Persistent Traditions

Persistent Traditions

Author: Luc W.S.W. Amkreutz

Publisher: Sidestone Press

Published: 2013-12-19

Total Pages: 550

ISBN-13: 9088902038

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The adoption of agriculture is one of the major developments in human history. Archaeological studies have demonstrated that the trajectories of Neolithisation in Northwest Europe were diverse. This book presents a study into the archaeology of the communities involved in the process of Neolithisation in the Lower Rhine Area (5500-2500 cal BC). It elucidates the role played by the indigenous communities in relation to their environmental context and in view of the changes that becoming Neolithic brought about. This work brings together a comprehensive array of excavated archaeological sites in the Lower Rhine Area. Their analysis shows that the succession of Late Mesolithic, Swifterbant culture, Hazendonk group and Vlaardingen culture societies represents a continuous long-term tradition of inhabitation of the wetlands and wetland margins of this area, forming a culturally continuous record of communities in the transition to agriculture. After demonstrating the diversity of the Mesolithic, the subsequent developments regarding Neolithisation are studied from an indigenous perspective. Foregrounding the relationship between local communities and the dynamic wetland landscape, the study shows that the archaeological evidence of regional inhabitation points to long-term flexible behaviour and pragmatic decisions being made concerning livelihood, food economy and mobility. This disposition also influenced how the novel elements of Neolithisation were incorporated. Animal husbandry, crop cultivation and sedentism were an addition to the existing broad spectrum economy but were incorporated within a set of integrative strategies. For the interpretation of Neolithisation this study offers a complementary approach to existing research. Instead of arguing for a short transition based on the economic importance of domesticates and cultigens at sites, this study emphasises the persistent traditions of the communities involved. New elements, instead of bringing about radical changes, are shown to be attuned to existing hunter-gatherer practices. By documenting indications of the mentalité of the inhabitants of the wetlands, it is demonstrated that their mindset remained essentially ‘Mesolithic’ for millennia. This book is accompanied by a separate 422 page volume containing the appendices. These constitute a comprehensive inventory of 159, mostly excavated archaeological sites in the Lower Rhine Area.


Appendices: Persistent Traditions

Appendices: Persistent Traditions

Author: Luc W.S.W. Amkreutz

Publisher: Sidestone Press

Published: 2013-12-19

Total Pages: 426

ISBN-13: 9088902119

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The adoption of agriculture is one of the major developments in human history. Archaeological studies have demonstrated that the trajectories of Neolithisation in Northwest Europe were diverse. This book presents a study into the archaeology of the communities involved in the process of Neolithisation in the Lower Rhine Area (5500-2500 cal BC). It elucidates the role played by the indigenous communities in relation to their environmental context and in view of the changes that becoming Neolithic brought about. This volume contains the appendices to the thesis ‘Persistent traditions. A long-term perspective on communities in the process of Neolithisation in the Lower Rhine Area (5500-2500 cal BC)’. These constitute a comprehensive inventory of 159, mostly excavated, archaeological sites in the Lower Rhine Area for which general characteristics were recorded. Their analysis shows that the succession of Late Mesolithic, Swifterbant culture, Hazendonk group and Vlaardingen culture societies represents a continuous long-term tradition of inhabitation of the wetlands and wetland margins of this area, forming a culturally continuous record of communities in the transition to agriculture. The site catalogue forms both an overview of, and detailed introduction into, the site-based archaeology of this time frame. After demonstrating the diversity of the Mesolithic, the subsequent developments regarding Neolithisation are studied from an indigenous perspective. Foregrounding the relationship between local communities and the dynamic wetland landscape, the archaeological evidence regarding its regional inhabitation points to long-term flexible behaviour and pragmatic decisions being made. For the interpretation of Neolithisation this study offers a complementary approach to existing research. Instead of arguing for a short transition based on the economic importance of domesticates and cultigens at sites, the emphasis is placed on the persistent traditions of the communities involved. New elements, instead of bringing about radical changes, are shown to be attuned to existing hunter-gatherer practices. By documenting indications of the mentalité of the inhabitants of the wetlands, it is demonstrated that their mindset remained essentially ‘Mesolithic’ for millennia.


Unbuilding Cities

Unbuilding Cities

Author: Anique Hommels

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2008-08-29

Total Pages: 293

ISBN-13: 0262582821

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

City planning initiatives and redesign of urban structures often become mired in debate and delay. Despite the fact that cities are considered to be dynamic and flexible spaces—never finished but always under construction—it is very difficult to change existing urban structures; they become fixed, obdurate, securely anchored in their own histories as well as in the histories of their surroundings. In Unbuilding Cities, Anique Hommels looks at the tension between the malleability of urban space and its obduracy, focusing on sites and structures that have been subjected to "unbuilding"—redesign or reconfiguration. She brings the concepts of science and technology studies (STS) to bear on the study of cities. Viewing the city as a large sociotechnological artifact, she demonstrates the usefulness of STS tools that were developed to analyze other technological artifacts and explores in detail the role of obduracy in sociotechnical change. Her analysis distinguishes three concepts of obduracy: interactionist, in which actors with diverging views are constrained by fixed ways of thinking and interacting; relational, in which change is difficult because of technology's embeddedness in sociotechnical networks; and enduring, in which persistent traditions influence the development of technology over time. Hommels examines the tensions between obduracy and change in three urban redesign projects in the Netherlands: a renovated city center that fell into drabness and disrepair; a highway system that runs through a densely populated urban area; and a high-rise housing project, designed according to modernist precepts and built for middle-class families, that became a haven for unemployment and crime. Unbuilding Cities contributes to a productive fusion of STS and urban studies.


Americanist Culture History

Americanist Culture History

Author: R. Lee Lyman

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-03-07

Total Pages: 510

ISBN-13: 1461559111

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Americanist Culture History reprints thirty-nine classic works of Americanist archaeological literature published between 1907 and 1971. The articles, in which the key concepts and analytical techniques of culture history were first defined and discussed, are reprinted, with original pagination and references, to enhance the use of this collection as a research and teaching resource. The editors also include an introduction that summarizes the rise and fall of the culture history paradigm, making this volume an excellent introduction to the field's primary literature.


Energy Transition in the Baltic Sea Region

Energy Transition in the Baltic Sea Region

Author: Farid Karimi

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2022-02-27

Total Pages: 227

ISBN-13: 1000545431

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book analyses the potential for active stakeholder engagement in the energy transition in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) in order to foster clean energy deployment. Public acceptability and bottom-up activities can be critical for enduring outcomes to an energy transition. As a result, it is vital to understand how to unlock the potential for public, community and prosumer participation to facilitate renewable energy deployment and a clean energy transition – and, consequently, to examine the factors influencing social acceptability. Focussing on the diverse BSR, this book draws on expert contributions to consider a range of different topics, including the challenges of social acceptance and its policy implications; strategies to address challenges of acceptability among stakeholders; and community engagement in clean energy production. Overall, the authors examine the practical implications of current policy measures and provide recommendations on how lessons learnt from this ‘energy lab region’ may be applied to other regions. Reflecting an interdisciplinary approach in the social sciences, this book is an essential resource for scholars, students and policymakers researching and working in the areas of renewable energy, energy policy and citizen engagement, and interested in understanding the potential for bottom-up, grassroots activities and social acceptability to expedite the energy transition and reanimate democracies. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.


Multiple Imaginaries of the Fossil Fuel Free Future

Multiple Imaginaries of the Fossil Fuel Free Future

Author: Amelia Mutter

Publisher: Linköping University Electronic Press

Published: 2020-02-03

Total Pages: 66

ISBN-13: 9179298990

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

I kölvattnet av klimatkrisen har det blivit allt tydligare att det fossilbaserade transportsystemet måste genomgå en global omvandling. Många alternativ för förnyelsebara drivmedel har föreslagits, alla omgivna av föreställningar om hur dessa tekniker kommer att bidra till en bättre framtid. Dessa föreställningar påverkar utvecklingen eftersom implementeringen av varje alternativ teknik kräver uppbyggnad av mångfaldiga socio-tekniska ensembler som stöder dess användning. Som ett resultat av detta är det troligt att processen för att ersätta fossila bränslen med dessa förnybara alternativ kommer bli komplex. Avhandlingen betraktar uppkomsten av två av dessa föreställningar om förnybara bränslen och studerar visioner om biogas och el i ett svenskt sammanhang. Biogas har en lång historia som transportbränsle i Sverige där, även om den utgör en liten andel av den totala bränsleanvändningen, utgör den ändå grunden för många kommunala kollektivtrafiksystem. Elektriska fordon har blivit alltmer attraktiva när fler aktörer anammar en föreställning som ser en framtid där fordon är delade, autonoma och elektriska. Denna interaktion exemplifieras i kollektivtrafik i städer eftersom många kommuner börjar implementera elbussar i ett försök att öka energieffektiviteten och minska föroreningarna. Denna avhandling följer tre fallstudier där föreställningarna om biogas och elfordon samverkar: kollektivtrafik i städerna Linköping respektive Malmö samt en analys av det omfattande nationella policydokumentet Fossilfrihet på väg. Avhandlingen bidrar till en bredare förståelse för hur visioner kan påverka tröghet och förändring av transportalternativ inom den bredare omställningen till en fossilfri framtid. In the wake of the climate crisis, it has become increasingly evident that the fossil fuel-based transport system must undergo a global transformation. Numerous renewable fuel alternatives have been suggested, accompanied by imaginaries of how these technologies will contribute to a better future. These imaginaries have a wide-ranging impact because the implementation of each alternative technology will require the build-up of multifarious socio-technical ensembles that support their use. As a result, replacing fossil fuels with these renewable alternatives is likely to be a complex process. This dissertation considers the emergence of two such visions of renewable fuels studying imaginaries of biogas and electricity in the Swedish context. Biogas has a long history of use as a transport fuel in Sweden, where although it makes up a small percentage of total fuel use it also forms the basis of numerous municipal public transport systems. Meanwhile, electric vehicles have become increasingly attractive as more actors subscribe to an imaginary that sees the future of vehicles as shared, autonomous, and electric. This interaction is exemplified in urban public transportation as many municipalities begin to implement electric buses in an attempt to increase energy efficiency and reduce pollution. This thesis follows three case studies where the imaginaries of biogas and electric vehicles interact: urban public transport in the municipalities of Linköping and Malmö, and analysis of a comprehensive national policy document Fossil fuel freedom on the road. It contributes to a wider understanding of how visions can influence obduracy and change of transport alternatives within the wider transformation to a fossil fuel free future.


Understanding Cultural Transmission in Anthropology

Understanding Cultural Transmission in Anthropology

Author: Roy Ellen

Publisher: Berghahn Books

Published: 2013-08-01

Total Pages: 391

ISBN-13: 0857459945

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The concept of "cultural transmission" is central to much contemporary anthropological theory, since successful human reproduction through social systems is essential for effective survival and for enhancing the adaptiveness of individual humans and local populations. Yet, what is understood by the phrase and how it might best be studied is highly contested. This book brings together contributions that reflect the current diversity of approaches - from the fields of biology, primatology, palaeoanthropology, psychology, social anthropology, ethnobiology, and archaeology - to examine social and cultural transmission from a range of perspectives and at different scales of generalization. The comprehensive introduction explores some of the problems and connections. Overall, the book provides a timely synthesis of current accounts of cultural transmission in relation to cognitive process, practical action, and local socio-ecological context, while linking these with explanations of longer-term evolutionary trajectories.


Culture Evolves

Culture Evolves

Author: Andrew Whiten

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 472

ISBN-13: 0199608962

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Culture shapes vast swathes of our lives and has allowed the human species to dominate the planet in an evolutionarily unique way. This book is unique in focusing on the evolutionary continuities in culture, providing an interdisciplinary exploration of culture, written by leading authorities from the biological and cognitive sciences.


Peace and Persistence

Peace and Persistence

Author: Mary Jane Heisey

Publisher: Kent State University Press

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 9780873387569

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This work presents material about the Brethren in Christ, a small, little-known religious group. In addition to drawing from official church doctrine, statements and records, it also features a variety of authors in church-related publications, records of congregational life, and archival sources.