Experimental Archaeology

Experiments on Painting Viking Age Woodwork

Author(s)
Nanna Friis Hellström 1 ✉,
Anna Vebæk Gelskov 1,
Sofie Louise Andersen 1,
Henriette Lyngstrøm 1
Publication Date
Traditionally, studies on Viking Age pigmentation have focused on the minerals used to produce colours. The research conducted in this article concerns other factors, that might have influenced painted wood such as surface treatments, outlines, and paint components...

An Experimental Reconstruction of Hair Colours from the Jin and Tang Dynasties (265-907 AD) in China

Author(s)
Bangcheng Tang 1 ✉,
Yan Xue 2,
Yijie Yan 2,
Bo Yuan 2
Publication Date
Hair colours, as a daily cosmetic used in ancient Chinese life, often appear in ancient Chinese medical books, according to types, and can be classified into herbal hair colours and mineral hair colours. Experimental reconstruction of herbal hair colours and mineral hair colours was carried out to explore the influence of factors such as the type and material of hair colours on the colouring effect.

Scraping Seal Skins with Mineral Additives

Author(s)
Lasse van den Dikkenberg 1 ✉,
Diederik Pomstra 1,
Annelou van Gijn 1
Publication Date
Neolithic scrapers from the Vlaardingen Culture (3400-2500 BC) display a variety of hide-working traces, amongst which traces interpreted as being the result of contact with dry hide. It has been suggested that, potentially, some of these implements were used to scrape fatty hides with mineral additives. Therefore, a series of experiments...

Historisches Handwerk L. Intichar (AT)

We provide demonstrations of historic crafts at medieval fairs and sometimes schools.

We provide demonstrations of historic crafts at medieval fairs and sometimes schools. Our current main focus is textile dyeing. Trained in history and archaeology, we started historic craft demonstrations as spare time activity and in order to not lose contact with our academic professions. Demonstrating historic crafts has also been a preferred way to continue the focus on experimental archeology developed during studies.

Experimental Archaeology and the Sustainability of Dental Calculus Research: The Case of Chocolate and the Nuns Of S. Maria Della Stella’s Church, Saluzzo, Italy

Author(s)
Sarah Sandron 1 ✉,
Anita Radini 2,
Dominique Scalarone 3,
Beatrice Demarchi 1,
Rosa Boano 1,
Alison Beach 4,
Cynthianne Spiteri 1
Publication Date
In Italy, chocolate (Theobroma cacao L.) was introduced during the Columbian exchange, and it quickly became both an important and accessible part of the Italian culinary tradition. Today, Italy is Europe’s second-largest chocolate producer...

Can Experimental Archaeology Confirm Ethnographic Evidence? The Case of Aboriginal Boomerangs Used as Retouchers

Author(s)
Eva Francesca Martellotta 1, 2
Publication Date
In this article, an experimental programme is used to examine how boomerangs may be used to retouch stone tools. The programme's findings confirm ethnographic data pertaining to the employment of hardwood boomerangs in retouching activities and investigate their technological similarities to Palaeolithic bone retouchers...

How were Half-Moons on Shells Made in the Upper Palaeolithic? An Experimental Approach

Author(s)
Annamaria Daniele 1
Publication Date
In the Upper Palaeolithic levels of the site of Grotta Continenza (Abruzzo, Italy), numerous shells shaped as half-moons have been found. These artifacts, being important examples of ancient ornaments, have been regularly subjects of study, but the production process has only been hypothesised...

Casting a Copper Age Axe Using a Replica of the Marl Mould Found in Baffoni Cave (AN)

Author(s)
Mauro Fiorentini 1
Publication Date
The Baffoni Cave is a cavern that lies in the Genga territory, in the province of Ancona, Italy. It is part of a complex of caves, the most famous of which are the Frasassi Caves. The whole territory is rich in archaeological features, with the most ancient specimen found within the Genga territory being a flint biface dating to the Lower Palaeolithic...

Drawing Wire

Author(s)
Henriette Lyngstrøm 1
Publication Date
Very few experiments have been conducted on drawing wires of iron made from bog ore. One of them, however, was carried out at the forge at Lejre Land of Legends in Denmark. The iron used for the experiments was obtained from three different sites in Denmark where well-documented experiments in the extraction of bog iron ore took place...

Experimenting with the Ancient Greek Pottery Production Process from Clay Selection to Firing in a (Re)constructed Updraft Kiln

Author(s)
Francesca Tomei 1 ✉,
Juan Ignacio Jimenez Rivero 2
Publication Date
This article presents an experimental archaeology project that aimed to reproduce the Hellenistic Greek pottery production process. The project's main research questions were focused on understanding how locally available raw materials and climatic conditions influenced the production process and how the process created social networks with the local community...