Assessing the later prehistoric environmental archaeology and landscape development of the Cetina Valley,Croatia

Abstract

This paper describes preliminary work on the environmental and archaeological potential of the Cetina River Valley, Croatia. Two seasons of fieldwork and assessment have suggested that the valley contains a preserved landscape, much of which is waterlogged. It is clear that there is the potential to address many local and regional questions concerning land use, subsistence and environmental change in an area where previously only limited environmental archaeology has been undertaken. One pressing issue is how to prospect for both cultural and environmental archaeological deposits within this regional landscape. This is especially true in cases where little 'base-line data' exists. This paper outlines the current practice and suggests a number of new approaches to prospecting for environmental 'hotspots'.     

UV-fluorescence microscopy and the coherence of pollen assemblages in environmental archaeology and Quaternary geology

UV-fluorescence microscopy provides a powerful tool for the assessment of the coherence of pollen and organic-walled microfossil assemblages in situations where recycling or the intrusion of younger pollen is suspected. It also provides sensitive information about the thermal maturity of pollen, important for assessing whether material has been heated. Examples are given from the Palaeolithic sites at Barnham, Suffolk, UK; Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire, UK; High Lodge, Suffolk, UK; Niah Cave, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo; and Holocene sites at Wadi Dana, Jordan; Milldale and Creswell, Derbyshire, UK; and Dooncarton Mountain, County Mayo, Republic of Ireland.     

Philosophy of archaeology: Current issues

Recent literature reflects continuing concern with problems such as explanation, skepticism, and objective knowledge. Some authors urge archaeologists to abandon positivism in favor of new philosophical approaches, such as feminism, Marxism, hermeneutics, and critical theory. Ethical issues have received increased attention as archaeologists have become involved in determining public policy with regard to disposition of artifacts and uncovering of human burials.     

African archaeology: looking forward

The future of African archaeology has recently been a major focus of attention by African archaeologists. This article looks at anticipated major advances, and at the expectations and desires of young African archaeologists in the advancement of the discipline. The major constraints to research are identified and solutions to these problems are suggested.

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Résumé Le futur de l'archéologie africaine est devenu récemment un sujet de préoccupation majeur pour les archéologues africains. Cet article passe en revue les progrès principaux que l'on peut en attendre ainsi que les espoirs et les souhaits des jeunes archéologues africains en ce qui concerne le développement de la discipline. Les principales contraintes affectant la recherche sont identifiées et des solutions sont proposées à ces problèmes.

     

On the edge: A tale of skaters and urban governance

The 'problem' of skating has been conflated with a 'problem' with young people in public spaces, reflecting a rise in fear of crime from the mid-twentieth century and referencing more general questions about public space and citizenship. My task in this paper is to highlight some of the tensions between skating and urban governance in Franklin Square, Hobart, the capital city of Tasmania in Australia. This task is indebted to ideas about governance and citizenship advanced by Nikolas Rose; about the proper city as conceived by Michel de Certeau; and about fortress strategies and species of spaces promulgated by Stephen Flusty. Franklin Square functions in two ways in this work. First, its examination encourages consideration of local cases. Second, it can be deployed as a heuristic device through which to explore the edges of public space and citizenship. The essay is intended to make two contributions to social and cultural geography, one enlarging on some well-rehearsed debates about situated and contested socio-spatial relations in what I hope are innovative ways, the other unsettling particular strategies that place skaters 'on the edge' and yet draw them into particular domains of citizenship via specific practices of urban governance.     

Crossing disciplinary boundaries: On Gutorm Gjessing's archaeology and his conversion to ethnography

Gutorm Gjessing was one of the most influential investigators in Norwegian archaeology. He is particularly known for his monumental works on the Arctic Stone Age, which proposed an alternative to south‐north diffusionism. In 1947 Gjessing suddenly left archaeology in favour of ethnography at the Oslo Ethnographic Museum, which also led his carrier in a downhill direction. This article is partly biographical and partly analytical and claims that Gjessing's archaelogical works and theories in the 1930s ‐ 40s were only marginally non‐conformist, since they largely reflected current viewpoints in European culture‐historical archaeology. Gjessing's view of culture is located in culture‐historical archaeology and American cultural anthropology and it is compared with the anthropology of the “British School”. Also analyzed is how Gjessing in some respects placed himself on the fringe of the establishment. It is not pretended to give any definite answers, rather it is focused upon questions which can be raised and provides a more nuanced picture of” the mythology which has surrounded Gutorm Gjessing, both as archaeologist and anthropologist.     

Hermoupolis: the archaeology of a Mediterranean industrial city

Abstract

Hermoupolis, on the island of Syros, developed in the nineteenth century as the first industrial city in Greece. Its historical monuments are of more than national importance, providing evidence which does not survive elsewhere of particular processes, and forming a landscape which illuminates the whole history of industrialisation.     

Mozambican archaeology: past and present

After a brief survey of the development of archaeology in Mozambique, the results of the archaeological survey programme of 1976–1983 are summarized by region. Work currently in progress is evaluated in the light of archaeological and national priorities and the paper concludes with a discussion of the theoretical approach best suited to Mozambican conditions.

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Résumé Suivant une brève étude de l'avancement de l'archéologie dans le Mozambique, les résultats du programme de reconnaissances archéologiques de 1976–1983 sont résumés par région. Les travaux actuellement en cours sont evalués à la lumière des priorités nationales et archéologiques et l'article se conclut avec une discussion sur la meilleure approche théorique convenant aux conditions actuelles.

     

The archaeology of scattered wreck-sites: formation processes and shallow water archaeology in western Lake Huron

This paper explores the application of archaeological site formation theory to stranded wooden vessels and the scattered wreck-sites they produce. Shallow water wrecks and wreckage sites in the Au Sable Shores region of western Lake Huron are used to develop a preliminary classification of the processes operating on the breakup and deposition of wooden vessels.     

Touchstones of archaeology

European archaeological collections record hundreds of thousands of stone artefacts from the Early Middle Ages described as whetstones. However, traces of non-ferrous metals, including precious metals preserved on a number of such artefacts. Many of the finds served in fact as touchstones – tools to test the quality of a particular metal. These artefacts are concentrated mainly in Vendel and Viking Age and Slavic coastal settlements and trade centres in the Baltic Sea basin, the coast and islands of Northwestern Europe, at Central and Eastern European fortresses and suburbia. Many finds also come from rural settings. In early medieval graves the touchstones join balance scales and weights as a sign of the buried individual’s access to precious metals. Especially the rural finds with traces of precious metal provide a strong reason for a revision of present views on the social stratification of the early medieval society in Europe. Chemical microanalysis allows identifying the composition of the alloys. Besides new perspectives on the fields of the social history and the circulation of precious metals, the method also provides new information for the field of archaeometallurgy.     

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.