This master thesis focuses on human remains collections from the Musée d’Ethnographie du Trocadéro and the Musée de l’Homme that became a part of the Musée du Quai Branly ethnographic collections...Show moreThis master thesis focuses on human remains collections from the Musée d’Ethnographie du Trocadéro and the Musée de l’Homme that became a part of the Musée du Quai Branly ethnographic collections in Paris. This thesis explores museum presentations and arrangement of human remains, referring to ways of displaying human remains in the Musée d’ethnographie du Trocadéro, the Musée de l’Homme and the Musée du Quai Branly. It examines the history of the museums and the history of human remains collections from South America and Oceania and their changing role in museum exhibitions, as well as the transition between two categories of objects: objects of culture and objects of nature. The main source for this analysis was the archival photographic collections of the Musée de l’Homme. This thesis argues that the categorisation of human remains as objects of culture or as objects of nature correlates with the ways they are displayed. The way in which human remains are categorised is related to the shifts in disciplinary practice and prevalent theories within the discipline of anthropology. I shall argue that these shifts are visible in the display of human remains in ethnographic museums. Moreover, I argue that these shifts in theory and practice correlate with the opposition of nature and culture and their visualisation through the museum display of human remains.Show less
This thesis focuses on ceramics and glass artefacts and on bird bones that were, in the main, recovered from the cesspits of monk cells in the Carthusian monastery near Delft. The thesis...Show moreThis thesis focuses on ceramics and glass artefacts and on bird bones that were, in the main, recovered from the cesspits of monk cells in the Carthusian monastery near Delft. The thesis investigates whether the monks adhered strictly to the Carthusian rule or if they were ordered by the more lenient rules that seemed to be more common in the 15th and 16th centuries. The material culture suggests that the monks led a less sober life than what may be expected.Show less
The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between osteoarthritis (OA) and age. Archaeological studies with a similar aim had been conducted before. However, none of these studied the...Show moreThe aim of this study is to assess the relationship between osteoarthritis (OA) and age. Archaeological studies with a similar aim had been conducted before. However, none of these studied the progression of osteoarthritis in relation to advancing age. Understanding the relationship between OA progression and age apart from OA prevalence and age, might show the differences in strength of age as a factor predisposing individuals to develop OA compared to other factors stimulating the degeneration of the joint. Knowledge of the strength of the correlation between osteoarthritis and age is especially useful for it enables discrimination between joints that are under great influence of age and those that show a less clear or no correlation. Those joints exhibiting a strong correlation should therefore preferably be avoided in archaeological studies where osteoarthritis is used as a marker of occupational activity. In order to test the strength of age related osteoarthritis and OA progression, a 18th-19th known age skeletal population from Middenbeemster, Netherlands, was studied an analyzed. All peripheral synovial joints were studied for osteoarthritis and the progression of OA was assessed with help of existing grading methods and a combination of OA identification criteria primarily based on Waldron (2009). The prevalence and progression of OA in relation with advancing age was studied per joint and per sex. Patterns observed were compared with clinical and archaeological studies in order to see if the patterns and results observed in the Middenbeemster sample were similar to or deviated from patterns observed in these clinical and archaeological studies. The outcome of the statistical analysis and the observed patterns showed that a strong correlation between the prevalence and progression of OA in relation to age was observable for the acromio-clavicular joint, sterno-clavicular joint, temporo-mandibular joint and the acetabulo-femoral joint. This trend persisted when studied separately for males and females. The strong correlations between osteoarthritis in these joints and age have been supported by clinical and archaeological studies. However, for the humero-ulnar joint (HUJ), distal radio-ulnar joint (DRUJ), gleno-humeral joint (GHJ), tibio-femoral joint (TFJ) and patello-femoral joint (PFJ) weak correlations for age related osteoarthritis were observed suggesting that other influences than age stimulated the development and progression of OA in these joints. For the remaining humero-radial joint, proximal radio-ulnar joint, radio-carpal joint, ulno-carpal joint and talo-crucal joint no correlations were found between OA and age. These joints can therefore be used to study occupational activity related osteoarthritis in archaeological populations. The HUJ, DRUJ, GHJ, TFJ and PFJ might be used to study occupational activity related OA, despite their weak correlation, for the patterns observed for these joints in the Middenbeemster sample in combination with clinical and archaeological studies suggest a stronger influence of other factors than age predisposing individuals to develop OA at these locations.Show less
The purpose of this thesis was to find out how the physical and spatial properties of a city can influence the urban experience. Two city blocks from Rome´s harbour town, Ostia, (I, xiv/xv) were...Show moreThe purpose of this thesis was to find out how the physical and spatial properties of a city can influence the urban experience. Two city blocks from Rome´s harbour town, Ostia, (I, xiv/xv) were used as case studies. The urban experience is often studied as a plural and dynamic experience. This thesis applied two types of formal analysis, fractal and visibility graph analysis, to argue and to demonstrate that the urban experience is largely linked to the geometry of the physical and spatial characteristics of the city. Fractal analysis views cities as structures that resemble a mathematical fractal. Fractals are self-similar, scale invariant objects. Fractal geometry is seen in this thesis as having an effect on the human mind, and therefore on the way a city is experienced. Visibility graph analysis uses the city’s two or three-dimensional plan to analyse its visual integration. Spaces with the highest intervisibility are those spaces which attract most movement, and are therefore the places were social activities occur. Hence these are the places that play the most important role in the urban experience. A quantitative fractal analysis applied to the city block’s (I, xiv/xv) open spaces revealed that their form has fractal qualities, resulting in a calculated fractal dimension of 1.4551. This value is quite significant since it comes close to the mid-range fractal dimension which has been calculated for the typical savannah landscape. The latter is considered to be a universally preferred landscape where human beings feel at ease. Other fractal properties of Ostia that are less easily quantifiable, these concern the different scales that reside in the city’s urban form. The small scales of the city prevents pedestrians from feeling excluded or alienated from the larger scaled elements of the city. Owing to the organic bottom-up development of certain parts of Ostia, a positive dynamic between the large and the small scales has been achieved. The visibility graph analysis pinpoints two spaces in the studied area: the square in front of the Temple of Hercules (I, xv, 5) and the open space east of the Baths of Buticosus (I, xiv, 8). The theory of the Urban Information Field was applied to these spaces (Saligaros 2005). It is argued that the surfaces that surround these spaces offer an engaging environment. The concavity of the spaces allows humans to feel protected, but not trapped. The two spaces have been interpreted as so-called ‘Thirdspace’ (Soja 1996), in which all other urban spaces come together and where urban life is lived. The analyses have shown that the physical and spatial elements in a city have an impact on the way the city is experienced. By using fractal and visibility graph analyses to examine these elements, this thesis was able to demonstrate that the study of the (past) urban experience can move beyond descriptive and speculative studies, towards a more testable and less subjective urban experience.Show less
The human capacity for speech and language is one of the characteristics that separates us from other animals. When and how the ability to use complex language emerged has not yet been resolved....Show moreThe human capacity for speech and language is one of the characteristics that separates us from other animals. When and how the ability to use complex language emerged has not yet been resolved. Furthermore, it is still not fully understood how the huge variety of different languages that exist on our planet has developed. Important in the production of speech are the cognitive and morphological expressions of underlying genetic makeup, which find their phenotypic expression in combination with complex environmental factors. Current research at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics is based on a theory of genetic bias that states that subtle differences in genotype, expressed as phenotype, can influence speech production at the individual level. If a population-wide shift in phenotype occurs, subtle differences in speech can propagate and amplify through inter-generational cultural transmission of language. With this theory of genetic bias as a guideline, this study attempts to analyse the morphological variation within and between two Dutch historical skeletal collections: Klaaskinderkerke (13th-17th centuries) and Middenbeemster (AD 1829-1866). A thorough background of the anatomy and physiology of speech production is provided, as well as the relation with the skeletal vocal tract. Using three-dimensional surface scans of the crania from these samples, geometric morphometric analyses are used to reveal, segment and explain shape and size variation in a quantative manner, resulting in highly visual output in the original anatomical context. Multivariate statistics enable an assessment of which combinations of multidimensional shape variables allow a differentiation between the two samples and the sexes. Results show that overall, shape variation in the skeletal vocal tract between Klaaskinderkerke and Middenbeemster was too small to allow for a statistical differentiation between them. Sexual shape dimorphism was also not found to be significant. In constrast, when comparing the four sex-by-sample groups, males from Klaaskinderkerke and females from Middenbeemster did show separation. Size variation allowed a distinction between males and females, which is expected in human sexual dimorphism, and also between the samples, which might be related to climatic circumstances or different lifestyles. For both significant shape and size differences, however, future research will have to further investigate the complex relationship between shape, size, allometry, sex, and external factors. In conclusion, at this time, quantifiable differences in vocal tract shape that could indicate a morphological bias could not be supported. The results obtained in this thesis can function as an addition to this new approach in linguistics. The morphological data that were gathered can be added to a growing normative database for phenotypic variation around the world, to be compared to linguistic variation. In contrast to currently used modelling techniques, osteoarchaeology can contribute a direct assessment of morphological variation through time, aiding in the discovery of potential mechanisms behind the development of the range of languages spoken today. For the samples used here, specifically, further research might reveal if a morphological bias played a role in the development from Middle Dutch into modern Dutch.Show less
Analysing trabecular bone morphology to interpret the behaviour of past populations has become more popular these last few years. Due to its non-destructive method of collecting data, microCT has...Show moreAnalysing trabecular bone morphology to interpret the behaviour of past populations has become more popular these last few years. Due to its non-destructive method of collecting data, microCT has been widely used in the field of palaeoanthropology in an effort to study the locomotion of extant and extinct primates, fossil hominins and past populations of modern humans. One problem with these studies is that they all rely on the assumption that adult trabecular bone morphology accurately reflects changes in mechanical loading during life. Ontogenetic studies of the human os coxae have indicated that this may not be the case. This study attempts to remedy this issue by investigating the ontogenetic trajectory of trabecular bone development in the talus of a modern human population from the 19th Century Netherlands. Trabecular bone variables such as bone volume ratio, connectivity density, trabecular number, thickness and degree of anisotropy of the talus were recorded using microCT for 55 individuals aged between 3 weeks and 50+ years and compared across age groups. Results show that talar trabecular morphology reflects mechanical loading during life and that abrupt changes in variables such as connectivity density and bone volume ratio can be used to identify the onset of independent walking in human infants.Show less
Understanding the provenance of the ceramics is crucial for outlining how people interacted with the landscape and ascertaining the extent of trade connection or distance from the raw clay sources....Show moreUnderstanding the provenance of the ceramics is crucial for outlining how people interacted with the landscape and ascertaining the extent of trade connection or distance from the raw clay sources. The main question pursued in this research was to reconstruct the human-landscape interaction through the appreciation and integration of technological and provenance data on ancient ceramics and clay materials recovered at the Mayales Subbasin (Chontales, Nicaragua) with a particular focus on the largest site in the area, Aguas Buenas. Aguas Buenas (AD 500-1522) is agglomeration with 379 human-made mounds of circular shape and arranged in circular patterns. This study provides the results of the first clay survey and ethnographic investigation of the area, developed together with archaeometrical analyses of clay and ceramic materials. The elaboration of the compositional analysis produced substantial geological information and divided the valley into distinct geological compositional groups, improving the limited geological knowledge that was available. Furthermore, the soil samples retrieved in this research are stored and preserved at the Faculty of Archaeology (Leiden University), constituting the first comprehensive clay reference collection throughout Nicaragua. The methodological framework employed and the combination of the petrographic and compositional (p-XRF) analysis of ceramic materials with the clay samples generate information to support a number of hypotheses about the nature of Aguas Buenas and its role among the other communities of Mayales Subbasin. Therefore, several ideas for clay procurement drawing on the cultural ecology perspective, functionalist approach, and sociocultural interpretations are discussed and applied in the research, which provides a solid framework of investigation that can be employed in the future to carry out a more detailed and extensive study on the Mayales Subbasin, or elsewhere.Show less
The political conflict between Dutch Orangists and Patriots in the Netherlands during the late 18th and early 19th century brought about the production of a huge amount of politically charged...Show moreThe political conflict between Dutch Orangists and Patriots in the Netherlands during the late 18th and early 19th century brought about the production of a huge amount of politically charged objects. Many of these items have survived from history and are nowadays kept in museums and private collections. However, the exact provenance that can provide information of the social context these objects used to be part of generally lacks. The central question of this thesis is: To what extent can Dutch Patriots and Orangists be socially distinguished by their consumer behaviour regarding ceramics and glassware apart from the use of politically charged objects when consulting historical and archaeological data from the late 18th and early 19th century? Through the study of both historical and archaeological sources an attempt has been made to fathom the material culture of politically engaged individuals in the Netherlands in the period around 1800.Show less
The main question of this thesis is whether medieval town defences were the result of well thought out master plans or if they evolved over time. If they had been carefully planned, one would...Show moreThe main question of this thesis is whether medieval town defences were the result of well thought out master plans or if they evolved over time. If they had been carefully planned, one would expect little variation (no different stages of construction). The research indicates that the town wall of Zevenbergen shows less variation than those of Den Bosch and Breda, the other towns investigated.Show less
Drawing upon the idea that collective identities are firmly rooted in the past, this thesis explores the relationship between archaeological practices and identity formation in present-day...Show moreDrawing upon the idea that collective identities are firmly rooted in the past, this thesis explores the relationship between archaeological practices and identity formation in present-day societies. The focus lies in the social implications of the interdisciplinary field of archaeogenetics. Approaches on human origins and migration events through palaeopopulation research, attain both a biological and a cultural dimension. This thesis investigates the field’s epistemological position and public impact in Greek society, in regards to modern perceptions of Greek national identity. This is achieved through the analysis of a recent archaeogenetic study concerning the origin of the Bronze Age “Minoan” population in Crete. The case study is evaluated for its theoretical position towards notions of cultural continuity and blood affinity, while my approach culminates to the point of the research's 'release' to the public sphere through the Media, in order to reach an understanding of the ways such research can form contemporary perceptions of 'Greekness'.Show less
