WORLD HISTORY & ARCHAEOLOGY

International Archaeology in Sicily Edited by Christopher Prescott (University of Oslo), Arja Karivieri (Stockholm University), Peter Campbell (cranfield University), Kristian Göransson (University of Gothenburg) and Sebastiano Tusa

Collaborative papers discuss Sicily in the Bronze Age to Roman period. Trinacria, the ancient name for Sicily extending back to Homeric Greek, has understandably been the focus of decades of archaeological research. These articles explore its varied history, focusing on the period from the Archaic through to the Roman period, but diachronic studies also trace lines back to the Stone Age and up to the contemporary era.

By John F. Cherry (Brown University) and Krysta Ryzewski (Wayne State University)

Traces the 5000 year history and heritage of the Caribbean island of Montserrat. Montserrat is a small island in the Leeward islands of the eastern Caribbean and at present a British Overseas Territory. Archaeological research here began only in the late 1970s, but work over the past four decades has now made it possible to present an archaeological history of Montserrat, from the earliest known traces of human activity on the island about 5,000 years ago to the present.

From the First Hunters to the First Farmers Edited by Malcolm C. Lillie (Umeå University), Inna D. Potekhina (National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine) and Chelsea E. Budd (University of Umeå)

Covers the Prehistory of Ukraine from the Lower Palaeolithic through to the end of the Neolithic period. This is the first comprehensive synthesis of Ukrainian Prehistory from earliest times through until the Neolithic Period undertaken by researchers who are currently investigating the Prehistory of Ukraine. The chapters in this volume provide up-to-date overviews of all aspects of prehistoric culture development in Ukraine and present details of the key sites and finds for the periods studied.

By Benjamin R. Gearey, (University College Cork) and Henry P. Chapman (University of Birmingham)

An accessible introduction to the ecology and formation processes of peatlands and their study. This volume provides an accessible introduction to the ecology and formation processes of peatlands, and to the different archaeological and palaeoenvironmental techniques that have been developed and adapted for the study of these environments. It provides an outline of the major themes and methods and as a guide to other more detailed and technical literature concerning peatland archaeology. The case studies have been selected to illustrate examples of ‘best practice’.

Edited by Susanna Harris (University of Glasgow), Cecilie Brøns (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek) and Marta Zuchowska (University of Warsaw)

A collection of papers from leading textile researchers on the role of textiles in society, religion and economy in the ancient Mediterranean. An ambitious synopsis of the complex, colourful world of textiles in ancient Mediterranean iconography using depictions from sculpture, vase painting, figurines, reliefs and mosaics. Commonly represented in clothing, textiles are also visible in furnishings and through the processes of textile production. As textiles rarely survive, we must also consider the extent to which theses representations reflect reality. Through examining the evidence, this anthology reveals the integral role of textiles in the daily life, cult and economy of the ancient Mediterranean.

Pushing the Boundaries of Established Methodologies Edited by Alistair Dickey (University of Liverpool), Margarita Gleba (Bryn Mawr College), Sarah Hitchens (University of Liverpool) and Gabriella Longhitano

A reflection on the status and development of current analytical methodology and its applicability within the wider textile field. This book highlights how researchers have been challenged to adapt or modify analytical methods to enable extraction of comparable data from often recalcitrant assemblages. Covering a broad geographical and chronological area, methodological considerations are explored through three themes – tools; textiles and fibres; culture and identity – driving forward the methodological debates around textile research to generate new conversations about the future of textile archaeology.

The Beginnings of Textile Manufacture in Europe and the Mediterranean Edited by Ma?gorzata Siennicka (University of Copenhagen), Lorenz Rahmstorf (University of Göttingen) and Agata Ulanowska (Academy of Sciences, ?ód?)

Explores the development of textile production in prehistoric Europe and the Mediterranean, along with its social and cultural aspects. Textile production and the manufacture of clothing was one of the most essential daily activities in prehistory. Textiles were significant objects of practical use, and at the same time had cultural, social and symbolic meaning, crucial for displaying the identity, gender, social rank and status, or wealth of their users.

Edited by Maria C. Shaw and Anne. P. Chapin (Brevard College, North Carolina)

Investigates evidence for patterned textiles produced by the Minoans of Crete and the Mycenaeans of mainland Greece. Woven textiles are produced by nearly all human societies. This volume investigates evidence for patterned textiles (that is, textiles woven with elaborate designs) that were produced by two early Mediterranean civilisations: the Minoans of Crete and the Mycenaeans of mainland Greece, that prospered during the Aegean Bronze Age, c. 3000-1200 BC, contemporary with pharaonic Egypt.

Going from tools to people by means of archaeological wear and residue analyses Edited by Sylvie Beyries (CNRS), Caroline Hamon (CNRS) and Yolaine Maigrot (CNRS)

Revives the debate on the role of traceology in multidisciplinary approaches that address archaeological questions. Studies that deal with material categories in isolation fail to reflect the integrated nature of technical systems. Exploring the interaction between different chaînes opératoires is crucial for a more global concept of the toolkit; it is a precondition for paleo-ethnographic reconstructions of technical systems and economies. These papers explore topics ranging from social status and economy to mobility patterns and territories in a functional perspective.

Integrating Worked Bone Research with Archaeometry and Social Zooarchaeology Edited by Markus Wild, Beverly A. Thurber, Stephen Rhodes and Christian Gates St-Pierre (Université de Montréal)

A transdisciplinary explanation of the way worked bone shapes and is shaped by the humans who made and used it. Taking an interdisciplinary approach including everything from technological analysis and usewear analysis to zooarchaeology and spatial analysis, these papers represent discussions of larger cultural and historical phenomena throughout history. The synergies derived from this approach lead to the repeated identification of diverse social aspects of past societies including the identification of general social contexts of bone tool production and use to warfare and state formation processes.

Edited by Helen Dawson (Freie Universität Berlin) and Francesco Iacono (University of Bologna)

A collection of case studies on the relationship between human practices and their social and spatial dimensions. This book demonstrates how a network approach can successfully incorporate different theoretical perspectives and methodological applications. The authors draw on multiple strands of social and geographical theory and use data as diverse as archaeological artefacts, roads/infrastructure, textual sources, and information from living informants. It will appeal to archaeologists, historians, geographers, and sociologists.

A Quantitative Study of Neolithic to Early Medieval Societies in Southwest Germany By Ralph Grossmann (Kiel University)

Examines social inequalities in a diachronic and multivariate approach based on burial grounds in Southwestern Germany. Inequality has been a subject for concern throughout history. Accordingly, archaeologists have continually examined and interpreted social inequalities in sources such as burial grounds. This book continues such analyses with a new multi-proxy approach. It reveals social inequalities in selected past burial grounds from Southwestern Germany dating from the Early Neolithic to the Early Medieval period.