This volume brings together an international group of researchers to address how Mycenaean and Minoan states controlled the economy. The contributions, originally delivered at the 2007 Langford Conference at the Florida State University, examine the political economies of state (and pre-state) entities within the Aegean Bronze Age, including the issues of centralization and multiple scales of production, distribution, and consumption within a polity; importance of extraregional trade; craft specialization; the role of non-elite institutions, and the political economy before the emergence of the palaces. The contributors address these issues from an explicitly comparative perspective, both within and across Minoan and Mycenaean contexts. The conclusions reached in this volume shed new light on the essential differences between and among "Minoan" and "Mycenaean" states through their political economies.

In this volume, which is the outcome of the four-year long collaboration project SARA (Scandinavian and Atlantic Rock Art) between the archaeology department at University of Gothenburg and the Laboratory of Heritage of Spanish National Research Council, nine papers summarize new excavation and survey results, advanced studies of iconography and intriguing landscape studies. It addresses topics such as human activities in the vicinity and surroundings of rock-art panels, movement and communication, ritual and symbolism, and finally representations and constructions of landscapes. The book is a sophisticated study of the rock art of two major regions of prehistoric Europe, but one with implications for research over a much wider area. It is wide-ranging, topical and will no doubt also be controversial. Contributors include Per Nilsson, Manuel Santos Estévez, Yolanda Seoane Veiga, Johan Ling, Åsa C. Fredell, Marco García Quintela, Kristian Kristiansen, Lasse Bengtsson and Felipe Criado Boado.

This volume describes the results of the Longstones Project , a joint-universities programme of excavation and survey designed to develop a fuller understanding of the context and dynamics of monument construction in the later Neolithic (3rd millennium BC) of the Avebury region, Wiltshire. Several elements of this internationally important prehistoric monument complex were investigated: an early-mid 3rd millennium BC enclosure at Beckhampton; the recently re-discovered Beckhampton Avenue and Longstones Cove; a section of the West Kennet Avenue; the Falkner's stone circle; and the Cove within Avebury's Northern Inner Circle. The research sheds new light on the complexities and development of this monument rich area and consideration is given to the questions of how and why ceremonial centres such as that at Avebury came into being in the 3rd millennium BC. The importance of understanding the agency - the affective and perceived inherent qualities - of materials and landscapes is stressed; and the unusual character of the Wessex monument complexes is highlighted by comparison with the format and sequences of other ceremonial centres in southern Britain. The second part of the monograph tracks the later, post-prehistoric, lives of Avebury's megalithic monuments including a detailed account of the early 18th-century records of the Beckhampton Avenue made by the antiquary William Stukeley.

The Gilgal Neolithic sites are among the first sites where cultivation emerged in the Levant. This book provides the full report of the late Tamar Noy's excavations including stratigraphy, architecture, artifacts, art objects, faunal, and botanical collections.

This book features hitherto unpublished finds from the Minoan Palace periods discovered in major and minor excavations of recent years in the central, eastern and northern Aegean. The sites in the Aegean are Thera, Ios, Karpathos, Rhodes, Lemnos and Samothrace, while the west coast of Asia Minor are represented with the Urla peninsula (Cesme), Teichioussa, Iasos, Miletus and Troy. The papers discuss finds such as pottery, loom weights, other small finds, administrative written and sealed documents, and architecture seen in relation to questions like trade, 'minoanising' and colonization. The central issues of the conference are discussed among Aegean scholars in the last chapter.

This book is the story of an area of landscape in the English Midlands from earliest prehistory to around AD 900. Although it looks like a typical rural landscape, archaeological research, much of it in advance of quarrying, has revealed that this area has a long and remarkable history of occupation stretching back to the Ice Age. In particular at Catholme the project has revealed spectacular monuments from the Neolithic and Bronze Age (including a 'woodhenge-type' monument, a 'sunburst' monument and a cursus) that represent a regional expression of the monumental traditions of the age of Stonehenge.

At its core, this volume reports upon three large-scale excavations at Fengate, Peterborough. These cast new light on Briton's premier Bronze Age fieldsystem and their results lead to significant reappraisal of facets of Pryor's earlier interpretations and, also, approaches to the period's land-use generally. Reflecting upon such crucial issues as the character of settlement, landholding/territory and power, their discussion is furthered by the book's summary presentation of other recent prehistoric fieldsystems projects within the East Anglian Fenlands. Indeed, greater contextual overview is provided by an in-depth interview contribution by the 'Fieldsystem Triumvirate' of the '70/80s: Richard Bradley, Andrew Fleming and Francis Pryor himself. In keeping with its series' groundbreaking directive of 'Historiography and Fieldwork', having access to Wyman Abbott's archival sources (augmented by his correspondence with E.T. Leeds), for the first time, his early 20th century investigations can now be fully incorporated with subsequent excavations. This historiographic perspective allows, moreover, for unique insights into Edwardian archaeological practices, particularly the impact of type-based methodologies - pots, pits and peoples - and even the lingering influence today of prehistoric 'type cultures' concepts.

Recent excavations at Taplow Court have revealed a long sequence of activity stretching from the Mesolithic to the Anglo-Saxon period. Mesolithic struck flints and charred hazelnuts, and early Neolithic flints, were found in a small number of tree-throw holes. A group of inter-cutting hollows or shallow pits of Early Bronze Age date included sherds of Collared Urn and worked flint, rare evidence of domestic activity of this period. There were also finds of the middle Bronze Age, although no features of that phase were confirmed. In the late Bronze Age, a defensible hilltop enclosure about 1.2 ha was constructed on the site. The enclosure, probably first established in the 11th century cal BC, had a complex sequence of defences including a pair of post-rows possibly indicating a timber palisade backed by a raised walkway, a trench-built palisade, a ditch and rampart and further posthole-lines outside the ditch. Only a limited area of the interior was examined, but includes a series of parallel fence lines, one probable roundhouse and up to five possible four-post structures, with occupation extending into the 9th century cal BC. Following a probable hiatus in activity represented by a standstill deposit in the upper part of the ditch, a larger U-profiled hillfort ditch was constructed in the Early Iron Age, probably in the 5th century cal BC, the spoil being dumped over the previous ditch to form a timber-laced rampart, which was soon after destroyed in places by fire. The remains of the charred timbers within the rampart have revealed some details of its construction. The ditch however remained open into the Saxon period, and another internal roundhouse may be Middle Iron Age. A third and even larger V-profiled ditch was found outside the second ditch. Although the date of construction of this outer ditch is uncertain, it too remained open into the Saxon period, suggesting that the hillfort had many ditches its later stages. Price is approximate.

In 1856 L.J.F. Janssen, curator of the Dutch Museum of Antiquities, published his book Hilversumsche Oudheden. Eene bijdrage tot de ontwikkelingsgeschiedenis der vroegste Europesche volken (Translation: Antiquities from Hilversum. A contribution to the history of development of the earliest European peoples ). It will not be surprising that the book is scientifically not completely up to date. However the book is still of interest when considering its historical context. Archaeology, as we know it today, is for an important part based on ideas that were developed in the middle of the 19th century. Between 1830 and 1933, Charles Leyell published his Principles of Geology , stressing that the earth was much older than could be determined from the bible. It was unclear how this related to the history of mankind; it would be three more years before The Origin of Species would be published by Charles Darwin. In 1837 C.

A classic study of the pottery of the TRB West group, originally published in 1979. Bakker deals with the research history and typochronology of the TRB pottery. Also he gives a detailed account of the other TRB finds such as flint and stone artefacts and of course the most important TRB sites. Over the years this book has become a standard-work for anyone who is interested in hunebeds and their makers. The author has written a new introduction to this reprint in which he describes how the book of 1979 came together and the research that has been carried out since then.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines koine as 'a set of cultural or other attributes common to various groups' . This volume merges an academic career over a half century in breadth and scope with an editorial vision that brings together a chorus of scholarly contributions echoing the core principles of R. Ross Holloways own unique perspective on ancient Mediterranean studies. Through broadly conceived themes, the four individual sections of this volume (I. A View of Classical Art: Iconography in Context; II. Crossroads of the Mediterranean: Cultural Entanglements Across the Connecting Sea; III. Coins as Culture: Art and Coinage from Sicily; and IV. Discovery and Discourse, Archaeology and Interpretation) are an attempt to capture the many and varied trajectories of thought that have marked his career and serve as testimony to the significance of his research. The twenty-four papers (plus four introductory essays to the individual sections, biographical sketch and main introduction) contain recent research on subjects ranging from the Kleophrades Painter to the Black Sea, Sicilian Coinage and archaeology in modern Rome.

At the heart of this study are the early Neolithic chambered tombs of the Irish Sea zone, defined as west Wales, the west coast of northern Britain, coastal south and western Scotland, the western isles and the Isle of Man, and the eastern coast of Ireland. In order to understand these monuments, there must be a broader consideration of their landscape settings. The landscape setting of the chambered tombs is considered in detail, both overall and through a number of specific case studies, incorporating a much wider area than has been previously considered. Cummings investigates the background against which the Neolithic began in the Irish Sea zone and what led to the adoption of Neolithic practices, such as the construction of monuments. Following on from this, she considers what the chambered tombs and landscape can add to our understanding of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition. This volume aims to incorporate landscape analysis into a broader understanding of the Neolithic sequence in this area and beyond. It will provide an introduction to the Mesolithic and Neolithic of the Irish Sea zone, as well as a summary of previous work on this subject. It also offers a starting point for future research and a better understanding of this area.

Twelve papers by leading international scholars on the theme of the cultural, regional and personal identity of the Etruscans. The volume celebrates the originality of the Etruscan character manifest in its richly varied workshop production, and examines some unusual objects and buildings, considering what they tell us of Etruscan life, belief and influences. On a personal note, it considers how the Etruscans themselves wished to be identified and remembered. Two contrasting papers discuss attitudes to the Etruscans in the 18th century and the latest evidence for their origins using DNA studies. The papers were originally presented at a conference in 2006, celebrating the work of the renowned Etruscologist, Sybille Haynes.

The biographies of flint objects reveal their various and changing roles in prehistoric life. Using raw material sourcing, technological analysis, experimental archaeology, microwear and residue studies the author tells the story of flint from the Early Neolithic to its virtual demise in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age, incorporating data from settlements, burials and hoards from the region of the present-day Netherlands. This richly illustrated book shows the way flint functioned in daily life, how simple domestic tools became ritualized, how flint was used to negotiate change and how the biography of flint objects was related to personhood.

This book contains a detailed account of the earliest research carried out on the Dutch megalithic tombs. Dating from the Middle Neolithic these Stone Age monuments have continually triggered people's imagination. The earliest theories about their origin involved mythical creatures such as giants and witches. This richly illustrated book tracks the different ideas and theories through time and is a treasure for all those interested in Stone Age monuments and the history of Archaeology as a discipline. Contains a complete catalogue of all Dutch megalithic tombs and a summary and an appendix in German.

In common with other volumes in the Thames Through Time series, this account of the Thames Valley in the millennium and a half before the Roman conquest seeks to examine change in human society from a thematic point of view. The geographical and chronological framework for this volume is established in Chapters 1 and 2, but thereafter we have tried to get away from the traditional, somewhat artificial pigeon-holes of 'periods' 'ages' 'eras' and 'phases' to look much harder at how change in human society actually works. In a period when the 20th century has come to dominate secondary school history and much popular TV, the notion that the first foundations of modern society can be traced back more than 3000 years may seem a rather surprising proposition. But some fundamental patterns of settlement and landuse, political boundaries, human impact on the environment, and even the specific use and form of a few places can be traced back to late prehistoric times despite millennia of subsequent change - even though otherwise we may now have very little in common with those remote ancestors. Exploring these issues on a thematic basis should help us to gain a better understanding of how human society evolves and also of how people have altered their natural environment, providing a better long term perspective on what we are doing to the planet.