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Nakhai, Beth Alpert. "Archaeology and the religions of Canaan and Israel /." Boston (Mass.) : American schools of oriental resarch, 2001. http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb401217696.
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Caparroy, Benjamin. "Géographie et morphologie des lieux sacrés maritimes dans le détroit de Gibraltar, du VIe siècle a.C. au Ier siècle p.C." Thesis, Pau, 2018. http://www.theses.fr/2018PAUU1045/document.
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Au cours du XIe siècle avant notre ère la zone du détroit de Gibraltar assiste à l’arrivée sur ses côtes de populations phéniciennes venues du Proche-Orient. Ces peuples traversent en effet la mer Méditerranée pour venir s’installer et commercer avec les populations locales dans le but d’approvisionner la métropole de Tyr en métaux, pourpre et autres denrées susceptibles d’alimenter le commerce méditerranéen. C’est dans ce contexte, riche en contacts et en échanges, que se développe notre étude. Elle a pour objet les espaces sacrés qui jalonnent le parcours des pilotes, des voyageurs et des commerçants qui sillonnent le Détroit à bord de leurs navires. Les auteurs antiques, qu’ils soient poètes, géographes ou historiens, signalent un grand nombre d’autels, de temples ou même d’anecdotes mythologiques qui mettent en lumière un paysage sacré particulièrement riche dans cette zone de confins. Notre travail consiste à synthétiser toutes ces informations littéraires pour les mettre en parallèle avec les données obtenues par l’archéologie depuis la fin du siècle dernier. Au fil de l’analyse se révèle en filigrane l’existence d’un réseau d’espaces sacrés et de mythes qui viennent offrir un cadre religieux dans le Détroit. Cette synthèse inédite des données religieuses, recueillies sur les deux rives, permet une analyse et une première approche des phénomènes religieux maritimes dans la zone.Cette compilation des données religieuses doit nous permettre de mieux appréhender et de décrire avec plus d’acuité ce que devait être la vie religieuse des marins qui fréquentaient les colonnes d’Hercule. Il s’agit de déterminer les motivations qui justifient une présence si forte du religieux sur ces rivages : besoin de protection pendant la traversée, motifs économiques, contrôle des côtes et guide de la navigation… Il est également question de caractériser ces dévotions, de savoir par quels moyens et en quels types de lieux s’exprime la religion des marins. Il faut aussi s’interroger sur les émetteurs et les récepteurs de ce type de dévotions : les commerçants sont-ils les seuls à faire des offrandes ? Et quelles divinités sont mises en avant par la religion maritime de ces populations ?L’objectif de la démonstration est clairement de mettre en lumière et de mieux définir les différents éléments qui composent le paysage religieux maritime du détroit de Gibraltar. Le résultat est un essai de définition, de description et de mise en lien des divers éléments de ce réseau fait d’hommes, de divinités, de mythes, de lieux sacrés et de marques de dévotions, qui ont tous un point commun : la mer<br>This work deals with the localisation and functions of the Punic sacred places located at the strait of Gibraltar. The main purpose of this PHD is to discuss the links between those sacred spaces and navigation in this special part of the Mediterranean antique world. Using ancient writers’ quotes, talking about consecrated places on the shore of the south of Spain and the north of Morocco, we shall try and reveal a part of the sacred landscape that sailors and sea-sellers used to frequent. Many sites that have been excavated can be linked to a religious function (temple, sacred areas, holy caves or springs), we aim at discussing the evolution of those sites and the place they have in shore navigations and ports of trade<br>Este trabajo de tesis se centra en la localización y las funciones de los lugares sagrados púnicos del estrecho de Gibraltar. El objetivo principal de este proyecto es de describir los vínculos que existen entre estos espacios consagrados del litoral y la navegación en la zona del estrecho. Utilizando principalmente las referencias proporcionadas por los autores antiguos y los datos arqueológicos recuperados en las excavaciones de ambas orillas del estrecho (Andalucía, Algarve, Norte de Marruecos), intentamos describir, dibujar de la forma mas precisa posible el paisaje sagrado que los navegantes y comerciantes de esa época conocían. Varios de los sitios excavados tienen una función religiosa (templos, áreas sagradas, cuevas-santuario, fuentes consagradas), el objetivo del trabajo nuestro es presentar una síntesis de estos sitios, describiendo su evolución y el papel que ocupaban en las navegaciones costeras y en la red de puertos del estrecho
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Reusch, Kathryn. ""That which was missing" : the archaeology of castration." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:b8118fe7-67cb-4610-9823-b0242dfe900a.
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Castration has a long temporal and geographical span. Its origins are unclear, but likely lie in the Ancient Near East around the time of the Secondary Products Revolution and the increase in social complexity of proto-urban societies. Due to the unique social and gender roles created by castrates’ ambiguous sexual state, human castrates were used heavily in strongly hierarchical social structures such as imperial and religious institutions, and were often close to the ruler of an imperial society. This privileged position, though often occupied by slaves, gave castrates enormous power to affect governmental decisions. This often aroused the jealousy and hatred of intact elite males, who were not afforded as open access to the ruler and virulently condemned castrates in historical documents. These attitudes were passed down to the scholars and doctors who began to study castration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, affecting the manner in which castration was studied. Osteometric and anthropometric examinations of castrates were carried out during this period, but the two World Wars and a shift in focus meant that castrate bodies were not studied for nearly eighty years. Recent interest in gender and sexuality in the past has revived interest in castration as a topic, but few studies of castrate remains have occurred. As large numbers of castrates are referenced in historical documents, the lack of castrate skeletons may be due to a lack of recognition of the physical effects of castration on the skeleton. The synthesis and generation of methods for more accurate identification of castrate skeletons was undertaken and the results are presented here to improve the ability to identify castrate skeletons within the archaeological record.
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Doney, Jonathan. "'That would be an Ecumenical matter' : contextualizing the adoption of the study of world religions in English religious education using 'statement archaeology', a systematic operationalization of Foucault's historical method." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10871/18518.
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It is claimed that during the 1960s and 1970s a new chapter in the history of English Religious Education (hereafter RE) began. Christian Confessionalism, whereby children were introduced to, nurtured in, and encouraged to adopt, the Christian faith, was swept aside and replaced by a non-confessional, phenomenological, multi-faith model, in which children were introduced to a variety of World Religions, with the aim that they would become more understanding of and tolerant towards others. Subsequently the study of World Religions (hereafter SWR) was adopted at all phases of the school system. Whilst this transition has been subjected to a wealth of historical analysis, existing accounts concentrate on narrative reconstructions of what happened, rather than investigating the complex interaction of discourses that created circumstances in which the change became possible. By framing analysis within national boundaries these reconstructions also overlook supranational influences. Thus, the supranational ecumenical movement (concerned with achieving greater unity and co-operation between denominationally separated Christian groups) has hitherto been largely overlooked. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s historical methods, I have developed a critical methodology, which examines how certain practices become possible. This method, Statement Archaeology, follows Foucault in emphasizing ‘discontinuities’, ‘statements’, and the search for the ‘relative beginnings’ of particular practices. Deploying the method entailed a detailed forensic exploration of relevant primary, unutilized, sources drawn from relevant domains of ecumenical discourses at both supranational (World Council of Churches) and national (British Council of Churches) levels. These sources were identified by tracing the provenance, and origin, of ecumenical statements repeated within Schools Council Working Paper 36 (1971). A ‘compound’ framework of understanding, combining the notions of Governmentality and Normalization, has been used. The thesis presents a number of original contributions to knowledge. By focusing on the multiple intersections of supranational and national domains of ecumenical discourse, Statement Archaeology reveals a much greater level of complexity than has hitherto been described and exposes a more nuanced understanding of how it became possible for SWR to be adopted, suggesting that the ‘relative beginnings’ of the practice are located—to some extent—in national ecumenical discourses. Further, supranational issues that affected these processes are unearthed, and motivations behind them are exposed, thus highlighting the importance of incorporating ecumenical discourses into the historiography of RE. The research also problematizes some assertions that have become characteristic of the existing historical narrative. Amongst other things, it disputes the existing positioning of Working Paper 36, highlights the problematic positioning of ‘mass immigration’ as a causal factor in adoption of SWR, and exposes a complexity of terminology, none of which appear to have been examined previously. These findings have application both in England and elsewhere, and are briefly discussed in relation to two other national contexts where approaches akin to SWR have been adopted. Finally, the limitations of the study are discussed and recommendations made for further work.
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Rönngren, Malin. "Adam av Bremens tempelskildring : En undersökning av Adam av Bremens påstående om ett tempel i Uppsala och dess relation till det arkeologiska materialet." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Religionshistoria, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-273759.
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In the fourth book in the extensive work of the Christian scholar Adam of Bremen, the temple of Uppsala is described along with the heathen’s rituals and practices. Adam of Bremen is the main source of the Swedish history during the late Viking era to the early Middle Ages, and that’s why his fourth book is still interesting for us to analyze over and over again. This essay deals with Adam of Bremen’s notations of the temple and the possibility of an existing temple, like the one in Adams descriptions. With earlier research and the archaeological material as starting point I’ve examined the probability of the existence of Adam of Bremen’s temple and if so, where in Old Uppsala it would have been built. In my study I also go through some of the previous studies about Adam’s temple and discuss different theories. The essay then continues with a discussion on more contemporary material in order to examine whether it is possible to say anything new about the temple. I’ve used content analysis to extract the key notions in the text in order to apply them on the archaeological material to see if they confirm each other. A historical critical method helped with the source criticism, since Adam’s Gesta Hammaburgensis is almost 1000 years old. The first part of the essay is a historical flashback from the research of the 20th century, where relevant material is discussed. The second part focuses on the material from the excavations Gamla Uppsala – framväxten av ett mytiskt centrum. In the early studies Adam’s Gesta was considered genuine and indisputable and so was the belief of the existence of the temple. Later it became obvious that Adam hadn’t experienced what he’d described, and many recent researchers chose to believe that part of the book is exaggerative, and that the temple was really just a hall. I’ve been able to see that not much of the old or the more recent material supports the thought of an independent temple building, and I agree with the researchers which suggest that the closest we’ll come to finding a temple is the multifunctional hall buildings. There are some interesting discoveries from the excavations regarding rituals in Old Uppsala. The ritual objects that were found were tied to several significant locations in the area, not to a specific building. The high-quality discoveries were linked to the royal estate plateaus (Kungsgårdsplatåerna) and it’s likely that the cult had been controlled by the conductive layer in society, which had its abode there.
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Potts, Charlotte R. "Accommodating the divine : the form and function of religious buildings in Latial and Etruscan settlements c.900-500 B.C." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2011. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:0befda08-4f9a-4a4b-8969-31f5c29b2108.
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This thesis examines the changing form and function of non-funerary cult buildings in early Latial and Etruscan settlements in order to better describe and understand the advent of monumental temples in the archaeological record. It draws on a significant quantity of material excavated in the past forty years and developments in relevant theoretical frameworks to reconstruct the changing appearance of cult buildings from huts to shrines and temples (Chapters 2 to 4), and to place monumental examples within wider religious, topographical, and functional contexts (Chapters 5 to 7). This broader perspective allows a more accurate assessment of the extent to which monumental temples represent continuity and discontinuity with earlier religious architecture, and furthermore clarifies the respective roles of Latium and Etruria in the transformation of cult buildings into distinctive, prominent parts of the built environment. Although it is possible to find many different accounts of religious monumentalisation in existing scholarship, this thesis holds that traditional narratives no longer accurately reflect the archaeological evidence. It sets out a sequence of developments in which early religious architecture was a dynamic, rather than conservative, phenomenon. It demonstrates that temples were not the inevitable product of a natural progression from open-air votive deposition to monumentality, or simply an imported concept, but rather a deliberate response to the opportunities offered by an increasingly mobile Mediterranean population. It also contends that Latium played a more important role in formulating the characteristic components and functions of central Italic temples than previously thought. This thesis consequently offers a new account of early religious architecture in western central Italy as well as an alternative interpretation of its monumentalisation.
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Quinlan, Angus Robert. "Towards an archaeology of religion." Thesis, University of Southampton, 1993. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.239349.
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Slobodzianek, Iwo. "Acquérir, exprimer et transmettre les "pouvoirs" divins : une comparaison entre Aphrodite et Inanna-Is̆tar." Phd thesis, Université Toulouse le Mirail - Toulouse II, 2012. http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00802105.
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La présente étude offre un regard nouveau sur les systèmes de croyances religieux grecs et mésopotamiens. Adoptant une démarche comparative et contrastive, la déesse grecque Aphrodite est confrontée à la déesse mésopotamienne Inanna/Ištar. Étudiant de manière interne à chacun des deux panthéons les différents modes d'action des déesses, il s'agit de comprendre comment s'exprime la notion de " pouvoir " divin dans les sources grecques archaïques et les compositions paléo-babyloniennes du IIe millénaire av. J.-C. Parts d'honneur, parures, cortèges sont autant d'expressions des réseaux de pouvoir d'Inanna/Ištar et d'Aphrodite ; ils se transmettent, s'échangent et avec eux circulent les souverainetés spécifiques des déesses. L'enjeu principal de cette thèse est d'étudier les différentes expressions des "pouvoirs" divins dans un même complexe culturel, le monde grec ou la Mésopotamie, d'en saisir les dynamiques internes, puis de les soumettre à comparaison afin d'apporter de nouveaux éclairages sur les fonctionnements des panthéons grecs et suméro-akkadiens.
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Matricon-Thomas, Elodie. "Recherches sur les cultes orientaux à Athènes, du Ve siècle avant J.-C. au IVe siècle après J.-C." Phd thesis, Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Etienne, 2011. http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00697121.
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La réputation de philoxénie dont jouit Athènes dès l'Antiquité pose la question de la réelle capacité d'accueil et d'intégration de la cité à l'égard des étrangers, de leur culture et de leur religion. Elle conduit à étudier les modalités d'introduction et de réception d'un ensemble de cultes, réunis sous le qualificatif générique et commode - bien qu'aujourd'hui très discuté- de "cultes orientaux" : dans cette étude, les <> sont définis au sens géographique du terme, comme l'ensemble des cultes provenant de l'Est du bassin méditerranéen (Egypte, Anatolie, Syrie et Phénicie), y compris le christianisme et le judaïsme. S'appuyant sur une documentation abondante et variée - et notamment sur un corpus épigraphique conséquent - , ce travail vise à mettre en évidence les vecteurs de diffusion de ces cultes et les circonstances dans lesquelles ils s'implantent dans la cité athénienne. Une approche chronologique souligne l'existence de dynamiques locales, qui expliquent l'inégale popularité rencontrée par les cultes orientaux auprès des Athéniens : alors que certains sont critiqués et rejetés, les cultes de Cybèle et Isis remportent un grand succès en Attique. Une telle réussite suppose nécessairement des transformations, des modifications, pour permettre aux cultes de s'adapter à un public différent, à un nouveau cadre de réception: après leur arrivée, les nouveaux cultes entrent en interaction avec le milieu religieux local et subissent- à des degrés variables - un phénomène d'hellénisation, facilité par le processus de l' interprétation. Dans la cité, les divinités orientales présentent ainsi certaines caractéristiques universelles, que l'on retrouve un peu partout dans le monde méditerranéen à l'époque impériale, mais les contacts et les interactions avec les divinités locales- et notamment avec Déméter, la grande déesse d'Eleusis- ont aussi conduit à l'émergence de spécificités locales, particulière au contexte athénien.
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Ferris, Iain M. "Studies in Roman archaeology, art and religion." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.573912.
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Hawthorne, Kathleen Annette. "Balkan pit sanctuaries : retheorising the archaeology of religion." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2011. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.609274.
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Graham, Sarah V. "In search of the Dioskouroi : image, myth and cult." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:b94d6fb0-f65c-40b7-9267-07e58d4abae3.
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This study explores the Greeks' experience of the Dioskouroi before the arrival of the Romans, stimulated by Cicero's assertion (Cic. Nat.D. 3.15(39)) that by his time they were worshipped widely in Greece, possibly more than the Olympians: from the archaeological evidence, a surprising claim. The task is complicated by the brothers' different incarnations in different places and at different times, and the variability and patchiness of the evidence for the period, from Homeric times to c. 146 BC. To address this (explained in Chapter 1), the study is designed around examining the evidence in selected locations over time, with an underlying theme of comparing the archaeological with the literary evidence, much of which is Roman. An overview of the evidence from literature, images and buildings sets the stage (Chapter 2). The association of Kastor and Polydeukes with 'Lakedaimon' in the literature, from Homer onwards, led the study to focus primarily on Sparta and the Peloponnese (Chapter 3), looking closely also at Sparta's near neighbours, Messene and Argos. It then looks at evidence from Thera, Kyrene and Naukratis (Chapter 4), in order to include some of the earliest material evidence we have of cult of the Dioskouroi in Greek settlements, which also have associations with Sparta and Lakonia; evidence from Thasos is included too. The final chapter considers the findings and assesses the usefulness of the methodology. The paucity of architectural evidence for major monuments and buildings specifically dedicated to the Dioskouroi, except in centres where Greeks gathered from different places for trade or religious reasons, may be explained if the primary location of their cult was the individual household, buildings only being needed for dedications to the brothers by Greeks away from home. It could also explain the seeming mismatch between Cicero's statement and the archaeological record.
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Saxerbo, Sjöberg Karolina. "Iron Age religion in Britain : classical texts versus archaeology." Thesis, Högskolan på Gotland, Institutionen för kultur, energi och miljö, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hgo:diva-1540.
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In this essay, material and written sources are compared in an attempt to learn more about the Iron Age religion in Britain. Classical texts and archaeological evidence concerning the Iron Age religion in Britain are presented, after which a comparison is made of the two to try to find out whether the classical authors statements could have been true. The conclusion drawn is that much of the facts in the classical texts are substantiated by material remains, but some information cannot be proved. Furthermore, the archaeological evidence provides us with facts of the Iron Age religion which was not mentioned by the classical authors.<br>Denna uppsats berör religion under järnåldern i Storbritannien. Den består av en jämförelse mellan klassiska källor och arkeologiskt material. Målet är att får reda på huruvida påståenden av klassiska författare om religionen i Storbritannien under järnåldern kan ha stämt. Mycket av det de klassiska författarna skrev kan stödjas av arkeologiska bevis, men en del har inget stöd i det arkeologiska materialet. Dock ger oss materiella lämningar information om religionen under järnåldern i Storbritannien, som inte nämndes av de klassiska författarna.
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Haycock, David Boyd. "William Stukeley : science, religion and archaeology in eighteenth-century England /." Woolbridge : Boydell, 2002. http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb400265012.
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Chezum, Tiffany. "On the endurance of indigenous religious culture in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt : evidence of material culture." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2014. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:d6bee2aa-49a5-42db-9617-394ea1f73cf5.
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The aim of this thesis is to examine changes in the status of traditional Egyptian religious culture during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, from 331 BCE to 313 CE. Four distinct categories of material culture are examined: monumental construction of temples and civic buildings, traditional hard-stone sculpture, Alexandrian tombs, and Roman coins. These bodies of evidence were chosen because each offers a unique perspective, reflecting respectively the personal inclinations and official attitudes of both the culturally Hellenic and indigenous elites, which have not previously been studied in this context. Examined together for the first time, these categories reveal commonalities that show clearly the progression of the status of indigenous religious culture. From this, it is argued that, despite being economically disadvantaged by the Roman administration, the high status of this culture persisted in Egyptian society under both the Ptolemies and the Romans. Patterns of Egyptian temple and classical civic building show that Egypt's indigenous elite controlled the resources allocated for temple construction under the Ptolemies, but that the Romans gradually transferred this land into the management of the culturally Hellenic elite. This resulted in a decrease in Egyptian temple building after the first century CE and a corresponding increase in classical construction from then on. The production of hard-stone statues is shown for the first time to reveal that the indigenous elite had the resources and cultural confidence to continue and develop their traditions under the Ptolemies, while the sharp decrease at the start of the Roman period reflects their diminution in autonomy and prosperity under Roman rule. New analysis of traditional elements and motifs in the tombs of Alexandrian elites shows that this group respected and adopted indigenous religious customs and beliefs, with a higher incidence of indigenous imagery in the Roman period compared with the Ptolemaic period. In a similar way, well-informed Egyptian religious iconography rendered in a classical style on Alexandrian coins demonstrates the respect of the Roman authorities for Egyptian religious cults and institutions at an official level. In sum, it is argued that indigenous religious culture largely maintained its privileged economic and social status throughout the Ptolemaic period, despite political upheavals. Under Roman rule, the individuals and institutions representing Egyptian religious culture were disadvantaged economically; however, its social importance and standing were preserved and it continued to enjoy respect.
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Elliott, Mark 1948. "Archaeology, Bible and interpretation: 1900-1930." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/288877.
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This is a study of the interpretation of archaeological data by Anglo-American Bible scholars, though the emphasis is primarily American, in scholarly and popular publications from 1900-1930. The major archaeological research interest for many Anglo-American biblical scholars was its direct reflection on the biblical record. Many were devout and reared on a literal reading of Scripture. Traditional scholars insisted that the function of archaeology was to provide evidence to validate the Bible and to disprove higher criticism. They were clearly motivated by theological concerns and created an archaeology of faith that authenticated the word of the Lord and protected Christian doctrines. Liberal or mainstream scholars rejected conservative methods that simply collated archaeological data to attack the documentary hypothesis and its supporters. Several eminent Bible scholars developed important studies on the interpretation of archaeological results from Palestine. They participated eagerly in analyzing archaeological material and refused to concede the field of biblical archaeology to theologically-motivated conservative scholars and theologians. They were determined to conduct important investigations of the archaeological evidence free from theological bias. Palestinian excavations lacked the spectacular architectural and inscriptural remains unearthed in Egypt and Mesopotamia. The popular press did occasionally report on the progress of several excavations from Palestine, but, for the most part, Palestinian excavations concentrated on tells and pottery and the results were disappointing. However, by the 1920s the New York Times was a major source of information concerning archaeological news and frequently carried stories that indicated that archaeology was confirming the biblical record and many of the Bible's revered figures. The Times played a vital role in popularizing biblical archaeology and contributed many illustrations of amazing archaeological discoveries that "proved" the historicity of the biblical text. W. F. Albright's scholarly conclusions in the 1920s were moderate. Albright's scholarship was not motivated by theological concerns as many have assumed. Though his religious convictions were assuredly conservative, his scholarship had little in common with the tendentious archaeological assumptions created by conservative Bible scholars and theologians. Albright's interpretations were based on the archaeological data and not on theological dogma.
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McLaren, Kevin Todd. "Pharaonic Occultism: The Relationship of Esotericism and Egyptology, 1875-1930." DigitalCommons@CalPoly, 2016. https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/1658.
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The purpose of this work is to explore the interactions between occultism and scholarly Egyptology from 1875 to 1930. Within this timeframe, numerous esoteric groups formed that centered their ideologies on conceptions of ancient Egyptian knowledge. In order to legitimize their belief systems based on ancient Egyptian wisdom, esotericists attempted to become authoritative figures on Egypt. This process heavily impacted Western intellectualism not only because occult conceptions of Egypt became increasingly popular, but also because esotericists intruded into academia or attempted to overshadow it. In turn, esotericists and Egyptologists both utilized the influx of new information from Egyptological studies to shape their identities, consolidate their ideologies, and maintain authority on the value of ancient Egyptian knowledge.
This thesis follows the Egypt-centered developments of the Freemasons, the Golden Dawn, Aleister Crowley's A∴A∴, the Theosophical Society, the Anthroposophical Society, and the Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis to demonstrate that esotericism evolved simultaneously with academia as a body of knowledge. By examining these fraternal occult groups' interactions with Egyptology, it can be better understood how esotericism has affected Western intellectualism, how ideologies form in response to new information, and the effects of becoming an authority on bodies of knowledge (in particular Egyptological knowledge). In turn, embedded in this work is a challenge to those who have downplayed or overlooked the agency of esotericists in shaping the Western intellectual tradition and preserving the legacy of ancient Egypt.
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Mattsson, McGinnis Meghan. "Ring Out Your Dead : Distribution, form, and function of iron amulets in the late Iron Age grave fields of Lovö." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Arkeologi, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-131728.
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The purpose of this study is to analyze the distribution, forms, and function(s) of iron amulets deposited in the late Iron Age gravefields of Lovö, with the goal of ascertaining how (and so far as possible why) these objects were utilized in rituals carried out during and after burials. Particular emphasis is given to re-interpreting the largest group of iron amulets, the iron amulet rings, in a more relational and practice-focused way than has heretofore been attempted. By framing burial analyses, questions of typology, and evidence of ritualized actions in comparison with what is known of other cult sites in Mälardalen specifically– and theorized about the cognitive landscape(s) of late Iron Age Scandinavia generally– a picture of iron amulets as inscribed objects made to act as catalytic, protective, and mediating agents is brought to light.
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Lundquist, Ann-Charlotte. "Bosniers berättelser om krigs- och folkmordstraumat : Intervjustudie med bosnier i Sverige om kriget i Bosnien-Hercegovina och folkmordet i Srebrenica." Thesis, Jönköping University, Högskolan för lärande och kommunikation, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-51708.
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Denna uppsats undersöker hur bosnier i Sverige har hanterat krigs- och folkmordstrauma med fokus på händelseutvecklingen i Bosnien-Hercegovina under 1990-talet. Med utgångspunkt i intervjuer med bosnier i Sverige, som överlevde kriget. Med hjälp av en analytisk modell av Suzanne Kaplan, analyseras hur överlevarna minns folkmordet och kriget. Därutöver hur det har påverkat dem och vilka strategier som används för att bearbeta det förflutna.Det överlevarna minns starkast från kriget i Bosnien 1992–1995 var krigsutbrottet, folkmordet i Srebrenica samt flykten under kriget. Ifrån krigsutbrottet minns de särskilt den rädsla som skapades av bomb- och granatattacker. En rädsla som aldrig försvinner utan finns fortfarande kvar 25 år senare. Under folkmordet i juli 1995 dog många pojkar och män. Det var särskilt svårt för anhöriga att inte kunna säga farväl till sina släktingar. Inte nog med det att många män och pojkar dog i juli, utan också att det tog oerhörd lång tid att hitta kropparna. Än idag identifieras defekta skelett med hjälp av DNA-matchning, som sedan begravs av anhöriga i Potočari Genocide Memorial Center. En enorm besvikelse finns bland de överlevande, för att ingen ingrep för att stoppa folkmordet på över 8000 människor i Srebrenica 1995. På olika sätt tog sig överlevare fram till tryggare platser såsom; släktingar i Turkiet, via buss till Polen därefter färja till Sverige, smuggling till Tyskland och vissa bodde kvar i Bosnien-Hercegovina men flyttade till säkrare områden. Intervjustudien visar att kriget påverkade överlevarna på olika vis bland annat i form av psykisk ohälsa i olika utsträckning samt att föräldralösa är mer ansvarsfulla men också mer sårbara,vilka är några faktorer som överlevarna påverkats av kriget. Dessutom påverkas överlevare den 11 juli som är minnesdagen för folkmordet i Srebrenica, vilket uppmärksammas i såväl Bosnien som internationellt. Det finns en variation när det gäller hur överlevarna hanterar krigs- och folkmordstrauma, men gemensamt för alla är någon form av upprättelse, att ansvariga står till svars. Det vanligaste sättet att hantera krigs- och folkmordstrauma är att samtala om överlevarnas upplevelser antingen via professionell hjälp eller med vänner och släkt. En kortsiktig strategi för att orka leva överhuvudtaget är att förtränga minnen. En mer långsiktig strategi är att acceptera deras krigs- och folkmordstrauma, vilket innebär att fokus ligger mer på framtiden än det förflutna. Genom att utsätta sig för svåra situationer samt att hjälpa andra som har det svårt blir vardagen mer hanterbar. Begrepp: krigs- och folkmordstrauma, påverkansfaktorer, hanterbara strategier<br>This essay examines how Bosnians in Sweden have dealt with war and genocide trauma with a focus on the course of events in Bosnia-Herzegovina during the 1990´s. Based on interviews with Bosnians in Sweden who survived the war. With the help of an analytical model by Suzanne Kaplan, it is analysed how the survivors remember the genocide and the war. In addition, how it has affected them and what strategies are used to process the past.What the survivors especially remember from the war in Bosnia 1992–1995 were the outbreak of war, the genocide in Srebrenica and the flight during the war, what they remembered most is the fear created by bomb and grenade attacks. A fear that never disappears and still exists, 25 years later. During the genocide in July 1995 many boys and men died. It was especially difficult for relatives not to be able to say goodbye to their family members. Not only did many men and boys die in July, but it also took an incredibly long time to find the bodies. Even today, defective skeletons are identified using DNA matching, which was then buried by relatives in Potočari Genocide Memorial Center. There is a huge disappointment among the survivors, because no one intervened to stop the genocide of over 8000 people in Srebrenica in 1995. In various ways, survivors found refuge in: Turkey, by bus to Poland and then ferry to Sweden, by smuggling to Germany and some remained in Bosnia-Herzegovina but moved to safer areas.The interview study shows that the war affected the survivors in various ways, including in the form of mental illness to vulnerable, which are some factors that the survivors were affected by the war. In addition, survivors are affected on July 11, which is the day of the genocide in Srebrenica, which is celebrated in Bosnia as well as internationally. There is a variation in how survivors handle war and genocide trauma, but common to all is some form of redress, that those who are responsible to be held accountable. The most common way to deal with war and genocide trauma is to talk about the survivors experiences either through professional help or with friends and relatives. A short-term strategy for being able to live at all is to repress memories. A more long-term strategy is to accept their war and genocide trauma, which means that the focus is more on the future, than the past. By exposing yourself to difficult situations and helping others who are having a hard time, everyday life become more manageable. Concepts: war and genocide traumatization, affecting factors, manageable strategies
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Woods, Gillian. "In the beginning ... : the origins of predynastic religion." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2016. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/91496/.
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This work covers the Western Desert to the Nile Valley during the period ca. 6500-3750 calBC and determines the aetiology and nature of early Predynastic (Badarian- ca. 4350-3750 calBC) belief systems. The migration of peoples from the Western Desert to the Nile Valley as a result of the commencement of aridification in ca. 5300 calBC would have influenced belief systems. Throughout, a flexible theoretical framework is used to interrogate the heterogeneous evidence. The catalyst for the work is Bárta’s retrospective interpretation of the rock-art motifs in Wadi Sura as early representations of ancient Egyptian deities and the beginnings of ancient Egyptian religion. The motifs are also linked to Middle Kingdom concept of the dead by Le Quellec. These two interpretations are examined and are proved to be incorrect. The conclusion is that the motifs are the result of a shamanic rain ritual. Archaeological evidence reveals there was no direct contact between Wadi Sura and the Nile Valley. The rock-art in Dakhleh Oasis and environs was also analysed as was the megalithic site of Nabta Playa. Although different, both appear to have had concerns about rain and fertility. Ceramic evidence reveals contacts between Nabta Playa, Dakhleh Oasis and the early Badarian sites. This suggests that at least part of the aetiology of beliefs was the Western Desert. The interrogation of mortuary evidence at Gebel Ramlah, associated with Nabta Playa and that of the Badarian period reveals a belief in an afterlife, rebirth and regeneration. The role of the living is considered vital for the dead to achieve this transformational status. At all sites the supernatural and symbolism appear to play an important role as does shamanism. It is apparent that the concepts of fertility, an afterlife and rebirth formed the basis of the early Predynastic belief systems. No recognisable deities existed.
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Bouma, Jelle. "Religio votiva the archaeology of Latial votive religion : the 5th-3rd c. BC votive deposit southwest of the main temple at [Satricum] Borgo Le Ferriere /." Groningen : University of Groningen, 1996. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/48092085.html.
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Fish, Theresa R. "Investigating the Archaeology of Shifting Community Values at Chrisholm Farmstead." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1573576021260609.
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Bouma, Jelle Wietze Prummel Wietske. "Religio votiva : the archaeology of Latial votive religion : the 5th-3rd c. BC votive deposit South West of the main temple at "Satricum" Borgo Le Ferriere /." Groningen : University of Groningen, Groningen institute of archaeology, Department of Mediterranean archaeology, 1996. http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb366987499.
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Koutrafouri, Vasiliki G. "Ritual in prehistory : definition and identification : religious insights in early prehistoric Cyprus." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/3288.
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Prehistoric archaeology has had major difficulties in identifying ritual practices. The history of archaeological approaches ranges from a total repudiation of the capability of the discipline to recognise and analyse ritual activities in the past, to absolute acceptance of all identified prehistoric patterns as ritual. Even within a postmodern apprehension of the world, where deconstruction of all established perceptions seems to have reached an end point, prehistoric archaeology has never successfully constructed a notion of ritual in prehistory. Acknowledging that ritual definition and identification is a problem of the modern western archaeologist, this thesis identifies the root of the problem in methods of thinking deeply rooted in western civilization, in our cultural schemata, and in approaches to archaeology that only superficially observe the problem rather than confront and resolve it. In seeking a resolution, this work proposes a structural dismantling of the problem and its recomposition from its basics. The thesis proposes a middle-range theory based on structuralism and pragmatics and a method of meticulous contextual and relational analysis for the identification and interpretation of ritual practices in prehistory. As a starting point, death is identified as the quintessential category for the exploration of a mytho-logic system and its subsequent definition. The treatment of the dead is recognised as the ideal starting point for an examination of the archaeological record in quest for ritual. Ritual structural elements identified in the context of burial are used subsequently for the identification of non-death ritual practices. The identification of religious practices in Early Prehistoric Cyprus reveals a vibrant ritualpracticing culture contrary to previous commonly accepted observations. Structured depositions in ritually empowered containers; ritual transport; hoarding; symbolic abandonment; ritual sealing; ritual burning; ritual use of burials for the creation of liminality; construction of highly symbolic structures and subsequent attribution of agency to them, all constitute religious practices attested by this thesis for the Cypriot PPNB and Aceramic Neolithic. This identification of ritual in Early Prehistoric Cyprus enables the exploration of this culture’s mytho-logic. The thesis demonstrates how early Cypriots viewed their world and their position in it. Finally, this research offers new perspectives in recognising past socio-cultural realities through the examination of ritual practices.
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Nakhai, Beth Alpert. "Religion in Canaan and Israel: An archaeological perspective." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1993. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/186186.
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This dissertation discusses the role of religion in Canaanite and Israelite society. Particularly of interest is the way in which social and political relationships determine the form of religious organization. The period covered extends from the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age through the end of the Israelite Divided Monarchy (2000 B.C.E.-587 B.C.E.). Chapter One presents a history of previous scholarship in the field of Canaanite and Israelite religion. It demonstrates that inadequate attention has been given to archaeological data, despite the importance of these data to the study of religion. Chapter Two discusses the contribution made by anthropological studies toward understanding the role of religion in society. In particular, sacrifice (the religious rite par excellence of Israelites and Canaanites) is more than an arcane ritual. Rather, it reflects issues related to the social structure of the worshipping community. Chapter Three looks at the ritual texts from Ugarit and at pre-exilic portions of the Hebrew Bible. This chapter, like Chapter Two, focusses upon the ritual of sacrifice and demonstrates its central role in the religions of Canaan and Israel. It additionally clarifies its relevance for understanding issues of religion and society. With Chapter Four, the dissertation turns to the evidence presented by archaeological data. Chapter Four is concerned with the religion of Canaan in the Middle Bronze Age. It shows that the development of religion in the first half of the second millennium B.C.E. was related to the slow growth of elite clan groups. Chapter Five presents archaeological data for religion in the Late Bronze Age. It analyzes the effect of increasing Egyptian domination on the religious structure of South Canaan. Chapter Six discusses the way in which the monarchs of Israel and Judah organized religion in support of the state. At the same time, the efforts of some local clan groups to resist these centralizing efforts are seen in alternate modes of worship.
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Kruczek-Aaron, Hadley. "Struggling with moral authority religion, reform, and everyday life in nineteenth-century Smithfield, New York /." Related electronic resource:, 2007. https://login.libezproxy2.syr.edu/login?qurl=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1441187511&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=3739&RQT=309&VName=PQD.
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Rask, Katherine. "Greek Devotional Images: Iconography and Interpretation in the Religious Arts." The Ohio State University, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1338473387.
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El-Hassan, Ahmed Abu El Gassim. "A study of the main religious motifs in the decoration of Meroitic painted and stamped pottery." Thesis, University of Southampton, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.242763.
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Kelleher, Matthew. "Archaeology of sacred space : the spatial nature of religious behaviour in the Blue Mountains National Park Australia." University of Sydney, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/4138.
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Doctor of Philosophy<br>This thesis examines the material correlates of religious behaviour. Religion is an important part of every culture, but the impact religion has on structuring material culture is not well understood. Archaeologists are hampered in their reconstructions of the past because they lack comparative methods and universal conventions for identifying religious behaviour. The principal aim of this thesis is to construct an indicator model which can archaeologically identify religious behaviour. The basis for the proposed model stems directly from recurrent religious phenomena. Such phenomena, according to anthropological and cognitive research, relate to a series of spatio-temporally recurrent religious features which relate to a universal foundation for religious concepts. Patterns in material culture which strongly correlate with these recurrent phenomena indicate likely concentrations of religious behaviour. The variations between sacred and mundane places can be expected to yield information regarding the way people organise themselves in relation to how they perceive their cosmos. Using cognitive religious theory, stemming from research in neurophysiology and psychology, it is argued that recurrent religious phenomena owe their replication to the fact that certain physical stimuli and spatial concepts are most easily interpreted by humans in religious ideas. Humans live in a world governed by natural law, and it is logical that the concepts generated by humans will at least partially be similarly governed. Understanding the connection between concept and cause results in a model of behaviour applicable to cross-cultural analysis and strengthens the model’s assumption base. In order to test the model of religious behaviour developed in this thesis it is applied to a regional archaeological matrix from the Blue Mountains National Park in New South Wales, Australia. Archaeological research in the Blue Mountains has tentatively identified ceremonial sites based on untested generalised associations between select artefact types and distinctive geographic features. The method of analysis in this thesis creates a holistic matrix of archaeological and geographic data, encompassing both qualitative and quantitative measures, which generates a statistical norm for the region. Significant liminal deviations from this norm, which are characteristic indicators of religious behaviour are then identified. Confidence in these indicators’ ability to identify ceremonial sites is obtained by using a distance matrix and algorithms to examine the spatial patterns of association between significant variables. This thesis systematically tests the associations between objects and geography and finds that a selective array and formulaic spatiality of material correlates characteristic of religious behaviour does exist at special places within the Blue Mountains. The findings indicate a wide spread if more pocketed distribution of ceremonial sites than is suggested in previous models. The spatial/material relationships for identified religious sites indicates that these places represent specialised extensions of an interdependent socio-economic system where ceremonial activity and subsistence activity operated in balance and were not isolated entities.
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Kelleher, Matthew H. "Archaeology of sacred space the spatial nature of religious behaviour in the Blue Mountains National Park Australia /." Connect to full text, 2002. http://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/2123/4138.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2003.<br>Title from title screen (viewed April 6, 2009). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Dept. of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts. Degree awarded 2003; thesis submitted 2002. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.
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Gidlöf, Hampus. "Hällkonsten : Illusionen av religion." Thesis, Umeå universitet, Institutionen för idé- och samhällsstudier, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-187041.
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The purpose of this bachelor thesis is to research the different theories that exist behind the creation of the rock art in Sweden, new to old paper and research of the rock art from different countries is used. This is to try to criticize the existing theories but also to rectify them, at the same time a secular theory will be created in the light of the read research. This is to test different theories and try to make a new school of rock art theories, a secular one.Geographical data over the rock art in Sweden have been used and analyzed, the rock art have been had its distance to its closest neighbor (non-rock art) calculated. This data has been made for every county, the results of number and distances of the different ancient remains have been put into bar charts and histograms. The field of rock art is old and complicated, to tribute one religion to the rock art is nearly impossible, a problem will nearly always make it self-apparent for every theory. Some theories like shamanism and hunting magic seem to have a solid argument but problem arises. For others like the southern cult theories the religion probably existed but the connection to the rock art is not as strong. A connection between rock art and non-rock art is hard to make out, some connections are showing and a difference depending on the latitude. Problems exist, the analysis needs a lot more work before any accurate assumptions can be made with its data.
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Bardsley, Craig S. "Religion, mind and society : a socio-communicative approach to the archaeology of pre- and early protopalatial Crete." Thesis, University of Reading, 2004. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.430838.
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Dungan, Katherine Ann. "Religious Architecture and Borderland Histories: Great Kivas in the Prehispanic Southwest, 1000 to 1400 CE." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/595696.
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Historically, archaeologists working on non-state societies have tended to interpret religion and large-scale religious architecture as necessarily integrative, that is, as naturalizing the social order or producing an abiding sense of community. I argue here that this focus on integration has limited our ability to understand how and why religion changed through time and how religion may have been a driver of social change. We will benefit from considering the political dimensions of religious practice in non-state societies as much as in more "complex" settings. This study explores the articulation of religious practice and religious architecture with social and spatial boundaries in the prehispanic U.S. Southwest. In particular, I examine variability and change in rectangular great kivas—large, semi-subterranean religious structures—in west-central New Mexico and east-central Arizona between 1000 and 1400 CE in relationship to socially diverse contexts that might be viewed as borderlands or frontiers. The study pulls together two broads strands of research. The first is an examination of the unusual great kiva at the thirteenth-century CE Fornholt site (LA 164471) near Mule Creek, New Mexico, in relation to the broader history of the surrounding Upper Gila area. This portion of the research is based on two seasons of excavation at Fornholt and on an examination of records and ceramic collections from the Upper Gila. I suggest that the Upper Gila may be considered a borderland or frontier through time and that viewing Fornholt as a borderland site sheds light on the site's material culture, including its great kiva. The second strand of research is a comparison of great kiva architecture and assemblages across the larger study area based on the examination of museum collections and the aggregation of published and unpublished architectural data. The broader study demonstrates that, while these great kivas make up a coherent tradition and fit within the larger world of southwestern religion, great kivas in borderland contexts show experimentation and change in ways that more centrally located great kivas do not. I argue that this diversity can be viewed in light of the negotiation of social boundaries in borderland contexts, including the role of great kivas as political venues or contested spaces.
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Sharpe, Heather Fiona. "From Hieron and Oikos the religious and secular use of Hellenistic and Greek Imperial bronze statuettes /." [Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2006. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3210047.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Art History, 2006.<br>Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-03, Section: A, page: 0754. Adviser: Wolf Rudolph. "Title from dissertation home page (viewed March 16, 2007)."
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Swinton, Andrea Mae. "Religion and ancient society : the development of public cult on Cyprus from Late Cypriot I to Cypro-Archaic I." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1996. https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/272406.
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Vella, Nicholas C. "Ritual, landscape and territory : Phoenician and Punic non-funerary religious sites in the Mediterranean : an analysis of the archaeological evidence." Thesis, University of Bristol, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/1983/0f6f0164-73e9-48a4-a2b3-b137f3c5ccf3.
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Sofield, Clifford M. "Placed deposits in early and middle Anglo-Saxon rural settlements." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2012. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:b878e1cd-21a3-449a-8a18-d1ad8d728a26.
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Placed deposits have received increasing attention over the past 30 years, particularly in prehistoric British archaeology. Although disagreement still exists over the definition, identification, and interpretation of placed deposits, significant advances have been made in theoretical and methodological approaches to placed deposits, as researchers have gradually moved away from relatively crude ‘ritual’ interpretations toward more nuanced considerations of how placed deposits may have related to daily lives, social networks, and settlement structure, as well as worldview. With the exception of comments on specific deposits and a recent preliminary survey, however, Anglo-Saxon placed deposits have remained largely unstudied. This thesis represents the first systematic attempt to identify, characterize, analyse and interpret placed deposits in early to middle Anglo-Saxon settlements (5th–9th centuries). It begins by disentangling the various definitions of ‘placed’, ‘structured’, and ‘special’ deposits and their associated assumptions. Using formation process theory as a basis, it develops a definition of placed deposits as material that has been specially selected, treated, and/or arranged, in contrast with material from similar or surrounding contexts. This definition was applied to develop contextually specific criteria for identifying placed deposits in Anglo-Saxon settlements. Examination of 141 settlements identified a total of 151 placed deposits from 67 settlements. These placed deposits were characterized and analysed for patterns in terms of material composition, context type, location within the settlement, and timing of deposition relative to the use-life of their contexts. Broader geographical and chronological trends have also been considered. In discussing these patterns, anthropological theories of action, agency, practice, and ritualization have been employed in order to begin to understand the roles placed deposits may have had in structuring space and time and expressing social identities in Anglo-Saxon settlements, and to consider how placed deposition may have articulated with Anglo-Saxon worldview and belief systems.
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Price, Neil S. "The Viking way : religion and war in late Iron Age Scandinavia /." Uppsala : Dept. of Archaeology and Ancient History, 2002. http://bibpurl.oclc.org/web/24659.
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Rimmer, Amanda. "Skeppsymbolik inom bronsåldern : En studie om skeppristningarna i Enköping." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för arkeologi och antik historia, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-353139.
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Rock carvings are engraved motifs of different kinds that are placed on rock surfaces and were created during the Scandinavian bronze age. There are many different kinds of rock carvings but the most common motif is cup marks, and the second most common is ships. In this essay ship carvings are analyzed to see whether they were used in religious practice. Based on literary studies of earlier reserch done on the subject I have formed my own opinion about the ship's meaning. Different interpretations of how the ship could have been used within religious rituals are discussed by four sites in Uppland which present a variety of rock carving combinations. The sites were picked because the ship carvings are similar and they all have one or more human figures close by. The human presence on the rock faces strengthen the interpretation that the ship were used with religious purpose, and a prime example of this is Brandskogsskeppet, one of Sweden's largest ship carvings. It is more than four meters long, has several human figures on-board the ship and is carried by a person. The results of the study is that the ship carvings can indeed be interpreted as religious symbols but that is also could have served a multifunctional purpose depending on the situation
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Caviness, Dimitra-Alys Anne. "Investigating ancient religion and geography : an analysis of pre-Christian Ireland using mythology and a geographic information system." Virtual Press, 2001. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1204486.
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MacFarland, Kathryn Anne, and Kathryn Anne MacFarland. "Religious and Ritualized Landscapes of Iron Age North Central Eurasia." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/626359.
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Animal Style Art (ASA), an iconographic style expressed on monuments and material culture, is a geographically widespread phenomenon in north central Eurasia during the Iron Age (ca. 1,000 BCE – 100 CE). Frequently depicted elements of this style include composite animals composed of animal elements fused together to create a new mythical animal; a stylized geometric design within the animal; and an interaction of some kind (e.g., one figure attacking another, figures standing nearby, single animal).
The research presented in this dissertation focuses on the possibility that ASA constitutes evidence for a pan-regional religion in north central Eurasia during the Iron Age. Systematic study of ancient texts, ethnography, archaeological remains, and a detailed stylistic analysis of the complex elements of ASA, have all contributed to this research. This analysis is an artifact-focused macro-scale (continental) study of ASA, breaking down the cultural contexts as well as the geographical and chronological distribution in which it occurs, and the elements of the style itself, analyzing patterns of occurrence and similarity throughout north central Eurasia.
This has been accomplished by the creation of a database, specifically designed as a museum curation tool and as a Geographic Information System (GIS) resulting in a dataset of 4,633 catalog lots (a single object or set). These data contribute to the identification of internal patterns in the expression of this iconographic style between regions of north central Eurasia and is inferred as evidence for symbolic expression of religious belief. This claim is evaluated in a variety of ways focusing on three themes: mobility, political structure and social complexity, and religious belief.
This first attempt at continental scale expression of symbolic systems directly tied to conceptual metaphors and religious belief has resulted in the preliminary identification of a religious landscape among all the regions, to varying degrees throughout the Iron Age. These findings help explain the widespread distribution of ASA in north central Eurasia during the Iron Age.
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Alaimo, Katrina-Kay Sepulveda. "An archaeology of temple assemblages and social practice in early south-eastern Roman Britain." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10871/24914.
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This research focuses on artefactual assemblages from temples in the south-east and east of England from 50 BCE to 250 CE. In order to evaluate these data, which primarily consists of faunal remains, coins, and items of personal adornment, quantitative methods to perform intra-site and inter-site analyses are utilised. As a result of the analyses conducted, a range of social practices were identified, including those specific to individual temples, and those that were shared to varying degrees across the breadth of the study area. The study also examines how a site’s unique environmental and political conditions characterised the assemblages of each temple. Moreover, it reveals that the pre-Roman Eastern and Southern kingdoms continued to influence the nature of practices on temple sites into the Roman period, and that the impact of Roman conquest was much less persuasive as might be expected from previous research on religion in Roman Britain. The conclusions of this study emphasise the significant future potential of the finds evidence to illuminate studies of religion in the Roman empire, as well as highlighting the diverse nature of religion in early Roman Britain.
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Kilbride, William George. "An archaeology of literacy and the church in southern England to AD 750." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2000. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/1645/.
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This thesis investigates the impact of the Christian clergy on daily life in Anglo-Saxon England in the seventh and eight centuries AD. Noting from the outset an interpretative impasse in historical sources, the archaeological record is explored for what it may reveal concerning those areas and peoples most hidden from historical scholarship. Noting problems with techniques that assume clear distinctions between Christian and pagan ritual - in particular funerary ritual - the anthropology of religious phenomena and religious conversion is introduced to support and expand that critique, but also to focus attention on the sophistication of the problem to be addressed. It is argued that the social sciences are ill-equipped to investigate religious phenomena and that a more subtle, if more complicated, approach is required. Considering the coming of Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England as an encounter between missionaries and their audience, we are encouraged to investigate the subtle tensions implicit in that relationship. The relationship is thus recast in terms of access to literacy, since this is a distinguishing factor of the clergy in England in the seventh and eighth centuries. Literacy, modelled as a set of discursive practices embedded in and re-produced through social relationships, is investigated from the perspective of the archaeology of surveillance. Two cases from Hampshire - Micheldever and Saxon Southampton (or Hamwic) - support the view that literacy can be used as a means of investigating the missionary encounter. It is proposed that, by the first half of the eighth century, the populations of these two areas were drawn into an intricate engagement with the clergy, facilitated by the bureaucratic and discursive deployment of literacy practices. Though necessarily more complicated than approaches that depend on the archaeology of the cemeteries to investigate the relationship between the clergy and the laity, this insight does at least do justice to the complexity of the issue being discussed.
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Norén, Amelie. "The Reign of Akhenaten : The Inhabitants of Tell el-Amarna through a Religious Perspective." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för arkeologi och antik historia, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-415572.
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Norén, A. 2020. The Reign of Akhenaten: The Inhabitants of Tell el-Amarna through a Religious Perspective. The purpose of the study is to demonstrate the complex religious climate of Tell el-Amarna, the capital city of ancient Egypt in the 18th dynasty, during the reign of Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten (1353–1336 B.C.E.). These complex elements refer to the devotion of pharaoh and his new-established ideology of Atenism and the simultaneously ongoing worship of traditional gods of which many were actively persecuted by the state during this time. The conclusions of this study presents a general picture of the lives of the inhabitants of el-Amarna by drawing on examples of religious objects which have been excavated from the city and what these may suggest about the religious beliefs of the people. However, the study does not focus primarily on the distribution of objects or social stratification. The sources which have been employed in this study consists of books and articles published by Barry J. Kemp and Anna Stevens, among others. The primary source material by Kemp and Stevens comprises archaeological theories and methods which in this study have been employed in an attempt to bring the material one step further, namely to analyse the religious climate at el-Amarna through the perspective of its inhabitants and place the material evidence in relation to the ideologies of Akhenaten.<br>Norén, A. 2020. Akhenatens regeringstid: Invånarna i Tell el-Amarna ur ett religiöst perspektiv. Syftet med studien är att redogöra för det komplexa religiösa klimatet i Tell el-Amarna, som var huvudstaden i det antika Egypten under den 18nde dynastin, under Amenhotep IV/Akhenatens regeringstid (1353–1336 f.v.t.). Med komplexa element menas den hängivenhet som uttrycktes inför farao och hans nyetablerade ideologi som kallas Atenism samtidigt som det existerade en fortsatt tro på de traditionella gudarna som aktivt förföljdes och raderades av staten under den här tiden. Slutsatserna i den här studien presenterar en generell bild av livet för invånarna i el-Amarna genom att återge exempel på religiösa objekt som har hittats i staden och vad dessa må berätta gällande det religiösa utövandet hos människorna som bodde här. Studien fokuserar inte primärt på spridningen eller mängden av objekt och heller inte på social stratifikation. De källor som använts i den här studien består av böcker och artiklar som publicerats av Barry J. Kemp och Anna Stevens samt andra forskare. Det primära källmaterialet av Kemp och Stevens utgörs av arkeologiska teorier och metoder som används i den här studien med avsikten att ta materialet ett steg längre genom att analysera det religiösa klimatet i el-Amarna ur invånarnas perspektiv och sätta de materiella lämningarna i relation till Akhenatens ideologier.
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Warford, Erin. "The multipolar polis| A study of processions in Classical Athens and the Attica countryside." Thesis, State University of New York at Buffalo, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3714691.
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<p> This dissertation focuses on religious processions in Athens in the late 6<sup>th</sup> and 5<sup>th</sup> centuries BCE, when the evidence for processions and festivals first becomes abundant enough to study fruitfully. The built sacred landscape of Athens was beginning to take shape, and Athenian identity was being reshaped under the influence of the Persian Wars, Athens’ imperial ambitions, and the new popularity of Theseus. Processions traced defined routes in this landscape, forming physical links between center and periphery, displaying numerous symbols which possessed special significance for Athenians and which were part of Athenians’ cultural memory and collective identity. </p><p> Processions were intense, subjective sensory experiences, full of symbols with deep religious and cultural significance. They were also public performances, opportunities for participants to show off both their piety and their wealth, to perform their membership in the Athenian community, and perhaps to gain social capital or prominence. Not least, processions were movements through a landscape embedded with myths, history, cultural associations, and the connotations of daily lived experience. Previous studies of processions have focused on one of these three aspects—symbols, participants, or route—without fully taking account of the others, failing to provide a comprehensive theoretical framework or analysis of these ritual movements. All of these elements—symbols, participants, and route—were deliberately chosen, designed to impart particular experiences and meanings to participants and spectators. This dissertation will thus ask why particular symbols, participants, and routes were chosen and explore as many of their potential meanings as possible, considering the myths, cultural associations, and areas of daily life where these elements appeared. </p><p> The repetition of processions is vital to understanding their cultural resonance. Spectators could see the processions multiple times over the course of their lives, and draw new conclusions or interpretations as they gained life experience, learned new stories or myths, and as the collective discourse around Athenian religion created new meanings—for example, in the aftermath of the Persian Wars. This repetition also reinforced the meanings that these symbols already possessed for Athenians. </p><p> François de Polignac’s bipolar <i>polis</i> theory, which inspired many aspects of this dissertation, characterized processions as ritual ‘links’ in the landscape connecting center and periphery. This is essentially correct, but in Classical Athens, there were multiple peripheries and a whole calendar full of processions and sacred travel to festivals, the performance of which constructed and maintained the idea of Athens as a spatially and culturally unified territory. Therefore I propose instead the multipolar <i>polis</i> model, which provides a richer and more comprehensive view of the web of connections which linked Athens to her peripheries. These connections included the state-run festivals put on at the major extraurban sanctuaries; the monumental temples and other facilities constructed with state money; the fortifications constructed at or near the sanctuaries, protecting the strategic interests of the state; and the mythical, historical, and ideological significance of these sacred places and their deities. Whether participants traveled to these sanctuaries in a formal procession or via less-organized sacred travel, their movement through the landscape reinforced their associations with it and with the destination sanctuary. </p><p> Processions were complex rituals with many functions. They displayed culturally-significant symbols to participants and spectators, reinforcing their meaning. They provided a stage for participants to perform their status and wealth. They traced a defined route through the landscape of Attica, linking center and periphery, taking participants past a series of meaningful places, buildings, and art. All of these elements—symbols, people, and places—drew their meanings from shared myths, rituals, history, and the experience of daily life. The repetition of processions reinforced these meanings in the minds of Athenians, and allowed them to change as Athenian identity changed (and vice versa). It is these threads of common cultural memory, myths and associations that an Athenian could depend on his or her fellow Athenians to remember and understand, and which Athenians wove together in their writings, speeches, plays, and rituals to form their common identity.</p>
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Svensson, Erik. "En konkret beskrivning och kritik av en grundläggande mytologisk, religiös och praktisk kultur under den nordiska bronsåldern (1800-500 f kr)." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för arkeologi och antik historia, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-353319.
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Abstract Svensson, E. 2018. A concrete description and critique about a basic mythological, religious and practical culture during the Nordic bronze age (1800-1000 BC) This subject’s main focus is to look at earlier and modern archaeological studies on mythological, symbolical and religious enrichments during the Nordic Bronze Age (1800-500 BC). Its aim is to give the reader a better understanding of older and modern information about religious and mythological enrichment during the Nordic Bronze Age which is based on earlier relevant studies on rock engraving, cultural artefacts, and ritual regions from that time. The relevant sources that i have used for this paper are even going to be prepared to meet relevant comparison between different academics that i have mainly used for this main subject and i am even going to clarify different critical points that those academic main sources might have and what the reader should be aware of when they are eventually going to make their own relevant studying on religious and mythological cultures during the Nordic Bronze Age. Keywords: studies, cultural enrichment, activities, mythology, religious, investigate archaeological fragments, geographic areas, influential, ritual practice, comparison, critical points. Omslagsbild: Hällristning från kiviksgraven från 1300 f. kr. Fotevikens museum
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Jones, Judith Frances. "Dances of life and death : interpretations of early modern religious identity from rural parish chuches and their landscapes along the Hampshire/Sussex border 1500-1800." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2013. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/366338/.
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This thesis enters a territory infrequently visited by English archaeologists – the early modern period. I have chosen a research area encompassing fifty neighbouring parish churches along the border of East Hampshire and West Sussex and studied what survives of their post-medieval material culture. Though these medieval churches have generally been altered in the 19th century many of them still retain material, architectural, landscape and documentary clues which reveal important aspects of their early modern condition and the religious experiences of their parishioners in life and death. A major aim has been to show that far from being stripped of imagery and cultural artefacts, other materials were introduced, designed to communicate new forms of Protestant ritual to parishioners who may frequently have been bewildered by the rapid religious changes of the 16th and 17th centuries. Having described the area and visited its historical biography in Part One and in order to capture a sense of what it was like to participate in parish religion, I concentrate on four themes emanating from my studies of these churches: space, sensory experience, the performance of memory and gender. Thus Part Two deals with the spatial qualities of new architectural innovations and the effects of the reorganisation of church furniture and is followed by an account of the sensory experiences which religious participation evoked. These discussions centre on the lives of parishioners. Part Three turns to parishioners’ encounters with death and their understandings of the ways in which the church and churchyard framed and enabled the performance of social memory. The final discussion chapter is a series of case studies centred on tombs commissioned by individual gentlewomen for their families and themselves and their nuanced interpretations of mortuary imagery. A major element of this study lies in the way it develops contemporary methodological frameworks within early modern social archaeology. This allows a wider synthesis to be achieved using thematic regional approaches which run alongside the contextual exploration of the sample’s locales over this long transitional period. My approach is also informed by theoretical issues emanating from a number of associated disciplines such as history, art history and anthropology. This is an unusual standpoint which aims to provide a particularly multilayered exploration of an area and time rich in archaeological material which builds on and develops current scholarly thinking in this particular realm of social archaeology.
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Trow, Rebecca. "Temples in Antis in the Bronze and Iron Ages of the Levant : an archaeological case study of ritual and religion in the ancient Near East." Thesis, University of Liverpool, 2015. http://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/2011021/.
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Temples in antis first appear in the Early Bronze Age in modern day Syria and gradually spread southwards through the rest of the Levant from the Middle Bronze Age onwards. In Syria, some temples in antis are still found in the Iron Age but they seem to be declining in popularity in this period. This research aims to provide a new definition of temples in antis across the Levant based not only on the architecture as in previous research, but also on the finds within the temples. Looking at the finds as well as the architecture allows a consideration of the nature of activities associated with these buildings, and a comparison between these temples and other types of temples will show whether they represent a new style of cult or simply a new style of architecture to house existing cults. Before considering the temples in antis specifically, this research first presents a summary of research into religion and ritual in archaeology, an area that has been sadly neglected in the past, allowing a definition of what we may be encountering in the case of these temples. It is hoped that this research will add to the recent wave of research on religion in archaeology, acting as a case study that shows how the archaeological remains of religion should be considered as an important piece of evidence allowing us to better understand ancient societies, rather than simply being ignored or treated as something of a joke. In the main part of this research, the entire corpus of temples in antis is collected, and then all the available data on finds from these temples are brought together for analysis. Because of the lack of data for many sites, four case study sites (Ebla, Tel Haror, Tell el-Hayyat and Hazor) were chosen which act as a base to which other, more poorly published sites may be compared. Conclusions based on this research are threefold considering: firstly, what can be determined about religion and ritual in the temple in antis; secondly, how these temples compare to other types of temples; and finally, how these temples, whatever they represent, may have spread.
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Samuelsson, Ronja. "Gåtan om halsbanden. : En studie om kvinnor och religion i den vikingatida staden Birka." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för arkeologi och antik historia, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-352952.
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This study concerns three necklaces, found in three women’s graves in the Viking age city Birka, placed on the island Björkö in the lake Mälaren. The necklaces are well ornate with pearls of carnelian, rock crystal, glass and amber, as well as silver pendants in the shape of for example animals, chairs and crosses. The aim is to examine what purpose the necklaces and their pendants had in its contemporary time, as well as to examine the purpose and possible religious role of the women who owned the necklaces. In order to examine this the graves with the necklaces will also be compared with so called “völvegraves”, which are graves meant for völvor, vǫlur, women who were fortune-tellers. The graves are compared since a hypothesis have been formed, and through a hypothethico-deduction method I hope to see if the aim of this study can be answered. Delimitations are that not all pendants from the necklaces will be used, only categories that will bring forth an analysis as well a discussion. Only two of three völvegraves will take part in the study, since one of them needs more interpretation and analysis. The study showed similarities between the graves with the necklaces and the völvegraves, which supports a positive outcome of the method. The major differences between the graves were the objects interpreted as ritual, the staff and the necklaces. However, since a hypothethico-deduction theory can be limited, the discussion also focused on the pendants of the necklaces, and what they can say about function and worth. Since the pendants show a connection to the god Oden, I concluded that the necklaces were used as religious objects, and that the women possibly could have had the role of a gydja, but that they had Oden as their main God. I also concluded that the women were connected to vǫlur through the connection to Oden as well as chair pendants, but that the women with the necklaces probably were not vǫlur.
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Benfer, Robert Alfred, Bernardino Ojeda, Neil A. Duncan, et al. "The Buena Vista Astronomical Religious Tradition." Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2012. http://repositorio.pucp.edu.pe/index/handle/123456789/113557.
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A maritime, rather than agricultural, foundation for civilization has been postulated for the central coast of Perú; the model has been subsequently modified in light of new evidence to include exchange with farming communities in middle valleys. A key question is what caused the sudden appearance of sites with monumental architecture before the introduction of ceramics on the central Andean coast? Recent reports call for further refinement of this hypothesis, and here we present new evidence —the finding of very ancient calendaric temples, ushnus that were observatories in the Chillón Valley. We argue that the stimulus for intensification of production of storable foods required for continued population expansion was the climate shock of the end of the Optimum Climaticum in the third millennium BC. These observatories marked dates of great practical importance for both agriculture and marine production. Astronomer priests came to manage the architecture and representational art in the Late Preceramic Chillón Valley. These powerful priests, with their own special dwellings at the site, acquired power that would have superseded the family/ayllu dimension. The complexity of the observatories at Buena Vista is without precedent in the Americas. The power guarded by those first astronomer priests may have been precariously held; an unpredicted flood could have destroyed their credibility. In any case, the ushnus at Buena Vista show that a wide variety of astronomical instruments were developed: a sighting device, the gaze of a personified figure, and the photon capturing device of a special light chamber, as well as entryway and stairwell alignments. This astronomical tradition is exhibited in a very complex stage of development by 2000 BC, at the site of Buena Vista.<br>Desde hace mucho tiempo, diversos investigadores han postulado un carácter marítimo, en vez de agrícola, para los orígenes de la civilización en la costa central del Perú. Este modelo ha sido subsecuentemente modificado a la luz del hallazgo de nuevas evidencias para incluir el intercambio con comunidades agrícolas establecidas en los valles medios. Una pregunta clave en relación con este tema concierne a la causa de la súbita aparición de sitios con arquitectura monumental antes de la introducción de la cerámica en la costa central andina. Los trabajos recientes reclaman mayores refinamientos para esta hipótesis, por lo que los autores presentan aquí nuevas pruebas: el hallazgo de templos calendáricos muy antiguos, un tipo de "ushnus" que sirvieron de observatorios en el valle del Chillón. Se postula aquí que el estímulo para la intensificación de la producción de alimentos factibles de almacenaje requeridos por una población en continua expansión fue la convulsión climática ocurrida a fines del Optimum Climaticum en el tercer milenio a.C. Estos observatorios marcaron fechas de gran importancia práctica tanto para la producción agrícola como marítima. De esta manera, los sacerdotes-astrónomos pasaron a administrar la arquitectura y el arte figurativo en el valle del Chillón del Periodo Precerámico Tardío. Estos poderosos individuos, que poseían viviendas especiales en el sitio, adquirieron un poder que pudo haber reemplazado la dimensión de la familia/ayllu. La complejidad de los observatorios en Buena Vista no tiene precedentes en las Américas, pero el poder ejercido por estos primeros sacerdotes-astrónomos pudo haber sido precariamente sostenido; en ese sentido, una inundación no prevista podría haber destruido su credibilidad. En todo caso, los ushnus de este complejo muestran que se desarrolló una amplia variedad de instrumentos astronómicos: un dispositivo de observación, la mirada fija de una escultura de barro con rasgos antropomorfos, un mecanismo de captura de fotones en una cámara especial, así como el alineamiento de entradas y escaleras. El despliegue de esta tradición astronómica se da en una etapa muy compleja de desarrollo hacia 2000 a.C. en el sitio de Buena Vista.