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

North Atlantic in and after the mini ice age in the 13th c. (adaptations of Norse peoples to consolidate settlements and hunt seals in large, collective efforts during their spring migrations. also lead to the commodification of wool and fish, creating bulk, standardised trading for these goods. this helped them survive the ice age, but resulted in difficulties adjusting back to 'normal'. challenges included easier plague spread, European demands for Greenland exports diminished due to a wider variety of suppliers)

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 greater understanding of site plans/layout

requirements for artefact photography

-clear background with contrast

• good lighting

• colour scale

• size scale

Examples of typologies

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

DNA can be found in…

• skeletal remains

• fecal matter

• dental plaque

• cultural artefacts used for food storage

• insects, feathers, wood eggshells

• hair shafts

• 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

• physical conditions like age, sex, nutrition, disease

• PMI: post-mortem interval

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

• social factors like poverty, overcrowding, living conditions, poor sanitation

• geography (climate, disease ecology)

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

• hands and feet will see bone absorption due to nerve damage resulting in paralysis

• 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