medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
A question I am pondering (in preparation for a paper at Kalamazoo
this year -- advt!) is this: how do archeologists decide that a bunch
of beads they have found in a dig are _rosary_ beads, rather than
beads for some other use?I have numerous references to rosary beads
from archaeological contexts, but frustratingly little seems to be
written about how they are identified as such.
I can certainly think of some possibilities. Beads from a grave site
that are at waist level are clearly not a necklace or bracelet. A
string found undisturbed that has groups of ten beads alternating
with one larger bead is certainly a strong hint. For that matter, an
unstructured jumble of beads with that ratio would also suggest a
rosary -- if one could be sure that most of the original beads were
still present. Beads from a grave site where the context (century,
culture, place, social class etc.) suggest that beaded necklaces were
not in fashion would certainly at least raise the question.
But the reasoning used to deduce this is something I haven't been
able to find anyone writing about explicitly.
Any ideas where I should be looking?
(Here's a case where art historians, at least, seem to be on somewhat
firmer ground, since they can see not only that there are beads
present, but how the person is holding or wearing them.)
--
____________________________________________________________
O Chris Laning <[log in to unmask]> - Davis, California
+ http://paternoster-row.org - http://paternosters.blogspot.com
____________________________________________________________
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|