Part II, An Archaeological Evaluation of the Method

1960 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 523-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clifford Evans ◽  
Betty J. Meggers
Keyword(s):  
Present State ◽  
Geographical Area ◽  
Accurate Method ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Tropical Region ◽  
Historical Records ◽  
Raw Data ◽  
Hydration Rate ◽  
Principal Source ◽  
Technical Factors

AbstractDating archaeological sites, cultures or phases by the obsidian method is still experimental, but shows promise provided the archaeologists understand the present limitations. Two categories of factors cause possible dating errors: the technical or geological aspect discussed by Friedman and Smith, and the archaeological context. For the establishment of valid rates of hydration and for the archaeological evaluation of the method, preferred samples are those datable by independent means, such as radiocarbon, dendrochronology, historical records, rates of refuse accumulation, contemporary calendars, or correlated positively with complexes or seriated sequences that are so dated. A few samples used in the preliminary part of the study do not meet these rigid standards and make the method look poorer than it is, but a table contains the raw data on all specimens tested to date. The principal source of potential error at our present state of knowledge is the frequency with which artifacts of older manufacture were re-used by a younger (more recent) culture. Evaluations of the data presented in the table and most of the results are discussed by geographical area. For the tropical region where the annual temperature range is minimal and where large obsidian samples from village refuse are available, the hydration rate appears to be a fairly accurate method of dating. Lack of conformity of obsidian dates with archaeological dates for the Maya region and the Southwest, however, emphasizes the need for further research using larger series of artifacts and for a continued examination of technical factors. Objects of modern manufacture can be identified with little difficulty, offering a simple means of detecting fakes or copies.

An Initial Consideration of Obsidian Procurement and Exchange in Prehispanic Ecuador

1994 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 228-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L. Burger ◽  
Frank Asaro ◽  
Helen V. Michel ◽  
Fred H. Stross ◽  
Ernesto Salazar
Keyword(s):  
Neutron Activation Analysis ◽  
Activation Analysis ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Southern Ecuador ◽  
Principal Source ◽  
Santa Elena

We have examined the role of long-distance trade in Prehispanic Ecuador using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and neutron-activation analysis (NAA) of obsidian artifacts from the archaeological sites of El Inga, Chobshi Cave and Site OGSE-46 on the Santa Elena Peninsula. Results indicate that two geological sources east of Quito, Yanaurco-Quiscatola and Mullumica, were the principal source of raw obsidian at these sites. We situate our findings within a broader archaeological context through a review of the literature and a discussion of an earlier provenience study undertaken by us. We express concerns about recent attempts to apply ethnohistoric models to early periods of Ecuadorian prehistory, and argue that despite early exploitation of the principal obsidian sources, long-distance trade in obsidian was initiated at a relatively late date and remained at a surprisingly low level in southern Ecuador during most of prehistory.

Observations on the Butchering Technics of Some Aboriginal Peoples Numbers 7, 8, and 9

1955 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodore E. White
Keyword(s):  
South Dakota ◽  
North Dakota ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Aboriginal Peoples ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
American Antiquity ◽  
Raw Data ◽  
Large Animals

The Following 3 papers continue a series of brief articles on this subject appearing from time to time in American Antiquity (Vols. 17, 19). Each paper presents a group of raw data with some brief suggestions for their interpretation. All but one are the result of the study of materials recovered from archaeological sites excavated by the River Basin Surveys program of archaeological salvage in the Missouri Basin. That one (No. 6) dealt with an elk specimen from Michigan. Paper Number 1 was concerned with the analysis of the antelope bone from 2 sites in the Angostura Reservoir, South Dakota. Number 2 dealt with the bison bone from 2 earth-lodge villages sites in the Oahe Reservoir near Pierre, South Dakota. Number 3 compared the use of small and large animals as food in one site in the Garrison Reservoir, North Dakota. Number 4 was a comparison of the treatment of bison bone from 3 earth-lodge villages, 2 in Oahe Reservoir and one in Garrison Reservoir.

scholarly journals A Zooarchaeological and Molecular Assessment of Ancient Chicken Remains from Russia

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (35) ◽  
pp. 216-231
Author(s):  
Ophélie Lebrasseur ◽  
◽  
Dilyara N. Shaymuratova ◽  
Arthur O. Askeyev ◽  
Gulshat Sh. Asylgaraeva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
18Th Century ◽  
Geographical Area ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Leningrad Region ◽  
Archaeological Remains ◽  
Direct Introduction ◽  
Genetic Studies ◽  
The North ◽  
Pskov Region ◽  
Molecular Assessment

We here conduct ancient DNA analyses on 58 chicken bones from 15 archaeological sites (from the 9th to the 18th century AD) across the Volga region, the Leningrad region, the Pskov region, and the north of the Krasnoyarsk region to investigate genetic diversity of past chicken populations within this geographical area. We find all samples belong to sub-haplogroup E1, ubiquitous throughout the world and dominant in Europe, Africa and the Americas. This supports an introduction of chickens from the west, rather than a direct introduction from East Asia. Our study also demonstrates good endogenous DNA content, confirming species identification and sex of the individuals, thus highlighting the potential of genetic studies on archaeological remains in that region.

The Paracas Society of Prehispanic Peru

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry Tantaleán
Keyword(s):  
Social Space ◽  
Geographical Area ◽  
Central Place ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Political Organizations ◽  
Religious Ideology ◽  
Peruvian Coast ◽  
The Social ◽  
Large Geographical Area ◽  
Religious Iconography

Paracas society spread over a large geographical area on the southern Peruvian coast between 800 bce and 200 bce. Unlike an “archaeological culture” that has uniform economy, politics, and ideology and is integrated under a single political structure, the Paracas phenomenon was a series of communities adopting different forms of economic and political organizations that were, nevertheless, economically linked and sharing the same religious ideology. The social mechanisms by which all these communities and political entities were linked included exchange, ritual, and religion, which allowed them to share a series of artifacts, social practices, rituals, and religious iconography. In each of the valleys, every entities, or group of communities, had their own architectural and artisanal features and were economically and politically autonomous. The famous archaeological sites associated with Cerro Colorado on the Paracas peninsula seem to have been more than a central place for Paracas society, a social space of integration in which the worship of ancestors stood out as an ideological and religious sustenance that connected communities and elites from different areas of the southern coast of Peru.

The Early Dynastic-Akkadian transition, Part 1. When did the Akkadian period begin?

Iraq ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 59 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Donald Matthews
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Social Structure ◽  
Present State ◽  
Reference Sequence ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Early Dynastic ◽  
First Empire ◽  
Administrative Innovations ◽  
Historical Periods ◽  
Southern Iraq

We may want to recognise an “Akkadian period” in archaeology for two reasons. A sequence of periods is used as a system of chronological reference, and the Akkadian period conventionally represents the time from 2334–2154 BC (Walker 1995, 234). Periods are also used to define fields of analysis in which studies of social structure or other synchronic investigations may be conducted. The Akkadian period is known as the “first empire” which saw major political and administrative innovations. In archaeology periods have to be defined from the changes in artefact types, so a concordance is needed between the historical and artefactual phases. During the last thirty years McG. Gibson has persistently addressed questions of chronology, and has made an especially important contribution to the chronology of the Akkadian period. A new article (Gibson and McMahon 1995) represents the present state of this issue, based on excavations in the Diyala and Hamrin regions, and in the vicinity of Nippur. Dr McMahon has subjected thousands of sherds from stratified occupation surfaces to statistical analysis, and publication of their distribution and comparanda is expected. The resulting pottery sequence, exhaustively constructed, and summarised in that article, will constitute the principal reference sequence for archaeological sites of this period in southern Iraq. In this article, while accepting the validity and importance of this achievement, I will examine how the Akkadian period should be defined and how pottery sequences should be calibrated with respect to historical periods. I will suggest that the Akkadian pottery should be calibrated by ultimate reference to the glyptic sequence, and that this results in a different dating for the strata in question.

The Ruins of Baalbek

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Wood
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Present State ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Great Influence ◽  
Human Geography ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Cornell University ◽  
Classical Architecture ◽  
Architectural Features

First published in the 1750s, The Ruins of Palmyra and The Ruins of Baalbek are a remarkable record of an expedition to the Levant by three antiquarians - Robert Wood, John Bouverie and James Dawkins - along with a draftsman, Giovanni Battista Borra. With over 100 engravings of the classical architecture of the two ancient cities of Palmyra and Baalbek, the volumes represent the earliest-known examples of monographs on archaeological sites. They were unique in providing systematic discussion of the sites’ physical and human geography alongside two kinds of pictorial evidence: views of the ancient sites in their then-present state and detailed plans, with measurements, of architectural features. This new approach was immediately copied by antiquarians in the later 18th century and also had great influence upon Neoclassical architecture in Britain, Europe and North America. This new edition features reproductions of all the engravings from the original publications and includes a new introduction by noted scholar, Benjamin Anderson (Cornell University, USA).

scholarly journals Catalogues of Stepped Pools and Stone Vessels

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rick Bonnie
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Raw Data ◽  
Field Surveys ◽  
Mediterranean Archaeology ◽  
Archaeological Excavations

<div>Dataset of: Rick Bonnie, Being Jewish in Galilee, 100-200 CE. An Archaeological Study, Studies in Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology, 11 (Turnhout: Brepols, 2019)</div><div><a href="http://www.brepols.net/Pages/ShowProduct.aspx?prod_id=IS-9782503555324-1">http://www.brepols.net/Pages/ShowProduct.aspx?prod_id=IS-9782503555324-1</a></div><div><br></div><div>This dataset lists, describes, and provides relevant bibliography to all known stepped pools in Galilee from the Hellenistic to Byzantine periods that have been exposed through archaeological excavations or field surveys and to all known archaeological sites in Galilee with evidence for stone vessels. The dataset is available in both PDF and CSV format. The PDF file provides a detailed description of and bibliography for each stepped pool. The CSV file contains the raw data that can be easily imported into spreadsheets and databases.</div>

scholarly journals Instrukcja sporządzania skorowidzów w archiwach akt dawnych z uwagami do niej Hieronima Duchnowskiego z 1844 roku

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 249-269
Author(s):  
Robert Jop
Keyword(s):  
Historical Records ◽  
Principal Source ◽  
Vested Interests ◽  
The Government

W 1844 r. Komisja Rządowa Sprawiedliwości w Warszawie rozesłała do archiwów akt dawnych w Królestwie Polskim instrukcję sporządzania skorowidzów do staropolskich ksiąg sądowych. Wydanie instrukcji związane było z akcją indeksowania tych ksiąg, będących podstawowym źródłem zdziałanych czynności prawnych w sprawach własnościowych oraz świadectwem posiadanych praw majątkowych. Projekt instrukcji Komisji Rządowej trafił także do Archiwum Akt Dawnych w Lublinie. Opinię na jej temat i odpowiedź w sprawie przygotował dla komisji na przełomie lipca i sierpnia 1844 r. lubelski archiwista Hieronim Duchnowski. W niniejszej edycji opublikowano instrukcję sporządzania indeksów wydaną przez Komisję Rządową Sprawiedliwości w Warszawie oraz odpowiedź na nią Hieronima Duchnowskiego. Odpowiedź ta zawiera propozycje sposobów indeksowania alternatywne dla instrukcji, wypracowane przez Duchnowskiego, w czasie gdy był zatrudniony w Archiwum Akt Dawnych w Lublinie (1842–1845). The Instructions on Compiling Indexes in the Archives of Historical Records with Remarks of Hieronim Duchnowski from 1844 In 1844 Komisja Rządowa Sprawiedliwości [Government Justice Committee] in Warsaw sent to the archives of historical records in the Kingdom of Poland the instructions on how to draw up indexes to Old-Polish court’s registers. The issuance of the instructions was connected with the action of indexing these registers that were the principal source of administered legal transactions in ownership cases and evidence of vested interests. The draft of the instructions by the Government Justice Committee was also sent to the Archives of Historical Records in Lublin. Lublin archivist, Hieronim Duchnowski, prepared an opinion and answer on this matter for the Committee at the turn of July and August 1844. The present edition has published the instructions on compiling indexes, issued by the Government Justice Committee in Warsaw, and the answer of Hieronim Duchnowski. This answer contains suggestions as to the alternative ways of indexing for this instruction prepared by Duchnowski, when he was employed in the Archives of Historical Records in Lublin (1842–1845).

“Twixt the Cup and the Lip:” Field Notes on the Way to Print

1998 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 119-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Henige
Keyword(s):  
Public Domain ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Audio Tape ◽  
Subsequent Work ◽  
Raw Data ◽  
The Public ◽  
Principal Source ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
Paper Format ◽  
The Way

Typically—very typically—fledgling African historians launch their careers by engaging in a bout of fieldwork, sometimes in archives, but more often on location among a group of people whose activities have somehow captured their interest. Almost as typically, this work in the field then becomes the principal source for historians' future published work, which often never proceeds beyond the bounds set by the initial fieldwork.In this process of course the data accumulated in the field—field notes—become, possibly over and over again, the primary sources for this subsequent work. In some ways this process is not particularly different from that undertaken by other historians who use printed sources more heavily. There are differences, though, not the least of which is that these orally derived field notes grow stale with the passing of time and cannot be revivified as easily as archival notes.Moreover, of course, far more often than not, field notes are never allowed to escape into the public domain, whereas archival sources are usually already there when the historian sets about using them. What were once laboriously handwritten notebooks, and then audio tapes are now more likley to be 3.5″ diskettes, but otherwise they are as jealously guarded in the 1990s as they were in the 1950s. Indeed, perhaps moreso, in that the usable lifespan of a diskette is likely to be significantly less than that of the notebook, if not of the audio tape. In short, in perhaps twenty years posterity will find itself forced to rely on the published products—maybe yet in paper format?—rather than on the raw data which once underpinned them. In the circumstances, it might be worth considering once again the implications of this, with reference to a particular instance of respectable vintage.

The Ruins of Palmyra

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Wood
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Present State ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Great Influence ◽  
Human Geography ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Cornell University ◽  
Classical Architecture ◽  
Architectural Features

First published in the 1750s, The Ruins of Palmyra and The Ruins of Baalbek are a remarkable record of an expedition to the Levant by three antiquarians - Robert Wood, John Bouverie and James Dawkins - along with a draftsman, Giovanni Battista Borra. With over 100 engravings of the classical architecture of the two ancient cities of Palmyra and Baalbek, the volumes represent the earliest-known examples of monographs on archaeological sites. They were unique in providing systematic discussion of the sites' physical and human geography alongside two kinds of pictorial evidence: views of the ancient sites in their then-present state and detailed plans, with measurements, of architectural features. This new approach was immediately copied by antiquarians in the later 18th century and also had great influence upon Neoclassical architecture in Britain, Europe and North America. This new edition features reproductions of all the engravings from the original publications and includes a new introduction by noted scholar, Benjamin Anderson (Cornell University, USA).

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document