This book explores how and why farming and herding started in a particular time period in a particular region of Egypt. The earliest Neolithic farming in combination with herding in Egypt is known... Show moreThis book explores how and why farming and herding started in a particular time period in a particular region of Egypt. The earliest Neolithic farming in combination with herding in Egypt is known in the Fayum, which is a large oasis with a permanent lake in the Egyptian Western Desert. Farming and herding started at the transition from the Epipalaeolithic to Neolithic in the 6th millennium cal.BC owing to the arrival of Levantine domesticates. The Neolithic farmer-herders in the Fayum relied heavily on hunting and fishing, which had been the major subsistence activities since the Epipalaeolithic period. There are no remains of substantial dwellings to indicate that these farmer-herders lived a sedentary way of life. Previous researchers have thus asserted that the Fayum people were nomadic and moved seasonally. Lithic evidence obtained through new research suggests that the Fayum people were not nomadic but were tethered to lakeshores. The introduction of farming and herding would not have taken place in the Fayum without a lakeshore-tethered if not fully sedentary way of life. But the success of a farming-herding way of life in the Fayum would not have been possible without the reorganisation of mobility, which led to decreased moves of residential bases and increased logistical moves of individuals. Lithic evidence also suggests that the Fayum people kept exerting special efforts to make farming and herding a reliable subsistence and to maximise the yield. The introduction of farming and herding in the Fayum would have been a solution to mitigate growing population/resource imbalances when the climate became drier and more people had to aggregate around permanent water sources in the 6th millennium cal.BC. Show less
In this thesis, a collection of papers is put together dealing with various quantitative aspects of predictive modelling and archaeological prospection. Among the issues covered are the effects of... Show moreIn this thesis, a collection of papers is put together dealing with various quantitative aspects of predictive modelling and archaeological prospection. Among the issues covered are the effects of survey bias on the archaeological data used for predictive modelling, and the complexities of testing predictive models using both old and new archaeological data. Furthermore, an attempt is made to reconcile the worlds of expert judgment and quantitative analysis by means of multicriteria decision making techniques and Bayesian statistics. The thesis also offers some alternative approaches to predictive modelling, like using prehistoric land use reconstructions, and the integrating of social and cultural factors into the models. It also giv es an up to date review of the international and Dutch state of affairs in archaeological predictive modeling.. 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
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
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
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
This study develops and applies a new approach to study Aegyptiaca Romana from a bottom-up, Roman perspective. Current approaches to these objects are often still plagued by top-down... Show moreThis study develops and applies a new approach to study Aegyptiaca Romana from a bottom-up, Roman perspective. Current approaches to these objects are often still plagued by top-down projections of modern definitions and understandings of Egypt and Egyptian material culture onto the Roman world. Egypt beyond representation instead argues that these artefacts should be studied in their own right, without reducing them from the onset to fixed (Egyptian) meanings. Starting from a novel focus on the materials and materiality of a selection of stone Aegyptiaca from Rome, and by combining archaeological and archaeometric perspectives, this study shows that, while Egyptianness may have been among Roman associations, these objects were able to do much more than merely representing notions of Egypt. Show less
This volume is an archaeobotanical study of agricultural practices in the Moselle valley and the Meuse-Demer-Scheldt regions during the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. It is split into three parts:... Show moreThis volume is an archaeobotanical study of agricultural practices in the Moselle valley and the Meuse-Demer-Scheldt regions during the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. It is split into three parts: The Framework, The Botanical Research, and The Analysis, with the core of the book being focused on 24 sites, mainly in and around Lorraine. Show less
This study aimed to construct a historiography of archaeological landscape research on the island of Crete and evaluate the knowledge acquired through different approaches of over more than a... Show moreThis study aimed to construct a historiography of archaeological landscape research on the island of Crete and evaluate the knowledge acquired through different approaches of over more than a century’s intense archaeological work. It provides a detailed analysis of relevant projects, which are seen within a wider historical framework of archaeological landscape research from the beginnings of the discipline (19th century) to the present day. The five (5) major ‘traditions’ or else ‘approaches’ of studying past landscapes that are identified, demonstrate certain common attributes in questions asked, methodology followed and interpretative suggestions. Analysis, however, has shown that these ‘traditions’ have been in a continuous interplay and have each their own limitations as well as worthy contribution to the study of the Cretan past. The assessment of archaeological landscape work on Crete and the use of landscape data in a case study area for the historical reconstruction of human activity, concluded on the need to be explicit regarding 1) the relationship between data and interpretations and 2) the kind of information we need to produce and publish from landscape research so that we promote archaeological knowledge and allow a higher level of communication within the archaeological community. Show less
Aegean archaeology has mainly concentrated on Prehistoric and Greco-Roman times and has provided relatively little information on human activity and material culture in the medieval period.... Show moreAegean archaeology has mainly concentrated on Prehistoric and Greco-Roman times and has provided relatively little information on human activity and material culture in the medieval period. Historical research concerning the medieval era is sufficiently developed but archaeological research on the medieval Aegean has mainly focused on matters of art and architecture. In fact, we have an overall picture of the medieval and post-medieval periods for only a few islands of the Aegean. This ASLU volume fills this gap. It uses the ancient past as background for examining the continuity and change that the island of Skyros experienced from the Late Roman period onwards. It brings together two different archaeological __schools__, that of long-term survey research (based mainly on material culture) and that of __traditional__ Byzantine and Post-Byzantine archaeology (focused on art and architecture), offering new perspectives on settlement patterns, art and architecture, and the material culture of Skyros from Late Roman to Early Modern times. The combination of archaeological data and information from historical sources reconstructs the regional history of Skyros during that time span, which is ultimately the main purpose of this study. Show less
The present work is the result of the profound teaching and discussions with the late Luis Reyes García, professor of the University of Tlaxcala (Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala), who first... Show moreThe present work is the result of the profound teaching and discussions with the late Luis Reyes García, professor of the University of Tlaxcala (Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala), who first sparked my interest in the study, analysis, transcription, and translation of Nahua texts and documents. Professor Reyes always encouraged his Tlaxcalan students to study and appreciate the rich cultural legacy found in the archives of the state’s local communities. In the present work, several parts are joined together, as pieces of a puzzle. First, the teaching of Professor Reyes García on the oral and archival history of the people of Tlaxcala, the knowledge about the discourses, narratives, and ceremonies that are still carried out in my family, and the worldview of the Naua and Totonac tlamatque (wise people) through their own eyes, hearts, and mouths. Secondly, what was shared with me by Dr. Maarten Jansen and Aurora Pérez at Leiden University: the worldview of the ñuu savi (Mixtecs) and other Mesoamerican peoples, a crucial aspect in order to appreciate the interdependence of our shared heritage. 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
In the search for a Taiwanese identity rooted in the land of Taiwan the Japanese colonial past plays an ambiguous role. The Japanese colonial sites became a constituent part of the new identity and... Show moreIn the search for a Taiwanese identity rooted in the land of Taiwan the Japanese colonial past plays an ambiguous role. The Japanese colonial sites became a constituent part of the new identity and cultural narrative of Taiwan in the 1990s and 2000s, when a memory boom was experienced in Taiwan representing new politics both cultural and economic which differed from the previous political periods of Japanese and postwar KMT (Kuomintang; Chinese Nationalist Party) rule. Min-Chin Chiang presents the extreme complexity of sharing the Japanese colonial past in postcolonial Taiwanese society. In this book she examines possibilities of decolonization through community-based heritage activities. Problems and ambiguity stemming from the tentative transformation from colonialism to locality help to trigger further thinking or warn against the ideological trap of taking mutuality in ‘sharing’ the past for granted. Hence, decolonization does not necessarily mean ‘removing colonial material traces’. Preserving colonial sites through recognising the contested nature, actively exploring and engaging controversial voices, insisting with finding out historical depth of every memory version attached to the site, and transforming structural inequality with persistent locality building would better contribute to trigger a decolonizing process. This is the significance of the colonial sites as ‘heritage’ for the postcolonial society. 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
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
As a study of the colonial situations of first millennium BC Sardinia, this book is as much an investigation into colonialism as a sociological category, as it explores the specific historical... Show moreAs a study of the colonial situations of first millennium BC Sardinia, this book is as much an investigation into colonialism as a sociological category, as it explores the specific historical conditions of a particular region. Taking a fresh look at colonialism in Mediterranean archaeology from a so-called postcolonial point of view, it examined the archaeologically relevant features of this perspective in conjunction with other current ideas about society, human agency and material culture in order to sketch the contours of a postcolonial archaeology of colonialism. These ideas are subsequently elaborated and practically applied in a detailed study of rural settlement in west central Sardinia. The archaeological evidence for this is provided by the (preliminary) results of the Riu Mannu survey carried out in west central Sardinia since 1992 as well as by a wealth of existing published and archived data. Considering themes such as the (re)creation of identities and cultural resistance, this study especially looks into the ways in which people deployed material culture and inhabited the landscape in order to cope with the colonial situations. Comparing these specific instances of colonialism finally leads to a consideration of historical contingency and structure in colonial situations and to an assertion of the centrality of identity in colonial situations. Show less
