Featured in the EXARC Journal

Experimental Archaeology

Experimental Recreation of a Pumpkin (Cucurbita spp.) Leather Mat

Author(s)
Crystal A. Dozier 1 ✉,
Arland L. Wallace 1
Publication Date
The ethnohistoric record from the American Great Plains indicates that dried pumpkin (Cucurbita spp.) strips were often woven into mats as a form of food storage. This form of food storage was likely employed over large geographical areas and deep in time, but archaeological methods for identifying their production and use have been wanting...

Knowing the Drill: Investigating Mesolithic Perforation Technologies Through Experiment, Traceology, and Photogrammetry

Author(s)
Andrew Fitches 1 ✉,
 Ben Elliott 2
Publication Date
Perforations observed in artefacts, such as heavy tools, made from red deer antler indicate that Mesolithic people possessed various means for making holes in osseous materials. Nevertheless, prehistoric perforation technologies are relatively poorly understood. This study argues that a lack of systematic experimental-traceological work, compounded by...

Approaching Pottery Burnishing through Experimental Firings

Author(s)
Georgia Kordatzaki 1
Publication Date
This study assesses the impact of firing on burnished ceramic surfaces. For this task, two main factors related to burnishing were examined and evaluated, the reflection of the ceramics and pottery surface sheen. Macroscopic observations on the burnished surface were made with the naked eye...