Stimulated Variation and Cascades: Two Processes in the Evolution of Complex Technological Systems

Michael Schiffer’s theoretical and methodological contributions to archaeology are substantial. For the last two decades, Schiffer has become increasingly interested in the history of electrical technology, including portable radios, electric automobiles, eighteenth-century electrostatic technology, and, most recently, nineteenth-century electric light and power systems. Schiffer has long held a behavioral view, which focuses analytical attention on interactions between humans and material things, including complex technological systems (CTSs). For Schiffer, two key aspects of the evolution of CTSs are stimulated variation, defined as an increase in invention resulting from changing selective conditions, and cascading, defined as sequential spurts of invention that occur through the recognition of emergent performance problems in a CTS. To attain maximum usefulness, these concepts should be placed in a modern evolutionary framework that correctly identifies, and does not oversell, the role played by cultural selection. Research on individual and social learning provides the critical link between Schiffer’s stimulated variation and cascade models and the diffusion of CTSs.     

High Dynamic Range Imaging for Archaeological Recording

This paper notes the adoption of digital photography as a primary recording means within archaeology, and reviews some issues and problems that this presents. Particular attention is given to the problems of recording high-contrast scenes in archaeology and high dynamic range imaging using multiple exposures is suggested as a means of providing an archive of high-contrast scenes that can later be tone-mapped to provide a variety of visualisations. Exposure fusion is also considered, although it is noted that this has some disadvantages. Three case studies are then presented: (1) a very high-contrast photograph taken from within a rock-cut tomb at Cala Morell, Menorca, (2) an archaeological test pitting exercise requiring rapid acquisition of photographic records in challenging circumstances and (3) legacy material consisting of three differently exposed colour positive (slide) photographs of the same scene. In each case, high dynamic range (HDR) methods are shown to significantly aid the generation of a high-quality illustrative record photograph, and it is concluded that HDR imaging could serve an effective role in archaeological photographic recording, although there remain problems of archiving and distributing HDR radiance map data.     

Beyond Metrics: Reappraising York’s Hungate “Slum”

Much of the excitement generated in Britain since 2007 by the York Archaeological Trust’s excavations of the city’s Hungate neighborhood, which Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree characterized as a “slum” in his pioneering poverty survey of 1901, derives from the unexpected volume and variety of material evidence uncovered about life in a poor community within a modern industrial city. Such material evidence and its often uncertain relationships to other historical data can enhance analysis by complicating understanding of the past, rather than echoing conventional wisdom. Findings from Hungate can thus contribute to nuanced understandings of urban social disadvantage not only at the neighborhood level in this one particular British city, but at the larger scales of analysis that encompass the growth of cities and interacting urban regions in Britain and around the world during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. These understandings have contemporary relevance for a world in which over half of humanity now lives in urban areas, as misconceptions about “slums” continue to undermine efforts to reduce urban inequality.     

Consuming Citizenship? The Archaeology of Mexican Immigrant Ambivalence in Early Twentieth-Century Los Angeles

In late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century America, the consumption of American-made goods was seen as an expression of one’s patriotism and loyalty to the nation. According to a number of historical archaeological case studies, racialized groups, such as African Americans and Chinese Americans, used consumption as a way of gaining access to the full benefits of American citizenship typically reserved for individuals deemed “white” by law. The material culture of Mexican immigrants living in early twentieth-century Los Angeles tells a slightly different tale. Despite being ascribed a legal whiteness, archaeological and documentary data suggest that Mexican immigrants expressed ambivalence toward their consumption of American goods and outright rejected the notion that exerting such buying power would lead to a broader acceptance in Anglo American society.     

Folklore’s Timeless Past,Ireland’s Present Past,and the Perception of Rural Houses in Early Historic Ireland

This study examines how the archaeology of historic Ireland has been interpreted. Two approaches to the history and archaeology of Ireland are identified. The first, the timeless past, has its roots in a neo-Lamarckian view of the past. This perspective was particularly developed in the work of geographer and ethnographer, Estyn Evans. The second view, associated in particular with a nationalist approach to Ireland’s past, looked to the west of the country where it was believed the culture had been preserved largely unchanged and in its purest form. The continuing impact of these frameworks upon the interpretation of rural settlement in the period 1200–1700 is examined. It is argued that historians and archaeologists alike have underestimated the quality of buildings.     

Archaeology in the World of Display: A Material Study of the Use of History in the Stockholm Exhibition of 1897

History was an important notion in constructing an industrial capitalist society in the nineteenth century. This article deals with the manifest use of history at the Stockholm Exhibition of 1897. At this exhibition, history was ubiquitous and was most fully expressed in the model of medieval and Renaissance Stockholm called “Old Stockholm.” The history of nineteenth- and twentieth-century exhibitions in general has been thoroughly studied in the field of humanities. However, the specific use of history and space has not attracted much interest. This analysis of the model of Old Stockholm is of the first archaeological study of remains of the great exhibitions ever to have been done. Even though the “Old Stockholm” pavilion was exceedingly popular in the summer of 1897, only very scarce documentation has survived. An archaeological excavation of parts of the temporary historical models, such as the “Hospital of the Holy Spirit,” showed convincing evidence of the hegemonic position which the use of history enjoyed at the exhibition and in the nineteenth century.     

Archaeology as Built for the Tourists: The Anasazi Cliff Dwellings of Manitou Springs,Colorado

Anasazi-era archaeology sites have been extremely popular tourist attractions since the 1890s, but one site—the cliff dwellings in Manitou Springs, Colorado—stands apart because it is a fake. The site was constructed at the turn of the twentieth century as a more accessible tourist alternative to Four Corners-area Anasazi ruins. The story of its construction and how it continues to cater to its visitors offers insight into the ways in which archaeology sites function as tourist destination. The Manitou Cliff Dwellings forces scholars to consider questions of authenticity, authority, and how people engage the past.