In this thesis the political, social, demographical and geographical relationships between the demes of Attica and the city of Athens are investigated. Because of the size of the polis and the...Show moreIn this thesis the political, social, demographical and geographical relationships between the demes of Attica and the city of Athens are investigated. Because of the size of the polis and the political organization of it Athens was an anomaly in the ancient world. Democracy was first implemented in Attica in 508/7 and therefore Athens played a unique role in history. The large number of settlements, or demes, that together formed the polis of Athens shared political power in the Ecclesia and the Boulé and although this power was never divided among them equally, the system worked for almost two centuries. Many demes housed larger populations than a normal-sized polis outside of Attica did so we must wonder how they were organized and how their size influenced their political power in the polis of Athens. Through archaeological remains and written sources the importance of several unique demes is clarified and the balance of power that existed in democratic Athens is confirmed. Through research we come to find out that very large demes located in the rural or coastal areas could very well have less political power than a much smaller deme within the city-walls of Athens. The reason for this is simple, the Ecclesia, or assembly, was the only legislative power in the polis and the great majority of its members came from the direct vicinity of the city since they were the only ones able to participate in the democratic processes of the polis on a daily basis. The rural and coastal areas of Attica therefore wielded less legislative power despite their superiority in numbers of inhabitants. Through equal representation in the Boulé the demes retained a certain amount of power though so the system, that was implemented by Kleisthenes in 508/7, essentially worked.Show less
This thesis examined the possible function(s) of Harappan fortifications and evaluated the possibility of the fortifications being used as a water barrier against flooding, as military structures...Show moreThis thesis examined the possible function(s) of Harappan fortifications and evaluated the possibility of the fortifications being used as a water barrier against flooding, as military structures or if the fortifications had a more ideological function. The military aspects of the fortifications will be the focus of this thesis and are evaluated according to primary and secondary features. The primary features are 1. The bastion, 2. The defended gate and 3. The V-sectioned moat while the secondary features are the parapet, postern, rampart, salient, tower and the thickness of the walls. Eight sites of the Indus valley have been examined: 1. Banawali, 2. Harappa, 3. Kalibangan, 4. Mohenjo-daro, 5. Dholavira, 6. Kuntasi, 7. Lothal and 8. Surkotada. It has been concluded that flooding did not play an important role in erecting the fortifications. The fortifications all have primary and secondary military features in some degree (except Lothal) which points to a military function of the fortification. Moreover, the turbulent start of the Mature phase is connected with the construction of the fortifications and indicates the need for such structures. However, ideology plays a big part in Harappan society as well and therefore some of the fortifications have a monumental aspect. It is therefore suggested that the fortifications in general performed both a military and a symbolic function.Show less
Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
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De thesis is een zoektocht naar de manier waarop hiphop vanaf eind jaren ’80 begin jaren ’90 in het overwegend islamitische Indonesië vorm heeft gekregen en welke rol de populaire cultuur speelt in...Show moreDe thesis is een zoektocht naar de manier waarop hiphop vanaf eind jaren ’80 begin jaren ’90 in het overwegend islamitische Indonesië vorm heeft gekregen en welke rol de populaire cultuur speelt in het dagelijkse leven van jongeren in steden. Hierbij ligt vooral de nadruk op de achtergrond, motieven en muzikale producties van de artiesten (voornamelijk rappers) die hiphop muziek en cultuur maken en uitdragen, en niet in het bijzonder op de cultuurindustrie en de jonge consumenten van zowel binnen- als buitenlandse hiphop en bijbehorende stijlen. Bijzondere aandacht gaat in de case studies naar 'islamitische hiphop' in Jakarta.Show less
This thesis looks in to the flow of news reports that came in to the Dutch Republic, or were generated within it, in response to the events constituting to a part of the Thirty' years war. The...Show moreThis thesis looks in to the flow of news reports that came in to the Dutch Republic, or were generated within it, in response to the events constituting to a part of the Thirty' years war. The thesis concentrates on the period between 1618 and 1632. It investigates if anything can be said about the effects of the war on the public debate in the Republic. As sources are used: pamphlets, and the early dutch newspapers of the family van Hilten and Broer Janszoon.Show less
Ontwikkelingsstoornissen gaan regelmatig gepaard met een grotere mate van stress bij de ouders. Bij ouders van kinderen met autisme blijkt dit tevens het geval te zijn, maar waar komt die stress...Show moreOntwikkelingsstoornissen gaan regelmatig gepaard met een grotere mate van stress bij de ouders. Bij ouders van kinderen met autisme blijkt dit tevens het geval te zijn, maar waar komt die stress precies vandaan? Om de juiste interventie te kiezen is het belangrijk om deze vraag te beantwoorden. Daarom wordt in dit onderzoek gekeken in hoeverre de ouderlijke stressbeleving te voorspellen valt vanuit de hoeveelheid autististische kenmerken van het kind en in hoeverre de mate van autistische eigenschappen van de ouder dit effect versterken. Dit is gedaan met behulp van 49 kinderen met een stoornis binnen het autismespectrum tussen de 8 en 19 jaar. De ouders zijn vergeleken met 49 ouders van kinderen zonder autismespectrum stoornis. Uit de resultaten blijkt dat de hoeveelheid autistische eigenschappen van het kind van invloed zijn op de ouderlijke stressbeleving, dat de hoeveelheid autistische eigenschappen van de ouder op zichzelf staand geen significante invloed hebben op de ouderlijke stressbeleving, maar dat deze hier wel een versterkende factor van zijn.Show less
When Sahagún came to New Spain he encountered the indigenous population who were in the process of converting to Christianity. He arrived with a group of fellow Franciscan friars with the mission...Show moreWhen Sahagún came to New Spain he encountered the indigenous population who were in the process of converting to Christianity. He arrived with a group of fellow Franciscan friars with the mission to establish a new Christian utopia where a thousand year peace would reign. Sahagún was ordered to write down all that he could find about Nahua culture which resulted in the Historia general. In this manuscript there are various rituals and deities described in full detail and they are said to be idolatrous. Sahagún would take his students from his college in Tlatelolco and gather pictographic information from Tepepulco in order to copy it into the Primeros Memoriales. In this manuscript it is clear that European elements are incorporated in pre-colonial drawings. The Nahua population proved difficult in adopting the Christian faith and kept holding on to traditional beliefs, often mixing old rituals with Christian rituals. This was something Sahagún became upset about, knowing that the traditional rituals were actually in honour of Satan and his demons that needed to be combated. When Sahagún reached old age he was of strong conviction that the mission to establish the utopia had failed and he suggested that Christianity should move on to other parts of the world where conversion would be more successful.Show less
Dit onderzoek is gericht op de invloed van geringe experimentele slaapbeperking en - verlenging op het werkgeheugen bij kinderen in de leeftijd van acht t/m elf jaar. De slaapduur van zevenvijftig...Show moreDit onderzoek is gericht op de invloed van geringe experimentele slaapbeperking en - verlenging op het werkgeheugen bij kinderen in de leeftijd van acht t/m elf jaar. De slaapduur van zevenvijftig kinderen zonder slaap- of gedragsstoornis is drie dagen verlengd met circa één uur en drie dagen verkort met circa één uur. De ouders hebben een aantal vragenlijsten ingevuld en ze hebben het slaapgedrag van hun kinderen bijgehouden in een logboek. Het werkgeheugen is op meerdere momenten bij de kinderen getest door middel van de subtest cijferreeksen van de Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-III NL).Show less
The estimated body sizes of hominin individuals and the averages per species are used in palaeoanthropological research to gain more insight in the biology, ecology and life history of Homo erectus...Show moreThe estimated body sizes of hominin individuals and the averages per species are used in palaeoanthropological research to gain more insight in the biology, ecology and life history of Homo erectus (Aiello and Key 2002; Foley 1987; McHenry and Coffing 2000). For such inferences to be made, body size needs to be estimated reliably and accurately. The methods that are used in body stature estimation by the use of femur length are evaluated in this thesis. For this evaluation, 110 stature estimation equations for a range of modern human populations were collected. These equations were used for the calculation of stature estimates for 25 hominin fossils with a range of femur lengths. Such an body stature estimate seems like an exact number, but the real estimate must be a range in order to incorporate the probable error. The error is caused by individual factors such as environmental influences during ontogeny, also at play in modern humans (Hauser et al. 2005), the unknown adaptations of the population (e.g., climatic Ruff (1994), energetic Kurki et al. 2008)) and the unknown amount of error arising from the application of an equation based on one species to another. Due to the error that is unknown, a confidence interval is hard to calculate but must be wide at the same time. This makes it difficult to use such estimates in a biologically relevant manner, for example for further calculations on a species' energetics (Smith 1996). The researchers making such calculations will have to address these issues and the danger of compound error. They will be aided by new finds of Homo erectus postcranial material (e.g. Simpson et al. 2008), which broaden the knowledge on the variation in size and proportions within Homo erectus thus helping to minimize error by scraping of a little of the "unknown" and aiding the choice of a reliable estimation method.Show less
Island archaeological studies are often characterized by island comparisons and the transfer of information between scholars working in many different island environments around the world....Show moreIsland archaeological studies are often characterized by island comparisons and the transfer of information between scholars working in many different island environments around the world. Comparisons between island environments, however, have never been systematically critiqued. This research questions the use of comparisons between island environments. Prehistoric and modern day differences are highlighted and their relevance for archaeologists working in both regions considered. Island comparisons are evaluated by i) examining the justifications with which comparisons can be made, ii) studying the past use and outcomes of comparisons between the Caribbean and the Pacific and iii) the application of a case study focusing on inter-island interaction and exchange at a local scale within both regions. Although archaeological mobility and exchange studies reveal high levels of inter-island interaction, there has been a tendency amongst island archaeologists towards oversimplifying island processes and a stark dichotomy between interacting islands and an archaeology of isolation or ‘essentialising practices’. Moreover it is argued that island archaeologists are methodologically and theoretically unprepared to deal with these issues due to academic legacies such as island biogeography magnified by popular views of isolation and exoticism. This research aims to systematically critique Island Archaeology and to move towards a more comprehensive understanding of the intricacies, possibilities and limitations of island comparisons.Show less
Het Deense eiland St. Thomas was gedurende het einde van de achttiende eeuw een belangrijk handelscentrum in het Caribische gebied. Al halverwege de zestiende eeuw ontstonden er opvallende ...Show moreHet Deense eiland St. Thomas was gedurende het einde van de achttiende eeuw een belangrijk handelscentrum in het Caribische gebied. Al halverwege de zestiende eeuw ontstonden er opvallende 'Nederlandse' connecties met dit eiland, dankzij een vroege Nederlandse vestiging. Zo werd er gedurende de achttiende eeuw een op het Nederlands gebaseerde creoolse taal gesproken: het Negerhollands. Daarnaast was het eiland gedurende deze eeuw meer 'Hollands' in karakter dan Deens. De ontwikkelingen van de Nederlandse connecties met het Deense eiland St. Thomas zijn echter tot op heden in de literatuur vrijwel onderbelicht gebleven. Deze scriptie gaat in op een aantal connecties tussen enerzijds de Republiek, St. Eustatius en Curacao en anderzijds St. Thomas. Ten eerste bestond er tussen de Republiek en St. Thomas een financiële connectie, in de vorm van plantageleningen, en een bestuurlijke connectie met de Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk op het eiland. Ten tweede waren er tussen de Nederlandse eilanden - St. Eustatius en Curaçao - en St. Thomas handels- en migratieconnecties. De terugval van de internationale positie van de Republiek in de achttiende eeuw zorgde ervoor dat de betrekkingen met dit eiland afnamen, terwijl de bloei van de handel op het eiland er juist voor zorgde dat er veel Nederlandse kleurlngen naar het eiland toetrokken.Show less
In juli 1722 werd de onkreukbaar geachte Abraham Houtman naar de Goudkust gestuurd als nieuwe directeur-generaal. Als buitenstaander moest hij orde op zaken stellen om de losgeslagen corruptie...Show moreIn juli 1722 werd de onkreukbaar geachte Abraham Houtman naar de Goudkust gestuurd als nieuwe directeur-generaal. Als buitenstaander moest hij orde op zaken stellen om de losgeslagen corruptie onder het WIC-personeel de kop in te drukken. Nog geen jaar later was hij dood en begraven. Zijn zware taken, de enorme tegenstand waar hij mee te maken kreeg en het ongezonde klimaat hadden hem de das omgedaan. De mislukte missie van Abraham Houtman geeft een inkijkje in de dagelijkse gang van zaken in de forten van de WIC aan de Goudkust. De Heeren Tien hadden allerlei ideeën over goede bedrijfsvoering, maar de realiteit in Afrika was weerbarstiger dan de plannen van het hoogste bestuursorgaan van de compagnie. Aan de hand van het directeur-generaalschap van Abraham Houtman geeft deze scriptie een beeld van leven en werken van Europeanen in West-Afrika in de jaren '20 van de achttiende eeuw.Show less
In the museum world, Western perceptions regarding indigenous peoples have often changed in the past and are still changing continually today. This thesis consists of an effort to trace these past...Show moreIn the museum world, Western perceptions regarding indigenous peoples have often changed in the past and are still changing continually today. This thesis consists of an effort to trace these past changes in representations of native peoples from the first museums to modern times, taking the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde in Leiden as a case study. This case study turns out to be an illustrative example of how these changes occurred in ethnographic museums as results of the changes in the political and academic climate at the time, as well as the changing awareness indigenous peoples had of their own culture. By being aware of these past changes, it is better possible to plan ahead for the future.Show less
The aim of the present work is to trace and stress the intercultural relations between the Arab-Islamic power and Christian Byzantium. The struggle for supremacy between these two great powers in...Show moreThe aim of the present work is to trace and stress the intercultural relations between the Arab-Islamic power and Christian Byzantium. The struggle for supremacy between these two great powers in the Mediterranean, which lasted from the middle of the seventh century to the twelfth, vividly appears in the primary sources, Arabic as well as Byzantine, and it can be gleaned with sufficient clarity in spite of numerous lacunae. Nevertheless, information about the cultural relations between these two powers of the time is sparse and incoherent in all sources and the task of modern scholars to trace them is confronted with great difficulties. An attempt has been made in the present work to take a panoramic view of various aspects of the Arab-Byzantine cultural relations in literature, art and naval technology, hoping to demonstrate that in spite of the continuous rivalry between Byzantium and the Arabs, an ongoing; undercurrent cultural communication existed between them.Show less
Abstract Plant macrofossils were investigated from Pleistocene channel infill deposits from Happisburgh Site 1 in Norfolk, England. Happisburgh Site 1 is a Palaeolithic site where flint artefacts...Show moreAbstract Plant macrofossils were investigated from Pleistocene channel infill deposits from Happisburgh Site 1 in Norfolk, England. Happisburgh Site 1 is a Palaeolithic site where flint artefacts made by an unknown species of hominin are present. A general introduction is given to Happisburgh Site 1, with an overview presented on its flora, fauna and archaeology. The aim of the plant macrofossil investigation was to reconstruct the local vegetation at the time of deposition. The taxa found point to deposition during a temperate stage of an interglacial. The palaeoenvironment can be characterised as a freshwater fluvio-lacustrine channel. Beside this channel lay open muddy areas and reed-marshes. Woodland composed of coniferous and deciduous trees was present in the vicinity. The water in the fluvial channel was probably shallow, calcareous, mesotrophic and slow running. The channel possibly became deeper over time, indicated by the higher representation of marsh and waterside plant species in deeper samples, and higher representation of aquatic plant species in shallower samples. The fluvial channel at Happisburgh Site 1 was probably a cut-off channel, only accessed by the main channel during high-energy events. Some reworking of the sediments is indicated by the presence of a pre-Pleistocene megaspore. This study gives evidence about the habitat that hominins occupied at Happisburgh Site 1.Show less
In zijn werk 'The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere' beschrijft Jürgen Habermas hoe er in de 18de en 19de eeuw een bourgeois publieke sfeer ontstond in Duitsland, Frankrijk en Groot...Show moreIn zijn werk 'The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere' beschrijft Jürgen Habermas hoe er in de 18de en 19de eeuw een bourgeois publieke sfeer ontstond in Duitsland, Frankrijk en Groot-Brittannië. In deze scriptie wordt, aan de hand van Benjamin Franklin, gekeken of in Brits koloniaal Amerika deze sfeer ook voet aan de grond kreeg.Show less
The goal of this bachelor thesis is to answer the research question; What is the discourse on Aztec human sacrifices from the Late Post classic period in the Valley of Mexico and does it coincide...Show moreThe goal of this bachelor thesis is to answer the research question; What is the discourse on Aztec human sacrifices from the Late Post classic period in the Valley of Mexico and does it coincide with the contemporary Aztec museum exhibitions? Sixteenth century chronicles, mainly Sahagun’s, were used and more recent literature. Three museum exhibitions were chosen; two from London and one from New York. The research showed that in time the authors of the literature became more considerate and less prejudiced towards the Aztec culture and placed the human sacrifice in more proper context, even though all sources originated from the sixteenth and seventeenth century chronicles. The three recent museum exhibitions did not display many artefacts that pertain to the sacrificial ritual but reviews concerning the show were nevertheless negative, which is the result of several factors including literature, media, education, and methods of display of the Aztec museum exhibitions. This information led to the conclusion that the discourse on Aztec human sacrifices does not entirely coincide with the chosen recent museum exhibitions.Show less
In de tweede helft van de 17e eeuw stuurde de Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie drie gezantschappen naar het Chinese hof te Peking in een poging om daar handelsbetrekkingen aan te knopen. In deze...Show moreIn de tweede helft van de 17e eeuw stuurde de Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie drie gezantschappen naar het Chinese hof te Peking in een poging om daar handelsbetrekkingen aan te knopen. In deze scriptie worden de eerste twee van die gezantschappen naast elkaar gelegd. Ook wordt er gekeken naar pogingen van andere Europese landen, in die periode, om via het Keizerlijk hof toegang tot de Chinese markt te krijgen. Er worden twee vragen gesteld;allereerst is de vraag welke tactiek de Nederlanders in China volgden. Kort door de bocht kan gesteld worden dat de VOC twee werkwijzen had in Azië. Aan de ene kant was er de agressieve aanpak die zij in de Indonesische archipel met succes gebruikten tegen staten daar en waarmee ze op veel plekken een handelsmonopolie wisten af te dwingen. Aan de andere kant was er de meegaande aanpak, in Japan, bijvoorbeeld, werden de bevelen van de Shōgun strikt opgevolgd, in de hoop niet te worden uitgezet. De vraag is dus wat zij in China deden. Vervolgens is de vraag of de twee gezantschappen van elkaar leerden en, zo ja, wat er dan aan hun aanpak veranderde.Show less
This study is a critical examination of four prominent Teotihuacan figures that are commonly interpreted as deities (Paulinyi 2006). This study evaluates the interpretations and shows that these...Show moreThis study is a critical examination of four prominent Teotihuacan figures that are commonly interpreted as deities (Paulinyi 2006). This study evaluates the interpretations and shows that these interpretations are not well supported. Additionally, possible alternative interpretations are proposed that show these figures might just as well be interpreted differently. It is discussed how the figures may be interpreted as rulers, ancestors or both. This discussion shows these alternative interpretations are for three of the four figures quite plausible. The outcome of this study is relevant in respect to the perception of the nature of Teotihuacan, since Teotihuacan art is generally considered as impersonal, with no depictions of individuals.Show less
