Thesis (doctoral)--Stockholms Universitet, 2003. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (p. 304-317).

Thesis--Lund. / Extra title-page, with thesis note and with imprint: Lund, Håkan Ohlssons boktryckeri, 1941, inserted. Bibliographical foot-notes. "Literaturverzeichnis": p. [216]-228.

Thesis (MA. (Archaeology))-University of Pretoria, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 115-126).

Thesis (M.A.B.S.)--Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, 1987. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-83).

The main purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the range of small finds and other materials often found deposited in the fills and stone settings above later Iron Age graves in the Mälar region of central Sweden. This study investigates how this material, especially potsherds, burnt clay, burnt and unburnt bones and teeth, flint, ice crampons, nails, rivets and knives, were distributed in eight different grave fields in the Mälar valley. The results shows that most of this material was indeed deliberately placed on or in the graves, with different object types added to particular areas of burial monuments.

The principal aim of the thesis is to investigate the mortuary practices of the late Iron Age period in south-eastern Britain, focusing on identification of the wider sequence of activity. It is evident that the deposition of the calcined remains and associated objects are just one element in a more complicated pattern of behaviour. A number of contemporary inhumation burials and mortuary-related features drawn from an increasing number of sites illustrate the wider practices in operation. The identification of pyre-related features and debris lies at the core of this study providing an opportunity to advance understanding of pyre technology as well as the mortuary rituals. This study provides an opportunity to advance late Iron Age mortuary studies in relation to the cosmological, political and ideological structure (Fitzpatrick 1997; Pearce 1997a; 1997b; 1999; McKinley 2000).

No description available.

Animal Style Art (ASA), an iconographic style expressed on monuments and material culture, is a geographically widespread phenomenon in north central Eurasia during the Iron Age (ca. 1,000 BCE – 100 CE). Frequently depicted elements of this style include composite animals composed of animal elements fused together to create a new mythical animal; a stylized geometric design within the animal; and an interaction of some kind (e.g., one figure attacking another, figures standing nearby, single animal). The research presented in this dissertation focuses on the possibility that ASA constitutes evidence for a pan-regional religion in north central Eurasia during the Iron Age. Systematic study of ancient texts, ethnography, archaeological remains, and a detailed stylistic analysis of the complex elements of ASA, have all contributed to this research. This analysis is an artifact-focused macro-scale (continental) study of ASA, breaking down the cultural contexts as well as the geographical and chronological distribution in which it occurs, and the elements of the style itself, analyzing patterns of occurrence and similarity throughout north central Eurasia. This has been accomplished by the creation of a database, specifically designed as a museum curation tool and as a Geographic Information System (GIS) resulting in a dataset of 4,633 catalog lots (a single object or set). These data contribute to the identification of internal patterns in the expression of this iconographic style between regions of north central Eurasia and is inferred as evidence for symbolic expression of religious belief. This claim is evaluated in a variety of ways focusing on three themes: mobility, political structure and social complexity, and religious belief. This first attempt at continental scale expression of symbolic systems directly tied to conceptual metaphors and religious belief has resulted in the preliminary identification of a religious landscape among all the regions, to varying degrees throughout the Iron Age. These findings help explain the widespread distribution of ASA in north central Eurasia during the Iron Age.

No description available.

Decades of archaeological research have established the chronology of the history of culture by farmers in northern South Africa from the beginning of the first millennium AD to the recent past (1900). This thesis sought to explore the archaeology and archaeometallurgy of the early inhabitants of the Lowveld region. Rigorous methodological and theoretical approaches, which include Ethno-Historical, archaeological and archaeometallurgical studies, were employed to acquire the relevant information required to address research problems. Ceramic typology and settlement pattern studies were used to establish the culture-history to contextualise Iron Age sites, while Optical Microscopy, X-Ray Fluorescence analysis (XRF) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) were used to investigate the metallurgical remains to understand metal production technology. Both Mutoti and Thomo sites share several similarities, namely, they are situated near the perennial streams, the presence of metal-production sites and the predominant pottery types, consisting of short and long neck vessels dominated by comb stamping, incision and punctate decorations on the rim, neck and shoulder of the vessels. Ceramic tradition analysis revealed that both Mut 2 and Thomo combine ceramic designs and attributes that appeared in the region near the beginning of the first Millennium AD, that is the Urewe and the Kalundu traditions. Garonga Phase tradition developed from the Urewe tradition which represent the first facie, represented by the Silver Leaves sites of the Kwale branch ceramic tradition which dates to AD 280- 420 and the Kalundu tradition (which starts from Happy Rest and progresses to Diamant - Phase 2) which dates from the sixth century AD, both traditions share distinctive ceramics styles and decoration attributes (Burrett, 2007; Huffman, 2007). The radiocarbon-based chronology suggests that Mut 2 and Thomo sites were occupied contemporaneously and dated to AD 650-850. Analysis of the distribution of materials objects across Mut 2 site revealed active participation in both local and international trade network (Soapstone and Islamic ceramics) operated at a village status. Some of the craft production related evidence include metal production, eggshell beads and cloth manufacturing. Metal production was regarded as signature of power and authority in Iron Age period (Herbert, 1996). More research may strengthen this observation.