A chronometric tool for Hawaiian archaeology: the hydration dating of Pu'u Wa'awa'a trachytic glass

The Pu'u Wa'awa'a trachytic glass deposit located on the Big Island of Hawai'i was a source of lithic tools for much of Hawaiian prehistory. Routinely encountered at habitation sites, the glass has the potential to provide absolute dates based upon the degree of surface hydration. Infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry were used to monitor the diffusion of water in archaeological and experimental samples. Accelerated laboratory hydration experiments show that water diffusion in trachytic glass containing a structural water content of 0.16% ± 0.03% is linear with time. Application of the calibration to trachytic glass artifacts from the Kahalu'u habitation cave have produced chronometric dates in the 17th–18th centuries. These age estimates are in agreement with radiocarbon dates and artifactual data that bracket the site occupation. However, the glass dates do not correlate well with site stratigraphy and this suggests that slight sample imperfections that retain water may be one factor that results in ages that are too early for later occupation levels.     

Soil phosphate analysis as a tool in archaeology

The theory underlying the use of soil phosphate analysis in archaeology is discussed. After describing the field and laboratory methods used at Stavanger Museum, the method is illustrated by several examples. In all cases the results showed good agreement with the archaeological evidence, and generally provided useful supplementary information. The method may be used as a guide to the functions carried out in different parts of a site and to the intensity of occupation. Although no hidden sites were found in a reconnaissance survey, the results indicate that the method has considerable scope in locating sites in areas destined for town development, etc.     

Hopewell archaeology

David S. Brose and N'omi Greber, editors. Hopewell Archaeology: The Cillicothe Conference. MCJA Special Paper Number 3. Kent, Ohio: The Kent State University Press, 1979. xiv + 309 pp., illustrations, bibliography. Paper.     

A three-takes tale: The meaning of WAC for a pluralistic archaeology

Resumen Este articulo propone que la reciente trayectoria de la arqueología puede entenderse como una grabación en tres tomas: la primera, el proyecto científico, delata el origen moderno de la disciplina; la segunda devalúa la historia y, por tanto, la disciplina responsable de su producción; y, la tercera, completamente reaccionaria, supone un regreso a los orígenes, la realización de una producción arqueológica plural, horizontal y significativa a nivel local. Se resalta el papel del WAC en este trayectoria.

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Résumé Cette communication démontre que la récente trajectoire de l'archéologie peut être expliquée en tant qu'une triple prise. La première, le projet scientifique qui trahit les origines modernes de cette discipline; la deuxième qui dévalorise l'histoire et ainsi le mécanisme disciplinaire responsable de sa production; et la troisième, entièrement réactionnaire est un retour aux sources ainsi que la réalisation de la production archéologique en tant que plurielle, horizontale et importante du point de vue locale. Le role du WAC est souligné dans ce compte-rendu.

     

A review of archaeology in mainland Southeast Asia

This article outlines recent advances in establishing and understanding the prehistoric sequence in mainland Southeast Asia. Research has been unevenly distributed, varying from virtually none in Cambodia to a marked intensity in Hong Kong and the adjoining mainland. A new pattern is becoming apparent, due in no small part to the new findings in southern China. It is argued that despite its long history of occupation, beginning withHomo erectus almost a million years ago, tropical Southeast Asia was occupied by scattered inland groups and larger, possibly sedentary coastal foragers until exposed to intrusive agricultural societies during the third millennium BC. These communities, which originated ultimately in the Yangzi Valley, brought with them rice cultivation and were responsible for the wide distribution of Austroasiatic languages. The three divisions of this language superfamily are now distributed from eastern India to southern China. Following a relatively brief Neolithic period, small and autonomous communities, particularly in Lingnan and Bac Bo (Guangdong and Guangxi provinces of China and the area of the Red River Delta), were exposed to exchange contact with the Shang state of the Chinese Central Plains, and this brought exotic jades and bronzes. Within this context, a local bronze industry was established between 1500 and 1000 BC over much of Southeast Asia, but without any obvious social developments until the middle of the first millennium BC, when several major changes occurred. These incorporated iron smelting and forging and exposure in the southern parts of the region to Indian mercantile contact and along the northern margins to the expanding Chinese empire. Adaptations varied regionally, from the establishment of warrior chiefdoms to counter the Chinese to the construction of water control systems in the arid heart of Southeast Asia to alleviate environmental unpredictability. It is within these regional changes that we can identify trends toward the establishment of states, some of which persisted in an unbroken lineage to the present.     

A measure of pre-Q-ness with applications to archaeology

It is generally assumed that if down each column of a data matrix the quantities, or proportions, of the different types of artifacts in the provenances never fall and then rise again, the ordering of the provenances corresponding to that of the rows of the matrix is a serious candidate for their relative chronological ordering. In practice, of course, a data matrix is unlikely to give rise to such a perfect form even when it is known that there is a true relative chronological ordering of the provenances. Here we propose a measure of how far a data matrix fails to be perfect in this respect. As well as a discussion of the theoretical background, we offer some experimental results which lead us to hope that this measure is meaningful in certain situations. The approach adopted here stems from the earlier work by D. G. Kendall on Q-matrices.     

A procedural guide to metacarpal radiogrammetry in archaeology

The technique of metacarpal radiogrammetry was devised in 1960 as a clinical method to aid in the identification of thinned cortical bone, which may help in diagnosis of osteoporosis. Through taking measurements from radiographs, calculations of the amount of cortical bone can be made. The technique is relatively simple and is not destructive. This paper examines the value of the application of this technique to archaeological remains. A standardized methodology of bone assessment is incorporated to enhance the comparability of future research. Statistical tests demonstrate that the technique is robust, as the position of the bone on the film, radiographic enlargement and use of either the left or right metacarpal will not affect the results obtained. However, differences in film type and measurement position can introduce unacceptable variance into the results. Therefore, guidance is given on future applications of the technique. The technique does have value as a widely available, non‐destructive technique for assessing cortical bone loss and the probable prevalence of osteoporosis in archaeological collections. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Earthquakes and archaeology

This article examines the use of archaeological evidence for the assessment of historical earthquakes in the Eastern Mediterranean region and Middle East, long before the advent of modern seismology. We ask the questions when and where have large earthquakes happened in the past? How can this evidence contribute to our scientific understanding of earthquake activity? Is it possible on literary and archaeological grounds to distinguish between earthquake damage and damage from other causes? It is found that archaeological evidence for an earthquake is not always clear or unambiguous and that there is a need for collaboration between archaeologists, historians, geologists, engineering seismologists and workers in other disciplines, to evaluate the traces of earthquakes in excavations, both for understanding their effects at the site and for the information they can provide about the nature of the earthquake implicated.     

Touchstones of archaeology

European archaeological collections record hundreds of thousands of stone artefacts from the Early Middle Ages described as whetstones. However, traces of non-ferrous metals, including precious metals preserved on a number of such artefacts. Many of the finds served in fact as touchstones – tools to test the quality of a particular metal. These artefacts are concentrated mainly in Vendel and Viking Age and Slavic coastal settlements and trade centres in the Baltic Sea basin, the coast and islands of Northwestern Europe, at Central and Eastern European fortresses and suburbia. Many finds also come from rural settings. In early medieval graves the touchstones join balance scales and weights as a sign of the buried individual’s access to precious metals. Especially the rural finds with traces of precious metal provide a strong reason for a revision of present views on the social stratification of the early medieval society in Europe. Chemical microanalysis allows identifying the composition of the alloys. Besides new perspectives on the fields of the social history and the circulation of precious metals, the method also provides new information for the field of archaeometallurgy.