Early Medieval Age Research Articles

The Historical Sustainable Cities In India: A Survey Of Sustainable Practices Followed In Cities Of India In Ancient And Medieval Times

The role played by India in achieving the sustainable development goals by 2030 is extremely crucial owning to its large but impoverished population. It is necessary for India to achieve these goals so that the world can achieve them. India is currently lagging in many of the goals, targets and sub-targets. But there was a time when India was the centre of sustainable lifestyle. Indian cities were well planned with remarkable sanitation and cleanliness. The excellent drainage system of Harappan cities is well known to everyone. The cities were divided into various layers with the most important structures located on citadel. The great bath of Mohenjodaro, the great granary of Harappa, the water conservation tank of Dholavira and the dockyard of Lothal are living examples of sustainable practices in those sustainable cities. The imperial city of Pataliputra is another example of a sustainable city. The city administration comprised of thirty members which was divided into six committees. There was a separate committee for registration of births and deaths. Similarly, the life of Kanyakubja as described by Hiuen Tsang reflects the sustainable lifestyle of the ruler as well as the people of the city. The early medieval age was categorized as dark age by many historians. But these ages have also produced remarkable cities. Anhilwada (present day Patan, Gujarat) was capital of Solanki dynasty of Gujarat in which we can find Rani-ki-Vaav which is an excellent water conservation tank accessible to the population of the city. Similarly, Bhoj of Parmar dynasty constructed several lakes, tanks and ponds in his capital city Dhar. It was the imperial city of Vijayanagar that can be described as textbook example of a sustainable city. The city was surrounded by seven walls. The agricultural farms in the vicinity which fed the city were fortified. The city was well planned into residential, commercial and military areas. This paper analyses the sustainable structures, practices and lifestyle that existed in the prominent cities of ancient and medieval India.

Investigating soils of barrows in the Rozumice Forest (SW Poland) – Dynamics of soil and landscape evolution in a Central European loess plateau

Soil properties reflect a host of environmental conditions and land-use patterns. Formation of cultural landscapes may well be studied at barrow cemeteries, which give the opportunity of comparing the properties of buried soils, the material building the mounds and the present-day soil cover. Current archaeo-pedological research on Late Neolithic long-barrows indicates a widespread Early Holocene presence of fertile chernozemic soils in the loess zone in Silesia (SW Poland) and their subsequent transformation (en masse) into Luvisols during the Subboreal and Subatlantic. Since the timing of the transformation remains a question – to elaborate the regional chronosequence of soil evolution – we examined the barrow cemetery in the Rozumice Forest, presumably of early medieval age. We assessed the chronology of the burial mounds and properties of the soil record by analysis of ALS data and magnetometer survey, as well as pedological and archaeobotanical analyses and 14C dating of samples from cores extracted from four of the barrows. The results show that the barrows in the Rozumice Forest were most likely built in the Early Middle Ages (7-9th c. AD) using local Luvisol (clay-illuvial soil) material, after vegetation clearance by fire. The buried Luvisols found beneath the mounds bear traces of human land-use – settlement and/or agriculture during the Late Neolithic, and may be polygenetic, being the result of transformation of Early Holocene chernozemic soils.

Absolute dating of construction materials and petrological characterisation of mortars from the Santalla de Bóveda Monument (Lugo, Spain)

The construction materials of the Santalla de Bóveda Monument, one of the most studied buildings in Galicia (Spain), are analysed to date the mortars and bricks of walls and vaults by combining three dating techniques: optically stimulated luminescence, radiocarbon and thermoluminescence. Petrological characterisation of the mortars themselves is carried out. Until now, the paintings on the vault have been interpreted as Roman, early Christian or Pre-Romanesque, depending on the interpretative framework used by the researcher who studied them. There is also no consensus on their functionality. A total of 21 samples were collected, and 39 datings were made. The results are conclusive: the original building dates from the second half of the fourth century AD, the paintings date from the beginning of the seventh century or the upper floor from the tenth to twelfth centuries. These results make it necessary to review the history of Galician architecture between Late Antiquity and the Early Medieval Ages.

Irrigation Systems of the Altai: Results and Prospects of Archaeological Studies

We present the fi ndings of studies concerning the irrigation systems of the Altai and outline the directions of their further exploration. Irrigation canals, widely distributed in alpine valleys and intermontane depressions, are streams of the drift type. Most are found in central Altai and in the Chulyshman River valley of eastern Altai. Complex irrigation systems were recorded in the Bilgebash and Sarduma river mouths in the Chuya valley, in the Chulcha River mouth in the Chulyshman valley, and in Tötö, the Kurai basin. Pilot excavations of the main canals showed that wooden troughs had been placed on their bottoms. Radiocarbon analysis of wood from those troughs (Cheba and Oroktoi) suggests that they date to the Late Middle Ages, and a soil sample from the bottom of the canal of the Tenga irrigation system indicates early medieval age. In the 1800s and early 1900s, canals were used by the natives mainly for watering small plots of barley, but also of wheat and rye. Agriculture has been practiced in the Altai at least since the Early Iron Age, having fl ourished, apparently, during the Early Middle Ages. The fi rst irrigation systems must have appeared together with the fi rst farmers; however, taking into account the prolonged use and modifi cations of the main canals, assessing the time of their initial construction is diffi cult.

Osteological Evidence of Possible Tuberculosis from the Early Medieval Age (6th–11th Century), Northern Italy

We discuss the probable presence of tuberculosis in non-adults of a medieval rural community in northern Italy with a biocultural perspective. Before birth, mother and child have a closely interconnected relationship, as suggested by the role of microchimerism on maternal health. To better understand maternal–child health and related stress factors, paleopathology has investigated the potential of this relationship in recent years. Diseases with environmental development factors such as infections depend on and are strongly affected by maternal control variables such as, for example, breastfeeding and the growth environment. This article presents ISZ2, the second possible case of childhood tuberculosis identified in northeastern Italy through recent paleopathological criteria. The subject is of primary importance as it not only represents a direct testimony of this infectious disease otherwise known only from historical sources, but also increases our knowledge on the state of health of infants in this area, which to date are scarcely analyzed.

Parents' Supernatural Beliefs on Causes of Birth Defects: A Review from Islamic Perspective.

In this article, parents' supernatural beliefs on causes of birth defects were reviewed and discussed from Islamic perspective to draw attention to the importance of supernatural powers in Islamic teachings. Birth defects have been known since ancient ages and many people with different birth defects, who lived in antiquity, have been described. Although reasons for birth defects given in early medieval, 13th, 16th, and 21st centuries medical texts showed differences, numerous people in different cultures of the world have believed the effects of supernatural powers can cause birth defects since early medieval ages. Sixteenth century medical authors associated biomedical explanations with social upheavals and theology in order to understand the individual sins and the signs of the times presented by Allah through malformed human births. However, there is no religious phrase mentioning about causes of birth defects in medical textbooks of the 21st century. Based on the Islamic teachings, we would like to emphasize that supernatural beliefs including "Allah's will and qadar," "a test from Allah," "a punishment from Allah," "nazar (evil eye)," "sihr (magic or sorcery)," and "jinn possession" believed by parents as a cause of birth defects are right, real, and true, and not superstition or misconception. The Quran says "everything is determined by Almighty Allah" and "no kind of calamity can occur, except by the leave of Allah." So, we strongly believe that religious teachings must be integrated into modern medicine. The need for religion is not only for Muslims but also for all people a need of pre-eternity and posteternity. The unfortunate humanity today suffers in great pain from the constant sorrow and disasters of being deprived of the religion blessing.

Železářská struska z polykulturní archeologické lokality Boršice v podhůří Chřibů

A piece of iron slag was found on an archaeological site near Boršice on the SE margin of the Chřiby Mts., Czech Republic, which is known by occurrence of artifacts from the Early Neolithic (5700 - 5000 BC), Bronze and Early Medieval Ages. We present results of laboratory investigation of this slag. It is composed mainly of fayalite laths, which belong to two generations, less occur glass phase, wüstite and leucite, exceptionally also metallic iron. The composition of fayalite displays unified chemical trend and ranges in rather narrow span (Fa93.7-96.3 DCS1.1-5.8Fo0.0-5.0Te0.0-0.2). The glass phase contains in addition to common compounds (Si, Fe, Al, alkalis) also elevated contents of P and Ca. The microstructure of the studied slag as well as chemistry of individual phases are very homogeneous across the whole sample. We interpret this slag as an iron smelting slag, originated during production of iron from ores using the direct method. The used ore was in all probability a limonite bog ore, whereas the use of local fresh and/or weathered pelosiderites is not probable on the basis of the recorded phase composition and chemical compositions of individual phases.

Black Carolingian inks under examination. Part 1: recipes and literature survey

Black writing materials of different types and compositions have varied in use over time and different geographical regions. With this paper, we would like to contribute to their study by listing and reviewing recipes for black writing inks that were in circulation in the Carolingian Empire as well as by referencing the archaeometric analyses of the black inks used in the manuscripts. The studies presented here that involved the humanities and natural sciences provide new insights into how the scholars of the early Medieval Ages organized manuscripts.

Kompozičně neobvyklé struskové hmoty z polykulturní archeologické lokality Boršice v podhůří Chřibů

We present results of laboratory investigation of slag-like artifacts, found on an archaeological site near Boršice, known by occurrence of artifacts from the Early Neolithic (5 700–5 000 BC), Bronze and Early Medieval Ages. The grey-coloured foamy slag-like artifacts reach up to 5 cm in size and often display original lava-like surface. These slags are formed especially by strongly potassic (15–23 wt. % K2O) silicic (54–72 wt. % SiO2) glass with elevated contents of Ca (4–15 wt. % CaO), P (1–5 wt. % P2O5) and Mg (1–5 wt. % MgO) and only traces of Al, Mn and Fe (below 0.14 wt. % of oxides of each of these elements). Glass phase is partly altered due to weathering, which caused the glass hydration and almost complete loss of K. Sparse minute crystals of wollastonite (CaSiO3) and an unidentified Ca-K-Si-P-O phase (with highly variable compositions and poor stoichiometry) occur in places in the glass phase. We suggest that the origin of the studied slag-like artifacts is probably connected with either modern or ancient production of glass. However, it is certainly not modern foam glass, industrially produced worldwide from used waste glass. Based on average chemical composition of glass, we suggest that the studied artifacts could originate by smelting of a mixture of quartz sand, potash, bone ash, calcitic limestone (or calcitic marble) and dolomite in weight proportions equal to 58.9, 24.6, 4.9, 3.3 and 8.3, respectively.

A Brief History of Liberal Education in Ancient and Medieval Europe－Focusing on the Formation and Evolution of Liberal Arts

This paper examined the history of liberal education in ancient and medieval Europe, focusing on the formation and evolution of liberal arts using materials concerning the history of education, history of university, history of philosophy, and history of science. The elementary form of liberal education emerged at Greece in the fourth century BC. The philosophers’ tradition and the orators’ tradition made two approaches to liberal education. Greek scholarship was accepted in the form of encyclopedic publications in the Roman era, and <i>Disciplinarium libri novem</i>, the first work which contained the idea of liberal arts, was written in the first century BC. In the early medieval ages, so called dark ages, secular scholarship maintained its existence through the medium of liberal arts. In the fifth century, liberal arts became actualized into the seven liberal arts through <i>De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii</i>. Since the sixth century, the seven liberal arts were divided into trivium and quadrivium. In the Renaissance of the twelfth century, ancient writings were extensively translated including Aristotelian works, and the attempt to relate Greek philosophies and the seven liberal arts was tried. Circa 1250, some universities were set up in the major cities of Europe, and medieval universities were mostly organized with the faculties of arts, theology, law, and medicine. Since the late thirteenth century, the arts faculty extended the scope of liberal arts by adding three philosophies to the existing seven liberal arts: natural philosophy, metaphysics and ethics. Based on the above examination, this paper showed that the scope of liberal arts was not fixed but continuously changed, and that humanities and science were not separated in ancient and medieval Europe.

Hull characteristics of the Yenikapı 16 galley

The Theodosian harbour, unearthed during salvage excavations at Yenikapı by the Istanbul Archaeology Museums, has revealed many archaeological artefacts that have enriched the cultural history of Istanbul, in addition to 37 shipwrecks, which sank at different moments over a time span of approximately 600 years. The Byzantine galeai discovered are particularly important, as they constitute the first archaeological evidence of galleys in the early medieval age. In this article, we shall describe the construction characteristics of one of these galleys, YK16, within the context of the other galleys.

A Review on the Development of Healthcare Infrastructure Through the History of Islamic Civilization.

The current healthcare systems across the world are well established with the use of information and communication technologies. However, the developments of healthcare systems during the early Islamic and medieval ages have contributed to the establishment of various procedures and practices which are still relevant today. In addition, the research related to the history of medicine in the Arab world mainly focused on the medical literature and very few practices; whereas the healthcare infrastructure and management were undermined. In order to address this gap, this study focuses on reviewing the healthcare systems and infrastructural developments through the history of Islamic civilization, which spread across the Middle East, Africa, Spain, and West Asia. The findings are presented systematically under the categories of types of care centers, management and human resources, medical education system, and medical ethics, and then discussed.

II. Kirchliche Zufluchtsorte im Frühmittelalter

Abstract Church Spaces for Refugees in Early Medieval Ages. The paper deals with the spatial regulations of asylum. It shows that the spacious area of asylum of Late Antiquity was considerably reduced by many gentile Germanic kings. However, with the increasing Christianisation and the founding of monasteries and regional churches, the ability to grant asylum was extended to these churches, whereas in Late Antiquity in the Western Roman Empire, very likely only the episcopal churches – partly due to the lack of too many other churches – were qualified to grant asylum. In this way, a harmonization between profane and ecclesiastical places of refuge took place for just as “all” churches were (before?) all royal courts and not only the king’s residence were spaces of refuge. In the case of church spaces of refuge, it increasingly became a qualitative requirement that the church building or its parts (altar, gates etc.) had been sanctified by episcopal ordination. The reduction in the size of the asylum area did not initially go hand in hand with an impairment in the right of asylum. The bishop’s (priest’s) obligation to intercede or right to intercede was only levelled under emperor Charlemagne with reference to the competence of any worthy person to intercede.

MYTH OF EUROPEAN DARK AGE (5TH-15TH CENTURY) SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE STAGNATION: CRITICAL STUDIES OF SCIENTIFIC IDEA INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE LATE MEDIEVAL THEOLOGIAN AND EARLY MODERN PHILOSOPHER

Within common historical context, most historians consider the European renaissance age as age of origins of modern scientific knowledge, also, they assume European Medieval Age (5th-15th centuries) as age full with scientific knowledge ignorant. This research paper gives important historical review about interactions of scientific idea between the late medieval theologian and early modern philosopher. However, most previous research was more emphasized on scientific knowledge development during the age of renaissance and age of enlightenment without considering the contribution of early medieval age theologian. By examining this historically event with critical review, I do give some clarification to such pervasive myth by using qualitative research methodologies, which involving analyst of historical facts from primary resources and secondary resources such as archives, journals, book chapters, and published research paper. This research challenges the argument that scientific knowledge development only happened since renaissance age. In the comparatives studies, I found out that early medieval theologian, from William of Ockham to Gabriel Biel, who did played an important role of influencing early modern philosopher, Rene Descartes to David Hume, with scientific ideas. Such finding does give a significant clarification to the myth of medieval Europe scientific knowledge stagnation in modern historical debate

Insights Regarding an Early Medieval Grave Discovered at Dudeștii Vechi, Timiș County, Romania

The present paper aims to bring forward new insights regarding the early medieval age in the Banat region of Romania. The main subject of our paper revolves around a grave discovered during the 2016 archaeological research of the “Cociohatu Mic” site located near the village of Dudeștii Vechi, Timiș County, Romania. The grave, as well as the grave goods were poorly preserved, still a few competent conclusions could still be drawn after analyzing the funerary inventory.

Раннесредневековое одиночное погребение с конским снаряжением из Северного Алтая

The article presents the publication and diverse interpretation of materials from the excavations of grave 24 of the Gorny-10 necropolis. This site located in the Krasnogorsk District of the Altai Territory was investigated in 2000-2003. Currently, it may be considered as a basic complex for the study ofvarious aspects of the history of population of southwestern Siberia of the early Medieval Ages. The published complex is a single burial of an adult male with a fairly representative set of items, including weapons, jewelry and costume elements, as well as horse equipment. The analysis of the finds and their comparison with known materials from the sites of Northern and Central Asia made it possible to date the burial to the 7th century AD. The revealed set of items testifies to the rather high lifetime status of the deceased person. It was found that a similar situation is generally characteristic of single burials in the region of the Great Migration period and the beginning of the early Middle Ages, some of which reflected the peculiarities of the material culture of the social elite. There are grounds for asserting that elements of horse equipment, and not only rare toreutics (bridle decorations), but also standard functional items, were social markers of various levels in the ritual practice of the population of the forest-steppe Altai of the period under consideration. Further systematic analysis of materials from already known sites as well as expanding the available data through excavations will allow for a more detailed consideration of various aspects of the social history of population of the southwestern Siberia.

The Shifting Baselines of the British Hare Goddess

AbstractThe rise of social zooarchaeology and the so-called ‘animal turn’ in the humanities both reflect a growing interest in the interactions of humans and non-human animals. This comparative archaeological study contributes to this interdisciplinary field by investigating the ways in which successive human cultures employed religion to conceptualise and interact with their ecological context across the longue durée. Specifically, we investigate how the Iron Age, Romano-British, early medieval English, medieval Welsh, and Information Age populations of Great Britain constructed and employed supranatural female figures – Andraste, Diana, Ēostre, St. Melangell, and the modern construct ‘Easter’ – with a common zoomorphic link: the hare. Applying theoretical concepts drawn from conservation ecology (‘shifting baselines’) and the study of religion (‘semantic centres’) to a combination of (zoo)archaeological and textual evidence, we argue that four distinct ‘hare goddesses’ were used to express their congregations’ concerns regarding the mediation of violence between the human in-group and other parties (human or animal) across two millennia.

Archaeology of early medieval peasantry in the Basque Country: Landscapes, economic trends and societal change in Álava

The aim of this paper is to analyse early medieval economic trends and social change in the Basque Country, using a bottom-up approach that includes multiproxy archaeological evidence. Though comparisons will be made with other Northern Iberian areas, the study focuses on the 3,000 km2 Basque province of Álava, where research has been intense in the last decade. The work primarily relies on records of settlement patterns, paleoenvironmental evidence, field systems, livestock management, food patterns and crop production. Diachronic study of farming and livestock practices show patterns of socio-political interaction between local communities and elite agency in the Early Medieval Age. The main topics analysed are the emergence of local communities, the nucleation process, the use of common resources, the agency of village leaders and the formation of lordships.

OSL Dating of Earthen Mortars from a Medieval Building in Northwestern Spain: Crypt of Basílica da AscensiÓn (Allariz, Ourense)

ABSTRACTThere are few papers that focus on optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of earthen mortars. These mortars are abundant in historical buildings in northwestern Spain. The Basílica da AscensiónyForno da Santa building is an unfinished church built on a previous structure that was transformed into a crypt (Allariz, Ourense, NW Spain). Previous archaeological studies established a sequence of phases of construction, the first dating back to the Iron Age, with significant changes occurring in the Early and Late Medieval ages. The only datable material in the crypt is earthen mortar. Thus, eight mortar samples (seven joint mortars and one wall infill) were taken, seven of them dated by OSL. The dose rate was assessed, and the expected equivalent doses estimated based on the established archaeological age. Several grain sizes (from fine to coarse) were used in small multigrain aliquots to assess the equivalent doses and ages. No evidence of partial bleaching was observed in most samples and grain sizes. The resulting ages are younger than expected for most samples. This is explained by the fact that joints were repaired with new mortar from the 16th century onwards.

On the factors and categories of development of ustrushona rural areas in the early middle ages

This article analyzes the stages and categories of development of the first medieval rural areas of Ustrushona on the basis of the studied structures. In most cases, the construction plan of these rural areas was implemented in the form of a bullet corridor passing through the center and dividing the architectural complex in two and adjacent rooms (Ortakurgan, Pardaqultepa). Thus, the factors of development of the early medieval rural areas in Ustrushan can be summarized as follows first: In Ustrushna, especially in its central, northern and north-western regions, rural construction was mainly intensified early medieval Ages.