Romano British - Is there really such a thing?

[P Prentice]

If we've got the full cultural package from central Italy, bread and Circuses (ok, ?Circus), wine, minging fish sauce, straight roads, decent crockery, aquaducts, troops in skirts, even elephants, how then can Britain 43-410AD be distinguished from Rome 43-410AD?

are you american?

[Dinosaur]

Ah, so not actually interested in seeing whether its possible to develop a model of what makes 'Romano-British' distinctive from 'Late/Final British Iron Age' or 'Roman' then, which I seem to recall was the :face-topic:.... you are an archaeologist, aren't you?

-oh, and yes, if you go back a few generations there does seem to be some New World blood lurking somewhere down in one of my fingertips, along with a surprising large proportion of the British population if WDYTYA is to be believed :face-approve:

[Marcus Brody]

I think the point that P Prentice was making is that 21st century Britain has the full cultural package from America, but that doesn't make the inhabitants American. For 'bread and Circuses, wine, minging fish sauce, straight roads, decent crockery, aquaducts, troops in skirts',read 'McDonalds and Friends, Coke, Lady Gaga and USAF bases'.

[BAJR]

That said, accepting a cultural package does not obviously remove the underlying cultural package that seems to be strong enough to survive 300 odd years and emerge in a very similar way. Now - removing all thoughts of secret socialites keeping alive the old ways in a masonic goat tickling way.... how is it that two cultures can co-exist yet be classified as one.?

Thus Romano British becomes an overarching term for people who are both? or am I now arguing myself into a corner?

[P Prentice]

there is good reason to suppose that many 'british' people did not engage with roman culture until well into the 'roman period' if ever, and even if they did acquire a wheelmade pot it dont make them roman anymore than dino eating a big mac makes him american . in fact just because most of the south were using wheelmade pots and living in buildings with corners by the end of the 2nd century - most of them probably never even met a roman and may not even have realised that 200 years before that their forebears lived in circular mud huts and painted themselves blue. their apparent acculturation may have been no more than lip service and a need for a new saucepan

[Dinosaur]

I think the point that P Prentice was making is that 21st century Britain has the full cultural package from America, but that doesn't make the inhabitants American. For 'bread and Circuses, wine, minging fish sauce, straight roads, decent crockery, aquaducts, troops in skirts',read 'McDonalds and Friends, Coke, Lady Gaga and USAF bases'.

Not sure that's a good example, after all, all we're doing is largely re-importing an exported cultural package - if you want to hear the nearest you'll get to 17th century English go to 21st century New England...suspect PP was objecting to 'cultural package'?

Still not getting any closer to produce a testable model here to answer the question at the head of the thread? - sorry, getting dangerously close to suggesting science :0

[GnomeKing]

Well, in Interpretive Cultural/Historical disciplines, generally the discussion of what is Meant by certain terms generates much new thought, and considerable to-ing and fro-ing of various ideas, perspectives and lines of evidence - --- a consensus today becomes a subject to be dissected by the next new historian.....

So, what does Romano-British mean/does 'it' exist? Yes.
...how about....

'It is term used to described a comlex Period of Culturual History, where language/ideas/technologies/material culture/social structures 'imported' particularly, but not exclusively, as a consquence of invasion and colonisation by the Roman Empire were variably imposed, adopted, resisted or ignored in different regions across Britain by various native populations/cultures/societies. '

?

[Dirty Dave Lincoln]

I'll vote yes on your idea GnomeKing!

And if the BAJR Fed ever needs a lawyer......

See GnomeKing!!

[Dinosaur]

Well, in Interpretive Cultural/Historical disciplines, generally the discussion of what is Meant by certain terms generates much new thought, and considerable to-ing and fro-ing of various ideas, perspectives and lines of evidence - --- a consensus today becomes a subject to be dissected by the next new historian.....

So, what does Romano-British mean/does 'it' exist? Yes.
...how about....

'It is term used to described a comlex Period of Culturual History, where language/ideas/technologies/material culture/social structures 'imported' particularly, but not exclusively, as a consquence of invasion and colonisation by the Roman Empire were variably imposed, adopted, resisted or ignored in different regions across Britain by various native populations/cultures/societies. '

?

At last, something to work with! - but sadly not just now, hangover so brain's not functioning

[P Prentice]

Well, in Interpretive Cultural/Historical disciplines, generally the discussion of what is Meant by certain terms generates much new thought, and considerable to-ing and fro-ing of various ideas, perspectives and lines of evidence - --- a consensus today becomes a subject to be dissected by the next new historian.....

So, what does Romano-British mean/does 'it' exist? Yes.
...how about....

'It is term used to described a comlex Period of Culturual History, where language/ideas/technologies/material culture/social structures 'imported' particularly, but not exclusively, as a consquence of invasion and colonisation by the Roman Empire were variably imposed, adopted, resisted or ignored in different regions across Britain by various native populations/cultures/societies. '

?

worthy try but..
imported language ......social structures ......as a consequence of invasion ......by the Roman empire?

language may have changed for some but i suspect not very many
what social structures were imported
might not all these things have arrived with normal trade and exchange anyway?
was the driver of change the empire or was it merchant

your list highlights a number of the problems i have with the term romano - do the indians remember the rahj as anglo-indian or een indo-english?