Midterm 2 Flashcards
Finding archaeological sites
- chance discoveries
- ask a local
- documentary records
- oral traditions
- archaeological survey
Approaches to arky survey: two types of survey
- Reconnaissance survey
2. Intensive survey
Reconnaissance survey
- preliminary examination of a survey area to identify major sites, to assess potential, and to establish tentative site distributions
Intensive survey
Systematic, detailed field survey that covers an entire area, it may include subsurface testing
Non- probabilistic (judgemental survey)
- targeting specific areas by the excavator in a non- random manner
- often used when the archaeologist is most interested in already visible or suspected sites
- results cannot be extrapolated beyond that area, or used to generalize about non- sample; context within the study area
Probabilistic (random) sampling
- uses random sampling techniques to mathematically relate small samples of data to larger study areas by studying a representative sample of the whole area
- makes generalizations derived from the sample for the entire area
Approaches to ground survey
- quadrants
- transacts
- opportunistic sampling
Transects
Have something you know and trying to figure out something you don’t know
- example two sites and you want to know what’s between them
Opportunistic sampling example
Dr Mason and the pits
Geographic information systems (GIS)
- example google maps
- appeared during the 1980s
- revolutionized the storage and display of cartographic data, including Arky sites
- uses GPS (global positioning system) data to render points, lines, and polygons in 3D space
Two types of GIS
- total station
- base station and handheld receiver
Simple random sampling
- simplest form of probabilistic sampling
- numbers are assigned to a grid, drawn over a survey area, and sampling units are selected in a completely random basis
- the spacing between sampling g areas is often uneven
- large parts of sampling g area may be left out of the sample completely, just by chance
- strengths: east
- problems: areas may be left out by chance, may be uneven coverage for
Stratified random sampling
- used when the survey area is not geographically uniform
- the broader sample area is divided in ways that reflect observed variation within the area (ecological zones, activity areas, artifact classes)
- each category is designated an amount of sample units proportional to its area
- with each category/ division, the position of the sample units is determined by random sampling
- weak spot: if you don’t have good categories than your study isn’t going to be good
Systematic sampling methods
- easy from planning and survey perspective
- choose one unit at random, and then select others at equal intervals from the first one
- sample units are evenly distributed
- useful for surface collection where artifacts are visible in the ground surface
- avoids areas of low sample concentration that can be a problem in simple random sampling
- by may oversample/ miss every site if arky material also falls at regular intervals
Systematic unaligned sampling
- combination of simple random and systematic sample into a single strategy
- divides sample universe into small, regularly spaced divisions
- sample units are randomly spaced within each of these divisions
- can also be called stratified systematic sampling
Arky survey
The systematic attempt to locate, identify, and record the distribution of arky sites on the ground and in relation to their natural environment
Site assessment
The evaluation of each sites arky significance. Assessment t considers site location and evaluates data from controlled surface collections, and, in some cases, information from subsurface detection using electronic & limited subsurface testing
Stonehenge
- Salisbury plain, England
- Neolithic and Bronze Age (as early as 3000 BC)
- one of. Way known arky sites in Europe
- includes henge, hundreds of burial mounds, pits, ritual shrines
- has always been known, never lost
- the stone travelled a long way
Durrington walls
- Europe had many droughts in 20th century & broken water pipe led to discovery of new monuments and features
- differential patterns on grass and saw patterns merging, crop marks & were able to discover patterns in Stonehenge itself discovering it was actually a full circle
- new survey: new discoveries including dureington walls- c cables super henge two miles away from Stonehenge
Remote sensing methods:
- google earth
- aerial photography (shadow marks, crop marks, soil marks, infrared false colour photographs)
- non photographic methods (satellite sensor imagery & aircraft borne sensor imagery: sideways looking airborne radar (SLAR) as LiDAR
- surface subsampling
Remote sensing at Stonehenge
- crop marks
- aerial photography
- Infrared photography
- LiDAR
- ground penetrating radar
- resisitivity
- gradiometers/ magnetometery
LANDSAT 7
- launches in 1999
- single nadir pointing instrument
- sun synchronous: orbits 705 km above earth, with a swath width; revisits same area every 16 days, 250 images a day; this means you always get images during the day time
- the ETM and can line corrector failed on May 31, 2003 - image with significant geometric error
Infrared satellite imaging
- most satellites have multiple bands that capture different wavelengths: visual, infrared, multispectral
- computer programs can create false colour images of particular bands (helps features stand out): ERDAS & ArcHIS
- hidden features may become visible (changes in vegetation, crop marks)
LiDAR Mapping
- light detection and ranging
- pulsing laser (usually mounted on an aircraft)
- measured distance based on the time it takes for a pulse of light to reach the target and return
- measures the height of the ground surface and all features
- classification of ground feature
- highly accurate DSN (digital surface model) maps all surface features
- but the same as ground penetrating radar, does not penetrate surface just gives you map of surface
Ground penetrating radar
- non invasive survey
- radar pulses are reflected at different rates depending on the density of subsurface features
- data collects on a grid
- creates a 3D subsurface map (not a high resolution, for large features)
- will not help you see artifacts, just help you see features
Gradiometery/ magnetometery
- measures near surface magnetic field
- gradiometery: axial gradiometery (2 magnetometers placed above each other) & planar gradiometers (2 magnetometers placed next to each other)
- data collected on grid (usually on foot)
- difficult without flat surface
- example magnetometers at Mayapan
Surface sampling
- fathers representatives of artifacts from the surface of the site
- works best in areas of low vegetation and soul deposition (otherwise requires clearing)
- techniques: dog leasing technique, square units
Subsurface sampling methods
- used when surface visibility is poor
- shovel test pits
- auger/ core borer
Shovel test pits (STPs)
- shallow holes as proscribed size and depth are made with a shovel
Auger/ core borer
- hand operates or power tool
- used to bore through subsurface deposits to find the depth and consistency of arky deposits
Deciding where to dig
- a precise surface survey and an accurate topographic map of the site is necessary
- the first decision to be made it whether to carry out a total or selective excavation
- probabilistic and non probabilistic choices
- logistical considerations
Total excavations
- rare these days as it is quite expensive
- has the advantage of. Ring comprehensive, but is undesirable because it leaves none of the site intact for excavation at a later date with, perhaps, more advanced techniques
Vertical trenches
- kind of old school
- used on mounds/ temples, deep deposits & CRM projects
- reveals the full sequence of occupation/ construction
- strategically placed to reveal the maximum amount of information
- can cause erosion if not backfilled properly
Vertical testing
- designed to penetrate to the lower strata of a site to establish the extent to arky deposits
- used to establish stratigraphic sequences (chronology of a site or region, obtaining artifact samples from a wide range of contexts)
- us d when horizontal excavation might cause future preservation problems
- test pits
- “telephone booths”
Test pits
- 1x1, 1x2, 2x2, 5x5 or 10x10
- larger samples you usually need to subdivide to investigate further
- dig very square holes- practical and for scientific comparisons.
- excavated to bedrock or sterile soil
Controlling vertical space
levels are used to divide up vertical space to stratigraphic changes and establish battleship curves:
- Natural level
- Artificial levels to
- at the end of each level: photograph, draw, bag, and tag
Natural levels
- uses visible changes in the matrix appearance and texture
Artificial levels
- us s arbitrary depths to subdivide the vertical matrix (5,20,25,30,50cm)
Horizontal (area) excavation
- takes time & conservation (by law in Mexico you have to restore it)
- carried out on a much larger scale than vertical investigations
- “total excavation” of a small area or structure
- when you want to understand entire area/ structure
- uncovers wide areas to recover building plans or the layout of entire settlements
- established a grid over a selected large area of site
- uses grid to establish horizontal spatial controls through the excavation of individual units within the grid
Cartesian coordinate system
- two or three dimensional grid based on intersecting, perpendicular incremental lines or places
Datum
Something to use as a basis for measuring; a reference point for a grid or map
Site datum
A stable or permanent feature established as a arbitrary point from which the entires site is measured and recorded
Grid unit
- a specific square or rectangular area in the Cartesian coordinate system, designated by the coordinate in one corner (often the SW corner)
Grid with baulks
- unexcavated portion of each unit
- established Ali g all grid lines
- bails serve as footprints for excavator
- preserve a vertical record of the stratigraphy
- works best with larger grid squares
Checkerboard patterns/ technique
- excavate every other u it or every other row
- works better with smaller grid squares
Documentation
- all deposits must be recorded in 3 dimensions
- plans and profiles
- levels
- point plotting of special finds
Consolidation and restoration
- deposits without architecture are backfilled with dirt from the excavation
- standing architecture may be consolidated and reconstructed
- re- placement of collapsing masonry blocks
- use of natural materials and/ or cement to prevent further collapses
Special excavation issues
- fragile objects
- breaks
- structures and pits
Technology
- the set of techniques and the body of information that provided ways to convert raw materials into tools, to procure and process food, to construct and locate food and so on. Technology allows humans to exploit their environment
Topics in lithos technology
- tool production
- food procurement
- tool use
- craft specialization/ workshops
- exchange patterns/ raw materials procurement
- understand the relationship between style and technology
- … social meanings expressed in technological variation
- … variation between social groups in the use of technology
Direct percussion
Striking a core directly with a hammer stone or antler billet, or striking the core against a fixed stone or anvil
- used for initial shaping
Indirect percussion
- striking a punch, usually made of wood or bone, placed against a core
- used for tool shaping
Pressure flaking
- applying pressure against a core with a punchy usually made of wood or bone
- often used for final shaping or to create prismatic blades
Retouch (or marginal retouch$
- minimal flaking sling the edge of a piece
- generally used for sharpening or resharpening
San Esteban site, Belize
- Tool production
- Cherry and chalcedony raw materials common on area
- a lot of lithos production, a lot of cores found
- because material is in abundance can use tools for what they need and then dispose it
Use- wear analysis
- take micro photographs of different edges and can determine different purposes
How can we study ceramics?
- macroscopic analysis
- technological analysis
Macroscopic analysis
- surface treatment
- paste colour/ texture
- thickness
- temper
- production characteristics
- vessel dimensions
- firing characteristics/ temperature
- vessel form
- vessel attribute forms
Technological analysis
- petrographic analysis
- compositional analysis
- experimental archaeology
Topics in ceramic technology
- chronology/ typology (stylistically variable so great for chronology - great seriation)
- environmental and raw materials
- vessel production
- craft specialization/ workshops
- cooking and storage (origins sedentism/ agriculture)
- vessel function and use (organic residues, use- wear)
- technical ceramics (metallurgy, glassmaking)
- exchange patterns/ trade networks
- religion and ritual
- understand the relationship between style and technology
Pottery in roman world
- produced and traded enormous quantities from specialized workshops throughout the Roman Empire (had huge workshops)
- figurines, oil lamps
- architectural ceramics: roof tiles, brick, ceramic pup s
Fine wares
Serving and tableware
Coarse ware
Cooking and storage
Transportation
Amphorae - vessels specifically designed to be like a packing crate
Roman ceramic production methods
- modelling/ coil methods
- moulds
- potters wheel
- Bivalve oil lamp mould
- moulds pressed on inside to make design
- terracotta figurines
La Graufesenque, France
- famous production centre for terra Sigillata pottery
- peak production during 1st century AD, continued serving local needs until 3rd century AD
- fired in 9 storey kilns (11x7x7 meters)
- kilns could hold up to 40,000 items
- reached temperatures of 1000C
- documented with lists of kiln loads: potters names and number of pits
- exporting to Spain, Gauls, and Mediterranean
Terra sigillata
- everyone had it
- clay bearing little images
- red slipped, quality tableware (dishes, bowls, serving vessels)
- “real” produced in Arezzo Italy (Tuscany)
- Gaulish ware was exported in bulk for production workshop centres in southern Gaul France (like this)
- decorated outer surfaces were made with pottery moulds (stamps, punches, and free hand stylus also used)
Roman transportation
- establish control over the Mediterranean
- naval warships: battle & piracy
- merchant ships: trade and tax collections throughout the Mediterranean (pirates want to take over tax collections ships)
- ceramics such as Tera’s Sigillata were traded commodities, while amphorae were used as shipping containers for valuable liquids
Amphorae
- ceramic shipping containers for valuable liquids (wine, olive oil and garum (fish sauce))
- each vessel was painted or stamped with an inscription: the type of product, weight, production area, shipment date, and amount of import duty
- produced and traded all over the Roman Empire
- a lot of pointy bottoms and distinctive handles - so they can be latches to inter workings of ships
Monte testaccio Rome
- artificial hill made up of an estimated 53 million shreds of broken amphorae (130km per ur) (like a landfill for amphorae)
- 1 km circumference, 35 m high; engineered with terraces
- made from a single type of amphorae used to ship outlive oil (residues turned rancid so could not be reused)
- located near shipping port on the Tiber river
- imported mostly from Spain, some from North Africa (for distribution by state officials)
Oil lamps
- most commonly made out of ceramic
- filled with olive oil or other vegetable oils
- most were made using moulds, both for the lamp itself, and also for the circular discus
Architectural ceramic
- roman roof tiles (produced with tegula and imbrex) ; mass produced in workshops
- bricks
- pipes - often made from recycled amphorae
Roman ceramics at Pompeii
- a small roman city just south of Naples
- originally an independent town
- besieged by roman general Sulla in 89 BC (became a roman colony, settled by many of Sulla veterans
- buried by eruption of mount
- get very good remains of ceramic production at Pompeii
Potters at Pompeii
- two frescos depict potters
- official varsaria di Nicanir (venue for either the manufacturer or sale of pottery)
- hospitium due pulcinella - pottery shop
2 roman period production facilities at Pompeii
- via de nocera workshop
- …
Petrographic analysis
- detailed examination of clays, and the type and density of non-plastic inclusions
- different minerals reflect and refract types of light (different crystal forms; reflect/ refract different colours)
- voids Mah indicate organic temper
- you can sometimes see coils from coiling method
- if vessels have been exposed to high heat (such as metallurgical ceramics), the areas of high heat exposure will be visible
- you can see surface decoration in cross section
Ash temper
Dense, White under light
Calcite/ dolomite temper
Distinct yellowish colour change
Volcanic temper
Big mix of minerals
X ray diffraction
- used to identify crystalline structures (Clays, temper) in ceramics
- the sample is loaded into an XRD and bombarded with x- rays from many different angles
- the x-rays reflect off the crystalline structure into specific (characteristic) directions- like a fingerprint
- different crystals reflect the x-rays at specific angles and intensities
- non- crystalline materials like glass (obsidian, high fires ceramic) do not produce sharp peaks
- not perfect
- glass, cristobalite, and quartz all have same elemental formation, but have different crystalline formation
SEM- EDS (scanning electron microscopy- energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy) in Pompeii
- have to paint everything gold (conductivity)
- black gloss has higher K content from added ash/ reduced firing environment
- you can use EDS to target a very specific areas in a sample
- cat get both imaging and elemental composition combines into one device &a technique for the purposes of analysis
Sources of information in ancient metallurgy
- arky evidence
- technical analysis of metalworking materials (ores, crucible/ mild fragments, slag)
- experimental arky (attempts at smelting/ casting)
- ethnohistory
- ethnoarchaeology
Stages of the copper working process
- Natural world
- Collecting and mining
- Smelting (roasting or technique to create chemical reactions between ore and something else in order to get metal you can work with)
- Smelting/ casting
- Finished artifact
- Barter/ exchange trade
- Functional/ decorative use
- Burial/ intentional deposit/ loss
- Arky recovery
- Museum collectors have
Seriation
- distinctive alloy colours, object forms, Guilding techniques, decorative techniques
Metallography
- thin sections of metal object, slags, metallurgical ceramic
- ## very similar to petrographic analysis of ceramics
Primary production
- Mining
2. Smelting
Secondary production
- Refining/ remedying
4. Foraging/ shaping
Mining
One extraction, concentration, and preparation (benedication)
Smelting of
Reduction of mineral ore to metal alloy
- tapping pit , furnace, and some sources of oxygen
Refining/ remedying (copper/ silver/ runs alloys)
- casting metal into objects
- annealing (reheating and allowing to cool slowly)
- hot/ cold hammering - shaped and sharpens the edge
Foraging/ shaping (iron/ steel)
- heating, hammering, and quenching (in water)
Benefication/ ore crushing
Hammer and anvil, use hammer to remove any extra minerals or crystals not associated with the ore, or you may break down the ore into smaller pieces; purify process
Crucible fragments
- crucible bowl shaped that you melt the pieces of ore in
- you can look at crucible fragments in cross sections and can get a lot of info about smelting processes
- Residues, reaction zone, firing temperature
Furnaces
Semi enclosed out in ground with some way fro air to get out
Slag
Waste material from smelting
Environment
- ecology; the air, water, minerals, organisms and all other external factors surrounding and affecting a given organism at any time (neoclassical perspective of how humans interact with the environment)
Landscape
- humans create landscapes. Places in landscape are laden with meaning
- landscape analysis is a form of historical ecology, where changing landscapes over long time periods serve as cultural records
Long term climatic change
- occur on a millennial scale
- have long term effects on human existence
- example: ice age
Short term climatic change
- floods
- droughts
- El Niño/ La Niña cycles
- volcanic eruptions
Phanerozoic climatic change
- late spiked and peaks, but overall trends
- last ~50 million years in cooling period
- too long term for archaeologists, most interested in human times and adaptation to landscape
Cenozoic temperature changes
- smaller time scale between 65 million years ago to present
- after extinction of dinosaurs see a drop in temperature, than leak with rainforests, than slow and gradual cooling
Various measurements of global temperatures - last 100 years
- significant rise in global temperature
Ecocide
Mismanagement of souls and/ or animal populations
Collapse of the western Norse
- was the environment to blame?
- were the Norse to blame?
- were the Thule to blame
- Jared diamond - collapse (book)
Environment and collapse of ancient civilizations
- how can we best detect environmental change in arky record?
- what role do humans play in environmental change?
- was the collapse unavoidable due to climate change?
- was there an ecocide?
Methods for studying last climates
- geoarchaeology
- sedimentology
- site formation process
- oxygen isotope analysis
- carbon isotope analysis
- zoo archaeology
- palynology
Geoarchaeology
Study if arky using methods and concepts if earth sciences
Sedumetology
- paleosols
- identify periods of drying and increased soil deposition
Site formation processes
- stratigraphy
- distinguish human caused phenomena from natural features
Oxygen isotope analysis
- reconstruct past global temperatures
- ice cores
- marine shells
- speleotherms
Carbon isotope analysis
- reconstruct diet
Zoo archaeology
- reconstruct past animal life through bone/ shellremains
- reconstruct diet/ ecology, hunting, domestication
Palynology
- reconstruct past plant life through analysis of pollen spores
- reconstruct diet
Westward Norse expansion
- Viking raids were first documented in AD 793 (spurred by the intense rivalry between Viking chieftains for prestige items)
- colonization of Iceland in the 10th century
- colonization of Greenland by settlers from Iceland around AD 985
- colonization Newfoundland around AS 990-1000
- oeseberg longship - very useful for short ocean voyages
Norse colonies in Greenland
- settled around AD 985 by Erik the Red
- western settlement and eastern settlement (peak population of ~3000)
- by the 12th century, Norse kings were converted to Christianity
- over 29 churches were built in western and eastern settlements
- bishops held power and controlled trade
L’Anse aux Measows
- located in Newfoundland at the tip of the great northern peninsula “Vinland”
- first and only documented Viking settlement in North America
- Norse expedition sailed from Greenland around AD 1000
- Leif Erickson, son of Erik the red
Life at L’Anse six meadows
- discovered in 1969 by Norwegian archaeologists/
Explorers - Small encampment of 8 timber sod buildings:
- Icelandic style
- c14 dates: AD 990-1050
- large residences with multiple tools
- 3 small buildings: workshops or lower status/ crew/ slaves
- iron smith with forge and iron slab
- carpentry worship - boat repair
- everyday items: oil lamp, whetstone bronze pin, needle, spindle,
Stone look weights - don’t have evidence that they were living there for a long time
Why did the settlement collapse (hypotheses)
- overgrazing by cattle, erosion of fragile soils
- attack by Thule
- climatic change (global cooling, more sea ice)
- refusal to adapt to local conditions
- collapse of fur trade routes, falling ivory prices
- overspending on luxury items (elite goods, church provisions)
Mass spectrometry- isotope analysis
- mass spectrometry used for a number of other isotopes
- mass analysis tells you the relative amounts of different isotopes
- climates
- carbon (diet, radiocarbon dating)?
Oxygen isotope analysis
- measuring the difference between oxygen 18 to oxygen 16
- sea water warm periods - relatively high oxygen 16
- sea water cold - relatively high oxygen 18
- allows track global temperatures
- Greenland: right before abandonment sea ice building up
- salt particles in ice cores suggest storminess rose toward end
- carbon isotopes in bones show shift to a more marine diet
Faunal remains Greenland
Mixed herding and hunting economy:
- cattle sheep, goats
- even small farms had a cattle
- caribou and seal bones outnumber domestic animals at less affluent farms
- majority seal
- Norse ate fish
- hunting walrus for ivory and polar bears for fur
End of western settlement
- abundance attic hare remains
- bones of lamb, calf, and hunting dog
- suggests end of settlement was in late wringer
Palynology and the Norse
- Norse colonists introduce grass species form Scandinavia for cattle grazing
- land use, expansion..
- see expansion and decline if introduced grass species
Sedimentolofy
- Norse allowed souls to recover after tilling and turf cutting, refertilized with manure and practiced irrigation, attempted conservation.
Alberta prehistory
- 11,500 years (before largely covered in ice)
Ice free corridor
Somewhere between 11,500-11000 years ago emerged
- Clovis points dating to this period
Clovis points
- fluted pointed batters into spear shafts and used to hunt megafauna
Basally thinned triangular points
11,500-10000 years ago
- manufactured by removal of small flakes from the base of a pony so it could be more easily hatted
- hatred into spears and knives to hunt megafauna
Folsom points & plainview points
11,000-10,000 years ago
- warmer weather
- Folsom: leaf like shape and concave base and shallow groove running the length of the point (fluting)
- plainview points: concave base but are basally thinned rather than fluted
Agate basin points
10,500-9,500 years ago
- cooler, wetter weather
- elongated lancelate points with a thick cross section that have a straight or rounded base
Cody points & Alberta points
9,500-8,500 years ago
- warmer and drier; hunting bison
- both are stemmed
Eden point
- long and narrow
- 9,500-7,500 years ago
- wide variety of pints
- Eden long and narrow
- scotrsbluff has stemmed and pointed
Mummy cave period
7,500-5000 years ago - increase in temperature and a decrease in rain with frequent periods of drought - bison jumps occur in this period - atlatls - pints tend to be side Notched
Oxbow points
5,000- 2,000
- severe winters and neoglacial period
- dinsrincitce ears in the base of the point
Pelican lake points
3,250- 1,500 years ago
- cooling trend: moister and stormier winters
- tipis
- corner notching and Christmas tree like appearance
Besant aide notched points
2,500-1,000 years ago
- climate drier and warmer-
- most proficient bison hunters
- pottery
- stone tools manufactured from knife flint
Avonlea points
1,500-1,000 years ago- dry and warm
- pottery variation
- bow and arrow
- side and corner notched
- assumed to be arrow points
Plains/ prairie side notched points
- initially dryC 500 years ago colder and moister
- ceramic variation
- side notched points, name of lithics at this time
