Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed June 13, 2007). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 338-387).

During the first millennium BC, the people of the chalk landscapes of the Yorkshire Wolds began carving up their world with monumental linear earthworks. This project explores the meanings of the later prehistoric boundary systems of the Yorkshire Wolds. It writes a biography of the linear earthwork landscapes of the north-central Wolds, using geographic information systems (GIS), original fieldwork and theories of agency and memory. Tracing the construction, use and modification of particular linear earthworks, it examines how these monuments would have related to other features in the landscape, and how they could have exercised agency within networks of interconnected people, animals, objects and other places. Finally, the project attempts to situate these boundary systems within the larger context of Late Bronze Age and Iron Age society in order to understand how the later prehistoric people of East Yorkshire would have experienced their world. Taking a biographical approach to landscape and allowing linear earthworks to become the protagonists of this narrative, the project charts the life histories of the earthworks at Wetwang-Garton Slack and Huggate Dykes and investigates the collective authorship of the wider landscape. To understand the rural, monumental landscapes of the Wolds, we must consider the agency of not only people, but also of animals and of monuments themselves. By focussing on the relationships which bound together linear earthworks and other agents, we can begin to understand the ways in which monumentalised landscapes both reflected and generated the cosmologies of prehistoric communities.

This bachelor thesis is a compilation of previous master and bachelor theses written by osteology students at Högskolan på Gotland and Uppsala University Campus Gotland, with a focus on palaeopathology in individuals from the island of Gotland, from the Stone Age through the Middle Ages. The purpose of this thesis is to shed light on the history of disease on the island of Gotland on a bigger scale than previous theses have done. Most master and bachelor theses have typically focused on one site or settlement, set in a particular time period in their study, whereas I chose to combine all of the studies into one cohesive examination of all disease surveyable in the skeleton of these individuals. This, in order to see if there are differences to be found in the various time periods, or even differences among the population within a specific time period. And there are some differences to be seen, indeed; most notably perhaps between the Iron Age and the Middle Ages, where a difference in the dental health can clearly be seen. When comparing the other time periods however, caution must be advised; the skeletal material is lacking in most eras other than the Iron Age and the Middle Ages.

Univerzita Karlova v Praze Filozofická fakulta Ústav pro klasickou archeologii Věra Klontza (Jaklová) Studie k historickým interpretacím pozdní doby bronzové v Egejdě Late Bronze Age in Aegean: Study in Historical Interpretations ABSTRACT OF THESIS Vedoucí práce: Prof. PhDr. Jan Bouzek, DrSc. 2013 Abstract This dissertation deals with the main problems of historical interpretation of Late Bronze Age Aegean prehistory. Each chapter presents what is usually discussed as a special issue in contemporary bibliography. The environment of the region, its development and changes and the main approaches to enviromental studies are characterized in the introductory chapters. The chapter dedicated to the history of research, is of particular importance; "The truth of how archaeologists make discoveries, however, is far from the popular notion of random encounters and chance finds. We must take the time to examine the personalities and events leading up to these discoveries." (MacGillivray 2000, 11). The first issue to be dicussed is that of the absolute chronology of the early phases of the East Mediterranean, in particular the Aegean, Late Bronze Age. The resolution of this problem is crucial if synchronicity of events in individual regions, not only in the Mediterranean basin but also across Europe, is to be...

Amber in Bohemia in the Bronze Age - Abstract Amber found in archeaological contexts like any sensitive instrument can show the total span of meanings of different historic, economic, cultural, cult, and social traditions and systems of values in the prehistoric Europe. The work synthetically analyzes and evaluates the presence of amber finds in Bohemia during the Bronze Age. Attention is devoted relations to sites and amber artefacts demonstrating the probable course of "amber route". On the path leading from the Baltic coast to the Balkans and Italy and further into the eastern Mediterranean seen as a string, or rather a network of relations, most malleable and flexible, distributed among communities, which is also subject while reflecting internal and external influences, changes and developments. It reflects new amber artefacts and new results of IR spectroscopy. Its results shows, that amber did not came to Bohemia only from the north - from Baltic region; its results proved also rumanit amber. Work is a comprehensive evaluation and interpretation of participation Bohemia in the distribution network of leading amber in the wider European area. Study of the amber and its distribution gives evidence, that there existed vivid exchange, based on variety of connections with distant region sof northern...

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:15:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseMVZ.pdf: 4192238 bytes, checksum: d559e495090cafdd0af882b5cd3cf421 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-02-23 / Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos / The processing of lead metaniobate (PN) ferroelectric ceramics was optimized, therefore, in this work, the main details to obtain PN ceramics with density higher than 96 % of the ideal density are presented and discussed. Taking into account the potential of the lead metaniobate for different applications, mainly for high temperatures, the phase transition characteristics of this material, in both undoped and doped compositions, were detaily investigated. It was verified that the addition of Ti4+ enhances the densification and increase the Curie temperature. Nevertheless, the ferro-paraelectric phase transition is affected by an electric conductive process, which appears in temperatures below and above the Curie temperature. The double ionized oxygen vacancies are proposed to be the charge carriers responsible for this conductive process. The undoped and Ti4+-doped PN ceramics show low values of the mechanical quality factor and high piezoelectric anisotropy, which are desired characteristics for the fabrication of broad band electro-mechanical transducers, mainly to operate in the thickness mode. The addition of Ba2+ to the PN (PBN) considerably decreases the Curie temperature, but it induces a phase transition, leading to the formation of a morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) around the composition with 37 % of Ba2+, in which some properties are enhanced. In this way, the characteristics of the ferro-paraelectric phase transition, for compositions around the MPB, were investigated for Ba2+-doped PN ceramics, textured by hot forging. It was found that the MPB extends towards a wide composition range, in which both tetragonal 4mm and orthorhombic m2m tungsten bronze (TB) phases coexist. In addition, with the increasing temperature, two phase transitions were observed for this composition range. First, the material portion with orthorhombic (m2m) symmetry transforms into the tetragonal (4mm) phase and, second, the 4mm phase (that represents the material in its totality) transforms into the paraelectric phase with the tetragonal 4/mmm TB symmetry. These results helped to complete the reported PBN phase diagram. Moreover, it was found that the La3+ addition to the PBN, for the composition with 56 % of Pb2+, induces the formation of the orthorhombic (m2m) phase. All the (doped and undoped) PN ceramics showed two dielectric dispersion processes at low temperatures, i.e. from 30 to 300 K, which seems to be an inherent feature of all materials with TB structure and ((A1)x(A2)5-xNb10O30) structural formula. The two processes were associated to a phase transition and the formation of incommensurate structures, respectively. The influence of such incommensurate structures on the relaxor behavior and diffusivity of the ferro-paraelectric phase transition was also analyzed. / O processo de obtenção de cerâmicas ferroelétricas de metaniobato de chumbo (PN) foi otimizado, de forma que este trabalho oferece os detalhes necessários para a obtenção de cerâmicas de PN com densidades superiores aos 96 % da densidade ideal. Levando-se em consideração a potencialidade do metaniobato de chumbo para diferentes tipos de aplicações, principalmente em altas temperaturas, foi realizada uma investigação detalhada das características da transição de fase nesse material puro e dopado. Verificou-se que a adição de Ti4+ favorece a densificação das cerâmicas e aumenta a temperatura de Curie. Contudo, a transição de fase ferro-paraelétrica é afetada por um processo de condutividade elétrica que se manifesta tanto em temperaturas inferiores quanto superiores à temperatura de Curie. Por outro lado, determinou-se que o portador de carga responsável por tal processo condutivo são as vacâncias de oxigênio duplamente ionizadas. As cerâmicas de PN, puras e dopadas com Ti4+, apresentaram baixos valores do fator de qualidade mecânico e uma alta anisotropia piezoelétrica. Tais características são desejáveis para a fabricação de transdutores eletro-mecânicos de banda larga, principalmente para operar no modo de espessura. A adição de Ba2+ ao PN (PBN) diminui consideravelmente a sua temperatura de Curie, mas induz uma transição de fase, formando um contorno de fase morfotrópico (CFM), ao redor da composição com 37 % de Ba2+, na qual algumas propriedades são maximizadas. Assim, utilizando cerâmicas texturadas de PN dopadas com Ba2+, obtidas por forjamento a quente, foi possível investigar as características da transição de fase ferro-paraelétrica para composições ao redor do CFM. Verificou-se que a região do CFM se estende em uma ampla faixa de composições onde coexistem as estruturas tungstênio bronze (TB) com simetria tetragonal 4mm e ortorrômbica m2m. Observou-se também que, nessa região de composições, ocorrem duas transições de fase com o aumento da temperatura. Inicialmente a fração de fase ortorrômbica se transforma em tetragonal e, posteriormente, todo o material com simetria 4mm passa ao estado paraelétrico, onde adota a estrutura TB com simetria tetragonal 4/mmm. Com esses resultados foi possível complementar o diagrama de fases do PBN existente na literatura. A adição de La3+, na cerâmica de PBN com 56 % de chumbo, favoreceu a formação da estrutura TB com simetria ortorrômbica. Em todas as cerâmicas de PN (puro e dopado), foram observados dois processos de dispersão dielétrica em baixas temperaturas, entre 30 e 300 K, aparentemente são inerentes a todos os materiais com estrutura TB e fórmula estrutural ((A1)x(A2)5-xNb10O30), e estão relacionados com uma transição de fase e com a formação de superestruturas incomensuráveis respectivamente. Foi analisada também a influência de tais superestruturas no comportamento relaxor e na difusividade da transição de fase ferro-paraelétrica das cerâmicas estudadas.

Abstract. The goal of this case study is to further the understanding of the social and economic structure, such as trade routes and/or prehistoric man’s movement, during prehistory in the inland of Västerbotten, Sweden. This is achieved by studying the sets of lithic tools found in six archaeological sites (RAÄ 977:1 Vilhelmina, RAÄ 553:1 Vilhelmina, RAÄ 132:1 Vilhelmina, RAÄ 519:1 Vilhelmina, RAÄ 399:1 Vilhelmina och RAÄ 129:1 Åsele) using NIR-spectroscopic (Near InfraRed-spectroscopy), statistical and archaeological methods. By using PCA-models (Principal Component Analysis-models) and the classification method SIMCA (Soft Independent Modelling of Class Analogies) on NIR-spectroscopic data collected over the course of this study, it was possible to show signs that prehistoric man in the studied area, might have deposited quartzite materials, not naturally occurring at the RAÄ 519:1 Vilhelmina, Sweden, site. Four geographic areas (the vicinity of the sea Vojm, the North and South part of the sea Malgomaj and the vicinity of the Southwest part of the Ångerman river in the studied area) could also be shown to display distinct patterns in the PCA-models, related to the use of particular combinations of quartzites. These findings lead to the conclusion that prehistoric man in this area, typically used locally available materials for toolmaking. Furthermore, this study resulted in a large NIR-spectroscopic dataset from the archaeological sites that makes up the main material for this study, that may be beneficial to future NIR-spectroscopic studies in archaeology and/or further studies of NIR-spectroscopy applied to lithic materials.

Abstract Mortuary rituals express and cope with disorder brought about by a member's death in the community. The autonomous connection of the deceased with the community is disrupted through mortuary rituals. In many cultures the subsequent contacts with the realm of the dead are maintained in formalized practices, sometimes including or referring to objects or patterns that can be traced in the archaeological record. In this study it is asked, if the Bronze Age and Iron Age burial cairns (1200 BC - AD 1000) in the SW archipelago of Finland might be interpreted as monuments establishing a link between the landscape and the religious context of symbolic meanings, thus making it meaningful to examine the spatial references of grave sites. The field studies include excavations, surveys, boulder analyses, and weathering studies. The number of cairns in the area is 444. Examination of samples of boulders suggested that the stones were usually collected from the adjacent terrain. The Schmidt hammer technique was applied to measure the weathering differences between basal and lateral surfaces, and possible secondary interference. The chronology of the archipelago cairns is based on previous studies related to general chronological characteristics and datings of archipelago graves. Using discriminant analysis, the size of the cairn, the convexity of the surface at the grave site, and the topography of the terrain were identified as the variables most related to the differences between Group P, having a Bronze Age character (147 cairns), from Group R of Iron Age character (218 cairns). Two models representing the shorelines of 500 BC and AD 1000 were reconstructed using a digital elevation model (DEM). Monte Carlo-testing was applied when the visible areas around grave sites were compared to reference sets in four subareas. The grave sites in Group P were often directed towards the land, whereas the grave sites in Group R were typically directed towards the sea. The difference might be related to differences in subsistence strategies. The cairns represented a conservative burial custom that belonged to local communities in maritime and northern areas, as opposed to the southern agricultural environments. / Tiivistelmä Vainajan omaehtoinen yhteys elävien yhteisöön katkeaa vasta yhteisöllisen kuolemanrituaalin lopullisesti päätyttyä. Monissa kulttuureissa kuolemanrituaalin jälkeiset yhteydet vainajaan kiteytyvät muodollisiksi käytännöiksi, jotka voivat tulla arkeologisesti näkyviin aineellisissa jäännöksissä tai luonnonmaiseman paikkojen, tilojen ja elementtien suhteissa. Työssä tarkastellaan, ovatko Turunmaan saariston pronssikauden ja rautakauden hautarauniot (1200 e.Kr. - 1000 j.Kr.) tulkittavissa monumenteiksi, jotka yhdistivät maiseman symbolisten merkitysten uskomukselliseen kontekstiin. Kenttätutkimuksiin kuuluu kaivauksia, inventointi, lohkaretutkimuksia ja rapautumismittauksia. Hautoja on 444. Lohkaretutkimukset osoittivat kivien tulleen kerätyiksi hautapaikkojen läheisyydestä. Tapaustutkielmissa kiveyksen basaali- ja lateraalipintojen välistä rapautumiseroa ja sekundaarisia vaurioita tutkittiin kimmovasaramittauksin. Hautaraunioiden kronologia perustuu aikaisempiin tutkimuksiin kronologisista tunnusmerkeistä sekä saariston ajoitettuihin hautoihin. Erotteluanalyysissa kiveyksen laajuus, hautapaikan maanpinnan kuperuus ja hautapaikan suhde ympäröiviin huippuihin osoittautuivat muuttujiksi, jotka selvimmin jakavat aineiston pronssikauden tyypin P-ryhmään (147 hautaa) ja rautakauden tyypin R-ryhmään (218 hautaa). Numeerisesta korkeusmallista laskettiin kaksi maastomallia, jotka vastaavat rannansiirtymisen kehitysvaihetta 500 e.Kr. (P-ryhmä) ja 1000 j.Kr. (R-ryhmä). Hautapaikoilta näkyvissä olleita alueita verrattiin satunnaisesti valittuihin verrokkipaikkoihin Monte Carlo -testauksen avulla. Merkittävin ero oli, että P-ryhmän hautapaikat olivat tyypillisesti suuntautuneet merta ja R-ryhmän hautapaikat maata kohti. Ero liittynee toimeentuloon latautuneisiin odotuksiin ja epävarmuuksiin. Hautarauniot merkitsevät konservatiivista hautaustapaa, joka kuului enemmän mereisten ja pohjoisten paikallisyhteisöjen kuin agraarisen ja eteläisen asutuksen piiriin.

This study is a continuation of my previous essay, which performed a catalogue and interpretation of stone cists from the late Neolithic - early Bronze Age. This essay will develop that study through a analysis of the land use during the same period. The material will be analyzed through ArcGIS where five main analysis will be used to study this, watershed, viewshed, hillshade, buffer/density and nearest neighbor. The goal of these analysis will be to create a better view of the landscape and together with the archaeological material create a deeper understanding for the land use during the late Neolithic - early Bronze Age. The archaeological material that will be used consists of stone cists, which were identified in my previous essay, as well as stray finds, namely flint daggers and simple shaft hole axes. The stone cists and their position in the landscape will be studied closer as these are the only stationary monuments in the landscape during this period. These will be compared with the stray finds and ArcGIS analysis with the goal of identifying land use, for example potential settlements, something which is rarely found during this period. / Denna studie är en fortsättning på min föregående uppsats som  utförde en sammanställning och tolkning av hällkistor från Senneolitikum - äldre Bronsålder på Gotland. Denna uppsats utvecklar detta genom en analys av landskapsanvändningen under samma period. Materialet kommer analyseras genom ArcGIS där fem huvudsakliga analyser kommer användas för att studera detta, watershed, viewshed, hillshade, buffer/density samt nearest neighbor. Dessa har som mål att skapa en bättre bild av landskapet och tillsammans med det arkeologiska materialet skapa en förståelse för landskapsanvändningen under Senneolitikum - äldre Bronsålder. Det arkeologiska materialet som kommer användas består av hällkistor som identifierats i föregående uppsats samt lösfynd i form av flintdolkar och enkla skafthålsyxor. Hällkistorna och deras position i landskapet kommer studeras i  närmare då dessa är de ända fasta monumenten från denna period. Dessa kommer sedan jämföras med lösfynden och förhållas till ArcGIS analyserna som utförts med målet att identifiera landskapsanvändning. Utifrån dessa analyser kan eventuella viktiga områden i landskapet identifieras, exempelvis potentiella bosättningar, något som sällan hittas under denna period.

This thesis investigates southern China as a part of dynamic and extensive interregional networks from the third to the first millennium BC and explores the changing roles of different southern regions within the interregional relationships. This was an important transitional period for southern China as it was the time when several prominent and farreaching innovations of technologies and material culture were made or adopted in the area. Four key sets of materials – rice, bronze, ceramics and jade – are examined with a World-system perspective to reveal interregional contacts in different directions and of different nature between southern China and a number of neighbouring regions. By stressing on local responses towards different technologies and material culture in different period, an alternative narrative to that stemmed from Chinese historiography is, therefore, suggested. Instead of being a passive and 'backward' periphery in the traditional sense, southern China presents diversification of material culture over time. Many of the mechanisms of transmission and circulation in the south are characterised by 'leaked' technologies and designs, as well as 'selective adoption' and local redevelopment of material culture.