In Bronze Age Europe, an enormous amount of metalwork was buried in the ground and never retrieved. Patterns in these finds show that this was a deliberate practice: people systematically deposited... Show moreIn Bronze Age Europe, an enormous amount of metalwork was buried in the ground and never retrieved. Patterns in these finds show that this was a deliberate practice: people systematically deposited valuable metal objects in specific places in the landscape, even in non-metalliferous regions. Although this practice seems puzzling from our modern perspective, these patterns demonstrate that this is not simply a matter of irrational human behaviour. Instead, there were supra-regionally shared ideas and conventions behind this practice.This book aims to acquire a better understanding of these ideas and conventions. By systematically investigating the objects and places that people selected for metalwork depositions, the logic behind the practice of selective metalwork deposition is unravelled.This book focuses specifically on the emergence of the practice in Denmark, northern Germany, and the Netherlands, a non-metalliferous region that has not been studied as a whole before, despite striking similarities in the archaeological record. Starting from the first introduction of metal, the emergence and development of selective metalwork depositions is examined and followed over time. In addition to a new chronological and geographical depth to research on metalwork depositions, this book provides a detailed catalogue of the metalwork from the research area. Show less
Scarcity of water is a major problem in many parts of the Near East today and in the past. In order to survive in such a region people have to be able to structurally procure more water than... Show moreScarcity of water is a major problem in many parts of the Near East today and in the past. In order to survive in such a region people have to be able to structurally procure more water than rainfall alone can supply. The archaeology of this area should not only identify when people inhabited such a region and what the character of this habitation was, but also how people were able to survive in such a region and why they chose it in the first place. In this book these questions have been posed of the Zerqa Triangle: a region in the middle Jordan Valley around Tell Deir ‘All? (Jordan). The intensity of habitation of the region from the Neolithic to early modern periods was investigated by means of a detailed pedestrian archaeological survey. Efforts have been undertaken to reconstruct the agricultural practices in the various periods and simultaneously the means by which the different communities were able to practise agriculture; in other words, how did they irrigate the land? By focussing on the varying social responses of communities, conclusions have been drawn on how and why people created a living in this arid, but potentially very fertile region. Show less
The dissertation investigates the settlement system development of the Jenin region during the transitional period from the Late Chalcolithic to the Early Bronze Age. It is based on three... Show moreThe dissertation investigates the settlement system development of the Jenin region during the transitional period from the Late Chalcolithic to the Early Bronze Age. It is based on three components.1) The first is the investigation of the settlement systems of the Jenin region during the Chalcolithic to the Early Bronze Age. It is an attempt to develop the principles of some approaches discussed before with the objective of reconstructing the economy and population trends in the region. 2) The second component is an analysis of Tell Jenin historical and archaeological data sources relevant to the Early Bronze Age I transition and settlement systems developments. 3) The third component is a technological analysis of the Early Bronze Age I pottery traditions from Tell Jenin.The discussions of the three components are based stratigraphic and pottery data from Tell Jenin excavations and surveys, conducted by Birzeit University between 1977 and 1986. Other data sources on the region were also used. I use various methods to analyze these data, namely, GIS mapping, full stratigraphic analysis, and petrographic and technological analysis of the pottery. Show less
