Large-Area Remote Sensing Coverage of Archaeological Sites with a Dual-Track Cart-Mounted Cesium Magnetometer

Abstract

This paper describes the benefits of collecting total field magnetic data at archaeological sites with a mobile cart holding two cesium magnetometer sensors and a separate stationary base station magnetometer to correct for global-scale magnetic fluctuations. To date, the Texas Historical Commission has surveyed 40 sites from various time periods and geographical settings in Texas. The cart has allowed rapid surveys over large areas while minimizing signal-degrading noise. Four examples from Texas show that large-area and high-density magnetic surveys can be completed in relatively short periods of time producing maps that aid significantly in archaeological site interpretation. In some instances, no field excavation was required to understand quickly what the magnetic patterns represented in terms of buried archaeological features. In all cases, the magnetometer maps provided important information to help guide future field excavations.     

Report of the Portable Antiquities Scheme 2010

Abstract

This paper deals with a group of metal tobacco boxes which are probably all of Dutch or German origin. The tobacco box industries of both countries and their backgrounds are considered, as are box design themes, boxes known from archaeological and pictorial contexts, and existing dated or signed examples in the group and in comparable collections. German craftsmen and their workshop techniques are also discussed. The concluding section contains a plea for further information on the various topics dealt with in the paper.     

Report of the Portable Antiquities Scheme 2011

Abstract

Dutch East India Company (VOC) Fort Frederik Hendrik, the first European settlement on Mauritius, was established as a refreshment station for onward- and homeward-bound East Indiamen. The fort's archaeological remains offer a rich fund of information on a 17th-century stronghold and the population once in occupation. The material evidence reflects the fort's links with the Company's worldwide network of settlements, with both trade goods and people passing through. It also reflects cultural change and the settlers' endeavours to adapt to the local environment.     

Mississippian Plazas,Performances, and Portable Histories

Although plazas have a lengthy and variable history in southeastern North America, by the Mississippian period (ca. 1000–1500 CE), they had assumed some degree of conformity: they were square to rectangular in shape, anchored the approximate center of a settlement, often had additional inclusions such as public buildings or earthen monuments, and were the arenas of secular and religious public activities. We suggest that the importance of these architectural features to Mississippian life ways can be attributed to two characteristics that are widely shared with other cultures that also employed plazas as a form of axis mundi. First, their construction represents an event that arrests temporality and draws attention to their pivotal role in synchronizing ritual life. Second, their relatively open architecture confers them a relational flexibility that allows for the linkage of a wide variety of spaces, things, and beings. A quantitative and qualitative study of 35 Mississippian plazas demonstrates discrepancies from a linear relationship between plaza size and site size that may be related to variation in the kinds of performances that were conducted in these public places at different types of settlements. Despite this variation, the ubiquity of plazas suggests that they were pivotal to the founding of Mississippian places, and may have been important for reestablishing a sense of cosmological order for migrating communities.     

The Improved Lns Pixe‐Alpha Portable System: Archaeometric Applications*

The possibilities presented by the improved portable PIXE system are discussed. Examples are given of applications in the cultural heritage field, and in particular in the characterization of pigments and silver patina on ancient Roman coins. The limitations of the system are also discussed.     

The Significance of Social Gestures and Technologies of Embellishment in Paleolithic Portable Art

This paper analyzes the gestures and technologies used to make Paleolithic portable art. Contextualized within the theoretical schools of the anthropology of technology and using the chaîne opératoire methodology, the approach advanced here quantifies the relationships between technology, society, and aesthetics in the production of Paleolithic art. Focusing on Pavlovian art, dating to between 28,000 and 24,000 radiocarbon years BP, this paper assesses the suite of art production technologies, particularly those used when modifying and decorating ivory, and traces the relationship between decorative techniques and other characteristics of art. These analyses offer insight into Pavlovian art traditions and the emergence of innovative techniques in Paleolithic societies.