Over the centuries the Silk Road networks spanned from Europe till Eastern Asia. The diverse cultures and traditions that existed along these networks has always been an area of interest for...Show moreOver the centuries the Silk Road networks spanned from Europe till Eastern Asia. The diverse cultures and traditions that existed along these networks has always been an area of interest for scholars. This paper focuses on the Northern reaches of the ancient region of Gandhara, which is a region in the North of present day Pakistan. This paper focuses on Buddhist anthropomorphic images found along the Indus river course that would have been used by merchants and traders to travel from the northern regions of Asia towards the southern regions. By analyzing the Buddhist anthropomorphic rock carvings found within this area, further information on the diversity of interactions can be gained and deeper knowledge of the intricacies of the Silk Road networks can be gained. The dataset I present produces an interesting result in terms of interactivity along these trade routes. From the evidence found, it becomes clear that throughout the long history of this trade route, different ideas of religion and religious imagery was transmitted from the southern regions northwards and vice versa. By conducting a stylistic and iconographic analysis on specific Buddhist anthropomorphic images from this dataset, I argue that there is a certain fusion of Buddhist imagery taking place within the research area.Show less
An inclusive model of community-based Indigenous physical anthropological research projects has been conducted by constructing dialogues between researchers and Indigenous descendant communities in...Show moreAn inclusive model of community-based Indigenous physical anthropological research projects has been conducted by constructing dialogues between researchers and Indigenous descendant communities in a global context. Acknowledging the ownership of Indigenous communities over the ancestral human remains, physical anthropologists often support repatriation by closely working with community members. However, in Japan, the repatriation of human remains of the Indigenous Ainu people has not successfully collaborated with physical anthropologists. The relationship between physical anthropologists and Ainu people who are being critical of the use of “stolen”, unethically excavated ancestral human remains on scientific research is in much tension and they are far from an inclusive model. This thesis addresses the issues surrounding the attempts of communication between these parties. By understanding the social and historical background of the situation, as well as comparing occasional dialogues and opinions of stakeholders with successful cases of an inclusive model in global context, I was able to identify the issues. Despite the acknowledgement of the rights of the Ainu over their heritage in the code of ethics, the attempts of making communication are insufficient in terms of the recognition of Ainu kotan (community) with their ownership over the ancestral remains, and there are misconceptions and ignorance between each other. In order to move forward towards an inclusive model, physical anthropologists should approach to the Ainu sincerely to construct dialogue by charanke, a discussion in Ainu manner. Understanding the specific demands and feelings of Ainu kotan and being aware the socio-political impacts of their research outcomes are also essential. Through these efforts, an inclusive model may be achieved in the future, working with the Ainu as sisamu, good neighbour.Show less
Historical sources create an image that Rome was a city full of skyscrapers at the peak of the Roman empire. History also tells us that Rome inherited restrictions concerning the height of...Show moreHistorical sources create an image that Rome was a city full of skyscrapers at the peak of the Roman empire. History also tells us that Rome inherited restrictions concerning the height of buildings (Storey 2008, 8). However, Historical sources have the tendency to be biased, leading to an incorrect vision (King 2017, 3). This leads to historical sources offering narratives that archaeology must correct or dispute. Therefore, this thesis questions what archaeological sources state concerning the height and distribution of Roman buildings in Rome? The height of Roman buildings cannot be measured solely by archaeological sources. So instead, I will mainly be utilizing a map called the Forma Urbis Romae (FUR) as the archaeological visualization of staircases and high-rises. This map displays all the insulae and staircases in Rome in the beginning of the third century AD However, only 10 to 15% exists. By means of a typology of symbols presented as staircases and the spread of these symbols displayed in an edited version of the slab map of the FUR, an interpretation is made of high-rises. The typology includes the symbol “V” with transverse bars in it, with the spaces between the transverse bars being interpreted as floors within a building. A determination of the concept of a high-rise for Roman standards must be set. High-rises tower above the ordinary height of buildings and should be detectable in the urban landscape. The few archaeological remains form the basis of the height per floor, suggesting that the height per floor should be estimated at 3 to 3.5 meter. Based on these heights per floor, the multifloored buildings present on the map are interpreted to range from 6 to 31,5 meters. With a high-rise defined by a minimum of a 3 floored building of 12 to 14 meters. These high-rises are not very abundantly visible in the distribution of Rome and the tallest high-rises are particularly exceptional. These high-rises are only relatively sporadically distributed in small clusters and evade elevated areas. These results point out that archaeological results show a different image than what historical implyShow less
Marathousa-1, Megalopolis basin, central Peloponnesus, dates to MIS 12 and is the oldest archaeological site in Greece. Palaeontological and archaeological finds include a near-complete skeleton of...Show moreMarathousa-1, Megalopolis basin, central Peloponnesus, dates to MIS 12 and is the oldest archaeological site in Greece. Palaeontological and archaeological finds include a near-complete skeleton of the elephant species Palaeoloxodon antiquus, many other animal bones and high amounts of stratigraphically associated small lithics. Cut marks on several bones indicate hominin exploitation of faunal resources. This research tried to assess the potential for plant exploitation at the site. In order to do that, the local vegetation of the site was reconstructed by means of a macro-botanical analysis. Two types of data were acquired: semi-quantitative data of four samples, and concentration data of one sample of those four. The results show that the majority of the identified plant taxa has an aquatic or waterside habitat, suggesting a lake-shore setting for the site. Big changes in the vegetation over time could not be established. Because not much is known about plant exploitation in the Palaeolithic, a literature study was deployed. By combining information from non-botanical sources and preserved plant remains at other sites, Palaeolithic plant use can be reconstructed. Plants must have played an important role in the lives of Palaeolithic hominins. Plants provided food, supplied raw material for tools, shelter and bedding and were essential for starting and maintaining a fire. Approximately two-third of the 62 plant taxa identified at Marathousa-1 is suitable for one or more of these purposes. The potential for plant exploitation at Marathousa-1 was therefore high, but due to the nature of the site and the sampling method actual use of plants by hominins at the site cannot be proven.Show less
The ERC-Synergy project Nexus1492: New World Encounters In A Globalising World is, amongst others, investigating past activities in the indigenous Caribbean. One of these activities was the...Show moreThe ERC-Synergy project Nexus1492: New World Encounters In A Globalising World is, amongst others, investigating past activities in the indigenous Caribbean. One of these activities was the production of pottery. This thesis aims to investigate the chaîne opératoire of pre-colonial pottery through studying the 'act' of incising and punctating ceramic vessels during the Late Ceramic Age. This research was executed through the macroscopic analysis and comparison of 35 Meillacoid and Chicoid pottery sherd samples with 44 experimentally manufactured clay-slabs which were incised and punctated with 16 different experimental tools of various material types. The archaeological samples which were studied in this research are all originating from the pre-Columbian archaeological site of El Flaco, Dominican Republic. An inland site situated along the 'Ruta de Colon' and at the southern foothills of the Cordillera Septentrional at a distance of approximately 20km from the ocean. The main focus of this research is the potter's toolkit re-creation, comparing archaeological sample sherds with experimental clay-slabs with the goal of figuring out which tools were probably part of the potter's toolkit for the sake of incising and punctating ceramic vessels and which were not. Other variables like the dryness of clay vessels at the time of incising and punctating and the different possible gestures or motions are also discussed in this study. Preliminary conclusions include, but are not limited to a probably extensive toolkit with many tool-types as possible utensils for producing specific incisions and punctations, with tools from the category plant matter (read small wooden sticks and twigs) as the most important part of this toolkit. Additionally, it seems plausible that incisions and punctations were more likely to be applied to pre-colonial pottery on a relatively plastic clay, as opposed to a drier vessel.Show less
This thesis is focussed on the change in the consumption of storage ware and table ware glass. The glass used for this research is derived from three different sites from the Italian peninsula,...Show moreThis thesis is focussed on the change in the consumption of storage ware and table ware glass. The glass used for this research is derived from three different sites from the Italian peninsula, namely the San Rocco villa at Francolise, Cosa, and Insula VI.1 from Pompeii. The glass assemblages are all dated between the first century BC and the first century AD. The purpose of this thesis was to find out how the glass assemblages change throughout the first century BC and the first century AD on the Italian peninsula, since during this period, blown glass was invented and caused a shift in the already existing glass assemblages. It is proposed that the glass assemblages would have grown throughout this time, since the production of glass grew and became more widespread. Another theory is that the colour of the glass shifts from a broad variety of colours to mainly green, blue or colourless. A third aspect that plays an important role in this thesis is the increasing use of glass for storage and transport. Furthermore, an important aspect is context of the glass per site. These four aspects have been taken into account for each site and it can concluded that the glass assemblages do change significantly on all four aspects. What is prominent is that the glass assemblages expand due to and increasing glass production throughout the first century AD. Also, the glass colours change in a way that the colour variety stays the same or slightly declines and blue, green or colourless become very outstanding in the glass assemblages. The context of the glass shows that most of the glass comes from public areas, however, the glass assemblages from the private spaces, exist for a longer time span. In the assemblages, it can be seen that the use of glass storage ware increases throughout the first century AD. These forms also exist mainly of green, blue and colourless fabric.Show less
Red Slip Wares were the most common fine ware during the Late Roman Period. A comprehensive overview of different attributes across the entire Roman Empire has been lacking, with most research...Show moreRed Slip Wares were the most common fine ware during the Late Roman Period. A comprehensive overview of different attributes across the entire Roman Empire has been lacking, with most research focusing only on pottery type -and sometimes dates as well- in a smaller area. The whole Roman Empire was interconnected and as such any traded goods cannot be seperated from the Mediterranean-wide trade networks, leading to a need to pool research of Red Slip Wares to obtain an overview of the entire area. Research regarding vessel form and decoration has been especially limited. Different previous spatial studies of Red Slip Wares over smaller areas were combined and supplemented with extra data from other papers. All Red Slip Wares were mostly limited to coastal regions. African Red Slip Ware (ARSW) was used in all areas of the Roman Empire, and was also distributed farther inland. Use of Phocaean Red Slip Ware (PRSW) was limited to the Mediterranean, with a focus on the eastern Mediterranean and in particular the coastal region of the Aegaean. Cypriot Red Slip Ware (CRSW) is almost exclusively found in the eastern Mediterranean, with the highest numbers being recorded on Cyprus and in Israel and Palestine. Production peaks for ARSW are in the 4th and 5th century. Those for PRSW and CRSW are in the 5th and 6th century, while those for Sagalassos Red Slip Ware (SRSW) are in the 2nd and 3rd century. Spatial distribution is most wide-spread in the 4th and 5th centuries, the 7th century showing a reduction in the popularity of all Red Slip Wares. Dishes and shallow bowls were the most popular vessel forms. All vessel forms were used throughout most or all areas of the Roman Empire, with the exception of closed forms and lids which were limited to the western Mediterranean. No spatial correlation could be found for decoration. Geometrical, floral and botanical decoration was the most common in ARSW from the 2nd to 5th century AD, with animal, human, religious and mythical decoration being the most popular in the 6th century. Geometric decoration is the most common on SRSW throughout its manufacturing period.Show less
This research deals with the appearance and charasteritics of sleeve attachtment of late medieval chainmail armours from Europe and the Middle-East. The first step of the research was to collect...Show moreThis research deals with the appearance and charasteritics of sleeve attachtment of late medieval chainmail armours from Europe and the Middle-East. The first step of the research was to collect data from historical chainmail armours. For this purpose the chainmail armours in the collection of the National Military Museum in Soest (NL). From this research it could be concluded that 4 distinct types of sleeve attachment were present in the dataset. These types are: a sleeve with a patern that continues in the patern of the body, a sleeve with a pattern that was perpendicular to the patern of the body, a sleeve with a patern continuing in the patern of the body but with an extra rectangle fixed in the armpit and a sleeve with a continuing patern and an extra rectangle in the armpit that is perpendicular to the patern in the sleeve and body.Two of these types of sleeve attachments have an European origin and two types of sleeve attachments have a Middle-Eastern origin. All of these chainmail armours date from the late middle ages (1400-1800). Following this study of the historical material experiments have been done to gain an insight in two important charasteristics of the different typesd of sleeve attachment. The charasteritics that have been examined are freedom of movement and offered protection. To be able to do experiments with these different sleeves two riveted chainmail armours have been constructed, each with two of the four types of different sleeve attachments that appear in the dataset. The first experiment was the freedom of movement experiment. For this experiment the chainmail armour were worn by a testsubject which moved the arms upward. During this movement the maximum unhinderd height the arm could be lifted was documented as the limit of free movement. To be able to accuratly measuring the maximum height the experiment was done in front of a board of numbered lines. The conclusion of this experiment is that there is a major difference in freedom of movement. The sleeve with the patern continuing in the patern of the body and no extra rectangle perfomed best in this experiment. The second experiment was the protection experiment. For this experiment the chainmail armours were put on a dummy made of wood and PU foam. Three different attacks were tested on each sleeve attachment, a stab with the point of a poleaxe in the armpit, a stab with a langes-messer in the armpit and an attack called the half-sword technique, also aimed at the armpit. The conclusion of this experiment is that there is a difference in the protection that the chainmail offers to attacks. The sleeve with the extra rectangle in the armpit that has a patern perpendicular to the patern of the sleeve performed best in this experimentShow less
In this thesis the context of several objects found near the Rhenense Meent has been studied. Since the Rhenense Meent and the surrounding area used to be wet lands, it is suggested that the...Show moreIn this thesis the context of several objects found near the Rhenense Meent has been studied. Since the Rhenense Meent and the surrounding area used to be wet lands, it is suggested that the objects found in this area are deliberate depositions in wet contexts. The practice of deposition occurred all over Europe, therefore one would expect the type of objects found in the research area to correspond with objects which have been found as deliberate depositions before. To see if this is the case the known traditions of depositions during Late Prehistory in the Netherlands have to be studied. To create a background for the analysis of the objects found in the research area, it is necessary to study the landscape surrounding the research area. Objects dated to the Neolithic period (5.300 BC – 2000 BC), Bronze Age (2000 BC – 800 BC) and Iron Age (800 BC- 12 BC) will be discussed in this thesis. ARCHIS was used for the analysis of the objects and landscape surrounding the research area. ARCHIS does not give a complete image of all findings of a certain area and therefore one should be cautious when using ARCHIS as a database. We can conclude that probably no deliberate depositions occurred during the Early and Middle Neolithic period. Objects found from this period are daily life objects and although daily life objects were deposited in these periods, the objects showed no clear deposition context. The area of peat was a lot smaller during the Early and Middle Neolithic period and it is possible that these objects did not derive from wet lands, but from dry locations. A changed occurred during the Late Neolithic period. In this period we see the emergence of depositions of special and non-local objects. The objects found in the research area dated to the Late Neolithic period correspond with literature about deliberate depositions during the Late Neolithic period. During the Early Bronze Age we see a possible decrease in the practice of deposition. This is remarkable since according to literature we should see an increase in the practice of deposition during this period with its culmination during the Middle Bronze Age. We do see a culmination of possible deposited objects in the research area during the Middle Bronze Age with again a decrease in possible deliberate depositions during the Late Bronze Age. No clear possible depositions have been found in the research area dated to the Iron Age. Even in later periods, such as the Roman period and the Early Medieval period, the practice of deposition was not forgotten. Indicating that the research area and its surrounding landscape was a possible persistent place.Show less
