A Pluskowski
Biographic Data
| ID | 75190 |
|---|---|
| NAME | A Pluskowski |
| GIVEN NAMES | A |
| FAMILY NAME | Pluskowski |
| SIGNATURE | PLUSKOWSKI A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Reading |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4494-7664 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 44 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 110 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 44 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2002 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Studying frontier societies
The Defence of the Faith
New Perspectives on the Medieval ‘Agricultural Revolution’
Livestock husbandry in Islamic Cártama, Málaga, Spain
Multidisciplinary micro- and bioarchaeological analyses of late medieval deposits from suburban Cártama, Málaga, Spain, have, for the first time, confidently identified open air fumier deposits, which are supported by preliminary analysis of the faunal assemblage. This demonstrates that Andalusi livestock husbandry practices included periodically burning animal dung within corrals and pens, which is a long-standing practice in the Mediterranean r…
El cerro de la Judería de Atienza
The archaeological excavations carried out in the medieval Jewish quarter of Atienza (Guadalajara) in 2022 constitute the first comprehensive approach to the archaeological site of the walled quarter in which this religious minority resided. Although there are numerous reports from written sources of the presence of an important Jewish community in Atienza during the late medieval centuries, until now there had only been a few superficial approac…
The Challenges and Future of Environmental Archaeology in Mauritius
This paper considers the value of past and prospective applications of key environmental archaeological and earth science fields relating to the historical ecology of Mauritius and the Mascarene islands more broadly: palaeoecology, geoarchaeology, zooarchaeology and climate studies. The contribution of each subfield is outlined with the aim of demonstrating the potential value of an integrated environmental archaeological approach for developing …
High clergy feasts and suburban suppers
Geophysical survey at the frontier of medieval Iberia
This paper presents the results of geophysical surveys conducted within two castles in central Iberia: the fortifications of Molina de Aragón and Atienza, both located within the modern province of Guadalajara in Spain. They represent essential case studies for understanding the transformations of the frontier societies of medieval south‐western Europe, because both were founded during the Andalusi period, both played a fundamental role at the ti…
Re-thinking the 'Green Revolution' in the Mediterranean world
From the seventh century AD, successive Islamic polities were established around the Mediterranean. Historians have linked these caliphates with the so-called 'Islamic Green Revolution'-the introduction of new crops and agricultural practices that transformed the economies of regions under Muslim rule. Increasingly, archaeological studies have problematised this largely text-based model of agrarian innovation, yet much of this research remains re…
Birds at the Teutonic Order's castles in Prussia (Poland)
The Tyranny of the Gingerbread House
In this paper, I propose to contextualise the popular perception ofthe "fairy tale wolf" as a window into a normative past, by focusing on responses to this animal in Britain and southern Scandinavia from the 8th to the 14th centuries, drawing on archaeological, artistic and written sources. These responses are subsequently juxtaposed with the socio-ecological context of the concept of the "fairy tale wolf" in early modern France. At a time when …
The cultural roles of perforated fish vertebrae in prehistoric and historic Europe
This paper provides a new synthesis of perforated fish vertebrae in prehistoric and historic Europe, with a particular focus on Poland, within the broader context of Central and Eastern Europe. The earliest examples of such artefacts in Europe date from the Upper Palaeolithic, but compared to other ‘beads’ manufactured from animal bone, perforated fish vertebrae are rare. This paper examines the diachronic trends in the range of species that have…
The zooarchaeological identification of a 'Morisco' community after the Christian conquest of Granada (Spain, early 16th century)
This article presents the results of the zooarchaeological analysis of an assemblage dating to the second quarter of the 16th century that was discovered on the current university campus of Cartuja, on the outskirts of Granada (Andalusia, Spain). During the Middle Ages, this area was largely used for agricultural purposes, including as estates owned by high officials of the Nasrid dynasty, the last Islamicate polity in the Iberian Peninsula. The …
Sacred Hill (Święta Góra) in the Masurian Lakedland. An early Medieval Hillfort or a Military Camp from the Middle of the 17th Century
Stanowisko określane jako Święta Góra znajduje się na Pojezierzu Mazurskim. Zajmuje ono młodoglacjal ne wyniesienie, ograniczone od wschodu i południa doliną rzeki Staświnki, a od zachodu rynną jeziora Wojnowo. Od północy wyniesienie to zamyka sztuczny wał odcinkowy. Do II wojny światowej wykopaliska prowadzili tu: H. Lorek (1881 r.), H.K. Hess von Wichdorff (1922– 1923 r.). Kolejne prace wykopaliskowe miały miejsce w 2005 r. i w latach 2011–2013…
Power Centres and Marginal Landscapes
During the late Iron Age, the eastern Baltic was inhabited by Finno-Ugric and Baltic speaking societies whose territories were conquered in the thirteenth century as a result of the crusades. This paper examines the degree to which indigenous landscapes were transformed as a result of the crusades, and the evidence for maintenance of indigenous land-use practices. Vegetation and land-use history are reconstructed using palynological data from Cēs…
Landscapes of (re)conquest
The ‘Landscapes of (Re)Conquest’ project investigates the dynamics of medieval frontier societies in South-west Europe through the lens of the cultural landscape. It compares diverse regional borderlands in Spain, created by successive waves of Islamic and Christian conquests, with the Pyrenean frontier on either side of the Albigensian Crusade and aims to reconnect the castles of frontier authorities with their associated territories from a heri…
The environmental impact of cultural change
The Baltic Crusades and ecological transformation
Feeding the Crusades
The integrated results of micromorphology, plant macrofossil, pollen, phytolith, and non-pollen palynomorph analyses represent an important study of two thirteenth-century Teutonic Order castles at Karksi (Livonia), and Elbląg (Prussia). The research examines deposits that formed during the period of active crusading. At Karksi, the investigation of a midden and of the organic-rich sediment beneath allows the diachronic use of this area to be und…
Late-Medieval Horse Remains at Cēsis Castle, Latvia, and the Teutonic Order’s Equestrian Resources in Livonia
EXCAVATIONS AT the castle complex of Cēsis, Latvia, uncovered an unusual find of large quantities of horse bones, some of which were partially articulated, along with equestrian equipment. These were associated with a destroyed building at the edge of the southern outer bailey. The horses included large males, most probably stallions, and pathology on several of the recovered vertebrae suggests these individuals had been used for riding. The size…
The Archaeology of the Military Orders
THIS PAPER reviews the current state of research into the archaeology of the military orders. It contrasts the advances made by historians and archaeologists, with the latter continuing to focus on the particularism of individual sites, with an emphasis on architectural analyses. Historians have contributed new insights by adopting a supranational approach. This paper argues that archaeologists can build on this by adopting a more problem-oriente…
A multi-proxy, diachronic and spatial perspective on the urban activities within an indigenous community in medieval Riga, Latvia
Plant macrofossil, pollen and invertebrate analysis of a mid-14th century cesspit from medieval Riga, Latvia (the eastern Baltic)
Religious Transformations in the Middle Ages
L'articolo esplora dal punto di vista archeologico le varie tracce materiali lasciate dalle forme cultuali proprie del Medioevo, colte nei loro aspetti di trasformazioni religiose. L'analisi riguarda contesti pagani, cristiani, islamici ed ebrei, visti attraverso una prospettiva di lungo termine. I concetti base sono quelli di ibridità, resilienza, tempi e traiettorie. Un'attenzione particolare è data al modo in cui credenze, pratiche e identità …
Antichrist superstars
Narwhals or Unicorns? Exotic Animals as Material Culture in Medieval Europe
Animals from distant lands fired the imaginations of people living in Europe throughout the Middle Ages. This is attested by a considerable wealth of iconographic and written material which has been explored from many perspectives, providing valuable insights into medieval western conceptualizations of the fringes of the known world and the otherness of exotica. However, the physical remains of non-indigenous species – both those recovered from a…
Potential osteoarchaeological evidence for riding and the military use of horses at Malbork Castle, Poland
The paper explores interpretations of two sets of pathological horse vertebrae identified during analyses of animal bones from recent excavations at the castle at Malbork in northern Poland (formerly Marienburg in Prussia). One specimen dates to the 18th century and the other to the medieval period. The castle was initially constructed by the Teutonic Order from the late 13th century and occupied by military institutions into the 19th century, an…
The Non-Adult Cohort from Le Morne Cemetery, Mauritius
The cemetery of Le Morne in Mauritius dates from the 1830s and is thought to contain the remains of slaves, freed slaves or potentially free Madagascans, which in itself has economic and social implications and makes the cemetery all the more intriguing. During 2010, excavations recovered the remains of 11 individuals, of which six were children. Although a small sample, the burials of the non-adults show several interesting features. Two neonate…
The zooarchaeology of medieval ‘Christendom
The formation of Christendom – of Europe – was associated with a standardized worldview expressing dominion over the natural world. While some sections of medieval society, specifically monasteries and the aristocratic class, appear to have developed this paradigm, there is also evidence for heterogeneity in practice and belief. Zooarchaeologists have accumulated vast quantities of data from medieval contexts which has enabled the ecological sign…
Religious Transformations in the Middle Ages
L'articolo esplora dal punto di vista archeologico le varie tracce materiali lasciate dalle forme cultuali proprie del Medioevo, colte nei loro aspetti di trasformazioni religiose. L'analisi riguarda contesti pagani, cristiani, islamici ed ebrei, visti attraverso una prospettiva di lungo termine. I concetti base sono quelli di ibridità, resilienza, tempi e traiettorie. Un'attenzione particolare è data al modo in cui credenze, pratiche e identità …
Intestinal parasites in a mid-14th century latrine from Riga, Latvia
Detecting the environmental impact of the Baltic Crusades on a late-medieval (13th–15th century) frontier landscape
The Ecology of Crusading
The Crusades in the Near East, eastern Baltic and Iberian Peninsula (in the context of the Reconquest/reconquista) were accompanied by processes of colonisation, characterising the expansion of medieval Europe and resulting in the creation of frontier societies at the fringes of Christendom. Colonisation was closely associated with — indeed, depended on — the exploitation of local environments, but this dimension is largely missing from studies o…
Where are the wolves? Investigating the scarcity of European grey wolf (Canis lupus lupus) remains in medieval archaeological contexts and its implications
The wolf is thought to have been abundant in many parts of medieval Europe, but its remains are rarely identified in archaeological contexts. One of the potential reasons for this is the problem of distinguishing between the skeletal elements of wolves and dogs, accentuated by poor preservation and fragmentation. This paper reviews the extent of this problem, exploring the morphological relationships between wolves and dogs, as well as the issue …
Feeding the Crusades
The integrated results of micromorphology, plant macrofossil, pollen, phytolith, and non-pollen palynomorph analyses represent an important study of two thirteenth-century Teutonic Order castles at Karksi (Livonia), and Elbląg (Prussia). The research examines deposits that formed during the period of active crusading. At Karksi, the investigation of a midden and of the organic-rich sediment beneath allows the diachronic use of this area to be und…
The Ecological Impact of Conquest and Colonization on a Medieval Frontier Landscape
Slavic and German colonization of the southern Baltic between the 8th and 15th centuries A.D. is well‐documented archaeologically and historically. Despite the large number of pollen profiles from Poland, few palaeoecological studies have examined the ecological impact of a process that was central to the expansion of European, Christian, societies. This study aims to redress this balance through multiproxy analysis of lake sediments from Radzyń …
The zooarchaeological identification of a 'Morisco' community after the Christian conquest of Granada (Spain, early 16th century)
This article presents the results of the zooarchaeological analysis of an assemblage dating to the second quarter of the 16th century that was discovered on the current university campus of Cartuja, on the outskirts of Granada (Andalusia, Spain). During the Middle Ages, this area was largely used for agricultural purposes, including as estates owned by high officials of the Nasrid dynasty, the last Islamicate polity in the Iberian Peninsula. The …
Plant macrofossil, pollen and invertebrate analysis of a mid-14th century cesspit from medieval Riga, Latvia (the eastern Baltic)
The Tyranny of the Gingerbread House
In this paper, I propose to contextualise the popular perception ofthe "fairy tale wolf" as a window into a normative past, by focusing on responses to this animal in Britain and southern Scandinavia from the 8th to the 14th centuries, drawing on archaeological, artistic and written sources. These responses are subsequently juxtaposed with the socio-ecological context of the concept of the "fairy tale wolf" in early modern France. At a time when …
Biała Góra
Biała Góra 3 is a small settlement founded in the late twelfth or early thirteenth century AD in the disputed Christian borderlands of Northern Europe. The incorporation of Pomerania into the Polish state in the tenth century was followed by a process of colonisation across the lower Vistula valley, which then stalled before resuming in the thirteenth century under the Teutonic Order. Biała Góra 3 is unusual in falling between the two expansionis…
Witchcraft and Deep Time-a debate at Harvard
Archaeology, consistently warned off religion by wise old heads, here rushes deeper into the thicket to tackle the thorny topic of ancient witchcraft. The occasion was a seminar at Harvard organised by Stephen Mitchell and Neil Price to mark the twentieth anniversary of Carlo Ginzburg's influential book on the connections between witches and shamanism - and by implication the possible connections with prehistoric ritual and belief. Archaeology wa…
The Challenges and Future of Environmental Archaeology in Mauritius
This paper considers the value of past and prospective applications of key environmental archaeological and earth science fields relating to the historical ecology of Mauritius and the Mascarene islands more broadly: palaeoecology, geoarchaeology, zooarchaeology and climate studies. The contribution of each subfield is outlined with the aim of demonstrating the potential value of an integrated environmental archaeological approach for developing …
Re-thinking the 'Green Revolution' in the Mediterranean world
From the seventh century AD, successive Islamic polities were established around the Mediterranean. Historians have linked these caliphates with the so-called 'Islamic Green Revolution'-the introduction of new crops and agricultural practices that transformed the economies of regions under Muslim rule. Increasingly, archaeological studies have problematised this largely text-based model of agrarian innovation, yet much of this research remains re…
Power Centres and Marginal Landscapes
During the late Iron Age, the eastern Baltic was inhabited by Finno-Ugric and Baltic speaking societies whose territories were conquered in the thirteenth century as a result of the crusades. This paper examines the degree to which indigenous landscapes were transformed as a result of the crusades, and the evidence for maintenance of indigenous land-use practices. Vegetation and land-use history are reconstructed using palynological data from Cēs…
Late-Medieval Horse Remains at Cēsis Castle, Latvia, and the Teutonic Order’s Equestrian Resources in Livonia
EXCAVATIONS AT the castle complex of Cēsis, Latvia, uncovered an unusual find of large quantities of horse bones, some of which were partially articulated, along with equestrian equipment. These were associated with a destroyed building at the edge of the southern outer bailey. The horses included large males, most probably stallions, and pathology on several of the recovered vertebrae suggests these individuals had been used for riding. The size…
Micromorphological and geochemical investigation of formation processes in the refectory at the castle of Margat (Qal'at al-Marqab), Syria
Survival at the Frontier of Holy War
Between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries AD, the Lower Vistula valley represented a permeable and shifting frontier between Pomerelia (eastern Pomerania), which had been incorporated into the Polish Christian state by the end of the tenth century, and the territories of western Prussian tribes, who had resisted attempts at Christianization. Pomeranian colonization eventually began to falter in the latter decades of the twelfth and early thir…
Predators in Robes
Karin Altenberg. Experiencing landscapes
Karin Altenberg. Experiencing landscapes: a study of space and identity in three marginal areas of Medieval Britain and Scandinavia (Lund Studies in Medieval Archaeology No. 31). vii+293 pages, 71 figures. 2003. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International; 91-22-01997-9 paperback. - Volume 78 Issue 301
Narwhals or Unicorns? Exotic Animals as Material Culture in Medieval Europe
Animals from distant lands fired the imaginations of people living in Europe throughout the Middle Ages. This is attested by a considerable wealth of iconographic and written material which has been explored from many perspectives, providing valuable insights into medieval western conceptualizations of the fringes of the known world and the otherness of exotica. However, the physical remains of non-indigenous species – both those recovered from a…
Where are the wolves? Investigating the scarcity of European grey wolf (Canis lupus lupus) remains in medieval archaeological contexts and its implications
The wolf is thought to have been abundant in many parts of medieval Europe, but its remains are rarely identified in archaeological contexts. One of the potential reasons for this is the problem of distinguishing between the skeletal elements of wolves and dogs, accentuated by poor preservation and fragmentation. This paper reviews the extent of this problem, exploring the morphological relationships between wolves and dogs, as well as the issue …
Andrzej Buko. Archaeologia Polski Wczesno'sredniowiecznej
Andrzej Buko. Archaeologia Polski Wczesno'sredniowiecznej: Odkrycia – hipotezy – interprtacje. The Archaeology of early Medieval Poland: Discoveries – hypotheses – interpretations; summary in English). 446 pages, 164 illustrations, 41 colour plates. 2005. Warszawa: Trio; 83-7436-023-2 hardback zl-46. - Volume 81 Issue 311
The zooarchaeology of medieval ‘Christendom
The formation of Christendom – of Europe – was associated with a standardized worldview expressing dominion over the natural world. While some sections of medieval society, specifically monasteries and the aristocratic class, appear to have developed this paradigm, there is also evidence for heterogeneity in practice and belief. Zooarchaeologists have accumulated vast quantities of data from medieval contexts which has enabled the ecological sign…
Potential osteoarchaeological evidence for riding and the military use of horses at Malbork Castle, Poland
The paper explores interpretations of two sets of pathological horse vertebrae identified during analyses of animal bones from recent excavations at the castle at Malbork in northern Poland (formerly Marienburg in Prussia). One specimen dates to the 18th century and the other to the medieval period. The castle was initially constructed by the Teutonic Order from the late 13th century and occupied by military institutions into the 19th century, an…
Witchcraft and Deep Time-a debate at Harvard
Archaeology, consistently warned off religion by wise old heads, here rushes deeper into the thicket to tackle the thorny topic of ancient witchcraft. The occasion was a seminar at Harvard organised by Stephen Mitchell and Neil Price to mark the twentieth anniversary of Carlo Ginzburg's influential book on the connections between witches and shamanism - and by implication the possible connections with prehistoric ritual and belief. Archaeology wa…
Detecting the environmental impact of the Baltic Crusades on a late-medieval (13th–15th century) frontier landscape
The Ecology of Crusading
The Crusades in the Near East, eastern Baltic and Iberian Peninsula (in the context of the Reconquest/reconquista) were accompanied by processes of colonisation, characterising the expansion of medieval Europe and resulting in the creation of frontier societies at the fringes of Christendom. Colonisation was closely associated with — indeed, depended on — the exploitation of local environments, but this dimension is largely missing from studies o…
New Technology or Adaptation at the Frontier? Butchery as a Signifier of Cultural Transitions in the Medieval Eastern Baltic
This paper focuses on a number of examples of cut marks on animal bones from a range of sites associated with the cultural transformations in the eastern Baltic following the Crusades in the 13th century. Recorded observational and interpretational characteristics are quantified and explained through more detailed selected case studies. The study represents a pilot project, the foundation for a more detailed and systematic survey of a larger data…
Medieval Landscape Transformation in the Southeast and Eastern Baltic
The history of the medieval Baltic is dominated by the crusading movement of the 13th to 15th centuries. The crusades resulted in significant changes to the organisation, ownership and administration of the landscape, with a significant shift in patterns of land use. However, our understanding of the environmental impact of the crusades has been almost exclusively informed by written sources. This paper synthesises existing palynological evidence…
Intestinal parasites in a mid-14th century latrine from Riga, Latvia
Micromorphological and geochemical investigation of formation processes in the refectory at the castle of Margat (Qal'at al-Marqab), Syria
Survival at the Frontier of Holy War
Between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries AD, the Lower Vistula valley represented a permeable and shifting frontier between Pomerelia (eastern Pomerania), which had been incorporated into the Polish Christian state by the end of the tenth century, and the territories of western Prussian tribes, who had resisted attempts at Christianization. Pomeranian colonization eventually began to falter in the latter decades of the twelfth and early thir…
The Non-Adult Cohort from Le Morne Cemetery, Mauritius
The cemetery of Le Morne in Mauritius dates from the 1830s and is thought to contain the remains of slaves, freed slaves or potentially free Madagascans, which in itself has economic and social implications and makes the cemetery all the more intriguing. During 2010, excavations recovered the remains of 11 individuals, of which six were children. Although a small sample, the burials of the non-adults show several interesting features. Two neonate…
Biała Góra
Biała Góra 3 is a small settlement founded in the late twelfth or early thirteenth century AD in the disputed Christian borderlands of Northern Europe. The incorporation of Pomerania into the Polish state in the tenth century was followed by a process of colonisation across the lower Vistula valley, which then stalled before resuming in the thirteenth century under the Teutonic Order. Biała Góra 3 is unusual in falling between the two expansionis…
The Ecological Impact of Conquest and Colonization on a Medieval Frontier Landscape
Slavic and German colonization of the southern Baltic between the 8th and 15th centuries A.D. is well‐documented archaeologically and historically. Despite the large number of pollen profiles from Poland, few palaeoecological studies have examined the ecological impact of a process that was central to the expansion of European, Christian, societies. This study aims to redress this balance through multiproxy analysis of lake sediments from Radzyń …
Naomi Sykes
Having been a long-time admirer of Naomi Sykes’ work, and in particular of her ground-breaking and influential The Norman Conquest: A Zooarchaeological Perspective (2007), it was no surprise to fin
A multi-proxy, diachronic and spatial perspective on the urban activities within an indigenous community in medieval Riga, Latvia
Plant macrofossil, pollen and invertebrate analysis of a mid-14th century cesspit from medieval Riga, Latvia (the eastern Baltic)
Religious Transformations in the Middle Ages
L'articolo esplora dal punto di vista archeologico le varie tracce materiali lasciate dalle forme cultuali proprie del Medioevo, colte nei loro aspetti di trasformazioni religiose. L'analisi riguarda contesti pagani, cristiani, islamici ed ebrei, visti attraverso una prospettiva di lungo termine. I concetti base sono quelli di ibridità, resilienza, tempi e traiettorie. Un'attenzione particolare è data al modo in cui credenze, pratiche e identità …
Late-Medieval Horse Remains at Cēsis Castle, Latvia, and the Teutonic Order’s Equestrian Resources in Livonia
EXCAVATIONS AT the castle complex of Cēsis, Latvia, uncovered an unusual find of large quantities of horse bones, some of which were partially articulated, along with equestrian equipment. These were associated with a destroyed building at the edge of the southern outer bailey. The horses included large males, most probably stallions, and pathology on several of the recovered vertebrae suggests these individuals had been used for riding. The size…
The Archaeology of the Military Orders
THIS PAPER reviews the current state of research into the archaeology of the military orders. It contrasts the advances made by historians and archaeologists, with the latter continuing to focus on the particularism of individual sites, with an emphasis on architectural analyses. Historians have contributed new insights by adopting a supranational approach. This paper argues that archaeologists can build on this by adopting a more problem-oriente…
The environmental impact of cultural change
Archaeology (38 works) · History (34 works) · Geography (30 works) · Historical and Archaeological Studies (22 works) · History (22 works) · Ancient history (18 works) · Ecology (17 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (15 works) · Art (14 works) · Biology (12 works)