Minoan' Crete is one of the most intensively investigated archaeological cultures in the world, and one that has often captured the public imagination. It is a Bronze Age Aegean society, but it has been intimately connected with the Classical Greek myth of King Minos and his Labyrinth since Sir Arthur Evans excavated and restored (some would say rebuilt') the important site of Knossos, more than a century ago. Yet many archaeological interpretations of this fascinating culture are still largely traditional in focus and often anachronistic. This collection of papers, challenging and re-examining many conventional and established versions of 'Minoan' history is thus long overdue. How have modern preconceptions and socio-political developments shaped archaeological interpretations of 'Minoan' society? What were the gender roles and attitudes of the inhabitants of Bronze Age Crete? How can data such as the puzzling architecture, the stunning wall-paintings, the elaborate and abundant pots, the landscape and the way it is perceived by humans, help us understand the nature and the negotiations of power and the role of the so-called palaces? These are some of the questions that this book addresses, considering 'Minoan' archaeology from a variety of interpretive angles, and situating 'Minoan' archaeology in the mainstream of archaeological thinking and practice.

Human bones form the most direct link to understanding how people lived in the past, who they were and where they came from. The interpretative value of human skeletal remains (within their burial context) in terms of past social identity and organisation is awesome, but was, for many years, underexploited by archaeologists. The nineteen papers in this edited volume are an attempt to redress this by marrying the cultural aspects of burial with the anthropology of the deceased.

Archaeology often struggles in envisioning real people behind the world of material objects it studies. Even when dealing with skeletal remains archaeologists routinely reduce them to long lists of figures and attributes. Such a fragmentation of past subjects and their bodies, if analytically necessary, is hardly satisfactory. While material culture is the main archaeological proxy to real people in the past, the absence of past bodies has been chronic in archaeological writings. At the same time, these past bodies in archaeology are omnipresent. Bodily matters are tangible in the archaeological record in a way most other theoretical centralities never appear to be. Ancient bodies surround us, in representations, in burials, in the remains of food preparation, cooking and consumption, in hands holding tools, in joint efforts of many individual bodies who built architecture and monuments. This collection of papers is a reaction to decades of the body's invisibility. It raises the body as the central topic in the study of past societies, researching its appearance in a wide variety of regional contexts and across vast spans of archaeological time. Contributions in this volume range from the deep Epi-Palaeolithic past of the Near East, through the European Neolithic and Bronze Age, Classical Greece and Late Medieval England, to pre-Columbian Central America, post-contact North America, and the most recent conflicts in the Balkans. In all these case studies, the materiality of the body is centre stage. Possibilities are highlighted for future study: by putting the body at the forefront of these archaeological studies an attempt is made to provoke the imagination and map out new territories.

A collection of research articles on the teaching of English in Iceland. It is the first book of its kind and is an attempt to gather in one accessible publication the most recent research being conducted in the field of teaching and learning English as a foreign or second language in Iceland. The articles cover a wide range of studies on English language learning, pedagogy and teacher education, but their content is relevant to foreign language instruction in general.

The aim of this monograph is to bring together in a single volume the results of many years of research into production technology of early vitreous materials. The vitreous materials considered are glazed steatite, faience, Egyptian blue and green frits, and glazed pottery and bricks from Egypt, the Near East, the Indus Valley and Europe spanning the period from their beginnings in the 5th millennium BC through to the Roman period. For each group of material, the emphasis is on presenting the available analytical and microstructural data which are then interpreted to provide information on the raw materials and methods of fabrication employed in their production. Where appropriate, the raw materials used in the production of these materials are compared with those used in the production of contemporary glass. By bringing together data for such a wide range of materials, geographical regions and chronological periods, similarities and differences in production technology are identified, and the pattern of technological discovery, adoption, choice and transfer is thus revealed.

This booklet presents lectures given by professors of archaeology Helle Vandkilde, Claus von Carnap-Bornheim and James Graham-Campbell. Vandkilde on "Archaeology, Anthropology and Globalisation" touching upon her future project in Papua New Guinea combining archaeology and social anthropology. Von Carnap-Bornheim interprets the finds from the location of the battle (Kalkriese-Niewedder Basin, Germany) in 9 AD between Roman Varus and the Germanic leader Arminius. Graham-Campbell deals with the silver economy in Viking-Age Britain and Ireland.

There is a growing trend among archaeologists to re-create artefacts and actions at a 1:1 scale in order to answer questions and gain new insights into the past. In November 2007, the University of Exeter hosted a one-day conference on experimental archaeology, and it was soon discovered that experience is a key issue in understanding the use of materials and past processes. Papers presented in this volume consider both theoretical issues and practical case studies. The scope ranges from skinning animals or dyeing wool the Roman way, to producing sound with flint tools, carving stone on Chalcolithic Cyprus, or casting bronze objects both as art and science in Ireland. The eight chapters in this book demonstrate the myriad possibilities of archaeology by experiment. Experimental archaeology is multi-disciplinary by nature, with examples from anthropology, ethnography, taxidermy, finite element analysis and manufacturing systems theory all being present in this volume. Not only does this sub-discipline have a colourful and meaningful past, but it will surely have a significant future.

This edited volume contains twelve papers that present evidence on non-normative burial practices from the Neolithic through to Post-Medieval periods and includes case studies from some ten countries. It has long been recognised by archaeologists that certain individuals in a variety of archaeological cultures from diverse periods and locations have been accorded differential treatment in burial relative to other members of their society. These individuals can include criminals, women who died during childbirth, unbaptised infants, people with disabilities, and supposed revenants, to name but a few. Such burials can be identifiable in the archaeological record from an examination of the location and external characteristics of the grave site. Furthermore, the position of the body in addition to its association with unusual grave goods can be a further feature of atypical burials. The motivation behind such non-normative burial practices is also diverse and can be related to a wide variety of social and religious beliefs. It is envisaged that the volume will make a significant contribution towards our understanding of the complexities involved when dealing with non-normative burials in the archaeological record.

Data from molecular genetics have changed our views on the origin, spread and timescale of our species across this planet. But how can we reveal more detail about the demography of ancient human populations? For example, is it possible to determine when and how many people arrived at a certain continent, and which route they took from a choice of geographically plausible options? One of the most promising tools for such investigation is computer simulation incorporating various demographic scenarios. The simulation outcomes must be evaluated by teams with archaeological expertise, since archaeological evidence is generally the best evidence currently available on the population histories of geographical regions. This book is a summary of the landmark conference held in Cambridge in 2005, where specialists in simulations and molecular genetics as well as archaeologists came together to present and evaluate the state of the art, and to discuss future possibilities.

On March 7, 1808, President Thomas Jefferson received a long-awaited shipment of approximately 300 fossils from William Clark, who had just completed his westward expedition with Meriwether Lewis. The fossils were unearthed at Big Bone Lick in northern Kentucky, and over the years they had gained the interest of such prominent figures as Daniel Boone, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin. Jefferson's receipt of the fossils was the realization of more than twenty years of the philosopherstatesman's interest in the site and its natural treasures. Big Bone Lick: The Cradle of American Paleontology recounts the rich history of the fossil site that gave the world the first evidence of the extinction of several mammalian species, including the American mastodon. Big Bone Lick has played many roles: nutrient source, hallowed ground, salt mine, health spa, and a trove of archaeological riches and paleontological wonders. Natural historian Stanley Hedeen presents a comprehensive and accessible narrative of Big Bone Lick from its geological formation forward, explaining why the site attracted first animals, then Native peoples of the region, European explorers and scientists, and eventually American pioneers and presidents. Big Bone Lick is a history of both a place and a scientific discipline: it explores the infancy and adolescence of paleontology from its humble and sometimes humorous beginnings. Hedeen combines elements of history, geology, politics, and biology to make Big Bone Lick an entertaining story as well as a valuable historical resource.

Documenting the results of some ten years of fieldwork, this volume explores the prehistoric occupation of a small valley near Broom, on the Bedfordshire gravels. It traces a biography of the landscape from the later Mesolithic through to the Iron Age, a sequence that saw profound changes in the character, scale and temporality of occupation. Undertaken in advance of gravel extraction, the scale of the fieldwork reported here made it possibe to track not only the sequence of occupation, but also how prehistoric communities encountered, appropriated or ignored the 'archaeology' of their time. Set against sequences from across southern England, this work sheds important light on the relationship between local histories and broader processes, and on the complex and geographically varied ways in which the past itself was understood in the past.

The dawn of art is sometimes equated with the birth of the human spirit. But when and how did figuration - sculpture, painting, drawing - actually begin? And did these first figurative creations coincide with the emergence of our own species, Homo sapiens ? Is figuration a general and fundamental feature of the human condition? In this challenging volume leading experts review the evidence now available from the worldwide practice of prehistoric archaeology, and go on to formulate some important conclusions. The scope of this work is global. It sets out to explore the first stirrings of artistic endeavour and of figurative imagery on each continent, and to consider the social context in which they arose. It will be a fundamental resource for all those seeking to understand the origins of art and the beginnings of human spirituality.

This book brings to public attention some of the most evocative and threatened features of the landscape of southern England. Water meadows work with nature to improve agricultural productivity, whilst providing rich habitats for wildlife such as water voles, waders and grass snakes. They are areas of low-lying grassland which are regularly 'drowned' - artificially irrigated - at certain times of the year, to stimulate the early growth of grass in the spring. Only a few remain in operation today, though they played a crucial role in Britains past farming economy. Their archaeological remains can be found all over southern England, with Hampshire and Wiltshire having perhaps the best surviving examples. In this book leading archaeologists and scientists - together with one of the last practising 'drowners' - explore the ecology and history of water meadows. They ask when and where the art of floating originated, and explain its hydrology. They also investigate water meadows conservation status and potential for the future.

The current conception of the absolute chronology of the Italian Copper Age to the end of the Early Iron Age is set out in this new title from the British Museum. Some 850 objects have been arranged chronologically from the Copper Age, through the Bronze Age, to the Early Iron Age. Within these headings, the objects are organised typologically e. g. axes, swords etc. A major result of this study has been the reassembly of several groups of bronzes probably originally from hoards. Each entry includes a description, bibliogrpahy and comparanda and line drawing or photgraph.

This fascinating portrait of the Society of Antiquaries of London, founded in 1707, assesses the impact that individual Fellows and the Society as a whole have had in influencing the way we visualise and understand the past. There are, for example, essays on the Society's pioneering role in recording monuments and antiquities for posterity, in establishing the scientific and empirical basis of archaeological studies, in replacing Biblically based timeframes with a clearer understanding of deep time measured in millions of years, in drawing up the first legislation protecting ancient monuments, and in funding and publishing the great excavations of the last one hundred years, from Stonehenge, Maiden Castle, Richborough and Sutton Hoo to Aksum (Ethiopia) and Mons Porphyrites (Egypt). All the papers represent fresh and original scholarship and they tell us much about the Society's achievements (and some of the accompanying conflicts between personalities and ideas) over three hundred years. They are based on diaries, letters, minute books and confidential government papers and on portraits that chart the changing image of the antiquary from a figure of fun to heroic seeker of forgotten people and civilizations. Visions of Antiquity reveals astonishing echoes across time - from the repeated and continuing attempts to record all ancient buildings and monuments to the continuity of the title 'antiquary' to describe scholars who build bridges between different branches of knowledge based on the study of material remains of the past and of a Fellowship whose numbers have included prime ministers, bishops, peers and parliamentarians, as well as radicals and free thinkers, such as William Morris and many of the founders of modern conservation.

It is difficult to imagine modern archaeology without radio-carbon dating, geophysics, analytical chemistry, or the input of the social and historical sources. Archaeology is inevitably an interdisciplinary enterprise, perhaps more so than any other field. But with the ever-increasing specialisation of modern research in general, it becomes more and more difficult to communicate across disciplinary doundaries; this is one of the major challenges modern archaeology faces today. This volume is the outcome of a two-day conference held at the University of Oxford that focused on the opportunities and challenges of interdisciplinary approaches to archaeology.