scholarly journals The Iron Gates Mesolithic in a Regional Context

2021 ◽  
Vol 48 ◽  
pp. 2-17
Author(s):  
Dušan Mihailović
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Balkan Peninsula ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Entire Area ◽  
Economic Changes ◽  
Ecological Features ◽  
Forested Areas ◽  
Different Parts ◽  
Demographic Potential

The specific character of the Iron Gates Mesolithic material culture derives from the geomorphological and ecological features of the Iron Gates gorge in the Early Holocene. However, the Mesolithic of this geographic area can be entirely linked to the general flows of Mesolithic development in Europe as well as to the phenomena observed in the Adriatic-Ionian and Aegean zones. This demonstrates that the cultural, technological and economic changes which occurred during the Early Holocene were influenced by the same or similar factors as the entire area of the Balkan Peninsula. The absence of Mesolithic settlements outside the Iron Gates raises the question of whether the interior parts of the Central Balkans were inhabited during the Early Holocene. As hinted by the research in the Iron Gates and the Adriatic hinterland, Mesolithic settlements were probably located outside the denser forested areas (in the littoral and high-altitude zones) but this remains to be confirmed. Based on the assessment of the demographic potential of Mesolithic and Neolithic communities, four scenarios of Neolithisation of different parts of the Balkan Peninsula have been proposed.

The use of malacological analysis in studies on anthropogenic transformations in microhabitats: an example from the Cracow region, southern Poland

Erdkunde ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-30
Author(s):  
Witold Paweł Alexandrowicz
Keyword(s):  
Late Holocene ◽  
Lower Section ◽  
Large Share ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
Ecological Features ◽  
Subfossil Remains ◽  
Open Country ◽  
Major Transformation ◽  
Agricultural Areas ◽  
Different Parts

The presented study is dedicated to the assessment of the scope and degree of anthropopressure, and the dependence of its intensity on the characteristics and nature of micro-environments. The research was based on the subfossil remains of molluscs. Eleven profiles of Late Holocene sediments in the Dulówka valley near Cracow were subjected to malacological analysis. In the upper part of the valley, there are calcareous tufas containing rich molluscan assemblages with a large share of shade-loving species. In the lower part, malacofauna dominated by open-country snails occurs in fluvial sediments. Radiocarbon dating has shown that mollusc-bearing deposits represent the last 2,000 years. The diversity of ecological features of molluscan assemblages in different parts of the valley depends on the intensity of anthropopressure. In the upper part, natural forest communities have survived to the present day, and anthropopressure has only been marked to a limited extent. The lower section has undergone a major transformation, mainly due to deforestation and the development of agricultural areas. Unfavorable terrain conditions for the human economy should be considered the major cause of the low anthropopressure intensity in the upper part of the valley. The malacological analysis used in the study allowed showing a significant diversity of microhabitats within the valley and its uneven susceptibility to human interference in natural processes.

The Northwest Coast

Anthropology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie H. Tepper
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Northwest Coast ◽  
European Contact ◽  
The North

The distinctive culture of the Indigenous populations on the Northwest Coast (NWC) and their colonial history—from European contact in the 17th century to contemporary issues of land claims and reconciliation—have helped to frame many of the themes and models of ethnographic theory and practice, particularly in American anthropology. The NWC is often defined as the geographic area stretching from Alaska to California. For the purposes of this bibliography, the study area is limited to what is sometimes called the “North Pacific Coast,” which begins at the southern border of Alaska, continues down the coastline of British Columbia (BC), and ends in northern Washington State. Its rocky coastline is broken up by deep fjords and offshore islands, including Vancouver Island in the south and Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands) in the north. Several major river systems provide access to the BC interior through the mountainous Cascade Range. Though local resources vary along the coast, almost all the Indigenous groups followed a similar seasonal cycle of fishing, hunting, and gathering from spring to fall. The winter months were dedicated to the manufacture of material culture, social feasting, and ceremonial gatherings. Large oceangoing canoes and smaller river crafts linked well-established villages into an extensive series of trade routes. Walking trails over the mountains allowed the exchange of seafood and other coastal products for animal skins and goods from interior forests. Warfare brought additional wealth to the victor by means of raiding stored foods and manufactured items. European contact began in the late 18th century with the arrival of Spanish and British explorers. They were followed by English, American, and Russian fur traders. The discovery of gold along the Fraser River in 1858, and later finds in the Cariboo Mountains, brought tens of thousands of American, British, and other immigrants to the area. British sovereignty over the area north of the 49th parallel was quickly reinforced by the Royal Navy and an expanded colonial administration. In 1871 the province of British Columbia joined the Canadian Confederation and NWC Indigenous communities came under the control of the federal Indian Act. This act is still in force.

Morphological and ecological features of Drusus larvae from the D. bosnicus Group on the Balkan Peninsula with description of the larva of Drusus klapaleki Marinković-Gospodnetić, 1971

Zoosymposia ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 244-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
MLADEN KUČINIĆ ◽  
ANA PREVIŠIĆ ◽  
SVJETLANA STANIĆ-KOŠTROMAN ◽  
WOLFRAM GRAF ◽  
MILIVOJ FRANJEVIĆ ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bosnia And Herzegovina ◽  
Balkan Peninsula ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Ecological Features ◽  
Allopatric Distribution

Drusus klapaleki Marinković-Gospodnetić, 1971, is distributed in central Bosnia and Herzegovina and it belongs to the D. bosnicus Group. In the Balkan Peninsula, the D. bosnicus Group consists of 9 taxa with allopatric distribution. This study has 2 objectives. One is to describe the morphological characters of the Drusus klapaleki larva. Another objective is to find certain morphological and ecological features to larvae of the species belonging to the D. bosnicus Group from the Balkan Peninsula.

scholarly journals THE AGGLOMERATIONS OF THE ANNALISTIC OVRUCH VOLOST

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 58-75
Author(s):  
A. P. Tomashevskyi
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Settlement System ◽  
Archaeological Heritage ◽  
Settlement Systems ◽  
The Status ◽  
Functional Features ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Demographic Potential

The unique phenomenon of the chronicle Ovruch volost — agglomerations and agglomeration areas including the largest in the region and not directly related to fortified chronicle settlements is analyzed in the paper. The high degree of archaeological exploration of the Ovruch volost made it possible to identify and determine the seven largest and, correspondingly, the most inhabited settlements which can be considered the agglomerations in the course of studying and reconstructing the settlement system. Some of these powerful complexes of sites (Ovruch, Norinsk, Gorodets) have already been specially analyzed in some papers. This work presents the results of study of three largest distinguished agglomerations — Naogryany-Khluplyany-Pokalyov, Khotin and Orlov-Fosni-Biduny. The last two ones were discovered and examined just recently and are one of the most important discoveries of the Ovruch project which changed the views on the main features of the settlement system of the Ovruch volost and its unique features. The description of these complexes, their spatial and geographical structure, and paleonatural background are proposed. The internal planigraphic structure, area and configuration of the constituent parts of the agglomerations, their position and importance in the general and local settlement systems are analyzed. The features of material culture and the functional features of each of the studied agglomerations are determined separately. Indicators of the presence of the most important social and economic spheres of life of the agglomeration population are determined. Based on the synthetic analysis, the estimated sociopolitical and geo-strategic importance, economic and environmental specialization of these points and their likely demographic potential are determined. The totality of the ascertained characteristics of the agglomerations determines their place and importance in the Ovruch volost, and wider — within the borders of Rus. The brief discussion regarding the atypical nature of such a phenomenon in the Old Rus Middle Ages is presented, and effective approaches to its explanation are determined. The discovery of such agglomeration formations changes the existing views on the status and hierarchy of Old Rus settlements, the definition of Old Rus cities and their typology. The important role and importance of the application of geographical approaches and methods for the study and comprehension of socioeconomic and physical-geographical research of the phenomenon of Old Rus agglomerations is postulated. The urgent tasks of the special advanced study and preservation of agglomeration complexes as unique objects of historical and archaeological heritage are determined.

scholarly journals Decisive factors in the culture-oriented product development process in industrial design education

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 67-77
Author(s):  
Pinar Cartier ◽  
Aysem G. Basar
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Industrial Design ◽  
Dynamic Structure ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Education Material ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Design Students

  Designers see culture as a starting point for designing meaningful products that appeal to users. Culture has a dynamic structure that is constantly affected by social changes. This research examines how socio-cultural factors are perceived, analysed and transferred by design students.  The design process is aimed to identify the complex or challenging and on the contrary clearly understandable aspects. In the first stage of the research, the ideas of the established cultural images, culturally influential designs and designers who use culture as a starting point were determined through 24 industrial design students. The ideas of the students were asked about design and identity in a particular geographic area, they were also asked to explain their ideas about traditional forms and draw forms of them by sketches. The results are presented together with visual examples. The common points of how the culture-oriented design approach is used by designers in the product design process and the frequent mistakes, approaches and examples of projects in this process are revealed.   Keywords: Keywords: Industrial design, education, material culture, design  

scholarly journals The Omniscient Spring – the Whispering Water: Man and potajnica

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 575-591
Author(s):  
Bojan Novaković ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Water Flow ◽  
Social Power ◽  
Human Perception ◽  
Balkan Peninsula ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Entire Area ◽  
Higher Power ◽  
Human Tendency ◽  
Karst Reservoir ◽  
The Relationship

Potajnice (intermittent/rhythmic springs) are a rare hydrographic phenomenon exclusively present in karst areas. They appear as a result of the rising and emptying of the siphon in the underground karst reservoir, while the phases when the water flows over and drains down most frequently last for several minutes or several hours. They are often accompanied by a distinct noise (rumbling, sizzling, bursting) which adds to the mysteriousness of this phenomenon. Up to this point in time, around one hundred of these flows have been detected worldwide and, when it comes to Europe, they are most frequent in the Balkan Peninsula, primarily in the range of the Dinarides. The subject of this paper is the human perception of this unusual hydrological phenomenon and reaction to it, which has brought about the birth of many interesting ceremonies and beliefs. In areas with predominantly Orthodox and Islamic traditions, the water from these springs is often regarded as healing and miraculous, which is not the case in the northwestern areas closer to Central Europe. Nevertheless, the entire area is eager to provide a logical explanation for this phenomenon. In the more distant past, some of these places had been subject to Christianisation through construction of churches in their vicinity and provision of a Christian interpretation of local beliefs and tales. Man interpreted the functioning of these flows in two ways – either as the existence of a supernatural being in the underground canal, which occasionally presents a barrier to the water flow, or as activities of a higher power which infallibly judges the moral righteousness of human beings and thereupon decides to either let the water flow or stops its flow. The ancient human tendency to tame the supernatural has enticed man to look for a way to predict the flow intervals which, under certain circumstances, could ensure or confirm social power for an individual or group. At some point, the monks took over the perennial monitoring of the flow rhythm of one such source in order to harmonise their prayers for the appearance of the “healingˮ water. The relation between man and the potajnica has always been ambivalent; therefore, one river, which for centuries was called Sveto vrelo (the Holy Spring), also has an alternative name – Đavolje vrelo (the Devil's Spring). Also, men tend to cross significant distances to reach water from one spring, but avoid drinking water from others precisely due to the identical disappearance of the flow. Nevertheless, these springs represent unrivalled points where the richness of the spirit and tradition of the population visiting them is embedded, and, more generally, the relationship between man, as the human being, and this enigmatic force of nature.

scholarly journals Reflecting on Illyrian helmets

Starinar ◽  
2010 ◽  
pp. 37-55
Author(s):  
Rastko Vasic
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Balkan Peninsula ◽  
The Face ◽  
Balkan History ◽  
Written Sources

The so-called Illyrian helmets, with a rectangular opening for the face, are a frequent topic in archaeological literature for several reasons. They are distributed over a large territory - on the Balkan Peninsula and beyond, so many archaeologists from various countries were involved in their study. Then there is the great diversity of forms, where each type or subtype represents a theme in itself posing various questions, and finally new Illyrian helmets appear all the time, even in regions far from their main concentration areas, or with unfamiliar details, demanding new analyses and explanations. The author discusses their division into types and subtypes, chronology, variants, and comes to the conclusion that a proper study of this theme will be possible only when various aspects of their appearance, including ancient written sources as well as the material culture of this period in particular regions, are taken into consideration because of their complex and versatile role in ancient Balkan history.

Training Children for Work in the Nineteenth Century

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicky Crewe
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Western World ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Decorative Motifs ◽  
Domestic Material Culture ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Different Parts

Material culture in Victorian working-class homes acted as a medium through which messages about the importance of industry, diligence, and obedience could be emphasized to children. This chapter will review the ways in which material culture scholars have approached the subject of child labour in different areas of the Victorian world, as well as elucidating the differences and similarities in children’s experiences of work in different parts of the western world during the nineteenth century. It will consider decorative motifs on mass-produced domestic material culture, the role of toys as objects for training children, and work-related artefacts with which children may have interacted, but which do not bear obvious characteristics suggesting that they were specifically made for children. Labour will be addressed in its broadest sense, including gendered differences in the material culture of labour and the broader historical driving forces behind the existence of work-related material ‘propaganda’.

scholarly journals Early Holocene water well in the Pampas of Argentina: Human responses to water shortage events

The Holocene ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-157
Author(s):  
Gustavo Martínez ◽  
María A Gutiérrez
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
Water Shortage ◽  
The United States ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Behavioral Repertoire ◽  
Water Wells ◽  
Water Well ◽  
Cultural Origins ◽  
Response To Water

Water wells are ethnographically and archaeologically described in Australia and the plains of North America. Recently, a prehistoric water well from the early Holocene was recorded in the Pampas of Argentina. The aim of this paper is to present the main characteristics of the water well, considering its form, dimension, sediment analyses (texture and chemical parameters), and material culture content. This is the first water well recorded in the Pampas of Argentina. Consequently, a discussion about natural or cultural origins of this kind of features is provided. An evaluation of similarities and differences with well-described water wells from the United States and Australia is included in order to highlight the cultural origin of the pit. Also, the meaning of the cultural response to water availability in terms of early-Holocene hunter–gatherer adaptations as well as the implications of this strategy for understanding paleoenvironmental scenarios of the Pampas of Argentina are discussed. The well seems to have mitigated an exceptional lack of surface water in the eastern Pampas or offered an alternative for the non-drinkable quality of the available surface water. The strategy of digging water wells was available in the behavioral repertoire of the Pampean hunter–gatherer populations as early as c. 8700–8000 14C yr BP ( c. 9700–8800 cal. yr BP), as these groups were fairly flexible and resilient in dealing with short-term shortages of water.

On the Origins of Domestic Rye—Secale Cereale: the Finds from Aceramic Can Hasan III in Turkey

1978 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 157-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon Hillman
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Near East ◽  
Balkan Peninsula ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Western World ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
Neolithic Culture ◽  
Western Asia ◽  
Different Parts

Wheat, barley and peas, traditional grain-crops of the Western World are, by now, well known to have originated in the Near East. It was the cultivation of the wild ancestors of these crops, beginning soon after the end of the last European Ice Age, that eventually led to an utterly new way of life for most of the population of Europe and Western Asia, a new Neolithic culture based on food production and complete with appropriately adapted tool assemblages and relatively permanent living structures. Soon, from different parts of the Near East, this new pattern of subsistence based on wheats, barleys and pulse crops spread in all directions. One direction led up the Balkan Peninsula and into Central and, eventually, Northern Europe where the Near Eastern, Neolithic, cereal-pulse culture spawned temperate-adapted versions of just the same patterns of subsistence.Rye, however, has played no part in this story as told to date, this despite the fact that, as Europeans, we automatically associate rye with wheat and barley, the two other providers of our ‘daily bread’.

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