Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
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This thesis studies a reconstruction of the Linguistic Landscape of Ostia, the ancient harbour town of Rome. The principal of Linguistic Landscape Studies originates in Sociolinguistics, where it...Show moreThis thesis studies a reconstruction of the Linguistic Landscape of Ostia, the ancient harbour town of Rome. The principal of Linguistic Landscape Studies originates in Sociolinguistics, where it is used to study the interrelationship between texts and the space in which they are placed. The goal of this thesis is twofold. Its primary purpose is to interpret the Linguistic Landscape of Ostia. The secondary objective concerns the question whether or not the framework can be used to study a past urban environment. The second chapter focuses on the history of Ostia, from its foundation up to its abandonment. It describes the historical development of the settlement, its political organisation and the religious practices that occurred during Antiquity. The third chapter describes the history after the city was abandoned, focusing on the post-depositional processes and the excavation history. Chapter four introduces the theoretical framework central to this thesis, first detailing the relation between texts and archaeology, including the recent concept of Written Space. It then discusses Linguistic Landscapes and its applications, before combining these into a single framework. The fifth chapter lays out the methodology that is used in the study of the Linguistic Landscape, describing the research area and the nature of the dataset used in this study. Chapter six then presents the analysis of the texts that are included in the corpus, studying patterns in their spatial distribution as well as in their various characteristics. The data presented in these previous chapters are then used in chapter seven to interpret the Linguistic Landscape of Ostia. Here, it is shown that there is a clear relationship between certain types of texts and the areas where they are placed. Texts therefore had a purpose within the spatial environment as well, and the various actors, both official and unofficial, placed the texts accordingly. One of these functions was to create a landscape of memorials, preserving the names of deceased individuals who had been important in the history of the city. The reconstruction also showed, however, that these texts eventually lost their function and were reused for the material upon which they were placed. This change in perception of texts appears to coincide with the rise of Christianity as the most prominent religion. The chapter also notes that the large amount of texts visible in the city shows that previous thoughts on literacy in Antiquity need to be reconsidered, since the texts would be meaningless without a sizable readership. The conclusion summarises these interpretations and relates them back to the research questions presented at the start of the thesis. It then determines that the reconstruction of the Linguistic Landscape of Ostia was a useful tool to better understand the relationship between texts and space in Antiquity. It is therefore concluded that the framework is indeed useful to study a past environment. Finally, a brief outlook on future applications of Linguistic Landscapes and its value for Archaeology is presented, paving the way for new research.Show less
In the north-east of Jordan lies the badia, a harsh and barren landscape that can be divided in the basalt uplands of the harra and the gravel plains of the hamad. Although the area seems...Show moreIn the north-east of Jordan lies the badia, a harsh and barren landscape that can be divided in the basalt uplands of the harra and the gravel plains of the hamad. Although the area seems uninviting, it holds a wealth of archaeological remains. The Landscapes of Survival project is one of the several research projects that studies these remains, and focusses on the pastoralist archaeology of the Safaitic time period in the Jebel Qurma region. A large part of the archaeological record at Jebel Qurma is made up of rock engravings. Part of these rock engravings contains depictions of weaponry. This thesis aims to shed light on the relationship between these weapons and the people that once carved them using iconographic research, literary sources, ethnographic accounts and epigraphic evidence. The broad main question “what can the depictions of weapons on the rock art of Jebel Qurma tell about the people that once lived here?” will be answered using sub-questions that aim to classify weapon types, look at weapon trade networks, identify patterns in weapon usage, and place data acquired at Jebel Qurma in a regional and ethnographic framework.Show less
Les Cottés is Palaeolithic cave site located in the Vienne region in South-Western France. It is located near the Gartempe river. Nowadays it is a small river but in the past it influenced the...Show moreLes Cottés is Palaeolithic cave site located in the Vienne region in South-Western France. It is located near the Gartempe river. Nowadays it is a small river but in the past it influenced the environment in the valley. There is evidence that correlates the river to the site in the form of pebbles and flint but virtually nothing is known about the landscape shaped by the river during occupation of the cave. This thesis is an initial research and tries to comprehend the difficult fluvial landscape here. By mapping the fluvial history research questions can be answered regarding the influence of the environment in the Gartempe valley on human behaviour. With an augering transect eight different units were distinguished of fluvial depositions and erosion and showed the existence of two palaeochannels buried beneath the surface. The oldest channel had an infilling of peat and was studied in the form of a palynological research. The general picture, which consisted of Pinus and Betula, dated the infilling to the Allerød or Preboreal period. This was done by comparing it to several other sites in France which include the same environment. The local environment in this period shows that the channel got cut off and was not active anymore in this phase. There was still open water present but the accumulation of peat was in progress. The valley would have been characterised by wetland conditions. Two phases identified in this thesis could be of interest for the research at Les Cottés. One interpretation is that the terrace in front of the site is older than the research at Les Cottés and this means that the Pleistocene surface would be buried beneath current floodplain deposits. This terrace in front of the site could have been used as an overview point. The other interpretation is that the terrace was shaped after the occupation at Les Cottes. This would mean that the relative height difference between the cave and the site was very small. Both interpretations would have an impact on the archaeology. This shows that the Gartempe influences could have been bigger in the past.Show less
The research in this thesis is part of an archaeological study about the excavation of the old graveyard around the St. Plechelmus Basilica in Oldenzaal, The Netherlands. Between 2011 and 2013,...Show moreThe research in this thesis is part of an archaeological study about the excavation of the old graveyard around the St. Plechelmus Basilica in Oldenzaal, The Netherlands. Between 2011 and 2013, 2750 individuals were exhumed from this graveyard, and two atypical mass graves were encountered. A selection of 200 skeletons divided over five matrices , including the individuals from the mass graves, has been studied with advanced scientific methods, including ancient DNA by Forensic Laboratory for DNA Research, Leiden University Medical Center. The meticulously conducted DNA research has resulted in generally very good quality DNA with no indications of contamination and with genetic profiles suitable for genetic kinship testing. Statistical analyses were carried out on the autosomal, Y-chromosomal and mitochondrial DNA data to test for kinship relationships, which resulted in indications of various genetic relationships. This thesis focuses on skeletons from matrix D, including one of the mass graves, consisting of 48 individuals. The DNA research demonstrates no genetic kinship for the six individuals in the mass grave. There were clear indications for kinship for five pairs of individuals from the non-mass grave area of matrix D. This thesis demonstrates the successful use of ancient DNA analyses for reconstructing kinship relationships in an archaeological context.Show less
Sceattas, a silver currency only produced for approximately less than a century, offer tremendous insights into a multi-regional and relatively unregulated currency. While its short-lived...Show moreSceattas, a silver currency only produced for approximately less than a century, offer tremendous insights into a multi-regional and relatively unregulated currency. While its short-lived production may encourage ideas that it played a relatively unimportant role in post-Roman, early medieval Europe, this is not the case. The coinage quickly became an important part of North Sea trade. Merchants, from Northern France, the Low Countries, parts of Denmark, and England all relied on the coins as a medium of exchange. The modern-day Netherlands is home to numerous production sites of sceattas, indicating its importance in the North Sea trade. Two major types of sceattas were most likely produced here, and are both the most numerous types discovered. They are called Series D and Series E or Continental Runic Type and Porcupine Type. This study aims to examine just how widespread the distribution of these types and the other seventeen series found in the Netherlands was on the basis of the evidence in the Numis database up to 2016. Distribution for the coins will be based on a number of variables, namely overall location, this location examined under a historical context, and an examination of find sites compared to the environment of 800 AD. It appears that the distribution is not random over the country but mainly limited to Domburg, a small part of the Central Dutch River area and the Frisian area of Westergo. This relates the coinage to international trade rather than a widespread use in a ‘moneraty economy’.Show less
The relation between archaeology and education contains a paradox. Where archaeologists have advocated the importance of education for archaeology, this advocation has not been adapted by policy...Show moreThe relation between archaeology and education contains a paradox. Where archaeologists have advocated the importance of education for archaeology, this advocation has not been adapted by policy stakeholders, in order to develop archaeology education programs. Three studies in Canada, the United States and United Kingdom have entailed that the relation between archaeology and education has poorly been investigated. This research builds upon the results on the other three studies to start the investigation on the state of affairs on the inclusion of archaeology into primary education in the Netherlands by investigating policy stakeholders perspectives. These values are investigated by interviews among representa- tives of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, provincial heritage institutes and museums, and placed into broader perspective by analyzing the results of monitor surveys on three history and culture education programs, and two legislative restrictions. Then, the combination of interviews and document analysis results in a synthesis where an alternative approach for archaeology education is presented for archaeologists, policy stakeholders and Primary school teachers in the Netherlands . The study ends with the request for further research that is built upon the results presented here.Show less
The purpose of this study is to examine gender bias and stereotypes in history books used in group 5 of Dutch elementary schools. Nine books from six different publishers were sampled that have...Show moreThe purpose of this study is to examine gender bias and stereotypes in history books used in group 5 of Dutch elementary schools. Nine books from six different publishers were sampled that have been used during the school year 2015-2016. Activities of each character from these books are examined individually by looking at the type of activity, the posture of the individual, the position in the frame and the locality. The time frame of the images are from the periods of “hunters and farmers”, “Greeks and Romans”, “monks and knights” up to and including “cities and states”, as defined by the Committee for the Development of the Dutch Canon. Men are overrepresented in general, portrayed in diverse, active and public roles. Women, children and the elderly are underrepresented, and often in gender stereotypical manners. After establishing male bias in the reconstructions, ample archaeological evidence is provided for alternative gender representations in the past. Despite more than thirty years of feminist inspired archaeological research, reconstructions are still androcentric and reinforce current socio-cultural defined gender norms that disadvantages the representation of women and minorities, but men as well. It is imperative that gender archaeology is incorporated in archaeological epistemology, whereby different constituents involved in writing historic curriculum are informed of relevant developments within our science.Show less
