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Human societies have disposed of their dead in a variety of ways. However, while considerable attention has been paid to bodies that were buried, comparatively little work has been devoted to understanding the nature of cremated remains, despite their visibility through time. It has been argued that this is the result of decades of misunderstanding regarding the potential information that this material holds, combined with properties that make burned bone inherently difficult to analyse. As such, there is a considerable body of knowledge on the concepts and practices of inhumation yet our understanding of cremation ritual and practice is by comparison, woefully inadequate. This timely volume therefore draws together the inventive methodology that has been developed for this material and combines it with a fuller interpretation of the archaeological funerary context. It demonstrates how an innovative methodology, when applied to a challenging material, can produce new and exciting interpretations of archaeological sites and funerary contexts. The reader is introduced to the nature of burned human remains and the destructive effect that fire can have on the body. Subsequent chapters describe important cremation practices and sites from around the world and from the Neolithic period to the modern day. By emphasising the need for a robust methodology combined with a nuanced interpretation, it is possible to begin to appreciate the significance and wide-spread adoption of this practice of dealing with the dead.
The sixteen essays in this volume reflect a wide range of research concerning methods for metals conservation, particularly in respect to ancient and historic objects. The variety of issues discussed includes considerations in the cleaning of ancient bronze vessels; the processes involved in bronze casting, finishing, patination, and corrosion; studies of manufacturing techniques of gold objects in ancient African and medieval European metalworking; techniques of mercury gilding in the 18th century; an investigation of patina in the classification of bronze surfaces from land and lake environments; an examination of bronze objects from the Benin Kingdom, Nigeria; the history of restoration of the Marcus Aurelius monument in Rome; the corrosion of iron in architecture; and applications of radiographic tomography to the study of metal objects.
Written as a survey text covering appropriate techniques and methods from geology, geophysics, geochemistry and geochronology, this book shows the practicality and importance of techniques used in solving archaeological problems.
Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory, Volume 11 is a collection of papers that discusses world systems theory, modeling interregional interaction in prehistory, and the archaeological analysis of ceramics. Some papers review dating and weathering of inorganic materials, strategies for paleo-environmental reconstruction, as well as deposits and depositional events. One paper reviews the Old World state formation that occurred in West Asia during the fourth and third millennia B.C. Another paper examines the role of interactions among societies in the process of local social change, and the need for archaeologists to develop a framework in which to analyze intersocietal interaction processes. The presence of items such as ceramics is associated directly to factors of availability, functions, economic values, or ethnic affiliation. As an example, one paper cites the use and misuse of English and American ceramics in archaeological analysis in identifying cultural patterns and human behavior. Another paper notes that each biological or mechanical agent of transport and deposition has its own respective attributes on a deposit where the attributes of sedimentary particles on the deposit can be defined. From such definitions, the archaeologists can make observations and inferences. Sociologists, anthropologist, ethnographers, museum curators, professional or amateur archaeologists, and academicians studying historical antiquities will find the collection very useful.
In this volume scientists from different disciplines present their experience and their scientific work in progress. These concern the properties of a series of stones that have been used for the erection of some of the most important stone monuments of international cultural heritage and are also used today for substitution of missing parts or completion of damaged ones. It deals with the subject globally and contains unpublished research results.
This volume investigates the interaction between the natural environment, market forces and political entities in an ancient Sicilian town and its surrounding micro-region over the time-span of a thousand years. Focusing on the ancient polis of Kale Akte (Caronia) and the surrounding Nebrodi area on the north coast of Sicily, the book examines the city’s archaeology and history from a broad geographical and cultural viewpoint, suggesting that Kale Akte may have had a greater economic importance for Sicily and the wider Mediterranean world than its size and lowly political status would suggest. Also discussed is the gradual population shift away from the hill-top down to a growing harbour settlement at Caronia Marina, at the foot of the rock. The book is particularly important for the comprehensive analysis of the 1999–2004 excavations at the latter, with fresh interpretations of the function of the buildings excavated and their chronology, as well for reviewing the present state of our knowledge about Kale Acte/Calacte, and defining research questions for the future. The archaeological material at the heart of this study comes from excavations at the site conducted by the author. It is one of the few detailed publications from Sicily of Hellenistic and Roman amphora material. The conclusions about changing trends of commercial production and exchange will be of interest to those working on ceramic material elsewhere in Sicily and indeed further afield. The study also offers a fresh perspective of the economic history of ancient Sicily, and concludes that Kale Akte’s privileged location on the north coast was well suited for the export trade to Italy and the city of Rome itself, which enabled the Sicilian town to prosper during the Roman Empire. The origins of Kale Akte and its alleged foundation by the exiled Sikel leader, Ducetius, in the fifth century BC, are also discussed in the light of the latest archaeological discoveries. An Italian summary of each chapter is also included.