When does a 'continuum' become a divide? My research investigates the genetic relationship between Linear A and Linear B (henceforth LA, LB), two Bronze Age scripts attested on Crete and Mainland Greece and understood to have developed one straight out of the other. By using an interdisciplinary methodology, I integrated linguistic, epigraphic, palaeographic and archaeological evidence, and placed the writing practice in its socio-historical setting. By challenging traditional views, my work has called into question widespread assumptions and interpretative schemes on this relationship. I carried out a systematic assessment of the structural characteristics underlying both systems and a palaeographic examination of their sign inventories. Built on these analyses, I put forward a more fluid model of script development, which takes LA and LB no longer as two separate scripts but as the very same one: the 'Aegean Linear Script'. Over time, this underwent only minimal adaptation when required to meet the needs of another language, arguably in view of the changing socio-political context. This new interpretation is in sharp contrast with the view traditionally held of a strong standardisation process having taken place, which sees LB as mere product of secondary script development. My conclusion has interesting implications not only for the history of the writing tradition on Crete, but also for our appreciation of the contemporary socio-historical context. This view, in turns, opens up new perspectives on the ideology associated with the retention of a script, matters of identity and how identity was negotiated at the very moment when Cretans and Greek-speaking Mainlanders came into closer contact in the Late Bronze Age. I have also noted that in this period the same scenario depicting soft adaptation of motives is witnessed on the side of material culture, displaying meaningful interplay and amalgamation of both Mainland and Cretan traditions.

In recent years, there has been increasing concern with respect to the large dependence across the globe on nonrenewable energy sources, such as fossil fuels. Ethanol has been explored, however, in alleviating this problem; cellulose, a polymer of glucose molecules, is a precursor to this potentially useful biofuel. However, the strength and rigidity of the cellulose structure has proven to be a difficult obstacle to overcome in this multistep synthesis. Harsh conditions are required, often including concentrated sulfuric acid and extremely high temperatures, to complete hydrolysis to a useful extent. In this work, the hydrolysis of cellulose was performed with acidic hydrogen molybdenum bronze in the form of XPell™ R by Xplosafe in place of sulfuric acid. By analyzing total organic carbon present in hydrolyzed samples (after 2 hours) using persulfate oxidation and colorimetric measurements, results were obtained showing that hydrogen molybdenum bronze is successful in catalyzing the hydrolysis of cellulose in comparison to hydrolysis completed in water alone. The values that were obtained in this analysis are as follows: 160 ± 20 ppt/mol at 40 °C, 180 ± 20 ppt/mol at 60 °C, 180 ± 30 ppt/mol at 80 °C, and 280 ± 40 ppt/mol at 100 °C. This determination shows that the catalytic ability of this acid increases with increasing temperature. Hydrogen molybdenum bronze is a useful candidate to explore in biofuel synthesis from cellulose. Comparison to sulfuric acid will be completed in future tests. This method is currently being used to pursue conversion of hydrolyzed cellulose to ethanol using yeast.

This thesis is for a Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture.

This dissertation research is an archaeological investigation of the burial practices of the Irish Neolithic (4000-2500 BC) and Bronze Age (2500-1100 BC). Burial data from thirty sites are used in order to understand the relationship between the burial treatment of the dead (inhumation vs. cremation), artifact deposition, and faunal deposition with the age and sex of the dead. In order to understand how environmental variability affected the manner in which people constructed their views on identity, the sites were categorized based on two geographic regions, Region A and Region B. Region A refers to sites located in Co. Dublin, Co. Louth, Co. Meath, Co. Kildare, and Co. Wicklow, an area with many sites clustered together on land that was capable of supporting large communities, agricultural surplus, and is geographically located near important long distance trade routes with Britain and continental Europe. Region B refers to the remaining territory of Ireland. The results of the analyses are used to gain information on how burial was used by past populations to reflect social and economic status and how the communal perspective on status changed over time and how the surrounding environment affected the perspective of the people. Previous research on late prehistoric Irish burials has relied on cultural-historical stereotypes of the past to understand the social and economic trends, lumping all data from Ireland as being the same, and even as the same as burial trends in Britain and continental Europe. Therefore, Neolithic Ireland is assumed to have consisted of egalitarian agricultural-based communities, which transitioned into societies with vertical hierarchy dominated by adult males in the Bronze Age because of the rise of metallurgical practices and long-distance trade (Bradley 2007; Waddell 2010). Typically, research interpretations are generated based on only one line of contextual data, rather than taking into consideration the multiple aspects of burial ritual, and environmental variability amongst sites is not considered a factor in socio-economic influences on burial tradition. This study seeks to demonstrate that by using multiple lines of evidence, regional and local differences of burial tradition can be identified which contradict general stereotypes of both the Neolithic and the Bronze Age. The results of this study show that when multiple lines of evidence from burials are analyzed, general stereotypes of the manner in which socio-economic identity was manifested in the archaeological record during the Neolithic and Bronze Age cannot be applied to Ireland as a whole. Instead, the manner in which individuals are deposited and preserved in burial ritual is governed by isolated local traditions, rather than large, regional traditions. This is the result of regional variability in the environment, the arability of land, and the geographic positioning of sites near long-distance trade routes. This research demonstrates that large-scale explanations of social and economic changes in late prehistory and previous understandings of the role of burial ritual in socio-economic displays of identity need to be questioned and re-examined using more datasets to ensure a more thorough interpretation of the past.

The aim of this study is to establish the provenance of the elephant and hippopotamus ivory recovered from the 14th century B.C. Uluburun shipwreck in order to reconstruct the trade mechanisms and associated social relationships (e.g. diplomacy) operating in the eastern Mediterranean during the Late Bronze Age (LBA). Elephant ivory came either from Northeastern Libya, Southeastern Sudan via Egypt or northwestern Syria during this period. Hippopotamus ivory likewise was obtained from Syria, Palestine, or Egypt. The Uluburun's cargo is reconstructed by the excavator, George Bass, as "royal," and primarily originates from Cyprus and Syro-Palestine. Indeed, LBA trade is largely understood as gift-exchange between ruling elites, thereby reflecting a trade system organized by and for a centralized authority. With the transition to the Iron Age, an identifiable merchant class developed and decentralized trade (relative to the preceding era) under a system of cabotage shipping. If the ivory is shown to derive from several regions instead of a single location, a revision of LBA trade must be fashioned to include ruling elites acting as "merchants" to a larger degree than previously assumed, or the web of social relationships involved in "international" diplomacy as much more intricate. Indeed, the mechanisms of the LBA trade must be established to provide a complete picture of trade, especially since the import and historical data is biased towards a simplistic, centralized trade system. The δ13C, δ15N, and δ18O reflect the climate and vegetation of the area in which a population dwells, so that areas with similar climate/vegetation will produce similar isotopic signatures, though these areas may be geographically seperated. Nevertheless, examining 87Sr/86Sr ratios will distinguish between populations because 87Sr/86Sr mirrors the isotopic signature of the underlying rock, and is sufficiently unique to each region to warrant differentiation. Isotopic ratio analysis (carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and/or strontium) was conducted on the collagen and apatite components of the ivory using mass spectrometry to differentiate between regions and therefore provide the provenance. Ultimately a source determination utilizing HR-ICP-MS for 87Sr/86Sr was not successful. Future provenance research on ivory should employ TIMS, and consider triangulating 87Sr/86Sr against lead and neodymium isotopes.

Throughout history and prehistory, Sicily has played a key role for maritime trade in the Mediterranean. Interactions with Sicily are attested to in research for various societies throughout the Mediterranean as early as the Neolithic. However, much of this research paints Sicilian societies as passive, focusing primarily on external groups of people in a given period and their influence on the island. By ignoring the importance of the indigenous population, current research lacks a balanced approach to investigations and subsequent conclusions. This is most evident in literature pertaining to Mycenaean interactions with Sicily during the Bronze Age. Ceramic evidence and archaeometric studies can be used to reveal the impetus and scope of these interactions. This research addresses the nature of exchange in Bronze Age Sicily prior to Mycenaean influence. In addition, my research addresses apprehensions regarding the precision of portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) analysis on archaeological ceramics. Samples of Bronze Age ceramics from eight archaeological sites in southern Sicily were analyzed using non-destructive pXRF spectrometry. Multiple single spot and multi-spot analyses were conducted to assess the precision of the device and the non-destructive application of the technology on potentially heterogeneous materials. Findings show no significant difference in trace element composition levels with either method. Regional signatures of ceramic trace element compositions may be developed and used to assess existing exchange patterns in Bronze Age Sicily. Comparison of ceramic exchange patterns between the Early and Middle Bronze Age suggests that Sicilian populations had a strong local identity and were noticeably inter-connected prior to Aegean influence.

"21st December 2001" / Includes bibliographical references / Various paging : ill. (some col.), maps, plates ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Physics and Mathematical Physics and Centre for European Studies and General Linguistics, 2003

Ce mémoire intitulé Territoires, identités et stratégies en Forez du 6ème au 1er millénaire av. J.-C. dans le bassin supérieur de la Loire (France), porte sur une étendue du nord-est du Massif central en contact avec le couloir rhodanien. Ce secteur intra-montagnard (département de la Loire, 42) a permis d'élaborer un corpus archéologique conséquent qui sert l'examen de comportements ayant de fortes implications socio-économiques et environnementales. Cette recherche archéologique fait appel à différentes disciplines : l'agronomie, l'anthropologie, l'archéométrie (la palynologie, la datation 14C, etc.), la céramologie, la géographie, la géomorphologie, la pétrographie, la sédimentologie et la volumétrie. Elle recoupe plusieurs thématiques : la carte archéologique, l'occupation du sol, les stratigraphies alluviales, la caractérisation et la diffusion des matériaux, les technologies lithiques métallurgiques et textiles, les parures, l'architecture, la territorialité et la sémantique. Les principaux résultats obtenus sont : <br />- une analyse d'un espace géographique et d'un corpus archéologique, <br />- un essai de classification typo-chronologique des vestiges, <br />- une définition des matériaux lithiques avec leurs conditions d'accessibilité et d'exploitation dont les tectonites foréziennes (outillages, haches...), <br />- une approche chronostratigraphique de la plaine alluviale de la Loire en Forez, <br />- l'identification de constructions territoriales, <br />- une analyse de la gestion des semences et des récoltes aux âges des Métaux et, <br />- une étude technologique et anthropologique des habits protocolaires féminins métalliques et textiles entre 1500 et 1000 av. J.-C., à partir des bracelets métalliques à incisions.

Ce travail s'inscrit essentiellement dans une démarche géographique et statistique en s'intéressant aux tendances centrales (distributions, moyennes, écarts-types, etc.) des quelques 20 000 gravures piquetées figuratives de la région du mont Bego (Alpes-Maritimes, France). Pour la première fois, l'utilisation conjointe d'un SIG et d'analyses statistiques (analyses multifactorielles, tests de comparaisons multiples, etc.) permet de mettre en relation les proximités géographiques et les ressemblances iconographiques entre les roches gravées et les gravures. Les classifications sont automatisées ; des effets de série et de partition sont mis en évidence. L'utilisation de tests statistiques (test de Dunn, etc.) permet de donner un sens précis à " significatif ", un terme parfois employé abusivement pour commenter les distributions de gravures. Les interprétations sont ainsi reléguées à la part congrue de l'analyse. Parallèlement aux analyses géostatistiques, un travail de recensement et de vérification des superpositions de gravures a été mené. L'étude des superpositions indique que les gravures d'armes (poignards et hallebardes) sont parmi les plus récentes. A l'opposé, les Figures à franges (anthropomorphes), apparaissent parmi les plus anciennes. La révision du mobilier archéologique a permis de préciser les périodes d'occupation du site en soulignant l'abondance du matériel attribuable à la période récente du Chasséen et au Campaniforme récent. Si une partie des gravures d'armes sont à rattacher au Campaniforme récent et à la première phase du Bronze ancien, d'autres gravures pourraient être attribuées à des périodes plus anciennes.

Ce travail est consacrée à la zone la plus basse en altitude du secteur des Merveilles dans la région du mont Bego. Les quelques 650 roches, et les quelques 6800 gravures, qui s'y trouvent, ont été étudiées pour la première fois dans l'histoire du site avec l'aide d'un SIG. Les principaux résultats concernent la cartographie de regroupements spécifiques de thèmes dans différentes localités géographiques, la verticalité significative des supports accueillant les réticulés à appendices (figures à franges anthropomorphes), l'horizontalité des réticulés et des orants, etc.