Evidence relating to the use and veneration of the human head in a religious context is found repeatedly in the archaeological record and folklore of the British Isles. This has been documented from the earliest period, and manifests itself throughout prehistory and recent history in a variety of forms, from human skulls used as talismans to carved stone heads produced as part of a folk tradition of long standing. Until recently, much of the literature relating to the head as a sacred symbol has been produced from the perspective of Celtic studies, the material being interpreted as evidence for the existence of a "Celtic cult of the head" with roots in the pagan Iron Age. It has been claimed that this cult left an indelible mark both upon the archaeological record and the popular consciousness of later peoples, which has survived in superstition and folklore. This study aims to examine the evidence from archaeology, documentary sources and the folk tradition from outside the confines of the Celtic viewpoint, and to discuss the relationships between the different forms of material through a series of case studies. A cross-disciplinary approach is adopted as a method of interpreting this material using approaches from the viewpoints of both folklore and archaeology. Existing sources are complemented by original fieldwork, incorporating material collected from a wide range of continuing traditions surrounding the use of carved human heads and skulls. These were used for a variety of protective and luck-bringing purposes within living memory, many of them having been overlooked by previous studies. This study demonstrates the importance of integrating evidence from both archaeological and folkloric contexts as a method of understanding and interpreting ritual and religion from the past.

The Romans were known for taking technology and advancements from other peoples they encountered and making them their own. This pattern holds true in military affairs; indeed, little of the Roman military was indigenously developed. This dissertation looks at the origins of the Roman's mainline weapons systems from the beginning of Roman Republic expansion in the fourth century BC to the abandonment of Western-style armaments in favor of Eastern style ones beginning in the late-third century AD. This dissertation determines that the Romans during that time relied predominately on the Celtic peoples of Europe for the majority of their military equipment. One arrives at this conclusion by examining at the origins of the major weapons groups: armor, shields, spears, swords, and missile weapons. This determination is based on the use of ancient written sources, artistic sources, and archaeological sources. It also uses the large body of modern scholarship on the individual weapons. The goal is to produce a unified work that addresses the origins of all weapons in order to see if there is an overarching impact on the Roman military from outside cultures. When one studies whence the weapons that ended up in Romans hands originated, a decided Celtic influence is easily found. That does not mean the Romans did not advance those weapons. The Romans proved very adroit at improving upon the basic designs of others and modifying them into new forms that met new needs. The Romans just did not develop their own technology very often. As a result, the Celts will exert a strong impact on the Roman military culture as it develops from 400 BC until it is overtaken by Eastern influences in the late 200s AD.

La civilisation celtique insulaire se caractérisait par un fort substrat païen. Le sacré pouvait s’incarner dans toute chose et se matérialiser au sein du paysage, qu’il soit naturel ou aménagé par l’homme. Dès le Néolithique, la pierre fut adoptée afin d’honorer les divinités et son emploi perdura pendant de nombreux millénaires. Grâce aux sources textuelles vernaculaires, il est possible de recenser de nombreuses valeurs d’usage à l’élément lithique, puisqu’il fut aussi bien associé au domaine astronomique qu’à celui du funéraire. Son utilisation n’était pas dévolue à une seule catégorie d’individus, rois, guerriers et religieux pouvant tour à tour en avoir la jouissance. L’arrivée des émissaires de la nouvelle foi entre les Ve et VIe siècles bouleversa les rites et les pratiques des populations locales. Bien qu’elles se soient soumises aux préceptes du Dieu unique, elles réussirent à conserver des fragments de leur héritage qui perdurèrent par le biais du vieux fond mythologique, couché par écrit par les scribes médiévaux. La présente étude propose une incursion dans cette époque méconnue, où histoire et légende se mêlent. / The insular Celtic civilization was characterized by a strong pagan substratum. The sacred was embodied in everything and could be observed in the landscape, whether natural or man-made. Since the Neolithic, stones were used to honor divinities and this practice continued for many millennia. Thanks to vernacular textual sources, it is possible to identify many uses of the lithic element, since it was associated with astronomy as well as with burial practices. However, it was not reserved to a specific group and kings, warriors, druids or clerics could all have access to it. With the arrival of the emissaries of the new Christian faith between the 5th and the 6th centuries, local rites and practices were disrupted. Although the Celtic people submitted to the precepts of the one God, they still succeeded in preserving fragments of their heritage that survived through their mythology as recorded by medieval scribes. This study is an attempt at a foray into an obscure period where history and legend merge.

The following work presents a hypothesis which identifies the origins and meaning of an ancient Mesoamerican concept known as the three stones of creation. Previous interpretations have tended to apply astronomical, spatial, or geographical models, while many conclusions have been made on the basis of one Classic Maya monument, Stela C of Quirigua. This thesis builds an argument for the temporal nature of these “stones,” used to metaphorically represent a sequence of separate units of time, referred to as eras, ages, or creations. A primary goal is to demonstrate that Quirigua Stela C provides in brief, summary form a chronology which is better defined through inscriptions in the Cross Group at Palenque, and in a sequence of panels at Yaxchilan containing beliefs about the origins of the ballgame. In constructing an argument for the temporal nature of the three stones of creation, every available context from a set of hieroglyphs mentioned in the Quirigua Stela C “creation” text—including Na Ho Chan (“First 5-Sky”) and “6-Sky”—is discussed in Chapter 2. In Chapter 3, these glyphs are shown to aid in the organization of the deeper past within the Palenque and Yaxchilan mythologies. When compared chronologically and thematically, these sites seem to point to the 24th century B.C.E. as the important termination of a time period (i.e., the planting of a creation stone) related to a mythic complex involving the death and underworld journey of the Maize Lord, followed by his resurrection, emergence, and/or accession to power. Key questions addressed include the antiquity of these beliefs and where the metaphors used to arrange time observed among the Classic Maya originate. In Chapter 4, earlier expressions of this time ideology are interpreted through iconographic conventions, ritual deposits, and monumental architecture at the Olmec site of La Venta. Similarly, Chapter 5 proposes that the Humboldt Celt, the earliest known example of the three stones of creation, arranges units of time into a sequence. These and other interpretations suggest the existence of an ancestral, Mesoamerican era-based time model to which later Postclassic, colonial, and contemporary beliefs, such as those expressed in the K’iche’-Mayan Popol Vuh, are fundamentally related. / text