scholarly journals Identifiers as Mechanisms for Linking Archaeological Data across Repositories

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. e26471
Author(s):  
Laura Brenskelle ◽  
Michelle LeFebvre ◽  
Rob Guralnick ◽  
Kitty Emery ◽  
John Wieczorek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Publishing ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Success Story ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Animal Bone ◽  
Shell Beads ◽  
A Site ◽  
Similar Record ◽  
Critical Challenge

Zooarchaeological specimens are the remains of animals, including vertebrate and invertebrate taxa, recovered from, or in association with, archaeological contexts of deposition or surrounding landscapes. The physical scope of zooarchaeological specimens is diverse and includes macro- and micro-zooarchaeological specimens composed of archaeologically preserved bone, shell, exoskeletons, teeth, hair or fur, scales, horns or antlers, as well as geochemical (e.g., isotopes) and biochemical (e.g., ancient DNA) signatures derived from faunal remains. Artifacts and objects created from animal remains, such as bone pins, shell beads, preserved animal hides, are also zooarchaeological specimens. Here we present recent work to utilize identifiers for archaeological samples in new data publishing routines, focusing on key challenges. One critical challenge is that archaeological samples are often composited into different units depending on managers of collections and analysts. Thus, in some cases, when migrating datasets for publication, identifiers can refer to different sets of units, even within the same dataset. Another key challenge is assuring that different repositories can share sample identifiers. We show how Open Context, a site-based archaeology-focused repository that also manages objects such as zooarchaeological material, and VertNet, a specimen-oriented biodiversity repository, have collaborated to share sample identifiers. While this illustrates a success story of linking data across repositories, we discuss the complexity of how “occurrence identifiers,” but not true sample identifiers, in VertNet are propagated to another system where the identifiers point to a similar record called “Animal Bone” in Open Context.

scholarly journals Faunal Remains From Diang Mahang In Kalimantan: Taxonomic Identification And Their Archaeological Context

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-154
Author(s):  
Vida Pervaya Rusianti Kusmartono ◽  
Ni Luh Gde Dyah Mega Hafsari
Keyword(s):  
Animal Species ◽  
Inductive Reasoning ◽  
Analytic Method ◽  
Taxonomic Identification ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
The Past ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Diagnostic Characteristics ◽  
A Site

Faunal remains, both vertebrates and invertebrates, are important discoveries in archaeological research. Such proxy may provide information on the identity of animal species which may associate with human at a site. This research aims to understand the existence of faunal remains in the rockshelter of Diang Mahang to further comprehend the interaction of humans and their environment in the past. No research involving animal remains in this region has been conducted before. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out a taxonomic identification of the faunal remains related to human activities in the past in Diang Mahang. This study applies a qualitative-analytic method with inductive reasoning. The analysis was performed by observing the diagnostic characteristics of a bone to determine its taxonomic identity. Results of diagnostic characteristics showed that vertebrate remains comprise three main classes, i.e., Mammals, Reptiles, and Pisces. The remains of the invertebrate consist of Molluscs and Arthropods. Marine Cypraeid also existed but was not of the edible variety. Contextually, faunal remains are associated with lithics and pottery, indicating a micro-scale activity in Diang Mahang related to humans’ daily life in the rockshelter.

Cremated animal remains and shattered pottery. Rare ritual deposits from the Middle to Late Bronze Age at Aalst – Siesegemkouter (Belgium)

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arne Verbrugge ◽  
Maaike Groot ◽  
Koen Deforce ◽  
Guy De Mulder ◽  
Wouter Van der Meer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Multidisciplinary Approach ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Low Countries ◽  
Early Date ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Animal Bone ◽  
Maintenance Practice ◽  
Organic Remains

Abstract Archaeological research at Aalst – Siesegemkouter revealed several pits within a Middle to Late Bronze Age settlement. Most of them hardly contained any artefacts, but one exception showed a structured stratigraphy with an abundance of finds, including a large amount of shattered pottery, charcoal and calcined animal bone. The study of this assemblage, and comparison with two other pits showing similarities, provides strong indications of a closing deposit or another type of ‘site maintenance practice’. In the Low Countries, comparable contexts generally date from the Iron Age, suggesting that the finds from Aalst – Siesegemkouter represent early forerunners of this ritual practice. On top of this early date, the large volume of cremated animal bone represents an almost unique characteristic for which, until now, parallels from the Metal Ages have hardly been found, even on a Northwestern European scale. In general, the role played by organic remains in ritual contexts from these periods and regions is poorly understood, often due to bad preservation conditions or the lack of a multidisciplinary approach.

scholarly journals Capturing the Silences in Digital Archaeological Knowledge

Information ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Huggett
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Creation ◽  
Digital Data ◽  
Digital Environment ◽  
Archaeological Practice ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Multiple Datasets ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
Archaeological Knowledge ◽  
Critical Challenge

The availability and accessibility of digital data are increasingly significant in the creation of archaeological knowledge with, for example, multiple datasets being brought together to perform extensive analyses that would not otherwise be possible. However, this makes capturing the silences in those data—what is absent as well as present, what is unknown as well as what is known—a critical challenge for archaeology in terms of the suitability and appropriateness of data for subsequent reuse. This paper reverses the usual focus on knowledge and considers the role of ignorance—the lack of knowledge, or nonknowledge—in archaeological data and knowledge creation. Examining aspects of archaeological practice in the light of different dimensions of ignorance, it proposes ways in which the silences, the range of unknowns, can be addressed within a digital environment and the benefits which may accrue.

scholarly journals Wild Resources in the Economy of Bronze and Early Iron Ages Between Oder and Bug Rivers – Source Overview

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-210
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Ślusarska
Keyword(s):  
Soil Analysis ◽  
Central Area ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Plant Materials ◽  
Funeral Rite ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Animal Bone ◽  
Wild Resources ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract The archaeological discussion still appears to largely disregard the role of natural resources in the early agricultural economy of Central Europe. Cereal cultivation and animal husbandry strategies remain a central area of studies. Wild resources are the only proxy data helping to reconstruct the strategies mentioned above. The data for the assessment of the wild resource role in consumption strategies are scarce. Plant and animal remains preserved within the archaeological sites represent one of the very few sources of information. The dominant funeral rite – cremation – leaves no opportunity for insight into the human bones’ diet composition signatures. This study’s primary goal is to gather in one place all information concerning wild resource food use based on archaeological data, which is scattered through various publications. The study’s time scope corresponds to Lusatian, post-Lusatian (Pomeranian Face Urn Culture), and contemporary cultures (Western Baltic Kurgans Culture). It covers roughly the time span 1400–400 BC, which is the late Bronze and early Iron Ages. Only data from a homogenous settlement context was included within the presented review. Although the reviewed literature methodology does not always meet the modern standard, it still offers insight into broader plant and animal food use in the past. The animal bone analysis is usually based on hand-collected bone material or sifted soil samples. Malacological materials come from sampled features. Some clam mussels were also identified among the bone materials submitted for zooarchaeological analysis. All plant materials come from sampled features undergoing soil analysis.

Flotation Techniques for the Recovery of Small-Scale Archaeological Remains

1968 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Struever
Keyword(s):  
Small Animal ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Water Separation ◽  
Small Plant ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Animal Bone ◽  
Animal Bones ◽  
Plant Remains ◽  
Flotation Technique

AbstractThis paper outlines the procedures and equipment necessary for applying a simple flotation technique to recover animal bone, seeds, and other small cultural remains lost in the normal screening of soils from archaeological sites. Soil is initially processed in the field by a water-separation technique. The resulting concentrate is later treated, in the laboratory, by chemical flotation, to separate faunal from plant remains.This simple, inexpensive technique enables processing of soil in quantity, thereby allowing recovery of small plant and animal remains from midden or feature fills where they occur in very low densities.It is argued that, without use of such a flotation procedure, inferences about prehistoric subsistence patterns from faunal and floral remains are sharply biased in favor of larger animals and in favor of hunting, over natural plant food collecting, since conventional screens are not adequate for recovery of most plant remains or small animal bones.

scholarly journals Excavation of an urned cremation burial of the Bronze Age, Glennan, Argyll and Bute

2003 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gavin MacGregor ◽  
Jennifer Miller ◽  
Julie Roberts ◽  
Michael Donnelly ◽  
Gary Tompsett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
Human Remains ◽  
Joint Disease ◽  
Section 8 ◽  
Research Division ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Animal Bone ◽  
National Museums ◽  
The Bronze Age

As part of the Historic Scotland Human Remains Call Off Contract, Glasgow Univ ersity Archaeological Research Division (GUARD)undertook an archaeological excavation of a prehistoric urned cremation deposit within a boulder shelter at Glennan, Kilmartin, Argyll and Bute (NGR NM86220097). Analysis has shown the cremation was of a male probably aged between 25 and 40 years. He had suffered from slight spinal joint disease, and mild iron deficiency anaemia, though neither seems likely to have affected his general health. He was cremated shortly after death, together with a young sheep/goat, and their remains were subsequently picked from the pyre and co-mingled before burial in the urn. An unburnt retouched flint flake was recovered which may have accompanied the burial. The closest parallels for the cremation container are found within the tradition of Enlarged Food Vessel urns, a tradition that is poorly dated but probably has a currency in the first half of the second millennium BC. Radiocarbon dating was problematic: a sample of heather-type charcoal from the fill of the urn was dated and provided a range of cal AD1260-1390 at 2 sigma (OxA-10281). A second date was obtained from a sample of hazel charcoal from the lowest part of the fill of the urn, which provided a range of 3370-2920 cal BC at 2 sigma (GU-9598). There are sufficient examples of animal bone previously found accompanying Bronze Age burials to suggest that animals may have had a role in mortuary rites before burial of human remains, though the role and status of these animal remains is not always clear. Although the sample is small, the evidence suggests that, depending on the burial rite, some species of animals were considered more appropriate than others for inclusion; pigs associated with inhumation and goat/sheep associated with cremation burials. The choice of a domesticated animal to accompany the mortuary rites may have been of significance during a period when agro-pastural farming was being widely practiced, and may reflect the perceived inter-relationship between the cultural landscape of people and their livestock. The context of deposition of an Enlarged Food Vessel urn at Glennan, in a boulder shelter in the uplands, provides an interesting contrast with the known deposition of Food Vessels focused on the valley floor at Kilmartin. It indicates that while many of the more visible ceremonial and funerary sites of the second millennium BC may focus on the floor of the glen, other parts of the landscape were also significant in terms of such activities.POSTSCRIPT The cremated bone from the Glennan urn, that had previously given some problematic dates (Report Section 8) has now (March 2004) produced a result of 3615+/-35BP (GrA-24861). At 2130-1880 calBC (2-sigma), this is well within the range of dates for such Vase Urns. The author of SAIR 8 acknowledges the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland for funding this radiocarbon date and the National Museums of Scotland Dating Cremated Bone Project (especially Dr Alison Sheridan) for organising it.

scholarly journals Visualizing Votive Practice: Exploring Limestone and Terracotta Sculpture from Athienou-Malloura through 3D Models

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek B. Counts ◽  
Erik Walcek Averett ◽  
Kevin Garstki ◽  
Michael K. Toumazou
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Open Access ◽  
3D Visualization ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
3D Models ◽  
Data Publishing ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Archaeological Project ◽  
High Resolution Models ◽  
Visualization Techniques

Visualizing Votive Practice is an innovative, open-access, digital monograph that explores the limestone and terracotta sculptures excavated from a rural sanctuary at the site of Athienou-Malloura (Cyprus) by the Athienou Archaeological Project. Chapters on the archaeology of the site, the historiography of Cypriot sculpture, and perspectives on archaeological visualization provide context for the catalogue of 50 representative examples of votive sculpture from the sanctuary. The catalogue not only includes formal and contextual information for each object, but also embeds 3D models directly onto the page. Readers can not only view, but also manipulate, measure, zoom, and rotate each model. Additionally, links at the bottom of each entry unleash high-resolution models with accompanying metadata on the Open Context archaeological data publishing platform and on via the Sketchfab 3D viewing platform as well. This innovative monograph is aimed at a variety of audiences, from Mediterranean archaeologists and students to specialists interested in 3D visualization techniques.

scholarly journals Animal remains from the Late Medieval kitchen of the Esztergom archdiocese, Hungary - the benefits of screening

Starinar ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 231-251
Author(s):  
Erika Gál ◽  
László Bartosiewicz
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Fish Farming ◽  
Taxonomic Diversity ◽  
Local Production ◽  
Resolution Recovery ◽  
Documentary Sources ◽  
15Th Century ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Animal Bone ◽  
Shed Light

Medieval animal remains from the Esztergom archbishopric (Hungary) were screened using 5 mm and 2 mm mesh sizes, aimed at the high-resolution study of fish and bird remains and helping to achieve better comparisons with documentary sources. This is the first medieval assemblage in Hungary recovered using screening. A total of 7,294 animal remains are studied here, representing the 14th and 15th century. The screening resulted in quantities of fish and bird bones. The large find numbers also multiplied the taxonomic diversity. In addition to the remains of new, small-bodied species, bones of young fish showed a diachronic increase in the contribution of carp and young pike to the diet. This seems consonant with the expansion of medieval fish farming. Remains of juvenile birds could also be identified. Some worked bones recovered by screening indicate the manufacturing or reparation of crossbows at the site. Thanks to these details, our material stands out among other contemporaneous animal bone assemblages from the Carpathian Basin. Comparisons between sites, however, must be done with caution, as our data are qualitatively different from others. Large bones of livestock and the near absence of those from large game may be interpreted in the light of other hand-collected samples, while fish and bird remains and even the abundance of brown hare need to be seen in part as a product of high-resolution recovery. The newly discovered spectrum of animal remains could be profitably interpreted in the light of late 15th century accounting books of the archbishop. Although these documentary sources slightly post-date our material, they shed light on the complexities of meat procurement between possibly local production and trade.

A Comment on Nomenclature in Faunal Studies

1981 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 192-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra L. Olsen ◽  
John W. Olsen
Keyword(s):  
Broad Spectrum ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Current Usage ◽  
Faunal Studies

The study of faunal remains from archaeological sites has been described using a variety of terms including: zooarchaeology, archaeozoology, osteoarchaeology, and ethnozoology. With such a broad spectrum of terms in current usage, we feel that the contradictions and errors inherent in some of this nomenclature need to be corrected. We prefer the term zooarchaeology, as a contraction of the word zoologico-archaeology proposed by Lubbock in 1865, to define the study of animal remains from archaeological sites and their relationship to humans.

Databases for Multiple Archaeological Excavations and Internet Applications

2009 ◽  
pp. 1420-1445
Author(s):  
Athanasios Karamalis
Keyword(s):  
Data Recording ◽  
Archaeological Excavation ◽  
Internet Applications ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
Excavation Process ◽  
Long Time ◽  
A Site ◽  
Archaeological Excavations ◽  
The Way

The science of Archaeology has been in existence for a long time and the way an archaeological excavation is conducted hasn’t changed much. However, the way archaeological data is recorded has changed dramatically by the progress of technology and the widespread use of computers. Nowadays, almost any archaeological excavation uses databases to record not only the objects which have been found, but also the various data which come up during the excavation process (Lock, 2003). Many remarkable researches have been conducted by archaeologists who developed standards and methods for recording the data which was produced during an archaeological excavation. Although many excavators use particular standards and methods for data recording, these usually cannot be completely implemented and have to be adapted to the particular requirements of the excavation. The reasons why this is happening are the various differences excavations have; in how archaeologists excavate a site, which data is recorded and how the data is characterized (we will discuss further this topic in the following chapters).

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