Experimental Archaeology

Introduction

This research aimed to define the use of some specific, pointed tools found in the Bronze Age levels of the site of Aradetis Orgora in the Shida Kartli province of Eastern Georgia (Caucasus) (See Figure 1). Five “needles” with different morphological features were unearthed at the site during the recent excavations carried out by the joint GISKAP project of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice in collaboration with the Georgian National Museum (Tbilisi) (Gagoshidze, 2001; 2012; Gagoshidze and Rova, 2015; 2018a; 2018b).

This study was undertaken to gain an understanding of the effectiveness of mail armour in protecting horses against arrow shot, and to assess the circumstances in which such armour might play a useful role. Since the protection given by mail is largely dependent on the thickness of the underlying padding, a preliminary step was to estimate the maximum thickness of padding that could be worn by the horse...

The stand and its previous representations

The ‘iron stand’ was excavated in 1939, one of the many objects discovered in the Sutton Hoo, Mound 1 ship burial. To date, the stand is unique in the archaeological record but due to adverse burial conditions it is incomplete (See Figure 1). This makes its appearance and function difficult to discern. Due to this difficulty, while the first description of the object was published in 1940 (Phillips, 1940, pp.

Introduction

The Terramare civilization occupied the Central-western Po Valley in Northern Italy in a chronological span from the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age (MBA) to the Recent Bronze Age (RBA) (circa 1650-1150 BC) (Bernabò Brea and Cardarelli, 1997; Cardarelli, 1997, 2009).

Beeswax is a frequently mentioned binder additive in the literature. Unfortunately, it is not so durable as to be well preserved in archaeological records, although there are faint exceptions. Because of its strengthening capabilities, which is believed to be its role, this research set out to carry out an experiment to verify the effects of adding it to the adhesives potentially used in the European Stone Age...

At the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries, in the town of Turku (SW Finland), a new quarter was built near a lake that came to be known as Mätäjärvi (‘Rotten Lake’), possibly because it was polluted by the waste from leather tanners, shoemakers, and other artisans. In the excavated remains of a wooden house in this quarter, objects like leather shoes, clippings and scrapings, imported stoneware from Germany...

Bone and wood pipes are among the medieval aerophones which have been discovered during archaeological excavations in Poland. The ones that interested us are characterized by a parallel arrangement of sound holes. They are short pipes, several centimetres long, with two holes cut in different places of the pipe body, either at one end or in the middle...

Introduction

Bone pipes dating from both the early and late medieval period have been found in the archaeological record from across central and Northern Europe such as in: The Netherlands (Tamboer, 2004), Denmark, Sweden (Lund, 1981a), Poland (Poplawska, 1998), Latvia (Urtan, 1970) and Estonia (Oras, 2015) (Tamboer and Rainio, 2020). One of the first comprehensive studies of these instruments as a whole is that by Brade, published in 1975.

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 ...

Review of the Research

Research conducted over the past century has conclusively demonstrated that textiles played an important role in Mesoamerica, particularly from the Classic period (AD 250-900) through contemporary cultures.