Problems in Data Recovery and Measurement in Settlement Archaeology

Abstract

The importance of demographic information for our understanding of the evolution of society has established the need for intensive settlement reconnaissance at the regional level. In many instances, however, the validity of techniques currently being used to generate population estimates has not been established through rigorous archaeological testing. This study presents empirical evidence for the effect of different types of surface disturbance on the recoverability of cultural debris.     

The impact of human activities on the natural environment of the Canary Islands (Spain) during the pre-Hispanic stage (3rd–2nd Century BC to 15th Century AD): an overview

Abstract

This paper presents a brief review of archaeological evidence for the impact of the pre-Hispanic population on the environment of the Canary Islands. Prior to human colonisation, the archipelago was an untouched environment with high botanical and faunal biodiversity. The first human settlement can be traced to the early 1st millennium BC; this period of settlement finished at the end of the 15th century AD when the Spanish Crown conquered the archipelago. It has often been assumed that the pre-Hispanic population had little significant impact on the islands' ecosystems. However, abundant evidence for faunal extinctions, deforestation and soil erosion has been recovered from archaeological sites across the islands. This indicates that pre-Hispanic colonisers introduced cultivated plants, opened up the forests to create fields and cut woody vegetation for fuel. They also introduced domestic animals and alien predators resulting in a major depletion of native fauna.     

‘From Nitria to Sitria’: the construction of Peter Damian's Vita Beati Romualdi

This article examines the construction of Peter Damian's (c.1007–72) Vita Beati Romualdi (c.1042) as a piece of eleventh-century hagiography. Peter Damian was an erudite hermit, monk and reformer whose ideas on spiritual perfection helped to shape the ideals of the so-called ‘Gregorian Reform’ movement in the eleventh century. This article aims to contribute to recent historiography on the eleventh century through a re-examination of this important piece of hagiography, which has not been more thoroughly considered by medievalists since 1957 in Tabacco's critical edition. This article suggests that, through the biography of St Romuald, Peter Damian sought to promote the example of the Desert Fathers in formulating a more rigorous monastic rule, not only for his hermits at Fonte Avellana, but also for a wide monastic and lay audience. It also argues that there existed a gradual evolution in monastic ideology from the tenth century onwards, sponsored by ascetics like Damian who strove constantly to lead a more austere existence based on the Desert tradition and more particularly the Life of St Antony. In particular, the article pays attention to how Damian, as a hagiographer, was engaged in the construction of Romuald's sanctity.     

Notices of Books

Abstract

The three greatest German buildings of the first half of the eleventh century were of an ambition not to be found elsewhere in contemporary Europe and were modelled directly on Roman Imperial prototypes. They demonstrate a new grandeur of spirit that is typical of German architecture of the time, but in their precise forms, remarkably enough, they remained unique in that country. Archbishop Heribert's huge rotunda at Deutz was partly inspired by the Pantheon, and since Heribert had been Otto III's chief politician and Italian Chancellor for the previous six years the building was an important monument of Otto III's political policy of ‘Renovatio Imperii Romanorum’. The re-creation of Roman Imperial grandeur that these and other German buildings represent is essentially Romanesque and to call them anything else is not to do them justice. The idea of an Ottonian style of architecture has not been helpful.     

Ancients and moderns in medieval music theory: from Guido of Arezzo to Jacobus

ABSTRACT

Medieval discourse about both the theory and practice of music featured much debate about the views of moderni and antiqui from when Guido of Arezzo devised a new way of recording pitch in the early eleventh century to the complaints of Jacobus in the early fourteenth century about new forms of measured music in the ars nova. There was also a shift from a Boethian notion that practical music was a manifestation of cosmic music, towards a more Aristotelian model, that privileged music as sensory experience. That this could have a profound effect on human emotion was articulated by Johannes de Grocheio writing about music c. 1270 and Guy of Saint-Denis soon after 1300 about plainchant. Jacobus, writing in the 1320s, was troubled by this shift in thinking about music not as reflections of transcendent realities, but as sounds of human invention that served to move the soul. He argued that musical patterns should reflect a transcendent harmony that was both cosmic and celestial.     

The Changing Exploitation of Oysters (Ostrea edulis L. 1758) in Late Medieval and Early Modern England: A Case Study from Dudley Castle,West Midlands

ABSTRACT

Analysis of over 4000 complete left oyster valves from late medieval and post-medieval Dudley Castle reveals the changing role of this perishable luxury over a 700-year period. Throughout the occupation, it seems that oysters were used as ingredients rather than served raw in the shell. A greater reliance on oyster consumption is apparent in the later fourteenth century, perhaps reflecting a more diverse diet amongst the aristocracy in the wake of the Black Death. An increased preference for mussels and whelks is also attested in the Tudor and early modern periods, reflecting changing perceptions of these foods.

Overall, it is likely that natural beds were exploited throughout the time that oysters were being brought to Dudley Castle; however, the evidence demonstrates a shift from limited exploitation of natural inter-tidal sources in the eleventh century towards the dredging of sub-littoral beds in later periods, with some possible translocation of oyster stock. Changes in the shape, size and appearance of the oyster shells suggest the source locales from which the oysters derived changed through time. A notable shift occurred in the fourteenth century, which could reflect changes in supply brought about by altered tenancy at Dudley Castle and/or disruptions to trade brought about by the Black Death. Future biochemical analyses are recommended to provide greater clarity on the origin of those sources.     

Six decades of ethnic minority population change in China

ABSTRACT

China’s 55 non-Han ethnic minority groups were at least in part politically and institutionally ‘invented’ by China’s ethnic classification project, and also through the effects of the system of continuous population census. This paper investigates population change of the non-Han ethnic minorities (NHEMs) over the past six decades. The number of NHEMs as a whole tripled from 1953 to 2010. However, growth has differed among individual groups and in different time periods. The population of some groups has fluctuated while that of others has grown steadily, regardless of the size of the groups. As a whole, since 2000 the growth rate of NHEMs has been lower than that of the Han Chinese, and the population of 13 NHEM groups has begun to decline. A growing number of people belonging to ethnic minorities have switched their ethnic identities to Han. This has especially been the case for NHEM youth. The change in ethnic minority populations has been influenced by dynamic interactions among demographic factors, ethnic identification as well as political, economic and policy changes.     

Performing gender in lay saints' Lives

Abstract

Taking as its point of departure Judith Butler's theory of gender performativity, this article shows how femininity and masculinity are performed in three lay saints' Lives from the middle Byzantine period: the Life of Philaretos the Merciful (820), the Life of Thomaïs of Lesbos (mid-tenth century) and the Life of Mary the Younger (eleventh century). The approach of these texts through gender performativity shows in the most graphic way the difference between male and female constructions of sanctity on the one hand, and the important role that gender plays in the construction of lay sanctity, on the other.     

Notes on Pomanders

During 1984–85 an area of over 1,500 square metres was excavated on Hartlepool Headland (NZ 528 336) by Cleveland County Archaeology Section. This is the second part of the report on that work, the first, covering the Anglo-Saxon monastic occupation was published in Archaeol. J., 145, henceforth referred to as Daniels 1988b. Following Anglo-Saxon occupation, cultivation took place on the site, to be succeeded in the late eleventh or early twelfth centuries by the establishment of two properties. An earthfast timber building was sited at the front of the northern property, parallel with and probably on the frontage. Behind the building the area was subdivided by a sequence of fence lines and there were indications of cultivation. This phase of occupation ceased with some evidence that the building had burnt down. In the mid-thirteenth century the boundary between the two properties was re-established with a small house (Building III) being built in the southern property. In the northern property three buildings (II, IV, and V) were constructed gable end on to the street and separated by narrow lanes from which access was gained to suites of rooms which were not interconnecting. Throughout the life of these buildings a number of the ground floor rooms contained sequences of ovens used for food processing some of which were evidently used for domestic and others for commercial purposes. The buildings went out of use at the end of the fifteenth century, from which time the area was cultivated prior to its redevelopment in the nineteenth century.     

Book Reviews

Abstract

One of the few maps made by the indigenous population of the Americas and dating from the early eighteenth century to have survived, either in original or copied form, is the subject of this article. The map, on deerskin, was given to the new governor of South Carolina, Francis Nicholson, by an unknown Native American. Entitled A Map Describing the Situation of the Several Nations of Indians between South Carolina and the Massissipi River, it has generally been attributed to the Catawba nation. After situating the map in its historical period and detailing the claims for a Catawba origin, these claims are refuted and evidence supplied for a Cherokee origin.     

Anglo-Norman Parks in Medieval Ireland

Abstract

Lincoln Cathedral's Angel Choir was built in the second half of the thirteenth century to house the shrine of St Hugh of Lincoln, canonised in 1220. Although he was never a major saint, the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln sought to emulate the settings newly created for more venerable saints by constructing a completely new building to house his shrine. Despite considerable study of the Angel Choir the site of the shrine has not been established, neither has the site of the original burial. This is perhaps the more surprising when it is considered that contemporary documentation survives to describe the events of St Hugh's death and burial. There is sufficient evidence within the cathedral to reconstruct the sites of the original burial and the later shrines and this is supported by documentary evidence, so far overlooked, that is presented here.     

TOWNS AND TOWN HIERARCHIES IN SAXON ENGLAND

Summary. The extent to which archaeological evidence can be used to identify and account for an urban hierarchy in England between the eighth and eleventh centuries AD is assessed in this article. Using the later medieval evidence as a control, it is suggested that the archaeological data could be used not only to compare the relative condition of towns but also to reconstruct the general economic trends which may have been responsible for emphasising differences between towns. Despite the apparently rudimentary character of the urban network in the eighth and early ninth centuries, the strength of the economy may have been underestimated. In contrast, the development of a three-tier hierarchy coupled with ubiquitous urban growth in the tenth century may have been overemphasised. Town planning programmes in the south and midlands may not have been accompanied by rapid urban development whereas there is plentiful evidence for town growth in the north. This differential development may be explained by a greater economic vitality in the north which was not experienced in the south until the later tenth century. The later tenth and early eleventh centuries may have marked a period of pronounced and rapid urban growth and differentiation in the south.     

The Empire of the Hittites

Abstract

The paper deals with six recent studies which relate to the on-going debate over the chronology of the eleventh to the ninth century B.C.E. strata in the Levant and thus to the history of the region in the Iron Age. The paper takes issue with methodological problems relating to the questions of ethnographic comparison in archaeology, interpretation of biblical sources by archaeologists, pottery typology and dating. It offers a different interpretation of the finds at Hazor, Beth-shemesh, Tel Batash, Horbat Rosh Zait, and Bethsaida.     

The Jewish Communities of Central Asia in the Medieval and Early Modern Periods

When the Jews first settled in Central Asia is uncertain, but circumstantial evidence clearly indicates that this happened at least two and a half thousand years ago. In the first millennium AD, the Jews lived only in cities no farther than 750?km east of the Caspian sea (in the eighth–eleventh centuries the sea was called Khazarian). Only later did they migrate to the central part of the region, to cities like Samarkand and Bukhara. It is possible that Jews from Khazaria joined them, since they already had tight trade connections with Central Asia and China. There is no trace of evidence regarding the existence of Jews in the entirety of Central Asia in the early sixteenth century. At the very end of the sixteenth century Bukhara became the new ethnoreligious center of the Jews in that region. In the first half of the nineteenth century, thanks to European travelers visiting Central Asia at that time, the term “Bukharan Jews” was assigned to this sub-ethnic Jewish group. Drawing on a wide range of primary and secondary source materials, this article aims to prove that the presence of Jews in Central Asia was not continuous, and therefore the modern Bukharan Jews are not descendants of the first Jewish settlers there. It also attempts to determine where Central Asia’s first Jewish population disappeared to.     

Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Population Trends in Northeastern North America

Abstract

The Seneca are an original member of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and one of several Northern Iroquoian societies that inhabited northeastern North America. This research explores their population history during the 16th and 17th centuries. Previous studies of Northern Iroquoian populations identified population increase until contact with Europeans, no evidence of pre-contact diseases, and drastic depopulation resulting from interaction with European societies. Similar patterns were expected in this research. Combining archaeological settlement data collected with non- and minimally invasive survey techniques and ethnohistorical information, this article estimates the population trends of the Seneca. The results show a highly complex population history that includes pre-contact population losses, in- and out-migration episodes, significant losses from Old World diseases, and rapid population recovery. The field methods employed here may have wider applicability for the demographic archaeology of other similarly adapted cultures.     

A Byzantine hagiographical parody: Life of Mary the Younger

Abstract

In this paper, it is argued that The Life of Mary the Younger, an anonymous Byzantine text of the eleventh century, has a conscious intertextual dialogue with the oldest Byzantine Life venerating a holy woman, the Life of Macrina written by her brother, Gregory of Nyssa, between 380 and 383. The intertextual relation between these two female Lives takes the form of parody. Following Linda Hutcheon's theory of parody, this article shows how the anonymous hagiographer of Mary reworks Gregory's authoritative text to create a new work, a parody in terms of postmodern literary criticism, whose aim was to criticise old and contemporary customs, conventions and ideologies. In other words, the present article approaches and decodes the literariness, the function and ideology of Mary's Life in the light of Macrina's Life.     

The Growth Cone as Seen Through Cajal's Original Histological Preparations and Publications

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) was first presented in a clinical setting in 1838. In this paper the presentation and treatment of a transient hemiparesis in a drummer in 1789 is discussed. This may have been an early case of MS and presents evidence against the theory that MS is an infectious disease beginning in the 19th century.     

Continuity and change in Norman Italy: the Campania during the eleventh and twelfth centuries

The Campania was a fertile area, with a growing population during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and was economically more advanced than most of the rest of southern Italy. This essay examines the impact of the Norman conquest of the south upon this region, with special reference to the settlement pattern and the aristocracy. It concludes that the role of incastellamento in changing the pattern of settlement was relatively limited, and the extensive incastellamento of the Montecassino lands (a product of Norman pressure upon the abbey) cannot be taken as typical. Furthermore, while the Norman conquest led to colonisation by French aristocrats, this did not entirely displace existing Lombard families, and widespread intermarriage led to a blurring of the distinction between Lombards and Normans. The impact of political crises during the twelfth century was also more limited than might be supposed, and continuity rather than change characterised the nobility of the Norman period.     

The identification of the medieval church of St Sabas in Jerusalem in the light of new documentary evidence

ABSTRACT

For over a century the church that the Greek monks of Dayr Mar Saba are known to have possessed inside the walls of Jerusalem in the twelfth century has usually been associated with a chapel surviving inside the Disy family house opposite the police barracks south of the Citadel, while the Zāwiyyat al-Shaykh Ya?qūb (Ya?qūbiyya), on the east side of Christ Church, has been identified as having originally been built in the twelfth century, possibly by Monophysites, as a church dedicated to St James the Persian, or the ‘Cut-up’ (Intercisus). New documentary research, however, now makes it appear more likely that Mujīr al-Dīn was correct in attributing the building of the Ya?qūbiyya to the Greeks and that it was also the church referred to by pilgrims in the twelfth century as that of St Sabas. This means that the identity of the church in Dār Disy, if indeed it was a church, remains to be determined.     

THE BYZANTINE CHURCH OF THE NUTRITION IN NAZARETH REDISCOVERED

Abstract

Although Nazareth has usually been seen by scholars as a relatively minor Byzantine pilgrimage centre, it contained perhaps the most important ‘lost’ Byzantine church in the Holy Land, the Church of the Nutrition – according to De Locis Sanctis built over the house where it was believed that Jesus Christ had been a child. This article, part of a series of final interim reports of the PEF-funded ‘Nazareth Archaeological Project’, presents evidence that this church has been discovered at the present Sisters of Nazareth convent in central Nazareth. The scale of the church and its surrounding structures suggests that Nazareth was a much larger, and more important, centre for Byzantine-period pilgrimage than previously supposed. The church was used in the Crusader period, after a phase of desertion, prior to destruction by fire, probably in the 13th century.