This Master thesis on archaeology and cultural heritage management of the Caribbean and Amazonia was written at the University of Leiden, Faculty of Archaeology. The special emphasis in this...Show moreThis Master thesis on archaeology and cultural heritage management of the Caribbean and Amazonia was written at the University of Leiden, Faculty of Archaeology. The special emphasis in this research is on finding out which role the Amerindian past and archaeology play in a Surinamese image of the past. The research design in the first place needed to reveal the past perception of individual people with a Surinamese Caribbean background. The interviewees who participated in this research however were Surinamese migrants who are living since many years in the Netherlands. The approach taken to reveal the past emphasis of individuals from the Surinamese community was through holding semi structured open interviews. The Surinamese community in the context of this research consists of groups of people that share their experience and memory on Suriname within communication, both in the Netherlands and their mother-country. It is within this community that an image of the Surinamese past is being constructed. A key note to the research is that the past is a present construct. From this point of departure multiple pasts do exist. People in their own diversity, within different environments, have to deal with personal socio-cultural realities. This implicates that a meaningful past for Surinamese people needs to be constructed from their individual and community perspectives. This research applied insights from memory theory, archaeological theory, heritage theory and a more anthropological example to show that such a construct asks for people’s balanced historical involvement and community concern. Community concern demands reciprocal involvement that should accomplish mutual understanding. The goal of this thesis is to show that archaeology can be a tool in accomplishing shared understanding and concern from doing research after past happenings and cultural environments. The thesis further advocates engaged archaeology as a tool to create shared understanding. Engaged archaeology does not only imply that an archaeologist should listen to society and people’s concern in order to find topics for research. It even more asks for stimulating participation of people in past interrogation and creating an open critical attitude towards personal perceptions and those of others. The role of the archaeologist in this process of past communication is one of being an example to people with respect to care about archaeological heritage and involvement in both the past and people’s present environment. As an archaeological professional, who executes a profession that primarily is concerned with people, the archaeologist’s task is to facilitate involvement and provide society with critical questions on people’s past supposition. The practice of archaeology in itself needs to be a research environment where people communicate their understandings and from this realize a more inclusive community of involved people that show interest in their surroundings and each other. There can be worked towards a more stable future from contemporary knowledge or understanding about the past. Besides the interview technique, in order to find out more on people’s past concern this research aimed for application of methods from the social sciences. These were methods like discourse analysis and grounded theory. From the interrogation a better understanding of contemporary Surinamese community was accomplished. It made clear that Amerindians in Suriname in general were perceived as being unchanged. From a Western colonial perspective they did not bring about much development and their culture was regarded primitive. Their political, economic and cultural significance was neglected within the culturally diverse and divided Surinamese colonial community. From contemporary and continuous political and societal shifts reorientation on those people who are indigenous to Suriname as well as on other groups in society however is needed in order to create communality. The recommendation to Surinamese society is that ongoing conceptualization on the past and people in society, is necessary in order to accomplish a stable community.Show less
Skeletal and dental growth and development is investigated in 39 perinate and infant skeletons aged between 32 weeks gestation to 42 weeks after birth in order to determine the accuracy of three...Show moreSkeletal and dental growth and development is investigated in 39 perinate and infant skeletons aged between 32 weeks gestation to 42 weeks after birth in order to determine the accuracy of three ageing methods and to assess possible periods of increased stress in the sample. The skeletal remains belong to a recently excavated, partly documented cemetery, from Middenbeemster, a rural village in the Netherlands, dating mainly to the nineteenth century. Three ageing methods were chosen to be evaluated, the accuracy of which had not been systematically investigated: 1) the deciduous Demirjian stages by Liversidge and Molleson (2004); 2) the dental height regression equations by Liversidge and colleagues (1993), and; 3) skeletal age estimation using 26 measurements form 18 different bones utilising six different standards (Black and Scheuer 1996; Fazekas and Kósa 1978; Maresh 1955; Molleson and Cox 1993; Saunders et al. 1993; Scheuer and McLaughlin-Black 1994). Accuracy of the methods is tested on a subsample of ten individuals for whom age at death is known from the Beemster district archives, and the results are further evaluated using the entire sample. Results from individuals of known age indicate high levels of accuracy for skeletal age and dental height with mean difference to chronological age of only -0.4 and +0.6 weeks, respectively. The deciduous developmental stages significantly overestimate chronological age by +5.5 weeks. These observed trends are confirmed in the entire sample were age was compared to the sample mean. In neonatal remains, skeletal age is most accurate regardless the standards used, but for post-neonates only the Maresh (1955) standard provides accurate results (+1.9 weeks). Dental developmental stages are more accurate in individuals less than two months (+2.4 weeks), increasing in older individuals to +5.2 weeks. Dental height gave an outstanding performance with consistent high levels of accuracy in neonatal (+1.6 weeks) and post-neonatal remains (+0.15 weeks), making it the preferred method for age estimation in the infant category. The mortality pattern followed a normal declining curve with the greatest percentage of individuals dying during the neonatal period. Skeletal development lagged behind dental development by about one month in almost 70% of the individuals, showing a trend of an increasing amount of delay with age. But differences in age between skeletal and dental development were not unambiguously pointing to a stress induced delay and more research is needed to clarify the observed trends. This thesis provides new information on the accuracy of dental and skeletal ageing methods of infant remains and should guide our application of these methods in future research of north-west European skeletal samples.Show less
This thesis studies the impact of shared heritage practices on local, non-Western, communities by means of a comparison between the Dutch Shared Cultural Heritage (GCE-) policy and the UNESCO 1972...Show moreThis thesis studies the impact of shared heritage practices on local, non-Western, communities by means of a comparison between the Dutch Shared Cultural Heritage (GCE-) policy and the UNESCO 1972 World Heritage Convention. Specific emphasis is put on the local views regarding these practices, in an attempt to move beyond the Western and neocolonial discourse that has dominated the field for the past decades. Through the execution of an in depth literature study on the history and rationale of both the GCE-policy and the UNESCO Convention, and through the assessment of a never before published comprehensive study on the functioning and effects on the local communities of the GCE-policy, and the execution of an original study on the local views of (designation of) World Heritage Sites through the case study of Stone Town of Zanzibar, Tanzania, it can be said that in order for the shared heritage policies and practices to become more successful, they need to start taking local communities into account. At the moment the cooperation in most cases only runs through local authorities or one or two local heritage specialists, but the rest of the community is not truly taken into account. As such, their ideas, wishes, and most importantly needs are not implemented in the projects and heritage practices, which as a result struggle to survive without the initiating party’s continuous efforts and money. The Dutch and UNESCO strife to make the local communities see the intrinsic value of the heritage concerned, that they feel is so important themselves, but fail to see that all parties value specific heritage differently or for very differing reasons. For the partner countries, the main incentive to join the shared heritage practices is an economic one. Instead of judging this, both UNESCO and the Dutch heritage organizations should appreciate that this is the reality that their local counterpart organizations have to deal with, and as such they should carefully listen to the local demands in order to come to a mutually agreed solution to any problems regarding the heritage. Only if local communities are taken into account in the implementation of shared heritage projects and policies, can they become sustainable and self-sufficient. What is important in shared heritage practices are not shared values regarding the heritage, but a shared understanding of all the disparate values concerned.Show less
The aim of this research is to define how oral history can be used as a source of information for archaeological research, and how it can be complementary to an approach in which the local...Show moreThe aim of this research is to define how oral history can be used as a source of information for archaeological research, and how it can be complementary to an approach in which the local community is included. By using the information for practical as well as ethical research engagements through an extensive analysis of the local perspective by looking at historicity and multivocality, it is shown that much more can be achieved with oral history research when the local perspective is thoroughly understood and precisely described. Therefore, Oral history as part of archaeological research is placed in between archaeological ethnography and community archaeology. Analysis of oral history data supports knowledge of the local display of historicization and thus helps to understand the information as deriving from a local perspective, which improves its usefulness for archaeological research. By looking at the presentation of historicity through specific characteristics of oral history storylines, a new framework of reference is presented for further research on combining oral history and archaeology. When the perspective of the local community is understood, information from oral history interviews can be included in the archaeological research as part of a multivocal interpretation of the past. Including voices of the local community and therefore adjusting archaeological research to their perspective and valuation of heritage promotes the active involvement and inclusion of the local community.Show less
This thesis will seek to critically consider the theoretical concept of archaeological waste. The discussion of waste from an archaeological perspective was initially carried out during the...Show moreThis thesis will seek to critically consider the theoretical concept of archaeological waste. The discussion of waste from an archaeological perspective was initially carried out during the nineteen seventies and eighties. Since that time little emphasis has been placed on the study of waste, and how it should be defined. This thesis will revisit many of those ideas in order to determine if they are still relevant to modern archaeological practices. It will also include a study of structural spatial deposition and the potential meanings attached to this action. This information will be used to determine whether there was structural or systematic deposition of waste material in prehistoric communities in the United Kingdom. Focus and emphasis will be placed on evidence uncovered from house ditches, postholes and their associated material from Bronze Age settlement at the sites of Trethellan Farm in Newquay in Cornwall, and the Bronze Age settlement of Ormesby St Michael in Norfolk.Show less
This research will discuss the different types of fractures that occur in a sample of the Dutch Middenbeemster collection from the Post-medieval graveyard and determine their prevalence rate. The...Show moreThis research will discuss the different types of fractures that occur in a sample of the Dutch Middenbeemster collection from the Post-medieval graveyard and determine their prevalence rate. The fracture types may possibly provide information regarding the lifestyle of the individuals. The characteristics of antemortem skeletal trauma will also be reviewed. Signs of healing indicate the trauma occurred at least a week before death and is called antemortem trauma. The various types of fractures and their cause(s), whether direct or indirect trauma injury, will be explained further. What the prevalence rate and the fracture patterns can say about the lifestyle of the Middenbeemster population will be addressed as well in order to provide some more insight into the lives and activities of the inhabitants of Middenbeemster that were interred in the cemetery of the ‘Keyserkerk’ in primarily the mid-nineteenth century.Show less
This thesis presents a plant macrofossil analysis on fluvial deposits from the Middle Pleistocene site of Happisburgh Site 1, on the East Anglia coast of England. This analysis contributes to a...Show moreThis thesis presents a plant macrofossil analysis on fluvial deposits from the Middle Pleistocene site of Happisburgh Site 1, on the East Anglia coast of England. This analysis contributes to a greater understanding on hominin dispersals in Europe from around 0.5 Ma, and their preferences concerning the climate and environment. The research problem therefore concerns the ecological tolerance towards early hominins. In this analysis, two samples are studied from different trenches and of different sedimentary composition: HAP10-L8 and HAP10-L7sample8 section2 (the lowest situated sample of section2). The identified taxa are compared with former macrobotanical research on different samples from HAP10-L7section2. From the outcome of these macrobotanical analyses, it is clear that we are dealing with a small freshwater river channel within a complex river system with many different plant habitats.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
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This thesis utilizes geologic methods and techniques (optical mineralogy and electron microprobe analysis) to characterize certain stone ground-edge artifacts from the site of El Cabo. This has...Show moreThis thesis utilizes geologic methods and techniques (optical mineralogy and electron microprobe analysis) to characterize certain stone ground-edge artifacts from the site of El Cabo. This has been done to locate the provenance of these samples and to build a better understand of the materials used by the Amerindians of the Dominican Republic. This research will also delve into possible rituals that existed with lithic procurement in this region and others. The goals of the thesis are to build a better understand of archaeology and geology of the insular-Caribbean as a whole and to zoom in on the Dominican Republic and the site of El Cabo.Show less
This thesis aims to investigate and analyse the ways in which Ancient Maya sculpture at Yaxchilan may have been perceived in the past. Contemporary Maya worldview has been used comparatively to...Show moreThis thesis aims to investigate and analyse the ways in which Ancient Maya sculpture at Yaxchilan may have been perceived in the past. Contemporary Maya worldview has been used comparatively to understand how different peoples can interpret and understand material culture, such as the stelas of Yaxchilan. The author has used knowledge and information gained through his own time spent in Mesoamerica in 2011, and especially ethnographic data collected on the contemporary Maya by a variety of scholars in the 20th Century to analyse this sculpture in a way that not been attempted before. Additionally, the role and value of ethnographical data is also discussed at some length.Show less
Archaeologists nowadays are beginning to recognise the importance of community engagement in archaeological work. For the past decades, archaeologists have put their efforts in involving the public...Show moreArchaeologists nowadays are beginning to recognise the importance of community engagement in archaeological work. For the past decades, archaeologists have put their efforts in involving the public into archaeological work. Despite the efforts made by archaeologists to involve the public, archaeologists do not seem to fully understand the needs and wishes of the public. This thesis analysed four different public surveys and one case study in Oss to acquire information on the public opinion on archaeology. Three different perspectives from three different groups are presented: the public, volunteers and professional archaeologists. The results of surveys analysis suggest that the public is well aware of the importance of archaeology and they want to participate in archaeology, but there are not enough opportunities to participate in archaeology and information on archaeology for the public. Some archaeologists fear that the quality of archaeology will decrease if the public is involved, but the results of public surveys and case study show that involving the public can bring positive effects on archaeology and enrich the content of archaeology. There is a need to provide information and opportunities for the public to enter the world of archaeology; archaeologists should not hesitate in taking any action to involve the public in archaeology. More efforts should be made in communicating with the public, including sharing information and offering opportunities to the public to involve in archaeological work. Nowadays, the public’s interests on archaeology is very important and crucial, not only because of ethical reason, but also if archaeology can gain more attentions from the public, and make the public be aware of their heritage, the public will be a very good helper for protecting and preserving the heritage. In the future, it is will be nice to see archaeologists to work with the public in actions of discovering and protecting the past.Show less
The Neolithic witnessed the inception of dedicated trade networks which encompassed vast distances, over 3000 years prior to the invention of the wheel and before the domestication of traditional...Show moreThe Neolithic witnessed the inception of dedicated trade networks which encompassed vast distances, over 3000 years prior to the invention of the wheel and before the domestication of traditional beasts of burden such as horses, donkeys and camels. Communities were able to transport large quantities of material by land and water through use of a mixture of purposely created equipment and techniques. Strangely, few attempts have been made to retrace these networks of transport and attempt to postulate how material was moved from one place to another. Theoretical models of exchange are well attested, but this does not extend into practical application. This thesis will attempt to perform this application through the case study of Tell Sabi Abyad, a Late Neolithic settlement in northern Syria. The presence of bitumen and obsidian at the site have been determined to have arrived from over 300km in distance. As such, this body of research will attempt to break down such journeys and establish how they eventually arrived at a site, either by direct acquisition or otherwise. It will attempt to establish – assuming groups were indeed undertaking expeditions directly to the source – how long such a journey would have taken and by what means material was transported. The tracing of such networks of exchange provides an intriguing insight into the interconnectedness of Late Neolithic communities, and what levels of organisation existed in the facilitation of this activity.Show less
This study examines the Egyptian collection of antiquities in the National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden after the addition of Anastasi's collection and creates a comparison with the Egyptian...Show moreThis study examines the Egyptian collection of antiquities in the National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden after the addition of Anastasi's collection and creates a comparison with the Egyptian collection of antiquities in the British Museum, London, after Salt's collection was incorporated. The aim of this research is to see if a large addition to a pre-existing collection affects the original plans for the overall collection. A theoretical framework has been constructed focussing on the already existing literature around these two collectors and the respective museums. This is supported by an internship at the National Museum of Antiquities to look in further detail at the artefact catalogue and carry out further research around the subject. The expected result is that the original plans for the two collections will have been changed quite rapidly when incorporated into the respective museums. This is due to the size and object type within the new collections and their impact on the other objects within the already existing museum collection. This research aims to explore the details of these developments, and whether any similarities can be identified between the two circumstances.Show less
This study investigates the task of combining education and pedagogy in twenty first century museums. The aim of this research was to see if the educational role of the 21st century museum is...Show moreThis study investigates the task of combining education and pedagogy in twenty first century museums. The aim of this research was to see if the educational role of the 21st century museum is pedagogical. Several publications have been reviewed in order to investigate the principles of both the old and new museology, to explore the history of museum education and its coexistence with pedagogy and to know in what base museums are working now. The chronological framework that has been outlined is the twenty first century in which ‘Critical Pedagogy’ movement appears renewed and slightly different from its first appearance in twenty century by Paul Freire and Ira Shor. Could museums manage their educational mission through various pedagogic methods and could be seen also as sites of ‘Critical Pedagogy’? Some sub-questions are formed in order to make clearer the steps of the research. In those are explored the following: a) if museums use specific pedagogic methods and exploit the twenty first century’s technologies, b) what museum educators do and how they learn to teach, c) what steps are followed by a museum educator in order to design a program and d) what pedagogical path are followed by archaeological museums, what are their reflections to our century challenges and what are their practices. For the last question were used the case study of the Archaeological Museum of Delphi, in Greece in which the author had her internship and two more of museums in the Netherlands as comparison. The qualitative survey was the methodology that was applied during the research. Specifically, have been applied qualitative questionnaires to visitors of Delphi Museum and semi-structured interviews to highly ranked employees such as museum curators, head of collections, museum educators, etc. of different museums both in Greece and the museums in Netherlands. The questionnaire results are analyzed using descriptive statistics such as average, percentages, mode and median to assess whether museums serve both purposes. The interviews are transcribed and the answers are grouped according to their topic. The results of both questionnaires and interviews are discussed. Finally, the outcome of this study is quite positive and very promising for the future. Museums in twenty first century try hard to be seen as sites of ‘Critical Pedagogy’ and to educate their visitors in a pedagogic way. Archaeological museums try to confront contemporary challenges and use pedagogy in order to commune their holy ancient secrets and precepts to the people.Show less
In this thesis an interdisciplinary approach was used in an investigation on the presentation of Classical Attic funerary sculptures in the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden. The Greek...Show moreIn this thesis an interdisciplinary approach was used in an investigation on the presentation of Classical Attic funerary sculptures in the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden. The Greek Department of the museum will be reorganised and therefore a new exhibition on the collection should be created. The research question of this thesis focused on the creation of similar, authentic experiences of the funerary markers as visitors of a cemetery would have in Classical times. Each individual chapter provided a different perspective on the realisation of these aims. First, a museological perspective emphasized on the origin of the collection from the Flemish Colonel Rottiers. An archaeological chapter provided amongst others a sociological background on the sculptures, which is important in the overall understanding of the objects. The spatial chapter investigated the capabilities of Space Syntax within museums. Here, a spatial analysis of the new exhibition space was performed. In the last philosophical chapter the aims of the thesis were discussed. These individual chapters all constituted to the formulation of an advice for the museum which was provided in the next chapter. In this advice, an archaeological reconstruction of a peribolos was combined with the spatial results from the Space Syntax analysis. It is hoped that this case study will be useful in the ongoing discussion on the presentation of the past within both archaeology and museum studies and that its interdisciplinary character will inspire other scholars in their research in the presentation of the past in museums and its role for the public.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
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The last decade has seen the emergence a body literature advocating an archaeological approach which is conscious of, and actively includes, the individuals and groups who are entangled in the...Show moreThe last decade has seen the emergence a body literature advocating an archaeological approach which is conscious of, and actively includes, the individuals and groups who are entangled in the processes of archaeological research and are connected to and draw meaning from the material remains of the past. This archaeological approach, widely known as Community Archaeology, has been promoted by many, who envision a socially responsible discipline and multivocal understanding of the past. Archaeological discourse in Greece, however, seems to remain fairly silent on the issue, despite growing indifference, suspicion, and even resentment and resistance by the Greek public towards the field. The context to why this had become the case lay with the construction of an idealized nation built upon the “golden age” of its classical past and a formation of homogenous perception of national identity which have subsequently led to the exclusion of entire periods of time, namely that of the Post-Medieval period and it’s alternating and overlapping Ottoman, Venetian, and Frankish rule, as well the arginalization of those whose lives and histories have straddle the borders of ethnic, national, linguistic and religious identities. Further the historical conservative nature of the development of the field of Greek archaeology coupled with archaeological practice in service to the state, and monopolized solely by archaeological values has served to distance the public from the past and its materials. The tides they are a changing however, and research in Greek prehistoric archaeology, the emergence of regional survey projects in Greece and developments in post-medieval research has made significant strides in shedding Greek Archaeologies long held approaches rooted in nineteenth century ideologies and classicism. Furthermore, the tensions building between public and archaeological officials are not going unnoticed and some authors are starting to highlight that it is time for archaeological practice in Greece to think about for whom their work is for. In search of a tangible manifestation of the academic murmurings an examination of the museum sphere was undertaken, looking at three different self-ascribed museum types: Archaeological, Byzantine, and Folk, in three different locations in Greece: Athens, Thessaloniki, and Nafplio. Based on the knowledge of the recent renovation and redisplay of a few I was curious to see what museological methods had been implemented and further the incorporation of local communities or other relevant stakeholder groups in either the newly renovated exhibits or current temporary exhibits of the time, indicating perhaps a shift in museum practice not yet analysed.Show less
Around the 12th century AD in Japan, a cultural transition takes place on the northern island of Hokkaido: Okhotsk culture and Satsumon culture (approx. 6th to 12th century AD) come to an end as...Show moreAround the 12th century AD in Japan, a cultural transition takes place on the northern island of Hokkaido: Okhotsk culture and Satsumon culture (approx. 6th to 12th century AD) come to an end as Ainu culture emerges. The Okhotsk people, focused strongly on exploitation of marine resources, originated on the island of Sakhalin and migrated south to Hokkaido and along its northeastern coast. The Satsumon people on the other hand, lived mostly in riverine settlements on the southern half and inland of Hokkaido. They practiced agriculture of wheat, barley and millet, as well as salmon fishing. This cultural transition is not yet well understood. I will focus on the role of Okhotsk culture in this process. How did interaction and exchange of Okhotsk people with Satsumon culture impact its decline and the transition to proto-Ainu culture on Hokkaido? To investigate this issue, Peer Polity Interaction theory is applied. Within this framework, eight different types of interaction are defined: competition, competitive emulation, warfare, transmission of innovation, symbolic entrainment, ceremonial exchange of valuables, flow of commodities, and language and ethnicity. This theory avoids insinuating dominance of one group over the other, and allows for the incorporation not just of material culture but also symbolic aspects. Using the English sources available, 32 Okhotsk sites have been examined for evidence of interaction and exchange with Satsumon culture according to these categories. The existing theories about the decline of Okhotsk culture involving migration, trade and warfare have been analyzed, and then reevaluated based on the results of the Peer Polity Interaction approach. Evidence of Satsumon pottery at Okhotsk sites, iron goods and import of bear cubs all points to a larger reliance on trade and exchange than previously assumed, to the detriment of Okhotsk production. This increased interaction allowed for symbolic entrainment to occur, leading to a more widespread adoption of an early form of the bear sending ceremony. This ritual is known ethnographically from later Ainu culture, but not Satsumon culture which is said to be its main ancestor. This research aims to contribute to our understanding of interaction between marine hunter-gatherers and agricultural people.Show less
For the last couple of decades, Iraq is known as a country of war, danger, fear, hunger and terror. Three wars have occupied this period, bringing along terrible consequences. The chaos and poverty...Show moreFor the last couple of decades, Iraq is known as a country of war, danger, fear, hunger and terror. Three wars have occupied this period, bringing along terrible consequences. The chaos and poverty of the country, in combination with an destabilised authority, has made people to start large-scale looting of archaeological sites in the desert of Southern Iraq, as an alternative way of income. the antiquities they dig up from the ground are sold to smugglers, which again sell them on to collectors, museums and institutions all over the world through the illegal trade market. Unfortunately, the looting and selling of these ancient objects does not happen occasionally, but it happens on a gigantic scale and gets worse and worse. Entire villages, clans and tribes are involved in the trade and profit from it. Furthermore, powerful elites mingle in the trade, which is why it is completely intertwined with the country’s political situation. Starting in 1990 with the first Gulf war, the problem has never had such a magnitude as with the start of the Second Gulf War in 2003, and it is still increasing today. Not only is this process destructive for the archaeological objects, monuments, and science, it also further destabilizes the country as looting groups are armed, merciless, dangerous and powerful. Furthermore, especially during the 2003 war but also before, sites have been damaged by military forces and bombs, and museums have been robbed. This bachelor thesis explains what kind of archaeology destruction has occurred in the past of Iraq, how looting has developed and why, why it is so hard to stop and most importantly, how we can counteract it.Show less
Determining the sex of subadults is seen as important for osteology and social studies. Within osteology several methods exist to determine the sex of subadults, but all these methods are under...Show moreDetermining the sex of subadults is seen as important for osteology and social studies. Within osteology several methods exist to determine the sex of subadults, but all these methods are under discussion. Often, the researchers who created the methods had high accuracies, but when it was later on retested by other researchers, the accuracy rates dropped. Within this research twelve non-metric methods were tested on known-sex subadults from Middenbeemster (n = 43). The twelve non-metric methods of this research are the elevation of the auricular surface, the greater sciatic notch angle, the greater sciatic notch depth, the arch criterion, the iliac crest, the protrusion of the chin, the anterior dental arcade, the eversion of the gonion region, the complete mandible, the mentum, the mandibular angle and the orbital morphology. The accuracy rates for each method were calculated and in addition separate accuracy rates were obtained for the pelvis, the skull and the overall skeleton. All the obtained accuracy rates were low. In addition, the statistical analyses indicate that the methods cannot be used to determine the sex of subadults. These low accuracy rates might be explained through with several factors. A population difference between the Middenbeemster sample and the sample of the other researchers might explain the low accuracy rate. In addition, some researchers have proved that there is less sexual dimorphism in Dutch populations than in other populations. Disease and malnutrition can also cause low accuracy rates. And inter- and intraobserver error can also cause low accuracy rates. In addition, this research was limited by a small sample and a overrepresentation of females within the sample. A division in five age groups made clear that there might be several methods that are age-related and not sex-related. It seems that the twelve non-metric method cannot be used to determine the sex of subadults, but more research is needed to get a better understanding of these methods.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
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In this thesis I have done research on expressions of ethnic identity in Athens and Ephesos in the Archaic and Classical period. This concept has mostly been researched by means of sociological and...Show moreIn this thesis I have done research on expressions of ethnic identity in Athens and Ephesos in the Archaic and Classical period. This concept has mostly been researched by means of sociological and anthropological studies. However, I utilized coinage as an archaeological proxy to further contribute to its understanding. In the context of these two cities were ethnic proclamations used to conceal true purposes of achieving social, political and economic goals. Identities were effortlessly constructed, discarded, replaced or reactivated in a new form. In Athens ethnic identities were expressed in three phases which ultimately led to a dominant position in the eastern Mediterranean. In Ephesos an Ionian descent was expressed to root their ancestry deep in the history of the Greek mainland for political and military support. The implementation of coinage has shown how deeply embedded the expressed ethnic identities were in the social and political landscape of Athens and Ephesos in the Archaic and Classical period. Furthermore I have suggested an alternative view to symbolism on early Greek coins. In this thesis I have suggested that from the fifth century BC onwards, when coinage trade networks expanded beyond local spheres, message broadcasting became a part of coinage. This study therefore has subsequently made way for a better understanding of early coinage in the Greek world.Show less
