Archaeometry & Materials Analysis (Other Keyword)
126-150 (357 Records)
This is an abstract from the "Hill People: New Research on Tijeras Canyon and the East Mountains" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Paa-ko Pueblo, also known as the mission of San Pedro due to its colonial period component, is one of the better studied sites in the East Mountain region. However, the research presented here represents the first systematic look at late Rio Grande Glaze Ware (RGGW) pottery excavated from the site’s colonial context(s)....
Granite Use at an Ancient Maya Boomtown (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Recent Advances in Ground Stone Studies in the Eastern Maya Lowlands" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In this presentation, we discuss our research into the use of granite by the ancient inhabitants of Alabama: a Late to Terminal Classic boomtown of the eastern Maya lowlands. One of our initial hypotheses regarding the relatively sudden rise of the town toward the end of the Late Classic period focused on granite as a...
Ground-truthing Historic European Accounts of Great Plains Indian Dog Husbandry with Stable Isotopes (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Zooarchaeology and Technology: Case Studies and Applications" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Historic journals and early ethnographic accounts have the potential to inform on Native American cultural norms, including interaction with commensals, such as dogs. However, these accounts are imperfect due to biases couched in ethnocentrism and personal interests. This research seeks to test historic accounts related to dog...
Hands-On Learning Applications in University Archaeological Science Courses (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Pedagogy in the Undergraduate Archaeology Classroom" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Material evidence is the hallmark of archaeological investigations, but bringing the reality of actual materials to the classroom can be challenging. We observe that the multisensory impact of hands-on activities in the classroom conveys key information and is a valuable way to engage students at the first-year, advanced undergraduate...
Heavy Metal Animals: A Preliminary Study of Anthropogenic Pollution in Animals from the Southern Carpathian Bronze Age (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Recent Advances in Zooarchaeological Methods" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In the past archaeology rarely played a role in the discussion of anthropogenic pollution. This lack of study is mainly due to the skepticism around the accurate representation of heavy metals in archaeological material as a result of diagenetic processes. In this study, we present preliminary results of a systematic selection of animal...
High-Altitude Hunting and the Emergence of Mobile Pastoralism in Eastern Eurasia (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 emergence of herding economies prompted drastic changes to life in eastern Eurasia—situating the cold, arid steppes of Mongolia as a center of the ancient world. Although a growing body of evidence points to an important role for mountain zones in this transition, issues of archaeological preservation have prevented a clear understanding of...
High-Elevation Bison in the Rocky Mountain Front Range during the Late Holocene (2023)
This is an abstract from the "A Tribute to the Contributions of Lawrence C. Todd to World Prehistory" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. During the late Holocene, large bison herds occurred in grass-dominated ecological zones across much of the North American mid-continent. However, in situ fossils and historic accounts illustrate the adaptability of bison to a broad ecological niche space, from grassy prairies and plains to eastern forests. Yet,...
Historical Ecology and Archaeometallurgy on the 5th and 6th century Osaka Plain (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Current Issues in Japanese Archaeology (2019 Archaeological Research in Asia Symposium)" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Extensive excavation records and legacy materials provide ample opportunities for novel research in Japan. This project seeks to open and demonstrate new avenues of inquiry using legacy data and previously excavated materials related to well-studied topics by linking environmental change to the...
Human Presence and Intersocietal Interactions in the Laurentians (Quebec, Canada) (2018)
The Laurentians is a region of rolling hills, mountains and lakes occupying a strategic position in the vast hydrographic basin that drains the northern shore of the Saint Lawrence River. Archaeological fieldwork undertaken since 2015 demonstrates the integration of this landscape within interaction networks encompassing several other regions of the greater Northeast at various time periods. Ceramic remains, notably, reveal close links between Alquonquins of the Laurentians and both Hurons to...
Human-Environment System Change and Stability in the Farming/Hunter-Gatherer Transition (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Global Perspectives on Climate-Human Population Dynamics During the Late Holocene" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Central Western Argentina shows during historical times a surprising mosaic of human strategies, ranging from populations with domestic plants and animals in one extreme, to populations focused on wild resources in the other. In general, this variation was associated with more sedentary and dense...
Hydrogen and Oxygen (δ2H and δ18O) Isotopes and the Study of Human-Turkey Relationships in the Northern US Southwest (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Isotopic and Animal aDNA Analyses in the Southwest/Northwest" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Previous studies have established consistency, but also substantial anomalies, in how turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) were managed across the US Southwest/Mexican Northwest. In this paper, we present bone collagen derived stable hydrogen (δ2H) and bone apatite derived stable oxygen (δ18O) isotopes in turkeys from Tijeras Pueblo...
Identification of Earthen Construction Techniques in the Casas Grandes Region, Chihuahua, Mexico (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This study compares pre-Columbian earthen construction techniques in three archaeological sites of the Casas Grandes region: Paquimé, Arroyo Seco, and Cueva de la Olla. These sites are found in different geological and geomorphological setting, although they present similar architectural typology. Their construction techniques were examined by archaeometric...
Identification of Fragmented Mammoth Ivory in Archaeological Sites Using SEM Microscopy (2021)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Although mammoth ivory appears distinctive from other organic materials when found in large pieces, many morphological characteristics that distinguish ivory – such as Schreger lines – cannot be easily identified in small fragments. However, other characteristics, including dental tubules and canals, can be microscopically identified. In this study, I...
Identifying Consumption of Putrefied Meat in the Archaeological Record from δ15N Values (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Speth (2017) proposed that the consumption of putrid meat and fish might be a dietary item that is underexplored in the Upper Paleolithic food menu. In this presentation we explore ways to identify the consumption of putrid foods. We compare the results from our study of Δ15N observed in mammal muscle tissue decomposing during winter with published stable...
Identifying Patterns of Ceramic Compositional Variability from Residential Contexts in Three Late Classic Maya Polities (2018)
Archaeologists have had a long-standing interest in domestic economy because households are often considered to be the primary social unit of production, consumption, and reproduction in most agrarian societies and occupy an important place in the study of ancient state economies. A relatively novel avenue for exploring broader patterns in the domestic economies of ancient Maya polities involves compositional analysis of ceramics. Variability in the compositional makeup of the ceramics can show...
Identifying the "Why" Of Ancient Engineering Choices: Materials Performance and the Production of Ceramic Bronze-Casting Molds in Zhou-Period China (2018)
Bronze ritual vessels from Shang- and Zhou-period China display a combination of features—complex, three-dimensional forms; exquisitely fine surface detail; and monumental size—that was achieved by casting in multi-part ceramic molds. The ceramic material used to form these casting molds is soft, powdery, and silica rich, making it altogether different from pottery clays in both its physical qualities and its production sequence. Why was such a material chosen? Which specific materials...
The Impact of Ceramic Raw Materials on the Development of Hopewell and Preclassic Maya Pottery (2021)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (ED-XRF), and X-ray diffractometry (XRD) are used to compare the mineralogical and chemical composition of pottery from Colha, a Preclassic Maya site in Belize and the Twin Mounds Village, a Middle Woodland, Hopewell site in...
Implications of Ostrich Eggshell Diagenesis Experiments and Observations for Isoscape Analyses (2021)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Ostrich eggshell (OES) is widely used for environmental reconstruction with carbon, oxygen and nitrogen isotopes, and radiocarbon dating. Strontium isotope ratios of OES artifacts can be used to reconstruct object biography, human mobility, and interaction networks. OES can provide an isotopic baseline for reconstructing past environments and provenience of...
In the Reed Buckets There Is Sweet Beer: An Archaeology of Beer, Brewing, and Women in Mesopotamia (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Drinking Beer in a Blissful Mood: A Global Archaeology of Beer" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. “Like the onrush of the Tigris and the Euphrates,” the filtered beer pours into collection vats and from there into serving jars and beakers for the happy drinkers. Or so the Hymn to Ninkasi suggests. By the time the poet impressed those words into clay, beer had been brewed for generations with the practiced gestures and...
Inka Materiality in Local Practice: A Case Study from Huarochirí (Lima, Peru) (2021)
This is an abstract from the "Indigenous Stories of the Inka Empire: Local Experiences of Ancient Imperialism" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The results from archaeological excavations on a residential settlement and a ritual-public center in Huarochirí suggest minimal use of Inka-style material culture in most everyday life contexts. At the same time, architectural intervention suggests a significant transformation on both sites’ layouts....
Inscriptions and Technology: Knowledge of the Artisans Who Created China’s Terracotta Army (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Craft and Technology: Knowledge of the Ancient Chinese Artisans" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This study offers a new perspective and combines multidisciplinary methods, with the aim of revealing knowledge and behaviour of the artisans in ancient China. It considers the inscriptions incised, painted, or stamped on the terracotta warriors and their accompanying weapons, and interprets the information they reveal...
Insights into Rock Art Pigment Provenance and Microenvironment at Ashlu Rockshelter, British Columbia, Canada (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Advances in microanalytical methodologies enable archaeologists to examine characteristics of rock art pigment and surrounding microenvironment to nanoscale resolution. The information gleaned through microanalysis is valuable for reconstructing archaeopigment preparation technologies and provenance, and to evaluate the condition and stability of rock art...
Insights into the Late Upper Paleolithic of the Northern Adriatic from Ljubićeva Cave, Istria (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Recent Research on the Paleolithic in the Mediterranean Region" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper presents the results of past and recent systematic research on the late Upper Paleolithic carried out in Ljubićeva Cave near Marčana, Croatia. The first excavations of the site occurred between 2008 and 2011 and yielded late Upper Paleolithic as well as Neolithic and Bronze Age discoveries. Since 2019, systematic...
Integrating Portable Spectroscopy into Rock Art Investigations (2018)
Molecular spectroscopy is an information rich technique that is rapid, non-destructive and easy to operate. These qualities combined with a mature market in handheld spectrometers makes molecular spectroscopy an ideal technique for on-site analysis which is suitable for austere environments. This paper will discuss the use of Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy to in the Gordian knot project based upon the Californian polychrome rock art site Pleito in order to provide a...
Interpreting a Subterranean Feature at Chichen Itza (2021)
This is an abstract from the "The Subterranean in Mesoamerican Indigenous Culture and Beyond" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. During the 2019 season, a subterranean feature was excavated atop a pyramidal structure in the pueblo of San Felipe Nuevo, 839 m northeast of the El Castillo pyramid at Chichen Itza. The entrance is a round, finely finished, chultun-like entrance 53 cm in diameter. The walls are plastered, which suggests its function as a...