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Experimental archaeology
Title
The title of the publication or report
Title:
Experimental archaeology
Series
The series the publication or report is included in
Series:
World Archaeology
Volume
Volume number and part
Volume:
40 (1)
Publication Type
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Publication Type:
Journal
Editor
The editor of the publication or report
Editor:
Robin Osborne
Issue Editor
The editor of the volume or issue
Issue Editor:
Alan K Outram
Publisher
The publisher of the publication or report
Publisher:
Routledge Journals
Year of Publication
The year the book, article or report was published
Year of Publication:
2008
Note
Extra information on the publication or report.
Note:
Is Portmanteau: 1
Source
Where the record has come from or which dataset it was orginally included in.
Source:
BIAB (The British & Irish Archaeological Bibliography (BIAB))
Relations
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Relations:
URI:
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713699333
Created Date
The date the record of the pubication was first entered
Created Date:
25 Apr 2008
Please click on an Article link to go to the Article Details.
Article Title
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Abstract
Experimental archaeology
0
Special issue of papers which address experiments relating to a wide range of different artefactual and ecofactual materials, including
Introduction to experimental archaeology
Alan K Outram
1 - 6
Experimental approaches to the interpretation of absorbed organic residues in archaeological ceramics
Richard P Evershed
26 - 47
the paper considers experimental studies are an aspect of investigations of organic residues from archaeological ceramics. Experimental methods have been applied to provide insights into factors relating to vessels' use and burial. Studies relating to vessel use have used replica vessels, ceramic chips and powder to investigate both physical and chemical phenomena relating to organic residue deposition and transformations. Ethnographic vessels are employed to bridge a practical gap, providing insights into the impacts of long-term vessel use that would be impossible to address in laboratory experiments. The author argues that a combination of such studies has provided insights into the chemical compositions observed and prompted searches for novel marker compounds that might otherwise have been overlooked. Potsherds impregnated with organic residues provide substrates for investigating the impacts of burial on chemical and stable isotopic compositions
Conceptual premises in experimental design and their bearing on the use of analogy: an example from experiments on cut marks
Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo
67 - 82
the paper considers the large array of conceptual approaches embodied in experimental archaeology. It is argued that only those methodological approaches maximising comparability between experiments and case-specific archaeological problems are heuristically scientific; this reduces the range of analogies that can be applied to the past. The adequateness of analogies depends on how the conceptual premises of experiments are designed. A practical example of this is provided through the comparison of referential frameworks created to understand the utility of cut marks to reconstruct butchering behaviours
Organics from inorganics: using experimental archaeology as a research tool ...
Linda Hurcombe
83 - 115
the value and diversity of experimental archaeology as a research tool are explored with reference to perishable organic material culture -- the `missing majority' of archaeological material culture. It is argued that the more prevalent archaeological finds of inorganic materials provide opportunities for considering issues of organic material culture, and that experimental archaeology has proved a rich and diverse tool to explore a variety of different approaches to this research theme. The focus of the paper is the plant-based craft spheres. An overview of four different research strands is presented: plant chaînes opératoires; stone-tool wear traces from processing plants for crafts; ceramic impressions of cordage, basketry and textiles; and the practical and conceptual study of skeuomorphs. Several of these approaches use reference collections provided by experiments. Experimenting with perishable materials shows the constraints and variations possible in the chaînes opératoires and taskscapes while elucidating the physical properties of the finished products. Though ethnographic data provide insights and often integrate well with the experiments, it is suggested that experimental archaeology proves itself the most adaptable actualistic study to investigate the archaeological record. Finally, though experimental archaeology can be employed in a controlled scientific manner, it is argued that it is also a tool for exploring concepts and playing with ideas. Its potential for the latter is exemplified by the skeuomorph experiments
Modern analogy, cultural theory and experimental replication: a merging point at the cutting edge of archaeology
Krish Seetah
135 - 150
the paper offers a brief review of the criteria used to investigate cut marks and subsequently outlines recent research that has integrated results from replication studies of archaeological tools and cut marks with written resources to study historic butchery practices. The case is made for a degree of standardization to be incorporated into the recording of butchery data and for the integration of evidence from the analysis of cut marks and tool signatures. While the call for standardization is not without precedent the process would benefit from a suitable model: one is proposed herein based in large part on experimental replication and personal vocational experience gained in the modern butchery trade. Furthermore, the paper identifies issues that need to be kept at the forefront of an experimental approach to butchery investigation and places emphasis on the use of modern analogy and cultural theory as a means of improving our interpretation of cut-mark data
Hair and potters: an experimental look at temper
Caroline Jeffra
151 - 161
the paper explores the ways in which horse hair alters the properties of clay and resulting vessels when used as a temper. This is based upon archaeological evidence found in Kazakhstan, though the experiments conducted were of a general nature. Experimentation involved comparing tempered to untempered vessels by recording dimensional changes, porosity and permeability, and resistance to tensile and shearing strain. A discussion of the benefits of including such a temper follows, highlighting the probability that it was added in order to aid vessel formation rather than for specific vessel performance characteristics