Bioarchaeology


Book Description

Bioarchaeology covers the history and general theory of the field plus the recovery and laboratory treatment of human remains. Bioarchaeology is the study of human remains in context from an archaeological and anthropological perspective. The book explores, through numerous case studies, how the ways a society deals with their dead can reveal a great deal about that society, including its religious, political, economic, and social organizations. It details recovery methods and how, once recovered, human remains can be analyzed to reveal details about the funerary system of the subject society and inform on a variety of other issues, such as health, demography, disease, workloads, mobility, sex and gender, and migration. Finally, the book highlights how bioarchaeological techniques can be used in contemporary forensic settings and in investigations of genocide and war crimes. In Bioarchaeology, theories, principles, and scientific techniques are laid out in a clear, understandable way, and students of archaeology at undergraduate and graduate levels will find this an excellent guide to the field.




Solar Power in Building Design (GreenSource)


Book Description

Design, Implement, and Audit the Most Energy-Efficient, Cost-Effective Solar Power Systems for Any Type of Building! Solar Power in Building Design is a complete guide to designing, implementing, and auditing energy-efficient, cost-effective solar power systems for residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. From basic theory through project planning, cost estimating, and manufacturing methods, this vital resource offers you everything needed for solar power design success. Filled with case studies and illustrations, this state-of-the-art design tool covers new solar technologies...design implementation techniques...energy conservation...the economics of solar power systems...passive solar heating power...and more. Solar Power in Building Design features: Step-by-step instructions for designing, implementing, and auditing solar power systems Expert guidance on using solar power in any type of building-from basic theory through project planning, cost estimating, and manufacturing Complete details on Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), plus rebate procedures and forms Inside This Cutting-Edge Solar Power Toolkit • Solar power physics and technology • Practical guide to solar power design • Solar power design implementation • Energy conservation • Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) • Sustainable energy rebate • Economics of solar power systems • Passive solar heating power




The Significance of Monuments


Book Description

The Neolithic period, when agriculture began and many monuments - including Stonehenge - were constructed, is an era fraught with paradoxes and ambiguities. Starting in the Mesolithic and carrying his analysis through to the Late Bronze Age, Richard Bradley sheds light on this complex period and the changing consciousness of these prehistoric peoples. The Significance of Monuments studies the importance of monuments tracing their history from their first creation over six thousand years later. Part One discusses how monuments first developed and their role in developing a new sense of time and space among the inhabitants of prehistoric Europe. Other features of the prehistoric landscape - such as mounds and enclosures - across Continental Europe are also examined. Part Two studies how such monuments were modified and reinterpreted to suit the changing needs of society through a series of detailed case studies. The Significance of Monuments is an indispensable text for all students of European prehistory. It is also an enlightening read for professional archaeologists and all those interested in this fascinating period.




Rock Art and the Prehistory of Atlantic Europe


Book Description

Along the Atlantic seaboard, from Scotland to Spain, are numerous rock carvings made four to five thousand years ago, whose interpretation poses a major challenge to the archaeologist. In the first full-length treatment of the subject, based largely on new fieldwork, Richard Bradley argues that these carvings should be interpreted as a series of symbolic messages that are shared between monuments, artefacts and natural places in the landscape. He discusses the cultural setting of the rock carvings and the ways in which they can be interpreted in relation to ancient land use, the creation of ritual monuments and the burial of the dead. Integrating this fascinating yet little-known material into the mainstream of prehistoric studies, Richard Bradley demonstrates that these carvings played a fundamental role in the organization of the prehistoric landscape.




Hiking from Portland to the Coast


Book Description

A guidebook for hikers, bikers, and equestrians, Hiking from Portland to the Coast explores the many trails and logging roads that crisscross the northern portion of Oregon's Coast Range. Designed to showcase convenient "looped" routes, it also describes complete throughways connecting Portland to the coastal communities of Seaside and Tillamook. Each of the 30 trails described includes a backstory to help users appreciate the history and significance of the places through which they are traveling.




Archaeologies of the Contemporary Past


Book Description

Archaeologies of the Contemporary Past turns what is usually seen as a method for investigating the distant past onto the present. In doing so, it reveals fresh ways of looking both at ourselves and modern society as well as the discipline of archaeology. This volume represents the most recent research in this area and examines a variety of contexts including: * Art Deco * landfills * miner strikes * college fraternities * an abandoned council house.




European Landscapes of Rock-art


Book Description

Accepting that the nature of rock-art is crucial to its creation and meaning, this fascinating volume looks at the importance of considering landscape when interpretating rock-art sites.




Ritual and Domestic Life in Prehistoric Europe


Book Description

This fascinating study explores how our prehistoric ancestors developed rituals from everyday life and domestic activities. Richard Bradley contends that for much of the prehistoric period, ritual was not a distinct sphere of activity. Rather it was the way in which different features of the domestic world were played out until they took on qualities of theatrical performance. With extensive illustrated case-studies, this book examines farming, craft production and the occupation of houses, all of which were ritualized in prehistoric Europe. Successive chapters discuss the ways in which ritual has been studied, drawing on a series of examples that range from Greece to Norway and from Romania to Portugal. They consider practices that extend from the Mesolithic period to the Early Middle Ages and discuss the ways in which ritual and domestic life were intertwined.




Ice Tunnel Closure Phenomena


Book Description

The mechanics of closure, exhibited by ice tunnels, can be understood by considering the ice as a viscous solid. The viscous solid will flow, when subjected to a force, at a rate dependent on the magnitude of the force, the area of relief open for flow, and the apparent viscosity of the viscous solid. In the case of the ice tunnels, the force inducing the flow is the weight of the overburden; the area of relief open for flow is the tunnel opening; and apparent viscosity is the resistance to flow exhibited by the ice. The closure of a rectangular opening made in ice was measured. Maximum closure occurs at the center of unsupported roof, wall, or floor spans. The vertical closure rate decreases negligibly approximately 2% from the center of a room to approximately 6 ft from the wall. From the point about 6 ft from the wall to the wall, the closure rate decreases about 30%. Approximately 30% of vertical closure at the center of the span is due to flexure of the floor and roof. The remaining 70% is due to shortening of the wall height; the major portion of this wall closure occurs at the bottom of the wall. Over 80% of closure due to flexure of the floor and roof results from flexure of the floor. (Author).




Archaeology After Interpretation


Book Description

A new generation of archaeologists has thrown down a challenge to post-processual theory, arguing that characterizing material symbols as arbitrary overlooks the material character and significance of artifacts. This volume showcases the significant departure from previous symbolic approaches that is underway in the discipline. It brings together key scholars advancing a variety of cutting edge approaches, each emphasizing an understanding of artifacts and materials not in terms of symbols but relationally, as a set of associations that compose people’s understanding of the world. Authors draw on a diversity of intellectual sources and case studies, paving a dynamic road ahead for archaeology as a discipline and theoretical approaches to material culture.