Experimental Archaeology

Experimental Archaeology is an approach for filling gaps in our knowledge about the past, which cannot be filled through other archaeological research methods. An archaeological experiment must always answer a specific research question through practically testing production, use and/or formation of material culture and/or archaeological features. In Experimental Archaeology, testing a hypothesis in direct reference to the archaeological record is the core activity. The information gained should be impossible to obtain from solely examining original artefacts. The practice of experimental archaeology is strongly connected to the other four legs of EXARC as growing craft experience as well as interpretation can also lead to research questions and experimental projects.

An Experimental Study of Lesions Observed in Bog Body Funerary Performances

Author(s)

Tiffany Treadway

Clement Twumasi

Publication Date

2021-08-26

EXARC Journal Issue 2021/3

The analysis of sharp force trauma has usually been reserved for prehistoric osteological case studies. Bog bodies, on the other hand, due to the excellent preservation of the soft tissues, provide a unique example of visible lesions. This type of preservation of prehistoric soft tissue trauma that would otherwise be predominantly absent from osteological remains allows archaeologists to understand better the ...

Read more about An Experimental Study of Lesions Observed in Bog Body Funerary Performances

More Testing of Mesoamerican Lunate Artifacts as Possible Loom Weights, that also Functioned as Twining Tools

Author(s)

Billie J. A. Follensbee

Publication Date

2021-08-26

EXARC Journal Issue 2021/3

In previous replication studies and experiments, a lunate jade artifact from the Pre-Classic/Formative period (1500 BC-AD 250) of Mesoamerica was analysed, researched, and tested for its similarities to the crescent weight, a specialized type of loom weight found in ancient Central and Southern Europe. These analyses successfully established that even a form of this artifact made of wood, shell, or other...

Read more about More Testing of Mesoamerican Lunate Artifacts as Possible Loom Weights, that also Functioned as Twining Tools

Archaeological Experiment on Reconstruction of the “Compound” Bow of the Sintashta Bronze Age Culture from the Stepnoe Cemetery

Author(s)

Ivan Semyan

Spyros Bakas

Publication Date

2021-05-26

EXARC Journal Issue 2021/2

#EAC12 World Tour 2021
***This article presents data from an international experimental study on the reconstruction of the “compound” bow of Sintashta culture of bronze age South Ural, Russia. The project is carried out by a collective of researchers from Greece and Russia as part of the grant program of EXARC - “Twinning program”...

Read more about Archaeological Experiment on Reconstruction of the “Compound” Bow of the Sintashta Bronze Age Culture from the Stepnoe Cemetery

Recommended Literature

COLES, J.M., 1979. Experimental Archaeology, London: Academic Press.

FERGUSON, J.R., 2010. Designing Experimental Research in Archaeology: Examining Technology through Production and Use, Boulder: University Press of Colorado.

HURCOMBE, L., CUNNINGHAM, P, 2016. The life cycle of structures in experimental archaeology: An object biography approach, Leiden: Sidestone Press.

INGERSOLL, D., YELLEN, J.E. & MACDONALD, W., 1977. Experimental archeology, New York: Columbia University Press.

KELTERBORN, P., 2005. Principles of Experimental Research in Archaeology, EuroREA, (Re)construction and Experiment in Archaeology – European Platform, 2, 120-122.

MALINA, J., 1983. Archaeology and Experiment, Norwegian Archaeological Review, 16:2, 69-85.

MATHIEU, J., 2002. Introduction - Experimental Archaeology - Replicating Past Objects, Behaviors, and Processes, Mathieu, J. (ed.) Experimental Archaeology, replicating past objects, behaviors and processes, BAR International Series 1035, 1-12.

OUTRAM, A.K., 2008. Introduction to Experimental Archaeology, World Archaeology 40:1, 1-7