Model Boats in the Context of Maritime History and Archaeology

Funereal, votive or shipbuilders' model boats and ships have been quite well documented in the past, but little research has been undertaken into other wooden models from north-west Europe. There have been over 160 found during archaeological excavations, dating from the 9th to the 19th centuries. A study of these 'toys' is not just a study of objects among the minor arts, but reflects a far more important aspect—a source for interpreting remains of full-size vessels, the hypothetical reconstruction of hull-forms and exploration of new ways of defining unknown vessel-types.
© 2007 The Author     

Participatory Augering: A Methodology for Challenging Perceptions of Archaeology and Landscape Change

Public engagement is a significant feature of twenty-first-century archaeological practice. While more diverse audiences are connecting with the discipline in a multitude of ways, public perceptions of archaeology are still marred by stereotypes. Community excavations of ‘sites’ to discover ‘treasures’ which tell us about the ‘past’ overshadow other forms of public research output and hinder the potential of the discipline to contribute to contemporary society more widely. This paper proposes participatory augering as an active public engagement method that challenges assumptions about the nature of archaeological practice by focusing on interpretation at a landscape-scale. Through exploration of recent participatory augering research by the REFIT Project and Environmental Archaeologist Mike Allen, this paper demonstrates how the public can contribute to active archaeological research by exploring narratives of landscape change. Evaluation of the existing case studies reflects the potential of the approach to engage audiences with new archaeological methods and narratives which have the potential to transform perceptions of the discipline and, through knowledge exchange, drive community-led contributions to contemporary landscape management.     

Later Historical Archaeology in Iceland: A Review

This paper offers a general review of past and present archaeological work on the later historic period of Iceland, i.e. from the sixteenth century to the present day. Introduced by a brief sketch of the nature of Iceland??s history and archaeology, a chronological approach is taken in presenting previous and current research on sites and material of the later historic period. Starting in the mid-twentieth century, with minor work focused on a single ordinary farmstead, the 1970s and 1980s witnessed a growth of excavations largely on elite residences. Since the 1990s and into the present, such a focus has continued while also seeing a rise in development-led projects. Despite this, lack of publication or even general discussion of the archaeology of this period dominates the field in Iceland, problems which are only now being addressed.     

河南考古六十年 保护科研结硕果

河南省文物考古研究所成立于1952年。60年以来,本所配合国家、省、市建设项目,相继开展了大量文物普查和考古发掘工作,并为解决学术课题进行了一系列主动发掘项目,取得了许多重要考古发现及重大学术突破。在旧石器时代向新石器时代过渡研究、裴李岗文化研究、仰韶文化研究、中国古代文明起源研究、夏商文化研究、古代冶金研究、古代陶瓷研究等诸多重要考古研究课题中取得突出成就,文物保护、科技考古等工作也得到了长足发展。科研合作硕果累累,编著出版大型考古报告专集、图录与论文集、学术专著180余部,在专业刊物上累计发表考古发掘报告、简报、简讯、研究论文和其他文章2500余篇,取得了丰硕的科研成果。     

The Archaeology of Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico

The site of Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico, is well known for its distinctive architecture and sculpture that came to light in excavations initiated some 70 years ago. Less well known is the extensive corpus of archaeological research conducted over the past several decades, revealing a city that at its height covered an area of c. 16 km² and incorporated a remarkably diverse landscape of hills, plains, alluvial valleys, and marsh. Its dense, urban character is evident in excavations at over 22 localities that uncovered complex arrangements of residential compounds whose nondurable architecture left relatively few surface traces. Evidence of craft production includes lithic and ceramic production loci in specific sectors of the ancient city. Tula possessed a large and densely settled hinterland that apparently encompassed the surrounding region, including most of the Basin of Mexico, and its area of direct influence appears to have extended to the north as far as San Luís Potosí. Tula is believed to have originated as the center of a regional state that consolidated various Coyotlatelco polities and probably remnants of a previous Teotihuacan-controlled settlement system. Its pre-Aztec history exhibits notable continuity in settlement, ceramics, and monumental art and architecture. The nature of the subsequent Aztec occupation supports ethnohistorical and other archaeological evidence that Tula’s ruins were what the Aztecs called Tollan.     

改革开放以来江苏考古的新成果与新理念

江苏是新中国成立以来最早开展考古工作的省份之一。改革开放以来,江苏开展了数百项考古发掘工作,取得了一系列重要的考古学成果,重大课题研究也取得突破性进展,并形成了将考古发掘与大遗址保护有机结合的新理念。     

Writing the History of Archaeology in the Pacific: Voices and Perspectives

ABSTRACT

In histories of world archaeology to date the Pacific is all but missing. There has been some investigation into the history of archaeology in Australia and New Zealand, and other piecemeal work focusing on single countries or biographies of individuals, but much remains to be done. We offer a critical overview of general literature on the history of archaeology in the Pacific and stress the potential for a deeper knowledge of archaeology's histories in the region to transform current archaeological theory and practice. We then suggest important avenues for further investigation, including the historiography of Pacific archaeology, diverse national and linguistic traditions, international linkages between scholars and practitioners, pre-World War II excavations, theories about trans-Pacific contacts, and the often-hidden importance of women and Indigenous scholars and interlocutors in the field. Each of these themes is addressed by one or more of the papers in this special issue.     

Global Application of Indigenous Archaeology: Community Based Participatory Research in Turkey

What does Indigenous archaeology offer archaeologists who do not work on Native land, at Indigenous sites, or with Indigenous people? This article demonstrates the broad applicability of Indigenous archaeology and the way it can be utilized by archaeologists working in any locale. Through recent fieldwork in south central Turkey working with a non-indigenous community of local residents near the archaeological site of Çatalhöyük, I demonstrate ways that the theories and methodology of Indigenous archaeology are a useful and relevant part of practice for archaeologists working in areas that are neither on Native land nor involve sites related to indigenous heritage. It also points to the need for further investigation into collaborative methods for the development of a set of best practices within archaeological and heritage management settings.     

Fieldwork Methodology in South American Maritime Archaeology: A Critical Review

In archaeology, data obtained from the analysis of material evidence (i.e., the archaeological record) from extensive excavations have been a significant means for the ultimate development of interpretations about human life in the past. Therefore, the methodological procedures and tools employed during fieldwork are of crucial importance due to their effect on the information likely to be recovered. In the case of maritime archaeology, the development of rigorous methods and techniques allowed for reaching outcomes as solid as those from the work performed on land. These improvements constituted one of the principal supports—if not, the most important pillar—for its acceptance as a scientific field of study. Over time, the growing diversity of sites under study (e.g., shipwrecks, ports, dockyards, and prehistoric settlements) and the underwater environments encountered made it clear that there was a need for the application of specific methodological criteria, in accordance with the particularities of the sites and of each study (e.g., the research aims and the available resources). This article presents some ideas concerning the methodologies used in South American investigations that have exhibited a strong emphasis on the analysis of historical shipwrecks (the sixteenth to twentieth centuries). Based on a state-of-the-knowledge review of these research projects, in particular where excavations were conducted, the article focuses on the details of the main strategies adopted and results achieved. The ideas proposed in this article can be useful as a starting point for future activities of surveying, recording, and excavating shipwrecks.     

东方考古学协会述论

北京大学国学门考古学研究室 ,是中国乃至东亚最早的专门考古学独立机构。 192 6年 ,国学门考古学会与日本东西两京帝大合组的东亚考古学会结成东方考古学协会 ,计划以联合发掘、交流成果、互派留学等方式 ,共同推进东方考古事业。可惜双方对于如何利用这一机缘并发挥各自的作用 ,利益和想法不一致。结果北大在考古发掘方面更形困顿 ,无法在重建古史的活动中占据重要位置 ,不得不将在这一领域的应有地位拱手让人。     

State Archaeology and the Private Museum: An Integrated Approach to Archaeological Site Management for Local People in China

During the emergence of Chinese archaeology, the legislative system of cultural heritage in China included archaeological excavations and investigations as being the ‘exclusive right of state’. This mode of state archaeology has proved its worth by increasing the authority and quality of archaeological research and excavations, as well as enhancing the social values and benefits at the state level. The local communities, however, have hardly been embedded into the archaeological projects, nor have the archaeological projects been employed to improve local and regional economic development. This paper considers private museums as embodying regional values and beneficial to projects under the mode of state archaeology. With a case study outlining collaborations between archaeologists and local agents under the excavation and conservation of ancient kiln sites at the town of Zichuan, I argue that private museums could be relatively prominent platforms for public engagement in activities of state archaeology. It might contribute to a reconsideration of the following: indirect archaeological concerns, local economic benefits, identities and alternative interpretations of locality.     

意识形态考古理论与实践初探

意识形态考古主要利用考古资料,研究古代社会的政治、法律、道德等观念。史前时期多数考古学文化没有正式法律,道德观念又从属于政治理念,意识形态考古的核心即为政治意识考古研究。实践中,可以通过宇宙观考古和原始宗教考古分析所得到的一些重要现象和线索,来透视社会政治意识的形态。     

Maroon Archaeology Is Public Archaeology

Researchers of the contemporary past have sought to be instrumental in public dialogue about how artifacts speak to heritage matters relevant to living communities and decision-making polities (Emberling and Hanson, Catastophe!: the looting and destruction of Iraq’s past, 2008; Gibbon, Who owns the past?: cultural policy, cultural property, and the law, 2005; Mullins, Places in mind: public archaeology as applied anthropology, 2004; Renfrew, Loot, legitimacy and ownership: the ethical crisis in archaeology, 2000; Skeates, Debating the archaeological heritage, 2000). This approach has made archaeology a public endeavor that serves the needs of inquisitive researchers, as well as those groups of individuals whose lives may be directly affected by the excavation, analysis, and interpretation of archaeological remains. This paper will broadly assess how the archaeology of Maroons—tribal communities of runaway slave descendants—has affected the application of scholarly research in the former Dutch territory of Suriname, SA. The shift in relevance is due to the Inter-American Court on Human Rights 2007 judgment that allows Suriname Maroons to assert decision-making authority on matters of land management and development in ancestral and contemporary habitat. Vital to this endeavor is, Maroon involvement in archaeological research and more importantly, an overhaul in Surinamese antiquity laws.     

A Fluid Sea in the Mariana Islands: Community Archaeology and Mapping the Seascape of Saipan

This paper applies both a community archaeology and seascape approach to the investigation of the sea and its importance to the Indigenous community on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands in western Oceania. It examines data collected during a community project including archaeological sites, oral histories, lived experiences and contemporary understandings of both tangible and intangible maritime heritage to explore Indigenous connections with the sea and better define the seascape. What the seascape of Saipan conveys in the larger sense is the true fluidity of the sea. In this instance fluidity has more than one connotation; it refers to the sea as both a substance and an idea that permeates and flows into all aspects of Indigenous life. Chamorro and Carolinian people of Saipan identify themselves as having an ancestral connection with the sea that they continue to maintain to this day as they engage in daily activities within their seascape.     

Twenty-First-Century Historical Archaeology

The practice of historical archaeology has exploded over the past two decades, and especially since 2000. Methodological advances and new theoretical insights mean that archaeological research requires periodic evaluation, and this overview builds on the work of three earlier assessors of the discipline. Here, I concentrate on four areas of research currently being pursued by historical archaeologists: analytical scale, capitalism, social inequality, and heritage and memory. I conclude that historical archaeologists have made major strides in understanding the modern world and that future research promises to offer diverse perspectives that will deepen our appreciation for how the past influences the present.     

Colonial Representations and Carthaginian Archaeology

In spite of the interest generated by Phoenician‐Punic Archaeology, this area of study has always been underestimated by comparison with Classical Archaeology. One of the main reasons for this is the persistence of a colonial representation of the ancient Mediterranean which assumes Greek culture to be the supreme expression of civilization. Other groups may imitate it through an acculturation process: Hellenization. As we shall see, this representation pervades even the Phoenician‐Punic history and archaeology university textbooks. Starting with the various reasons leading to this situation, I aim to focus on the interpretation given to the ancient excavations at Carthage and, specifically, to its architectural and urban record, since this was the area of study where the prejudices about the Phoenician‐Punic culture found an (albeit misunderstood) archaeological proof. I shall argue that the misinterpretation of these excavations is the key to understanding later developments and the general underestimation of Phoenician‐Punic Archaeology.     

An Overview of Historical Archaeology in Queensland, Australia

The ability of historical archaeology to make a significant contribution to our understanding of Queensland’s recent past is hindered by factors including few practitioners, limited publications about historical archaeological research and a need to establish its relevance beyond the archaeological community. There exists great opportunities in Queensland for researchers to explore a diverse range of research topics of which only some are beginning to be investigated through historical archaeological enquiry. This paper investigates the current state of the discipline in Queensland, the challenges practitioners face today and into the future, and the avenues down which historical archaeologists may make significant contributions to our understanding of Queensland’s recent past.     

Heritage spectacles: the case of Amphipolis excavations during the Greek economic crisis

This article explores the ways in which the archaeological excavations at Amphipolis, Northern Greece, were transformed into a ‘heritage spectacle’ during the summer of 2014. The article argues that the spectacularisation of Amphipolis excavations constituted a powerful, political medium for dis-orientating the wider Greek public from issues related to the severe economic crisis of the country. Although the practice of heritage spectacularisation is not new, the media spectacle of Amphipolis introduced an advanced mechanism for spectacularizing archaeological research and the past. The article deconstructs this mechanism through a thematic content analysis of about 100 newspaper articles published in the Greek press, filtered through the lenses of spectacle theory. As it is demonstrated, the spectacularisation process of Amphipolis excavations is embodied by emotive dramatisation, banal cultural symbols, escapism and power imbalances. The article concludes with an interpretive framework for heritage spectacles while highlighting ethical and practical implications regarding the role of archaeologists and heritage practitioners towards political ‘abuse’ of heritage in times of socio-economic and political crises.     

Archaeology as a Source of National Pride in the Early Years of the Turkish Republic

Abstract

This paper investigates the change of discourse related to the inculcation of national pride through archaeology in the first 15 years of the Turkish Republic. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, archaeological knowledge was used by Turkish scholars in the propagation of national identity and pride by illustrating that Turks were an ancient people with a long and remarkable past. After the commencement of the first Turkish excavations in 1934, archaeology assumed a different role. More than the data produced, the practice of archaeology itself became a source of national pride because it was an important indicator that Turkey was a modern country that could contribute to international scholarship. This change of discourse can be followed in archaeological field reports and in the papers presented at the first two meetings of the Turkish Historical Society in 1932 and 1937.