The Oxford Handbook of Wetland Archaeology

by Menotti, Francesco; O'Sullivan, Aidan

• ISBN13: 9780199573493
• ISBN10: 0199573492
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2013-03-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The Oxford Handbook of Wetland Archaeology is the most comprehensive survey of world wetland archaeology ever published and sets out and covers the key issues and debates in the theory and practice of wetland archaeology, which has played a crucial role in studies of our past. Due to the high quantity of well-preserved organic materials found in humid environments, the study of wetlands has allowed archaeologists to reconstruct people's everyday lives ingreat detail. Through concise essays written by over fifty of the world's leading scholars in the field, it describes the scientific and archaeological principles, methodologies, and spectacular results of past and present archaeological investigations of wetland environments.

Author Biography

Francesco Menotti is Professor of Archaology at the Institute of Prehistory and Archaeological Science, Basel University. He has been involved in wetland archaeological research for fifteen years, working on various projects in different parts of Europe. His publications include 'The missing period': Middle Bronze Age lake-dwellings in the Alps (2001), Living on the lake in prehistoric Europe (2004), and Wetland Archaeology and Beyond: Theory and Practice (OUP, 2012).



Dr Aidan O'Sullivan is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Archaeology, University College Dublin, Ireland. He has directed many wetland archaeological projects in estuaries, lakes, rivers and boglands, and is the author of numerous books and papers on wetland archaeology, including The Archaeology of Lake Settlement in Ireland (1998) and Rethinking Wetland Archaeology (2006).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

List of Figures

List of Tables

List of Contributors

General introduction to the Handbook

Wetland occupations: a geographical and chronological perspective

Introduction

Europe

Wetland occupations in prehistoric Europe

Europe s wetlands from the Migration Period to the Middle Ages: settlement, exploitation and transformation, AD 400-1500The Americas

Occupations of past wetland environments in the United States

People-wetland interaction in Canada

Pre-Columbian people and the wetlands in Central and South America Africa and Asia

People and wetlands in Africa

Wetland Archaeology and the role of marshes in the ancient Middle East

The past Eastern Russian wetlands: review of the prehistoric occupation, chronology, economy, and environment

Prehistoric wetland occupations in the Lower regions of Yangtze River, China

Wetland sites in Japan Oceania

Wetland occupations in New Zealand

Australian wetland occupations before and after the Europeans

Wetland archaeology in the Highlands of New Guinea

Waterlogged archaeological evidence

Introduction

Settlements and habitations

The Alpine region lake-dwellings

Irish and Scottish crannogs

Houses, households and settlements: architecture and living space Material culture

Portable wooden objects from wetlands

Fishing traps and weirs on the Northwest Coast of North America: new approaches and new insights

Bone and antler artefacts in wetland sites Road networks and transport

Trackways and roads across the wetlands

Rivers and lakes: a network of wetland highways Human bodies

Bog bodies: underwater burials, sacrifices and executions

Survey and excavation

Introduction

Survey

Detecting organic materials in waterlogged sediments

Underwater survey and acoustic detection and characterisation of archaeological materials

Archaeological strategies for terrestrial wetland landscapes Excavation

Intertidal survey and excavation

Excavation of wet sites

Multidisciplinary scientific network

Introduction

Archaebotany: the potential of analyses of plant remains from waterlogged archaeological sites

Insect analysis in wetland archaeology

Palaeoecological reconstructions

Geoarchaeological and soil micromorphological studies in wetland archaeology

Ancient DNA research on wetland archaeological evidence

Palaeoclimatology and archaeology in the wetlands Dating methods

Radiocarbon dating of wetland sites

Dendrochronology in wetland archaeology

Lacustrine varve counting as a dating technique: advantages and disadvantages

A vulnerable cultural heritage: preservation and conservation

Introduction

Preservation

Preservation against erosion: protecting lake shores and coastal environments Artefact conservation

A review of current post-excavation treatment methods for waterlogged organic archaeological materials: the last 20 years Political actions

National and international wetland management policies

Wet Site Archaeology on the Northwest Coast of North America and the Native Communities involvement in Managing their Wetland Heritage Sites

Changing research attitude: towards one archaeology

Introduction

Wetland Archaeology in the twenty-first century: adapting to climate change

Life history approaches and wetland habitation: a later prehistoric case study from the Dutch delta

Rhythm of wetland life: seasonality and sociality

Towards an Anthropology of Wetland Archaeology: Hunter-Gatherers and Wetlands in Theory and Practice

Long-distance trade routes linked to wetland settlements

Integrating dry lands and wetlands in late prehistoric farming regimes

People, lakes and forest in the Baltic region: a prehistoric perspective

Wetland archaeology and the public

Introduction

Wetland archaeology in the media and the popular literature: beyond the scholarly taboos of the twentieth century, back to the pioneers

Informing the public: bridging the gap between experts and enthusiasts

Museum exhibitions, open-air museums and hands-on archaeology

The lake-dwelling diaspora: museums, private collectors and the evolution of ethics in archaeology

Epilogue: Reflections and future perspectives

Introduction

The archaeology of wetlands: a personal journey

Concluding remarks and future perspectives

Index

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