methods & techniques

Working with Artisans; The ‘It Depends’ Dilemma

Author(s)
Christina Petty 1
Publication Date
We live in a world where scientific method is both the expected and accepted path to knowledge. With any scientific method, experiments based on detailed, well-documented, well-considered theories, and precise set-ups must be replicated exactly by others who come to the same conclusion to consider the information gleaned from them to be valid. This has become the accepted practice for most...

Have you got the tine? Prehistoric Methods in Antler Working

Author(s)
Andy Langley 1 ✉,
Izzy Wisher 1
Publication Date
Antler working was prevalent throughout prehistory, with a breadth of intricately detailed and technologically complex antler artefacts observed within the archaeological record. In particular, during the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic, antler working with flint tools would have been a time-consuming process. While the chaîne opératoire of producing certain antler artefacts has previously been explored...

Some Uses of Experiment for Understanding Early Knitting and Erasmus' Bonnet

Author(s)
Geeske M. Kruseman 1
Publication Date

The experimental work directly related to the archaeological evidence turned out to be essential to the investigation, but much of it was too technical for the original publication. Experimental archaeology is its proper context, and I presented the posters this article is based on at the EXARC conference in Leiden in April 2017 (Kruseman, 2017a) and at the KEME symposium in Copenhagen in August 2017 (Kruseman 2017b). Thank you to the organizers and participants!

Public Access to (Pre-)History Through Archaeology

Author(s)
Katie Stringer Clary 1
Publication Date
Public history, like experimental archaeology, is relatively new as an accepted academic program; the two fields are intrinsically linked and should, ideally, use interdisciplinary collaboration to better educate and involve the public in their work. This paper presents case studies in education and interpretation by the author, as well as exemplary programs from various sites in the United States and Europe...

Book Review: Forensic Archaeology: the Application of Comparative Excavation Methods and Recording Systems by Laura Evis

Author(s)
Ceilidh Lerwick 1
Publication Date
This book is a rewrite of Evis’ PhD thesis compiled between October 2010 and March 2014 at Bournemouth University (University of Exeter 2017). The study was an evaluation of the archaeological excavation methods and recording systems used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australasia and North America...

The Modern Reproduction of a Mongol Era Bow Based on Historical Facts and Ancient Technology Research

Author(s)
Jason Wayne Beever 1,
Zoran Pavlović 2
Publication Date
This bow was a concept, commissioned from Ulrich Velthuysen, a Swedish archer. This horn bow could be classified as a post-conquest design from early 14th century AD Mongolia. In this article, I will describe, step-by-step, the gathering and processing of materials, and the construction of this design of horn bow...

Experimental Archaeology in Latvia: some Possibilities for Future Development

Author(s)
Artūrs Tomsons 1,2
Publication Date

Experimental Archaeology in Latvia, during the past years has acquired a new direction. Although it has a long history of experimental reconstruction, best known for the excavation and rebuilding of the Late Iron Age Latgallian settlement in Āraiši by Dr. Jānis Apals, in last years, after the initiative of the current author...

A Course in Experiential Archaeology at an Archeopark as a Part of Active University Education

Author(s)
Veronika Mikešová 1 ✉,
D. Maršálek 1
Publication Date
As with any other science, archaeology constantly adopts new methods and trends over time. University education in the field can be very helpful advancing sciences in every country. This type of education influences the early stages of future top scientists and forms their future careers. Therefore, education should reflect not only scientific innovations but also innovative educational methods...

Obituary: Steve Watts (25 July 1947 - 21 March 2016)

Author(s)
Doug Meyer 1
Publication Date
I first met Steve in the summer of 1990. I was a student at University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) following a summer course in anthropology called Southeastern Indians. The course included several field trips, one of which was to the Schiele Museum where we visited the Catawba Village and listened to a presentation by Steve Watts...