Archaeometry and materiality: materials‐based analysis in theory and practice*

Due to the diversity of contemporary archaeology, the aims and approaches of archaeological scientists and archaeological theorists are often at odds. I suggest that this position is problematic, both intellectually and methodologically, as both groups are fundamentally engaged in the same task: an understanding of past societies through the medium of material culture. This paper offers a review of the intellectual positions of both groups, with a brief discussion of the history of archaeological theory and an appraisal of its current trajectory. I will discuss how and why contemporary theoretical perspectives have fundamentally diverged from the perspectives of archaeological scientists and how the recent theoretical emphasis upon materiality offers a rapprochement between theoreticians and archaeological scientists.     

INTERPRETING THE SOCIAL MEANING OF DIFFERENT SHAPES OF HOUSE STRUCTURES BY EXAMINING THE FLOW OF RESOURCES: A CASE STUDY OF SAQACENGALJ AT THE SOUTHERN TIP OF TAIWAN

Social differentiation is characterized by differences in social status and wealth, which are established and maintained by controlling and constraining the labour and flow of resources. This would affect the development of various aspects of a settlement in establishing hierarchical relationships. This study focuses on identifying the variations in the distribution of certain resources, such as imported goods, that help interpret the social meaning, particularly with regard to social status and wealth, of house structures having different shapes in an ethnic settlement in Taiwan. A petrographic study and residue analysis of the pottery along with spatial examination of the material remains were conducted to achieve the goal.     

THE CHALLENGE OF ‘TECHNOLOGICAL CHOICES’FOR MATERIALS SCIENCE APPROACHES IN ARCHAEOLOGY*

Recently several anthropological and sociological studies have interpreted technologies as cultural choices that are determined as much by local perceptions and the social context fly any material constraints or purely functional criteria. Using the example of ceramic technology we consider how materials science studies can contribute to and benefit from this understanding of technology as a social construct. Although we acknowledge some potential difficulties, it is our contention that both materials scientists and archaeologists have gained much and have much to gain by cooperating together to study ancient technologies, and that the concept of ‘technological choices’can facilitate a wider consideration of the factors shaping technological developments.     

Developmental Stress in Immature Hominines from Late Pleistocene Eurasia: Evidence from Enamel Hypoplasia

The differences between Middle and Upper Palaeolithic cultures from Europe have been likened to the contrast between generalized and complex hunter–gatherers. A test of this model is undertaken by comparing the types, amount, severity and timing of episodes of enamel hypoplasia between the two periods among specimens from western Europe and the circum-Mediterranean area. The earlier sample consists of 59 dentally immature individuals with 128 primary and 154 permanent teeth while the later sample consists of 47 dentally immature individuals with 162 primary and 125 permanent teeth. It was predicted that the Upper Palaeolithic would show more variation in the attributes noted above as a consequence of increased social differentiation. While the prevalence (50% of individuals) and severity of enamel hypoplasia do not differ between the samples, the Upper Palaeolithic component is significantly more variable in the types and timing of enamel defects. Localized hypoplasia of the primary canine is absent from the Middle Palaeolithic but very common among Upper Palaeolithic children. Earlier work has linked this enamel defect to craniofacial osteopenia due to low bioavailability of vitamin A. Linear enamel hypoplasia peaks at age 3·5 years in the Middle Palaeolithic sample but is as common at age 2·0 as 5·0 years in the Upper Palaeolithic sample. The age distribution differs significantly. Peak age at stress, combining all types of enamel hypoplasia, is 3·5 years in the Middle Palaeolithic and 0·5 years in the Upper Palaeolithic. The major contrast between the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic in terms of enamel hypoplasia is the advent of stressful episodes in early infancy in the Upper Palaeolithic. This is attributed to the low bioavailability of vitamin A due to the synergistic effects of malnutrition and infection exacerbated by a net increase in population density among socially competitive family lineages.     

INSTRUMENTAL NEUTRON ACTIVATION BASED PROVENANCE STUDIES AT THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM,WITH A CASE STUDY ON MYCENAEAN POTTERY FROM CYPRUS

A neutron activation programme aimed at archaeological provenance research operated at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem between the years 1974 and 1997. The history and accomplishments of that laboratory are presented. Endeavours to preserve unpublished results are described. Results on Cypriote pottery are presented.     

The Ice Trade and the Northern Economy, 1840–1914

Abstract

This article examines the opinions, arguments and actions which led to the foundation of universities in the North: in alphabetical order, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield. Among the topics discussed are: the availability of funding from private sources, the extent of local (especially aristocratic) support, the limited involvement of governments, the differing attitudes towards science and technology, and civic rivalries. Essential features of the ‘university movement’ are displayed, along with the assumptions and ambitions of the Victorians, locally and nationally.     

The Chronology of the Last Scandinavian Kings of York,AD 937–954

Abstract

The Cistercian Abbey of Holm Cultram was a twelfth-century royal foundation of Prince Henry, son of King David I when this part of northern England was under Scottish control. The abbey developed a successful network of benefactors spanning both sides of the Border. It was also effective in developing positive relationships with key ecclesiastical figures including Bishop Christian of Whithorn and bishops of Glasgow. The economic strength of the abbey was derived from wool, salt and fish production. In 1193, a daughter house named Grey Abbey was founded in Ulster. The benefits of the frontier location were cut short with the onset of the wars in the 1290s. Holm Cultram Abbey found itself on the path of the marching armies and had to provide supplies and lodgings. When the estates of the abbey and the precinct were attacked by the Scots on several occasions in the fourteenth century, the community turned to the English kings for compensation. On other occasions the abbots did not hesitate to pay ransom to prevent damages to the abbey. Not only the economic difficulties brought by the war, but also loss of contact with the mother house of Melrose and Scottish benefactors more generally, altered the character of Holm Cultram, which became a much more English institution when the cross-Border networks were cut off.     

Herbert Heaton and Five Principles of The Yorkshire Coal-miners

Abstract

'Herbert Heaton and Five Principles of the Yorkshire Coal-Miners'. Herbert Heaton, born in 1890, was the son of a Yorkshire coal-miner. He obtained his schooling with scholarships from the age of twelve, including an undergraduate career at the University of Leeds. He went on to become a leading economic historian. He taught on three Continents, spending the last thirty years of his career at the University of Minnesota in the United States. His father was not only a coal-miner, but also a lay preacher in the Primitive Methodist Church and active in the governance of his local co-operative. Heaton wrote and lectured about five principles he had learned and adopted as his own, growing up in the Yorkshire coalfields. The five principles reflect how many coal-miners before 1914 believed economic and social justice could be achieved. While the miners changed their beliefs after 1918, Heaton, who never lived in Britain after 1914, retained the Yorkshire principles of his youth.     

The Construction and Use of Cahokia’s Grand Plaza

Abstract

Excavations were conducted in 1997 and 2004 along a 1200 m-long waterline corridor through the middle of the central plaza at Cahokia, the largest and possibly earliest Mississippian period (A.D. 1050–1350) population center in North America. These excavations provide a unique window into previously unknown aspects of the construction and use history of this singular monumental space. Built as the centerpiece of Cahokia’s city plan in the middle of the 11th century A.D., the plaza appears to have been more spacious than the most generous previous estimate. The labor needed to build one-quarter to one-third of this plaza may have exceeded 10,000 person-days. Once built, evidence points to the possible existence of a gallery of upright posts and small buildings in front of Monks Mound, the largest earthen pyramid in the center of the site complex. By the 13th century, domestic buildings appear to have lined the plaza edges.     

Information Retrieval in Cultural Heritage

Abstract

This article discusses the opportunities and challenges of applying modern information retrieval techniques to the cultural heritage domain. Although the field of information retrieval is closely associated with computer science, it originally emerged from library science — also one of the main disciplines concerned with access to cultural heritage material. Hence we are, in a sense, exploring what happens if we bring these strands of research back together again. The article consists of three parts. In the first part, we explain the field of information retrieval and its multidisciplinary nature. In the second part, we discuss how and why the problem of providing access to cultural heritage can be cast naturally as an information retrieval problem. In the third and main part, we present a detailed case study of applying the modern information retrieval approach in practice within a museum.