Archaeology and Folklore explores the complex relationship between the two disciplines to demonstrate what they might learn from each other.This collection includes theoretical discussions and case st
Forging Southeastern Identities: Social Archaeology and Ethnohistory of the Mississippian to Early Historic South is a ground-breaking collection of ten essays covering a broad expanse of time, from t
From southern Greece to northern Russia, people have long believed in female spirits, bringers of fertility, who spend their nights and days dancing in the fields and forests. So appealing were these
An ethnographic and archaeological exploration of ancient traditions and folklore pertaining to "dancing goddesses" traces their roots in early Roman, Greek and European cultures to reveal the origins
John Rhys (1840–1915), the son of a Welsh farmer, studied at Oxford and in Germany, and became the first professor of Celtic languages at Oxford in 1877. His research ranged across the fields of linguistics, history, archaeology, ethnology and religion, and his many publications were instrumental in establishing the field of Celtic studies. This two-volume work, published in 1901, had its beginnings in the late 1870s, when Rhys began collecting Welsh folk tales. His entertaining preface sheds light on folklore fieldwork and its difficulties, including fragmentary evidence, alteration of stories by those interviewed, and the hostility of the religious and educational establishment to 'superstition'. For each text, Rhys provides fascinating information about his sources, and an English translation. He analyses possible origins for the tales, in imagination and myth, and in early British history, and compares them with legends from elsewhere in the British Isles.
Originally published in 1911, this book constitutes an archaeological survey of the thunderweapon and its significance in a variety of different cultures. Initially the intention was to focus on Ancient Greece, but it soon became apparent that the evolution of the thunderweapon could not be made intelligible until seen in terms of the connections between diverse traditions. Containing numerous illustrative figures and detailed information on sources, this book will be of value to anyone with an interest in archaeology, anthropology and human prehistory.
Ivor H. N. Evans (1886–1957) was a British anthropologist, ethnographer and archaeologist who lived and worked in what is now Malaysia, including a brief period as a colonial administrator in 1910–11. This volume, which was originally published in 1927, consists of various papers on Malay beliefs, Malay technology, tribal groups, and some of the antiquities of the Peninsula. It was intended as a companion to Studies in Religion, Folk-lore and Custom in B.N. Borneo and the Malay Peninsula (1923), which gave the results, up to the date of publication, of the author's research into folklore and kindred traditions within the area. This text provides a wealth of additional information, including sections on neolithic implements, cave dwellers, and early bronze and iron tools. It will remain of value to anyone with an interest in the Malaysian culture and the colonial period.
Why do twins remain uncanny to those born alone―in other words, most of us? Even with the rise of IVF and an increase in multiple births, why do we still do “a double take” when we encounter twins? Why has this been a near-universal response throughout human history, and how has it played out in religion and myth? Through the work of leading scholars in religion, folklore and mythology, history, anthropology, and archaeology, Gemini and the Sacred explores how twinship has long been imagined, especially in the complex relationship of sacred twin traditions to “twins on the ground” in biology and lived experience. The book considers the multiple ways in which the “doubling” of a human being may be interpreted as auspicious and powerful―or suppressed as unstable and dangerous. Why has this been so and how does it affect living twins today? Treating both famous and lesser-known twins―including supernatural animal twins―in the ancient Near Eastern and classical Mediterranean worlds;
The English historian and antiquary Thomas Wright (1810–70) co-founded and joined a number of antiquarian and literary societies. He was greatly interested in Old English, Middle English and Anglo-Norman texts, and in the 1840s and 1850s he published widely within these areas. Gradually his focus shifted to the archaeology of Roman Britain and to Anglo-Saxon cemeteries. Although much of Wright's research has been completely superseded, his work is still considered worth consulting, as he collected material not readily available elsewhere. This two-volume 1851 publication is testimony to Wright's interest in folklore, sorcery and legend. In Volume 2, he maintains a broad perspective while surveying instances of witchcraft in the seventeenth century. Wright writes about such famous cases as the Earl of Somerset, the Ursuline nuns of Loudun, and the Mohra witches in Sweden, to whom the Devil appeared with a red beard and a high-crowned hat.
The hunter-gatherers of southern Africa known as 'Bushmen' or 'San' are not one single ethnic group, but several. They speak a diverse variety of languages, and have many different settlement patterns, kinship systems and economic practices. The fact that we think of them as a unity is not as strange as it may seem, for they share a common origin: they are an original hunter-gatherer population of southern Africa with a history of many thousands of years on the subcontinent. Drawing on his four decades of field research in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, Alan Barnard provides a detailed account of Bushmen or San, covering ethnography, archaeology, folklore, religious studies and rock-art studies as well as several other fields. Its wide coverage includes social development and politics, both historically and in the present day, helping us to reconstruct both human prehistory and a better understanding of ourselves.
The hunter-gatherers of southern Africa known as 'Bushmen' or 'San' are not one single ethnic group, but several. They speak a diverse variety of languages, and have many different settlement patterns, kinship systems and economic practices. The fact that we think of them as a unity is not as strange as it may seem, for they share a common origin: they are an original hunter-gatherer population of southern Africa with a history of many thousands of years on the subcontinent. Drawing on his four decades of field research in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, Alan Barnard provides a detailed account of Bushmen or San, covering ethnography, archaeology, folklore, religious studies and rock-art studies as well as several other fields. Its wide coverage includes social development and politics, both historically and in the present day, helping us to reconstruct both human prehistory and a better understanding of ourselves.
The English historian and antiquary Thomas Wright (1810–70) co-founded and joined a number of antiquarian and literary societies. He was greatly interested in Old English, Middle English and Anglo-Norman texts, and in the 1840s and 1850s he published widely within these areas. Gradually his focus shifted to the archaeology of Roman Britain and to Anglo-Saxon cemeteries. Although much of Wright's research has been completely superseded, his work is still considered worth consulting, as he collected material not readily available elsewhere. This two-volume 1851 publication is testimony to Wright's interest in folklore, sorcery and legend. In Volume 1 the author accounts of sorcery across Europe, and he considers the legendary Dr Faustus as an archetypal magician who called 'the demon'. Wright also discusses the place of the occult in England during and after the Reformation, writing about magicians such as John Dee, and describing King James I's views on witchcraft.
The English historian and antiquary Thomas Wright (1810–70) co-founded and joined a number of antiquarian and literary societies. He was greatly interested in Old English, Middle English and Anglo-Norman texts, and in the 1840s and 1850s he published widely within these areas. Gradually his focus shifted to the archaeology of Roman Britain and to Anglo-Saxon cemeteries. Although much of Wright's research has been completely superseded, his work is still considered worth consulting, as he collected material not readily available elsewhere. This 1851 publication is testimony to Wright's interest in folklore, sorcery and legend. Volume 1 deals with European sorcery, and sixteenth-century English characters such as Dr John Dee; it also examines the legend of Dr Faustus. Volume 2 surveys the seventeenth century, and includes such important instances as the alleged demonic possession of the Ursuline nuns of Loudun, and the witchcraft hysteria which led to the Salem Witch Trials.
The Novgorod region of Russia is a sparsely populated area about the size of Ireland better known for its medieval archaeology and folklore than for anything else. Although Novgorod began the post-So
This collection covers the range of Thomas Hardy's works and their social and intellectual contexts, providing a comprehensive introduction to Hardy's life and times. Featuring short, lively contributions from forty-four international scholars, the volume explores the processes by which Hardy the man became Hardy the published writer; the changing critical responses to his work; his response to the social and political challenges of his time; his engagement with contemporary intellectual debate; and his legacy in the twentieth century and after. Emphasising the subtle and ongoing interaction between Hardy's life, his creative achievement and the unique historical moment, the collection also examines Hardy's relationship to such issues as class, education, folklore, archaeology and anthropology, evolution, marriage and masculinity, empire and the arts. A valuable contextual reference for scholars of Victorian and modernist literature, the collection will also prove accessible for the ge
This collection covers the range of Thomas Hardy's works and their social and intellectual contexts, providing a comprehensive introduction to Hardy's life and times. Featuring short, lively contributions from forty-four international scholars, the volume explores the processes by which Hardy the man became Hardy the published writer; the changing critical responses to his work; his response to the social and political challenges of his time; his engagement with contemporary intellectual debate; and his legacy in the twentieth century and after. Emphasising the subtle and ongoing interaction between Hardy's life, his creative achievement and the unique historical moment, the collection also examines Hardy's relationship to such issues as class, education, folklore, archaeology and anthropology, evolution, marriage and masculinity, empire and the arts. A valuable contextual reference for scholars of Victorian and modernist literature, the collection will also prove accessible for the ge
Lajos (Ludwig) Blau (1861–1936) was a professor at the Landesrabbinerschule (Hungarian rabbinical seminary) in Budapest. His published work covers biblical studies, Masoretic studies and the Talmud, but his interests in Jewish history also extended to archaeology and folklore. This book, originally published in Strasburg in 1898 but reissued here in its second edition (Berlin, 1914), was the first comprehensive study of Jewish magic from the biblical period to the early middle ages, and is still regarded as an authoritative guide. Blau discusses who practised magic, its beneficial and destructive purposes, and magical techniques and objects including herbs, amulets, spells, the tetragram, and the evil eye, as well as methods for counteracting their effects. He supports his arguments by extensive references to early sources. The material he presents is essential for an understanding of the medieval Kabbalah, and is also relevant to comparative work on ancient Egyptian magic.
