Exploring Written Artefacts

This collection, presented to Michael Friedrich in honour of his academic career at of the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, traces key concepts that scholars associated with the Centre have developed and refined for the systematic study of manuscript cultures. At the same time, the contributions showcase the possibilities of expanding the traditional subject of ‘manuscripts’ to the larger perspective of ‘written artefacts’

Recording invisible proofs to compose stone narratives. Applications of Near Infrared Spectroscopy in provenance studies.

The history of human-environment interaction is embedded in stone. Stones are essential components of daily life and their various usage characterize certain areas or chronological periods. The form of a stone object is the result of a long chain of interactions with distinct bodies but the intangible life story of any artefact is partially registered in its original material properties and gradual physical alteration. Digital systems can be adopted for collecting these invisible records and tracing a stone’s history. Chemical imaging and portable spectroscopy are quick and non-destructive remote sensing techniques that can be used to gather empirical data and track production and use of stone artefacts over time. This article reviews the application of Near Infrared Spectroscopy as a method for geochemical characterization of objects and as a tool for provenance studies within the Mobima project, carried out by an interdisciplinary team of archaeologists and chemists at University of Umeå, Sweden. Near Infrared Spectroscopy can be used for acquiring and processing spectral information directly in the field, modelling datasets of big assemblages and classifying objects. Making stones’ biographies visible will help understanding the entanglement of past societies and their geological landscapes

Exploring Written Artefacts

This collection, presented to Michael Friedrich in honour of his academic career at of the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, traces key concepts that scholars associated with the Centre have developed and refined for the systematic study of manuscript cultures. At the same time, the contributions showcase the possibilities of expanding the traditional subject of ‘manuscripts’ to the larger perspective of ‘written artefacts’

IKUWA6. Shared Heritage

Celebrating the theme ‘Shared heritage’, IKUWA6 (the 6th International Congress for Underwater Archaeology), was the first such major conference to be held in the Asia-Pacific region, and the first IKUWA meeting hosted outside Europe since the organisation’s inception in Germany in the 1990s. A primary objective of holding IKUWA6 in Australia was to give greater voice to practitioners and emerging researchers across the Asia and Pacific regions who are often not well represented in northern hemisphere scientific gatherings of this scale; and, to focus on the areas of overlap in our mutual heritage, techniques and technology. Drawing together peer-reviewed presentations by delegates from across the world who converged in Fremantle in 2016 to participate, this volume covers a stimulating diversity of themes and niche topics of value to maritime archaeology practitioners, researchers, students, historians and museum professionals across the world

Multimetal smithing : An urban craft in rural settings?

Multimetal smithing should be defined as the use of more than one metal and/or different metalworking techniques within thesame crafts-milieu. This complex metalworking has long been linked to centrality, central places and urbanity in Scandinavia.It has been extensively argued that fine casting and smithing, as well as manufacture utilizing precious metals was exclusivelyundertaken within early urban settings or the “central places” pre-dating these. Furthermore, the presence of complex metalcraftsmanship has been used as a driving indicator of the political, social and economic superiority of certain sites, therebyenhancing their identity as “centralities”.Recent research has come to challenge the universality of this link between urbanity, centrality and complex metalworkingas sites in rural settings with evidence of multimetal smithing are being identified. This shows that the relationship between thecraft and centrality (urbanity) must be nuanced and that perhaps multimetal craftsmanship should be reconsidered as an urbanindicator.The thesis project “From Crucible and onto Anvil” started in 2015 and focuses on sites housing remains of multimetalcraftsmanship dating primarily from 500-1000 AD. Within the project a comprehensive survey of sites will be used to evaluate thepresence of multimetal craftsmanship in the landscape. Sites in selected target areas will also be subject to intra-site analysisfocusing on workshop organisation, production output, metalworking techniques and chronological variances.A key aim in the project is to elucidate the conceptual aspects of complex metalworking. The term multimetality is used toanalytically frame all the societal and economic aspects of multimetal craftsmanship. Through this inclusive perspective both thecraftsmanship and the metalworkers behind it are positioned within the overall socioeconomic framework. The metalworkers,their skills and competences as well as the products of their labour are viewed as dynamic actors in the landscape and on thearenas of political economy of the Late Iron Age.The survey has already revealed interesting aspects concerning multimetal smithing and urbanity. Although the multimetalsites do cluster against areas of early urban development there are also other patterns emerging. Multimetal craftsmanship – both as practice and concept – was well represented in both rural peripheral settings and urban crafts-milieus. This means that therole of multimetality as part of an “urban conceptual package” is crucial to investigate. Such an approach will have the dual endsof properly understanding the craft and its societal implications, but also further the knowledge of the phenomenon of urbanityas a whole. Was multimetal smithing part of an “urban package” that spread into the rural landscape? Did the multimetality differbetween urban and rural crafts-milieus? How does early urbanity relate to the chronology of multimetal craftsmanship?This paper aims to counter these questions using examples from the survey of multimetal sites conducted within the thesisproject. A comparison between selected sites will be presented. The purpose of this is to evaluate the role of multimetality withinthe “urban package” and discuss the role of complex metalworking in the establishment of urban arenas of interaction in LateIron Age Scandinavia

Ways and Capacity in Archaeological Data Management in Serbia

Over the past year and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire world has witnessed inequalities across borders and societies. They also include access to archaeological resources, both physical and digital. Both archaeological data creators and users spent a lot of time working from their homes, away from artefact collections and research data. However, this was the perfect moment to understand the importance of making data freely and openly available, both nationally and internationally. This is why the authors of this paper chose to make a selection of data bases from various institutions responsible for preservation and protection of cultural heritage, in order to understand their policies regarding accessibility and usage of the data they keep. This will be done by simple visits to various web-sites or data bases. They intend to check on the volume and content, but also importance of the offered archaeological heritage. In addition, the authors will estimate whether the heritage has adequately been classified and described and also check whether data is available in foreign languages. It needs to be seen whether it is possible to access digital objects (documents and the accompanying metadata), whether access is opened for all users or it requires a certain hierarchy access, what is the policy of usage, reusage and distribution etc. It remains to be seen whether there are public API or whether it is possible to collect data through API. In case that there is a public API, one needs to check whether datasets are interoperable or messy, requiring data cleaning. After having visited a certain number of web-sites, the authors expect to collect enough data to make a satisfactory conclusion about accessibility and usage of Serbian archaeological data web bases

Neolithic land-use in the Dutch wetlands: estimating the land-use implications of resource exploitation strategies in the Middle Swifterbant Culture (4600-3900 BCE)

The Dutch wetlands witness the gradual adoption of Neolithic novelties by foraging societies during the Swifterbant period. Recent analyses provide new insights into the subsistence palette of Middle Swifterbant societies. Small-scale livestock herding and cultivation are in evidence at this time, but their importance if unclear. Within the framework of PAGES Land-use at 6000BP project, we aim to translate the information on resource exploitation into information on land-use that can be incorporated into global climate modelling efforts, with attention for the importance of agriculture. A reconstruction of patterns of resource exploitation and their land-use dimensions is complicated by methodological issues in comparing the results of varied recent investigations. Analyses of organic residues in ceramics have attested to the cooking of aquatic foods, ruminant meat, porcine meat, as well as rare cases of dairy. In terms of vegetative matter, some ceramics exclusively yielded evidence of wild plants, while others preserve cereal remains. Elevated δ15N values of human were interpreted as demonstrating an important aquatic component of the diet well into the 4th millennium BC. Yet recent assays on livestock remains suggest grazing on salt marshes partly accounts for the human values. Finally, renewed archaeozoological investigations have shown the early presence of domestic animals to be more limited than previously thought. We discuss the relative importance of exploited resources to produce a best-fit interpretation of changing patterns of land-use during the Middle Swifterbant phase. Our review combines recent archaeological data with wider data on anthropogenic influence on the landscape. Combining the results of plant macroremains, information from pollen cores about vegetation development, the structure of faunal assemblages, and finds of arable fields and dairy residue, we suggest the most parsimonious interpretation is one of a limited land-use footprint of cultivation and livestock keeping in Dutch wetlands between 4600 and 3900 BCE.NWOVidi 276-60-004Human Origin

Taphonomy, environment or human plant exploitation strategies?: Deciphering changes in Pleistocene-Holocene plant representation at Umhlatuzana rockshelter, South Africa

The period between ~40 and 20 ka BP encompassing the Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Later Stone Age (LSA) transition has long been of interest because of the associated technological change. Understanding this transition in southern Africa is complicated by the paucity of archaeological sites that span this period. With its occupation sequence spanning the last ~70,000 years, Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter is one of the few sites that record this transition. Umhlatuzana thus offers a great opportunity to study past environmental dynamics from the Late Pleistocene (MIS 4) to the Late Holocene, and past human subsistence strategies, their social organisation, technological and symbolic innovations. Although organic preservation is poor (bones, seeds, and charcoal) at the site, silica phytoliths preserve generally well throughout the sequence. These microscopic silica particles can identify different plant types that are no longer visible at the site because of decomposition or burning to a reliable taxonomical level. Thus, to trace site occupation, plant resource use, and in turn reconstruct past vegetation, we applied phytolith analyses to sediment samples of the newly excavated Umhlatuzana sequence. We present results of the phytolith assemblage variability to determine change in plant use from the Pleistocene to the Holocene and discuss them in relation to taphonomical processes and human plant gathering strategies and activities. This study ultimately seeks to provide a palaeoenvironmental context for modes of occupation and will shed light on past human-environmental interactions in eastern South Africa.NWOVidi 276-60-004Human Origin