Tree-rings and Medieval Archaeology

CAREFUL examination of the horizontal beams above the arches framing the arcades of the 12th-century great hall of the bishop's palace at Hereford has brought to light additional structural evidence shewing that the hall, as originally built, had a clerestory and separate pent-roofs over the aisles. The proposed reconstruction is discussed with reference to surviving but incomplete examples of the same date at Leicester and Farnham, where the evidence for the architectural form is inconclusive. It is compared with earlier illustrations, including those in the Bayeux Tapestry. The evidence of the churches of late 10th and 11th-century date with transverse (diaphragm) arches is also adduced.     

West Indian Archaeology. 3. Ceramic Age

Irving Rouse once calculated that more than 90% of all pre-Columbian artifacts from the West Indies are made of clay. It should, therefore, come as no surprise that the vast majority of research in the region has focused on the ceramic age cultures. The review begins by considering the early ceramic age peoples whose pottery is classified as part of the Saladoid series. These peoples entered the Antilles about 500 B.C. and settled all of the islands as far north as Puerto Rico. For as yet unknown reasons their northward progress was halted in Puerto Rico for nearly 1000 years. The post-Saladoid cultures of the Lesser Antilles, about whom very little is known, and the so-called Ostionoid peoples of the Greater Antilles and Bahama archipelago are discussed next. New, detailed studies of subsistence, settlement patterns, social organization, and iconography are contributing to a richer knowledge of the patterns and processes of cultural evolution in an insular setting.     

Near-Infrared Aerial Crop Mark Archaeology: From its Historical Use to Current Digital Implementations

Even though most archaeologists are aware of the crop mark phenomenon and its possible archaeological nature, the information on its occurrence and specific character is, in most cases, obtained by imaging in the visible spectrum. After the Second World War, the occasional use of near-infrared (NIR) sensitive emulsions attributed this kind of invisible imaging with a great potential. However, archaeological NIR imaging always remained restricted due to several reasons not, at least, its complicated workflow and uncertain results. This article wants to delve deeper into the subject, looking at the conventional film-based approach of NIR aerial reconnaissance and its historical use in archaeological crop mark research, after which a current straightforward digital approach will be outlined. By explaining the spectral properties of plants and using examples of recently acquired NIR imagery in comparison with visible frames, it should become clear why the detection and interpretation of crop marks can benefit from low-cost digital NIR imaging in certain situations.     

Medieval Landscape Archaeology in Italy: A Review

MEDIEVAL LANDSCAPE ARCHAEOLOGY in Italy is reviewed here by analysing the methodological approaches and the theoretical frameworks adopted by researchers working from the 1970s to the present day. Notwithstanding a kind of ‘resistance’ of Italian archaeology to theorisation, the intensive fieldwork and fruitful exchanges of the many teams working on the Peninsula have not only brought important achievements for the reconstruction of settlement patterns and landscape dynamics during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, but have also animated and enriched the debates about approaches and methodologies. The ‘Italian context’ is therefore framed within the European mainstream and the international panorama.     

Commentary: Medieval and Post-Medieval Archaeology of Greece

Recent work by archaeologists emphasized the contributions of archaeological fieldwork to the study of post-classical Greece. This marks a significant departure from traditional approaches to the archaeology of Byzantium that tended to focus on art historical methods and architectural history. Despite these changes in the study of post-classical Greece, the issues of abandonment, continuity and change continue to play an important role both in ongoing debates and will undoubtedly influence future research priorities. Only collaboration among scholars who study historical archaeology in Greece and elsewhere will ensure the continued relevance of this field even as these long-standing debates wane in relevance.     

从金石学、考古学到古代器物学——代《南方文物》"名物新证"专栏主持辞

金石学之金与石,包含了铜器和石刻两个部分,它们的来源是不一样的。石刻之学源于文献。孙星衍《寰宇访碑记·序》云:“金石之学,始自《汉·艺文志》《春秋》家奏事二十篇载秦刻石名     

Archaeology Underfoot: On-Campus Approaches to Education,Outreach, and Historical Archaeology at Brown University

This article explores the methods and outcomes of “The Archaeology of College Hill” (AoCH), a hands-on fieldwork course at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island. The first half of this paper recounts the results of a three-year research program (2012–2014) on the Quiet Green of the university’s campus. This work identified a material assemblage associated with the school’s first official President’s House and uncovered evidence for over two centuries of student life. The second half of this article addresses our pedagogical methods, including elements of replicable course design and feedback from a qualitative survey on students’ impressions of the class. By situating this project within wider dialogues on the role of fieldwork in undergraduate teaching, we demonstrate the ways in which practical, on-campus projects like AoCH can reach a more diverse body of students, increase enrollments in other archaeology courses, and develop a more engaged, de-centered pedagogy.     

Medieval English Martinmesse : The Archaeology of a Forgotten Festival

Beginning with Elizabethan literary references to a carnivalesque celebration of Martinmas, the present article surveys the St Martin cult in England in order to isolate features of the medieval celebration of the Christian feast and determine the feast's relationship to seasonal activities of early November. Martinmas is seen as both the last harvest festival and a curtain raiser for the extended winter revelling season, in effect a "Carnival" in late autumn.     

Archaeology of Slavery in East Africa

African archaeology has primarily been concerned with precolonial Africa. Consequently, the archaeology of colonial and postcolonial Africa has been neglected, in spite of the fundamental importance of how Africa's relationships with Eurasia after 1488 shaped its history. Although the slave trade was an important aspect of post-sixteenth century experiences of Africans, current research methodologies make the archaeology of slavery in Africa nearly impossible because evidence of the slave trade or slavery--including slave quarters, cemeteries, holding areas, shackles, and dungeons--can be interpreted in various ways. In this article I argue that the archaeology of slavery and the slave trade in Africa is possible. Like history and economics, archaeology is well placed to investigate slavery in Africa as it already does effectively in the Americas. Using the study of defensive rock shelters in Southeast Kenya as an example, I propose that the systematic archaeology of slavery in Africa is not only possible, but also should break new grounds and develop an innovative methodology for studying slavery. L'archéologie africaine a été principalement concernée par l'Afrique précoloniale. Par conséquent, l'archéologie de l'Afrique coloniale et postcoloniale a été oubliée, malgré l'importance fondamentale de la façon dont les rapports de l'Afrique avec Eurasia après 1488 ont tracé son histoire. Bien que le commerce d'esclaves soit un aspect important des expériences africaines du post-seizième siècle, les méthodologies courantes de recherches rendent l'archéologie de l'esclavage en Afrique presque impossible car l'évidence du commerce ou de l'esclavage - comprenant les quarts, les cimetières, les camps, des cachots, et des donjons des esclaves - peut être interprété de diverses manières. Dans cet article, j'argue du fait que l'archéologie de l'esclavage et le commerce d'esclaves en Afrique est possible. Comme l'histoire et les sciences économiques, l'archéologie est bien placée pour effectuer l'étude de l'esclavage en Afrique comme elle l'est déjà efficacement en Amérique. En utilisant l'étude des abris rocheux défensifs au Kenya du sud-est comme exemple, je propose que la systématique de l'archéologie de l'esclavage en Afrique est non seulement possible, mais devrait également permettre de franchir de nouveaux pas et de développer une méthodologie innovatrice dans l'étude de l'esclavage.     

Regional Approaches to Mesopotamian Archaeology: The Contribution of Archaeological Surveys

This work synthesizes and critically evaluates the results of field surveys conducted over the last 20 years in southern (lower) and northern (upper) Mesopotamia, with emphasis placed on the increasing contribution of off-site and intensive surveys to regional analysis. During the Ubaid period the density of settlement was probably higher in the rain-fed north than the irrigated south, and even during the phase of 3rd millennium B.C. urbanization, settlement densities in the north were probably equivalent to or even exceeded those in the south. Although trends in settlement were often synchronous between north and south, there was also a marked spatial variability in settlement, with declines in one area being compensated by rises elsewhere. Particularly clear was the existence of a major structural transformation from nucleated centers during the Bronze Age towards dispersed patterns of rural settlement and more extensive lower towns in the Iron Age.