OXBOW BOOK NEWS 105 New and forthcoming titles for Spring 2020 Archaeology The Ancient World Greece and Rome The Middle Ages Welcome to the 105th Oxbow Book News, featuring all the latest archaeological titles from our own imprints and our partner publishers. Among our own publications, we are particularly pleased to announce Landscapes Revealed which presents the results of several years of surveying on Orkney between Skara Brae and Maeshowe to give a detailed picture of the changing landscape context of one of western Europe’s most important concentrations of prehistoric monuments. Landscapes Revealed should hit the shelves in June. We are also proud to bring the seminal work of Pierre Petrequin and Anne-Marie Petrequin to an English-speaking audience for the first time. Ecology of a Tool is a classic study of the ground stone axes of Irian Jaya in New Guinea. It explores their manufacture, exchange and economic significance, taking an object-centred approach. With nearly 200 titles, all of them brand new or back in stock due to popular demand, you will find a considerably expanded bargain section in the centre of this catalogue. We have great new reductions on a selection of our own title, plus fantastic lists from Spink, the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, and Amberley, plus a mixed bag just in from the US. This catalogue goes out in the shadow of the global CO-VID 19 pandemic. As I write we are continuing to process and send out orders as normal, although postage, particularly to the European mainland, may be subject to delays. However, I must stress that we may be overtaken by events; we are monitoring the situation closely and will keep you updated with any changes to our normal trading during this uncertain period. Please check our website for the latest information – it will remain up and running. Please do keep in touch through our social media channels. With best wishes in this difficult time Cover Image: Excavations at the Early Neolithic site of Bestansur, Shahrizor Plain, Sulaimani province, Kurdistan Region, Iraq Photo: Roger Matthews, University of Reading From: The Early Neolithic of the Eastern Fertile Crescent (Oxbow Books 2020) Published by Oxbow Books, The Old Music Hall, 106–108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JE Tel (order enquiries): +44 (0)1226 734350 | Tel (general enquiries): +44 (0)1865 241249 E-mail: [email protected] | www.oxbowbooks.com /oxbowbooks @oxbowbooks ARCHAEOLOGICAL METHODPREHISTORY & THEORY A Taste for Green A Global Perspective on Ancient Jade, Turquoise and Variscite Exchange Edited by Carlos Rodríguez-Rellán, Ben A. Nelson & Ramón Fábregas Valcarce A Taste for Green addresses the latest research into the acquisition of jade, turquoise or variscite, all of which share a characteristic greenish colour and an engaging appearance once they are polished in the shape of axes or assorted adornments. Papers explore how, in addition to constituting economic transactions, the transfer of these materials were also statements of social liaisons, personal capacities, and relation to places or to unseen forces. The volume centres on two study areas, Western Europe and México/ Southwest US. Oxbow Books • 2020 • 9781789252743 • £45.00 • Hardback • 192 pages b/w and col illustrations The Competition of Fibres Early Textile Production in Western Asia, Southeast and Central Europe (10,000–500 BC) Edited by Wolfram Schier & Susan Pollock The central issues discussed in this new collection are the relationships between fibre resources and availability on the one hand and the ways those resources were exploited to produce textiles on the other. Technological and economic practices – for example, the strategies by which raw materials were acquired and prepared – in the production of textiles play a major role. Contributions investigate the beginnings of wool use in western Asia and southeastern Europe in the context of a consideration of other fibres, both plant and animal. Oxbow Books • April 2020 • 9781789254297 • £38.00 • Paperback • 240 pages FORTHCOMING, ONLY col illustrations £30.40 UNTIL PUBLICATION In the Footsteps of Honor Frost The Life and Legacy of a Pioneer in Maritime Archaeology Edited by Lucy Blue Maritime archaeologist Honor Frost (1917-2010) was a pioneer in her field. She left a rich legacy through her innovative research conducted in the eastern Mediterranean on the remains of ports and harbours, sea-level change, shipwrecks and ship construction, and ancient anchors. This volume provides an appreciation of Frost’s work and assesses current projects in the region that draw on her legacy, providing insight into the development of the discipline of maritime archaeology in the region from its infancy to the present day. Sidestone Press • 2020 • 9789088908309 • £60.00 • Paperback • 300 pages b/w and col illustrations 1 www.oxbowbooks.com | [email protected] | +44 (0)1226 734350 ARCHAEOLOGICAL METHOD & THEORY Art in the Archaeological Imagination Edited by Dragos Gheorghiu This book discusses the creative mental processes of prehistoric and contemporary artists, as well as of archaeologists studying them from the perspective of cognition and art. Its intention is to highlight the artistic thinking within the imagination of the archaeologist, as well as to discuss the concepts of imagination and art in current scientific research. From this perspective the book suggests a type of research closer to the complexity of the human nature and human thinking. Oxbow Books • 2020 • 9781789253528 • £36.00 • Paperback • 144 pages b/w illustrations Dead or Alive Edited by Maria Fabricius Hansen, Rosanna Tindbæk & Gundhild Ravn Borggreen The image is an ontological paradox; it is made of dead matter, yet simultaneously appears to be alive. Covering a wide range of image practices, such as early palaeolithic stone engravings, medieval tomb sculpture, renaissance death masks and baroque painting to modern fashion and park design these twelve chapters demonstrate that the ontological paradox of the image is not limited to a specific historical period or certain types of images, but can be seen throughout the history of images across different cultures. Aarhus University Press • 2020 • 9788771843514 • £55.00 • Hardback 304 pages Gender Transformations in Prehistoric and Archaic Societies Edited by Julia Katharina Koch & Wiebke Kirleis In which chronological, spatial, and social contexts is gender a relevant social category that is noticeable in the archaeological material? How can transformations in social gender relations and identity be recognized archaeologically? Is the identity of prehistoric people defined by gender? If so, what is the accompanying cultural context? What about gender equality among the scientists working in archaeology? In what degree are research teams, as well as their scientific approaches, biased today? These and other burning questions are intensively discussed in this volume. Sidestone Press • 2020 • 9789088908217 • £65.00 • Paperback • 500 pages 2 www.oxbowbooks.com | [email protected] | +44 (0)1226 734350 ARCHAEOLOGICAL METHOD & THEORY Osteoarchaeology in Historical Context Cemetery Research from the Low Countries Edited by Roos van Oosten, Rachel Schats & Kerry Fast While osteoarchaeological research is common in the Low Countries, many of the studies done on the excellent skeletal collections remain unpublished and therefore unavailable to a larger audience. This volume contributes to the dissemination of cemetery research in the Low Countries. Several important skeletal collections are examined in their historical contexts to better understand past living and dying. Osteoarchaeological data are combined with information on burial location, orientation, and grave goods. Sidestone Press • 2020 • 9789088908330 • £35.00 • Paperback • 206 pages b/w and col illustrations Death and Changing Rituals Function and Meaning in Ancient Funerary Practices Edited by Håkon Roland, Marina Prusac & J. Rasmus Brandt In most societies the disposal of the corpse is accompanied by some form of celebration or ritual. The contributions presented here are focused not on the examination of such different funerary practices, their function and meaning, but on the changes of such rituals, how and when they occurred, and how they may be explained. A range of key themes are examined concerning belief and ritual, body and deposition, place, performance and commemoration, exploring a complex web of practices. Oxbow Books • 2020 • 9781789253818 • £35.00 • Paperback • 480 pages NEW IN PAPERBACK, b/w and col illustrations Dying to Eat Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Food, Death, and the Afterlife Edited by Candi K. Cann, Emily Wu, Jung Eun Sophia Park, Joshua Graham & Lacy K. Crocker Dying to Eat is the first interdisciplinary book to examine the role of food in death, bereavement, and the afterlife. The contributors explore the phenomenon across cultures and religions, investigating topics including tombstone rituals in Buddhism, Catholicism, and Shamanism; the role of death in the Moroccan approach to food; and the role of funeral casseroles and church cookbooks in the Southern United States. Illuminating how cooking and corpses both transform and construct social rituals, Dying to Eat serves as a fascinating exploration of the foodways of death and bereavement. University Press of Kentucky • 2019 • 9780813178516 • £26.50 • Paperback 208 pages • b/w illustrations 3 www.oxbowbooks.com | [email protected] | +44 (0)1226 734350 ARCHAEOLOGICAL METHOD & THEORY Debasement Manipulation