25,833 research outputs found
Hoggard et al 2019 (Arkaeologisk Forum: post-print and data)
No full textPost-print and data for "The Potential of Geometric Morphometrics in Danish Archaeology: Two Case Studies" (Authors: Christian Steven Hoggard, Line Lauridsen and Katrine Burkhal Witte)
Abstract: "In this article we demonstrate, using two archaeological case studies, the applicability and potential of geometric morphometric methodologies to the Danish archaeological record. The article first introduces the reader to the mathematical underpinnings of statistical shape and form (shape plus size) analysis, before detailing the fundamentals of geometric morphometrics, emphasising its statistical power and coverage in comparison to linear morphometrics. Throughout this article, we detail the workflow, from data acquisition and through to subsequent analysis. We emphasise open-source software packages which can be used in conducting shape analysis, and the wealth of information available on this subject. While a high degree of technical knowledge is necessary, an incredible amount of analytical possibility can be harnessed through the adoption of two- and three-dimensional geometric morphometrics.
Riede_et_al_2019 (Palgrave Communications: data)
No full textData for "Reconciling material cultures in archaeology with genetic data requires robust cultural evolutionary taxonomies" (Authors: Felix Riede, Christian S. Hoggard and Stephen J. Shennan
Assessing the role of artefact design within the Middle Palaeolithic repertoire: determining the behavioural potential of blade production strategies
No full textThe Middle Palaeolithic of Europe has long been characterised by its rich technological diversity, with an array of core volume management strategies exhibited. In understanding and accounting for this diversity, interpretations of consistent behaviour and technological change have stressed the importance of three factors: social transmission and cultural tradition (Bordian-centric models), site-function and adaptation (Binfordian-centric models), and diachronic change andchronology. In many of these investigations and analyses into the Middle Palaeolithic, little emphasis is placed on commonalities and differences in blank-type, product desirability and their behavioural potential given their morphology. While function may not account for all aspects of technological variability, analyses of functional performance may explain chronological changes in various core volume management strategies which appear, at face value, to produce similar blanks. Undertaking such provides an entry-point into the nature and behaviour of Neanderthal tool-makers and tool-users, and a platform for discussing the role of other factors (e.g. ecological adaptation).This thesis investigates the behavioural potential of the main methods of ‘technological blade production’, the specific proceduralised sequence of producing stereotyped elongated blanks from a homothetic core morphology: Levallois (unidirectional/bidirectional) elongated recurrent and Laminar sensu stricto systems of blade manufacturing. A thorough technological analysis of blade production systems from eleven Middle Palaeolithic contexts were first undertaken to characterise technological variability of blade production systems throughout the Middle Palaeolithic. Traditional and geometric morphometric analyses of an experimental (n = 499) and archaeological (n = 908) dataset were then undertaken in order to understand differences in: 1) blank shape and form (size plus shape), 2) economisation and efficiency, and 3) product regularity and standardisation. Analyses from the technological framework were then assessed alongside findings from the functional analysis through a goodness-of-fit test, to explain whether a working hypothesis grounded on ‘performance attributes’ (Skibo and Schiffer, 2001) and artefact design could explain the change from a predominantly Levallois method of blade production in the Early Middle Palaeolithic, to a predominantly Laminar method in the Late Middle Palaeolithic, in addition to on-site concurrency (equifinality vs. activity-specific behaviours).The thesis highlights the expansive evidence for technological blade strategies within the Middle Palaeolithic and highlights the ‘retouch potential’ of Levallois technological blade strategies, given a higher flattening index, increased width and size, and an increased amount of edge per blank, while Laminar blades produce more cutting edge per weight of stone, and blades per core, representing a more portable, economic and expedient technological blade strategy. This is supported through archaeological evidence for extensive preparation and invasive continuous retouch featured on Levallois products, and the lack of retouch observed on Laminar products.This research also provides a thorough account into the role of raw material in the shape and form of blades produced from both methods, details a quantitative framework suggestive of spatio-temporal relationships of social learning within MOIS 5, supports arguments for a ‘Northwest Technocomplex’ (Depaepe, 2007), and queries the archaeological integrity of the Le Rissori sequence
Eggers-Kaas_et_al_2019 (Danish Journal of Archaeology: data)
No full textThree-dimensional models (produced through SfM) and additional data for the following article: "A Technological and Typological Analysis of Lithic Material from Skovmosen I, Denmark" (Authors: Thomas Eggers-Kaas, Jesper Borre Pedersen, Christian Steven Hoggard, Florian Sauer, Jan Hilgart, and Felix Riede
The application of Elliptic Fourier Analysis in understanding Biface Shape and symmetry throughout the British Acheulean
No full textAcheulean biface shape and symmetry have fuelled many discussions on past hominin behaviour in regards to the ‘meaning’ of biface technology. However, few studies have attempted to quantify and investigate their diachronic relationship using a substantial dataset of Acheulean bifaces. Using the British archaeological record as a case study, we first perform elliptic Fourier analysis on biface outlines to quantify and better understand the relationship between biface shape and individual interglacial periods. Using the extracted Fourier coefficients, we then detail the nature of symmetry throughout this period, before investigating both shape and symmetry in parallel. The importance of size (through biface length) as a factor in biface shape and symmetry is also considered. Results highlight high levels of symmetry from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 13, followed by increasing asymmetry through the British Acheulean. Other observations include a general shift to ‘pointed’ forms during MIS 9 and 7 and the importance of size in high biface symmetry levels. This article concludes by discussing the potential importance of secondary deposition and palimpsest sites in skewering theobserved relationships throughout the Palaeolithic
From side to side: Symmetry in handaxes in the British Lower and Middle Palaeolithic
Get PDFThe Acheulean is defined by its iconic tool type, the handaxe, and a suite of other large cutting tools (LCTs). These tools retain information on technical and procedural practices concerned with the manufacture of these butchery tools and carcass processing knives. The Acheulean straddles the period in which more ancient hominin species (H. erectus and H. heidelbergensis) give way to archaic H. sapiens (sensu lato) amongst whom the ancestor of modern humans may be found. The roots of modern behaviour may be present in these handaxe making hominin species, and the handaxes themselves, through proxy data such as bilateral symmetry, may chart hominin cognitive evolution as researchers such as T. Wynn and F. Coolidge (2016), amongst others, have argued. But the search for the earliest consistent application of symmetry, and its persistence thereafter has been hampered by the lack of large datasets, spanning the temporal extent of the Acheulean, and analysed through a single consistent methodology. Our paper has two aims. The first, and in the absence of a large comparative data set of earlier Acheulean handaxes, is to assess the degree to which symmetry is consistently applied to the making of handaxes in the later Acheulean (=<0.5 mya), a time when bilateral planform symmetry should already be an integral component in handaxe making. The dataset we select is the British Acheulean from MIS 13 – MIS 3/4. To the best of our knowledge this is the first time handaxe symmetry has been assessed on a large body of British Acheulean handaxes. Our second aim is to present a relatively simple and low tech methodology for the analysis of handaxes and their symmetry that is widely available and does not require expensive equipment or specialist software/technical knowledge. It works from orthogonal handaxe photographs which many researchers will already have. From such data it may be possible to begin to construct the larger datasets necessary to answer symmetry related questions regarding cognitive evolution. This offers us the opportunity to raise a number of key methodological questions which we believe ought to be debated by researchers before the generation of appropriate datasets begins
Towards a Christian Philosophy
No full textAuthor did not sign the LAC Non-Exclusive License form.The relationship between philosophy and Christianity has, of course, a long history, as do the discussions of that relationship. My own position is not dissimilar to that of many of the early Church Fathers, though of course that position must be elaborated differently for various historical and personal reasons, and hopefully enriched by attention to the history of Western philosophy. As with all such relations, one's understanding of this relation has a lot to do with one's understanding of the terms involved. To promote the possibility of "Christian philosophy" is also to comment on that "and" which might be understood to relate two otherwise distinct and irreconcilable terms. In the end I claim this "and" must be understood as that "love" which defines philosophy as the "love of wisdom" (and finally, the wisdom of love), and does so in terms which (almost) merge-with the surprising assistance of such thinkers as Martin Heidegger, Jacques Derrida, and Paul Ricoeur-with those of the Church Fathers cited. On the one hand, I intend nothing but the historical, orthodox, and catholic understanding of Christianity, especially with regard to the central figure of Jesus the Christ, the Trinitarian God whom He embodies, represents, and reveals, and the Scriptures given as The Bible. On the other hand, I present the specifically philosophical pertinence of this unique Person as such emerges from the texts of the "philosophers" considered, and in a manner which I claim does not force the issue by reading into their texts what is not there. Attending to a (Christian) philosophical reflection on (Christian) philosophy also offers elaborations of inherited doctrines, both Christian and philosophical, including a way to read and think unique to the outcome. Such is the adventure of this current work
The Christian Right and US Foreign Policy in the Twenty-first Century
Get PDFThe thesis discusses the role of the Christian Right in the US foreign policy decision making process. The research revealed that the Christian Right has long been fascinated with some international issues in general and US foreign policy in particular. The Christian Right’s interest in international issues increased markedly during years of the George W. Bush presidency. It successfully widened its activities from domestic social conservative issues to foreign policy issues by participating in, articulating and lobbying for its religious version of American foreign policy. In assessing the role of the Christian Right in US foreign policy making, this dissertation examines three aspects of US foreign policy, namely Israel, international religious freedom and global humanitarianism. Based on these aspects, the Christian Right is seen as skilled in framing and defining issues. The Christian Right seems effective in selecting and prioritizing international issues that have a reasonable chance of being selected by foreign policy decision makers, especially in Congress. Moreover, the Christian Right has shown its maturity in seeking engagement and cooperation with other organizations, secular and religious, in order to advance its international goals. Finally, in pursuing and conveying its international agenda, the Christian Right has adopted a more moderate and less overtly religious approach. Instead of using its traditional religious rhetoric, the Christian Right has successfully projected its foreign policy preferences into the conventional realist discourse of American foreign policy that is largely based on the objective of national interest and national security. Nevertheless, this study does not, in any way, conclude that the Christian Right was able to influence or determine the direction of US foreign policy and its outcomes; however, it does suggest that the Christian Right did contribute and have an impact on the formulation of some US foreign policy. As such, the research contends that the role of the Christian Right is similar to other interest group lobbies and that its perceived influence on US foreign policy should not be exaggerated. Finally, the research suggests that the emergence of the Christian Right as an actor in asserting its global agenda through US foreign policy can possibly provide an example of how religious beliefs and values can become a potential source of “soft power”. Together with the “climate of opinion” of the American public during the Bush administration, the “soft power” at domestic level could serve as a valuable new explanatory variable in understanding how the US foreign policy was formulated in the early 21st century
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