This is a decolonial study about Ñuu Savi (Mixtec) pictorial manuscripts (codices), Mexico. The aim is the understanding of their cultural values through a holistic and diachronic way, studying... Show moreThis is a decolonial study about Ñuu Savi (Mixtec) pictorial manuscripts (codices), Mexico. The aim is the understanding of their cultural values through a holistic and diachronic way, studying living and historical-cultural heritage of Mixtec People, based on the re-integration of cultural memory and cultural continuity, linking the past and the present through the Mixtec language (or Sahan Savi) and from its own perspective. The final aim is the re-appropriation of this knowledge by the Ñuu Savi communities themselves. Show less
In the contemporary myriad of definitions and approaches of landscape, the starting points and limits of the concept of landscape biography are being explored, but also tested in this thesis. What... Show moreIn the contemporary myriad of definitions and approaches of landscape, the starting points and limits of the concept of landscape biography are being explored, but also tested in this thesis. What exactly is a landscape biography? What does it constitute of? Is landscape biography just a narration of a specific defined place on the face of the Earth in a defined period of time or does it have a practical output? Is it possible to help design the future of landscapes by narrating the past? These questions are explicitly addressed for a specific region in Eastern Estonia, Vooremaa (in translation: the land of drumlins). The source base for this landscape biography compiles of archaeological, cartographical, environmental, and folkloristic data.In addition, the scope of the study concentrates on historic land use around archaeological sites in Vooremaa and it aims to create a system for assessing the archaeological heritage value of certain micro-regions. One of the goals of the thesis is therefore to develop a practical methodology for detecting archaeological heritage in the landscape as well that may contribute to the (thinking about) sustainable landscape development through create concepts of heritage preservation. Show less
This thesis explores the relationships between local people, archaeologists and Amara West, locally known as Abkanisa, located in Sudanese Nubia, northern Sudan. The analysis of the relationship... Show moreThis thesis explores the relationships between local people, archaeologists and Amara West, locally known as Abkanisa, located in Sudanese Nubia, northern Sudan. The analysis of the relationship aimed to understand the local values of the place and the power relations between local people and archaeologists in the post-colonial context. It argues how this relationship could be improved by dialogue that promotes increased human interactions, understanding different perspectives and exchanging knowledge and memories. This study contributes to decolonising archaeological and heritage practices by presenting a model for collaboration in archaeology. Show less
The creation of new capital cities are watershed moments in the lives of ancient empires. Assyria, arguably the most successful imperial state of the ancient Near East, repeatedly engaged in... Show moreThe creation of new capital cities are watershed moments in the lives of ancient empires. Assyria, arguably the most successful imperial state of the ancient Near East, repeatedly engaged in capital creation. Capital creation denotes the development of a monumental capital, either in a new location or through the profound transformation of a pre-existing settlement. This dissertation focusses on the rationale, construction, and function of the imperial capitals of Assyria: Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta, Kalḫu, Dur-Šarrukēn, and Nineveh.By exploring three key questions – why was a capital created, how was a capital created, and what were the functions of the capital – this study presents a comparative analysis of these four urban centers and presents a new perspective on their creation, as well as an innovative framework for the study of capital creation from antiquity to today. Show less
The first use of birch tar adhesives by Neandertals over 191,000 years ago marked a significant technological development. The ability to produce entirely new materials through transformative... Show moreThe first use of birch tar adhesives by Neandertals over 191,000 years ago marked a significant technological development. The ability to produce entirely new materials through transformative processes was unlike anything that had been done before. In southern Africa, during the Middle Stone Age, humans made compound adhesives by combining disparate ingredients, a task which is believed to have required modern-like levels of cognition. However, for all of the significance given to ancient adhesives in discussions about Neandertal and modern human technological and cognitive capabilities, our knowledge of the material itself is limited. This thesis provides the first comprehensive study of Middle Palaeolithic and Middle Stone Age adhesives, providing new insight into the material choices and technological capabilities of Neandertals and Middle Stone Age humans. Finally, as awareness for the importance of Palaeolithic adhesive residues continues to increase, and more discoveries are made, new questions and materials that need to be tested are constantly being brought to light. Show less
The work of Fernand Braudel (1949) should have revolutionized the way archaeology conceptualizes temporal scales and builds chronological narratives. Even though Braudel’s general views did impact... Show moreThe work of Fernand Braudel (1949) should have revolutionized the way archaeology conceptualizes temporal scales and builds chronological narratives. Even though Braudel’s general views did impact archaeological theory deeply, his three different time-scales, together with insights into duration as the inner dialectic between different temporalities, remain neglected in archaeological practice.Nowadays, ceramic chronology building in archaeology still relies on two main variables: time-space and pottery styles. This book aims to challenge this paradigm and propose a new way for narrating vital chronologies. The point of departure for this endeavor consists of a longue durée geographical unit, the valley of Juigalpa, in central Nicaragua. Through a view of materials—and especially ceramics—as complex and embodied palimpsests, as the bundling of unfolding traces; a chronology including five different intervals based on ceramic technologies is presented, from the first traces of human practices in 300 CE through to the present. Show less
This dissertation combines two different analytical methods, use wear and ancient starch grain analysis, to investigate the uses of different types of grinding tools. The artefacts were recovered... Show moreThis dissertation combines two different analytical methods, use wear and ancient starch grain analysis, to investigate the uses of different types of grinding tools. The artefacts were recovered from two of the earliest Neolithic farming communities in the central plain of China. The research focuses on addressing four research issues regarding “correlation between tool type and function”, “choices of ancient food processing techniques”, “rice processing in the early rice agricultural societies”, and “foodways in different Neolithic communities”. The findings were published in four peer-reviewed academic articles (Chapter 2 to 5). The data attained regarding Neolithic culinary practices and different uses of grinding tools allows a more nuanced and broader consideration of ancient foodways in the research region. Chapter 6 consolidates the results from the study of archaeological grinding tools and previous research to discuss the foodways of the ancient Jiahu population. In Chapter 7, a comparison of foodways at Jiahu and other Peiligang Culture sites suggests the intangible cultural boundaries and interactions between these Neolithic communities. Overall, this dissertation highlights that Neolithic grinding tools played different roles in early farming societies, especially in food processing practices. Show less
This dissertation presents a legal geographical analysis of the heritage laws of the independent English-speaking islands of the Lesser Antilles. The research considers the role of landscape or... Show moreThis dissertation presents a legal geographical analysis of the heritage laws of the independent English-speaking islands of the Lesser Antilles. The research considers the role of landscape or place (the spatial location of a community’s cultural identity) to sustainable heritage protection, given that these islands are former British colonies and their perceived ‘placelessness’ facilitated the destruction of land and the attendant community relationships essential for heritage, with the conversion to private property through the law.The research question considers the degree to which modern heritage law is spatially just (responsive to the needs of local communities) given this colonial legacy. The research findings indicate that while international law has pivoted away from colonialist approaches to indigenous and local communities and their relationships with heritage resources (now centering them in the effective functioning of the landscape) domestic laws in the Lesser Antilles have not. Decolonisation of the current legislative framework thus requires the incorporation of landscape protection in the law. Procedural environmental rights such as access to environmental information and public participation in environmental decision-making offer a solution, because they can equip communities with the tools to contest landscape use where community cohesion is threatened, ultimately protecting heritage bearers and their practices. Show less
This work summarizes six years of archaeological research at the site where the first European city was founded on the continental land of America, Santa María de la Antigua del Darién. An... Show moreThis work summarizes six years of archaeological research at the site where the first European city was founded on the continental land of America, Santa María de la Antigua del Darién. An experience in the Colombian northwest that, through a rigorous archaeological investigation conducted with the stratigraphic method, unites extensive work with the community and a multidisciplinary approach.Santa María de la Antigua del Darién was the first city that the Spanish founded in the "Tierra Firme" of America in 1510. It became the capital of the territory of Castilla del Oro until the founding of Panama City. A few years after the transfer of the capital to Panama, Santa María de La Antigua was gradually abandoned until in 1524 it was assaulted and burned by the indigenous people.The archaeological project in the place where Santa María de la Antigua del Darién was located, promoted by the Colombian Ministry of Culture and the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History (Icanh), since 2013, has allowed to delimit the space of the city and it has brought to light housing floors, cobbled courtyards, streets, a blacksmith's workshop and fragments of indigenous and European material culture.It has also revealed an important pre-Hispanic phase prior to the founding of the Spanish city. Based on these investigations, Santa María de la Antigua del Darién has been declared a site of cultural interest in 2015 and a National Archaeological Park in 2016. Show less
From ca. 1600 – 1000 BC, builders across southern Greece crafted thousands of rock-cut chamber tombs similar to earlier and contemporary ‘beehive’ tholos tombs. Both tomb styles were designed with... Show moreFrom ca. 1600 – 1000 BC, builders across southern Greece crafted thousands of rock-cut chamber tombs similar to earlier and contemporary ‘beehive’ tholos tombs. Both tomb styles were designed with multiple uses in mind, filling with the remains of funerals forgotten over generations of reuse. In rare cases, the tombs were used once or seemingly not at all, cleaned thoroughly or sealed and abandoned entirely. Rather than focus on the missing or muddled record of funeral and post-funeral activities, this book re-examines Mycenaean tomb architecture and the decisions that guided it. From minimalistic to monumental, builders designed tombs with forethought to how commissioners and witnesses would react and remember them. Patterns suggest that memories of what tombs should look like heavily influenced new construction toward recurring shapes and appropriate scales. The wider debates over cost from ‘architectural energetics’ and perception in Aegean mortuary behaviour are thus revisited. Both can find common purpose in labour measured through a relative index and collective memory—how labourers and patrons saw their work. That metric for comparison lies within a median standard: in this instance, tombs expressed in terms of correlative shape and simple labour investment of the earth and rock moved to create them. Show less
Woolly mammoth fossils on an island where the species eventually dies out, human and animal fossils on the bottom of the North Sea, remains of Siberian unicorns and exceptionally well-preserved... Show moreWoolly mammoth fossils on an island where the species eventually dies out, human and animal fossils on the bottom of the North Sea, remains of Siberian unicorns and exceptionally well-preserved bones from 300,000 years ago from the famous Schöningen archaeological site in Germany: these are the main topics discussed in this thesis.In this dissertation, a vast amount of isotope (d13C and d15N) data from bulk collagen of Quaternary mammalian fossils are presented and discussed. Most of these data are measured at the Centre for Isotope Research (CIO), Groningen (n > 400). The dataset consists of samples from various localities within Eurasia and are taken from human fossils, but mainly from fossils of various animal taxa including extinct species. Many of these faunal species belong to the typical ‘Mammoth steppe fauna’.The results shed light on dietary and habitat characteristics of these animals and hominins through time and space, often during episodes of dramatic climate change. Overall, this thesis, a study of stable isotope data from mammalian fossils, contributes to our understanding of ecological conditions during the Pleistocene / Early Holocene in Eurasia. Show less
One Health calls for cross-disciplinary collaboration in health policy out of a recognition of interdependency between human and non-human animal health against the backdrop of ecological... Show moreOne Health calls for cross-disciplinary collaboration in health policy out of a recognition of interdependency between human and non-human animal health against the backdrop of ecological processes. As a new perspective on health policy, it lacks sufficient engagement with justice. A moral right to health is proposed as a means to instill justice in One Health thought and practice. This act itself prompts a reevaluation of such a moral right from both an ecological and interspecies perspective. The thesis follows up on the Great Ape Project (GAP) by setting off from human rights as well as highlighting morally relevant similarities shared amongst human and non-human primates, to then question inherent anthropocentrism. The right to health complements the set of basic negative rights defended by GAP. It does so by developing an interest-based theory of moral rights in line with the work of Alasdair Cochrane, albeit (1) critical of his denial of animal freedom, and (2) more elaborate on the right to health. These rights are brought to bear on the various interfaces between human and non-human great apes, using One Health as a framework for integrating apparently disconnected practices, so as to work towards an interspecies health policy. Show less
Adorning one’s body was a widespread practice in the precolonial Caribbean, notably during the Ceramic Age (400 BC–ca. AD 1500). Despite the abundance of ornament collections recovered from the... Show moreAdorning one’s body was a widespread practice in the precolonial Caribbean, notably during the Ceramic Age (400 BC–ca. AD 1500). Despite the abundance of ornament collections recovered from the region, much remains unknown concerning their biographies. This dissertation aims to elucidate evolving patterns in ornament production, use, and exchange through technological and microwear analyses. It is composed of four articles published in peer-reviewed journals. The first half proposes a research strategy for studying circum-Caribbean collections, which are markedly diverse in their origins, raw materials, and preservation state. Furthermore, an ethnographic museum collection, including whole necklaces, is studied as basis for interpretation. In the second part, collections from two time periods are studied: 1) the early part of the Early Ceramic Age in the eastern Caribbean; and 2) the Late Ceramic Age in the Greater Antilles. In each case-study, the presence of technical products and use-wear are combined to elucidate exchange patterns. This approach contributes toward a new assessment of large-scale interactions and the social mechanisms responsible for them. The dissertation concludes by reflecting on the changing ways people have handled, engaged with, and ultimately regarded ornaments over the course of the Ceramic Age period. Show less
Direct radiocarbon dating of human remains is crucial for the accurate interpretation of prehistory. Yet given the scarcity of prehistoric human remains, direct dating is often too destructive for... Show moreDirect radiocarbon dating of human remains is crucial for the accurate interpretation of prehistory. Yet given the scarcity of prehistoric human remains, direct dating is often too destructive for important fossils. The reduction of sample size necessary for dating bone is therefore of great interest to archaeologists, but the confounding factors of molecular preservation and contamination present great challenges to the radiocarbon dating community.This dissertation explores the reduction of sample size for radiocarbon dating Palaeolithic bone at the pretreatment and 14C measurement stages. Methodological tests were carried out on a selection of archaeological bones spanning the breadth of the radiocarbon method at varying levels of preservation. Our standard pretreatment protocol for ~500 mg bone was refined for <100 mg bone. Collagen extracted from solid pieces of bone (rather than powdered bone) and a reduced duration of the gelatinisation stage improved collagen yields for small samples. The quality of the extracted collagen was evaluated based on the yield, elemental and stable isotopic values and the obtained 14C measurements. Show less
This book focuses on the practical challenges of managing a World Heritage listed historic city in a South Asian context. The Indian Ocean island of Sri Lanka’s Galle Fort, a walled town,... Show moreThis book focuses on the practical challenges of managing a World Heritage listed historic city in a South Asian context. The Indian Ocean island of Sri Lanka’s Galle Fort, a walled town, identified as the best-preserved colonial fort in South Asia, is the subject of this study. The book analyses the costs and benefits of the fort’s World Heritage recognition to its local urban community and to the colonial fort itself, as a monument. It shows how thirty years of the World Heritage project at Galle Fort changed a once small seaside walled town with dilapidated colonial buildings into a tourist hot-spot and prime real estate, also changing the lives of its inhabitants. The work addresses the range of impacts of this process such as gentrification, real estate pressures, and urban regeneration in a balanced way. It argues that the best practises of participatory and people-centred approaches of managing urban heritage at the global level are slow to progress at the local level. While seeing the World Heritage listing of Galle Fort optimistically, the book encourages the use of the World Heritage emblem for the well-being of local residents, who bring life to these landscapes. Show less
The study on the roof constructions on Leiden houses between 1300 and 1800 is primarily based on the systematic documentation and analysis of more than a hundred selected roof structures of houses... Show moreThe study on the roof constructions on Leiden houses between 1300 and 1800 is primarily based on the systematic documentation and analysis of more than a hundred selected roof structures of houses and twenty comparable on other types of buildings in Leiden. The research provides for the first time a summary overview of this type of constructions in one city. Partly due to dendrochronological research, almost all roof structures are provided with a reliable date and information is available on the origin of construction wood and trade therein. The documented constructions are unambiguously recorded on a newly developed standardized catalogue sheet.By linking the data from the investigated roof structures with historical sources and published research, an attempt was made to investigate the appearance and development of roof constructions from 1300 to 1800 on Leiden houses and what influences and indicators were involved. Show less
This dissertation describes for the first time in detail a manuscript held by the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam, known as Izcatqui. This manuscript is written in Nahuatl or the Aztec... Show moreThis dissertation describes for the first time in detail a manuscript held by the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam, known as Izcatqui. This manuscript is written in Nahuatl or the Aztec language, in the 18th century. This study has shown just how complex and multi-layered this book is. It contains Nahuatl translations of Spanish source texts from as early as the 15th century. These range from texts on the Gregorian calendar, liturgy, astrology, agriculture and medicine. Not only includes the manuscript a variety of sources, its content was also known in several manuscripts in other indigenous languages. This study showcases the interest and collaboration of people from local and non-local descent to translate and transfer knowledge from one cultural background to the other. Show less
Sandy Point was one of the early English towns on the Eastern Caribbean island of St. Kitts, the first island to be settled by both the English and the French. Very early in the period of... Show moreSandy Point was one of the early English towns on the Eastern Caribbean island of St. Kitts, the first island to be settled by both the English and the French. Very early in the period of settlement Sandy Point rose in prominence over the island's other towns as a major port with a strategically vital anchorage. The defence of this anchorage and the approaches to it were the responsibility of Charles Fort and Brimstone Hill Fortress. The proximity of Sandy Point to the island of St. Eustatius, positioned the port ideally to become a nexus of trade, including illicit trade, between the English and Dutch West Indies. Even after the decline of this port's strategic importance to Britain from the mid nineteenth century onwards, it continued to play a vital role in trade and communications between the British and Dutch Atlantic Worlds. The reasons for, and the pattern of ascendancy and decline of one of the first major West Indian ports in the Atlantic World is explored in this dissertation, as well as the influence of this port on the development of the early Atlantic World System. This dissertation shall also investigate Sandy Point’s influence on trade between the British and Dutch West Indies. Show less
