On the brink of Armageddon? Climate change, the archaeological record and human activity across the Bronze Age–Iron Age transition in Ireland

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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Conclusions

10.1093/oso/9780198804079.003.0013 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

David Segal

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Bronze Age ◽

Iron Age ◽

21St Century ◽

International Conflict ◽

Materials Development ◽

The Bronze Age

Chapter 13 is the last chapter. It suggests how the 21st century may be described in terms of ‘ages’ analogous to the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Will the 21st century be described as the Silicon Age? Or perhaps be referred to as the Genomic Age? Or maybe the New Polymer Age? The role of climate change and international conflict on the pace of materials development are discussed.

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The earliest horse-bits of western Europe

Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society ◽

10.1017/s0079497x00011737 ◽

1973 ◽

Vol 39 ◽

pp. 425-452 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

C. J. Balkwill

Keyword(s):

Iberian Peninsula ◽

Bronze Age ◽

Iron Age ◽

Western Europe ◽

Central Italy ◽

Early Iron Age ◽

Archaeological Record ◽

New Combinations ◽

The Bronze Age ◽

Burial Rite

Within recent years, much attention has been focused on the earliest objects of harness which have long been noticed in the archaeological record. They are a matter of some importance in the perception of social structure from extant remains; Kossack (1954) presented strong arguments in favour of interpreting, in this manner, the early Hallstatt (Ha C) horse harness from Bavarian graves. Other major publications have since added to the picture of widespread, supposedly aristocratic adoption of harness and wagons in association with burial rite (northern and central Italy in the Early Iron Age, von Hase 1969; the Iberian peninsula in the same period, Schüle 1969; the Middle Danube to the Russian Steppes and to the Asian hinterland, Potratz 1966). Nor has the thesis of Gallus and Horvath (1939) been ignored, and the activities of ‘Thraco-Cimmerian’ cavalry still play a large part in the interpretation of west European horse harness. Already in 1954, however, Kossack observed the continuing elements of native, western Urnfield Europe in the entirely new combinations of grave-goods in Ha C and he indicated that the cheekpieces, while being modelled closely on the lines of preceding types found in the region of the Middle Danube, were, in fact, local variants chiefly concentrated in the graves of Bohemia and Bavaria. That western Europe had long had its own forms of cheekpiece was demonstrated by Thrane in 1963, yet the mouthpieces themselves have received no consolidated attention. This paper is an attempt to redress the balance, by gathering together the earliest metal bits in Europe west of Slovakia and Hungary, in order to see what light they throw on the problems of continuity and transition at the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age.

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Metal Arrow-heads in the European Bronze and Early Iron Ages

Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society ◽

10.1017/s0079497x0001313x ◽

1970 ◽

Vol 36 ◽

pp. 171-213 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Roger J. Mercer

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Iron Age ◽

Point Of View ◽

General Context ◽

High Survival ◽

Archaeological Record ◽

Arrow Head ◽

Firm Basis ◽

The One ◽

The Bronze Age

The practice of Archery in the Bronze Age and early Iron Age as it survives to us in the archaeological record is difficult of interpretation owing to the low survival value of most archery equipment—the one relic of fairly high survival value being the arrow-head, of flint, bronze or iron. This paper deals with a topic little touched upon previously, and, setting aside the tradition of stone arrow-head manufacture (which persisted well into the Bronze Age in various parts of Europe) essays a treatment of the evidence for the manufacture and use of metal arrow-heads. These will be divided into three types, tanged, socketed and spurred—a threefold division which will appear to be significant not only from the purely typological point of view, but also in the more general context of prehistory.A catalogue of all finds known to the writer in 1967 will be found at the end of the paper. While this catalogue makes no claim to be complete, it is representative enough to serve as a firm basis, and although further research may bring more examples to light, it will probably not reveal any major new concentrations of metal arrow-heads within Europe (at any rate within the framework of existing knowledge).

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‘Hier wil ik nog niet dood gevonden worden’. Bespiegelingen over de absentie van graven

Paleo-aktueel ◽

10.21827/pa.30.1-9 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Iris Rom ◽

Karla de Roest

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Case Studies ◽

Iron Age ◽

Archaeological Record ◽

Mortuary Archaeology ◽

Life And Death ◽

The Bronze Age

Dead and gone: On the absence of graves. Every now and then, archaeologists come across periods or regions that seem to lack graves. Instead of addressing these absences, researchers often resort one of several standard explanations, such as “We haven’t found the burial location yet” or “Apparently, these people employed ways of disposal that cannot be traced in the archaeological record”. While such observations are entirely justifiable, they also leave many unaddressed questions. Did this society opt for archaeologically invisible ways of disposal of their loved ones? Why are these graves missing? Case studies from our PhD projects on mortuary archaeology, relating, respectively, to the Bronze Age in Greece and the Iron Age in northwestern Europe, aim to investigate such questions. Whereas archaeologists are generally reluctant to interpret “non-data”, we pose that the absence of graves also provides invaluable clues as to how people perceived life and death in prehistoric societies.

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Gender Inequalities in Neolithic Iberia: A Multi-Proxy Approach

European Journal of Archaeology ◽

10.1017/eaa.2019.3 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

pp. 499-522 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Marta Cintas-Peña ◽

Leonardo García Sanjuán

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Iron Age ◽

Gender Inequalities ◽

Archaeological Record ◽

Burial Practices ◽

Archaeological Data ◽

Gender Archaeology ◽

The Bronze Age ◽

Systematic Collection ◽

Comprehensive Study

Gender archaeology approaches to Iberian late prehistory have experienced a significant growth in the last two decades. However, much of the work undertaken has focused on specific aspects of the archaeological record (rock art, burial practices), particularly from the Bronze Age and Iron Age periods for which the evidence is more readily available. In addition, it has tended to be regional or local in scope. Here, we attempt an empirically robust multi-proxy approach to the development of early gender inequalities in Neolithic Iberia. Inspired by Gerda Lerner's ideas on the origins of patriarchy and based on a systematic collection of data analysed by means of significance testing, we present the first comprehensive study of gender dissymmetries in Iberian prehistory. Our conclusions suggest that, first, the multi-proxy method used has potential for the systematic study of gender inequalities on the basis of archaeological data and, second, that the Neolithic witnessed emerging gender inequalities that set the basis for male domination in later periods.

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REMAINS OF BROWN BEAR (URSUS ARCTOS L.) FROM THE KANINSKAYA CAVE SANCTUARY IN THE NORTHERN URALS

Archaeology Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia ◽

10.17746/1563-0110.2018.46.2.131-139 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 46 (2) ◽

pp. 131-139 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

P. A. Kosintsev ◽

O. P. Bachura ◽

V. S. Panov

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Human Activity ◽

Iron Age ◽

Ursus Arctos ◽

Brown Bear ◽

Early Iron Age ◽

Late Bronze Age ◽

Male And Female ◽

Late Iron Age ◽

The Bronze Age

Fossil remains of brown bear from Kaninskaya cave in the northern Ural are described. They were accumulated during the Late Bronze Age, Early Iron Age, and Late Iron Age as a result of human activity. We analyze the composition of skeletal elements and the nature of their fragmentation. Sex and age of individuals whose bones were apparently used in rituals are assessed, and the seasonality of these ceremonies is evaluated. The main object of ceremonial actions during all chronological periods was the head. Crania and mandibles were cracked into several parts according to one and the same fashion. Other skeletal parts were used much less often. Most postcranial bones were likewise broken into several pieces. Such practices differ from modern Ob Ugrian bear rituals. In the Bronze Age, heads of adult male and female bears were used, and the ceremonies were performed mainly in winter, less often in summer and autumn, and very rarely in spring. In the Iron Age, too, heads of adult animals, mostly males, were used, and ceremonies were held throughout the year but more often in summer and in winter. Seasonal bear rites were not practiced. Certain elements of rites, differing from those of modern Ob Ugrians, are reconstructed. Modern Ob Ugrian bear rituals were formed in the Late Iron Age.

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From the bronze age to the iron age

Endocrine Abstracts ◽

10.1530/endoabs.38.p241 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Sheila Grecian ◽

Safwaan Adam ◽

Akheel Syed

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Iron Age ◽

The Bronze Age

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Nuragic Settlement Dynamics

10.30861/9781407357669 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Cezary Namirski

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Iron Age ◽

East Coast ◽

Early Iron Age ◽

Central Mediterranean ◽

Settlement Dynamics ◽

The Relationship ◽

The Bronze Age

The book is a study of the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age Nuragic settlement dynamics in two selected areas of the east coast Sardinia, placing them in a wider context of Central Mediterranean prehistory. Among the main issues addressed are the relationship between settlement and ritual sites, the use of coastline, and a chronology of settlement.

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