1,721,016 research outputs found
Etnoarcheologia: pensieri e prospettive dal Sahara
No full textThis paper aims at developing some themes related
to a new vision of the discipline, focussing on the
Sahara. A concise introduction provides an overview
of some challenging issues of ethnoarchaeology, with
special reference to the African one. Two paths are
therein discussed. Oriented toward the intangible
and tangible aspects of the ethnographic present, they
belong to the same perspective, i.e. the realization of
a more stable and effective ethnoarchaeology. This
method can offer an actual support to the
archaeological and anthropological sciences. By this
approach ethnoarchaeology can enter the domain of
development strategies elaborated for the Sahara
and the arid zones, almost ruled by a reductionist
and rationalist view, based upon biophysical
sciences
The role of mobility in Saharan archaeological research (1960-present)
No full textMobility is a key theme in Saharan archaeology. From early human dispersal to the spread of the ‘Neolithic’ up to trade in the historical period, the Saharan regions have been crossed throughout the ages by people, artefacts and ideas on a uniquely large scale. In this area, archaeological research has evolved over time, but climatic and environmental variability has played a major role in the interpretation of past Saharan mobility. This article offers a review of papers on the mobility issue in African archaeology, comparing data from the Sahara and the rest of Africa from 1960 to the present. The main aim is to analyse the development of research on mobility in the Sahara, highlighting its main characteristics and peculiarities and suggesting the adoption of more nuanced approaches to the study of past mobility that may pave the way for ‘alternative’— or simply more refined — reconstructions of cultural trajectories
COMBINING INTENSIVE FIELD SURVEY AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES: NEW DATA ON THE GARAMANTIAN CASTLES OF WADI AWISS, ACACUS MTS., LIBYAN SAHARA
No full textIn recent years, Garamantian archaeology has received renewed attention from historians and archaeologists, particularly in the south-western corner of Libya in the central Sahara. This paper focuses on the potential of intensive field surveys and digital technologies as applied to a particular segment of the Garamantian state: the 'castles' of Wadi Awiss and their associated contexts - necropoleis and site remains. The combination of a field survey, selected settlement soundings and territorial funerary data provided additional information on the chronological and functional organization of the Garamantian system
Holocene Deposits of Saharan Rock Shelters: The Case of Takarkori and Other Sites from the Tadrart Acacus Mountains (Southwest Libya)
No full textThe excavation at Takarkori rock shelter is part of a long-term study of Holocene cultural dynamics in southwest Libya begun in the early 1990s. With a rich Holocene occupation, the area is one of the key spots for reconstruction of human occupation of the last 10,000 years. In this region, similar to the case in the rest of the Sahara, most of the data come from surface investigations at open-air sites, while excavated caves and rock shelters provide just a few. Although less exposed than open-air sites, Holocene archaeological deposits in Saharan caves and rock shelters are characterized by a fairly dynamic nature. Loose sediments, coupled with variability of human occupations and magnitude of natural agents, determine multiple alterations to the archaeological deposits in sheltered sites. In this paper, we present the nature and meaning of the archaeological deposits at Takarkori rock shelter, where a relatively large area has been recently excavated, showing a stratigraphic sequence extending from c. 9,000 to 4,200 BP, unevenly represented by several occupation pulses. In order to sharpen understanding of the development of human occupation at this site, specific procedures for the study and recording of the archaeological deposit have been developed, along with a program of extensive radiocarbon dating. Data from the Takarkori sequence ultimately will be integrated with available published stratigraphies from the Acacus Mountains, with the aim of reviewing the results from past excavations
Vers un modèle ethnographique-écologique d’une société pastorale préhistorique
No full textLa réalisation complète d’une archéologie des communautés pastorales est fruit d’une profonde intégration d’enquêtes multidisciplinaires.
Le but de cet article est l’application flexible et continue des
données ethnographiques, écologiques et ethno-historiques à un cas
archéologique. En particulier, on propose une révision d’une société
pastorale préhistorique du Vie millénaire BP à la lumière des informations de nature extra-archéologique afin d’évaluer la consistance et la qualité de l’occupation humaine dans un contexte régional déterminé. Le parcours opératif ici présenté se configure comme un instrument interprétatif stimulant, surtout pour l’ample portée du modèle qu’il comprend. Les aspects problématiques du procédé sont considérés et examinés dans le cadre théorique et méthodologique de l’ethnoarchéologie, en rapport à des situations africaines actuelles
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