Archaeometry & Materials Analysis (Other Keyword)
301-325 (484 Records)
This is an abstract from the "Local and/or Exotic Interactions: Symbols, Materials, and Societies" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Middle Stone Age was a period of important innovations for Homo sapiens, including but not restricted to heat-treatment of silcrete, hafting adhesive, symbolic behaviors such as engravings, or exploitation of ochre. Though southern African Middle Stone Age lithics and ochre are commonly studied, combined studies of...
Of Snakes and Masks: A Contextual and Iconographic Study of Ancient Maya Greenstone Mosaic Masks (2021)
This is an abstract from the "Dancing through Iconographic Corpora: A Symposium in Honor of F. Kent Reilly III" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. We argue that ancient Maya portable mosaic masks, found in high-elite burials across the Maya Lowlands, could have, at some point during the Late Classic period (AD 550–800) and perhaps even earlier, been the ideal insignias of the Kaanul “snake” regime, which in ancient Maya writing is represented by the...
Old Site, New Data: Challenges and Success in the Re-Analysis of the North Shore Site, Providence Covelands Archaeological District (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Archaeological Science Outside the Ivory Tower: Perspectives from CRM" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The multi-component North Shore site has been frequently cited as a point of comparison in regional subsistence, settlement, and ceramics studies in part because 1980s-era archaeological investigations included marine shell thin section and tooth cementum analyses, and a large number of radiocarbon dates used to...
Olmec Asphalt Trade Revealed by Combined Biomarker and Chemometric Analysis (2023)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Within the Olmec region, resources such as basalt, asphalt, cacao, kaolin clay, and hematite pigment are available in discreet areas. This uneven distribution of raw materials has led some scholars to suggest that Olmec leaders controlled the sources of raw materials and regional trade, from which they derived their economic and political power. The...
Ongoing Excavations at Big Village (42EM2861) in Range Creek Canyon, Utah (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Excavations were conducted from 2007 to 2013 by the University of Utah at Big Village (42EM2861) in Range Creek Canyon, Utah, to explore questions related to Fremont residential site structure and adaptations, primarily by exploring the relationships between surface features and subsurface features and artifact assemblages. Additional excavations performed...
The Origin and Spread of Antimony as a Raw Material in Metal and Vitreous Materials Making: From the Bronze Age to the Roman Period (2019)
This is an abstract from the "The Movement of Technical Knowledge: Cross-Craft Perspectives on Mobility and Knowledge in Production Technologies" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Antimony has a long history of use in metallurgy and glass making. The first attestation of Cu-Sb alloys dates to the 5th millennium BC (e.g. Nahal Mhismar), while its widespread adoption started around 3500 BC. Metallic antimony objects are reported in Mesopotamia (e.g....
The Origin of Metallurgy in China: Retrospect and Prospect (2019)
This is an abstract from the "New Thoughts on Current Research in East Asian Archaeology" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Early metallurgy is considered one of the most essential factors to the development of Chinese civilization, and the controversy concerning its origin has been going on for decades.With increasing number of early bronzes found in the past decades, scholars keep renewing their views on this topic, and as a result, the controversy...
Overview and Preliminary Results from the 2022 Excavation at Fort Louise Augusta, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands (2023)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The former Danish West Indies are one of the scant examples of Scandinavian colonialism and the only example of Danish colonialism in the Americas. Although considered latecomers to the region, the Danes maintained almost continuous control of their West Indies from their initial settlement until the islands were sold to the United States in 1917. This...
The Palace of Xalla at Teotihuacan: An Overview of a Multifunctional Palace (2021)
This is an abstract from the "The Palace of Xalla in Teotihuacan: A Possible Seat of Power in the Ancient Metropolis" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The palace of Xalla is located between the pyramids of the Sun and the Moon. It is a 55,000 m2 palatial complex with plazas, structures, rooms, porticoes, and patios, surrounded by a double wall for patrol walk. It has been excavated extensively by Linda R. Manzanilla and her team from 2000 to 2020,...
Palace Pottery Production on Cerro Baúl: The Particularity of Paste Recipes (2024)
This is an abstract from the "The Elemental Analysis Facility at the Field Museum: Celebrating 20 Years Serving the Archaeological Community " session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Decorated ceramic vessels carried meaningful symbols and were an important element of the Wari Empire's political economy. Wari, a powerful early Andean state, expanded sometime near the middle of the first millennium and pioneered institutions that were refined and deployed...
A Paleoclimate Study from Central Washington State along the Main-Stem Columbia River (2023)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Paleoenvironmental data is an important variable to consider when investigating and assessing prehistoric cultural change. This study presents a new paleoenvironmental reconstruction from central Washington State within the Columbia Plateau cultural area. This analysis represents the first large-scale paleoenvironmental reconstruction on the main-stem...
Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction of Two Paleoindian Sites in North-Central New Mexico (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Mapping environmental change through time can help archaeologists better understand patterns of human resource use. This poster presents the δ13C and δ18O values for bison teeth at two Paleoindian sites (Boca Negra Wash and Water Canyon) in north-central New Mexico. The δ13C and δ18O values are compared across the two sites to evaluate if there is a change...
Pastoralist Intensification and Dietary Dynamics in the Mongolian Steppe: Multi-isotope Analyses of Human and Faunal Collagen (2021)
This is an abstract from the "New Directions in Mongolian Archaeology" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The initial spread of pastoralism into the Mongolian steppe during the third millennium cal BC marked a major transformation in human subsistence. Dairying was practiced by early pastoralist groups, evidenced by the identification of milk proteins preserved in human dental calculus. However, we have a poor understanding of how the focused...
Perishable Artifacts from Rockshelters and Caves in the Guadalupe Mountains of New Mexico and Texas: Dating and Stylistic Study of Sandals, Baskets, Matting, and Cordage from Early Twentieth-Century Excavations (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Office of Contract Archeology at the University of New Mexico is performing investigations of organic artifacts from two caves and seven rockshelters in the Guadalupe Mountains of southeastern New Mexico and west Texas. These caves (Burnet Cave, LA 101435, and Hermit’s Cave, LA 4992) and rockshelters were excavated in the early twentieth century, and...
Personal Ornaments and the Middle Paleolithic Revolution (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Culturing the Body: Prehistoric Perspectives on Identity and Sociality" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition is a watershed. By the later Upper Paleolithic, all continents were occupied, all the world’s ecosystems were exploited, and all aspects of ethnographically observed hunter-gatherer culture the archaeological record can preserve are indeed found. Prior to about 100,000 years...
Phytolith Analysis of Experimental Fires: Insights into the Prehistory of Fire (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Cooking Hypothesis suggests the morphological changes in the Homo lineage, including larger brains, were due to incorporating controlled combustion to cook food. Most archaeological evidence for fire comes from cave sites, which are less likely to be exposed to post-depositional processes (e.g. wind and water) that can destroy combustion evidence. Yet the...
Pib Naah y la Partería: Birth Rituals and Midwifery at Río Amarillo, Copan, Honduras (2023)
This is an abstract from the "The Role of Women in Mesoamerican Ritual" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper explores evidence of women’s ritual practice at Río Amarillo, a site located 20 km from the Classic period center of Copan. While the ritual activities of royal women are largely hidden from view in Copan’s Acropolis, excavations at the site of Río Amarillo and in the groups surrounding it uncovered two contexts that were particularly...
Pigment Composition and Color Structure and Usage in the Lienzos De Chiepetlan, Guerrero, Mexico: A Non-destructive Analysis (2019)
This is an abstract from the "From Materials to Materiality: Analysis and Interpretation of Archaeological and Historical Artifacts Using Non-destructive and Micro/Nano-sampling Scientific Methods" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The community of Chiepetlan, Guerrero possesses six colonial lienzos. One manufactured during the 16th century, and four manufactured during the 18th century and used as legal documents in colonial land disputes. The...
Place-Making, Fire, and the Praxis of Becoming Angkor (2024)
This is an abstract from the "States, Confederacies, and Nations: Reenvisioning Early Large-Scale Collectives." session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The ninth- to fifteenth-century Angkorian state was premodern Southeast Asia’s earliest large-scale collective, and its roots extend back to an early first-century CE polity described as Funan, and then to a confederation of successor states called Chenla. Place-making was intrinsic to Angkorian rulership:...
Plan de las Mesas, Copan, Honduras: Teotihuacan Is in the House (2024)
This is an abstract from the "Mountains, Rain, and Techniques of Governance in Mesoamerica" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Plan de las Mesas archaeological site rests high above the Copan Valley, 2.5 km northwest of the Acropolis. Inhabited by at least the Preclassic, evidence suggests that it functioned as a defensive fortress, or citadel, by the Early Classic period. This paper focuses on Group 1, Plaza B, and Group 12. Group 12 rests on a...
Plant Exudates of Arizona: Use, Properties, and Testing (2021)
This is an abstract from the "Plant Exudates and Other Binders, Adhesives, and Coatings in the Americas" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In the material culture of the American Southwest, several plant and insect exudates were utilized as adhesives, coatings, paints, and dyes, as well as for medicinal purposes. Their use is described in ethnohistorical and anthropological accounts. However, many of these materials are misidentified in these...
Plant Fiber and Foraging Tools in the Eastern Great Basin (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Cordage, Yarn, and Associated Paraphernalia" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Analysis of the plant fiber from eastern Great Basin sites show a pattern of continuity in their selection and use over time, suggesting they were regularly preferred for specific tools. Archaeologists currently have no quantitative explanation of what may have influenced forager fiber choices. Explaining why a forager has chosen a particular...
Population Dynamics and Subsistence Variability on the Farming/Hunter-Gatherer Boundary: Central Western Argentina as a Case Study (2024)
This is an abstract from the "Global Perspectives on Human Population Dynamics, Innovation, and Ecosystem Change" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This case study integrates times-series of multiple types of proxy to evaluate causal relationships between population dynamic, subsistence/diet variation, and ecosystem change. The presentation evaluates whether intensification based on wild and domesticated resources takes different evolutionary...
Pottery Rituals and Ritual Pottery: Ceramic Production, Use, and Disposal among the Guancavilca of Coastal Ecuador (AD 800–1532) (2018)
The Colonche Valley of coastal Ecuador represents an east-west corridor as well as the apex of north-south interconnected valleys. Hilltop sites of the Manteno-Guancavilca (AD 800-1532) have been reported across the high flat ridgetops of these valleys since the early 20th century. Recent comparative analysis of surface vessels at newly discovered sites in the eastern Colonche Valley demonstrates the coalescence of examples of all types found at sites throughout the valleys. Mineralogical and...
Pottery, Practice and Provenance. Interpreting Ceramic Data from the Middle Preclassic site of Holtun, Guatemala (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Where Is Provenance? Bridging Method, Evidence, and Theory for the Interpretation of Local Production" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Formal studies of archaeological pottery have moved far beyond traditional typological approaches through applications of complementary instrumental analyses, borrowed mainly from the Natural Sciences. No contemporary study of archaeological pottery is complete without some form of...