Ritual, Play and Animals in early human societies: Manipulating the Bones in temple period Malta: Eating and Augury in the Maltese Temples.

Examination of antiquarian records and feasting ritual in prehistoric Malta

Environmental indifference? A critique of environmentally deterministic theories of peatland archaeological site construction in Ireland

Climate change, whether gradual or sudden, has frequently been invoked as a causal factor to explain many aspects of cultural change during the prehistoric and early historic periods. Critiquing such theories has often proven difficult, not least because of the imprecise dating of many aspects of the palaeoclimate or archaeological records and the difficulties of merging the two strands of research. Here we consider one example of the archaeological record – peatland site construction in Ireland – which has previously been interpreted in terms of social response to climate change and examine whether close scrutiny of the archaeological and palaeoenvironmental records uphold the climatically deterministic hypotheses. We evaluate evidence for phasing in the temporal distribution of trackways and related sites in Irish peatlands, of which more than 3,500 examples have been recorded, through the examination of ~350 dendrochronological and 14C dates from these structures. The role of climate change in influencing when such sites were constructed is assessed by comparing visually and statistically the frequency of sites over the last 4,500 years with well-dated, multi-proxy climate reconstructions from Irish peatlands. We demonstrate that national patterns of “peatland activity” exist that indicate that the construction of sites in bogs was neither a constant nor random phenomenon. Phases of activity (i.e. periods in which the number of structures increased), as well as the ‘lulls’ that separate them, show no consistent correlation with periods of wetter or drier conditions on the bogs, suggesting that the impetus for the start or cessation of such activity was not climatically-determined. We propose that trigger(s) for peatland site construction in Ireland must instead also be sought within the wider, contemporary social background. Perhaps not surprisingly, a comparison with archaeological and palynological evidence shows that peatland activity tends to occur at times of more expansive settlement and land-use, suggesting that the bogs were used when the landscape was being more widely occupied. Interestingly, the lulls in peatland site construction coincide with transitional points between nominal archaeological phases, typically defined on the basis of their material culture, implying that there may indeed have been a cultural discontinuity at these times. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

International on-line reciprocal peer tutoring to promote modern language development in primary schools

The paper reports data from an on-line peer tutoring project. In the project 78, 9–12-year-old students from Scotland and Catalonia peer tutored each other in English and Spanish via a managed on-line envi- ronment. Significant gains in first language (Catalonian pupils) modern language (Scottish pupils) and attitudes towards modern languages (both Catalonian and Scottish pupils) were reported for the exper- imental group as compared to the control group. Results indicated that pupils tutored each other in using Piagetian techniques of error correction during the project. Error correction provided by tutors to tutees focussed on morph syntaxys, more specifically the correction of verbs. Peer support provided via the on- line environment was predominantly based on the tutor giving the right answer to the tutee. High rates of impact on tutee corrected messages were observed. The implications for peer tutoring initiative taking place via on-line environments are discussed. Implications for policy and practice are explored

Daily life behind the ritual of the Temple Builders,

Stoddart, S.K.F., C.A.T. Malone, and D. Trump, in Past ( 1988, Prehistoric Society p. 4-5.

Review of: Tykot, R.H. and Andrews, T.K. 1992. Sardinia: a footprint in the sea: studies in Sardinian Archaeology presented to Miriam Balmuth. Sheffield Academic Press

Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 1994. 60: p. 455-6.

Care and Management of Ancient Stone Monuments During Environmental Change

Ancient stone monuments (ASMs), such as standing stones and rock art panels, are powerful and iconic expressions of Britain’s rich prehistoric past that have major economic and tourism value. However, ASMs are under pressure due to increasing anthropogenic exposure and changing climatic conditions, which accelerate their rates of disrepair. Although scientific data exists on the integrity of stone monuments, most applies to “built” systems; therefore, additional work specific to ASMs in the countryside is needed to develop better-informed safeguarding strategies. Here, we use Neolithic and Bronze Age rock art panels across Northern England as a case study for delineating ASM management actions required to enhance monument preservation. The state of the rock art is described first, including factors that led to current conditions. Rock art management approaches then are described within the context of future environments, which models suggest to be more dynamic and locally variable. Finally, a Condition Assessment and Risk Evaluation (CARE) scheme is proposed to help prioritise interventions; an example of which is provided based on stone deterioration at Petra in Jordon. We conclude that more focused scientific and behavioural data, specific to deterioration mechanisms, are required for an ASM CARE scheme to be successful.

Long-term mass balance of perennial firn and ice in an Alpine cave (Austria):Constraints from radiocarbon-dated wood fragments

Hundsalm ice cave located at 1520 m altitude in a karst region of western Austria contains up to 7-m-thick deposits of snow, firn and congelation ice. Wood fragments exposed in the lower parts of an ice and firn wall were radiocarbon accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dated. Although the local stratigraphy is complex, the 19 individual dates - the largest currently available radiocarbon dataset for an Alpine ice cave - allow to place constraints on the accumulation and ablation history of the cave ice. Most of the cave was either ice free or contained only a small firn and ice body during the 'Roman Warm Period'; dates of three wood fragments mark the onset of firn and ice build-up in the 6th and 7th century ad. In the central part of the cave, the oldest samples date back to the 13th century and record ice growth coeval with the onset of the 'Little Ice Age'. The majority of the ice and firn deposit, albeit compromised by a disturbed stratigraphy, appears to have been formed during the subsequent centuries, supported by wood samples from the 15th to the 17th century. The oldest wood remains found so far inside the ice is from the end of the Bronze Age and implies that local relics of prehistoric ice may be preserved in this cave. The wood record from Hundsalm ice cave shows parallels to the Alpine glacier history of the last three millennia, for example, the lack of preserved wood remains during periods of known glacier minima, and underscores the potential of firn and ice in karst cavities as a long-term palaeoclimate archive, which has been degrading at an alarming rate in recent years. © The Author(s) 2013.

Tutoría entre iguales recíproca y virtual para la mejora de habilidades lingüísticas en español e inglés

This paper reports data from an on-line peer tutoring project, the objective being the learning and improvement of the Spanish and English language. Pupils aged between 9 and 12 years old from Scotland and Catalonia were paired for the purpose of each pupil acting as a tutor of their own language within his or her pair. The aim was to improve the knowledge and use of their own language (by correcting their tutee) as well as the modern language (through the help of their tutor) acting as tutors and also as a tutees. The research combines a quasi-experimental design, using control groups, and in depth analysis of the process throughout the exchanges (texts and corrections) and interviews with the subjects. The results show that the degree of help offered by the tutors appears to be a very relevant factor when assessing the improvement detected in the linguistic abilities. © 2010 Fundación Infancia y Aprendizaje.

Our Construct or Theirs?

Identity is relational and a construct, and is expressed in a myriad of ways. For example, material culture and its pluralist meanings have been readily manipulated by humans in a prehistoric context in order to construct personal and group identities. Artefacts were often from or reminiscent of far-flung places and were used to demonstrate membership of an (imagined) regional, or European community. Earthworks frequently archive maximum visual impact through elaborate ramparts and entrances with the minimum amount of effort, indicating that the construction of identities were as much in the eye of the perceivor, as of the perceived. Variations in domestic architectural style also demonstrate the malleability of identity, and the prolonged, intermittent use of particular places for specific functions indicates that the identity of place is just as important in our archaeological understanding as the identity of people. By using a wide range of case studies, both temporally and spatially, these thought processes may be explored further and diachronic and geographic patterns in expressions of identity investigated.

An archaeological approach to the development of the late medieval peasant house

Archaeological excavation has provided an alternative source of evidence for the development of the late medieval peasant house. It is argued that whilst there was a significant change in building techniques in the decades around 1200 with the adoption of ground-set timbers, the most important factor which led to the survival of houses was a fall in real wages during the thirteenth century. This encouraged peasants to repair existing buildings, rather than replace them with new ones. Alternative traditions of building are also investigated. Stone construction was adopted in a number of areas of England, but in spite of the durability of the material, few medieval peasant buildings of this type have survived in use because of the failure to use lime mortar. Decisions about whether to invest in a building’s renovation will depend on the capital initially expended upon it. This interpretation is considered against the data from the fifteenth century and found to conform satisfactorily. Its implications are considered for the period between 1200 and 1350. Data collected from archaeological excavations combined with the results of dendrochronology on a growing number of closely dated standing buildings suggest that there was a significant ‘cull’ of houses in the period after 1350 as new dwellings were constructed.

Zooarchaeology at the Niah Caves, Sarawak:Context and Research Issues INTRODUCTION

Extensive archaeological excavations in the Niah Caves (Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo) over the past 50 years have produced perhaps 750 000 fragments of vertebrate bone, one of the largest faunal assemblages in the region, This paper introduces a series of research studies examining different aspects of the Niah fauna, and discusses how they are contributing to, and shaping, regional research agendas relating to prehistoric environments and societies in Island Southeast Asia. Zooarchaeology has traditionally had a rather 'Cinderella' status here, but the ongoing programme of study of the Niah Caves fauna is demonstrating the remarkable potential of this material to address questions of Pleistocene and Holocene climate and environment, biodiversity, human activities within caves, people's engagement with the landscapes they inhabited as foragers and farmers, and the nature of the transition from foraging to farming. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The emergence of bone technologies at the end of the pleistocene in Southeast Asia:Regional and evolutionary implications

For many decades Palaeolithic research viewed the development of early modern human behaviour as largely one of progress down a path towards the modernity of the present. The European Palaeolithic sequence the most extensively studied was for a long time the yard-stick against which records from other regions were judged. Recent work undertaken in Africa and increasingly Asia, however, now suggests that the European evidence may tell a story that is more parochial and less universal than previously thought. While tracking developments at the large scale (the grand narrative) remains important, there is growing appreciation that to achieve a comprehensive understanding of human behavioural evolution requires an archaeologically regional perspective to balance this. One of the apparent markers of human modernity that has been sought in the global Palaeolithic record, prompted by finds in the European sequence, is innovation in bonebased technologies. As one step in the process of re-evaluating and contextualizing such innovations, in this article we explore the role of prehistoric bone technologies within the Southeast Asian sequence, where they have at least comparable antiquity to Europe and other parts of Asia. We observe a shift in the technological usage of bone from a minor component to a medium of choice during the second half of the Last Termination and into the Holocene. We suggest that this is consistent with it becoming a focus of the kinds of inventive behaviour demanded of foraging communities as they adapted to the far-reaching environmental and demographic changes that were reshaping this region at that time. This record represents one small element of a much wider, much longerterm adaptive process, which we would argue is not confined to the earliest instances of a particular technology or behaviour, but which forms part of an on-going story of our behavioural evolution. © 2012 The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.