Neolithic and Bronze Age Norfolk

1996 ◽  
Vol 62 ◽  
pp. 41-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor Ashwin

This paper offers a summary of our present archaeological knowledge of the modern county of Norfolk, a large and geographically diverse tract of northern East Anglia, during the 5th–2nd millennia BC. It concludes by listing some topics deserving of future research.


Author(s):  
Colin F. Pendleton
Keyword(s):  


Author(s):  
Christian Horn ◽  
Oscar Ivarsson ◽  
Cecilia Lindhé ◽  
Rich Potter ◽  
Ashely Green ◽  
...  

AbstractRock art carvings, which are best described as petroglyphs, were produced by removing parts of the rock surface to create a negative relief. This tradition was particularly strong during the Nordic Bronze Age (1700–550 BC) in southern Scandinavia with over 20,000 boats and thousands of humans, animals, wagons, etc. This vivid and highly engaging material provides quantitative data of high potential to understand Bronze Age social structures and ideologies. The ability to provide the technically best possible documentation and to automate identification and classification of images would help to take full advantage of the research potential of petroglyphs in southern Scandinavia and elsewhere. We, therefore, attempted to train a model that locates and classifies image objects using faster region-based convolutional neural network (Faster-RCNN) based on data produced by a novel method to improve visualizing the content of 3D documentations. A newly created layer of 3D rock art documentation provides the best data currently available and has reduced inscribed bias compared to older methods. Several models were trained based on input images annotated with bounding boxes produced with different parameters to find the best solution. The data included 4305 individual images in 408 scans of rock art sites. To enhance the models and enrich the training data, we used data augmentation and transfer learning. The successful models perform exceptionally well on boats and circles, as well as with human figures and wheels. This work was an interdisciplinary undertaking which led to important reflections about archaeology, digital humanities, and artificial intelligence. The reflections and the success represented by the trained models open novel avenues for future research on rock art.



Parasitology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 146 (12) ◽  
pp. 1583-1594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marissa L. Ledger ◽  
Elisabeth Grimshaw ◽  
Madison Fairey ◽  
Helen L. Whelton ◽  
Ian D. Bull ◽  
...  

AbstractLittle is known about the types of intestinal parasites that infected people living in prehistoric Britain. The Late Bronze Age archaeological site of Must Farm was a pile-dwelling settlement located in a wetland, consisting of stilted timber structures constructed over a slow-moving freshwater channel. At excavation, sediment samples were collected from occupation deposits around the timber structures. Fifteen coprolites were also hand-recovered from the occupation deposits; four were identified as human and seven as canine, using fecal lipid biomarkers. Digital light microscopy was used to identify preserved helminth eggs in the sediment and coprolites. Eggs of fish tapeworm (Diphyllobothrium latum and Diphyllobothrium dendriticum), Echinostoma sp., giant kidney worm (Dioctophyma renale), probable pig whipworm (Trichuris suis) and Capillaria sp. were found. This is the earliest evidence for fish tapeworm, Echinostoma worm, Capillaria worm and the giant kidney worm so far identified in Britain. It appears that the wetland environment of the settlement contributed to establishing parasite diversity and put the inhabitants at risk of infection by helminth species spread by eating raw fish, frogs or molluscs that flourish in freshwater aquatic environments, conversely the wetland may also have protected them from infection by certain geohelminths.



1917 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-351
Author(s):  
G. W. Smallwood

First of all I must express my thanks for the opportunity given me to exhibit before the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia specimens from my collection of Flint and other Stone Implements found at Mary Tavy, Devon, and for the observations made on them by Mr. Reginald Smith, F.S.A., and Mr. W. G. Clarke.My collection was commenced about twelve years ago, and an interesting series has been accumulated, the 133 specimens exhibited being representative of the various types found.Although there is no question as to the “humanity” of the flint specimens, those made of slate and other rocks seem likely to cause a diversity of opinion, and are therefore of greater interest and I hope may induce other prehistoric archæologists to make a special study of them. Both the flint and other stone implements probably belong to the same period; there seems to be some doubt as to which age they can be assigned to, but the late Neolithic or Early Bronze age appears to be the most likely.



Antiquity ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 81 (312) ◽  
pp. 353-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.K. Hanks ◽  
A.V. Epimakhov ◽  
A.C. Renfrew

Cultural interactions in central Russia are famously complex, but of very wide significance. Within the social changes they imply are contained key matters for Europe and Asia: the introduction of Indo-Europeans and other languages, the horse and the chariot, and the transition towards nomadism. Of crucial importance to future research is a sturdy chronological framework and in this contribution the authors offer 40 new radiocarbon dates spanning the conventional Bronze Age in the southern Urals.



2017 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 487-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Badura ◽  
Ewelina Rzeźnicka ◽  
Urszula Wicenciak ◽  
Tomasz Waliszewski

The seaside settlement of Jiyeh in Lebanon, now identified with the ancient Porphyreon, boasts a history dating back to the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age when Phoenicia occupied part of the Levantine coast (eastern Mediterranean). Extensive archaeological excavations by a team from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology University of Warsaw have focused on the urban residential quarter, which consists of numerous houses and buildings separated by passages, containing material that has provided important insights into the lives of its inhabitants over time. However, as archaeobotanical studies had not been conducted there before, the question of plant use remains an important and largely unknown area of research. This article presents the first botanical results from Jiyeh (seasons 2009–2014) and considers their implications for future cooperation between archaeologists and natural scientists.



Antiquity ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 48 (191) ◽  
pp. 201-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. A. Cummins

For over thirty years, work has been in progress on the petrological examination and identification of stone implements. This work, initiated in South-Western England, has as its object the determination of ‘early trade routes and other factors of economic and social importance in Neolithic and Early Bronze Age times’ (Keiller, Piggott and Wallis, 1941). During this period, eight regional reports have been published, five dealing mainly with South- Western England (Keiller, Piggott and Wallis, 1941; Stone and Wallis, 1947; Stone and Wallis, 1951 ; Evens, Grinsell, Piggott and Wallis, 1962; Evens, Smith and Wallis, 1972), one with Yorkshire (Keen and Radley, 1971), one with East Anglia (Clough and Green, 1972) and one with Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire (Cummins and Moore, 1973). In these and other publications (e.g. Fox, 1964; Fell, 1964) distribution maps are given for the products of the various axe factories. Such maps show the extent of dispersal of the factory products, but fail, in themselves, to give much information about trade routes and other factors. Group I axes are found in Yorkshire, some 550 km. from their source in Cornwall; Group IX axes are found a similar distance from their factories in Northern Ireland; and Group VI axes are widespread up to 500 km. from their Lake District factory sites.



2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Kathryn N. Purnell ◽  

Since prehistoric times, humans have changed select characteristics of their bodies, such as tattooing, hair-dyeing, cranial and feet deforming, and teeth modifying. Teeth are some of the most well-preserved remains in the archaeological record, with which we can study past cultural and ritualistic beliefs. Previous publications on dental modifications in Southeast Asia are mostly limited to the mainland, thus this paper reviews modifications observed in prehistoric sites across Southeast Asia, identifying common techniques and motivations. Findings show occurrence of dental ablation, filing, plating, and coloration, which began in the Neolithic, disappeared in the Bronze Age, but reappeared in the Iron Age, although the absence may be due to sampling shortage. Modifications have been associated to aestheticism, group identity, rite of passage, practicality, and medical benefit, but whether these all ring true remains uncertain. It is recommended that future research expand scope for better data representation, analyze modifications with context of community profiles, and investigate the significance of migration in the prevalence of certain techniques and patterns as part of understanding the cultural aspects of past humans’ lives, and assess the cultural (dis)continuity of these traditions into modern-day forms of body modification, art, healing, self-expression, and identity. Magmula sinaunang panahon, maitatala ang mga pagbabagong pisikal sa katawan, tulad ng pagtatato, pagkukulay ng buhok, at pag-iiba-anyo ng ulo, paa, at ngipin. Nabibilang ang ngipin sa mga lubos na napepreserbang artepakto sa arkiyoloji, at sa gayo’y magagamit pang-aral ng mga nakalipas na kultura at ritwal. Kasalukuyang limitado sa mainland ng Timog-Silangang Asya ang saliksik sa intensyonal na modipikasyon ng ngipin, kaya tatalakayin dito ang mga sinaunang modipikasyong nabanggit sa buong rehiyon, at tutukuyin ang pagkakatulad sa mga teknik at motibasyon. Nagsimula ang paglaganap ng sadyang pagtatanggal, pagliliha, pagkakalupkop, at pagkukulay ng ngipin noong Panahong Neolitiko, naglaho noong Panahong Tanso, at bumalik muli pagsapit ng Panahong Bakal, ngunit maaaring iukol ang paglaho sa kakulangan ng datos. Hindi pa tiyak, pero pwedeng ang mga modipkasyon sa estetisismo, pakikisama, pagriritwal, praktikalidad, at benepisyong-medikal. Inirerekomendang palawakin sa susunod na saliksik ang sakop para sa mas mabuting representasyon ng datos, suriin ang mga modipikasyon sa konteksto ng komunidad, at imbestigahan ang kahalagahan ng migrasyon sa paglaganap ng mga partikular na teknik at padron habang inuunawa ang mga aspetong kultural ng sinaunang panahon, at tasahan ang pagpapatuloy (o hindi) ng mga tradisyong nabanggit sa kasalukuyang modipikasyon ng katawan, sining, paggagamot, pagpapahayag ng sarili, at identidad.



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