Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Christian Archaeology'

This thesis investigates lifeways of medieval Christian communities from Portmahomack, Northeast Scotland and Norton Priory, Northwest England, to ascertain the extent to which skeletal indicators of diet, disease or trauma reflect religious or social influences. Osteology and palaeopathology methods on human adult and sub-adult skeletons from Portmahomack (6th to 17th century) and Norton Priory (12th to 16th century) was undertaken to provide evidence relating to the four key themes proposed in this study: ‘biological or familial affinity’, ‘the living environment’, ‘trauma and conflict’, and ‘diet and nutrition-related stresses’. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of bone collagen from adult humans from Portmahomack (including and a sub-sample of sub-adults) and Norton Priory were measured for dietary reconstructions. Faunal bone collagen was also analysed from Portmahomack and Norton Priory (plus a selection of fish bones from Chester Cathedral) to provide isotopic baselines to reconstruct human diets. The results suggest past lifeways of Christian communities from Portmahomack and Norton Priory can indeed be successfully reconstructed through bioarchaeology. The evidence from this study has found that skeletal traits, alongside burial evidence, can elucidate familial affinities, especially from Norton Priory, and that differences in cultural and religious practices are reflected within the living environment of ecclesiastic and lay groups. Evidence of violence, reflecting interpersonal conflict and vulnerability was found from both Portmahomack and Norton Priory, which was inconsistent with the role of ecclesiastic and lay communities that were expected to follow strict Christian doctrines. Stable isotope data revealed a diachronic change in diet at Portmahomack; no fish were consumed during the monastic period, whereas significant amounts were consumed by layfolk in the later periods, suggesting Christian dietary practices changed over time. The isotope data from Norton Priory reflected a more homogeneous diet that did not change greatly over time, suggesting conformity to the same fasting practices. Overall, this study has demonstrated that adopting a multidisciplinary bioarchaeological approach, integrating skeletal, chemical, archaeological, and historical evidence, results in a powerful research tool that enables reconstructions of medieval Christian lifeways and interpretations of religious and social influences therein.

Woman monks are not uncommon to find in Coptic and other hagiographic literature. They were described to dress into male attire and travel to anchoritic monasteries where they would get a single cell to devote their lives to God through seclusion, prayers, fasting, meditation, studies, and other daily chores, all the while not being known as women by most of the men in their brethren. It was a tough life for a man and it would have been a tough life for a woman. In this study, five hagiographies about woman monks will be examined: three Coptic, one Christian, and one found in both traditions. These women performed miracles and went through changes in both body and mind. The woman Hilaria is one of the most popular saints in Coptic belief and her story is the corner stone of this thesis. Her legend is also considered to be one of the oldest and might be the origin of these kinds of stories, which makes it remarkable on its own. Nonetheless, four other female saints will be examined to find what this essay seeks to answer: What are these women, as women, doing and why? What is the meaning of these stories? Why do they go to anchoritic monasteries? Are we dealing with portraying ideals on Coptic and Christian women? These are some of the questions that this essay is based upon. It combines Egyptological, Christian, literary, as well as gender research for a relevant and fresh view on these texts and their meaning.
Kvinnliga munkar är inte ovanliga att hitta i koptisk och annan hagiografisk litteratur. De klädde sig i manliga kläder och reste till anakoretiska kloster där de fick en cell för att viga sitt liv åt Gud genom avskildhet, böner, fastande, meditation, studier och andra vardagliga sysslor, allt medan de flesta av männen i deras brödraskap inte visste att de var kvinnor. Det var ett hårt liv för en man och det var ett hårt liv för en kvinna. I den här studien kommer fem hagiografier om kvinnomunkar att undersökas: tre koptiska, en kristen och en som återfinns i både traditioner. Dessa kvinnor utfärdade mirakel och gick igenom förändringar i både kropp och sinne. Kvinnan Hilaria är ett av de mest populära helgonen inom koptiskt trosväsende, och hennes historia är hörnpelaren i denna uppsats. Hennes legend anses också vara en av de äldsta och kanske ursprunget till dessa sorts historier, vilket gör den enastående i sig själv. Trots det kommer fyra andra kvinnliga helgon att undersökas för att hitta de svar som denna uppsats söker: Vad gör dessa kvinnor som kvinnor, och varför? Vad betyder dessa historier? Varför går de till anakoretiska kloster? Har vi att göra med porträtterande av ideal för koptiska och kristna kvinnor? Dessa är några av de frågor som denna uppsats bygger på. Den kombinerar egyptologiska, kristna, litteratur- och genusstudier för ett relevant och färskt perspektiv på dessa texter och deras betydelse.

Christian archaeology and art of the region under the jurisdiction of the Church of the East in the Late Antique and early Islamic period is an underresearched field of studies, which exists in between more developed disciplines such as Byzantine and Syriac studies as well as Early Christian, Sasanian and Islamic archaeology and art history. However, archaeological excavations of the last century, especially in southern Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf region, now allow research to be conducted on the most important medium of artistic expression of the region - stucco. Considered from the technological, stylistic and iconographic point of view and within the aforementioned cultural contexts, it reveals that the Christian stucco production of the region was shaped by Sasanian traditions and contemporary Byzantine and Islamic influences, but also that it developed an innovative and highly creative vocabulary of forms and motifs. It was especially among the Gulf communities of Sir Bani Yas, al-Qusur and other sites that this transformative approach towards traditional and contemporary artistic models manifested itself within a short period between the late seventh and the early ninth centuries. Slightly more conservative is the character of Christian art of southern Mesopotamia in the eighth and early ninth centuries. An interesting exception is a relief found at a church in Koke in the region of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, in which the Sasanian technique of deep relief is combined with the Byzantine dress of the person represented. This fusion of culturally divergent elements testifies to the double identity of the Christians living under the Sasanians - and later, in the early Islamic caliphate - who were recognized as a part of society but distinctive for their religion.

Recent studies of early Islamic Palestine have stressed the minimal impact of the Arab conquest on the Christian communities of the region. None, however, have sought to trace the trajectories of these communities beyond the eighth century. This thesis provides the first long-term study of the impact of the Arab conquest on monasticism and pilgrimage between 614 and 950. The study explores the changes to the physical landscape of monasteries and Christian cult sites, in terms of site abandonment and continuity, and situates these processes in the broader political and economic context of the Palestinian region between the seventh and tenth centuries. This thesis offers a systematic critique of current theories which view Palestinian monasticism and Christian pilgrimage as social entities dependent upon patronage from Byzantium and the early medieval west. Rather, it stresses the need for a more nuanced recognition of monastic communities and Christian cult sites as places closely interlinked with localised developments and the high degree of variation between communities in terms of patron economies and social transactions. This study demonstrates that these variances often provide the key to understanding the highly varied response of Palestinian monastic communities and Christian cult sites to early Muslim rule.

Using cluster analysis and a geographic information system (GIS), this study attempted to identify a settlement system in the Dingle Peninsula of Early Christian Ireland based on the morphological variability of ringforts. Cluster analysis was used to determine if an intuitive ringfort typological model created by the author had validity. Use of cluster analysis identified three distinct classes of univallate ringfort. Although these clusters have a higher variable mean than anticipated, they do appear to verify partial validity of the author's model. With the exception of Cluster 1, it appears that the assumption that as unvallate ringfort banks increase in elaboration, than so does their internal diameter.ARC/INFO, a GIS was used to help test the hypothesized relationship between ringfort clusters. It was assumed that the univallate ringforts with the smallest banks would be very close to and in the line of sight of bivallate and mulitvallate ringforts. Those with an intermediate bank size would tend to be farther away and not in the line of sight of bivallate and multivallate ringforts. These assumptions were determined to be invalid.
Department of Anthropology

The Viking Age town Birka has since long been a central part of archaeological studies and excavations in Sweden. It has brought much light and information about the people living there from the late 8th century to the late 10th century. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the decorated spears found in a selected number of Birka's chamber graves to see if any visual traces of religious expressions are present. The spears and their context will then be put into contrast with the clear patterns of the worship of Odin in Birka's Garrison area and religious studies from pre-Christian Scandinavia. This is done in the hopes of shedding some light on the spear’s relevance in the Viking Age's culture and religious contexts.

This thesis wishes to draw attention to the economic, social and political implications of the rise and establishment of the institutional Church in Early Christian Greece, particularly by exploring the pilgrimage, philanthropic and industrial function of the churches’ annexes. The diverse functions of churches annexes, besides reflecting a social dimension, they also reflect economic and political realities that require the development of an interdisciplinary approach, based on civil and ecclesiastical legislation, archaeology, epigraphy, history and theology, in order to explore the extent and the effects of the institutional Church’s activity in Greece. Interpreting Christian archaeology in key excavated sites of Greece by interweaving literary and material evidence both of ecclesiastical and secular origin, will help not only to ascertain how churches stood in relation to adjoining buildings combining religious and economic purposes, but also to restore to the most possible extent the Early Christian Greek urban and rural topographies.

This paper studies the perception of the Christian body during the second and third centuries CE. It engages with this question with the aid of early Christian literature from this time period, additionally containing a particular focus on how the Pauline theology of the body influenced later Christian bodily conceptions. By subjecting these works to a close reading and with the aid of an intertextual theory, this thesis attempts to ascertain whether this early Christian perception of the body was fractured in nature, and whether aspects of this division – if evident – can be derived from and ascribed to a Pauline influence. This thesis argues that corporeality was a particularly complex component within the early Christian faith, the fractured nature of which could be derived from the contrasting influences of prior Graeco-Roman and Jewish theologies.
Den här uppsatsen studerar den kristna uppfattningen av kroppen under 100- och 200-talet e.v.t. Den behandlar denna fråga med hjälp av tidig kristen litteratur från denna tidsperiod, och inbegriper utöver detta även ett särskilt fokus på hur den Paulinska teologin om kroppen påverkade senare kristna uppfattningar av det kroppsliga. Genom att utsätta dessa verk för en närläsning och med hjälp av en intertextuell teori  så försöker den här uppsatsen därmed att avgöra om denna tidiga kristna uppfattning av kroppen var motsägelsefull i sin natur, och huruvida aspekter av denna splittring – om synlig – kan härstamma från eller tillskrivas Paulinsk influens. Den här uppsatsen argumenterar för att kroppslighet var en särskilt komplex komponent inom den tidiga kristna tron, vars splittrade natur kan härstamma från de kontrasterande influenserna av tidigare grekisk-romerska och judiska teologier.

My Ph.D. dissertation examines the history and archaeology of the monastic institutions of Thrace between the tenth and the late fourteenth centuries. Primarily concerned with the fundamental aspects of monastic life and its modes of interaction with lay society, I sought to investigate the life-cycle, topography and spatial composition of monastic communities in the western hinterland of the imperial capital of Byzantium, the city of Constantinople. My second objective was the investigation of the cultural, economic, and social aspects of the relationship between Thrace and Constantinople as evidenced in the surviving material culture, which consists mainly of architecture and decorative programmes. I followed an interdisciplinary methodology that brings together the systematic analysis of a large corpus of texts associated with monastic institutions -namely wills, monastic foundation documents, monastic archives, letters and imperial laws- with the results of three seasons of archaeological fieldwork. I conducted extensive surveys and recorded remains of monastic complexes including churches and refectories on Mount Ganos (Turkey), on the southern Rhodope Mountains (Greece) and in the cities of Sozopolis and Mesembria (Bulgaria), and explored the cultural ties with Constantinople and other meaningful centers of the Byzantine world.

This thesis examines the post-Roman and Anglo-Saxon religious reuse of Roman structures, particularly burials associated with Roman structures, and churches on or near Roman buildings. Although it is known that the Anglo-Saxons existed in and interacted with the vestigial, physical landscape of Roman Britain, the specific nature and result of this interaction has not been completely understood. The present study examines the Anglo-Saxon religious reuse of Roman structures in an attempt to understand the Anglo-Saxon perception of Roman structures and the impact they had on the developing ecclesiastical landscape. In particular, the study reveals how we may better understand the structural coincidence of Roman buildings and early-medieval religious activity in the light of the apparent discontinuity between many Roman and early-medieval landscapes in Britain. The study begins by providing an overview of the evidence for existing Roman remains in the Anglo-Saxon period. It examines the archaeological and historical evidence, and discusses literary references to Roman structures in an attempt to ascertain how the ruins of Roman villas, towns and forts would have been perceived. Particular attention is paid to The Ruin, a poem in Old English which provides us with our only contemporary description of Roman remains in Britain. The first chapter concludes by examining the evidence for the religious reuse of Roman secular structures in Gaul and Rome, providing a framework into which the evidence in the subsequent chapters is placed. The examination the proceeds to burials on or associated with Roman structures. It shows that the practice of interring the dead into Roman structures occurred between the fifth and eighth centuries, but peaked at the beginning of the seventh, with comparatively few sites at the extreme end of the data range. The discussion is based on the evidence of 115 sites that show this burial rite, but it is very apparent that this number is only a fragment of the whole, as these inhumations are often mistakenly identified as Roman, even when the stratigraphy demonstrates that burial occurred after the ruin of the villa, as is often the case. The placement of the bodies show a conscious reuse of the ruinous architecture, rather then suggesting interment was made haphazardly on the site: frequently the body is placed either centrally within a room, or is in contact with some part of the Roman fabric. Some examples suggest that there may have been a preference for apsidal rooms for this purpose. Churches associated with Roman buildings are then examined, and their significance in the development of the English Christian landscape is discussed. Churches of varying status – from minsters to chapels – can be found on Roman buildings throughout the country. Roman structures were clearly chosen for the sites of churches from the earliest Christian period into the tenth, and probably even the eleventh century. Alternatives to the so-called proprietary model are examined, and their origins and development are discussed, particularly in reference to the continental evidence. The end of the study places the thesis into a wider landscape context, and introduces potential avenues of further exploration using GIS. The study concludes that there are a number of causes underlying the religious reuse of Roman buildings, each not necessarily exclusive of the other, and that the study of these sites can further any investigation into the development of the ecclesiastical topography of England, and the eventual development of the parochial landscape.

This thesis examines the Christian context of the former pagan sanctuary of Zeus Labrandeusin Caria during the Early Byzantine period, ca. 325-730 A.D. The focus is on the church, positioned outside the pagan sanctuary’s temenos area. The architecture of the church has been empirically analysed. It is argued that the church shows strong Syrian influences. The Syrian features are a tripartite sanctuary enclosed by a straight back wall, an interior supported by pilasters and a west part with two towers. The study of the architecture has also been used in an attempt to discuss the liturgy at Labraunda.The finds from the excavations of 1951-2005 have been categorized and examined in order to establish a terminus post quem for the Christian presence at the site of the church. This has been crucial for the dating of the church. Furthermore, the finds illustrate the social and economic conditions that prevailed at Labraunda during the Early Byzantine period. Finally, this study tries to enlighten the process of transition from a pagan sanctuary into a Christian place of worship.

This thesis aims to investigate and discuss the possibility for women in the early Christian church to make music, which in the ancient Roman society was something complicated. Afemale musician was looked upon as decadent and dissolute. This idea, in combination with the music ideals of the church influenced by the Neoplatonic movement, and the Pauline statement (1 Cor. 14:34-36), cast women to be completely prohibited in participating even in the psalmody during the service. My purpose is to discuss how this was looked upon in different Christian regions, using the church fathers as the main material source, since this has not previously been well documented or studied.

The aim of this paper is to use isotope analysis of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur from bone and teeth to investigate whether women from the Viking age and early medieval cemetery in Varnhem were local, rather than from a wider area. What is interesting about this area is that it is a Christian cemetery that was taken into use as early as the Viking age (800-1050 AD), a time where the majority of the Swedish population were pagans. It is therefore thought that the majority of the people buried on the cemetery are people from other parts of the landscape, since few other Christian cemeteries are known from his time. I tested my hypothesis with two research questions regarding diet and sulphur isotope ratios. The results from the isotope analysis showed that the women had a rather homogeneous diet and homogeneous sulphur isotope values. These results can strengthen my hypothesis that they were resident in Varnhem.

Les peintures murales de Baouît ont suscité dès leur découverte l’intérêt des historiens de l’art et en particulier des spécialistes de l’Orient chrétien. Devenues un corpus emblématique de l’art copte, à la charnière de l’Antiquité tardive et du haut Moyen Âge, elles représentent une manne iconographique d’autant plus exceptionnelle que les décors de cette période sont rares autour du bassin méditerranéen. Tout en se faisant l’écho des édifices protobyzantins en grande partie disparus, elles rendent compte d’une communauté monastique florissante au début de l’époque arabe. Elles constituent également une source précieuse, complémentaire des textes, sur la vie spirituelle des moines d’Égypte. La présente étude est le fruit d’une synthèse opérée entre la relecture de la documentation ancienne et les données apportées par les investigations récentes. La reprise des travaux archéologiques sur le site invitait à reconsidérer l’ensemble du matériel pictural mis au jour au début du XXe siècle, en vue notamment de préciser, à la lumière des programmes iconographiques et des nouvelles découvertes, la fonction et la datation desdites chapelles. Enfin, elle apporte un éclairage unique sur les peintres qui ont œuvré à Baouît et qui ont transmis, par l’intermédiaire de leur travail pictural, une image de leur communauté et une part de la spiritualité égyptienne
Since their discovery, the wall paintings from Bawit aroused art historians’ interest, especially among scholars of the Christian East. They are an emblematic corpus of Coptic art, in the transition period between the Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. Their significance is even more exceptional, considering the fact that they are very few around the Mediterranean basin. While echoing the largely extinct early byzantine buildings, they reflect a flourishing monastic community at the beginning of the Arab era. They are also a valuable source of information, complementary to the texts, about the spiritual life of the Egyptian monks. This study is the result of a synthesis between the proofreading of the archives and the data provided by the recent investigations. The new start of excavations on the site invited us to reconsider all the pictorial material discovered at the beginning of the 20th century, in order to clarify the function and the date of the said “chapels”, in the light of the iconographic programs and new discoveries. Finally, it gives a unique insight of the painters who have worked at Bawit and who have transmitted, through their pictorial work, an image of their community and a part of the Egyptian spirituality

L’étude des pratiques mortuaires de l’ère chrétienne est un champ de recherche largement exploré par les historiens et les archéologues. Pourtant, en dépit d’une certaine tendance scientifique actuelle à questionner les rapports homme/milieu, aucune étude n’aborde la pompe funèbre dans une optique ethnobotanique. Cette enquête diachronique reconstitue les accessoires végétaux que la société puise dans son environnement pour accompagner le cadavre. Une méthodologie est développée pour la reconnaissance des micro- et macro-restes végétaux, en particulier le pollen, appliquée aux vestiges de huit sites archéologiques français et italiens (Ier-XVIIe s). Ces données, parfois éclairées par les sources écrites, livrent des informations inédites sur deux types de pratiques. D’une part, des dépôts végétaux constitués d’espèces florales accompagnent le corps des défunts et lui confèrent une image plus éclatante du point de vue visuel et olfactif, y compris dans les milieux sociaux les plus humbles. Ces données invitent les archéologues à considérer l’existence d’un mobilier funéraire peu connu jusqu’alors. D’autre part, les végétaux sont utilisés pour l’embaumement interne des plus privilégiés. L’opération transforme chirurgicalement la dépouille, et les chairs sont apaisées par le baume, une préparation dans laquelle les plantes jouent un rôle prédominant en vertu de leurs propriétés médicinales, olfactives, et symboliques. Ce travail pose les bases méthodologiques d’une archéobotanique funéraire. Les origines anciennes des pratiques mises en évidence devront à présent être reconstituées, mais c’est aussi leur rémanence dans la société contemporaine qu’il conviendra d’analyser
Roman and Christian mortuary practices are widely explored by historians and archaeologists in Western Europe. Considered as a relic of a social being, the dead body contributes to a better understanding of human communities and cultures. However, even if Man-Environment interactions are now a central issue of the scientific research, no study has questioned funerary behaviors in an ethnobotanical perspective yet. This work aims to reconstitute plant accessories that people collect in their environment to treat the corpse and modify its appearance or its anatomical and biological properties. An original methodology is set up to sample and analyze macro and microbotanical remains, especially pollen, from Roman, Medieval and Modern tombs (1st-17th centuries AD) excavated on eight archaeological sites in France and in Italy. These archaeobotanical data confronted with written sources shed light on two kinds of practices.On the one hand, plant materials such as floral arrangements, litter and cushion made of colorful and fragrant species accompany the defunct into the grave. These tributes modify the sensory perception of the corpse and materialize devotion to the deceased, even in more humble social backgrounds. These results invite archaeologists to consider a new and unexpected kind of grave goods during fieldwork and laboratory analysis.On the other hand, plants are used for embalming into elite social circles. In Europe this practice, most likely originated in Ancient Times, is accurately documented by written and archaeological sources between the 14th century and the early 19th century. Evisceration and excerebration procedures physically transform the corpse, then the flesh and the skin are treated with an aromatic balm composed by many plants and exudates such as wormwood, mint, myrrh and frankincense. Surgeons appeal to medicinal, olfactory and symbolic properties of plants in order to stop the decay process and honor the body.This work lays foundation for an ethno-archaeobotany of death and brings some elements to understand the relationship between the dead body and its plant environment. Ancient origins of these mortuary practices now need to be identified. Moreover their persistence in contemporary society could also be analyzed through an ethno-sociological approach

Aquesta tesi doctoral sobre la necròpolis medieval de Sant Joan de Caselles (parròquia de Canillo, Andorra) té per objectius determinar la possible procedència dels individus que hi ha van ser inhumats, comprendre l’evolució del cementiri durant el període en que va estar en ús, caracteritzar-ne la població i establir quines van ser les dinàmiques d’enterrament. A partir de les característiques del cementiri, s’han avaluat els següents punts: l’organització, la tipologia, la circulació, la distribució espacial de les restes i l’anàlisi antropològica de 26.797 ossos. L’examen de les restes descontextualitzades i dels individus localitzats a camp i laboratori han permès obtenir el nombre mínim d’individus (NMI), amb determinació de sexe, edat i alçada, així com un estudi antropomètric, paleopatològic i tafonòmic. La necròpolis data del segle XI al XIV i, tot i ocupar un espai reduït de 80m2, presenta una gran potència d’estructures i un nombre mínim de 240 individus. Les tombes orientades d’oest a est i de diferents tipologies –des d’excavades a la roca, de caixa de pedra fins a la fossa simple– , segueixen els cànons del món cristià, i contenen individus en posició primària i secundària. Els inhumats es troben en decúbit supí amb variació en la posició dels braços. La distribució d’aquests en filades fa suposar l’existència de senyals per identificar-los, i per tant, de possibles vies per on circular. La localització de restes descontextualitzades ens ha permès veure acumulacions d’ossos situades a la zona sud est de la necròpolis, paral·lela a l’església. Respecte a l’emplaçament dels individus, no s’evidencien diferències entre sexe i edat, exceptuant als subadults, que estan més pròxims a l’edifici. L’absència de perinatals i nounats, ens podria indicar l’existència d’una altra ubicació per aquest grup, una zona d’albats encara no trobada. Per comprendre del tot l’espai cementirial, caldria com a mínim excavar sota l’església i el porxo oest. En relació a aquesta necròpolis podem destacar que hi ha més presència de dones que d’homes, a diferència d’altres cementiris d’Andorra i una subrepresentació de restes no adultes. L’estudi bioantropològic ens ha permès determinar les característiques morfològiques cranials i postcranials dels individus de Sant Joan de Caselles, observant similituds amb les poblacions cristianes medievals andorranes, catalanes i castellanes, i diferenciant-se de les medievals del nord de la península, les jueves i les musulmanes. En referència a l’alçada, els individus de Sant Joan de Caselles tenen una mitjana superior a la calculada en altres jaciments. Les patologies amb el percentatge més alt de representativitat són les alteracions degeneratives i les orals, seguides de les metabolico- carencials, traumàtiques, tumorals, infeccioses i congènites. No s’han identificat diferències sexuals en relació a la dieta, que es caracteritza per la ingesta de proteïnes i d’hidrats de carboni. Pel que fa als agents i efectes tafonòmics, els més reiteratius són la meteorització i les empremtes d’arrels. La tesi permet endinsar-nos en el coneixement d’una part de la població andorrana d’època medieval desconeguda fins al moment. Sant Joan de Caselles es converteix així, en la necròpolis estudiada més nombrosa de tot el territori andorrà.
This doctoral thesis on the medieval necropolis of Sant Joan de Caselles (parish of Canillo, Andorra) aims to determine the possible origin of the individuals who were buried there, to understand the evolution of the cemetery during the period when it was in use, to characterize its population and to establish its dynamics of burial. Based on the characteristics of the cemetery, the following points have been evaluated: the organization, the typology, the circulation, the spatial distribution of the remains and the anthropological analysis of 26.797 bones. Examination of the decontextualized remains and of the individuals located in the field and laboratory has made it possible to obtain the minimum number of individuals (NMI), with a determination of sex, age and height, as well as an anthropometric, paleopathological and taphonomic study. The necropolis dates from the 11th to the 14th century and, despite occupying a small space of 80m2, presents a number of tombs, many of them overlapping, and a minimum number of 240 individuals. The tombs oriented from west to east and of different types -excavations in the rock, stone boxes and simple pit- follow the canons of the Christian world and contain individuals in the primary and secondary position. The buried subjects are in a supine position with variations in the position of the arms. The distribution of these in rows implies the existence of signals to identify the subjects and therefore of possible routes to circulate. The location of decontextualized remains has allowed us to see accumulations of bones located in the south-eastern part of the necropolis, parallel to the church. Regarding the location of the individuals, there are no differences between sex and age, except for the subadults, who are closer to the building. The absence of perinatal and new-borns could indicate the existence of another location for this group, an area not yet found. To fully understand the cemetery space, an excavation should be made under the church and the west porch. What stands out of this cemetery is that there is more presence of women than men, unlike other cemeteries in Andorra, and there is also an underrepresentation of non- adult remains. The bioanthropological study has allowed us to determine the cranial and postcranial morphological characteristics of the individuals of Sant Joan de Caselles, observing similarities with the medieval Christian populations of Andorran, Catalan and Castilian, and differing from the medieval northern peninsula, the Jewish, and the Muslims. In terms of height, the individuals of Sant Joan de Caselles were on average taller when compared to what has been calculated on other sites. The pathologies with the highest percentage of representativeness are degenerative and oral alterations, followed by metabolic-deficiency, traumatic, tumour, infectious and congenital. No sexual differences have been identified in relation to diet, which is characterized by protein and carbohydrate intake. In terms of taphonomic agents and effects, the most repetitive are weathering and plant root footprints. The thesis allows us to delve into the knowledge of a part of the Andorran population from the medieval period formerly unknown. Sant Joan de Caselles thus becomes the studied necropolis with the biggest number of individuals of the Andorran territory.
La tesis doctoral sobre la necrópolis medieval de Sant Joan de Caselles (Parròquia de Canillo, Andorra) tiene como objetivos comprender la evolución del cementerio durante el periodo que estuvo en uso, establecer cuáles fueron las dinámicas de enterramiento, caracterizar la población y determinar la posible procedencia de los individuos inhumados. A partir de las características del cementerio, se han evaluado los siguientes puntos: la organización, la tipología, la circulación, la distribución espacial de los restos y el análisis antropológico de los 26.797 restos óseos localizados. Obteniendo con ello, el número mínimo de individuos (NMI), con la determinación de sexo, edad y altura, así como un estudio antropométrico, paleopatológico y tafonómico. La necrópolis data del siglo XI al XIV, y aunque ocupa un espacio reducido de 80m2 presenta una gran potencia de estructuras funerarias y un número mínimo de 240 individuos. Las tumbas están orientadas de oeste a este y responden a diferentes tipologías –desde las excavadas en la roca, las de caja de piedra a la fosa simple– siguiendo los cánones del mundo cristiano. Los individuos están en decúbito supino con variación en la posición de los brazos, encontrándose en posición primaria y secundaria. La localización de los restos descontextualizados ha permitido ver acumulaciones de huesos situados en la zona sud este de la necrópolis, paralela a la iglesia. Respecto al emplazamiento de los individuos según sexo y edad, no se evidencian diferencias, exceptuando los subadultos, más próximos al edificio. La ausencia de perinatales y neonatos puede indicar la existencia de otra ubicación para este grupo, una zona todavía no localizada. La excavación bajo la iglesia y el pórtico oeste facilitarían una mejor comprensión del espacio funerario. Del estudio se desprende que en la necrópolis hay más presencia de mujeres que de hombres en comparación a otros yacimientos de Andorra y una subrepresentación de restos no adultos. El estudio bioantropológico ha permitido determinar las características morfológicas craneales y postcraneales de los individuos de Sant Joan de Caselles, observando similitudes con las poblaciones cristianas medievales andorranas, catalanas y castellanas y diferenciándose de las medievales del norte de la península, las judías y las musulmanas. En referencia a la altura, los individuos de Sant Joan de Caselles tienen una media superior a la calculada en otros yacimientos. Las patologías con el porcentaje más alto de representatividad son las alteraciones degenerativas y las orales, seguidas de las metabólico-carenciales, traumáticas, tumorales, infecciosa y congénitas. No se han identificado diferencias sexuales en relación con la dieta, que se caracteriza per la ingesta de proteínas e hidratos de carbono. En relación a los agentes y efectos tafonómicos, los más reiterativos son la meteorización y las marcas de raíces. Esta tesis permite conocer una parte de la población andorrana de época medieval desconocida hasta ahora. Sant Joan de Caselles se convierte así en la necrópolis más numerosa de todo el territorio andorrano estudiada hasta el momento.

Queen Christina of Sweden (1626-1689) utilized art in many ways to promote herself and assert power in Baroque Europe. Previous scholars have addressed either Christina’s use of art to safeguard authority as Swedish regnant, or her expressions of sovereignty as an erstwhile Protestant queen in Rome, but no scholarship to date has addressed the topic of how Christina’s patronage developed, or explored how motifs employed early on later reappeared. This dissertation brings together both sides of the equation to provide a comprehensive understanding of how Queen Christina’s patronage developed in Stockholm, and how her approach evolved as she became a fixture in Rome. The deployment of the arts was necessary to assert Christina’s authority in a patriarchal environment and ultimately, to politically legitimize herself as an independent royal woman. An initial review of royal imagery of her father King Gustav II Adolf (1594-1632) provides the background for examination of early patronage promoting Christina, which drew upon Gustav’s precedents while beginning to establish her as a majestic leader in her own right. Originally the queen’s autonomy was limited by a constitutional rewrite as others steered her image for their own benefit, but Christina matured to make her own choices and developed an approach to patronage that continued throughout her life. My research contributes to our understanding of Christina’s development as art patron by examining commissions that counteract this administrative system that restrained her sovereignty. Portraits from her majority rule relied on iconography and visual rhetoric to influence a select audience, while her coronation and abdication proceedings, by contrast, were multisensory public events that broadly proclaimed her capacity to rule. Hence my analysis ranges from the subtle reading of particular images to taking stock of the language of sheer pageantry of those more public visual displays. After abdication Queen Christina had virtually no political clout, but as dowager regnant, she wielded art and patronage to maintain social standing and power. My research considers how Christina deployed the arts to craft her public persona and express her individuality within the male-dominated political structure of the Vatican even as others played off her remarkable abdication with patronage of their own. Christina’s approach was based on precedents developed in Sweden, and she applied them to her Roman situation with varied success. Through many challenges, scandals, and adversities, art was a potent vehicle both for Christina and for those around her to capitalize on her unique status in the history of Baroque Europe.

A capela foi construída em 1742, pelo comerciante de escravos Manoel da Costa Negreiros em devoção a Nossa Senhora da Saúde, no alto de um morro junto à faixa litorânea com destaque na paisagem da região atuando como ponto de referência para viajantes e navegadores da baía da Guanabara. O nome Saúde passou a nominar o morro e depois o bairro, e a capela a agir como um vetor na expansão urbana da cidade do Rio de Janeiro juntamente com o novo porto. A partir do século XVIII, a paisagem da região sofreu um processo radical de transformação: de área alagada, de rocio da cidade o qual apresentava um litoral recortado por várias baías e ilhas, transformou-se em área seca, composta por sucessivos aterros e faixa litorânea retilínea, uma área totalmente introduzida no núcleo urbano. Passando por várias transformações e proprietários estes vestígios nos chegaram ao século XXI quando encontramos com uma igreja abandonada, descaracterizada, inserida em uma área degradada, \"sufocada\" pela malha urbana atual, necessitando de restauro e de revitalização. O projeto de restauração da igreja contou com uma equipe multidisciplinar composta por historiadores, restauradores, arquitetos e arqueólogos. Através da análise dos resultados destas pesquisas foi possível a construção de diferentes \"passados\" os quais que se interpenetram e permanecem nesta que foi declarada patrimônio nacional a partir do seu tombamento (Processo nº 0036-T-38 de 02 de agosto de 1938). A partir da análise de uma massa de evidências e informações sobre a igreja, os arredores e sobre a cidade do Rio de Janeiro e seus habitantes, levantamos alguns indícios da presença e perpetuação de uma tradição judaica e da participação de múltiplos agentes, dentre eles, o judeu na formação de nossa sociedade. Utilizamos os conceitos teórico-metodológicos da \"arqueologia simétrica\", a partir dos quais a materialidade compreende uma \"rede\" encadeada por múltiplos agentes, o que possibilita mapear suas conexões no tempo e no espaço, ao invés de encerrá-la apenas em cronologias vazias e homogêneas. Estas conexões permitiram visualizar as redes de relações necessárias na formação e transformação do sítio, identificando os múltiplos agentes envolvidos na construção e manutenção do mesmo, percebendo ampliação destas redes de relações e comércio a partir das \"coisas\" recuperadas pela pesquisa. O vestígio produzido pelo ator ao ser abordado pelo arqueólogo passa a representar o ,,nó\" ideal para compreender as conexões que formam a rede e, a partir de uma análise simétrica ser capaz de (re) caracterizar nossa relação com a materialidade que sobreviveu ao passado e a materialidade contemporânea. Ao se associarem a uma rede de ações duradouras, todas as \"coisas\" se transformam em atores e estas \"coisas\" representam o \"nó\" ideal para \"receber\" e \"distribuir\" as conexões que formam a rede (OLSEN, 2003, p.98). O nosso \"nó\" ideal é a materialidade recuperada pela pesquisa arqueológica dentro da qual destacamos a própria edificação e os azulejos que revestem suas paredes trazendo-nos indícios de uma memória \"escondida\".
The chapel was built in 1742 by the slaves dealer Manoel da Costa Negreiros in devotion to Our Lady of Health, situated on a high hill together to the sea with prominence to the landscape of the region acting as a reference point for travellers and navegadores of bay of Guanabara.The Health\"s name became to nominate the hill, than the neighbourhood, and the chapel to act as a vector in urban expansion of the city of Rio de Janeiro together with the new port. From the XVIII century, the landscape of the region has suffered a radical process of transformation: from a soaked area, area peripheral of city, that represented a littoral zone with many bays and islands, becoming a dry area with successive earthwork and, a rectilinear sea zone, completely introduced in the urban zone. After many modifications and different owners the vestiges that got on the XXI century resulted in an abandoned church that urgently needs repair and reinvigoration.The church\"s reinvigoration project counted with a multi-disciplinary crew composed by historians, restorers, architectures and archaeologists. Through the researches analysis results was possible to build different \"pasts\" that represents the national patrimony since its recording as a historical site (Process nº 0036-T-38 August, 02 of 1938). Since all the churche\"s evidences and informations, surroundings of the city of Rio de Janeiro and their habitants, it shows indiction of a jewish tradition and the participation of multiples agents, between them, the jewish in the beginning of our society. We use the theorical-methodology concept\"s of a \"symmetric archaeology\", that includes a chain \"net\" with multiples agents, that maps the connection on time and space, instead of ending in an empty and homogenous chronologies. These connections permit to identify the relation nets necessary to build and transform the archaeological site, identifying the multiples agents involved to build and to maintain it, these nets contribute to the extension and business since the recovered \"stuff\" by the researches. The produced vestige by the actor and issued by the archaeologist represents the great \"tie\" to understand the connections that make the net and, a symmetrical analysis capable to make our relation with the materiality that left from the past and the contemporaneous materiality. Gathering in a supportable action, all the \"stuff\" become in actors and this \"stuff\" represent the ideal \"tie\" to \"receive\" and \"distribute\" the connections that make the net (OLSEN, 2003, p.98). The great \"tie\" and the recovered materiality by the archaeological research within point the own edification and the tiles that fill their walls bring the vestiges of a \"secret\" memory.

Utilizando-se da metodologia proposta pela Arqueologia da Imagem, assim como dos estudos iconográficos tradicionais, este trabalho procura compreender a origem e posterior evolução das imagens paleocristãs entre os séculos III e inícios do VI.Considerando que a cristianização do mundo romano foi um processo lento e gradual, o estudo deimagens cristãs do período assinalado pretende averiguar, com o auxílio da análise da cultura material, a possibilidade de se identificar a formação de um discurso imagético, ou de um programa doutrinário visual cristãoao longo da Antiguidade Tardia. A investigação e explicitação deste discurso, por meio da pesquisa arqueológica, intenta decifrar a conexão existente entre arte e sociedade, localizando na evolução da iconografia cristã antiga a essência do poder das imagens para aquela comunidade, seu conteúdo de produção e difusão de símbolos identitários e espirituais.
Using the methodology established by the Archaeology of Image and the traditional iconographic studies, this present work intends to understand the origins and further evolution of paleochristian images between the IIIth and the beggining of the VIth century. The christianization of the Roman world was a slow and gradual process. The work with christian images of the period tries to investigate, with also the help of christian material culture, the creation of an imagetic discourse, or a visual doctrinal program through the Late Antiquity. The research and the exploitations of this discourse in archaeology intends to decipher the connection between art and society, localizing in the evolution of the ancient christian iconography the power of images, its content of production and the diffusion of spiritual and identity symbols.

Christianity and Hip-Hop culture are often said to be at odds with one another. One is said to promote a lifestyle of righteousness and love, while the other is said to promote drugs, violence, and pride. As a result, the public has portrayed these two institutions as conflicting with no willingness to resolve their perceived differences. This paper will argue that there has always been a healthy conversation between Hip-Hop and Christianity since Hip-Hop’s inception. Using sources like Hip-Hop lyrics, theologians, historians, autobiographies, sermons, and articles that range from Ma$e to Tipper Gore, this paper will look at the conversation between Hip-Hop and Christianity that has been ongoing for decades. This thesis will show why that conversation is essential for the church and necessary for Hip-Hop artists to express themselves fully. This paper will show rap and Hip-Hop culture to be a complex institution with its own theology, history, and prophets – that uses its own voice to express how urban youth view not only their lives but also how God and the church are present in their lives.

Ce doctorat a pour objectif, en étudiant le christianisme, l’art architectural et décoratif, de comprendre et d’analyser les interactions et les relations qui peuvent exister entre la liturgie, les pouvoirs étatiques et religieux, les fidèles et l’art sur le territoire de la Bulgarie actuelle. La Bulgarie, aux frontières fluctuantes durant toute la période médiévale est d’un grand intérêt par sa situation géographique de carrefour où depuis l’époque thrace se croisent et fusionnent différentes ethnies et civilisations. D’autre part, elle présente également une région intéressante pas sa proximité avec la capitale impériale, Constantinople, ou encore avec le grand centre chrétien qu’est Thessalonique. Il est donc nécessaire d’analyser dans ce sujet le poids et le rôle de cette puissance sur le développement et l’évolution de l’art chrétien produit sur ces terres balkaniques l’Antiquité Tardive jusqu’au règne de Boris Michel Ier. L’objectif est de s’interroger plus profondément sur la production artistique adoptée face à cet héritage multi-ethnique et multi-culturel, et la présence d’un pôle artistique, politique, économique et religieux à fort rayonnement. Par ailleurs, l’adoption de la religion chrétienne en tant que religion d’État en 864 conduit à nous interroger sur la naissance d’un État, avec en parallèle, cette mise en place officielle de la religion chrétienne. Cependant, cette étude repose surtout sur l'observation de l’art architectural avec l’analyse de la conception des édifices cultuels, c’est-à-dire les plans, les organisations spatiales et leurs évolutions mais également sur l’art décoratif monumental et plastique. Nous souhaitons ainsi comprendre dans quelle mesure l’espace liturgique en Bulgarie actuelle est un lieu de fusion entre un art officiel définit par les pouvoirs politiques et religieux et un art des fidèles pourvus d’un héritage technique, culturel et artistique issu des différentes cultures présentes sur ces terres, en mesurant cependant ses limites et l’impact de sa conception face à sa proximité d’un centre culturel et religieux rayonnant et influent, qu’est Constantinople ? L’étude s’appuie notamment sur un corpus critique et une base de données comprenant en grande majorité des édifices chrétiens mis au jour en Bulgarie actuelle de manière à apporter une meilleure compréhension des rapports établis entre l’architecture et l’objet, mais aussi sur la circulation et l'organisation des édifices et les rôles assignés à certains espaces. Les sources archéologiques comme les sources écrites sont naturellement les outils fondamentaux à cette étude et à la compréhension des mentalités, des mœurs, de la liturgie et des contextes politiques, économiques et religieux de ces régions. Nous espérons ainsi apporter de nouvelles pistes de travail dans le domaine de la recherche sur l’art byzantin et les productions artistiques des territoires souvent perçus comme des « hinterlands » de Constantinople. Nous souhaitons également apporter de nouveaux éléments à la compréhension des mentalités durant la période protobyzantine, de la perception de l’art par les fidèles et de leurs relations entretenues non seulement avec la religion chrétienne mais surtout avec la maison Dieu
This PhD analysing Christianism, liturgical space and decoration in protobyzantine territory of the actual Bulgaria purpose to define Christian protobyzantine art in Bulgaria. Bulgaria, which borders always kept moving during the medieval period, is a country of great interest as far as its geographic position as a crossroads is concerned. Indeed, since the Thrace era, many different ethnic groups and civilizations met and mingled with each other: Bulgaria is a convergence spot between the cultures of West and East Roman Empires on one hand, ethnic groups from the North and from the Mediterranean and Central Asian areas, located between both the Aral and the Caspian Seas, on the other.Moreover, this is such an interesting area as it is close to the imperial capital, Constantinople, and also a important christian center Salonica. Therefore, it seems useful to analyse the Byzantine power's influence over the development and progress of Christian art in these Balkan lands since the Late Antiquity to under Boris-Michel the First's reign. The point of this analysis is to initiate some serious thinking over the issue of artistic production drawn according to the multi-cultural and multi-ethnical heritage. But also to think about the great influence of an artistic, political, economical and religious spot. In the end, the analysis of the art expression cannot be clearly understood without a focus on the relationships between Christian art and the faithful people or clergy member.However, this study is mainly based on the observation of architectural art with the analysis of the design of cultural buildings, i.e. plans, spatial organizations and their evolution, but also on monumental and plastic decorative art. In this way, we wish to understand to what extent the liturgical space in Bulgaria today is a place of fusion between an official art defined by political and religious powers and an art of the faithful endowed with a technical, cultural and artistic heritage coming from the different cultures present on these lands, however, by measuring its limits and the impact of its conception in the face of its proximity to a radiant and influential cultural and religious centre, what is Constantinople? The study is based in particular on a critical corpus and a database containing a large majority of Christian buildings discovered in present-day Bulgaria in order to provide a better understanding of the relationships established between architecture and object, but also on the circulation and organisation of buildings and the roles assigned to certain spaces. Archaeological sources as well as written sources are naturally the fundamental tools for this study and for understanding the mentalities, customs, liturgy and political, economic and religious contexts of these regions. In this way, we hope to bring new avenues of work in the field of research on Byzantine art and artistic productions from territories often perceived as Constantinople's "hinterlands". We also wish to bring new elements to the understanding of mentalities during the protobyzantine period, of the perception of art by the faithful and of their relations not only with the Christian religion but especially with the house of God

Thesis (Ph.D.)--State University of New York at Buffalo, 2008.
Title from PDF title page (viewed on Jan. 20, 2009) Available through UMI ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Thesis adviser: Dyson, Stephen L. Includes bibliographical references.

The dissertation investigates the articulation of race, class, and religion among Africans in colonial New York and the methods used by these individuals to resist the oppressive conditions of Northern bondage. Men's, women's, and children's burials from the African Burial Ground Project in New York city will be compared to burial sites in The Netherlands, Suriname, and England in order to understand the range of mortuary practices available to captive Africans, and their influence on various social relationships constructed throughout the old and new world. Archaeological evidence will be used to explore social roles from burial positions and grave goods associated with individuals, emphasizing the cultural symbolic ritual of mortuary behavior.

This dissertation comparatively explores and critically evaluates the historical and traditional notions that are commonly held by Christian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land; and it does so by examining the archaeological, historical, and literary evidence, with specific reference to the existent material remnants that are closely associated with the burial of Christ Jesus. The research will highlight the impact that biblical archaeological findings and the results thereof have had on these identified pilgrimage sites. Both the strengths and the weaknesses of the evidence will be enumerated; and the implications for the practice and significance of pilgrimages will be set out.
Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
M.A. (Biblical Archaeology)