Ancient Scandinavia

Ancient Scandinavia
Author: T. Douglas Price
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 521
Release: 2015-06-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 019023198X

Scandinavia, a land mass comprising the modern countries of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, was the last part of Europe to be inhabited by humans. Not until the end of the last Ice Age when the melting of huge ice sheets left behind a fresh, barren land surface, about 13,000 BC, did the first humans arrive and settle in the region. The archaeological record of these prehistoric cultures, much of it remarkably preserved in Scandinavia's bogs, lakes, and fjords, has given us a detailed portrait of the evolution of human society at the edge of the inhabitable world. In this book, distinguished archaeologist T. Douglas Price provides a history of Scandinavia from the arrival of the first humans to the end of the Viking period, ca. AD 1050. The first book of its kind in English in many years, Ancient Scandinavia features overviews of each prehistoric epoch followed by illustrative examples from the region's rich archaeology. An engrossing and comprehensive picture of change across the millennia emerges, showing how human society evolved from small bands of hunter-gatherers to large farming communities to the complex warrior cultures of the Bronze and Iron Ages, cultures which culminated in the spectacular rise of the Vikings at the end of the prehistoric period. The material evidence of these past societies--arrowheads from reindeer hunts, megalithic tombs, rock art, beautifully wrought weaponry, Viking warships--give vivid testimony to the ancient peoples of Scandinavia and to their extensive contacts with the remote cultures of the Arctic Circle, Western Europe, and the Mediterranean

The Archaeology of Europe’s Drowned Landscapes

The Archaeology of Europe’s Drowned Landscapes
Author: Geoff Bailey
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 569
Release: 2020-04-09
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 3030373673

This open access volume provides for the first time a comprehensive description and scientific evaluation of underwater archaeological finds referring to human occupation of the continental shelf around the coastlines of Europe and the Mediterranean when sea levels were lower than present. These are the largest body of underwater finds worldwide, amounting to over 2500 find spots, ranging from individual stone tools to underwater villages with unique conditions of preservation. The material reviewed here ranges in date from the Lower Palaeolithic period to the Bronze Age and covers 20 countries bordering all the major marine basins from the Atlantic coasts of Ireland and Norway to the Black Sea, and from the western Baltic to the eastern Mediterranean. The finds from each country are presented in their archaeological context, with information on the history of discovery, conditions of preservation and visibility, their relationship to regional changes in sea-level and coastal geomorphology, and the institutional arrangements for their investigation and protection. Editorial introductions summarise the findings from each of the major marine basins. There is also a final section with extensive discussion of the historical background and the legal and regulatory frameworks that inform the management of the underwater cultural heritage and collaboration between offshore industries, archaeologists and government agencies. The volume is based on the work of COST Action TD0902 SPLASHCOS, a multi-disciplinary and multi-national research network supported by the EU-funded COST organisation (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). The primary readership is research and professional archaeologists, marine and Quaternary scientists, cultural-heritage managers, commercial and governmental organisations, policy makers, and all those with an interest in the sea floor of the continental shelf and the human impact of changes in climate, sea-level and coastal geomorphology.

Palaeohistoria

Palaeohistoria
Author: Institute of Archaeology
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 439
Release: 2020-07-26
Genre: Science
ISBN: 100015162X

This book includes a collection of papers, dedicated to Tjalling Waterbolk, on various topics, including palaeobotanical and archaeological research, prehistoric settlement in the province of Drenthe and the coastal areas of Groningen and Friesland, and radiocarbon dating of archaeological samples.

Argonauts of the Stone Age

Argonauts of the Stone Age
Author: Andrzej Pydyn
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2016-02-28
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1784911445

This book gives a full account of stone age seafaring presenting the archaeological evidence in the context of the changing world environment and uses ethnographic sources to broaden the readers understanding of the worlds earliest sea craft.

Recent Advances in Ageing and Sexing Animal Bones

Recent Advances in Ageing and Sexing Animal Bones
Author: Deborah Ruscillo
Publisher: Oxbow Books
Total Pages: 271
Release: 2015-06-30
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1785700421

This volume in the ICAZ series deals with the technical advances made over the last twenty years in the field of ageing and sexing animal bones. The analysis of ancient DNA holds great possibilities for sexing certain faunal assemblages (though by no means all), which is an urgent issue in the study of hunting and animal husbandry. It can be assumed that our forebears used more subtle taxonomic criteria than we do today, and it is important therefore that we are able to recognise traits that will allow for more accurate classification in terms of calendar age or sex. The eighteen papers in this book examine the state of research for various techniques of age/sex determination and assess potential future development.

Continental Connections

Continental Connections
Author: Hugo Anderson-Whymark
Publisher: Oxbow Books
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2015-02-26
Genre: History
ISBN: 1782978097

The prehistories of Britain and Ireland are inescapably entwined with continental European narratives. The central aim here is to explore Ôcross-channelÕ relationships throughout later prehistory, investigating the archaeological links (material, social, cultural) between the areas we now call Britain and Ireland, and continental Europe, from the Mesolithic through to the end of the Iron Age. Since the separation from the European mainland of Ireland (c. 16,000 BC) and Britain (c. 6000 BC), their island nature has been seen as central to many aspects of life within them, helping to define their senses of identity, and forming a crucial part of their neighbourly relationship with continental Europe and with each other. However, it is important to remember that the surrounding seaways have often served to connect as well as to separate these islands from the continent. In approaching the subject of Ôcontinental connectionsÕ in the long-term, and by bringing a variety of different archaeological perspectives (associated with different periods) to bear on it, this volume provides a new a new synthesis of the ebbs and flows of the cross-channel relationship over the course of 15,000 years of later prehistory, enabling fresh understandings and new insights to emerge about the intimately linked trajectories of change in both regions.

Europe before Rome

Europe before Rome
Author: T. Douglas Price
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 432
Release: 2013-01-09
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0199986827

Werner Herzog's 2011 film Cave of Forgotten Dreams, about the painted caves at Chauvet, France brought a glimpse of Europe's extraordinary prehistory to a popular audience. But paleolithic cave paintings, stunning as they are, form just a part of a story that begins with the arrival of the first humans to Europe 1.3 million years ago, and culminates in the achievements of Greece and Rome. In Europe before Rome, T. Douglas Price takes readers on a guided tour through dozens of the most important prehistoric sites on the continent, from very recent discoveries to some of the most famous and puzzling places in the world, like Chauvet, Stonehenge, and Knossos. This volume focuses on more than 60 sites, organized chronologically according to their archaeological time period and accompanied by 200 illustrations, including numerous color photographs, maps, and drawings. Our understanding of prehistoric European archaeology has been almost completely rewritten in the last 25 years with a series of major findings from virtually every time period, such as Ötzi the Iceman, the discoveries at Atapuerca, and evidence of a much earlier eruption at Mt. Vesuvius. Many of the sites explored in the book offer the earliest European evidence we have of the typical features of human society--tool making, hunting, cooking, burial practices, agriculture, and warfare. Introductory prologues to each chapter provide context for the wider changes in human behavior and society in the time period, while the author's concluding remarks offer expert reflections on the enduring significance of these places. Tracing the evolution of human society in Europe across more than a million years, Europe before Rome gives readers a vivid portrait of life for prehistoric man and woman.

Handbook of Museum Textiles, Volume 2

Handbook of Museum Textiles, Volume 2
Author: Seiko Jose
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 420
Release: 2022-11-29
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1119983401

Handbook of Museum Textiles Textiles have been known to us throughout human history and played a vital role in the lives and traditions of people. Clothing was made by using different materials and methods from natural fibers. There are different varieties of textiles, out of which certain traditional textiles, archaeological findings, or fragments are of cultural, historical, and sentimental value such as tapestries, embroideries, flags, shawls, etc. These kinds of textiles, due to their historical use and environmental factors, require special attention to guarantee their long-term stability. Textile conservation is a complex, challenging, and multi-faceted discipline and it is one of the most versatile branches of conservation. Volume II of the Handbook of Museum Textiles provides precise instruction for conservation techniques to preserve the textile heritage more scientifically and technologically. Additionally, the book covers the most modern techniques used to characterize archaeological textiles and dyes. Progress and innovation in nanotechnology-based interventions in museum textiles are emphasized. Chapters cover the general introduction to biological damage caused by physical and chemical agents and their prevention methods. Information on microscopy and characterization of historical textiles, ancient dyes, and prints is highlighted. Several aspects of assessment of degradation, repair, and stabilization of antique textiles are presented in depth. Experimental research methods for diagnosis and scientific study of fibers and natural dyes using LC-MS and UV-VIS are described. Practical knowledge based on analysis and visualization of historical textiles for the needs of museum conservation, exhibition, digital technology, and virtual museums is addressed as well. Audience It will serve as an educational asset and tool for researchers, art scholars, archaeologists, museum curators, and those who are interested in the field of traditional or historic textile collections.

Early Farmers, Late Foragers, and Ceramic Traditions

Early Farmers, Late Foragers, and Ceramic Traditions
Author: Dragoş Gheorghiu
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 285
Release: 2009-01-23
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1443804681

This work presents the most recent views on a subject of primordial importance for all students of history: the understanding of humankind’s process of becoming, viewed through the study of the beginnings of pottery in the late forager, and early farmer societies of Europe. It is a collection of essays, by some of the prominent European scholars and young dynamic archaeologists whose works focus on the early European and Middle Eastern pottery, intended to present a new perspective on the rise of a new technology in prehistory. With the breadth, variety and novelty of the approaches presented, “Early farmers, late foragers and ceramic traditions. On the beginning of pottery in Europe” is a fascinating read for scholars, as well as for the public at large.