 Newsletters |
||||||||
|
Newsletter of the Association for Environmental Archaeology Latest edition: Newsletter 89 - August 2005 ISSN 1363-6553 Submit information to the newsletterEditorial Change of Address News from the Committee Conferences & Meetings Job Advert Publications |
|||||||
Edited by Wendy Carruthers and Vanessa Straker (e-mail addresses: wendy.carruthers@virgin.net; vanessa.straker@english-heritage.org.uk AEA Membership Secretary; Jane Richardson, Archaeological Services WYAS, PO Box 30, Nepshaw Lane
PLEASE NOTE - IMPORTANT CHANGES TO THE HULL CONFERENCE DATE We would like to draw everyone's attention to the change in date of the Autumn meeting in Hull - please see the item on page 6. Full details about the conference will be provided in the next (October 2005) Newsletter. We are very sorry to report the sad news of the death of Professor John G. Evans on 13th June 2005, after a short illness. The next Newsletter will include an obituary. We wish everyone an enjoyable and peaceful summer holiday - especially all the new parents (see below)!
Peter Murphy's new contact details are: Coastal Strategy Officer, Maritime Team, English Heritage, Fort Cumberland, Fort Cumberland Road, Eastney, Portsmouth PO4 9LD. 023 9285 6724. peter.murphy@english-heritage.org.uk
BABY CONGRATULATIONS Congratulations are extended to Ingrid Mainland and Rob Craigie on the birth of Edith (12 May), Ruth Pelling and Richard Osgood on the birth of Katharine Freya (16 June), and Jane Richardson and Damian Robinson on the birth of Alexander James (12 June).
JOURNAL Issue 10.1 of the Association's journal, Environmental Archaeology, was distributed at the end of May. If you did not receive your copy, please contact the Membership Secretary (membership@envarch.net) to check your current membership status. Contents of Environmental Archaeology 10.1 Eleni Asouti and Phil Austin Reconstruction woodland vegetation and its exploitation by past societies, based on the analysis and interpretation of archaeological wood charcoal macro-remains Maribeth Suzanne Murray Prehistoric use of ringed seals: A zooarchaeological study from Arctic Canada Emel Oybak Dönmez Early Bronze Age crop plants from Yenibademli Höyük (Gökçeada), Western Turkey Barbara M. Sageidet Sub-local differences in Late Holocene land use at Orstad, Jæren in SW Norway, revealed by soil pollen stratigraphy Fragkiska Megaloudi Wild and cultivated vegetables, herbs and spices in Greek Antiquity (900 BC to 400 BC) Joanna Bending An experimental approach to the disaggregation of samples from peat deposits Vanessa Gelorini and Jean Bourgeois First discovery of Black Mulberry (Morus nigra L.) pollen in the Late Bronze Age well at Sint-Gillis-Waas (Flanders, Belgium): contamination or in situ deposition? Dale Sergeantson 'Science is measurement'; ABMAP, a database of domestic animal bone measurements 
Submission of articles to Environmental Archaeology Please send your new submissions to: Dr Ingrid Mainland, Co-ordinating Editor of Environmental Archaeology, Department of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, BD7 1DP, UK. Tel: +44 [0]1274 23 3541; Fax: +44 [0]1274 23 5190; E-mail: i.l.mainland@bradford.ac.uk Guidelines for authors are available from: Submissions from members of the AEA are particularly welcome!
PAYMENT OF SUBSCRIPTIONS BY OVERSEAS MEMBERS - AEA EURO ACCOUNT The AEA recognises that overseas members have difficulties in paying their subscriptions due to the high cost of bank charges when converting their local currency into sterling. For this reason the Committee some time ago introduced a credit card facility that allows overseas members to make payments comparatively easily with minimal loss of revenue to the AEA. However, the Committee also recognises that not all overseas members possess credit cards and is currently in the process of setting up an AEA euro account, which will allow members of the eurozone to pay their membership in euros by direct bank transfer for a very small fee. Further details will be available shortly. Jacqui Huntley (Treasurer) and Meriel McClatchie
AEA AGM & ELECTIONS 2005 The Annual General Meeting for the AEA will be held at the rescheduled Hull meeting. Draft agenda:
Accounts A summary of the AEA financial accounts will be presented at the meeting. Elections Elections for new members of the committee will be held at the AGM. The current committee structure is as follows: Paul Davies (Bath Spa) - [2003-2006] CO-OPTED COMMITTEE MEMBERS Wendy Carruthers (Llantrisant, Wales) - Co-editor of the Newsletter Glynis Jones (Sheffield) - Co-ordinating Editor of the Journal Vanessa Straker (English Heritage, Bristol) - Co-editor of the Newsletter In the last Newsletter, vacancies for the position of Secretary and three ordinary committee members were advertised. In addition, Véronique Matterne is stepping down, which means there will be an additional two-year ordinary committee member vacancy. To date, we have received one nomination for the post of Secretary and four nominations for ordinary committee members. Brief personal statements by the nominees appear in this newsletter. Further nominations can be received up to the time of the AGM. Please send or e-mail any nominations (which must be seconded and accompanied by a personal statement by the nominee) to the AEA Secretary: Carol Palmer, AEA Secretary, Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield, Northgate House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 4ET. E-mail: c.palmer@sheffield.ac.uk ABSENTEE VOTING If you cannot attend the AGM, but would like to vote in the elections, you can do so through a proxy (someone who is attending the meeting and is willing to vote on your behalf as well as their own). All you have to do is give a signed statement or send an e-mail appointing whoever you wish to be your proxy to any member of the committee at any time before the AGM (and tell your proxy how you want them to vote!). If you wish, a member of the committee (see committee) will act as your proxy. If you have any queries about absentee voting, please contact the AEA Secretary (c.palmer@sheffield.ac.uk). Your vote matters!
BIOGRAPHIES OF CANDIDATES FOR AEA COMMITTEE As Secretary Meriel McClatchie (Institute of Archaeology, University College London) I gained my BA degree in Archaeology and History from University College Cork in 1995, and went on to study for the MA degree in Archaeology at Cork. My interest in archaeobotany began during undergraduate fieldwork in Ireland, and my MA dissertation investigated non-wood plant macro-remains from four medieval rural sites in Ireland. Upon completing the MA degree in 1997, I was appointed archaeobotanist in the Archaeological Services Unit at University College Cork, and was responsible for research and contract work on plant remains from a wide variety of sites in Ireland. I am also an experienced archaeologist, having directed a number of excavations in Ireland. I held this position in Cork until 2001 and then moved to the Institute of Archaeology, University College London to begin doctoral research. My research, which is funded by the National University of Ireland Travelling Studentship in Archaeology, focuses on arable agricultural systems of Bronze Age Ireland. Previously studies relied heavily on evidence from seed impressions in ceramic vessels. My research represents the first study of arable agriculture in Bronze Age Ireland based mainly on actual plant macro-remains. Data from most of the sites were obtained from previously analysed, but unpublished, assemblages. The study also includes the identification of plant remains from three additional sites. Using this newly-expanded database, my thesis will examine the types of crops that were being cultivated, as well as exploring issues relating to the social organisation of arable agriculture. I have broadened my research interests into the archaeobotany and archaeology of eastern Africa, following fieldwork in Uganda. I also contribute to the teaching of environmental archaeology at UCL, having previously done so at other universities in Britain and Ireland. I have published a number of papers on the results of archaeobotanical analyses in a range of Irish journals and monographs, and was previously Secretary and Treasurer on the editorial committee of Papers from the Institute of Archaeology (PIA), the postgraduate archaeology journal at UCL. I have been a member of the AEA since moving to Britain in 2001, and regularly attend meetings, both in Britain and Ireland. I have presented papers at recent meetings in Belfast and Dublin - one of which was published in Environmental Archaeology 9.2 - and have written reviews for the AEA newsletter. I was elected to the AEA Management Committee in 2004 as an Ordinary Member and have since gained a good insight into the workings of the organisation. I am now hoping to be elected to the position of Secretary as I would welcome the opportunity to extend my participation in the activities of the Association. Proposed by: Carol Palmer, Seconded by: Sue Colledge As Ordinary Committee members: Gianna Ayala (University of Sheffield) I gained my undergraduate degree in Archaeological Sciences from the University of Texas at Austin in 1994. Subsequently, I moved to Italy to pursue a Master's degree in Italian prehistory (Laurea di Lettere, Universita' di Roma "La Sapienza"; 1994 -1998) before coming to England to undertake a PhD in geoarchaeology at the University of Cambridge (1999 - 2004). My doctoral research focused on the application of a variety of geoarchaeological techniques with Geographical Information Systems to investigate the effects of land use change in a Mediterranean highland valley system. Between 2003 and 2004, I was one of the English Heritage geoarchaeologists, based at Fort Cumberland, Portsmouth. For a period of twelve months, I acted as an advisor on a wide range of both commercial and academic projects across the south of England. I am currently working at the University of Sheffield as Lecturer of Landscape Formation Processes. As such, I have been able to pursue my research interests in human impact studies on different landscapes. My current field projects span from the UK to South America with a noted concentration in the Mediterranean. Methodologically, they range from site-specific projects involving detailed investigations of floor deposits and preservation assessments to larger landscape investigations. As a recent member of the AEA, I have attended and presented at meetings and will be contributing as a reviewer in one of the upcoming volumes. I would welcome the opportunity to contribute further to the Association, and the important role it plays in raising the profile of environmental archaeology, by serving on the Committee. Proposed by: Gill Campbell, Seconded by: Umberto Albarella Jen Heathcote (CfA, Portsmouth, but from 8 August Jen will be based at EH's East of England office, Cambridge) I am a geoarchaeologist specialising in soil science (soil micromorphology and chemistry) and landscape formation processes. My PhD was completed at UCL focussing on the identification of soil signatures that can be used to identify livestock management practices. This combined experimental, historical and archaeological approaches to promote the recognition of a hard to detect component of the archaeological record. I have spent several years promoting geoarchaeological approaches in research and commercial archaeological environments. This has ranged from looking at the effects of dewatering on palaeoenvironmental deposits in association with gravel extraction, to studying the impact of prehistoric and colonial agriculture on landscape evolution in the West Indies. I have recently been appointed as English Heritage's Regional Science Advisor for the East of England where I will continue to promote and support all aspects of environmental archaeology. Proposed by: Matt Canti, Seconded by: Andy Howard Mirosław Makohonienko (Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznań, Poland) Dr Mirosław Makohonienko is an Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Biogeography and Palaeoecology at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. He graduated in Archaeology from Lodz University and received his Ph.D. degree in Earth Sciences from Nicolas Copernicus University in Torun with a thesis entitled 'The Natural History of Gniezno: the Early Medieval Capital of Poland'. He has also studied in the Department of Quaternary Geology, Lund University, Sweden (Svenska Institute Scholarship, 19921993); Kyoto University and the International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Kyoto, Japan (Scholarship of Japanese Ministry of Education, 1992-1993); and, in 1994, he worked at the Institute of Pre- and Protohistory, Christian Albrechts University in Kiel, Germany. Dr Makohonienko is a specialist in palaeopalynology, with a background in archaeology. His research interests are in Quaternary environmental changes and the relationships between the environment and the development of human culture. His main research areas are the Central European Lowland, mainly in the area of Greater Poland, and in the temperate zone of East Asia. He is interested in comparative studies of vegetation change, forest history, and anthropogenic impacts in Europe and the East Asian temperate zone (China and Korea). He is currently preparing his habilitation degree on 'Late Holocene Environmental Changes in Manchuria, North-eastern China'. He is a member of the Association of Polish Archaeologists and the Japanese Society of Palynologists. Proposed by: Nicki Whitehouse, Seconded by: David Earle Robinson Peter Hambro Mikkelsen (Moesgaard Museum, Denmark) I graduated in Prehistoric Archaeology from Aarhus University, Denmark in 1993. My undergraduate thesis dealt with zoological and botanical finds from an Iron Age site where I had worked on the excavation. I became especially interested in archaeobotany and my PhD thesis, submitted in 1999, was primarily concerned with the analysis of carbonised cereals and other plant remains from slag pit furnaces used in iron smelting. Subsequently, I worked for the Environmental Archaeology Department of the National Museum in Copenhagen for a year and then received funding for a two year post doc project from the Danish Research Council for the Humanities. Since 2003, I have been Head of the new Department of Environmental Archaeology and Conservation at Moesgaard Museum. The Department currently works with archaeobotany, wood analysis, including dendrochronology, and trace-wear analysis. We hope to be able to tackle other aspects of environmental studies in the years to come. My first participation in an AEA meeting was at Zwartsluis in 1994 and I have had regular contacts with the Association's members ever since. If elected to the committee, I will work for greater involvement of the AEA in the Nordic countries and I hope to contribute with my experience from a country which was one of the pioneers in environmental archaeology. I will promote the organization here in Denmark and via in my extensive Nordic network, primarily by arranging local seminars along the lines of AEA meetings. By taking an active part in the committee, I hope to gain insights and inspiration which I can use to further the cause of environmental archaeology here in Denmark where, despite proud traditions, environmental issues are far too often neglected in the archaeological process and environmental material is rarely investigated to its full potential. Proposed by: David Earle Robinson, Seconded by: Sabine Karg
Workshop on pollen-landscape calibration using POLLSCAPE and HUMPOL *N.B.New Date* 18th November 2005 and AEA AUTUMN CONFERENCE, HULL Visualising Past Environments: new directions in palaeo-landscape studies: *N,B. NEW DATES* 19th -20th November, 2005 Due to unforseen circumstances, the pollen workshop and AEA conference have been rescheduled to 18th-20th November, 2005. All those who have already applied will be contacted directly. More information will be available on the conference website : http://www.hull.ac.uk/geog/mjbconf shortly. We are also reopening the call for papers and posters (if you have already sent an abstract, you do not need to resubmit), with a deadline of 14th October 2005. Any queries, please contact the organising committee via letter or email to m.j.bunting@hull.ac.uk' The pollen modelling workshop scheduled for 7th September will also be rescheduled to 18th November, to allow people to attend both events. Any queries, please contact the organiser via letter or email to m.j.bunting@hull.ac.uk' Proposed Schedule: Friday 18th: Pollen modelling workshop Saturday 19th: Scientific meeting - papers, poster session, stalls, AEA AGM etc., followed by a meal somewhere local. Sunday 20th: Field visit to Thorne & Hatfield moors, early finish (no later than 4pm) so people can get home. It would also be possible to arrange for discussion space in the department on the Sunday, if any groups wanted to meet. A booking form is provided at the end of this Newsletter.
AEA SPRING CONFERENCE - EXETER 28th -30th March, 2006 Novel Environmental Archaeology: Integrating New Lines of Evidence and Rethinking Established Techniques Call for Papers The core of environmental archaeology has revolved around zooarchaeological, archaeobotanical and geoarchaeological data sets: bones, insects, seeds, pollen and soils. However, in recent years many new techniques have been developed and some are not yet well integrated into mainstream environmental archaeology. Some of these new techniques come from hard science, whilst others are quirky new ways of gaining a better understanding of past environments and human exploitation of plants and animals. At the same time others have come up with completely new angles to approach exploration of more traditional lines of evidence. This conference theme is all about thinking outside the envelope and promoting genuinely integrated research between specialists both within and outside what we normally see as being environmental archaeology. The theme is deliberately very inclusive. Whilst it has a distinct theme it does not exclude any specialism or period of study. Sessions: Bones, seeds and biomolecules: integrating old and new lines of evidence Organiser: Dr Anna Mukherjee (Anna.Mukherjee@bristol.ac.uk) Quantitative reconstruction of past landscapes from palaeoecological data Organisers: Dr Ralph Fyfe (R.M.Fyfe@exeter.ac.uk) Prof Chris Caseldine (C.J.Caseldine@exeter.ac.uk) Palaeopathology: social, environmental and evolutionary perspectives Organised in co-operation with BABAO. Organisers: Dr Chris Knüsel (C.Knusel@Bradford.ac.uk) Dr James Steele (T.J.M.Steele@soton.ac.uk) The role of environmental analysis in integrated investigations of ritual deposits Organisers: James Morris: (morrisj@bmth.ac.uk) Dr Mark Maltby: (mmaltby@bmth.ac.uk) General Session Organiser: Dr Alan Outram (A.K.Outram@ex.ac.uk) For further details, there is a conference website: http://www.ex.ac.uk/archaeology/AEA2006.html For any queries, please contact the conference organizer: Dr Alan K. Outram, Department of Archaeology, University of Exeter, Laver Building, North Park Road, CALL FOR PAPERS The View from Here: Cultural History and Ecology of the North Atlantic Region Université Laval, Québec, Canada September 2006 A multidisciplinary, international conference on the cultural history and ecology of the North Atlantic Region is planned for late September 2006 in Québec City, Canada. This call is extended to both researchers and students working in archaeology, historical and cultural geography, palaeoecology, anthropology, and other related disciplines. This call also includes researchers and students active on North Atlantic Biocultural Association Projects and those of the Landscapes circa Landnám progamme. Papers are expected to fit into the suggested themes below to encourage exchange and discussion from all sides of the Atlantic. Methodological papers or geographically-limited subjects which do not respond to the conference themes may be presented as posters. Students wishing to present their proposed graduate research and preliminary results are strongly encouraged to pursue this option for inclusion in the poster sessions. Some financial support to encourage student participation will be available. Proposed sessions are (but not limited to):
Please send a 100-150 word abstract, suggested session (if applicable - no session required for poster) and indicate whether you wish to present a paper or a poster by October 1st, 2005 to one of the conference co-chairs, Allison Bain (Allison.Bain@hst.ulaval.ca) or Jim Woollett (James.Woollett@hst.ulaval.ca). COURSES Identification of Wood, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 16-20 January 2006 The course is designed for people working with wood: botanists, archaeologists, conservators, furniture and picture restorers, and workers in forensic science and allied professions. The course will include the following:
Course Tutors: Peter Gasson and Rowena Gale (Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) Maximum number of participants: 10 Course fee: £400 per person. This includes registration pack and course materials, but not travel or accommodation, which must be booked by students themselves. Advice on accommodation may be supplied on request. For further details please contact:
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
