After carbon, phosphorus is the most commonly detected element in archaeological iron. The typical phosphoric iron range is 0.1wt% to 1wt%P. The predominant source of phosphorus in iron is the ore smelted. Around 60% of economic UK rock iron ore formations contain over 0.2%P. Under fully reducing conditions, both in liquid-state (cast iron) and solid-state bloomery smelting (direct reduction) processes, such rock ores would be predicted to produce phosphoric iron, and bog iron ores even more so. Ore-metal-slag phosphorus ratios for bloomery iron are derived here, by means of: laboratory experiments; full-scale experimental bloomery smelting; and analysis of remains from three Medieval and two Late Roman-Iron Age iron production sites in England and the Netherlands. Archaeological ore, slag, metal residues (gromps), and iron artefacts were analysed by metallography, SEM-EDS, EPMA, and XRD. The effects of forging and carburising on phosphoric iron were studied by experiment and artefact analysis. The ore to slag %P ratio for solid-state reduction was determined to range from 1:1.2 to 1: 1.8. The ore to metal %P ratio varied from 1:0.2 to 1:0.7-1.4, depending on furnace operating conditions. Archaeological phosphoric iron and steel microstructures resulting from non-equilibrium reduction, heat treatment, and mechanical processing are presented to define the technology of early phosphoric iron. Microstructures were identified by a combination of metallography and chemical analysis. The phosphoric iron artefacts examined appear to be fully functional objects, some cold-worked and carburised. Modern concepts of 'quality' and workability are shown to be inapplicable to the archaeological material.

Although the copper axes with central shaft-hole from south-eastern Europe have a long history of research, they have not been studied on a transnational basis since the 1960s. What has also been missing is an integrated or holistic approach, trying to use as many methods as possible and better understand the production, use and context of these enigmatic objects. This present research therefore approaches the axes from different angles. A database was compiled in order to find answers on questions such as the patterns of distribution, context, fragmentation and deformation of axes. For the distribution of axes in general as well as different attributes like fragmentation and typology, the content of the database was imported into GIS software and analysed. Aspects of production were considered through experimental archaeology, metallographic analysis and a re-discovered axe blank with missing shafthole. Especially the missing moulds make it difficult to fully understand the production sequence. The typology was re-evaluated and modified to ensure comparability across modern national boundaries. The context and background was developed through a thorough review of the literature and combined with theoretical considerations. The integration of all these approaches yielded some interesting results. The great variability in shape combined with the results of metallographic analyses clearly shows that a variety of production techniques were used, but it is as yet difficult to relate these to specific geographic areas or even cultural groups. In fact the typology as well as the practice of marking the axes indicate that traditional archaeological ‘cultures’ rarely correspond to the distribution of a type or to the practice of marking the axes. They show instead that there were different spheres of influence, some even more localised and others much larger (like the Carpathian Basin) than specific ceramic traditions. These different levels of belonging, as well as the increasing visibility of the individual in the archaeological record, show that it was a period of complex cultural patterns and interactions. The axes were a part of these networks of the daily life on many different levels from the strict utilitarian to the ritualised placement in burial contexts.

There are about 300 archaeological open-air museums in Europe. Their history goes from Romanticism up to modern-day tourism. With the majority dating to the past 30 years, they do more than simply present (re)constructed outdoor sceneries based on archaeology. They have an important role as education facilities and many showcase archaeology in a variety of ways. Compared to other museum categories, archaeological open-air museums boast a wide variety of manifestations. This research assesses the value of archaeological open-air museums, their management and their visitors, and is the first to do so in such breadth and detail. After a literature study and general data collection among 199 of such museums in Europe, eight archaeological open-air museums from different countries were selected as case studies. They included museums in a very varied state with different balances between public versus private funding levels on the one hand, and on the other the proportion of private individuals to educational groups among their visitors. The issue of ‘quality’ was investigated from different perspectives. The quality as assessed by the museum management was recorded in a management survey; the quality as experienced by their visitors was also recorded using a survey. In addition on-site observations were recorded. Management and visitors have different perspectives leading to different priorities and appreciation levels. The studies conclude with recommendations, ideas and strategies which are applicable not just to the eight archaeological open-air museums under study, but to any such museum in general. The recommendations are divided into the six categories of management, staff, collections, marketing, interpretation and the visitors. They are designed to be informative statements of use to managers across the sector.

Small mammals, namely those species larger than microfauna like rats and murids but smaller than medium, sheep-size fauna, are generally one of the less studied areas of zooarchaeology. While this may be partly influenced by modern cultural biases, it is more often because finding small, rabbit-sized, mammal remains in archaeological deposits presents a problem in accurately differentiating between those arising from natural, biological and anthropogenic agencies. This thesis tackles this subject using a synthesis of different methods, examining the exploitation and role of small, non-ungulate mammals in early Western European prehistory by combining existing ethnographic knowledge and archaeological research with actualistic experiments and bone assemblage analysis. It first presents a detailed summary of the various taphonomic effects on bone from natural, biological and human action, with particular reference to those of small mammals, using empirical evidence to describe the processes and likely resultant effects. Small mammal utilisation is then contextualised using archaeological and ethnographic evidence to examine past and present practices in Europe and other areas of the world. Different acquisition methods, such as hunting and trapping, are described, and using small mammals for dietary and non-dietary purposes is outlined, along with the rationale for such utilisation given their size. Also considered are other, more abstract ideological and symbolic roles they fulfilled within different cultures, whether physically using parts of the animal, or conceptually. To extend the existing methods available to zooarchaeologists, and improve identifying human exploitation of these species, the ‘chaîne opératoire’ of small game use is examined from an osteological perspective, starting with acquisition, through processing, cooking and consumption to discard, using a series of experiments and microscopic analysis to explore potential bone modification signatures and fracture patterns arising from such activities. Finally, it places these results into broader context by comparing the fracture patterns with bones from British and North American archaeological sites, to demonstrate that similar changes can be seen.

This study aims to shed light on how and when mechanisms of the human brain evolved to support complex cognition and language. The field of evolutionary cognitive archaeology asserts that prehistoric technologies, as products of past cognition in action, are informative of the minimum cognitive and linguistic abilities that hominins needed to possess for their production. Previous researchers attempted to reconstruct the neural correlates of two Early Stone Age (ESA) tool industries, the 2.6 million-year-old Oldowan industry and the 0.7 million-year-old late Acheulian industry, by using positron emission tomography (PET) to observe the functional activation occurring in the brains of trained and expert stone knappers after making these different tool types. Because of evidence for overlap between the knapping and language circuits of the brain and increased anterior frontal activity during Acheulian tool production, these researchers argued that their results 1) indicate increased cognitive demands for late Acheulian tool production relative to Oldowan tool production and 2) support a technological origin for language, meaning that certain language functions co-opted the neural substrate and functions that were already established for toolmaking and tool use. Because of the motion limiting aspects of PET, however, these studies were unable to record the hemodynamic response of naturalistic stone knapping in real-time. They also were unable to observe the functional activation associated with the earliest stage of learning, which is likely to differ from late stage learning or expertise. Furthermore, any conclusion regarding a technological origin for language is problematic if it relies on data obtained from participants who learned to knap with verbal instruction. To test these two claims, this dissertation utilized a neuroimaging technique called functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to explore the neural correlates of real-time, naturalistic Oldowan and Acheulian stone knapping at three different points in learning. Participants in the study were separated into two groups to learn ESA knapping skills. Both groups watched the same video tutorials that depicted an expert’s hands as he made stone tools, but those in the verbal group heard spoken instructions, while those in the nonverbal group watched a version with the sound turned off. Functional brain images were reconstructed from the digitized landmarks of each participant’s head and from the optical data. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a clearer distinction between the neural processes of Oldowan and Acheulian tool manufacturing tasks than has previously been demonstrated. Only the Acheulian task recruited a frontotemporal working memory network. Selection for individuals with increased working memory capacities, which would have allowed them to make increasingly complex tools to gain access to novel dietary items, may have spurred the evolution of larger brain size in the genus Homo during the early Pleistocene. The results also demonstrated that the presence or absence of language during training dictated which higher-order cognitive areas of the brain become engaged and at what point in training. Thus, the results of previous neuroarchaeological studies reflect a very specific condition of stone knapping skill acquisition that involves linguistic instruction, which may not be analogous to how skills were transmitted during the ESA. Finally, evidence of overlap between left hemisphere language and stone knapping circuits among the participants in the nonverbal group lends additional support for the technological origin for language hypothesis.

This thesis is a pilot study, designed to test and develop methods suitable for the study of Scandinavian flint spearhead functionality. The functionality of projectile and lithic point armament has not been studied for almost 30 years in Scandinavia. Meanwhile, methods used to analyse lithic projectiles have developed considerably. However, few of these methods are precise enough to be used in conjunction with Scandinavian stone technological analyses that emphasize the societal aspect of lithic points. Consequently, two methods were chosen that could provide data for Scandinavian research issues: 3D-scanning/continuum mechanical simulations and organic residue analysis. The methods were tested on 6 experimental spearheads. The continuum mechanical simulation generated both visual and numerical data that could be used to create precise functional-morphological descriptions. The data could also potentially be used for projectile point classification. The organic residue analysis revealed promising results for the use of an artefact and activity specific analysis, with a sequential extraction protocol. In unison, the results from both analyses could be used to reveal how spearheads were functionally designed and used in Stone Age Scandinavia, even though there are methodological and technological issues that need solving.

The Aurignacian is a contentious time period in paleoanthropology. The myriad social changes which accompany the Upper Paleolithic transition have often become associated with the physical tools which Aurignacian people left behind. One result of this is the current tendency of professionals to use blade technology as an indicator of "modernity," rather than examining how changes accompanying the Upper Paleolithic transition made blades a useful adaptation. Of particular importance is the fact that the adoption of blades coincides with a long distance shift in the system used to procure and transport the lithic raw materials. This suggests that before we can use blades to answer anthropological questions about the Aurignacian, we need to establish the relationship between blade production and the acquisition of exotic raw materials. This dissertation combines an analysis of the lithic collection from the French archaeological site of Abri Cellier with the experimental fracture of lithic raw material samples in order to examine the impact of raw material quality on Aurignacian blade production. The analysis of the assemblage from Abri Cellier demonstrates that Aurignacian blades manufactured on exotic materials were of higher quality than those produced locally. The experimental fracture of raw material samples reveals that the differences in the quality of the exotic and local materials do not sufficiently account for the differences in the quality of the blades produced on them. This implies that the differential transport of high quality final products accounts for the increased quality of exotic blades at Abri Cellier. This research examines a number of new ways to evaluate quality in the archaeological record. More importantly, however, it firmly demonstrates that the acquisition of long distance raw materials was not a prerequisite for blade production in the Perigord. This work will conclude by arguing that blades played a role in increasing the maintainability of a hafted toolkit geared towards meeting the requirements of an increasingly mobile and collaborative Aurignacian population.

<p>This essay discusses different opinions about experimental archaeology. To start with literature was examined and a questionnaire was sent out to students and working archaeologists. The possibility for experiments to mediate archaeology to people without an education in archaeology is lifted and is also mentioned in the questionnaire. In the discussion part of the essay the results from the questionnaire and the literature are used to see what opinions are the strongest. The mediating is also discussed and the result is compiled in the conclusion. There are different opinions about experimental archaeology, but no prominent difference between what students and archaeologists answered. It is possible to see different opinions in the literature, but concerning the mediating most of the writers agree that the experimental archaeology is a good method to communicate with the laymen.</p>

This study elevates the importance of experience, the senses and tacit knowledge in relation to archaeology with a focus on music. With this I take up a thread drawing on theoretical aspects of Polanyi’s ‘Tacit Dimension’ and ‘Ingold’s Lines’.  I review paradigms in experimental archaeology and music archaeology, and the subject of reconstruction in both.  My case study is of four individuals, whose reconstruction models are connected to artefacts perceived as flutes in the archaeological record and/or notions of prehistoric flutes.  Combining the way in which we learn by understanding others’ experiences through gesture and experience as data, my work examines these ideas in relation to wanting to find out about these flute-making people, and how their work is related to the canon of archaeology to which one might expect that it belongs, and if we can call this a tradition.  What I found was that the praxis is complex and far reaching and stretches into various ontologies through philosophy, religion, emotionalism, intellectualism, symbolism, music, tradition, imagination, experience, sensation and identity, where interrelations of the past, present and future are very evident.  I finally consider archaeology as an art which reveals parallels between archaeology itself and music.  Paradigms in archaeologies in 2013 do not effectively support this praxis of flute making despite contextual experimentation showing welcoming promise for future change.

This thesis uses experimental archaeology as a method to discover the functional differences between Clovis and Folsom projectile points filtered through a behavioral ecology paradigm. Porcelain is used as a substitute for tool stone for its consistency and control value. The experiment was devised to find out which technology, Clovis or Folsom, was more functional, had a higher curation rate and contributed to increased group subsistence. Paleoindian tool technology transitions can be seen as indicators for adaptation triggered by environmental conditions and changes in subsistence. Folsom technology, when compared to Clovis technology, was functionally superior in performance, refurbishment and curation. Technological design choices made by Folsom people were engineered toward producing a more functional tool system as a sustainable form of risk management. The Clovis Folsom Breakage Experiment indicates that Folsom tool technology was specifically adapted to bison subsistence based on increased functionality and curation.