Leather straps with avian tarsometatarsi from the medieval Russia: Jesses or amulets?

The paper examines leather straps associated with avian bones from archaeological excavations in Medieval Russia. These leather straps, found attached to the tarsometatarsi of hunting birds, such as gyrfalcon, peregrine falcon, goshawk and sparrowhawk, constitute components of falconry equipment. A leather strap, secured on the tarsometatarsus of a buzzard, indicates the use of this bird as a decoy during the training of hunting birds. The same is true for the crane and little owl. The loss of other bones of the avian skeletons during the excavation process often leads to the erroneous interpretation of the leather straps with avian tarsometatarsi as amulets.     

Why Land Here? Ports and Harbors in Southeast Tanzania in the Early Second Millennium AD

The east African Swahili ports developed extensive maritime trading links around the Indian Ocean, and supported economic, political, and urban growth in the early second millennium AD. This article identifies ports of varying function and importance in SE Tanzania, and seeks to understand their development in the context of natural harbor advantage, boat technology, sailing practice, and resource needs. Field data from landing places are combined with weather patterns, historical documents, and oral traditions to provide an integrated survey of the ports and harbors that once sustained medieval commerce along this section of the Swahili coast. The emergence of Kilwa as an entrepôt to become the key center is based initially upon its naturally advantageous harbor facilities, safety and flexibility of approach in days of sail, and assurance of monsoon winds. Original natural advantages gradually become self-sustaining with its economic and political growth. To the north and south of Kilwa a series of ports of call with drinking water and boat servicing supported trade to and from the pre-eminent city, although some such as Kisimani Mafia and Kwale-Kisuju developed important trade functions of their own.     

追寻西欧市场经济的中世纪起源——评徐浩著《中世纪西欧工商业研究》

徐浩著《中世纪西欧工商业研究》一书,旨在探讨中世纪中期开始西欧如何和为何逐步走上市场经济的道路。该书将社会转型问题从资本主义的起源转换为市场经济的兴起,在理论上充分吸收了经济学的历史经济学理论和经济社会史的商业化理论,着眼于中世纪西欧工商业史中一系列既独立又相互依托的重要专题,探讨中世纪西欧工商业存在和发展的特定历史环境、商业诸问题以及工业诸问题。该书的研究特色体现为对中世纪西欧作长时段的考察,关注普通民众的命运,研究方法上注重比较,主张对社会经济变化的原因作多视角的阐释。     

Fishery in prehistoric and medieval Tallinn,Estonia

During archaeological excavations in central Tallinn, Estonia, many fish bones were collected among other archaeological finds. As these were salvage excavations conducted under limited time and cost restraints, only a very small part of the removed soil could be examined for fish bones. In such hasty conditions, the only option was to take soil samples from selected areas and carry out water sieving in the laboratory. This procedure resulted in the recovery of a variety of fish remains. Also, a previous conclusion that only large fish were captured is re-evaluated. This paper focuses on two recently excavated medieval sites in Tallinn: Tartu Road 1 and Vabaduse Square. In Vabaduse Square, a Late Neolithic settlement was also discovered under the medieval layers. The analysis of the three different assemblages of fish bones from the two sites, which were collected by somewhat different methods, contributes to our knowledge on fishing and fish consumption in Tallinn's past.     

Consequences of Styles of Thinking: On the Relative and the Absolute in Archaeology at the End of the Twentieth Century

The article discusses relativism and absolutism in archaeology on the threshold of a new millennium. The point of departure is Nationalism, Po-­litics, and the Practice of Archaeology and a 'consensus document' from the Lampeter Archaeological Workshop advocating a relativist attitude in archaeology. The author considers that relativism is closely related to indifference and is far from as positive as it is represented. On the basis of Feyerabend's concept of Denkstil (style of thinking) and the fondness of 'post-processual' archaeologists for manifestos, the article considers archaeology under Maoism in China, and whether Ian Hodder's appeal for an archaeology for all sheds light on views of professionalism and the training of archaeologists.     

Down at the old Ship and Ball — taverns,trade and daily life in the London Borough of Southwark

SUMMARY: Archaeological excavations in Southwark over the past 50 years have proved to be a very prolific source of evidence for the material culture of people living in this part of London from the 16th century onwards. This lecture, the fourth held by SPMA in honour of the late Geoff Egan, focuses on a remarkably rich and varied assemblage of 17th- and 18th-century artefacts excavated on a site in Tanner Street in 2012. Covering a wide spectrum of activities, occupations and levels of society, these include ceramics, glass, clay tobacco pipes, pewter, copper-alloy, wood, leather, bone and ivory, with objects as diverse as cloth seals, spoons, book mounts, wine bottles and glasses, bird feeders and a mallet for playing pall mall, and sources ranging from the English Midlands to the Far East.     

Combined pollen and macrofossil data as a source for reconstructing mosaic patterns of the early medieval urban habitats – a case study from Gdańsk,N. Poland

Plant macrofossils, pollen, fungal spores and other non-pollen palynomorphs (NPPs), were analyzed in three archaeological exposures established in a small area in the oldest part of the historic city of Gdańsk. One of the aims was to investigate how precisely the combined pollen and macrofossil data may reflect the diversity of local habitats within an urban archaeological site and to compare the range of information obtained using each of the methods separately. The other aim of the study was to reconstruct the environmental conditions in the earliest occupied area of the historic centre of Gdańsk. The repeatable composition and, in many points, consistency among pollen and macrofossil data in all three profiles strongly suggest that the apparently biased structure of these fossil remains in fact reflects a mosaic pattern of the vegetation in the area of the site. The combined pollen and macrofossil data enabled separation of local elements from those transported to the site by different means. The results show that already at the beginning of the 12th c., the area was almost totally deforested, but up to the mid-13th c. the settlement organization was still relatively loose, resembling a rather rural structure with well-developed ruderal plant communities and patches of semi-natural vegetation. At the coring area, strongly eutrophic riparian vegetation was bordering patches of dry grassland on a sandy holm. The large proportion of pollen of various entomophilous plants mostly from meadows and pastures is explained as a result of the presence of dung, as confirmed by the abundances of coprophilous fungal spores. The study indicates that parallel pollen and macrofossil analysis is essential for correct interpretation of fossil assemblages. Application of both methods enables broadening of the range of remains representing various organisms and obtaining more precise tools for environmental reconstruction and better understanding of the taphonomic processes at the archaeological site.     

Kinship and mobility in 11th-century A.D. Gammertingen,Germany: an interdisciplinary approach

Excavation in and around a Medieval church in Gammertingen, Germany, revealed the skeletal remains of eight individuals dating to the 10th and 11th century AD. Archaeologists hypothesized that the individuals were the first members of a family later known as the Counts of Gammertingen, a medieval high nobility family. In an interdisciplinary approach, Strontium isotope and ancient DNA techniques were performed in order to test the hypothesis that the church was used as a family burial site and to investigate the provenance of family members. Seven of the eight individuals can be placed in a three-generation genealogy. The isotope analyses establish that the eighth individual had a different birthplace and possibly became a member of the Counts of Gammertingen through marriage. Further, genetic data revealed that distant relatives of the paternal lineage are still present in this area today. Thus, the combined results lead to a very detailed knowledge about a 1000-year old noble family.     

Pre‐Modern Boathouses: a maritime perspective from northern Norway

Most Scandinavian boathouses predating the Reformation (AD 1537) are located in Norway, starting in the Early Iron Age, and a majority are found in the north. Following a critical review of Norwegian boathouse studies from a historical and regional perspective, current research themes in northern Norway are discussed. Boathouses are viewed as multifunctional entities providing insights into the marine economy, social organization, and ethnic interaction between Sami and Norse populations. A more balanced and holistic perspective is needed in which boathouses are seen as a central component of the maritime cultural landscape with uses extending substantially beyond boat storage. © 2012 The Authors