Books published by BAR Publishing

This volume presents a series of experimental investigations designed to explore the identification and characterisation of ancient arable farming through a feature-based morphology approach, and to assess previous work regarding the ability of soil micromorphological approaches to identify ancient tilled soils on the basis of profile and horizon characteristics. Studying ancient arable land use through soil micromorphology involves identifying remnant indicators of the processes and activities involved in cultivation in thin section. Regarding ancient tillage, there are two major types of indicators which should be examined micromorphologically: profile or horizon characteristics associated with the impact of cultivation on the soil, and the characteristics of macroscopic tillage features themselves. Much primary research has focused on the former, although the latter may prove to be both the least ambiguous, and of the most use in relating microscopic indicators to macroscopic archaeological features. This volume discusses experimental study of both of these aspects, in comparison to archaeological remains, and presents a feature morphology-based approach to the study of ancient arable land use.

The main objective of this work is the study of Pre Bell Beaker pottery belonging to the group known in the past as "Imported Pottery". Items belonging to this group include those with channeled and burnished decoration such as cups, hemispherical bowls,and certain dishes that are common in the region of Estremadura (the central coastline of Portugal). This new research broadens our knowledge of these ceramics, using methods such as archaeometry and experimental archaeology, allowing not only enhanced characterization but also a redefinition of how they relate to other types of ceramics within the context of the Estremaduran Chalcolithic.

In this study, published intensive field surveys, from different regions on the Italian peninsula, are revisited from a range of different methodological and theoretical perspectives. With its emphasis on the Late Republican to Early Imperial period, the outcome of this research should lead to a better understanding of comparative regional differences, in terms of settlement patterns and hierarchy, demography, urbanisation processes, and how society could have functioned. This study intends to build on existing notions of regional variations and bring them into better focus. For the theoretical and methodological framework, models and interpretive schemes are assessed originating from archaeology, social geography and ethnography using archaeological evidence. The field surveys or regions covered include the Potenza Val, the 'extended' suburbium of Rome, the Pontine region and the Biferno Valley.

15 papers which present practical case studies in experimental archaeology, as well as more theoretical work.

A collection of recent papers on the prehistoric Jequetepeque Valley, Peru.

South American Archaeology Series No 16

A collection of papers in honour of Sergio Pernigotti.

This publication offers new perspectives on the Phoenician presence in the Iberian Peninsula. It is proposed that Tartesos needs to be understood in a wider geographical way, rather than being studied according to a traditional historic-cultural approach. The authors reflect on a number of topics: the diversity of origins and identities of the "Phoenician" communities, the homogeneity and heterogeneity factors among them, their specific evolution in the colonial and post-colonial landscapes, the making of new political and ethnic identities, the ways in which the Greeks and Roman perceived and recorded them, the criteria for the identification of "indigenous" and "colonial" in the archaeological record, and the role of religion among the Phoenicians in terms of unity and diversity. All of these subjects are approached from a wide and multidisciplinary perspective.

South American Archaeology Series No 11This research explores the characteristics of stone tool production in the heart of the Andean state of Tiwanaku, comparing tool production on urban and rural settlements and at elite and non-elite sites. Models of the Tiwanaku state are tested, and comparisons with the contemporaneous Wari state are explored. No evidence of craft specialization was recovered from urban or rural sites. The author demonstrates that there was an overall continuity in lithic production from the Formative (1500 B.C. - 400 A.D.) to Middle Horizon (400-1100 A.D.), but significant changes occured after 600 A.D., as exotic raw materials began to be exploited. The state controlled the procurement and distribution of obsidian and black basalt, giving preference to urban dwellers, following the experiences of earlier altiplano polities (the Pukara, Chiripa and Wankarani). At the same time, local groups procured smaller quantities of exotics from other (non-state controlled) sources. Projectile points were locally manufactured and were used in inter-group conflicts.

This book offers an overview of the whole period from the first evidence of the Roman rediscovery of figured vases until the end of the 20th century. It looks at how figured vases were received in each successive period and how this determined the way they were studied. First, the Roman urge to collect vases purely as both decorative curiosities found locally and as trophies form Corinth. Then after many centuries of silence, the mediaeval discovery of vases in Tuscany and particularly around Arezzo and the belief that these vases must be supernatural because the painting on them was beyond the skills of contemporary artists. This was followed by the later use of vases as complements to the display of sculpture and to their being regarded as of secondary importance. By the 18th century, vase-painting was being studied for its iconography and as comparative material with ancient texts. Finally the search for the origin of the vases themselves became the great debate, and these supposed origins were also used for political ends. In the 19th century, classification took over as the main type of scholarship. In the 20th century, images of life depicted in vase-paintings are used as a vehicle through which the ancient world is understood. The focus of this work is the history of scholarship. It looks at the aspects of study that each subsequent century thought important, the varied forms scholarly debate took, and the responses which ordered the direction of research. The history of collections is also of importance to this study as the contents of collections can reveal how certain types of figured vases were favoured over others and were disseminated to a wider audience, thereby gaining more prominence and being more closely studied. Vases could not be studied at leisure until they were placed in a safe, permanent environment, so collections were the basis of vase study and subsequent publications. Finally, the author looks at how ancient vases were (and to a certain extent still are) regarded compared with the more revered subjects of ancient literature and classical sculpture.

Birmingham Archaeology Monograph Series 7This report describes the results of an archaeological programme undertaken by Birmingham Archaeology between 2005 and 2007 at King's Norton, Birmingham, for King's Norton Parochial Church Council. It also incorporates the documentary research conducted independently by George Demidowicz and Stephen Price, concentrating on tenurial history, the history of repairs, historic images and the wider village landscape. The work was largely associated with the restoration of two buildings adjacent to the parish churchyard in the centre of the former village, both of which contain substantial 15th-century timber-framed elements. The Old Grammar School and the Saracen's Head were the winners of the BBC Restoration programme competition in 2004, an event that facilitated the restoration aims of the PCC by precipitating access to Heritage Lottery Fund support. The finds included a large assemblage of pottery from the earlier and later medieval periods, as well as a number of Roman sherds. Several medieval clay roof tiles were represented, and there was a small collection of glazed floor tiles apparently contemporary with the Saracen's Head, some of which appear to have been in situ when recovered. Such an array of evidence for medieval occupation was not replicated during the excavation at No. 86 on the opposite side of The Green, where nothing that was definitely earlier than the 16th century was recorded or recovered. Although the site was close to or within the important medieval Prior's Court complex, the paucity of the archaeology may be related to the limited size of the excavation combined with the severe truncation of the site. It was fortunate that documentary evidence was able to provide an historical context to interpret the slim findings.Written by Malcolm Hislop, George Demidowicz and Stephen Price.With contributions by Robert Burrows, Mark Charles, Kevin Colls, Mary Duncan, Christopher Hewitson, David Higgins, Matilda Holmes, Rob Ixer, Phil Mills, Nicholas Molyneux, Natasha Powers, Stephanie Rátkai, Jennie Stopford, Ric Tyler and Meg Watters. Illustrations by Nigel Dodds, Helen Moulden, Bryony Ryder and Ric Tyler.

Archaeological Studies on Late Antiquity and Early Medieval Europe (400-1000 A.D.) (SERIES ASLAEME), Monographs IIIThe series Archaeological Studies on Late Antiquity and Early Medieval Europe (A.D. 400-1000) (ASLAEME Series) covers the chronological and spatial span from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages, themes that have seen an extraordinary flourishing of publications and research over the last 25 years in western Europe, and more generally in the whole geographic area once ruled by the Roman Empire until its dissolution during the 5th century A.D. One of the priorities of ASLAEME is to contribute to the knowledge of this period from an archaeological perspective by means of the publication of an homogeneous series as far as time and space are concerned, but with a multidisciplinary approach and, above all, open to an honest and constructive debate that will prove scientifically enriching. To accomplish this, the series will feature the work of young researchers who will have the possibility to subject the results of their studies to an international scientific audience. The ASLAEME series is divided into three sub-series publication of monographs on both final and in-progress preliminary reports of particular sites, as well as catalogues resulting from exhibitions and re-evaluations of material pertaining to the chronological framework of the ASLAEME series. The third volume in this series is the monograph by of Eusebio Dohijo on Late Antiquity in the High Valley of the Duero River in Portugal.

Proceedings of an International Conference held in Trondheim, Norway, 10th-12th October 2008, arranged by the Institute of Archaeology and Religious Studies, and the SAK department of the Museum of Natural History and Archaeology of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)A volume dedicated to the achievements of Norwegian archaeologist Gutorm Gjessing (1906-1979).

Human adaptation in relation to northeast India is relatively unknown; various general aspects have been studied and usually interpreted within the conventional framework of prehistory. But in this volume, concentrating on Meghalaya, a hilly region stretching from east to west in the south-westernmost corner of northeast India, an endeavour has been made to go beyond the conventional limits to explore some new dimensions of the material under study. To have a better comprehension of the life and cultures during the archaeological past of this area, an anthropological evaluation proves more effective. The data incorporated in this study are obtained through archaeological explorations and excavations. This led the authors to identify three adaptive mechanisms. The variations in adaptive patterns in a particular time period operating within an area analogous to its eco-cultural setting are the results of subsistence variables among the bands. The contributing variables specific to the emergence of distinct and individual adaptive patterns could better be analyzed by the aforesaid approach. The present study leads us to elicit this picture that variations in 'Broad Spectrum Tradition' (discussed in the context of Hoabinhian traditions of this area) is not an outcome or result of a particular or specific factors, such as climate and ecological adjustment, population expansion or sudden exposure to a new technology. It is, rather, the outcome of an interaction of behavioral traits relating to technology, economy and other factors: this is the key to the understanding of the formations of cultures within a Culture. Three prehistoric sites of the region form the basis of the present study: Saw Mer in the east Khasi Hills, Makbil Bisik and Bibra Gre in the western Garo Hills.

This study investigates the relationship between the thermal performance of building assemblages (classes of buildings) and the social life of human communities using a multi-scalar Neo-Darwinian approach to study the evolution of the built environment. The work investigates levels of thermal operational adjustability associated with building assemblages and long-term social viability, given that social and contextual change is inevitable in the long-term.

Paris Monographs in American Archaeology 23A study of the Mayan site of Joyanca (north-west Guatemala).

Archaeolingua: Central European Series 5The author's main aim in this study is to look at how and within what framework the elements of costume from Ottoman period burials in Hungary have been treated by previous research, and to suggest some new directions of interpretation. The information on the ethnic and geographical origins of the population interred in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century cemeteries in Hungary, as provided by historical sources, has determined the questions formulated within previous archaeological scholarship: the analysis of burial customs and finds, mostly remains of clothing, has focused on an ethnic interpretation. This study has two main aims. First, to look for factors other than ethnicity which could contribute to the formation of clothing and of the way it appears in the archaeological record, taking a closer look at the archaeological and various aspects of the social and cultural context of certain objects. Second, to see how historical archaeology can modify our understanding of clothing in the past: the way it was treated by contemporary peoples, and the social and cultural structures that produced it.

In this study the author tests three main hypotheses that focus on the institutionalization of vertical social differences, the different strategies that might have led to the institutionalization of vertical social differences, and changes in gender relations during the transition from the Late Copper Age to the Early Bronze Age in South Moravia (Czech Republic). In the nine chapters, the first outlines the main topics of interest and the central hypotheses, outlining the general research scope and methodology. Chapter 2 presents the main conceptual and theoretical framework, describing various aspects of social differences, their change over time, and the theoretical basis for the exploration of social differences in the mortuary archaeological record.Chapter 3 provides an introduction to the geomorphology of South Moravia and an overview of the archaeological cultures in the region, giving special attention to the Late Copper Age and the Early Bronze Age. Chapter 4 builds upon the previous two chapters and presents the three main hypotheses of this study. A series of expectations for each research hypothesis is presented along with the archaeological correlates - thus providing the necessary link between theory and characteristics that can be traced in the archaeological record. In Chapter 5 the author describes the methods used to test the research hypotheses. The first section describes the procedures for data collection. The second section discusses the methods for the analysis of intra-cemetery mortuary variability including its spatial aspects and mortuary variability between the sites and time periods. Chapter 6 discusses the archaeological sites concerned, paying special attention to four main cemeteries that are analyzed in detail. Chapters 7 and 8 present the results and discussion of the analyses. Chapter 9 concludes the main findings of the study, presenting the model of changes that occurred during the transition from the Late Copper Age to the Early Bronze Age and place the results into archaeology's wider anthropological context.

This study examines the spatial organization and long-term development of two ancient Maya centres - Lagartera and Margarita - located in south-central Quintana Roo, Mexico, that were occupied from the Middle Preclassic (ca. 500 B.C.) to the Terminal Classic (ca. A.D. 1000). Archaeological research at these two sites was designed to investigate the socio-political factors responsible for their different layouts. Spatial data, obtained through survey and mapping, and chronological data, obtained through excavations, were used to identify patterns in the built environments and to reconstruct the history of occupation of each site. By comparing the layout, composition, temporal development, and regional context of Lagartera and Margarita, this study highlights various dimensions of variability among ancient Maya centres and discusses the sources of this variability.

This monograph is the first within the European scholarship that presents data based on an archaeological site of the southeast Baltic. The flat cemetery of Dollkeim-Kovrovo is located in the Kaliningrad Oblast' (Region) of Russia.

Analyses of site formation processes in the Argentine Puna are uncommon and they are mainly devoted to answering taphonomic questions; understanding site formation processes is a prerequisite before inferring past human activity from the spatial distribution of the material remains recovered at any site. The main objective for this research (focusing on a high altitude marsh called "Vega de San Francisco" in the Puna region, located 21 km from the Argentina-Chile border) was to reconstruct the formation processes of the excavated units through the analysis of their sediments, providing the necessary information to discuss human occupation intensity as well as to examine site usage throughout the passage of time. The sediment analysis provided three research avenues: physical/chemical properties, microvertebrates and microfossils. A fourth avenue was explored by using information obtained through experimental control sites.

Birmingham Archaeology Monograph Series 4Areas adjoining Ryknild Street, King's Norton, Birmingham (England) were investigated between 2002 and 2007. The fieldwork was undertaken by Birmingham Archaeology on instruction from Birmingham City Council in advance of a new cemetery development. It comprised geophysical survey, trial-trenching, area excavation, watching brief and salvage recording.Written by Alex Jones, Bob Burrows, C. Jane Evans, Annette Hancocks and Josh Williams.With contributions from Emily Bird, Erica Macey-Bracken, Val Fryer, Pam Grinter, Kay Hartley, John Halsted, Rob Ixer, Paul Mason, Jane Timby, Felicity Wild and Steven Willis.Illustrations by Nigel Dodds and Bryony Ryder.

Proceedings of the XV UISPP World Congress (Lisbon 4-9 September 2006) / Actes du XV Congrès Mondial (Lisbonne 4-9 Septembre 2006) Vol. 9 Session C53This book includes papers from the 'A New Dawn for the Dark Age? Shifting Paradigms in Mediterranean Iron Age Chronology' session (C53) held at the XV UISPP World Congress, September 2006.

The Caspian Steppes have been attracting attention in the focus of many scholars for more than a hundred years, because the steppes that lie between the Lower Volga and the Lower Don regions, and border with the North Caucasus is an area where many cultural traditions formed and developed. Multiethnic and multicultural groups are behind such traditions. The objective of this book is to systematize the dating of Caspian Steppes' sites to different cultures, based on new archaeological sources that have appeared recently as a result of new excavations. The detailed analysis of key features of the burial rite and general categories of the material culture, i.e. grave offerings, provides a possibility to present in Chapter 1 characteristics of archaeological cultures and cultural groups of the Caspian Steppes in the Eneolithic-Middle Bronze Age. Application of the complex method of establishing culture sequence in Chapter 2 is aimed at revealing changes of cultural traditions in the region and establishing their absolute chronology. The database obtained gives grounds to evaluate the ethno-cultural historical process in the region under discussion through models of the economic cycle and production developed by ancient population is presented in Chapter 3. Amongst others, this book is based on the Bronze Age collections from the Eurasian Steppe and the Caucasus of the Archaeology Department of the State Historical Museum in Moscow, and data obtained from the excavation of the Steppe Archaeological Expedition of the State Historical Museum.

Monographs of the Sydney University Teleilat Ghassul Project 2This work addresses a number of issues emerging from evidence from Teleilat Ghassul in the south Jordan Valley, incorporating unpublished material from Professor J.B. Hennessy's excavations in 1967, 1975-1977, and new material from Bourke's 1994- present campaigns at the site. These include: A report of the excavated material and architecture from Area E, the 'Sanctuary' precinct; Justification for the 'cultic' attribution of the precinct, and some proposals about the nature of the cult activities and their purpose; The evidence for emerging internal competitive diversity in cult and religious activities at the site, its cause and consequences; Observations on the spatial and temporal place of Teleilat Ghassul, and specifically the Sanctuary, in the broader Chalcolithic and pre-state spectrum; The extent to which cult expression reflects a social response to managing crisis, rather than success; The extent to which the evidence supports conventional paradigms about increasing social, economic and technological complexity in pre-state societies, and the value added by the Ghassul evidence to our understanding of Chalcolithic culture and social systems; Analysis of the extent to which the Sanctuary and the broader site can inform the extension of archaeological analysis, to identify the conscious behaviour and evidence of individuals manipulating social and economic circumstances to alter the power relationships in a community; and the degree to which we can extend recent conceptual frameworks in articulating an 'Archaeology of Politics' from pre-literate evidence in cult contexts. Part I presents a full report on the architecture, ceramics and small finds from Area E. The stratigraphy, architecture and phasing of the Sanctuary precinct, including the Sanctuary Courtyard, and the adjacent Industrial Area, reports previously unpublished detail of the excavated remains. This is followed by the ceramics from the Sanctuary precinct, with reference to the Pontifical Biblical Institute material where appropriate and with a broad indication of parallels in the region. The distribution of ceramic forms and wares is presented as the basis of evidence for the unique and specialised nature of the Sanctuary. Objects from the Sanctuary precinct are also presented in a comparable descriptive and statistical format to the ceramics. The architecture of other Chalcolithic sites, cultic and domestic, is discussed in Part II with the aim of drawing conclusions about the function of the Sanctuary, and its relationship with identified comparators at En Gedi and Gilat. Possible links with Mesopotamian, southern Anatolian, Syrian, Egyptian and desert sites are also explored. Part III takes a deliberate context-based approach to cult analysis, drawing together the objects from the Sanctuary Courtyard, Sanctuary Temenos, Industrial Area and Painters Workshop to demonstrate the significance of the components of each assemblage and their relationship to the cult activities. Part III also examines the Ghassul Area E Sanctuary against existing and respected models of cultic criteria and recommends additional criteria to be added to this model. A catalogue of objects from the Sanctuary precinct is presented in the Appendix to emphasise the significance of each assemblage and promote the benefits of context-based publication of objects. Part III draws together current debates and evidence on chronology, environment and economy in the Chalcolithic with specific reference to Ghassul and the Sanctuary, and presents some conclusions about the evidence for risk and crisis, which may have generated the social and political responses by groups and individuals inherent in the Sanctuary evidence. Conclusions in Part IV respond to the aims set out above.

Archaeological works conducted during construction of the Chalgrove to East Ilsley gas pipeline identified two large and thirty-two small sites. These were predominantly late prehistoric in date, with Iron Age deposits being the most abundant. A small amount of Neolithic and Bronze Age activity was recorded, and a single Saxon site was found. Very little Roman activity was encountered outside the two main sites. No medieval and only one postmedieval site was encountered, although many undated ditches and pits recorded during the watching brief were probably from these periods. The largest archaeological site encompassed three or four separate settlement areas. The second largest site appears to have been a single enclosed settlement, probably a farmstead, established in the early Iron Age and occupied until the early Roman period. The watching brief located sixteen datable smaller sites and a further sixteen sites containing only undateable features. The earliest features discovered were two early Neolithic pits. An earlier Bronze Age burial, probably a barrow, was found. The Roman road from Dorchester-on-Thames to Silchester was located. A single high status Saxon burial was discovered. One site contained 17th to 19th century domestic structures. Medieval or post-medieval furrows and field boundaries were identified at eight sites.Written by Tom Wilson with Paul Booth, Kate Brayne, Derek Cater, Hilary Cool, Rowena Gale, John Giorgi, Malcolm Lyne, Hilary Major, Gemma Martin, James Rackham, Stephen Rowland, Susan Tyler, Alan Vince and Tania Wilson.

Paris Monographs in American Archaeology 22A study of sexuality in Aztec myth and culture.

This volume presents recent findings from Walou cave, excavated by the SOWAP (Société Wallonne de Palethnologie, 1985-90), in the municipality of Trooz, about 15 km south of Liege, in Belgium.With contributions by I. Crevecoeur, A. Francis, L. Klaric, C. Koziel, O. Le Gall, R. Peuchot, E. Teheux, M. Udrescu and D. Vandercappel.

Grave goods show that women were identified as weavers in the early Anglo-Saxon period, rather than specifically spinners, as occurs later. A key piece of weaving equipment found in migration era burials is the iron beater, shaped during this period like a sword. Spear shaped beaters appear later in the seventh century.

This work explores the cultural developments in Mayan lands in the 16 th and 17 th centuries, based on written sources and archaeological evidence. The first part is a detailed study of the written sources and the second presents an analysis of the Tecoh settlement (Yucatan, Mexico), based on the author's topographical research.