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Rimmer, Melanie B. "Investigating the treatment of chloride-infested archaeological iron objects." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2010. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/54986/.
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Archaeological iron objects become infested with chloride ions during burial. These enhance electrochemical corrosion, acidify the pore solution and form hygroscopic p-FeOOH. Controlling chloride-induced corrosion requires <15% relative humidity (RH) this is difficult to achieve in practice. Iron objects are at significant risk when dry storage is not maintained. Alkaline deoxygenated solutions remove chloride ions from objects. A large quantitative dataset was needed to evaluate the chloride extraction efficiency, the relationship between chloride concentration and corrosion rate and the risks posed by aqueous treatments. Using 120 archaeological iron nails as sample material, and recording chloride extraction behaviour for each individual object, three treatments were tested nitrogen-deoxygenated 0.1M NaOH (20 C) and alkaline sulphite (0.1M NaOH/0.05M Na2S03) at 20 C and 60 C. Objects were subsequently digested to measure residual chloride. Chloride extraction efficiency was 60-99% in most cases 87% of treatments resulted in residual chloride levels <1000 ppm. Accelerated corrosion tests showed that treated objects were more stable than untreated. Post-treatment scanning electron microscopy identified chloride ions in corrosion products or within slag inclusions, but none at the metal/corrosion interface. The transformation of synthetic P-FeOOH showed that 0.5M NaOH or 0.1M NaOH/0.05M Na2S03 (60 C) produced the maximum transformation (c.50%) to a-FeOOH and/or a-Fe203. It could not be confirmed whether this reaction occurs on objects. Risk to objects was evaluated by assessing physical damage during treatment and modelling chemical residues. Less than 2% of objects experienced total fragmentation 69% experienced no change. The most likely chemical residue from alkaline sulphite is Na2S04 this poses no threat to objects at RH <76%. The research reported here is a substantial addition to the body of data about desalination treatment. It improves understanding of the benefits and risks of treatment in relation to developing improved conservation strategies for highly chloride-contaminated objects.
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da, Silva Dias Moitinho de Almeida Vera. "Towards Functional Analysis of Archaeological Objects through Reverse Engineering Processes." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/129161.
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La arqueología es una disciplina ‘visual’ por excelencia, ya que la percepción visual nos permite tomar conciencia de las propiedades fundamentales de los objetos: tamaño, orientación, forma, color, textura, posición en el espacio, distancia o todas estas características al mismo tiempo. En este trabajo se asume que la conducta humana en el pasado puede estudiarse a partir del examen de los elementos arqueológicos observables en el presente. De igual modo, se considera que también existen rasgos no visuales que caracterizan los objetos y materiales en el pasado. La información que nos permite entender muchas de las propiedades funcionales de los objetos es de naturaleza multidimensional: el tamaño refiere a la altura, longitud, profundidad, peso y masa; la forma, refiere a la geometría que define superficies y volúmenes; textura, a la microtopografía y aspecto visual; y por último a la composición del material, es decir, a la combinación de los distintos elementos que forman el total y la manera en que tales partes se combinan.
Esta investigación se basa en una idea más general de la percepción (del Latín perceptio, percipio), usualmente definida como la organización, identificación e interpretación de la información sensorial con el fin de representar y entender el entorno. No debe entenderse como una recepción pasiva de estas señales, más bien como la integración del aprendizaje, la memoria, y las expectativas. Esta investigación explora diferentes maneras de entender la idea de percepción arqueológica, que incluye el proceso bottom-up del procesamiento de información sensorial, así como los efectos top-down. El proceso bottom-up es básicamente la información de bajo nivel que se utiliza para construir la información de alto nivel (por ejemplo, formas y texturas para el reconocimiento de objetos y la explicación funcional). El proceso top-down se refiere al concepto y a las expectativas (conocimiento) que influencian la percepción.
El enfoque adoptado sigue las teorías computacionales actuales sobre la percepción de objetos que intentan proponer nuevas vías explicativas acerca de las conductas humanas en el pasado, a partir del análisis de datos visuales y no visuales, teniendo en cuenta que las apariencias visuales y incluso las características de composición sólo limitan la forma en que un objeto puede ser utilizado, pero nunca lo determinan totalmente.
En este trabajo sugiero que las propiedades perceptivas deberían ser rigurosamente medidas y codificadas para poder llegar a entender cómo se produjeron y/o se utilizaron los objetos en el pasado. Hasta ahora, la insuficiencia y la falta de un consenso claro sobre los métodos tradicionales de descripción de los objetos - sobre todo visual, ambigua, subjetiva y cualitativa - han conducido invariablemente a unas interpretaciones ambiguas y subjetivas. Por consiguiente, es muy importante sistematizar, formalizar y estandarizar métodos y procedimientos más objetivos, exactos, matemáticos y cuantitativos, y siempre que sea posible automatizarlos.
Es en este contexto, se ha intentado desarrollar una metodología basada en modelos digitales tridimensionales para medir, describir cuantitativamente y analizar el uso y el comportamiento de los objetos arqueológicos. También, se intenta comprender las posibles relaciones entre la geometría, el material, y la(s) función(es) de los objetos arqueológicos al sugerir nuevas maneras de estudiar formas de comportamiento pasadas que puedan ser confirmadas a partir del examen de los observables arqueológicos en el presente.Archaeology seems to be a quintessentially ‘visual’ discipline, because visual perception makes us aware of such fundamental properties of objects as their size, orientation, form, colour, texture, spatial position, distance, all at once. I assume that human behaviour in the past can be asserted on the examination of archaeological observables in the present. In any case, I take into account that there are also non visual features characterizing ancient objects and materials. Information that should make us aware of many functional properties of objects is multidimensional in nature: size, which makes reference to height, length, depth, weight and mass; shape and form, which make reference to the geometry of contour, surfaces and volume; texture, which refers to microtopography (roughness, waviness, and lay) and visual appearance (colour variations, brightness, reflectivity and transparency); and finally material composition, meaning the combining of distinct elements to form a whole, and the manner in which such parts are combined. This research is based on the more global idea of Perception (from the Latin perceptio, percipio), usually defined as the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the environment. It should be understood not as the passive receipt of these signals, but the integration of learning, memory, and expectation. This research explores different ways of understanding the very idea of archaeological perception, which involves top-down effects as well as the bottom-up process of processing some sensory input. The bottom-up processing is basically low-level information that’s used to build up higher-level information (e.g., shapes, forms and textures for object recognition and functional explanation). The top-down processing refers to an archaeologist’s concept and expectations (knowledge) that influence perception. The approach adopted here is to follow current computational theories of object perception to ameliorate the way archaeology can deal with the explanation of human behaviour in the past (function) from the analysis of visual and non-visual data, taking into account that visual appearances and even compositional characteristics only constrain the way an object may be used, but never fully determine it. I suggest that perceptual properties should be rigorously measured and coded if archaeologists intend to understand how objects were produced and/or used in the past. The insufficiency and lack of a clear consensus on the traditional methods of form description – mostly visual, descriptive, ambiguous, subjective and qualitative – have invariably led to ambiguous and subjective interpretations of its functions. It is thus strongly advisable to systematize, formalize and standardize methods and procedures more objective, precise, mathematical and quantitative, and whenever possible automated. In this context, I intend to develop a framework based on three dimensional geometrical digital models to measure, describe, test and analyse the use and behaviour of archaeological artefacts. I try to understand the possible relationships between the geometry, material, and function(s) of archaeological artefacts by suggesting new ways of studying the way behaviour in the past can be asserted on the examination of archaeological observables in the present. In this research, a novel framework is applied to three case studies which span a broad diachrony ranging from the Palaeolithic in Cantabria to the Neolithic in Catalonia, Spain. In respect to the archaeological objects, these encompass rock art, sculptures, lithics, and bows, as well as a wide variety of raw-materials. Each case study addresses its own archaeological questions, has particular aims, and therefore approaches. They are not intended to be exhaustive, but to provide a rounded picture in terms of the framework´s potentialities and effectiveness.
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Saunders, Robin David. "Seabed scour emanating from submerged three dimensional objects : archaeological case studies." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2004. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.418924.
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Hermoza, Aragonés Renato. "3D Reconstruction of Incomplete Archaeological Objects Using a Generative Adversarial Network." Master's thesis, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2018. http://tesis.pucp.edu.pe/repositorio/handle/123456789/12263.
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We introduce a data-driven approach to aid the repairing and conservation of archaeological objects: ORGAN, an object reconstruction generative adversarial network (GAN). By using an encoder-decoder 3D deep neural network on a GAN architecture, and combining two loss objectives: a completion loss and an Improved Wasserstein GAN loss, we can train a network to effectively predict the missing geometry of damaged objects. As archaeological objects can greatly differ between them, the network is conditioned on a variable, which can be a culture, a region or any metadata of the object. In our results, we show that our method can recover most of the information from damaged objects, even in cases where more than half of the voxels are missing, without producing many errors.Tesis
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Chiripanhura, Pauline. "Archaeological collections as a prime research asset: objects and Great Zimbabwe's past." Doctoral thesis, University of Cape Town, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/27947.
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This thesis sought to explore the lifeways of second-millennium AD inhabitants of Great Zimbabwe through the analyses of material objects housed in museums. Great Zimbabwe comprises walled stone enclosures and non-walled settlements covering approximately 720ha. A number of data acquisition techniques, such as desktop survey, analyses of museum collections, supplementary field survey and excavations, were employed to collect relevant datasets to address the research questions. The sampling strategy adapted for this research enabled the study of material objects from different components making up Great Zimbabwe. The main conclusions drawn from this study are as follows: (i) Within varying temporal scales, the nature and distribution of local and imported objects are largely similar across the site; (ii) chronologically and typologically speaking, there is evidence that different parts of the site were occupied and abandoned at different times; and (iii) based on the similarities in material objects and associated production debris and infrastructure, it is likely that different components were self-sufficient units. This study has underscored the significance of existing collections in developing new interpretations of Great Zimbabwe's past lifeways, thereby motivating for the need for similar work to understand the hundreds of similar settlements scattered across southern Africa.
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Ozturk, Aybuke. "Design, Implementation and Analysis of a Description Model for Complex Archaeological Objects." Thesis, Lyon, 2018. http://www.theses.fr/2018LYSE2048/document.
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La céramique est l'un des matériaux archéologiques les plus importants pour aider à la reconstruction des civilisations passées. Les informations à propos des objets céramiques complexes incluent des données textuelles, numériques et multimédias qui posent plusieurs défis de recherche abordés dans cette thèse. D'un point de vue technique, les bases de données de céramiques présentent différents formats de fichiers, protocoles d'accès et langages d'interrogation. Du point de vue des données, il existe une grande hétérogénéité et les experts ont différentes façons de représenter et de stocker les données. Il n'existe pas de contenu et de terminologie standard, surtout en ce qui concerne la description des céramiques. De plus, la navigation et l'observation des données sont difficiles. L'intégration des données est également complexe en raison de laprésence de différentes dimensions provenant de bases de données distantes, qui décrivent les mêmes catégories d'objets de manières différentes.En conséquence, ce projet de thèse vise à apporter aux archéologues et aux archéomètres des outils qui leur permettent d'enrichir leurs connaissances en combinant différentes informations sur les céramiques. Nous divisons notre travail en deux parties complémentaires : (1) Modélisation de données archéologiques complexes, et (2) Partitionnement de données (clustering) archéologiques complexes. La première partie de cette thèse est consacrée à la conception d'un modèle de données archéologiques complexes pour le stockage des données céramiques. Cette base de donnée alimente également un entrepôt de données permettant des analyses en ligne (OLAP). La deuxième partie de la thèse est consacrée au clustering (catégorisation) des objets céramiques. Pour ce faire, nous proposons une approche floue, dans laquelle un objet céramique peut appartenir à plus d'un cluster (d'une catégorie). Ce type d'approche convient bien à la collaboration avec des experts, enouvrant de nouvelles discussions basées sur les résultats du clustering.Nous contribuons au clustering flou (fuzzy clustering) au sein de trois sous-tâches : (i) une nouvelle méthode d'initialisation des clusters flous qui maintient linéaire la complexité de l'approche ; (ii) un indice de qualité innovant qui permet de trouver le nombre optimal de clusters ; et (iii) l'approche Multiple Clustering Analysis qui établit des liens intelligents entre les données visuelles, textuelles et numériques, ce qui permet de combiner tous les types d'informations sur les céramiques. Par ailleurs, les méthodes que nous proposons pourraient également être adaptées à d'autres domaines d'application tels que l'économie ou la médecineCeramics are one of the most important archaeological materials to help in the reconstruction of past civilizations. Information about complex ceramic objects is composed of textual, numerical and multimedia data, which induce several research challenges addressed in this thesis. From a technical perspective, ceramic databases have different file formats, access protocols and query languages. From a data perspective, ceramic data are heterogeneous and experts have differentways of representing and storing data. There is no standardized content and terminology, especially in terms of description of ceramics. Moreover, data navigation and observation are difficult. Data integration is also difficult due to the presence of various dimensions from distant databases, which describe the same categories of objects in different ways.Therefore, the research project presented in this thesis aims to provide archaeologists and archaeological scientists with tools for enriching their knowledge by combining different information on ceramics. We divide our work into two complementary parts: (1) Modeling of Complex Archaeological Data and (2) Clustering Analysis of Complex Archaeological Data. The first part of this thesis is dedicated to the design of a complex archaeological database model for the storage of ceramic data. This database is also used to source a data warehouse for doing online analytical processing (OLAP). The second part of the thesis is dedicated to an in-depth clustering (categorization) analysis of ceramic objects. To do this, we propose a fuzzy approach, where ceramic objects may belong to more than one cluster (category). Such a fuzzy approach is well suited for collaborating with experts, by opening new discussions based on clustering results.We contribute to fuzzy clustering in three sub-tasks: (i) a novel fuzzy clustering initialization method that keeps the fuzzy approach linear; (ii) an innovative quality index that allows finding the optimal number of clusters; and (iii) the Multiple Clustering Analysis approach that builds smart links between visual, textual and numerical data, which assists in combining all types ofceramic information. Moreover, the methods we propose could also be adapted to other application domains such as economy or medicine
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Walton, Marc Sebastian. "A materials chemistry investigation of archaeological lead glazes." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2004. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:eb3eb473-d434-4f45-ac78-03b6f6de3649.
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In this thesis, the fabrication technology of Roman lead glazes were examined using a number of materials science techniques: namely, electron probe microanalysis, X-ray diffraction, and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. The overall aim of this work was to discern particular technological styles for a wide group of lead glazes by quantifying the chemical and microstructural features of glaze production. Using experimental replication, it was found that two basic methods of glazing could be identified chemically. When applying PbO alone to an earthenware ceramic, the resulting glaze was in equilibrium with the ceramic as indicated by flat compositional profiles obtained along the glaze cross-section. However, when applying PbO·SiO2 mixtures to earthenware ceramics, gradient profiles indicative of diffusive mass transfer were obtained from the glaze cross-section. On the basis of these chemical criteria, these two methods of glazing were identified in archaeological material. It has been determined that the earliest lead glazes from Anatolia and Italy (approximately 1st century B.C.) were made using PbO·SiO2 mixtures applied to calcareous clays with Fe and Cu oxides added as colourants. Later production (post 2nd century A.D.), seems to have employed PbO alone applied to non-calcareous clays with no intentionally added colourants. The Roman production of lead glazes was compared to both those of Late Antiquity (4th – 10th centuries A.D.) which continued to use PbO applied to non-calcareous clays, and to those of Byzantine and Islamic contexts (8th – 14th centuries A.D.) which seem to have used PbO·SiO2 mixtures applied to both calcareous and non-calcareous clays. It is also argued that the technological features of the Byzantine and Islamic glaze production shared more in common with the contemporary Chinese lead glazing tradition (the Sancai wares of the 7th century A.D.) which also used PbO·SiO2 mixtures applied to non-calcareous clays, than with the Late Antique glazing tradition.
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Campbell, Crystal Celena. "Novel objects and new practices an archaeological analysis of smoking pipes from Banda, Ghana /." Diss., Online access via UMI:, 2006.
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Thesis (M.A.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Anthropology, 2006."This dissertation is a compound document (contains both a paper copy and a CD as part of the dissertation). The CD requires the following system requirements: Adobe Acrobat"--ProQuest document view. Includes bibliographical references.
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Pomerantz, Solomon. "The prehistory of Madagascar : microbotanical and archaeological evidence from coastal and highland sites." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2017. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:a0f536e8-9f1f-451b-b02d-cc9365ed3aba.
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Despite nearly one hundred years of archaeological and palaeoecological research in Madagascar, the human colonisation of the island remains poorly understood. Long- standing narratives of this colonisation described the arrival of Austronesian- speaking peoples by AD 400, eventually reaching the Central Highlands by the 12th century. The recent discovery of microlithic tools at the rockshelter of Lakaton'i Anja has radically disrupted conventional narratives for this colonisation by more than doubling the known period of Madagascar's human history, and questioning the presumed Austronesian origins of these first Malagasy peoples. This discovery also challenges existing models for the late Holocene extinction of the island's megafauna. This thesis constitutes the first systematic review in the last thirty years of literature relating to the colonisation of the island, as well as the first to approach this multidisciplinary material in light of new archaeological evidence from Lakaton'i Anja. This study also represents the first comprehensive and comparative phytolith analysis conducted on Madagascar. Despite the wide application of phytolith analysis across regional archaeological and palaeoecological contexts, it has never before been applied here. This thesis explores the botanical impact of these early colonists in and around sites of occupation, as well as tracing the introduction of Asian rice (Oryza sativa) and domesticated bananas (Musa acuminata). New methods of phytolith analysis were developed, adapted, and applied to sediments collected from two seasons of excavations in 2012 and 2013. The sites of Lakaton'i Anja, Mahilaka, and Ankadivory D'Ralambo were re-excavated, as well as the new site of Ampasimahavelona, near Vohémar. This thesis presents and discusses these excavations as well as the earliest evidence for the cultivation of both Musa acuminata and Oryza sativa on Madagascar, and an ultra-high resolution botanical perspective on the last four millennia of Madagascar's prehistory.
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Odegaard, nancy Nell, and n/a. "Archaeological and ethnographic painted wood artifacts from the North American Southwest : the case study of a matrix approach for the conservation of cultural materials." University of Canberra. Applied Science, 1996. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060822.132115.
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This study examines and demonstrates the value of a matrix approach in the
discipline of conservation and the concerns specific to the conservation of
archaeological and ethnographic objects. The chapters identify the relevance of
the matrix to current conservation practices through a history of artifact
conservation and a discussion of the factors that compromise the conservators'
role in the study and preservation of material culture. The discussion evaluates
the nature of systematic research collections, the impact of legal issues, and the
ethics of including cultural context as important aspects in the development of
the matrix approach.
The matrix approach provides the conservator with a number of variables or
categories of information that may assist in the determination of an appropriate
conservation process. In this study, the matrix approach was tested on a
number of artifact objects. To provide a common link, all of the objects were
characterized by paint on some form of cellulose (wood or a wood-like
substrate). The object cases were from both ethnographic and archaeological
contexts, and the work involved both laboratory procedures and consideration
of non-laboratory (i.e. legal, cultural, ethical) aspects. The specific objects
included (1) a probable tiponi of archaeological (Anasazi culture) context, (2) a
group of coiled baskets of archaeological (Mogollon culture) context, (3) a
kachina doll of ethnographic (Hopi culture) context, (4) a group of prayer
sticks of archaeological (Puebloan and Tohono O'Odham) context, and (5) a
fiddle of ethnographic (Apache culture) context.
By recognizing the unique and diverse aspects of anthropology collections, the
conservator who uses a matrix approach is better equipped to work with
archaeologists on sites, with curators and exhibit designers in museums, and
with claimants (or the descendants of an object's maker) in carrying out the
multiple activities frequently involved in the conservation of objects as they
exist in an ever broadening and more political context.
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Merriman, Kristine Roberta. "The context of organic residues in archaeological vessels of ceramic and Bronze." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2014. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:40bef755-49f0-4c51-ad13-41bf7bec55df.
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Since the 1970s, the study of molecular organics preserved in archaeological ceramics, commonly referred to as organic residue analysis, has been used to infer vessel use and study dietary, economic, and ritual activities in the past. The purpose of this project is to analyse organic residues from a variety of ancient vessels and attempt to understand further the relationship between molecular organic preservation and vessel characteristics. It has been previously assumed that the absorption of these organics in the ceramic matrix is predominantly responsible for their preservation. The clarification of this or other preservative mechanisms and the further understanding of the relationships of vessels with their contents has a direct impact on the interpretation of organic residues and vessel use. The first section addresses the preservation of molecular organics in pottery vessels from Tel Kabri, Israel; Tel Megiddo, Israel; and Lefkandi, Greece. The one hundred and thirty-three samples from these three sites represent vessels used in domestic, burial, ritual, and elite contexts from the Early Bronze Age through the Iron Age Eastern Mediterranean. The focus of the study is the quantification of residue yields and identification of potential links with vessel properties and characteristics of the ceramic samples. Sequential extractions using two methods, conventional chloroform/methanol solvent extraction and direct FAME extraction/derivatisation, were applied to the sherds to test the absorption and adsorption of organics into ceramic materials. The majority of samples were tested non-destructively, enabling the comparison of residue yields to certain vessel properties and characteristics displayed in the same sherds. Where available, data concerning vessel form, sampling location on the vessel profile, thickness measurements were recorded, and XRF measurements were taken, with this in mind. The second section investigates the question of whether bronze and copper alloy vessels have the capability to preserve molecular organics within their corrosion products. Twenty-two samples of corrosion and associated material from five Early Roman bronze vessels found in cremation burials during the A2 Pepperhill to Cobham project in County Kent, United Kingdom were studied for organic material. These samples provide some of the first evidence that the residues of original content are preserved in copper alloy vessels either through entrapment in or reactions with copper corrosion.
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Donnelly, Victoria. "A study in grey : grey literature and archaeological investigation in England 1990 to 2010." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2016. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:9dc84f2d-af55-4d77-ae18-12fe2eefde1b.
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Through an examination of the processes and influences on the character of grey literature and its producers, this thesis explores the nature of archaeological investigation, how it is reported and the creation of archaeological data in England from 1990 to 2010 and the implications for future understanding of the English archaeological record. I intend to address broad research questions regarding grey literature and archaeology: What is grey literature? Who creates it and why? What is it meant for? Is it fit-for-purpose? My research objectives in studying grey literature reporting and archaeological fieldwork investigation in England are: •To explore the nature of archaeological grey literature reporting and its producers, the framework of its production and communication, and its impact on archaeological research and knowledge production; •To capture the developments and changes in English archaeological practice between 1990 and 2010 and their implications for the creation and understanding of the archaeological record; and •To consider potential future directions for archaeological fieldwork and reporting. I propose to achieve this using a combination of both quantitative and qualitative approaches including spatial analysis techniques, comparative analysis at a range of scales from England-wide to individual case study areas, and detailed analysis of the nature and actual content of grey literature reports alongside a characterisation of the many creators of grey literature reporting. This study will illustrate and explore the process of producing grey literature reporting as well as examining the end product itself - grey literature reports. This European Research Council funded DPhil research was undertaken within the context of the English Landscapes and Identities Project, which analyses change and continuity in the English Landscape from the middle Bronze Age (c.1500 BC) to the Domesday survey (c. AD 1086).
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Hoogervorst, Tom Gunnar. "Southeast Asia in the ancient Indian Ocean world : combining historical linguistic and archaeological approaches." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2012. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:b8b47816-7184-42ab-958e-026bc3431ea3.
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This thesis casts a new light on the role of Southeast Asia in the ancient Indian Ocean World. It brings together data and approaches from archaeology and historical linguistics to examine cultural and language contact between Southeast Asia and South Asia, East Africa and the Middle East. The interdisciplinary approach employed in this study reveals that insular Southeast Asian seafarers, traders and settlers had impacted on these parts of the world in pre-modern times through the transmission of numerous biological and cultural items. It is further demonstrated that the words used for these commodities often contain clues about the precise ethno-linguistic communities involved in their transoceanic dispersal. The Methodology chapter introduces some common linguistic strategies to examine language contact and lexical borrowing, to determine the directionality of loanwords and to circumvent the main caveats of such an approach. The study then proceeds to delve deeper into the socio-cultural background of interethnic contact in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean as a whole, focusing on the oft-neglected Southeast Asian contributions to the cultural landscape of this region and addressing the nature of pre-modern contact between Southeast Asia and the different parts of the Indian Ocean Word. Following from that, the last three chapters look in-depth at the dispersal of respectively Southeast Asian plants, spices and maritime technology into the wider Indian Ocean World. Although concepts and their names do not always neatly travel together across ethno-linguistic boundaries, these chapters demonstrate how a closer examination of lexical data offers supportive evidence and new perspectives on events of cultural contact not otherwise documented. Cumulatively, this study underlines that the analysis of lexical data is a strong tool to examine interethnic contact, particularly in pre-literate societies. Throughout the Indian Ocean World, Southeast Asian products and concepts were mainly dispersed by Malay-speaking communities, although others played a role as well.
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Cabello, Briones Cristina. "The effects of open shelters on the preservation of limestone remains at archaeological sites." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:cfefc6db-4b4f-4ef8-bff3-07795e2767fc.
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Shelters, as preventive conservation methods, have traditionally been considered a better option than leaving the site exposed. However, there has been limited research on their effect on the preservation of heritage materials and, as a result, there is no clear scientific evidence to support sheltering. This study aims to provide the first rigorous scientific assessment of the effect of lightweight, open shelters on limestone deterioration at archaeological sites. A method based on the use of low-cost environmental monitoring equipment and limestone blocks and tablets (as indicators of decay) has been developed to determine the degree of protection provided by the shelters at the Bishop' Palace (Witney, England) and Hagar Qim (Malta). Preliminary visual assessments of the field sites were followed by 12-18 month exposure trials. Temperature extremes and fluctuations, frost events, relative humidity extremes and fluctuations, NaCl crystallisation events, solar radiation, wetting events, salt content, atmospheric pollutants and dust deposition were monitored. In addition, stone decay was studied by analysing changes in weight, elasticity, surface hardness, ultrasonic pulse velocity, surface colour, moisture content and general appearance (microscopic and macroscopic pictures) in stone samples. An exhaustive assessment of the shelter at the Bishop's Palace was carried out using Chalk, Cotswold and Portland limestone blocks as well as Portland limestone tablets (specifically for studying dissolution, soiling and biological growth). Additionally, a comparative assessment of the effects of the two shelters in contrasting climatic environments, the Bishop's Palace (temperate maritime) and Hagar Qim (Mediterranean), was undertaken by monitoring Globigerina and Coralline limestone blocks simultaneously at both sites. The research has shown that lightweight, open shelters do not exclude decay completely but minimise it. However, there are some areas at higher risk of decay, i.e. top parts of the walls and the periphery. In addition, problems with the shelter design can enhance some decay mechanisms, such as biocolonisation on the periphery at the Bishop's Palace and dust deposition under the shelter at Hagar Qim. Therefore, the effectiveness of shelters should not be assumed.
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Maneta, Christina. "Developing a strategy for desalination treatments for large collections of ancient ceramic objects from Greek archaeological contexts." Thesis, University of Lincoln, 2014. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.740997.
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Snoeck, Christophe. "A burning question : structural and isotopic analysis of cremated bone in archaeological contexts." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2014. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:0e08ba32-1f9a-4b3c-afc4-86b99acefb69.
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Cremated bone occurs in many archaeological sites as small grey and white fragments. The high temperatures reached during heating induce structural, chemical and isotopic changes to bone apatite (the inorganic fraction of bone). These changes are investigated here by infrared spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (d13C, d18O and 87Sr/86Sr) in both modern heated bone and archaeological cremated specimens. The results of various heating experiments (in laboratory and natural conditions) highlight the significant carbon and oxygen exchanges with the fuel used as well as with bone organic matter (mainly collagen). While not informing on dietary practice and hydrology as is the case with unburned bone, the d13C and d18O values of calcined samples together with infrared results provide information on the conditions in which the bone was heated (e.g. presence of fuel, size of the pyre, temperatures reached, dry or fresh bone, etc.). In parallel, the effect of heat on the strontium present in bone is minimal, if not undetectable. Furthermore, as observed through artificial contamination experiments, post-burial alterations also appear to be extremely limited, which is to be expected due to the higher crystallinity of calcined bone apatite compared to tooth enamel and unburned bone. These experiments demonstrate that calcined bone provides a reliable substrate for mobility studies using its strontium isotope composition. The application of these results to the study of six Neolithic and one Bronze Age sites from Ireland showed the possibility of discriminating cremated individuals that ate food originating from different regions, as well as highlighting possible variations in cremation practices between different sites. The results of this thesis greatly extend the application of strontium isotopes to places and periods in which cremation was the dominant mortuary practice, or where unburned bone and enamel do not survive. They also provide insights into the reconstruction of ancient cremation practices.
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Gruszczynski, Jacek. "Comparative study of archaeological contexts of silver hoards c.800-1050 in northern and central Europe." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2016. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:b7e38b8a-60e7-4f8c-b53c-3daecb250e39.
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The dissertation deals with the archaeological context of Baltic-zone silver hoards deposited in the Viking Age. Its main objective is to investigate the hoards and the context of their deposition to determine how hundreds of thousands of silver artefacts, mainly Oriental dirhams, arrived in Northern Europe, why they were put in the ground and never retrieved. The review of the published sources on hoards was undertaken in three case studies: Gotland, Pomerania and Svealand. The data on hoards, archaeological sites, geology and topography was collected in geodatabases, and analysed in detail by applying descriptive and advanced statistical methods: regression modelling and GIS-based spatial analysis. The results were presented in the historical context depicted in contemporary literary sources. Hoard deposition was most pronounced near sites which afforded conditions suitable for mercantile exchange and facilitated the flow of silver: the network of emporia, regional trade hubs, local power centres, and harbours, generally situated near major communication routes and within populated areas. However, exchange networks needn't have been strictly hierarchical, and emporium-scale sites were not indispensable for a fair share of silver influx, and trade, to occur. Chronological changes in hoard distributions, their composition and fragmentation of objects indicate how these networks operated and meshed with economic and political conditions in c. 900 and c. 980. A method, which uses the information about the presence/absence of a container, crossreferenced with the weight of silver, was devised to provide an indication as to whether particular hoards were deposited with the aim of retrieval - as savings accessed periodically, or for protection in the face of danger - or whether they were meant to be permanent ritual or symbolic offerings. Ritual behaviour took a variety of forms, but the most widespread were the depositions in recently occupied land in marginal soils, where they were aimed at forging a personal bond between the land and the owner.
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Emmerich, Kamper Theresa. "Determining traditional skin processing technologies : the macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of experimental samples, prehistoric archaeological finds and ethnographic objects." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10871/22073.
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The importance of skin processing technologies, in the history and dispersal of humankind around the planet cannot be overstated. This area of material culture is often underrepresented as a research topic, and has been hampered, in part, by the lack of a systematic analysis methodology targeted at specifically this material type. This research aimed to develop a methodology for determining the tanning technologies in use during prehistory, from extant archaeologically recovered processed skin objects. The methodology is a product of macroscopic and microscopic observations of a large sample reference collection, used to produce a database of defining characteristics and tendencies for each of six tannage types. The sample collection is made up of twenty-two species identified as economically important from both Europe and North America. Six sample pieces of skin were taken from a single individual of each of the twenty-two species, and processed using six tanning technologies, the use of which covered a large geographic area and time frame. A second reference collection of clothing and utilitarian items, made from traditionally processed skins, was used to add a section of in-life use traces to the database of discriminating traits. The developed methodology was tested by examining archaeologically recovered and ethnographically collected skin objects, from museum collections across North America and Europe. Objects from many different preservation contexts, including wet, dry, and frozen sites were analysed to determine whether or not the discriminating traits survived interment. It was found that defining characteristics and tendencies do exist between the main tannage technologies, and can be recorded at multiple levels of observation. The analysis of skin objects in museum collections confirmed that at least some defining characteristics and tendencies survived in all preservation contexts. In addition, the preservation of in-life use traces proved to be diagnostic of not only tannage type, but small sections of chaîne opératoire and object biography as well. Overall, this research has demonstrated that archaeologically preserved objects made from processed skin can provide information about the tannage technologies in use prehistorically, as well as more detailed information such as manufacturing sequences and the conditions of use an object was subjected to. Thus, analysis of this nature can be used to access information on a more individual level than previously believed.
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Abraham, Meg. "Incorporation of laser ablation into a PIXE system in order to study metallurgy and corrosion products on archaeological objects." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.645189.
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This work demonstrates the set up and testing of a laser ablation system incorporated into a Particle Induced X-ray Emission Beam line in order to expose bare metal for analysis. The setup allows for X-ray analysis of the composition of the objects without large scale or visible damage to the patina on the object. In some instances the process also allows for some analysis of the corrosion products that make up the patina on the objects. The process is developed as a method for handling a specific class of archaeological objects which are not suited to sampling for various reasons. The aim is to minimize invasive testing of these objects while gaining information about their composition. Using this technique it is possible to infer something about the bulk makeup of the corrosion products on the surface of the objects. It also allows for a good quantitative understanding of the trace elements in the underlying metal substrate that remains below the corroded surface in most cases. This process is not intended to produce exact descriptions of the mineralogical makeup of the corrosion products that form the patina on the object, such as those which can be obtained through metallurgical cross-sectioning. Further it will not yield good quantitative analysis of the trace elements in corrosion products like those obtained using synchrotron radiation. Finally this technique cannot give detailed information regarding the metallurgical structure of the base metal composition of the object again like the data obtained using cross-sections.
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Wright, Carrie Carlota. "Calcium isotopes in sheep dental enamel : a new approach to studying weaning and dairying in the archaeological record." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2014. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:6f7d5179-594a-41c3-a06d-478a811b818a.
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Calcium isotope ratios (44Ca/42Ca) have shown promise as a milk dietary tracer. Previous studies have focused on bone but, due to homeostatic processes, δ44/42Ca values are highly variable. This has greatly complicated the identification of mammal milk consumption through bone analysis, resulting in a search for an alternative. This thesis describes controlled studies to assess the effects of milk consumption on δ44/42Ca values in bulk and sequential samples of dental enamel, using modern samples from Yorkshire, England, the Isle of Hoy, Scotland, and archaeological samples from Abu Hureyra, Syria. The samples from Yorkshire consisted of dental enamel, ewe milk, feed and bone. Dental enamel was sampled from the Hoy sheep. Milk and plants are the greatest contributors of calcium in the mammal diet. Feed and ewe milk samples confirmed that milk has lower δ44/42Ca values than plants in the diet, and with a common diet between ewes, uniform milk δ44/42Ca values are produced. Also, there is a significant difference between bulk molar enamel δ44/42Ca values between males and females, with males having higher values. Additionally, analysis of bulk and sequential samples of Hoy mature sheep molar enamel, although mass fractionation effects were small, produced δ44/42Ca values with a clear isotopic offset between the enamel likely formed during nursing, weaning and the full conversion to a plant diet. The δ44/42Ca values, once associated with dental development chronologies, led to the identification of a clear pattern of nursing and weaning in the enamel of the first and second molars of sheep with known dietary and weaning histories. The modern results were used to identify patterns of ancient nursing and weaning. Although evidence was insufficient to establish early weaning of the Abu Hureyra sheep, this research successfully established the potential of this approach for investigating milk production and consumption in the archaeological record.
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Liu, Yan. "Archaeological manifestations of rank and status : the wooden chamber tombs in the Mid-Yangzi Region (206 B.C. - A.D. 25)." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:67f6cce2-34d2-4b38-bf81-74bb1b6246a5.
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This thesis is centered on the roles of wooden chamber tombs in defining, negotiating and reinforcing status and identity of their owners in early imperial China. The archaeological materials under discussion are wooden chamber burials in the mid-Yangzi region, including the modern provinces of Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan and north Anhui. The first reason why I have chosen this area is because these tombs are well-preserved and provide excellent examples to examine the different material expressions of rank and status at each rank in mortuary contexts. They are complemented by some extensive contemporary texts written on bamboo strips recently discovered in the same general area. The waterlogged burial environment in the mid-Yangzi region allows organic materials, such as textiles, lacquers and bamboo manuscripts, to survive while in other regions, such as the Central Plain, they often perished. Secondly, these tombs are also of a traditional form—constructed as a wooden chamber dug into a vertical pit, and can therefore be considered in relation to earlier Zhou practices. Wooden chamber tombs started to flourish from the eleventh century and became more elaborate from the sixth to the first century B.C. From the first century onward, such a burial type still prevailed in the mid-Yangzi region, while they were replaced by horizontal tombs built with bricks or stones in other areas. Many scholars have, therefore, regarded the prevailing timber structure in the area as a cultural continuity from Zhou system. They interpret them in terms of funeral regulations, especially linking them to archaic ranks and ritual norms drawn from transmitted texts. However, many of these texts that archaeologists consult and cite were written long after the burials and sites were constructed and used. These later texts were modified and passed through many editorial hands over the centuries, and there are considerable inconsistencies between different textual sources. Therefore the second reason why I have chosen this area is because it provides data demonstrating that the text-centered assumptions with respect to archaeological material do not contribute to a better understanding of social relationships in early Han society. Thirdly, there is a strong connection with local Chu tombs. The Jianghan Plain was the heartland of the Chu state before the Qin unification. The tomb construction of the Chu state incorporates a striking preference for timber structures. The timber structure tombs grew more widespread and dominant in this area during the early Han dynasty. In using multiple burial chambers and nested coffins, the local Han elites in the mid-Yangzi region seem to have followed the Chu mortuary practice, as well as in burying a large number of lacquers and bamboo manuscripts. The abundant material evidence of Chu tombs in the area sheds light on understanding of changes in funerary beliefs, showing that the tombs were arranged to meet specific needs of tomb owners. Rather than simply seeing a wooden chamber burial as a passive reflection of written regulation, I consider it as a medium for conveying the different thoughts of its owner and their associates. The material evidence manifested the status and identities of the deceased in concrete physical form. The burial assemblages belong to carefully planned contexts, and serve to constitute idealized social relations, rather than necessarily mirroring day to day reality. As such, burial evidence not only exhibited a part of the biography of the dead, but also expressed identity and socio-political claims of the living. This thesis will show that rank is not the only and major determinant, but is accompanied or outperformed by status and identity. The period covered by this thesis is the initial stage of early imperial China. The Western Han Empire (206 B.C.--A.D. 25) is traditionally regarded as a period when a unified social, political, and ideological framework was initially established. In 202 B.C., Liu Bang (256--195 B.C.) from the former Chu state in eastern China, defeated Xiang Yu (232--202 B.C.) and set up the Western Han imperial court, with its capital in Chang'an (modern Xi'an, Shaanxi province). The Han Empire was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty (A.D. 9--23), established by Wang Mang (45 B.C.--A.D.23), a Confucian official from the Liu family. This interregnum divides the Han dynasty into two periods: the Western Han (206 B.C.--A.D.9) and the Eastern Han (A.D.25--220).
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Lynch, Anthony H. "Carbon isotopic dietary signatures of amino acids." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2011. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:1399009e-e06e-4f85-ba47-0557d5018cde.
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In an exploratory study, techniques were developed for isolating bulk plant proteins and measuring the 13C isotopic compositions of their constituent amino acids by HPLC-IRMS. Samples of plants expected to be of potential palaeodietary significance in northwestern Europe were selected for investigation. Different tissues of plants, leaves and seeds, may be distinguished from each other by the relative 13C isotopic compositions (‘isotopic signatures’) of the amino acids of their constituent proteins. For each tissue type, different plant types may be distinguished in the same way. These signatures can vary slightly according to environment and season, but the variation among types is greater than this. For leaves, isotopic signatures can be used to differentiate (i) nettles, (ii) true grasses, (iii) reeds etc, (iv) trees, (v) legumes, (vi) maize, (vii) freshwater plants and (viii) marine algae. For seeds, these signatures are able to differentiate (i) wheat-type cereals, (ii) barley-type cereals, (iii) C4 cereals, (iv) pseudocereals, (v) legumes and (vi) tree nuts. From investigations using a mixing model, it appears that these signals, particularly those of essential amino acids, are reflected in the tissues of their consumers. Freshwater plants are identified as the base of the food chain for dragonfly larvae, marine algae as the diet of marine molluscs and grass as the diet of archaeological cattle and aurochs. Isotopic ‘marine signals’ identified by previous researchers have been refined using these data and the isotopic signatures of fish muscle. These findings are expected to be of particular value in the study of palaeodiets using proteins from archaeological tissues, especially bone and hair. This approach will also find application in the fields of plant physiology and biochemistry.
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Day, Christopher A. "Predicting archaeo-colluvium on the Berkshire Downs." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1999. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:f132051c-ae5c-4871-9828-8df0c9cd38bf.
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A new and relatively unexplored source of archaeological and environmental information on the Chalkland are the sediments of dry valleys. From relatively recent studies these deposits have been shown to be the product of ancient land use and soil loss and a rich repository of both primary and archaeological material. There have, however, been no attempts to determine the spatial distribution of this class of ancient valley deposit - for the purpose of this project termed archaeo-colluvium. The study focuses on the north-west part of the Berkshire Downs (58km2), a landscape of both chalk and superficial drift deposits, which together with relict ancient fields, lynchets and settlement features offered a suitable area in which to develop and test a method for predicting the distribution of these deposits. The project uses a multi-disciplinary approach which combines the traces of ancient arable (Celtic fields), some topographic parameters and assumptions about past soils, erosion regimes, and colluvial preservation in the development a GIS-based predictive model for the distribution of archaeo-colluvium within this study region. Following the production of a map of predicted sites, archaeo-colluvium was checked in the field by an extensive auger and trench survey of the main valleys and tributaries. Dry valley sequences were assembled and dated, both for the purposes of evaluating the accuracy of the model and to draw some archaeological implications from the nature and distribution of these deposits. A synthesis of local soils, colluvium and wider archaeological observations suggested a three-stage chronology for prehistoric and Romano-British land use on the Berkshire Downs, centred around earliest arable use at Seven Barrows with later shifts to surrounding catchments of mixed chalk and clay soils. The results of the field program were encouraging with the predictive model verified at 71% of target sites. A number of field observations were contrary to the original model, notable among these were that thicker sequences were common in landscapes of heavier soils as was evacuation of valley sediments from open chalk landscapes. This feedback allowed some modified principles to be briefly tested on three other Chalkland landscapes.
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Marom-Rotem, Anat. "Development and application of an analytical method for radiocarbon dating bones using the amino acid hydroxyproline." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2012. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:a96325a1-e23a-4038-9293-6914e0bec076.
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Archaeological bones are usually dated by radiocarbon measurement of extracted collagen. However, low collagen content, contamination from the burial environment or museum conservation work have previously lead to inaccurate results, especially for old bones, compromising the ability to reconstruct reliable past chronologies. It is reported, for example, that up to 70% of Palaeolithic radiocarbon dates on bones are likely to be underestimates of the real age, blurring the picture of modern human dispersals and Neanderthal extinction. In this thesis, a method for isolating and radiocarbon dating the collagen amino acid hydroxyproline is described. Hydroxyproline consists of about 10% of bone collagen but is not found in significant amounts elsewhere in nature. The hydroxyproline dating method uses a mixed-mode (i.e. ion-exchange combined with hydrophobic chemistry), semi preparative HPLC methodology. The amino acids do not require derivatisation, and no organic solvents are used, thereby avoiding addition of carbon. The hypothesis of this thesis is that the hydroxyproline can be used as a bone specific biomarker, improving dating accuracy and making it possible to obtain radiocarbon determinations where previously it has been impossible. It was calculated that on average 3.3±1.4μg of contaminant carbon are added to each sample in the process of isolating the hydroxyproline, a low level suitable for 14C dating. It was investigated whether a deliberately contaminated bone and 'naturally' contaminated archaeological bones, yielding erroneous dates when dated using the normal pretreatment method, could be dated accurately using this method. In addition, a hydroxyproline date was obtained for a bone with too little surviving collagen to be dateable by the bulk collagen method. Finally, using the hydroxyproline dating method, the earliest direct ages for the presence of anatomically modern humans on the Russian Plain were obtained. The method proved to be a powerful tool that can help resolve longstanding archaeological questions.
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Stansbie, Daniel. "The circulation of flesh : regional food producing/consuming systems in Southern England, 1500BC-AD1086." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2016. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:b4260df9-f543-4256-9921-0283360ed4c4.
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It has become an axiom of British archaeology that the results of developer-funded fieldwork are under-utilised in research and several projects carried out at British universities have attempted to redress this perceived imbalance. These projects, including those on British and Continental prehistory carried out by Richard Bradley, the Roman Rural settlement project, the Fields of Britannia project, John Blair's work on early medieval England and the EngLaId project, of which this thesis forms a component, have all demonstrated beyond doubt the transformative effect of the data produced by developer-funded work on our understanding. However, to date no project has sought to utilise artefact and ecofact data produced by developer-funded work on a similar scale. This thesis is partly an attempt to fill this gap, by using ceramic, animal bone and charred plant data from digital archives generated by developer-funded archaeology, to address a series of questions about food production/consumption over the later prehistoric and early historic periods in Southern England. These three datasets have very varied characteristics and their integration in a single database was, therefore, one of the major challenges of the thesis. However, this also provided the opportunity to ask new questions and to address old questions with new data. The thesis argues that regional ecosystems had a long-term influence on processes of food production/consumption, which displayed considerable continuities across the boundaries of traditional archaeological periods. Landscape, settlement, ceramic, animal bone and charred plant data from three regional case studies, encompassing the Upper Thames Valley, the Middle and Lower Thames Valley and the route of HS1 in Kent were investigated using a Filemaker database and QGIS mapping. It is argued that, while there were long-term continuities in the use of plants and animals, the expression of social relationships expressed in fields, settlements and ceramics followed a cyclical pattern.
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Jeffrey, Amy. "Exploring palaeoaridity using stable oxygen and carbon isotopes in small mammal teeth : a case study from two Late Pleistocene archaeological cave sites in Morocco, North Africa." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2016. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:5443f540-1049-4f89-8240-970afd5e59f5.
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Revised chronologies from Moroccan cave sites have raised questions concerning the timing of changes in human cultural behaviour in relation to past climate shifts. However, many of the inferences about past moisture regimes are based on external records. Therefore, this thesis aimed to develop a palaeoclimate record using oxygen and carbon isotope values (d18O and d13C) in Gerbillinae (gerbil) teeth from two Late Pleistocene cave sites, El Harhoura 2 and Taforalt, in Morocco. Since small mammals are not commonly used to construct proxy climate records, a modern isotope study was undertaken in northwestern Africa to understand the influences on the stable isotope composition of small mammal tissues in semi-arid and arid settings. The results from the modern study show that d18O composition of gerbil teeth is strongly correlated with mean annual precipitation (MAP), and therefore in arid settings reflects moisture availability. Predictably, the d13C values of the gerbil teeth reflected C3 and C4 dietary inputs, but arid and mesic sites could not be distinguished because of the high variability displayed in d13C. The d18O isotope-based MAP reconstructions suggest that the Mediterranean coastal region of North Africa did not experience hyper-arid conditions during the Late Pleistocene. The d13C values of the gerbil teeth show that C3 vegetation dominated in the Late Pleistocene, but there was a small amount C4 vegetation present at Taforalt. This indicates that small mammals are extremely sensitive to discreet shifts in past vegetation cover. Both the modern and archaeological studies demonstrated that the isotope values of molars and incisors differed. The results indicate that tooth choice is an important consideration for applications as proxy Quaternary records, but also highlights a new potential means to distinguish seasonal contexts. Comparisons of proxy climate records and cultural sequences at Taforalt and El Harhoura 2 show that Middle Stone Age occupations of both sites occurred during relatively humid and arid climate phases. The transition to the Later Stone Age appears to have taken place during a period of increased aridity, hinting that this cultural transition may be related to changing environmental conditions.
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Peveler, Edward. "The supply of building materials to construction projects in Roman Oxfordshire : logistics, economics, and social significance." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2018. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:9208b07b-7c9d-447b-a2b1-26873f951018.
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Whilst Roman architecture has long stood as a discrete branch of classical studies, investigated for its artistic merit and cultural importance, the technical details of Roman construction have only recently started to receive considerable attention. This thesis contributes to a growing trend in Roman scholarship, that of the investigation of the processes, materials, and technologies behind the Roman built environment. The most prestigious buildings of the Empire often remain the focus of many of these studies, and so this thesis turns to explore the use of more everyday buildings and building materials, seeking a Romano-British vernacular, and investigating the processes of construction, building material production, and transport. It is argued, through using theoretical calculations of building material quantities, that even for relatively minor constructions, considerations of building material supply must have represented highly significant economic and logistical investment. To comprehend fully the subject it is asserted that building materials should not be treated, as they often are, as disparate artefacts, divided by substance into stone, ceramic, mortar, metal, etc., but rather they should be considered as related fragments of a building. They require synthetic analysis, through which a far truer understanding of the incredible effort involved in construction in the ancient world can be gained. The built environment of Roman Oxfordshire, and the Roman building material assemblage from Dorchester on Thames, are used as case studies. Primary analysis of building materials is carried out using an integrated analytical approach, combining thin section petrography with scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray analysis. The outcomes of these analyses are interpreted against a background of archaeological and historical evidence for construction and material supply, in both the Roman and later periods, in the region and beyond.
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SANTOS, JOSE O. dos. "Estudos arqueométricos de sitios arqueológicos do baixo São Francisco." reponame:Repositório Institucional do IPEN, 2007. http://repositorio.ipen.br:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/11536.
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Tese (Doutoramento)
IPEN/T
Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN/CNEN-SP
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BONA, IRENE A. T. "Estudo de assinaturas químicas em cerâmica da tradição tupiguarani da região central do estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil." reponame:Repositório Institucional do IPEN, 2006. http://repositorio.ipen.br:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/11433.
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Tese (Doutoramento)
IPEN/T
Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN/CNEN-SP
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Hood, Amber Giles Eve. "New insights into old problems : the application of a multidisciplinary approach to the study of early Egyptian ceramic chronology, with a focus on luminescence dating." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2016. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:508818b7-930b-4e06-890c-5c2dbb12fe42.
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This thesis takes a multidisciplinary approach to the study of ancient Egyptian ceramics by applying scientific dating techniques alongside more traditional methods. It is the first study to apply OSL dating to an Egyptian ceramic assemblage, and it has done so by developing the minimum extraction technique (MET), which has made it possible to use OSL to sample, and thus analyse, ceramics housed in museums. The MET is at present essential to the success of OSL dating of Egyptian ceramics, as the exportation ban on antiquities has prevented OSL analysis of field material. For this thesis, using this new sampling technique, OSL has been applied to several assemblages from the Predynastic to the Early Dynastic period. Ceramics from [ADD IN REVIEW ] have been examined, with three phases being established: late Naqada III, First Intermediate Period, and the mediaeval Islamic period. Absolute dates have been determined for each phase and, where comparison is possible, have been found in good agreement with the historical chronology. A set of vessels from Naqada, Ballas, and the Tomb of Djer at Abydos have been examined using OSL in conjunction with radiocarbon dating. Again, three phases of activity were discerned: late Naqada II, early Naqada III, and the first scientifically determined dates for a burning event in the Tomb of Djer (the New Kingdom). The thesis also demonstrates how OSL can be used as a relative dating technique by analysing a collection of Wavy-Handled ceramics and wine jars from Turah, finding that the OSL results agree well with the established relative chronology. Finally, this thesis has also examined the applicability of cladistic analysis to the study of Egyptian ceramics. Cladistics is a technique borrowed from the biological sciences which offers a complimentary way to examine the evolution of ceramic types and forms, in particular the development of beer and wine jars.
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Hühnerfuss, Katja. "Totalreflektions-Röntgenspektrometrie (TXRF) : eine Multielementanalyse zur Datierung altägyptischer Objekte aus Holz /." Diss., Berlin : dissertation.de, 2007. http://www.dissertation.de/buch.php3?buch=5174.
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Duering, Andreas. "From individuals to settlement patterns." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2017. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:f412230f-bbe3-4d07-99b5-ad553bd8b245.
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This thesis describes and contextualises the Population & Cemetery Simulator (PCS), which represents agent-based demographic modelling software that can be used to model living populations based on archaeological and historical data as well as their cemeteries. The data used by the PCS are demographic in nature, e.g. age and sex data generated by osteoarchaeologists from excavated cemeteries or historical demographic data. This thesis seeks to provide a methodological foundation for modelling the demographics of archaeological populations. It focusses on case studies using data from early medieval Anglo-Saxon (South England) and Alamannic (South Germany) cemeteries, although excursions into neighbouring periods and regions are included as validation studies. The case studies show how the PCS can be used in archaeological research and the software is presented as a solution to various problems caused by the difference between the living population and the 'dead' cemetery data in archaeology.
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Santos, José Osman dos. "Estudos arqueométricos de sítios arqueológicos do baixo São Francisco." Universidade de São Paulo, 2007. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/85/85131/tde-18052012-134947/.
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O estudo minucioso das características físicas e químicas dos artefatos cerâmicos, associado com as pesquisas históricas e arqueológicas tem pennitido a reconstituição dos costumes culturais e modos de vida das comunidades antigas. O presente estudo objetivou estudar composição química elementar e mineralógica de cerâmicas arqueológicas coletadas nos sítios .lustino, São José, Curítuba, Saco da Onça, Porto Belo e Vitória Régia, localizados na região do Baixo São Francisco, Sergipe, Brasil. Por meio da análise por ativação com nêutrons instrumental (AANl) e difratometria de raios - X (DRX), pennitiuse definir grupos composicionais de cerâmicas conforme a similaridade química da pastas cerâmica, a qual reflete a composição da matéria-prima utilizada em sua manufatura pelo homem pré-histórico, e inferir a atmosfera e temperatura de queima da cerâmica. As amostras abeiTantes foram identificadas por meio das distâncias Mahalanobis clássica e robusta. O efeito do tempero na pasta cerâmica foi estudado por meio do filtro de Mahalanobis modificado. Os resultados foram interpretados por meio da análise de agioipamento, análise das componentes principais e análise discriminante. O horizonte temporal das cerâmicas foi verificado por meio de técnicas de datação tennoluminescência (TL). Os resultados obtidos neste trabalho, em associação com infonnações oriundas da Arqueologia, pennitiram a identificação dos gi-upos cerâmicos correspondentes às ocupações ceramistas no sítio Justino e a definição de gi\'upos cerâmicos de referência confonne o comportamento químico. A tecnologia de queima foi estabelecida para alguns vasos cerâmicos, bem como a contemporaneidade dos grupos composicionais segundo as datações determinadas por TL. Dessa forma, o trabalho contribui para a reconstituição da pré-história das comunidades que habitaram a região do Baixo Rio São Francisco e para remontagem do quadro geral das populações ceramistas do Nordeste brasileiro.The study of the physical and chemical characteristics of the ceramics crafts, in association with historical and archaeological research, has allowed for the reconstruction of the cultural habits from ancient communities. The goal of this work was to study the chemical and mineralogical compositions of archaeological potteries collected from Justino, São José, Curituba, Saco da Onça, Porto Belo and Vitória Régia sites, located in Baixo São Francisco region, Sergipe state, Brazil. The use of the instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD), allowed the definition of compositional groups of potteries according to the chemical similarities of the ceramic paste, which reveals the composition of the raw materials utilized in the manufacturing process by prehistoric man, and the inference of the atmosphere and temperatures in which the potteries were burned. The outliers were identified by means of classic and robust Mahalanobis distance. The temper effect in the ceramic paste was studied by means of modified Mahalanobis filter. The results were interpreted by means of cluster analysis, principal components analysis and discriminant analysis. The ages of some potteries were determined by means of the thermoluminescence techniques. The results obtained in this work, in association with archaeological information, allowed for the identification of the ceramic groups relative to ceramist occupations at Justino Site and for the definition of the reference groups according to the chemical composition. The burning technology was established for some potteries and the relative ages among the compositional groups were determined by means of TL. Thus, this work provides contributions to the reconstmction of the prehistory of the communities which lived in the Baixo São Francisco region, and to the reconstitution of the general frame of the ceramist population from Brazilian Northeast.
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Kotarba-Morley, Anna Maria. "The Port of Berenike Troglodytica on the Red Sea : a landscape-based approach to the study of its harbour and its role in Indo-Mediterranean trade." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:dc80167b-8b1e-499d-9b7c-038e10b2e782.
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The port site of Berenike Troglodytica - located on the Egyptian Red Sea coast - served the spice and incense routes that linked the Mediterranean World (specifically the Roman Empire) to India, Southern Arabia and East Africa. In the Greco-Roman period the site was at the cutting edge of what was then the embryonic global economy, ideally situated as a key node connecting Indian Ocean and Mediterranean trade for almost 800 years. It is now located in an arid, marginal, hostile environment but the situation must have been very different 2300 years ago, at the time of its founding. At the time of elephant-hunting trips during the Hellenistic period before the inception of its important role in the global markets of the day in the Roman period Berenike would have to have looked much different to what we can now imagine. What was it like then, when the first prospectors visited this location at the time of Ptolemy II? Why this particular place, and this particular landscape setting seemed such a propitious location for the siting of an important new harbour? Given the importance of the port over almost a millennium it is perhaps surprising that very little is known about the different factors impacting on the foundation, evolution, heyday and subsequent decline of the city; or the size, shape, and capacity of its harbour. The intention of this research is to address this shortfall in our knowledge, to examine the drivers behind the rise and fall of this port city, and to explore the extent to which the dynamics of the physical landscape were integral to this story. Using an innovative Earth Science approach, changes in the archaeological 'coastscape' have been reconstructed and correlated with periods of occupation and abandonment of the port, shedding light on the nature, degree and directionality of human-environment interactions at the site. This work has revealed profound changes in the configuration of the coastal landscape and environment (including the sea level) during the lifespan of Berenike, highlighting the ability of people to exploit changes in their immediate environment, and demonstrating that, ultimately, the decline of the port was partly due to these landscape dynamics. To further explore these themes the landscape reconstructions have been supplemented by semi-quantitative analyses of a suite of variables likely to influence the initial siting of new ports of trade. These have shown that although the site of Berenike was ideal in terms of its coastal landscape potential, possessing a natural sheltered bay and lagoon system, the choice of location was not solely influenced by its environmental conditions. Additionally, a detailed review of vessels that plied Red Sea and Indian Ocean routes is presented here in order to better understand the design and functioning of Berenike's harbour. This serves the purpose of identifying unifying features that provide more detail about the size and draught of vessels and the potential capacity of the harbour basin. By using this multi-scalar approach it has been possible to reconstruct the 'coastscape' of the site through the key periods of its occupancy and those phases immediately before and after its operation. This has wide-ranging implications for researchers studying ancient ports along this trade network as a larger database will tease out more details about how influential the landscape was in the initial siting of the port and its subsequent use and decline.
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Edgeworth, Matthew. "The act of discovery : an ethnography of the subject-object relation in archaeological practice." Thesis, Durham University, 1991. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1481/.
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Inomata, Takeshi, Flory Pinzón, José Luis Ranchos, Tsuyoshi Haraguchi, Hiroo Nasu, Juan Carlos Fernandez-Diaz, Kazuo Aoyama, and Hitoshi Yonenobu. "Archaeological Application of Airborne LiDAR with Object-Based Vegetation Classification and Visualization Techniques at the Lowland Maya Site of Ceibal, Guatemala." MDPI AG, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/624959.
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The successful analysis of LiDAR data for archaeological research requires an evaluation of effects of different vegetation types and the use of adequate visualization techniques for the identification of archaeological features. The Ceibal-Petexbatun Archaeological Project conducted a LiDAR survey of an area of 20 x 20 km around the Maya site of Ceibal, Guatemala, which comprises diverse vegetation classes, including rainforest, secondary vegetation, agricultural fields, and pastures. We developed a classification of vegetation through object-based image analysis (OBIA), primarily using LiDAR-derived datasets, and evaluated various visualization techniques of LiDAR data. We then compared probable archaeological features identified in the LiDAR data with the archaeological map produced by Harvard University in the 1960s and conducted ground-truthing in sample areas. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of the OBIA approach to vegetation classification in archaeological applications, and suggests that the Red Relief Image Map (RRIM) aids the efficient identification of subtle archaeological features. LiDAR functioned reasonably well for the thick rainforest in this high precipitation region, but the densest parts of foliage appear to create patches with no or few ground points, which make the identification of small structures problematic.
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Kuzina, Tatiana. "Objet et modèle archéologique dans la création sur la Shoah." Thesis, Paris 8, 2016. http://www.theses.fr/2016PA080025.
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Le témoin, le témoignage et la transmission constituent le centre des réflexions sur l’écriture de la Shoah, de sorte que toute œuvre qui rend ces notions moins opérationnelles se trouve classée dans les marges. Ce travail propose de changer de perspective en se concentrant sur ces marges et en supposant la présence d’un modèle mémoriel alternatif. Il s’appuie sur un corpus littéraire et plastique qui actualise le sujet de la Shoah grâce aux objets et propose d’examiner leur capacité de résonner à l’intérieur d’une œuvre concrète et dans l’ensemble de la création, de relever leur potentiel combinatoire et de voir comment s’articule leur absence. Se pose également la question de l’inscription de la photographie analogique dans les textes : à la fois objet et image, elle apparaît comme un élément constitutif de l’intrigue et permet de rappeler les disparus dans un contexte post-événementiel, sans toutefois accroître la visibilité et l’accessibilité du passé. Le caractère opaque et intègre des objets présents dans la création sur la Shoah les dote d’une valeur autonome et conduit à une réévaluation des rapports entre le personnage-témoin, le narrateur et le lecteur. Dans ce modèle, la présence du témoin n’est pas déterminante pour l’évocation du passé : c’est un personnage de la quête menée par le narrateur. Ce dernier revêt le rôle d’archéologue : il explore son présent, repère des résidus du passé, les décrit et tente de les interpréter, sans jamais aboutir à un récit cohérent. La création s’ouvre ainsi à un troisième acteur de la mémoire : elle émancipe le lecteur en l’invitant à formuler le sujet de l’œuvre et à devenir un véritable acteur du modèle archéologiqueReflections upon Holocaust writings are centred on the witness, his testimony and its transmission, such that any work that makes these notions less applicable is shifted to the margins. This thesis suggests a change of viewpoint by focusing on these margins and by presuming the existence of an alternative memory model. It studies literary and visual works that unravel the Holocaust theme through objects and proposes to examine their ability to echo in a specific piece as well as in the creative production as a whole, to point out their combinatory capacity and to observe how their absence manifests itself. Analog photographs included in the narrative raise particular questions: being objects and pictures at the same time, they represent key elements of the plot, and although they bring the lost people into the post-event context, they do not enhance the visibility and the accessibility of the past. Their opaque and solid nature provides them with an independent value and imposes a reassessment of the relationship between the witness, the narrator and the reader. Within this model the presence of a witness is not essential for the recollection of the past: he is a character of the narrator’s quest. The latter assumes the role of an archaeologist exploring his present, discovering the remnants of the past, describing them and trying to interpret them, his attempts, however, never amounting to a coherent story. Thus the creative production reveals a third agent of the memory: it urges the reader’s emancipation challenging him to construct the subject matter and to become a true protagonist of the archaeological model
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Kuzina, Tatiana. "Objet et modèle archéologique dans la création sur la Shoah." Electronic Thesis or Diss., Paris 8, 2016. http://www.theses.fr/2016PA080025.
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Le témoin, le témoignage et la transmission constituent le centre des réflexions sur l’écriture de la Shoah, de sorte que toute œuvre qui rend ces notions moins opérationnelles se trouve classée dans les marges. Ce travail propose de changer de perspective en se concentrant sur ces marges et en supposant la présence d’un modèle mémoriel alternatif. Il s’appuie sur un corpus littéraire et plastique qui actualise le sujet de la Shoah grâce aux objets et propose d’examiner leur capacité de résonner à l’intérieur d’une œuvre concrète et dans l’ensemble de la création, de relever leur potentiel combinatoire et de voir comment s’articule leur absence. Se pose également la question de l’inscription de la photographie analogique dans les textes : à la fois objet et image, elle apparaît comme un élément constitutif de l’intrigue et permet de rappeler les disparus dans un contexte post-événementiel, sans toutefois accroître la visibilité et l’accessibilité du passé. Le caractère opaque et intègre des objets présents dans la création sur la Shoah les dote d’une valeur autonome et conduit à une réévaluation des rapports entre le personnage-témoin, le narrateur et le lecteur. Dans ce modèle, la présence du témoin n’est pas déterminante pour l’évocation du passé : c’est un personnage de la quête menée par le narrateur. Ce dernier revêt le rôle d’archéologue : il explore son présent, repère des résidus du passé, les décrit et tente de les interpréter, sans jamais aboutir à un récit cohérent. La création s’ouvre ainsi à un troisième acteur de la mémoire : elle émancipe le lecteur en l’invitant à formuler le sujet de l’œuvre et à devenir un véritable acteur du modèle archéologiqueReflections upon Holocaust writings are centred on the witness, his testimony and its transmission, such that any work that makes these notions less applicable is shifted to the margins. This thesis suggests a change of viewpoint by focusing on these margins and by presuming the existence of an alternative memory model. It studies literary and visual works that unravel the Holocaust theme through objects and proposes to examine their ability to echo in a specific piece as well as in the creative production as a whole, to point out their combinatory capacity and to observe how their absence manifests itself. Analog photographs included in the narrative raise particular questions: being objects and pictures at the same time, they represent key elements of the plot, and although they bring the lost people into the post-event context, they do not enhance the visibility and the accessibility of the past. Their opaque and solid nature provides them with an independent value and imposes a reassessment of the relationship between the witness, the narrator and the reader. Within this model the presence of a witness is not essential for the recollection of the past: he is a character of the narrator’s quest. The latter assumes the role of an archaeologist exploring his present, discovering the remnants of the past, describing them and trying to interpret them, his attempts, however, never amounting to a coherent story. Thus the creative production reveals a third agent of the memory: it urges the reader’s emancipation challenging him to construct the subject matter and to become a true protagonist of the archaeological model
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Vörös, Aline da Silva Araújo. "Trajetórias e interações: os objetos da caixa didática “Padrões de Beleza” do Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia da Universidade Federal do Paraná (MAE-UFPR)." Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná, 2015. http://repositorio.utfpr.edu.br/jspui/handle/1/1352.
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CAPESA presente pesquisa tem como intuito investigar uma coleção de objetos que compõe o material chamado caixa didática Padrões de Beleza, criado por um grupo da Ação Educativa do Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia da Universidade Federal do Paraná (MAE-UFPR). O trabalho está centrado no processo de feitura dessa caixa, buscando, em especial, a compreensão das relações e das mediações formadas entre os agentes encarregados e os objetos museológicos por eles escolhidos para a composição do referido material. As análises se baseiam principalmente nos estudos de cultura material e antropologia dos objetos. A pesquisa envolve a construção de um inventário dos objetos e pesquisa etnográfica, concluindo com a redação da dissertação.
The main purpose of this research is to explore a collection of objects which compose a material named “caixa didática Padrões de Beleza”, created by a group responsible for Educational Actions in the “Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia da Universidade Federal do Paraná (MAE-UFPR)”. This research focuses in the making process of this material, seeking, in particular, the understanding of the relations and interactions developed between the agents in charge and those museological objects chosen by them to be part of this “Caixa”. The analysis is based essentially on material culture studies and anthropology of objects. This research comprises the construction of an inventory of the objects, ethnographic research and the mapping of the information gathered, concluding with the writing of the dissertation.
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Jrad, Abir. "Application des méthodes géophysiques à la prospection archéologique." Thesis, Aix-Marseille, 2014. http://www.theses.fr/2014AIXM4301.
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Ce travail de thèse porte sur la recherche géophysique de la proche sub-surface appliquée aux objets et structures archéologiques. L'objectif est de définir une méthodologie d'étude géophysique de sites archéologiques dans un contexte Méditerranéen : en France et en Tunisie, ainsi que " l'empreinte géophysique " des principaux objets archéologiques. La méthode géophysique principale utilisée est la méthode magnétique. Les cartographies magnétiques obtenues sont couplées aux cartographies et mesures électromagnétiques et aux tomographies électriques (ERT) et sismiques. Ce volet de prospection sur le terrain est corrélé aux mesures magnétiques de laboratoire, permettant une meilleure contrainte des modélisations directes et synthétiques proposées pour les différents objets étudiés. Dans une première partie, la thèse se concentre sur les structures et objets archéologiques de combustion. Cette partie précise la signature magnétique de ces objets et souligne son rehaussement dû à l'effet du feu. Dans un second temps, la thèse fait porter l'analyse sur l'empreinte géophysiques des structures d'aménagement et sa variation reliée aux différents matériaux et techniques utilisés ainsi qu'aux propriétés du terrain encaissant. D'autres objets sont par la suite étudiés pour une meilleure compréhension des anomalies magnétiques potentiellement produites. La diminution de la qualité du signal magnétique et donc du rapport signal sur bruit est traité vers la finThis dissertation deals with the applied geophysics to archaeological objects and structures in the close subsurface. The aims are to define a geophysical methodology for the study of archeological sites in a Mediterranean context : in France and in Tunisia, and also the geophysical signature of the main archaeological features. The main geophysical method used is the magnetic method. The obtained magnetic mappings are coupled with the electromagnetic cartographies and measurements, and with the electrical tomographies (ERT) and the seismic surveys. This ground prospecting is correlated with the magnetic measurements of laboratory, allowing a better constraint of the forward and synthetic modelling, proposed for the various studied features. First, the thesis concentrates on the study of the archaeological structures of combustion. This part specifies the magnetic signature of these objects and underlines the raising owed to the effect of the fire. Secondly, this work analyzes the geophysical imprint of the building structures and its variation connected with the various materials and techniques used as well as the surrounding ground properties. Other objects are afterward studied for a better understanding of the potentially produced magnetic anomalies. Last but not least, the decrease of the quality of the magnetic signal and thus the signal-to-noise ratio, is handled
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Restrepo-Navarro, Paulina. "Le droit du patrimoine culturel colombien à l´épreuve de la restitution internationale des biens archéologiques : Quelle approche vis-à-vis des vestiges qui se trouvent à l´étranger ?" Thesis, Paris 11, 2013. http://www.theses.fr/2013PA111007.
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Vingt-cinq ans après la ratification de la Convention de l'Unesco de 1970 et un an après celle de la Convention d'Unidroit de 1995 par l’État colombien, il est pertinent de réaliser un état des lieux du droit du patrimoine culturel colombien et de son appréhension des problématiques liées à la circulation des biens archéologiques et à leur transfert de propriété. Si ces vestiges appartiennent incontestablement à la Nation depuis 1991, leur protection constitutionnelle ne suffit pas à satisfaire la politique nationaliste que ce pays-source souhaiterait mener. Le questionnement est donc double : d'une part, celui du régime juridique auquel les biens archéologiques sont soumis sur le territoire national et, d'autre part, celui des possibilités d'application de ce dispositif protecteur lorsqu'ils se trouvent à l'étranger. Il s'agit donc de s'interroger sur la clarté et la précision du régime juridique auquel ces vestiges sont soumis en droit colombien pour permettre à l’État de fonder des demandes en restitution ou de retour susceptibles de réussir et, aussi, de définir dans quelle mesure ce dispositif national peut être appliqué par les autorités et les tribunaux étrangers. Par ailleurs, les traités internationaux spécialement adoptés en la matière depuis la seconde moitié du XXe siècle semblent insuffisants en vue de répondre aux attentes colombiennes de restitution et de retour de ses biens archéologiques. La pratique a démontré que la lutte internationale contre le trafic illicite reste étroitement liée aux législations nationales, tant celle de l’État requérant que celle de l’État requis. Les stratégies contentieuses susceptibles d'être mises en œuvre devant les autorités et les tribunaux français ont été étudiées à titre d'exemple. Plusieurs acteurs sont au centre de ces disputes : les États, les peuples autochtones, les marchands d'art et les musées. La diversité de leurs intérêts révèle la complexité des rapports qui peuvent se tisser autour de ces vestiges considérés, selon les différents points de vue, comme des objets identitaires, sacrés, artistiques ou scientifiques.Enfin, au regard de l'évolution récente du droit du patrimoine culturel colombien, les conditions semblent présentes pour revisiter le rapport que ce pays entretient vis-à-vis des vestiges archéologiques d'origine colombienne qui se trouvent à l'étrangerIt has been more than twenty-five years since Colombia State ratified the 1970 Unesco Convention and one year later it ratified the 1995 Unidroit Convention. It is now relevant to evaluate Colombia’s cultural heritage law and its perception of the issues surrounding the international trade of archaeological objects and ownership transfer. If archaeological antiquities belong unmistakably to the Nation since 1991, their constitutional protection does not satisfy the nationalistic policy this source country would like to lead.The evaluation of cultural heritage law is a double issue. On the one hand, there is the problem of how the domestic laws are applied to archaeological objects within the national territory. On the other hand, there is the difficulty of implementing domestic legislation when the antiquities are abroad. It is therefore a question of assessing if Colombia’s cultural heritage legislation has a framework that is clear and precise enough to allow the State to succeed in its claims and of defining to what extent it can be reinforced by foreign authorities and courts.Furthermore, international treaties adopted in this field since the second half of the twentieth century seem insufficient to meet Colombia´s concerns. Practice has shown that the international fight against illicit trade is closely bound to domestic laws, either that of the requesting State or of the requested State. The litigation strategies that can be brought before French authorities and courts have been studied as an example.These conflicts concern several actors: States, indigenous people, art dealers and museums. Their different level of interests reveal the complexity of the relationships that can be built among these antiquities considered, according to the stakeholders’ point of view, as identity, sacred, artistic or scientific objects.Finally, the recent development of Colombia’s cultural heritage legislation seems to challenge the country’s relation with its archaeological objects abroad
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Wilson, Andrew S., N. Tuross, and M. J. Wachowiak. "Blood Residues on Archaeological Objects - A Conservation Perspective." 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/10973.
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Legodi, Malebogo Andries. "Raman spectroscopy applied to iron oxide pigments from waste materials and earthenware archaeological objects." Thesis, 2008. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-06062008-113000.
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Thesis (PhD.(Chemistry)--University of Pretoria, 2008.On title page: Submitted in partial fulfilment of the degree Philosophiae Doctor in Chemistry in the faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences of the University of Pretoria. Includes bibliographical index.
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O'Connor, Sonia A., and M. M. Brooks. "X-Radiography of Textiles, Dress and Related Objects." 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/3954.
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NoX-radiography of textile objects reveals hidden features as well as unexpected components and materials. This non-destructive technique throws light on construction, manufacturing techniques, use, wear, repair, patterns of decay and dating. X-radiography improves artefact documentation and interpretation as well as guiding conservation approaches by enhancing understanding. This book explores techniques for X-raying textiles. It describes approaches to image interpretation and explains how, through digitisation and digital image manipulation, maximum information can be realised. Case studies include archaeological, ecclesiastical and ethnographic textiles, items of dress and accessories, upholstery, quilts, embroideries, dolls and toys. Museum professionals will find this stimulating book an essential guide for developing their own practice or commissioning textile X-radiographs.
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Grobler, Elda. "Collections management practices at the Transvaal Museum, 1913-1964 : Anthropological, Archaeological and Historical." Thesis, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/24550.
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A museum has to care for the objects in its collection to the best of its ability. The concept collections management emerged in the 1960s, when accountability for collections became a strong incentive for museums to develop modern collections management practices. In the process of establishing accountability (the effective implementation of practices to ensure adherence to collections policies on the accessioning, care and disposal of objects in a museum collection) many museums encountered problems such as the lack of access to detailed information about the objects in collections, a proliferation of accession numbers and inadequate location control. These problems were also encountered at the National Cultural History Museum, Pretoria. This research reveals the way in which the historical, anthropological and archaeological collections at the Transvaal Museum, predecessor of the National Cultural History Museum were managed from 1913 to 1964. This period was chosen for the following reasons: -- J W B Gunning, the director of the Transvaal Museum, was succeeded by H G Breijer in 1913. The year 1913 is thus a clear starting point for research and a new beginning, a watershed, at the Museum. -- The year 1964 marked the inception of an autonomous museum, the National Cultural History and Open-Air Museum, and the discontinuance of responsibility, after a period of 60 years, for the anthropology, archaeology and history collections at the Transvaal Museum. The development of the Transvaal Museum as a natural history and a history museum, is traced. In 1953, for the first time, a trained professional officer was appointed for the history division at the Museum. After 1953 there was an increased awareness (from a professional point of view) that historical, anthropological and archaeological collections require specialized curatorial care. Modern collections management principles, although they were not called by this name, featured effectively in the handling of the historical collection in particular, for the first time in more than 50 years. Aspects such as departmental organization, the staff, expansion of collections, policies, documentation and conservation are investigated. An evaluation of the factors that played a decisive role in collections management practices for the historical, anthropological and archaeological collections shows that a combination of aspects has to be considered in order to understand the practices that were followed and the changes that were made.Thesis (DPhil (Museology))--University of Pretoria, 2006.
Historical and Heritage Studies
unrestricted
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Santos, Carla Pereira dos. "Relatório de estágio no Museu Regional de Arqueologia D. Diogo de Sousa." Master's thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10316/98855.
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Dissertação de Mestrado em Conservação e Restauro apresentada ao Departamento de Ciências da Terra da Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra.O presente trabalho é o resultado de um estágio curricular realizado no Laboratório de Conservação e Restauro do Museu Regional de Arqueologia D. Diogo de Sousa, em Braga, no ano letivo 2014/2015. O relatório está estruturado da seguinte forma: - Inicialmente, é efetuada uma contextualização às dificuldades de conservação de bens arqueológicos; -Seguidamente, é demonstrada a metodologia aplicada às peças intervencionadas no Museu D. Diogo de Sousa. -Seguindo-se a descrição específica de cada uma das intervenções, encontrando-se este dividido em cinco capítulos referentes a cada material. No total foram intervencionadas 15 peças: 5 peças em cerâmicas, 1 lítico, 1 mosaico (composto por 3 fragmentos), 2 peças em vidro, 2 peças em ferro, 3 peças em diferentes ligas de cobre e 1 peça em prata. Foram efetuados registos fotográficos e documentais de todas as fases de cada intervenção. Todas as intervenções foram executadas de acordo com os princípios éticos em vigor, tendo sempre o cuidado de respeitar a integridade física das peças, usando tratamentos reversíveis na maioria dos casos, para facilitar futuras intervenções. No final, foram colocadas em anexo as fichas de tratamento referentes às peças intervencionadas.
This work is the result of a traineeship at the Laboratory of Conservation and Restoration of the Regional Museum of Archaeology D. Diogo de Sousa, in Braga, in the academic year 2014/2015. This report is structured as follows: -Firstly we made a contextualization of the difficulties associated with the conservation of archaeological objects. -Next we present the methodology that was applied to the objects preserved in the D. Diogo de Sousa Museum. -After we describe the intervention of every object. The report is divided in five chapters, each one dedicated to one specific material. We treated 15 objects: 5 objects in ceramics,1 lithic, 1 mosaic (only 3 fragments were treated), 2 objects in glass, 2 objects in iron, 3 objects in copper alloys and 1 object in silver. They were all photographed and documented in every step of the intervention. All the interventions were done accordingly the present etic principals, and the integrity of each object was respected by using reversible treatments in most of the cases, so that future interventions become easier. Finally the individual documentations of treatment of each object are presented in attachment.
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Benson, Bernadine Carol. "Addressing heritage crime in Gauteng, South Africa : an integrative exposition." Thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/13055.
Full textAbstract:
This research explored, described and explained the nature and the extent of heritage crime as it manifested in the Gauteng Province of South Africa for the period 2006-2010. Gauteng was selected since it is deemed to be the hub of the legal trade. An operational definition of heritage objects was drafted for this study as ‘objects of artistic, cultural, historic or archaeological value regardless of age, housed in or curated by museums or galleries within Gauteng, and which are both tangible and moveable.’ Heritage crime for the purpose of this study was the illegal removal of any heritage object from a museum or gallery.
The annual crime statistics released by the South African Police Services (SAPS) contain no reference to heritage crime of any sort. Therefore this research attempted to quantify the incidents of thefts experienced by museums and galleries in Gauteng for the period 2006-2010. Using a mixed method approach, data were gathered by qualitative and quantitative surveys. A total of 28 qualitative interviews were conducted. These data were integrated with the quantitative data which permitted the achievement of the strategic aims set out for this research. The following aims were achieved:
• The roles and responsibilities of the custodians of the national estate were clarified; • International conventions designed to assist in combating crime perpetrated against cultural property were discussed;
• The national legislation which guides the management, preservation and protection of heritage objects as well as the trade therein within South Africa was examined;
• Policing agencies at the forefront of combating heritage crime were interviewed and international best practices were identified and compared with that which the SAPS are doing to address crime of this nature. These police agencies are situated in Italy, the United Kingdom, the USA and Germany;
• The dynamics of the reported incidents of loss/theft were examined. Several anomalies were identified. Among these are the identification of the typologies of items being targeted and the possible identification of the type of thief perpetrating these crimes.
• Through analysis of incidents it was also possible to highlight that the majority of thefts occur during the time when museums and galleries are open and that the items stolen are usually on open display (not affixed to the surface and not behind a barrier of any sort).
Through the analysis of the data for legal trade and the theft incidents it was possible to design a Framework depicting the interface between the legal and illegal markets for trade in heritage objects. The research also provides law enforcement with minimum guidelines to ensure that crimes of this nature are addressed more effectively.D.Litt. et Phil.
Department of Criminology (Police Science)
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MacLeod, Suzanne. "From the "rising tide" to solidarity: disrupting dominant crisis discourses in dementia social policy in neoliberal times." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/1828/5213.
Full textAbstract:
As a social worker practising in long-term residential care for people living with dementia, I am alarmed by discourses in the media and health policy that construct persons living with dementia and their health care needs as a threatening “rising tide” or crisis. I am particularly concerned about the material effects such dominant discourses, and the values they uphold, might have on the collective provision of care and support for our elderly citizens in the present neoliberal economic and political context of health care. To better understand how dominant discourses about dementia work at this time when Canada’s population is aging and the number of persons living with dementia is anticipated to increase, I have rooted my thesis in poststructural methodology. My research method is a discourse analysis, which draws on Foucault’s archaeological and genealogical concepts, to examine two contemporary health policy documents related to dementia care – one national and one provincial. I also incorporate some poetic representation – or found poetry – to write up my findings. While deconstructing and disrupting taken for granted dominant crisis discourses on dementia in health policy, my research also makes space for alternative constructions to support discursive and health policy possibilities in solidarity with persons living with dementia so that they may thrive.Graduate
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macsuz@shaw.ca