The Forces of Production: Crop and Animal Husbandry

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Hamerow
Keyword(s):  
Land Tenure ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Rural Economy ◽  
World View ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Early Medieval ◽  
The North ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
The One

In a world in which virtually everyone was a farmer, farming was not an ‘occupation’: the early medieval leod who, on the one hand, was in military service to the king, could also have fields to till. It is perhaps for this reason that, although the Lex Salica deals extensively with farming matters, it contains no term for ‘farmer’. The daily life and world view of early medieval communities were undoubtedly shaped in fundamental ways by the agricultural cycle, yet it is difficult to treat farming activities per se, precisely because there is so little description of everyday activities. Further complicating matters, ancient field systems are notoriously difficult to identify and date, and although animal bones and plant remains survive in relative abundance from this period, agricultural tools are very rarely preserved. Even excavating settlements is unlikely to tell us much about systems of farming. A web of economic and environmental factors underlies the developments in farming practices apparent during the second half of the first millennium ad, and agrarian production remains among the most intractable, yet crucially important, subjects in early medieval studies. This chapter begins with a broad overview of what is known about the agrarian practices of individual communities from archaeological and written sources, and concludes with a consideration of the implications of this evidence for wider social and economic issues. For example, in those regions lying within the former western Empire, how much continuity was there with the late Roman rural economy? When did at least some farms begin regularly to produce a substantial, tradeable, surplus? Finally, how did the intensification of cereal production apparent throughout the North Sea zone relate to changes in the nature of lordship and land tenure? Early medieval law-codes and charters generally have more to say about animal rearing than about crop husbandry and some of this information is remarkably detailed; the Lex Salica, for example, refers to some ten different categories of pig! (Wickham 1985). Some Carolingian charters, furthermore, refer to the relative values of different animals; those for the estates of Werden, for example, state that a cow was worth 8 denarii, as much as a ewe with a lamb, and so on (Wulf 1991).

Maritime and River Traders, Landing Places, and Emporia Ports in the Merovingian Period in and Around the Low Countries

2020 ◽  
pp. 763-796
Author(s):  
Dries Tys
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Institutional Economics ◽  
New Institutional Economics ◽  
Central Position ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Early Medieval ◽  
Low Countries ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea

The origin, rise, and dynamics of coastal trade and landing places in the North Sea area between the sixth and eighth centuries must be understood in relation to how coastal regions and seascapes acted as arenas of contact, dialogue, and transition. Although the free coastal societies of the early medieval period were involved in regional to interregional or long-distance trade networks, their economic agency must be understood from a bottom-up perspective. That is, their reproduction strategies must be studied in their own right, independent from any teleological construction about the development of trade, markets, or towns for that matter. This means that the early medieval coastal networks of exchange were much more complex and diverse than advocated by the simple emporium network model, which connected the major archaeological sites along the North Sea coast. Instead, coastal and riverine dwellers often possessed some form of free status and large degrees of autonomy, in part due to the specific environmental conditions of the landscapes in which they dwelled. The wide estuarine region of the Low Countries, between coastal Flanders in the south and Friesland in the north, a region with vast hinterlands and a central position in northwestern Europe, makes these developments particularly clear. This chapter thus pushes back against longstanding assumptions in scholarly research, which include overemphasis of the influence of large landowners over peasant economies, and on the prioritization of easily retrievable luxuries over less visible indicators of bulk trade (such as wood, wool, and more), gift exchange, and market trade. The approach used here demonstrates that well-known emporia or larger ports of trade were embedded in the economic activities and networks of their respective hinterlands. Early medieval coastal societies and their dynamics are thus better understood from the perspective of integrated governance and economy (“new institutional economics”) in a regional setting.

scholarly journals New sperm whale remains from the late Miocene of the North Sea and a revised family attribution for the small crown physeteroid Thalassocetus Abel, 1905

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Apolline ALFSEN ◽  
Mark BOSSELAERS ◽  
Olivier LAMBERT
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Late Miocene ◽  
Sperm Whale ◽  
Close Relative ◽  
Sperm Whales ◽  
The North ◽  
The Family ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Early Radiation ◽  
The One

In spite of a continuously expanding physeteroid fossil record, our understanding of the origin and early radiation of the two modern sperm whale families Kogiidae Gill, 1871 (including the pygmy and dwarf sperm whales, Kogia spp.) and Physeteridae Gray, 1821 (including the great sperm whale, Physeter Linnaeus, 1758) remains limited, especially due to the poorly resolved phylogenetic relationships of a number of extinct species. Among those, based on fragmentary cranial material from the late early to middle Miocene of Antwerp (Belgium, North Sea basin), the small-sized Thalassocetus antwerpiensis Abel, 1905 has been recognized for some time as the earliest branching kogiid. The discovery of a new diminutive physeteroid cranium from the late Miocene (Tortonian) of Antwerp leads to the description and comparison of a close relative of T. antwerpiensis. Thanks to the relatively young ontogenetic stage of this new specimen, the highly modified plate-like bones making the floor of its supracranial basin could be individually removed, a fact that greatly helped deciphering their identity and geometry. Close morphological similarities with T. antwerpiensis allow for the reassessment of several facial structures in the latter; the most important reinterpretation is the one of a crest-like structure, previously identified as a sagittal facial crest, typical for kogiids, and here revised as the left posterolateral wall of the supracranial basin, comprised of the left nasal (lost in kogiids for which the postnarial region is known) and the left maxilla. Implemented in a phylogenetic analysis, the new anatomical interpretations result in the new Belgian specimen and T. antwerpiensis being recovered as sister-groups in the family Physeteridae. Consequently, the geologically oldest kogiids are now dated from the Tortonian, further extending the ghost lineage separating these early late Miocene kogiid records from the estimated latest Oligocene to earliest Miocene divergence of kogiids and physeterids.

Ethnic Identity and the Archaeology of the aduentus Saxonum

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
James M. Harland
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Social Constructionism ◽  
Anglo Saxon ◽  
Early Medieval ◽  
Migration Patterns ◽  
Roman World ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Alternative Understanding

For centuries, archaeologists have excavated the soils of Britain to uncover finds from the early medieval past. These finds have been used to reconstruct the alleged communities, migration patterns, and expressions of identity of coherent groups who can be regarded as ethnic 'Anglo-Saxons'. Even in the modern day, when social constructionism has been largely accepted by scholars, this paradigm still persists. <br><br>This book challenges the ethnic paradigm. As the first historiographical study of approaches to ethnic identity in modern 'Anglo-Saxon' archaeology, it reveals these approaches to be incompatible with current scholarly understandings of ethnicity. Drawing upon post-structuralist approaches to self and community, it highlights the empirical difficulties the archaeology of ethnicity in early medieval Britain faces, and proposes steps toward an alternative understanding of the role played by the communities of lowland Britain - both migrants from across the North Sea and those already present - in transforming the Roman world.

scholarly journals The Resurgence of the Heritage of Indigenous Peoples of Thailand in the Aftermath of Development

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-84
Author(s):  
Marcelo Marques Miranda
Keyword(s):  
National Parks ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
World View ◽  
Heritage Sites ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Hill Tribes ◽  
The One

The dichotomy between nature and culture in heritage and conservation is inappropriate in the case of indigenous peoples. Many natural sites are often considered sacred and consequently of both spiritual and biodiversity conservation significance. However, this dualist definition is the one usually imposed by nation states. Until 2002, Thailand’s development strategies involving indigenous peoples were mostly connected to what was referred to as the ‘hill tribes’ problems’. These strategies were designed without respecting indigenous peoples’ world views and concepts of good life. Consequently, a fragmentary world view was created among indigenous peoples. These issues are reflected in the establishment of national parks and ‘heritage sites’ as the lack of participation and consent generated many conflicts such as land tenure disputes, resettlement of the communities, difficulties in acquiring citizenship and cultural loss. As a counteracting measure, indigenous peoples have been creating community museums and organizations at local, regional and even transnational level to sustain their cultures and territories. This article suggests that heritage can play a role in a wide range of social, political and economic endeavours in our contemporary world and is used both by nation states to legitimize their interests and by indigenous peoples to legitimize struggles for self-determination.

scholarly journals Distribution of marine, benthic, shell bearing gastropods along the Norwegian coast

2009 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tore Høisæter
Keyword(s):  
Continental Slope ◽  
Main Part ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Western Slope ◽  
Southern Limit ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
The One

Based on literature data and my extensive material from along the coast, the distribution of shell bearing marine, benthic gastropods known from Norwegian waters, is outlined. The geographic area covered goes down to c. 1200 m on the continental slope, and extends from the Swedish border<br />in the south to the Russian border in the north-east. On the slope the distribution is restricted to an area east of 0°, and south of 72° N. Neither the North Sea nor the western ‘slope’ of the Norwegian Trench are included. Systematics and nomenclature follow Clemam (Check List of European Marine Mollusca) closely. The emphasis is on the distribution of each species within the designated area, but taxonomic and nomenclaturial problems are discussed wherever considered relevant. Altogether 365 species level taxa are included, of which 326 are considered as definitely belonging to the Norwegian fauna. The rest are recorded as doubtful, either because only empty shells have been found, or their confirmed distribution falls outside the limits here defined. Of the ‘species’ included, I consider at least 18 to be undescribed, while another 16 were described from Norwegian material after Høisæter (1986) was published. The northern distributional limit is extended for 47 species, while 11 species have received a new southern limit. Sixty six species have a generic name diferent from the one used in Høisæter (1986), while 35 species have another specific name. All changes are listed in the main part of the article, and references are given to the sources for the changes. Four faunal components are recognized: a slope component, species mainly found in negative temperatures on the continental slope, between 500 and 1200 m; an Arctic component, species in Norway almost exclusively found in East Finnmark; a group of species in Norway found only or mainly on the Skagerrak coast or in Oslofjorden; and finally the main group found along most of the coast.

The improved representation of underwater radiances and its impact on simulated physics and biogeochemistry in the North Sea

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jozef Skakala ◽  
Jorn Bruggeman ◽  
David Ford ◽  
Stefano Ciavatta
Keyword(s):  
Coupled Model ◽  
Biogeochemical Model ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Model Configuration ◽  
Optical Module ◽  
Underwater Irradiance ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
The One ◽  
Water Optics

&lt;p&gt;In the presented work we advanced our modelling of in-water optics on the North-West European (NWE) Shelf, with important implications for how we model stratification of the water column, primary productivity, and the underwater radiances. We implement a stand-alone bio-optical module into the existing coupled physical-biogeochemical model configuration. The advantage of the bio-optical module, when compared to the pre-existing light scheme is that it resolves the underwater irradiance spectrally and distinguishes between direct and diffuse downwelling streams. The changed underwater irradiance compares better with both satellite and in-situ observations. We show that both underwater irradiance and model biogeochemistry can be further improved by assimilating suitable ocean-color derived satellite products into the model. We use the light module to introduce feedback from biogeochemistry to physics and demonstrate that the two-way coupled model tends to outperform the one-way coupled model in both physics and biogeochemistry. We discuss the implications of our developments for future modelling of the NWE Shelf.&lt;/p&gt;

Ever-Present Dangers

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Lienhard
Keyword(s):  
Full Range ◽  
Is Success ◽  
The North ◽  
Queen Victoria ◽  
Cost Cutting ◽  
The World ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Firth Of Forth ◽  
The One ◽  
Recurrent Theme

A murderously recurrent theme surfaces as we read the record of technology. It can be decocted into the tidy epigram: “The fastest route to success is through failure. The greatest enemy of success is success.” When my civil engineering colleague Jack Matson recognized the validity of that idea, he began vigorously to promote the concept of intelligent fast failure. He said that we can speed our own creativity if we begin by running through as many wrong or foolish ways of accomplishing our end as we can think of. That process both emboldens us and instructs us in the full range of possibility. Conversely, success that fails to keep the boundaries of error within sight eventually takes itself for granted and leaves us open to failure on a grand scale. We skirted this issue toward the end of Chapter 9; now let us look at it more closely. A story of three bridges helps to expose the complex way in which success and failure work together. Henry Petroski takes us back to the forty-six-mile rail trip from Edinburgh to Dundee, which took half a day in 1870. Passengers had to ride the ferry over two wide fjords, arms of the North Sea slicing into Scotland. They are the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth. Then an English engineer, Thomas Bouch, sold backers on the idea of building bridges over those inlets. The first was an immense two-mile bridge over the Firth of Tay. When its eighty-five spans were finished in 1877, they made up the longest bridge in the world, and Queen Victoria knighted Bouch. Disaster followed almost immediately. The Tay Bridge collapsed in 1879, killing seventy-five people. Cost-cutting had yielded a bridge that couldn’t stand up to the wind forces. Bouch died in humiliation four months later. By 1881 the Tay Bridge had been rebuilt with heavy, unbeautiful trusses, and attention turned to the second bridge, the one over the Firth of Forth. The Firth of Forth bridge was to cross where the center of the firth was a mile wide, with only one shallow spot for a central pier.

scholarly journals Differentiation between two epilittoral species, Scutovertex arenocolus spec. nov. and Scutovertex pilosetosus Polderman (Acari: Oribatida) from different European coasts

Zootaxa ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 2153 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
TOBIAS PFINGSTL ◽  
SYLVIA SCHÄFFER ◽  
ERNST EBERMANN ◽  
GUENTHER KRISPER
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
The North ◽  
Baltic Coast ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
The One ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Littoral Species

Scutovertex arenocolus spec. nov. living in the sandy shore of the Baltic coast is described. Additionally, a closely related species, S. pilosetosus, occurring in marsh habitats of the North Sea coast, is redescribed in detail. Both species show a similar habitus. Scutovertex arenocolus differs from S. pilosetosus in the length of body, cusps and notogastral setae, in the ridge on mentum as well as in a different exochorion structure of the eggs. A morphometric analysis of 14 morphological characters confirmed distinctly shorter cusps and notogastral setae in S. arenocolus. Additionally, a principal component analysis performed with 17 morphological traits provided a clear separation of these two species and of S. minutus. The results of these analyses lead to the conclusion that earlier reports of S. minutus in the coastal zone of the Atlantic, the Baltic and the North Sea should be assigned to the one or the other of these two littoral species.

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