Experimentation and Interpretation: The Use of Experimental Archaeology in the Study of the Past

153 Pages·2010·12.1 MB·English

by  Dana C. E. Millson (ed.)

Experimentation and Interpretation
The Use of Experimental Archaeology
in the Study of the Past

Experimentation and Interpretation
The Use of Experimental Archaeology
in the Study of the Past
Edited by
Dana C. E. Millson
Oxbow Books
Oxford and Oakville
Published by
Oxbow Books, Oxford
© Oxbow Books and the individual authors 2010
ISBN 978-1-84217-399-2
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Experimentation and interpretation : the use of experimental archaeology in the study of the past / edited
by Dana C.E. Millson.
p. cm.
Papers from a session held at the annual Theoretical Archaeological Group (TAG) Conference in
Southampton, England, Dec. 2008.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-84217-399-2
1. Experimental archaeology--Europe--Congresses. 2. Experimental archaeology--England--Congresses.
3. Excavations (Archaeology)--Europe--Congresses. 4. Excavations (Archaeology)--England--Congresses.
5. Material culture--Europe--History--Congresses. 6. Material culture--England--History--Congresses. 7.
Europe--Antiquities--Congresses. 8. England--Antiquities--Congresses. 9. Archaeology--Methodology--
Congresses. 10. Archaeology--Philosophy--Congresses. I. Millson, Dana C. E. II. Theoretical Archaeology
Group (England). Conference (2008 : Southampton, England)
CC81.5.E965 2010
930.1--dc22
2010041655
Front cover: Experimental fi ring of Neolithic replica pots. D. Millson
Printed in Great Britain by
Hobbs the Printers, Tott on, Hampshire
Contents
List of Figures vi
List of Tables vii
1 Introduction 1
Dana C. E. Millson
2 Cache or Carry: Food Storage in Prehistoric Europe 7
Penny Cunningham
3 Creating a History of Experimental Archaeology 29
Jodi Reeves Flores
4 Breaking the Sound Barrier – New Directions for Complexity,
Transformation and Reconstructive Practice in Experimental
Neolithic Archaeoacousitics 46
Claire Marshall
5 Experimental Archaeology Aft er Simplicity – Implications for Refl exivity
of Insights that a ‘Common World’ is not ‘Given’ 61
Stephanie Koerner
6 Experiment or Demonstration? Making Fermentable Malt Sugars from
the Grain and a Discussion of some of the Evidence for this Activity in
the British Neolithic 96
Merryn Dineley
7 Experiments in Beaker Construction Technologies 109
Harriet Hammersmith
8 Luminescence Dating of Medieval Brick from Essex: An Example of the
Physical Sciences Addressing Archaeological Questions 128
Thomas Gurling
List of Figures
2.1 Schematic illustration of storage method 1 15
2.2 Method 1 – Pit 3 16
2.3 Schematic illustration of storage method 2 16
2.4 Storage method 3: Acorns in basket 16
2.5 Storage method 3: Hazel twig latt ice layer 17
2.6 Storage method 3: Leaf layer 17
2.7 Storage method 3: Soil capping 19
4.1 Deposits from Durrington Walls, Wiltshire (Permission J. Thomas) 53
4.2 Reconstructed instruments for on site tests (Copyright, The Author) 56
4.3 Reconstructed instruments for on site tests (Copyright, The Author) 56
6.1 Huib van der Stam demonstrated medieval brewing techniques and
prehistoric mashing was demonstrated by Merryn Dineley 97
6.2 Mashing the medieval way 98
6.3 Hot stones are dropped into water in a rectangular wooden trough 99
6.4 Crushed malt barley is transformed into liquid malt sugars 99
6.5 Making ale is a messy business 100
6.6 Mashing in pott ery vessels containing crushed malt and water 101
6.7 Bowl mash and barley cakes on hot stone 102
6.8 Scanning Electron Microscope image of a 6000-year-old carbonised grain
from Balbridie, Grampian, Scotland 103
7.1 Vessel One – Section built, all over comb; 15.5 cm 114
7.2 Vessel Two – Section built, all over comb; 15.5 cm 115
7.3 Beaker from Bathgate, West Lothian; 19 cm 115
7.4 Vessel Three – Section built, all over cord; 11 cm 117
7.5 Beaker from Aberdeenshire; 12 cm 117
7.6 Vessel Five – Section built, comb and spatula; 20 cm 119
7.7 Beaker from Litt leton Castle, Kelso; 17.5 cm to break 120
7.8 Vessel Six – Cord supported ring built; 13 cm 121
7.9 Vessel Eight – Cord supported ring built; 10 cm 122
7.10 Vessel Nine – Section built, all over cord; 13 cm 123
8.1 Maldon Moot Hall. This three storied town tower house is the oldest
standing brick structure in Essex, dating to the fi rst quarter of the 15th
Century 133
8.2 Layer Marney Towers. The gatehouse was originally intended to be part
of a large courtyard house complex which was never fi nished 135
8.3 Layout of the principal buildings at Layer Marney. With the exception
of the barn, all the structures are built principally from brick (note that
only the corner of the church is shown in the diagram) (source: RCHME,
1922, 159) 136
List of Tables
2.1 Hunter-gatherer storage methods from several regions 9
2.2 Archaeological evidence of nut storage 11–12
2.3 Storage methodology of all 12 storage pits, 2004–2006 18–19
2.4 Methodology and results from all 12 storage pits (excluding the
blind nuts), 2004–2006 21
3.1 Percentage of articles containing replicative experiments 42

1. Introduction
Dana C. E. Millson
In December 2008, at the annual Theoretical Archaeological Group (TAG) conference
in Southampton, I organized a session which focused on the use of experimentation
in archaeology. Much curiosity ensued, questioning why such a practical part of
archaeology should be discussed in a theory conference. Indeed, archaeology is a
fi eld which spans two (sometimes opposing) philosophies – that of science and arts
– which is best described by Jones (2002, 1) as an “archaeology of ‘two cultures’.” It
is this dichotomy which makes archaeology a strong discipline, capable of drawing
knowledge from some of the most fragmentary evidence; but it is also what has caused
much confusion about what archaeology is and how it should be conducted. This has
caused countless arguments and even fi ssures within the discipline. In the midst of
all this is Experimental Archaeology, which approaches the archaeological record in a
scientifi c way, but in reality, is inextricably tied to the humanistic interpretations we
create. It is how we test our hypotheses and then progress to develop new theories, and
perhaps it is for this reason the session proposal was accepted in the fi rst place. It is of
no doubt, however, that the contributors’ projects, which demonstrate the interesting
and novel ways in which Experimental Archaeology can be used, and the fascinating
results it can off er, is what made the session so successful that, by the second half, the
audience stretched into the corridor.
A Litt le Bit of History...
Experimental Archaeology is not a new idea, but an implement which has been used
since the days of the antiquarians (Coles 1973, 13–14; Forrest 2008, 62–65). This oft en
involved experimentation with actual artifacts that had been excavated, but some work,
such as Pitt -Rivers’ (1876, 382–83) study at Cissbury, Sussex, involved the construction
of replicas to perform planned experiments. Pitt -Rivers reconstructed antler picks that
were found on-site and used them to dig ditches of the same depth and size as those at
the hillfort. The results proved Pitt -Rivers’ inference correct that the ditches had been
dug using the picks and that it could be done quickly, “...we had made an excavation
3 feet square and 3 feet deep in an hour and a half...it would have taken us twelve
hours to form the longest gallery found...” (Pitt -Rivers 1876, 382).