Manufacture Of Artifacts Research Articles

Algunas observaciones sobre la producción de mortaria en Tarragona en la edad romana imperial

The aim of the article is to present some carving lines, which have been observed on several marble mortars, conserved in the warehouse and in the permanent exhibition of the National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona (Tarragona, Spain). The majority of these pieces come from the so-called “upper part” of the city, which was occupied in Roman times by the Provincial Forum. Within a study directed to the understanding of the manufacture of marble artefacts in Roman times from the area of Tarragona, it was possible to circumscribe a group of marble pieces, conserved at different stages of the work process, which appear extremely interesting. In fact, these artefacts preserve characteristics that can be connected with some detail to the steps of their production. The mortaria are artefacts that have been rarely the subject of interest by scholars, mainly because of the simplicity of the object itself, but also for the ease of execution. These factors have determined a limited morphological evolution of their characteristics over the centuries such that their dating is difficult. Despite of this, the mortars from Tarraco represent a fundamental significant for understanding these artefacts. The carving lines visible on the objects allow to reconstruct the execution process, as well as the number found in a restricted and certain chronological context make possible to hypothesize the existence of a production within workshops that worked in the sphere of the site of construction of the Provincial Forum of Tarraco during the imperial period.

An experimental approach to ground stone tool manufacture

The manufacture of ground stone tools has long been a topic of interest for archaeologists. Ground stone tools made of specific stone types (e.g., limestone, basalt, granite) have been investigated with regards to the technology chosen by craftsmen, the manufacturing process, working tools and tool mark analysis. Here, we present the results of an experimental study of the manufacture of a basalt mortar. In particular, the strategy we adopted in designing this study was to present a method for producing a basalt mortar by pecking and abrading with basalt tools. The study was designed and conducted by A. Squitieri and D. Eitam, while the mortar was made by the sculptor D. Yassur. The goals of our experiment were to observe and document the choices made by the sculptor in creating the mortar, starting from the selection of a basalt cobblestone as the raw material, the tools (made from basalt) he used and the ways he used them. We detected practical problems the sculptor had to overcome during the process, the amount of debitage, and the nature of tool marks in the mortar cavity after the manufacturing process. We documented the entirety of the experiment through photographs and videos. Our experimental production using the expertise of a professional sculpture and his thorough knowledge of basalt offers a better understanding of basalt artefact manufacture, the physical properties of the raw material and the interaction between basalt tools and basalt raw material.

Major Fallacies Surrounding Stone Artifacts and Assemblages

While lithic objects can potentially inform us about past adaptations and behaviors, it is important to develop a comprehensive understanding of all of the various processes that influence what we recover from the archaeological record. We argue here that many assumptions used by archaeologists to derive behavioral inferences through the definition, conceptualization, and interpretation of both individual stone artifact forms and groups of artifacts identified as assemblages do not fit squarely with what we have learned from both ethnographic sources and analyses of archaeological materials. We discuss this in terms of two fallacies. The first is the fallacy of the “desired end product” in stone artifact manufacture, which also includes our ability to recognize such end products. The second fallacy has to do with the notions that lithic assemblages represent simple accumulations of contemporary behaviors and the degree to which the composition of the depositional units we study reliably match the kinds of activities that took place. Although it is beyond the scope of this paper to offer a comprehensive set of new methodologies and theoretical perspectives to solve these problems, our goal here is to stress the importance of rethinking some of our most basic assumptions regarding the nature of lithic objects and how they become part of the archaeological record. Such a revision is needed if we want to be able to develop research questions that can be addressed with the data we have available to us.

The Lithic Assemblages of Xiaochangliang, Nihewan Basin: Implications for Early Pleistocene Hominin Behaviour in North China.

Xiaochangliang (XCL), located in the Nihewan Basin of North China, is a key archaeological locality for understanding the behavioural evolution of early humans. XCL dates to ca. 1.36 Ma, making it one of the earliest sites in Northeast Asia. Although XCL represents the first excavation of an Early Pleistocene site in the Nihewan Basin, identified and excavated in the 1970’s, the lithic assemblages have never been published in full detail. Here we describe the lithic assemblages from XCL, providing information on stone tool reduction techniques and the influence of raw materials on artefact manufacture. The XCL hominins used both bipolar and freehand reduction techniques to manufacture small flakes, some of which show retouch. Bipolar reduction methods at XCL were used more frequently than previously recognized. Comparison of XCL with other Early Pleistocene sites in the Nihewan Basin indicates the variable use of bipolar and freehand reduction methods, thereby indicating a flexible approach in the utilization of raw materials. The stone tools from XCL and the Nihewan sites are classifiable as Mode I lithic assemblages, readily distinguished from bifacial industries manufactured by hominins in Eastern Asia by ca. 800 ka.

X-ray computed microtomography and the identification of wood taxa selected for archaeological artefact manufacture: Rare examples from Australian contexts

Wooden artefacts are seldom recovered from Australian archaeological contexts, limiting our understanding of an important component of past Indigenous socio-economic systems. When recovered, the taxa used for construction are very rarely identified, and when undertaken, taxonomic identifications are generally unsubstantiated. For wood taxa to be identified, the microscopic elements of the xylem structure need to be observed and described from three planes. Conventional microscopy methods require physical sectioning, which is a complex, time-consuming process, whereas X-ray computed microtomography is non-invasive and expeditious. Here we describe the use of X-ray microtomography to identify the material of two wooden implements, the negative component of a fire drill and an artefact fragment, both recovered from Riwi cave in the southern Kimberley of Western Australia. By drawing on archaeobotanical analyses conducted at Riwi cave (wood charcoal and other macrobotanical remains), we are able to illustrate that the past inhabitants of Riwi selected certain woods for specific purposes within the last 1000years of occupation at the site.

Excavating ethnographic collections: negotiations and cross-cultural exchange in Papua New Guinea

ABSTRACTAs the product of negotiated exchanges between indigenous groups and outsiders, ethnographic collections offer a rich source of information about colonial cultures. Focusing on museum collections from Central Province, Papua New Guinea, we show how archaeological analyses of assemblages reveal strategies used by indigenous groups to benefit from their interactions with outsiders. In particular, examples of (1) attracting contact, (2) asserting identity, (3) withholding access to social spheres and (4) expelling dangerous objects are discussed. Ethnographic objects also reveal that small-scale, local communities were highly concerned to preserve their unique identity, which was threatened by simple dichotomies created through the colonial process. Assertion of variability is witnessed through the invention of new object forms and decorations together with the maintenance of traditional practices of artefact manufacture and use.

Arboreal archaeology and early Navajo land use

Arboreal archaeology is the use of tree-ring data to examine past human exploitation of forest resources. Arboreal archaeology can identify how and when past groups procured wood for artifact manufacture, medicine, fuel, and construction timbers. More importantly, dendroarchaeological sampling of these non-site resources can significantly enhance our understanding of past land use patterns. This research shows the utility of the arboreal archaeological record in understanding early Navajo land use in northwestern New Mexico, USA, and suggests archaeologists should promote wider application of the research on these endangered parts of the archaeological record.

Late Pleistocene-Holocene shoreline reconstruction and human exploitation of molluscan resources in northern Pieria, Macedonia, Greece

This study presents new stratigraphic, sedimentological, pedological dating and macro- and micro-fauna data, in order to reconstruct late Pleistocene and Holocene landscapes and shorelines of northern Pieria, northern Greece, and to discuss human exploitation of coastal environments. At the end of the Pleistocene, coastal Pieria formed part of the broad coastal plain that extended from northern Anatolia to Thessaly. Holocene marine transgression flooded the Pleistocene terrain and by the Early-Middle Neolithic (5870/5690-5720/5610BCE) brackish water reached the Korinos area. A relatively shallow marine embayment was eventually established and the shoreline was at least 3.5km west of its present position. Massive Final Neolithic alluviation (4339/3999–4039/3775BCE) resulted in marine regression and the building up of a sand barrier. An open, brackish lagoon occupied a large part of the study area at least since the Early Bronze Age (3090–2880/2870BCE). By the Late Bronze Age (1740/1505–1520/1254BCE) renewed alluviation resulted in a second phase of sea regression and the creation of marshes at the edges of the lagoon. Alluvial sediments and intercalated palaeosols cap the marine/lagoon/marsh sequence and indicate a significant increase in sediment supply that started ca. 2000years ago and culminated during the Early Christian period (4th–6th century CE). Rapid shore progradation resulted in the creation of the modern coastal plain of Korinos. Archaeomalacological data indicate that prehistoric communities exploited intensively shallow aquatic environments for food and artefact manufacture. Specialisation in the gathering of the brackish mollusc Cerastoderma glaucum (the common cockle) persisted for at least 6000years (from the Early Neolithic to the Early Iron Age), thus becoming a regional culinary tradition. Although attitudes towards molluscs were originally (7th-6th mil. BCE) shaped by natural availability and proximity to shell sources, substantial residual variability from the Late Neolithic (late 6th–early 5th mil. BCE) onwards, suggesting local preferences in food and material culture, can be attributed to cultural choices and highlights the complexity of human/environment interactions.

Estudio de la inversión de energía aplicada en la manufactura de instrumentos líticos recuperados en la costa rionegrina del golfo San Matías (Argentina) a lo largo del Holoceno medio y tardío [Study of the energy investment applied in the manufacture...

Estudio de la inversión de energía aplicada en la manufactura de instrumentos líticos recuperados en la costa rionegrina del golfo San Matías (Argentina) a lo largo del Holoceno medio y tardío [Study of the energy investment applied in the manufacture...

Direct analysis in real time-mass spectroscopy for identification of red dye colourants in Paracas Necropolis Textiles

The Paracas Necropolis on the south coast of Peru is renowned for the elaborate funerary bundles recovered from that dry sandy region. These bundles contained the remains of male leaders within the Paracas communities surrounded by multiple layers of plain cloth and garments with embroidered designs. The methods and materials used in dyeing the yarns used to embellish these ancient fabrics are still not well understood, and the research presented herein seeks to add to that body of knowledge. To investigate the sources of dye colourants in samples from Paracas Necropolis textiles, we applied direct analysis in real time–time-of-flight mass spectrometry (DART-MS). This new methodology has both advantages (analyses are rapid and require little or no sample preparation) and disadvantages (e.g. inability to identify intact carminic acid) compared to existing ones used in the analysis of dye colourants. Direct analysis in real time mass spectra were collected on chemical standards, botanical materials and comparative reference samples prepared with Relbunium roots and cochineal insects (Dactylopius sp.), and the results are compared to red fibres obtained from several different textiles within two different funerary bundles from the Museo Nacional de Arqueología Antropología e Historia in Lima, Peru. The results from the DART-MS analysis of these red fibres show that the compounds present are consistent with the presence of dye obtained from Relbunium species, and cochineal insects were not used to colour these fibres.Statement of significance DART-MS is an efficient and effective method to identify red colourant composition in small samples of fibres removed from archaeological textiles. Of significant note is the ability to differentiate isomers present in Relbunium and other anthraquinone dyes. Colourants in Relbunium are readily distinguished. Although a component of carminic acid from cochineal is less reliably positively identified by DART-MS, it is possible to use a simple extraction and ionization method to confirm or exclude the presence of carminic acid. Relbunium and cochineal are known to have been used in Paracas textiles. Not only does DART-MS aid in identification of colourants using small amounts of material and without significant sample preparation, the information can be used to distinguish fibres that were prepared differently thus indicating past knowledge of dyeing technology. The information can also aid in separating periods of artefact manufacture, and guide development of a conservation strategy.

Propuesta clasificatoria para las materias primas líticas en Patagonia (Argentina)

Lithic remains are the most preserved materials in the archaeological record. In Patagonia, lithic technology research has a long history. However, there is not a general agreement among scholars regarding a common denomination of lithic raw materials suitable for artifact manufacture. This result in a widely known problem among lithic analysts: a difficulty to compare several study areas or even investigations in the same area conducted by different colleagues with diverse criteria. This paper proposes a macroscopic classification scheme for lithic raw materials suitable for the manufacture of artifacts by flaking and pecking, grinding and polishing from Patagonia. This study starts with an exhaustive literature review and is based on permanent interaction with geologists specialized in mineralogy and petrography. Additionally, we consulted archaeologists working in Patagonia. Therefore, this paper proposes a scheme including all mineral and rock types cited in the consulted literature, their genetic classification, approaches for their identification, and previously used equivalent terms.

Lithic resource management in mountain environments: The Andean sector of Tierra Del Fuego

Lithic resource management is one of the most important variables for the analysis of technological organization in hunter-gatherer societies. As essential resources for the manufacturing of tools that are themselves involved in processing and consumption of other types of resources, lithic raw materials constitute the starting point of all production processes. Although well studied in different environments, lithic resource management is difficult to analyze in mountain contexts, especially due to problems of site formation and archaeological visibility. In this paper, we present the research strategies adopted in order to study lithic resource management in mountains and piedmont areas in the Andean sector of Tierra del Fuego.We carried out a program of systematic surveys in different landscapes according to the methodology of distributional analysis and considering two different perspectives: location and characterization of raw material sources, and evaluation of land occupation by hunter-gatherer societies. Lithic materials were studied following a techno-functional perspective that includes the interrelated study of technology (raw materials and manufacturing techniques) and use wear (microscopic analysis). Then, results were confronted with those of excavated sites, which are located in different landscapes and landscape units and have different functionalities, such as campsites, ceremonial sites, etc. The results obtained confirm that local materials from secondary sources were the most used, although there are also some allochtonous good quality rocks, coming from sources located at different distances.This research let us adjust field methods for surveys in wooded mountain environments, as well as discuss some more general aspects regarding the exploitation of lithic resources in mountain regions. These landscapes may seem, at a first glance, as ideal provision places for hunter-gatherers because of abundance of lithic materials. However, these are not always available in terms of visibility and accessibility; on the other hand, not all rocks can be used for the manufacture of all types of tools. We can then propose that hunter-gatherer societies that highly depend on lithic resources seek to exploit outcrops where visibility and accessibility are high, but that also search for a variety of raw materials with different characteristics that allow manufacturing of different artifacts. From these data, it is possible to discuss mobility, seasonality and interaction of hunter-gatherer groups.

Processing technology for the objects of mobile art in the Upper Paleolithic of Siberia (the Malta site)

Investigation of the technological aspects of the processing of the Siberian collection of animal materials opens up new possibilities for the historical and cultural reconstructions of archaeological materials. The complete collection of processed ivory reflecting technological cycles is shown in single sites of the Classical stage of the Upper Paleolithic in Siberia (Malta, Ust-Cova, Afontova Gora, Listvenka, and Jansky). Materials of animal origin from the collection of Malta (especially ivory) are suitable for their preservation for microscopic analysis. The Malta-site is the main archaeological site of the Upper Paleolithic in Siberia (dated near 19,000–23,000 years BP). The collection is represented by the more than 650 decorated objects of ivory, antler, and bone. A detailed study of the most part of the collection stored in the State Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg) has established the general steps of processing the ivory, antler, and bone articles at the time of Siberian's Upper Paleolithic. Mobile art of Malta is well known in the scientific and popular press, but our study differs from other studies. The work is based on a set of morphological data, technical, use wear analyzes and experiment. The collection includes the sculptures of people, birds, fish, and animals as well as ornamented plates, rods, and personal ornaments. The microscopic analysis allows one to systematize the process of shape formation, the processing, and the ornamentation of Paleolithic sculptures and personal ornamentations of Malta. In addition, we propose certain stable sets of tools and techniques used to work with each of the selected morphological types of Paleolithic sculpture. We have identified all steps of manufacturing the mobile art pieces including flaking, drilling, carving, grinding, and polishing. A number of tools were employed for the manufacture of artifacts: hammer stones, retouches, bow-shaped drills, perforators, boring, different kinds of burins and knives, reamers, engravers, grinding tablets, and scrapers. The basic tools that were involved in forming shape were planer knives and some variants of scrapers. Burins and knives were employed to make decorative elements. According our opinion, In Malta's tool kit were: the bow-shaped drills, perforators, and burins, as well as different kind of burins were used for drilling the holes and forming of the ornamental elements. The different types of abrasives were also used.

Critical Review of Brown and Thomas "The First New Zealanders? An Alternative Interpretation of the Stable Isotope Data from Wairau Bar".

Critical Review of Brown and Thomas "The First New Zealanders? An Alternative Interpretation of the Stable Isotope Data from Wairau Bar".

Paleochannels and Patches: A Geoarchaeological Assessment of Silcrete Sources in the Cumberland Plain, Eastern Australia

Although Aboriginal occupation dates to the Pleistocene, silcrete artifacts only begin to dominate archaeological sites found in the Cumberland Plain of western Sydney, eastern Australia, during the mid‐late Holocene. These assemblages routinely include large numbers of backed artifacts. A geoarchaeological survey of five potential silcrete source areas found that silcrete is irregularly distributed along ridgelines within gravel patches that represent paleochannel remnants. Thus, particular parts of the landscape, dictated by the geological history, were more likely to be targeted for stone procurement. The quality of silcrete differs between and within the sources due to variations in grain‐size, degree of silicification, and presence of inclusions/fractures, as well as the destructive influence of bush fires on exposed cobbles, resulting in an overall low abundance of high‐quality silcrete across the Cumberland Plain. Furthermore, a rind or chalky weathering cortex on many cobbles means that testing was required to assess the internal raw material quality. The difficulty in locating suitable raw material for artifact manufacture meant that when good silcrete sources were found, they were heavily targeted. This contextual information provides an essential backdrop in which to understand the archaeology of the Cumberland Plain and broader patterns of landscape use.

The obsidian of Southern Sinaloa: New evidence of Aztatlan networks through PIXE

This study presents an investigation of 19 obsidian artifacts recovered from Southern Sinaloa, as well as obsidian samples recovered from the deposits at Teuchitlán and La Joya (both in Jalisco State) and at Abasolo (Guanajuato). Chemical analyses were carried out by means of PIXE (proton induced X-ray emission), obtaining the concentration of the following elements: sodium, magnesium, aluminum, silicon, chlorine, potassium, calcium, titanium, manganese, iron, zinc, arsenic, rubidium, yttrium, and zirconium. The statistical analysis of the results, together with data from the literature, allowed for an identification of the obsidian deposits used in the manufacture of pre-Hispanic artifacts, namely: Las Navajas-2 (Nayarit), Teuchitlán (Jalisco), Sierra de Pachuca (Hidalgo), and Abasolo (Guanajuato). The first deposit mentioned was most popular in Southern Sinaloa, though the range of sources went all the way from relatively nearby ones, like those around the Tequila volcano, to the Bajío region and Central Mesoamerica. This study proposes the obsidian trading routes that could have reached Southern Sinaloa.

Composition and microstructure of Roman metallic artefacts of Southwestern Iberian Peninsula

The Roman invasion introduces new alloys and metallurgical practices in Iberian Peninsula. The southwestern end of this region has many evidences of connections with the Roman World, but there are no studies about the manufacture and use of copper-based artefacts during this period. Therefore, a set of about 20 ornaments, tools and small attachments recovered at the Roman sites of Monte Moliao and Cidade das Rosas was studied by an analytical approach combining micro-EDXRF, optical microscopy, SEM–EDS and Vickers microhardness testing. The artefact composition shows a good correlation with function, namely pure copper for nails and rivets, low-tin bronze (2–6 wt% Sn) for basic tools, high-tin bronze (14 wt% Sn) for fibulae and high-lead bronze (19 wt% Pb) for a decorated jug handle. The manufacture also depends on function because most artefacts were subjected to thermomechanical processing, except the ornaments that would not benefit from post-casting work. Brass and gunmetal were only present in the site with a later chronology. A metallurgy visibly ruled by economical, aesthetical and technological concerns reinforces the evidences about the total integration of Southwestern Iberian Peninsula in the Roman World, but further studies will be essential to determine the evolution of copper-based alloys in Lusitania under Roman influence.

Discarding the evidence: The place of natural resources stewardship in the creation of the Peel Island Lazaret Midden, Moreton Bay, southeast Queensland

Middens are created from the discard of natural resources, collected by people for consumptive purposes: mainly subsistence, but also for artefact manufacture (e.g. stone, bone and shell artefacts); warmth and/or shelter (e.g. firewood [charcoal] and timber windbreaks); or for ceremony. Taphonomic processes act on the discarded cultural materials to modify the evidence originally deposited by the creators of the archaeological site as a result of consumptive behaviour.There is nothing particularly new or unusual in this description of the accumulation of midden material. Interpretations of midden deposits in the literature are based around the interaction between consumptive behaviour and taphonomy. However, all archaeological sites also reflect a process other than consumption and taphonomy: discard.In this paper, we argue that a focus on consumption and taphonomy that ignores discard activity may overlook an important aspect of site creation. Using the Peel Island Lazaret Midden as a case study, we demonstrate that an understanding of past discard patterns may generate new understandings of human behaviour as represented in midden deposits. In particular, we argue that the formation of the Peel Island Lazaret Midden is due as much to the creation and stewardship of oyster beds, and to the consequent cultural materials that did not find their way into the midden, as artificial to the collection of shellfish for food consumption.

Mammoth ivory technologies in the Upper Palaeolithic: a case study based on the materials from Yana RHS, Northern Yana-Indighirka lowland, Arctic Siberia

Processing of mammoth ivory and manufacturing of diverse ivory artefacts is widely recognized as one of the most important characteristics of the material culture of ancient humans. These technological skills reach their greatest extent and development shortly before the Last Glacial Maximum but are recognizable until the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary across Northern Eurasia in all areas populated by mammoths and humans. As a cultural phenomenon, ivory working is intriguing with respect to flaking technology and especially the production of long ivory shafts. Technological operations in the Upper Palaeolithic of Northern Eurasia have been closely influenced, on the one hand, by the size and shape of the desirable final product and, on the other, by knowledge of raw material properties. Study of the morphology of the artefactual material from the Yana site complex in Arctic Siberia convincingly reveals the technological processes involved. Several technological cycles (chaînes opératoires) can be recognized, including the manufacture of long ivory shafts by exfoliation and wedging. The Yana ivory technology dates roughly to 28,000 bp in radiocarbon years.

Loma de los Pedernales, a local raw material source in the North of Pampa Seca, Argentina

This paper presents archaeological research carried out in the archaeological micro-region of Santa Paz. This is part of a wider area being researched by the authors that covers a vast area (25,700 km2) in southern Córdoba and San Luis provinces in Argentina and belongs to the geographical sub-region of Pampa Seca (North part). We also describe microscopic petrographic studies carried out to compare the stones used to manufacture a set of lithic tools with those rock clasts from a local source detected during the research. The results allow us to describe and compare the main petrographic characteristics of tools and clasts of raw material recovered during the survey. Its usage by local hunter gatherer groups suggests implications about raw material circulation and home ranges in the northern Pampa region during the Holocene. The distributions of water and high-quality stones for the manufacture of archaeological artifacts were critical factors that directly influenced hunter–gatherer groups mobility, settlements, and technological choices. Recent surveys, aimed to create a Regional Lithic Resources Base, in addition to the lithic material diversity, indicate that this area served as a border zone for the Pampean macro-region with Cuyo and Sierras Centrales (Córdoba and San Luis provinces).