Personal Ornaments in Prehistory
Personal Ornaments in Prehistory

Author: Emma L. Baysal

Publisher: Oxbow Books

Published: 2019-08-29

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 178925289X

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Beads, bracelets, necklaces, pendants and many other ornaments are familiar objects that play a fundamental role in personal expression and communication. This book considers how and why the human relationship with ornaments developed and continued over tens of thousands of years, from hunter-gatherer life in the cave to urban elites, from expedient use of natural resources to complex technologies. Using evidence from archaeological sites across Turkey, the Near East and the Balkans, it explores the history of personal ornaments from their appearance in the Palaeolithic until the rise of urban centers in the Early Bronze Age and encompassing technologies ranging from stone cutting to early glazing, metallurgy and the roots of glass manufacture. The development of theoretical and practical approaches to ornaments and the current state of research are illustrated with a wide variety of examples. This book shows that far from being objects of display, of little value in archaeological interpretation and often overlooked, these artifacts are key to understanding trade, relationships, values, beliefs and the construction of personal identity in the past. Indeed, more than any other group of artifacts, their variety in material, form, use and distribution opens doors to both wide ranging scientific exploration and consideration of what it is to be human.

Spondylus in Prehistory
Spondylus in Prehistory

Author: Fotis Ifantidis

Publisher: British Archaeological Association

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 9781407307749

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"The core of the book consists of papers that were first presented in a special session on "Spondylus in European prehistory: new data and approaches -- a session on the archaeology of shell technologies," organized by the editors for the 13th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists, Zadar, Croatia, 18-23 September 2007"--Introd.

A Companion to Gender Prehistory
A Companion to Gender Prehistory

Author: Diane Bolger

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2012-09-25

Total Pages: 933

ISBN-13: 1118294262

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An authoritative guide on gender prehistory for researchers, instructors and students in anthropology, archaeology, and gender studies Provides the most up-to-date, comprehensive coverage of gender archaeology, with an exclusive focus on prehistory Offers critical overviews of developments in the archaeology of gender over the last 30 years, as well as assessments of current trends and prospects for future research Focuses on recent Third Wave approaches to the study of gender in early human societies, challenging heterosexist biases, and investigating the interfaces between gender and status, age, cognition, social memory, performativity, the body, and sexuality Features numerous regional and thematic topics authored by established specialists in the field, with incisive coverage of gender research in prehistoric and protohistoric cultures of Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas and the Pacific

Space and Time in Mediterranean Prehistory
Space and Time in Mediterranean Prehistory

Author: Stella Souvatzi

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-10-15

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 1135042896

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Space and Time in Mediterranean Prehistory addresses these two concepts as interrelated, rather than as separate categories, and as a means for understanding past social relations at different scales. The need for this volume was realised through four main observations: the ever growing interest in space and spatiality across the social sciences; the comparative theoretical and methodological neglect of time and temporality; the lack in the existing literature of an explicit and balanced focus on both space and time; and the large amount of new information coming from prehistoric Mediterranean. It focuses on the active and interactive role of space and time in the production of any social environment, drawing equally on contemporary theory and on case-studies from Mediterranean prehistory. Space and Time in Mediterranean Prehistory seeks to break down the space-time continuum, often assumed rather than inferred, into space-time units and to uncover the varying and variable interrelations of space and time in prehistoric societies across the Mediterranean. The volume is a response to the dissatisfaction with traditional views of space and time in prehistory and revisits these concepts to develop a timely integrative conceptual and analytical framework for the study of space and time in archaeology.

The Oxford Handbook of Neolithic Europe
The Oxford Handbook of Neolithic Europe

Author: Chris Fowler

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2015-03-26

Total Pages: 1303

ISBN-13: 0191666890

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The Neolithic --a period in which the first sedentary agrarian communities were established across much of Europe--has been a key topic of archaeological research for over a century. However, the variety of evidence across Europe, the range of languages in which research is carried out, and the way research traditions in different countries have developed makes it very difficult for both students and specialists to gain an overview of continent-wide trends. The Oxford Handbook of Neolithic Europe provides the first comprehensive, geographically extensive, thematic overview of the European Neolithic --from Iberia to Russia and from Norway to Malta --offering both a general introduction and a clear exploration of key issues and current debates surrounding evidence and interpretation. Chapters written by leading experts in the field examine topics such as the movement of plants, animals, ideas, and people (including recent trends in the application of genetics and isotope analyses); cultural change (from the first appearance of farming to the first metal artefacts); domestic architecture; subsistence; material culture; monuments; and burial and other treatments of the dead. In doing so, the volume also considers the history of research and sets out agendas and themes for future work in the field.

The Oxford Handbook of Neolithic Europe
The Oxford Handbook of Neolithic Europe

Author: Chris Fowler

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2015-03-26

Total Pages: 1201

ISBN-13: 0191666882

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The Neolithic —a period in which the first sedentary agrarian communities were established across much of Europe—has been a key topic of archaeological research for over a century. However, the variety of evidence across Europe, the range of languages in which research is carried out, and the way research traditions in different countries have developed makes it very difficult for both students and specialists to gain an overview of continent-wide trends. The Oxford Handbook of Neolithic Europe provides the first comprehensive, geographically extensive, thematic overview of the European Neolithic —from Iberia to Russia and from Norway to Malta —offering both a general introduction and a clear exploration of key issues and current debates surrounding evidence and interpretation. Chapters written by leading experts in the field examine topics such as the movement of plants, animals, ideas, and people (including recent trends in the application of genetics and isotope analyses); cultural change (from the first appearance of farming to the first metal artefacts); domestic architecture; subsistence; material culture; monuments; and burial and other treatments of the dead. In doing so, the volume also considers the history of research and sets out agendas and themes for future work in the field.

Fragmentation in Archaeology
Fragmentation in Archaeology

Author: John Chapman

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-04-15

Total Pages: 315

ISBN-13: 1134687540

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Fragmentation in Archaeology revolutionises archaeological studies of material culture, by arguing that the deliberate physical fragmentation of objects, and their (often structured) deposition, lies at the core of the archaeology of the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Copper Age of Central and Eastern Europe. John Chapman draws on detailed evidence from the Balkans to explain such phenomena as the mass sherd deposition in pits and the wealth of artefacts found in the Varna cemetery to place the significance of fragmentation within a broad anthropological context.

A Prehistory of South America
A Prehistory of South America

Author: Jerry D. Moore

Publisher: University Press of Colorado

Published: 2014-07-09

Total Pages: 553

ISBN-13: 1492013323

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A Prehistory of South America is an overview of the ancient and historic native cultures of the entire continent of South America based on the most recent archaeological investigations. This accessible, clearly written text is designed to engage undergraduate and begining graduate studens in anthropology. For more than 12,000 years, South American cultures ranged from mobile hunters and gatherers to rulers and residents of colossal cities. In the process, native South American societies made advancements in agriculture and economic systems and created great works of art—in pottery, textiles, precious metals, and stone—that still awe the modern eye. Organized in broad chronological periods, A Prehistory of South America explores these diverse human achievements, emphasizing the many adaptations of peoples from a continent-wide perspective. Moore examines the archaeologies of societies across South America, from the arid deserts of the Pacific coast and the frigid Andean highlands to the humid lowlands of the Amazon Basin and the fjords of Patagonia and beyond. Illustrated in full color and suitable for an educated general reader interested in the Precolumbian peoples of South America, A Prehistory of South America is a long overdue addition to the literature on South American archaeology.

Molluscs in Archaeology
Molluscs in Archaeology

Author: Michael J. Allen

Publisher: Oxbow Books

Published: 2017-06-30

Total Pages: 449

ISBN-13: 178570611X

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The subject of ‘Molluscs in Archaeology’ has not been dealt with collectively for several decades. This new volume in Oxbow’s Studying Scientific Archaeology series addresses many aspects of mollusks in archaeology. It will give the reader an overview of the whole topic; methods of analysis and approaches to interpretation. It aims to be a broad based text book giving readers an insight of how to apply analysis to different present and past landscapes and how to interpret those landscapes. It includes Marine, Freshwater and land snails studies, and examines topics such as diet, economy, climate, environmental and land-use, isotopes and mollusks as artifacts. It aims to provide archaeologists and students with the first port of call giving them a) methods and principles, and b) the potential information mollusks can provide. It concentrates on analysis and interpretation most archaeologists and students can undertake and understand, and to 'review' the 'heavier' science in terms of potential, application and interpretational value.

European Prehistory
European Prehistory

Author: Sarunas Milisauskas

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 454

ISBN-13: 1461507510

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Sarunas Milisauskas· 1.1 INTRODUCTION The purpose of this book is four-fold: to introduce English-speaking students and scholars to some of the outstanding archaeological research that has been done in Europe in recent years; to integrate this research into an anthropological frame of reference; to address episodes of culture change such as the transition to farming; the origin of complex societies, and the origin of urbanism, and to provide an overview of European prehistory from the earliest appearance of humans to the rise of the Roman empire. In 1978, the Academic Press published my book European Prehistory which, typically for that period, emphasized cultural evolution, culture process, technology, environment, and economy. To produce a new version and an up- to-date prehistory of Europe, I have invited contributions from specialists in the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages. Thus while this version of European Prehistory is a new book, however, it still incorporates some data from the 1978 version, particularly in The Present Environment and Neolithic chapters. Like its predecessor, this edition is structured around selected general topics, such as technology, trade, settlement, warfare, and ritual.