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This paper discusses how detailed analyses of archaeological contexts and macrobotanical remains are critical for building a high‐resolution chronology in archaeological research. While the application of Bayesian modelling has improved chronology‐building significantly, archaeologists have sometimes neglected different dates recovered from the same depositional layer without further scrutiny. Based on 78 radiocarbon samples, this problem is challenged by building a high‐resolution chronology of the Guzmán Group, a small plaza compound of the ancient Maya city of El Palmar, Mexico. The results permit a deeper understanding of relationships between dynastic interactions and the emergence of non‐royal elites in Classic Maya society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For 50 years, archaeologists and physical scientists have been dating, determining the composition of and measuring stone tools, and reporting them in Archaeometry and many other journals. In Archaeometry specifically, the number of papers devoted to the analysis of lithic material has increased at least 30 times since 1958 and volume 1. This is a reflection not only of an increase in the number of scholars devoting their time to the archaeometry of stone, but also of increases in the quality and quantity of instrumental technology available to researchers in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xiaoshan in Zhejiang Province was an important ceramic production area in ancient China. During recent years, local archaeologists have found a number of mound tombs dating to the Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn period. Many shards of stamped stoneware and proto-porcelain have been unearthed from these tombs. In this paper, we report how we collected ceramic shards from tombs and samples from local ancient kilns as reference materials in order to clarify their relationship. We have used the energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence technique to analyse the chemical composition of the ceramic samples. The results indicate that some of the tomb artefacts may be imported from other production areas. We infer that the other tomb samples were produced at local kilns, but due to production process-related compositional differences, there are small differences in chemical composition between different categories of samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a particular statistical approach to chronological data from assemblages of archaeological finds (namely pottery) using Gaussian curves: the method enables us to obtain a graphic representation of chronological patterns that avoids an excessive flattening of data, adding an extra dimension to the usual linear temporal concepts. This enables us to arrive at more likely absolute dating and also visualize residuality. The method has been built during the study of a stratigraphic context from the Site of Ancient Ships of Pisa - San Rossore, Italy, and applied to its pottery. Archaeologists may find in the model a useful tool that is easy to apply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to answer the age-old question of whether a given pot was manufactured locally or elsewhere, some archaeologists have turned to geoarchaeological or bioarchaeological methods such as diatom analysis to establish potential clay sources. In this paper, we highlight the complexity of diatom analysis and illustrate how diatoms potentially coming from several sources may be introduced at different stages during the ceramic manufacturing process. Finally, we proceed to evaluate the reliability of diatom analysis as an archaeometric measurement for ceramic provenance, concluding that it may have a more limited usefulness within archaeology than its current frequency of use would indicate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Worldwide, vein quartz was used as a raw material for stone tools, and in many regions quartz was the dominant raw material, if not the only raw material. While using quartz was not necessarily problematic for the communities in question, and was often preferred over other materials, the 'problem' with quartz is for archaeologists attempting to analyse the material, especially with coarse-grained quartz. This paper presents the results of a quartz recognition experiment conducted on volunteer participants at the 2008 World Archaeological Congress (WAC) conference held in Dublin, Ireland. The results have shown that the identification and classification of vein quartz artefacts is particularly challenging, even for analysts with substantial experience in quartz artefact analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geophysical survey techniques are a highly visible part of the scientific toolkit that is now used by archaeologists. In this paper, the history of the use of geophysical techniques in archaeology will be discussed, as will significant research themes associated with the most widely used prospecting devices. It is apparent that while the use of geophysical techniques is at an all-time high, there are many key areas where prospecting is rapidly developing. Some of the advances relate to fundamental aspects of the techniques, while others dictate how we undertake survey in the future. There is a movement away from pre-gridded survey areas towards real-time GPS for navigation. This allows greater integration, or fusion, of disparate data sources using visualization techniques derived from associated disciplines. The analysis of landscapes has become a major component of the application of new technology and there are many challenges to be tackled, including how to analyse and interpret significant archaeology within large-scale, data-rich, multi-technique investigations. The reflective nature of the review acknowledges the important role of Archaeometry in the development of archaeological geophysics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In memoriam Tony ClarkSadly, this research marked the last field visit to the test site that the authors were able to share with their colleague Tony Clark. His enthusiasm, experience and encouragement inspired us to complete this project that, to many, must have appeared as grown men at play in a sand pit.A new approach to subsurface exploration has been developed, based on fixed-frequency radio-wave illumination from a buried transmitter. Data are collected from a buried, continuous wave source with a phase-coherent surface-scanning receiver and recorded in a digital archive from which images of the archaeological features are subsequently produced. An important feature of this approach is the opportunity to separate the data collection and archive functions, which form an uncompromised record of the site, from the more subjective image formation function. This paper reports the results of a feasibility assessment programme and discusses the future application of the method to real archaeological sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most intriguing questions for archaeologists studying clay artefacts concerns technologies employed in their manufacture and whether standardization can be demonstrated through traditional ceramic analysis. Visual comparisons and mechanical measurements have been used to determine correlations and infer standardization. Using a laser multi‐line scanner and software developed to quantify Hausdorff distances between vertices in 3D surfaces, we analysed sample collections of figurines and moulds from Belize, Mexico and Honduras. The results indicated that this procedure was a more precise indicator of common source and standardization in moulded clay artefacts. This method provided data relevant to assessing the scope of ancient trade networks and the nature of social and economic relationships that existed among the ancient inhabitants of Mesoamerica. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeologists are accustomed to considering both the spatial distributions of sites and the temporal distributions of dates as means of analysing the dynamics of prehistoric societies. However, spatial and temporal approaches have thus far remained largely separate, rather than being combined within a single, unified framework. A formal methodology is outlined that combines univariate kernel density estimation based on radiocarbon dates with bivariate kernel density estimation based on spatial site coordinates; the approach allows archaeologists to arrive at reconstructed land-use distributions through time that not only correct for the problematic issue of site contemporaneity, but also reflect the continuous nature of the archaeological record. The model is implemented using as a data set a series of sites from the Mesolithic of Atlantic Iberia; the results demonstrate that it is capable of providing key insights into changing patterns of land use that are not apparent from either the temporal or the spatial perspective alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Europe have focused on plants and animals exploited for food. However, the exploitation of plants for fibres underwent a significant change with the addition of domestic flax as a fibre crop. While the technology of flax fibre processing is increasingly understood by archaeologists, its material value as a fibre crop in comparison to indigenous fibre is less well explored. We examine the mechanical properties of flax and two indigenous fibres (lime bast, willow bast), by testing fibre strips for tensile properties and discuss the results in the light of material choices in these periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most crucial parameter to be determined in an archaeological ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey is the velocity of the subsurface material. Precision velocity estimates comprise the basis for depth estimation, topographic correction and migration, and can therefore be the difference between spurious interpretations and/or efficient GPR-guided excavation with sound archaeological interpretation of the GPR results. Here, we examine the options available for determining the GPR velocity and for assessing the precision of velocity estimates from GPR data, using data collected at a small-scale iron-working site in Rhode Island, United States. In the case study, the initial velocity analysis of common-offset GPR profile data, using the popular method of hyperbola fitting, produced some unexpectedly high subsurface signal velocity estimates, while analysis of common midpoint (CMP) GPR data yielded a more reasonable subsurface signal velocity estimate. Several reflection analysis procedures for CMP data, including hand and automated signal picking using cross-correlation and semblance analysis, are used and discussed here in terms of efficiency of processing and yielded results. The case study demonstrates that CMP data may offer more accurate and precise velocity estimates than hyperbola fitting under certain field conditions, and that semblance analysis, though faster than hand-picking or cross-correlation, offers less precision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents the results of the first mineralogical, petrographical and geochemical characterization of the marble quarried from the Cap de Garde headland, not far from Annaba (Algeria). This site is traditionally held by archaeologists to be the main source of supply of the so-called ‘greco scritto ’ marble, which was much used by the Romans for architectural and decorative–ornamental purposes, locally from the first centurybc, and in Rome and central and southern Italy from the late Flavian period until the fourth centuryad. The databank relating to the quarried material, created here for the first time, is used to establish the origin of ‘greco scritto’  found in six important Roman cities of North Africa: Hippo Regius and Cuicul (Djemila), in Algeria; Volubilis , in Morocco; Cyrene, in Libya; and Carthage and Utica in Tunisia. The results of this archaeometric study support the hypothesis (already put forward by authors) that the ‘greco scritto’ used in the Roman Mediterranean originated from different sites, and suggest the existence of a number of North African quarries, also in the vicinity of Annaba. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All archaeologists have faced the problem of interpreting stratigraphy. While this task can sometimes be very clear and unambiguous, this is far from always being the case. Because human beings are limited in their appreciation of soil by subjectivity and by the ability of their senses, it can be useful to turn to technology for help. Here, we present our research on the characterization of archaeological soils by spectrometric analyses, and we demonstrate the perspectives offered by robotics to excavate in fieldwork and to record the stiffness of the earth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical and mineralogical analyses were carried out on historical lime mortars from the parish church of Santa María La Real (Guipúzcoa). The study included various periods ranging from Roman to modern times and allowed the identification of various types of raw materials. In order to obtain pure binder, free of carbonate aggregates and charcoal particles, an innovative binder separation method was implemented. The chemical composition of the binder allows discrimination of different provenance areas for the raw materials, although those areas do not correlate with specific historical periods. In addition, the influence of burial processes on the primeval chemical features has been assessed and reveals that modern mortars display greater chemical modification than the Roman mortars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]