Boundary behaviour in the Irish Bronze Age: A study of social and ritual practices in the mid-late Bronze Age
Byrne, Marcus
Byrne, Marcus
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Publication Date
2024-04-08
Type
Thesis
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Abstract
The purpose of this thesis is to gain an insight into how boundaries were understood and utilised in the social and ritual lives of Bronze Age people. Boundaries are known in many forms, from visible physical linear earthworks in the landscape, to socially prescribed ways of interacting with people, places and things. Boundaries are situated at the limits of human interaction, and it is through actions performed at boundary locations that we can gain insight into how Bronze Age people considered abstract concepts involving social identity, death and territorial regulation. The theoretical attributes for boundary behaviour was explored and various forms of boundaries were outlined at the beginning of the thesis and several theoretical approaches to boundaries, borders and thresholds were explored. Furthermore, I set out to examine boundary behaviour through the lens of settlement, artefact deposition and mortuary practices to determine whether an integrated approach could help comprehend social and ritual behaviours at boundary locations on both a local and landscape scale. Settlement patterns were investigated to establish whether different levels of settlement operated at, or influenced, local and regional territorial boundaries. Roundhouses, lakeside settlements and hillforts were mapped and analysed to determine which were most influential as boundary indicators. Likewise, the location and composition of metal deposition was explored to comprehend ritual aspects to boundary marking by deposition. The data was integrated into a model of settlement patterns to determine boundary behaviour at the landscape scale, especially in relation to hillforts. The third element comprised mortuary ritual, assessing how various ways of treating human remains and the location they were interred disclose how boundaries were utilised to express identity, ancestry and possibly territorial control. This is a desk-based thesis which incorporated a GIS element for spatial analysis of currently available data. This data was integrated into a map and scrutinised for evidence boundary behaviour through settlement distribution, location of artefact and hoard deposition and mortuary practice though the placement of barrows and ring-ditches. The results of this an analysis supported the original research question in determining boundary behaviour on a local and landscape scale and combined divergent approaches to boundary behaviour in the Bronze Age.
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Publisher
NUI Galway