Approaches to Classification of Oneota Bone and Antler Artifacts

Approaches to Classification of Oneota Bone and Antler Artifacts PDF Author: Jacob E. Becker
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Animal remains (Archaeology)
Languages : en
Pages : 66

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Approaches to Classification of Oneota Bone and Antler Artifacts

Approaches to Classification of Oneota Bone and Antler Artifacts PDF Author: Jacob E. Becker
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Animal remains (Archaeology)
Languages : en
Pages : 66

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The Technological Role of Bone and Antler Artifacts on the Lower Columbia

The Technological Role of Bone and Antler Artifacts on the Lower Columbia PDF Author: Kristen Ann Fuld
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Bone implements, Prehistoric
Languages : en
Pages : 171

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Book Description
This thesis explore the technological role of bone and antler artifacts from two contact period southern Northwest coast archaeological sites, the Cathlapotle site (45CL1) and the Meier site (35CO5). Technological measures of sedentism are based on lithics, and predict residential sedentism promotes technological expediency in hunter-gatherers (Parry and Kelley 1987). Cathlapotle and Meier lithic assemblages consist of expedient and opportunistic assemblages and raw material stockpiles, with the exception of highly curated projectile points and endscrapers (Hamilton 1994). The expectation that residential sedentism promotes technological expediency in hunter-gatherers was tested on the Cathlapotle and Meier bone and antler artifact assemblages in two ways. First, curation and expediency were recorded for each artifact by measuring level of energy investment in manufacture or degree of working. Second, a spatial analysis was used to explore methods of artifact storage and disposal. Results revealed both Cathlapotle and Meier osseous assemblages are highly curated, except for expedient awls and flakers. Specifically, artifact classes related to subsistence procurement, modification including woodworking, and ornamentation were highly curated. Both sites contain stockpiles of unmodified bone and antler. The spatial analysis showed level of curation did not affect artifact disposal method. Despite this, some patterns were evident. At Cathlapotle, curated procurement and modification artifacts, expedient awls as well as worked fragments were concentrated outside the houses, specifically in Sheet Midden. Broken modification artifacts, ornaments, and detritus were randomly distributed. At the Meier site, curated procurement and modification artifacts, as well as expedient awls were randomly distributed. Broken modification artifacts, detritus and worked fragments were concentrated outside the houses. Ornaments were concentrated in the northern segment (elite area) of the house. There were also significantly more curated complete tools recovered from the cellar facility, while significantly fewer curated complete tools were recovered from the midden facility at Meier. In this thesis, the effects of contact on osseous assemblages were examined. It is an assumption of North American archaeologists that European-introduced metals replace and/or change the character of traditional technologies such as lithic and osseous technologies. Few quantitative studies comparing pre and postcontact artifact assemblages exist (Bamforth 1993, Cobb 2003). In some parts of northeast North America, European contact is followed by a proliferation of osseous tool working, and over time osseous artifacts drop out of the archaeological record (Snow 1995, 1996). Cathlapotle and Meier were occupied from AD 1400 to AD 1830, spanning European contact. People at Cathlapotle were in direct contact with Europeans and Euro-Americans since 1792 (Boyd 2011). Previously, it was assumed Cathlapotle was more involved in the fur trade than Meier, because Cathlapotle was mentioned several times in ethnohistoric accounts, while Meier was never mentioned. Also Cathlapotle contains far more historic trade items than Meier (Ames 2011). The assumption that European-introduced metals replace and/or change the character of traditional technologies was tested on the Cathlapotle and Meier assemblages by comparing artifact frequency, density, and assemblage diversity of pre and postcontact assemblages. Results show contact is reflected in the osseous assemblages at both Cathlapotle and Meier. Contact is evident, but is reflected in different ways. At Cathlapotle, artifact frequencies, densities, and assemblage diversity decrease postcontact. In contrast at Meier, artifact frequencies and densities increase postcontact, with some artifact classes tripling or quadrupling in frequency. The introduction of metal could have enabled people to work osseous materials faster and easier, decreasing manufacture time, cost, and overall energy investment. The gain in efficiency promoted the proliferation of bone working and an abundance of osseous tools at the Meier site. These results encourage a reevaluation of Meier's role in the fur trade. At Cathlapotle, metal objects may have replaced osseous tools resulting in the decline of bone and antler working and/or activity patterns shifted away from activities requiring osseous tools. The results of this thesis deviate from typical Northwest Coast bone and antler assemblages, challenge technological models of sedentism that are based on lithics, and contradict assumptions of Lower Columbians involvement in the fur trade.

From These Bare Bones

From These Bare Bones PDF Author: Alice Choyke
Publisher: Oxbow Books
ISBN: 1782972129
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 702

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Book Description
A fundamental component of the study of worked osseous objects is the identification of the raw materials chosen to make them. In archaeological contexts many objects become degraded to the point where identification is very difficult and the way in which these materials decay during burial and upon excavation can vary greatly. Correct identification is crucial to the investigation of objects, their conservation and future curation. Above all, understanding raw material selection aids our understanding of human-animal interaction in the past both on pragmatic and symbolic levels since the choices made by artisans vary by cultural tradition as well as availability. The 20 papers presented here explore a wealth of information pertaining to the use of osseous materials over the long period of human craftsmanship and tool manufacture by exploring several key themes: · Raw material selection and curation within tool types · Social aspects of raw material selection · New methods of materials identification It is demonstrated that the issue of raw material identification has numerous implications for conservation work, reproduction of objects, the physical characteristics of the tool or ornament, availability of raw materials, the materials chosen for procurement and the cultural reasons that lie behind the choice of raw materials from particular species and skeletal elements to produce planned tool and ornament types. Together, these papers emphasize the need for confident and correct materials identification and demonstrate that functionality is by no means the only, nor necessarily the most important, factor in the selection of osseous raw materials for the fabrication of tools and other cultural objects.

Bone Tool Technology

Bone Tool Technology PDF Author: Deborah Davis
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Bone implements
Languages : en
Pages : 1076

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Bone, Antler, Ivory and Horn

Bone, Antler, Ivory and Horn PDF Author: Arthur MacGregor
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317602013
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 531

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Book Description
Artefacts made from skeletal materials since the Roman period were, before this book, neglected as a serious area of study. This is a comprehensive account which reviews over fifty categories of artefact. The book starts with a consideration of the formation, morphology and mechanical properties of the materials and illuminates characteristics concerning working with them. Following chapters discuss the organisation of the industry and trade in such items, including the changing status of the industry over time. Archaeological evidence is combined with that from historical and ethnological sources, with many illustrations providing key visual reference. Originally published in 1985.

Bone and Antler Artifacts

Bone and Antler Artifacts PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 38

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Stone, Bone, Antler & Shell

Stone, Bone, Antler & Shell PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
This book is for anyone who has looked at artifacts from the Northwest Coast in a museum and wondered: "How were these made?" "What was their function?" "How were they used?" Hilary Stewart lifts artifacts out of their isolation in a glass case and puts them into the context of the life of early native people on the coast. Archaeological excavations, or "digs, " have unearthed an array of ancient artifacts. While items made of perishable materials such as wood, bark and hide usually decayed over time, many objects of stone, bone, antler and shell have been found. In clear, easy to read text and over 1000 illustrations and 50 photos, Hilary Stewart depicts a wide range of artifacts. These tools, weapons, hunting and fishing gear, household and ceremonial items and ornaments reveal much about a people's way of life: how they fed, clothed, adorned and housed themselves; their technologies, skills and art; their trading and travelling patterns.

Analytical approaches to the manufacture and use of bone artifacts in prehistory

Analytical approaches to the manufacture and use of bone artifacts in prehistory PDF Author: Sandra Lynn Olsen
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 1006

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Publications in Archeology

Publications in Archeology PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Archaeology
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Bones as Tools

Bones as Tools PDF Author: Christian Gates St. Pierre
Publisher: British Archaeological Reports Oxford Limited
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 196

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Book Description
The papers in this volume were originally collected for a symposium entitled Recent Developments in Bone Tool Studies, organized for the 69th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology held in Montreal (Canada) on April 2nd, 2004. The objective of the symposium was to illustrate how recent developments in approaches, methods and techniques in worked bone studies can contribute to our understanding of basic problems encountered in archaeological research, with case studies from Europe and North America essentially, but also from Latin America and Oceania.