post depositional process

Trampling Experiments – A Contribution to the Pseudo-Retouch Issue

Author(s)
Katarina Šprem 1 ✉,
Katarina Gerometta 1,
Ivor Karavanić 2
Publication Date
11th EAC Trento 2019
***Apart from human-made retouch, stone tools can also exhibit traces of damage caused by several post depositional processes, one of which is trampling. Edge damage provoked by trampling, be it of animal or human origin, is sometimes interpreted as human-made retouch ...

Comparing Mummification Processes: Egyptian & Inca

Author(s)
Emma J. Williams 1
Publication Date
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 ...

‘Re-rolling’ a Mummy: an Experimental Spectacle at Manchester Museum

Author(s)
Lidija McKnight 1
Publication Date

Introduction

The unwrapping and dissection of mummified bodies was a common practice in 19th century Europe. These autopsies were conducted as part of scientific endeavours and social spectacles, motivated by a desire to advance the fields of science, medicine and archaeology, coupled with a sense of macabre fascination (Moshenska, 2014). The scientific capability required to study mummified remains non-invasively had yet to be developed, leading to the destruction of many hundreds of specimens. 

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...

Post depositional process

Later changes to archaeological remains, for example by animals, humans, organic and inorganic processes.

The Mummification of Votive Birds: Past and Present

Author(s)
Stephanie D. Atherton 1,
Lidija M. McKnight 1
Publication Date

Introduction

Animal mummies can be divided into four types: pets, mummified to accompany their owners into the Afterlife; victual, prepared and mummified food offerings for consumption in the Afterlife; cult, an individual selected based upon specific characteristics and markings to be an avatar for their prospective deity; and votive, where the whole population of certain species associated with a particular deity were classed as sacred and therefore worthy of mummification (Ikram and Iskander 2002; Ikram 2005; McKnight 2010).

Book Review: Experimental Archaeology and Fire. The Investigation of a Burnt Reconstruction at West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village by Jess Tipper

Author(s)
Claudia Speciale 1
Publication Date
What should an archaeologist do if one of the reconstructions of an experimental village is accidentally burning during the night? Simple: pick up a camera and start taking pictures. And then, of course, plan the excavation to record as much information as possible followed by an analytical and detailed publication on the results...

Lithic Experiments in Rescue Archaeology: a Case from Southern Norway

Author(s)
Svein Vatsvåg Nielsen 1 ✉,
J. Åkerstrøm 1,
T. Vihovde 1
Publication Date

To test whether or not the form of the discovered quartz was a result of prehistoric technological choices, a fracture analysis on collected vein quartz from Aust-Agder County was conducted1 . Lithic experimentation is traditionally associated with either institutionalized academic research or post-production phases of excavations.