Eleven papers extend discussion of the role and importance of the landscape and the wider environment to past societies, and to the understanding and interpretation of their material remains, into consideration of the significance of the celestial environment: the skyscape. The role of the sky for past societies has been relegated to the fringes of archaeological discourse. Nevertheless archaeoastronomy has developed a new rigour in the last few decades and the evidence suggests that it can provide insights into the beliefs, practices and cosmologies of past societies. Skyscapes explores the current role of archaeoastronomical knowledge in archaeological discourse and how to integrate the two. It shows how it is not only possible but even desirable to look at the skyscape to shed further light on human societies. This is achieved by first exploring the historical relationship between archaeoastronomy and academia in general, and with archaeology in particular. The volume continues by presenting case-studies that either demonstrate how archaeoastronomical methodologies can add to our current understanding of past societies, their structures and beliefs, or how integrated approaches can raise new questions and even revolutionise current views of the past.

This volume presents the papers from the seventh North-European Symposium for Archaeological Textiles (NESAT), held in Edinburgh in 1999. The themes covered demonstrate a variety of scholarship that will encourage anyone working in this important and stimulating area of archaeology. From the golden robes of a Roman burial, to the fashionable Viking in Denmark, through to the early modern period and more technological aspects of textile-research, these twenty-four papers (five of which are in German) provide a wealth of new information on the study of ancient textiles in northern Europe.

The prehistories of Britain and Ireland are inescapably entwined with continental European narratives. The central aim here is to explore ‘cross-channel’ relationships throughout later prehistory, investigating the archaeological links (material, social, cultural) between the areas we now call Britain and Ireland, and continental Europe, from the Mesolithic through to the end of the Iron Age. Since the separation from the European mainland of Ireland (c. 16,000 BC) and Britain (c. 6000 BC), their island nature has been seen as central to many aspects of life within them, helping to define their senses of identity, and forming a crucial part of their neighbourly relationship with continental Europe and with each other. However, it is important to remember that the surrounding seaways have often served to connect as well as to separate these islands from the continent. In approaching the subject of ‘continental connections’ in the long-term, and by bringing a variety of different archaeological perspectives (associated with different periods) to bear on it, this volume provides a new a new synthesis of the ebbs and flows of the cross-channel relationship over the course of 15,000 years of later prehistory, enabling fresh understandings and new insights to emerge about the intimately linked trajectories of change in both regions.

Although the bioarchaeology (study of biological remains in an archaeological context) of Egypt has been documented in a desultory way for many decades, it is only recently that it has become an inherent part of excavations in Egypt. This volume consists of a series of essays that explore how ancient plant, animal, and human remains should be studied, and how, when they are integrated with texts, images, and artefacts, they can contribute to our understanding of the history, environment, and culture of ancient Egypt in a holistic manner.Topics covered in this volume relating to human remains include analyses of royal, elite and poor cemeteries of different eras, case studies on specific mummies, identification of different diseases in human remains, an overview of the state of palaeopathology in Egypt, how to analyse burials to establish season of death, the use of bodies to elucidate life stories, the potential of visceral remains in identifying individuals as well as diseases that they might have had, and a protocol for studying mummies. Faunal remains are represented by a study of a canine cemetery and a discussion of cat species that were mummified, and dendroarchaeology is represented by an overview of its potentials and pitfalls for dating Egyptian remains and revising its chronology.Leading international specialists from varied disciplines including physical anthropology, radiology, archaeozoology, Egyptology, and dendrochronology have contributed to this groundbreaking volume of essays that will no doubt provide much fodder for thought, and will be of interest to scholars and laypeople alike.

Jacob van Breda de Haan is known as the author of the name Phytophthora nicotianae n.sp., the causal agent of ‘black shank’, an important disease of tobacco. Who was he? Where did he work? What did he publish? He published in Dutch, 1896, in a Dutch colonial report series. Next question: what more on tobacco diseases was written in obscure, colonial Dutch documents? Another scientist, Thung Tjeng Hiang, better known as the first Wageningen professor of plant virology, presented two original papers in Dutch on ‘black shank’ with the word ‘epidemiologie’ in their title, 1931 and 1938. Therewith Thung was an early bird in plant disease epidemiology.The foundational paper by van Breda de Haan and two important papers by Thung are presented here in English translation. Both authors worked in the former Dutch East Indies, present Indonesia, the first on the island of Sumatera, the latter on that of Java. Both were in the service of tobacco planters; they had to solve immediate problems as fast as possible. In a pioneer situation, van Breda de Haan was confronted with a sudden seedling disease which devastated the tobacco seedlings in the seed beds and which, yes, could lead to ‘black shank’ in adult plants. Thung, working in a well-organized environment, had to prevent ‘black shank’ in the tobacco plantations.Both authors were successful in controlling disease by means of a combination of ecological intervention and chemical treatment. Whereas van Breda de Haan could only dream of genetic control, Thung could incorporate the use of a fairly resistant cultivar in his recommendations. The 1896 paper has epidemiological observations scattered throughout, without using the word epidemiology. The 1931 and 1938 papers are probably ‘firsts’ in the Dutch phytopathological literature having epidemiology in their title, one an early study in quantitative, comparative epidemiology and the other an early version of landscape epidemiology.The three papers are preceded by a sketch of tobacco cultivation in the former Dutch East Indies, describing the position of the two authors in the tobacco scene; they are followed by a long-due biography of a forgotten plant pathologist, Jacob van Breda de Haan

“A wealthy man in Denmark, citizen of the town of Schleswig, built a large ship at great expense. And the king of the country decided to join company and take part in the profits. And after he had made good half of the costs, he owned a corresponding part of the ship …”The medieval Hanseatic merchants are famous for their maritime trade network, which extended across Northern Europe from the 13th century onward. The rare quote above sheds light on a less known period, beginning in the late Viking Age, when large, elegant cargo ships were built and sailed across the sea by Scandinavian merchants.This volume presents the earliest archaeological evidence for specialised merchant seafaring in Danish waters. The cargo ship-finds of Eltang Vig, Lynæs, Karschau and Haderslev are explored in detail in order to illuminate the technology and style of a dynamic age of maritime enterprise and cultural transformation.

Paradigm Found brings together papers by renowned researchers from across Europe, Asia and America to discuss a selection of pressing issues in current archaeological theory and method. The book also reviews the effects and potential of various theoretical stances in the context of prehistoric archaeology. The 23 papers provide a discussion of the issues currently re-appearing in the focal point of theoretical debates in archaeology such as the role of the discipline in the present-day society, problems of interpretation in archaeology, approaches to the study of social evolution, as well as current insights into issues in classification and construction of typologies. Taking a fresh, and often provocative, look at the challenges contemporary archaeology is facing, the contributors evaluate the effects of past developments and discuss the impact they are likely to have on future directions in archaeology as an internationally connected discipline. In its final part the volume reflects on current thinking on prehistory, using case-studies from a number of European regions and the Mediterranean, from the Neolithic to the Roman Period.The volume represents a tribute to the lifetime achievements of Professor Evžen Neustupný, a distinguished Czech archaeologist who contributed to the advancement of prehistoric studies in Europe and to archaeological theory and method in particular.

Textile and dress production, from raw materials to finished items, has had a significant impact on society from its earliest history. The essays in this volume offer a fresh insight into the emerging interdisciplinary research field of textile and dress studies by discussing archaeological, iconographical and textual evidence within a broad geographical and chronological spectrum. The thirteen chapters explore issues, such as the analysis of textile tools, especially spindle whorls, and textile imprints for reconstructing textile production in contexts as different as Neolithic Transylvania, the Early Bronze Age North Aegean and the Early Iron Age Eastern Mediterranean; the importance of cuneiform clay tablets as a documentary source for both drawing a detailed picture of the administration of a textile industry and for addressing gender issues, such as the construction of masculinity in the Sumerian kingdoms of the 3rd millennium BC; and discussions of royal and priestly costumes and clothing ornaments in the Mesopotamian kingdom of Mari and in Mycenaean culture. Textile terms testify to intensive exchanges between Semitic and Indo-European languages, especially within the terminology of trade goods. The production and consumption of textiles and garments are demonstrated in 2nd millennium Hittite Anatolia; from 1st millennium BC Assyria, a cross-disciplinary approach combines texts, realia and iconography to produce a systematic study of golden dress decorations; and finally, the important discussion of fibres, flax and wool, in written and archaeological sources is evidence for delineating the economy of linen and the strong symbolic value of fibre types in 1st millennium Babylonia and the Southern Levant. The volume is part of a pair together with Greek and Roman Textiles and Dress: An Interdisciplinary Anthology edited by Mary Harlow and Marie-Louise Nosch.

From at least 1700 BC, and for several centuries thereafter, a city of substantial houses flanked the palace of Knossos in north-central Crete. Those immediately adjacent to it, like the Royal Villa or the South House, excavated by Sir Arthur Evans, are well known, as are the Little Palace and Unexplored Mansion to the north-west. In fact the whole lower western hill-slope (Bougadha Metochi, the modern village) was terraced with fine, ashlar masonry buildings, served by well-engineered paved roads. The present volume publishes part of one such building, excavated by the Greek Archaeological Service. The pottery within it — as always at Knossos astonishing in quantity and excellent in quality — is particularly important for the first stage of these large buildings, Middle Minoan IIIA (Early and Late), the 17th century BC. One piece also throws light on bull sacrifice at Knossos. Another object, a stone weight, confirms the close relationship of the Minoan, Theran and West Syrian systems of mensuration. A later pottery deposit adds to evidence of wide destruction at Knossos at the final moment of independent Minoan civilisation, Late Minoan IB c. 1440 BC. The history of the building is also set within that of the wider Cretan and southern Aegean regions during the Bronze Age.

During the later part of the last century there was rapid development of the study and understanding of the changing environments of the last 2 million years. This came to provide a firm background for today’s knowledge of the significance and importance of climatic change. Interdisciplinary research has been a prominent, if not essential, contributor to the successes achieved. In illustration of this connection, I describe here such developments in the University of Cambridge. In 1948 the University established a Subdepartment of Quaternary Research, with teaching and research activities covering geological, biological and archaeological topics. An interdisciplinary approach was an essential ingredient, and the research covered both terrestrial and marine spheres. The book traces the history of Quaternary research in Britain and Ireland, particularly the continental influences which stimulated research and indeed led to the establishment of the Subdepartment.The early years of the Subdepartment were an exceptionally exciting time for Quaternary researchers. This period saw the development of radiocarbon dating and of marine geochemical studies, together with the improvement of interpretation of palaeobotanical data, and the consequent incorporation of a vast accession of new information relating to these subjects. Stratigraphy, the binding topic of Quaternary research, became much better understood: first, in the terrestrial sphere with the formulation of divisions of the Quaternary based on accepted geological principles and providing a measure of the passage of time to students of the several disciplines involved, including landscape history, ecosystem history and archaeology, and secondly in the marine sphere a formulation of units defined by isotope studies.The organisation of the Subdepartment and the problems of developing interdisciplinary science are considered. An important aspect is the variety of staff and students involved in interdisciplinary research and teaching. In order to give a complete an account as possible of the activities of the Subdepartment, a listing of staff and students and their interests is compiled, which I think is necessary to give a rounded view of the Subdepartment as a whole.Research topics and their development are considered one-by-one, and the numbers of publications in each sphere are summarised over the life of the Subdepartment, giving a clear view of how research developed over the period of 45 years. These activities were brought to an end in 1994, with the dissolution of the Subdepartment, which is described, together with a discussion of achievements and the voicing of some reflections.In a final part, I take a wider view of the history of Quaternary research, with aspects of geology and biology considered, together with notes on the Quaternary community, research support and journals.

Recently, Palaeolithic and Mesolithic archaeology has been breaking boundaries worldwide. Finds such as the Mesolithic house at Howick, the sequencing of the Neanderthal genome, and the recently discovered footprints at Happisburgh all serve to indicate how archaeologists in these fields are truly at the cutting edge of understanding humanity’s past. This volume celebrates this trend by focusing on recent advances in the study of the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic. With contributors from a diverse range of backgrounds, it allows for a greater degree of interdisciplinary discourse than is often the case, as the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic are generally split apart. Wild Things brings together contributions from major researchers and early career specialists, detailing research taking place across the British Isles, France, Portugal, Russia, the Levant and Europe as a whole, providing a cross-section of the exciting range of research being conducted. By combining papers from both these periods, it is hoped that dialogue between practitioners of Palaeolithic and Mesolithic archaeology can be further encouraged. Topics include: the chronology of the Mid-Upper Palaeolithic of European Russia; territorial use of Alpine high altitude areas by Mesolithic hunter-gatherer; discussing the feasibility of reconstructing Neanderthal demography to examine their extinction; the funerary contexts from the Mesolithic burials at Muge; the discovery of further British Upper Palaeolithic parietal art at Cathole Cave; exploitation of both lithics and fauna in Palaeolithic France; and an analysis of Mesolithic/Neolithic trade in Europe.

Scholars working in a number of disciplines – archaeologists, classicists, epigraphers, papyrologists, Assyriologists, Egyptologists, Mayanists, philologists, and ancient historians of all stripes – routinely engage with ancient textual sources that are either material remains from the archaeological record or historical products of other connections between the ancient world and our own.Examining the archaeology-text nexus from multiple perspectives, contributors to this volume discuss current theoretical and practical problems that have grown out of their work at the boundary of the division between archaeology and the study of early inscriptions. In 12 representative case-studies drawn from research in Asia, Africa, the Mediterranean, and Mesoamerica, scholars use various lenses to critically examine the interface between archaeology and the study of ancient texts, rethink the fragmentation of their various specialized disciplines, and illustrate the best in current approaches to contextual analysis. The collection of essays also highlights recent trends in the development of documentation and dissemination technologies, engages with the ethical and intellectual quandaries presented by ancient inscriptions that lack archaeological context, and sets out to find profitable future directions for interdisciplinary research.

Deer have been central to human cultures throughout time and space: whether as staples to hunter-gatherers, icons of Empire, or the focus of sport. Their social and economic importance has seen some species transported across continents, transforming landscape as they went with the establishment of menageries and park. The fortunes of other species have been less auspicious, some becoming extirpated, or being in threat of extinction, due to pressures of over-hunting and/or human-instigated environmental change. In spite of their diverse, deep-rooted and long standing relations with human societies, no multi-disciplinary volume of research on cervids has until now been produced. This volume draws together research on deer from wide-ranging disciplines and in so doing substantially advances our broader understanding of human-deer relationships in the past and the present. Themes include species dispersal, exploitation patterns, symbolic significance, material culture and art, effects on the landscape and management. The temporal span of research ranges from the Pleistocene to the modern day and covers Europe, North America and Asia. Papers derived from international conferences held at the University of Lincoln and in Paris.

Over 150 years of research in the Circum-Alpine region have produced a vast amount of data on the lakeshore and wetland settlements found throughout the area. Particularly in the northern region, dendrochronological studies have provided highly accurate sequences of occupation, which have correlated, in turn, to palaeoclimatic reconstructions in the area. The result has been the general conclusion that the lake-dwelling tradition was governed by climatic factors, with communities abandoning the lakeshore during periods of inclement conditions, and returning when the climate was more favourable. Such a cyclical pattern occurred from the 4th millennium BC to 800 BC, at which time the lakeshores were abandoned and never extensively re-occupied. Was this final break with a long-lasting tradition solely the result of climatic fluctuation, or were cultural factors a more decisive influence for the decline of lake-dwelling occupation?Studies of material culture have shown that some of the Late Bronze Age lake-dwellings in the northern Alpine region were significant centres for the production and exchange of bronzework and manufactured products, linking northern Europe to the southern Alpine forelands and beyond. However, during the early Iron Age the former lake-dwelling region does not show such high levels of incorporation to long-distance exchange systems. Combining the evidence of material culture studies with occupation patterns and burial practices, this volume proposes an alternative to the climatically-driven models of lake-dwelling abandonment. This is not to say that climate change did not influence those communities, but that it was only one factor among many. More significantly, it was a combination of social choice to abandon the shore, and subsequent cultural developments that inhibited the full scale reoccupation of the lakes.

In de archeologische praktijk wordt veel van de archeoloog in het veld gevraagd. Hij/zij is het welbekende schaap met de vijf poten. Naast de dagelijkse bureaucratische rompslomp blijft helaas vaak te weinig tijd over voor de archeologische inhoudelijke kant van het werk en dan dient de veldarcheoloog zich ook nog eens bezig te houden met “het profiel”. Dit boek beoogt de veldarcheoloog enig houvast te bieden bij de documentatie en interpretatie van “het profiel” en probeert een antwoord te geven op vragen die veel in het veld worden gesteld. Waarom is de bepaling van het koolzure kalkgehalte van een sediment zo belangrijk? Wat is het verschil tussen een rivierduin en een donk? Hoe en hoe snel ontstaat een podzol? Is een eerdlaag hetzelfde als een esdek? Bevat het profiel nog voldoende stuifmeelkorrels voor een zinvolle analyse? Wat zegt een EZ23 op de bodemkaart nu eigenlijk? In dit boek vind je het antwoord op bovenstaande en vele andere vragen.De schrijvers van het boek zijn beiden werkzaam als fysisch geograaf bij EARTH Integrated Archaeology. Wilko van Zijverden begon zijn carrière in de archeologie in 1993 en verzorgt daarnaast sinds 2007 onderwijs in de aardwetenschappen bij de opleiding Archeologie van SAXION in Deventer. Jos de Moor werkt sinds 2001 als fysisch geograaf in het archeologisch werkveld.

Deze bundel vormt de neerslag van de 1e Nederlandse Metaaltijdendag, gehouden op 18 oktober 2013. Hierbij werd een rijke doorsnede aan recent metaaltijdenonderzoek gepresenteerd, dat nu in schriftelijke vorm het licht ziet. Deze bundel bevat bijdragen over het grafritueel, de materiële cultuur, nederzettingspatronen en depositiepatronen van gemeenschappen uit de metaaltijden (brons- en ijzertijd) van Nederland. De Metaaltijdendag is een initiatief van de Stichting Metaaltijdenonderzoek Nederland (SMON), die zo een breed platform wil bieden aan een ieder met belangstelling voor de laat-prehistorische samenlevingen. Om de verhalen zoveel mogelijk toegankelijk te maken, biedt de Stichting de gelegenheid de gehouden lezingen te publiceren in een bundel. In die zin vormt deze publicatie de Proceedings van het jaarlijkse congres, maar ook andere bijdragen over de metaaltijden zijn welkom. Samengebracht in deze bundel raken de verhalen over, en interpretaties van, de laat-prehistorische samenlevingen verbonden.Deze publicatie biedt dan ook een fraaie dwarsdoorsnede van wat de Nederlandse brons- en ijzertijd te bieden heeft. Zowel recente ontdekkingen komen aan bod, als ook oude vondstmeldingen die – wanneer ze in een landschappelijke context worden geplaatst – verrassende inzichten bieden in de wereld van 3500 jaar geleden.