Experimental archaeology
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Individuals Among the Pots: How Do Traditional Ceramic Shapes Vary Between Potters? Open
International audience
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Early Evidence for the Extensive Heat Treatment of Silcrete in the Howiesons Poort at Klipdrift Shelter (Layer PBD, 65 ka), South Africa Open
Heating stone to enhance its flaking qualities is among the multiple innovative adaptations introduced by early modern human groups in southern Africa, in particular during the Middle Stone Age Still Bay and Howiesons Poort traditions. Com…
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Investigating the formation and diagnostic value of <i>ω</i> ‐( <i>o</i> ‐alkylphenyl)alkanoic acids in ancient pottery Open
Long‐chain ω ‐( o‐ alkylphenyl)alkanoic acids (APAAs) derived from the heating of unsaturated fatty acids have been widely used for the identification of aquatic products in archaeological ceramic vessels. To date, little attention has bee…
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Integrating Mechanical and Ergonomic Research within Functional and Morphological Analyses of Lithic Cutting Technology: Key Principles and Future Experimental Directions Open
The functional value of a stone tool is principally in its ability to cut, split, or otherwise deform material. The relative efficiency with which stone tools undertake cutting processes has been a point of interest to lithic archaeologist…
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The conquest of the dark spaces: An experimental approach to lighting systems in Paleolithic caves Open
Artificial lighting was a crucial physical resource for expanding complex social and economic behavior in Paleolithic groups. Furthermore, the control of fire allowed the development of the first symbolic behavior in deep caves, around 176…
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Miniaturization optimized weapon killing power during the social stress of late pre-contact North America (AD 600-1600) Open
Before Europeans arrived to Eastern North America, prehistoric, indigenous peoples experienced a number of changes that culminated in the development of sedentary, maize agricultural lifeways of varying complexity. Inherent to these lifewa…
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The burning issue of dung in archaeobotanical samples: a case-study integrating macro-botanical remains, dung spherulites, and phytoliths to assess sample origin and fuel use at Tell Zeidan, Syria Open
Since Naomi Miller's first discussion of dung fuel within macro-botanical samples from Malyan, Iran, considerations of dung fuel across Southwest Asia have become commonplace, yet archaeobotanists remain divided on: (1) the extent to which…
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The origin of the Acheulean. Techno-functional study of the FLK W lithic record (Olduvai, Tanzania) Open
The Acheulean materials documented in FLK West dated c. 1.7 Ma. are the focus of the present work. An original techno-functional approach is applied here to analyze the origin of Acheulean tools. According to the results, these tools were …
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Species identification using ZooMS, with reference to the exploitation of animal resources in the medieval town of Odense Open
ZooMS (Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry) is increasingly being used as a method for species identification of archaeological and historical remains. The method identifies species from the peptide mass fingerprint of extracted collagen –…
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The Apparatus of Digital Archaeology Open
Digital Archaeology is predicated upon an ever-changing set of apparatuses – technological, methodological, software, hardware, material, immaterial – which in their own ways and to varying degrees shape the nature of Digital Archaeology. …
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Skilled people or specialists? Knowledge and expertise in copper age vessels from central Italy Open
Studying craft specialisation in archaeology involves investigating and reconstructing how production was organised. This article focuses on prehistoric communities and asks who performed specific tasks. Ceramic specialisation is tradition…
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It's getting hot in here – Microcontextual study of a potential pit hearth at the Middle Paleolithic site of El Salt, Spain Open
By studying combustion structures, which conceal information about anthropogenic activity, we might learn about their makers. This is especially important for remote time periods like the Middle Paleolithic, whose archaeological record com…
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Processing plants for food: Experimental grinding within the ERC-project PLANTCULT Open
PlantCult Project aims to explore the role of culinary traditions and innovations through their impact on shaping the social landscape in ancient Europe over long time periods (from the Neolithic period to the Iron Age) and large territori…
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Plant processing in the Late Mesolithic Poland: in search for function of the mysterious ‘curved knives’ Open
Studies on the treatment and use of plants in the Mesolithic are difficult due to the small number of sources. However, they are important because it was one of the basic branches of the economy of the early Holocene community. This articl…
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A Dynamical Analysis of the Suitability of Prehistoric Spheroids from the Cave of Hearths as Thrown Projectiles Open
Spheroids are ball-shaped stone objects found in African archaeological sites dating from 1.8 million years ago (Early Stone Age) to at least 70,000 years ago (Middle Stone Age). Spheroids are either fabricated or naturally shaped stones s…
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Fire as an Artifact—Advances in Paleolithic Combustion Structure Studies: Introduction to the Special Issue Open
Hearths present sedimentary features, artifacts, and direct evidence for maintained and controlled fire in the past. The use of hearths reflects regular access to fire and its diverse benefits. Among these benefits are cooked food, protect…
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Wonderful Things? A Consideration of 3D Modelling of Objects in Material Culture Research Open
The role of 3D modelling in archaeology is increasing exponentially, from fieldwork to architecture to material culture studies. For the study of archaeological objects the roles of digital and print models for public engagement has been m…
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Provenance Illusions and Elusive Paradata: When Archaeology and Art/Archaeological Practice Meets the Phygital Open
In this art/archaeological study, we question the utility of the interrelated concepts of provenance, provenience, and paradata as applied to assemblages in art, archaeology, and cultural heritage contexts. We discuss how these overlapping…
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Formalized Reduction Sequences from the Site of Kerkhove, Belgium – New Perspectives on Early Mesolithic Flint Knapping Open
The refitting of eight Early Mesolithic artefact clusters yielded a detailed image of the flint knappingmethods applied at the site of Kerkhove (BE). Apart from apparent intra-site variability, the analysisrevealed a greater investment in …
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Speculation Made Material: Experimental Archaeology and Maker’s Knowledge Open
Experimental archaeology is often understood both as testing hypotheses about processes shaping the archaeological record and as generating tacit knowledge. Considering lithic technologies, I examine the relationship between these concepti…
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Theoretical and Epistemological Thoughts on Archaeology and Experimental Lithic Technology Open
In the wide field of archaeology, stone tool remains are one of the main pieces of evidence used for assessing knowledge and understanding of the archaeological record. To cope with its analysis and interpretation as a branch of experiment…
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Non-invasive characterization of the pigment’s palette used on the painted tomb slabs at Paestum archaeological site Open
A scientific interdisciplinary team promoted an integrated archaeometric study of selected frescoed tombs within a project funded by Archaeological Museum of Paestum (Capaccio, Salerno, southern Italy). By using a multi-disciplinary approa…
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Another tool in the experimental toolbox: On the use of aluminum as a substitute for chert in North American prehistoric ballistics research and beyond Open
Experimental archaeology continues to mature methodologically and theoretically. Around the world, practitioners are increasingly using modern materials that would have been unavailable to prehistoric people in archaeological experiments. …
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A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Early Neolithic Pyrotechnological Structures. The Case Study of Portonovo (Marche, Italy) Open
The introduction of agricultural practices fostered the development of specific technologies for the new subsistence practices and the production of new artefacts. Pyrotechnological structures such as ovens are part of the Neolithic equipm…
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Thermo-microstratigraphy of shells reveals invisible fire use and possible cooking in the archaeological record Open
The archaeological visibility of hearths related to shellfish cooking methods is limited, particularly in pre-ceramic shell midden contexts. Important evidence for use of fire is the thermal alteration of components, namely the identificat…
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Bevel-ended tools on large ungulate ribs during the Bronze Age in northern Italy: Preliminary result of functional and experimental analyses Open
Functional analyses and experimental works on animal hard materials artefacts have been sparsely applied in the Italian territory, especially in Bronze Age contexts. Recent researches, carried out on several sets of artefacts coming from s…
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Not only a tool-stone: Other ways of using obsidian in the Near East Open
Obsidian was used widely in the Near East in prehistoric and early historic times to make tools and other objects. We know quite a lot about its use as a tool-stone, but much less about other objects made from it, although such things in o…
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Shape as a function of time + raw material + burial context? An exploratory analysis of Perdiz arrow points from the ancestral Caddo area of the American Southeast Open
Temporal assignments carry substantive weight, and archaeologists regularly assume that artefacts from discrete temporal units may differ in ways that convey changes in preference or behaviour. Similarly, archaeologists regularly assume th…
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An experimental study of turtle shell rattle production and the implications for archaeofaunal assemblages Open
Turtle shell rattles are percussion instruments used by Indigenous peoples of the Americas in ceremonial contexts to keep rhythm. Archaeological investigations in the southeastern United States produced several complete and partial Eastern…
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Findings on Machine Learning for Identification of Archaeological Ceramics: A Systematic Literature Review Open
The identification of archaeological ceramics is a relevant topic in the field of cultural heritage, and the history of archaeological ceramics can be traced back to prehistoric times. At present, there are two main methods for identifying…