Experimental Archaeology

This paper investigates the creation, utilisation, and destruction of engraved Magdalenian plaquettes through the application of actualistic experimental replication. Archaeological evidence suggests that there is a relationship between plaquettes and hearth structures, as well as engraved depictions and the destruction of the plaquettes through heating. However, this relationship between fire and plaquettes...

11th EAC Trento 2019
***The aim of this experimental work was to catch a glimpse of the pottery chaîne opératoire, particularly linked to the surfaces treatments applied, in order to better understand what type of traces they could leave on pots and how they could differently affect the use of final products...

Project incipience

The link established between EXARC and the Scientific Research Laboratory "Thracology" (Moldova State University) inspired the initiation of the first major project in the field of experimental archeology for the Republic of Moldova. The purpose of this project was to organize an experimental archeological open-air park in Saharna-Ţiglău (Nicic, 2009). 

11th EAC Trento 2019
***The aim of this paper is to introduce the scientific works performed in the Sierra de Araico Neolithic Mining Complex, mainly located in the Treviño enclave of Spain. Archaeological works were focused on the Pozarrate quarry, dated to the Neolithic period (6000-5600 BP). This site is unique since it has been used recently to...

11th EAC Trento 2019
***Both knapped and polished lithic industries have traditionally been given great regard within the archaeological studies of northwestern Iberian Peninsula, mostly focusing on their typologies and the materials used. However, this has not been the case with other stone objects, such as rolling stones, that tend to appear in...

11th EAC Trento 2019
***This contribution presents the experimental reconstruction of an underground oven replicated according to the archaeological evidence unearthed from the Early Neolithic site of Portonovo-Fosso Fontanaccia (Ancona-Italy). A domed structure, measuring 190x180 cm diameter at the base and 50 cm in height, was dug in 15 hours...

Introduction

Byzantine chafing dishes constitute one of the least studied utensils of the Byzantine household. Though a series of publications discuss them in a more detailed manner (Morgan, 1942; Bakirtzis, 1989; Sanders, 1995; François, 2010; Poulou-Papadimitriou, 2008; Vassiliou, 2016), most of our knowledge about chafing dishes derives from their fleeting mention in excavation reports, where they are listed among other finds and only briefly described.

11th EAC Trento 2019
***This international experimental project focused on the production of replicas of different models of flat-retouched flint arrowheads (stemmed, with flat base, and ogives -with rounded base-) in use within the Neolithic Squared-Mouthed-Pottery Culture (SMP) of Northern Italy. The aim was to test their efficiency in order to understand if...

11th EAC Trento 2019
***The oldest bifacial “handaxes” known so far belong to the “Kokiselei 4” site, dated to 1.76 Ma (West Turkana, Kenya; Texier, 2018). They have been manufactured by direct lithic percussion on magmatic effusive stone materials. Considering that the evolution of “fully operational intelligence” (Wynn, 1979) has been associated with the so-called...

Introduction

Spindle-whorls are tools used for transforming the mass of fibres into yarn. These tools can be made of a large variety of materials as ceramic, bone, wood, or glass. They can vary largely in shapes (conical, biconical, lenticular, etc…), size, and weight according to archaeological contexts and chronological period of human history.