The period from c.718 to c.1000 oversaw the reconquest of a significant part of the Iberian Peninsula by the Kingdom of Asturias (718–910) and its successor in León (910–1037); the study of this process of Reconquista has in recent years focused on two broader social changes: the increasing exploitation of the peasantry, and the eclipse of public power. In the Introduction, I argue that it is necessary to integrate the study of peasant societies with analyses of royal and aristocratic power; reframing the subject in this way, we are able to appreciate the diversity of social experience which characterized both peasant and aristocratic life across the two case studies here examined, Southern Galicia, and the Liébana. I argue that the tenth century must be seen on its own terms, and without the benefit of hindsight, if we are to characterize it fairly. Chapter Two discusses the source material I have used in the elaboration of this thesis, highlighting its uses and problems from a critical perspective. In Chapter Three I show that fluid social structures allowed a family to rise to power from amongst the village inhabitants of the Liébana. Public officials such as counts were not able to impose themselves frequently upon this society. In Chapter Four, I show how a rich and aristocratic family of lay magnates, based in southern Galicia, were major political operators from the ninth century, but only came to exercise significant social influence amongst local society after the construction of the monastery of Celanova in 936. My Conclusion contextualizes these changes; it also argues that more nuanced and less schematic approaches to social relations demonstrate that peasants retained considerable autonomy in this period, and that factional politics influenced the stability of kingship far more than the supposed eclipse of public power.

This investigation into the origin of a collection of nineteenth century lanternslides revealed evidence of the social, intellectual and cultural importance of various scientific societies in Oxford, and the contributions made by those involved, particularly the creator of the lanternslides, H. M. J. Underhill, (1855–1920). Evidence gathered from primary sources showed a fluidity of relationships between the supposed ‘town and gown’ in late nineteenth century Oxford which consisted of a community of citizens, amateurs and academics, all of whom were linked by a growing interest in the real and mythological British past. Following a discussion of the key intellectual and social influences in Britain during the latter half of the nineteenth century, including the implications of the emerging evidence of an ancient human past, the thesis focuses on individual case studies. They illustrate the roles of overlooked or neglected individuals whose work contributed to the growth of today’s discipline of British prehistory. Several people, now forgotten, including Underhill were contemporaries of Arthur Evans and Edward Tylor whose social circumstances made it easier for them to become prominent academics. The results of this research indicate that a new approach is required in the history of archaeology; one that would draw attention to the vital contributions made by forgotten or overlooked individuals, societies and popular publications. Further attention to these issues will shed new light on the way that prehistoric archaeology moved from an antiquarian pastime to an academic discipline between 1850 and 1900.

Perspectives about the Studies on the Inka Dominance in the Southern Oriental Edge of the KollasuyuThe Inka archaeological record of the Argentine mid-west affords the possibility to consider the space involved effectively controlled by the state organization. The existing documents yield data and offer case studies of the Inka domination over the regional ethnic. The documents also offer an insight of the new relations established with the later domination from the first times of the Spanish conquest, all of which allows to improve understanding of the ways and functions of the Inka control, of the reactions and adjustments, over continuity and change, by evidence recognized in the records.We are presenting part of the known regional Inka infrastructure and materials, their characteristics and functions contrasting them with those of the native population. Thus, based on the former and joining it with archive documents and chroniclers’ references we offer an ad hoc model from the periphery in the austral end and in the final expansion epoch. This model is followed by a, perhaps, similar one for the first times of Spanish influence. / El registro arqueológico inka en el centro-oeste argentino, así como la existencia de documentación de los primeros tiempos coloniales hispánicos —con datos acerca de la dominación y de las nuevas relaciones resultantes— brindan grandes posibilidades de investigación. Así, es factible adentrarse en consideraciones sobre el espacio abarcado y el efectivamente controlado por la organización estatal. Del mismo modo, pueden conocerse las formas y funciones del control, las reacciones y ajustes zonales, la continuidad y el cambio en las diversas expresiones disponibles, entre otros.En el presente trabajo se presentará una parte de la infraestructura y de los materiales inkas regionales conocidos. Estos son tratados sobre la base de sus características y funciones, en contraste con los propios de las poblaciones locales. Tales bases se articularán con la documentación de archivos y referencias de los cronistas. De ello se derivará la interpretación de un modelo ad hoc válido para la periferia, en el extremo austral, para la época final de la expansión. Esta será seguida de un modelo, quizás similar, válido para los primeros tiempos de la incidencia hispánica.