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 thesis presents an investigation into how geopolitical change and religious control are reflected in the composition of copper-alloy costume artefacts, recovered from Roman and early medieval... Show moreThis thesis presents an investigation into how geopolitical change and religious control are reflected in the composition of copper-alloy costume artefacts, recovered from Roman and early medieval contexts. It engages with the challenging topic of portable X-ray Florescence Spectrometry use in archaeology, especially as applied to corroded copper-alloy artefacts. The relevance is twofold. Firstly it helps us better understand the globalising effects of the Roman Empire on distant cultures and the emergence of the western economy after the end of antiquity. This is investigated by detecting changes in craft production, considered a proxy for understanding changes in past economies and societies. Secondly it advances a methodology for the study of copper-alloy objects. Subsequently the composition of Roman brooches from Germania Inferior, suggested a strong link between brass and Roman military production. This connection was also seen in other parts of the Roman world, suggesting a degree of centralisation or control. The earliest roman objects found in the Baltic States, far north of the Limes frontier, are also in this 'Roman' alloy. These objects had a lasting impact on the peoples of this region. They adopted and adapted them stylistically to suit their local preferences for centuries after they first appeared. Show less
This work attempts to understand Spanish colonial intercultural interactions in the early colonial period by compiling and analyzing data related to how these occurred at Concepción de la Vega,... Show moreThis work attempts to understand Spanish colonial intercultural interactions in the early colonial period by compiling and analyzing data related to how these occurred at Concepción de la Vega, one of the first settlements on the island of Hispaniola, in present-day Dominican Republic, using a Decolonial, Post-Processual, approach.The archaeological site associated to Concepción de la Vega, La Vega Vieja, was chosen as a study site because it was one of the earliest and most affluent Spanish settlements in the Americas. Research about the site offered the opportunity to assess some of the earliest Spanish, Amerindian and African entanglements and interactions in the Americas. Additionally, the site of La Vega Vieja has a tightly dated context (1495 to 1564) with no large, subsequent, occupation until the 20th century. The combination of both historical and archaeological data about Concepción de la Vega can help create a better understanding of the process through which the Spanish-American cultural tradition was created, and later disseminated, to the rest of Latin America.The research presented here focuses on the use of all artifacts (not just ceramics) as opposed to artifact manufacture chaine opératoire. It will focus particularly on use in nondomestic areas. This will be more in keeping with new trends in archaeological research, focusing more on problem solving, as opposed to a more chronological or typological approach. Show less
Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed series is one the entertainment industry's most popular titles set in the past. With a new game released on an annual basis-each full of distinct historical places,... Show moreUbisoft's Assassin's Creed series is one the entertainment industry's most popular titles set in the past. With a new game released on an annual basis-each full of distinct historical places, events, and people-the series has unfolded across post-classical history, from the Levant during the Third Crusade to Victorian-era London. The 2017 release of Assassin's Creed: Origins, which entailed a massive reconstruction of Hellenistic Egypt, pushed the series even further back in time. With it, Ubisoft also launched its Discovery Tour, allowing players to explore the game's setting at their leisure and without combat. These trends continued in 2018's Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, set in Greece during the Peloponnesian War. This review discusses the narrative, world, and gameplay of the latest Assassin's Creed within the series more broadly. We provide a critical appraisal of the experience that Odyssey offers and link it to this question: in the Assassin's Creed series, do we engage in meaningful play with the past, or are we simply assassinating our way through history? Show less
St. Eustatius, a small island in the Lesser Antilles, was one of the busiest ports in the eighteenth-century Atlantic World. Contested between the Dutch, French, and English, the island... Show moreSt. Eustatius, a small island in the Lesser Antilles, was one of the busiest ports in the eighteenth-century Atlantic World. Contested between the Dutch, French, and English, the island attracted thousands of ships a year and became one of the most cosmopolitan places in the New World. Moreover, the island played an important role in the American War of Independence (1775-1783), during which large quantities of arms, ammunition, and gunpowder were shipped to the fledgling United States through St. Eustatius. Relics of this turbulent past are found all over the island and in its surrounding waters. These include warehouses in the historic port district, fortifications all around the island, sugar plantations in the countryside, and a variety of underwater archaeological sites such as shipwrecks, anchorage areas, and docks. Through extensive archaeological and documentary research, this study aims to provide a detailed analysis of the maritime cultural landscape of St. Eustatius over the past four centuries. It focuses on bridging the gap between the marine and terrestrial worlds and demonstrates that in order to truly make sense of the complex interactions, events, and processes that shaped this maritime world, land and sea need to be studied in relation to each other. Show less
Saqqara, the prime necropolis site of Memphis in the New Kingdom, exists largely in museum collections around the world. The study of its dispersed blocks has enabled Nico Staring to unlock the... Show moreSaqqara, the prime necropolis site of Memphis in the New Kingdom, exists largely in museum collections around the world. The study of its dispersed blocks has enabled Nico Staring to unlock the identify of an anonymous tomb excavated in 2013. Show less
In 2015, the Museo Egizio in Turin joined the Leiden expedition to Saqqara, in the area south of the Unas causeway. This report presents the expedition’s new approach as well as some first results... Show moreIn 2015, the Museo Egizio in Turin joined the Leiden expedition to Saqqara, in the area south of the Unas causeway. This report presents the expedition’s new approach as well as some first results of this new cooperation. In the 2018 season, the Leiden-Turin expedition worked in the northern sector of its concession, covering an area of ca. 250 sqm just north of the tomb of Maya. Here Late Antique layers overlie a windblown deposit containing some simple burials and numerous “embalmers’ caches”, some of which yielded marl clay cups with hieratic labels. An overview of both the pottery and the human remains found during this season is provided in the present report. Below the wind-blown deposit is a level with Ramesside funerary chapels and shafts. One of them has a remarkable decoration including six small-format figures carved in high relief in the middle of its back wall. The shaft of another chapel was also excavated, revealing several plundered chambers which yielded only scanty finds. A large mud-brick wall exposed during the previous season turned out to belong to the outer wall and pylon entrance of a monumental tomb, whose owner’s name has not been found yet.A photogrammetric survey by a team of the Politecnico di Milano yielded a 3D model of the dig (included in the web version of this report), as well as several 3D models of the monumental tombs (completed or in the making). During the season, conservation work was carried out on several tombs and on the newly discovered Ramesside chapel. Show less
It has been abundantly demonstrated that theories and paradigms in the humanities are influenced by historical, economic and socio-cultural conditions, which have profoundly influenced archaeology... Show moreIt has been abundantly demonstrated that theories and paradigms in the humanities are influenced by historical, economic and socio-cultural conditions, which have profoundly influenced archaeology’s representation of migration. This was mostly conceived as the study of the movement of large and homogeneous population groups, whose identity was often represented as ethnically characterized. The present-day shift of attention from collective to individual agency and the countless facets of migration goes hand in hand with new socio-political and cultural scenarios such as the extraordinary migratory flows into Europe, shifting boundaries, alternative forms of citizenship and identity, and the emergence of emotive reactionism. The third issue of Ex Novo gathers multidisciplinary contributions addressing mobility to understand patterns of change and continuity in past worlds; reconsider the movement of people, objects, and ideas alongside mobile epistemologies, such as intellectual, scholarly or educative traditions, rituals, practices, religions and theologies; and provide insights into the multifaceted relationship between mobile practices and their shared meanings and how they are represented socially and politically. Show less
The research contained in this dissertation explores the origins of fire making in prehistory, focusing primarily on the fire use practices and fire production capacities of Neandertals. The... Show moreThe research contained in this dissertation explores the origins of fire making in prehistory, focusing primarily on the fire use practices and fire production capacities of Neandertals. The dissertation is comprised of four peer-reviewed articles published in the journals Quaternary International, PLoS ONE, Journal of Archaeological Science and Scientific Reports, respectively, which are flanked by an introductory and synthesis chapter. The early chapters confront the debate surrounding the prevalence of fire use by Neandertals and discuss avenues by which we, as archaeologists, can better understand how fire use manifests in the Palaeolithic archaeological record. The latter chapters seek to provide a means for identifying artefactual evidence for fire making by Neandertals, ultimately presenting a series of French Middle Palaeolithic tools that exhibit use traces suggesting they were employed as fire starters, making these the earliest evidence for the regular production of fire by humans currently known. Show less
Imprint of Action investigates the sociocultural impact of archaeology through public activities. These activities provide an ideal setting for research, as they represent a structured point of... Show moreImprint of Action investigates the sociocultural impact of archaeology through public activities. These activities provide an ideal setting for research, as they represent a structured point of encounter between the public and archaeological heritage; in analysing them, aspects of people’s connections to the past are revealed. As such this research forms an integral part of the NEARCH project (2013-2018). As a basis for analysis, survey data from three large-scale case studies – ‘DOMunder’ (Netherlands), ‘You(R ) Archaeology’ (Cross-Europe), and ‘Invisible Monuments’ (Greece) was used. The analysis and interpretation of the case studies is based on a newly created methodological framework which finds its roots in the broader culture and arts sector. Results shows that activities encourage participation and interaction, which engenders sociocultural impacts on participants, most notably in knowledge increase, skill development, social relations, and happiness. Imprint of Action is the first large-scale study focussing entirely on sociocultural impact in archaeology and, as such, is explorative in nature; it provides unique insights into the workings of interaction and participation in archaeological events, and openly shares qualitative and quantitative research data with the expanding field. Show less
There is little evidence of the routes connecting Amerindian communities in the Caribbean prior to and just after 1492. Uncovering possible canoe routes between these communities can help to... Show moreThere is little evidence of the routes connecting Amerindian communities in the Caribbean prior to and just after 1492. Uncovering possible canoe routes between these communities can help to explain the structure, capabilities, and limitations of the physical links in their social and material networks. This book evaluates how routes connecting islands indicate the structure of past inter-island networks, by using computer modeling. Computer modeling and least-cost pathway analysis is a popular approach for analyzing the physical connection between sites in archaeology. Over the past three decades researchers have explored several theories and methods to analyze least-cost pathways on landscapes. Land-based least-cost efforts have outpaced the number of works evaluating optimal travel routes across the sea’s surface. Perhaps as a result, no community standard for using computer- and GIS-based methods to model canoe or sailing routes exists. Although methods used in previous research often focus on determining the time-cost and success of specific routes, these measures have been calculated or judged in different ways. One way this book adds to the discussion of seascape modeling is by focusing on inter-island voyaging, or the process of maintained connections between island sites, a technique rarely explored in sea-based least-cost pathways analysis. Show less
Evidence for fire use becomes increasingly sparse the further back in time one looks. This is especially true for Palaeolithic assemblages. Primary evidence of fire use in the form of hearth... Show moreEvidence for fire use becomes increasingly sparse the further back in time one looks. This is especially true for Palaeolithic assemblages. Primary evidence of fire use in the form of hearth features tends to give way to clusters or sparse scatters of more durable heated stone fragments. In the absence of intact fireplaces, these thermally altered lithic remains have been used as a proxy for discerning relative degrees of fire use between archaeological layers and deposits. While previous experimental studies have demonstrated the physical effects of heat on stony artefacts, the mechanisms influencing the proportion of fire proxy evidence within archaeological layers remain understudied. This fundamental study is the first to apply a computer-based model (fiReproxies) in an attempt to simulate and quantify the complex interplay of factors that ultimately determine when and in what proportions lithic artefacts are heated by (anthropogenic) fires. As an illustrative example, we apply our model to two hypothetical archaeological layers that reflect glacial and interglacial conditions during the late Middle Palaeolithic within a generic simulated cave site to demonstrate how different environmental, behavioural and depositional factors like site surface area, sedimentation rate, occupation frequency, and fire size and intensity can, independently or together, significantly influence the visibility of archaeological fire signals. Show less
Recent archaeological research at Palpa, in the northern Nasca region, has shed new light on the origin, development and meaning of the famed Nasca geoglyphs in the desert on the south coast of Peru.
An introductory paper on new research into cultural interactions between the ancient East and West as evident from the archaeology of the Gandhara region, with focus on Buddhist material culture... Show moreAn introductory paper on new research into cultural interactions between the ancient East and West as evident from the archaeology of the Gandhara region, with focus on Buddhist material culture and its development and spread. Part of a (popular-academic) booklet published for Leiden University's "Dies Natalis" on aspects of globalisation, including (ancient) migrations, linguistic and ethnic diversity, the spread of faiths, and trade routes. With contributions by various Leiden-based academics on new research projects and results. Show less
ABSTRACT In reflection upon the worthy work of Professor Shinya Konaka and his col- leagues, this contribution discusses the idea of “Localization of Humanitarian Assistance”. Several critical... Show moreABSTRACT In reflection upon the worthy work of Professor Shinya Konaka and his col- leagues, this contribution discusses the idea of “Localization of Humanitarian Assistance”. Several critical questions arise from a humanitarian situation where the needs are assessed: we have to know what people need and what they don’t need. We need to determine coping mech- anisms that need not substituted but rather facilitated. To not undermine and further marginal- ize we need to know what resources, skills and social capital East African pastoralists have and how they are activated, where and when. The discussion is organized in observations from on one hand, archaeological and heritage perspective and on the other, personal experience of refugees and IDP life in the East Africa. It concludes that people do not only need food and shelter to survive and that cultural heritage is a basic human need too. Without the traditional skills and coping mechanisms that are inherent in the cultural values that glue people together, it is difficult for East African pastoralists to survive. Violence and neglect against people and environment are related to the destruction and neglect of cultural and natural heritage, which are people’s means of livelihood and sources of identity and dignity. Show less
