11th Experimental Archaeology Conference

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Experimental Archaeology in the Museum of Archaeology of Catalonia

Antoni Palomo (ES)
11th EAC Trento 2019
***The Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya (MAC) was created under the Museums of Catalonia Act in 1990 by the Department of Culture of the Government of Catalonia. Its foundation dates back to 1932. The museum carries out various activities related to Experimental Archaeology projects in the fields of both education and research...

Techno-functional Study of the Personal Ornaments in Lignite of the Boira Fusca Cave (Cuorgnè, Torino-Italy)

S. Viola (IT),
G. Gaj (IT),
D. Del Caro (IT) and
M. Besse (CH)
11th EAC Trento 2019
***This paper aims to present a techno-functional study of lignite ornamental objects found during the Fedele excavations (1977-1980) in the Boira Fusca Cave (Cuorgnè, Salto-Turin, Italy). The site demonstrates a chrono-cultural sequence which extends from the late Palaeolithic to the Modern era...

Experimental Research on the Neanderthal Musical Instrument from Divje Babe I Cave (Slovenia)

Matija Turk (SL) and
Giuliano Bastiani (IT)
11th EAC Trento 2019
***The supposition that an unusually perforated femur of a juvenile cave bear found at the Divje babe I Palaeolithic cave site in Slovenia could be a musical instrument led to heated debates. According to its archaeological context and chronostratigraphic position, if made by humans, it could only be attributed to Neanderthals...

Enhancing the Accuracy of Use Interpretation: The Discovery of a New Wear Formation with the Complementary Methods of Experimental Archaeology and Use-Wear Analysis

Amber Roy (UK)
11th EAC Trento 2019
***Experimental archaeology and use-wear analysis are methods used together to understand aspects of an object’s life, such as manufacture and use. This paper demonstrates the benefits of analysing use-wear through experiments. It presents the results of experiments which were carried out to test the use of battle-axes and axe-hammers...

Ancient Distillation and Experimental Archaeology about the Prehistoric Apparatuses of Tepe Gawra

Maria Rosaria Belgiorno (CY)
11th EAC Trento 2019
***The Perfume Theme Park Museum of Cyprus’ research protocol of Experimental Archaeology (https://www.perfumecypark.org), aims at verifying hypotheses of ancient perfume manufacturing processes, to formulate a possible comparison with modern realities derived from the island’s ancient cultural heritage. What has recently emerged...

Roar Ege: The Lifecycle of a Reconstructed Viking Ship

Tríona Sørensen and
Martin Rodevad Dael (DK)

Roar Ege was launched in 1984, and after more than 30 years on the water, has many sea miles under its keel. The years have, however, taken their toll on the ship. Roar Ege has undergone several major phases of repair – most recently in 2014. It was hoped this repair would keep Roar Ege afloat for several more years but by spring 2016, the ship had deteriorated to such an extent that it was clear that Roar Eges sailing days were over.

Trampling Experiments – A Contribution to the Pseudo-Retouch Issue

K. Šprem,
K. Gerometta and
I. Karavanić (HR)
11th EAC Trento 2019
***Apart from human-made retouch, stone tools can also exhibit traces of damage caused by several post depositional processes, one of which is trampling. Edge damage provoked by trampling, be it of animal or human origin, is sometimes interpreted as human-made retouch ...

(De)constructing the Mesolithic. A History of Hut Reconstructions in the Netherlands

Yannick de Raaff (NL)

Introduction

Creating reconstructions of the past has occupied a central position within the archaeological discipline from its early days (Clark, 2010, p.64). Reconstructions are often considered essential for visualizing the past and for translating abstract archaeological remains into more comprehensible narratives for the larger audience. Such visualisations, in the broad range of the word, can be more easily and readily understood than a complicated textual description.

Embossing Technique between III and II Century BC: Experiments and First Results

Andrea Moretti,
Andrea Mariani,
Livio Asta and
Tommaso Gallo (IT)
11th EAC Trento 2019
***The purpose of this paper is to explain our experience with the process of experimental archaeology, involving the reproduction and field testing of embossed decorations, inspired to archaeological finds. As a re-enactment group focused on Celts and Ligurians of III – II century BC we reproduce items and/or ornaments...

“A Mirror for Men” – Reconstructing a Medieval Polishing Bench and Putting it to the Test

Florian Messner (AT)
11th EAC Trento 2019
***In the late 5th century AD, the famous Ostrogoth Theoderic the Great received a truly regal gift from the king of the Warini: he was given highly elaborated swords, richly decorated and able to cut through armour. Their fullers (long grooves along the flat side of the blade to reduce weight and to gain stability...

Fine Pottery Chaîne Opératoire from the Bronze Age site of Via Ordiere, Solarolo (RA, IT): Experiments on the Relationship between Surface Treatments and Function

A. La Torre,
G. Mannino and
A. Zurzolo (IT)
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...

Mining at Pozarrate: Applying Experimental Approaches to Understand the Neolithic Extraction of Flint in the Sierra de Araico (Treviño, Spain)

H.H. Hernández,
C. López-Tascón,
M. Aguirre and
A. Tarriño (ES)
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...

Keep it in your own Backyard: New Experimental Perspectives on Domestic Iron Age Lithic Industries in the Northwestern Iberian Peninsula

María José Gonzalez,
Martín Cuenca and
Borja Rey Seoane (ES)
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...

The Experimental Reconstruction of an Early Neolithic Underground Oven of Portonovo (Italy)

C. Conati Barbaro (IT),
V. Forte (UK) and
A. Rossi (IT)
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...

Replication of a Maori Ethnographic Textile Hem Border Pattern

Lisa McKendry (NZ)
11th EAC Trento 2019
***Replication of archaeological and ethnographic Māori textiles, under the direction of customary knowledge and previous practical experience, can provide a more nuanced understanding of the manufacture of taonga (treasures) made from fibre materials. A case study is presented here from the unique perspective of a weaver who...

Event Review: “I Experiment so I Participate” Italian Experimental Archaeology Festival: Experience in Didactics and Scientific Dissemination

M. Massussi,
S. Tucci
A. Sciancalepore and
R. Laurito (IT)
11th EAC Trento 2019
***Participation in archaeology is the basic “inclusive process” of a human community, which allows it to identify its cultural values. Experimental archaeology with its rediscovery of gestures and techniques allows re-appropriation, a sense of belonging and ...

The Arrowheads of the Squared-Mouthed-Pottery Culture: Reconstruction and Shooting Experiment

Maddalena Sartori (IT)
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...

Stone & Metal: Experimental reproduction of a stone monument of the Metal Age, Located between Liguria and Tuscany (Italy)

Edoardo Ratti (IT)
11th EAC Trento 2019
***The Italian region of Lunigiana, is located between Liguria and Tuscany, and is rich in stone statues which were worked from the third millennium B.C. until the beginning of the historical period, around the 6th century B.C. (Anati, 1981). Eighty statues have been collected and show stylized male and female characters...

Basalt Handaxes: Preliminarily Testing the Lithic Translation Strategy Hypothesis and Comparisons with the Fontana Ranuccio Site Bifacial Tools

Giorgio Chelidonio (IT)
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...

The Contribution of Experimental Archaeology in Addressing the Analysis of Residues on Spindle-Whorls

Vanessa Forte (UK),
Francesca Coletti (DE, IT),
Elena Ciccarelli (IT) and
Cristina Lemorini (IT)

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.