Archaeology 2B Revision

Iron analysis tactic

magnetism

Silver analysis tactic

spot test with chromium trioxide and sulfuric acid to produce silver chromate

Shell analysis tactic

spot test with sulfuric acid and hydrogen chloride

Different copper alloys can be…

traced to different locations due to associations with different mines and environments

Organic materials are identified…

usually through microscopy and visual testing

Microscopy of tools can tell us…

information about wear patterns and how they may have been used

Characterisation

process of using analytical scientific methods to identify chemical composition and structure of an artefact

Case study of artefact material analysis

• Micro-beads from Anatolia in a late-Chalcolithic, small-scale, short-lived settlement. Microscopy and chemical testing identified them as shell.

• Electro-microscopy determined their middle-eastern origins

• XRF showed three different kinds of beads, mostly being synthetic steatite

• Material context included a kiln and chipped end pieces of the play-doh snack manufacture technique used to create the beads. small striations in the internal opening showed they were threaded on a string after firing

Petrological thin sections

sherds of pottery are shaved down to acquire a sample usable in microscopic analysis, which can inform on how the pottery was made, what it's made of, and where it comes from

SEM-EDS

energy-dispersive x-ray spectrometry bombards the surface of the material with electrons and generates characteristics of the elements in response. non-destructive, but only informs on the surface of the object

XRF

x-ray fluorescence. x-ray beams excite the artefact creating a backscatter of x-rays for analysis; only provides information on the surface of the artefact, is non-destructive, and has a portable style of machinery for testing

XRD

x-ray diffraction. a sample of the artefact is used to produce an x-ray scatter scan with the goal of understanding crystalline phases and structures of the object. It is inexpensive, but destructive, due to the requirement of a sample

why is pottery is helpful to study

• one of the most plentiful and widespread artefacts, allowing for complex typologies and comparative analyses

• sensitive to cultural and artistic change, reflected in shape, fabric, and manufacturing techniques

• can contain residues useful for isotopic analysis

• resistant to decay

pottery production process

• prepare the clay

• add temper (other material added to make it more sturdy during shaping, firing, drying, and cooking)

• shaping (can be done through slab technique, coil technique, moulding techniques, wheel thrown- techniques, etc)

• firing the clay (overfiring can make it explode, oxidation is the result of homogenous, light surface colour due to lack of control over conditions)

• burnishing (often reserved for prestige artefacts due to effort and time required)

• decoration

types of pottery decoration

burnishing, paint, coloured slips, incision or incrustation, stamp decoration, excision, moulded decoration

mould-shaping is associated with…

samian ware and Roman pottery. this is helpful for tracing patterns of trade and distribution, since all pieces from one mould can be tied back to the original point of manufacture

pottery typology

creating a chronological and geographical sequence of pottery based on size, manufacture technique, style, shape, etc. It can help identify ways in which a piece may have been made and where/when it's from. The method is critiqued for being subjective and over-simplified and for assuming a progression from less to more complex

experimental archaeology

practice of replicating the environment and manufacture techniques of the time period, location, and group being studied to gain a greater understanding of additional tools needed in manufacture, challenges faced in manufacture, time and effort put into a product, dissemination of knowledge through observation, etc.

Dental moulds can…

produce detailed impressions of artefacts onsite where removing them is impossible or ill-advised

cross-referencing material items

using art, texts, etc. to understand how artefacts may have been used, made, or associated with other artefacts

Serabit el-Khadim nozzle

clay nozzle understood to have been used as a bellows in conjunction with a leather bag. this was corroborated by a Theban wall from the 18th dynasty, which depicted men operating similar bellows with their feet while working over a fire

Requirements for conservation and treatment of artefact

must be reversible and allow for the accuracy of further analysis such as radiocarbon dating, isotopic analysis, electron microscope scanning, and, where relevant, DNA testing. This also protects the artefact's usefulness in any future techniques that are developed

Climate change case study in the North Atlantic

• Greenland settled by Vikings around 10th century

• Little Ice Age in 13th century forced adaptations to the increased length and extent of sea ice

• Shift to marine mammals for food - especially seals during spring migration shown through isotope analysis

  • also bulk trade of dried fish

• The adaptation was successful in the short term, but due to various factors decline in the 15th century

  • less demand for goods from Greenland in Europe

  • consolidation of settlement further from the coast

  • plague?

  • conflict with Inuits?

• Inuits survived due to their different style of hunting, they relied less on seal migration

Comparative climate change study in Scandinavia and Southwestern USA

9-15th c. communities studied to understand food shortages and social impact of famine and environmental challenges on communities. conclusions included:

• greater degree of food insecurity leads to greater degree of social stratification

• society with significant food insecurity will experience profound, possibly catastrophic social change in the face of unprecedented climate change

• societal issues can be understood in relation to vulnerability, risk, resilience, and disaster risk reduction

• adaptation is limitless, but short term adaptation can be detrimental in the long term

• path dependencies lead to rigidity traps

conventional approach to artefact recording

includes description that is as objective as possible, including size, colour, condition, decoration, associated time period and community. also includes semi-interpretative information like use, manufacture technique, raw material source, etc.

calipers and rulers

used to record artefact dimensions

Munsell Soil Colour Chart

standardised chart of a variety of soil colours that is also used for ceramics and pottery

Artefact sketching importance

• captures detail lost in photographs

• to scale representation

• capture context and relate to general understanding of the site

requirements for artefact photography

• clear background with contrast

• good lighting

• scale with size and colour

Examples of typologies

Naqada cultural sequence and Petrie's sequence of pottery, stone palettes, and ivories

DNA can be found in…

• skeletal remains especially the inner ear (temporal bone)

• dental cementum

• fecal matter

• food residues on pottery

• hair

• feathers

• skin

• wood

• anything organic that is preserved

• anything organic that is preserved

aDNA

extremely fragile DNA recovered from ancient sources that will likely be degraded, but can be preserved long after death

Genetic revolution

defined mainly by the finishing of the first human genome being sequenced in 2003

Inuk

4,000 year old Greenlander who was the first aDNA human to be fully sequenced

Factors impacting aDNA preservation

• temperature

• humidity

• pH

• microbes

Solvenian site cross-reference

comparative study that evaluated petrous bones from two geographically distinct burial grounds in Solvenia to understand the factors most significantly impacting aDNA preservation. It concluded that pH, humidity, and temperature were the most likely to affect degree of degradation

Oldest aDNA recovered

Thistle Creek in Yukon, Canada from a horse metapodial, which was preserved in permafrost from about 780-560kya

Sima de los Huesos

site in Spain which was home to the oldest hominin DNA. It's about 400ky old and comes from either H. heidelbergensis or H. neanderthalensis

Endogenous DNA

original DNA of the ancient or target organism

Exogenous DNA

DNA from an outside source, whether related to contamination, pathogens, etc.

Pathogenic aDNA examples

• Tutankhamun likely had malaria a few times

• Otzi had Lyme disease

Contamination DNA from modern sources can be identified by…

being weirdly complete and intact

Best source for sampling aDNA

hard, dense bones like petrous part of the temporal bone (nearly 200x more endogenous DNA than other elements

Skeletal analysis can provide biological data on…

sex, age at death, lifestyle (nutrition, habits, activity), disease etc. through bone and tooth wear, degeneration, skeletal health, etc

case study on activity's impact on skeletal remains

Mediaeval archers with incomplete scapular fusion due to repetitive motions during lifelong training

Case study on skeletal remains and class

Industrial burial grounds from England compared based on associated class of buried individuals. results concluded that infant mortality was significantly higher in lower class areas, partially due to minimal healthcare and malnutrition leading to low birth rates. metabolic diseases were also more common in low class burials due to poor diet, resulting in scurvy, rickets, and other such issues. deaths in ages 1-5 are consistently some of the most common, since healthcare at the time, even in wealthier areas, was not as advanced in caring for childhood disease and the challenges of weaning

Birka case study on skeletal context and identity

Rich warrior burial from an 8th-10th c. Norse site assumed to be male because warrior burial. DNA testing revealed she was a woman!

Skeletal remains and racial oppression

• historically used to justify racism with pseudo science

• now, skeletal archaeology can be a tool for gathering data on oppressed and erased populations, like the indigenous peoples of Canada and U.S.

Osteoblasts

cells that create bone

Osteoclasts

cells that destroy bone

Osteoarthritis

seen in advanced stages in skeletal remains through bone-against-bone ware, possible joint fusion, pitting, osteophytes, and smoothed bone surface

Osteophytes

additional bone growth around affected areas of osteoarthritis

Infectious diseases can present in skeletal remains because…

they can create inflammation which, over time, can disrupt normal osteobalstic and osteoclastic function

Factors influencing the spread of infectious diseases

• age, sex, nutrition, genetics, and previous exposures of the host

• socioeconomic factors e.g. overcrowding, poor sanitation

• geography

Skeletal signs of tuberculosis

rare to find skeletons with signs since it almost always killed hosts before it could become chronic or long term. occasionally, deformities in long bones result due to diminished osteoblastic activity

Skeletal signs of leprosy

• maxilla and palate become malformed

• new bone formation in the legs

Skeletal signs of syphilis

• long bones and cranium see both or either osteoblastic or osteoclastic lesions

Isotopic analysis

process by which biological material is sampled to extract collagen or enamel for mass spectrometry. this typically evaluates isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, sulphur, oxygen, and strontium to correlate diet and lifestyle with patterns in nature

Radiocarbon dating should be supplemented with isotopic data from…

carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur in order to combat the marine reservoir effect.

Marine reservoir effect

the effect of marine animal consumption to make isotopic analysis innacurrate due to the carbon-rich nature of the ocean (even 5-10% of dietary protein from marine sources will create a significantly older radiocarbon date than is accurate)

Compound specific isotope analysis

allows specific molecules to be dated as opposed to all of an element in a sample. this allows for dating of specific materials, like glues and lipids without interference from the things they're attached to

Effect of bone turnover on isotopic data

bones which more quickly regenerate will provide a smaller, more recent window of isotopic data. larger, denser bones that take longer to regenerate will provide a wider range of data that can be a bit older

Isotopic analysis of pot residue or 'mystery goo'

lipids or glues from tools and ancient pots can inform on what a tool was made out of, how it was made, and how it was used. for example, pots could be understood to be used purely for serving (no cooking to force lipids into the pot's matrix structure) or low-lipid goods due to an absence of lipid residue

Metabolomics

a new way of evaluating molecules produced in the metabolism of a specific product, like tobacco, cocaine, or chocolate. it is a relatively new tool in archaeology

Heritage

defined in a number of ways as something from the past that we value, something at risk of disappearing, something that represents a group identity, etc. it is an ever-evolving process, not a fixed image. it is often overrepresented in areas like Europe and underrepresented in subjugate populations due to colonisation and genocide

Reno Club

Integrated club in Manchester in the 70s and 80s. Excavated incorporating community archaeology and crowd sourcing oral history paired with archaeological remains

Shoreditch bomb site

community excavation of a neighbourhood completely destroyed during WW2. great example of community archaeology

Visual competence

the ability to critically evaluate images both as satisfactory and having room for improvement in the same way we analyse texts

purpose of images in archaeology

transfer of information in a visual medium

Risk assessments

process by which hazards are identified and strategies are put in place to minimise associated risk

Risk assessment matric

used as a more objective scale to evaluate risk before and after mitigating steps are taken

Domestication

the process by which a portion of a species is isolated and has its breeding controlled by humans to the extent that it could not reproduce or survive in the wild

First instances of domestication occur…

in the fertile crescent

Multiple domestication events occur…

in Africa, Southwest Asia, and the Eurasian Steppe

Cultural change of domestication

a change from extracting what we need from the environment to influencing how what we need is produced; similar result to agriculture, leading to increased social stratification and the transition from communal to private property ownership

Commensal domestication pathway

Food sources shared between domesticators and domesticated species, leading to a shared relationship that is exploited for domestication

Prey domestication pathway

animals once hunted by humans are instead used as livestock to simplify the process of resource extraction

Direct domestication pathway

animals transition directly from wild to captive with controlled breeding

unconscious domestication pathway

animals become trapped via human innovation in positive feedback cycles; essentially as a byproduct of increasing availability of other resources

zooarchaeological criteria for identifying domestic animals (Davies, 1987)

• import of a foreign species

• size differences

• morphological change

• cultural change

• species spectrum change

• morphological change

• size differences

• population structure

case study of spotted horse domestication

• horses used as signs of prestige and for meat/milk in Bronze-age Eurasian Steppe. pre-3000 BC, domestication leads to an increase in coat colour/pattern variety due to selective breeding for spotted coats. This created an increase in night blindness, due to a co-occurring gene, modeling the developed dependence (horses could be night blind because humans would care for them)

Botai and modern horse domestication case study

modern domestic horses are not related to Botai Przewalksi horses, which are now fully feral. this means modern horses either come from a different region and domestication process, or they were so quickly and aggressively interbred in Botai that the Przewalksi genes disappeared. Domestic horses outbred basically every other species due to the speed of their expansion