It is difficult for today's students of archaeology to imagine an era when chronometric dating methods were unavailable. However, even a casual perusal of the large body of literature that arose during the first half of the twentieth century reveals a battery of clever methods used to determine the relative ages of archaeological phenomena, often with considerable precision. Stratigraphic excavation is perhaps the best known of the various relative-dating methods used by prehistorians. Although there are several techniques of using artifacts from superposed strata to measure time, these are rarely if ever differentiated. Rather, common practice is to categorize them under the heading stratigraphic excavation'. This text distinguishes among the several techniques and argues that stratigraphic excavation tends to result in discontinuous measures of time - a point little appreciated by modern archaeologists. Although not as well known as stratigraphic excavation, two other methods of relative dating have figured important in Americanist archaeology: seriation and the use of index fossils. The latter (like stratigraphic excavation) measures time discontinuously, while the former - in various guises - measures time continuously. Perhaps no other method used in archaeology is as misunderstood as seriation, and the authors provide detailed descriptions and examples of each of its three different techniques. Each method and technique of relative dating is placed in historical perspective, with particular focus on developments in North America, an approach that allows a more complete understanding of the methods described, both in terms of analytical technique and disciplinary history. This textwill appeal to all archaeologists, from graduate students to seasoned professionals, who want to learn more about the backbone of archaeological dating.

Taking a bioarchaeological approach, this book examines the Ancestral Pueblo culture living in the Four Corners region of the United States during the late Pueblo I through the end of the Pueblo III period (AD 850-1300). During this time, a vast system of pueblo villages spread throughout the region creating what has been called the Chaco Phenomenon, named after the large great houses in Chaco Canyon that are thought to have been centers of control. Through a bioarchaeological analysis of the human skeletal remains, this volume provides evidence that key individuals within the hierarchical social structure used a variety of methods of social control, including structural violence, to maintain their power over the interconnected communities.

This technical and well-illustrated guide for archaeologists and conservators aims to 'provide a methodology for the identification of the woody taxa used to manufacture artefacts recovered from archaeological excavations', to provide the anatomical descriptions of the taxa and to present a list of characters of the taxa. The guide is heavily illustrated with photographs, maps, and tables to allow easy identification.

SEEING THE UNSEEN. GEOPHYSICS AND LANDSCAPE ARCHAEOLOGY is a collection of papers presented at the advanced XV International Summer School in Archaeology ?Geophysics for Landscape Archaeology? (Grosseto, Italy, 10-18 July 2006). Bringing together the experience of some of the world's greatest experts in the field of archaeological prospection, the focus of this book is not so much on the analysis of single buried structures, but more on researching the entire landscape in all its multi-period complexity.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part concentrates on the theoretical basis of the various methods, illustrated for the most part through case-studies and practical examples drawn from a variety of geographical and cultural contexts. The second part focuses on the work carried out in the field during the Summer School. Tutors and students took part in the intensive application of the principal techniques of geophysical prospecting (magnetometry, EM, ERT and ground-penetrating radar) to locate, retrieve, process and interpret data for a large Roman villa-complex near Grosseto.

SEEING THE UNSEEN. GEOPHYSICS AND LANDSCAPE ARCHAEOLOGY provides a clear illustration of the remarkable potential of geophysical methods in the study of ancient landscapes, and will be usefull to Archaeologists, Geophysicists, Environmental scientists, and those involved in the management of cultural heritage.

Ancient DNA Typing is a comprehensive manual about the analysis of ancient and degraded DNA. It is an equally useful textbook and working tool for various disciplines such as: Anthropology, Archaeology, Forensic Medicine, Conservation Biology, Environmental Sciences and Food Engineering.The reader benefits from a clear division of strategies, methods and applications with many interesting examples of the analysis of historic skeletal and cultural remains. The book contains a detailed protocol chapter which serves as a lab manual with the most important methods for DNA extraction, PCR and electrophoretic analysis of degraded samples. The appendix helps to set up a PCR lab specializing in ancient DNA research and answers the most frequent questions concerning technical problems in investigations of degraded DNA.

Drawing data from a classic region for Paleolithic research in Europe, this book explores how early modern humans obtained lithic raw materials and analyzes the different utilization patterns for locally available materials compared with those from a greater distance. The author locates these patterns within an ecological context and argues that early modern humans selected specific mobility strategies to accommodate changes in subsistence environments.

Using archaeological case studies from around the world, this volume evaluates the implications of providing alternative interpretations of the past. These cases also examine if multivocality is relevant to local residents and non-Anglo-American archaeologists and if the close examination of alternative interpretations can contribute to a deeper understanding of subjectivity and objectivity of archaeological interpretation.

Author Biography:
Gary Lock is University Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Oxford and is the editor of Archaeology and Geographic Information Systems: A European Perspective, with Zoran Stancic.

Palaeopathology is designed to help bone specialists with diagnosis of diseases in skeletal assemblages. It suggests an innovative method of arriving at a diagnosis in the skeleton by applying what are referred to as 'operational definitions'. The aim is to ensure that all those who study bones will use the same criteria for diagnosing disease, which will enable valid comparisons to be made between studies. This book is based on modern clinical knowledge and provides background information so that those who read it will understand the natural history of bone diseases, and this will enable them to draw reliable conclusions from their observations. Details of bone metabolism and the fundamentals of basic pathology are also provided, as well as a comprehensive and up-to-date bibliography. A short chapter on epidemiology provides information on how best to analyze and present the results of a study of human remains.

This book traces archaeological exploration and discoveries as early as 2012 and reveals Liangzhu culture by reviewing seven years of archaeological findings at the Liangzhu historical site, developments in archaeology history, the psychological journeys of archaeologists, as well as the collision of schools of thought. It also contains in-depth interviews with archaeological experts and other specialists, building a bridge between popular interest and academic interest, and showcases Liangzhu civilization and archaeology for professionals and the general public alike.

The use of GIS is the most powerful technology introduced to archaeology since the introduction of carbon 14 dating. The most widespread use of this technology has been for the prediction of archaeological site locations. This book focuses on the use of GIS for archaeological predictive modelling. The contributors include internationally recognized researchers who have been at the forefront of this revolutionary integration of GIS and archaeology, as well as first generation researchers who have begun to critically apply this new technology and explore its theoretical implications.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203212134

Central theoretical issues regarding behavioural reconstruction in human osteological research are raised in this analytical volume. Because behavioural reconstructions have become increasingly common, especially with palaeopathology, this work seeks to review the scientific basis for such an approach. For example, osteological scenarios seeking to link the onset of skeletal conditions such as osteoarthritis, dental disease, and trauma with specific behaviours in the past populations, are critically examined. Questions are also raised as to the scientific rigor of such hypotheses, the ethnohistoric evidence used to support them, and ultimately, the soundness of such claims. In addition, commentary is included that broadens the scope to include anthropology, and explains the utility of behavioural reconstructions in palaeoanthropology and the biocultural perspective as it is used in contemporary anthropology.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203017595

The beginnings of industrialization had an enormous impact on social conditions, buildings and material culture. This text uses the techniques of mainstream archaeological excavation, analysis and interpretation to present an enlightening picture of industrial society. Technology and heritage have, until recently, been the focal points of study in industrialization. The text sets out a coherent methodology for the discipline which expands on and extends beyond the purely functional analysis of industrial landscapes, structures and artefacts to a broader consideration of their cultural meaning and value. The authors examine, for example, the social context of industrialization, including the effect of new means of production on working patterns, diet and health. The text provides a guide for undergraduates and postgraduates in archaeology and heritage management, and should be a useful handbook for those working in planning departments and contract archaeologists.

In this volume, archaeologists offer a new direction for burial research by expanding the models for mortuary analysis from a site-specific to a regional level. Contributors explore how regional mortuary approaches allow the introduction of new questions about peer polity interactions and regional alliances-extending traditional settlement system and exchange analyses. This volume features case studies examining mortuary sites as components of the archaeological landscape.

There has been a profound shift in the direction of archaeological activity in the last fifteen years, a change reflected in this volume. While excavation remains a professional priority, the interpretation of archaeological evidence is now attracting increasing critical study. In part this is stemmed from the public demand for explanation of archaeological evidence, which moves beyond the more restricted academic debate among archaeologists. But it also follows from a desire among archaeologists to come to terms with their own subjective approaches to the material they study, and a recognition of how past researchers have also imposed their own value systems on the evidence which they presented.
This volume provides a forum for debate between varied approaches to the past from leading archaeologists in Europe, North America, Asia and Australasia. It addresses the philosophical issues involved in interpretation, and the origins of meaning in the evolution and emergence of 'mind' in early hominids. It covers the ways in which material culture is understood and presented in museums, and how the nature of history is itself in flux.

Scientific soil prospecting methods can give dramatic pictures of buried archaeological sites, and sometimes information on what occurred within them, before any earth has been removed. Dr Clark, who was one of the earliest to work in this field, has written a general survey of an increasingly important area of practical archaeology. The emphasis is on the principles and practical application of the well established techniques of resistivity, magnetometry and magnetic susceptibility, with shorter sections on emerging and less common techniques such as ground-penetrating radar, electromagnetic methods and phosphate survey. This paperback edition updates and enhances the earlier book, adding new material such as the large-scale evaluation exercises now required as a precondition of planning consent for major developments.

This book presents an interdisciplinary study of the El Mirador cave located on the Atapuerca karstic system, one of the longest Pleistocene and Holocene archaeopaleontological deposits in Iberia. This book presents the results including new unpublished and published data to discuss different aspects related to the prehistoric herders and farmers that occupied this territory. Divided into four parts, the book covers site presentation and the paleoenvironmental reconstruction covering a chronological span between 7060 +/- 40-3040 +/- 40 yrs. The history of the excavation and the excavation methodology is detailed in this part including new unpublished recording techniques using 3D scanning and photogrammetry and a very meticulous sampling strategy. The book presents formation processes of the deposit which are key to understanding the successive occupations of the caves regarding its use as sheepfold cave as well as human remains that are part of different funerary contexts in the cave. In the last section, the book covers material culture found in the cave including lithic tools and pottery. This interdisciplinary work is of interest to scholars in anthracology, zooarchaeology, paleoanthropology, lithic technology, and experimental archaeology.

Traditional methods of making archaeological data available are becoming increasingly inadequate. Thanks to improved techniques for examining data from multiple viewpoints, archaeologists are now in a position to choose to record different kinds of data, and to explore that data more fully than ever before. The growing availability of computer networks and other technologies means that communication should become increasingly open and available to archaeologists in all parts of the world. Will this result in the democratization of archaeological knowledge on a global basis? For the first time archaeology practised with technical developments can be contrasted with archaeology undertaken in relative technological isolation. The chapters deal not only with technologies like solid modelling, videodisc, hypertext and expert systems as used in archaeology, but also discuss topics such as the use of information technology to integrate large scale research in East Africa, and the dissemination of the cultural practice of Tibetan art. Contributors come from Western and Eastern Europe, the Far East, Africa and the Americas.

Commissioned to mark the 75th anniversary of the start of work in the royal burial ground by the 5th Earl of Carnavon and Howard Carter, this book presents an up-to-date review of the developments in excavation, mapping and research in the Valley of the Kings.

This book describes a novel machine-learning based approach to answer some traditional archaeological problems, relating to archaeological site detection and site locational preferences. Institutional data collected from six Swiss regions (Zurich, Aargau, Grisons, Vaud, Geneva and Fribourg) have been analyzed with an original conceptual framework based on the Random Forest algorithm. It is shown how the algorithm can assist in the modelling process in connection with heterogeneous, incomplete archaeological datasets and related cultural heritage information. Moreover, an in-depth review of past and more recent works of quantitative methods for archaeological predictive modelling is provided. The book guides the readers to set up their own protocol for: i) dealing with uncertain data, ii) predicting archaeological site location, iii) establishing environmental features importance, iv) and suggest a model validation procedure. It addresses both academics and professionals in archaeology and cultural heritage management, and offers a source of inspiration for future research directions in the field of digital humanities and computational archaeology.

* Provides nearly 300 full-color illustrations of both common and unique taphonomic affects to bones, derived from actual forensic cases * Presents new research including experimentation on recovery rates during surface search, timing of marine alterations; trophy skulls; taphonomic laboratory and field methods; laws regarding the relative timing of taphonomic effects; reptile taphonomy; human decomposition; and microscopic alterations by invertebrates to bones * Explains and illustrates common taphonomic effects and clarifies standard terminology for uniformity and usage within in the field.

Archaeology has been historically reluctant to embrace the subject of agent-based simulation, since it was seen as being used to "re-enact" and "visualize" possible scenarios for a wider (generally non-scientific) audience, based on scarce and fuzzy data. Furthermore, modelling "in exact terms" and programming as a means for producing agent-based simulations were simply beyond the field of the social sciences.
This situation has changed quite drastically with the advent of the internet age: Data, it seems, is now ubiquitous. Researchers have switched from simply collecting data to filtering, selecting and deriving insights in a cybernetic manner. Agent-based simulation is one of the tools used to glean information from highly complex excavation sites according to formalized models, capturing essential properties in a highly abstract and yet spatial manner. As such, the goal of this book is to present an overview of techniques used and work conducted in that field, drawing on the experience of practitioners.

Maritime cultural landscapes are collections of submerged archaeological sites, or combinations of terrestrial and submerged sites that reflect the relationship between humans and the water. These landscapes can range in size from a single beach to an entire coastline and can include areas of terrestrial sites now inundated as well as underwater sites that are now desiccated.

However, what binds all of these sites together is the premise that each aspect of the landscape -cultural, political, environmental, technological, and physical - is interrelated and can not be understood without reference to the others. In this maritime cultural landscape approach, individual sites are treated as features within the larger landscape and the interpretation of single sites add to a larger analysis of a region or culture. This approach provides physical and theoretical links between terrestrial and underwater archaeology as well as prehistoric and historic archaeology; consequently, providing a framework for integrating such diverse topics as trade, resource procurement, habitation, industrial production, and warfare into a holistic study of the past.

Landscape studies foster broader perspectives and approaches, extending the study of maritime cultures beyond the shoreline. Despite this potential, the archaeological study of maritime landscapes is a relatively untried approach with many questions regarding the methods and perspectives needed to effectively analyze these landscapes.

Thechapters in this volume, which include contributions from the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway, and Australia, address many of the theoretical and methodological questions surrounding maritime cultural landscapes. The authors comprise established scholars as well as archaeologists at the beginning of their careers, providing a healthy balance of experience and innovation. The chapters also demonstrate parity between method and theory, where the varying interpretations of culture and space are given equal weight with the challenges of investigating both wet and dry sites across large areas.