Abstract This paper examines in brief the history of this monumental stone circle, its construction and the myths that have grown up around it especially during the 20th century. The paper concludes that the monument remains so compelling in large measure because we know so little about it.
From the Paper "Stonehenge, a monumental circular setting of large standing stones surrounded by a circular earthwork, was constructed in several phases about eight miles north of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. It was begun as long as 5000 years ago with the outer bank, the ditch, and the Aubrey holes encircling the main construction dating from probably the late Stone Age or early Bronze Age (circa 2000BC). The main structure dates from between the early Bronze Age and the end of the Iron Age. The sarsen - or sandstone - stones date from the about 1500BC (Chippindale 18)."
Abstract This paper discusses the way that tomb construction developed and changed in Egypt. The paper looks at three periods - The Old Kingdom (c2780-2260 BC); Middle Kingdom (c1997 -1650 BC) and New Kingdom (1552-1069 BC) - in order to compare the methods.
From the Paper "Because of the incredible power and authority of the king at this time, his tomb was designed to exemplify his grandeur as well as serve as the final resting-place for his body and earthly possessions. In addition, the tomb complex was also the focal point of the king's cult for ritual prayer and for worship. Unfortunately, the roles of the king's tomb proved to nullify each other; the builders tried to "hide" the king's body and possessions while at the same time allowing the public in to worship him at the same time. As a result, the whereabouts of the king's treasure were common knowledge and over time each of these tombs was stripped of everything of value, not excluding the king's corpse itself? "
Abstract This paper focuses on the new evolved state of human beings where we are actually questioning our origins and how we came to be. The paper focuses on the different stages in the evolution of man, providing examples of fossil discoveries to show how humans have changed over time.
From the Paper "With our knowledge of geological processes we are now able to determine the biological and cultural development of the species "Homo sapiens", or human beings. A large number of human fossil bones and teeth have been found at various places throughout the world along with tools of stone, bone, and wood. As a result of these discoveries, a picture of human evolution during the past 4 to 5 million years has emerged."
Abstract This paper examines how a society's ideals are reflected in its sculpture, through the example of comparing Egyptian, Greek and Roman Sculpture. The author describes the characteristics of these societies as seen through their art and that their sculptures are a reflection on the perspective on the same world.
From the Paper "Different cultures see the world in different ways. Religion, society, and even politics, shape our views, and give form to our human environment. Architecture, music, literature, dress ? all are visible manifestations of a people's values. This is no less true in the realm of sculpture. A religious people will create works of art that express its most deeply held spiritual beliefs; a cerebral people, sculptures that capture humankind's highest ideals, while the politically minded turn out statues and busts that represent their world's movers and shakers. Styles can range from the formal and the symbolic, to the ideal and the real. Each serves its cultural purpose. As all peoples have done, the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans produced sculptures that testify to the beliefs of their respective societies."
Abstract The paper shows that ancient Roman architects implemented the elements of space, symmetry and construction with exceptional innovative skill. Although their most notable achievements, the arch and vault construction, was first conceived by the Etruscans and had a profound influence on Roman architectural style and design, the paper shows that the innovations made by the Romans were still tremendously substantial and distinct.
From the Paper "Another revolution can be seen in the Roman network of roads. The Romans were the first civilization to make well-designed roads. Around the time of Augustus the major roads were constructed to keep the incredibly large empire linked to avoid collapse. The Romans contributed a number of things to the basic idea of roads, such as archways, city streets, and arch bridges. This greatly increased the ability to build because of the way the roads were laid out. The roads allowed the Roman Empire to expand Rome in every direction; hence the saying "All roads lead to Rome". In fact, they were so abundant and well constructed that many of them still exist today as memorable landmarks today."
The uses of x-rays in medico-legal contexts. Includes physical abuse, examples, neuroimaging, interpretation, identifying human remains and archaeology.
2,250 words (approx. 9 pages), 19 sources, 2000, $ 79.95
From the Paper "The purpose of this research is to examine the emerging field of forensic radiology. The plan of the research will be to set forth a working definition of the discipline of forensic pathology and then to discuss the ways in which the discipline is developing, not only on account of methods employed in recent years to exploit the technical capabilities of x-ray technology but also (and more crucially) on account of the enlarged range of medical and legal applications implied by improved technical capabilities.
What must be understood first about forensic radiology is that as of late 1998 it is not a term in wide and common use in the professional literature. To be sure, forensic medicine has long been a part of scientific discourse, associated in both the popular culture and in scientific, professional, and law-..."
Abstract This paper contains a report on the book, including the author's thesis, evidence she uses to prove her thesis, and how convincing a case she makes. It explains how the author analyzes how ancient civilizations of Asia and Europe expanded from common places of origin. It also questions where these Caucasians came from. It explains that Elizabeth Wayland Barber, an archaeologist at Occidental College, asks herself those questions and begins a fascinating journey along the Silk Road into prehistoric time.
From the Paper "Barber's book chronicles the mummies found in and around the Urumchi area of Eurasia. The mummies are quite interesting for several reasons, including the vivid and beautiful clothing they wore, and the fact that they appeared to be distinctly Caucasian, rather than Asian or Mongoloid, which one would expect from the area they were found. Early in the book she raises many questions about these fascinating mummies, including where they came from, why they were entombed where they were, and even speculatively, what language they may have spoken. While Barber's archeological specialty is textiles, which she does cover extensively, she takes the study of the mummies much further in this book, as one reviewer noted. "In the process, she takes us through the entire process of modern archeology -- comparative linguistics, tracking down ancient original sources, studying the climate of the time, carbon dating, following artifacts as they move through different cultures..." (St. Philip). Clearly, Barber hopes to solve the mystery of these tantalizing mummies, and take the reader along with her as she makes her own voyage of discovery. What she finds is both fascinating and amazing."
Tags: prehistoric, archeologist, mummy, civilization, caucasian, europe, asia
Abstract This paper discusses the Calyx-Krater vase found at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. The vase's depiction of a scene and ideas from Homer's "Iliad" is the focus of the paper. However, the history and coloring techniques of Greek vases are also discussed in detail. Illustrations are included with the paper.
From the Paper "One of the best sources for Greek Mythology is the paintings on Greek Vases. Stories of the gods and heroes are retold again and again in this medium, providing a two dimensional visual reference for the legends. Scenes showing the action of Homeric poems were common, as well as scenes depicting the ideas put forth in these writings. It is the scene of Sarpedon's death that is depicted, yet it is the idea of a hero's death that is inferred on the Calyx-Krater of the Metropolitan Museum."
Abstract This paper examines human culture and how intelligence is determined by biological factors. The author discusses the origins of the human brain, and how it evolved into a tool of intelligence more than two million years ago, and how societal cultures are learned and shared.
From the Paper "According to Wolpoff, ?while a human culture cannot be linked to a particular biology, or vice versa, for humans culture is biology.? Wolpoff, 1999, p.164. This statement means that development of a culture is dependent on biologically determined factors. The most important reason for the development of culture is adaptation for survival under changing environment, which in turn requires, on the one hand, natural selection, and on the other making choices, rather than merely acting on instinct. Intelligence, needed for the purpose of making choices has been the product of biological factors. It should be noted that even though some animals such as wild dogs also live in societies, only humans have developed culture. Culture developed side by side with the evolution of certain physical features in the human species, Homo sapiens that made intelligence possible."
Abstract This essay discusses the importance of women in ancient Egyptian society in Gay Robin's book "Women in Ancient Egypt". The author examines strong royal women such as Nefertiti, and Nefertiti, and discusses women in Egyptian art. The paper also looks at the subordination of females in Egyptian society, but also how they were honored by their families.
From the Paper:
"Dr. Robins, curator of Egyptian art for the Carlos Museum, reevaluates the roles and importance of women in ancient Egyptian society as depicted in the art and written records of the time. The special role of women in religious rites is also surveyed. Women in Ancient Egypt is a book that shows us what the archaeological riches of Egypt really say about how the women of Egypt lived, both in the public and private eye."??
From the Paper "Dr. Robins, curator of Egyptian art for the Carlos Museum , reevaluates the roles and importance of women in ancient Egyptian society as depicted in the art and written records of the time. The special role of women in religious rites is also surveyed. Women in Ancient Egypt is a book that shows us what the archaeological riches of Egypt really say about how the women of Egypt lived, both in the public and private eye."
Abstract The paper introduces archaeology, and explains that the concept of dating is central to the science of archaeology. Two broad categories of dating, relative and absolute, are introduced, and four major specific types of dating are presented to the reader; stratigraphy, dendrochronology, obsidian hydration dating, and radiocarbon dating. Each of the four methods are discussed in great detail, each with a closing paragraph devoted to the underlying problems with that particular method. For example, the section on stratigraphy begins with a brief history of the method itself, and introduces such concepts as the law of superposition, temporal sequences of data within stratified deposits, context evaluation, and determining age through the relative position of superimposed artifacts. The negatives of stratigraphy are then discussed, and include deformation, overlapping and reverse stratigraphy, and the method is evaluated on the whole. This format is then applied to the other three types of dating discussed. Finally, a concluding paragraph states that although the four types of dating discussed are infinitely valuable to archaeologists all over the world, there are still problems associated with each that need to be accounted for when using them to address the age of fossilized remains and other artifacts.
From the Paper "Archaeology is the study of past human cultures, and archaeologists must uncover and interpret material remains in order to reconstruct past ways of life. To understand the purposes of these remains, Archaeologists have the task of constructing a chronology of prehistory, using various dating methods. ?Without knowing the age of materials, little can be said about the activity that made them part of the site (David L. Webster, Susan Toby Evans & William T. Sanders, 1993: 128).? Dating is defined as the placement in time of events relative to one another or to any established scale of temporal measurement (Jeffrey S. Dean, 1981: 375). Dating methods used by Archaeologist incorporate the scientific method and have the advantages of objectification, application to isolated cultural sequences, and an expanded span of human prehistory for which an absolute chronology can be built (Keith Brannigan, 1974: 100-101). Scientific methods of dating are invaluable for the prehistoric periods and have revolutionized the archaeologists? ideas about the absolute chronology of the prehistoric culture sequence (Brannigan, 1974: 101), yet each of these scientific methods has many difficulties. Dating techniques fall into two categories"relative and absolute"and include the following: seriation, ceramic dating, potassium argon dating, thermoluminescence dating, archaeomagnetic dating, fission track dating, stratigraphy, dendrochronology, obsidian hydration dating, and radiocarbon dating. This paper will discuss the latter four methods, with an emphasis on the shortcomings of each."
Abstract This paper traces the history of the architectural form and cultural function of the amphitheatre from its modest beginning in ancient Greece through to the Roman influenced theatre of today. It examines how, although some aspects of their design and function are debatable because so little of their physical structure exists today, Greek theaters can be chronologically classified into three categories: The early Athenian, Hellenistic and Graeco-Roman. It discusses how all of these theaters could be divided into essentially three parts: the theatron (or auditorium), the orchestra and the skene (or scene building) and how these standards developed over time.
From the Paper "In its simplest form the orchestra of a theater is simply a circular plot of land designated as a place for dance and this idea defines the orchestra employed during this time. It was circular in shape with a diameter of about 66 feet and was believed to be a locus for supernatural powers. An altar (or thymele), described as "a short drum of marble decorated with low-relief carvings of garlands and satyrs, or other Greek icons? was usually erected in the epicenter of the orchestra. It was primarily used prior to performances for sacrifices in honor of the god Dionysus, however plays with religious content often incorporated the altar into the performance. A level surface area, raised one foot from the orchestra and situated below the skene, termed the proscenium, served as the area in which the majority of the dramatic action transpired."
Abstract This paper discusses the Egyptian funerary rituals and equipment, which eventually became the most elaborate the world has ever known. The author states that Egyptians began the art of embalming in the very earliest dynastic times because the body had to remain intact to grant to the dead the illusion of life. The paper presents in detail the many processes of embalming.
From the Paper "The Predynastic Cultures of Ancient Egypt, for example, were relatively simple in their material possessions, including their grave goods, although these cultures seemed to enjoy a substantial degree of prosperity compared to the peoples around them and a relatively constant level of prosperity. As early as about 4000 B.C., some people were being buried with a relatively high number of grave goods compared to others, indicating that a complex society with a number of different social ranks had already evolved and was established well enough for people to want it to be reflected through eternity. The bodies of this time do not bear the elaborate preparations that they would by the New Kingdom thousands of years later. But, they do bear signs of an attempt to preserve them against the elements, including the wrapping of the body in cloth and at least sometimes the treating of the body with preservative chemicals ? sometimes by simply immersing or coating the body with these chemicals, sometimes by infusing the cloth wrappings with these chemicals. Except for the simplicity of this treatment, it resembles in essential ways later mummification techniques."
Abstract This paper discusses the ancient Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta in terms of their respective origins, political structures, and societies. The basic similarities and differences between them are analyzed, and conclusions are drawn from the facts ascertained.
Abstract This paper is an examination of the purposes and construction of the Great Pyramids. It looks at the connection between the afterlife and pyramids and their purpose as a demonstration of power and influence. It also discusses the mysterious nature of the construction of the pyramids.
