Download or read book The Archaeology of Caves in Ireland written by Marion Dowd and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2015-01-31 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The archaeology of caves in Ireland is a ground-breaking and unique study of the enigmatic, unseen and dark silent world of caves. People have engaged with caves for the duration of human occupation of the island, spanning 10,000 years. In prehistory, subterranean landscapes were associated with the dead and the spirit world, with evidence for burials, funerary rituals and votive deposition. The advent of Christianity saw the adaptation of caves as homes and places of storage, yet they also continued to feature in religious practice. Medieval mythology and modern folklore indicate that caves were considered places of the supernatural, being particularly associated with otherworldly women. Through a combination of archaeology, mythology and popular religion, this book takes the reader on a fascinating journey that sheds new light on a hitherto neglected area of research. It encourages us to consider what underground activities might reveal about the lives lived aboveground, and leaves us in no doubt as to the cultural significance of caves in the past. Marion Dowd is Lecturer in Prehistoric Archaeology at the Institute of Technology Sligo, Ireland. Her doctoral research examined the role of caves in Irish prehistoric ritual and religion. She has directed excavations in many caves, and has published and lectured widely on the subject.
Download or read book Underground Archaeology written by Marion Dowd and published by Oxbow Books Limited. This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents new perspectives on the use and perception of caves at different times in the past, from the Early Mesolithic through to post-medieval time; reveals complex and varied funerary practices and rituals associated with cave burials; highlights the changing roles of caves as places for shelter, occupation, burial and ritual practices during the
Download or read book Archaeological excavations in Moneen Cave the Burren Co Clare written by Marion Dowd and published by Archaeopress Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2016-11-07 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2011, cavers exploring a little-known cave on Moneen Mountain in County Clare in the west of Ireland discovered part of a human skull, pottery and an antler implement. An archaeological excavation followed, leading to the discovery of large quantities of Bronze Age pottery, butchered animal bones and oyster shells.
Download or read book The Archaeology of Darkness written by Marion Dowd and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2016-05-31 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Through time people have lived with darkness. Archaeology shows us that over the whole human journey people have sought out dark places, for burials, for votive deposition and sometimes for retreat or religious ritual away from the wider community. Thirteen papers explore Palaeolithic use of deep caves in Europe and the orientation of mortuary monuments in the Neolithic and Bronze Age. It examines how the senses are affected in caves and monuments that were used for ritual activities, from Bronze Age miners in Wales working in dangerous subterranean settings, to initiands in Italian caves, to a modern caver’s experience of spending time in the one of the world’s deepest caves in Russia. We see how darkness was and is viewed at northern latitudes where parts of the year are spent in eternal night, and in Easter Island where darkness provided communal refuge from the pervasive sun. We know that spending extended periods in darkness and silence can affect one physically, emotionally and spiritually. How did interactions between people and darkness affect individuals in the past and how were regarded by their communities? And how did this interaction transform places in the landscape? As the ever-increasing electrification of the planet steadily minimizes the amount of darkness in our lives, curiously, darkness is coming more into focus. This first collection of papers on the subject begins a conversation about the role of darkness in human experience through time.
Download or read book Archaeological Excavations in Moneen Cave the Burren Co Clare written by Marion Dowd and published by Archaeopress Publishing. This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2011, cavers exploring a little-known cave on Moneen Mountain in County Clare in the west of Ireland discovered part of a human skull, pottery and an antler implement. An archaeological excavation followed, leading to the discovery of large quantities of Bronze Age pottery, butchered animal bones and oyster shells. The material suggests that Moneen Cave was visited intermittently as a sacred place in the Bronze Age landscape. People climbed the mountain, squeezed through the small opening in the cave roof, dropped down into the chamber, and left offerings on a large boulder that dominates the internal space. The excavation also resulted in the recovery of the skeletal remains of an adolescent boy who appears to have died in the cave in the 16th or 17th century. Scientific analyses revealed he had endured periods of malnutrition and ill health, providing insight into the hardships faced by many children in post-medieval Ireland.
Download or read book Caves written by Marion A. Dowd and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Caves are commonly perceived - by the general public and archaeologists alike - as places of prehistoric habitation. However, there is virtually no archaeological evidence to indicate that caves in Ireland were ever occupied in pre-Christian times. Rather, caves were considered sacred places on the landscape and outside the domain of profane life. From the Early Mesolithic through to the end of the Bronze Age, caves were used for excarnation, for burial and for the deposition of disarticulated human bones. In tandem with these practices, the ritual deposition of hoards and artifacts at caves began in the Neolithic and continued into the Iron Age. The arrival of Christianity brought about a general demystification of the cave and for the first time the archaeological record indicates that people began to live in caves. However, caves were not entirely secularized; they continued to be used for burial albeit to a limited extent. Many caves were incorporated into popular Christian religious practises and were associated with saints, holy wells and pilgrimage. Both the early literary sources and the folktales of more recent centuries agree that caves are places of the Otherworld which are inhabited by supernatural beings.
Download or read book Encyclopedia of Caves and Karst Science written by John Gunn and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2004-08-02 with total page 1971 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Encyclopedia of Caves and Karst Science contains 350 alphabetically arranged entries. The topics include cave and karst geoscience, cave archaeology and human use of caves, art in caves, hydrology and groundwater, cave and karst history, and conservation and management. The Encyclopedia is extensively illustrated with photographs, maps, diagrams, and tables, and has thematic content lists and a comprehensive index to facilitate searching and browsing.
Download or read book Cave Art World of Art written by Bruno David and published by Thames & Hudson. This book was released on 2017-02-28 with total page 457 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An archaeological exploration of the mysterious world of cave art through the ages Deep underground, some of humanity’s earliest artistic endeavors have lain untouched for millennia. The dark interiors of caves, wherever they may be found, seem to have had a powerful draw for ancient peoples, who littered the cave floors with objects they had made. Later, they adorned cave walls with sacred symbols and secret knowledge, from the very first abstract symbols and handprints to complex and vivid arrangements of animals and people. Often undisturbed for many tens of thousands of years, these were among the first visual symbols that humans shared with each other, though they were made so long ago that we have entirely forgotten their meaning. However, as archaeologist Bruno David reveals, caves decorated more recently may help us to unlock their secrets. David tells the story of this mysterious world of decorated caves, from the oldest known painting tools to the magnificent murals of the European Ice Age. Showcasing the most astounding discoveries made in more than 150 years of archaeological exploration, Cave Art explores the creative achievements of our remotest ancestors and what they tell us about the human past.
Download or read book The Arch ology of Ireland written by Robert Alexander Stewart Macalister and published by . This book was released on 1949 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Study of the prehistoric period in Ireland.
Download or read book The Prehistory of Britain and Ireland written by Richard Bradley and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-05-16 with total page 391 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Highlights the achievements of prehistoric people in Britain and Ireland over a 5,000 year period.
Download or read book Into the Ocean written by Kristjan Ahronson and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2015-02-26 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: That Gaelic monasticism flourished in the early medieval period is well established. The “Irish School” penetrated large areas of Europe and contemporary authors describe North Atlantic travels and settlements. Across Scotland and beyond, Celtic-speaking communities spread into the wild and windswept north, marking hundreds of Atlantic settlements with carved and rock-cut sculpture. They were followed in the Viking Age by Scandinavians who dominated the Atlantic waters and settled the Atlantic rim. With Into the Ocean, Kristján Ahronson makes two dramatic claims: that there were people in Iceland almost a century before Viking settlers first arrived c. AD 870, and that there was a tangible relationship between the early Christian “Irish” communities of the Atlantic zone and the Scandinavians who followed them. Ahronson uses archaeological, paleoecological, and literary evidence to support his claims, analysing evidence ranging from pap place names in the Scottish islands to volcanic airfall in Iceland. An interdisciplinary analysis of a subject that has intrigued scholars for generations, Into the Ocean will challenge the assumptions of anyone interested in the Atlantic branch of the Celtic world.
Download or read book In Search of Ancient Ireland written by Carmel McCaffrey and published by Ivan R. Dee. This book was released on 2003-06-11 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This engaging book traces the history, archaeology, and legends of ancient Ireland from 9000 B.C., when nomadic hunter-gatherers appeared in Ireland at the end of the last Ice Age to 1167 A.D., when a Norman invasion brought the country under control of the English crown for the first time. So much of what people today accept as ancient Irish history—Celtic invaders from Europe turning Ireland into a Celtic nation; St. Patrick driving the snakes from Ireland and converting its people to Christianity—is myth and legend with little basis in reality. The truth is more interesting. The Irish, as the authors show, are not even Celtic in an archaeological sense. And there were plenty of bishops in Ireland before a British missionary called Patrick arrived. But In Search of Ancient Ireland is not simply the story of events from long ago. Across Ireland today are festivals, places, and folk customs that provide a tangible link to events thousands of years past. The authors visit and describe many of these places and festivals, talking to a wide variety of historians, scholars, poets, and storytellers in the very settings where history happened. Thus the book is also a journey on the ground to uncover ten thousand years of Irish identity. In Search of Ancient Ireland is the official companion to the three-part PBS documentary series. With 14 black-and-white photos, 6 b&w illustrations, and 1 map.
Download or read book Neolithic Cave Burials written by Rick Peterson and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first book-length treatment of Neolithic burial in Britain to focus primarily on cave evidence. It interprets human remains from forty-eight caves and compares them to what we know of Neolithic collective burial elsewhere in Britain and Europe. It reviews the archaeology of these cave burials and treats them as important evidence for the study of mortuary practice. Drawing on evidence from archaeology, anthropology, osteology and cave science, the book demonstrates that cave burial was one of the earliest elements of the British Neolithic. It also shows that Early Neolithic cave-burial practice was highly varied, with many similarities to other burial rites. However, by the Middle Ne olithic, a funerary practice which was specific to caves had developed.
Download or read book Sacred Darkness written by Holley Moyes and published by University Press of Colorado. This book was released on 2012-09-01 with total page 607 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Caves have been used in various ways across human society but despite the persistence within popular culture of the iconic caveman, deep caves were never used primarily as habitation sites for early humans. Rather, in both ancient and contemporary contexts, caves have served primarily as ritual spaces. In Sacred Darkness, contributors use archaeological evidence as well as ethnographic studies of modern ritual practices to envision the cave as place of spiritual and ideological power and a potent venue for ritual practice. Covering the ritual use of caves in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, Mesoamerica, and the US Southwest and Eastern woodlands, this book brings together case studies by prominent scholars whose research spans from the Paleolithic period to the present day. These contributions demonstrate that cave sites are as fruitful as surface contexts in promoting the understanding of both ancient and modern religious beliefs and practices. This state-of-the-art survey of ritual cave use will be one of the most valuable resources for understanding the role of caves in studies of religion, sacred landscape, or cosmology and a must-read for any archaeologist interested in caves.
Download or read book Deviant Burial in the Archaeological Record written by Eileen M. Murphy and published by Studies in Funerary Archaeolog. This book was released on 2008 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edited volume contains twelve papers that present evidence on non-normative burial practices from the Neolithic through to Post-Medieval periods and includes case studies from some ten countries. It has long been recognised by archaeologists that certain individuals in a variety of archaeological cultures from diverse periods and locations have been accorded differential treatment in burial relative to other members of their society. These individuals can include criminals, women who died during childbirth, unbaptised infants, people with disabilities, and supposed revenants, to name but a few. Such burials can be identifiable in the archaeological record from an examination of the location and external characteristics of the grave site. Furthermore, the position of the body in addition to its association with unusual grave goods can be a further feature of atypical burials. The motivation behind such non-normative burial practices is also diverse and can be related to a wide variety of social and religious beliefs. It is envisaged that the volume will make a significant contribution towards our understanding of the complexities involved when dealing with non-normative burials in the archaeological record.
Download or read book Archaeology of the Niah Caves written by Graeme Barker and published by . This book was released on 2016-12-31 with total page 592 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the companion volume to Rainforest Foraging and Farming in Island Southeast Asia: the Archaeology of the Niah Caves, Sarawak. Together they present the results of new fieldwork in the caves and new studies of finds from earlier excavations, a project that has involved a team of over 70 archaeologists and geographers. Rainforest Foraging and Farming told the story of human activity in the caves over the past 50,000 years and how that story throws light on the history of our species in Island Southeast Asia from the time when modern humans first arrived to recent centuries. Archaeological Investigations in the Niah Caves describes the very wide range of methodologies used by the project to collect its evidence, and the key information from those studies about the changing nature of the rainforest over the past 50,000 years and how it sustained the lives of the people who used the caves for shelter or burying their dead. The deep history of rainforest lives Together, the two volumes affirm the unique importance of the Niah Caves for world heritage.
Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Hunter Gatherers written by Vicki Cummings and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2014-04-24 with total page 1361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For more than a century, the study of hunting and gathering societies has been central to the development of both archaeology and anthropology as academic disciplines, and has also generated widespread public interest and debate. The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Hunter-Gatherers provides a comprehensive review of hunter-gatherer studies to date, including critical engagements with older debates, new theoretical perspectives, and renewed obligations for greater engagement between researchers and indigenous communities. Chapters provide in-depth archaeological, historical, and anthropological case-studies, and examine far-reaching questions about human social relations, attitudes to technology, ecology, and management of resources and the environment, as well as issues of diet, health, and gender relations - all central topics in hunter-gatherer research, but also themes that have great relevance for modern global society and its future challenges. The Handbook also provides a strategic vision for how the integration of new methods, approaches, and study regions can ensure that future research into the archaeology and anthropology of hunter-gatherers will continue to deliver penetrating insights into the factors that underlie all human diversity.
