Ancient Technology

Spinning in Circles: the Production and Function of Upper Palaeolithic Rondelles

Author(s)
Andy Needham 1 ✉,
A. Langley 1,
H. Benton 1,
S. Biggs 1,
J. Cousen 1,
A. Derry 1,
M. Hardman 1,
K. Macy 1,
D. Millar 1,
E. Murray 1,
F. Pock 1,
J. Rowsell 1,
M. Sandin Catacora 1,
G. Van Oordt 1,
D. Veitch-Scoggins 1,
Aimée Little 1
Publication Date
Rondelles are thin, circular disc cut-outs typically made from the blade of the scapula of medium sized ungulates, such as horse or cervid. These are primarily associated with the Late Upper Palaeolithic Magdalenian and focused around northwest Europe. Rondelles are frequently...

De Re Cervisia et Mulso, “on The Subject of Beer and Mulsum”

Author(s)
Matt Gibbs 1
Publication Date
Beer has a long and ubiquitous history. Today it is the most consumed alcoholic beverage in the world; it is also the most popular drink after water and tea (Swot, 2016). But little consideration is typically given to how beer developed with respect to taste, and even less is given to why beer is thought of in the way that it is. There have been developments in this regard: the craft beer movement, ...

Wives, Queens, Goddesses: Reconstructing the Outfit of a 8th-7th Century BC Picenian Woman

Author(s)
Mauro Fiorentini 1
Publication Date
The present work is a reconstruction which was made with two objectives in mind. Thee first was to experiment with heat-treating of amber, a technique already hypothesised by Von Eles (1995), in order to verify possible resin alteration due to heating. Although already tried in the past (Fiorentini, 2018b) after having conducted some cold-working experiments (Fiorentini, 2018a)...

A Preliminary Attempt to Reconstruct some Tools and Techniques of Ornamentation of the Comb-Pit Ware from the Site of Hepojarvi (Karelian Isthmus, Leningrad Oblast, Russia)

Author(s)
Alexander Akulov 1
Publication Date
The site of Hepojarvi is located on the northern coast of Hepojarvi lake, near Saint Petersburg, Russia. The site is a multi-layer settlement with different types of Neolithic pottery (from Sperrings to late Comb-Pit Ware); the settlement functioned in 5314 cal BC – 2342 cal BC. It was excavated in 1978 by I. V. Vereschagina. The aim of the current paper is to reconstruct some concrete tools and techniques of ornamentation...

Have you got the tine? Prehistoric Methods in Antler Working

Author(s)
Andy Langley 1 ✉,
Izzy Wisher 1
Publication Date
Antler working was prevalent throughout prehistory, with a breadth of intricately detailed and technologically complex antler artefacts observed within the archaeological record. In particular, during the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic, antler working with flint tools would have been a time-consuming process. While the chaîne opératoire of producing certain antler artefacts has previously been explored...

Loncarski Center Bahor, zavod za razvoj in promocijo loncarstva (SI)

We are a pottery center and part of our activities is dealing with replicas. We provide researches of ancient pottery techniques and use of the ceramic items. We are a nonprofit private institution.

Pottery Center Bahor, Institute for the Development and Promotion of Pottery - we have a unique place, an outdoor place where we build replicas prehistoric kilns. We work with students of Archeology Faculty of Ljubljana- to provide practice on ceramic themes. Our team uses the facilities to offering a wide diversity of courses on material culture, ancient technology, and experimental archaeology, but not only for adults- we have a lot of schools, pupils to work with.

The Construction of a Skin-on-Frame Coracle at Kierikki Stone Age Centre

Author(s)
Peter Groom 1 ✉,
India McDermott 1,
Evon Kirby 1
Publication Date
In July 2018 a group of students from the UK participating in the Placements in Environmental, Archaeological and Traditional Skills (PEATS) Erasmus + Work Placement, attended the Kierikki Stone Age Centre, Pahkalantie, Finland. During the week previous to this experiment, the same group of students had built a skin-on-frame canoe, so the decision was taken to build an alternative lightweight craft...

Rubobostes' Feast

Author(s)
Marius Ardeleanu
Publication Date
In Romania, in recent years, numerous cultural events and projects have been developed to reconstruct some aspects of everyday life from the past, or to promote archaeological sites (Ardeleanu, 2012, pp.72-73). One of these sites is the Porolissum Archaeological Reserve (Sălaj County). It includes an important prehistoric centre (with discoveries from the Neolithic Age, Bronze Age, Hallstat, and...

The Construction of a Skin-on-Frame Canoe at Kierikki Stone Age Centre, Finland, as a Medium for Group Training in Ancient Skills and Experiential Learning

Author(s)
Peter Groom 1 ✉,
Patrick Sweeney 1,
James Findlay 1
Publication Date
In July 2018 a group of students from the UK participating in the Placements in Environmental, Archaeological and Traditional Skills (PEATS) Erasmus + Work Placement, attended the Kierikki Stone Age Centre, Pahkalantie, Finland. Part of that training included experimental / experiential projects that were coordinated by Dr. Peter Groom of the Mesolithic Resource Group...

Viking Jewellery Mould Making. Experimental and Reconstructive Aspects

Author(s)
Anders Söderberg 1
Publication Date
Craftsmanship relies upon the silent knowledge of the skilled experience of the creative workings of the hands, a knowledge that is difficult to convert to written characters without creating a blur of words that make very little sense. Theoretical reasoning lacks the dialogue with, and the resistance from, the raw material. Making up a picture of how wax, clay and metal would behave without practical experience of them is...