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Experimentation, Ethnoarchaeology and the Leapfrogs in Archaeological Methodology (1978)
Abstract
The main agenda of this essay is that observation of and experimentation with archaeological materials cannot be separated from hypothesis building and testing, and, as a corollary, that basic research in archaeological materials is as much an integral part of archaeological question answering as the philosophical model building of Binford, Plog, and Clarke.
The two aspects of archaeological research discussed here - ethnoarchaeological and experimental archaeology - both manifest many of the attributes of traditional empirical investigation and have been spurned and belittled by the philosophers of archaeology as peripheral to the New Methodology, as unscientific, and as having only specific time-space utility. This chapter examines the methodological procedures by which these two aspects of our discipline may be transformed to play an integral part in hypothesis testing and in the formulation of probability statements in archaeological research.
We can define ethnoarchaeology as the structure for a series of observations on behavioral patterns of living societies which are designed to answer archaeologically oriented questions. "Experimental archaeology" - that is, experiments as part of archaeological investigations - on the other hand, comprises a series of observations on behavior that is artificially induced. Both may involve more or less rigorously controlled conditions and recorded results.
Both are important aspects of a materialist study of behavior, pertinent to the study not only of past behavior but also of that of the present and the future. Theoretically, both ethnoarchaeological and experimental observations should provide valuable resources for testing hypotheses concerning archaeological data. Ethnoarchaeological observations are not in competition with experimental observations in providing valuable data on behavior; their information is of a different kind, and this distinction should be made self-consciously when using these data, since it affects conclusions and the confirmation of hypotheses.
The stress in this chapter falls on the side of experiments in archaeology, since my own research has been directly concerned with this aspect of archaeological testing. But my argument will emphasize that both sources of information, although separate, increase their value in interpreting archaeological data when one recognizes and takes advantage of their close interrelationship and interdependence.
... It is accepted that experimentation has contributed effectively to the development of archaeology, with respect, inter alia, to its contributions as an interpretive tool and for the scientific evaluation of different technological and functional construction processes. Since its rise in the Anglo-Saxon world in the 1960s from the studies of Ascher (1961;1970), Coles (1973;, Ingersoll et al. (1977), Tringham (1978) and Reynolds (1979), this methodology has been implemented throughout Europe in countries such as Denmark, France, Belgium and Germany, especially in regards to the study and research of technology and functional reconstructions of prehistoric and protohistoric housing structures. In Catalonia and Spain the use of the experimental method as an interpretive tool in applied research has been late in its development over the last twenty years. 1 However, it's increasingly frequent application in classical archaeology means that it is used more and more in the study of techniques, materials and construction technology, including techno-functional study of machinery, tools, procedures and production processes from the Roman period (Vertet 1983;Ramos and Fuentes 1998;Calero 2004;; Martin i Oliveras and Bayés 2009). ...
... 2. The next data to consider is what mechanical conditions are necessary for the press to function effectively. 3. Thirdly, we used the data provided by classical authors, especially Cato's description of an ideal torcularium in De Agricultura and Jean-Pierre Brun and André Tchernia's interpretation of this structure (Brun 1986;Tchernia and Brun 1999). 4. When the necessary information could not be provided by archaeological evidence or written sources, we made recourse to known archaeological parallels with these types of structures, giving priority to those closest to the site. ...
... Technologies are also social phenomena in which immaterial ideas coalesce with physical materials and become articulated through human action and choice (Sillar and Tite, 2000, p.2;Pfaffenberger, 1988, p.241). With experimental archaeology, the reproduction of past objects, processes, and technologies can then be used as analogies for the study of the archaeological record (O'Sullivan et al., 2014, p.115;Ascher, 1961;Tringham, 1978;Coles, 1979;Reynolds, 1999;Sillar and Tite, 2000). Moreover, chaîne opératoire is not only the identification and classification of processes or stages in production, because each one requires knowledge, experience or, indeed, a skillset that is linked to human action (Pelegrin, 1990). ...
Research into the study of wheel-making techniques has grown, but studies of the tool or the wheel and its properties have remained understudied or considered insignificant until recently. In order to develop this research, the wheel and its practicalities, such as the physics, should be incorporated more into research of making techniques. Through the application of chaîne opératoire and experimental archaeology, this research questioned whether different wheel types produce different macroscopic traces on pots produced by the same technique. There are several results presented here that can shed light on the way archaeologists should investigate and understand early wheel potting, in particular the physics of rotation, which has received minimal attention as a result of a predominance for researching techniques over the tool (the wheel). The application of this research is used to better understand pottery and potter’s wheels from their adoption and development during the Middle Bronze Age on Crete, c. 2000 to 1500 BCE. A revision of experimental work and methodologies is combined with archaeological experimentation in order to help clarify not only how tools such as the wheel were used but subsequently what roles these craftworkers played in past societies.
... Clearly, these two kinds of experiments are complementary. Field experiments should be conducted repeatedly to refine them and acquire reliable data (Tringham 1978;Schiffer and Skibo 1987;Wagner et al. 1998;Shimada 2005;Shimada et al. 1998Shimada et al. , 2003a). ...
Not all «black» pottery was produced in the same manner just as their social and symbolic uses and reasons for production varied a good deal. Nor are many examples truly black. The Middle Sicán culture (AD 900-1100) on the north coast of Peru distinguished itself with the perfection and large-scale production of black pottery made of fine paste. Based on our «holistic» study of a Middle Sicán workshop (including experimental firing and detailed chemical analyses of both archaeological and experimental samples), we present a detailed characterization of the blackware production technology and organization. Our study revealed that the glossy Middle Sicán blackware resulted from various factors including firing under strongly reducing conditions in small semi-closed kilns, an even carbon deposition on the vessel surface as well as penetration into the body, and the formation of graphite crystals on the well-burnished surface. Chimú reduced ware, in contrast, is typically made of coarser pastes, not as well burnished, and fired in relatively large “pit kilns” that did not permit a tight control over temperature and atmosphere. We infer that the prestige of the Middle Sicán religion and its art together with the lustrous, truly black appearance of the pottery that had been rarely achieved before played an important role in establishing the popularity of black pottery not only in the Sicán heartland but also much of the coastal Peru.
... Aunque muchos investigadores han propuesto clasificaciones particulares de los tipos de experimentos, en líneas generales se podrían separar en dos conjuntos. Por un lado, las experiencias que se desarrollan en "condiciones de laboratorio", bajo un riguroso control de las variables seleccionadas, que implica observaciones inducidas de forma artificial con el uso de tecnología adecuada para poder reproducir y medir lo observado (Schenck, 2011;Reynolds, 1999;Tringham, 1978). Por otro lado, los llamados experimentos integrales, simulativos o actualísticos, que implican la simulación y/o replicación experimental de actividades, procesos, condiciones materiales, técnicas etc. que pudieron tener lugar en el pasado, observando las posibles relaciones causa-efecto que no pueden observarse en 146 ISSN 1852-060X (impreso) / ISSN 1852-4826 (electrónico) DOI: http://doi.org/10. ...
El Primer Congreso Argentino de Estudios Líticos en Arqueología (CAELA), tuvo lugar en septiembre de 2018 en la ciudad de Córdoba. Este encuentro presentó la oportunidad para debatir y actualizar las diversas investigaciones desarrolladas en torno a los análisis líticos en el ámbito nacional. En este marco, se llevó a cabo el simposio de Arqueología Experimental del cual surgen los trabajos reunidos en este volumen especial.
... In Popper's own words: ''One can sum up all this by saying that the criterion of the scientific status of a theory is its falsifiability, or refutability, or testability'' (Popper 1974:33-59). This approach has only rarely been explicitly adopted by archaeologists (among these occasions, Tringham 1978;Bell 1982;Burdukiewicz 2006;Eriksen 2013). ...
In 2007 the name “Khirbet Qeiyafa” was still unknown both to professional archaeologists and to the public. In 2008 Khirbet Qeiyafa became world-famous. This spectacular success is entirely due to the figure of King David, who is so well known from the biblical tradition but is a very elusive figure from the archaeological or historical point of view. Nowhere else had an archaeological layer that can be related to this king been uncovered, not even in Jerusalem. For the first time in the archaeology of Judah, a fortified city from the time of King David had been exposed.
The date of the site was obtained by accurate radiometric measurements conducted on short-lived samples of burned olive pits. The location in the Elah Valley, just one day’s walk from Jerusalem, places the site in the core area of the Kingdom of Judah. Moreover, it is exactly in this area and this era that the biblical tradition places the famous combat between the inexperienced and anonymous young shepherd David and the well-equipped giant Philistine warrior Goliath. Khirbet Qeiyafa has become the point of contact between archaeology, biblical studies, ancient history and mythology.
The fieldwork at Khirbet Qeiyafa lasted seven seasons, from 2007 to 2013. This book, written at the end of the excavation phase, summarizes the main results, supplies answers to various issues concerning the site that have been raised over the last few years, and presents a comprehensive interim report. We are using this opportunity to discuss various methodological issues that relate to archaeology and the biblical tradition, and how to combine the two.
Over time archaeologists interested in pottery combustion structures mainly focused on analysing the ability of particular kilns to meet certain pyrotechnological criteria. Thus, their research was based on testing multiple firing techniques for achieving different combustion atmoshperes, recording and examining thermal data (maximum temperatures/heating rate/soaking time), temporal information about the firing and fuelling stages, as well as the type/quantity of fuel used during the process. Although the above mentioned set of data is highly valuable when studying such features, we believe that recording a broader range of information within this segment may be indispensable for identifying hidden elements involved in building and using pyrotechnology.
The current paper aims to provide the basis for a complex foundation when documenting these types of experiments, by presenting new recording strategies applied over the years during the experimental archaeology program carried out at Sultana-Malu Roșu (Romania). In the following study we will discuss in detail the whole package regarding constructive, material, quantitative, labor, temporal and thermal data, we rely on in our work. Also, we will highlight the benefits of using this type of approach and how by correlating archaeological and experimental data one can reveal some of the hidden aspects concerning know-how, decision making, skills and effort involved in making and using such structures.
Ultimately, this type of informational spectrum has the great potential of improving data collection during experiments and increase our possibilities of understanding the overall construction/use processes of pottery combustion structures, during different chronological periods.
En este trabajo se muestra el impacto del imperio wari en el modo de vida de la población local de la bahía de pescadores de Ancón en relación con los indicadores óseos de estrés no específico, así como la evidencia de la manufactura de ofrendas funerarias en material malacológico y lapidario. Se exponen los resultados del análisis de 11 individuos de la Necrópolis de Miramar correspondientes a fines del Horizonte Medio (800-1100 d. C.) y se integran las observaciones de los estudios de traceología del material malacológico y lapidario desarrollado con microscopio electrónico de barrido y arqueología experimental sobre 72 piezas de ofrendas funerarias. El resultado del análisis óseo muestra que la mayor vulnerabilidad se presentaba en los menores de dos años y los adultos jóvenes masculinos, donde los neonatos e infantes son los que tenían la mayor cantidad y variedad de materiales pétreos de diferentes regiones de los Andes Centrales y moluscos de aguas tropicales. A pesar de la diversidad de procedencias, la elaboración de objetos fue homogénea y estandarizada resultado de una producción local, donde la élite debió beneficiarse de la adquisición de estos bienes.
RESUMEN En el Valle de Ónavas, Sonora, México, en la zona media del río Yaqui, se encontraron varias piezas de verde claro a un material de color verde o azul intenso visualmente identificado turquesa durante un trabajo de campo realizado allí en 2004. Se suponía que la fuente de este material provenía del suroeste americano, aunque hay que reconocer que existen ciertas fuentes de turquesa en Sonora, que pueden haber sido explotadas también en la época prehispánica. En este texto se presentan nuevos estudios sobre la turquesa identificada, las posibles fuentes de las piezas de color turquesa del Valle de Ónavas y las posibles implicaciones de gran alcance de estos resultados.
Research on the technique of fresco painting in Macedonian tombs of the late classical period, is currently in progress through the experimental reproduction of the mural the Tomb of Persephone in the Grand Tumulus of Vergina. The purpose of the research is to identify the techniques used by ancient craftspeople, their tools, materials and working conditions, as well as the time required to complete this type of work. Examples of experimental archaeology projects that have taken place in Greece, the conditions and restrictions of this particular experiment and problems arising from this kind of research are presented, while some of the misconceptions about the nature of lime plaster-based wall painting techniques are also pinpointed. The requirements for such an undertaking include a) in situ observation, b) comparison of the artwork with artworks of earlier and later periods, c) the production of reconstructions and graphs, d) comparison of literature from different scientific disciplines, e) numerous experiments, and f) the acquirement of hands-on technical know-how. Demonstrating the approach methodology used in this research, several ways of approaching the actual experience of the ancient craftsman-painter are suggested. Different forms of preparatory work are proposed, including practice with different materials. Finally, two types of supports suitable for large scale lime-based painting are introduced.
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