Paleoenvironmental reconstructions are scarce when it comes to the Orkney Islands. The islands are considered to be a goldmine when it comes to archaeological remains since the Orkney islands...Show morePaleoenvironmental reconstructions are scarce when it comes to the Orkney Islands. The islands are considered to be a goldmine when it comes to archaeological remains since the Orkney islands contain several remains from the Neolithic period, which are considered to be the best-preserved remains from Western Europe. Plenty of sites have the potential to become the subject of archaeological and also paleoenvironmental investigations but this is sadly, not always the case. Some sites have, however, been the subject of paleoenvironmental reconstructions, such as the site of the Bay of Ireland. The Bay of Ireland is located on Mainland, Orkney Islands, Scotland. The Orkney Island can be considered treeless, except for Berriedale, located on the Island of Hoy. When the woodland communities disappeared on the Orkney Islands is not entirely known. The trees have disappeared in the past due to the burning of trees by people that were living on the islands during the Mesolithic/Neolithic. The presence of trees was also one of the main focuses in the research that was done for this thesis as to what the vegetation was like during this timeframe. For this research samples came from a monolith tin, taken at the Bay of Ireland. These samples have been sieved, and all the botanical macrofossils have been picked from these subsamples. A total of four samples have been researched for this thesis, three of which have been researched before, and an extra subsample was taken to provide an even better overview of the changes that were happening during the timeframe of the Late Mesolithic to the Early Neolithic. The results showed that no extreme changes were happening during this timeframe but that trends were perceivable from the results. The results were pointing to an aquatic wetland, which was impacted much by the changing sea levels. The changing sea levels presumably led to the migration of salt and brackish water into adjacent freshwater wetlands such as the Bay of Ireland. This migration could have led to the foundation of a so-called salt marsh with an increase of halophytic (salt tolerant) taxa. Results also showed that all four samples contained macrofossils from one woodland taxon, Betula sp., no other macrofossils from woodland were found. Trees were still present during even the last part of the timeframe, the Early Neolithic. Those only macrofossils from Betula sp. were found means that woodland was only featured along the borders of the marshes during this period. Both the changing vegetation and the changing sea levels made the local area of the Bay of Ireland a somewhat more difficult place to live. The changing sea levels had much impact on many sites, and the role will be investigated together with the possible hardships that this changing sea level brought to the people living here.Show less
Roughly from the beginning of the common era and the late fourth century, the area that now makes up the Netherlands functioned as a frontier zone of the Roman Empire. Its border was the Rhine,...Show moreRoughly from the beginning of the common era and the late fourth century, the area that now makes up the Netherlands functioned as a frontier zone of the Roman Empire. Its border was the Rhine, with the South of the river the territories under Roman rule, while the area to the North was part of an area called Germania by the Romans. The current North-Western Netherlands, consisting of the provinces of Noord-Holland, Friesland and partly Groningen, was the living area of a Germanic people or tribe named the Frisii. For a long time, local peoples at the borders of the Roman Empire have been regarded as a matter of secondary importance in not only the archaeology of the Roman Period but also in the museum context. While various reasoning lay at the basis of this, a crucial factor is the early 19th century concept of romanisation, which disregarded autonomy, authority, and self-identification of those who have been ascribed to the Germanic peoples over ‘being Roman’. In this thesis, as a focused case in the context of the previously mentioned, an exploration is made of the representation of the Frisii. Two questions stand central in this: ▪ How are the Frisii represented in museums in the North-Western Netherlands? ▪ Why are the Frisii (not) represented? These main research questions are subsequently divided into a set of sub-questions, focussing on various aspects of the representations. The study was conducted by analysing three different museums: The Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (RMO) in Leiden, Huis van Hilde museum (HvH) in Castricum, and Archeologisch Museum Baduhenna (AMB) in Heiloo. As the living area of the Frisii has been ascribed to both the western and northern Netherlands and the study focuses on the western area, the Fries Museum (FM) in Leeuwarden was chosen as a comparative case study location. These locations were subjected to a thorough investigation, consisting of exhibition and (online) content analyses. Literature research on the background contexts and interviews with professionals from some of the organisations were conducted additionally. The reasoning for the latter was to better understand the motives behind (not)representing the Frisii and the here for chosen methods. As the study indicated, the representation of the Frisii at these locations varied in presentation methods and communicated narratives, underlining different approaches to Roman history, including Roman-centred, presented perspectives versus more autonomous ones. Various motives to represent the Frisii were identified, including the formation of regional identity and the substantiation of national history frames. In this, various forms of archaeological representations, didactic and non-didactic, are used to bring forth the presented narratives. In addition to these (re)presentations, a disarray of terminology was identified and discussed. This study explores all the issues previously mentioned and hopes to create a starting point for critically analysing the representation of local or ‘Germanic’ peoples in the Dutch Museum context, working towards the (re)presentation of a more inclusive Roman history of the Netherlands to the museum public.Show less
This study critically explores the role atmospheric experience could have for the livability of modernist architectural environment. Atmospheric experience and the wider domain of experiential...Show moreThis study critically explores the role atmospheric experience could have for the livability of modernist architectural environment. Atmospheric experience and the wider domain of experiential engagement with one’s (architectural) living environment have long been omitted from positivist discourse, heritage, and policymaking, despite its fundamental significance for human existence. Atmospheric experience is defined as the affective and embodied experience of a spatial environment which impacts subjective notions of wellbeing, a sense of belonging and meaning making. In turn, subjective wellbeing is a significant dimension of overall livability. In this study, New Phenomenology as defined by Schmitz (1999) and Sørensen (2015) informs the theoretical discussion and subsequent methodology and analysis. This study therefore seeks to contribute to a re-evaluation of phenomenology as a scientific approach with a significant contribution for understanding holistic experiential phenomena as part of human existence. This informs the conceptualization of a preliminary model of embodied significance of heritage (the affective judgement of embodied experience), which is tested on the empirical case of the modernist village Nagele, the Netherlands. Consequently, this study presents a new conceptual avenue for a more holistic approach of the value and significance of heritage, which considers atmospheric experience on equal footing regarding the dominant cultural-historical and socio-economic values of heritage in current policy and practice. Atmospheric experience is operationalized as neighborhood satisfaction in relation to subjective wellbeing. Insights from interviews, archive material and secondary literature demonstrated that the preliminary model could serve as a critical tool to incorporate and translate subjective, inter-subjective and shared experience in discussions regarding heritage value, wellbeing, and livability. It is argued that atmospheric value creates more sensitivity for the holistic nature and complex lifeworlds of dwellers of modernist heritage sites. A model is necessary to transpose phenomenologically informed findings and discussion to the (positivist) paradigm of policy and practice.Show less
This MA thesis focuses on ceramics from the Bronze and Iron Ages in the southern Netherlands (2000-12 BC) and their use for dating purposes. Researchers used to define and subsequently date types...Show moreThis MA thesis focuses on ceramics from the Bronze and Iron Ages in the southern Netherlands (2000-12 BC) and their use for dating purposes. Researchers used to define and subsequently date types on the basis of characteristics, which is known as a typo-chronology. Around the mid-20th century, absolute dating, and 14C dating in particular, was developed. The legacy of typo-chronology was kept alive, however, and only sporadically questioned by researchers that reverted to absolute dating. In many cases, this questioning was also carried out for narrower time periods. This thesis brings typo-chronologies and absolute dating together within the context of a wider time period, in order to discover the current status of research for this wider time period and to find out how/where research is currently lacking. This endeavour was started by initially compiling an overview of the applicable typo-chronologies considering a handful of variables relating to shape, decoration and material. Subsequently, a compilation of research was made that compares ceramics to absolute dating. Aside of this, a dataset of ceramic assemblages tied to absolute dating was created and discussed. The combined data was used for discussions and conclusions. Finally, the combined results were used to create a physical reference collection with a manual containing a lot of tables and imagery. The main conclusions are that some periods (e.g. Late Bronze Age) are typologically overshadowed by other periods (Iron Age). The vast amount of detail of the leading Iron Age typo-chronology generally causes researchers to make mistakes. Recommendations include paying more attention to some periods and types of ceramics in order to fill voids of knowledge created by focus and disregard. Better compilations and visualisations (e.g. 3D scans) of absolutely dated examples are also recommended.Show less
This MA thesis focuses on ceramics from the Bronze and Iron Ages in the southern Netherlands (2000-12 BC) and their use for dating purposes. Researchers used to define and subsequently date types...Show moreThis MA thesis focuses on ceramics from the Bronze and Iron Ages in the southern Netherlands (2000-12 BC) and their use for dating purposes. Researchers used to define and subsequently date types on the basis of characteristics, which is known as a typo-chronology. Around the mid-20th century, absolute dating, and 14C dating in particular, was developed. The legacy of typo-chronology was kept alive, however, and only sporadically questioned by researchers that reverted to absolute dating. In many cases, this questioning was also carried out for narrower time periods. This thesis brings typo-chronologies and absolute dating together within the context of a wider time period, in order to discover the current status of research for this wider time period and to find out how/where research is currently lacking. This endeavour was started by initially compiling an overview of the applicable typo-chronologies considering a handful of variables relating to shape, decoration and material. Subsequently, a compilation of research was made that compares ceramics to absolute dating. Aside of this, a dataset of ceramic assemblages tied to absolute dating was created and discussed. The combined data was used for discussions and conclusions. Finally, the combined results were used to create a physical reference collection with a manual containing a lot of tables and imagery. The main conclusions are that some periods (e.g. Late Bronze Age) are typologically overshadowed by other periods (Iron Age). The vast amount of detail of the leading Iron Age typo-chronology generally causes researchers to make mistakes. Recommendations include paying more attention to some periods and types of ceramics in order to fill voids of knowledge created by focus and disregard. Better compilations and visualisations (e.g. 3D scans) of absolutely dated examples are also recommended.Show less
A rare category of finds in Dutch archaeology is constituted by those originating from the Byzantine Empire. Located on the far end of Europe, this place will have only been known to most people in...Show moreA rare category of finds in Dutch archaeology is constituted by those originating from the Byzantine Empire. Located on the far end of Europe, this place will have only been known to most people in the Lower Countries through stories of lands far away. Regardless, there is quite some material that has been recognised as originating within the Byzantine borders, or which has otherwise travelled through it. This research aims to make a first inventory of these known finds and offer explanations on how these finds may have ended up where they did. It examines finds, primarily metal and glass that date between 450 and 1453- following roughly the end dates of the East and West Roman Empires. Studying these finds offers an insight in long distance trading networks that were operating within the designated period. The bulk of the material is dated within the Early Medieval period. A study of this Early Medieval material offers a chance to examine models of exchange of goods between elites and from these elites to their patrons. Attempts are made to explain the high presence of money in a Dark Age society which is regarded as having no coinage. The material that dates from the periods after the early Medieval period is hard to interpret, mostly because it is very sparingly and rare. The fact that Byzantine finds in the Netherlands are a new and unexplored frontier, becomes evermore apparent when studying these later periods. Future research into these materials by specialists is essential.Show less
This master thesis analyses a group of anonymous silver pennies commonly attributed to Frisia. These coins are characterized by find location and low weight of less than 0.5 grams. Due to the fact...Show moreThis master thesis analyses a group of anonymous silver pennies commonly attributed to Frisia. These coins are characterized by find location and low weight of less than 0.5 grams. Due to the fact that they lack comprehensible legends or bear ambiguous or degenerated ones it is difficult to date them or assign them to a known mint like Stavoren or Dokkum. Traditionally they have been separated into two groups: one showing a worldly ruler, and the other showing a cleric or bishop. Previous research has laid much emphasis on the deciphering of the legends, and discerned the name of a certain Otto on several types. However, while the “worldly” types appear to date slightly earlier, there appears to have been considerable overlap between the two. This indicates that the divide between the two types may not be as historically important as once thought. The fact that the name of this Otto appears in both groups argues against it being the name of the issuing authority at the time of striking. Important in researching this series of coins is the quick increase in reported finds. Metal detectors have become widely available to the general public, and databases such as NUMIS and PAN have been set up to register these new finds. The databases mentioned are freely accessible and have proven to be valuable tools in the field of archaeology and numismatics in particular. Newly discovered types and an increasing number of find locations provide relevant information for Dutch numismatists. Included in this thesis is an overview of the largest and most important hoards containing these anonymous Frisian pennies, as well as an overview of the various types considered “Frisian”. Of those types a database has been made containing over 250 individual pieces that have appeared in digitised public collections and databases, several private collections and certain European auctions. The find locations, weights and other characteristics of these examples have been noted down when available.Show less
The field of archaeology has been having a growing problem when it comes to dealing with our legacy data. The years of research have increased the amount latent data to a point where it has become...Show moreThe field of archaeology has been having a growing problem when it comes to dealing with our legacy data. The years of research have increased the amount latent data to a point where it has become an urgent problem to deal with. This research uses the F.A.I.R. guidelines that have been founded in order to help alleviate this problem. Specifically, this thesis looks at what step need to be made in order to make legacy data reusable. It does so by investigating on how to make legacy data findable, accessible, interoperable and lastly reusable. Every one of these principles deals with a core issue of keeping data useable, the findability of a legacy dataset can mostly be solved by adding it to an online repository, such large database structures house multiple sets of data in order to keep them available for further research. Important however is that the data is formatted correctly as the proper meta data is needed in order for it to me mapped to a functional ontology. The ontology as used by ARIADNE and designed by CIDOC helps interlink the individual datasets in order to create a web of semantically consistent information that can thus be found and accessed online. By mapping data into such an ontology, it becomes interoperable with other datasets as they have been awarded corresponding categories and data relations. These corresponding relations make it so that the data can be compared a used for further research. The process of creating sufficiently coherent and consistent sets of metadata for every dataset cost time. This is also not always possible, to improve the odd of integrating data into an ontology their complexity gets increased. Ontologies however get less user-friendly as the complexity rises leading to a similar issue of archaeologists using different repositories to store their data, or lead to archaeologists not storing their data at al. By balancing the complexity and user-friendliness while also educating archaeologists in the field it might be possible to prevent this issue. This is key as case studies in Europe have demonstrated the large sets of interlinked or joined legacy data can provide insight into already analyzed data, clear out existing biases when it comes to dealing with survey data, and individual-level spatial artefact distribution. The case provided by the thesis itself shows that applying these novel techniques is not always as straight forwards as theory often doesn’t work as intended in practice. No doubt the possibilities will grow as the field develops since linked data becomes more useful when more data is interlinked. The possibility of dealing with the huge amount of legacy data is available, now the only thing needed is investing into the tool needed.Show less
Background: Developments in serial sampling of dentine have expanded the intricacies in which scientists can understand more about diet, breastfeeding and weaning, and health and disease in the...Show moreBackground: Developments in serial sampling of dentine have expanded the intricacies in which scientists can understand more about diet, breastfeeding and weaning, and health and disease in the past. Interglobular dentine (IGD) is a proven proxy for assessing episodes of Vitamin D deficiency in an individual. Certain isotopes, Nitrogen (15N/14N) and Carbon (13C/12C), have been proven to show abnormal readings during these periods, particularly in times of stress. Aim: This pilot study will attempt to compare periods of Vitamin D deficiency found in these microsamples to Nitrogen (15N/14N) and Carbon (13C/12C) isotopic results to see if there is a correlation between periods of nutritional stress or dietary change, manifested as abnormal isotopic results, and periods of Vitamin D deficiency, exhibited as IGD. Subjects and Methods: Part one of this study will involve testing three different methodologies for micro-sampling of human tooth dentine. The second part of this study will examine four teeth, from two Dutch towns, Hattem and Beemster. The teeth all belong to adults of varied ages and sex. Each tooth will be sectioned horizontally, demineralised, and the collagen will be extracted. The stable isotope measurements of the dentine collagen will then be conducted via an isotope ratio mass spectrometer for final isotopic values. The results will then be compared to the periods of IGD reported by Veselka (2019) to see if there is a correlation between Vitamin D deficiency and abnormal isotopic results. Results and Conclusions: No significant correlation can be seen between the isotopic results and period of Vitamin D Deficiency in the four individuals that were examined. Possible issues that could contribute to the observed pattern include breastfeeding/weaning signals which may be obscuring periods of stress. Also, some of the micro-samples proved too small and were unsuccessful in producing any data at all.Show less
Balance weight metrology has been an interest of the archaeological community since the beginnings of the 19th century. In recent years new, quantitative methods have been used to further analyse...Show moreBalance weight metrology has been an interest of the archaeological community since the beginnings of the 19th century. In recent years new, quantitative methods have been used to further analyse balance weights. Despite this, the key questions of balance weight research have remained the same. Namely, how can past weight systems be identified by analysing balance weights and how did these weight systems change over time and space? In order to do this, the attribute mass has been exclusively considered. This raises the question whether analysing the morphology of balance weights can provide an alternative way to investigate past standards and metrological differences between sites. In this thesis I aim to answer these questions by analysing the shape of sphendonoid balance weights from seven Western Eurasian Bronze Age sites. Different methods are considered to gain further insight about these objects, ranging from basic shape factors, which solely rely on length and width values, to statistical characteristics, which are based on the digitised outlines of the balance weights. Furthermore, I also considered the attribute mass by carrying out the Cosine Quantogram Analysis; a method, which has proven successful in identifying past weight systems. This project introduces a novel approach to analyse balance weights, whereby morphological attributes are analysed contrasting previous studies focusing on mass. However, gaining access to morphological data on these objects has proven difficult and I propose that providing and sharing open data has much potential to increase the output of findings on this topic. With increasing access to data and alternative methods to investigate balance weights a wealth of new research questions can be considered within this field of study.Show less
Venus figurines have been the centre of androcentric interpretations since their discovery in the 19th century. In this thesis, Upper Palaeolithic Venus figurines, which mainly have been subjected...Show moreVenus figurines have been the centre of androcentric interpretations since their discovery in the 19th century. In this thesis, Upper Palaeolithic Venus figurines, which mainly have been subjected to a superficial view relating to sexual attractiveness and fertility, have been chosen to investigate. The concept of androcentrism has become a part of Western ideological structures, hence making it difficult to fully remove its effect on Palaeolithic archaeology and Venus figurines. Nevertheless, this bias will be uncovered and debated. Additionally, it is questioned why androcentric Venus hypotheses have been relatively static throughout time whilst alternative theories have been systematically overlooked. In the end, by means of incorporating and elaborating on alternative theories, this thesis tries to shed an original new light on an already saturated research field of the study of Venus figurines by applying and combining the archaeological, biological and psychological disciplines to diverge from its old androcentric interpretations.Show less
The history of domestic ducks (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) and geese (Anser anser domesticus) remains poorly understood and retains many open questions. This circumstance makes it difficult to...Show moreThe history of domestic ducks (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) and geese (Anser anser domesticus) remains poorly understood and retains many open questions. This circumstance makes it difficult to assess the role of wildfowling as well as the economic and social impact of the domestication of ducks and geese in different periods. The lack of data is mainly caused by the difficulty of identifying archaeological bones as domestic, due to the existing overlap between anatid species and domestic and wild forms. Different dates are given in academic literature for their adoption in the Netherlands, ranging from the Iron Age to the Early Middle Ages in the case of domestic geese, and from the Roman period to the Late Middle Ages in the case of domestic ducks. This thesis applies a new osteometrical methodology (Poland, 2018) that allows to identify domestic forms and distinguish between anatid species with more confidence. As a case study, four archaeological assemblages from the Zuid Holland province in the Netherlands are analysed, ranging from the Roman period to the 17th century AD: Voorburg-Arentsburg, Oegstgeest-Nieuw Rijngeest Zuid, Vlaardingen-Gat in de Markt and Rijswijk-Kerklaan 98. The new osteometrical methodology was highly successful in determining the variety of anatid species present in the four study cases. 53% of the analyzed elements were identified to the species level and 75% to at least the genus level, although the success varied according to the particular bone type and anatid group. Species diversity was much higher than expected in two of the sites (Oegstgeest and Rijswijk), and the analysis provided a more accurate quantification and species identification for the other two sites (Voorburg and Vlaardingen). It is determined that domestic geese were present in the Netherlands since at least 160-230 AD, and domestic ducks since at least 585-725 AD. The latter might also be present in the Roman assemblage, but the evidence is inconclusive. As of their economic role, domestic species constitute only a small percentage of the total consumed anatids and do not surpass 15-20% in any case. This is mainly caused by the weight of wildfowling in the Netherlands, concentrated during the winter season. Taphonomical analysis did not show substantial differences between the anthropic treatment of wild and domestic anatids. When compared to chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus), these highly outnumber domestic geese and ducks since their remains usually constitute half of the birds in each assemblage. The economic role of chicken was therefore much higher and better established than that of geese and ducks. The sample size considered in this thesis is likely too small and biased to accurately detect any kind of evolution through time. In any case, no increase has been observed and the total percentages of domestic anatids seem to remain constant.Show less
