Ulrike Sommer | University College London (original) (raw)

Papers by Ulrike Sommer

Traditionally, the influence of CIAP on the development of German archaeology has been seen as ne... more Traditionally, the influence of CIAP on the development of German archaeology has been seen as negligible. The conference never met in Germany, but quite a number of influential German archaeologists took an active part at CIAP, and the foundation of the German Society for Anthropology, Ethnology and Prehistory can be directly linked to the influence of CIAP. The international congresses were also influential on a more regional level, as can be shown by the example of the Hans Bruno Geinitz and the foundation of the Museum of Prehistory in Dresden (Saxony).

Archaeology International, 2018

Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 2008

Bulletin of the History of Archaeology, 2007

How do societies remember their past? And how did they do so before the age of computers, printin... more How do societies remember their past? And how did they do so before the age of computers, printing, writing? This book takes stock of earlier work on memory in the fields of history and the social sciences. Our collection also takes a new look at how past and present social groups have memorialized events and rendered them durable through materializations: contributors ask how processes and incidents perceived as negative and disruptive are nonetheless constitutive of group identities. Papers also contrast the monumentalizing treatment given to singular events imbued with a hegemonic meaning to more localized, diverse memory places and networks. As case studies show, such memory scapes invite divergent, multivocal and subversive narratives. Various kinds of these imagined geographies lend themselves to practices of manipulation, preservation and control. The temporal scope of the volume reaches from the late Neolithic to the recent past, resulting in a long-term and multi-focal pers...

Zeitmessung beruht auf kosmischen Ereignissen, Zeitwahrnehmung kann auch über biologische Verände... more Zeitmessung beruht auf kosmischen Ereignissen, Zeitwahrnehmung kann auch über biologische Veränderungen erfolgen. Die Kontrolle der Zeitmessung ist mit politischer und wirtschaftlicher Macht verbunden. Ob und inwieweit Zeitwahrnehmung gesellschaftlich bedingt ist (lineare vs. zyklische Zeit), ist umstritten. Zeitmessung und Zeitverlaufsvorstellungen sollten hier auseinandergehalten werden. In bestimmten Gesellschaften wird die Erinnerung an die Vergangenheit organisiert und institutionalisiert, zum Beispiel als Geschichtsschreibung. Im zweiten Teil des Artikels diskutiere ich die Verbindung von Artefakten/Monumenten, kollektiver Erinnerung und Geschichtsbewußtsein, sowie die diesbezüglichen Erkenntnismöglichkeit der Archäologie auf verschiedene Zeitskalen.

In der Einfuhrung des vorliegenden Sammelbands werden die Diskussionen uber Erinnerung in der Arc... more In der Einfuhrung des vorliegenden Sammelbands werden die Diskussionen uber Erinnerung in der Archaologie in gegenwartige Kontexte eingeordnet, unsere Beweggrunde fur die Herausgabe dieses Buches dargelegt und einige zentrale Aspekte von Erinnerung, Raum und Identitat diskutiert. Neben einem kurzen Uberblick zur Geschichte der Gedachtnisforschung mit einem Schwerpunkt auf den archaologischen Studien werden eine Reihe von Themen angesprochen, die in den Aufsatzen des vorliegenden Bandes eine wichtige Rolle spielen. Dies betrifft unter anderem das Verhaltnis von Vergessen und Erinnern sowie Beziehungen zwischen Raum, Ort und Erinnerung. In Einklang mit unseren AutorInnen betonen wir, dass Erinnerung eine Frage der Praktiken ist, nicht nur der Denkweise. Ein weiteres Element in unseren Diskussionen ist die Verbindung von Erinnerung, Fortbestehen und Geschichte. All diese Aspekte wirken zusammen bei einem diesen zugrundeliegenden wichtigen Thema der politischen Natur verschiedener Arten...

Archaeology International, 2013

the 19th and 20th centuries. Even today, the Cehal valley is quite swampy, especially at the conf... more the 19th and 20th centuries. Even today, the Cehal valley is quite swampy, especially at the confluence with the Ier. The Austrian military maps demonstrate large-scale forest-clearance during the last three centuries; at the end of the 18th century, the site itself was still forested. Several prehistoric sites from different periods are located on the first and second terraces of the Cehal, at altitudes of around 140m.

Archaeology International, 2005

Stone (or lithic) tools are among the most durable types of arte fa cts in the archaeological rec... more Stone (or lithic) tools are among the most durable types of arte fa cts in the archaeological record, and major phases in human cultural evolution, such as the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Ne o lithic, are named afte r them. They are clearly an important and abundant source of information to archaeologists and much can be learned fr om them, as outlined in this article. But how impor tant were they in the day-today life of people in the past?

Grenzen überwinden FESTSCHRIFT FÜR UTA HALLE ZUM 65. GEBURTSTAG, Simone Kahlow, Judith Schachtmann, Cathrin Hähn Verlag Marie Leidorf GmbH · Rahden/Westf. 2021, 2021

Developmental schemes since the 18th century have proposed a sequence from the individual to the ... more Developmental schemes since the 18th century have proposed a sequence from the individual to the formation of increasingly stratified, numerous and cohesive groups. In the main, increasing inequality was closely linked to the concept of progress. Ethnicity and finally nationhood were depicted as the goal of human history, and teleological narrative leading to that goal have influenced archaeological discourse to that very day, even if the concept itself has been repudiated. In contrast, I argue that through most of human history and prehistory, active ethnicity was the exception rather than the rule and argue for a changed master narrative based the values of modern democratic society.

SATU MARE studii şi comunicări seria, 2017

În vara anului 2012, Ulrike Sommer (University College London, Marea Britanie), a demarat o săpăt... more În vara anului 2012, Ulrike Sommer (University College London, Marea Britanie), a demarat
o săpătură arheologică în situl neolitic timpuriu de la Tășnad-Sere în colaborare cu Ciprian Astaloș și
Cristian Virag (Muzeul Județean Satu Mare). Săpăturile s-au încheiat în 2019 după opt campanii de săpături a câte șase săptămâni. Cu cca. 17000 obiecte descoperite și înregistrate tridimensional, evaluarea finală a cercetărilor va mai lua timp. În prezentul articol sunt raportate complexele descoperite și oferim o scurtă descriere a obiectivelor cercetării și a metodelor de săpătură.

Bridging Science and Heritage in the Balkans: Studies in archaeometry, cultural heritage restoration and conservation, 2019

Journal of Archaeological Science, 2019

The study of size and shape of ceramic fragments is a common approach used for unraveling the dep... more The study of size and shape of ceramic fragments is a common approach used for unraveling the depositional and post-depositional history of archaeological assemblages. Similar to sediment particles, the size and shape of a potsherd are altered under conditions of abrasion, breakage, or weathering, occurring during or after deposition, which can be the product of both human and non-human agents. Thus, the analysis of dimensional and morphological changes of fragments not only points towards specific (post)depositional processes, but can also shed light on the nature of human interaction with broken pottery. By coupling a traditional sedimentological framework for shape description and a computational approach to 2D morphometrics, in this paper we present a quick, reproducible and accurate method for studying the alteration of shape and size of potsherds. Three main shape descriptors, i.e. sphericity, roundness, and convexity, were tested on a combination of experimental and Early Neolithic potsherds in Northwest Romania from contexts where the conditions of fragment alteration were known or could be safely inferred. In addition, potsherds from an Early Neolithic pit discovered at Călineşti-Oaş- Dâmbul Sfintei Mării (Satu Mare County, Romania) were analysed for determining the pit infilling process and
understanding the extent of the interaction between humans and broken pots. Results from morphometric tests show the reliability of the computational technique and shape descriptors for identifying different conditions of alteration of potsherds. The analysis of the Romanian assemblages provide insight into (post)depositional processes, showing downslope movement as the main mechanism behind the infilling of the pit at Călineşti-Oaş-Dâmbul Sfintei Mării. In addition, the potsherds possessed a high level of erosion and fragmentation, highlighting a long span of human interaction with broken materials at this site during Early Neolithic times.

Gardner Andrew, Cochrane Ethan (eds.), Discussing Evolutionary and Interpretative Archaeologies. Walnut Creek, Westcoast Press 2011, 2011

Originally intended as the Introduction to a volume on Pollution in Prehistory, the article looks... more Originally intended as the Introduction to a volume on Pollution in Prehistory, the article looks at the concept and history of pollution. The political use of pollution is discussed, as well as the possible impact on migration behaviour

Gabriel Moshenska (ed.), Key Concepts in Public Archaeology, 2017

Click on the title and follow the URL to download the paper for free

Between Memory Sites and Memory Networks New Archaeological and Historical Perspectives, 2017

In Western and West-Central Europe, it is common to find sherds of Bell-Beakers in the uppermost ... more In Western and West-Central Europe, it is common to find sherds of Bell-Beakers in the uppermost layers of megalithic monuments, sometimes accompanied by bones of a corresponding age. This ‘re-use’ is not restricted to burial-context. Henges and Stone circles cancontain so-called ‘coves’ from the Bell Beaker period. This points to a changed use of the structure. The most famous example is Stonehenge. I interpret this as a deliberate attempt by a new elite to erase power-mechanisms of previous generations. The effort put into these acts shows that these structures were perceived as a real threat to the new order. This casestudy illustrates the difficulty of distinguishing between different ways of using the past,between the use and the intended destruction of memories.

Our introduction to the volume sets the discussion about memory in archaeology into current conte... more Our introduction to the volume sets the discussion about memory in archaeology into current contexts, establishes our reasons for producing this book and discusses a number of crucial aspects of memory, space, and identity. We provide a brief history of memory studies with a focus on contributions from archaeology and discuss a number of topics that play important roles in the papers. These include the relations between forgetting and remembering , and between space, place and memory. Along with our authors, we emphasize that memory is a matter of practices, not just of mindsets. A further element in our discussions is the interface between memory, duration, and history. All of these issues coalesce in an important background theme, the political nature of various modes of memory.

Cristian Virag (ed.), NEOLITHIC CULTURAL PHENOMENA IN THE UPPER TISA BASIN

This paper presents the excavation methods utilized on the Early Neolithic (Criş) site of Tăşnad... more This paper presents the excavation methods utilized on the Early Neolithic (Criş) site of Tăşnad–Sere (North-Western Romania) in the larger context of a discussion about the emergence of villages as a marker of the Neolithisation process. In the UCL excavation at Tăşnad–Sere we
document the exact threedimensional location of every find in order to understand the taphonomic processes responsible for the formation of occupational layers and pit assemblages.
Starting from the different defnitions of a village, theories about early villages from the Near East and South-East/Central Europe are presented. The excavations in Tăşnad are, in this context, an occasion for a contribution to the theoretical debates about early villages and houses at the beginning of the Neolithic way of life.

Traditionally, the influence of CIAP on the development of German archaeology has been seen as ne... more Traditionally, the influence of CIAP on the development of German archaeology has been seen as negligible. The conference never met in Germany, but quite a number of influential German archaeologists took an active part at CIAP, and the foundation of the German Society for Anthropology, Ethnology and Prehistory can be directly linked to the influence of CIAP. The international congresses were also influential on a more regional level, as can be shown by the example of the Hans Bruno Geinitz and the foundation of the Museum of Prehistory in Dresden (Saxony).

Archaeology International, 2018

Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 2008

Bulletin of the History of Archaeology, 2007

How do societies remember their past? And how did they do so before the age of computers, printin... more How do societies remember their past? And how did they do so before the age of computers, printing, writing? This book takes stock of earlier work on memory in the fields of history and the social sciences. Our collection also takes a new look at how past and present social groups have memorialized events and rendered them durable through materializations: contributors ask how processes and incidents perceived as negative and disruptive are nonetheless constitutive of group identities. Papers also contrast the monumentalizing treatment given to singular events imbued with a hegemonic meaning to more localized, diverse memory places and networks. As case studies show, such memory scapes invite divergent, multivocal and subversive narratives. Various kinds of these imagined geographies lend themselves to practices of manipulation, preservation and control. The temporal scope of the volume reaches from the late Neolithic to the recent past, resulting in a long-term and multi-focal pers...

Zeitmessung beruht auf kosmischen Ereignissen, Zeitwahrnehmung kann auch über biologische Verände... more Zeitmessung beruht auf kosmischen Ereignissen, Zeitwahrnehmung kann auch über biologische Veränderungen erfolgen. Die Kontrolle der Zeitmessung ist mit politischer und wirtschaftlicher Macht verbunden. Ob und inwieweit Zeitwahrnehmung gesellschaftlich bedingt ist (lineare vs. zyklische Zeit), ist umstritten. Zeitmessung und Zeitverlaufsvorstellungen sollten hier auseinandergehalten werden. In bestimmten Gesellschaften wird die Erinnerung an die Vergangenheit organisiert und institutionalisiert, zum Beispiel als Geschichtsschreibung. Im zweiten Teil des Artikels diskutiere ich die Verbindung von Artefakten/Monumenten, kollektiver Erinnerung und Geschichtsbewußtsein, sowie die diesbezüglichen Erkenntnismöglichkeit der Archäologie auf verschiedene Zeitskalen.

In der Einfuhrung des vorliegenden Sammelbands werden die Diskussionen uber Erinnerung in der Arc... more In der Einfuhrung des vorliegenden Sammelbands werden die Diskussionen uber Erinnerung in der Archaologie in gegenwartige Kontexte eingeordnet, unsere Beweggrunde fur die Herausgabe dieses Buches dargelegt und einige zentrale Aspekte von Erinnerung, Raum und Identitat diskutiert. Neben einem kurzen Uberblick zur Geschichte der Gedachtnisforschung mit einem Schwerpunkt auf den archaologischen Studien werden eine Reihe von Themen angesprochen, die in den Aufsatzen des vorliegenden Bandes eine wichtige Rolle spielen. Dies betrifft unter anderem das Verhaltnis von Vergessen und Erinnern sowie Beziehungen zwischen Raum, Ort und Erinnerung. In Einklang mit unseren AutorInnen betonen wir, dass Erinnerung eine Frage der Praktiken ist, nicht nur der Denkweise. Ein weiteres Element in unseren Diskussionen ist die Verbindung von Erinnerung, Fortbestehen und Geschichte. All diese Aspekte wirken zusammen bei einem diesen zugrundeliegenden wichtigen Thema der politischen Natur verschiedener Arten...

Archaeology International, 2013

the 19th and 20th centuries. Even today, the Cehal valley is quite swampy, especially at the conf... more the 19th and 20th centuries. Even today, the Cehal valley is quite swampy, especially at the confluence with the Ier. The Austrian military maps demonstrate large-scale forest-clearance during the last three centuries; at the end of the 18th century, the site itself was still forested. Several prehistoric sites from different periods are located on the first and second terraces of the Cehal, at altitudes of around 140m.

Archaeology International, 2005

Stone (or lithic) tools are among the most durable types of arte fa cts in the archaeological rec... more Stone (or lithic) tools are among the most durable types of arte fa cts in the archaeological record, and major phases in human cultural evolution, such as the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Ne o lithic, are named afte r them. They are clearly an important and abundant source of information to archaeologists and much can be learned fr om them, as outlined in this article. But how impor tant were they in the day-today life of people in the past?

Grenzen überwinden FESTSCHRIFT FÜR UTA HALLE ZUM 65. GEBURTSTAG, Simone Kahlow, Judith Schachtmann, Cathrin Hähn Verlag Marie Leidorf GmbH · Rahden/Westf. 2021, 2021

Developmental schemes since the 18th century have proposed a sequence from the individual to the ... more Developmental schemes since the 18th century have proposed a sequence from the individual to the formation of increasingly stratified, numerous and cohesive groups. In the main, increasing inequality was closely linked to the concept of progress. Ethnicity and finally nationhood were depicted as the goal of human history, and teleological narrative leading to that goal have influenced archaeological discourse to that very day, even if the concept itself has been repudiated. In contrast, I argue that through most of human history and prehistory, active ethnicity was the exception rather than the rule and argue for a changed master narrative based the values of modern democratic society.

SATU MARE studii şi comunicări seria, 2017

În vara anului 2012, Ulrike Sommer (University College London, Marea Britanie), a demarat o săpăt... more În vara anului 2012, Ulrike Sommer (University College London, Marea Britanie), a demarat
o săpătură arheologică în situl neolitic timpuriu de la Tășnad-Sere în colaborare cu Ciprian Astaloș și
Cristian Virag (Muzeul Județean Satu Mare). Săpăturile s-au încheiat în 2019 după opt campanii de săpături a câte șase săptămâni. Cu cca. 17000 obiecte descoperite și înregistrate tridimensional, evaluarea finală a cercetărilor va mai lua timp. În prezentul articol sunt raportate complexele descoperite și oferim o scurtă descriere a obiectivelor cercetării și a metodelor de săpătură.

Bridging Science and Heritage in the Balkans: Studies in archaeometry, cultural heritage restoration and conservation, 2019

Journal of Archaeological Science, 2019

The study of size and shape of ceramic fragments is a common approach used for unraveling the dep... more The study of size and shape of ceramic fragments is a common approach used for unraveling the depositional and post-depositional history of archaeological assemblages. Similar to sediment particles, the size and shape of a potsherd are altered under conditions of abrasion, breakage, or weathering, occurring during or after deposition, which can be the product of both human and non-human agents. Thus, the analysis of dimensional and morphological changes of fragments not only points towards specific (post)depositional processes, but can also shed light on the nature of human interaction with broken pottery. By coupling a traditional sedimentological framework for shape description and a computational approach to 2D morphometrics, in this paper we present a quick, reproducible and accurate method for studying the alteration of shape and size of potsherds. Three main shape descriptors, i.e. sphericity, roundness, and convexity, were tested on a combination of experimental and Early Neolithic potsherds in Northwest Romania from contexts where the conditions of fragment alteration were known or could be safely inferred. In addition, potsherds from an Early Neolithic pit discovered at Călineşti-Oaş- Dâmbul Sfintei Mării (Satu Mare County, Romania) were analysed for determining the pit infilling process and
understanding the extent of the interaction between humans and broken pots. Results from morphometric tests show the reliability of the computational technique and shape descriptors for identifying different conditions of alteration of potsherds. The analysis of the Romanian assemblages provide insight into (post)depositional processes, showing downslope movement as the main mechanism behind the infilling of the pit at Călineşti-Oaş-Dâmbul Sfintei Mării. In addition, the potsherds possessed a high level of erosion and fragmentation, highlighting a long span of human interaction with broken materials at this site during Early Neolithic times.

Gardner Andrew, Cochrane Ethan (eds.), Discussing Evolutionary and Interpretative Archaeologies. Walnut Creek, Westcoast Press 2011, 2011

Originally intended as the Introduction to a volume on Pollution in Prehistory, the article looks... more Originally intended as the Introduction to a volume on Pollution in Prehistory, the article looks at the concept and history of pollution. The political use of pollution is discussed, as well as the possible impact on migration behaviour

Gabriel Moshenska (ed.), Key Concepts in Public Archaeology, 2017

Click on the title and follow the URL to download the paper for free

Between Memory Sites and Memory Networks New Archaeological and Historical Perspectives, 2017

In Western and West-Central Europe, it is common to find sherds of Bell-Beakers in the uppermost ... more In Western and West-Central Europe, it is common to find sherds of Bell-Beakers in the uppermost layers of megalithic monuments, sometimes accompanied by bones of a corresponding age. This ‘re-use’ is not restricted to burial-context. Henges and Stone circles cancontain so-called ‘coves’ from the Bell Beaker period. This points to a changed use of the structure. The most famous example is Stonehenge. I interpret this as a deliberate attempt by a new elite to erase power-mechanisms of previous generations. The effort put into these acts shows that these structures were perceived as a real threat to the new order. This casestudy illustrates the difficulty of distinguishing between different ways of using the past,between the use and the intended destruction of memories.

Our introduction to the volume sets the discussion about memory in archaeology into current conte... more Our introduction to the volume sets the discussion about memory in archaeology into current contexts, establishes our reasons for producing this book and discusses a number of crucial aspects of memory, space, and identity. We provide a brief history of memory studies with a focus on contributions from archaeology and discuss a number of topics that play important roles in the papers. These include the relations between forgetting and remembering , and between space, place and memory. Along with our authors, we emphasize that memory is a matter of practices, not just of mindsets. A further element in our discussions is the interface between memory, duration, and history. All of these issues coalesce in an important background theme, the political nature of various modes of memory.

Cristian Virag (ed.), NEOLITHIC CULTURAL PHENOMENA IN THE UPPER TISA BASIN

This paper presents the excavation methods utilized on the Early Neolithic (Criş) site of Tăşnad... more This paper presents the excavation methods utilized on the Early Neolithic (Criş) site of Tăşnad–Sere (North-Western Romania) in the larger context of a discussion about the emergence of villages as a marker of the Neolithisation process. In the UCL excavation at Tăşnad–Sere we
document the exact threedimensional location of every find in order to understand the taphonomic processes responsible for the formation of occupational layers and pit assemblages.
Starting from the different defnitions of a village, theories about early villages from the Near East and South-East/Central Europe are presented. The excavations in Tăşnad are, in this context, an occasion for a contribution to the theoretical debates about early villages and houses at the beginning of the Neolithic way of life.

How do societies remember their past? And how did they do so before the age of computers, printin... more How do societies remember their past? And how did they do so before the age of computers, printing, writing? This book takes stock of earlier work on memory in the fields of history and the social sciences. Our collection also takes a new look at how past and present social groups have memorialized events and rendered them durable through materializations: contributors ask how processes and incidents perceived as negative and disruptive are nonetheless constitutive of group identities. The temporal scope of the volume reaches from the late Neolithic to the recent past, resulting in a long-term and multi-focal perspective that demonstrates how the perception of past events changes, acquires new layers and is molded by different groups at different points in time. As several contributions show, these manipulations of the past do not always produce the anticipated results, however. Attempts at “post-factual history” are countered by the socially distributed, but spatially and materially anchored nature of the very process of memorialization.

Gabe Moshenska, Key Concepts in Public Archaeology, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-911576-44-0 (Hbk.) ISBN: 978-1-911576-43-3 (Pbk.) ISBN: 978-1-911576-41-9 (PDF) ISBN:... more ISBN: 978-1-911576-44-0 (Hbk.) ISBN: 978-1-911576-43-3 (Pbk.) ISBN: 978-1-911576-41-9 (PDF) ISBN: 978-1-911576-40-2 (epub) ISBN: 978-1-911576-42-6 (mobi) ISBN: 978-1-787350-78-6 (html) ISBN: 978-1-911307-71-6 (Apple app) ISBN: 978-1-911307-72-3 (Android app) This publication was made possible by funding from Jisc as part of the 'Institution as e-textbook publisher' project: https://www.jisc.ac.uk/rd/projects/institution-as-e-textbook-publisher.

We present the scientific analyses conducted on the ongoing excavation of the late Criș settlemen... more We present the scientific analyses conducted on the ongoing excavation of the late Criș settlement at Tăşnad-‘Sere’, Satu Mare county. The excavation aims to understand the relationship between the occupation layer and sub-surface features. We seek to achieve constant feedback between the scientific analysis and the excavation, adapting our excavation methods as needed. The ultimate aim is to develop methods that can also be applied to more conventional excavations. Soil analysis (XRF) revealed a good correspondence between sulphur, inorganic phosphorus, potassium and calcium and the archaeological features. Lipolythic microorganisms and thermophilic bacteria were identified both around and within a pit. Petrographic thin section analysis showed that a very similar fabric with fine organic inclusions was used in all areas analysed.