Schedule of Lectures and Readings

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Schedule of Lectures & Readings

Week 1 (27 & 29 Jan) - Introduction to Archaeological Science

• Aims and objectives

• Course format

• Course wiki

Reading:

Mathur, R. 2008. The history of the United States cent revealed through copper isotope fractionation, Journal of Archaeological Science, 430-433.

Week 2 (1-5 Feb) – Introduction to Archaeological Science

• Techniques & Facilities

• Archaeomaterials

• Research Questions

Readings:

Henderson, Julian. 2008. Chapter 2, Techniques of Scientific Analysis, pgs. 8-23.

Miller, Heather. 2007. Chapter 2 - Methodology: Archaeological Approaches to the Study of Technology, Archaeologcial Approaches to Technology, Academic Press: Ambsterdam. pgs. 13-40.

Smith, C.S. 1981. Chapter 5. Matter versus Materials: A Historical View, in A Search for Structure, pgs. 112-126.

Assignments:

1. Post one discussion question or comment based on Week 2 readings on discussion wiki page by 10am Friday.
2. Complete XRF/XRD and SEM exercises and post on discussion wiki page by noon Friday.

Week 3 (8-12 Feb) – Ceramics

• Intro to Materials Science

• Ceramics – case studies, production

Readings:

Callister, W. 2005 – Selections from Chapters 1-3 in Fundamentals of Materials Science and Engineering

Miller, H. 2007. Fired Clay, from Ch. 4, Archaeological Approaches to Technology, pgs. 101-127.

Riley, T. et al. 1994. The Diffusion of Technological Knowledge: a case study in North American Ceramic Analysis. In Wisseman, pgs. 41-58.

Uda, M. 2005 Characterization of Pigments Used in Ancient Egypt. In M. Uda et. al (eds), X-rays for Archaeology, Springer: Dordrecht, pgs. 3-26.

Assignments:

1. Post one discussion question or comment based on Week 3 readings on discussion wiki page by 10am Friday.

2. Complete readings and consider them for Week 4’s assignment

3. Benchmark #1: Research Groups assigned

Week 4 (15-19 Feb) - Ceramics

• Materials structures, properties, performance – problem set review

• Ceramics – analysis, ethnographic studies, practicum

Readings:

Wisseman, S. 1994 From Pots to People: Ceramic Production in the Ancient Mediterranean. In Wisseman, Sarah U. and Wendell S. Williams (eds) Ancient Technologies and Archaeological Materials. Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, USA, etc. pgs. 17-40.

Grifa, C. et al 2009. Byzantine Ceramic Production from Cuma. Archaeometry 51,1.

Ottenburgs, R. et al. 1993. Mineralogy and Firing Properties of Clays at and near the Archaeological Site of Sagalassos. In In Waelkens, M. and J. Poblome (eds). Sagalassos II : Report on the Survey and Excavation Campaign of 1992. pgs. 209-219.

Poblome, J. et al. 1997. The Clay Raw Materials of Sagalassos Red Slip Ware: a Chronological Evaluation. In Waelkens, M. and J. Poblome (eds). Sagalassos IV: Report on the Survey and Excavation Campaigns of 1994 and 1995. pgs. 507-518.

Assignments:
1. Critical response paper (500 words) in reply to question posted on wiki, submit to response paper wiki page by Friday 19 Feb, noon.
2. Benchmark #2: Identify general scope and materials for final project topic. Meet with Dr. Ryzewski and Elizabeth. Create a research group wiki page.

Week 5 (22-26 Feb) - Glass

• Production, analysis and case studies

• Conservation / Preservation problems

• Glass in JIAAW and RISD collections

Readings:

Freestone, I. 2008. Pliny on Roman Glassmaking. Ch. 4 in Archaeology, History, and Science, pgs. 77-100.

Kato, N. et al. 2009. Change in chemical composition of early Islamic glass excavated in Raya, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt: on-site analyses using a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, Journal of Archaeological Science, 36:1698-1707.

Mass, J. L., Wypyski, M. T., and R. E. Stone. 2002. Malkata and Lisht Glassmaking Technologies: Towards a Specific Link Between Second Millennium BC Metallurgists and Glassmakers. Archaeometry 44 (1), 67-82.

Silvestri, A., Molin, G., Salviulo, G., and R. Schievenin. 2006. Sand for Roman Glass Production: an Experimental and Philological Study on Source of Supply. Archaeometry 48 (3), 415-432.

Degryse, P., Schneider, J., Haack, U., Lauwers, V., Poblome, J., Waelkens, M., and Ph. Muchez. 2006. Evidence for Glass 'Recycling' Using Pb and Sr Isotopic Ratios and Sr-Mixing Lines: the case of early Byzantine Sagalassos. Journal of Archaeological Science 33, 494-501.

Assignments:
1. Complete problem set, email Prof. Sheldon by noon on Wednesday, 24 Feb.
2. Critical response paper (500 words) addressing question posed on the wiki, post to wiki page by Friday 26 Feb, noon.
3. Benchmark #3: Submit annotated bibliography / literature review - one per research group – to group wiki page by Friday 26 Feb.

Week 6 (1-5 March) - Metals

• Microstructures

• Iron, copper alloys

• Production and smelting technology

Readings:

Smith, C.S. 1981, Chapter 4, The Interpretation of Microstructures of Metallic Artifacts, in A Search for Structure, pgs. 69-111.

Scott, D.A. Selections from Microstructure and Metallurgy

Gordon, Robert B. and David J. Killick 1993 Adaptation of Technology to Culture and Environment: Bloomery Iron Smelting in America and Africa. Technology and Culture, 34:243- 270.

O'Connor, D. 1993. Ancient Nubia: Egypt's rival in Africa. Chapter 7: "The People of Karanog," p. 86-107.

Veldhuizen, H.A. and T. Rehren, 2007. Slags and the city: early iron production at Tell Hammeh, Jordan and Tel Beth-Shemesh, Israel. In Metals and Mines, pgs. 189-201.

Gale, N.H. and Stos-Gale, Z.A. 2007. Cross-cultural Minoan networks ant the development of metallurgy in Bronze Age Crete. In Metals and Mines, pgs. 103-111.

Festa, et al. 2008. Composition and corrosion phases of Etruscan Bronzes from Villanovan Age, Measurement Science and Technology, pgs. 1-7.

Assignments:

1. Post one discussion question or comment based on Week 6 readings on the wiki page by 10am Friday.

2. Benchmark #4: Project proposals due, Friday 5 March, 4-5 pages, one per group.

Week 7 (8-12 March) – Metals

• Continued from Week 6

Readings:

Grattan, J. 2007. The local and global dimensions of metalliferous pollution derived from a reconstruction of an eight thousand year record of copper smelting and mining at a desert-mountain frontier in southern Jordan, Journal of Archaeological Science, 34:83-110.

Burger, R. and L. Salazar. 2004. Machu Picchu, Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas. Chapter 6: "Scientific insights into daily life at Machu Picchu," p. 85-106.

Martinon-Torres, M. et al. 2007. Metals, microanalysis and meaning: a study of metal objects excavated from the indigenous cemetery of El Chorro de Maı´ta, Cuba, Journal of Archaeological Science, 34:197-204.

Scott, D.A. 1983. Depletion gilding and surface treatment of gold alloys from the Nariño area of ancient Colombia. Historical Metallurgy, 2: 99-115.

Scott, D.A. 1991. Technological, Analytical and Microstructural Studies of a Renaissance Silver Basin, Archaeomaterials, 5:21-45.

Assignment:

1. Critical response paper (500 words) addressing question posed on the wiki, post to wiki page by Friday 12 March, noon.-

Week 8 (15-19 March) – Lithics

• Ground stone

• Worked stone

• Tool manufacture

• Lithics-oriented research questions and problems

Readings:

Olausson, D.J. 2008. Does Practice Make Perfect? Craft Expertise as a Factor in Aggrandizer Strategies, Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 15:28-50.

Anovitz, L.M. et al. 1999. The failure of obsidian hydration dating: sources, implications and new directions. Journal of Archaeological Sciences 26:735-754.

Festa, G. et al. 2006. Neutron Techniques in Cultural Heritage, Archeometriai Műhely 2: 32-36.

Williams-Thorpe, O. et al. 2003. Non-destructive provenancing of bluestone axe-heads in Britain, Antiquity, 359-379.

Assignment:
1. Complete problem set, email Prof. Sheldon by noon on Wednesday 17 March.
2. Critical response paper (500 words) addressing question posed on the wiki, post to wiki page by Friday 19 March, noon.-

Week 9 (22-26 March) – Midterm presentations and Midterm exam

• Midterm presentations – Monday and Wednesday showcasing work to date.

• Exam on Friday 26 March

Spring Break (29 March – 2 April)

Week 10 (5-9 April) – Production Processes

• Understanding Technology

• Art or Craft?

• Texts, Senses, and Production Processes

Readings:

Miller H. 2007. Introduction, in Archaeological Approaches to Technology, 1-12.

Smith, Cyril Stanley 1981 A Search for Structure: Selected Essays on Science, Art and History. MIT Press: Cambridge. Chapter 8 - Art, Technology, and Science: Notes on their Historical Interaction, pgs. 191-241.

Shortland, A.J. 2008. Cuneiform Glass Texts: A Question of Meaning, Ch. 3 in Archaeology, History, and Science, pgs. 61-76.

Assignment:

1. Post one discussion question or comment based on Week 10 readings on the wiki page by 10am Friday.

Week 11 (12-16 April) - Production Processes *NO CLASS – 14 and 16 April – Society for American Archaeology Meetings*

• Cross-Craft Industries and Technologies

• Craft Specialization and the Transfer of Knowledge

Readings:

Miller, H. 2007. Chapter 7 The Analysis of Multiple Technologies, in Archaeological Approaches to Technology, 237-246.

Costin, C.L. 2000. The Use of Ethnoarchaeology for the Archaeological Study of Ceramic Production, Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 377-403.

Thornton, C.L. and Th. Rehren. 2009. A truly refractory crucible from fourth millennium Tepe Hissar, Northeast Iran, Journal of Archaeological Science, 36, pgs. 2700-2712.

Assignment:

1. Critical response paper (700 words) addressing question posed on the wiki, post to wiki page by Friday 16 April, noon.-

Week 12 (19-23 April) – Conservation, Preservation, Authentication

• Corrosion

• Fakes, Forgeries, and Reconstructions

• Conservation Approaches

Readings:

Scott, D.A. 2002. Ch. 5, Basic Sulfates. In, Copper and Bronze in Art , pgs. 145-223.

Scott, D.A. 2002, Ch. 11, Some Aspects of Bronze Patinas. In Copper and Bronze in Art, pgs. 322-351.

Scott, D.A. and G. Eggert, Chs. 12-16. Corrosion of Iron objects. In Iron and Steel in Art, pgs. 127-162. sections to be assigned in class

Williams, W. S. 1994. "Science and the Art Museum: the Analysis of Archaeological Materials." In Wisseman, 187-198.

Assignment:

1. Post one discussion question or comment based on Week 12 readings on the wiki page by 10am Friday.

Week 13 (26-30 April) – Wrap up and Presentations

• Where Does Archaeometry Fit?

• Final project presentations begin

Readings:

Killick, D. and G. Patterson. 2009. A Quiet Crisis in American Archaeology, SAA Archaeological Record, 9(1): 6-10.

Pollard and Heron 2008. Chapter 12 - Whither Archaeological Chemistry? 406-412.

Henderson 2000. Chapter 7 - Archaeological Science and the Way Forward. 324-326.

Dunnel, R. C. 1994. Why archaeologists don't care about archaeometry. Archaeomaterials 7161-165.

Assignment:

1. FOR MONDAY: Post one discussion question or comment based on Week 13 readings. 2. Final Project Presentations: Friday

Week 14 (3-7 May) - Final Project Presentations (cont’d)

Posters Due: On May 7
Final Reports Due: Friday, 7 May, 5pm (please include attach a digital copy of your poster in a separate file)