Reading the Dental Record investigates human foodways, health and disease, and certain (gender-related) craft activities in the pre-Columbian Caribbean archipelago, through integrated analyses of... Show moreReading the Dental Record investigates human foodways, health and disease, and certain (gender-related) craft activities in the pre-Columbian Caribbean archipelago, through integrated analyses of patterns of dental wear and pathology in a large number of skeletal remains from the region. Individuals, communities, and regional populations were physically affected by their foodways and cultural practices, leaving permanent traces on the teeth. Using a multi-disciplinary approach, which combines archaeological, bioarchaeological, ethnohistoric, and ethnographic data, as well as evidence from clinical dentistry this study has brought to light hitherto unexplored aspects of lifeways and cultural practices in the pre-Columbian Caribbean. Show less
Barrows, as burial markers, are ubiquitous throughout North-Western Europe. In some regions dense concentrations of monuments form peculiar configurations such as long alignments while in others... Show moreBarrows, as burial markers, are ubiquitous throughout North-Western Europe. In some regions dense concentrations of monuments form peculiar configurations such as long alignments while in others they are spread out extensively, dotting vast areas with hundreds of mounds. These vast barrow landscapes came about through thousands of years of additions by several successive prehistoric and historic communities. Yet little is known about how these landscapes developed and originated. That is what this research set out to do. By unravelling the histories of specific barrow landscapes in the Low Countries, several distinct activity phases of intense barrow construction could be recognised. Each of these phases contributed to how the barrow landscape developed and reveals shifting attitudes to these monuments. By creating new monuments in a specific place and in a particular fashion, prehistoric communities purposefully transformed the form and shape of the barrow landscape. Using several GIS-techniques such as a skyline-analysis, this research is able to demonstrate how each barrow took up a specific (and different) position within such a social landscape. While the majority of the barrows were only visible from relatively close by, specific monuments took up a dominating position, cresting the horizon, being visible from much further away. It is argued in this research that these burial mounds remained important landscape monuments on the purple heathlands. They continued to attract attention, and by their visibility ensured to endure in the collective memory of the communities shaping themselves around these monuments. Show less
