The production and circulation of late iron age slip decorated pottery in Central Europe

The aim of this study is to investigate the organisation of production and exchange in the Later Iron Age, or Late La Töne period in part of Central Europe. Although a wide range of goods are considered in relation to this aim (Chapter 2), the focus of the thesis is on the slip decorated pottery which is a characteristic find on the larger settlements. Following a review of current approaches to the archaeology of the period (Chapter 1), the second chapter summarises the current state of knowledge of the Later Iron Age in the study area (Czechoslovakia, Transdanubian Hungary and Poland). The third chapter considers the theoretical frameworks employed in the interpretation of non-capitalist economic systems. These are discussed in relation to the theory and practice of archaeological interpretation. In chapters 4 and 5 the methods of analysis used in the study of the the slip decorated pottery are described. Chapter 4 focuses on the production of the pottery and the technology employed, relating this to the organisation of labour. Chapter 5 is concerned with the circulation of the pottery and the methods (petrological and typological analyses) used to interpret the distribution in terms of the actions which produced it. Chapter 6 draws together the data discussed in the second chapter and that obtained from the analysis of the slip decorated pottery. The picture of the period which emerges is at variance in a number of respects from that traditionally accepted, in that there appears to have been a high degree of continuity with the situation in the Middle la Töne in terms of the economic structures underlyinmg the emergence of sites of central character. The establishment of these sites was certainly associated with changes in economic relationships (some of which are symbolised by the production and circulation of slip decorated pottery), but these appear to be in addition to, rather than in place of, traditional forms of organisation. A number of appendices and tables summarise supporting data

Volviendo a pensar la Edad del Hierro

This paper argues there is an urgent need to critically evaluate the basic assumptions used by Iron Age archaeologists across Europe. It suggests that the existing frameworks of explanation and interpretation are at best inadequate to understand the actual archaeological evidence for the period. At worst they are still unconsciously reproducing nineteenth century nationalist and racist ideologies (e. g. the preoccupations with the «Celts≫ or «Iberians≫, etc.). Drawing on examples from Britain, and the Czech and Slovak republics. We will argue that archaeological evidence Iron the Iron Age does not neatly fit our modernist and Eurocentric assumptions about what the period ought to have been like. It suggests Iron Age archaeology must recognise the difference of the past, that prehistoric societies in Europe may have had very different forms of social organisations, world views and economies than those in later European history. This means critically questioning archaeological evidence and being open to the possibility that existing interpretations are wrong (e. g. stressing the impact of the Mediterranean World Economy, that Oppidas were urban centres, or that settlement and subsistence data can be adequately understood in modern capitalist/functionalist terms, etc.). As such Iron Age studies can on/y be a «Contextual Archaeology≫.<br><br>Este artículo defiende la urgente necesidad de evaluar críticamente las asunciones básicas manejadas por los arqueólogos de la Edad del Hierro en toda Europa. Sugiere que los marcos explicativos e interpretativos existentes son, en el mejor de los casos, inadecuados para comprender la evidencia arqueológica real sobre el período. En el peor, están reproduciendo todavía las ideologías nacionalistas y racistas decimonónicas (p. e. las preocupaciones por los “Celtas”, los “Iberos”, etc.). A partir de ejemplos de Gran Bretaña, y las Repúblicas Checa y Eslovaca, sostenemos que la evidencia arqueológica sobre la Edad del Hierro claramente no encaja con nuestras suposiciones modernas y eurocéntricas sobre lo que el período debería haber sido. Se sugiere que la arqueología de la Edad del Hierro tiene que reconocer la diferencia del pasado, el hecho de que las sociedades prehistóricas en Europa pudieron haber tenido formas de organización social, visiones del mundo y economías muy diferentes a las de la Historia europea posterior. Esto significa la puesta en cuestión crítica de la evidencia arqueológica y estar abierto a la posibilidad de que las interpretaciones existentes sean erróneas (p. e. recalcando el impacto de la Economía Mundial Mediterránea, el que los <em>Oppida</em> eran centros urbanos, o que los datos del poblamiento y subsistencia puede ser comprendidos de manera adecuada en términos capitalistas/funcionalistas modernos, etc.). Los estudios de la Edad del Hierro, en cuanto tales, sólo pueden ser una “Arqueología Contextual”

Ethnic minorities on television

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:GPE/3086 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Television and fantasy An exploratory study

SIGLEGBUnited Kingdo