Barbara Heath and Jack Gary (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813039886
- eISBN:
- 9780813043807
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813039886.001.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
This edited volume is the outcome of twenty-five years of continuous archaeological research at Poplar Forest-Thomas Jefferson's retreat home and working plantation. Through in-depth case studies, ...
More
This edited volume is the outcome of twenty-five years of continuous archaeological research at Poplar Forest-Thomas Jefferson's retreat home and working plantation. Through in-depth case studies, drawing on rich archaeological and documentary sources, this book investigates the plantation and the lives of the enslaved African and African American laborers residing at Poplar Forest between the American Revolution and the Civil War. Authors focus on archaeological investigations into Poplar Forest's agricultural and ornamental landscapes, the ceramics used by Jefferson at his private retreat, and the material, dietary, and social worlds of enslaved laborers, including the production and distribution of stone pipes, the social organization slave quarters, slaves' engagement with the consumer economy, and the use of plants by enslaved people living on the property during the antebellum period. Additional chapters introduce readers to the history of the property and situate it within a broader body of scholarship in contemporary historical archaeology, particularly plantation archaeology. Together, the volume's authors consider issues of race, class, gender, and historical memory as they played out on a central Virginia plantation.Less
This edited volume is the outcome of twenty-five years of continuous archaeological research at Poplar Forest-Thomas Jefferson's retreat home and working plantation. Through in-depth case studies, drawing on rich archaeological and documentary sources, this book investigates the plantation and the lives of the enslaved African and African American laborers residing at Poplar Forest between the American Revolution and the Civil War. Authors focus on archaeological investigations into Poplar Forest's agricultural and ornamental landscapes, the ceramics used by Jefferson at his private retreat, and the material, dietary, and social worlds of enslaved laborers, including the production and distribution of stone pipes, the social organization slave quarters, slaves' engagement with the consumer economy, and the use of plants by enslaved people living on the property during the antebellum period. Additional chapters introduce readers to the history of the property and situate it within a broader body of scholarship in contemporary historical archaeology, particularly plantation archaeology. Together, the volume's authors consider issues of race, class, gender, and historical memory as they played out on a central Virginia plantation.
Tom Moore and Xosé-Lois Armada (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199567959
- eISBN:
- 9780191804410
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199567959.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter examines the current state of first millennium BC research, focusing on the ways archaeological traditions have converged and diverged between and within the major Western European ...
More
This chapter examines the current state of first millennium BC research, focusing on the ways archaeological traditions have converged and diverged between and within the major Western European countries. It discusses the impact of such differences on the creation of different archaeologies throughout the region, focusing on key developments in social modelling, landscape archaeology, and studies of identity. It examines the reasons why topics such as ethnicity, identity, and agency have preoccupied many British scholars; why such themes have had less resonance in Continental approaches; and to what extent does recent work, illustrated by the chapters in this volume, represent the emergence of a paradigm shift, or continued divergence of perspectives. The chapter aims to provide a view of the state of late Bronze Age and Iron Age studies from contrasting European perspectives. It concludes with an outline of how a European approach may be conceived and reflect on the benefits of European-wide dialogue.Less
This chapter examines the current state of first millennium BC research, focusing on the ways archaeological traditions have converged and diverged between and within the major Western European countries. It discusses the impact of such differences on the creation of different archaeologies throughout the region, focusing on key developments in social modelling, landscape archaeology, and studies of identity. It examines the reasons why topics such as ethnicity, identity, and agency have preoccupied many British scholars; why such themes have had less resonance in Continental approaches; and to what extent does recent work, illustrated by the chapters in this volume, represent the emergence of a paradigm shift, or continued divergence of perspectives. The chapter aims to provide a view of the state of late Bronze Age and Iron Age studies from contrasting European perspectives. It concludes with an outline of how a European approach may be conceived and reflect on the benefits of European-wide dialogue.
Brett A. Houk, Barbara Arroyo, and Terry G. Powis (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780813066226
- eISBN:
- 9780813058375
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813066226.001.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Archaeological Methodology and Techniques
Approaches to Monumental Landscapes of the Ancient Maya showcases interpretations and perspectives of landscape importance in the central Maya lowlands, Belize, and the northern and central Maya ...
More
Approaches to Monumental Landscapes of the Ancient Maya showcases interpretations and perspectives of landscape importance in the central Maya lowlands, Belize, and the northern and central Maya highlands with studies spanning over 10,000 years of human occupation in the region. Taking their cues from a robust scholarship on landscape archaeology, urban planning, political history, and settlement pattern studies in Maya research, the authors in this volume explore conceptions of monumentality and landscapes that are the products of long-term research and varied research agendas, falling into three broad conceptual categories: natural and built landscapes, political and economic landscapes, and ritual and sacred landscapes. The chapters explore the concept of monumentality in novel ways and approach the idea of landscape as not just the sum total of how a settlement’s local environs were plied and manipulated to conform to the Maya’s deep-seated and normative notions of sacred geography but also take note of how the lowland Maya actively constructed landscapes of power, meaning, and exchange, which rendered their social worlds imbricated, interdependent, and complex. Though varied in their approaches, the authors are all supported by the Alphawood Foundation, and this volume is a testament to the impact philanthropy can have on scientific research.Less
Approaches to Monumental Landscapes of the Ancient Maya showcases interpretations and perspectives of landscape importance in the central Maya lowlands, Belize, and the northern and central Maya highlands with studies spanning over 10,000 years of human occupation in the region. Taking their cues from a robust scholarship on landscape archaeology, urban planning, political history, and settlement pattern studies in Maya research, the authors in this volume explore conceptions of monumentality and landscapes that are the products of long-term research and varied research agendas, falling into three broad conceptual categories: natural and built landscapes, political and economic landscapes, and ritual and sacred landscapes. The chapters explore the concept of monumentality in novel ways and approach the idea of landscape as not just the sum total of how a settlement’s local environs were plied and manipulated to conform to the Maya’s deep-seated and normative notions of sacred geography but also take note of how the lowland Maya actively constructed landscapes of power, meaning, and exchange, which rendered their social worlds imbricated, interdependent, and complex. Though varied in their approaches, the authors are all supported by the Alphawood Foundation, and this volume is a testament to the impact philanthropy can have on scientific research.
David Arturo Muñiz García and Kimberly Sumano Ortega
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780813066349
- eISBN:
- 9780813058566
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813066349.003.0007
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
This chapter presents a critical review of the settlement patterns recognized to date in relation to the occupation of Pre-Hispanic groups in the central–west region of the modern state of Durango in ...
More
This chapter presents a critical review of the settlement patterns recognized to date in relation to the occupation of Pre-Hispanic groups in the central–west region of the modern state of Durango in northwestern Mexico. It also proposes visualizing settlement patterns in the region through the perspective of landscape archaeology, in which distribution over a given landscape may be viewed as part of a society’s power strategies. To that end, it employs spatial analysis to critically examine a series of settlements that pertain to the Chalchihuites culture between AD 550–1250 in the Santiago Bayacora River Basin. Results suggest that Chalchihuites groups may have shared a system of knowledge–power with the rest of Mesoamerica, but that their physical landscape was distinct, and therefore the ways in which these groups appropriated the landscape differed. The chapter concludes by suggesting that the logic that dominates our interpretations of Mesoamerican settlements needs rethinking in northwestern Mexico.Less
This chapter presents a critical review of the settlement patterns recognized to date in relation to the occupation of Pre-Hispanic groups in the central–west region of the modern state of Durango in northwestern Mexico. It also proposes visualizing settlement patterns in the region through the perspective of landscape archaeology, in which distribution over a given landscape may be viewed as part of a society’s power strategies. To that end, it employs spatial analysis to critically examine a series of settlements that pertain to the Chalchihuites culture between AD 550–1250 in the Santiago Bayacora River Basin. Results suggest that Chalchihuites groups may have shared a system of knowledge–power with the rest of Mesoamerica, but that their physical landscape was distinct, and therefore the ways in which these groups appropriated the landscape differed. The chapter concludes by suggesting that the logic that dominates our interpretations of Mesoamerican settlements needs rethinking in northwestern Mexico.
Gonzalo Ruiz Zapatero
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199567959
- eISBN:
- 9780191804410
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199567959.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter begins with a general analysis of archaeological traditions in Europe, distinguishing between archaeological mainstreams and minorities. It then looks at the European Iron Age as a ...
More
This chapter begins with a general analysis of archaeological traditions in Europe, distinguishing between archaeological mainstreams and minorities. It then looks at the European Iron Age as a period of late prehistory and makes some observations about the nature of its archaeological research. This is followed by discussions of the archaeological traditions of the British and Spanish Iron Ages, focusing on three aspects: theoretical approaches, organization of the discipline, and archaeological practice; and approaches to Iron Age settlement and landscapes. It argues that settlement and landscape are traditional issues in European Iron Age archaeology, with different approaches in each archaeological tradition as well as language barriers to sharing results and knowledge. Iron Age studies must be contextualized in a more European context for creating common agendas in research and teaching and looking at the same questions from different backgrounds.Less
This chapter begins with a general analysis of archaeological traditions in Europe, distinguishing between archaeological mainstreams and minorities. It then looks at the European Iron Age as a period of late prehistory and makes some observations about the nature of its archaeological research. This is followed by discussions of the archaeological traditions of the British and Spanish Iron Ages, focusing on three aspects: theoretical approaches, organization of the discipline, and archaeological practice; and approaches to Iron Age settlement and landscapes. It argues that settlement and landscape are traditional issues in European Iron Age archaeology, with different approaches in each archaeological tradition as well as language barriers to sharing results and knowledge. Iron Age studies must be contextualized in a more European context for creating common agendas in research and teaching and looking at the same questions from different backgrounds.
Elizabeth C. Clay and James A. Delle
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781683400912
- eISBN:
- 9781683401322
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9781683400912.003.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
The introductory chapter situates the volume vis-à-vis existing literature concerned with household and landscape archaeology within the study of historic Caribbean slave societies. Whereas past work ...
More
The introductory chapter situates the volume vis-à-vis existing literature concerned with household and landscape archaeology within the study of historic Caribbean slave societies. Whereas past work in the field has emphasized the macro point of view, choosing to examine landscapes from a plantationwide or even islandwide perspective, this volume uses a more diversified approach. The chapter also defines the authors’ understanding of the term “built environment,” which is used by all authors throughout the volume. It provides an overview of the few scholars who have considered domestic landscapes of the enslaved, highlighting the need for this volume to bring together more recent work in this direction. Finally, the chapter introduces and synthesizes the contributions of the book as a whole.Less
The introductory chapter situates the volume vis-à-vis existing literature concerned with household and landscape archaeology within the study of historic Caribbean slave societies. Whereas past work in the field has emphasized the macro point of view, choosing to examine landscapes from a plantationwide or even islandwide perspective, this volume uses a more diversified approach. The chapter also defines the authors’ understanding of the term “built environment,” which is used by all authors throughout the volume. It provides an overview of the few scholars who have considered domestic landscapes of the enslaved, highlighting the need for this volume to bring together more recent work in this direction. Finally, the chapter introduces and synthesizes the contributions of the book as a whole.
Mick Atha and Kennis Yip
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9789888208982
- eISBN:
- 9789888313952
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888208982.001.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
Hong Kong boasts a number of rich archaeological sites behind sandy bays. Among these backbeaches is Sha Po on Lamma Island, a site which has long captured the attention of archaeologists. However, ...
More
Hong Kong boasts a number of rich archaeological sites behind sandy bays. Among these backbeaches is Sha Po on Lamma Island, a site which has long captured the attention of archaeologists. However, until now no comprehensive study of the area has ever been published.
Piecing Together Sha Po presents the first sustained analysis, framed in terms of a multi-period social landscape, of the varieties of human activity in Sha Po spanning more than 6,000 years. Synthesising decades of earlier fieldwork together with Atha and Yip’s own extensive excavations conducted in 2008-2010, the discoveries collectively enabled the authors to reconstruct the society in Sha Po in different historical periods.
The artefacts unearthed from the site—some of them unique to the region—reveal a vibrant past which saw the inhabitants of Sha Po interacting with the environment in diverse ways. Evidence showing the mastery of quartz ornament manufacture and metallurgy in the Bronze Age suggests increasing craft specialisation and the rise of a more complex, competitive society. Later on, during the Six Dynasties-Tang period, Sha Po turned into a centre in the region’s imperially controlled kiln-based salt industry. Closer to our time, in the nineteenth century the farming and fishing communities in Sha Po became important suppliers of food and fuel to urban Hong Kong. Ultimately, this ground-breaking work tells a compelling story about human beings’ ceaseless reinvention of their lives through the lens of one special archaeological site.Less
Hong Kong boasts a number of rich archaeological sites behind sandy bays. Among these backbeaches is Sha Po on Lamma Island, a site which has long captured the attention of archaeologists. However, until now no comprehensive study of the area has ever been published.
Piecing Together Sha Po presents the first sustained analysis, framed in terms of a multi-period social landscape, of the varieties of human activity in Sha Po spanning more than 6,000 years. Synthesising decades of earlier fieldwork together with Atha and Yip’s own extensive excavations conducted in 2008-2010, the discoveries collectively enabled the authors to reconstruct the society in Sha Po in different historical periods.
The artefacts unearthed from the site—some of them unique to the region—reveal a vibrant past which saw the inhabitants of Sha Po interacting with the environment in diverse ways. Evidence showing the mastery of quartz ornament manufacture and metallurgy in the Bronze Age suggests increasing craft specialisation and the rise of a more complex, competitive society. Later on, during the Six Dynasties-Tang period, Sha Po turned into a centre in the region’s imperially controlled kiln-based salt industry. Closer to our time, in the nineteenth century the farming and fishing communities in Sha Po became important suppliers of food and fuel to urban Hong Kong. Ultimately, this ground-breaking work tells a compelling story about human beings’ ceaseless reinvention of their lives through the lens of one special archaeological site.
Timothy Trussell
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813039886
- eISBN:
- 9780813043807
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813039886.003.0004
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
As tobacco cultivation swept across Virginia in the eighteenth century, the art of gardening took root among Virginia's elite. Thomas Jefferson drew on elements of gardens that he read about and ...
More
As tobacco cultivation swept across Virginia in the eighteenth century, the art of gardening took root among Virginia's elite. Thomas Jefferson drew on elements of gardens that he read about and visited in France and England in shaping the Poplar Forest retreat grounds to express his intellectual and aesthetic preferences. He designed the north core landscape around features of English picturesque garden design. The south core drew upon the more formal rules of geometry and symmetry used in neoclassical gardens and reflected the influence of Palladio on the architecture of the house and dependencies. Drawing on documents and decades of landscape archaeology, this chapter considers ornamental landscapes as expressions of personal identity writ large. Jefferson's private retreat and grounds reinforced his notion of himself that he had developed through study, observation, and action.Less
As tobacco cultivation swept across Virginia in the eighteenth century, the art of gardening took root among Virginia's elite. Thomas Jefferson drew on elements of gardens that he read about and visited in France and England in shaping the Poplar Forest retreat grounds to express his intellectual and aesthetic preferences. He designed the north core landscape around features of English picturesque garden design. The south core drew upon the more formal rules of geometry and symmetry used in neoclassical gardens and reflected the influence of Palladio on the architecture of the house and dependencies. Drawing on documents and decades of landscape archaeology, this chapter considers ornamental landscapes as expressions of personal identity writ large. Jefferson's private retreat and grounds reinforced his notion of himself that he had developed through study, observation, and action.
Michael P. Roller
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780813056081
- eISBN:
- 9780813053875
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813056081.003.0007
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
Chapter 6 takes up the changing spatial landscape explored first in chapter 4 in a much-altered political and economic environment, the decline of the anthracite coal industry in mid-century. This is ...
More
Chapter 6 takes up the changing spatial landscape explored first in chapter 4 in a much-altered political and economic environment, the decline of the anthracite coal industry in mid-century. This is also a period of emancipation for the company town accompanied by the development of new forms of identification and immigration of a different sort than that covered in previous chapters. Attention to the material record suggests that this emancipation from industrial control signalled the development of new forms of collectively organized communal improvements through direct democracy. Landscape archaeology also suggests that the intersection of contemporary subjectivity and space such as aspects of privacy, ownership, and differentiation also begin to take hold in this period.Less
Chapter 6 takes up the changing spatial landscape explored first in chapter 4 in a much-altered political and economic environment, the decline of the anthracite coal industry in mid-century. This is also a period of emancipation for the company town accompanied by the development of new forms of identification and immigration of a different sort than that covered in previous chapters. Attention to the material record suggests that this emancipation from industrial control signalled the development of new forms of collectively organized communal improvements through direct democracy. Landscape archaeology also suggests that the intersection of contemporary subjectivity and space such as aspects of privacy, ownership, and differentiation also begin to take hold in this period.
David G. Anderson
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780813044606
- eISBN:
- 9780813046143
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813044606.003.0017
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
This paper examines how each of the contributors to the volume explores the Woodland social landscape of the Southeast. The discussion examines the many different theoretical and methodological ...
More
This paper examines how each of the contributors to the volume explores the Woodland social landscape of the Southeast. The discussion examines the many different theoretical and methodological perspectives, as well as the many different kinds of archaeological evidence, that the individual chapter authors brought to bear on the topic. The papers demonstrate, each in their own way, that landscape history matters in southeastern archaeology. Domestic and ceremonial features like houses and work areas, mounds, earthworks, and plazas, as well as intervening fields, forests, and waterways, should not be thought of as finished creations but as socially constructed and cognized, continually changing settings. Southeastern prehistoric landscapes reflect the history and traditions of the peoples who lived in and shaped them. Landscape can be examined in many ways, and the archaeological case studies offered provide a means to examine how people over large areas were connected, and interacted, during the Woodland period.Less
This paper examines how each of the contributors to the volume explores the Woodland social landscape of the Southeast. The discussion examines the many different theoretical and methodological perspectives, as well as the many different kinds of archaeological evidence, that the individual chapter authors brought to bear on the topic. The papers demonstrate, each in their own way, that landscape history matters in southeastern archaeology. Domestic and ceremonial features like houses and work areas, mounds, earthworks, and plazas, as well as intervening fields, forests, and waterways, should not be thought of as finished creations but as socially constructed and cognized, continually changing settings. Southeastern prehistoric landscapes reflect the history and traditions of the peoples who lived in and shaped them. Landscape can be examined in many ways, and the archaeological case studies offered provide a means to examine how people over large areas were connected, and interacted, during the Woodland period.
Alexandra Sanmark
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781474402293
- eISBN:
- 9781474435260
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474402293.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This chapter sets out the aims of the book and examines the three main themes of landscape, time and memory and how they relate to Norse assembly sites. The importance of the recent developments in ...
More
This chapter sets out the aims of the book and examines the three main themes of landscape, time and memory and how they relate to Norse assembly sites. The importance of the recent developments in landscape archaeology as well as earlier thing site research for the results of this study is explained. Based on this work, a new interdisciplinary research methodology, drawingon archaeological evidence, written sources and place-names, has been developed.Through this approach, the meaning and use of thingsites across the Norse world is explored. This book therefore moves beyond assembly site descriptions and analyses and also investigates the activities enacted at the assemblies, and how these were experienced by the people gathered. Other significant themes includeexplanations of chronology and the terminology used.Less
This chapter sets out the aims of the book and examines the three main themes of landscape, time and memory and how they relate to Norse assembly sites. The importance of the recent developments in landscape archaeology as well as earlier thing site research for the results of this study is explained. Based on this work, a new interdisciplinary research methodology, drawingon archaeological evidence, written sources and place-names, has been developed.Through this approach, the meaning and use of thingsites across the Norse world is explored. This book therefore moves beyond assembly site descriptions and analyses and also investigates the activities enacted at the assemblies, and how these were experienced by the people gathered. Other significant themes includeexplanations of chronology and the terminology used.
Dan Lawrence and Tony J. Wilkinson
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781474401012
- eISBN:
- 9781474435277
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474401012.003.0005
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, World History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter investigates the archaeological landscapes of the frontiers of the Sasanian Empire. Drawing on evidence from current and archived archaeological surveys, in combination with ...
More
This chapter investigates the archaeological landscapes of the frontiers of the Sasanian Empire. Drawing on evidence from current and archived archaeological surveys, in combination with high-resolution remote sensing datasets such as CORONA spy photography, we compare the organisation of settlements and defensive structures of the Sasanian frontier zones in response to a variety of external pressures. These varied from the Roman Empire in the west to less centralised entities, including nomadic groups, in the south-west and north-east. Following a general discussion of the multiple manifestations of Sasanian frontiers drawn from southern Mesopotamia (Iraq), northern Syria and north-eastern Iran, the main focus of the chapter is on the complex frontier landscape of the southern Caucasus, particularly the area of modern Azerbaijan, Georgia and Daghestan. We discuss the role of linear barriers, including the Gorgan Wall in north-eastern Iran and the Ghilghilchay and Derbent Walls in the Caucasus, irrigation systems, and alignments of fortifications and settlements in shaping their local landscapes. By placing the archaeological remains of the Sasanian Empire in a wider context we are able to examine the relationships between military installations, settlement patterns, infrastructure and geographical features such as mountain ranges and rivers. Comparing the different case studies allows us to conclude with some general statements on the nature of Sasanian power in the frontier territories of the empire.Less
This chapter investigates the archaeological landscapes of the frontiers of the Sasanian Empire. Drawing on evidence from current and archived archaeological surveys, in combination with high-resolution remote sensing datasets such as CORONA spy photography, we compare the organisation of settlements and defensive structures of the Sasanian frontier zones in response to a variety of external pressures. These varied from the Roman Empire in the west to less centralised entities, including nomadic groups, in the south-west and north-east. Following a general discussion of the multiple manifestations of Sasanian frontiers drawn from southern Mesopotamia (Iraq), northern Syria and north-eastern Iran, the main focus of the chapter is on the complex frontier landscape of the southern Caucasus, particularly the area of modern Azerbaijan, Georgia and Daghestan. We discuss the role of linear barriers, including the Gorgan Wall in north-eastern Iran and the Ghilghilchay and Derbent Walls in the Caucasus, irrigation systems, and alignments of fortifications and settlements in shaping their local landscapes. By placing the archaeological remains of the Sasanian Empire in a wider context we are able to examine the relationships between military installations, settlement patterns, infrastructure and geographical features such as mountain ranges and rivers. Comparing the different case studies allows us to conclude with some general statements on the nature of Sasanian power in the frontier territories of the empire.
Stephen Mileson and Stuart Brookes
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- November 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780192894892
- eISBN:
- 9780191915772
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780192894892.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
This is the first book about peasant perceptions of landscape. It marks a step-change in the discipline of landscape history, as well as making a major contribution to the history of everyday life. ...
More
This is the first book about peasant perceptions of landscape. It marks a step-change in the discipline of landscape history, as well as making a major contribution to the history of everyday life. Until now, there has been no sustained analysis of how ordinary medieval and early modern people experienced and perceived their material environment and constructed their identities in relation to the places where they lived. This book provides exactly such an analysis by examining peasant perceptions in one geographical area over the long period from AD 500 to 1650. It takes as its focus Ewelme hundred, a well-documented and archaeologically rich area of lowland vale and hilly Chiltern wood-pasture comprising fourteen ancient parishes. The analysis draws on a range of sources including legal depositions and thousands of field-names and bynames preserved in largely unpublished deeds and manorial documents. Archaeology makes a major contribution, particularly for understanding the period before 900, but more generally in reconstructing the fabric of villages and the framework for inhabitants’ spatial practices and experiences. In its focus on the way inhabitants interacted with the landscape in which they worked, prayed, and socialized, the book supplies a new history of the lives and attitudes of the bulk of the rural population who so seldom make their mark in traditional landscape analysis or documentary history.Less
This is the first book about peasant perceptions of landscape. It marks a step-change in the discipline of landscape history, as well as making a major contribution to the history of everyday life. Until now, there has been no sustained analysis of how ordinary medieval and early modern people experienced and perceived their material environment and constructed their identities in relation to the places where they lived. This book provides exactly such an analysis by examining peasant perceptions in one geographical area over the long period from AD 500 to 1650. It takes as its focus Ewelme hundred, a well-documented and archaeologically rich area of lowland vale and hilly Chiltern wood-pasture comprising fourteen ancient parishes. The analysis draws on a range of sources including legal depositions and thousands of field-names and bynames preserved in largely unpublished deeds and manorial documents. Archaeology makes a major contribution, particularly for understanding the period before 900, but more generally in reconstructing the fabric of villages and the framework for inhabitants’ spatial practices and experiences. In its focus on the way inhabitants interacted with the landscape in which they worked, prayed, and socialized, the book supplies a new history of the lives and attitudes of the bulk of the rural population who so seldom make their mark in traditional landscape analysis or documentary history.
Kristen Hopper
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781474401012
- eISBN:
- 9781474435277
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474401012.003.0006
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, World History: BCE to 500CE
Using examples from several different regions of the Sasanian Empire, this chapter will look at the archaeological evidence for connectivity in frontier zones. Though a number of geographically ...
More
Using examples from several different regions of the Sasanian Empire, this chapter will look at the archaeological evidence for connectivity in frontier zones. Though a number of geographically diverse cases will be considered, I will focus on the evidence for local, regional and interregional networks in the Gorgan Plain of northeast Iran. We currently know very little about Sasanian period routes through this landscape. Itineraries exist in antique through Islamic period textual sources, but the routes that they describe are often difficult to identify in the archaeological record. European travellers of the nineteenth century provide more detailed accounts, but the routes they describe reflect the political and economic landscape of a much later period. However, this information, combined with archaeological evidence for both earlier and later period routes, can be compared to archaeological settlement data for the Sasanian period to suggest potential pathways of movement. This approach will highlight how cultural, political and economic networks in this region (including both routes and boundaries) have changed through time.Less
Using examples from several different regions of the Sasanian Empire, this chapter will look at the archaeological evidence for connectivity in frontier zones. Though a number of geographically diverse cases will be considered, I will focus on the evidence for local, regional and interregional networks in the Gorgan Plain of northeast Iran. We currently know very little about Sasanian period routes through this landscape. Itineraries exist in antique through Islamic period textual sources, but the routes that they describe are often difficult to identify in the archaeological record. European travellers of the nineteenth century provide more detailed accounts, but the routes they describe reflect the political and economic landscape of a much later period. However, this information, combined with archaeological evidence for both earlier and later period routes, can be compared to archaeological settlement data for the Sasanian period to suggest potential pathways of movement. This approach will highlight how cultural, political and economic networks in this region (including both routes and boundaries) have changed through time.
David M. Carballo
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780190251062
- eISBN:
- 9780190251086
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190251062.003.0004
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Non-Classical
This chapter focuses on the built environment and its articulation with a natural and supernatural landscape. It includes discussion of ideational themes such as temples made as simulacra of ...
More
This chapter focuses on the built environment and its articulation with a natural and supernatural landscape. It includes discussion of ideational themes such as temples made as simulacra of mountains: both the active volcanoes that impacted early urbanization and as life-giving sources of water. It also examines how ceremonial architecture including open plazas and towering pyramids could serve inclusive and divisive functions, and the high degree of standardization in how ceremonial precincts were oriented, likely linked to calendric and ritual considerations. Finally, the chapter examines how domestic architecture represented and generated the social distinctions associated with urbanism through variability in the size, elaboration, and symbolism of houses in early urban settings.Less
This chapter focuses on the built environment and its articulation with a natural and supernatural landscape. It includes discussion of ideational themes such as temples made as simulacra of mountains: both the active volcanoes that impacted early urbanization and as life-giving sources of water. It also examines how ceremonial architecture including open plazas and towering pyramids could serve inclusive and divisive functions, and the high degree of standardization in how ceremonial precincts were oriented, likely linked to calendric and ritual considerations. Finally, the chapter examines how domestic architecture represented and generated the social distinctions associated with urbanism through variability in the size, elaboration, and symbolism of houses in early urban settings.