Topic
Iron Age
About: Iron Age is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2962 publications have been published within this topic receiving 40127 citations.
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01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: The archaeology of death and burial is central to our attempts to understand vanished societies as mentioned in this paper and through the remains of funerary rituals we learn not only about prehistoric people's attitudes toward death and the afterlife but also about their culture, social system, and world view.
Abstract: The archaeology of death and burial is central to our attempts to understand vanished societies. Through the remains of funerary rituals we learn not only about prehistoric people's attitudes toward death and the afterlife but also about their culture, social system, and world view. This ambitious book reviews the latest research in this huge and important field and describes the sometimes controversial interpretations that have led to our understanding of life and death in the distant past. Mike Parker Pearson draws on case studies from different periods and locations throughout the world--the Paleolithic in Europe and the Near East, the Mesolithic in northern Europe, and the Iron Age in Asia and Europe. He also uses evidence from precontact North America, ancient Egypt, and Madagascar, as well as from the Neolithic and Bronze Age in Britain and Europe, to reconstruct vivid pictures of both ancient and not so ancient funerary rituals. He describes the political and ethical controversies surrounding human remains and the problems of reburial, looting, and war crimes. The Archaeology of Death and Burial provides a unique overview and synthesis of one of the most revealing fields of research into the past, which creates a context for several of archaeology's most breathtaking discoveries--from Tutankhamen to the Ice Man. This volume will find an avid audience among archaeologists, anthropologists, historians, and others who have a professional interest in, or general curiosity about, death and burial.
783 citations
TL;DR: A 5,000-year transect of human genomes sampled from petrous bones giving consistently excellent endogenous DNA yields are analysed, suggesting genomic shifts with the advent of the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages, with interleaved periods of genome stability.
Abstract: The Great Hungarian Plain was a crossroads of cultural transformations that have shaped European prehistory. Here we analyse a 5,000-year transect of human genomes, sampled from petrous bones giving consistently excellent endogenous DNA yields, from 13 Hungarian Neolithic, Copper, Bronze and Iron Age burials including two to high (~22 × ) and seven to ~1 × coverage, to investigate the impact of these on Europe’s genetic landscape. These data suggest genomic shifts with the advent of the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages, with interleaved periods of genome stability. The earliest Neolithic context genome shows a European hunter-gatherer genetic signature and a restricted ancestral population size, suggesting direct contact between cultures after the arrival of the first farmers into Europe. The latest, Iron Age, sample reveals an eastern genomic influence concordant with introduced Steppe burial rites. We observe transition towards lighter pigmentation and surprisingly, no Neolithic presence of lactase persistence.
560 citations
TL;DR: The Enkapune Ya Muto rockshelter, in the central Rift Valley of Kenya, contains the oldest known archaeological horizons spanning the transition from the Middle Holocene dry phase to the Later Stone Age (LSA) as mentioned in this paper.
451 citations
TL;DR: A much needed synthesis of the major industries and technologies of the ancient Near East can be found in this paper, where the author's range extends from Anatolia to the Indus Valley and from central Asia to the Arabian Peninsula.
Abstract: The volume under review contains a much needed synthesis of the major industries and technologies of the ancient Near East. Although the geographical emphasis is on Mesopotamia, the author's range extends from Anatolia to the Indus Valley and from central Asia to the Arabian Peninsula. The chronological focus is on the Bronze and Iron Ages within the above regions. The book is an indispensable guide to the archaeological discoveries, physico-chemical analysis, and textual references pertaining to the crafts of pottery, metal, glass, faience, and stone working, and to the role of bricks, mortar, and plaster in architectural construction.
308 citations
01 Jan 2007
TL;DR: The "Handbook to the Iron Age" as mentioned in this paper covers the last 2000 years in Southern Africa covering essential topics such as settlement organisation, stonewalled patterns, ritual residues, long-distance trade and ancient mining.
Abstract: This detailed "Handbook to the Iron Age" covers the last 2000 years in Southern Africa. The first part outlines essential topics such as settlement organisation, stonewalled patterns, ritual residues, long-distance trade and ancient mining. Part Two presents a comprehensive culture-history sequence through ceramic analyses, showing distributions, stylistic types and characteristic pieces. Part Three reviews and updates the main debates about black prehistory, including migration versus diffusion, the role of cattle, the origins of Mapungubwe, the rise and fall of Great Zimbabwe and the archaeology of Venda, Sotho-Tswana and Nguni speakers."Handbook to the Iron Age" is an abundantly illustrated study that is accessible to a wide range of people interested in African prehistory.
282 citations