Archaeological Program Research Articles

Set in stone: modern monuments and strategic heritage in Xaltocan, Mexico

ABSTRACT For the past century, Mexico has tightly managed its heritage resources to emphasise the achievements of Prehispanic civilisations which contribute to national patrimony. Public interest in these great civilisations has fuelled an impressive national archaeological programme that has resulted in cutting-edge research and sometimes helped elevate the status and visibility of living indigenous communities. However, nationalist narratives of the past tend to be somewhat monolithic, and in the case of Mexico, they have emphasised hierarchical, exploitative states with powerful, urban capitals. The social value of Aztec identity and icons has become so potent that even in places with unique archaeological signatures and their own exceptional histories, local heritages are often intertwined with the Aztec narratives. This paper analyses two modern monuments in the small central Mexican town of Xaltocan, reflecting on long-term and recent developments in the region that have influenced the perceived social and political values of narratives of the past and the identities connected to them. Based on these analyses and drawing on interview responses from current residents, I argue that the monuments are important testaments to the complex ways that locals conceptualise and strategically articulate their heritage.

A catalogue of asteroseismically calibrated ages for APOGEE DR17

Context. The formation history and evolution of the Milky Way through cosmological time is a complex field of research requiring the sampling of highly accurate stellar ages for all Galaxy components. Such highly reliable ages are starting to become available thanks to the synergy of asteroseismology, spectroscopy, stellar modelling, and machine learning analysis in the era of all-sky astronomical surveys. Aims. Our goal is to provide an accurate list of ages for the Main Red Star Sample of the APOGEE DR17 catalogue. In order to reach this goal, ages obtained under asteroseismic constraints are used to train a machine learning model. Methods. As our main objective is to obtain reliable age predictions without the need for asteroseismic parameters, the optimal choice of stellar non-asteroseismic parameters was investigated to obtain the best performances on the test set. The stellar parameters Teff and L, the abundances of [CI/N],[Mg/Ce], and [α/Fe], the U(LSR) velocity, and the vertical height from the Galactic plane ‘Z’ were used to predict ages with a categorical gradient boost decision trees model. The model was trained on two merged samples of the TESS Southern Continuous Viewing Zone and the Second APOKASC catalogue to avoid a data shift and to improve the reliability of the predictions. Finally, the model was tested on an independent data set of the K2 Galactic Archaeology Program. Results. A model with a median fractional age error of 20.8% is obtained. Its prediction variance between the validation and the training set is 4.77%. For stars older than 3 Gyr, the median fractional error in age ranges from 7% to 23%. For stars with ages ranging from 1 to 3 Gyr, the median fractional error in age ranges from 26% to 28%. For stars younger than 1 Gyr, the median fractional error is 43%. The optimised model applies to 125 445 stars from the Main Red Star Sample of the APOGEE DR17 catalogue. Our analysis of the ages confirms previous findings regarding the flaring of the young Galactic disc towards its outer regions. Additionally, we find an age gradient among the youngest stars within the Galactic plane. Finally, we identify two groups of a few metal-poor ([Fe/H] < −1 dex) young stars (Age < 2 Gyr) with similar peculiar chemical abundances and halo kinematics. These are likely the outcomes of the predicted third and latest episode of gas infall in the solar vicinity (~2.7 Gyr ago). Conclusions. We make a catalogue of asteroseismically calibrated ages for 125 445 red giants from the APOGEE DR17 catalogue available to the community. The analysis of the associated stellar parameters corroborates the predictions of different literature models.

The APO-K2 Catalog. II. Accurate Stellar Ages for Red Giant Branch Stars across the Milky Way

We present stellar age determinations for 4661 red giant branch stars in the APO-K2 catalog, derived using mass estimates from K2 asteroseismology from the K2 Galactic Archaeology Program and elemental abundances from the Apache Point Galactic Evolution Experiment survey. Our sample includes 17 of the 19 fields observed by K2, making it one of the most comprehensive catalogs of accurate stellar ages across the Galaxy in terms of the wide range of populations spanned by its stars, enabling rigorous tests of Galactic chemical evolution models. Taking into account the selection functions of the K2 sample, the data appear to support the age−chemistry morphology of stellar populations predicted by both inside-out and late-burst scenarios. We also investigate trends in age versus stellar chemistry and Galactic position, which are consistent with previous findings. Comparisons against APOKASC-3 asteroseismic ages show agreement to within ∼3%. We also discuss offsets between our ages and spectroscopic ages. Finally, we note that ignoring the effects of α-enhancement on stellar opacity (either directly or with the Salaris metallicity correction) results in an ∼10% offset in age estimates for the most α-enhanced stars, which is an important consideration for continued tests of Galactic models with this and other asteroseismic age samples.

Collecting Information and Developing Narratives: the use of data on HS2 Phase One, UK

Large Infrastructure projects create vast amounts of data during the course of programmes of archaeological investigation, from the description of an archaeological deposit to complex three-dimensional survey data. It is key for future research and the completion of the archaeological programme that the data support the questions we wish to answer. This paper will consider the range of data generated from HS2 Phase One, and the potential of those data in the process of analysis and interpretation and their broader spatial and research context . The paper will also consider which data are key for different stages of the project lifecycle, and the extent to which the process of data capture may influence the narratives that are developed.

Archaeological programmes

The paper presents a short overview of the concepts used to observe the changes in epistemic standards of a discipline and its future potential, in respect to archaeology. The shortcomings are outlined of the common practice of structuring the theoretical approaches in archaeology into distinct, mutually exclusive modes of reasoning, implying three distinct phases, inspired by Kuhn’s concept of paradigm. The concept of a research programme, introduced by the philosopher of science Imre Lakatos, is suggested as the more productive mode of assessing the multitude of approaches present in archaeology. In this manner, it is possible to retain the diversity of epistemic proposals and to meet the challenges immanent in the character of archaeological evidence.

Indigenous Archaeologies, Shell Heaps, and Climate Change

ABSTRACTIndigenous communities globally are challenged by threats to heritage resources due to residual effects of colonization, outsider encroachment on traditional spaces, and economic and political inequities. The effects of climate change add another dimension to these challenges, not only by altering familiar ecosystems and landscapes but also through the destruction of Indigenous heritage spaces. The University of Maine's Northeast archaeology program supports Indigenous resilience to climate change through community-engaged approaches to archaeological research. Recent shell heap research at the Holmes Point West site in Machiasport, Maine, exemplifies these efforts by blending archaeological science with service through Passamaquoddy language preservation and community engagement. This article discusses the University of Maine's partnership with the Passamaquoddy Nation and reflects on the nexus of Indigenous archaeology, heritage protection, and climate change resilience.

Chapter 8 Glenn A. Black and the Problems of Objectification in Big Site‐Big Science Legacy Archaeology

ABSTRACTLarge‐scale excavations in the first half of the twentieth century conducted by Glenn A. Black at Angel Mounds were viewed as moving archaeology away from its antiquarian roots toward legitimate scientific practice. Although this transformation led to innovative field methods, amassed collections of unprecedented size and depth, and created foundational archaeological programs and knowledge, the past and the peoples who occupied it became increasingly objectified and marginalized. How did archaeological practice on such an expansive scale remove from history the people whose heritage is memorialized at a national historic landmark? And how has this history impacted archaeological practice today? To address these questions, I draw on personal letters and published accounts for insights into the interests and problematic aspects of Black's archaeological practices before turning to a consideration of some present‐day continuities, challenges, and ways forward. The issues and biases revealed in the case of Black's early 20th century archaeological praxis are not unique for the time. Nonetheless, underlying problems of objectification and racism challenge us to not only confront legacy biases and the harm they have caused, but to work toward ethical ways to use such collections now and in the future.

Gender, Institutional Inequality, and Institutional Diversity in Archaeology Articles in Major Journals and Sapiens

AbstractStudies in the sociopolitics of archaeology have shown patterns of inequality in publishing. Because this inequality affects the richness of perspectives on the past, the extent of unevenness requires continual documentation. This article explores gendered and institutionally based patterns of authorship in prominent archaeology journals, archaeology papers in general science journals, and Sapiens, a public-facing web magazine, from 2016 to 2021. We find that the representation of women is similar across these two types of journals, for authors both in the United States and abroad. Men still publish significantly more than women though the gap is narrowing due to the publication activity of recent PhDs. Using a large database of PhDs as a baseline for comparison, we find that women publish less in these venues than expected, resulting in an imbalance. Some archaeology programs have a larger presence in journal publishing than others, but this imbalance is not as pervasive as what has been observed in hiring practices. Archaeology journals exhibit healthier measures of diversity, compared to Science, in terms of the institutional affiliation of authors.

The Brazilian archaeological program in Egypt: the first six years on TT123: assembling the puzzle

Created in 2015, the Brazilian Archaeological Program in Egypt (BAPE) develops transversal and participatory research on Egyptian soil. Since 2016, BAPE has been developing, together with the Egyptian government, an excavation project for Theban Tomb 123, located in Sheikh Abdel Qurna, Luxor, known as the Amenemhet Project. Tomb 123 served as a burial ground during the Pharaonic period and is currently a modern residence for Qurnawi families. This paper presents the first results of the research conducted at the site, offering a first interpretation based on the data collected so far, from an archaeological, historical and ethnographic perspective.

THE INCORPORATION OF NON-INVASIVE GEOPHYSICAL TECHNIQUES IN NORTHWEST BELIZE

As archaeological programs call for conservation and preservation the ability to detect the buried features of the archaeological record and conduct targeted excavations have been in greater demand. This demand coupled with developments in equipment and computing power have led to an array of technological advancements making geophysical survey more affordable and reliable. Geophysical techniques have been utilized at a varying rate on the global scale with frequency and overall use dependent on the region in which they are utilized. Across the realm of the ancient Maya, a number of remote sensing techniques have been employed with increasing success. Using ground based remote sensing techniques, one such location currently being investigated is that of Tzak Naab in northwest Belize. This site has been the recent subject of both magnetometer and ground penetrating radar surveys with good results. While this information pertains to only one site, it portends great promise for future surveys. The Tzak Naab case study showcases that the ever-increasing inclusion of geophysical survey allows for more in-depth analysis and faster data collection providing a framework for examination of sites where little to no investigation has taken place.

Introduction to Special issue

Introduction to Special issue

Urban archaeology in Kaifeng, a capital city of dynastic China: progress and insights

ABSTRACT Kaifeng is a well-known ancient capital in Chinese history. However, existing knowledge of its urban history derives primarily from historical documents rather than archaeology. In the last decade, archaeologists, including several authors of this article, have conducted many systematic excavations in Kaifeng city and unearthed large amounts of cultural material. Based on these materials, this article attempts to reconstruct the history of Kaifeng’s urban development beyond text, explores the local depositional features and summarizes experience of urban archaeology. Our investigation suggests that the urban space of Kaifeng has been continuously used for over 1000 years, while its city boundaries, political core zones and central axis have remained relatively unchanged; the flood deposits make it possible to conduct fieldwork under the ‘Pompeii premise’. Additionally, our experience suggests that an holistic design, an applied multi-disciplinary approach, and coordination with city administrators, constructors and residents are key to successful urban archaeology programs.

Reforming procedures. A methodology for archaeological experiments regarding pottery combustion structures

Over time archaeologists interested in pottery combustion structures mainly focused on analysing the ability of particular kilns to meet certain pyrotechnological criteria. Thus, their research was based on testing multiple firing techniques for achieving different combustion atmoshperes, recording and examining thermal data (maximum temperatures/heating rate/soaking time), temporal information about the firing and fuelling stages, as well as the type/quantity of fuel used during the process. Although the above mentioned set of data is highly valuable when studying such features, we believe that recording a broader range of information within this segment may be indispensable for identifying hidden elements involved in building and using pyrotechnology.The current paper aims to provide the basis for a complex foundation when documenting these types of experiments, by presenting new recording strategies applied over the years during the experimental archaeology program carried out at Sultana-Malu Roșu (Romania). In the following study we will discuss in detail the whole package regarding constructive, material, quantitative, labor, temporal and thermal data, we rely on in our work. Also, we will highlight the benefits of using this type of approach and how by correlating archaeological and experimental data one can reveal some of the hidden aspects concerning know-how, decision making, skills and effort involved in making and using such structures.Ultimately, this type of informational spectrum has the great potential of improving data collection during experiments and increase our possibilities of understanding the overall construction/use processes of pottery combustion structures, during different chronological periods.

Breaking New Ground

This article explores archaeological programmes on the BBC between 1922 and 1939 through an entangled approach to broadcast and printed talks. Supported by archival sources and programme schedules in The Radio Times and The Listener, it focuses on the intertwined archaeological, broadcasting and publishing careers of Charles Leonard Woolley based on his excavation at Ur in southern Iraq. This highlights the important place archaeology held in the interwar listening and reading market with the BBC offering high fees for a popular speaker. Incorporating periodical studies and aspects of book history demonstrates the importance of an integrated approach to media history to further our understanding of the relationship between media, science and the public.

The K2 Galactic Archaeology Program: Overview, target selection, and survey properties

ABSTRACT K2 was a community-driven NASA mission where all targets were proposed through guest observer programmes. Here we provide an overview of one of the largest of these endeavours, the K2 Galactic Archaeology Programme (K2GAP), with about 25 per cent of the observed targets being allocated to this programme. K2GAP provides asteroseismic parameters for about 23 000 giant stars across the Galaxy, which together with spectroscopic stellar parameters can give age and masses of stars. We discuss in detail the target selection procedure and provide a python program that implements the selection function (github.com/sanjibs/k2gap). Broadly speaking, the targets were selected on 2MASS colour J − Ks > 0.5, with finely tuned adjustments for each campaign. We discuss the detection completeness of the asteroseismic parameters νmax and Δν. About 14 per cent of giants were found to miss νmax detections and it was difficult to detect Δν for RC stars. Making use of the selection function, we compare the observed distribution of asteroseismic masses to theoretical predictions. The median asteroseismic mass is higher by about 4 per cent compared to predictions. We provide a selection-function-matched mock catalogue of stars based on a synthetic model of the Galaxy for the community to use in subsequent analyses of the K2GAP data set (physics.usyd.edu.au/k2gap/download/).

The Precontact Archaeology of the Michigan State University Campus and the Campus Archaeology Program (CAP)

Abstract Here we summarize the current state of knowledge about the precontact archaeology of the Michigan State University (MSU) campus as revealed through work conducted by the MSU Campus Archaeology Program (CAP), the MSU Museum, and the Department of Anthropology. A multipronged approach places this collective work in programmatic, institutional, historical, geographic, and archaeological context. The history of CAP and its impact on campus operations and understandings of campus history demonstrate the strength of such programs. Unpacking the MSU Museum collections reveals additional insight into the deep Indigenous history of university lands. Results of the first systematic excavations of a precontact Archaic site on the MSU campus, the Beaumont West site (20IN205), are reported alongside accounts of systematic archaeological survey conducted over a span of 70 years, recent geomorphological work, and the cumulative collections of precontact material culture from the MSU campus housed at the MSU Museum. Collectively, this paints an engaging multifaceted story of an ever-changing natural and social landscape that highlights the value of understanding the role college campuses can play in providing information about the distant as well as the recent past.

Vetting asteroseismic Δν measurements using neural networks

ABSTRACT Precise asteroseismic parameters can be used to quickly estimate radius and mass distributions for large samples of stars. A number of automated methods are available to calculate the frequency of maximum acoustic power (νmax) and the frequency separation between overtone modes (Δν) from the power spectra of red giants. However, filtering through the results requires manual vetting, elaborate averaging across multiple methods or sharp cuts in certain parameters to ensure robust samples of stars free of outliers. Given the importance of ensemble studies for Galactic archaeology and the surge in data availability, faster methods for obtaining reliable asteroseismic parameters are desirable. We present a neural network classifier that vets Δν by combining multiple features from the visual Δν vetting process. Our classifier is able to analyse large numbers of stars, determining whether their measured Δν are reliable and thus delivering clean samples of oscillating stars with minimal effort. Our classifier is independent of the method used to obtain νmax and Δν, and therefore can be applied as a final step to any such method. Tests of our classifier’s performance on manually vetted Δν measurements reach an accuracy of 95 per cent. We apply the method to giants observed by the K2 Galactic Archaeology Program and find that our results retain stars with astrophysical oscillation parameters consistent with the parameter distributions already defined by well-characterized Kepler red giants.

Doran Ross: The Scholar of Akan Art

Doran Ross: The Scholar of Akan Art

Satellite-Based Methodology for Purposes of Rescue Archaeology of Cultural Heritage Threatened by Dam Construction

The destruction of cultural heritage caused by dams represents a major issue especially in an age of climate change and narrowly focused development policies. To counteract this phenomenon, archaeologists and cultural heritage experts have relied upon rescue archaeology practices generally limited to fieldwork methodologies, while remote sensing of satellite imagery remains under-considered. To bridge this gap, we build on a multidisciplinary collaboration exploring the potential of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and open access multispectral satellite imagery, for quantifying the archaeological evidence located within a prospective reservoir area before dam construction. Based on previous research by Marchetti (2020) claiming the necessity for ad hoc protocols to document and monitor the impact of dams on cultural heritage, we selected two complementary situations: the planned dam of Halabiyeh in Syria and the under construction Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Ethiopia. These case studies were analyzed with state-of-the-art methodologies to develop a feasible workflow that may contribute to fostering the use of satellite imagery in operational contexts such as those represented by these particular cases, and be replicated by archaeologists in other areas. The workflow is designed to be integrated to ground-truthing methodologies into two dedicated protocols named Pre-Construction Archaeological Risk Assessment (PCARA) and Pre-Flooding Rescue Archaeological Program (PFRAP) which could eventually become a standard procedure for rescue archaeology in dams areas.

The K2 Galactic Archaeology Program Data Release 3: Age-abundance Patterns in C1–C8 and C10–C18

Abstract We present the third and final data release of the K2 Galactic Archaeology Program (K2 GAP) for Campaigns C1–C8 and C10–C18. We provide asteroseismic radius and mass coefficients, κ R and κ M , for ∼19,000 red giant stars, which translate directly to radius and mass given a temperature. As such, K2 GAP DR3 represents the largest asteroseismic sample in the literature to date. K2 GAP DR3 stellar parameters are calibrated to be on an absolute parallactic scale based on Gaia DR2, with red giant branch and red clump evolutionary state classifications provided via a machine-learning approach. Combining these stellar parameters with GALAH DR3 spectroscopy, we determine asteroseismic ages with precisions of ∼20%–30% and compare age-abundance relations to Galactic chemical evolution models among both low- and high-α populations for α, light, iron-peak, and neutron-capture elements. We confirm recent indications in the literature of both increased Ba production at late Galactic times as well as significant contributions to r-process enrichment from prompt sources associated with, e.g., core-collapse supernovae. With an eye toward other Galactic archeology applications, we characterize K2 GAP DR3 uncertainties and completeness using injection tests, suggesting that K2 GAP DR3 is largely unbiased in mass/age, with uncertainties of 2.9% (stat.) ± 0.1% (syst.) and 6.7% (stat.) ± 0.3% (syst.) in κ R and κ M for red giant branch stars and 4.7% (stat.) ± 0.3% (syst.) and 11% (stat.) ± 0.9% (syst.) for red clump stars. We also identify percent-level asteroseismic systematics, which are likely related to the time baseline of the underlying data, and which therefore should be considered in TESS asteroseismic analysis.