scholarly journals Letter to the editors on termite stone lines

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Smith ◽  
Ingrid Ward ◽  
Ian Moffat
Keyword(s):  
Luminescence Dating ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Wet Tropics

To the Editors,Termite activity is ubiquitous in Australia's seasonally wet tropics, and some degree of termite disturbance is inevitable in archaeological sites across this region. Our paper specifically focused on developing guidelines for identifying situations where termite activity has been sufficient to create a stone line that mimics an archaeological horizon (Smith et al., 2020). In a critique, Williams et al. (2020) arbitrarily discount the criteria we propose for discriminating between these phenomena. Here, we respond to their comments and discuss the role of luminescence dating in identifying bioturbation by termites

The use of scanning electron microscopy in interpreting chenopodium remains from three archaeological sites in northwestern Iowa

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 1112-1113
Author(s):  
Douglas William Jones
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Scanning Electron Microscopy ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Late Prehistoric ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Chenopodium Berlandieri ◽  
Seed Identification ◽  
Level 2 ◽  
Scanning Electron

Within the past 20 years, archaeobotanical research in the Eastern United States has documented an early agricultural complex before the dominance of the Mesoamerican domesticates (corn, beans, and squash) in late prehistoric and historic agricultural systems. This early agricultural complex consisted of domesticated plants such as Iva annua var.macrocarpa (Sumpweed or Marshelder), Hellanthus annuus (Sunflower) and Chenopodium berlandieri, (Goosefoot or Lasbsquarters), and heavily utilized plants such as Polygonum erectum (Erect Knotweed), Phalaris caroliniana (May grass), and Hordeum pusillum (Little Barley).Recent research involving the use of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) specifically on Chenopodium has established diagnostic traits of wild and domesticated species seeds. This is important because carbonized or uncarbonized seeds are the most commonly recovered Chenopodium material from archaeological sites. The diagnostic seed traits assist archaeobotanists in identification of Chenopodium remains and provide a basis for evaluation of Chenopodium utilization in a culture's subsistence patterns. With the aid of SEM, an analysis of Chenopodium remains from three Late Prehistoric sites in Northwest Iowa (Blood Run [Oneota culture], Brewster [Mill Creek culture], and Chan-Ya-Ta [Mill Creek culture]) has been conducted to: 1) attempt seed identification to a species level, 2) evaluate the traits of the seeds for classification as either wild or domesticated, and 3) evaluate the role of Chenopodium utilization in both the Oneota and Mill Creek cultures.

Ethnohistorical Archaeology and the Mythscape of the Naga in the Chiang Saen Basin, Thailand

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Piyawit Moonkham
Keyword(s):  
Social Space ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Building Construction ◽  
Local People ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Historical Period ◽  
The People ◽  
Divine Retribution ◽  
The Town

Abstract There is a northern Thai story that tells how the naga—a mythical serpent—came and destroyed the town known as Yonok (c. thirteenth century) after its ruler became immoral. Despite this divine retribution, the people of the town chose to rebuild it. Many archaeological sites indicate resettlement during this early historical period. Although many temple sites were constructed in accordance with the Buddhist cosmology, the building patterns vary from location to location and illustrate what this paper calls ‘nonconventional patterns,’ distinct from Theravada Buddhist concepts. These nonconventional patterns of temples seem to have been widely practiced in many early historical settlements, e.g., Yonok (what is now Wiang Nong Lom). Many local written documents and practices today reflect the influence of the naga myth on building construction. This paper will demonstrate that local communities in the Chiang Saen basin not only believe in the naga myth but have also applied the myth as a tool to interact with the surrounding landscapes. The myth is seen as a crucial, communicated element used by the local people to modify and construct physical landscapes, meaning Theravada Buddhist cosmology alone cannot explain the nonconventional patterns. As such, comprehending the role of the naga myth enables us to understand how local people, past and present, have perceived the myth as a source of knowledge to convey their communal spaces within larger cosmological concepts in order to maintain local customs and legitimise their social space.

Early Upper Paleolithic in Eastern Europe and Implications for the Dispersal of Modern Humans

Science ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 315 (5809) ◽  
pp. 223-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. V. Anikovich ◽  
A. A. Sinitsyn ◽  
John F. Hoffecker ◽  
Vance T. Holliday ◽  
V. V. Popov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Upper Paleolithic ◽  
Luminescence Dating ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Northern Eurasia ◽  
Modern Humans ◽  
Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating ◽  
Figurative Art ◽  
Early Upper Paleolithic ◽  
Don River

Radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dating and magnetic stratigraphy indicate Upper Paleolithic occupation—probably representing modern humans—at archaeological sites on the Don River in Russia 45,000 to 42,000 years ago. The oldest levels at Kostenki underlie a volcanic ash horizon identified as the Campanian Ignimbrite Y5 tephra that is dated elsewhere to about 40,000 years ago. The occupation layers contain bone and ivory artifacts, including possible figurative art, and fossil shells imported more than 500 kilometers. Thus, modern humans appeared on the central plain of Eastern Europe as early as anywhere else in northern Eurasia.

The role of the Environment and Heritage Service in Northern Ireland archaeology

Antiquity ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 76 (292) ◽  
pp. 493-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Brannon
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Public Works ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Parliamentary Debates ◽  
Church Of Ireland ◽  
National Monuments ◽  
Ancient Monuments ◽  
The Church ◽  
Regulatory Management

The Environment and Heritage Service (EHS), an agency within the Department of the Environment, aims ‘to protect and conserve the natural and built environment and to promote its appreciation for the benefit of present and future generations‘ (EHS 1996: 7). EHS has a central statutory, regulatory, management and participatory role in Northern Ireland archaeology.Official care of archaeological sites and monuments in what is now Northern Ireland goes back to the Disestablishment of the Church of Ireland and the Irish Church Act of 1869. This made provision for the upkeep of certain irnportant ecclesiastical sites; 137 ruined churches and crosses were vested in the Commissioners of Public Works, to be maintained as National Monuments. Of these, 17 were in what was to become Northern Ireland. This precedent was noted in Parliamentary debates on the Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882, which applied to Britain and Ireland, and of the 18 Irish sites, 3 were in what is now Northern Ireland. The Ancient Monuments Protection (Ireland) Act 1892 increased the scope for protection of sites in the earlier schedule.

scholarly journals Struggling for Interdisciplinarity: Reflections of an Astrophysicist Working in Cultural Astronomy

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-19
Author(s):  
César Esteban
Keyword(s):  
Landscape Archaeology ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Personal View ◽  
Interdisciplinary Nature ◽  
Natural Scientists ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Celestial Sphere

I present a personal view `on the role of astrophysicists and astronomers doing research in cultural astronomy. First, I discuss the definition of archaeoastronomy or cultural astronomy and its controversial interdisciplinary nature. I comment about the actual curricular problem of astrophysicists working in this topic and the difficult communication between astrophysicistsas well as other natural scientistsand archaeologists or anthropologists. I highlight the importance of accuracy in determining the orientation when mapping archaeological sites. Finally, I insist on the necessity of considering the celestial sphere as a part of the context of the archaeological sites, and that archaeoastronomy should be considered as a part of landscape archaeology.

Can Archaeology Build a Dam? Sites and Politics in Turkey's Southeast Anatolia Project

2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-258
Author(s):  
Daniel Shoup
Keyword(s):  
Social Role ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Dam Construction ◽  
Ethical Guidelines ◽  
Large Dams ◽  
The Social ◽  
Gap Project ◽  
Southeast Anatolia ◽  
Salvage Archaeology

Since 1989, Turkey's Southeast Anatolia Project has constructed a dozen large dams on the Tigris and Euphrates, flooding hundreds of kilometers of river valley and inundating thousands of archaeological sites. Paradoxically, archaeology was used as an argument both for and against dam construction. Dam opponents insisted that sites would be destroyed, while proponents argued that dam construction provided funding for salvage archaeology. Non-archaeologists dominated the discussion, while archaeologists generally avoided political stances. In my examination of two case studies, I argue that each of these positions reflects a different conception of the social role of archaeology, identify which were the most politically effective, and explore the lessons of the GAP project for situations where archaeology is heavily politicized. Finally, I offer suggestions on how archaeologists can transform their ethical guidelines into decision-making tools.

Geometric approach to the revitalization process of medieval Serbian monasteries

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Slavko Dragović ◽  
Aleksandar Čučaković ◽  
Milesa Srećković
Keyword(s):  
Geometric Approach ◽  
Geometric Design ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Architectural Style ◽  
15Th Century ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Architecture ◽  
Cultural Heritage Preservation

Among the standard approaches concerning cultural heritage preservation, the architectural point of view deserves particular attention. The special place in medieval Serbian history of architecture belongs to the world famous monastery complexes Studenica, Dečani and Gračanica. Beside them numerous significant monuments (churches and monasteries) exist as witnesses of the national testimony, currently in the state of ruins, archaeological sites, or damaged ones. A lot of them have adequate needs for revitalisation, where the start point is engineering documentation. The focus of the research is on the role of specific geometric and engineering graphics tasks when these areas are concerning. Monastery church devoted to Introduction of Holy Theotokos in village Slavkovica (near town Ljig), with three old sarcophaguses, dated back to 15th century, is presented and analysed from several aspects:measuring, architectural style characteristics - geometric design, 3D modelling (classical-CAD and terrestrial photogrammetric) with visualization and presentation.The attention was paid on preservation of authentic architectural style and medieval building techniques, which allow imperfections in realization.The opinion of experienced scientists and specialists involved in all the phases of monument's revitalisation has been followed as a guideline to the final result – a proposed geometric design of the revitalised church in Slavkovica.

scholarly journals The Role of Archaeology in Forming Greek National Identity and its Embodiment in European Identity

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 448-458
Author(s):  
Olga Katsiardi-Hering
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Modern Greek ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Roman Antiquity ◽  
Europe Today ◽  
Greek World ◽  
Of Greece

The murder of Johann Joachim Winckelmann, for many the ‘founder of archaeology’, in 1768 in a Trieste inn, did not mean the end for his work, which could be said to have been the key to understanding ancient Greece, which Europe was re-discovering at the time. In the late Enlightenment, Neoclassicism, followed by Romanticism, elevated classical, Hellenistic and Roman antiquity, and archaeological research, to the centre of academic quests, while the inclusion of archaeological sites in the era’s Grand Tours fed into a belief in the ‘Regeneration’/‘Wiedergeburt’ of Greece. The Modern Greek Enlightenment flourished during this same period, the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, with a concomitant classicizing turn. Ancient Greek texts were republished by Greek scholars, especially in the European centres of the Greek diaspora. An admiration for antiquity was intertwined into the Neohellenic national identity, and the first rulers of the free Greek State undertook to take care of the nation’s archaeological monuments. In 1837, under ‘Bavarian rule’, the first Greek University and the ‘Archaeological Society of Greece in Athens’ were set up. Archaeologists flocked to Greece and those parts of the ancient Greek world that were still part of the Ottoman Empire. The showcasing of classical monuments, at the expense of the Byzantine past, would remain the rule until the latter half of the nineteenth century. Modern Greek national identity was primarily underpinned by admiration for antiquity, which was viewed as a source of modern Hellenism, and for ‘enlightened, savant, good-governed Europe’. Today, the ‘new archaeology’ is striving to call these foundations into question.

scholarly journals Applying luminescence dating of ceramics to the problem of dating Arctic archaeological sites

2019 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
pp. 105030
Author(s):  
Shelby L. Anderson ◽  
James K. Feathers
Keyword(s):  
Luminescence Dating ◽  
Archaeological Sites
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