this volume, we hear from the many sides of this issue--archaeologists, tribal leaders, and others--as well as views from the international community. The wider implications of the case and its resolution is explored. Comparisons are made to similar cases in other countries and how they have been handled. Appendixes provide the legal decisions, appeals, and chronology to allow full exploration of this landmark legal struggle. An ideal starting point for discussion of this case in anthropology, archaeology, Native American studies, and cultural property law courses. Sponsored by the World Archaeological Congress.

Mariam F. Ayad explores how five women were elevated to a position of supreme religious authority. Drawing on a variety of textual, iconographic, and archaeological evidence, and containing fifty-one black and white and colour illustrations, the volume discusses this often neglected subject, placing the women within the broader context of the politically volatile, turbulent seventh and eighth centuries BCE.

York explores the archaeology, art, architecture and cultural heritage of the city in the late Middle Ages. In the years since the resurrection of the British Archaeological Association conference in 1976, the association has met in the city only once (in 1988), for a conference that celebrated Yorkshire Monasticism. As a consequence, the secular and vernacular architecture as well as the architecture, art and imagery of York Minster were excluded from its scope, something redressed in the meeting that took place in 2017. As many recent publications have focused on York in the earlier medieval period, this book shines a much-needed light on the city in the later medieval ages. Starting with a range of essays on York Minster by authors directly involved in major conservation projects undertaken in the last ten years, the book also includes information on the vernacular architecture and transport infrastructure of York, as well as the parochial and material culture of the period. Illuminating the extensive resources for the study of the late Middle Ages in England's second capital, this book provides new research on this important city and will be suitable for researchers in medieval archaeology, art history, literature and material culture.

By midway through the fifth millennium BCE, rapid social change was underway in the southern Levant. One critical dimension of this cultural revolution was a series of profound technological breakthroughs, bringing the dawn of the age of metals. Archaeologists working in the region have discovered a host of sites dating to the Chalcolithic Period (4700-3500 BCE) with material culture reflecting the production and use of copper. This survey will take the reader from the copper mines of the Aravah in Jordan and Israel where the ore was acquired, to the villages of the northern Negev such as Shiqmim, where copper was produced in household workshops, and the Beer Sheva sites, where several large workshops sprung up, and where a variety of finished copper goods saw limited circulation. We will also explore a series of cave burials, such as the hidden tomb at Nahal Qanah, where a range of sumptuous luxury goods and exotic "imports" including copper scepters and the earliest gold in the region were buried with the elite members of Chalcolithic society. Thus, in addition to reconstructing ancient technology, the archaeological evidence also affords us the opportunity to study the changing economic, social and political environment of the time. For example, there is early evidence for specialized craftsmanship, the exchange of luxury goods, and far-flung trade relations. The evidence also indicates that some members of society had greater access to certain goods than others, and that some individuals may have harnessed the symbolic power of the new-founded metals industry in order to promote their own political power.