Pamela Jane Smith | University of Cambridge (original) (raw)
Papers by Pamela Jane Smith
African Archaeological Review39:437–459, 2022
materials came from stratified contexts. From these, three radiocarbon dates fall between the end... more materials came from stratified contexts. From these, three radiocarbon dates fall between the end of the ninth and the second half of the thirteenth centuries CE. This article introduces various pilot studies conducted on samples collected from recent excavations. Soil analyses (pH and particle size distribution) indicate the presence of mostly acidic soils and differential preservation potential. Multi-method analysis of pottery from excavated trenches, including multivariate analysis and elemental (pXRF) measurements, recorded similar fabrics but with varying color and chemical compositions. Archaeobotanical analysis on samples from the new excavations reveals the presence of wood charcoal and, for the first time, remains of Vitex sp. and the palm oil tree associated with Igbo-Ukwu cultural deposits. This project has garnered new data on material culture, spatial distribution, subsistence, and environment. Thus, the research Abstract We present the results of fieldwork conducted at Igbo-Ukwu in 2019 and 2021 aimed at expanding the temporal and spatial record of the ancient settlement. Local participation and public engagement are central to the project, which has yielded a new dataset that enhances our understanding of the archaeological and landscape contexts of Thurstan Shaw's pioneering investigations. Extending southward by 2 km from the sites of Igbo Richard, Igbo Isaiah, and Igbo Jonah, a large ceramic assemblage of Igbo-Ukwu ware was recovered in four of our five areas of investigation. For the two areas discussed in this article, substantial quantities of cultural
Antiquity, 1997
The Fenland Research Committee, founded in 1932, guided research in the low wetlands north of Cam... more The Fenland Research Committee, founded in 1932, guided research in the low wetlands north of Camhridge in east England. Its work marked a turning-point in the developing prehistory of Sir Grahame Clark, a change so profound it is here called (I 'new archaeology'. A leading approach now as 'ecological archaeology', it is here shown to have its conception in certain goals, definitions, concepts, arid assumptionsand in the field circumstances which promoted a then-new approach to prehistoric materials.
Antiquity, 1997
Since her death almost 30 years ago, researchers interested in the life and work of one of the gr... more Since her death almost 30 years ago, researchers interested in the life and work of one of the greatest prehistorians of her generation have searched, largely in vain, for material additional to Dorothy Garrod's published work. It seems they need search no longer.
Bulletin of the History of Archaeology, 2009
infiltrated archaeological narratives of prehistory during the interwar period. Based in Aberystw... more infiltrated archaeological narratives of prehistory during the interwar period. Based in Aberystwyth, Wales, Fleure's work proved influential to the development of a mature archaeological discipline, yet embodied a somewhat peripheral underlying stance towards issues such as internal colonialism, internationalism, statehood, and race. Through archaeological evidence, and drawing upon the notion of 'world citizenship', Fleure openly challenged the stance held towards minorities by the League of Nations' and the British government after 1919. This highlighted a concern that still pervades UN policy, namely the problem of the definition of the term 'minority' in human rights protection, and preempted the importance of intangible heritage to local communities that has more recently returned to the focus of discussion. The aim of this historiography is to first present an early attempt to engage archaeology in post-conflict reconstruction, and second to highlight the connectivity of current issues in archaeology to those encountered during a period that is rarely afforded exploration.
Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 2008
Bruce Trigger, fine mentor, steadfast friend and brilliant social theorist, archaeologist and eth... more Bruce Trigger, fine mentor, steadfast friend and brilliant social theorist, archaeologist and ethnohistorian, died leaving 'the world a smaller and saddened place'(M. Latta pers. comm. 2007). His wife, Barbara Welch, less known but an equally sophisticated thinker, died ...
Bulletin of the History of Archaeology, 1996
The Fenland Research Committee, founded in 1932, guided research in the low wetlands north of Cam... more The Fenland Research Committee, founded in 1932, guided research in the low wetlands north of Cambridge in east England. Its work marked a turning-point in the developing prehistory of Sir Grahame Clark, a change so profound it is here called a ‘new archaeology’. A leading approach now as ‘ecological archaeology’, it is here shown to have its conception in certain goals, definitions, concepts, and assumptions — and in the field circumstances which promoted a then-new approach to prehistoric materials.
Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, 1994
This is my original MPhil thesis written in 1993.
Biography of Pamela Jane Smith written by Mike Pitts, editor of British Archaeology
Essays in the Honour of Paul Mellars, 2010
Biography of Professor Sir Paul Mellars based on three years of oral-historyical interviews.
![Research paper thumbnail of No country for archaeologists: Shuqba [Shukbah] cave, an illustration of the grave situation of Palestinian archaeology.](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/46361129/thumbnails/1.jpg)
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https://vimeo.com/personalhistoriesproject and http://www.sms.cam.ac.uk/collection/750864 , 2006
Complutum, 2014
Oral-historical methodology is briefly analysed and explained based on the author's personal expe... more Oral-historical methodology is briefly analysed and explained based on the author's personal experience in the field over 30 years. The definition and uses of structured and unstructured interviews are detailed. The emotional aspects of interviewing are recognised. The problem sof how to address questions of credibility, transferability, dependability or confirm ability are examined. Examples of how to juxtapose different sources with oral evidence to support an historical interpretation are given. Following Alison Wylie's suggestions, use of 'networks of resistances' and 'concatenations of inferences' is recommended. In summary, personal narrative is seen as an elegant tool which enriches the history of archaeology. Oral recollections can recreate and capture the volume, silence, emotion and personal meaning of events. The Personal Histories Project is introduced as a way to create new sources and oral-history archives for future students, teachers and researchers. key wordS: Oral-history method. History of Archaeology. Garrod. Burkitt. Clark. The Personal Histories Project.
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 1999
The legend of the 1935 'take-over' of the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia is one of the great ... more The legend of the 1935 'take-over' of the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia is one of the great tales of British archaeology. It was vividly remembered by Stuart Piggott: 'With the Fenland Research Committee, I was constantly going over to Cambridge and talking to Grahame Clark ... we frankly decided to takeover the PSEA and make it into the Prehistoric Society ... we thought it would be better to take over a society that already existed rather than start ... from scratch' explained Piggott in a 1994 interview with Southampton University research student, Julia Roberts. 'It was a deliberate infiltration of the Young Turks, headed by Grahame Clark' he wrote (1989, 26) in his Antiquity memoir. 'We arranged the meeting [to change the Society's title] for a time when we knew it was rather difficult for most of the old guard to get to Norwich. I was then working for Keiller,' Piggott stated to Julia: 'He lent me one of his cars-he was a great collector of cars. .. he lent me an MG and I drove from Avebury to Norwich rather fast. .. I got there in time! We carried it through. .. we had the Society in our hands.' 1 One of Piggott's Young Turks, C.W. Phillips (1987, 48), wrote in his autobiography, 'By 1935,1 was to be part-author of a revolution in the Prehistoric Society
Bulletin of the History of Archaeology, 1997
Bulletin of the History of Archaeology, 2008
Bulletin of the History of Archaeology, 2007
African Archaeological Review39:437–459, 2022
materials came from stratified contexts. From these, three radiocarbon dates fall between the end... more materials came from stratified contexts. From these, three radiocarbon dates fall between the end of the ninth and the second half of the thirteenth centuries CE. This article introduces various pilot studies conducted on samples collected from recent excavations. Soil analyses (pH and particle size distribution) indicate the presence of mostly acidic soils and differential preservation potential. Multi-method analysis of pottery from excavated trenches, including multivariate analysis and elemental (pXRF) measurements, recorded similar fabrics but with varying color and chemical compositions. Archaeobotanical analysis on samples from the new excavations reveals the presence of wood charcoal and, for the first time, remains of Vitex sp. and the palm oil tree associated with Igbo-Ukwu cultural deposits. This project has garnered new data on material culture, spatial distribution, subsistence, and environment. Thus, the research Abstract We present the results of fieldwork conducted at Igbo-Ukwu in 2019 and 2021 aimed at expanding the temporal and spatial record of the ancient settlement. Local participation and public engagement are central to the project, which has yielded a new dataset that enhances our understanding of the archaeological and landscape contexts of Thurstan Shaw's pioneering investigations. Extending southward by 2 km from the sites of Igbo Richard, Igbo Isaiah, and Igbo Jonah, a large ceramic assemblage of Igbo-Ukwu ware was recovered in four of our five areas of investigation. For the two areas discussed in this article, substantial quantities of cultural
Antiquity, 1997
The Fenland Research Committee, founded in 1932, guided research in the low wetlands north of Cam... more The Fenland Research Committee, founded in 1932, guided research in the low wetlands north of Camhridge in east England. Its work marked a turning-point in the developing prehistory of Sir Grahame Clark, a change so profound it is here called (I 'new archaeology'. A leading approach now as 'ecological archaeology', it is here shown to have its conception in certain goals, definitions, concepts, arid assumptionsand in the field circumstances which promoted a then-new approach to prehistoric materials.
Antiquity, 1997
Since her death almost 30 years ago, researchers interested in the life and work of one of the gr... more Since her death almost 30 years ago, researchers interested in the life and work of one of the greatest prehistorians of her generation have searched, largely in vain, for material additional to Dorothy Garrod's published work. It seems they need search no longer.
Bulletin of the History of Archaeology, 2009
infiltrated archaeological narratives of prehistory during the interwar period. Based in Aberystw... more infiltrated archaeological narratives of prehistory during the interwar period. Based in Aberystwyth, Wales, Fleure's work proved influential to the development of a mature archaeological discipline, yet embodied a somewhat peripheral underlying stance towards issues such as internal colonialism, internationalism, statehood, and race. Through archaeological evidence, and drawing upon the notion of 'world citizenship', Fleure openly challenged the stance held towards minorities by the League of Nations' and the British government after 1919. This highlighted a concern that still pervades UN policy, namely the problem of the definition of the term 'minority' in human rights protection, and preempted the importance of intangible heritage to local communities that has more recently returned to the focus of discussion. The aim of this historiography is to first present an early attempt to engage archaeology in post-conflict reconstruction, and second to highlight the connectivity of current issues in archaeology to those encountered during a period that is rarely afforded exploration.
Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 2008
Bruce Trigger, fine mentor, steadfast friend and brilliant social theorist, archaeologist and eth... more Bruce Trigger, fine mentor, steadfast friend and brilliant social theorist, archaeologist and ethnohistorian, died leaving 'the world a smaller and saddened place'(M. Latta pers. comm. 2007). His wife, Barbara Welch, less known but an equally sophisticated thinker, died ...
Bulletin of the History of Archaeology, 1996
The Fenland Research Committee, founded in 1932, guided research in the low wetlands north of Cam... more The Fenland Research Committee, founded in 1932, guided research in the low wetlands north of Cambridge in east England. Its work marked a turning-point in the developing prehistory of Sir Grahame Clark, a change so profound it is here called a ‘new archaeology’. A leading approach now as ‘ecological archaeology’, it is here shown to have its conception in certain goals, definitions, concepts, and assumptions — and in the field circumstances which promoted a then-new approach to prehistoric materials.
Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, 1994
This is my original MPhil thesis written in 1993.
Biography of Pamela Jane Smith written by Mike Pitts, editor of British Archaeology
Essays in the Honour of Paul Mellars, 2010
Biography of Professor Sir Paul Mellars based on three years of oral-historyical interviews.
https://vimeo.com/personalhistoriesproject and http://www.sms.cam.ac.uk/collection/750864 , 2006
Complutum, 2014
Oral-historical methodology is briefly analysed and explained based on the author's personal expe... more Oral-historical methodology is briefly analysed and explained based on the author's personal experience in the field over 30 years. The definition and uses of structured and unstructured interviews are detailed. The emotional aspects of interviewing are recognised. The problem sof how to address questions of credibility, transferability, dependability or confirm ability are examined. Examples of how to juxtapose different sources with oral evidence to support an historical interpretation are given. Following Alison Wylie's suggestions, use of 'networks of resistances' and 'concatenations of inferences' is recommended. In summary, personal narrative is seen as an elegant tool which enriches the history of archaeology. Oral recollections can recreate and capture the volume, silence, emotion and personal meaning of events. The Personal Histories Project is introduced as a way to create new sources and oral-history archives for future students, teachers and researchers. key wordS: Oral-history method. History of Archaeology. Garrod. Burkitt. Clark. The Personal Histories Project.
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 1999
The legend of the 1935 'take-over' of the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia is one of the great ... more The legend of the 1935 'take-over' of the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia is one of the great tales of British archaeology. It was vividly remembered by Stuart Piggott: 'With the Fenland Research Committee, I was constantly going over to Cambridge and talking to Grahame Clark ... we frankly decided to takeover the PSEA and make it into the Prehistoric Society ... we thought it would be better to take over a society that already existed rather than start ... from scratch' explained Piggott in a 1994 interview with Southampton University research student, Julia Roberts. 'It was a deliberate infiltration of the Young Turks, headed by Grahame Clark' he wrote (1989, 26) in his Antiquity memoir. 'We arranged the meeting [to change the Society's title] for a time when we knew it was rather difficult for most of the old guard to get to Norwich. I was then working for Keiller,' Piggott stated to Julia: 'He lent me one of his cars-he was a great collector of cars. .. he lent me an MG and I drove from Avebury to Norwich rather fast. .. I got there in time! We carried it through. .. we had the Society in our hands.' 1 One of Piggott's Young Turks, C.W. Phillips (1987, 48), wrote in his autobiography, 'By 1935,1 was to be part-author of a revolution in the Prehistoric Society
Bulletin of the History of Archaeology, 1997
Bulletin of the History of Archaeology, 2008
Bulletin of the History of Archaeology, 2007
BAR British Series 485, 2009
History of Science study of Dorothy Garrod, women in science, gendered knowledge making and God, ... more History of Science study of Dorothy Garrod, women in science, gendered knowledge making and God, Empire and Prehistory in the early 20th Century at the University of Cambridge and beyond.
Also published as:
A ‘Splendid Idiosyncrasy’: prehistory at Cambridge 1915–1950. By Pamela Jane Smith. Pp 207, b&w ills. BAR Brit Ser 485. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2009. ISBN 9781407304304.
