New Elements in the Iconography of 9th–10th Century Ural-Siberian Silver

On the basis of its technological and stylistic features, a new find of oriental silverware from the Konda River is identified as a work of the Ural-Siberian circle and dated to the 9th–10th centuries. Its scene of gender violence is interpreted using the parallel text of the “Sabha Parva,” which describes the sufferings of Draupadi, Queen of Pandavas, and the actions of Duhshasana who won her in a game of dice. The urban culture of the pre-Arabian Sogd connects the Indian source with the Turkic environment of the Ural region. Here knowledge of the story from the “Sabha Parva” had not yet been recorded but nonetheless existed judging from scenes from the “Virata Parva” which appears among the monumental paintings of Penjikent.     

Criminalization of Homicide in Early Modern Denmark (16th–17th Centuries)

This article explores the criminalization of homicide in early modern Denmark, 16th–17th centuries. Criminalization is here defined, primarily, as the harshening of penalties for homicide in law and practice. The article shows that a process of criminalization took place that contributed to a pacification of the population (demonstrated by a decrease in homicides) but also engendered practices of resistance and evasion which were reminiscent of a medieval feud culture. The attitude towards homicide was for a long time ambivalent, not just among the lower classes but at all levels of society. Criminalization and pacification were mainly products of state-building through harsher punishment and the formation of a more reliable legal system. This top-down process meshed with the broader population’s demands for justice and security.     

Monetary Practices in Early Medieval Western Scandinavia (5th–10th Centuries ad)

A SOCIAL APPROACH TO MONETISATION shifts the attention from the classic money media — gold and silver — to the dissemination of two social practices: valuing and paying. When these two monetary practices first became widespread in western Scandinavia during the gold rich migration period (in the 5th to 6th centuries ad), they were not introduced in the sphere of trade, but instead were features of traditional or customary payments, such as weregeld (atonements for murder or offences against the person) or marriage dowries. By the Viking Age, in the late 8th to 10th centuries ad, despite flourishing commodity production, precious metals were used as payment in trade solely in towns. Even in towns, this commercial use seems to have been adopted late, and was employed only occasionally. This paper reviews the changing approaches to money and monetisation, and draws attention to the potential for regarding monetisation as the spread of a set of social practices.     

Glass gilding process in medieval Syria and Egypt (13th–14th century)

Twelve gilded and enamelled Islamic glass fragments, produced in Syria or Egypt during the Ayyubid or Mamluk period, were provided by the Louvre museum for complete non-destructive analysis. The enamelling process of similar objects has been extensively studied in the last decades, but the gilding process has never been investigated in details. This paper focuses on the understanding of both the gilding process and the gold/glass adhesion mechanism. The structure, composition and thickness of the gold flakes forming the gilding decoration are measured. The complete process combining gilding and enamelling is described and the local mechanism of adhesion of gold flakes on the glass body is discussed.     

Chinese Objects in Eurasian Empire: On the Cultural Meaning of Chinese Art in Russia in the Late 17th–Early 18th Centuries

This article examines special features of “Chinoiserie” or “Chinese fashion” (“Kitaischina”) in Russia from the late 17th to the early 18th century: The reign of Peter the First. It discusses this cultural phenomenon’s historical origins, demonstrates the role of Chinese luxury goods and art objects in the era’s Russo-Chinese cultural exchange, and illustrates how Chinese decorative arts were used in Russian palaces. While Chinoiserie in Russia was influenced by similar trends in Western Europe, it was rooted in the unique history of regular contacts between Russia and the Qing Empire. Chinese objects not only appeared as commodities in the higher levels of Russian society, they also contributed to the prestige of the Russian state. Peter the First had a political purpose behind the collection, display and imitation of Chinese art objects in Russian palaces, as these practices demonstrated the growing wealth and power of newly established Russian Empire, which enjoyed trade connections with the Qing Empire. While contemporary perceptions of China in Russia were derived mostly by the exotic images of export art, ethnographic collections of genuine Chinese utensils, which were founded during that period, also contributed to Russian views of China. This research uses a comprehensive methodology, combining studies of material objects preserved in Russian museums and written sources, including archival records.     

Glassmaking in Bagot’s Park,Staffordshire, in the 16th Century

Abstract

Out of 15 glass-making sites found in Bagot’s Park during land reclamation, one, Site 4, was left for examination. Two furnaces were excavated; the larger was for the melting of glass in six crucibles, and was typical of late medieval English practice, being built of brick and stone with a clay dome; it was the first to be excavated with clear evidence of an all-over timber and tile roof. The second, built partly of brick, was for annealing. The main product was Crown window glass; the amount of Broad glass and vessel found was insufficient to say with certainty that they were made on the site.

Archaeological evidence supported by documentary references suggested that the site was in use in the early 16th century, well before the agreement of 1585 between the Bagots and the Lorrainer Henzey family. Such evidence of glass production in this period suggests that the weakness of the English glass industry before 1567 may have been exaggerated.     

An age of transition? Castles and the Scottish Highland estate in the 16th and 17th centuries

Abstract

In the archaeology of post-medieval rural Scotland, research traditions have inhibited understanding of social change prior to the 18th century as the emphasis has been on the dramatic overturn of 'traditional' society with Improvement and the Clearances. This contrasts with the situation for England and, indeed other parts of Europe, where there is an established concern for the much earlier 'Age of Transition' from medieval to modern. Here I explore the ancestry of Improvement by considering the genesis of the landed estate in the 16th and earlier 17th centuries, and this is primarily achieved through an analysis of the architecture and geography of castles in one area of the Highlands. This case study concerns the castles of the Glenorchy Campbells, a lineage emerging in the earlier 15th century and proceeding to become one of the most significant of Scottish, and British, landed families. In no small part through a changing approach to castle building, their rise was predicated on the transformation of clan territory into landed estate in the period after 1550. The usefulness of the 'Age of Transition' construct, in this specific context and in general, is appraised. In concluding, I argue for the alternative of the dialectical Marxist concept of contradiction. This places the focus on tension, fluidity, and lack of resolution in society, running counter to the idea of transition from one state to another. With contradiction, modern society as a simply definable entity is never established and cannot be delineated in a straightforward way. It is an itinerant process, constantly emerging and changing.     

The ethnic classification in the late 19th‐century censuses

The topic of this paper is the ethnic classification used in the last three censuses of the 19th century, i.e. the censuses taken in 1875, 1891 and 1900. The aim is to study the content of this classification diachronically, based on new and supplementary evidence from the parish of Astafjord in the southern part of Troms county, northern Norway. This evidence primarily comes from the parish registers from one decade which, unusually, contain rather elaborate characterizations of ethnic affiliation. This feature of the parish registers gives a unique opportunity to check the corresponding characterizations in the censuses.     

“Eastern” ornaments of the 11th‐13th centuries in the Sami areas: Origins and routes

Ornaments of east‐European origin found at Viking Age and Early Medieval sites in northern Scandinavia have been analysed by many Scandinavian scholars. In the Scandinavian context, the presence of these import items has given rise to many theories concerning inter‐ethnic relations and the function of these ornaments as markers of ethnicity. In this paper, the Soviet scholar N. A. Makarov offers an analyses of where these “eastern” ornaments could have been produced and what their distribution patterns in these areas may reveal about the origins of and contact routes between various peoples.     

Indigenous migrants negotiating belonging: Peticiones de cambio de fuero in Cajamarca,Peru, 17th–18th centuries

Prehispanic corporate social units in northern Peru, the pachacas or ayllus and the guarangas, continued to structure social life in Cajamarca throughout the Spanish colonial period. They were restructured by Spanish rule, as they had been by the Inca conquest before. Spanish rule also reshaped indigenous migration and the social categorization of the migrants, which was closely intertwined with the regime of land tenure. This article takes a look at the integration of new and old migrants and their descendants into the local social structure and examines how they negotiated their belonging in petitions to change or defend their fuero. The petitioners successfully argued on the basis of their ancestry, whether legitimate or not, and activated personal networks on their behalf. In that, they paralleled mestizo and mulatto petitioners who, like migrants, benefited from fiscal prerogatives, which were however challenged during the course of the 18^th century, leading to a partial re-categorization. The redistribution of land was an important motive in these late colonial re-categorizations, but also earlier in the colonial period the absence of bonds to the land was an essential characteristic of being categorized as a ‘migrant.’     

My Experience With the 10th And 11th Panchen Erdeni

Ithasbeen10yearssincethe10thPanchenErdenidiedofsuddenheartattackonJanuary28,1989inTibet.ThestupawasbuiltwithaCentralGovernmentallocationamountingto60millionyuan.BeforehisdeparturefromBeliing,manyofhisfriendsadvisedhimtopostponetheconsecrationonthegroundsthatTibetwasenduringafreezingwinter.Butthemasterrefused.sayingthatthetimingwassetaccordingbydivination.DuringhisstayinTibet,themasterworkedtirelessly.Hehelddiscussionswithlocalresidentsandlamas,inspectedurbanandruralareas,andblessedmanyfoll…     

“Preaching-Non-Violence” Rioters Rampage in Lhasa-Recounting the Rioting in Lhasa on March 14~(th)

It was about 11a.m.,March 14th,2008.Lhasa,a Tibetan city used to peace and tranquility,was suddenly subjected to relentless rioting by mobs in the name of"non-violence resistance".They smashed,looted, vandalized,set property alight,beat and even killed people they encountered.     

Composition of white paste inlay on the pottery from sites of the 10th–8th centuries bce in the northern Pontic region

For the first time, the mineralogical–geochemical compositions of the white paste inlay found on vessels from sites (10th–8th centuries bce ) in the northern Pontic region are investigated. Samples of the white paste on vessels from settlements, burials of sedentary groups and graves of early nomads were analysed by means of scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. Between the 10th and eighth centuries bce , various innovations occurred in the working area. Iron processing technology and the manufacture of iron products also appeared. Other innovations were changes in the manufacturing technology of ceramics. A high-quality, polished/burnished surface and ornaments with white paste inlay are characteristic of this pottery. When collating white paste mixtures of different European sites, similarities in the preparation of white paste recipes for vessels from the Balkan and northern Pontic regions are evident. During the Early Iron Age, further changes in the manufacture of the white paste were discovered in the northern Pontic region, namely the application of high-temperature firing to obtain more resistant synthesized material such as calcium alumosilicates and silicates (wollastonite). The development of iron metallurgy in this period could provide a basis for the elaboration of new techniques in ceramic manufacture.