Vagueness and Archaeological Interpretation: A Sensuous Approach to Archaeological Knowledge Formation through Finds Analysis

The rapid development of natural scientific methods coupled with the recent popularity of new materialist philosophies in archaeological theory has raised discussion about the possibility of a return to empiricism in archaeology. While empiricism as a pragmatic philosophy is in line with archaeology’s hands-on character, the recent development has left some concerned about the vanishing role of vagueness and ambiguity in archaeological interpretation. In this setting, the exactitude of natural scientific methods is seen as a process of simplification that compromises the tacit dimensions of archaeological knowledge. This article discusses vagueness as an elementary part of all archaeological knowledge formation, with a particular emphasis on the role of perception and senses in finds analysis. Archaeological finds analysis is explored as an example of epistemologically vague and creative hypothesis formation.     

Archaeological Sites as Self-Sustained Resources for Economic Regeneration: Towards the Creation of Living Archaeological Parks on the Islands of Kythera and Antikythera

Abstract

This paper argues that less known archaeological sites on marginalized or non-touristic areas can contribute to the formation of local economies that can benefit from alternative heritage tourism and public participation in the archaeological excavation process. The discussion of a proposal for turning two archaeological sites on the Greek islands of Kythera and Anitkythera respectively (Paleokastro and Kastro) into living archaeological parks serves as an example that highlights the possibilities for the creation of self-sustainable heritage projects that need not rely on direct state funding.     

Living in an Egyptian Oasis: Reconstruction of the Holocene Archaeological Sequence in Kharga

Within the Egyptian Western Desert, the Kharga Oasis was a particularly favourable and highly frequented area during the Holocene thanks to a permanent ground water supply. The high concentration and accessibility of archaeological sites here allows the cultural and economic changes to be documented at a local scale, when northeastern Africa was experiencing strong climatic variations and the transition to a food production economy. An expansive program led by the Institut français d’archéologie orientale (IFAO) which included systematic survey, sampling collections, tests and stratigraphic excavations has dramatically increased the amount of data available concerning the prehistory of the Kharga Oasis. Typo-technological analyses focusing on the lithic industries, and other aspects of material culture, plus a series of ¹⁴C dates have led to the definition of four main successive cultural phases: Kharga A, B, C and D. This paper describes this proposal of a new archaeological sequence for human occupation in the Kharga Oasis and discusses its integration in the wider frame of Egypt and the Eastern Sahara.     

手工业生产专业化的考古学研究

手工业生产专业化的程度和形式被认为是衡量社会复杂化程度或文明化进程的重要指标.本文首先对西方有关手工业生产专业化的考古学研究作了简单回顾,提出近二十年来相关研究表现出三个特点:一是研究视野的扩展:二是日益重视运用多种手段从考古资料中榨取相关信息;三是解释理论日益多样化.文章对国内的相关研究也进行了回顾,提出应加强对早期...     

Introduction: Archaeological Approaches to Lithic Production Skill and Craft Learning

This paper introduces the volume by considering what skill is and how archaeologists have looked at issues of skill in stone tool production, along with anthropological and archaeological approaches to the ways in which individuals become skilled craftworkers. Archaeological studies of flintknapping skill tend to be isolated from most larger debates, but both the archaeological and the nonarchaeological literature highlight how intimately skill and craft learning are woven into the fabric of society, although they also highlight significant methodological and interpretive issues.     

从考古发现看唐宋文化对西夏的影响

西夏是以党项族为主体建立的封建王朝。它立国西陲,与两宋辽金抗衡,从1038年建国到1227年被蒙古灭亡长达190年,在我国历史上占有一定的地位。西夏立国的时间虽比辽短,但比北宋、南宋、金都长达数十年。但在24史中,西夏仅以“传”附于宋、辽、金三史内,而无西夏史,使我们对西夏的了解和认识受到很大限制,研究西夏曾被称为“绝学”。     

The Use of Ethnoarchaeology for the Archaeological Study of Ceramic Production

Ethnoarchaeological studies have longed served as a critical source of hypotheses, comparative data, and explanatory frameworks for archaeologists interested in describing and explaining ceramic production. In this paper, I lay out the central questions addressed by archaeologists studying craft production, discuss how ethnoarchaeology has contributed to our understanding of ancient production systems, and suggest avenues of further research that can benefit archaeological investigation of the organization of ceramic production.     

从水田考古发现看畦田的发生

我国水田考古始于20世纪90年代初.根据目前出土的史前时期的十多处200多块水田遗迹进行总结,史前水田以小型和不规则形的平底浅坑式田块为主,都具有较为完善的灌溉体系.根据湖南澧县城头山、浙江余姚施岙和余杭茅山遗址发现的水田中的田埂形态分析,我国以方便灌溉为首要目的 的畦田萌芽于距今6000年左右,以生土田埂界隔地下田面为标志;成熟于良渚文化中晚期,以人工田埂规划地面田为标志.畦田是水稻种植过程中的一大发明,之后的水田仍然延续着内部作畦的方法,并对后世北方地区的灌溉农业产生了深远的影响.     

Preserving Knowledge, not Objects: A Somali Perspective for Heritage Management and Archaeological Research

This article argues that the Somali people have a distinctive view on heritage and a different approach to its preservation relevant to their society. It suggests that a locally appropriate theoretical framework for heritage management and archaeological research can only be achieved if this local approach is taken into consideration and integrated into archaeological and heritage methodologies. The lack of qualified Somalis and indigenous perspectives in the archaeological research and heritage management policies characterizes Somali cultural heritage and archaeological research history. This research shows that previous approaches that have been pursued lacked dialogue and incorporation of local views of heritage practice. This lack of dialogue has been of paramount importance for the failure of the preservation of Somali cultural heritage, evident both in the previous neglect of its preservation and in the current looting and destruction of archaeological sites in Somaliland, Puntland and south-central Somalia. It is demonstrated how Somali indigenous perspectives are concurring and contributing to world heritage management and archaeological research methods. I suggest that any heritage work must integrate local approaches and trained local groups should lead archaeological research and heritage management in order to achieve sustainable development and self-representation.     

NEARCHOS. Networked Archaeological Open Science: Advances in Archaeology Through Field Analytics and Scientific Community Sharing

The full release and circulation of excavation results often takes decades, thus slowing down progress in archaeology to a degree not in keeping with other scientific fields. The nonconformity of released data for digital processing also requires vast and costly data input and adaptation. Archaeology should face the cognitive challenges posed by digital environments, changing in scope and rhythm. We advocate the adoption of a synergy between recording techniques, field analytics, and a collaborative approach to create a new epistemological perspective, one in which research questions are constantly redefined through real-time, collaborative analysis of data as they are collected and/or searched for in an excavation. Since new questions are defined in science discourse after previous results have been disseminated and discussed within the scientific community, sharing evidence in remote with colleagues, both in the process of field collection and subsequent study, will be a key innovative feature, allowing a complex and real-time distant interaction with the scholarly community and leading to more rapid improvements in research agendas and queries.     

数字时代的博物馆:快乐、体验和新知

在数字时代背景下,"快乐"成为博物馆体验的重要组成部分,同时也是现代博物馆吸引观众、提升自身竞争力的重要手段.数字媒体技术为博物馆提供了前所未有的工具,通过将快乐与博物馆展览相结合,可以更好地服务观众,为观众提供更加丰富的参观体验."游戏"作为一个重要展示方式,不仅对儿童具有强大吸引力,对成年人也同样重要,数字时代的博物馆应该充分利用游戏机制使展览变得更具吸引力.创造快乐也是实现博物馆教育功能的重要途径,数字时代博物馆需要将知识与趣味相结合,使观众在快乐的博物馆体验中获得新知.     

鲁北—胶东盐业考古调查记

本文通过对鲁北莱州湾和胶东半岛16个县市和出有盔形器的遗址进行了调查,对盔形器的形态演变、分布区域、使用功能等进行了初步研究,并与国内外有关遗址和类似器物作了比较分析,确认菜州湾沿海包含大量盔形器的遗址是商周时期的制盐作坊,而盔形器则是制盐的特殊用具.     

The Impact of Small-Scale Development Projects on Archaeological Heritage in Africa: The Tanzanian Experience

The governments in Africa implement various development projects to improve livelihoods. The projects are both large and small scale. Large-scale projects include construction of dams, railway lines, roads, industrial complexes, expanding cities and new mines. Small-scale ones include establishing new residential houses and maintenance of roads linking administrative divisions. Both large- and small-scale projects involve land disturbance and have the potential to destroy archaeological heritage particularly when not accompanied by salvage studies. Unfortunately, archaeological salvage studies largely focus on large-scale projects. Only a handful of studies may have investigated the impact of small-scale projects. This paper focuses on small-scale projects and investigates the seven-hectare archaeological site of Bweni in NE Tanzania. The project to build fishing ponds on an area of only 350 m² destroyed archaeological heritage including human remains and ceramics of the early Swahili period, ceramics and beads of the Swahili ‘golden age’ period, and archaeological records of the post-Swahili period.