In the absence of previously published integrated studies, an attempt is made here to lay the foundations for a systematic approach to the examination of artifacts made from skeletal materials. Four principal groups of raw material are discussed in terms of formation, structure, morphology and availability : skeletal bone from species found within the geographical limits of the study; antlers from extant species of deer and from reindeer, which are no longer found within the regionivory from mammalian teeth, including the tusks of walrus, elephant and mammoth; keratinous hard tissues (which are not of skeletal derivation but which may usefully be considered in association with the other materials reviewed here). The mechanical properties of these materials are compared and contrasted, their fitness for particular roles being demonstrated scientifically : the reasons for the widespread preference of antler as a raw material are identified in this way and certain constructional features of composite objects explained. Working methods used in manufacture are discussed on the basis of close examination of the objects themselves, together with other evidence from archaeological sources and, to some extent, from records of practices noted more recently among related crafts. Chemical softening as a method of moulding and working skeletal materials is discussed and illustrated with the results of practical experiments carried out by the writer. A typological review of the artifacts follows, principally those found in the British Isles during the period c_. A.D, 400-1200; both geographical and chronological limits are freely crossed, however, in order to incorporate further evidence which may illuminate the material under review. The objects concerned are placed within a wider technological and historical background, while reference is made wherever possible to the considerations dealt with in earlier chapters. Catalogues of find spots are given for the objects on which the discussion is based

In the basaltic landscape of the Homs region, there exist thousands of hitherto unrecognized burial cairns and settlements provisionally dated to the 4th-3rd millennia BC. They represent a unique opportunity to analyze a largely extant archaeological record of human activity, which contrasts with the traditional landscape of tells characteristic of the Middle East. With this in mind, this thesis aims to investigate such structures and their role within processes of social reproduction in what can be termed 'non-optimal' zones. The timing of their construction, when societies in lowland zones were undergoing a significant augmentation of political and economic complexity,concomitant with the rise of states, is pivotal. Despite assumptions regarding the association between these monuments and nomadic groups, preliminary research within the Homs area suggests that such an association is not necessarily straightforward. As such, the long-term interplay between mobile and sedentary populations within sub-optimal zones is crucial for the consideration of these monuments. Preliminary analysis of data from the Homs area, as well as other areas within the Levant, has also suggested that a sole 4th/3rd millennia BC attribution for these monuments cannot be supported. Accordingly, my research is also concerned with the re-incorporation of these monuments within changing landscape and settlement structures during later periods. It draws upon concepts such as experiential landscapes, previously under utilized by researchers in the Middle East, to reconsider the notion that such monuments represented a unified phenomenon.

The perception and processing of emotions are of primary importance for social interaction, which confers faculties such as inferring what another person’s feels. Brain organisation of emotion perception has shown to primarily involve right hemisphere functioning. However, the brain may be functionally organised according to fundamental aspects of emotion such as valence, rather than involving processing of emotions in general. It should be noted, however, that emotion perception is not merely a perceptual process consisting in the input of emotional information, but also involves one’s emotional response. Therefore, the functional brain organisation of emotional processing may also be influenced by emotional experience. An experimental model for testing functional cerebral asymmetries (FCAs) of valenced emotional experience is uniquely found in bipolar disorder (BD) involving impaired ability to regulate emotions and eventually leading to depressive or manic episodes. Previous models have only explained hemispheric asymmetries for manic and depressive mood episodes, but not for BD euthymia. The present thesis sought to investigate FCAs in emotional processing in two major ways. First, FCAs underlying facial emotion perception under normal functioning was examined in healthy controls. Secondly, functional brain organisation in emotional processing was further investigated by assessing FCAs in the bipolarity continuum, used as an experimental model for studying the processing of emotions. In contrast with previous asymmetry models, results suggested a right hemisphere involvement in emotional experience regardless of valence. Atypical FCAs were found in euthymic BD patients reflecting inherent aspects of BD functional brain organisation that are free of symptomatic influence. Also, BD patients exhibited atypical connectivity in a default amygdala network particularly affecting the right hemisphere, suggesting intrinsic mechanisms associated with internal emotional states. Last, BD patients were associated with a reduced right hemisphere specialisation in visuospatial attention, therefore suggesting that right hemisphere dysfunction can also affect non-emotional processes. Taken together, the findings emphasize a BD continuum model relying on euthymia as a bridging state between usual mood and acute mood phases.

No description available.

The present study is an investigation into the processes involved in interpreting ethnic identity in the ancient world. Specifically, it focuses on the various “Libyan” groups currently found in Egyptological literature who are attested in ancient Egyptian sources from the dawn of Egyptian civilization. Set within the broader theoretical discussion of identifying social and cultural differentiation in the ancient world, this thesis will explore the manner in which the identity of “Libyan” groups has been interpreted by modern scholars; the way in which the ancient Egyptians interpreted the identity of these groups; and the degree to which self-expressed “Libyan” identity is still visible in the iconographic, epigraphic and archaeological records of ancient Egypt. Historically, this thesis will trace the interaction which the ancient Egyptians alone record between themselves and the various groups currently aggregated under the term “Libyan.” Through art, text and archaeology, this thesis will outline this interaction from the earliest appearance of these groups in Egyptian records in the Fourth Millennium BC, through the resettlement of some of these groups in Egypt during the Twelfth Century BC and continued references to these groups living in diaspora within Egypt during the first half of the First Millennium BC. Following a strict methodological approach which emphasizes chronology and context as key factors in understanding ancient ethnic groups, this thesis will explore how the projections of internal group identities evolve over time and the manner in which these identities have been observed by both ancient (Egyptian) and modern (Egyptological) outsiders.

Multiple studies demonstrate a connection between landscape and the distribution of rock art in Mediterranean Spain. Looking beyond styles as the primary analytical dimension, and instead focusing on similarities across style boundaries, can deepen our understanding of this connection. While previous studies of the relationship between post-Palaeolithic rock art and landscape have considered different classes of image, including humans, animals, and geometric shapes, they have maintained the primary split into the main styles defined in the Mediterranean region. This is problematic because each style has considerable variability, distinct distributions within the Iberian Peninsula, and different histories of development. Different styles frequently occur together, occasionally superimposed or showing multiple painting episodes. The styles were therefore at least partially contemporary, and did not correspond to distinct territories. Style may have been deliberately used to carry meaning, suggesting that the use of specific types of image was more closely related to landscape than the overall styles. A typology of motifs which transcends styles was created, and the frequency of the appearance of these motif types in specific landscape contexts and the combinations in which they appear together on panels was evaluated. The results suggest that there are indeed patterns beyond style, which may indicate different functions or meanings behind both image and place.

This thesis aims to explore the long-term historical background for the archaeological study of the Anglo-Saxon conversion to Christianity in seventh century England. Following the recent work that has been done on the context and motivations of the migration debate within Anglo-Saxon archaeology (Lucy 2002, Hills 2003) this project has looked at the ways in which contemporary socio-cultural, religious and political factors have shaped the study of early medieval religion in Britain. Beginning with the early modern period, this study traces the history of the material of conversion through subsequent generations of scholars, exposing the historical and religious motivations behind each new interpretation. A careful critical reading of the published texts was performed, covering both antiquarian and archaeological interpretations of the subject. It was found that the study of the conversion and the wider topic of early medieval religion, both before and after the coming of Christianity, has been very much contingent on the historical context in which it has been undertaken. Several common threads have been identified throughout the period, including a consistent focus on the graves and grave-goods as the best way of accessing religious information about individuals and a frequent tendency toward the unquestioning acceptance of the historical truth of the written sources. Following the recent suggestion by Ronald Hutton (2010) that we will likely never fully understand the Anglo-Saxon conversion, this thesis explores the many attempts that have been made to explain the conversion and its implications. This in-depth study of the past of the subject calls into question not only received ideas about the Conversion passed down through generations of scholars, but also the theoretical and methodological lenses through which it is studied today.

No description available.

This doctoral thesis examines the practice of depositing material culture and its relationship with social change during the Neolithic period in north-east England. For the purposes of this study the Neolithic is defined as the period in which the pottery styles of Carinated Ware, Impressed Ware and Grooved Ware were made and used. The study area encompasses County Durham, Northumberland and the now defunct county of Tyne and Wear. Previous work on Neolithic deposition has been apt to confine it within a series of dichotomous relationships: the potency of material culture versus the power of performance; rubbish versus 'meaningful' material; and the structured versus the unstructured deposit. This study demonstrates how these oppositions are unnecessarily reductive and result from modern classifications of artefacts - norms concerning the value of refuse and the role of 'symbolic' material - that have come to be imposed upon the past. By undertaking a statistical and comparative analysis of deposited material culture from the North-East, this research emphasises the complexity of past artefact classification, and the transformative role that depositional practices can have upon whole societies. It also shows how acts of deposition are intimately connected with architectural forms, be they single posts in pits, or complexes of henges. By utilising a biographical and narrative approach to interpretation, eschewing the search for the 'symbolic' in artefact disposal, the deposition of material culture is exposed as central to the ontological security of Neolithic communities and the built environment that they created.

This thesis explores the use of multi-element isotope analysis and intra-tooth sampling to reconstruct prey species ecology and biogeography. Modern caribou (Rangifer tarandus ssp.) and bison (Bison bison) from North America are used to assess the relationship between known lifetime movements and feeding habits, and those reconstructed through the stable isotope analysis of teeth and bone, including strontium (87Sr/86Sr), oxygen (d18O), carbon(d13C), nitrogen (d15N) and sulphur (d34S). Teeth (enamel and dentine) were sequentially-sampled in order to reconstruct time-series isotopic profiles at an intra- and inter-individual scale, allowing an assessment of the applicability of these methods to archaeological materials. The 87Sr/86Sr and d18O data indicate the clear potential for these methods to identify faunal movements, and to discern ranging behaviours from true migrations. d34S values of bone collagen compliment enamel 87Sr/86Sr data in the same individuals, and suggest the use of this approach for the identification of geographical origin.d13C and d15N from sequentially-sampled dentinal collagen allows the identification of some seasonal foraging behaviours, most notably winter lichen consumption in the caribou. The same stable isotope and sampling techniques are then applied to fauna from the late Pleistocene site of Jonzac (Chez-Pinaud), France, in order to investigate the biogeography and feeding ecology of Middle Palaeolithic prey-species. The elevated d13C values in reindeer bone collagen compared to the other species indicates lichen feeding and the prevalence of this niche feeding behaviour in this ancestral species. The sequential-sampling and strontium isotope analysis of herbivore enamel from the site clearly demonstrates seasonal migratory behaviour in reindeer (Rangifer tarandus sp.), and allows the identification of a non-migratory taxon, bison (Bison sp.) This is the first such evidence for migration in Pleistocene reindeer, allowing greater insight into the palaeoecology of this prey animal, and the palaeoenvironment in which Neanderthals lived and hunted.