Ireland (Country) (Geographic Keyword)
76-100 (1,101 Records)
Experimental archaeology plays a critical role in the development of new ideas and techniques within the discipline, for example, within studies of artifact manufacture and use, butchery practices, taphonomy, etc. Despite a difference in the nature of ‘controls,’ out-of-the-lab experiments play a crucial role in scientific archaeology because they often shed new and different light on a range of complex issues, as demonstrated by recent house building experiments conducted with the assistance of...
Bands of brothers: the socio-political and military organisation of Viking armies during the 9th century (2017)
During the mid- to late-9th century, historical sources attest to large Viking raiding-fleets and ‘armies’ operating in northwestern Europe. These itinerant groups were not only seeking plunder but also land to settle, and some managed to establish colonies and enclaves with varying long-term success. The size and impact of these groups came under scrutiny during the latter half of the 20th century, when some scholars sought to downplay the influence of warfare as a catalyst of social and...
Barrow Roads and Bronze Age Wayfaring (2017)
The idea of the journey is central to many narratives of European Bronze Age social structure, economy, and cosmology, but the mechanics of journeying in the Bronze Age are rarely discussed. We know that objects and raw materials travelled great distances, we think that exotic things and ideas were sought after, and it appears that Bronze Age people maintained ties with kin and trading partners over very great distances. Much of this distance was inevitably traversed on water; and riverine...
Basket Case? Finding Funding for Archaeological Projects—A European Perspective (2017)
The competition for funding is increasing, as demand increases but the sources of funds diminish, especially if there is a research element in any proposed project. This paper will explore the possible routes for funding and the potential and pitfalls of using a "basket" approach to raising funds for archaeological projects in the public sector (i.e., charities and non-commercial), including universities. It will also look at different approaches for funding significant heritage-based projects...
Bears and people: from the wilderness to dancing (2017)
There has been a very strong relationship between human societies and the brown bear (Ursus arctos) in many different places and cultures. The bear has had multiple roles in European societies, from the ancient (and modern) epitome of the wild, through religious symbol to the arenas of the Roman Empire, and their later use as entertainment. At what point does the bear’s position change in society from an animal to be feared, to one to be mocked? In terms of captive management, a fully grown bear...
Being a Woman in Roman Gaul: Gendered Votive Offerings in a Colonial Context (2017)
The annexation of Gaul into the Roman Empire in the mid-first century BCE spurred the development of new religious practices in that region, including the practice of offering votive figurines at sanctuaries. Because each votive represents a personal decision on the part of the dedicant, analysis of votive assemblages provides unique insight into the demographics of worshippers and illuminates aspects of individual identity in this colonial context. Here, I present the results of a quantitative...
Being Male in al-Andalus. A Comparative Osteobiographical Approach to Reconstructing Islamic Identities in Medieval Spain. (2017)
In 711 AD the influx of Arabs and Berbers into Iberia culminated in the formation of the only Islamic state in medieval Western Europe. The uptake of new religious ideology and cultural practices by the inhabitants, which when applied in their unique sociohistorical context, resulted in an Iberian Islamic identity. While much research has explored variation in the lives of women, including debates on their freedom of movement and activity, less is postulated about the lives of men and what it...
Benefits of Time Travel, the McMaster Ancient DNA Centre (2017)
Our laboratory focuses on the preservation and degradation of organic signatures in archaeological remains. We devise and use state-of-the art genetic techniques to pull DNA sequences from tooth and bone remains to address questions of ancestry, origins, extinctions and evolution. Currently the lab is focusing on the evolution of infectious disease, namely plague, using full genomic evidence garnered from victims of past pandemics. I will speak about the centre, the overarching questions we are...
Beyond Counting Sheep: An Interdisciplinary Review of Faunal Assemblages in the British Pastoral Landscape (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Zooarchaeology and Technology: Case Studies and Applications" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. One of the challenges in zooarchaeological research is to advance new methods of understanding animal husbandry within the past socio-ecological context. Intensification of wool production is typically evidenced in the archaeological record by the increase of sheep remains in species abundance and adult mortality; however,...
Beyond Iron Age ‘towns’: Examining oppida as examples of mega-sites and low-density urbanism (2017)
The question of whether Late Iron Age oppida in Europe were truly ‘urban’ has dominated debate over these sites since the 19th century. Oppida, however, have been surprisingly absent from comparative urban studies, despite increasingly nuanced perspectives on the nature and diversity of the urban phenomenon. In particular, Roland Fletcher’s suggestion that oppida might be examples of a range of alternative urban-like centres has been largely ignored by scholars of the European Iron Age. The...
Beyond Newgrange: The Late Neolithic Complex at Brú na Bóinne, Co. Meath in Light of Recent Discoveries (2019)
This is an abstract from the "On the Periphery or the Leading Edge? Research in Prehistoric Ireland" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site is known globally for its middle Neolithic passage tombs, in particular the 'megatombs' of Knowth, Dowth and Newgrange. However, the area also possesses one of the highest densities of late Neolithic monuments in the henge tradition anywhere in the world. These comprise a variety...
Beyond the Founding Fathers: The Role of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Submerged Cultural Resource Management’s Past, Present, and Future (2022)
This is an abstract from the session entitled "Perspectives on the Future, and the Past, of Underwater Archaeology in the Cultural Resource Management Industry" , at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Early pioneers or innovators may be given the moniker “Father” or “Founding Father” of their chosen field or specialty, and quite often those pioneers happen to be white males. In reviewing the history of cultural resource management it is easy to assume that...
Bioarchaeological Assemblages at Çatalhöyük: A Relational Examination of Porotic Hyperostosis and Cribra Orbitalia Etiologies and Transmissions (2017)
Porotic hyperostosis, manifested as pittings on the outer table of the cranial vault, and cribra orbitalia, the analogous porosities that form on orbital roofs, are two commonly observed pathologies used extensively by bioarchaeologists to understand past health and nutritional conditions. Yet the etiologies of porotic hyperostosis and cribra orbitalia are largely varied and not well understood, with proposed explanations ranging from diet and nutrition to chronic and infectious diseases. This...
Bioarchaeological versus Archaeological Data on the Beginnings of Southeast and Central European Early Neolithic (2023)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The short paper focuses on Early Neolithic continental Europe, with presenting new archaeological results compared to similarly recent ancient DNA and stable isotope studies. I shall address various scenarios from selected regions in the Balkans, in northern Germany before zooming in the eastern and western part of the Carpathian basin. Here again,...
Bioarchaeologocal approaches to reconstructing Upper Palaeolithic environments in the Cantabrian Region, Northern Spain. (2017)
The Cantabrian Region of Northern Spain was an important refugium during the harsh conditions of the Last Glacial Maximum, when ice sheets covered much of Northern Europe and populations were pushed further south. Late Upper populations in the Cantabrian region thrived at this time, and there is an increase in the density of archaeological sites is seen, in addition to cultural changes such as the creation of rich cave art assemblages. Understanding the climatic and environmental conditions...
The Bioarchaeology of Diversity: A Case Study in the Roman Empire (2018)
This poster presents a new project to explore migration—the geographic movement of people—and diversity—the intersection of different types of people—in imperial Rome. In Bioanthropology, migration is often perceived in oversimplified terms. Researchers seek to determine if an individual or group migrated, and when in their lifetime this occurred. Furthermore, many scholars treat diversity in equally simplified terms. Traditionally, individuals are assigned to an ancestral population of "best...
Bioarchaeology of Madness: A biocultural perspective on transgression, strangeness, folly, and delirium in the past (2019)
This is an abstract from the "The Future of Bioarchaeology in Archaeology" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The invention of the Ospedale (hospital) in fourteenth-century Italy marked a turning point in human relations. The othering process of medicalization began as an attempt to provide respite for incurable strangeness, delirium, or transgressive and foolish behavior, particularly for those without family to care for them. The disordered mind...
Biographical approach for evaluating archaeological landscapes. A case-study from Estonia (2017)
Since the 1990s, landscape biography as a research method has diversified. The biographical approach expects a thorough study of a certain region in various fields of landscape research, which span far beyond just geography or archaeology. In contemporary approaches to landscape, the limits of the concept of landscape biography are being explored, but also tested. What exactly is a landscape biography? What does it constitute? Is landscape biography just a narration of a specific defined place...
The 'Bitter' Death of Children: Health, Welfare and the Funerary Treatment of Infants and Young Children in Christian Anglo-Saxon Cemeteries (2019)
This is an abstract from the "The Health and Welfare of Children in the Past" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper will discuss the burials of infants and young children in the earliest Christian cemeteries in Anglo-Saxon England (10th and 11th centuries CE). While in earlier pagan periods the burials of the very youngest members of communities are conspicuous by their paucity, the earliest Christian cemeteries have a much more representative...
Boat Engravings and Maritime Technologies in the Megalithic Ages 4700–2500 cal BC (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Negotiating Watery Worlds: Impacts and Implications of the Use of Watercraft in Small-Scale Societies" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Recent research into megalithic temporality, mobility, and symbolic identity suggests that the rise of long-distance maritime journeys began in Europe as early as the megalithic era. Megaliths emerged in northwest France (~4700–4200 cal BC) and then spread over the seaways along...
Bodiam Castle: Lived Experience and Political Ecology (2019)
This is an abstract from the "The State of the Art in Medieval European Archaeology: New Discoveries, Future Directions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper discussed the results of buildings and landscape survey at Bodiam Castle, SE England, 2010-2015. Bodiam is a much discussed site, a classic case study in the 'defense versus status' debate in castle studies. Our project moved beyond this false and misleading binary framing of a tired...
Bog Butter: Experimenting with the Preservative Nature of Peat Bogs (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The anaerobic and highly acidic nature of peat bogs produces a perfect environment for preservation. Biological material which would usually decay, such as human tissue, is kept stagnant unable to decompose thus allowing for preserved individuals and items to be discovered. Peat bogs located in both modern-day Ireland and Scotland have produced an unusual...
Bone calcination of different age groups in cremations from Bronze Age Hungary (2017)
Bronze Age Hungary saw the advancement of trade which may have been a cause of the movement from egalitarian societies to more complex societies with increasing social inequality. Social inequality between regions in Hungary may be reflected in variation among funeral customs. Excavations from Békés 103, a Bronze Age cemetery in south-eastern Hungary, have uncovered 68 burials, most of which are cremations. This study focuses on color analysis (identified by Munsell Soil Color Charts) of the...
Bone Remodeling Behavior Across the Surfaces of the Skeleton as Biographical Windows (2017)
The morphology of the whole skeleton is crafted over the life course by bone remodeling across its skeletal surfaces: the endosteal surface of its trabeculae, and on the periosteal, endocortical, and intracortical surfaces of its cortex. The behavior of each of these surfaces differs between individuals and populations resulting in some understood differences in bone morphology across human groups. But the skeletal surfaces are also differentially influenced during growth, aging, reproduction,...
The Boyne Currach, from beneath the shadows of Newgrange (2012)
This book tells the fascinating story of a remarkable vessel with prehistoric origins: the Boyne currach. Well-informed and imbued with stories from around the globe, it is written in an energetic and accessible style, reflecting the author’s love for these boats. It is a pioneering piece of work that throws new light on an ancient Irish craft. An overview of the history of the Boyne currach and related skin boats is followed by a how-to guide with instructions on how to build your own currach,...