UC Davis Final Material ANT 003 Darwent

Examples of Zooarchaeologists

a. Insects (entomology)

b. Mollusks (malacology)

c. Fish (ichthiology)

d. Amphibians and reptiles (herpitology)

e. Birds (ornithology)

f. Mammals (mammalogy)

To think like an archaeologist, you must think..

three-dimensionally

Where to Excavate?

Always based on your research questions!

-But it can include information such as:

• High concentration of artifacts on surface or in subsurface probes

• Visible features

• Landforms and soils

• Remote sensing that indicates stuff below

Before Excavating Need to establish a...

horizontal datum point

• A horizontal grid system

- Also need to establish a vertical datum plane

These horizontal and vertical datum planes do not necessarily need to be the same location, but they

must remain stable during excavation

the archaeologist' main tool

The Trowel

What is the provenience of artifacts?

the location of the artifacts

Location is hierarchical

Country, county, site, unit, position within the level—x, y, z axis

The level of precision depends on ?

The level of precision depends on your research question or objective, and the type of site

Arbitrary levels (or "spits")

vertical units of equal size

• size decided by investigator

• (e.g., 5 cm, 10 cm, or 20 cm)

Natural stratigraphic layers

- Formed by environment or cultural modification

• Preferred if possible

Location and type of units depend on the

problem you are tying to solve

Culture historians rely on

Soil profile

Cultural reconstructionists and processualists

wanted to open horizontal space (Behavior) by using plain view

hand-picking artifacts

Excavating and hand-picking artifacts while digging is difficult

• It can create an extreme bias toward larger, shinier stuff

archaeologists use SCREENS

To recover smaller items, to subsample, and to be more systematic, archaeologists use SCREENS

- less bias

Sifting for Evidence

• Typical sized screens are 1/4- and1/8-inch mesh• we prefer metric, but the manufacturers of mesh do not

• The larger the screen size the faster it is to screen, but the less you recover

Water Screening

Used when the artifacts, faunal or floral remains are small, or the soil is full of clay

If Water Screening is not practical in the field, archaeologists may

collect bulk soil samples from each level/unit (10cm^3) to sort back in the lab

Flotation- Use of fluid suspension

to recover tiny plant remains and bone fragments, and small artifacts• These are nearly impossible to find while digging or screening

Flotation- Light fraction

debris that floats to the top

Flotation- Heavy fraction

debris that sinks to the bottom

What does Middle-Level Theory focus on?

Material remains (evidence) about something that happened in the past.

How is Middle-Level Theory used in archaeology?

To infer behavior from the contemporary archaeological record.

What concept is associated with Middle-Level Theory?

Analogy.

Low-Level Theory

observations of phenomena in the archaeological record.

What is Middle-Level Theory in archaeology?

Hypotheses that link archaeological observations with human actions or natural processes.

What does Middle-Level Theory analyze?

The space between static (artifacts found now) and dynamic (human behavior in the past).

What concept is associated with Middle-Level Theory?

Analogy

High-Level Theory:

ideas or propositions that seek to answer larger "why" questions about human cultural behavior more broadly.

Principle of uniformitarianism

The principle asserting that the processes now operating to modify the earth's surface are the same processes that operated long ago in the geological past.

How were stone tools made?

Much of what we know about the property of different raw materials comes from experiments and understanding the mechanics of stone

Ethnoarchaeology

Focuses on aspects of ethnographic that arearchaeologically observable

What do formal analogies rely on?

Similarities in form

What strengthens formal analogies?

Many cases showing the same pattern and/or having more attributes in common

What principle do formal analogies rely on?

The principle of uniformitarianism

Relational(specfic) analogies

Have formal similarities, but ALSO are related in terms of the same environment and related cultures

Oldest Evidence of Stone Tools was where?

Nyayanga and Lomekwi sites in Kenya• Rift Valley, near Lake Victoria

• Between 2.9 and 3.3 million years old

Referred to as Oldowan technology

the oldest-known stone tool industry

Lithic is French for...

stone

Subtractive technology

it entails reducing a piece of raw material in size and shape to make a tool to be used for a particular task

Reduction can be divided into two different approaches

Flintknapping

Groundstone

Flintknapping

Flaking or Chipping

Groundstone

Pecking and Grinding

Flaking: Raw Material Characteristics

Brittle

• Homogeneous structure

- To ensure predictability of fracture

• Small grain size•

-Microcrystalline or cryptocrystallinee

• Hard

- To withstand use

If the material requirements are met, the stone will fracture...

conchoidally

The force moves through the stone in a cone shape

Hertzian cone

Striking Platform

Point of percussion (proximal end)

Bulb of Percussion

produced by the pressure of impact

• Positive bulb or swelling on the inner or ventral surface of the flake

Bulbar scar orérailleur scar

negative scar on the core where theflake was removed

Ripples

Radiating out from the point of impact

Stone modification without conchoidal fracture mechanics

Percussion

Grinding

Flaked Stone- Advantages

Relatively fast to produce

• Sharp cutting edges

Flaked Stone- Disadvantages

Only certain tool stones

• Tools not as durable

• Limited number of shapes

Groundstone- Advantages

- Any shape of tool

• Any type of tool stone

• e.g., jade, nephrite,marble, slate

• Often very durable

Groundstone- Disadvantages

Very slow to manufacture

• Working edges are not as sharp

PYROTECHOLOGY

Production of ceramics requires the control of fire

Where do the oldest ceramics come from?

Dolni Vestonice in Moravia, Czech Republic

How old are the hut structures at Dolni Vestonice?

25,000‒29,000 years ago

Earliest ceramic pottery

Hunan province, China• ~18,000 years ago

• Coastal Croatia• ~16,000 years ago

• Mali, Africa• ~11,500 years ago

Longest continuous use of pottery is...

Japan

ceramic pottery increased dramatically with the Neolithic or establishment of settled communities dedicated to agriculture

containers for water and food

• Protection against vermin• Cooking vessels

• More durable than basketry or hide

• Tiles/bricks for building

Early potter's wheels found in

Middle East

• Romania

• China

• India

Egypt ~5,000 years ago is first evidence for a...

wheel with a turntable shaft

wheel with a turntable shaft was never used in the ..

Americas

Once ceramic pottery appears anywhere in the archaeological record, they become an...

abundant artifact class

Ceramic Pottery Chemically inert and therefore...

preserve relatively well

Clay

fine-grained earth that develops plasticity when mixed with water

Temper

Filler that is mixed with clay

• Controls shrinkage, lowers required firing temperature

• Crushed rock

• Crushed shell

• Crushed bone

Paste

mixture of clay and temper

Methods of Shaping Clay

- Modeling

- Coil Construction

- Paddle & Anvil

-Molding and Slip Casting

-Wheel Turning

Steps of Manufacture Clay

Shaping• Drying• Firing

appliqué

Building ceramics can involve addition of a separate piece of clay as a decorative element

adding handle or spouts

Usually requires scoring of the leather-hard surface and then wetting both pieces (slip) to create a bond

Decorating Ceramics with Paint: Organic Pigments

Carbon Blacks

• Charcoal and soot

• Maya Blue

• Indigo leaves mixed and heated with white clays

• Alizarin Red

• Roots of the madder plant

Ochres - Earth Pigments

Metal oxides or metal oxide hydroxide-rich mineral deposits

Red ochres- Earth Pigments

hematite or cinnabar

Yellow ochres- Earth Pigments

goethite

Black ochres- Earth Pigments

manganese oxide, magnetite, or graphite

Green Earths- Earth Pigments

Primarily celadonite and glauconite, butalso vivianite

White Earths- Earth Pigments

Calcium carbonate and calcium sulphate

• Chalk, calcite, limestone, gypsum, kaolinite

Egyptian Blue- Synthetic Pigments

Calcium copper silicate

Han Blue or Purple- Synthetic Pigments

Barium copper silicates

Glazes

Vitreous material that fuses with the ceramic to form a hard, glass-like coating when fired at over 1000 C

Glazes are applied by..

Applied by dipping or brushing

Glazes make the ceramic

Makes the ceramic impermeable to water

Oxidation

Excess of oxygen

As the kiln heats up, oxygen attaches itself to the glaze and clay,

causing both to oxidize

As carbon compounds break away from metals and minerals during the heating process, oxygen will take its place...

copper carbonate copper oxide• Typically creates bright, clean colors (green

Reduction

Deficit in oxygen

How does reduction in a kiln make pottery appear..

Gases in kiln leach oxygen out of the glaze and clay

• Tends to produce rich, earthy colors or a speckled appearance

Ceramic Analysis- Archaeologists typically record:

Dimensional measurements

• e.g., thickness, diameter of opening

• Former vessel shape

• Type of temper and clay

• Type of surface modification• Residue (what was it used for?)

Environmental Archaeology

Interdisciplinary study of past human interactions with the natural world

Human Environment

Every factor of humankind's surroundings that may affect, directly or indirectly, their mode of life.

Examples of Human Environment

a. Climate

b. Geology

c. Flora (vegetation)

d. Fauna (animals/insects)

e. Other people/cultures

f. Spatial and temporal distribution of the above factors

Ecology

The science of the interrelations between a particular set of living organisms and their environment

human ecology

The science of the interrelations between humans and their environment

Paleoenvironmental Studies- Passive

description of the environment, including changes over time

Paleoenvironmental Studies- Active

determining HOW people interacted with their environment

Functional artifacts

projectile points typically mean hunting of animals; grinding stones suggest plant processing