Geoarchaeological insights from a Roman age incineration feature (ustrinum) at Enconsta de Sant'Ana (Lisbon,Portugal)

Ustrina are incineration funerary structures that are relatively common in Roman age cemeteries. Salvage excavations at Encosta de Sant'Ana (Lisbon, Portugal) in 2002 brought to light a part of the necropolis of the Roman town of Olisipo, including some ustrina. One of them, designated Burial 1 during fieldwork, is analyzed here from a geoarchaeological viewpoint to understand the formation processes of such an archaeological feature, namely its construction technique, use and function. The study of site context and subsurface pedofeatures, and the application of archaeological soil micromorphology, revealed that the ustrinum was constructed digging a hollow in bedrock and building a mud-brick ridge around it, with raw material taken from the local bedrock. The structure was used at various times and remodelled at least once, and its base was not always thoroughly cleaned – according to the custom called “pars pro toto” by Roman authors – and probably left open when not in use.     

对盘龙城Ⅰ号磁异常场源性质的认识

本文介绍了2006年在盘龙城进行的田野考古物探工作的过程和新的发现。文章从投入田野考古物探的方法技术要求、野外数据资料采集的质量评价、数据资料的处理和图示进行了介绍·重点描述了对所发现的M1磁异常场源性质的认识、分析和探讨的过程,指出引起位于盘龙城府河河滩上的Ⅰ号磁异常的场源很可能是规模较大的地下人文构筑物。     

黄文弼与西北边疆史地研究

我国西北边疆史地的研究有着悠久的历史 ,清代中后期达到极盛 ,二十世纪初年 ,利用敦煌、楼兰等地出土的文书、木简等新材料 ,又掀起了一股西北边疆史地研究的热潮。黄文弼继承了前人的研究成果 ,并有所创新 ,他运用简牍新资料 ,结合文献记载 ,加上实地考察所得 ,对西北边疆史地中的一些问题 ,如高昌国历史、罗布泊位置、塔里木盆地南河以及东西方文化交流等作了详细考证 ,开创了西北边疆史地研究的新局面。     

Vices Are Not What They Used To Be: The Archaeological Importance of the Term “Vices” in Argentinean Historical Military Documents of the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century

This article characterizes the sense and use of the word vicios (vices) in historical documents in nineteenth-century Argentina. The term was frequently used among soldiers, indigenous people, and criollos who occupied the border. The “vices” consisted of a range of highly appreciated edible goods (including tobacco, yerba mate [Ilex paraguariensis], and sugar). Documentary sources do not agree what products fall under the term vicios. We propose some archaeological expectations with regard to each of these products.     

Sound Methods: The Necessity of High-resolution Geophysical Data for Planning Deepwater Archaeological Projects

The availability of deepwater survey technology allows researchers to work more readily in waters beyond conventional diving limits and makes possible an increased number of historical shipwreck projects. Several deepwater historical wreck sites are being investigated, some are being archaeologically mapped, and a few are even being excavated. Conducting a deepwater archaeological project to acceptable archaeological standards requires extensive and complex pre-investigation planning; otherwise, valuable data could be lost, as well as expensive ship and sub time wasted. High-resolution geophysical survey data must be a part of this planning process. Utilization of this type of data gives the planning scientists a better overall understanding of the site, which is essential in formulating valid field methodology. Drawing on examples from actual deepwater projects, this article discusses why high-resolution geophysical data is essential to the planning process, the means and methods used to collect the data, and how this data is integrated into the planning process to produce a feasible field project plan.     

Heritage Ethics for a Present Imperfect

Lynn identifies three critical discussion that framed the Stanford workshop. First, the language of the code, which she feels should reflect our acknowledgement that archaeologists are not the primary stakeholders for most situations and using core values instead of codification as a starting point. Second, the recognition of particular histories and the consequences of colonial encounters, with the acknowledgment that colonialist relations continue to exist in many places. Third is the issue of how WAC positions itself in relation to issues of social justice. Lynn points out that while WAC could be an active vehicle for attaining social justice on a global scale, the ethical implications of taking any kind of interventionist stance need to be fully thought through, lest they be seen as telling people what to do—a stance that would only serve to mirror imperialist and colonialist practices. We need to ask people what they want in regard to their heritage and be prepared to listen, even if archaeology is not immediately important for them or they suggest directions that we find challenging.     

Mapping a Future: Archaeology,Feminism, and Scientific Practice

Drawing on work in science studies, I argue for the importance of fieldwork and research practices when considering the relative significance of feminism within archaeology. Fieldwork, often presented as the unifying hallmark of all of anthropology, has a different resonance in archaeology at the level of material practice and specific techniques. In order to understand the relationship between archaeology and feminism we need to investigate methods, methodology, and interpretations of the material record simultaneously. Examining one practice, that of map making, I suggest venues amenable to feminist insights.     

What Happened at the First Meeting of the World Archaeological Congress Committee of Ethics?

Herrera reflects on the committee’s deliberations in how to approach developing a framework for ethics in tune with the aims and ethos of WAC. He points out the importance of a foundation of meaningful principles, embedded in the thread of the actions of individuals acting in specific cultural and historical social contexts and based on core values that at the same time acknowledge the contradictions inherent in diverse standpoints. The committee faces major questions of how to define social justice and appropriate ethical behaviour for people and institutions embedded in different social and historical contexts across the globe.     

Excavating Communities: Lewis R. Binford and the Interpretation of the Archaeological Record in Illinois

Lewis Binford’s contributions to field archaeology have been largely ignored in favor of his many contributions to theoretical issues dominating the discipline of archaeology at the end of the twentieth century. We examine Binford’s excavation methods in southern Illinois in the early 1960s and demonstrate how his considered approach served to systematize large-scale site excavation procedures. He adopted the time-honored tool of the salvage archaeologist—heavy equipment—and unapologetically employed it in a fundamentally new way, proving it to be a tool that served the greater goals of archaeological research. We trace the development of field methods and theoretical approaches in two case studies of Illinois archaeology and demonstrate how Binford’s contributions have been incorporated or rejected by subsequent CRM researchers.     

Biostratigraphic Evidence Relating to the Age‐Old Question of Hannibal's Invasion of Italy,II: Chemical Biomarkers and Microbial Signatures

As discussed in Part I, a large accumulation of mammalian faeces at the mire site in the upper Guil Valley near Mt. Viso, dated to 2168 cal ¹⁴C yr., provides the first evidence of the passage of substantial but indeterminate numbers of mammals within the time frame of the Punic invasion of Italia. Specialized organic biomarkers bound up in a highly convoluted and bioturbated bed constitute an unusual anomaly in a histosol comprised of fibric and hemist horizons that are usually expected to display horizontal bedding. The presence of deoxycholic acid and ethylcoprostanol derived from faecal matter, coupled with high relative numbers of Clostridia 16S rRNA genes, suggests a substantial accumulation of mammalian faeces at the site over 2000 years ago. The results reported here constitute the first chemical and biological evidence of the passage of large numbers of mammals, possibly indicating the route of the Hannibalic army at this time. Combined with the geological analysis reported in Part I, these data provide a background supporting the need for further historical archaeological exploration in this area.