Experimental Archaeology

The Rapa Nui civilization once thrived on Easter Island, and produced unique statues which became a parable for collapse around the world (Hunt and Lipo, 2011). Several experiments have been conducted to better understand this collapse, specifically surrounding the movement of the islands’ largest inhabitants, the moai – the large monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people...

10th EAC Leiden 2017
***Pyrgos-Mavroraki, an early 2nd millennium BC proto-industrial settlement, is an excellent case-study on which to apply experimental archaeometallurgy because it presents many different elements connected to the chaine-operatoire of copper metallurgy, typical of Early/Middle Bronze Age Cyprus...

Earth ovens may relate to different ancestral cooking techniques, serving specific needs and functions. In eastern and south-eastern Australia, they were a significant element of a thriving pre-colonial Aboriginal culture. However, today it is extremely rare to find such structures well preserved. Based on archaeological and historical records...

10th EAC Leiden 2017
***The paper deals with a reconstruction of a warp-weighted loom based on a rare find of 36 in situ loom weights in an object interpreted as a weaving hut at an archaeological site Virje-Sušine in Northern Croatia dated in late Iron Age (La Tène C period, 2/2 3rd – 2/2 2nd century BC)...

10th EAC Leiden 2017
***This paper aims to present and discuss ongoing activities that combine Experimental Archaeology and Ethnoarchaeology developed in the scope of a master's degree, a post-doctoral and other research projects at the University of Vigo (Galicia, Spain), in collaboration with regional open-air museums and educational centres...

Longhouses built using earth-fast post technique belong to the most important and most successful house types of middle European prehistory. The footprints of these structures, in various styles, are identifiable from the very beginning of the Neolithic period up to the Middle Ages, and sometimes up to early modern times. The history of longhouses is closely connected with...

This two-year research project was carried out as part of SUNY Potsdam’s Presidential Scholars program which allows undergraduates to conduct independent research. The project employs controlled laboratory experiments to compare desiccation rates in natural and artificial mummification processes while considering the cultural context of the funerary practices. Artificial mummification techniques of ...

10th EAC Leiden 2017
***An undergraduate student who hopes to secure meaningful work or pursue graduate studies needs to have excellent grades. This is true for all disciplines, but especially for niche fields like archaeology. Grades alone, however, are rarely enough. Employers and graduate schools seek candidates that are not only ‘book smart’ but who have...

10th EAC Leiden 2017
***Artificially patinated copper alloys are found archaeologically in polychrome artefacts from the 19th century BC Egypt to historical and contemporary Japan. The unusual colour variations observed in these patinas, ranging from black to blue to purple, is due to a minor amount of gold (Au) and silver (Ag) in their copper matrix, whereas...

10th EAC Leiden 2017
***During fifteen days of June 2015, the team of l’Esquerda worked in a research project to build a Carolingian wooden watchtower on the River Ter, in Roda de Ter, Catalonia, Spain. The idea was to test our hypotheses experimentally, (a) if the wooden watchtower could...