Archaeology, Memory and Oral Tradition: An Introduction

This paper serves as an introduction to this special edition of the International Journal of Historical Archaeology on the theme of archaeology, memory and oral history. Recent approaches to oral history and memory destabilise existing grand narratives and confront some of the epistemological assumptions underpinning scientific archaeology. Here we discuss recent approaches to memory and explore their impact on historical archaeology, including the challenges that forms of oral and social memory present to a field traditionally defined by the relationship between material culture and text. We then review a number of themes addressed by the articles in this volume.     

Introduction and Historical Context to the Archaeology of Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Almshouses

This introduction discusses both the western cultural context of, and research issues behind, the following three articles on institutions founded to house the poor in Holland, England, and their American colonies. It also discusses the connections between this volume on colonial-era institutions for the poor and the previous volume on nineteenth century asylums and prisons.     

On the Uniformity of Design and Purpose,in the Works and Customs of the Earliest Settlers in Britain,Evidenced by Comparative Archaeology

Abstract

Within the building and grounds of the Bell Inn, Alveley (Shropshire) there is preserved a group of sculptures, the style of which is unmistakably that of the Herefordshire School. Thought to derive from a 12th-century church in Alveley, the group is the product of at least two hands and includes zoomorphic interlace and other interlace, together with figural scenes of ‘Samson and the Lion’, ‘St Michael and a Serpent’, and a ‘Man in Foliage’. The sculpture is indicative of a lavish decorative scheme at Alveley, in a style that was vigorous, striking and readily associated with the needs of seigneurial patronage.

The sculpture may be dated to the period 1155-early 1160s, a chronology determined not only by stylistic comparisons, but also independently by a detailed examination of the patronage context. In the discussion of the patronage, Guy Lestrange, sheriff of Shropshire, is identified as the likely patron, and as being fairly typical of the kind of patron who generally supported the work of the School. It is further argued that the role of aristocratic affinities in artistic patronage has been over-emphasised and that, as in other aspects of aristocratic activity, neighbourhood was a more influential factor.     

The Archaeology of Missions in Australasia: Introduction

Missions have long been recognized as spaces of colonial contact and cultural exchange, and they are significant places in Indigenous landscapes today. However, archaeologists have only recently begun to explore such places across Australasia. This collection canvasses a range of approaches to this dynamic field.     

The Earliest Case of Spondylocarpotarsal Synostosis Syndrome (Roman Age—2nd Century ad)

Spondylocarpotarsal synostosis syndrome (SCT) is a rare genetic disease. It was described for the first time during the 1970s. The most relevant pathognomonic skeletal changes are vertebral malsegmentation and the fusion of the carpal and tarsal bones. This last implication can be absent in some cases. We have investigated a case of SCT in a female of about 40–45 years of age, dated to the 2nd century ad . This discovery is important for two reasons: first, SCT is not a recent disease but rather one with a very long history; second, the clinical picture of the skeletal changes (malsegmentation of some elements of the spine, fusion of carpal bones) seems not to have varied in the last 2000 years. Furthermore, the age of the Roman female shows medium–long survival in patients suffering from SCT, even in the absence of medical treatment. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Public and Private Lives in Iran: An Introduction to the Archaeology of the 2003 Bam Earthquake

Bam, Iran, was destroyed by a powerful earthquake in December 2003. In what is perhaps Iran’s greatest tragedy in living memory, the majority of the mud brick houses and concrete buildings were completely flattened and more than half of the city’s population was killed. Five years after the disaster, a team of Iranian archaeologists and ethnographers excavated the remains of six houses destroyed in the earthquake. The excavated material culture demonstrates the stark contrasts between the residents’ public lives lived outside of their homes, and their private lives lived inside of their homes.     

The Problematization of Feminisms and Feminist Informed Theologies in the Twenty-first Century

Abstract

Feminisms are a feature of life in the twenty-first century. They are sometimes considered to be groundbreaking, sometimes unremarkable and sometimes dangerous, but whatever the perspective taken on the value or effectiveness of feminisms there is a persistence in their varied and often troubled presence. Such an influence and critical presence has been affected through a variety of encounters in which feminist informed perspectives and criteria have been employed as the basis of critical and transformative engagement. Since the 1960s the creative encountering of feminisms has significantly influenced the shape of contemporary theological engagement. Today feminisms and feminist informed theologies stand at a crossroad of critical interrogation and deconstruction as questions about their effectiveness, validity and indeed integrity are being raised with persistent force. This paper explores some of the problems facing feminisms and feminist informed theologies and asks of their effectiveness and future as ongoing powerful religious and political forces.