From boats to bushes: environmental elements supportive of children’s sociodramatic play outdoors

ABSTRACT

Sociodramatic play is a central activity of early childhood, one influenced by the nature of the environment where it occurs. Using the Smilansky Scale for the Evaluation of Dramatic and Socio Dramatic Play (Smilansky and Shefatya, 1990), this study compared the frequency and complexity of the sociodramatic play of two groups of fifteen 4–5 year old children in two preschool outdoor spaces differing in natural elements, resources, and spatial characteristics. Field notes and behaviour mapping were also employed to explore potential associations between the play characteristics, and specific elements and areas of the two spaces. Findings showed the following elements supported more frequent and complex sociodramatic play: a balanced conjunction of man-made resources and significant vegetation and natural loose parts; opportunities for seclusion and lack of overcrowding; linking pathways and open-ended design. The findings have implications for the design of outdoor spaces that support the frequency and complexity of children’s sociodramatic play.     

Testing for the presence of thermal pretreatment of flint in the mesolithic and neolithic of Sweden

Through ethnographic accounts, the method of heat treatment of silica materials to improve the flaking qualities is shown to have been known almost worldwide. Some mesolithic and neolithic flint artifacts from southern Sweden were examined in order to determine if they too were heat treated. From several methods proving or indicating thermal alteration of flint, analysis using scanning electron microscopy was chosen. Two samples were taken from each artifact, one being examined unaltered, the other being heat treated. No two samples from the same artifact had the same kind of surface appearance. Thus these analyses prove that the artifacts examined had not been heat treated.     

Identifying past agricultural activity through soil phytolith analysis: a case study from the Hawaiian islands

Soil samples from documented archaeological sites and adjacent fields were analyzed for phytolith assemblage in an effort to identify and reconstruct prehistoric and early historic agricultural systems on the Island of Hawaii. The removal of indigenous tree and shrub vegetation, subsequent agricultural activity, and eventual abandonment of the fields can be identified in the areas tested. The applicability of phytolith analysis to archaeological problems is advanced and areas of strength and weakness identified.