Neolithic

SUNY Potsdam (US)

Member of EXARC
No

Experimental archaeology plays an important role in the Archaeological Studies program at The State University of New York at Potsdam (aka SUNY Potsdam). We are small teaching focused undergraduate institution located in the northern most region of New York State, USA.

Our faculty teach a wide variety of archaeological courses spanning time and space. We incorporate experimental and experiential archaeology into our teaching and scholarship in many different ways. In addition to a free-standing course in Experimental Archaeology, experimental and experiential activities are incorporated throughout the curriculum. For instance, students develop and carryout stone boiling experiments, prepare hickory nut soup and practice flint-knapping and traditional fire-making techniques as a regular part of their archeological course work.

Pottery Chat

Date
Organised by
EXARC
Country
the Netherlands


Following the Potter’s Wheel Conference in November, we will have a potter’s chat open to anybody. Discussion is open about any pottery related subject, wheel throwing, clays, ethnography, but also pottery trade, using ceramics, breakage and their archaeology.

Neolithic Bow Build at Kierikki Stone Age Centre (FI)

Author(s)
Chris Woodland
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2020/4
In July 2019 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. Group projects included experimental / experiential projects producing willow fish traps, pottery, and tanning, coordinated by Dr. Peter Groom of the Mesolithic Resource Group...

Humboldt State University (US)

Member of EXARC
No

Humboldt State University (HSU), in Northern California, is a small community-based campus, situated in the great redwoods of the Pacific North coast. The college town setting on the California North Coast, 8 miles (13 km) north of Eureka is notable for its natural beauty. The university is divided into three colleges: the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; the College of Natural Resources and Sciences; and the College of Professional Studies.

Students are provided with a holistic education in the discipline of Anthropology. As part of the curriculum in the Department of Anthropology, students can explore numerous avenues in Experimental Archaeology, including flintknapping, metal casting, basketry, cordage, textiles, and bookbinding, just to name a few.

La Hougue Bie Museum (UK)

Member of EXARC
No

With a name that’s derived from the Old Norse of the Vikings – haugr meaning a mound and byr - that’s bound up with a medieval legend of a dragon and a knight, it’s no surprise that La Hougue Bie is a magical and surprising place creating a truly memorable experience, home to one of the ten oldest buildings in the world.

The Legend

According to a folk tale, the mound of La Hougue Bie takes its name from the Lordship of Hambye in nearby Normandy. While the legend tells the story of a dragon and the knight who killed it, others interpret it as a tale of the Christianisation of the old pagan site, with the dragon representing the old beliefs and the knight the new religion of Christianity.

Documentation Strategies at Butser Ancient Farm

Author(s)
Trevor Creighton 1 ✉
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2020/4
Butser Ancient Farm has been at the forefront of experimental archaeology in Britain1. for more than 45 years. The pioneering work of its first director Dr Peter Reynolds in the evaluation of Iron Age structures and agriculture demonstrated beyond doubt the importance of experiment in archaeology in the UK and international experimental archaeology work...

Hunting for Use-Wear

Author(s)
Matilda Siebrecht 1 ✉,
Diederik Pomstra 2
Publication Date
EXARC Journal Issue 2020/4

Introduction

Dorset cultures were spread throughout the Canadian Arctic and Greenland between 800 BC and 1300 AD (Friesen and Mason, 2016). There is considerable academic discussion surrounding Dorset society, focusing especially on topics such as social organisation, the reason for their disappearance, and the nature of their development from pre-Dorset cultures. However, a general point of agreement is that Dorset material culture has always been considered geographically, and even to some extent temporally, uniform (Maxwell, 1985).

Upopoy (National Ainu Museum and Park) (JP)

Member of EXARC
No

As a national center for learning about and promoting Ainu history and culture, Upopoy (National Ainu Museum and Park) (ウポポイ(民族共生象徴空間）) enables people of all nationalities and ages to learn about the Ainu’s worldview and respect for nature. It also acts as a symbol of a society based on mutual respect and coexistence, passing on and sharing various aspects of Ainu culture, which has developed over many years and is influenced by the surrounding nature.

The Ainu are an indigenous people in the northern region of the Japanese archipelago, particularly Hokkaido. The Ainu culture is distinctive, with a language that is unrelated to Japanese, a spirituality that holds that spirits dwell in every part of the natural world, traditional dances that are performed at family events and festivals, and crafts such as wood carving and embroidery that incorporate unique patterns.