Newest Era

Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) and Reenactment - Concept, Problems, Approaches in Our Experience

Gábor Fábián (HU)

There are several reasons why this is so. First of all, re-enactment itself started with the recreation of battles; the tradition goes back all the way to the Roman Empire (for example the naumachia scene during the opening of the Flavian Amphitheatre)

Archaeological Live Interpretations, Docu-Soaps and Themed Walks: Similarities and Differences

S. Willner,
S. Samida and
G. Koch (DE)

Introduction

For many years, the public has become increasingly aware of historical and archaeological topics, a phenomenon to which large-scale and well-attended exhibitions, so-called ‘medievalmarkets’, the continual success of historical TV-documentaries, and a booming market in specialized books and magazines may attest. Living history formats on television or historical docu-soaps also attract millions of viewers (see, for example, Schwarzwaldhaus 1902, SWR 2002; SteinzeitDasExperiment, SWR 2007).

Interpreting the Interpreter: is Live Historical Interpretation Theatre at National Museums and Historic Sites Theatre?

Ashlee Beattie (CDN)

Presenting the Discussion

The majority of the people Scott Magelssen interviewed were museum curators and historical interpreters, and their answers were broken up into three main categories:

1. No (mainly because there is no script), 2. Yes, it is a form of theatre, 3. Of course it is theatre. (Magelssen 106-119)

Book Review: Communication Strategy–Strategic Public Relations for Archaeological Open-Air Museums by M.A. Zielinska and R.P. Paardekooper

Rikke Olafson (DK)
How a museum communicates to its audience has changed significantly in the past decades. With the introduction of the Internet and the creation of social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, social media has become an integrated part of the everyday life of the majority of museum visitors...

Conference Review: Reconstructive & Experimental Archaeology Conference REARC 2013

David Wescott (US)
REARC Conferences
***This article is republished from the Bulletin of Primitive Technology #46. The 4th Annual Reconstructive and Experimental Archaeology Conference was recently held in Gastonia, NC at the Schiele Museum of Natural History. The conference theme was Education and Reconstructive and Experimental Archaeology...

From Mead to Snakebite - An Ethnography of Modern British University Sports Team Drinking Culture and its Parallels with the Drinking Rituals of the Viking World

Matt Austin (UK)
7th UK EA Conference Cardiff 2013
***The idea for this paper came, as these things often do, in a bar. The interesting twist was that instead of being an inebriated patron, I was actually working behind the bar observing the scenes of intoxicated students with a bemused expression. What began as a joke...

Variables and Assumptions in Modern Interpretation of Ancient Spinning Technique and Technology Through Archaeological Experimentation

Tracy P. Hudson (QA)
This paper takes the form of a critical analysis of archaeological experiments using spinning tools. The archaeological experiments regarding whorl weight and wool spinning of the Tools and Textiles – Texts and Contexts project, through the Danish National Research Foundation’s Centre for Textile Research, are examined with respect to a number of variables...

The Mummification of Votive Birds: Past and Present

S. D. Atherton and
L. M. McKnight (UK)

Introduction

Animal mummies can be divided into four types: pets, mummified to accompany their owners into the Afterlife; victual, prepared and mummified food offerings for consumption in the Afterlife; cult, an individual selected based upon specific characteristics and markings to be an avatar for their prospective deity; and votive, where the whole population of certain species associated with a particular deity were classed as sacred and therefore worthy of mummification (Ikram and Iskander 2002; Ikram 2005; McKnight 2010).

“You could See it [the Past] in your Mind”: What Impact might Living History Performance Have on the Historical Consciousness of Young People?

Ceri Jones (UK)

Combining theoretical perspectives with two case studies carried out in 2008 with British students aged from 10-17 years old, this paper will explore how living history might contribute to the development of young people’s historical consciousness and help them to cope with the social and cultural differences which confront them when learning about the past. In particular, it will focus on the effectiveness of first- and third-person interpretation.