scholarly journals Isolated and backward Westerwolde (Groningen, the Netherlands)? A confrontation of archaeological and historical data from the Middle Ages in a wider geographical context

2021 ◽  
pp. 273-344
Author(s):  
Henny A. Groenendijk ◽  
Remi Van Schaïk
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Critical Study ◽  
Ecological Data ◽  
The North ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
The 19Th Century

The aim of this paper is to question the supposed isolated and backward position of the region of Westerwolde, in the north-eastern part of the Netherlands. Westerwolde’s geographically rather isolated position has traditionally been brought forward to explain its backward image. Progressive peat growth ever since the Bronze Age occupation had transformed Westerwolde into an island. It was abandoned in the Late Iron Age, only to be recolonized in the early Middle Ages. During the 19th century, romantics were still admiring Westerwolde’s arcadian scenery and cultural traditions. In contrast, from the mid-19th century until well into the 20th century, protagonists of modern agriculture criticized its backward farming methods and standard of living, as well as its poor infrastructure. The central issues we address here is whether critics were justified in describing it as backward in the 19th century and whether concrete indications for this assumed backwardness are to be found in previous centuries. To jump from early medieval times to the 19th century is too big a leap, but combining archaeological and ecological data with a renewed and more critical study of written sources against the background of huge landscape transformations has brought a nuanced understanding of how Westerwolde evolved. We present new insights for the period starting with the conquest of Frisia and Saxony by the Carolingians and the introduction of Christianity, when missionaries and newly founded monasteries acquired agricultural assets and rights in the conquered region, up to the late Middle Ages. We therefore analyze church foundations, livelihoods or economic conditions of existence in connection with occupation structures, infrastructure and exchange of consumer goods interdisciplinarily. Conservatism appears easily confused with backwardness, and an aversion to innovation, with indifference, as underlying external factors often forced the inhabitants to adopt a wait-and-see attitude. Westerwolde is viewed continuously in connection with the adjacent regions of Drenthe and Lower Saxon Emsland.

scholarly journals The Middle Ages are not enough: the fourth paradox and the marginalization of the Roman Empire

2017 ◽  
pp. 335
Author(s):  
Francesc Morales
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Nationalist Movements ◽  
Complex Problems ◽  
The Common ◽  
Siglo Xix ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The Middle Ages

Abstract: The palates of the nationalist authors of the 19th century found the common past exemplified by the Roman Empire to be too homogeneous a taste. Although this premise may be valid for all European nationalist movements of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the discussion here is limited to Spain’s problematic national construction during the 19th century and the group formed by Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Spain and ‘Benelux’ were chosen because they represent complex problems in the construction of a key dynamic of European nationalism: a political contemporary diversity linked to pre-Roman and post-Roman pasts. Despite these political and historical connections, the paths taken by these nationalisms are significantly different.Key words: Rome, Netherlands, Spain, nationalism, EuropeResumen: Un pasado común ejemplificado por el Imperio Romano pasa por ser demasiado homogéneo para el gusto de los autores nacionalistas en el siglo XIX. Esta premisa puede ser válida para todos los movimientos nacionalistas europeos, pero voy a limitarme a la problemática de la construcción nacional en España durante el siglo XIX y al grupo formado por Bélgica, los Países Bajos y Luxemburgo. Ambas regiones representan similares complejidades en la construcción de un nacionalismo europeo: una diversidad política contemporánea enlazada con un pasado prerromano y post-romano. A pesar de tener conexiones políticas e históricas, el camino de estos dos nacionalismos es significativamente diferente.Palabras clave: Roma, Países Bajos, España, nacionalismo, Europa  

scholarly journals Past distribution of Ursus arctos in Bulgaria: fossil and subfossil records (Carnivora: Ursidae)

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-18
Author(s):  
Zlatozar Boev
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Brown Bear ◽  
Scattered Data ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Mountain Regions ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The Bronze Age

The paper summarizes numerous scattered data from the last 120 years on the former distribution of the brown bear (Ursus arctos) in Bulgaria. Data from 52 (13 fossil and 39 subfossil) sites (from the Middle Pleistocene to the 19th century AD) are presented. The brown bear former distribution was much wider than the present occurrence. The species range covered the whole territory of the country, including mountain regions, as well as vast lowland and plain landscapes. The geographical, altitudinal and chronological distribution are presented and analyzed. The record from the Kozarnika Cave (1.000,000–700,000 years BP) is one of the earliest records of this species in Europe. About 73% of the localities are situated between 100 and 500 m a. s. l. Twelve sites contain Paleolithic finds, one Mesolithic, 14 Neolithic, six Chalcolithic, five from the Bronze Age, and two from the Iron Age. The remaining 12 subrecent sites are dated to the last ca. 2,400 years. Most of the species findings came from archeological sites – prehistoric and ancient settlements. The distribution of Ursus arctos once covered the entire territory of the country, including the vast regions such as Ludogorie, Dobruja, the Danube Lowland, the Upper Thracian Lowland, as well as the Sakar, Strandja, Sredna Gora, and the Predbalkan Mts.

scholarly journals Early human impact on soils and hydro-sedimentary systems: Multi-proxy geoarchaeological analyses from La Narse de la Sauvetat (France)

The Holocene ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (12) ◽  
pp. 1780-1800
Author(s):  
Alfredo Mayoral ◽  
Salomé Granai ◽  
Anne-Lise Develle ◽  
Jean-Luc Peiry ◽  
Yannick Miras ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Societal Factors ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Middle Bronze Age

We analysed the late-Holocene pedo-sedimentary archives of La Narse de la Sauvetat, a hydromorphic depression in the southern Limagne plain (central France), where chronologically accurate studies are scarce. The multi-proxy geoarchaeological and palaeoenvironmental analysis of two cores from different areas of the basin was carried out through sedimentological, geochemical, micromorphological and malacological investigations. Integration of these datasets supported by a robust radiocarbon-based chronology allowed discussion of socio-environmental interactions and anthropogenic impacts from Late Neolithic to Early Middle Ages. Until the Middle Bronze Age, there was no clear evidence of anthropogenic impact on soils and hydro-sedimentary dynamics of the catchment, but two peaks of high alluvial activity probably related to the 4.2 and 3.5 kyr. BP climate events were first recorded in Limagne. Significant anthropogenic impacts started in the Late Bronze Age with increased erosion of the surrounding volcanic slopes. However, a major threshold was reached c. 2600 cal BP with a sharp increase in the catchment erosion interpreted as resulting from strong anthropogenic environmental changes related to agricultural activities and drainage. This implies an anthropogenic forcing on soils and hydro-sedimentary systems much earlier than was usually considered in Limagne. These impacts then gradually increased during Late Iron Age and Roman periods, but environmental effects were certainly contained by progress in agricultural management. Late Antiquity environmental changes are consistent with regional trend to drainage deterioration in lowlands, but marked asynchrony in this landscape change suggests that societal factors implying differential land management were certainly predominant here.

scholarly journals Notes on the 14th-century Ya'qubiyya Complex in Tlemcen, Algeria

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-134
Author(s):  
Péter T. Nagy
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Basic Concept ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
14Th Century ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Late Middle Ages ◽  
Region I ◽  
The 19Th Century

This paper discusses the Islamic funerary complex in central Tlemcen, Algeria, built in 1362–1363, recorded in historical sources as "the Ya'qubiyya", and today known by the name of Sidi Ibrahim al-Masmudi. During the late middle ages, the north-west corner of Africa was shared between two related Berber dynasties, the Marinids of Fez (Morocco) and the Zayyanids of Tlemcen, who were in constant conflict with one another. The Ya'qubiyya complex was erected by the Zayyanid sultan Abu Hammu Musa II (r. 1359–1389) to commemorate his father and two of his uncles, who were praised in coeval sources as heroes of the war against the Marinids. In this article, I shall describe how the Ya'qubiyya was discovered in the 19th century, study the relevant sources in Arabic, discuss the extant buildings indicating their original parts, and touch upon the complex’s relations with other sites in the region. I shall conclude that, although the Ya'qubiyya commemorated members of the Zayyanid family who had fought successfully against the Marinids, its basic concept was adopted from the earlier shrine of the Marinid dynasty at Shalla (Rabat-Salé, Morocco).

INSTITUTE OF LEVIRATE IN INDIVIDUAL MOUNTAIN SOCIETIES OF THE NORTH CAUCASUS (ERRORS IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE CHECHEN PEOPLE)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Тимур Султанович Габазов
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Critical Study ◽  
Traditional Society ◽  
Legal Institutions ◽  
North Caucasus ◽  
The North ◽  
Main Message ◽  
The 19Th Century

В данной статье приводятся примеры исторического искажения некоторых правовых институтов возникновения семейных правоотношений между чеченцами и возникшего в результате заблуждения. Выдающиеся российские кавказоведы второй половины XIX века относят широкое распространение левирата у чеченцев как одну из основных форм брака. Основным из посылов научного исследования будет являться постижение данной проблематики с учетом более глубокого критического изучения и анализа уже существующих работ в области кавказоведения, а также через прямые векторы информации - через непосредственных носителей информации, самих представителей традиционного общества. This article provides examples of the historical distortion of some legal institutions of the emergence of family legal relations between Chechens and the resulting delusion. Prominent Russian Caucasian scholars of the second half of the 19th century consider the widespread use of levirate among Chechens as one of the main forms of marriage. The main message of scientific research will be the comprehension of this problem, taking into account a deeper critical study and analysis of already existing works in the field of Caucasian studies, as well as through direct vectors of information - through direct carriers of information, representatives of traditional society themselves.

Vegetation history reconstructed from anthracology and pollen analysis at the rescue excavation of the MO Motorway, Hungary

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katalin Náfrádi ◽  
Elvira Bodor ◽  
Tünde Törőcsik ◽  
Pál Sümegi
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Vegetation History ◽  
Analytical Data ◽  
Fruit Trees ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Copper Age ◽  
Migration Period ◽  
Late Iron Age

AbstractThe significance of geoarchaeological investigations is indisputable in reconstructing the former environment and in studying the relationship between humans and their surroundings. Several disciplines have developed during the last few decades to give insight into earlier time periods and their climatic conditions (e.g. palynology, malacology, archaeobotany, phytology and animal osteology). Charcoal and pollen analytical studies from the rescue excavation of the MO motorway provide information about the vegetation changes of the past. These methods are used to reconstruct the environment of the former settlements and to detect the human impact and natural climatic changes. The sites examined span the periods of the Late-Copper Age, Late-Bronze Age, Middle-Iron Age, Late-Iron Age, Sarmatian period, Late Sarmatian period, Migration period, Late-Migration period and Middle Ages. The vegetation before the Copper Age is based only on pollen analytical data. Anthracological results show the overall dominance of Quercus and a great number of Ulmus, Fraxinus, Acer, Fagus, Alnus and Populus/Salix tree fossils, as well as the residues of fruit trees present in the charred wood assemblage.

Charcoal and pollen analyses and vegetation reconstruction of the Alpine foreland in West Hungary

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katalin Náfrádi ◽  
Pál Sümegi ◽  
Tünde Törőcsik
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Imperial Period ◽  
Alpine Foreland ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Pollen Analyses

AbstractIn the area of archaeological excavations that were performed prior to the construction of Main Road No. 86 in Vas County (West Hungary) in the Alpine foreland new geoarchaeological analyses have been conducted. We used anthracology and pollen analyses to reconstruct the former vegetation cover at the study site. Charcoal data provide site-related information about the local woodland composition, management and human impact, while pollen data provide information on the arboreal and non-arboreal vegetation on a regional or local scale. Adequate samples for anthracological analyses derive from the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Imperial and Migration Periods and Middle-Ages archaeological objects. The core for pollen analyses originates from alluvial sediments of the Borzó Creek and covers the late Pleistocene and the Holocene until the Medieval Period. Charcoal analyses show the dominance of Quercus trees in the vicinity of the human settlements that might indicate a strong human selection, or the fragmentation of samples. Pollen analyses indicate thermophilous vegetation from the beginning of the Holocene, with increasing values of Fagus and Carpinus. Pollens of cereals indicate human activity, which is also demonstrated by the presence of pollen from Juglans and Vitis in the Iron Age sequence. Extensive forest clearance occurred in the Late Iron Age and the Imperial Period.

The Early Iron Age Site at Micklemoor Hill West Harling, Norfolk, and its Pottery

1954 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. D. Clark ◽  
C. I. Fell ◽  
M. C. Burkitt
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Prominent Feature ◽  
The West ◽  
Eastern Side ◽  
The North

The Iron Age settlement on Micklemoor Hill, West Harling, (Nat. Grid 62/975857) was discovered by Mr H. Apling while prospecting for Bronze Age cooking-places on the course of the river above Thetford during 1932. The site is a prominent hill of glacial gravel approximately 300 yards long and 150 yards wide, rising some 20 feet above the level of the surrounding marsh and rough grazing pasture and bounded to the north at a distance of between 200 and 600 feet by the river Thet. Its most prominent feature at the present day is a mound covering a brick-lined ice-house of 19th century construction and surrounded by a group of conifers. The prehistoric features discovered by Apling comprised two enclosures, an ‘Eastern Camp’ (our Site II), consisting of a low broad bank with external ditch and well defined opening on the west, and a larger ‘Western Camp’ (our Site III) of which only slight traces of a ditch were visible.The excavations carried out by Apling in 1932 were mainly directed to the eastern enclosure: in addition to a number of trial holes he dug two-foot trenches across the site from two directions. No pottery was found in the interior, but the ditch which he located outside the bank yielded pottery, bones and flints. Accordingly a length of some 20 yards of the ditch-filling was removed on the eastern side and from this a really substantial quantity of material was obtained.

A Preliminary Investigation of Two Prehistoric Cave Sites in Southern Albania

2009 ◽  
Vol 104 ◽  
pp. 9-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.D. Francis ◽  
D.J. Bescoby ◽  
I. Gjipali
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Preliminary Investigation ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Lithic Assemblage ◽  
The North ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Middle Bronze Age ◽  
Trading Networks ◽  
The Town

In this article we describe the evaluation of two prehistoric sites situated within the coastal zone of south-western Albania, originally investigated by the Italian prehistorian Luigi Cardini in 1939. The first is a cave site in the town of Himara; the second a rock-shelter at Kanalit in the Acroceraunian Mountains to the north. Investigations at both locations revealed stratified evidence of prehistoric activity dating from the mid-Holocene. At Kanalit, an extensive lithic assemblage provided evidence for the exploitation of the adjoining coastal lowlands during the Mesolithic, while at Himara, a largely unbroken sequence of deposits records often intensive human activity at the cave from the Early Bronze Age. Radiocarbon dates have provided a significant independent chronological marker for Early/Middle Bronze Age horizons. The ceramic evidence indicates a predominance of local influences, the site not becoming part of wider trading networks until the late Iron Age, c. seventh to sixth centuries BC.Σε αυτό το άρθρο πραγματευόμαστε τη σημασία δύο προϊστορικών θέσεων, οι οποίες βρίσκονται στην παράκτια ζώνη της ΝΔ Αλβανίας. Οι θέσεις αυτές είχαν αρχικά ερευνητεί από τον Ιταλό προϊστορικό αρχαιολόγο Luigi Cardini το 1939. Η πρώτη θέση αφορά ένα σπήλαιο στην πόλη της Χειμάρρας και η δεύτερη μία βραχοσκεπή, στη θέση Kanalit, στα Ακροκεραύνια όρη προς βορρά. Έρευνες στις δύο θέσενς αποκάλυψαν στρωματογραφημένες ενδείξεις προϊστορικής δραστηριότητας, που χρονολογούνται από το μέσο Ολόκαινο. Στη θέση Kanalit ένα ευρύ σύνολο λίθινων αντικειμένων παρέχει στοιχεία για την εκμετάλλευση των γειτονικών παράκτιων πεδινών περιοχών κατά τη Μεσολιτική περίοδο. Στο σπήλαιο της Χειμάρρας μία σειρά από αδιάσπαστες, στο μεγαλύτερο μέρος τους, αποθέσεις μαρτυρεί συχνά έντονη ανθρώπινη δραστηριότητα από την Πρώιμη Εποχή του Χαλκού. Οι ραδιοχρονολογήσεις παρέχουν ένα σημαντικό ανεξάρτητο χρονολογικό δείκτη για τους ορίζοντες της Πρώιμης/Μέσης Εποχής του Χαλκού. Η κεραμική φανερώνει την επικράτηση τοπικών επιρροών, με τη θέση αυτή να μην λαμβάνεν μέρος στα ευρύτερα εμπορικά δίκτυα πριν από την όψιμη Εποχή του Σιδήρου, περίπου τον 70 – 60 αιώνα π.Χ.

The Acropolis of Athens

Classics ◽  
2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Klein
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Religious Activities ◽  
Rocky Outcrop ◽  
Stone Sculpture ◽  
Ancient Monuments ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The City ◽  
The Temple

The Acropolis (Akropolis) of Athens has played an important role in the history of the city from prehistory to the present day. It is both a physical location, standing on a rocky outcrop above the city, and a locus for the expression of religious and civic identity. Excavations have uncovered evidence of a Mycenaean palace and citadel from the Bronze Age. Habitation and burials continued into the early Iron Age, while evidence for religious activities appears in the 8th century bce. The character of the Acropolis continues to change in the 6th century before becoming the preeminent sanctuary of the city. Herodotus (I, 59) suggests that it was occupied by the ruling family of Athens (Peisistratids), and the remains of a late-6th-century cistern in the northwest corner may indicate the presence of a garrison as well. Several temples were built to honor Athena, patron goddess of the city, and a range of votive offerings, including stone sculpture, bronzes, pottery, and other objects, were dedicated in the sanctuary. In 480/479 bce, the invading Persian army captured and laid waste to Athens, including the sanctuary on the Acropolis. Only decades later, following the defeat of the Persians, did the Athenians begin a systematic rebuilding of the Acropolis. These efforts, initiated by the Athenian statesman and general Pericles, led to the construction of the temple of Athena Parthenos (Parthenon), the Propylaia, the temple of Athena Polias (Erechtheion), and the temple of Athena Nike. For almost a thousand years, the Acropolis functioned as a center of civic and ritual activity dedicated to Athena and other deities. Sometime in the 6th century ce, the Parthenon was converted into a Christian church. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Classical buildings were adapted to new purposes, including residences and churches. Under the Ottoman Empire, the Acropolis was transformed into a village and garrison. In the 19th century, the Acropolis became a symbol and centerpiece of the newly independent Greek nation as excavations removed postclassical remains and restored the ancient monuments. Today, archaeological research and conservation efforts continue to make new discoveries and contribute to our understanding of the Acropolis.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document