Experimental Archaeology

Experimental Archaeology is an approach for filling gaps in our knowledge about the past, which cannot be filled through other archaeological research methods. An archaeological experiment must always answer a specific research question through practically testing production, use and/or formation of material culture and/or archaeological features. In Experimental Archaeology, testing a hypothesis in direct reference to the archaeological record is the core activity. The information gained should be impossible to obtain from solely examining original artefacts. The practice of experimental archaeology is strongly connected to the other four legs of EXARC as growing craft experience as well as interpretation can also lead to research questions and experimental projects.

Get into the Grave: Notions of Community Social Identity in a Late 3rd Millennium Site, Derived from an Experimental Carving of a Shaft Tomb at Ramat Bet Shemesh (Israel)

Y. Tsur,

N. Kahalani,

Y. Paz and

R. Nickelberg (IL)

EXARC Journal Issue 2015/1

Experimental Archaeology

Khirbet el-Alia is a large mound, located north-east of Tel Yarmouth, in the Ramat Bet Shemesh region of Israel. An excavation that was conducted north of the mound revealed the remains of a settlement and an adjacent cemetery of shaft graves, dating back to the Intermediate Bronze Age (IBA)...

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The Iron Age Iberian Experimental Pottery Kiln of Verdú, Catalonia, Spain

R. Cardona Colell,

J. Pou Vallès,

N. Calduch Cobos,

B. Gil Limón,

J. M. Gallego Cañamero and

L. Castillo Cerezuela (ES)

EXARC Journal Issue 2014/4

Experimental Archaeology

The goal of this project is to reconstruct the operational sequence of manufacture of Iberian Iron Age pottery, from clay procurement to firing in a reconstructed kiln. Although pottery is the most characteristic artefact recovered on Iberian Iron Age excavations, most of its complex processes and production techniques remain poorly known...

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An Experimental Comparison of Impressions Made from Replicated Neolithic Linen and Bronze Age Woolen Textiles on Pottery

Lauren Ferrero (UK)

EXARC Journal Issue 2014/4

Experimental Archaeology

Textile impressions on pottery provide evidence for fabrics and weaves in areas where the fabrics themselves do not survive. This article argues that the impressions can provide information on the uses of different fibres, the weaving technologies and possible trading or agricultural advances connected with these fibres...

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Recommended Literature

COLES, J.M., 1979. Experimental Archaeology, London: Academic Press.

FERGUSON, J.R., 2010. Designing Experimental Research in Archaeology: Examining Technology through Production and Use, Boulder: University Press of Colorado.

HURCOMBE, L., CUNNINGHAM, P, 2016. The life cycle of structures in experimental archaeology: An object biography approach, Leiden: Sidestone Press.

INGERSOLL, D., YELLEN, J.E. & MACDONALD, W., 1977. Experimental archeology, New York: Columbia University Press.

KELTERBORN, P., 2005. Principles of Experimental Research in Archaeology, EuroREA, (Re)construction and Experiment in Archaeology – European Platform, 2, 120-122.

MALINA, J., 1983. Archaeology and Experiment, Norwegian Archaeological Review, 16:2, 69-85.

MATHIEU, J., 2002. Introduction - Experimental Archaeology - Replicating Past Objects, Behaviors, and Processes, Mathieu, J. (ed.) Experimental Archaeology, replicating past objects, behaviors and processes, BAR International Series 1035, 1-12.

OUTRAM, A.K., 2008. Introduction to Experimental Archaeology, World Archaeology 40:1, 1-7