This thesis focuses on reconstructing the daily lives of Bronze Age farmers as well as the landscape for their subsistence practices. Doing so, Wild West Frisia analyses the separate components... Show moreThis thesis focuses on reconstructing the daily lives of Bronze Age farmers as well as the landscape for their subsistence practices. Doing so, Wild West Frisia analyses the separate components comprising Bronze Age subsistence (i.e. crop and animal husbandry, hunting and gathering) rather innovatively: instead of summarizing the known data for each subsistence strategy and drawing conclusions solely based on these observations, this study first determines what may have been... Show less
This is a comprehensive study of Roman literary references to Egypt without preference for one particular period, author or subject, in contrast to most previous scholarship. In doing so, it shows... Show moreThis is a comprehensive study of Roman literary references to Egypt without preference for one particular period, author or subject, in contrast to most previous scholarship. In doing so, it shows that these references vary greatly, are context-dependent, and cannot be rightly understood when interpreted only within the normative and fixated frameworks of negative perceptions of contemporary Egypt or positive perceptions of Egypt’s antiquity. Moreover, this study suggests that approaching Roman literary references from the notion of Roman self-representationis useful for understanding and explaining their multifarious and sometimes contradictory messages. This observation does not imply that every reference to Egypt is therefore ‘Roman’. On the contrary, Egypt was occasionally framed as the Other. Yet the omnipresence of Egypt in Roman literature is of major importance when the Roman identity is at stake. Egypt, then, is neither only the Other, nor only the Self, but always a polyvalent notion in terms of identity-making. Show less
This research investigates the impact of socioeconomic developments on the physical condition of medieval populations in Holland and Zeeland between AD 1000 and 1600 through the analysis of... Show more This research investigates the impact of socioeconomic developments on the physical condition of medieval populations in Holland and Zeeland between AD 1000 and 1600 through the analysis of human skeletal remains from three archaeological sites. In a brief period of time, this region went from being scarcely populated to an area characterised by expanding urban centres and flourishing trade systems. These large scale developments had an impact on the daily lives of medieval people. Focusing on several skeletal indicators of disease, activity, and diet, this research has studied the physical consequences of medieval socioeconomic developments from a hitherto unexplored perspective. Although differences are observed between the skeletal collections, the key finding is the absence of a marked distinction between town and country. The noted variations in skeletal indicators of disease, activity, and diet are minor and do not support the traditional idea that towns and villages in medieval Holland and Zeeland had become worlds apart. While urban living is frequently associated with negative consequences, this is not supported by this research. Especially in terms of disease, a more nuanced view is necessary. While the risks appear to have been different, one living environment cannot be considered better than the other. Show less
Palaeoanthropologists have proposed that Neanderthals, the Middle Palaeolithic hominin occupant of Eurasia, differed from modern human relatives by having specialised diets focused on big game. A... Show morePalaeoanthropologists have proposed that Neanderthals, the Middle Palaeolithic hominin occupant of Eurasia, differed from modern human relatives by having specialised diets focused on big game. A narrow dietary niche at the top of the terrestrial food chain is inherently prone to instability, potentially contributing to extinction of the Neanderthals. However, limitations in detecting plant consumption imply that scientists are unaware of much of Neanderthal diet. My dissertation revises the role of plants in Neanderthal subsistence using dental calculus, a material that is recognised to contain food traces, as a source of dietary data. To do this I assessed how accurately calculus records diet, by testing it with a variety of techniques on a population of chimpanzees with decades of documented dietary history. Then, my dissertation examined if it is possible to explore the resilience of the Neanderthal dietary niche by assessing for changes in plant use over time. Comparing diets from different habitats, data suggests a broad range of diets on the Mediterranean rim and in the cooler areas of the Neanderthal range. Surprisingly, the study found no evidence of changes in plant dietary breadth despite variation in environments. This stability implies a deeply resilient ecological niche across their range. Show less
To consolidate their power, the Assyrian military founded numerous agricultural settlements in newly conquered areas. One such a settlement, a so-called dunnu, was discovered at Tell Sabi... Show more To consolidate their power, the Assyrian military founded numerous agricultural settlements in newly conquered areas. One such a settlement, a so-called dunnu, was discovered at Tell Sabi Abyad, Syria. The settlement was relatively large and appears to have been heavily fortified. In this research the settlement was investigated to reveal what activities were played out inside and what its function was. This was achieved by analysing the objects which were left behind inside the various rooms and courtyards at the site. Also the way in which these objects were deposited was subject to rigorous investigation: were the objects for instance dumped as garbage or were they left behind during rapid abandonment following some catastrophe? Show less
This work is focussed on the precolonial Mesoamerican codices. Less than twenty of these rare books still exist today. The main questions are how were these objects made, and for what were... Show more This work is focussed on the precolonial Mesoamerican codices. Less than twenty of these rare books still exist today. The main questions are how were these objects made, and for what were they used. The author also looked at why so few of these books remain today and how they have been reproduced in more recent times. One special aspect of this research was the investigation of one specific book, the codex Añute, held at the Bodleian Libraries of the University of Oxford. This book is a known palimpsest. By understanding its physical composition, new techniques could be developed to investigate this palimpsest and recover new pictographic texts from underneath the surfaces. Show less
Beginning in 1992 when the category of world heritage cultural landscapes was adopted by the World Heritage Committee, scholarly debates have ensued on how they could best be managed. One approach... Show moreBeginning in 1992 when the category of world heritage cultural landscapes was adopted by the World Heritage Committee, scholarly debates have ensued on how they could best be managed. One approach, which appears to have gained significance over the past two decades or so, is to consider the use of traditional conservation practices and the involvement of local indigenous communities in the management of world heritage cultural landscapes. To examine the efficacy of the approach, this book explores the concept of indigenous communities, the nature of the traditional conservation practices in the Matobo Hills Cultural World Heritage Landscape in which the study was conducted as well as the management history of the area. Based on the perspectives of the indigenous people of the Matobo Hills, this study examines the extent to which traditional conservation practices and their involvement can be germane in the management of World Heritage Cultural Landscapes. Show less
This thesis traces and analyses the evolution of domestic space in Maltese vernacular and ‘polite’ houses from the medieval to contemporary times. The houses under study range from humble... Show more This thesis traces and analyses the evolution of domestic space in Maltese vernacular and ‘polite’ houses from the medieval to contemporary times. The houses under study range from humble buildings of modest size, materials and design, like farmhouses or those for the less affluent town-dwellers, to buildings of grand design, like townhouses and palazzi. Owing to the complex nature of the Maltese houses a combination of enquires and a variety of sources was necessary to achieve a holistic picture. This included fieldwork in different parts of the islands, extensive research work in local archives, libraries and museums, an analysis of a sample of literary sources, national censuses and works-of-art, as well as methods of spatial analysis (Space Syntax). Show less
This dissertation studies the indigenous Mexican game of pelota mixteca. In the first part, the possible pre-Columbian origins of the game are examined. The second part focuses on the ways... Show more This dissertation studies the indigenous Mexican game of pelota mixteca. In the first part, the possible pre-Columbian origins of the game are examined. The second part focuses on the ways in which 20th- and 21st-century globalization, labor migration and state politics of indigenism have influenced the way the game is represented and used in political discourse, both by the state and by the players itself. Show less
De resten van textiel die bij opgravingen gevonden worden zijn de zeldzame overblijfselen van kleding, huishoudelijk textiel, zeilen, verpakkingsmaterialen etc. In het buitenland is het... Show more De resten van textiel die bij opgravingen gevonden worden zijn de zeldzame overblijfselen van kleding, huishoudelijk textiel, zeilen, verpakkingsmaterialen etc. In het buitenland is het onderzoek naar textielresten de afgelopen decennia sterk ontwikkeld en is het een onmisbare specialisatie geworden binnen het archeologisch vakgebied. Een vergelijkbare ontwikkeling is in Nederland nog niet op gang gekomen, waardoor onze kennis van de productie en het gebruik van textiel voornamelijk is afgeleid van wat er uit de ons omringende landen bekend is. Dit is jammer want er zijn naast kleding bijna geen andere objecten te bedenken die nauwer verwant zijn met de mensen wiens verleden archeologen proberen te ontrafelen. Kleding is namelijk niet alleen functioneel, maar geeft vaak uitdrukking aan de identiteit of sociale positie van degene die de kleding draagt. In deze studie is onderzoek gedaan naar het gebruik van textiel en kleding in het gebied dat we nu definiëren als Nederland in de periode van 400 tot 1000 AD. Hiervoor zijn weefselresten geanalyseerd die afkomstig zijn van zowel nederzettingen als grafvelden uit verschillende delen van het land. Dit resulteert in een gevarieerd beeld van het gebruik van textiel in deze periode. Het was mogelijk om in grote lijnen te reconstrueren hoe mensen in de vroege middeleeuwen in het graf gekleed waren. Er blijken regionale verschillen te zijn tussen de grafvelden, maar ook tussen mannen- en vrouwenkleding. De vondsten uit de nederzettingen geven een volkomen ander beeld. Hier zijn andere weefsels populair en de kwaliteit van de weefsels is aanzienlijk lager. Show less
Diets and food are indisputably core facets of human society. The great apes still rely on plants to supply most of their nutritional needs. Humans, however consume a diet that is nearly... Show moreDiets and food are indisputably core facets of human society. The great apes still rely on plants to supply most of their nutritional needs. Humans, however consume a diet that is nearly unrecognizable from that of early hominin and human ancestors. While the virtues of plant foods are widely extolled, it is done so without a regard for how wild and unrefined plant foods must have contributed to the diets of our pre-agricultural ancestors. The purpose of my dissertation was to examine how wild African tubers, which are targeted by the Hadza hunter-gatherers of Tanzania, contribute the nutritional elements that are essential for health and survival in the East African mosaic environment. To accomplish this objective, I conducted three projects. First, I tested the efficacy of brief roasting, used by the Hadza, on starch gelatinization. Second, I submitted four species of Hadza tubers to an in-vitro simulation of the gastro-intestinal tract, and measured the bioaccessibility of glucose from digestion. Finally, I led an analysis of the Hadza gut microbiome to explore the polysaccharide degrading potential of mutualistic microbiota and learn whether Hadza may be better provisioned by metabolites from fermentation of the residual indigestible plant fibers in their diet. Show less
Indigenous peoples' rights have been on the international political agenda for over fifty years. Yet, very limited attention has been given to indigenous women. Among indigenous peoples, women are... Show moreIndigenous peoples' rights have been on the international political agenda for over fifty years. Yet, very limited attention has been given to indigenous women. Among indigenous peoples, women are one of the most vulnerable groups, because they are subject to multiple discrimination: for being a woman, indigenous, and often, because of the stigma of poverty. The absence of attention for women's issues is due to a lack of awareness and knowledge regarding the role women play in society and in the development of communities, and it illustrates the subordinated position women continue to have in society in general. This research wants to contribute to the visibility of indigenous women. Therefore, it provides an overview of some of the challenges indigenous women are still facing, focusing on the case of Mexico. It analyzes the position of indigenous women in Mexican society, to identify some of the fields in which indigenous women's rights are still not guaranteed and therefore require more action. Special attention is given to the position of indigenous women in Mexican health care, political participation, media, and education. Show less
