Archaeological Issues Research Articles

Modern Colonialism, Eurocentrism and Historical Archaeology: Some Engendered Thoughts

In this article, we would like to share some thoughts related to the values and principles implemented by archaeologists when bringing ‘the other’ into focus. We situate our reflections within the archaeology of modern colonialism, and revisit some aspects related to one of the most vibrant issues in historical archaeology: Eurocentrism. It is our understanding that ‘de-Eurocentring’ the discipline not only requires introducing the disenfranchised as new agents, but also questioning the most profound logics by which narratives of the past have been written. We focus on the idea of history as change, and on the notion of social continuity from a feminist standpoint. We have noticed that certain accounts of colonial situations, even those with the opposite intention, may project the prevailing Western male way of being while trying to explain past social and personal dynamics, thus blurring ontological diversity and unwittingly reinforcing the Eurocentrism we are trying to avoid.

Messianic Figures in the Late Period of Majapahit: An Anthropological Approach in Historical Archaeology Issues

Messianic Figures in the Late Period of Majapahit: An Anthropological Approach in Historical Archaeology Issues

Magnetostratigraphic dating of the Linyi Fauna and implications for sequencing the mammalian faunas on the Chinese Loess Plateau

AbstractThe Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) in North China is an important terrestrial archive that witnessed the environmental changes and mammal and early human evolution in Asia over the past 2.6 Ma. Establishing precise ages for the Pleistocene faunas on the CLP is critical for better understanding of these environmental, biological, and archaeological issues. Here we report a new magnetostratigraphic record that places age constraints on the Linyi Fauna on the southeastern CLP. Our investigated 170-m-thick Linyi section mainly consists of two portions: (1) an overlying eolian Quaternary loess-paleosol sequence and (2) underlying fluvial-lacustrine sand and silty clay. Paleomagnetic results suggest that the composite section records the Brunhes chron, Jaramillo and Olduvai subchrons, and successive reverse polarity portions of the intervening Matuyama chron. The Linyi Fauna is located between Jaramillo and Olduvai subchrons in the fluvial-lacustrine interval, with an estimated age of ~1.5–1.6 Ma. Combining previously dated faunas, we establish a Pleistocene magnetochronology spanning from 2.54 to 0.65 Ma for the faunas on the CLP.

Collection as (Re)assemblage: refreshing museum archaeology

ABSTRACTA number of recent publications, including a recent special issue of World Archaeology, have engaged with museum collections as assemblages that can be studied productively. This paper attempts to refigure ‘collection’ and ‘assemblage’ as action nouns, in order to explore the role these processes can have in generating understandings of the past, especially within museum settings. While nineteenth-century projects involving collecting and assemblage contributed fundamental disciplinary frameworks to archaeology, museums have increasingly been regarded as institutions exclusively focused on the archival storage of excavated material, and the display of archaeological knowledge generated through fieldwork. This paper makes the case that a creative and reflective reengagement with collection, as a process of assemblage and reassemblage, including in forms made possible by electronic media, has the potential to refresh museum archaeology for the twenty-first century, realigning it with other archaeological practices.

Introduction

Introduction

Beyond Antiquarianism: A Review of Current Theoretical Issues in German-speaking Prehistoric Archaeology - ADDENDUM

In the above mentioned article (Hofmann and Stockhammer 2017) there was an asterisk proceeding ‘Kerstin P. Hofmann’, which has now been moved to proceed ‘Philipp W. Stockhammer’ to indicate that both authors are corresponding authors for this article.

Introduction: The Mardi Gras Shipwreck Project: The Story of an Early Nineteenth-Century Wooden-Hulled Sailing Ship

The story of the Mardi Gras Shipwreck is multifaceted and complex. From the vessel’s mysterious demise as it slipped beneath the waves of the Gulf of Mexico to its initial discovery and archaeologically controlled excavation, the Mardi Gras Shipwreck is a fascinating example of the types of submerged archaeological resources that exist in the Gulf of Mexico. The Mardi Gras Shipwreck Project, the subject of this thematic issue of Historical Archaeology, is an excellent example of how historical archaeology can promote the understanding of the early 19th-century maritime culture and history of the Gulf of Mexico. Prior to the work conducted at the Mardi Gras Shipwreck site, formal archaeological excavations of a deep-water shipwreck in North American waters had not occurred. Today, more than nine years after the conclusion of fieldwork, the analysis and interpretation of the shipwreck and its archaeological assemblage continues. The circumstances by which the 2007 archaeological investigation occurred are a tale of challenges and successes. The project itself is a direct result of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA), as amended, and the Section 106 compliance review and the regulations promulgated within the historic preservation program of the former Minerals Management Service.

Starożytności zagraniczne na łamach „Tygodnika Ilustrowanego” do 1914 roku

„Tygodnik Ilustrowany” was one of the most important magazines in Warsaw in the 2nd half of nineteenth century. From the first issues of the magazine there is information about the national Antiquities. The reports of foreign Antiquities began to appear in the 2nd half of 1860s, and since then their number is steadily increasing. Most texts describing the discovery and ancient monuments were in the 1880s. Individual articles have appeared in the 1890s. At the beginning of the twentieth century once again increased the number of texts about Antiquities. Archaeological issues are not just confined to the news about the excavations. In „Tygodnik” placed biographies of scholars and collectors. Informed about exhibitions and museums that collect artifacts from the ancient times. Has also been reported same artifacts. There were also reprints articles in foreign languages. They were in the section „Artykuly treści naukowej, z innych piśmiennictw czerpane”. Small foreign reports of findings were published in „Ze świata obcego” edited by Mścislawa Edgara Trepke (Toporczyka), and later in the „Kronika Powszechna”. At this time the authors of the articles represented a variety of disciplines.

The IFAO Radiocarbon Laboratory: A Status Report

AbstractThe Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale (IFAO) in Cairo is one of the major French research centers abroad. It is placed under the aegis of the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research and manages an archaeometry department that features laboratories for three units of research: conservation, material studies, and radiocarbon (14C). The 14C laboratory was founded in 2006 to offer the possibility of 14C dating in Egypt. It is totally devoted to archaeological issues, uses the conventional liquid scintillation counting (LSC) method, and is equipped with two benzene synthesis lines. This paper reports on the performances and quality-control procedures of the IFAO 14C laboratory, both from the perspective of the chemical syntheses and from the radiometric measurements (background dispersion, standards, intercomparison programs). It shows how this lab occupies a privileged position to develop interdisciplinary studies of Egyptian chronology and to offer high-standard competencies to the IFAO scientific research programs. Finally, it raises the question of the future perspectives of the laboratory.

Towards a Chronology of the Jerzmanowician—a New Series of Radiocarbon Dates from Nietoperzowa Cave (Poland)

The period around 50 000–35 000 years ago constitutes one of the most debated research issues in European archaeology of the Palaeolithic. In this time period, the transition from the Middle to the Upper Palaeolithic took place. Locally, in different areas of Europe, this shift is recorded in so‐called transitional assemblages. The eastern fringe of these transitional assemblages is represented by the Jerzmanowician, the unit described on the basis of a lithic assemblage from Nietoperzowa Cave (Poland). The unit is a part of a European transitional complex called the Lincombian–Ranisian–Jerzmanowician. Up to now, the radiocarbon dates presented in the literature have only allowed us to set the age of the Jerzmanowician at c.40 000–45 000 ka cal bp. In this study, we present 42 new radiocarbon dates. We attempt to set the archaeological record of the Jerzmanowician from Nietoperzowa Cave in an accurate chronological framework, based on Bayesian statistical processing of radiocarbon dates. We conclude that the lower boundary of layer 6 in Nietoperzowa Cave can be statistically located in the range 44 000–42 000 cal bp and the upper limit for the Jerzmanowician is estimated to c.31 000 cal bp. New data raises a question on the correlation with upper layer 4. In the light of the new chronology, the attribution of the archaeological inventory from layer 4 to the Jerzmanowician seems questionable.

Beyond antiquarianism. A review of current theoretical issues in German-speaking prehistoric archaeology

AbstractWhereas German-speaking archaeology (GSA) has long been understood as generally uninterested in theoretical debates, the situation has taken a most interesting development since the year 2000. Archaeologists tried to escape the general decline of the small university disciplines by getting more and more involved in the overarching research questions of cultural studies and in large-scale collaborative projects. The necessity of integrating a clear theoretical and methodological approach for a successful proposal and the subsequent research changed the significance of theoretical discussions. As a consequence, theme-oriented research has developed which aims at addressing overarching themes in the cultural and social sciences. We have chosen five of the most prominent themes in German-speaking archaeology – self-reflexivity, identities, space, cultural encounter and knowledge transfer – as well as material culture, and shed light on their theoretical conceptualization and methodological implementation in recent publications. Despite the lack of dominant schools of thinking, its strong rootedness in the evaluation of empirical sources, and its close link to the discipline of history, current GSA can contribute to the overall theoretical discourse of the discipline.

Archaeological Thinking: How to Make Sense of the Past

Archaeological Thinking: How to Make Sense of the Past

Environmental Microbial Forensics and Archaeology of Past Pandemics.

The development of paleomicrobiology with new molecular techniques such as metagenomics is revolutionizing our knowledge of microbial evolution in human history. The study of microbial agents that are concomitantly active in the same biological environment makes it possible to obtain a picture of the complex interrelations among the different pathogens and gives us the perspective to understand the microecosystem of ancient times. This research acts as a bridge between disciplines such as archaeology, biology, and medicine, and the development of paleomicrobiology forces archaeology to broaden and update its methods. This chapter addresses the archaeological issues related to the identification of cemeteries from epidemic catastrophes (typology of burials, stratigraphy, topography, paleodemography) and the issues related to the sampling of human remains for biomolecular analysis. Developments in the field of paleomicrobiology are described with the example of the plague. Because of its powerful interdisciplinary features, the paleomicrobiological study of Yersinia pestis is an extremely interesting field, in which paleomicrobiology, historical research, and archeology are closely related, and it has important implications for the current dynamics of epidemiology.

The Craft Settings in Kainua-Marzabotto: Places and Archaeological Issues

Excavations in the Etruscan city of Marzabotto, the ancient Kainua, have brought to light a well-developed production structure over time which, especially for the Etruscan world, makes Marzabotto an especially favourable, paradigmatic context for the study of this particular aspect. Thanks to the contributions from the most recent investigations, together with the revision of older excavation data, this theme has in recent years benefitted from a series of updated considerations. The quality and variety of the data collected permits analyses from multiple points of view, not only on an architectural and urban planning level, but also on social, economic and political-institutional levels.

Women warriors as personifications of Armenia in Classical Antiquity

The problem of personification is one of the topical issues in art history and archaeology. Some of the most interesting studies on classical art in the recent decades have focused on personifications and allegories of different nations and ethnic groups. Personifications were popular in the art of ancient Greece and Rome, and later, they were used in the early Eastern Christian art and in the monuments of those countries of the Hellenistic world where traditions of ancient culture continued to live.

Aerial and Remote Sensing Archaeology

New techniques and methodological procedures, which would allow at a short time and at low cost for the identification of a new archaeological site, were always in the interest of archaeologists. In this paper, aerial and remote sensing archaeology issues will be analyzed, both as measuring tools for the documentation of existing archaeological structures as well as tools of archaeology prospection, which are based on the appearance of the reflection of covered structures in images, i.e. the so-called marks.

Public Archaeology 2.0: Facilitating engagement with Twitter

Public archaeology increases public awareness of archaeological issues and their practical applications to modern social concerns. Classroom visits, hands-on activities, site tours, and other events give archaeologists the opportunity to engage the public and transfer knowledge through face-to-face interaction. However, engagement ends at the conclusion of the event, leaving the audience with an incomplete understanding of the subject. Twitter, a social media application, transcends these spatial and temporal limitations by allowing sustained multi-directional communication among archaeologists, their audience and others who never attended the original event. However, there are problems with assessing the success of public archaeology projects and the presentation format differs dramatically from traditional forms of publication.

Archaeomagnetism, Radiocarbon Dating, and the Problem of Circular Reasoning in Chronological Debates: A Reply to Stillinger et al. 2016

In the June 2016 issue of Near Eastern Archaeology, Michele D. Stillinger, James W. Hardin, Joshua M. Feinberg, and Jeffrey A. Blakely published a paper entitled “Archaeomagnetism as a Complementary Dating Technique to Address the Iron Age Chronology Debate in the Levant” (Stillinger et al. 2016) in which the authors argue that archaeomagnetism “can provide a complementary dating tool to build a stronger, more robust chronology for the Iron Age” (90). The authors suggest here that their paper is overly optimistic regarding the potential of archaeomagnetism as a means for refining the Iron Age chronology of the Levant. Further, their approach is in fact based on circular reasoning, seriously constraining the potential use of this dating methodology. Despite the fact that other absolute dating techniques would be highly desirable for providing absolute (calendrical) dates for the Iron Age, the authors argue that radiocarbon dating and Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon determinations will remain the most useful and reliable dating methodology in the foreseeable future.

On the archaeological culture and related issues

Abstract Archaeological culture is a fundamental concept of archaeology, and an essential subject of theoretical thinking. In China, the study of cultures has been a central subject of archaeological research, especially that of the Neolithic Age and the Xia-Shang-Zhou Period. Since the 1980s, however, cultural sequence has been established in most regions of China, and all sorts of scientific techniques and archaeological theories have been extensively employed in archaeology; should we continue to take archaeological cultures as a central subject of research? If yes, how can we carry on the research in line with the new developments? Such questions must be addressed from both the theoretical and practical perspectives. Based on personal observation of Chinese archaeology, the author would present new thoughts on the concept of culture and related issues.

Historic and Archaeological Research of Post-Mongols and Cossacks Times in Ukraine

Study of the 14th—17th century sites remains to be a problem issue in home archaeology; the fact that it’s underdeveloped is explained by a series of objective and subjective reasons of the Soviet past, including the «Ukrainian bourgeois nationalism struggle», and by the scholars’ disinterest in the study of «non-archaeological period». Therefore, the historians-mediaevalists studying the written sources reached the higher qualitative standard in their developments, in comparison with the archaeologists. Nevertheless, various archaeological material is already accumulated today, and still is being accumulated; it is referred to the post-Mongols and the Cossacks times and should be comprehensively analyzed and certainly be presented in form of archaeological map. Solving of this matter in future will allow developing into other urgent issues in studying the process of development of Ukrainian nation’s material culture in the Late Mediaeval and the Early Modern Periods.