Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
open access
Towards the end of prehistory, the landscapes of Northwestern Europe developed into carefully organized places that feel more akin to those of historical and modern times. According to Mette...Show moreTowards the end of prehistory, the landscapes of Northwestern Europe developed into carefully organized places that feel more akin to those of historical and modern times. According to Mette Løvschal (2014), these landscapes saw the emergence of lines and boundaries with specific functions and meanings, especially in the Urnfield period (Late Bronze Age – Early Iron Age). This thesis focuses on a number of micro-regions in the Netherlands: Epe-Niersen, Oss and Boxmeer-Sterckwijck. The aim of this study is to gain a nuanced, inter-regional understanding on how these organized landscapes developed in the long term, and what influence older, visual features from the past had on the way people dealt with them in the Urnfield period. Especially barrow alignments are notable. They clearly impacted the way people dealt with these ‘ancestral landscapes’, but in significantly different ways. At Epe-Niersen, the urnfields and Celtic field emerged solely near ancestral mounds outside of the barrow alignment. At Boxmeer-Sterckwijck, the opposite happened: The barrow line itself transformed into a dense urnfield. Thirdly, the barrow line of Oss-Zevenbergen was completely re-structured with the construction of large, monumental burial mounds, scattered urnfield-graves and post alignments. A close association between the funerary landscape and settlements is observed at Boxmeer-Sterckwijck. On the other hand, Oss-North and Oss-Ussen are a striking example of a landscape that lacked any older, visual features before the emergence of settlements in the Middle Bronze Age. Therefore, in the absence of pre-existing lines and boundaries, people ended up creating them themselves, after which they were referred to in similar ways during subsequent occupation phases. This study demonstrates that the past was unavoidable in the organization of landscapes in the Urnfield period. Furthermore, the general succession in which barrow lines, urnfields, Celtic fields and organized settlements emerged was time-transgressive in nature, meaning that they developed at different point in time at each site. Nonetheless, is seems that each region reached a certain ‘tipping point’ were the landscapes inevitably developed into highly organized areas in line with the past.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
closed access
The research presented in this RMA thesis investigated long-term landscape development in the Jebel Qurma region, situated in the Black Desert of northeast Jordan. This region is home to an...Show moreThe research presented in this RMA thesis investigated long-term landscape development in the Jebel Qurma region, situated in the Black Desert of northeast Jordan. This region is home to an extraordinary rich archaeological record, typical for the Black Desert. It comprises hundreds of stone structures, artefact scatters, rock art and other features. The region is characterised as a landscape of preservation, and it is investigated how this landscape developed over the long-term. This research is relevant for a number of reasons. First, a long-term landscape approach to landscapes of eastern Jordan has not yet been carried out before, and little is therefore known about how these landscapes developed through time. Also, the methodology of this research combines remote sensing data with detailed survey data, something that is often neglected in archaeological research in this part of Jordan. Also, the landscape is studied through the conceptual approach of landscape biography, by which the influence of material remains of the past to later occupants of the landscape is emphasised in the research. This research shows that the profound historicity of the landscape, i.e. that many remains of the past have endured on the surface to a considerable extent, has profoundly influenced the way later occupants of the region interacted with the landscape.Show less
Rock art sites are the end result of constructive social and cultural processes. In this thesis, the social and cultural processes behind the formation of three petroglyph complexes, located in the...Show moreRock art sites are the end result of constructive social and cultural processes. In this thesis, the social and cultural processes behind the formation of three petroglyph complexes, located in the Circum-Caribbean area, will be reconstructed and compared. The first complex is located at Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe. The second and third complexes, Ometepe and Piedras Pintadas, are located in Nicaragua. The formative processes will be reconstructed on the basis of landscape analysis, used by the archaeologists of prehistoric north-western Europe. First of all, the concept of landscape will be discussed, followed by the archaeology of natural places, using the theory constructed by Bradley, Tilley and Scarre. Bradleys research yielded interesting questions which will be used, among other things, in answering the research question. The landscape analysis will focus on the stone material, landscape characteristics and spatial distribution of the three complexes, followed by an interpretation. The application of landscape analysis and landscape theory on rock art in the Circum-Caribbean will be evaluated in the discussion.Show less
