ethnoarchaeology

Review: Journal of Ethnoarchaeology

E. Giovanna Fregni (US)
Experimental archaeologists often seek similar ethnographic studies when designing and preparing experiments. Observing how contemporary traditional artisans work, along with the materials and tools they use, provides invaluable insights to those who want to understand crafts and tools used in the ancient past. While contemporary artisans’ tools may have been modernised...

Vegetable Plaiting Materials from the Site of Abu Tbeirah (Southern Iraq, Third Millennium BC): Experimental Approach

Maria Virginia Montorfani (IT)
This study is based on plaiting materials from Abu Tbeirah, Iraq, with a particular attention to baskets and reed mats. The study focuses on the various raw materials used, on diverse plating techniques and tries to understand possible uses of these artefacts in their context. The research has been developed with an experimental approach, based on archaeological and ethnographic sources...

Re-Creating an Aboriginal Earth Oven with Clayey Heating Elements: Experimental Archaeology and Paleodietary Implications

Maurizio Campanelli,
Jane Muir,
Alice Mora,
Daniel Clarke and
Darren Griffin (AUS)
Earth ovens may relate to different ancestral cooking techniques, serving specific needs and functions. In eastern and south-eastern Australia, they were a significant element of a thriving pre-colonial Aboriginal culture. However, today it is extremely rare to find such structures well preserved. Based on archaeological and historical records...

Hut 1 of Tornambé, Pietraperzia: an Experimental Project for Prehistoric Sicily Studies

Claudia Speciale and
Kati Caruso (IT)

Introduction and goals

The goal of this project, started in 2012, was to reconstruct a Bronze Age hut using techniques, methods, and raw materials consistent with the knowledge acquired during the excavation of Tornambè site (Pietraperzia, Enna), and from other known Sicilian and Southern Italian archaeological contexts.

Ethnoarchaeology

The study of a people or society in order to understand behavioural relationships.

Variables and Assumptions in Modern Interpretation of Ancient Spinning Technique and Technology Through Archaeological Experimentation

Tracy P. Hudson (QA)
This paper takes the form of a critical analysis of archaeological experiments using spinning tools. The archaeological experiments regarding whorl weight and wool spinning of the Tools and Textiles – Texts and Contexts project, through the Danish National Research Foundation’s Centre for Textile Research, are examined with respect to a number of variables...