Living with Heritage: The Potentials of and Pressures on the Heritage Landscape of Gwollu,Upper West Region,Ghana

Abstract

The impact of development has been identified as one of the most pressing concerns in heritage management in Africa. At the same time, heritage has also been recognized as having the potential to bring tourists, and thus growth, to local economies. Communities that wish to benefit from the latter have to balance developmental pressures against the preservation of heritage, and various sectors of the community may view these priorities differently. In this paper, I discuss some of the potentials of, and pressures on, the heritage landscape of Gwollu, a town in Ghana's Upper West Region. I use Gwollu's brickmakers as a case study to illustrate the small-scale everyday development that can have a lasting impact on a town's heritage resources, and how internal divisions within communities may affect the heritage tourism process.     

GEOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF VITREOUS ROCKS EXPLOITED DURING THE FORMATIVE PERIOD IN THE ATACAMA REGION,NORTHERN CHILE*

Petrographic analysis and geochemical characterization studies were carried out on vitreous dacite and/or rhyodacite artefacts from Formative period archaeological sites in the upper Salado River Basin in the Atacama Desert, northern Chile. These were compared with samples taken from two source areas located within the subregion, named Linzor and Paniri. Source samples and archaeological specimens were analysed by inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (ICP–MS) combined with optical emission plasma – mass spectrometry (ICP–OES) and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Results from the limited number of samples analysed indicate that the Linzor source seems to have been the primary source exploited during the Early and Late Formative periods in the Salado River Basin.     

Traces of Fatty Acids from a Byzantine Sounding Lead Recovered off the Israeli Coast

Fatty acids, typical to large herbivores, were isolated from a 7th century Byzantine sounding lead recovered from a shipwreck off Dor, an ancient anchorage in Northern Israel. The fatty acids survived by being sheltered in an anaerobic environment provided through a site formation process induced by the disintegrating wreck. Previously established identification criteria for fatty acids, absorbed in ceramics, were used to show that tallow was used in this navigational instrument in the Eastern Mediterranean during late antiquity.     

FOSSIL DIATOMS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH

Summary. The relationship between environmental archaeology and diatom analysis, a well established technique in palaeoecology, is explored. The development of diatom analysis for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction is briefly considered and flow diagrams are presented to illustrate laboratory techniques. Examples of research in Mexico, North America, Britain and Europe are discussed to illustrate the potential of diatom analysis as a means of assessing human impact on the environment, notably lake water quality, and as a means of elucidating the palaeoenvironmental conditions under which archaeological sediments have accumulated. Consideration is also given to the role of diatom analysis in examining land/sea-level changes, especially those which may have affected prehistoric resource use, and to its significance in the reconstruction of local environments in and around archaeological sites. Finally, the potential of fossil diatoms for provenancing pottery is explored with particular reference to Dutch and Finnish examples.     

Impulses of agro-pastoralism in the 4th and 3rd millennia BC on the south-western coastal rim of Norway

Abstract

A review of the available archaeological and palaeoecological evidence from the coastal heathlands of south-western Norway was compiled to reveal the processes of neolithisation proceeding from the Early Neolithic towards the generally accepted breakthrough in the Late Neolithic, 2500/2350 cal. BC. South-western Norway then became part of the Scandinavian, and thus the European, agricultural complex. Three phases of forest clearance are recorded — from 4000–3600 cal. BC, 2500–2200 cal. BC and 1900–1400 cal. BC. Deforestation was intentional and followed a regional pattern linked to the geology and topography of the land. In the first period (4000–2500 cal. BC), forage from broad-leaved trees was important, while cereal cultivation was scarcely recorded. Agro-Neolithic (here referring to agriculturally-related Neolithic) artefacts and eco-facts belonging to the Funnel Beaker and Battle Axe culture are rare, but pervasive. They must primarily be considered to be status indicators with a ritual function; the hunter-gatherer economy still dominated. The breakthrough in agro-pastoral production in the Late Neolithic was complex and the result of interactions between several variables, i.e. a) deforestation resulting from agriculture being practised for nearly 1500 years b) experience with small-scale agriculture through generations and c) intensified exchange systems with other South Scandinavian regions. From 2500/2350 cal. BC onwards, two distinct environmental courses are noticeable in all pollen diagrams from the study area, indicating expansion in pastoralism, either towards heath or towards grassland and permanent fields.     

Determining the preservation rating of submerged archaeology in the post-glacial southern North Sea: a first-order geomorphological approach

Abstract

During most of the last glaciation, the southern North Sea floor was exposed and accessible to humans. Archaeological finds are concentrated around Brown Bank, Dogger Bank and the Norfolk Banks, but the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic archaeological potential of these areas is poorly known. Management of submerged archaeological heritage requires knowledge about location (potential) and context, ascribing significance (value) and determining risk. Thus, the preservation potential of primary and secondary archaeological material around these three areas is considered a) in the context of the post-glacial evolution of the southern North Sea and b) regarding natural and anthropogenic processes. A detailed review is followed by original research material describing an approach to assessing preservation potential. In general, low-energy deposits associated with former intertidal, floodplain or lacustrine environments are likely to preserve primary archaeological material, including organic remains, whilst (high-energy) riverine environments are more likely to preserve inorganic secondary archaeological material. The main possible anthropogenic impacts on submerged archaeology result from beam trawling, which may disturb deposits at the seafloor, and aggregate dredging, which may remove secondary deposits. Trawling and aggregate dredging are increasingly contributing to knowledge, through reporting finds through established protocols, and through assisting in funding relevant to multi-disciplinary research.     

The Azazo Project: Archaeology and the Community in Ethiopia

Abstract

In this article we discuss the motivations, aims, and preliminary results of working with a local community in Ethiopia. Trying to escape from the (neo)colonial archaeology that is still practised in Africa, this project aims to achieve a cooperative and participative archaeology. This work with the community has been one of our main priorities in our last seasons, and although we have focused on elementary school and university students, we have opened up a number of different paths to follow in future years. The experience has been very positive, and engagement with local people has helped us to create awareness about the importance of cultural heritage, hopefully ensuring the future protection of the sites.     

A Disgruntled Tourist in King Arthur's Court: Archaeology and Identity at Tintagel,Cornwall

Abstract

'Welcome to Tintagel, the birthplace of King Arthur' is a phrase often repeated at this small village on the north coast of Cornwall where legend, childhood stories and merchandise all serve to attract thousands of visitors per year. As 'a place to go', the area provides stunning coastal scenery, a romantic ruined castle and a highly commercialised village. Tintagel Island, owned by the Duchy of Cornwall but managed by English Heritage, plays centre stage as the 'birthplace' in question. On-site, the character of Arthur is largely debunked as a literary phenomenon and, furthermore, a survey of day-trippers revealed that visitors were left in an interpretive limbo — arriving with ideas of Arthur and leaving knowing little about Tintagel.

Whilst the aesthetics of the castle and scenery go some way towards mitigating against disappointment, on site encounters with kitsch representations of the past combine with more amorphous senses of pseudo-spiritual atmospheres as well as experiences of walking, eating and drinking to ultimately provide a 'grand day out'. The marketing ephemera and heritage presentation all serve to create, reinforce and suppress different identities of place which are revealed as being a fairly cohesive package of Celtic-Arthuriana. This paper questions the ways in which visitors' expectation and imagination are mediated through experience of place.     

Mortimer Wheeler's Theatre of the Past

Abstract

This paper examines the nature of Mortimer Wheeler's work as a public archaeologist, and in particular his efforts to display the archaeological process to interested members of the public. By focusing on the excavations at Maiden Castle, Dorset, from 1934 to 1937 we compare Wheeler's stated philosophy of public archaeology with his practice in the field. At Maiden Castle the theatre of excavation was the centrepiece of a carefully marketed archaeological experience including tours, souvenirs, and a well-developed media strategy. By applying the commodity model of public archaeology as an analytical framework we highlight the sophistication and success of Wheeler's 'theatre of the past'. This analysis lays a foundation for further critical historical studies of both the public understanding of the past, and of Wheeler's life and works.     

Espionage and Near Eastern Archaeology: A Historiographical Survey

Abstract

Between c. 1850 and the end of World War II several key figures of Near Eastern archaeology worked as spies, informers and intelligence operatives for their respective governments. They lent their expert knowledge of Middle Eastern culture, traditions, geography, language and history to the political needs of their governments, creating a lasting legacy. This preliminary survey explores the actions of some of these scholars and discusses their motives and their legacy, in order to interrogate the involvement of archaeologists and anthropologists in the current day politics of the Middle East.