Reprint of another classic Neolithic Studies Group volume. 'It is a sign of the intellectual health of a specialist study group that its deliberations can generate collections of papers of general interest. The topical issue of landscape is addressed, although with the added complication of attempting to focus on the domestic as opposed to ceremonial aspects of Neolithic life'.
The papers in this volume are contributed by leading historians, art historians and archaeologists and focus on 5 key themes: the evolution of settlement patterns in the Byzantine empire; the impact of barbarian elites in Spain, Gaul, Italy and Pannonia; the role of the Church in the definition of new links between town and territories; the situation in culturally homogenous territories such as Constantinople and the minor Langbard polities; the situation in economically defined territories. Contributions include papers by Gian Pietro Brogiolo, Pablo C. Díaz, Michel Fixot, Gisela Ripoll and Javier Arce, Sauro Gelichi, Wolfram Brandes and John Haldon, Nancy Gauthier, Gisella Cantino Wataghin, Ross Balzaretti, Martina Caroli, Neil Christie, Bryan Ward-Perkins and John Mitchell.
Complete publication of the Prehistoric, Sarmatian and Late Avar settlement at Gyoma 133 (Békés County Microregion). This is a full excavation report on work carried out between 1986 and 1988, the last season being in advance of development. The bulk of material is of Sarmatian (Roman) date and involves three occupation levels, the second involving extensive evidence of metallurgy. Particularly interesting are the results of animal bone study which allow a new picture of Sarmatian agriculture to be built up. The Sarmatians were great horsemen and the discovery of articulated remains of horses and dogs seem to indicate ritual treatment of these important animals.
Bailey's volume fills the gap that existed for an archaeology of the Balkans and will be required reading for anyone studying the Neolithic, Copper and early Bronze Ages of Eastern Europe.
The beginning of the Neolithic in Britain is a topic of perennial interest in archaeology, marking the end of a hunter-gatherer way of life with the introduction of domesticated plants and animals, pottery, polished stone tools, and a range of new kinds of monuments, including earthen long barrows and megalithic tombs. Every year, numerous new articles are published on different aspects of the topic, ranging from diet and subsistence economy to population movement, architecture, and seafaring. Thomas offers a treatment that synthesizes all of this material, presenting a coherent argument to explain the process of transition between the Mesolithic-Neolithic periods. Necessarily, the developments in Britain are put into the context of broader debates about the origins of agriculture in Europe, and the diversity of processes of change in different parts of the continent are explored. These are followed by a historiographic treatment of debates on the transition in Britain. Chapters cover the Mesolithic background, processes of contact and interaction, monumental architecture and timber halls, portable artefacts, and plants and animals. The concluding argument is that developments in the economy and material culture must be understood as being related to fundamental social transformations.
Complete Atlas of the World, 3rd Edition is now fully revised and updated to reflect the latest changes in world geography, including the annexation of Crimea and the new nation of South Sudan. Bringing each featured landscape to life with detailed terrain models and color schemes and offering maps of unsurpassed quality, this atlas features four sections: a world overview, the main atlas, fact files on all the countries of the world, and an easy-to-reference index of all 100,000 place names. All maps enjoy a full double-page spread, with continents broken down into 330 carefully selected maps, including 100 city plans. You will also find a stimulating series of global thematic maps that explore Earth's place in the universe, its physical forms and processes, the living world, and the human condition. From Antarctica to Zambia, discover the Earth continent-by-continent with Complete Atlas of the World, 3rd Edition.
Conceptions of nationalism as a historical and contemporary phenomenon remain fragmentary in the late-1990s. This text analyzes the contraditions inherent in the general understanding of nationalism in order to fashion a new intellectual synthesis.
The extent to which human activity has influenced species extinctions during the recent prehistoric past remains controversial due to other factors such as climatic fluctuations and a general lack of data. However, the Holocene (the geological interval spanning the last 11,500 years from the end of the last glaciation) has witnessed massive levels of extinctions that have continued into the modern historical era, but in a context of only relatively minor climatic fluctuations. This makes a detailed consideration of these extinctions a useful system for investigating the impacts of human activity over time. Holocene Extinctions describes and analyses the range of global extinction events which have occurred during this key time period, as well as their relationship to both earlier and ongoing species losses. By integrating information from fields as diverse as zoology, ecology, palaeontology, archaeology and geography, and by incorporating data from a broad range of taxonomic groups and ecosystems, this novel text provides a fascinating insight into human impacts on global extinction rates, both past and present. This truly interdisciplinary book is suitable for both graduate students and researchers in these varied fields. It will also be of value and use to policy-makers and conservation professionals since it provides valuable guidance on how to apply lessons from the past to prevent future biodiversity loss and inform modern conservation planning.
