Technological Continuity,Technological 'Survival': the Use of Horizontal Mills in Western Ireland,c. 1632–1940

Abstract

This article discusses the continued use of the early medieval horizontal waterwheel form, well into the post-medieval period in the Atlantic Provinces of the British Isles. It argues that archaeological and documentary evidence demonstrates that the horizontal mills of western Ireland represent the continued use of this technology from the early medieval period in to modern times. Similarly, it argues that the traditional horizontal mills of Scotland and its western islands can, on linguistic grounds, be linked into the same enduring tradition. The continued use of this technology in these societies appears to be as much a product of social context and choice, as it was a technological 'survival' in a 'marginalised' area.     

Re-visiting the field: Collaborative archaeology as paradigm shift

Abstract

The emphasis of the JFA on field methods resonates strongly with current disciplinary interest in multivocality and participatory research. In this new epistemology of inclusiveness, communities play an active role in the production of archaeological knowledge as well as in the conservation of cultural heritage. From the perspective of archaeologists trained in the U.S. who conduct research in Latin America, we historicize changes in the triadic relationship among archaeologists, contemporary communities, and things of the past. This examination focuses on the evolving social context of archaeological practice. The social milieu within which archaeology is conducted is explored further by reference to a recent survey of archaeologists that elicited comments on grand challenges to archaeology. A few examples of the many forms that an engaged archaeology might take are offered from the Maya region. Although collaborative research poses challenges that emerge as communities entangled with archaeological practice become research partners, we suggest that the enhanced relevance that accompanies this transformation is well worth the effort.     

Nature Conservation and Post-Industrial Landscapes

Abstract

Abandoned pits, quarries and industrial sites can provide new geological exposures as well as new sites for plants and animals to colonise. The range of environmental conditions associated with these sites can lead to the establishment of a range of habitats containing uncommon species and unusual biological communities. Disused railways, tramways and canals provide 'green corridors' whose ecological functions need further research but whose nature conservation, historical and social values are evident. The value of post-industrial landscapes to local communities lies both in their present form and in their links with the past. A key part of the redevelopment or reclamation of post-industrial sites should involve the retention of notable archaeological, geological and ecological features combined with habitat creation involving natural re-vegetation, colonisation and succession rather than quick greening or simple landscaping. The landscapes produced by the industrial age need to be conserved just as much as the landscapes derived from the agricultural age.     

‘On the Road to Mandalay’: The Development of Railways in British Burma, 1870–1900

ABSTRACT

This article examines the history of railway development in British Burma between 1870 until 1900. In particular, it focuses on how railways and public works projects became a key site of contestation about Burma’s prospects, value, and future during the late nineteenth century, as well as how a litany of agents – both official and non-official – influenced the path of railway development in the colony. This article not only reveals the difficulties and disputes that impacted railway construction in Burma, but also how these debates led to the eventual privatisation of Burma’s railway system in the 1890s. In doing so, this article demonstrates how myriad agents with often competing aims affected the colony’s social and economic development, as well as how the results of these debates and the subsequent construction of railways produced a new geography of occupation in British Burma.     

The Role of Functional Efficiency in the Decline of North America’s Copper Culture (8000–3000 BP): an Experimental,Ecological, and Evolutionary Approach

The copper-using cultures of North America’s Archaic Period (10,000–3000 BP) have long been an archaeological enigma. For millennia, Middle and Late Archaic hunter-gatherers (8000–3000 BP) around the Upper Great Lakes region made utilitarian implements out of copper, only for these items to decline in prominence and frequency as populations grew and social complexity increased during the Archaic to Woodland Transition. From a cultural evolutionary perspective, the trajectory of North America’s copper usage presents a conundrum, as it is generally assumed that “superior” tools, i.e., metals, will replace inferior ones, i.e., stone. For well over a century, scholars have pondered the reason for the demise of copper technology that was once a wide-spread phenomenon. To address this question, an extensive archaeological experimental program was conducted which compared replica copper tools (spear points, knife blades, and awls) to analogous ones made of stone or bone to assess whether relative functional efficiency contributed to the decline of utilitarian copper implements. Here, the results of this three-part research program are presented in concert with population dynamics and ecological change to paint a broader picture of the complex interrelationships between the social, ecological, and technological spheres of past human behaviors. The synthesis of these approaches reveals that functional explanations—derived from experimental archaeology placed in an evolutionary framework—can shed much light on the trajectory of metal use in the North American Great Lakes.

     

From the Past to the Future: Integrating Archaeology and Conflict Resolution in Northern Ireland

Abstract

Contested understandings about the past continue to reify the divided character of post-Troubles Northern Ireland. In particular, the unresolved legacies of the extension of English control over Ireland in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries through warfare and plantation continue to structure daily lives in the province. Yet the archaeological record of this period complicates the accepted dichotomous narratives through highlighting complexity. These nuances, however, have been lost in recent decades as an overly simplistic model of colonizer versus colonized has emerged as the dominant political paradigm. The management and presentation of sites associated with the process of plantation can arguably create the space necessary to bridge the divide, and to challenge accepted understandings. Cross-community engagement in the process of archaeological discovery and interpretation on plantation-period sites in Northern Ireland highlights the critical role archaeology can play in peace and reconciliation in post-conflict societies.     

Excavations at the Saxon Monastic Sites of Wearmouth and Jarrow,co. Durham: an Interim Report

THE IMPORTANCE of the archaeological evidence for the horizontal-wheeled mill in Ireland has tended to obscure and inhibit research into the introduction of its counterpart, the vertical- wheeled mill. The latter is normally associated with the coming of the Cistercians and the Anglo-Normans to Ireland, although no-one has ever attempted to explain why this was so. The validity of these claims is re-examined below in the light of recent archaeological evidence from Ireland, where it can now be demonstrated that both horizontal- and vertical-wheeled mills were in use as early as the 7th century A.D.¹     

Commitment,Objectivity and Accountability to Communities: Priorities for 21st-Century Archaeology

Abstract

It is no longer possible to ignore the unprecedented levels of destruction resulting from development projects imposed by multinational corporations and governments. In this context, it is important to address the role archaeology and related professions, such as heritage management, play from the perspective both of the threat to physical heritage and our relationship with affected communities. This paper explores ways in which professionals can learn to work in a mutually accountable way with communities opposing destructive development, and together seek alternatives to development which threatens lives, livelihoods, culture, and environment. Case studies from the Boyne Valley and Tara in Ireland, Il?su dam in Turkey and the Oaxaca valley in Mexico, illustrate some of the issues. The implications of the growing privatization of professions, particularly for communities in the Third World whose poverty undermines their power to refuse even the most globally devastating developments, making it imperative that professionals look again at what we aim to accomplish and how much we are actually accomplishing it. As professionals we cannot afford to be ignorant of what communities want, need and are entitled to in order to develop and flourish. Archaeology and people's cultural roots are not separable from these questions.     

Some Issues on the Management of Archaeological Sites in Mainland China

Abstract

The conservation of archaeological sites in mainland China has not attracted much academic and public attention until recently. However, after the 1990s, both the Chinese government and academia have been increasingly concerned with the management of archaeological sites, as illustrated by the introduction of national guidelines (China Principles) and the establishment of research centres in universities and research institutes. Economic development and related social needs are major driving forces behind this phenomenon, while the impact of globalization on academic development in China cannot be denied. However, the natural and social environments in mainland China, as well as the characteristics of archaeological sites, differ from other countries, and whether international principles regarding conservation and management of archaeological sites are applicable to China needs to be considered. While it is a challenging task for mainland Chinese scholars to find suitable strategies to conserve and manage hundreds of thousands of archaeological sites, the problems and experiences in the process of applying international principles to China may provide valuable lessons, not only for Chinese scholars but also for scholars in other areas.     

Complexity and participation: the path of strategic invention

Abstract

The epistemological basis of the participatory action-research (PAR) methodology in the so-called 'paradigm of complexity' is plagued with misconceptions, imprecision and significant omissions. The appropriate and contextualised translation of concepts from the natural sciences for use in the social sciences is particularly necessary in qualitative-structural and participatory-dialectic methodological trends. This paper focuses on the concepts of 'entropy', 'complexity' and 'strategic action'. Based on a general notion of complexity relating to the consideration of uncertainty, innovation and the contextualisation of systems, performance-related aspects indicative of actions implied by this paradigm may be highlighted. Thus, it is argued that the conceptualisation of operations such as 'acting in order to know' and 'act knowing/know by acting', encompassed in the notion of 'strategic invention', complement and exceed the scope of typical planning operations and even self-planning ('knowing in order to act'). In short, these definitions are coherent with an ecosystemic perspective of social and natural reality, in which it is necessary to contextualise what is more or less complex in the world, in our knowledge of the world and in our practical actions when acting in the world. Consequently, participatory action-research methodologies should adopt this complex ecosystemic epistemological perspective, and be designed through a 'strategic invention' approach, in order to clarify the concepts imported from other scientific disciplines.     

A Predictive Map of Compression- Sensitivity of the Dutch Archaeological Soil Archive

Abstract

Weak soils like unconsolidated clay and peat may deform and compress considerably by loading, for example, by sand bodies for roads and railways. Archaeological sites within such easily compressible soil layers may therefore be heavily affected by different kinds of construction works. The vulnerability of archaeological sites to compression is largely dependent on soil properties like lithology, grain-size, and previous loading history. This may therefore differ considerably. Predicting the compression sensitivity is of great value for planners, since they can estimate in which areas in situ protection of archaeological sites may be feasible and where it would require (costly) technical measures or plan adaptations.

As part of the Cultural Heritage Agency’s research programme on construction and archaeology, we prepared predictive maps of the compression sensitivity of the subsurface sediments in the Netherlands for 1 m depth intervals from 0 to 20 m depth.

The maps were constructed using a full 3-D model of the subsurface of the Netherlands.

In combination with the Indicative Map of Archaeological Values (IKAW) that is already available, these maps can be used to better estimate the technical measures needed and costs involved for in situ protection of archaeological sites in the planning phase of construction projects.     

The Morphology of a Working Place Linked to the World: The Railway Workshops of Jundiaí (Brazil, 1892–1998)

ABSTRACT

Material sources have done little to contribute to research on Brazilian railway history (except for heritage studies and history of architecture). This interdisciplinary case study focuses on archaeological evidence to reflect on topics not often discussed in Brazil: the physical and functional configuration of the workplaces related to railways; the changing of these spaces through time due to the evolution of technology; and their characterisation as highly globalised sites. In doing so, we take the railway workshops of Jundiaí (São Paulo) as a study sample and analyse it under the light of the expansion of industrialisation from the World's great powers to its outlying economies.     

Managing for Effective Archaeological Conservation: The Example of Salisbury Plain Military Training Area,England

Abstract

Salisbury Plain Military Training Area, Wiltshire, England is the major zone of southern Engizsh chalk downland where archaeological field monuments are comparatively well preserved over large areas. The land is currently managed with regard to military considerations, to its secondary use for forming, and to conservation concerns. Following expressions of concern about archaeological damage, a working party was set up to evaluate the present state of archaeological survival and to recommend for the future. A survey of all sites evaluated their condition by means of a scoring system. Recommendations were made about military use, agriculture, and controlling natural agencies of destruction; and a solution was offered that incorporated eight elements of strategy. The Salisbury Plain study is considered in its context—the English national policy that there should be an archaeological stock-taking of what we have, and a scoring system to make possible some rational choice in selecting from it what is most precious and what is in most need of protection.     

Evaluating Community Archaeology in the UK

Abstract

Does community archaeology work? In the UK over the last decade, there has been a boom in projects utilising the popular phrase 'community archaeology'. These projects can take many different forms and have ranged from the public face of research and developer-funded programmes to projects run by museums, archaeological units, universities, and archaeological societies. Community archaeology also encapsulates those projects run by communities themselves or in dialogue between 'professional' and 'amateur' groups and individuals. Many of these projects are driven by a desire for archaeology to meet a range of perceived educational and social values in bringing about knowledge and awareness of the past in the present. These are often claimed as successful outputs of community projects. This paper argues that appropriate criteria and methodologies for evaluating the efficacy of these projects have yet to be designed. What is community archaeology for? Who is it for? And is it effectively meeting its targets? Focusing on the authors' experiences of directing community archaeology projects, together with the ongoing research assessing the efficacy of community archaeology projects in the UK, this paper aims to set out two possible methodologies: one of self-reflexivity, and one of ethnoarchaeological analysis for evaluating what community archaeology actually does for communities themselves.     

Railways and manufacturing productivity in Italy after unification

This paper contributes to the debate on the effects of transport infrastructure endowment on productivity by adding a historical perspective. This allows us to address the issue in a proving ground where the effects of the existing stock of infrastructure are negligible. At the time of unification, the Kingdom of Italy initiated a large infrastructure project to build railways. We find that railways had a positive effect on manufacturing productivity over the period 1871–1911. Railways also had strong spillover effects in neighboring provinces so that provinces that started with a higher endowment of railways benefited more than those who were newly endowed.     

Making hay while the sun shines? Socio-economic change,cereal production and climatic deterioration in Early Medieval Ireland

The Early Medieval period in Ireland (c. A.D. 400–1150) has been the subject of much archaeological and historical study. The recent application of various forms of archaeological sciences, as well as palaeoenvironmental studies, to the archaeological record have, however, added fresh impetus to this study area. It seems increasingly evident that significant changes to economy and society occurred during this period and were not recorded in detail in the contemporary documentary sources. This paper will attempt to outline those changes and to assess whether, or to what extent, they were influenced by climate change.     

Aiming for a Just Society

Abstract

I think it is time that theologians, as well as the Church at large, speak up and speak to the social injustice we are faced with because of the economical collapse in Iceland in autumn 2008. If we think theology (i.e. the discourse about God) does not happen in a vacuum, if we think it is affected by, and is also affecting its context, then theology must have a part to play in the political discourse. If we think everything related to our human condition is affecting our understanding and our talk about God, then all theology has to be political in the most inclusive sense of the word. In this article the intention is to test major theological terms against the situation we are faced with in our society, which is recovering from an economic collapse. Thus the question: to what extent are key theological terms useful when we need to address the outgrowth of social injustice and self-inflicted economical catastrophe?     

Multiple identities in the Beaker period: interpreting inhumations out of the Beaker spotlight in southern England

ABSTRACT

The Beaker period in southern England is associated with the appearance of a highly visible set of material culture in the archaeological record, primarily associated with inhumation burials. This Beaker material culture has a long history of archaeological research and has resulted in this period being named after a style of pottery, the Beaker. However, the funerary record for this period is one that exhibits substantial variability. This paper considers how the archaeological narrative of the Beaker period has been constructed and presents a set of examples that exclude Beaker pottery and Beaker artefacts from the grave assemblage, located in southern England. Herein, it is questioned what these burials represent and whether they can be considered Beaker burials or represent other identities co-existing with Beaker using societies. Whilst the Beaker period does not represent an unchanging, fixed set of traditions over time or space, the examples employed demonstrate non-Beaker related burials to have been present from early in the Beaker period. We aim to highlight this important aspect of the archaeological record as requiring more research and synthesis, and promote discussion of non-Beaker identities during this dynamic period of prehistory.     

Planning Cultures and Histories: Influences on the Evolution of Planning Systems and Spatial Development Patterns

Abstract

This special issue addresses the influences of planning cultures and histories on the evolution of planning systems and spatial development. As well as providing an international comparative perspective on these issues, the collection of articles also engages in a search for new conceptual frameworks and alternative points of view to better understand and explain these differences. The articles focus on three main aspects: the change in planning systems and its impact on spatial development patterns; the interrelationship between planning cultures and histories from a path-dependency perspective; and the variations in physical development patterns resulting from different planning cultures and histories. Papers from different parts of the European continent present evidence at different scales to illustrate these aspects. In all cases, the specific combinations of political, ideological, social, economic and technological factors are important in determining urban and regional planning trajectories as well as spatial development patterns.