Natascha Mehler

The archaeology of mercantilism: clay tobacco pipes in Bavaria and their contribution to an economic system

Abstract Based on the first extensive research into Bavarian clay tobacco pipes dating from 1600 to 1745, this paper synthesizes written sources and material culture with the aims not only of contributing to post-medieval ceramic studies but also of examining the implementation and impact of a tobacco monopoly within an early modern state. After discussing the methodology, pipes are examined as a medium for mercantilist-driven actions and as indicators of socio-cultural change. The archaeology of Bavarian clay tobacco pipes throws light on the operation of an economic system and on only partly recorded or unrecorded activities such as smuggling and illicit manufacture.

The material culture of the modern world

SUMMARY: We discuss results of a content analysis of material culture articles in Post-Medieval Archaeology in the context of the development of historical archaeology as a discipline. We conclude that the journal remains an important outlet for detailed field reports, but in recent years, influenced by social and anthropological theories, the discipline has matured and articles have changed from antiquarian artefact presentations to contextualized material culture studies. Expansion of the journal’s temporal frame to include the recent past has so far had little effect, but the journal has benefited from the broadened international range of articles and the intellectual and theoretical backgrounds they convey.

Þingvellir: A Place of Assembly and a Market?

Abstract The site of the Icelandic general assembly at Þingvellir has long been at the center of assembly research. Over the past few decades in particular, archaeologists have criticised the antiquarian investigations of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The criticism was directed at the methods used at the time to pinpoint assembly sites and to identify their architectural components, such as booths and court-circles. However, it is also important to take a critical approach to the question of what actually took place at Þingvellir. After Iceland became independent, a period of nationalistic historiography set in, during which it was stated that Þingvellir was not only the place for the general assembly but also the greatest market place in Iceland. This paper presents the results of a systematic study of written and archaeological sources to put to the test the premise of a large-scale market at Þingvellir. Written and archaeological evidence for economic activities are faint and ambiguous. On the basis of this it is argued that there was probably not a market zone within the assembly area and that trade only took place there at a limited scale, barely exceeding necessary levels for provisioning..

The Perception and Interpretation of Hanseatic Material Culture in the North Atlantic: Problems and Suggestions

Abstract This paper takes the discussion on the concept of Hanseatic material culture from the Baltic and moves it west towards the North Atlantic islands and Norway, focusing on the contact zones between Hanse traders and societies at the fringes of northern Europe. The peoples of this area conducted considerable exchange with the Germans during the 14th through the 17th centuries, a process which could have led to significant impacts on the native cultures. This study describes artifacts produced in northern Germany and imported to the north as a medium transporting culture, and points out the many complex problems in tracing artifact distribution in northern Europe that are caused by multilateral and illegal trade, piracy, and the involvement of third parties. With the help of archaeological methods, the second part of the paper attempts to address some of those issues by suggesting a classification of Hanseatic artifacts.

Globalization, Immigration, and Transformation: Thoughts from a European Perspective

Historical archaeology as an archaeology of the modern world is greatly dominated in Europe by British research. Nevertheless, the discipline is gradually gaining a foothold in other European countries as well. This paper looks at the contribution that historical archaeology can make to the subjects of globalization, immigration, and transformation from a European perspective and how it relates to them. Three issues are dealt with: Is Europe, as the “missing link,” conducive to the formation of a global historical archaeology? What are the topics of research that can contribute to its creation from a European perspective? What role does the interplay between globalization and nationalism play in all of this?

A multi-technique analytical approach to sourcing Scandinavian flint: Provenance of ballast flint from the shipwreck “Leirvigen 1”, Norway

Although Scandinavian flint is one of the most important materials used for prehistoric stone tool production in Northern and Central Europe, a conclusive method for securely differentiating between flint sources, geologically bound to northern European chalk formations, has never been achieved. The main problems with traditional approaches concern the oftentimes high similarities of SiO2 raw materials (i.e. chert and flint) on different scales due to similar genetic conditions and higher intra- than inter-source variation. Conventional chert and flint provenance studies chiefly concentrate on visual, petrographic or geochemical investigations. Hence, attempts to generate characteristic fingerprints of particular chert raw materials were in most cases unsatisfying. Here we show that the Multi Layered Chert Sourcing Approach (MLA) achieves a clear differentiation between primary sources of Scandinavian flint. The MLA combines visual comparative studies, stereo-microscopic analyses of microfossil inclusions, geochemical trace element analyses applying LA-ICP-MS (Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry) and statistical analyses through CODA (Compositional Data Analysis). For archaeologists, provenance studies are the gateway to advance interpretations of economic behavior expressed in resource management strategies entailing the procurement, use and distribution of lithic raw materials. We demonstrate the relevance of our results for archaeological materials in a case study in which we were able to differentiate between Scandinavian flint sources and establish the provenance of historic ballast flint from a shipwreck found near Kristiansand close to the shore of southern Norway from a beach source in Northern Jutland, the Vigsø Bay.