Books in the British Archaeological Reports International Series series

An examination of later Mesolithic fishing strategies based primarily on indirect evidence and conjecture. Archaeological evidence from coastal sites and shell middens for example is considered alongside ethnographic parallels and modern fishing practices.

Tlatilco, a pre-classical village (800 B.C.) located on the west slope of the Sierra de las Cruces, and known today as Cuenca de México, has been a controversial site for several decades and the subject of much academic controversy. Over 400 burials, including huge volumes of offerings, were found in the course of field interventions between 1942 and 1969, and it became necessary to outline the whole development of the so-called Tlatilco culture from its beginnings to its final disappearance, taking into account every socioeconomic element effecting this society, emphazising the archeological devices and osteological remains. Based on stratigraphic, ceramic and funeral data, and related to recent additions, which were the result of many interventions in the Mexican Republic as well as Central and South America, a new chronology of the nuclear site is put forward. Moreover, with the proper operation of contextual data and the use of theoretic models, the conclusion reached is that the Tlatilcan society was egalitarian and that it was also possible to detect assorted specialists focused on economic and ideological activities. Subsistence means, religion, and leisure activities were taken into consideration.

The question of whether a Middle-Upper Palaeolithic transition took place is reassessed here based on recent finds. Evidence from seven sites is presented and compared using statistical methods.

A fresh look at the two early-ninth-century illustrations of the 'Labours of the Months' produced in the area of Salzburg. The author disputes the accepted opinion that the 'Labours' depict contemporary rural life and argues for a rather more complex interpretation.

Subtitled 'use-wear analysis in some Final Upper Palaeolithic sites in the Basque country' this study discusses tool function using evidence from two sites in Northern Spain, Santa Catalina and Berniollo. Firstly the methodology used is clearly presented.

An extensive typological and archaeological study of Late Roman cooking vessels and wares from major sites in the Balearic Islands (Sa Mesquida, Mallorca, Can Sorà, Eivissa, Es Cap des Port, Menorca, etc.). The work includes catalogue sections and detailed chemical and experimental macroscopic analysis and investigations.

A catalogue and discussion of the social meaning and family relationships behind the funerary monuments of Roman France. Hope aims to reconstruct the stories associated with monuments from their inscriptions, artworks, dimensions, type and location.

A study of the production and trade in textiles in the Roman west during the Late Republic. It addresses the problems of interpreting the sources, especially the epigraphic evidence, and attempts a reconstruction of the organisation and economic importance of the industry.

Items of jewellery in Icelandic society traditionally have been analysed in typological, chronological and technological terms with descriptive approaches to discussing their presence in the archaeological record.

This volume is concerned with the religious architecture of the Sultanate of Oman, a missing chapter in the art history of the Islamic world. It originates from a series of lectures delivered in 1988. The book may be seen by the specialist as the first available documentation of buildings that are fully entitled to enter the corpus of the historic monuments of the Arabian Peninsular and now fills a gap in the general knowledge of Arabian Islamic architecture, giving Oman a proper place on the world map of Islamic Art. An important section considers the calligraphic texts recorded on several decorated mihrabs. Text translations and commentaries have been undertaken by Eros Baldissera, Professor of Arabic at the University of Venice.

Hierapolis (Phrygia) is located in Turkey in the territory of Pamukkale-Denizli. The city was known in antiquity for the cult of Cyble, patron goddess of the colony since its foundation. Hierapolis experienced a period of extraordinary prosperity both economically and politically throughout the 2nd century A.D. and into the early years of the 3rd century A.D., corresponding to the phase of monumentalization of the city. On the hill overlooking the east of the city is an imposing octagonal building, built in the late 4th and early 5th centuries A.D, erected as a 'martyrion' in honour of Saint Philip. Among other key monuments of this important ancient city, this study concentrates on the martyrion with the main objective of increasing knowledge of the building from an architectural point of view and aimed at retrieving a data set useful for planning a future restoration project. In addition, an aim of the research was to contribute to the knowledge of religious architecture between the 4th and 6th centuries in Asia Minor within the field of the history of late antique architecture. Most of the work was dedicated to the realization of plans and prospects which have allowed detailed analysis of each part of the building. It is hoped this work on the topographical-historical framework of Hierapolis will contribute to the study of similar architectural structures by presenting a seriation of masonry structures and technical solutions applicable also to other regions.

Updated English version of the author's thesis (Ph. D.)--Lorâand Eèotvèos University, Budapest, 1992.

Este libro se centra en el estudio del comportamiento humano magdaleniense. Se han perseguido dos objetivos fundamentales. En primer lugar, la creación de una base de datos y de nuevos códigos alfanuméricos, aplicables a los estudios arqueozoológicos. En segundo lugar, la descripción de las actividades humanas de subsistencia en la Cova de les Cendres, un yacimiento arqueológico con una amplia secuencia paleolítica. Se han estudiado tres niveles estratigráficos (Magdaleniense Medio, Superior y Superior Final) en base a un análisis taxonómico, anatómico y tafonómico. Los resultados muestran que el ciervo es la presa principal, complementada por otras especies de ungulados y carnívoros. La muestra también destaca el abundante consumo de conejos. Los grupos humanos explotaron diversos recursos como carne, médula, pieles o incluso huesos. En resumen, el trabajo aporta datos relevantes para el conocimiento de las poblaciones humanas modernas en el área central del Mediterráneo Ibérico durante el Paleolítico Superior Final.This book discusses modern human populations and their subsistence activities in the central area of the Iberian Mediterranean during the Final Upper Palaeolithic (Magdalenian) period. It includes an archaeozoological and taphonomic analysis of three faunal assemblages from Cova de les Cendres in Alicante, Spain.

The book is the result of a three-year investigation on the Aeolian Islands, a volcanic archipelago consisting of seven islands in north-eastern Sicily, Italy. The author provides new information on the use of vegetal resources and exploitation of the insular landscape by human communities between the end of the third and the end of the second millennium BC. Archaeological data from the widely explored Bronze Age hut villages of Filo Braccio, Filicudi and Acropolis, Lipari are examined through the lens of archaeobotanical and paleoenvironmental data, to produce carrying capacity evaluation and propose new paleodemographic estimations. In particular, the diachronic analysis of wood architectural features and agricultural techniques highlights the possible reliance of the archipelago on external resources during some chronological phases. This monograph adds to our broader understanding of island archaeology and demographics of prehistoric communities, offering a new method for interpreting and using archaeobotanical data.

The study of marks left by humans on stone outcrops is an interdisciplinary endeavour that entails geology, history of techniques, ethnography as well as experimental archaeology. Moreover, the investigation of carved landscapes contributes to the understanding of the complex relationship between human groups and their environments. This volume represents an overview of different case studies of rock-cut sites and quarries, approached as knots in the network of people-stone interactions. The book is the result of a long exchange developed during European Archaeologist Association conference sessions aimed at turning the attention of the international scientific community towards the relevance of the archaeological study of rock-cut sites and quarries, and to promote the creation of a European network of researchers working on the subject.

As a Latin lexicon, this volume pursues two main objectives: to create a broad corpus of Latin terms related to textiles, accessories and personal care and to collect all data in a comprehensible and practical format. Texts and visual sources were consulted, dating from the 3rd century BC up to the 4th AD, describing materials and trends from all regions within the Roman Empire and beyond. The lexicon is arranged in alphabetical order and each offers the etymology and Greek translation of the word, some quotations extracted from primary sources and more bibliography, to allow a deeper study. At the end, all terms are classified in different topics and two glossaries try to ease the search of a specific term either from English or Ancient Greek. This research broadens our understanding of daily life in antiquity through the study of textile manufacture and use during the Roman period.

Both the perceived successes and failures of the Maya are often linked to their relationship with the local environment and their response to episodes of climate change over a period of nearly 2000 years. However, our understanding of human responses to environmental stress has mostly been shaped by a narrow focus on drought as a cause for societal collapse, even in relatively well-watered tropical regions. We still know little about the choices humans make in response to extreme variability in rainfall in different environmental conditions and on multiple timescales. This work responds to recent debates and new analytical opportunities in Maya studies, provided by developments such as an increased volume of paleoclimatic data, the growing field of settlement archaeology and advances in Maya epigraphy. By combining a range of evidence, the book explores the relationship between Maya society and the local environment on multiple spatial and temporal scales, while also considering socio-cultural agencies. In addition, results from ethnographic fieldwork among contemporary Maya communities provide insights into the impact of stress-inducing climatic events on people's lives and their coping strategies. These serve as a guide when looking for similar patterns in archaeological and textual evidence.

17 papers from the Symposium on the Hallstatt textiles, held in Hallsatt, Upper Austria, in 2004.

This volume forms an illustrated catalogue of 430 scarabs, in the author's own collection, which are representative of types manufactured throughout the Pharaonic period.

A dissertation on the Neolithic to early Iron Age skeletal remains, looking at demographic parameters, at health, status, diet and so forth of the cemetery population and sub-groups attempting to reconstruct aspects of the lifestyle of the deceased and funerary treatment of the dead.

A study of the exploitation and management of mineral resources in the western Alpine reigon of Italy in the medieval period.

This work presents a study of the pre-Hispanic occupation at the site of Ñawinpukyo (Ayacucho, Peru) during the Early Intermediate Period (EIP) (ca. 200 BC - AD 600) and the Middle Horizon (MH) (ca. AD 600-1000). A local and diachronic perspective is adopted to examine the developmental trajectory of this community, in the context of the broader regional processes that took place in the valley during those periods. These processes brought about, especially during the MH, significant cultural changes not only in the Ayacucho Valley but in the whole central Andean area, with the rise of the powerful Wari society and culture. Earlier interpretations about the site and its role in Ayacucho prehistory are reevaluated in the light of the newly acquired information and the proposed interpretations. This study contributes to our current understanding of Ayacucho EIP and MH society by presenting new empirical information about the Huarpa and Wari cultures and describing the developmental trajectory of a particular local community. The specific patterns of human activities identified at the site and their changes over time illustrate from a local perspective the socio-cultural changes brought about by broader regional processes that took place in the valley duringthe EIP and the MH.

This study of birth-rates, death-rates and demography in Medieval Italy challenges many traditional assumptions based on documentary evidence.