Development of a Methodological Framework for Handling Urban Archaeological Resources: Tarsus Historic City Centre,Turkey

In Turkey, most of the historic city centres have been continuously occupied since early ages, and ongoing research or ad hoc findings indicate urban archaeological resources beneath modern cities. According to the results of such research, archaeological and conservation sites are determined in terms of current legal frameworks. However, urban archaeological resources have not been included in the planning process because of inadequacy in spatial documentation, so archaeological deposits have been seen as problem areas in urban development. Thus, urban archaeological resources — not only subsoil resources, even monumental sites — could not be integrated into urban daily life, so most citizens are not aware of archaeological layers beneath their feet. The research project in Tarsus historic city centre, which is supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), primarily aims to develop a method to include urban archaeology — especially subsoil archaeological resources — into the urban conservation planning process of multilayered historic city centres in Turkey. In this way, planners would be informed, aware, and equipped about the urban archaeological potential at the earliest stages of the planning process. Consequently, urban archaeology, as an inter-/ multi-disciplinary field of research, is going to evolve as a crucial planning analysis in urban conservation including not only archaeological research, but also in evaluating settlement history and issues in urban development.     

Surfaces from the Visual Past: Recovering High<Emphasis Type="Bold">-</Emphasis>Resolution Terrain Data from Historic Aerial Imagery for Multitemporal Landscape Analysis

Historic aerial images are invaluable sources of aid to archaeological research. Often collected with large-format photogrammetric quality cameras, these images are potential archives of multidimensional data that can be used to recover information about historic landscapes that have been lost to modern development. However, a lack of camera information for many historic images coupled with physical degradation of their media has often made it difficult to compute geometrically rigorous 3D content from such imagery. While advances in photogrammetry and computer vision over the last two decades have made possible the extraction of accurate and detailed 3D topographical data from high-quality digital images emanating from uncalibrated or unknown cameras, the target source material for these algorithms is normally digital content and thus not negatively affected by the passage of time. In this paper, we present refinements to a computer vision-based workflow for the extraction of 3D data from historic aerial imagery, using readily available software, specific image preprocessing techniques and in-field measurement observations to mitigate some shortcomings of archival imagery and improve extraction of historical digital elevation models (hDEMs) for use in landscape archaeological research. We apply the developed method to a series of historic image sets and modern topographic data covering a period of over 70 years in western Sicily (Italy) and evaluate the outcome. The resulting series of hDEMs form a temporal data stack which is compared with modern high-resolution terrain data using a geomorphic change detection approach, providing a quantification of landscape change through time in extent and depth, and the impact of this change on archaeological resources.     

Toward an archaeology of late prehistoric Eskimo bands in coastal northwest Alaska

The methodology of analogical explanation of prehistoric Eskimo remains in northwest Alaska is examined. The sociospatial organization of Wales or, Kingigan, settlement and the greater Kingikmiut territory is evaluated as an example based on ethnohistorical studies and archaeological excavations carried out at three sites in the locality since 1926, and relationships between the archaeological material and historic socio-spatial divisions of Kingigan are explored. The review reveals that only two historic family compound locations have been sampled archaeologically, and that several others have not yet been sampled. However, existing samples nevertheless represent the larger Agianamiut, Kiatanamiut and Kurigitavik districts in the settlement, ca. AD 1800–1850 and extending back to prehistoric times from ca. AD 1000. A nomenclature for socio-spatial units is proposed that includes compound families, local bands, tribal capitals and tribes based on examples of historic Eskimo territorial organization. Caution is suggested in applying the nomenclature to prehistoric cultures in cases where continuity of artifact forms, art styles and motifs with historic local cultures are not demonstrable. Application of historic Eskimo analogues to prehistoric entities such as Birnirk and Punuk cultural remains risk fallacious interpretations because continuity with historic examples are not demonstrable and alternative explanations cannot be eliminated.     

An Analysis of Historic-Era Indian Locations in Iowa

A database of 675 historic Indian locations in Iowa illuminates some of the broader trends of population movement during the periods of Euro-American exploration and American settlement. The data are varied, consisting of recorded archaeological sites combined with Indian accounts gleaned from digital archives such as local histories and newspapers. Insights derived from analysis include the placement of the 1825 Neutral Line as a possible cause of the myth of the Dakota as an overly aggressive tribe and the poorly documented eastward expansion of Potawatomi into Iowa after 1840. The database can aid future investigations in historical research, archaeology, and tribal range and affiliation.     

The Protection of Archaeological Sites in Taiwan

Abstract

There are roughly 2300 recognized archaeological sites in Taiwan. Under the Cultural Properties Preservation Law (CPPL) of 1982, archaeological heritage falls under the category of 'historic relics'. However, archaeological sites are not designated as such until they have been excavated and studied to prove their cultural value. Protection of the archaeological heritage has been reinforced through the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (EIAA), which regulates all environmental management plans. These study and determine the degree and scope of the potential impact of development on the cultural environment.

The CPPL was extensively amended and promulgated in 2005, and in this recent document discussed archaeological heritage in a distinct chapter (Chapter 3 with 16 acts). Furthermore, three regulations have been issued concerning the examination of designations of archaeological sites, qualification standards for excavation, as well as the administration and protection of archaeological sites. The newly enacted Cultural Law and Regulations confer competent authorities at all levels with all powers to supervise, administer, and then protect valuable buried cultural property. Although the protection of archaeological heritage has been better enforced since 2005, archaeological remains in Taiwan are still under various threats. Preservation of the cultural heritage is threatened by development, in many cases resulting in impasse. This paper discusses several recent examples of such dilemmas and presents a personal opinion on a better way to settle the controversy.     

Differential Avian Skeletal Part Distribution: Explaining the Abundance of Wings

An abundance of wings relative to other skeletal parts has been observed in avifaunal assemblages from many different types of archaeological sites from numerous locations around the world and of various time periods. Both cultural and post-depositional hypotheses have been proposed to explain this pattern. One of the most powerful explanations to account for this phenomenon is differential survival of avian elements due to bone density. Although bone density has not been systematically measured for all types of birds, I test this hypothesis using predictions derived from observations about the functional anatomy of birds using archaeological data from numerous sites in the Pacific Northwest Coast (U.S.A.). I conclude that the density hypothesis is not supported at these sites, and that other hypotheses must be examined further.     

Assessment of risks on a territorial scale for archaeological sites in İzmir

This article focuses on natural, institutional, and human factors threatening archaeological sites. A methodology is developed for assessing risks to multiple assets on a territorial scale. The methodology consists of hazard assessment, vulnerability assessment, and risk assessment. Hazard assessment involves identifying hazard exposure areas and measuring the frequency and intensity of each hazard. Vulnerability assessment incorporates examining physical, managerial, and contextual vulnerabilities of structures and remains. Geographical information systems are utilised for producing hazard, vulnerability, and risk maps. An overall picture of risks for an entire territory allows decision-makers to make informed decisions at an upstream level to limit further degradation and ensure the preservation of archaeological assets. The methodology was tested by conducting a comprehensive study in ?zmir (Turkey), where 229 archaeological sites located in 21 metropolitan districts were studied. The proposed approach provides the promise of applicability across a range of historic environments.     

Identifying archaeological wood stack charcoal production sites using geophysical prospection: magnetic characteristics from a modern wood stack charcoal burn site

Charcoal making was a common process in the woodlands of Britain for many centuries. However, historic ‘wood stack’ production sites are difficult to identify. This paper tests the hypothesis that geophysical survey is an appropriate method for the discovery and identification of archaeological charcoal making sites. A traditional wood stack charcoal kiln was constructed in Low Staindale, Dalby Forest, near Pickering, North Yorkshire, to investigate the charcoaling process and the effect of low-temperature carbonisation on the magnetic properties of the soil underlying the kiln. The results from temperature monitoring (within and beneath the charcoal stack) throughout the charcoaling process, geophysical surveys across the charcoal kiln platform, and laboratory analysis of soil and ash samples, are presented. The degree to which the magnetic properties of the ground beneath the charcoal kiln had been enhanced as a consequence of this low-temperature process is discussed. Whilst some magnetic enhancement to the soil beneath the kiln platform was recorded, enhancement appears to be the result of contamination from the wood stack sealing material rather than the effect of heat transfer resulting from the charcoaling process. The results suggest that whilst historic wood stack charcoal production sites are likely to remain an enigmatic and under-reported feature in the archaeological landscape, geophysical prospection does have the potential for identification of these sites.     

Administration of parks with rack art: A symposium and workshop in Jujuy Argentina,December 2003

Abstract

Visits to archaeological sites, within school, a history or archaeology club, or a family group, are the main means for young people to engage with the archaeological historic environment. The majority of archaeological sites easily accessible for such groups are those that have been 'sanitized' for public consumption. These are often devoid of explanation of the archaeological process which made them accessible. This paper looks at the contribution that working archaeological sites can make to young people's understanding of archaeology, with particular reference to visits made by branches of the Young Archaeologists' Club, based in the UK.     

ORTHOIMAGE‐BASED DOCUMENTATION OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL STRUCTURES: THE CASE OF A MEDIAEVAL WALL IN PONTEVEDRA,SPAIN

During the completion of the expansion works at the Museum of Pontevedra (Spain), a stretch of about 60 m of the medieval walled enclosure surrounding the historic city centre was discovered. Due to its value as a heritage element, the discovery of this archaeological structure required the implementation of preservation activities and exhaustive documentation so that future generations will be able to know and enjoy this piece of history. This paper presents digital models that reproduce the original structure of the wall using close‐range digital photogrammetry, as well as orthophotos, which thoroughly document the dimensional and textural characteristics of the archaeological site. In addition to analysing the accuracy and validity of photogrammetry in the conservation of archaeological heritage, a methodology of data capture, processing and photogrammetry representation is evaluated.     

Gilded Ages and Gilded Archaeologies of American Exceptionalism

Archaeology’s ties to an interest in America’s natural and cultural resources, enshrined in the Antiquities Act of 1906, can be tied to the development of the presumed entitlements associated with gilded age-era conceptions of America’s cultural and racial exceptionalism. Archaeology, historic preservation, and related interests in the materiality of America’s past were in fact among the mechanisms used to legitimize America’s global emergence in the modern era. Considering elite ideas about race and a fear of “race suicide” as well as the rise of the environmental conservation and the historic house movement, this paper argues that archaeology and related pursuits of historic materiality have been regularly deployed to enforce Anglo-Saxon racial values. Explicitly formed in the historical context of mass-immigration, this dynamic is explored in a discussion of two archaeological sites in Jamaica, Queens connected to gilded-age discourse on Americanization.     

Three-dimensional visibility analysis of architectural spaces: iconography and visibility of the wall paintings of Xeste 3 (Late Bronze Age Akrotiri)

In recent years various methods of visibility analysis have been applied to investigate human engagement, experience and socialisation within historic and prehistoric ’natural’ and built environments. On many occasions these approaches appear to be either extremely limited or wholly inadequate for the interpretation of complex built structures and building interiors because they do not fully model the three-dimensional geometry of such spaces. This paper briefly reviews computational approaches to visual analysis that have been previously applied in archaeological research, and then goes on to introduce a new analytical technique that uses fully 3D reconstructions of past environments. This method integrates common functionalities of 3D modelling software and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), essentially permitting viewshed analysis to be performed upon objects of any form and shape modelled in 3D. We argue that the proposed methodology can generate new data and encourage fresh lines of enquiry in the study of extant and partially preserved historic and prehistoric built structures in a variety of contexts, ranging from building interiors and townscapes to landscapes. The potential of the method is illustrated by applying the suggested analysis to explore visual perception issues associated with the urban remains of Late Bronze Age Akrotiri (Thera, Greece).     

The Management of the Maritime Archaeological Heritage in the Bailiwick of Guernsey: a Case Study

Guernsey and the other islands in its Bailiwick have been visited and settled by people arriving by sea for thousands of years. Guernsey Museum manages the display and interpretation of this maritime heritage and, in conjunction with the Receiver of Wreck, administers the legal protection of historic wreck. Over the last 25 years a considerable amount of research has been undertaken on many aspects of the islands' maritime past. Museum displays and media presentations have been made to disseminate information about the islands' maritime archaeology to the wider world. This paper will highlight the various aspects of maritime archaeology in Guernsey and illustrate how Guernsey Museum manages this rich archaeological resource.
© 2004 The Nautical Archaeology Society     

Limited yet informative: pathological alterations observed on human skeletal remains from third and second millennia bc collective burials in the United Arab Emirates

While syntheses of palaeopathological studies have been undertaken in many parts of the world, until recently little was known about human health in the past in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Focusing on skeletal pathologies, this paper documents the results of the first synthetic palaeopathologlcal study for this country. The collections of archaeological human skeletal remains come from three sites dating to the third and two sites dating to the second millennia bc and consist predominantly of disarticulated, partially fragmented and often cremated remains. The paper initially discusses potential explanations for the neglected study of human skeletal remains from the UAE. This discussion is followed by an outline of the types of burial practices employed in the past in this region and their effects on preservation. The nature of the collections and the methodology employed in their study are described. Using specific headings, the pathological findings are then documented, followed by a discussion of the results of the skeletal analysis in light of the available archaeological evidence. Finally, it is shown that although limited by preservation, analyses of human skeletal remains provide valuable details about the types of diseases that affected people in the past in the UAE. While less detailed than some palaeopathological syntheses, the results presented in this paper lay the foundations for further work on humans in the past in eastern Arabia. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cut and Tooth Mark Distributions on Large Animal Bones: Ethnoarchaeological Data from the Hadza and Their Implications For Current Ideas About Early Human Carnivory

Distributions of cut and tooth marks on the bones of large animals found in archaeological sites are increasingly used as sources of inference about the relative importance of hunting and scavenging in early human diets, and (by extension) about the role of meat-eating in human evolution. Here we review the empirical basis for these inferences in light of ethnoarchaeological data from the Tanzanian Hadza, a modern East African foraging population. Comparison of the Hadza data with those produced by other actualistic work indicates that while there may be a relationship between cut and tooth mark distributions and order of consumer access (human- versus carnivore-first), it is less clear-cut than many have suggested. Application of these results to the analysis of Plio-Pleistocene archaeological collections is further complicated by inconsistencies in the ways cut and tooth marks have been defined and counted, and by significant differences between patterns observed in modern control samples and those reported at ancient sites. These observations indicate that cut and tooth mark analyses are unlikely to speak effectively to questions about early human carnivory in the absence of: (1) better-warranted, more comprehensive expectations about the potential range of variation in past human carcass acquisition strategies, (2) a larger, more rigorously designed set of control experiments that model the archaeological consequences of these strategies, and (3) a larger, more consistently analysed archaeological data base. Even if these requirements are met, the idea of meat-eating as an important catalyst in the evolution of early humans will remain highly problematic, mainly due to problems involving the frequency and short-term reliability of carcass access.     

Obsidian procurement,least cost path analysis,and social interaction in the Mimbres area of southwestern New Mexico

For over 15 years chemical compositional analyses of obsidian artifacts recovered from archaeological sites in the southwestern United States have been increasingly used to address many research agendas. Despite this increasing interest in obsidian studies, few have attempted to synthesize the ever-growing amount of data generated from the numerous projects being conducted in the southwest. Here, we synthesize and present data for 923 sourced obsidian samples recovered from over 80 archaeological sites in the Mimbres area of southwestern New Mexico. We then use least cost path analysis as a means of investigating procurement patterns as well as networks of social interaction within the region.     

Seafaring Capabilities in the Pre-Columbian Caribbean

At historic contact Europeans remarked on the skill and proficiency of native Caribbean Amerindians to build and travel in dugout canoes. While archaeological examples of these have been recorded throughout the circum-Caribbean, very few exist in the Antillean chain of islands. Despite this deficiency, indirect evidence of seafaring along with archaeological data has suggested to many that the sea was an artery that linked prehistoric communities together between islands and continents through exchange networks and settlement ‘lifelines’. It is clear that frequent interaction was taking place prehistorically in the region, but examination of seafaring capabilities and the general lack of hard archaeological evidence for contacts in many places suggest this was largely restricted to interaction between the islands and with South America. The fact remains that seafaring in the Caribbean, as one of the smaller aquatic realms inhabited by humans in the past, was highly influenced and largely structured by oceanographic and anemological effects that limited the development of various watercraft designs and navigational techniques which are seen in many of the other world’s seas and oceans. In this paper I: (1) synthesize what is currently known about the antiquity and development of early seafaring in the Caribbean; (2) highlight debates about the level of technologies found in the region; (3) discuss how environmental conditions likely influenced seafaring capabilities and settlement patterns; (4) outline the possible evidence for connections between the different surrounding mainland areas; and (5) provide a comparison with seafaring technologies found in the Pacific to help contextualize the Caribbean into the broader context of global seafaring.     

ONLY TIME WILL TELL: A REVIEW OF THE METHODOLOGY OF DIRECT ROCK ART DATING

Epistemology has not kept pace with the progress experienced in the direct dating of rock art. This paper reviews the experimental methods that have been developed in recent years. While many do provide important information about the possible age of rock art, it is of concern that the precipitate archaeological interpretations these data are used for are often not warranted. Some are attributable to not understanding the severe qualifications that apply to most dating results, others perhaps to over-enthusiasm on the part of some researchers. The introduction of archaeological dynamics into direct dating of rock art threatens the reliability of this young methodology. Some of the pitfalls are considered in this paper, and a general rationale for the direct dating of rock art is developed.     

Identifying Shell Middens With Historic Aerial Photos: An Example From California's Santa Cruz Island

Using 1929 aerial photos of western Santa Cruz Island, we identified numerous potential shell midden locations, followed by confirmation of site locations via field reconnaissance. Heavy grazing by sheep, cattle, and pigs closely cropped island vegetation in the early twentieth century, exposing shell middens now often covered with thick vegetation. We discuss the potential and limitations of early aerial photos as aids to archaeological site identification and management in island and coastal settings. Although results varied from island to island, we found historic aerial photos to be extremely useful for documenting previously unrecorded sites on Santa Cruz Island, ranging from historical EuroAmerican sites to Island Chumash sites dating to as much as 7250 cal BP. These methods may also be applicable to other islands around the world subject to heavy livestock grazing in the past, especially where introduced animals have been removed and recovering vegetation now obscures archaeological sites.