Engendering Debate: Animals and Identity in Anglo-Saxon England

Abstract

WITH THE GROWING popularity of theoretical approaches within medieval archaeology, identity has become a central area of research. Although such studies frequently expound upon the role of the material world in negotiations between individuals and society, there is a tendency to overlook what were fundamen- tal agents within this process: animals. This is especially true of Anglo-Saxon England, where farming determined the daily experiences of most people and the exchange of animals was fundamental to the struc- turing of social relations. Adopting an integrated approach, this paper explores the ways in which differing interactions with animals, in their assorted forms, affected human identities. Particular emphasis is placed on gender perceptions, but the mutual linkages between varying forms of identity necessitate the contextu- alisation of gender against other aspects of social personas. In doing so, the need to adopt a holistic approach to the study of interactions amongst people, and between people and their surroundings, is highlighted.     

太湖流域史前社会的礼器与礼制

史前太湖流域,礼器出现在社会初步分化的崧泽文化时期;良渚文化时期已经是一个分层的复杂社会,社会成员分化成为不同的等级、阶层,与此相适应,太湖流域史前社会出现了陶质、石质和玉质三种不同质地的礼器,并有着比较严格的使用制度,太湖流域史前社会的礼仪制度初步形成。     

The transformation of kinship and the family in late Anglo-Saxon England

The development of the family into a small unit in which descent was traced almost exclusively through the male line is regarded as a major turning point in medieval European history. The early stages of the formation of agnatic kinship have usually been connected to strategies designed to preserve and retain control of patrimonies and castles, arising from the breakdown of public order. In this article it is suggested that the emergence of new kinship values was connected to the investment of aristocratic energy and resources in monastic programmes, and to subtle changes in lay involvement with the rituals associated with death and the salvation of souls.     

Late Prehistoric Mortuary Features in the Greater Illinois Area: A Discussion of Form,Function, and Ritual Use

Numerous Late Prehistoric nonburial mortuary features have been identified in the greater Illinois region. Often, and sometimes uncritically, these features have been referred to as “charnel houses” in the literature. To date, there has been no attempt to tie all of the information on these features together. This study critically examines the features’ attributes and provides possible explanations of how they were used in the context of mortuary ritual. Two major types of features have been identified. The first is an above-ground feature consisting of a scaffold or small structure supported by posts. The entire feature is surrounded by a lightly built wall or fence. The close association of secondary human remains with these features suggests that they were used to expose, store, or display them. The second type is an enclosed area or a lightly built structure constructed directly on the ground. Examples from the American Bottom differ from those noted elsewhere. In some instances, the two feature types were paired at a single site, suggesting that they had complementary functions. The presence of multiple examples of nearly identical features at some sites also suggests that the remains may have been segregated according to kin-group affiliation.     

The Litaniae maiores and minores in Rome, Francia and Anglo-Saxon England: terminology, texts and traditions

It has been noted that there are Frankish and Anglo-Saxon texts in which the three days before Ascension are designated as the Major Litanies, a practice generally regarded as an inexplicable deviation from the established norm of designating 25 April as the Major Litany and the three days before Ascension as the Minor Litany. This article shows, however, that this contrastive terminology was not in use in the Anglo-Saxon and Frankish churches and that the pre-Ascension litany days – more firmly established than the Roman tradition of 25 April – were commonly designated as the Litaniae maiores in authoritative contexts.