Manufacture Of Artifacts Research Articles

Wilyakali and archaeologists collaborating to map the journey of the Bronzewing Pigeon, Broken Hill, western New South Wales, Australia

ABSTRACTThis paper describes a collaboration between Wilyakali Indigenous Custodians and a group of archaeologists. This collaboration has generated a shared and integrated understanding of the cultural landscape, Ancestral Creation Histories, and archaeology of the Broken Hill region of western New South Wales. The Broken Hill landscape is ancient beyond imagination, and complex geological processes/Creation Histories have resulted in distinctive landscape features and resources including quartz suitable for stone artefact manufacture. Wilyakali stone knappers employed specialised and varied technological processes to overcome the diverse and sometimes intractable nature of the quartz material, resulting in efficient use of this local stone resource. Wilyakali interpret the Country through their knowledge of the travelling sacred Bronzewing Pigeon and its creation of landscape features and resources such as quartz and water. Empirical archaeological data complement traditional knowledge, with the two ways of knowing coming together to reconstruct a nuanced interpretation of the cultural landscape. This shared narrative has had ongoing and inter‐generational benefits to the Wilyakali people, with knowledge communicated to younger generations by Elders, enabling them to interpret both the archaeology and Ancestral Creation Histories with confidence. This paper also highlights the inconsistent recognition of Indigenous ways of knowing and connection in Aboriginal cultural heritage assessments in the region.

Psychoactive and other ceremonial plants from a 2,000-year-old Maya ritual deposit at Yaxnohcah, Mexico.

For millennia, healing and psychoactive plants have been part of the medicinal and ceremonial fabric of elaborate rituals and everyday religious practices throughout Mesoamerica. Despite the essential nature of these ritual practices to the societal framework of past cultures, a clear understanding of the ceremonial life of the ancient Maya remains stubbornly elusive. Here we record the discovery of a special ritual deposit, likely wrapped in a bundle, located beneath the end field of a Late Preclassic ballcourt in the Helena complex of the Maya city of Yaxnohcah. This discovery was made possible by the application of environmental DNA technology. Plants identified through this analytical process included Ipomoea corymbosa (xtabentun in Mayan), Capsicum sp. (chili pepper or ic in Mayan), Hampea trilobata (jool), and Oxandra lanceolata (chilcahuite). All four plants have recognized medicinal properties. Two of the plants, jool and chilcahuite, are involved in artifact manufacture that have ceremonial connections while chili peppers and xtabentun have been associated with divination rituals. Xtabentun (known to the Aztecs as ololiuhqui) produces highly efficacious hallucinogenic compounds and is reported here from Maya archaeological contexts for the first time.

Does the composition of meteoritic metal change with forging? An experimental study

AbstractThe use of meteoritic iron in the manufacture of human artifacts since the Bronze Age has been well documented, including the iron blade of Tutankhamun's dagger. Whereas the preservation of textures and mineral inclusions suggest relatively low temperature (<950°C) working of meteoritic metal used in artifacts, higher temperature working—that is, forging—could have occurred, based on studies of Bronze Age slag. The extent to which the forging of meteoritic iron might change the bulk composition, especially the trace elements used for classification of iron meteorites, is largely unknown. Using electron microbeam methods (SEM and EPMA), and trace element analysis (ICP‐MS), we analyze metal obtained at different stages during the modern forging of a set of knife blades from fragments of the Gebel Kamil meteorite, and assess the degree to which bulk element composition, mineral inclusions, and textures are modified. We find that while forging does destroy the original texture and removes mineral inclusions, it does not significantly modify the trace elements typically used in iron meteorite classification, at least for the relatively Ni‐rich composition represented by Gebel Kamil. While we acknowledge that the modern method by which the knife blades were forged from Gebel Kamil would not have occurred in the Bronze Age, our results represent an upper temperature limit relative to the inferred conditions used in ancient forging. The identification of the meteorite (if still in existence) that was used for artifacts is feasible, based on our results and current literature on ancient meteoritic artifacts.

Facets of Variation: Macrocrystalline quartz reduction at Moolarben, central NSW, Australia

Macrocrystalline quartz is an abundant raw material used widely for artefact manufacture. In Australia its procurement, reduction and use are now considered more complex than previously thought. The analysis of a mid-late Holocene assemblage from Moolarben in eastern Australia demonstrates how geoarchaeological variability influences the manufacture of macrocrystalline quartz artefacts. The different flaking proprieties of the three available macrocrystalline quartz varieties (opaque milky, semi-transparent milky and crystal), along with the type of source, influenced core reduction as well as the resulting flake form and its use. Moreover, to counter the costs of flaking problems of macrocrystalline quartz, different reduction strategies were used for cores obtained from primary reef/vein outcrops and those from secondary sources (water-rolled alluvial pebbles). The systematic reduction strategies used to prepare cores and remove the elongated flakes suitable for backed artefacts represent an adaption of already established flaking strategies, and suggest that the disappearance of backed artefacts in Late Holocene assemblages from eastern Australia (associated with an increase in the use of macrocrystalline quartz in some areas), did not represent a dramatic change in technology, but rather an effective and significant innovation which ultimately meant that backing was no longer required. This technological shift is also reflected in the benefits of flaking a locally abundant material which retains a strong and sharp working edge. Measuring geoarchaeological variability adds greater insights into the costs and benefits of manufacturing macrocrystalline quartz artefacts, and these insights are applicable to studies worldwide.

Infrared Spectroscopy to Assess Manufacturing Procedures of Bone Artefacts from the Chalcolithic Settlement of Vila Nova de São Pedro (Portugal)

Vibrational spectroscopy was applied to study cylindrical engraved bone boxes from the Chalcolithic settlement of Vila Nova de São Pedro (VNSP, Azambuja, Portugal) which has the largest and richest artefact assemblage of Copper Age Western Iberia. The objectives were to reconstitute manufacturing techniques, determine the role of pyrotechnology in the production of cylindrical engraved bone boxes and assess oxygen conditions during burning. Four fragments of cylindrical engraved bone “boxes” from VNSP were used in this research. Anaerobic experimental burn conditions were recreated by using a home-made steel airtight chamber under vacuum. Human bone fragments were burnt at 400–1000 °C for 120–211 min. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analyses were performed on bone powder samples. The resulting spectra and chemometric indices were used as a reference to establish comparisons with the archaeological artefacts. None of these presented spectral features compatible with anaerobic burning. Therefore, aerobic burns were used to achieve the whitish look and were most probably used to attain the darker shade displayed by the artefacts. Artefact manufacturing appears to have relied on bone cutting, bone engraving and maybe polishing, followed by heat treatment. The population from VNSP appears to have been highly specialized in the use of fire to work different raw materials.

Evidence of artefacts made of giant sloth bones in central Brazil around the last glacial maximum.

The peopling of the Americas and human interaction with the Pleistocene megafauna in South America remain hotly debated. The Santa Elina rock shelter in Central Brazil shows evidence of successive human settlements from around the last glacial maximum (LGM) to the Early Holocene. Two Pleistocene archaeological layers include rich lithic industry associated with remains of the extinct giant ground sloth Glossotherium phoenesis. The remains include thousands of osteoderms (i.e. dermal bones), three of which were human-modified. In this study, we perform a traceological analysis of these artefacts by optical microscopy, non-destructive scanning electron microscopy, UV/visible photoluminescence and synchrotron-based microtomography. We also describe the spatial association between the giant sloth bone remains and stone tools and provide a Bayesian age model that confirms the timing of this association in two time horizons of the Pleistocene in Santa Elina. The conclusion from our traceological study is that the three giant sloth osteoderms were intentionally modified into artefacts before fossilization of the bones. This provides additional evidence for the contemporaneity of humans and megafauna, and for the human manufacturing of personal artefacts on bone remains of ground sloths, around the LGM in Central Brazil.

A Landmark-free Approach for Surface Asymmetry Detection and Profile Drawings from Bilaterally Symmetrical Geometry

Bilaterally symmetrical objects represent a large and important proportion of archaeological artifacts and biological objects. The identification of the plane of symmetry plays a vital role in quantifying surface asymmetry and producing profile drawings in archaeology and anthropology. The correct recognition of symmetry provides evidence to allow experts to restore damaged artifacts, assess consistency in artifact manufacture, and examine morphological variability in human development. With the increasing availability of archaeological and anthropological three-dimensional (3D) meshes, landmark-based and landmark-free morphometric methods for detecting planes of symmetry have both been proposed. However, the landmark-based approach requires manual identification of landmark locations, and hence they are time-consuming and prone to error. Additionally, the landmark-independent morphometric method is influenced by missing data. This study presents an effective landmark-free approach to approximate the best-fitted plane of symmetry from nearly bilaterally symmetrical objects by means of finding the plane with the minimum geometric differences between the original and mirrored meshes. Subsequently, a global and regional method is carried out to quantify surface asymmetry, reducing the effect of the size and orientation of 3D meshes on gross asymmetry detection. Finally, profile drawings are produced by computing the intersections of the plane of symmetry and 3D meshes. Both synthetic and real objects are used to evaluate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method. Our results show the approximated plane of symmetry generated by the proposed method is consistent with that determined by anatomical landmarks, and no significant differences in asymmetry ratio representing the degree of gross asymmetry are found between the landmark-based and proposed methods. These results demonstrate that the proposed method provides a suitable plane of symmetry from a bilaterally symmetrical object with small geometric distortion or simple missing geometry, thereby speeding up asymmetry detection and profile drawings.

Gambiarra and the In(ter)dependent Condition

This article analyzes the relationships of interdependence between musicians and natural or artificial agents of their environment. Considering processes of recycling and refunctionalization of materials with artistic purposes, such relationships are observed in the construction of instruments involving gambiarra in their manufacturing, with a focus on the specific case of an experimental music duo, Senyawa. The paper is theoretically and epistemically grounded in studies focusing on gambiarra, media and ecology, and media archaeology. The methodological procedures encompass analyses of instrument manufacturing processes developed by Wukir Suryadi, one of the members of Senyawa. As a contribution to studies of sound and culture, the article concludes that, through creative practices involving obsolete media materialities, gambiarra processes allow us to observe the continuous relationships between technology and nature in the design and manufacturing of technical artifacts.

Верхнепалеолитическое поселение Анетовка II: некоторые вопросы планиграфии культурного слоя

The Upper Palaeolithic settlement of Anetovka II was discovered in 1978. Since then, an area ca. 2000 square meters have been uncovered. The collection includes about 2 million flint items and 0.5 million fragments of animal bones. V. N. Stanko identified three structurally and functionally different complexes within the excavated area: a) a macrocluster of flint and fauna (up to 500 square meters) with buffalo skulls painted with ocher found in its southeastern part; b) a group of 40 individual microclusters, consisting of animal bones and flints interpreted as butchering areas; c) a complex of microclusters presumably associated with the manufacture of flint artifacts. According to V. N. Stanko, these complexes form either a single ritual center associated with ceremonial and theatrical festivities of buffalo hunters or a joint production and ritual center used by all hunting communities that co-inhabited the region. According to alternative views the settlement should be considered a sanctuary (T. I. Shcherbakova) or a waste dump (I. V. Sapozhnikov). In fact, the production area considered to have been associated with flint production only, includes two types of clusters of archaeological material: small ones, with flint inventory, stone anvils, hammersstones and retouchers, and larger ones, containing numerous animal bones. The available evidence allows reconstructing the process of the macrocluster formation and suggests that Anetovka II was a place for the production of flint items and utilization of hunting prey, which included a small cult center.

A comparison of minimally-invasive sampling techniques for ZooMS analysis of bone artifacts

Bone and antler are important raw materials for tool manufacture in many cultures, past and present. The modification of osseous features which take place during artifact manufacture frequently make it difficult to identify either the bone element or the host animal, which can limit our understanding of the cultural, economic, and/or symbolic factors which influence raw material acquisition and use. While biomolecular approaches can provide taxonomic identifications of bone or antler artifacts, these methods are frequently destructive, raising concerns about invasive sampling of culturally-important artifacts or belongings. Collagen peptide mass fingerprinting (Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry or ZooMS) can provide robust taxonomic identifications of bone and antler artifacts. While the ZooMS method commonly involves destructive subsampling, multiple minimally-invasive sampling techniques also exist. In this paper, we compare three previously proposed minimally-invasive sampling methods (forced bag, eraser, and polishing film) on an assemblage of 15 bone artifacts from the pre-contact site EjTa-4, a large midden complex located on Calvert Island, British Columbia, Canada. We compare the results of the minimally-invasive methods to 10 fragmentary remains sampled using the conventional destructive ZooMS method. We assess the reliability and effectiveness of these methods by comparing MALDI-TOF spectral quality, the number of diagnostic and high molecular weight peaks as well as the taxonomic resolution reached after identification. We find that coarse fiber-optic polishing films are the most effective of the minimally-invasive techniques compared in this study, and that the spectral quality produced by this minimally-invasive method was not significantly different from the conventional destructive method. Our results suggest that this minimally-invasive sampling technique for ZooMS can be successfully applied to culturally significant artifacts, providing comparable taxonomic identifications to the conventional, destructive ZooMS method.

Lacustrine geoarchaeology in the central Kalahari: Implications for Middle Stone Age behaviour and adaptation in dryland conditions

The Middle Stone Age (MSA) was a time of great human adaptation and innovation. In southern Africa, coastal locations have been viewed as key places for the development of human resource use and behaviour, with the dryness of the continental interior after c.130 ka regarded as both an obstacle to occupation and a limit on behaviour. Newly excavated MSA sites on the floor of the now-dry palaeolake Makgadikgadi basin, central Botswana, along with accompanying environmental data, have provided a significant opportunity to reassess the nature of MSA adaptation to, and behaviour under, dry conditions. Excavated sites dated to 80–72 ka and post 57 ka reveal purposeful early human use of an extensive 60,000 km2 lacustrine basin during dry, as opposed to lake-high, phases, as well as highlighting movement strategies for tool-making resource procurement. Findings have significant implications for theories of early human mobility and innovation, as well as for understanding the drivers, constraints and opportunities for the use of drylands. The deliberate selective movement of lithic raw materials within the basin for artefact manufacture evidences thoughtful adaptation to dry conditions within the lake basin. This research shows that open-air sites in the Kalahari drylands of central southern Africa can make important contributions to debates surrounding the development of human-environment relationships during the MSA, as well as challenging narratives of a hostile and largely empty landscape.

La Cuevona de Avín (Avín, Asturias, North Spain): A new Late Pleistocene site in the lower valley of the River Güeña

The archaeological investigations carried out in the last twenty years in the Lower Valley of the River Güeña (Asturias, central part of northern Spain) have documented different prehistoric sites, particularly with Middle and Upper Palaeolithic occupations. This paper presents the results of the archaeological excavation carried out in the cave of La Cuevona de Avín. From the systematic study of the biotic and abiotic remains, a total of three occupation phases (Phases 1 to 3) have been determined, dated in the Late Pleistocene. The lithic studies indicate the use of local raw materials (mainly quartzite), but also regional ones (different types of flint) in the whole sequence. Retouched implements are typologically representative only during the Upper Magdalenian (Phase II) and use-wear analysis indicates the manufacture and use of artefacts in situ during this phase. Archaeozoological studies reveal continuity in subsistence strategies throughout the sequence, noting specialization in red deer hunting during the Azilian (Phase I), and more diversified prey in the older phases.

An annotated checklist of the vascular flora of Quiçama National Park, Angola

The Quiçama National Park (PNQ), located in Luanda Province, Angola, is one of the oldest protected areas in the country. Although some work has been done on the flora of the Park, up to now a comprehensive record of the vascular plant species has been lacking. The objective of the present study was to produce an inventory of the vascular plant diversity of PNQ, as well as to record the types of vegetation in which each species occurs, their habits, uses by local communities, common names, and conservation status. A total of 452 species were recorded, from 285 genera and 85 families. Two species are Pteridophytes, 99 are Monocotyledons, and 351 are Dicotyledons. The two largest families of the PNQ flora are the Fabaceae and the Poaceae. The Park hosts 14 species endemic to Angola, and one of them is restricted to this protected area. Of the 128 species with data on conservation status, 109 are considered of least concern, 13 are vulnerable, and six are endangered. Regarding useful plants, 237 species from 67 families were recorded. Of these, 196 are Dicotyledons and 41 are Monocotyledons. Most of them are used for medicinal purposes, the manufacturing of artefacts, and as sources of food.

Non-Destructive In Situ Investigation of the Study of a Medieval Copper Alloy Door in Canosa di Puglia (Southern Italy)

This paper reports the analyses carried out on the medieval copper alloy door (1111–1118 AD) of the mausoleum of Boemondo d’Altavilla in Canosa di Puglia (Southern Italy). The studied door is the smallest medieval bronze door extant in Italy and, unlike the other Byzantine doors, was most probably made in Canosa di Puglia and not in Constantinople. Analyses were performed to assess the chemical composition of the alloy patinas using a portable energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) instrument designed at the University of Salento. The experimental results suggested that the two door leaves have the same chemical composition, even if they appear different in both style and size. Furthermore, the alloy used for the door is different from the other previously-analyzed Byzantine bronze doors. The obtained results can be used in the future to compare the chemical composition of other Byzantine doors in order to better understand the manufacture of these precious artifacts.

Scientific Analysis and Conservation of Waterlogged Woods Excavated from Suyoeng-ri Site, Hwaseong, Korea

Five waterlogged wood artefacts were excavated from Suyeong-ri site in Hwaseong, South Korea. The aim of the present study was to identify the species and estimate the date of manufacture and the manufacturing method of these artefacts. The study also aimed to conserve the original shapes of waterlogged wood artefacts by using the vacuum freeze drying method. The two large waterlogged woods were identified as Ulmus spp. and Morus spp., whereas one of the three small waterlogged woods was identified as Abies spp. and the other two as hard pine. Radiocarbon dating using wiggle match dated the manufacturing of these wooden artefacts between BCE 8520-8490 or BCE 8470-8290 in the Neolithic age, and a similar period was also confirmed for seed excavated from a place close to the location where the waterlogged wood artefacts were excavated. The surface of waterlogged wood artefacts had several traces of manufacturing processes - traces of tearing and chopping - were observed. Based on these observations, it was confirmed that stone adz was used to make these wooden artefacts. Thereafter, the waterlogged wood samples were conserved by immersing them into PEG#4,000 of concentration in water from 10% to 40% at room temperature(15~25℃) and subjecting them to vacuum freeze drying. However, the internal moisture was not completely removed in some thick parts of waterlogged woods by applying the general schedule such as raising the shelf temperature as the surface temperature rises. Therefore, additional study is required using the schedule-method for vacuum freeze drying of large waterlogged wood.

Effect of surface weathering on portable X‐Ray fluorescence analysis of artefacts: Evidence from Tasmanian hornfels

AbstractHornfels was commonly utilised by Aboriginal people in southeastern Tasmania for stone artefact manufacture. Sourcing of hornfels artefacts in this region using pXRF analysis is potentially compromised by the weathering patina generally present on this lithology. To understand the impact of weathering on hornfels composition, the mineralogy and chemical composition of weathered and unweathered hornfels were analysed, and weathering was simulated in column experiments. The results demonstrate that the cordierite and, to a lesser extent, plagioclase present in the hornfels transform very rapidly into kaolinite, which is the dominant component of the pale, porous weathering patina. Weathering simulation experiments and isocon comparisons of major and trace element analyses show that this alteration is accompanied by a substantial loss of Mg, Na and Ca (≥50%). For the trace elements, 25%–35% are removed (except Zr, which is relatively immobile), with the remainder retained in unaltered minerals or adsorbed to the neoformed kaolinite. Rb and Nb are more stable than Sr, which demonstrates the highest absolute mobility, but even this element shows relatively little loss, provided that the weathering patina is <1 mm thick. For Rb, Sr, Y, Zn and Nb, the percentage loss during weathering is similar (25%–35%), so bivariate plots of these trace elements show a spread due to weathering, but with a more or less constant ratio. As a result, pXRF analyses of these elements can be used to successfully differentiate hornfels artefacts from different sites in southeastern Tasmania. This study showed that Rb, Sr, Y and Nb, which are commonly used to source igneous artefacts, are also effective in sourcing hornfels, even though they are mobile during weathering. This study also demonstrated the importance of isocon plots in identifying the trace elements best suited to artefact sourcing using pXRF, if the analyses are affected by chemical weathering.

Paleolithic-Neolithic transition and late-to-postglacial climate change in East Asia: A review of archaeological data from karst caves in Southern China

We review the archaeological, chronological, and biological data from multiple karst caves in southern China that date to the late-Paleolithic to early-Neolithic transition. Our review shows that the radiocarbon dates, although having a large quantity, do not align with the known cultural sequences correlated among the cave sites (based on the degree of sophistication of artefact manufacturing) and they conflict with the corresponding paleoclimatic conditions revealed by the biological data. Most of these radiocarbon dates are older than expected, and their samples probably incorporate dead carbon through the reaction with groundwater. We argue that, when correlated with global paleoclimate records, the chronological framework provided by the biological datasets provides a more robust chronology than the available radiocarbon dates. Accordingly, all the Neolithic layers reviewed, with their plentiful biological remains of tropical/subtropical and aquatic/water-loving species, are likely to have been deposited in Holocene, and the Paleolithic cultural layers likely date to the Younger Dryas or the Bølling-Allerød. Our review suggests that the late-to-postglacial climate change helped initiate the development of Neolithic cultures in East Asia. We attribute this development to the growth of creeks/wetlands and their associated ecosystems (including the spreading of wild rice) during the period of climate warming and wetting, which greatly increased accessible food, water, and mud resources, providing opportunities for ancient peoples to recognize wild rice and to invent polishing stone tools and making pinched earthenware.

Basketry, cordage, and perishable artifact manufacture at Bonneville Estates Rockshelter: Diachronic technological variation

As a technologically-complex material class, perishable artifacts have the potential to address a multitude of socio-economic activities and behaviors; however, their application to these subjects are limited by poor preservation and small sample sizes. This study presents a novel approach to analysis that incorporates the chaîne opératoire of basketry and cordage, demonstrating the efficacy of applying statistics to characterize technological organization. To illustrate the utility of this approach, this study provides a diachronic analysis of basketry, cordage, and related manufacturing waste from Bonneville Estates Rockshelter (BER), a multi-layered “dry cave” archaeological site in the eastern Great Basin dating from the late Pleistocene through the Holocene. The relationship between people and the environment as well as social interaction among hunter-gatherers are addressed by considering the timing, changes, and seasonality of perishables at BER. Changes in basketry manufacture and the importance of net hunting throughout the Holocene emphasize temporal variation in community participation in subsistence activities. Debris from textile production demonstrates that BER also functioned as a multi-seasonal manufacturing and repair site. By comparing functional and technological-stylistic attributes, this study characterizes the complex ways gender influenced the manufacture and use of a material class traditionally associated with feminine work in hunter-gatherer communities.

Direct dating of lithic surface artifacts using luminescence.

Archaeological surface assemblages composed of lithic scatters comprise a large proportion of the archaeological record. Dating such surface artifacts has remained inherently difficult owing to the dynamic nature of Earth-surface processes affecting these assemblages and because no satisfactory chronometric dating technique exists that can be directly applied to constrain the timing of artifact manufacture, discard, and thus human use of the landscape. Here, we present a dating approach based on optically stimulated luminescence (OSL)-OSL rock-surface burial dating-and apply it to a lithic surface scatter in Tibet. We generate OSL burial ages (age-depth profiles) for each artifact, outline the methodological complexities, and consider the artifact burial ages in the context of local-scale Earth-surface dynamics. The oldest age cluster between 5.2 and 5.5 thousand years is likely related to quarrying activities at the site and thus represents the oldest chronometric age constraints for human presence on the south-central Tibetan plateau.

Shear flow-controlled shape memory of polymer resin dispersed liquid crystal elastomer microparticles

Thermomechanically active shape-programmable elastomer microparticles are very promising for development of particulate composites with unique operational properties, which could be attractive for various applications, e.g., in 3D printing. Liquid crystal elastomers are one of the suitable candidate materials due to their remarkable spontaneous shape change response. Performed rheological and thermomechanical tests demonstrate that shear stress can be used to efficiently manipulate the nematic order-driven morphology of liquid crystal elastomer microparticles (μLCEs). Specifically, by exploiting the soft-elasticity character of the material through manipulation of shear amplitude time profile, the nematic director can be oriented along the flow, which results in alignment of microparticles. Using this method, a suspension of well-aligned, thermomechanically elongated monodomain μLCEs can be created by shear stress-assisted cooling. Although the alignment can be lost in absence of persistent flow, it is restored instantaneously on re-application of the flow. The reason for this is the preservation of particle elongation at room temperature in zero flow. This shape memory can be erased by heating the system to the isotropic phase. Our work represents an important step forward in the development of a new generation of shape-programmable materials, which are potentially suitable for additive manufacturing of artefacts with anisotropic physical properties.