The Journal of Religious History 1960–2010: The Changing Face of Religious History over Fifty Years

The fiftieth anniversary of this journal offers an opportunity to reflect on both its history and that of the larger field of religious history. At its foundation, the journal drew inspiration from the approach to the history of religion taken by Lucien Febvre and other French Annalistes, with their emphasis on including religion as an integral part of the analysis of the past. Though the journal continued to publish a good deal of ecclesiastical history as more traditionally understood, these founding ideals have continued to shape the character of the journal. The increasing interest in the history of mentalities (partly due to the decline of Marxist historiography) has heightened an interest in the history of religion in ways which have proved increasingly congruent with the journal's founding ideals.     

HONEY AND DRIPPING: NEOLITHIC FOOD RESIDUES FROM RUNNYMEDE BRIDGE

Summary. This paper illustrates the prospects for a fuller understanding of ancient foodstuffs by applying a range of analytical techniques to charred food residues on pottery. The relevant techniques of organic chemistry are briefly described. First results on Neolithic material from Runnymede stand amongst few for prehistoric Europe. They demonstrate the potential importance of such analyses both in redressing imbalances present at the site level and in opening wider issues, such as the functions attached to particular pot forms. The identification of beeswax in a British Neolithic context prompts an enquiry into the nature of early bee management and the suggestion that 'forest beekeeping'may have been widespread in temperate Neolithic Europe.