Frog in the Pond: Gökçeada (Imbros), an Aegean Stepping-stone in the Chalcolithic use of Spondylus Shell

2014 ◽  
Vol 80 ◽  
pp. 363-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Baysal ◽  
Burçin Erdoğu
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
Western Anatolia ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
White Marble ◽  
Trade Networks ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
History Of ◽  
Culture Production

The use of marine shells in the manufacture of bracelets and beads is a well-attested phenomenon of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods of Western Anatolia, the Aegean, and the Balkans. The site of Gökçeada-Uğurlu, located on an island in the Aegean between mainland Europe and Anatolia, shows evidence for the manufacture and use of bracelets and beads from Spondylus and Glycymeris shell. This use of personal ornamentation ties the site into one of the widest material culture production and trade networks of the prehistoric period. This article explores the possible role of, and influences on, an island site within the wider context of long-distance exchange. The life history of shell products is investigated, showing that a bracelet may have gone through processes of transformation in order to remain in use. The article also questions whether there was a relationship between the use of marine shell and white marble from which similar products were manufactured in contemporary contexts. In its conclusions the article addresses the value of materials and of the personal ornaments they were used to make.

scholarly journals Coral Stone Architecture, Chinese Porcelain, and Indian Ocean Artifacts along the Swahili Coast: Cross-Cultural Dynamics in Medieval East Africa

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vera-Simone Schulz
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
East Africa ◽  
Cultural Dynamics ◽  
Medieval Period ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Swahili Coast ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Indian Ocean

While the use of Chinese porcelain dishes in the stone towns along the Swahili coast has recently found much attention in art historical scholarship regarding the eighteenth to early twentieth centuries, the pre-history of these dynamics in the medieval period has up to now only been fully considered in other fields such as archaeology and anthropology. This paper sheds new light on the interrelations between the built environment and material culture in coastal East Africa from an art historical perspective, focusing on premodern Indian Ocean trajectories, the role of Chinese porcelain bowls that were immured into Swahili coral stone buildings, and on architecture across boundaries in a medieval world characterized by far-reaching transcultural entanglements and connectivity. It will show how Chinese porcelain bowls in premodern Swahili architecture linked the stone towns along the coast with other sites both inland and across the Indian Ocean and beyond, and how these dynamics were shaped by complex intersections between short-distance and long-distance-relationships and negotiations between the local and the global along the Swahili coast and beyond.

Queering Gender Identity Work: A Life History of a Black Transgender Woman

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Esethu Monakali
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Gender Identity ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Identity Work ◽  
Social Identities ◽  
Gender And Sexuality ◽  
Ongoing Effort ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Individual

This article offers an analysis of the identity work of a black transgender woman through life history research. Identity work pertains to the ongoing effort of authoring oneself and positions the individual as the agent; not a passive recipient of identity scripts. The findings draw from three life history interviews. Using thematic analysis, the following themes emerge: institutionalisation of gender norms; gender and sexuality unintelligibility; transitioning and passing; and lastly, gender expression and public spaces. The discussion follows from a poststructuralist conception of identity, which frames identity as fluid and as being continually established. The study contends that identity work is a complex and fragmented process, which is shaped by other social identities. To that end, the study also acknowledges the role of collective agency in shaping gender identity.

The Role of the Constitutional Court in the Development of the Rule of Law in Kosovo

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 274-313
Author(s):  
Enver Hasani
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Constitutional History ◽  
Constitutional Courts ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
Communist Countries

Kosovo’s Constitutional Court has played a role of paramount importance in the country’s recent history. The author uses a comparative analysis to discuss the role of the Court in light of the work and history of other European constitutional courts. This approach sheds light on the Court’s current role by analyzing Kosovo’s constitutional history, which shows that there has been a radical break with the past. This approach reveals the fact that Kosovo’s current Constitution does not reflect the material culture of the society of Kosovo. This radical break with the past is a result of the country’s tragic history, in which case the fight for constitutionalism means a fight for human dignity. In this battle for constitutionalism, the Court has been given very broad jurisdiction and a role to play in paving the way for Kosovo to move toward Euro-Atlantic integration in all spheres of life. Before reaching this conclusion, the author discusses the specificities of Kosovo’s transition, comparing it with other former communist countries. Among the specific features of constitutionalism in Kosovo are the role and position of the international community in the process of constitution-making and the overall design of constitutional justice in Kosovo. Throughout the article, a conclusion emerges that puts Kosovo’s Constitutional Court at the forefront of the fight for the rule of law and constitutionalism of liberal Western provenance.

Stone Tools

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodney Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
Stone Tools ◽  
Stone Tool ◽  
History Of Archaeology ◽  
Culture Studies ◽  
Old World ◽  
Material Culture Studies ◽  
History Of

The focus of this article is stone tools. The history of stone tool research is linked integrally to the history of archaeology and the study of the human past, and many of the early developments in archaeology were connected with the study of stone artefacts. The identification of stone tools as objects of prehistoric human manufacture was central to the development of nineteenth-century models of prehistoric change, and especially the Three Age system for Old World prehistory. This article draws on concepts derived from interdisciplinary material culture studies to consider the role of the artefact after being discarded. It suggests that it is impossible to understand the meaning or efficacy of stone tools without understanding their ‘afterlives’ following abandonment. This article aims to complement contemporary metrical studies of the identification of stone tools and the description of their production. A brief history of the stone tools is explained and this concludes the article.

The construction of a leadership identity based on empathy, care, and participation: María Eliana's history

2021 ◽  
pp. 174114322110380
Author(s):  
Andrea Carrasco ◽  
María E Díaz
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Life History ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Leadership Identity ◽  
Self Recognition ◽  
History Of ◽  
Identity Based

Recent academic research highlights the role of leadership identity when thinking about the improvement of the educational field. Based on this research, this article aims to identify and analyze the elements that affect the development of leadership identity in female school principals within the Chilean context. This is achieved by working from a biographical-narrative approach, specifically from the life history technique. This analysis emerges from a considerate reflection on the teachings, and personal and professional milestones highlighted in the biogram. Both personally and professionally, a multiplicity of elements is observed in the life history of María Eliana, influencing the development of her leadership identity, particularly highlighting her self-recognition as a woman. This identity is oriented towards social justice, based on socio-emotional tools such as care, empathy, and participation; and understands and values the role these elements must take in Chilean education. The case study presents tensions for the Chilean educational system, which must be able to address the complexities that women experience while holding leadership positions, especially when challenged with the perspective that school is an inclusive space of social justice.

A ‘milky mass’ and ‘uniform material’: white marble in eighteenth-century French discourses on sculpture and geology

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-225
Author(s):  
Marthe Kretzschmar
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Grain Size ◽  
Denis Diderot ◽  
Art Theory ◽  
White Marble ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
The Earth ◽  
History Of ◽  
Interdisciplinary Network

Knowledge of the materiality of stone during the Enlightenment expanded following the exploration of mineralogical structure, to alter ideas about taxonomy and challenge the role of rocks in the history of the earth. Close studies of the material of marble sculpture generated expertise on grain size, surface varieties and stone deposits. This mode of reception became intertwined with contemporary controversies about the age of the earth. This article focuses on both French sculpture and geological discourses of the eighteenth century to reveal an international and interdisciplinary network centring on protagonists such as Denis Diderot, Paul-Henri Thiry d’Holbach and Étienne-Maurice Falconet; through these figures, debates can be connected concerning both geology and art theory. Within these contexts, the article discusses the translation processes between these artistic and geological interests.

The evolutionary history of Nothofagus (Nothofagaceae)

1993 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 111 ◽  
Author(s):  
RS Hill ◽  
GJ Jordan
Keyword(s):  
Parallel Evolution ◽  
Cladistic Analysis ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Interesting Insight ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Singular Event ◽  
History Of ◽  
Morphological Differences ◽  
The Relationship

A cladistic analysis of Nothofagus is presented. Comparison of potential outgroups (Fagus and Betulaceae) suggests that Fagus is most satisfactory, but clear morphological differences between it and Nothofagus support the placement of the latter in the monogeneric family Nothofagaceae. The cladistic analysis supports the four subgenera and four extant pollen groups proposed in the most recent revisions and is consistent with the extensive fossil record, although not especially supported by it. The evolution of the deciduous or evergreen habit. so long considered a singular event of importance in Nothofagus, probably occurred several times, and is an example of parallel evolution. Resolution within subgenera is not high in most cases, but subgenus Lophozonia offers a particularly interesting insight into the relationship among extant species and the role of rare long distance dispersal across significant ocean barriers in Nothofagus biogeography. More data are required to refine the phylogeny.

scholarly journals Memory politics and material culture: Display in the memorial museum

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 617-629
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Crooke
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
Political Context ◽  
The Political ◽  
Memory Politics ◽  
Memorial Museum ◽  
Collective Processes ◽  
History Of

When private grief is brought into the memorial museum, this transfer is a deliberate act that is seeking public acknowledgement and action. By considering the life history of a collection of objects now in the Museum of Free Derry (Northern Ireland), the use of objects in private mourning and as agents in the collective processes of public remembering is demonstrated. The story is one of loss and mourning that is intensified by the political context of the deaths. As cherished possessions, these objects are active in the private processes of grieving and recovery. In the memorial museum, they are agents in an evolving justice campaign, embedded in the political negotiations of the region.

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