SAS Bulletin
Society for Archaeological Sciences
 Volume 20 number 1/2              January-June 1997
From the President
The Society for Archaeological Sciences held
its annual executive board and business
meetings during the Society for American
Archaeology Annual Meeting in Opryland,
Nashville, Tennessee, April 2-5, 1997. Our modest
(embarrassing?) attendance of 14 out of a total membership
of 354 was no doubt due to the scheduling of our meeting
opposite several symposia. Votes were tallied for the election
of officers. Twenty ballots were cast by e-mail, and 24 by
snail-mail. The vote was unanimous in favor of Chris Prior
for President-elect and Felicia Beardsley for
Secretary-Treasurer. They will join me (as I move from
President-elect to President) as members of the executive
board. In addition, the desktop publishing baton was passed
on to our new Bulletin editor, Rob Tykot.
The income and expenditure summary for 1996 was
presented, and the proposed budget for 1997 was presented
and accepted. These documents were included in a previous
issue of the Bulletin. The agreement with Plenum Press for
the book series on Advances in Archaeological and Museum
Science was discussed. This contract called for five books
over a ten year period. So far, four books have been accepted
by SAS. The phytolith book (Phytolith Systematics: Emerging
Issues; Rapp and Mulholland, editors) is already published;
books on dating methods (Chronometric and Allied Dating
in Archaeology; Martin Aitken and R.E. Taylor, editors) and
obsidian (Archaeological Obsidian Studies: Method and
Theory; M. Steven Shackley, editor) are due out in 1997;
and a volume on historic preservation technology (Ray
Williamson, editor) is expected in 1998. Other high-quality
proposals are invited.
Next year will mark the 20th anniversary of the SAS.
Suggestions were made as to how this event might be marked,
such as an award to someone who has served the organization.
Visibility of the organization might also be promoted in
several ways, from a more concerted effort to distribute our
membership leaflet to a student award for a paper presented
on an archaeometric topic.
Future Archaeometry Symposia were discussed. Both the
University of California at Berkeley and Mexico have
expressed interest in hosting the next North American
From the Editor
The feedback that I have received from my
first issue of the SAS Bulletin was mostly
positive, so I will continue with this format
at least for the near future. Another double-
issue (1997 no. 3/4) is scheduled for production in December
(and arrival in your mailbox in January). After that, we will
return to quarterly issues with production deadlines of March,
June, September and December.
In addition to the new editors that I welcomed last issue,
I would like to announce that Mike Waters is the new
Associate Editor for Geoarchaeology. Some of our new
Associate Editors have columns in this issue; they all need
your help in providing material for future issues, so please
send them your news. I am especially interested in reviews
of conferences which include papers or sessions on
archaeological science. If you attend one and would be
willing to write a review (even a very brief one), please
contact me before you start in order to avoid duplicating
someone else’s efforts. Unsolicited book reviews or notes
are also welcome, but again, please check with the Book
Review Editor (Michael Glascock) first.
In This Issue
Vice Presidents’ Reports (S. Shackley, A. Simon, J. Burton)
Wiener Laboratory Profile (S. Pike)
Archaeological Ceramics (C. Kolb)
Archaeometallurgy (M. Goodway)
Remote Sensing (A. Sarris)
Archaeological Dating (J. Rink)
C14 Internet Resources (T. Higham)
Bioarchaeology (D. Landon)
Book Reviews
Learning from Things
Archaeological Chemistry (M.V. Orna ed.)
Archaeological Chemistry (A.M. Pollard & C. Heron)
Society, Culture, and Technology in Africa
Arsenic, Nickel et Antimoine
Trade and Discovery
Human Adaptation at Grasshopper Pueblo, Arizona
Meetings Calendar (S. Mulholland)
(continued on page 2)
(continued on page 2)
 page 2         SAS Bulletin          20(1/2)
meeting. The SAS would still be interested in collaborating
with the Standing Committee of the Archaeometry Symposia
to co-sponsor the symposia, help organize North American
meetings, help with the publication of symposia proceedings
or theme session papers, or re-publish hard-to-get proceedings
from previous symposia. The suggestion was also made that
SAS might sponsor a hands-on workshop at the 1998
Archaeometry Symposium in Hungary.
Incoming President Sternberg expressed his hope that at
least one SAS-sponsored symposium could be held at each
SAA meeting. There are always a number of SAA symposia
that, by topic, could certainly be sponsored by SAS. As
examples, several sessions that I was able to attend on this
year’s program appealed to my personal interest in
archaeomagnetism and archaeomagnetic dating:
Geoarchaeology, Paleoenvironmental Research, and Absolute
Dating (general session, #16); Learning from Once-Hot Rocks
(symposium organized by Alston Thomas, Jeff D. Leach and
Michael B. Collins, #72); Time After Time: A History of
Archaeological Dating in North America (organized by
Stephen E. Nash, #134). There were a number of other
symposia relevant to the SAS mission: Paleosubsistence and
Paleoenvironmental research (organized by Jennifer Falk and
Irwin Rovner, #45); Prehistoric Quarries and Chert Exploitation
in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic States (organized by
Meeks Etchieson, #53); Ancient Landscape Reconstruction:
New Approaches and Technologies (organized by Robert H.
Brunswig, Jr. and Lawrence Conyers, #54); Fryxell Symposium
1997: Molecular to Synthetic Research in Southwestern
Archaeobotany. Papers in Honor of Vorsila L. Bohrer
(symposium sponsored by SAA Executive board, organized
by Karen R. Adams and Mollie S. Toll, #69); Advanced
Technologies: Archaeology for the Twenty-First Century
(general session, #101); Chemical Sourcing of Ceramics in
the Greater Southwest (organized by Donna M. Glowacki);
Phytolith Analysis for Archaeologists (organized by Terry B.
Ball and Linda Scott Cummings, #126). For a society to sponsor
a symposium involves no additional work, and gives the
symposium a bit more visibility in the SAA program. However,
sponsorship by an organization does not guarantee acceptance
of the symposium for the SAA program.
Back to our meeting, it was mentioned that John Yellen at
the National Science Foundation is looking for feedback on
NSF’s Archaeometry Program (see announcement at
www.nsf.gov/sbe/sber/arch/old8752.htm). Members were
reminded to peruse the excellent SAS web site set up by Jim
Burton, located at: www.wisc.edu/anthropology/sas/sas.htm.
Jim has also kept SAS-Net, the e-mail redistribution service
started by Foss Leach, active. Traffic has increased with notices
of general interest to the SAS community.
We closed with a round of applause for Pat Martin, who
has served the SAS well as President, and before that as
President-elect and Editor of the Bulletin. Thanks, Pat. We
hope we can draw on your experience as you become
Past-President.
Rob Sternberg May 5, 1997
Announcements of employment and fellowship
opportunities, research grants, etc. can now be published in
the SAS Bulletin in a timely manner, so please forward this
information to us. Subscriptions to the Bulletin are available
in exchange for newsletters and publications of other
organizations; advertising space may also be exchangeable.
Lastly, we intend to publish reviews or updates on
archaeological science within certain political or geographic
regions. Suggestions for both reviewers (self-nominations
accepted) and regions are welcome.
Robert H. Tykot September 15, 1997
President (continued from page 1) Editor (continued from page 1)
Vice-Presidents’ Annual Reports 1996-97
Vice President for Intersociety Relations
The 1996/1997 year brought a new direction for the
Inter-Society Relations committee. In concert with Arleyn
Simon and the Membership Committee, we have begun the
planning stages for more intensive contact with other
organizations to encourage membership, and internet/web
based outreach with the SAS Webmaster. The first step was
an internet mailing to the International Association for
Obsidian Studies (IAOS) membership pointing to the number
of obsidian studies articles in JAS and the reduction in price
to full SAS members. This included a letter to the current
President, Jon Ericson.
Along this line, IAOS is planning to present a workshop
at the 1998 SAA meetings in Seattle focusing on archaeological
obsidian studies for archaeologists. In the above letter I noted
that a number of SAS members will probably be participating,
and cross-advertising between the organizations, as well as
sponsorship may be mutually beneficial. I have yet to receive
an answer, but will be following up shortly.
I continue to send our meeting dates to various newsletters,
but am surprised to see how few actually list it. I will continue
to do so, and persistence will eventually pay.
Probably most important, is the proposal by my lab, the
Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology, in association with
SAS, to host the 2000 Archaeometry Symposium at Berkeley.
The lab and particularly the museum frequently host
conferences of the size typical of the Archaeometry
Symposium, and the campus and Bay Area are a particularly
pleasant and functional area for this type of conference. Mexico
City and Beijing have also tenured proposals, but we are
confident ours will be given serious consideration. The lab,
the Archaeological Research Facility, and museum recently
brought Mike Tite, the standing committee chair, to Berkeley
to show off the facilities. We hope that he was impressed. As
usual, any member that has inter-society type news, please
forward it, and I’ll act on it appropriately.
M. Steven Shackley
 January-June 1997         SAS Bulletin                  page 3
Vice President for  Membership Development
SAS Seeks To Renew and Add New Members “Join our
quest to understand the past, using the tools of tomorrow!”
The Society for Archaeological Sciences is launching a
membership campaign to build the society for the next century.
In the most recent SAS Bulletin, SAS President Rob Sternberg
emphasized that SAS members share the common goal of
encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration and cooperation
among scientists in archaeology and in the physical and natural
sciences. SAS members represent an international cross-section
of disciplines including anthropology, biology, botany,
chemistry, classics, geochemistry, geochronology, geography,
geology, metallurgy, and zoology. Approximately 25% of the
membership is non-North American and we want to continue
this growth of SAS as a truly international archaeometric
community.
The Society for Archaeological Sciences strives to
highlight the contributions of archaeometry to archaeological
research and education. Through its activities, SAS endeavors
to enhance funding and research opportunities for
interdisciplinary archaeometric research. The Society is
instrumental in the publication of the refereed series: Advances
in Archaeological and Museum Science (Plenum Press); the
sponsorship of conferences and conference sessions that
encourage data-sharing within archaeometry and explain those
of allied fields; the publication of SAS Bulletin, a substantial,
indexed quarterly with research updates, laboratory profiles,
conference summaries, book reviews, job announcements, and
extensive calendars of meetings.
One of the best ways we can highlight and promote the
contributions of archaeometry to archaeology is by increasing
our membership and the corresponding readership of the SAS
Bulletin and the Journal of Archaeological Science. The SAS
web site (http://www.wisc.edu/anthropology/sas/sas.htm) as
well as the moderated discussion group SASnet provide instant
access to information on the society, meetings, conferences,
and participation and queries into topics of research interest.
There are currently 354 active SAS members. We believe
that membership in SAS will increase and exceed the previous
high (of 500+ members) by launching a proactive membership
program which will benefit current and new members of the
Society. Several steps are included in this program: 1) The
SAS executive board has undertaken the reactivation of the
SAS Bulletin under the editorship of Rob Tykot; 2) The SASnet
and the SAS web site are continuously active and updated by
webmaster Jim Burton; 3) The SAS will have increased
visibility at national and international meetings through
membership booths in exhibit halls, well advertized general
meetings, SAS sponsored symposia; awards for best
archaeometric poster and paper by students. The SAS is
planning these activities for the upcoming 63rd Annual
Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, March
25-29, 1998, Seattle, Washington, USA (http://www.saa.org)
and the 31st International Symposium on Archaeometry, April
27-May 1, 1998, Hungarian National Museum, Budapest,
Hungary (http://origo.hnm.hu/ametry98/).
We are sending a mailing to all SAS members asking them
to update their mailing address, email, phone, and fax numbers.
These must be regularly updated to ensure that members
receive the publications (Bulletin and JAS) and
communications (SASnet) to which they are entitled. We are
also including new member brochures in this mailing and
encourage you to recruit other full members and student
members among your colleagues.
Inquiries regarding membership status should be addressed
to the Secretary/Treasurer, Felicia Beardsley, Department of
Anthropology, University. of California-Riverside, Riverside,
CA 92521-0418 USA, tel 909-787-5524; fax 909-787-5409;
e-mail beards@citrus.ucr.edu; beardsley@qnet.com.
Arleyn W. Simon
Report from the Webmanager/VP for Electronic
Communications
SASnet.In contrast to the explosively exponential growth
of the Internet this year, SASnet has increased its subscriber
base slowly and steadily, from approximately 100 subscribers
at the beginning of 1996 to an easily-managed,
moderately-sized list of 437 by June 1997. This is partly the
result of the new open-door policy, intended to increase
interaction between archaeometrists and those not trained in
physical sciences but who need access to archaeometric
expertise and to increase the visibility of the SAS among those
who are not currently members. The average number of
messages has increased accordingly from approximately 6
messages a month to nearly two-dozen per month...still a
relatively quiet list for it’s size. To avoid typical list problems
such as ‘spams’ and ‘flame wars’, SASnet was configured as
a moderated list. Fortunately I have not ever had to decline
posting any message because it was abusive or inflammatory.
SASnet has remained a most civil and informative list that has
been a real pleasure to manage - kudos to the current
subscribers!
SASweb. The SAS now has a home on the Internet (http:/
/www.wisc.edu/anthropology/sas/sas.htm) through the
courtesy of the University of Wisconsin’s Department of
Anthropology. Web pages, on-line since April 1996, include
society information, Bulletin contents, email addresses of the
SAS membership, and extensive links to archaeometric
facilities, publications, meetings, and other resources. Visitors
to the SAS home pages have slowly increased from
approximately 100/month in May 1996 to about 360/month in
May 1997. A majority of these visitors are from the U.S., the
U.K., and Canada, but a significant percentage each month,
usually in the lower double digits, are from other countries in
Europe, South America, Australia and Asia. The most popular
document, by far, is the compilation of abstracts from the 1996
International Archaeometry Conference. Suggestions for
additional content, including relevant on-line links, are invited.
James Burton
 page 4         SAS Bulletin            20(1/2)
The Wiener Laboratory
Contributed by Scott Pike, Acting Director 1995-97
Since its inauguration on 2 June 1992, the Wiener
Laboratory of the American School of Classical Studies at
Athens has gained recognition as a promising research facility
supporting scholars applying a wide variety of analytical
techniques from the natural, physical and biological sciences
to archaeology and history. Through fellowships, consultations,
lectures, seminars and workshops, the Lab plays an integral
role in encouraging more scientific work and enlarging the
scholarship base and scope of research in Aegean archaeology
by providing resources and opportunities for scholars working
in Greece.  In September, Dr. Vanda Vitali became the new
Director of the Wiener Laboratory.
Fellowships
Each year the Wiener Laboratory offers three fellowships
to specialists in the fields of human skeletal studies, faunal
studies and geoarchaeology. The fellowships are open to
scholars with a Ph.D. and those working on a doctoral
dissertation; a stipend of approximately $13,000 to $25,000
will be awarded depending on seniority and experience.
Applicants must have a well-defined project addressing
significant archaeological questions which can be undertaken
in the Wiener Laboratory within the academic year. The J.
Lawrence Angel Fellowship in Human Skeletal Studies is
specifically for the study of human skeletal remains from
archaeological contexts in Greece; similarly, the Research
Fellowship in Faunal Studies is for the study of faunal remains
from archaeological contexts in Greece. The Research
Fellowship in Geoarchaeology is for individuals whose projects
address significant archaeological questions in areas of study
which may include quarried stone, lithics, building materials,
ceramics, soil and sediment studies.
In addition to the proposed research, the Fellow will be
expected to contribute to the development of the Lab’s
comparative or other collections, assist with queries from
excavators, offer a lecture on the work undertaken while at
the Lab, participate in one school trip, and contribute to
seminars on aspects of archaeological science as part of the
American School’s annual curriculum. The deadline for
applications for 1998-99 is 5 February 1998; further details
are available from the Director at the address below.
Reference Collections
The Wiener Laboratory houses a growing specialist library
and seven developing reference collections, resources that
support its members’ research and are available to other
interested scholars and excavators.
The specialist library contains 26 journals and newsletters
and over 1,150 books, dissertations and monographs including
advanced texts in the fields of faunal, human skeletal and
geoarchaeological studies as well as general reference and
introductory texts in various areas of archaeology and the
natural sciences. The library is intended not only to support
the Lab’s work, but also to serve as a starting point for
multidisciplinary research.
The Lab’s first reference collection, the Modern Animal
Bone Comparative Collection, was initiated in 1992 by Dr.
Walter Klippel (University of Tennessee) and Dr. Lynn Snyder
(Smithsonian Institution) and was developed by Dr. Yiannis
Hamilakis (University of Wales Lampeter), Justine Lev-Tov
(University of Tennessee), Deborah Ruscillo (University
College London), and Dr. Ekaterina Trantalidou (Ephoreia of
Palaeoanthropology and Speleology, Greece). This growing
collection now has over 150 specimens.
The Mollusk Study Collection, which contains primary
marine mollusk shells found in Aegean archaeological
contexts, was started by Michele Miller (Boston University)
and will be expanded by 1996-7 Faunal Fellow Deborah
Ruscillo (University College London).
The Lithic Collection contains hand-samples, thin-
sections, and a computerized catalogue of over 200 specimens
donated to the Lab. Dr. Ruth Siddall (University College
London) has curated the collection and provided complete
petrographic and hand-sample descriptions for each of the lithic
specimens. The collection has grown with the addition of thin-
sections, hand-samples and a stable isotope database for
Aegean marbles contributed by Dr. Norman Herz (University
of Georgia); and will be further expanded by samples of oolithic
limestone from Greek and Roman quarries at Corinth from a
study by Dr. Chris Hayward (London Natural History
Museum); as well as by marble samples from Mount
Pentelikon, and other quarry regions, from various studies
conducted by Scott Pike (University of Georgia).
An Anthropological Archive is being created by 1996-1998
J. Lawrence Angel Fellow Anna Lagia (University of Chicago).
It will comprise of well-documented human skeletons of known
age, sex, occupation, place of birth, death and cause of death.
Endorsed by the Department of Human and Animal Physiology
of the University of Athens and the Ephoreia of
Palaeoanthropology and Speleology in Greece, this collection
will be invaluable to anthropological and medical research.
An Ethnobotanical Collection has been initiated by
Research Associate Harriet Blitzer as part of her National
Geographic Society-sponsored project on the environmental
and cultural contexts of olive cultivation and the relationship
of olive cultivation to other aspects of Aegean culture. Her
contribution of plant and seed samples from wild and
domesticated olives, as well as samples of associated flora,
will open this collection.
A Ceramic/Clay, Building Material Collection is in the
planning stages with material anticipated from the following
projects and researchers: [1] ceramic and raw material samples
from a study of ceramic technology at Lerna in the Third
Millennium B.C. by Christine Shriner (Indiana University);
[2] clay samples from a preliminary petrographic analysis of
Epirote coarsewares by Melissa Moore (Boston University);
[3] samples from a study of the production and distribution of
Canaanite storage jars in the Late Bronze Age East
Mediterranean by Michael Sugerman (Harvard University);
 January-June 1997         SAS Bulletin          page 5
and [4] lime cement, mortar and concrete samples from Dr.
Ruth Siddall’s research on building materials at the site of
Ancient Corinth.
A Sediment Collection is also in its planning stage with
thin sections and micromorphological descriptions anticipated
from the following projects and researchers: [1] a preliminary
study of lithostratigraphy and micromorphology of Theopetra
cave deposits, Thessaly, Greece by Dr. Panajotis Karkanas
(Ephoreia of Palaeoanthropology and Speleology, Greece); and
[2] a micromorphological study of sediments from the Late
Minoan site of Halasmenos, Crete by Scott Pike.
Current Anthropological Research
Research Associate Dr. Ethne Barnes (Wichita State
University) continues her analysis of developmental defects
and pathology of human skeletal material from Petras, Crete
and the excavations of a Frankish cemetery at Ancient Corinth.
1996-97 J. Lawrence Angel Fellow Sandra J. Garvie Lok
(University of Calgary) is collecting samples and examining
Byzantine and post-Byzantine materials from the Church of
Agios Nicholaos at the Athenian Agora, the 13th Byzantine
Ephoreia on Crete, the 11th Byzantine Ephoreia in Servia, and
from Agia Triada, Thebes as part of her dissertation (An
Examination of Diet, Health and Gender in Byzantine and
Ottoman Greece).
1996-98 J. Lawrence Angel Fellow Anna Lagia
(University of Chicago) continues her dissertation research
(The Biological Imprint of Major Historical Processes that
Occurred during the Twentieth Century in Northern Greece).
Research Associate Lisa M. Little’s (Indiana University)
dissertation research (A Biological Distance Study of
Mycenaean Populations on the Greek Mainland) utilizes the
results of epigenetic skeletal analysis in an effort to address
questions of social interaction within and between communities
during the Mycenaean period. Some of the populations to be
included in this research are from the Athenian Agora, Galatas
and Mycenae’s Grave Circle B. In addition to work on her
dissertation, Lisa is also involved in the analysis and
publication of a number of other skeletal collections from a
wide range of archaeological periods: [1] the Late Minoan III
Mochlos, Crete with Jeffery Soles (University of North
Carolina); [2] Kritsa, Crete with Metaxia Tsipopoulou
(Archaeological Museum, Agios Nikolaos, Crete); [3] the Early
Iron Age collection from the Athenian Agora with John
Papadopoulos (The Getty Museum); [4] the Medieval period
burials from within the Hephaisteion, Athenian Agora with
Eric Ivison; and [5] human remains from a Hellenistic well in
the Athenian Agora with Susan Rotroff (Washington
University) and Lynn Snyder (Smithsonian Institute).
Research Associate Sevasti Triantaphyllou (University of
Sheffield) is carrying out mortuary data analysis of Prehistoric
cemetery populations from Northern Greece.
Current Zooarchaeological Research
1996-97 Faunal Fellow Deborah Ruscillo (University
College London) is collecting data for her dissertation (Sexual
Dimorphism in Mammalian Skeletons for Applicability in
Archaeology).
Research Associate Dr. Lynn Snyder (Smithsonian
Institution) is examining faunal materials from the Frankish
Complex and Demeter Sanctuary in Corinth as well as material
from the Athenian Agora and two sites on Crete - Halasmenos
and Kavousi.
Research Associate Dr. Ekaterini Trantalidou (Ephoreia
of Palaeoanthropology and Speleology, Greece) is analyzing
Late Bronze Age animal bones from several sites including:
[1] Akrotiri, Thera; [2] the sanctuary of Hermes and Aphrodite
in Symi, Crete; [3] Kalamakia, Areopolis Cave; and [4] Maara
cave.
Current Geoarchaeological Research
1996-98 Geoarchaeology Fellow Richard K. Dunn
(University of Delaware) is working on the mid to late
Holocene evolution of the alluvial-coastal plain at Marathon,
the site of the 490 B.C. battle between the Athenian and Persian
armies. Mycenean to Hellenistic cemeteries and a Roman villa
are also situated on the plain. Subsurface studies are
determining the past shifts in alluvial, lagoonal, coastal, and
shallow marine environments, and paleoenvironmental maps
place the battle and other sites in their proper environmental
framework. In September, Rick will begin a study of the
alluvial-coastal plain at Itea, on the northern Gulf of Corinth.
Situated below the site of the oracle at Delphi, the area is the
probable harbor site of the sacred center. Subsurface studies
will determine the extent and duration of a former marine
embayment and the potential for existence of a natural harbor.
Research Associate Dr. Panajotis Karkanas (Ephoreia of
Palaeoanthropology and Speleology) carries out the
petrographic component of his study on diagentic changes in
the Theopetra Prehistoric cave deposits.
Former Acting Director Scott Pike (University of Georgia)
continues the fieldwork and petrographic component of his
dissertation research (Archaeological Geology and
Geochemistry of the Ancient Marble Quarries on Mount
Pentelikon, Attica, Greece), as well as the following projects:
[1] a petrographic characterization study of Minoan calcium
cemented sandstone (beachrock) quarries, East Crete with
Jeffrey Soles (University of North Carolina); [2] a soil
micromorphological study of selected archaeological sediment
profiles from Halasmenos, Crete with Paul Goldberg (Boston
University); [3] a petrographic and stable isotopic
characterization study of marble quarry regions from Amorgos,
Naxos, Paros and Kea Islands, Greece with Sarah J. Vaughan
(University of Bristol) and Norman Herz (University of
Georgia); [4] a study of stable isotope fractionation of marble
temper in experimental ceramic briquettes with Vaughan and
Herz; [5] the petrographic, stable isotopic and geochemical
characterization of marble samples from the prow of the Athena
Nike victory monument, Samothrace, Greece and the presumed
marble source quarries near Lartos, Greece with Ira Mark (ISM
Designs); [6] a characterization study of marble quarries from
the Cycladic island of Siphnos, Greece with Herz; [7] a marble
characterization project of Attic statuary from the Archaic,
Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods to determine the
importation history of marble used for fine sculpture with Herz
and Olga Palagia (University of Athens, Greece); [8] a marble
 page 6         SAS Bulletin           20(1/2)
characterization study of the Colossal Apollo statue at Delos
with Ken Sheedy (Australian Archaeological Institute); [9] the
marble identification of roof tiles from Perachora with Blanche
Menadier (Royal Holloway).
Research Associate Christine Shriner (Indiana University)
is completing a material and technological study of Late
Neolithic and Early Bronze Age ceramic products from the
site of Lerna in the Argolid.
Research Associate Dr. Ruth Siddall (University College
London) is working on a study of the compositions and
technology of varieties of building materials used at ancient
Corinth with Dr. Charles Williams (Corinth Excavations).
Ethnobotany Research
Research Associate Harriet Blitzer is working on her
National Geographic Society sponsored study, “Regional
Variation in Traditional Aegean Olive Cultivation - The
Environmental and Cultural Contexts of Olive Cultivation and
the Relationship of Olive Cultivation to Other Aspects of
Aegean Culture.”
Forthcoming Wiener Laboratory Publications
Vaughan, Sarah J. and William D.E. Coulson (eds.),
Paleodiet in the Aegean, Wiener Laboratory Publication
Number 1, Oxbow Books (in press).
Vaughan, Sarah J. (ed.), The Proceedings of a Workshop
on The Practical Impact of Science on Field Archaeology:
Maintaining Long-term Analytical Options held in Nicosia,
Cyprus on 22-23 July 1995, Wiener Laboratory Publication
Number 2 (in preparation). Contributors:  Ethne Barnes, Della
Cook, Richard Evershed, Paul Goldberg, G.A. Wagner, Paul
Croft, Andreas Georghiades, Julie Hansen, Chris Hayward,
Vasiliki Kassianidou, Walter Klippel, John F. Merkel, Rip
Rapp, Jessica Johnson, Vasilis Kilikoglou, Yannis Maniatis,
Alice Paterakis, Sarah J. Vaughan.
Pike, Scott with Seymour Gitin (eds.), The Practical
Impact of Science on Near Eastern and Aegean Archaeology,
Wiener Laboratory Publication Number 3, Archetype Press
(in preparation). Contributors include: Magen Broshi, Tamar
Dayan, Erv Garrison, Yuval Goren, Azriel Gorski, Liora
Horwitz, Anne Killebrew, Mordechai Kislev, Nili Liphschitz,
Arie Nissenbaum, Naomi Porat, Arlene Miller Rosen, Patricia
Smith, Steven Weiner, Scott Woodward, Joseph Yellin.
Pike, Scott (ed.), Selected Papers from a Workshop on
Excavation Techniques and Treatment of Finds: Balancing the
Constraints of Excavation with Conservation and Analytical
Potential, Wiener Laboratory Publication Number 4 (in
preparation). Contributors include: Jane E. Buikstra, Linda
Scott Cummings, Hector Neff, Arthur Rohn, Henry Schwarcz,
Ruth Siddall, Ekaterini Triantalidou, Noreen Tuross, Ian
Whitbread.
For additional information about the Wiener Laboratory,
please contact the Director, Dr. Vanda Vitali: The Wiener
Laboratory, American School of Classical Studies at Athens,
54 Souidias, Athens 106 76, Greece. Tel: (301) 723-6313; fax:
(301) 729-4047; e-mail: vitali@leon.nrcps.ariadne-t.gr
Archaeological Ceramics
Charles C. Kolb, Associate Editor
Meetings
Archaeological Sciences ’97 Durham was convened 2-4
September 1997 at the Department of Archaeology, University
of Durham, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK. Conference
information is available at the URL: www/dur.ac.uk/
Archaeology/confs/ArchSci97.html. Six sessions were held:
Technology, Materials Analysis and Provenance; Biochemical
Studies; Environmental Studies; Poster Session;
Geoarchaeology; and Chronological Studies. Based upon the
preliminary program, among the 53 presentations were seven
which concerned ceramic materials: “Analytical Investigation
of Thermic Changes of Medieval Ceramics” (Yu. Ivachenko);
“The Characterisation of Degraded Milk Fats Found in
Association with Archaeological Pottery” (Stephanie N. Dudd,
Lucinda M. Dudd, and Richard P. Evershed); “Retrieving
Biomolecular Information from Organic Residues in Neolithic
Vessels: Complementary Investigations of Both Solvent
Extractable and Insoluble Polymeric Components” (Martine
Regert, Stephanie N. Dudd, Pim F. van Bergen, Pierre
Petrequin, and Richard P. Evershed); “Protein Screening of
the Ancient Potsherd” (O. E. Craig, M. Collins, R. Stacey, C.
P. Heron, R. J. Sokol, and K. Gelsthorpe); “Micromorphology
of Thin Sections of Medieval Pottery from Kelso Abbey”
[poster] (Emrys Phillips, Katherine Eremin, and David
Caldwell); “Prehistoric Pottery-making of Japan Sea Basin
(Space-temporal Context)” [poster] (Irina S.
Zhushchikhovsksya); and “Luminescence Dating of Medieval
Brick from Newcastle-upon-Tyne” (I. K. Bailiff and D.
Holland).
The Joint Conference of the SPMA/SHA-London (Society
for Post-Medieval Archaeology/Society for Historical
Archaeology) will be held at the Museum of London and at
the British Museum in London, England, from 3-7 November
1997. This was the second 30th anniversary joint conference
(the initial SHA/SPMA-Williamsburg Joint Conference was
convened in Williamsburg, Virginia, in April 1997). The
London meeting featured 27 papers by British and American
speakers, two of which focus upon ceramic materials:
“Redwares, Borderwares & Tinglazed Wares,” Beverley Nenk
(British Museum), Jacqui Pearce and Roy Stephenson
(Museum of London Archaeological Service); and
“Excavations at the Donyaat Potteries, Somerset,” Richard
Coleman Smith (Director, Sonyatt Research Group).
Additional information about the conference, registration and
tour fees, and suggested hotels are available on the SHA
website: www.azstarnet.com/~sha/spma97.htm. Questions may
be directed to Geoff Eagan, SPMA-SHA, MOLAS, Walker
House, 87 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4V 4AB, UK;
FAX +44 171 410 2201.
A conference, “Explaining Archaeological Distribution:
Production and Consumption of Mycenaean and Greek Pottery
(ca. 1600-500 B.C.,” will be held at the University of
Amsterdam, The Netherlands, from 8-9 November 1997. For
additional information, contact: Vakgroep Mediterrane
 January-June 1997         SAS Bulletin          page 7
Archeologie, c/o Dr. J. P. Crieland, V. Stissi, G. J. van
Wijngaarden, Oude Turfmarkt 129, 1012 GC Amsterdam, The
Netherlands; telephone 31 20 5252566; FAX 31 20 5252544,
e-mail: Med.Archeologie@let.uva.nl.
The Department of Scientific Research, The British
Museum, London, is the sponsor of a conference entitled
“Ceramic Technology and Production” scheduled for 20-22
November 1997. The conference organizers, Andrew
Middleton and Ian Freestone, have issued a preliminary
program that includes nine sessions with 37 oral presentations
and a poster session with 50 participant. The sessions scheduled
over the three days include: “The Organisation of Production”
(Parts I and II, a total of nine papers), “Raw Materials and
Resources” (Parts I and II, eight papers), “Interpreting
Technological Processes” (Parts I and II, eight papers),
“Technological Innovation and Change” (Parts I and II, eight
papers), and “Social and Cultural Factors” (four papers).
Thursday evening a reception and view of the exhibition
“Pottery in the Making,” demonstrations of pottery
manufacture, and a gallery talk by Ian Freestone are scheduled.
The 37 presentations include at least eight topical papers, six
from Western Europe, five from the Americas, five from East
Asia, four from the Mediterranean/North Africa, four from
Sub-Saharan Africa, three from the British Isles, and three from
Southwestern Asia. Among the 50 posters, 30 geographical/
cultural areas or topics are represented, with seven topical
papers, seven from England, and three from Greece among
those being presented. A post-conference summary will appear
in a subsequent column in the Bulletin. In addition to the
conference delegates, the number of attendees that can be
accommodated is extremely limited. The conference fee is
75.00 Pounds Sterling and must be paid prior to 24 October
1997. Payment may be made by credit card (Visa, Mastercard,
Eurocard, JCB, etc.), Eurocheques, sterling cheques, or U.S.
dollar cheques (with an additional $5.00 to cover bank charges).
For further information about the conference please contact:
Mrs. Mena Williams, Department of Scientific Research,
British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG;
Telephone +44 171 323 8279, FAX +44 171 323 8276; e-mail:
M.Williams@british-museum.ac.uk.
The eleventh annual symposium “Ceramic Ecology ’97:
Current Research on Ceramics,” co- organized and co-chaired
by Charles C. Kolb and Louana M. Lackey, has been scheduled
for the 96th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological
Association and will be held on Sunday, 23 November 1997
from 8:00-11:45 a.m. in the Jackson Room at the Hilton Hotel
in Washington, D.C. Following an “Introduction” by Kolb there
are ten papers: “A Chemical Analysis of Late Classic Pottery
from the Northern Maya Lowlands,” George J. Bey (Millsaps
College); “Color Development in San Martin Orange
Ceramics: Implications for Production, Exchange, and
Consumption,” James J. Sheehy (Pennsylvania State
University); “Tradition and Continuity of Ceramic Production
and Utilization of Clay Sources in the Vicinity of Santa Maria
Atzompa from the Late Formative to the Present,” Mary S.
Thieme (Vanderbilt University) and Donald M. Thieme
(University of Georgia); “Pottery Use Life and Discard in the
Lake Patzcuaro Region, Michoacan, Mexico: A Preliminary
Ethnoarchaeological Report,” Michael Shott (Northern Iowa)
and Eduardo Williams (Colegio de Michoacan, Mexico);
“Female Pottery Merchants in Korea: Gender, Status, and the
Construction of Identity,” Robert Sayers (National Endowment
for the Humanities); “Persistence of Memory: The
Mediterranean Slip Trailing Tradition,” Marcia Selsor
(Montana State University-Billings); “Early Islamic Lead
Glazes and Long Distance Exchange,” Peter Grave (University
of New England, NSW, Australia) and Lisa Kealhofer (College
of William and Mary); “White Clay Smoking Pipes:
Provenance and a Critique of ‘Pipe Stem Dating’ as a
Technique Applied to a Homogeneous Collection from
Barcelona, New York,” Charles C. Kolb (National Endowment
for the Humanities); and “Sherds and Patches: Recent Research
in Ceramic Studies,” Louana M. Lackey (Maryland Institute
College of Art). The discussant is Christopher Pool (University
of Kentucky). The symposium series honors Fred Matson,
Emeritus Professor of Archaeology and Emeritus Professor of
Ceramic Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University,
for his contributions to ceramic studies.
The 31st International Symposium on Archaeometry will
be held in Budapest, Hungary, 27 April-1 May 1998, organized
by the Hungarian National Museum and 15 other distinguished
institutes of Hungarian culture and sciences. The organizers
are soliciting abstracts (oral presentations and poster sessions)
for four scientific sessions: 1) Biomaterials (osteology, plant
remains, residues, etc.); 2) Dating (organic and inorganic
materials); 3) Field Archaeology (prospection and
geoarchaeology); and 4) Technology and Provenance of: a)
metals, b) ceramics/glass, c) stone/ pigments/plaster. Abstracts
are due 1 November. Downloadable forms and further details
are available from their website: http://origo.hnm.hu/ametry98/
homep1.html. Contact: Katalin T. Biró, Hungarian National
Museum, Department of Information, H-1450 Budapest Pf.
124, Hungary; tel/fax 36-1-210-1338; email H5852tbi@ella.hu.
The 14th International Congress of Anthropological and
Ethnological Sciences (IUAES) will be hosted by The College
of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, from 26 July-1
August 1998. The IUAES theme is “The 21st Century: The
Century of Anthropology.” Twenty-two symposia have been
organized and announced; archaeological materials will be
included in a “Symposium on Museums and Cultural
Heritage.” This symposium will be chaired by Dr. Mohan K.
Gautam, Kern Institute, University of Leiden, Box 9515, 2300
RA Leiden, The Netherlands. Telephone: 31-71-272-620, fax:
31-71-273-118, email: gautam@rullet.leidenuniv.nl. The
deadline for the receipt of abstracts is 15 October 1997. For
information about the programs, contact: Dr. Tokomo Hamada,
14th Congress Executive Secretary and Program Chair,
Department of Anthropology, The College of William and
Mary, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795. Telephone: 757/
221-1060, fax 757/221-1066, e-mail: thamad@facstaff.wm.edu
Other inquiries should be directed to Ms. Oriana Casadei, The
14th Congress Logistics Coordinator, The College of William
and Mary, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795. Telephone: 757/
221-1870, fax 757/221-1734, e-mail: oxcasa@facstaff.wm.edu
 page 8         SAS Bulletin           20(1/2)
Newsletters
ACRO Update: Quarterly Newsletter of the Asian Ceramic
Research Organization, edited by Chuimei Ho, has a new,
preferred, mailing address: ACRO, P.O. Box 595, Chicago, IL
606090-0595. Fax: 773/296-6298. The latest issue, May
1997(1), has just been mailed to subscribers.
Jim Corbin, editor of La Tinaja A Newsletter of
Archaeological Ceramics, has a new e-mail address:
JCORBIN@SFASU.EDU Volume 10(1) has been mailed and
10(2) is in press.
Art and Archaeology Technical Abstracts
A very important finding aid, Cumulative Index to AATA
Volumes 11-25, has just been published by the Getty Trust.
This two-volume subject and author index covers 15 years of
Art and Archaeology Technical Abstracts (1974-1988) and
includes approximately 29,000 abstracts. Volume One, 1174
pages (ISBN: 0-89236-407-6), and Volume Two, 1234 pages
(ISBN: 0-89236-408- 4), are sold as a set to individuals for
$70.00 or to institutions for $135.00 (plus postage and
handling). For additional information, please contact: Getty
Trust Publications, P.O. Box 49659, Los Angeles, CA
90049-0659. Telephone: 800/223-3431 or 818/778-6943, fax:
818/779-0051.
AIA Awards
In December 1996 the Archaeological Institute of America
presented the 16th Pomerance Award for Scientific
Contributions to Archaeology to W. David Kingery, Regents
Professor of Anthropology and Materials Science and
Engineering at the University of Arizona. This award, which
also celebrated his seventieth birthday, was made in recognition
of his “pathbreaking studies in the history of ceramics and his
notable contributions as a writer and an editor to our
understanding of technological innovation and the social
context of technology in the past.” He was recognized for his
many articles, book chapters, and books, including Ceramic
Masterpieces (1986), co-authored with Pamela Vandiver,
History from Things (1993), co-edited with Steven Lubar, and
Learning from Things (1996). Professor Kingery has also edited
six volumes to date in the series Ceramics and Civilization,
published by the American Ceramic Society. He is currently
editing the seventh volume in the series entitled History and
Prehistory of Ceramic Kilns which documents a symposium
on this subject, co-organized by Kingery and Prudence Rice,
which was held at the annual meeting of the American Ceramic
Society in Indianapolis in 1996. The full text of the award
may be found in the column to the right.
The Archaeological Institute of America Fellowships
Committee awarded the 1997-1998 Harriet and Leon
Pomerance Fellowship to Robert Angus K. Smith, a doctoral
candidate at Bryn Mawr College, for “Regionalism and Pottery
in Late Minoan III A-B Crete.”
P. Roger S. Moorey was the recipient of the Archaeological
Institute of America’s James R. Wiseman Book Award for 1996
for his volume Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and
Industries: The Archaeological Evidence (Oxford: Clarendon
AIA Pomerance Award for Scientific
Contributions to Archaeology
W. David Kingery
This year’s Pomerance Medal winner, like those before
him, has contributed a lifetime of experience and scientific
knowledge to the needs of the archaeological community. The
Pomerance Award honors a professional or amateur scientist,
or a team of scientists, whose interdisciplinary work with
archaeologists merits recognition.
From the citation:
The Pomerance Award is made to W. David Kingery,
Regents Professor of Anthropology and of Materials Science
and Engineering at the University of Arizona in recognition
of his pathbreaking studies in the history of ceramics and his
notable contributions as a writer and an editor to our
understanding of technology innovation and the social context
of technology in the past.
Dr. Kingery received his Ph.D. from Massachusetts
Institute of Technology in 1949 and rapidly became the leading
figure in the development of high-performance ceramics for
modern technology. Dr. Kingery and the British archaeometrist
Michael Tite, working independently, were largely responsible
for applying electron microscopy to the study of ancient
ceramics, plasters, refractories, glasses, and glazes. His work
has transformed our understanding of the origins of
pyrotechnology in the Neolithic of the Near East, while his
many publications have enhanced our understanding of, and
pleasure in, the fine ceramics of Classical Greece, China, and
the Renaissance.
Professor Kingery’s accomplishments have enriched
archaeology, art history, and the history of technology, and
have profound implications for our understanding of the role
of technology, technological innovation, and technology
transfer in past societies.
Press, 1994). The book is a revision and emendation of
Moorey’s 1985 publication, Materials and Manufacture in
Ancient Mesopotamia: The Evidence of Archaeology and Art
(Oxford: British Archaeological Reports International Series
237). The text of the Book Award notes that this 1994 magnum
opus takes its place beside Alfred Lucas’s Ancient Egyptian
Materials and Industries (in its 4th and last edition, 1962, with
J.R. Harris) as “one of the most useful and long-lasting
reference works....” Moorey’s newest volume is an essential
resource on Southwest Asian clays and ceramic technologies,
as well as other raw materials forms of material culture,
including residues, for the period 8000-300 B.C.E.
I look forward to receiving information from you for the
next issue of the SAS Bulletin.
 January-June 1997         SAS Bulletin          page 9
Archaeometallurgy
Martha Goodway, Associate Editor
Meetings
The 31st International Symposium on Archaeometry at
the Hungarian National Museum has been announced for 27
April-1 May 1998. The conference fee will be about US$200,
US$80 for students. Abstracts are due November 1, 1997. Write
Katalin T. Biró, Hungarian National Museum, Department of
Information, H-1450 Budapest Pf. 124, Hungary; tel/fax 36-
1-210-1338; email H5852tbi@ella.hu. Downloadable forms
and the latest information on Archaeometry ‘98 is available
on the World Wide Web at http://origo.hnm.hu/ametry98/
homep1.html.
The Fourth International Conference on the Beginning of
the Use of Metals and Alloys - BUMA IV - has been announced
by the Japan Institute of Metals for 25-27 May 1998 in Matsue,
Shimane, Japan. There will be a field tour on May 28 and 29.
Preliminary registration can be made immediately to: BUMA
IV Secretariat, Prof. Hiroyuki Katayama, Faculty of Science
and Engineering, Shimane University, Nishi Kawazucho 1060,
Matsue, 690 Japan; telephone 81-852-32-6517, fax 81-852-
32-6598, email: kata@riko.shimane-u.ac.jp. Do not forget to
include your address and fax number. One-hundred-word
abstracts are due 30 June 1997. Registration will be Y40,000
reduced to Y30,000 if received by March 1998. Complete
information is posted on the World Wide Web at: http://
wwwsoc.nacsis.ac.jp/jim/06-17.html.
The 1997 Archaeological Sciences conference,
Archaeological Sciences ‘97, has been announced by the
Department of Archaeology of the University of Durham for
the 2nd to 4th of September. The subject matter is quite broad,
ranging from human evolution and biochemical analysis to
geoarchaeology. The address for further information is: South
Road, Durham DH1 3LE UK; telephone 44-191-3743625; fax
44-191-3743619; email A.R.Millard@Durham.ac.uk.
Publications
The proceedings of the previous meeting, held at
Liverpool, Archaeological Sciences 1995, edited by A.G.M.
Sinclair, E.A. Slater, and J.A.J. Gowlett, was published last
November in two volumes; each volume is priced at £35.00
and can be obtained from Oxbow Books, Park End Place,
Oxford OX1 1HN, UK; fax 44-1865-794449.
Donald B. Wagner’s new book is The Traditional Chinese
Iron Industry and its Modern Fate, which explores the
economic history of the Chinese traditional iron industry in
the 19th and 20th centuries. It includes a discussion of the
results of traditional methods of iron production during the
Great Leap Forward of 1958-9 and the author points out some
of partial successes in what is generally conceded to have been
a massive failure. A version can be seen on World Wide Web
at http://coco.ihi.ku.dk/~dbwagner/Fate/Fate.html. The book
(ISBN 0-7007-0951-7) is in hardcover, has 128 pages and is
published by the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies in
Copenhagen and Curzon Press, London. Limited quantities
are available until August at half price, £17.50, from the Nordic
Institute. They accept American Express, Visa and MasterCard.
Orders can be sent to books@nias.ku.dk.
A monograph on the archaeological corrosion of bronze
has been published by the The Central Board of National
Antiquities and the National Historical Museums in Sweden
as Konserveringstekniska Studier Rapport RIK 10:
Deterioration of Archaeological Material in Soil: Results on
Bronze Artefacts, by Einar Mattson, Anders G. Nord, Kate
Tronner, Moniker Fjästad, Agneta Lagerlöf, Inga Ullén and
Gunnar Ch. Borg. They have examined artefacts and the soil
from which they were excavated as well and subjected their
data to multivariate statistical analysis. There is also a section
on deterioration of objects in collections. The book is in English
and is available (ISBN 91-7209-014-6, ISSN 1101-4725) for
300SeK from Riksantikvarieämbetet Informationsavdelningen
Förlagsenheten, Box 5405, S-114 84 Stockholm, Sweden.
The Archaeotechnology section in the JOM, the Journal
of the Mining, Metals, and Materials Society conducted by
Robert Ehrenreich presented “Mining communities in history:
an Industrial legacy” in the December 1996 issue (pp. 54-56).
This is his report of the conference in July on the social, spacial
and ideological foundations of mining that was organized by
Bernard Knapp, Vincent C. Pigott and David Killick in
Bellagio, Italy.
In the March 1997 issue Carol Meyer of the Oriental
Institute of the University of Chicago presented “Bir Umm
Fawakhir: insights into ancient Egyptian mining” (pp. 64-67.)
The site is located in the desert east of Luxor and is (for Egypt)
rather late, dating to the 4th and 5th centuries AD in the Coptic
(Byzantine) period, though there is evidence of earlier
exploitation. Meyer’s survey shows a mining settlement
estimated to have supported as many as a thousand workers,
and gold values well below mines of the pharaonic period,
strongly suggesting that these had already been mined out. A
hypertext-enhanced version of her article can be found at http:/
/www.tms.org.pubs/journals/JOM/9703/Meyer-9703.html.
In the May issue (pp. 61-65) Thomas L. Sanders reports
in “Manufacturing the American ax: radical technological
change”on blacksmithing experiments that shed light on the
development in the early 19th century of the wedge axe from
its European antecedents. It is based on his master’s thesis at
the University of Minnesota, and includes measurements of
time, material and fuel consumption that have the surprising
result that a Merovingian axe used the least amount of fuel but
was the most wasteful of iron, while the American wedge axe
required significantly more time and fuel, but was the most
economical of iron of the three types forged. Their efficiency
was measured in cm/min of standing Siberian elms cut, with
the wedge axe 46 percent more efficient than the European
axe. Saunders is at Historic Fort Snelling, Fort Snelling History
Center, St Paul MN 55111; telephone 612-726-1171; fax 6122-
726-2429; email snd0114@gold.umn.tc.edu.
The Archaeotechnology section is now available on the
web at:. http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM. If you have
questions or wish to contribute you can reach the series
coordinator at: rehrenre@nas.edu.
“Science and art converge at the National Gallery of Art”
by L. Glinsman and D. Barbour was the cover story of the
 page 10         SAS Bulletin           20(1/2)
January 1997 issue of JOM (pp. 14-17.) It included several
brief case studies, including radiography of the Gallery’s cast
of The Thinker by Auguste Rodin, which revealed the
placement inside the sculpture of the lead weight used to
counterbalance the figures’s pronounced forward lean. Further
information is available from L. Glinsman, National Gallery
of Art, Conservation Department, Washington DC 20565 USA;
telephone 202-842-6217; fax 202-842-6886. (There is also an
article by Ole J. Kleppa in this issue, “The Institute for the
Study of Metals: the first 15 years” (pp.18-20), that mentions
the late Cyril Stanley Smith.)
News and Announcements
Colleagues of W. Thomas Chase, III, the long time Director
of the Conservation Laboratory of the Freer Gallery of Art
and later of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery as well, were taken
by surprise by his sudden decision to retire after thirty years at
the Smithsonian Institution. He continues at the Freer and
Sackler Galleries as a research associate and plans to devote
himself full time to research and consultation. He can be
reached at 4621 Norwood Drive, Chevy Chase MD 20815
USA, telephone 301-656-9416, email: TChase4921@
aol.com.us.
In Austria there are many metallurgical sites worthy of a
visit. Among them is the Radwerk IV Blast Furnace, dating to
1846, in Vordernberg. For information about this furnace and
other exhibits and remnants of charcoal iron smelting in
Vordernberg, call 43/3849-283. Nearby at Eisenerz mountain
there is a mine for iron ore that can be visited both above and
below ground. Eisenerz also offers one- to five-day forging
courses. For information call 43/3848-3200 or 43/4531-370.
Atalaya Tours has postponed the 1997 Mining Study Tour
to India to January 1998. To the other Mining Study Tours
such as Western Britain in September has been added one to
Mexico, from Real del Monte to Durango, in late September/
early October. For further information write Atalaya Tours Ltd.,
Ceinionfa, Capel Dewi, Aberystwyth SY23 3HR, UK;
telephone and fax 44-1970-828989.
Brookgreen Gardens at Murrell’s Inlet, South Carolina,
hosted a sculpture workshop August 21-23 sponsored by
National Center for Preservation Technology and Training of
the National Park Service, SOS(Save Our Sculpture), the
Southeastern Museums Conference, the North Carolina
Museums Council and the South Carolina Federation of
Museums. If you have any information about this meeting, or
any other news to share or comments to make, please write or
call: Martha Goodway, Smithsonian Institution MRC 534,
Washington DC 20560 USA; tel. 301-238-3700 x164; fax 301-
238-3709; e-mail cal.meg@cal.si.edu.
Remote Sensing and GIS
Apostolos Sarris, Associate Editor
First Congress of the Balkan Geophysical Society,Athens,
Greece, 23-27 September 1996
The first Congress of the Balkan Geophysical Society was
the result of the efforts of the Geophysical Unions of the Balkan
states to establish a platform of communication and co-
operation among the various institutions that are involved in
the area of geophysical research in the wider Balkan region.
The organizing committee was drawn from members of the
Hellenic Geophysical Union, which hosted the Congress at
Zappeion Conference Centre. The forum attracted a large
number of scientists from all over the world with main research
interests in the area of the Balkans. About 25 companies were
also present in the exhibition halls of the conference centre.
Among the variety of subjects, archaeological prospection was
one of the areas that attracted the interest of the participants,
capturing the status of research in this particular field of
geophysical surveying. The presentations included: Drahor,
M. G., “A Large Scale Geophysical Prospection on the
Acemhoyuk and Magnetic Research on the Amphorae
Workshop Sites at the Sinop Region-Turkey”; Ercan, E.,
Baysal, H. & Yildiz, H., “Archaeogeophysical Investigations
at Egmir Hellenistic Tomb; Denizli, Turkey”; Ercan, A.,
Temizsoy, I. & Kaya, V., “Archaeogeophysical Investigations
of Kulhoyuk Ancient Settlement Hill (Hittite and Hattie
Periods), in Anatolia, Turkiye”; Georgiev, M., Stoev, D.,
Velkovski, K. & Georgieva, K., “Prospecting of a Prehistoric
Settlement Using Geophysical Methods”; Kavaja, V., Nacuci,
I., Drini, F., Reci, H. & Vincani, F., “Some Results of
Geophysical Prospecting in Archaeological Sites of Butrinti
and Apollonia”; Kovacheva, M., “Geomagnetic Palaeosecular
Variations and Archaeology”; Sarris, A., Tsokas, Gr.,
Vargemezis, G., Sideris, G, Tokmakidis, C., Avxhiu, R.,
“Geophysical Surveying and Photogrammetry at the Acropolis
of Bouthrotos, S. Albania”; Sayin, N., “Determination of
Archaeological Sites in Menekse Gatagi Region by
Geophysical Methods”; Spatharas, V., Jordanova, N. &
Karloukovski, V., “Magnetic Anisotropy Studies on Greek
Pottery and Bricks”; Tonkov, N. H., “Geophysical Prospecting
of Thracian Funeral Tumuli in “The Valley of Kings”; Tsokas,
Gr., Sarris, A., Tsourlos, P., Papazachos, C. & Giannopoulos,
A., “Alarge Geophysical Survey in Makrygialos (Pieria),
Greece”; Tsokas, Gr., Savvaidis, A. S., Stabolidis, A., Liritzis,
Y. & Apostolou, M. “The Location and Mapping of Ancient
Ruins on the Castle of Lefkas (Greece) by Resistivity and GPR
Methods”; Vafidis, A., Sarris, A., Oikonomou, N. & Kalpaxis,
A., “Geophysical Survey in the Archaeological Site of Itanos,
Lasithi, Greece”.
Third Symposium on Archaeometry of the G.S.A.,Athens,
Greece, 6-10 November 1996
The Greek Society for Archaeometry (G.S.A.) hold its 3rd
Symposium on Archaeometry in Athens, Greece. The
organizing committee was drawn from the Archaeometry
Laboratory of the N.R.C.P.S. “Demokritus”, Ministry of
4th Meeting of the World Archaeology Congress
January 10-14, 1999
Cape Town, South Africa
http://www.uct.ac.za/depts/age/wac
 January-June 1997         SAS Bulletin        page 11
Culture, Technical Educational Institute, Institute of
Archaeology of Crete and Thetis Hellas, Ltd. The oral
presentations and posters covered a wide range of subjects
attracting more than 180 participants from 10 countries.
The conference included a session on the Dating of
Organic and Inorganic Materials covering the areas of
Radiocarbon Dating, Optical Dating and Thermoluminance.
The involvement of physical sciences in the study of the caves
“Kalamakia” Areopolis in Mani and Theopetra in Thessaly,
the prehistoric settlement of Archontiko in Giannitsa, the port
of Nestor and the wider area of Diros in Laconia was discussed
in the session entitled Paleoenvironment and Geoarchaeology.
The first day of the Symposium concluded with a session on
Geophysical Prospection that reflected the most current
research in the Greek territory, including the underwater survey
in Eliki and Pylos, geoelectric tomography in Europos, GPR
surveys in Cyprus and Santorini and soil resistance and
magnetic surveys in Epanomi, Makrygialos and Panakton.
Characterization-Technology and Provenance Studies was
the main topic of the second day of the symposium. The 20
oral presentations of this session were focused on the ancient
marble quarries, the study of glass materials, the archaeometric
analysis of pottery and the technology of wall paintings. The
papers in the session reflected the results of the analysis of
finds from the wider Mediterranean region, including Aegean,
Balkans and Cyprus. A number of techniques (XRF,
petrographic analysis, X-ray Tube Imaging, Neutron activation,
3-D imaging, atomic absorption, SEM, a.o.) used in the
characterization and provenance studies was also presented in
the discussion of the corresponding studies. The oral
presentations in the session on Organic Residues Studies
discussed the origin of Iron Age amber artifacts from Bulgaria,
the implication of paleo-odontologic and trace mineral analysis
in paleodiet, the usage of bone aminoacids, the experimental
carbonization of vineyard products and the importance of
conservation of organic residues. Archaeometallurgy was also
one of the topics that attracted a large number of participants.
In the session entitled Ancient Metals participants addressed a
variety of topics such as ancient quarries, silver vessels, post-
Byzantine metallic threads, coins, plasters, etc.
The thematic session of the conference was devoted to
the Technology and Trade of Lithic Materials and Metals in
the Eastern Mediterranean during Prehistory. The six
presentations of the session covered an overview of the
provenance and trade of obsidian in Aegean, the exchange
obsidian models in Neolithic Thessaly, the raw materials used
for the production of polished lithic tools from Thrace, the
chipped stone provenance from Neolithic sites in Northern
Greece, the acquisition and distribution of copper and tin on
mainland Greece in LBA and the Bronze Age woodworking
industry. The final day of the symposium was concluded with
a session on the Mathematical and Statistic Methods. In this
session, talks addressed specific topics such as the application
of Markov Chain Monte Carlo methodologies to archaeological
classification problems, the qualitative analysis of scenes on
classical Attic gravestones, the Mycenean mathematics and
the ancient social accounting.
The poster session hosted 33 posters covering the whole
range of topics discussed in the oral sessions. In the closing
remarks of the symposium a few issues were stressed including
the need of controlled conditions in geophysical prospection
surveys, the cultural implications in the study of the production
and exchange models and the future of mathematical and
statistical methods in archaeological research. The symposium
was concluded with a lecture at the Italian Archaeological
School of Athens by prof. F. Lombardi and Dr. M. Vidale on
“The casting cores of Large Bronze Statues: New evidence
and research perspectives”.
The abstracts of the symposium have been already
published with the support of the journal “Archaiologia &
Technes” and the proceedings of the symposium are expected
to be published in 1997.
Other Symposia
International Workshop “Electric, Magnetic and
Electromagnetic Methods Applied to Cultural Heritage”, Sept.
29-Oct. 1, 1997. Organizing Secretariat: Centro Italiano
Congressi cic sud, tel. 0039-80-5043737, fax. 0039-80-
5043736, e-mail:cicsud@pangeanet.it. Scientific Secretariat:
Antonella Argentero, tel. 0039-6-90625274, fax. 0039-6-
90672373, e-mail:argent@mlib.cnr.it
A WEB site on the Archaeology of Malta.
A new WEB site (http://www.tourism.org.mt/specials/
archaeology) has been established featuring the archaeology
in Malta, while Archaeology magazine’s July/August issue
focuses on the island’s cultural heritage. The archaeological
content of the site has been written by Anthony Bonnano,
Professor of Archaeology and Head of the Department of
Classics and Archaeology at the University of Malta. Visitors
to the WEB site will find information on the megalithic
temples, Phoenician influence, Roman times, and even the
latest discoveries and archaeological campaigns.
Geometrics Acquires Blackhawk Geosciences
Blackhawk Geosciences, a geophysical service provider,
was acquired by Geometrics, manufacturer of geophysical
instruments. Address: 395 Java Drive, PO Box 3497,
Sunnyvale, CA 94089. Tel 408-734-4616; fax 408-745-6131.
About the Associate Editor
Dr. A. Sarris received his Ph.D. in Physics/Geophysics at
the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (1992). He has been
involved in archaeological prospection and remote sensing for
10 years, working in the U.S., Greece, Cyprus and Albania on
more than 30 projects. He is currently a researcher at the
Laboratory of Geophysical-Satellite Remote Sensing at the
Institute of Mediterranean Studies, Foundation of Research &
Technology. He teaches Space Science and Satellite Remote
Sensing at the National Airforce Academy and has been a
lecturer at the European Division of the University of
Maryland. Dr. A. Sarris is a member of the Society of Greek
Physicists, the Society of Greek Geophysicists, the European
Geophysical Society and the Geological Society of America.
 page 12         SAS Bulletin           20(1/2)
Archaeological Dating
W. Jack Rink, Associate Editor
It is a great pleasure to join in the activities of the SAS
Bulletin. I hope to contribute in a variety of ways, with a view
to keep you informed on developments in dating technology,
to comment on interesting and controversial findings, and to
suggest where to find great reading. This issue, I’ll introduce
myself and then whet your appetite for the dating game with
some recent developments in the field. My work is focused on
the use of electron spin resonance (ESR), luminescence and
uranium-series dating, and aspects of the development of the
former two methods. I began my Ph.D. work in geology in
1985 at Florida State University on ESR in quartz as old as
one billion years. I rapidly moved up the geological timescale
when I realized I could contribute to problems in Palaeolithic
archaeology within Quaternary time, which encompasses the
last two million years of earth history. Since beginning my
work on “things archaeological” while on a postdoctoral
fellowship at the University of Cambridge (UK) in the Godwin
Lab, Subdepartment of Quaternary Research, I moved to
Canada in 1992 to continue this work at McMaster University
Department of Geology.
Being the skeptic that I am, my work with ESR dating of
tooth enamel has involved a great deal of dating
intercomparison and fundamental study, and this has taken me
into the field to a large number of sites in contexts ranging
from desert environments to open river valleys and karstic
caves in humid climates. This range of field experiences has
been broadened since I built a luminescence dating laboratory,
where I work on burned flint with thermoluminescence and
windblown and waterlain sediments using optically stimulated
luminescence dating techniques. With these approaches, I am
currently dating the stone tool assemblages at Rosh Ein Mor
and Boker Tachtit in the dry wadis of the Negev desert of
Israel through a grant from the L.S.B. Leakey Foundation.
Beyond the archaeological realm, I use these dating techniques
in problems of dating faults and for studying questions of
ancient sea level and regional tectonic motion. I also use mass
spectroscopy for high precision U-series dating of
archaeological calcite, teeth and ostrich egg shell.
Beyond dating, I recently began a collaboration with Dr.
Kevin Smith of the Buffalo Museum of Science on using ESR
to determine the geological age of jaspers used in stone tools
in the Arctic. In particular, we are working on the provenance
of a jasper microblade core which unexpectedly turned up in
an Icelandic site dated to circa AD 870. The identity of the
source material for this object is critical to long established
ideas about the Norse as the earliest inhabitants of Iceland.
Our preliminary results, supported by neutron activation
analysis, suggest that the source is a local Icelandic jasper of
young geological age, raising the possibility of an earlier Arctic
Palaeoindian presence in Iceland. This work has been exciting
and quite different from the dating research.
Recent important publications for the ESR and
Luminescence dating community and the end users of these
technologies are the latest issues of Radiation Measurements
(v. 27, 1997) and Quaternary Science Reviews (Quaternary
Geochronology v. 16, 1997). These are the conference
proceedings of the 8th International Conference on ESR and
Luminescence Dating, held in Canberra, Australia from 22-26
April, 1996. In these volumes readers will find the most recent
technical discussions on the dating methodologies, and some
exciting new dating results, as well as important developments
in instrumentation. In addition, a special edition of Radiation
Measurements was organized by Ann Wintle (Institute of Earth
Studies, Aberystwyth, Wales) and Steve McKeever
(Department of Physics, Oklahoma State University, USA).
Publication is schedulated for late 1997 and it will contain a
series of invited review articles of specific applications in these
fields of dating research. My own contribution is entitled
Electron Spin Resonance Dating in Quaternary Science and
Archaeometry, and there will also be a review article from Dr.
Bert Roberts of La Trobe University on Luminescence Dating
in Archaeology.
Radiocarbon update: Internet Resources
Contributed by Dr. Thomas Higham, Radiocarbon
Dating Laboratory, University of Waikato, Hamilton,
New Zealand (Thigham@waikato.ac.nz)
In the past two years, some of the world’s 14C laboratories
have developed an Internet presence via World Wide Web
(WWW) based servers. This article describes briefly some
interesting stops in the 14C world on the web.
 At least 22 radiocarbon laboratories now offer WWW
pages illustrating their services and providing information on
their analytical techniques, prices, turnaround times,
pretreatment and sample preparation methods and laboratory
research. At Oxford University in England, the AMS Unit
provides WWW pages which include a background on research
into the use of radiocarbon in archaeology by AMS, as well as
downloadable versions of their Windows-based calibration
programme OxCal (http://units.ox.ac.uk/departments/rlaha/).
This program allows Bayesian statistical analysis of
radiocarbon determinations and their stratigraphic sequences
and phases. The Quaternary Isotope Laboratory at the
University of Washington in Seattle also provides click and
download access to their computer programme CALIB 3.0.3
for radiocarbon age calibration (http://weber.u.washington.edu/
~qil/).
Beta Analytic Inc. (Miami, Florida) present a useful page
explaining their calibration printout which they provide for
each radiocarbon determination from their facility (http://
www.win.net/~analytic/). US laboratories NOSAMS (National
Ocean Sciences AMS) at Woods Hole, and PRIME laboratory
at Purdue University in Indiana, offer WWW-based search
engines which enable submitters to check on the status of their
samples within the laboratory. At PRIME, the accelerator
schedule is updated weekly online to allow submitters to
ascertain the position of their samples in the queue. The
 January-June 1997         SAS Bulletin        page 13
respective URLs for these laboratories are ams245.whoi.edu/
nosams.html and primelab.physics.purdue.edu/web/primelab/
Many radiocarbon facilities offer sample submission forms
to download off the internet but at the Waikato University
Laboratory in New Zealand, submitters can complete a WWW
forms-based document which can be filled out and submitted
online, and from there transferred simply onto the lab database
(http://www2.waikato.ac.nz/c14/). The Radiocarbon
Laboratory at the University of Texas has prepared an extensive
list of information regarding sample preparation and
pretreatment protocols in their laboratory, many of which are
applicable in other labs (http://www.utexas.edu/research/vprl/
rc_lab/index.html). At the Desert Research Institute 14C facility
in Las Vegas, there is useful background information provided
regarding the pathway of 14C in the global reservoirs (http://
www.maxey.dri.edu/WRC/Radiocarbon_Lab.html).
At the home page for the journal Radiocarbon (http://
packrat.aml.arizona.edu/), related 14C information is available
including access to radiocarbon databases and abstract lists,
details of Radiocarbon publications and abstracts from the
journal itself. You can also find contact details for the 130
known active radiocarbon facilities around the world. Assistant
Editor David Sewell, the person responsible for the journal’s
internet presence, has also made available an online version
of the key 1977 14C paper by Minze Stuiver and Henry Polach
concerned with radiocarbon conventions. In 1995, Radiocarbon
developed an online journal called Radiocarbon Date Lists
(http://packrat.aml.arizona.edu/datelist.html). Lists of dates
were formerly published in the journal itself but this was
discontinued recently. The online version is fully refereed and
has been developed to fill the gap left and ensure that there is
a suitable place to publish laboratory lists which often are not
released from laboratory databases. Radiocarbon also operates
the C14-Listserv, an unmoderated email discussion group for
radiocarbon specialists and other individuals interested in
scientific dating generally. At http://listserv.arizona.edu/lsv/
www/c14-l.html an archive of previous listserv mail is available
for perusal. To subscribe to C14-L,  consult http://
packrat.aml.arizona.edu/announcements/c14-l.html.
The Centre for Isotope Research in Groningen,
Netherlands hosted the 16th International Radiocarbon
conference in June 1997. The conference programme is online
at http://www.cio.phys.rug.nl/16proc-2.html.
All URLs for the laboratories and pages described above
are available at Radiocarbon WEB-info, a WWW resource
containing information brought online by the Radiocarbon
Laboratories at Waikato (NZ) and Oxford (UK) (http://
www2.waikato.ac.nz/c14/webinfo/index.html). This site
contains information regarding the basis of the 14C method of
dating, methods of measuring 14C, radiocarbon calibration,
links to other laboratory pages and a list of references. In
addition, it provides links to WWW pages which illustrate the
application of radiocarbon dating to archaeology. Some pages
include the recent online report and dating program from
Stonehenge (by Ancient Monuments Laboratory and English
Heritage Scientific Dating Service, UK), the Origins of Angkor
Archaeological Project (University of Otago, NZ) and the
radiocarbon dating of rock art sites from the Ardeche in France.
The internet resources provided by radiocarbon specialists
thus far have been dominated by laboratories providing material
of interest to submitters of radiocarbon samples. At present,
this is its most common use. Developments in user-friendly
web based servers provides the opportunity
 for archaeologists to literally “shop around” for
information regarding prices and turnaround time, and obtain
rapid contact with radiocarbon specialists, but little in the way
of laboratory Quality Assurance program performance and
details of reproducibility have appeared yet.
Databases of radiocarbon determinations will probably
find their most useful location on internet servers. Presentation
of information and reports of radiocarbon determinations from
different contexts are usually not peer reviewed and it goes
without saying that caution is required in their uncritical use.
Special issue of Israel Journal of Chemistry
Vol. 35, no. 2, 1995, “Archaeological Chemistry”
Guest editors: Arie Nissenbaum & Stephen Weiner
Articles include: Metals in ancient Israel: archaeological
interpretation of chemical analysis (S. Shalev); High-
performance liquid chromatographic analysis of an ancient
Tyrian purple dyeing vat from Israel (Z.C. Koren); New heavy
isotope studies in archaeology (P. Budd, R. Haggerty, A.M.
Pollard, B. Scaife & R.G. Thomas); Stable isotopes of carbon
and oxygen as a possible new tool for estimating firing
temperatures of ancient pottery (A. Nissenbaum & A.
Killebrew); Thermoluminescence dating and the problem of
geochemical evolution of sediments - a case study: the
Mousterian levels at Hayonim (N. Mercier, H. Valladas, J.L.
Joron, S. Schiegl, O. Bar-Yosef & S. Weiner); Mineral
assemblages in Kebara and Hayonim Caves, Israel: excavation
strategies, bone preservation, and wood ash remnants (S.
Weiner, S. Schiegl, P. Goldberg & O. Bar-Yosef); On early
myths and formative technologies: a study of Pre-Potter
Neolithic B sculptures and modeled skulls from Jericho (Y.
Goren & I. Segal); A multi-disciplinary contribution to the
provenance determination of ancient Greek and Roman marble
artifacts (L. Moens, P. de Paepe & M. Waelkens); Trace element
characteristics of central Anatolian obsidian flows and their
relevance to prehistory (J. Yellin).
Available for purchase from Laser Pages Publishing, POB
50257, Jerusalem 91502, Israel. Fax 972-2-370625; e-mail
laserpages@netmedia.co.il
New Email Lists for XRF and Plasma Chemistry
To join, email [separately] the following messages as the
only text to listserv@listserv.syr.edu:
subscribe PlasmaChem-L [first name] [last name]
subscribe XRF-L [first name] [last name]
 page 14         SAS Bulletin           20(1/2)
Bioarchaeology
David B. Landon, Associate Editor
International Council for Archaeozoology - Meeting
Announcement and Call for Papers
The International Council for Archaeozoology and the
University of Victoria Department of Anthropology would like
to invite you to attend the 8th International Congress at the
University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada on
August 23-29, 1998.
The Organizing Committee of the Eighth International
Congress of the International Council for Archaeozoology
invites proposals for sessions and workshops, and abstracts
for papers and posters to be delivered as part of the conference
programme. Sessions already proposed are shown below.
Authors should indicate which session is desired, if possible,
but the final decision on categorization is reserved to the
Organising Committee as part of its acceptance decision.
Proposed Sessions
1. Dogs: Origins, regional variation and breed development in
dogs. Chair: Susan Crockford; 2. High Resolution Faunas at
the Pleistocene/Holocene Boundary. Chair: Jon Driver; 3.
Reassessing Evidence for Mousterian Hunting Patterns. Chair:
Ariane Burke; 4. Introductions and Extinctions on Oceanic
Islands: Evidence, Issues and Theory. Chair: Atholl Anderson;
5. Archaeozoology of Oceanic Marine Taxa: The State of the
Art; 6. Oceanic Midden Analysis: Problems, Methods and
Results; 7. Patterns of Faunal Exploitation in Pacific
Prehistory: From Observation to Explanation.
Queries and session proposals may be directed to: Rebecca
Wigen rjwigen@uvvm.uvic.ca or Quentin Mackie
qxm@uvic.ca
Format
The abstract should be 300-500 words long in English,
the conference language. Use 12 point Times Roman plain
throughout. Use standard 21x29.7 cm paper with 4 cm top and
bottom margins and 3 cm side margins, or use 8.5x11 inch
paper with 1.5 inch top and bottom margins and 1.25 inch side
margins. Center the title in bold capital letters as the first item,
followed by a vertical space and then the names(s) of the
author(s). Type the affiliation address (typed as it should appear
on a mailing envelope) immediately below each author’s name.
After skipping two lines, the body of the abstract should be
typed with single spacing and no indentation for paragraphs.
After the body of the abstract leave four (4) lines. Add
information about conference theme most suited to your
presentation and whether you are willing to chair a session.
Method of Submission
Abstracts will be accepted in a variety of formats, although
electronic mail is preferred.
1. Electronic Mail: File format must be MS Word 7.0 for
IBM-PC or MAC, or WP 5.1. Please send to
ICAZ98@uvcs.uvic.ca as an un-encoded or BinHex
attachment, or as ASCII text in the message body.
2. Regular mail: on 3.5 inch disk DOS or MAC, plus a hard
copy sent to ICAZ98, Conference Management, Division of
Continuing Studies, University of Victoria, University Centre
2nd. Floor, Room A277, Box 3030, Victoria, BC, Canada, V8W
3N6. 3. Fax: Abstracts can be faxed to 1-250-721-8774.
Schedule and Deadlines
Submission of Sessions and Workshop Proposals:
September 15, 1997; Submission of Abstracts: January 30,
1998; Long Papers deadline: August 23, 1998 (submitted at
Conference)
Communications
The Organizing Committee will correspond with the
contact author only.
General Information
Details and 1998 housing rates will be included in the
Preliminary Program. You will receive a copy in April 1998.
Information about excursions and workshops will be included.
Accommodation
University of Victoria Housing - 1997 Rates: Single:
$38.00 CDN (includes breakfast and tax); Twin: $50.00 CDN
(includes breakfast and tax). Single and Twin rates for rooms
include breakfast, linen, soap and towel. Map available at:
http://Kafka.uvic.ca/prelatio/.www/map/map/html
Conference Fees
Full Fee: $275.00 plus taxes; Student Fee: $175.00 plus
taxes.
Victoria Information
For site information contact: Tourism Victoria 812 Wharf
Street Victoria, B.C. Canada, V8W 1T3 Fax: 250-382-6539
Toll free (North America): (800) 663-3883 Victoria Telephone:
250-953-2033 Web site: http://travel.bc.ca
About the Associate Editor
David Landon is an Associate Professor in the Department
of Social Sciences, Michigan Technological University. He is
a zooarchaeologist with particular interests in taphonomy,
butchery, and seasonality. Recent publications include
“Interpreting Urban Food Supply and Distribution Systems
from Faunal Assemblages: An Example from Colonial
Massachusetts,” International Journal of Osteoarchaeology
7: 51-64 (1997).
Announcing Ancient Biomolecules
Terry Brown, Editor-in-Chief, Department of Biochemistry
and Applied Molecular Biology, UMIST, Manchester, M60
1QD, UK. fax 44-(0)-161-2360409; e-mail terry.brown@
umist.ac.uk. Richard P. Evershed & Noreen Tuross,
Associate Editors. Volume 1, no.1 issued in 1996, includes
instructions for contributors. Issued quarterly by Harwood
Academic Publishers.
 January-June 1997         SAS Bulletin        page 15
Book Reviews
Learning from Things: Method and Theory of
Material Culture Studies. W. David Kingery (ed.).
Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington and London,
1996. x + 262 pp.,15 b&w photographs, 36 line drawings.
$39.00 (cloth). ISBN 1-56098-607-7.
Reviewed by Felicia Rounds Beardsley, Department of
Anthropology, University of California-Riverside, Riverside,
CA 92521 USA
The papers in this volume represent the results of a
conference on material culture held at the Smithsonian
Institution. As the title suggests, and Kingery states in the
preface and introduction, the goal of the conference and this
volume, as well as its predecessor History from Things: Essays
on Material Culture (Steven Lubar & W. David Kingery eds.,
Smithsonian Press, 1993), is to establish a common ground
for discussion and introduce a relatively new and distinct multi-
field discipline—material culture studies. This particular
volume was intended to bring forward the methods and theories
common to material culture studies in a variety of specialist
fields, and legitimize the appellation material culturalist. The
book is divided into four parts: part one, Paradigms for Material
Culture Studies (chapter 2); part two, Material Culture in the
History of Technology (chapters 3 to 5); part three, Formation
Processes (chapters 6 to 11); and part four, Materials Science
in Material Culture Studies (chapters 12 to 15).
In the first part, Jules Prown focuses on material culture
studies in art history. He examines the division of materialists
(systematic scholars interested in object attributes introduced
by the maker) and culturalists (humanists concerned with
aesthetics and cultural belief systems unconsciously introduced
by the maker), and their common focus, the object as evidence
for interpretation. By recognizing the two opposing camps of
‘hard’ and ‘soft’ material culture studies, Prown suggests that
the gap between the two can be bridged, and that in
combination and through collaborative undertakings these two
perspectives would interact synergistically, producing results
that would far outweigh those from individual and separate
studies.
Part two presents three essays concerned with the
application of material culture studies to the history of
technology. In chapter 3, Steven Lubar suggests that historians
of technology must go beyond the classificatory aspect of
material culture and its embodiment of technological
knowledge, change and achievement. They must also see and
examine the larger issues embedded in technology, what he
calls the ‘big questions of American history,’ which encompass
the conscious and unconscious contributions of the makers
and users of material culture and technological things. These
include culture change, social change, class, ethnicity, gender,
and race. Joseph Corn, in chapter 4, presents an empirical study
of journal articles by and for historians of technology. He notes
that only 30 percent or so of the scholarly papers offer any
evidence of the actual study of artifacts, that the majority of
historians rely on secondary evidence of those whom they
consider more technically competent than themselves
(engineers and others who have primary hands-on experience
with objects). Corn hypothesizes that this lack of personal
experience or for that matter, the limited or practically non-
existent testimony of personal interest and interaction with
artifacts by these authors, has contributed to the current poor
regard of material culture studies by many scholars. Ruth
Oldenziel brings a feminist perspective to technology studies
in chapter 5. She suggests the concentration on material
artifacts and devices in technological histories is the result of
social and cultural trends established in the nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries, and that these studies, by extension
are gender-oriented and male-dominated. But, with the rise of
information systems and the shift to technology as the
‘configuration of knowledge, things, organizations and people,’
gender-biased interpretations diminish and the role of women
as active participants in the ‘creation of technical artifacts’
becomes evident.
In the third section of the book, Michael Schiffer leads
the discussion of formation processes that culminate in object
collections and render such collections available for study. He
begins by establishing a theoretical context for the discussion
of formation processes in chapter 6, and brings to bear much
of his own work in this area. One of the first steps in the
interpretation of past behaviors through artifacts, according
to Schiffer, is to understand ‘the pathways that link past
activities to their surviving traces in material entities extant
today.’ Schiffer then illustrates his point in the succeeding
chapter with an example of shirt-pocket radios with
subminiature tubes. He demonstrates the importance of the
radios themselves as well as the biases inherent in their
survival. Kristian Kristiansen in chapter 8 looks at the historical
processes by which archaeological collections come to be
included in the Danish museum collections. He discusses both
the destruction of archaeological sites and the formation of
museum collections, and their direct connection to social and
economic development over the last two centuries. In chapter
9, Marjorie Akin illustrates her discussion of small private
collections with coins. She examines how and why private
collections are assembled and kept, and then how these same
collections are subsequently dispersed and reformed. Catherine
and Don Fowler discuss the formation of ethnographic museum
collections in chapter 10. They illustrate their case study with
artifacts collected from Native Americans in the Great Basin.
Nancy Parezo, in chapter 11, concentrates on the formation
processes in the archival records surrounding ethnographic
collections. She points out that documentation (field notes,
photographs and such) and the objects themselves are treated
differently; the former are often considered personal
possessions, the latter are treated as institutional property. As
a consequence, the two rarely end up at the same place. She
argues that this separation of documentation from the
collections themselves often means that undocumented
collections are of limited value in answering many research
questions.
 page 16         SAS Bulletin           20(1/2)
The final part of the book contains four essays which
examine the ways in which materials science contributes to
material culture studies. David Kingery, in chapters 12 and
13, establishes a context for materials science in the study and
interpretation of material culture. By examining material
structure and properties, one can more easily discuss
performance effectiveness and production activities, and draw
inferences on the human activities of design, creation and
manufacture as well as use and function. David Killick’s essay
in chapter 14 focuses on a realm of human experience which
is poorly recorded in written texts - the development and growth
of technology, the processing of raw materials, and the
production of material artifacts. His method of analysis is
microscopy, in particular high magnification studies, which
takes the investigator into a whole new realm of analysis. Such
techniques, he goes on to say, have revolutionized studies on
ceramics, glass, glazes, and metals. Michael Tite, in chapter
15, shows how dating methods have revolutionized
archaeology, the difficulties of provenance studies, and the
analytical approaches to examine organic residues and use-
wear patterns on tools and cooking vessels.
The book promises much to those interested in the study
of material culture, in particular it attempts to set forth a solid
theoretical and methodological foundation from which future
material culture studies can proceed. Yet, there is nothing new
in this volume except the particularistic case studies that were
presented. The continuing dialogue and florescence of material
culture studies that should be generated by a book such as this
are left with little direction and a less than solid foundation
from which to move forward. If, on the other hand, one is
looking for guidance and recipes with which to examine
specific material culture elements, this book is a near panoply
of examples.
Archaeological Chemistry: Organic, Inorganic, and
Biochemical Analysis. Mary Virginia Orna (ed.)
American Chemical Society Symposium Series #625,
Washington, DC, 1996. xi + 459 pp., $109.95 (cloth).
ISBN 0-8412-3395-0.
Reviewed by George (Rip) Rapp, Jr., Archaeometry Laboratory,
University of Minnesota, Duluth MN 55812 USA
This book was developed from a symposium sponsored
by the Divisions of the History of Chemistry, Chemical
Education, and Analytical Chemistry, and the ACS Committees
on Education and on Science at the 1995 National Meeting of
the American Chemical Society. This volume is the fifth in
the ACS series that is devoted to archaeological chemistry.
The first was volume 138 (1974) followed by 171 (1978), 205
(1984), 220 (1981989) and now 625 (1996). Most members
of the Society for Archaeological Sciences should be familiar
with these volumes.
The are 31 chapters/papers representing a broad range of
analytical techniques in archaeological chemistry, beginning
with an introductory chapter by volume editor Mary Virginia
Orna and Joseph B Lambert (who edited the earlier #205).
This introduction, entitled “New Directions in Archaeological
Chemistry” succinctly lays out what this volume contains and
why the symposium was organized. Anyone wondering about
the necessity of reading this book should first read these eight
pages.
Orna and Lambert rightly point out (in my view) that
“molecular archaeology is making great strides by utilization
of sophisticated instrumentation.” The editors indicate that a
major thrust of the symposium was devoted to papers dealing
with gaining information about the peopling of the New World
— an area of research where molecular biochemistry is playing
an increasing, if not dominant, role. However, other
methodologies and research areas were not neglected. The
introductory chapter makes it clear that the symposium and
volume are organized around four themes: inorganic materials;
archaeological soils; organic materials [fibers and dyes]; and
biological materials [archaeological bone, connective tissue,
DNA, radiocarbon measurements].
To express the breadth of this volume one is tempted to
list the 31 papers but that would preclude any review. Suffice
it to say that topics range from the analysis and chemical
chronology of glass; through ESR, ICP, XRD, TL, C-14, stable
isotope, and INNA applications; two papers on the Shroud of
Turin; four papers on bone; six papers on fibers and textiles;
and four papers that utilized biomolecular techniques.
Parenthetically, I am a bit surprised that so few of the papers
in this volume are from the “hot topics” in biomolecular/
biochemical archaeometry. Major arguments are raging about
DNA versus linguistic groups and a very good paper
highlighting the status of analytical problems would have been
very valuable.
The biochemical/biomolecular papers were devoted to the
application of multimolecular/biomarker techniques to the
identification of fecal material in archaeological soils and
sediments (Evershed and Bethell); historico- chemical analysis
of plant dyestuffs used in textiles from ancient Israel (Koren);
ancient DNA in Texas rock paintings (Reese et al); and ancient
nucleic acids in prehispanic Mexican populations (Vargas-
Sanders et al). Although all were interesting and informative
only the last of these papers relates to peopling of the New
World. The paper by Batt and Pollard on radiocarbon
calibration and the peopling of North America is the only paper
directly addressing critical issues in the peopling of the New
World. Perhaps other papers presented did not make it into the
symposium volume.
This criticism aside I have found all five of the volumes in
this American Chemical Society series to be quite valuable.
The paper by Evershed and co-workers on means of analyzing
for characteristic steroidal marker compounds allows us to
obtain here to fore unavailable information. I teach a broad-
based archaeological science graduate course on the Duluth
and the Twin Cities campuses of the University of Minnesota
and the range of papers in these volumes provides an insight
into the spectrum of applications in chemical analysis based
archaeology. I have found few “potboilers” among the
offerings. This volume continues this fine tradition with
important papers that perhaps I would not otherwise see.
 January-June 1997         SAS Bulletin        page 17
Archaeological Chemistry. A. Mark Pollard & Carl
Heron. The Royal Society of Chemistry, RSC Paperbacks,
Cambridge, UK, 1996. xv + 375 pp. £ 22.50, $46.00
(paper). ISBN 0-85404-523-6.
Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, Division of Preservation and
Access, National Endowment for the Humanities, 1100
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20506 USA
Pollard, Professor and Head of the Department of
Archaeological Sciences at the University of Bradford, is a
recognized authority on the application of chemical techniques
to archaeological problems. Heron, Lecturer in Archaeological
Sciences at Bradford, specializes in organic analysis, gas
chromatography and mass spectrometry, and chemical and
geophysical prospection. They have the appropriate credentials
and expertise to prepare this eloquent, highly informative and
current synthesis in which they consider some of the major
techniques employed in archaeological chemistry. This
compelling and unique volume is designed as a treatise for
archaeologists who need current information about chemical
techniques and procedures and for physical scientists who are
asked to analyze archaeological materials.
The book provides essential background on the procedures
and the applicability of those techniques of particular value to
provenance studies of obsidian, ceramics, glass, metals, and
organic materials such as resins and amino acids. The reader
should not confuse the book’s title, organization, or contents
with Goffer’s Archaeological Chemistry (1980), and the
volume is dissimilar in scope to Henderson’s (1989) edited
compendium. Pollard and Heron’s work is based upon the
premise that archaeological chemistry requires a thorough
understanding of chemistry and archaeology, and often related
disciplines such as biochemistry and geochemistry. Published
only in a 390-page paperback edition by The Royal Society of
Chemistry, it contains ten chapters, five appendices, and a
twelve-page subject index. Each chapter has its own references
(560 total entries), and the illuminating narrative is
supplemented by 97 figures and 21 tables. Chapters 3 through
9 focus upon specific categories of material culture and
integrate raw material occurrences, historic background on
fabrication, and analytical methods, accompanied by valuable
case studies demonstrating that science has and can play a
significant role in archaeological studies.
In the “Foreward” Colin Renfrew points out that
archaeological science is a discipline which is growing rapidly
in scope and maturity because of an advancements in scientific
procedures and an increased awareness of the problems of
interpretation. The initial chapter, entitled “The Development
of Archaeological Chemistry” (19 pp., 63 references), provides
a brief historical context for the subsequent chapter, “Analytical
Techniques Applied to Archaeology” (61 pp., 92 references),
a largely non-mathematical summary of some of the many
analytical techniques used in modern archaeological chemistry.
Each subsequent chapter presents an historical perspective and
some of the underlying science of the techniques selected.
In Chapter 2, the authors consider atomic structure,
analytical spectroscopy, procedures, considerations (multi-
elemental analyses, quantitative versus qualitative uses),
alternative analyses, and problems (detection limits, element
enrichment by the burial environment, etc.). Optical Emission
Spectroscopy (OES), now largely outmoded, older and newer
instrumentation in Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS),
and Inductively Coupled Plasma Emission Spectrometry (ICP-
AES), which has begun to replace AAS for multi-element
analyses, are detailed. They also characterize Inductively
Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) and Laser
Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-
ICP-MS).
Techniques using X-rays, including Auger Electron
Microscopy (AES), X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), X-ray
Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS or ESCA [Electron
Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis]), and Energy Dispersive
X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) are delineated. The authors
report that Wavelength Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence
(WDXRF) has relatively little applicability to archaeological
materials except ceramics. Analytical Electron Microscopy
(AEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and
Particle- or Proton-induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) analyses
are defined.
Although Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) was
developed during the 1950s, it had by the 1980s become the
standard analytical method used for producing multi-element
analysis at the ppm level and has major applications in the
study of coins and ceramics. Hyphenated techniques such as
Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) are
seen as especially useful in environmental applications to
measure isotopes of heavy elements in plant materials and body
fluids. Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (TIMS) is only
mentioned.
Chromatographic techniques - gas or liquid
chromatographic (GC or LC) for organic and biological
material - developed rapidly over the past several years. There
is also a wide range of hyphenated techniques, including CG-
MS and LC-MS; High Performance or High Pressure Liquid
Chromatography (HPLC) is the most commonly used form of
the latter. Other techniques include infrared and resonance
procedures such as Infrared Microspectroscopy (IR), Electron
Spin Resonance (ESR), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR),
Thermogravimetry (TGA), Differential Thermal Analysis
(DTA), and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC).
Chapter 3, “Obsidian Characterization in the Eastern
Mediterranean” (23 pp., 56 references), elucidates how source
attribution of archaeological materials might be confirmed on
the basis of chemical composition. The origin and formation
of several forms of obsidian (trachitic obsidian is not
discussed), and classifications (peralkaline, calcalkaline, calcic,
and alkaline) are elaborated. A case study concerns the sources
located in the eastern Mediterranean and neighboring regions,
and employing petrographic thin section studies, trace element
analyses, wet chemistry, OES, and NAA. Although a wide array
of other analytical, geochemical, dating, and magnetic
approaches have been used, NAA and XRF are by far the
 page 18         SAS Bulletin           20(1/2)
methods of choice, although Fission Track Dating may be used
to determine the age of the flows. There is a critical need for
additional research on the intensity of magnetization, saturation
magnetization, and low field susceptibility in order to delineate
parent obsidian flows. The primary aim of obsidian provenance
studies is to assess economic and social factors underling the
movement of materials. The authors demonstrate clearly why
obsidian characterization has been one of the most successful
applications of archaeological chemistry.
In Chapter 4, “The Geochemistry of Clays and the
Provenance of Ceramics” (45 pp., 51 references), the authors
elucidate the structural chemistry of clays; review the basic
structure of silicate minerals, silicate mineral groups and
classification, clay minerals and deposits; and firing behavior,
dehydration reactions, and phase diagrams. The general
principles of trace element geochemistry are considered, and
they comment appropriately that the chemical and
mineralogical alteration of the ceramic in its burial environment
are largely unappreciated in provenance studies. Problems of
the natural variability of the clay beds, clay selection and
mixing, levigation and processing, the addition of temper, and
the firing cycle are noted. The representativeness of samples
and assumptions about quality controls employed in antiquity
are seen as important variables. NAA, XRF, and ICP-AES or
ICP-MS are considered as appropriate analytical techniques.
There is an minimal consideration of thin section analysis and
ceramic petrology; for a comprehensive elucidation of chemical
techiques, readers should consult Jones (1986) and Neff (1992).
The case study employs specimens from Roman Britain and
Gaul, using AAS and XRF studies to suggest the provenance
of Gaulish Rhenish wares and Trier terra sigillata.
Chapter 5, “The Chemistry and Corrosion of
Archaeological Glass” (47 pp., 78 references), begins with
definitions of glass and the structure and chemistry of
archaeological glass. The section on the history and chemistry
of glazes is inadequate. The authors comment that “the
traditional archaeological view that colour can be simply
related to the presence of various ‘colouring agents’ can only
be regarded as a very crude guide” (p. 173). Coordination
chemistry, crystal field theory, and redox reactions are
important aspects of glass analyses. The decay of Medieval
window glass is taken as a case study. IRRS (Infrared
Reflection Spectroscopy), Infrared Microspectroscopy, Auger
Electron Spectroscopy, and ELS are used to determine the
composition of the surface layer, and analyses by XRD, AAA,
and electron microscopy are noted. The authors conclude that
the weathering behavior of Medieval glass is dictated primarily
by chemical composition and that “reasonable agreement”
exists between accelerated corrosion studies and the analysis
of archaeological specimens (p. 189).
In Chapter 6, “The Chemical Study of Metals - the
European Medieval and Later Brass Industry” (43 pp., 61
references), the authors evaluate procedures for tracing metal
objects back to their ore source using trace element analysis.
Precise chemical provenancing of metal objects is not in
general possible due to high temperatures and extreme
reduction conditions involved in processing the ores and
finished metal. Among the factors considered in trace element
composition are the mineralogical and chemical composition
of the ore source(s), the thermodynamics and kinetics of the
processes used, and human factors such as the mixing and
recycling of metals. Disputed and conclusive archaeological
occurrences of brass artifacts and an historical overview of
English and German brass and zinc production - calamine
(cementation) and direct mixing - are presented. Most work
on European Medieval specimens employs AAS and XRF.
Case studies concern the “Drake Plate,” brass tokens, brass
scientific instruments from seven European countries, and
British clocks. Three problems are related: 1) the need for the
non-destructive analysis, 2) inhomogeneous copper alloys
especially in cast objects, and 3) de-zincification from the
surface of brass objects due to electrochemical process in water
(and burial context) which produces erroneous results.
Chapter 7, “The Chemistry and Use of Resinous
Substances” (32 pp., 84 references), introduces major concepts
in analytical organic chemistry, focusses upon the higher plant
resins and related substances although excluding other plant
exudates (latex and gum), and details plant and animal organic
molecules (see my review of Biers et al., Lost Scents ..., 1994,
in SAS Bulletin 19(1-2): 4-6, 1996). Direct evidence is difficult
to obtain, but preservation is favorable in anaerobic
environments because of the protection from atmospheric and
photoxidation, and the reduced growth of microorganisms. The
chemistry of resins and terpenes (mono- through
sesquiterpenoids) is reviewed. GC and GC-MS techniques are
seen as valuable for the separation and characterization of
individual molecular species, and complementary analytical
data is derived from IR and NMR. The analytical goal to
identify precise species-specific botanical source(s) is
problematical, since heating introduces chemical changes. The
case study focuses on birch bark and tar used as a tool-
fabricating adhesive by Ötzi, the Alpine “Iceman.” There is
considerable potential in the use of IR, TLC (Thin Layer
Chromatography), NMR, and GC-MS for the analysis of
liquids (milk, mead, beer, wine, etc.), plant and animal lipid
residues, waxes, resins, waxes, psychoactive substances,
alkaloids, and caffeine. Important work by Noreen Tuross at
the Smithsonian Institution’s Conservation Analytical
Laboratory is not cited.
The subsequent Chapter, entitled “Amino Acid
Stereochemistry and the First Americans” (31 pp., 52
references), concerns the racemization of amino acids in bones
and teeth. Recent studies by Dillehay (1997) supercede some
background materials on migration hypotheses and dating and
accuracy. Pollard and Heron consider the structure of bone,
stereochemistry, AAR (Amino Acid Racemization) of aspartic
acid, and the AMS (Accelerator Mass Spectrometry) 14C dating
method which has superceded AAR. The case study includes
California Paleo-Indian specimens where initial AAR dates
were seriously overestimated versus AMS dates. The degree
of organic preservation in bone is a major factor, “depending
on the level of collagen surviving in the bone, significantly
different ages can be obtained on different amino acid fractions
from the same bone” - a variance of 2500-8000 years (p. 290).
Readers may wish to assess the statement that “... the age limit
of 14C dating still remains at around 30-40,000 years BP” (p.
 January-June 1997         SAS Bulletin        page 19
297). The authors also consider briefly the forensic use of
aspartic acid calibration data on teeth to assist in predicting
the age of humans at death.
In Chapter 9, “Lead Isotope Geochemistry and the Trade
in Metals” (39 pp., 44 references), the authors state that lead
isotope analyses are “fraught with problems — far more than
have been encountered with the study of other archaeological
materials, with the possible exception of glass” (p. 302).
Among these are defining isotopic signatures, and the mixing
and recycling of copper resources. The geochemical
background to the technique and TIMS (Thermal Ionization
Mass Spectrometry) are detailed. Three fundamental
assumptions are reviewed: 1) anthropogenic processing
produces no isotropic fractionation, 2) the extent of a “lead
isotope field,” and 3) the interpretation of lead isotope data.
Bronze Age Aegean and Cypriot lead isotope analyses are
reviewed in the case study, but specialists conclude that it is
impossible to subdivide eastern Mediterranean ore deposits
into separate fields to resolve questions of provenance.
Chapter 10, “Summary — Wither Archaeological
Chemistry” (6 pp., 8 references), includes an historical
overview emphasizing nondestructive techniques, considers
the archaeological relevance of chemical applications, and
predicts the future of archaeological chemistry. The authors
state that the analysis of archaeological material has, in general,
been regarded as a specialist pursuit (p. 341). Computerization
and the need for smaller sample amounts have resulted in major,
recent changes in analytical capabilities. The authors also
evaluate why, in some cases, the traditional scientific
applications of archaeometry have not delivered answers to
the questions which are of interest to mainstream
archaeologists. Analytical techniques, sampling restrictions,
equipment expense, materials conservation, preservation
environments (soil/groundwater/object interactions), and
political and scientific agendas are considered. Lastly, they
state that “the real restrictions to archaeological chemistry are
in terms of ideas rather than practicalities” (p. 344).
Although not designed to cover comprehensively the
techniques of archaeological chemistry, this well written
handbook/textbook written, in the main, for chemists and
archaeologists takes its place with the significant writings of
Brill, Kingery, Rice, Smith, and Tylecote in any professional
library emphasizing archaeological science. The contents are
current and accurate although the chapters vary in length and
coverage - some are more scientifically oriented (Chapter 7)
while others are, in the main, historical in scope (Chapter 6).
The majority of the references are to the British literature and
there is a lack of citations to important publications and
chapters in the multi-volume series of the American Chemical
Society’s Archaeological Chemistry, five volumes to date, or
the Materials Research Society’s Materials Issues in Art and
Archaeology, four volumes to date (see Kolb 1996). The
volume also addresses issues about the future of archaeological
science raised by Renfrew (1992) and Tite (1991). This work
is without question a tour de force and is recommended highly
to students and professionals in the physical sciences and
archaeology.
References
Biers, William R., Klaus O. Gerhardt & Rebecca A. Braniff. 1994.
Lost Scents: Investigations of Corinthian “Plastic” Vases by Gas
Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Museum Center for Archaeology Research Paper
11.
Dillehay, Tom D. 1997. Monte Verde: A Late Pleistocene Settlement
in Chile, Volume 2: The Archaeological Context and
Interpretation. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press,
Smithsonian Series in Archaeological Inquiry.
Goffer, Zvi. 1980. Archaeological Chemistry: A Sourcebook on the
Applications of Chemistry to Archaeology. New York: John Wiley.
Henderson, Julian (ed.). 1989. Scientific Analysis in Archaeology.
Oxford and Los Angeles: Oxford Committee for Archaeology,
Institute of Archaeology and UCLA Institute of Archaeology.
Jones, R.E. (ed.). 1986. Greek and Cypriot Pottery: A Review of
Scientific Studies. Athens: British School at Athens Occasional
Paper 1.
Kolb, Charles C. 1996. Ceramic Studies in Archaeology. CHOICE:
Current Reviews for Academic Libraries 34: 571-583.
Neff, Hector (ed.). 1992. Chemical Characterization of Ceramic
Pastes in Archaeology. Monographs in World Prehistory 7.
Madison: Prehistory Press.
Renfrew, A.C. 1992. The Identity and Future of Archaeological
Science. In A.M. Pollard (ed.), New Developments in
Archaeological Science. Proceedings of the British Academy 77:
285-293. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Tite, M.S. 1991. Archaeological Science - Past Achievements and
Future Prospects. Archaeometry 31: 139-151.
Society, Culture and Technology in Africa. S. Terry
Childs (editor). MASCA Research Papers in Science and
Archaeology, Supplement to Volume 11, 1994. 108 pp.
$22.50 (cloth). ISSN 1048-5325.
Reviewed by Mark Leney, New College, Oxford, OX1 3RH
England, UK
This collection of papers seeks to investigate the
relationship between culture and technology in Africa since
the late Pliocene. In just seven substantive essays and an
introduction, the editor has attempted to draw together an
extremely disparate array of research to argue the point that
technology is the product of “dynamic interaction of social,
ideological and technical factors”. This seem a rather heavy-
handed attempt to reiterate the dogma of post-modern cultural
anthropology (that nothing meaningful can be learned from
the study of artefacts divorced from their socio-cultural
contexts), but the individual papers themselves do not labor
this point. Moreover the lack of any overall conclusion to the
volume leaves readers free to draw their own conclusions about
the interaction of technology and society in a way that is
refreshingly free of the veil of verbose deconstruction
commonly found padding the work of the more
 page 20         SAS Bulletin           20(1/2)
anthropologically minded archaeologists (a ‘deconstruction’
that reasonably skeptical readers can supply by themselves).
Childs’s unqualified use of the words ‘society’ and
‘culture’ while laying bare the plurality of meaning in the word
‘technology’ goes to the heart of the whole debate. While we
find all three words alternately convenient and inadequate,
the underlying reality is that there are no independent entities
underlying these three terms. There really is no ‘technology’
outside socio-cultural contexts. However, to then say that there
is no point in abstracting ‘technology’ from its cultural
underpinnings for the purpose of analysis, is to make a grave
syllogistic error. The papers on metallurgy that make up the
central part of this volume illustrate this point. The imposition
of contemporary metallurgical analyses upon the
archaeological artefacts defines entirely new fields of
knowledge, providing real insights into the mind and milieu
of the ancient metalworker. By determining what we can and
cannot know about the raw materials and technical processes
that contributed to the object of study, the interdisciplinary
approach shows that the clash of opinions in the “technology
and society” debate stems more from the anthropologists’
failure to engage with the possibilities of technical enquiry
than from the insensitivity of specialist analysts to the cultural
context of the material studied.
The end of the volume contains three cautionary tales about
using fine-grained technical analysis of artifacts to investigate
the minds of their makers. Although instructive to
undergraduates, one feels that it was unnecessary, in the context
of this volume, to expend three papers to illustrate the point
that the ancient artisan may have had multiple agendas and
multiple skills that are only partially reflected in the material
left to posterity; a necessarily fragmented record that is
inevitably biased towards the taphonomically stable. To present
these points as new and/or important, attacks on positivist
methods in the reconstruction of past societies from their
material culture is to topple a straw-man. I feel sure that
everyone can recall instances where researchers have,
understandably considering the investment of time and
scholarship, overplayed the importance of conclusions drawn
from highly empirical analyses and refused to recognize the
implausibility of their inferences in the wider socio-cultural
context. But it is wrong to equate such individual errors with
the wrong-headedness of the positivist program as a whole.
After all, the empirical worker is merely advocating a model
to explain some of the patterning observed in material remains.
The assumption that there is something to explain is not
inherent to the validity of the approach. If there is no order,
mechanism or rationale behind a perceived pattern, then the
model will not prove a useful one. Nevertheless, the erosion
of empirically generated explanations by the weight of contrary
observation only vindicates the validity of the positivist, model
building paradigm. The perception of intransigence and cultural
bias in positivist interpretations of material culture, so heavily
criticised over the last quarter of a century, seems to stem more
from the technophobia and anti-rationalism of such critics and
the fact that empirical analysis appears to allow definite
statements (even if wrong), than from any inherent flaw in
positivism. The rebuttal of these criticisms has been less
effective, but then this is probably because the more extreme
proponents of the anti-positivist position tend to take the view
that one can learn nothing about the maker of an artefact outside
it’s immediate socio-cultural context, something that might
be phrased as a faux-paradox; ‘I know that I am wise in that I
know that I know nothing.’ Clearly it is difficult to disabuse
someone of this notion, or even to provide a focused criticism
of such a non-viewpoint, but one does wonder about their
position in the discipline in the first place. The solution seems
to be for anthropologists of all camps to be a little more mature
and sophisticated in their dealings with other (sub-) disciplines.
Whilst it would be too much to ask the “technological
determinists” to stop viewing their opponents as arm-chair
theorists, a compromise of some sorts can be reached by laying
aside the idea of culture as an entity. I am not proposing that
all aspects of societal development are mediated by
technological change; however I do feel that some, perhaps
many, changes in social organisation probably are causally
linked to shifts in technical capacity. If one disregards the
concept of culture as a unit, there is no “technology and society
debate”. Some aspects of ‘society’ will be closely bound up
with technology and others will be more or less independent.
Similarly, technological diversity may be entirely without
consequence for the structure of the associated society.
Re-reading the papers, one feels that maybe this is the
point that the volume is making, without actually ever
articulating it. Given Childs’ closing statement that
“technologies must be examined in their socio-cultural
contexts” (my italics), it is surprising to read in the subsequent
papers how much can be learnt from the raw artifacts even
when the socio-cultural contexts are almost entirely obscured.
This is especially true in the papers on the use of fire and
obsidian. There is obviously a need to keep an open mind here,
but the majority of these papers impose a framework of
empirical analyses to make what appear to be reasonable
inferences about the nature of the societies and individuals
that produced the material. This apparent paradox, the gulf
between the editorial statement and the accounts given in the
papers reveals the nature of the “technology and society” issue.
It is a debate about misconceptions. What this volume
illustrates very clearly is that the debate arises primarily from
the reciprocal misconception of research methods rather than
the nature of material culture itself.
Arsenic, Nickel et Antimoine. Une approche de la
métallurgie du Bronze moyen et final en Suisse par
l’analyse spectrométrique,Tomes 1-2. Valentin Rychner
& Niklaus Kläntschi. Cahiers d’Archéologie Romande
63-64, Lausanne, 1995. 112 & 224 pp., 122 tables, figures,
& plates. 80 S.Fr. (cloth).
Reviewed by Ervan G. Garrison, Geology and Anthropology,
University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602 USA
This two volume work provides important new insights
into the metallurgy of the Middle to Late Bronze Age of
TransAlpine Switzerland. The work is written in French and
 January-June 1997         SAS Bulletin        page 21
German depending on the co-authors, Rycliner (French) and
Kläntschi (German). The bulk of the text is in French. This
reflects Rychner’s role as the originator of the project and the
conceptual organizer of work.
This is not to diminish Kläntschi’s role which entailed
over three years of chemical analyses of this impressive set
(941) of bronze artifacts.
The work is well organized into Volume 1, which contains
the eight chapters of text and bibliography and Volume 2 which
contains an index of sites, catalog of artifacts, appendices,
tables, figures, maps and plates. Of particular importance to
international readers are excellent four page summaries in
German, English, and Italian at the end of Volume 1. Such
summaries have become a standard part of almost every Swiss
archeological publication and should be applauded. They
provide an in-depth summary of the work that no simple
abstract can accomplish.
The principal author, Valentin Rychner, is a faculty member
of the Seminar of Prehistory at the University of Neuchâtel as
well as a curator at the Museum of Archaeology of Neuchâtel.
Many of the artifacts analyzed in this study were excavated
by teams lead by Rychner at Auvernier in the 1970’s. These
excavations, at Auvernier, formed the basis of Rychner’s
dissertation, Rychner, 1979. Rychner’s interest in the chemical
study of bronze metallurgy began in the late 70’s and early
80’s as demonstrated by his publications on copper and its
alloys of the Late Bronze Age in western Switzerland (Rychner
1981; 1983).
Kläntschi (1980; 1987; 1990; 1993), along with other
European researchers such as Trampuz-Orel (1991; 1993),
Pernicka (1984; 1995), Bourhis (1975; 1979; 1984), and
Junghans et al. (1960; 1968; 1974) have demonstrated the
efficacy of instrumental analysis of prehistoric metals.
Kläntschi has developed this interest using the multiple-
element spectrographic techniques of inductively coupled
plasma spectroscopy (ICP).
Combining the sample population of nearly 1000 well-
provenanced artifacts with a powerful instrumental technique
placed this study on the firmest of methodological grounds.
The study’s stated objectives are: the compositional
classification of bronzes used in Switzerland during the Middle
and Late Bronze Ages from Bronze B to Hallstatt B-2. The
study attempts to isolate time-dependent (diachronic) changes
in the composition of the principal metal-copper-and correlate
these changes with the chronological evolution of (the) object
topology. The study was carried out from 1984 to 1987 at
Kläntschi’s laboratory in Dübendorf, Germany.
The bulk of the artifacts examined (774 out of 941/83%)
were mostly axes (546/58%), knives (146/15%) and sickles
(82/9%). From these specimens, small (30 mg) samples were
drilled. ICP analysis lends itself to small samples and thus
reduces the requisite damage to an artefact to a minimum.
The analysis centers on the characterization the bronzes
using a compositional topology of three principal impurities -
arsenic, nickel, and antimony - hence the title of the work.
Beginning with Chapter 2 the study starts by dividing the
objects into five chronological groups based on typology. These
are: Middle Bronze Age (Bronze moyen); Bronze D - Hallstatt
A 1 (BzD-HaA1); Hallstatt A 2 (HaA2); Hallstatt B 1 (HaB1);
and Hallstatt B2 (HaB2). Chapter 3 divides the sample on areal
considerations - East, Central, and West Switzerland. The
authors point out the bulk of the sample comes from the central
area or Swiss Plateau that reaches from Zürich to Geneva.
This distribution clearly reflects the historical preponderance
of archaeological research in this region since the 19th Century.
Chapters 4 and 5 involve the statistical parsing of the
chemical analytical data. The first step is the use of simple
histograms which show changes in chemical composition do
occur with time. The authors derived seven compositional types
(1-7) based on elemental characteristics. These were further
sub-divided on the basis of absolute concentration of the
elements, e.g. “low”, “normal”, and “high”. This sorting into
20 composition groups immediately demonstrated the
correlation of composition to chronology - 84% of the “low”
group belonged to the Middle and Early-Late Bronze Age and
83% of the “high” group belonged to the Late Bronze Age
phase, HaB1. Chapter 5 details the hierarchial classification
of the sample using average link cluster analysis resulting in
dendrogram plots. These dendrograms, along with the data
sets on which they are based, are given in Volume 2.
Chapter 6 begins the synthesis and discussion of the study
results. From the standpoint of the study’s objectives, this is
the most important discussion. Chapters 7 and 8 continue the
discussion of the results but focus on issues ancillary to the
principal objectives. Chapter 7 attempts to determine the extent
to which copper used in Switzerland circulated in neighboring
regions. While pointing out the paucity of comparative work,
the authors do propose two conclusions.: (1) The copper of
the Middle Bronze Age is probably of Austrian origin and (2)
the Late Bronze Age copper originates in the Alps. Chapter 8
discusses the problems in determining sources of copper for
the European Bronze Age. Returning to Chapter 6, the efficacy
of the author’s classificatory scheme is clearly demonstrated.
The methodology works best for the Middle Bronze Age
bronzes, less-well for the Bronze D-Hallstatt A1 and, again,
proves robust in characterizing the Late Bronze Age types of
HaA2. Indeed, in this later period, the authors see a dramatic
break in compositional patterns. The bronzes of this late period
became “standardized” across the Swiss Plateau with nickel
compositionally dominant. Some heterogenity occurs in the
Hallstatt B1 phase but the homogeneity returns in the last
Bronze Age phase, Hallstatt B2 (ca. 900BC). One final point,
in Chapter 8, involves the question of re-smelting of “old”
bronze. In general, the data supports the conclusion that Swiss
workshops produced bronze using new copper rather than
recycling old metal.
From the standpoint of production and editing, it is difficult
to find fault. The volumes are attractive and printed on high
quality paper. Few, if any, errors in production noticeable. The
photographic plates (Volume 2) are exemplary being the results
of efforts of Rychner and Yves Andre of the Museum of
Archeology of Neuchâtel. Two minor distractions from the
overall high quality of the work involve: (1) the decision to
allow each author to write in their native language. While the
bulk of the text is French, it seems a small thing to have
translated Kläntschi’s contributions in French and, (2) the
 page 22         SAS Bulletin           20(1/2)
Swiss predilection to publish maps without geographic
references or scale. The maps are attractive but to the
international reader they present problems in interpretation if
one does not have a familiarity with Swiss geography.
These volumes are important contributions to the study of
the Bronze Age of Western Europe. The authors have
established a benchmark of quality for future studies.
Methodologically, the work speaks to metallurgical studies
beyond Switzerland. The straightforward analytical approach
and its conceptual clarity, from hypothesis to synthesis, is to
be applauded.
References
Bourhis, J. 1984. Analyses des cuivres et bronzes de Picardie et du
Nord-Ouest de la France. In: Paléométallurgie de la France
atlantique 1: 23-43.
Bourhis, J.R., Biot, P.R., & Briard, J. 1975. Analyses
spectrographiques d’objets préhistoriques et antiques. Troisème
série. Travaux du Laboratoire Anthropologie:Préhistoire-
Protohistoire-Quaternaire armoricains, Université de Rennes.
Bourhis, J.R. & Briard, J. 1979. Analyses spectrographiques d’objets
préhistoriques et antiques. Quartrème série. Travaux du
Laboratoire Anthropologie-Préhistoire-Protohistoire-Quarternaire
armoricains, Université de Rennes, Rennes.
Junghans, S., Sangmeister, E. & SchrÇeder, M. 1960. Metallanalysen
kupferzeitlicher und frühbronze-zeitlicher Bondenfunde aus
Europa. Studien zu den Anfängen der Metallurgie 1. Mann, Berlin.
Junghans, S., Sangmeister, E. & SchrÇeder, M. 1968. Kupfer und
Bronze in der frühen Metallzeit Europas. Die Materialgruppen
beim Stand von 12000 Analysen. Studien zu den Anfängen der
Metallurgie 2/1-3. Mann, Berlin.
Junghans, S., Sangmeister, E. & SchrÇeder, M. 1974. Kupfer und
Bronze in der frühen Metallzeit Europas. Katalog der Analysen
Nr. 10041-22000 (mit Nachuntersuchungen der Analysen Nr.
1010040). Studien zu den Anfängen der Metallurgie 2/4. Mann,
Berlin.
Kläntschi, N. 1980. Optische Emissionsspektralanalyse mit induktiv
gekoppeltem Plasma (ICP). Material un Technik 8: 14.
Kläntschi, N. 1990. Analysis of Fe- and Cu-base metals by ICP-atomic
emission spectrometry. In Euroanalysis VII. European Conference
on analytical chemistry A4.2. L-4.
Kläntschi, N. 1993. Instrumentelle Methoden der anorganischen
Elementanalytik. Chimia 46: 186-199.
Kläntschi, N., Esenwein, A. & Müller, Th. 1987. Simultanbestimmung
von Si, Mn, P, Cu, Al, Ni, Cr, Mo, V, Ti, Co und As in Stählen mit
ICP-AES. Fresenius Zeitschrift für analytische Chemie 328: 657-
661.
Rychner, V. 1979. L’âge du Bronze final à Auvernier (lac de
Neuchâtel, Suisse): typologie et chronologie des anciennes
collections conservées en Suisse. Cahiers d’Archéologie Romande
15-16, Auvernier 1. Bibliothèque historique vaudoise, Lausanne.
Rychner, V. 1981. Le cuivre et les alliages du Bronze final en Suisse
occidentale: premières analyses spectrographiques à Auvernier/
Nord et à Neuchâtel/Le Crêt. Musée neuchâtelois 18: 97-124.
Rychner, V. 1983. Le cuivre et les alliages du Bronze final en Suisse
occidentale. II: Corcelettes VD. Annuaire de la Société suisse de
préhistorie et d’archéologie 66: 73-85.
Pernicka, E. 1984. Instrumentelle Multi-Elementanalyse
archäologischer Kupfer- und Bronzeartefakte: ein
Methodenvergleich. Jahrbuch des Römisch-Germanischen
Zentralmuseums Mainz 31: 517-531.
Pernicka, E. 1995. Gewinnung und Verbreitung der Metalle in
prähistorischer Zeit. Jahrbuch des Römisch-Germanischen
Zentralmuseums Mainz 37(1990): 21-129.
Trampuz-Orel, N., Klemenc, S. & Hudnik, V. 1993. Spectrometric
research of the late bronze age hoard finds from Pusenci, Ceroven
and Judinja. In Ptujski arheoloski zbornik ob 100-letnici muzeja
in muzejskega drustva, 159-170. Ptuj.
Trade and Discovery: The Scientific Study of Artefacts
from Post-Medieval Europe and Beyond. Duncan R.
Hook & David Gaimster (eds.). British Museum
Occasional Paper 109, British Museum Press, London,
1995. v + 326 pp., 131 b&w illustrations, £20.00 (paper).
ISBN 0-86159-109-7.
Reviewed by Paul T. Nicholson, School of History and
Archaeology, University of Wales, PO Box 909, Cardiff CF1
3XU, Wales, UK
This volume is the result of a conference of the same title
held at the British Museum in November 1992, and marking
the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage to America. This,
and similar journeys of discovery, heralded the opening up of
hitherto unknown or unexploited areas of the world to
European trade, an expansion which sets the Post-Medieval
world apart from its forerunners. Not only was this a time for
the export of goods from Europe, it also opened the way for
the introduction of new raw materials and new ideas inspired
by this expanded world view.
The 24 papers presented in this volume fall into two broad
groups, three ‘contact study’ papers dealing with the material
evidence for early European trade in North America and the
remaining 21 papers examining different classes of material.
These classes comprise ceramics, glass, precious metals,
copper-based alloys and ‘other metals’ (steel for armour and
lead seals as evicence for the cloth trade). There are however,
numerous overlaps between the two broad groupings.
This is a fascinating collection of papers because of its
many interconnections. Studies of trade and exchange in
prehistory and in early historical times are well established in
archaeology, just as they are for later historical times within
the discipline of history; the approach however, has tended to
bedifferent. For decades now archaeological science has been
used to study the materials of earlier periods for which there
is little or no written evidence. It has served to reinforce scant
historical information on trade in the early civilisations and
has won a place in the standard armoury of archaeological
techniques.
However, just as archaeology and industrial archaeology
were relatively slow to develop in Medieval and Post-Medieval
studies so has been the rise of archaeological science. There
 January-June 1997         SAS Bulletin        page 23
have certainly been scientific studies of materials from these
periods (cf. papers in Peacock 1977) but they have often been
published in volumes dealing only with a single class of
material, notably ceramics or metals. This book represents a
much broader spectrum of materials and clearly illustrates the
scope for scientific studies in all periods. It does not deny the
importance of history, but rather facilitates the asking of new
or more detailed questions.
In the ‘contact studies’ section the paper by Auger et al.
was particularly interesting. Here archaeological excavation
of the arctic camp established by Martin Frobisher between
1576 and 1578 was combined with historical research on
documentary sources for the expeditions and analytical studies
of certain of the finds. Amongst other questions raised is the
reasoning behind faulty assays undertaken by Frobisher’s
expedition which led to the shipping of 1136 tons of worthless
ore to England. Contamination of the samples by lead used in
separating gold and silver from ore is suggested as a possibility,
one which may be answered by further investigation of the
assay office located at the Kodlunarn island site.
As might be expected, the largest single group of papers
is that dealing with ceramics. Pottery is almost ubiquitous and
lends itself to studies of provenance. Here Neutron Activation
Analysis (also used in other studies in the volume) and
mineralogy/chemistry are represented alongside morphological
studies. Unfortunately many of the papers here, as elsewhere
in the volume, are too short and although they give an
interesting overview of the work many of them present
relatively little data.
In the glass section the paper by Gratuze et al. is of
particular interest not so much in that it examines the sources
of cobalt colourant in French glass of the 13th-18th centuries,
so much as that this has been undertaken as part of a wider
project examining cobalt sources from the Bronze Age to the
19th century. This not only illustrates the relevance of scientific
studies for historic periods of time, but also the importance of
building up databases on particular materials over long
chronological spans so that patterns of exploitation can be
established. The paper demonstrates the continuity of certain
cobalt sources from prehistory into historical times.
The paper by Redknap et al. concerning glass ingots from
an East Indiaman is one of several in the volume examining
material from shipwrecks. The link between underwater
archaeology and scientific studies has continued to grow in
importance in recent years, and this combination is of
fundamental importance for studies of trade. This particular
paper suggests that the ingots may have been bound for China
where European glass was prized in the 18th century, an
interesting reversal of the well known trade in oriental porcelain
to Europe. An appendix by Vlierman will prove instructive to
those faced with deciding whether certain objects are ingots
or parts of ships equipment! This same period saw the import
of Chinese nickel and brass to Europe, a subject covered in
the paper by Gilmour and Worrall.
Papers by Mackay and Barrandon et al. look at gold and
precious metals from the Americas, not least in relation to the
silver mines at Potosi in Bolivia. Not all regions are so rich in
historical information to which analytical studies can be related.
This point is well expressed in the paper by Craddock and
Hook, attempting to examine the trade in copper to Africa
where there are exciting possibilites for further study.
To conclude, this volume will prove of great interest to
historians, archaeologists and archaeological scientists
interested in trade. The papers are brief, but their number and
scope cannot fail to impress upon the reader both the diversity
of work taking place in this field and the immense scope for
further work. One criticism however, must be the use of notes
as a vehicle for references. Genuine notes and footnotes
undoubtedly have their place, but with the Harvard referencing
system now well established it seems perverse to avoid it here
in favour of a numerical system for references.
The volume is an example of the fruitful collaboration
between scholars in archaeology, history and science and it is
to be hoped that studies of this kind in the post-medieval period
will become increasingly common in the future.
Reference
Peacock, D.P.S. (ed). 1977. Pottery and Early Commerce.
Academic Press, London.
Human Adaptation at Grasshopper Pueblo, Arizona:
Social and Ecological Perspectives. Joseph A. Ezzo.
International Monographs in Prehistory, Archaeological
Series 4, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1993. vii + 103 pp., 61
figures, 19 tables, references. $27.50 (cloth); $13.75
(paper).
Reviewed by Jane E. Buikstra, Department of Anthropology,
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131 USA
In this contribution Ezzo adds detailed (human) bone
chemistry analyses to the extensive archaeological data sets
available for Grasshopper Pueblo, a 14th century masonry
pueblo site that was the subject of University of Arizona field
schools for three decades (1963-1992). Located in east-central
Arizona, on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, Grasshopper
Pueblo lies on the Mogollon Rim, in a transition zone between
the Colorado Plateau to the north and the Basin-and-Range
province to the south. In this area the northern Evergreen
Woodlands grade into the biota of the Sonoran Desert,
rendering the landscape diverse and the resource potential
varied.
Ezzo’s ultimate goal is to investigate human adaptation
and social organization at Grasshopper Pueblo. To achieve this,
he determines the degree to which dietary variation is structured
by biological (age, sex, cranial deformation), social (grave
furniture), spatial, and temporal parameters. A number of
additional topics are considered, including ecological questions
about environmental change and possible depletion of game,
diet in relationship to stress, and nutrition. Ezzo is also
concerned with social issues, including the relationship of
social structure to subsistence change and the emergence of
inequality. For analytical purposes, Ezzo combines all pre-AD
 page 24         SAS Bulletin           20(1/2)
1330 remains into an early grouping, with the post-AD 1330
series comprising the later sample. Thus, Establishment (AD
1275-1300) and Expansion (AD 1300-1330) materials are
considered together, as are the Dispersion (AD 1330—?) and
Abandonment (?—1400) remains.
A major strength of this work lies in the bone chemistry
analyses. Ezzo employs both trace elements and stable isotopes,
expending considerable effort in an appropriately critical
evaluation of elemental models for paleodietary inference.
After enjoying an initial popularity during the 1970s and early
1980s, multi-element approaches have undergone careful
review and the reality of post-depositional change has been
recognized.
To increase the number of burials that can be assigned to
the early and late temporal divisions, Ezzo supplements
stratigraphic information with relative dating through fluoride
analysis. At total of 141 remains were tested, including 18
with known stratigraphic associations. The fluoride technique
performed well among the “knowns” and was therefore used
to assign the remaining individuals to the early (Total N =
163) and late (Total N = 67) samples selected for further
elemental study.
To minimize the effect of diagenesis, a complicated three
stage cleaning procedure was followed, including soaking in
hydroxylamine hydrochloride and acetic acid to remove
metallic oxides and diagenetic carbonates. A vacuum chamber
was also employed to draw air out of microscopic pore spaces
and thus enhance the efficiency of an acid wash. The samples
were then dried, ashed, and the following elements measured,
using Inductively Coupled Plasma Emission Spectroscopy: Al,
Ba, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, Sr, and Zn. To test the
effectiveness of the washes, 24 individuals were sampled a
second time, with ICP results generated after the initial water
cleaning procedure. This test indicated that carbonates and
oxides had been successfully removed by the washes, as
indicated by a reduction of Ba, Mg, Sr, and Ca/P. The constancy
of AL and Fe was attributed to physical contamination by clay
inclusions, which were only partially removed.
Further statistical study of element concentrations,
including principal components analysis and a correlation
matrix of elemental concentrations indicated that Ba showed
little evidence of diagenesis. Sr concentrations, however, were
positively associated with F, suggesting a diagenetic
component. A strong positive correlation between Sr and Ba
argues, however, that the biogenic signal had not been
completely lost. Ezzo concludes that of the elements tested
here, only Ba and Sr are useful in paleodietary reconstructions.
He offers a compelling argument against the use of Zn,
erroneously thought by some other workers to reflect meat
consumption.
A stratified random sampling procedure was employed to
select 54 individuals for stable carbon and nitrogen isotope
analyses. Ezzo concludes that his collagen quality is acceptable
since its dry weight is always over 5%. He does not report
C:N ratios, another standard means for evaluating
contamination (Ambrose 1993). The results reported here
reflect collagen values only. Ezzo notes, however, that a
subsequent investigation of 11 apatite samples, using the
technique and theoretical orientation of Krueger (Krueger and
Sullivan 1984), strengthens his conclusions. The fact that *13C
values based on bone apatite represent a better estimate of
total diet than those of collagen has only recently been
appreciated.
Of the variables examined by Ezzo, sex, space, and time
appear to structure elemental and isotopic variability at
Grasshopper Pueblo. Male diets change very little over time,
with late phase men slightly more dependent upon C4 plants
than their earlier counterparts. The dietary shift for females,
however, is marked. The early female diet contained many
collected plant resources and relatively little meat when
compared to males. In the more recent samples, however, diets
were quite similar for both sexes with women moving from
wild resources to maize consumption. Spatial variation in
paleodietary signals suggests that decision-making concerning
access to food resources occurred at the household level.
The most disappointing feature of this monograph is the
lack of attention to volume production. Effective copy editing
could have corrected Ezzo’s occasional convoluted and thus
unclear sentence structure and eliminated unnecessary
redundancy. An example of the former is Ezzo’s opening
statement in Chapter 1, which should be a crisp exposition of
his goals. “This study examines the probability of significant
dietary change through time and dietary variability across space
and in terms of several social and biological variables at
Grasshopper Pueblo, and considers how these behavioral
developments inform on aspects of human adaptation and
social organization at the pueblo” (Ezzo 1993:1). Redundancy
is also plentiful: “...an inference that has been previously
discussed a number of times” (Ezzo 1993: 55). Even more
grating are the failures to proof-read. For example, on page 27
appears the following. “In their comparison of these three
regions, Graves, Longacre, and Holbrook (1982) note the
general lack of increased social complexity despite population
gtion process is destructive, special care had to - be taken to
inflict as little damage to each specimen a possible. If the
femora of an individual baly damaged, nonexistent, or in such
pristine conditio that I did notation and a shift from horticulture
to agriculture.” This is the most extreme of several such lapses.
Even more distracting are the many typographical errors, which
divert the reader’s attention from the volume’s important
messages. A partial list includes “flouride” (p. 33), “anicent
diet” (p. 39), “tendendcy” (p. 77), “Diseprsion” (p. 77),
“fiaxtion” (p. 94), “siet” (p. 94), “Advacned” (p. 95),
“Magensium” (p. 96), “malnutirtion” (p. 99), and
“meansurements” (p. 100). The bibliography is replete with
mistakes and varied styles. There are at least three different
ways in which the University of Cambridge Press is referenced,
for example.
In sum, this volume is important to our knowledge of
paleodietary inferences from bone chemistry. Ezzo’s discussion
of multi-element approaches and post-depositional change is
especially acute. Southwestern archaeologists and
bioarchaeologists will also find the dietary inferences
enlightening, especially those relating to temporal changes by
 January-June 1997         SAS Bulletin        page 25
sex and by household. If more attention had been paid to aspects
of volume production, the monograph would be even more
effective.
References
Ambrose, S.H. 1993. Isotopic Analysis of Paleodiets:
Methodological and Interpretive Considerations. In M.K.
Sanford (ed.), Investigations of Ancient Human Tissue:
Chemical Analyses in Anthropology, 59-130. Gordon and
Breach, Langhorne, Pennsylvania.
Krueger, H.W. & C.H. Sullivan. 1984. Models for carbon
isotope fractionation between diet and bone. In J.E.
Turnlund & P.E. Johnson (eds.), Stable Isotopes in
Nutrition, 205-222. American Chemical Society
Symposium Series 258, Washington, DC.
Recent Publications
Revue d’Archeometrie 21 (1997). 140 pages and 12
articles. Available for 140 FF from: GMPCA, Laboratoire
d’Archéometrie, Université de Rennes 1, 35042 Rennes Cedex,
France. Back issues also 140 F each (1993-96); 130 F (1992);
120 F (1990-91); 115 F (1989); 110 F (1988); 100 F (1987);
90 F (1986).
Traces of the Past. Unraveling the Secrets of Archaeology
through Chemistry. Joseph B. Lambert. Helix Books/Addison-
Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts, 1997. 336 pp., 127 b&w
illustrations, 16 color plates, index. $30.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-
201-40928-3.
Elsevier’s Dictionary of Archaeological Materials and
Archaeometry, by Zvi Goffer, 1996. 464 pages, in English with
translations of 1374 terms in German, Spanish, French, Italian
and Portuguese. Available from Elsevier Science, PO Box 945,
New York, NY 10159-0945, tel 212-633-3730, fax 212-633-
3680; e-mail: usinfo-f@elsevier.com. ISBN 0-444-81949-5.
Archaeological Sediments and Soils: Analysis,
Interpretation and Management. Anthony J. Barham &
Richard I. Macphail (eds.). 239 pp., 37 figures, 29 plates.
Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 1995.
$29.60. ISBN 0-905853-31-8.
Multilingual Dictionary of Lithic Technology Terms.
Compiled and edited by R. Marois, A.M. Groot de Mahecha,
J.E. Almeida, M.C. Mineiro Scatamacchi & E.B. Jelks. A
compendium of archaeological terms that refer to the
production, usage, and formal description of utilitarian stone
artifacts, compiled from published sources with equivalencies
in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. Available for
$36.00 plus shipping from: Instituto Panamericano de
Geografia e Historia, Departamento de Distribucion y Ventas,
Apartado Postal 18879 - 11870 Mexico. Fax: 525-271-6172;
e-mail: ipgh@laneta.apc.org
Ground-Penetrating Radar. An Introduction for
Archaeologists. Lawrence B. Conyers & Dean Goodman.
AltaMira Press, 1997. 240 pp. $54.00 (cloth), ISBN 0-7619-
8927-7; $26.95 (paper), ISBN 0-7619-8928-5.
People, Plants, and Landscapes. Studies in
Paleoethnobotany. Kristin J. Gremillion (ed.). The University
of Alabama Press, 1997. 296 pp. $29.95 (paper).
Histoire & Mesure 9 no. 3/4 (1994). Special issue on
archaeology, with 14 articles, 200 pages. Contents: Introduction
à l’archéométrie (A. Hesse); La prospection archéologique:
des mesures extensives sur deux dimensions de l’espace (A.
Hesse); Le relevé de terrain en archéologie: le système
Arkéoplan (K. Gruel & O. Buschsenschutz); Le tempes et la
chronométrie en archéologie (J. Evin); La caractérisation des
archéométaux: résultats, limites et perspectives (J.-N.
Barrandon); Réflexions méthodologiques sur les problèmes
soulevés par la caractérisation des obsidiennes (C. Chataigner);
Pratiques artisanales des briquetiers et archéomagnétisme des
matériaux d’argile cuite. Une histoire de positions de cuisson
(P. Lanos); Evaluation de l’impact de l’homme sur la
végétation: l’apport de la palynologie (H. Richard); Apports
récents de l’anthracologie à la connaissance des paysages
passés: performances et limites (L. Chabal); L’os et sa mesure.
Archéozoologie et archéométrie (L. Chaix & J. Desse);
L’anthropométrie (C. Simon); La paléodémographie (C.
Masset); L’archéologue devant les moyens offerts par
l’archéométrie (L. Langouet); Archaeometry in Britain (M.
Tite). Available for 125 F from: Centrale des Revues, CDR,
11, rue Gossin, 92543 Montrouge Cedex, France; Tel: 33-1-
46-565266. Annual subscriptions 310 F (at least for 1995).
First special issue on Archaeology was vol. 5 no. 1/2 (1990).
Book Reviews in Upcoming Issues
Statistics for Archaeologists (R. Drennan), by R. Dewar;
Alluvial Geoarchaeology. Floodplain Archaeology and
Environmental Change (A.G. Brown), by D. Thieme;
Archaeometry: An Australasian Perspective (W.R. Ambrose
& P. Duerden), Archaeometry: Further Australasian Studies
(W.R. Ambrose & J.M.J. Mummery), and Archaeometry:
Current Australasian Research (B.L. Fankhauser & J.R. Bird),
by S. Young; The Origins and Ancient History of Wine (P.
McGovern et al. eds.), by R. Evershed; Feeding Colonial
Boston: A Zooarchaeological Study (D.B. Landon), by B.
Baker; Packrat Middens (J. Betancourt et al.), by V. Bryant;
Archaeological Prospecting, Image Processing and Remote
Sensing (I. Scollar et al.), and Moundbuilders of the Amazon
(A. Roosevelt), by J. Ebert; Materials Issues in Art and
Archaeology II (P. Vandiver et al.), and Chemical
Characterization of Ceramic Pastes (H. Neff ed.), by W.
Barnett; The Industrial Revolution in Metals (J. Day & R.F.
Tylecote), and Early Metallurgical Sites in Great Britain (C.R.
Blick ed.), by D. Killick; Paleoethnobotany (D. Pearsall), by
M. Nesbitt; Pottery in Archaeology (C. Orton et al.), The Art
of Stoneworking (P. Rockwell), and Vertebrate Taphonomy (R.
Lee Lyman), by T. Oudemans; Materials Issues in Art and
Archaeology IV (P.B. Vandiver et al.), by C. Reedy
P.S.  This is a friendly reminder to the reviewers!
 page 26         SAS Bulletin           20(1/2)
Meetings Calendar
Susan Mulholland, Associate Editor
* = new listings; + = new information for previous listings
1997
Oct. 3-5. 4th Annual Midwest Bioarchaeology and Forensic
Anthropology Association. Loyola University, Chicago,
USA. Abstracts due June 1. Dr. Anne Grauer, tel:
773-508-3480; email: agrauer@luc.edu
* Oct. 4-5. 16th Annual Northeast Conference on Andean
Archaeology and Ethnohistory. University of Maine,
Orono, Maine, USA. Dan Sandweiss, Dept. of
Anthropology, S. Stevens Hall, University of Maine,
Orono, ME 04469-5773, USA; email:
dan_sandweiss@voyager. umeres.maine.edu.
* Oct. 13-18. XIV Congreso Nacional de Arqueologia Chilena.
Universidad de Chile, Copiapo, Chile. Miguel
Cervellino, Casilla del Correo 134, Copiapo, Chile; tel/
fax: 56-52-21-2313.
* Oct. 14-19. 51st National Preservatoin Conference - People
and Places: Living in Cultural Landscapes. Santa Fe,
New Mexico, USA. National Trust for Historic
Preservation, 1785 Massachusetts Avenue, NW,
Washington D.C., USA 20036; tel: 800-944-6847; fax:
202-588-6223.
* Oct. 15-18. Museum Computer Network Annual Conference.
Union Station Hyatt Regency, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Michele Devine, Museum Computer Network, 8720
Georgia Ave., Suite 501, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA;
tel: 301-585-4413; email: mcn@mcn.edu.
Oct. 20-23. Geological Society of America, Annual Meeting.
Salt Lake City, Nevada, USA. Vanessa George,
Geological Society of America, 3300 Penrose Place,
Boulder, CO 80301, USA; tel: 303-447-2020; tax:
303-447-1133.
* Oct. 24-26. 1997 Joint Symposium, Ontario Archaeological
Society and Midwest Archaeological Conference.
Theme: Taming the Taxonomy - Toward a New
Understanding of Great Lakes Archaeology. Novotel
Hotel, North York, Ontario, Canada. Ronald F.
Williamson, Archaeological Services, 528 Bathurst St.,
Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2P9, Canada; tel: 416-966-1069;
fax: 416-966-9723; email: archaeology @ sympatico.ca.
Oct. 26-31. Soil Science Society of America Annual Meeting.
Anaheim, California, USA. Web: http://
www.agronomy.org/olr/index.html or http://
www.soils.org/divs/s9/. Symposium: Magnetic
Properties of Soil Minerals - Analysis and Interpretation.
Mike Timpson, 2515 North Fort Valley Rd., Apt. 13,
Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA; tel: 520-773-1416; email:
miket@infomagic.com
* Nov. 5-9. 54th Annual Meeting of the Southeastern
Archaeological Conference. Radisson Hotel, Baton
Rouge, Louisiana, USA. David Kelley, Coastal
Environments, 1260 Main St., Baton Rouge, LA 70802,
USA; email: cei@premier.net
* Nov. 11. Bill Bishop Research Symposium: Recognizing
Responses to Environmental Change. Burlington House,
Piccadilly, London, United Kingdom. Mrs. Sheila
Bishop, Symposium Secretary, 4, Ashridge Gdns. Pinner,
Middx, HA5 1DU, United Kingdom; tel: 0181-868-
4966.
Nov. 13-16. 30th Annual Chacmool Conference: The
Entangled Past - Integrating History and Archaeology.
University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Nancy
Saxberg, 1997 Conference Committee, Dept. of
Archaeology, University of Calgary, 9500 University Dr.
NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4; tel:
403-220-5227; fax: 403-282-9567; email:
njsaxber@acs.ucalgary.ca
* Nov. 13-16. American Society for Ethnohistory annual
meeting. national Museum of Anthropology, Mexico
City, Mexico. William O Autry, 1997 ASW Program
Cochair, PO Box 917, Goshen IN 46527-0917, USA;
tel: 219-535-7402; fax: 219-535-7660; email:
billoa@goshen.edu.
Nov. 16-19. Symposium: Palynostratigraphy at Low Latitudes.
Margarita Hilton, Isla Margarita, Porlamar, Venezuela.
In association with the 8th Venezuelan Congress of
Geology and 1st Latin American Congress of
Sedimentology. Laurent de Verteuil, Petrotrin, Trinidad;
tel: 809-658-4200/10/20/30, ext. 2317; fax:
809-659-3074; email: devert@ petrotrin.com
* Nov. 17-18. DNA Forensics Science, Evidence, and Future
Prospects. McLean, Virginia, USA. Cambridge
Healthtech Institute, 1037 Chestnut St., Newton Upper
Falls, MA 02164, USA; tel: 617-630-1300; fax: 617-
630-1325; email: chi@ healthtech.com; web: http://
www.healthtech.com/conferences/
Nov. 18-22. 55th Annual Plains Anthropological Conference.
Boulder, Colorado, USA. Douglas Bamforth, Dept. of
Anthropology, Univ. of Colorado, Boulder,, CO 80309;
tel: 303-492-1871; email: bamforth@spot.colorado.edu.
Field trip: Magic Mountain and the Lamb Springs site.
* Nov. 19-23. American Anthropological Association 96th
Annual Meeting. Washington, D.C., USA. Elizabeth
Brumfiel, Archaeology Division program chair, Dept.
of Anthropology and Sociology, Albion, MI 49224,
USA; tel: 517-629-0432; email:
ebrumfiel@alpha.albion.edu; web: http://
www.ameranthassn.org
Dec. 1-5. Materials Research Society, Fall Meeting. Boston,
Massachusetts, USA. Materials Research Society, 9800
McKnight Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15237, USA; tel:
412-367-3003; fax: 412-367-4373.
1998
Jan. 5-8. Royal Geographical Society and Institute of British
Geographers. University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
Theme: Environmental Change in the Tropics and
Subtropics. Dr. Jane Entwistle, School of Geography,
 January-June 1997         SAS Bulletin        page 27
Kingston University, Penrhyn Road,
Kingston-Upon-Tames, Surrey, KT1 2EE, UK; tel:
0181-547-2000, ext. 2552; fax: 0181-547-7497; email:
j.entwistle@kingston.ac.uk
* Jan 7-11. Society for Historical Archaeology annual meeting.
Atlanta, Georgia, USA. web: http://
www.mindspring.com-garrowga/sha1998/index.html.
* March 1-6. PITTCON ‘98. The Pittsburgh Conference on
Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy. New
Orleans, Louisiana. Among the sessions is a half-day
symposium on “Archaeology and Art: Diverse
Applications of Analytical Chemistry.” Contact: The
Pittsburgh Conference, Dept. CFP, 300 Penn Center
Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA 15235-5503 USA; Tel: 412-
825-3220; fax: 412-825-3224; e-mail:
pittconinfo@pittcon.org
* March 24-28. 26th Annual meeting, Computer Applications
and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology. Barcelona,
Spain. J.A. Barcelo, Quantitative Archaeology Lab, Dpt.
of Prehistory, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona,
Barcelona, Spain; email: ilphd@blues.uab.es; web: http:/
/blues.uab.es/^ilphd.
* March 25-29. 63rd Annual Meeting of the Society for
American Archaeology. Seattle, Washington. Jonathan
Driver, Program Chair, Dept. of Archaeology, Simon
Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6,
Canada; tel: 604-291-4182; fax: 604-291-5666; email:
driver@sfu.ca.
* April 6-10. 3rd International Symposium on C14 and
Archaeology. Lyon, France. Themes will include dating
sequences for archaeological sites and culture;
chronology of transitional periods; use of the radiocarbon
method in historical times; recent methodological
advances; and radiocarbon dating contributions to
specific archaeological problems. Secretariat, Centre de
Datation par le Radiocarbone, Université Claude-
Bernard Lyon 1, Bât. 217-43 Boulevard du 11 Novembre,
69622 Villeurbanne, France. Tel 33-4-72448257; fax 33-
4-72431317; e-mail cdrc14@cismsun.univ-lyon1.fr
April 27-May 1. International Symposium on Archaeometry.
Hungarian National Museum, Budapest, Hungary.
Katalin T. Biro, Hungarian National Museum, Dept. of
Information, H-1450 Budapest Pf. 124, Hungary; tel/
fax: 36-1-2101/338; email: h5852tbi@ella.hu; http://
origo.hmn.hu/ametry.
* June 11-15. ASMOSIA 1998. Association for the Study of
Marle and Other Stones in Antiquity Vth International
Conference, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,
Massachusetts. Paper sessions June 11-13; tours and
field trips June 14-15. Registration $100 (students
$75.00), deadline January 31. Abstracts due January 3.
ASMOSIA, Department of Classical Art, Museum of
Fine Arts, Boston, 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA
02115 USA. Tel: 617-369-3259; fax: 617-369-3276; e-
mail: p.russell@mfa.org
July 26-Aug. 1. The 21st Century: The Century of
Anthropology. 14th Congress of the International Union
of Anthropology and Ethnological Sciences. The College
of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA.
Tomoko Hamada, 14th ICAES Executive Secretary,
Dept. of Anthropology, College of William and Mary,
Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795, USA. Tel:
804-221-1055; fax: 804-221-1066; e-mail
thamad@mail.wm.edu.
+ Aug. 23-29. 8th International Congress, International Council
for Archaeozoology. University of Victoria, Victoria,
British Columbia, Canada. Rebecca Wigen,
rjwigen@uvvm.uvic.ca or Quentin Mackie,
qxm@uvic.ca. Tourism Victoria, 812 Wharf St.,
Victoria, B.C. Canada, V8w 1T3; tel: 250-382-6539;
web: http://travel.bc.ca=09; web: http://
home.sprynet.com/sprynet/fdirrigl/metting.htm.
* Aug. 27-29. Second International Meeting on Phytolith
Research. Aix en Provence, France. 2nd IMPR, J.D.
Meunier, CEREGE, Europole Mediterraneen de
l’Arbois-BP 80, 13545 Aix en Provence Cecex 04,
France; tel: 33-0-4-42-97-15-26; fax: 33-0-4-42-97-15-
40; email: phytomeeting@cerege.fr; web: http://
www.cerege.fr.
Oct. 26-29. Geological Society of America, Annual Meeting.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada. GSA Meetings Department,
tel: 1-800-472-1988 or 303-447-2020, ext. 133; email:
meetings@geosociety.org; http://www.geosociety.org
* Nov. Inter-Congress Meeting of Commission 4, Union
Internationale des Sciences Prehistoriques et
Protohistoriques. Phoenix area, Arizona, USA. Keith
Kintigh, Dept. Anthropology, Arizona State University,
Tempe, AZ 85287-2402, USA; tel: 602-965-6900; fax:
602-965-7671; e-mail kintigh@asu.edu or
cowgill@asu.edu; web: http://archaeology.la.asu.edu/
uispp
* Nov. 7-11. 2nd International Climate and History Conference.
Climatic Research Unit, Norwich, United Kingdom.
Trevor D. Davies, Climatic Research Unit, University
of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom;
tel: 44-1603-592721; fax: 44-1603-507784.
1999
* Jan. 10-14. Fourth Meeting of the World Archaeology
Congress, Cape Town, South Africa. Congress
Secretarit, PO Box 44503, Claremont 7735, South
Africa. Tel: 27-21-762-8600; fax: 72-21-762-8606; e-
mail: wac4@globalconf.co.za; web: http://
www.uct.ac.za/depts/age/wac
* Aug. 3-11. XV INQUA Congress 1999. Durban, South
Africa. Theme: Environmental Background to Hominid
Evolution in Africa. Circulars available from Mrs. E.
Aucamp, PO Box 798, Silverton, Pretoria 0001, South
Africa; fax: 27-12-8411221; email:
eaucamp@geoscience.org.za. For further information:
Secretary-General, PO Box 61, Cape Town 8000 South
Africa. Fax 27-21-246716; e-mail
mavery@samuseum.ac.za; web: inqua.geoscience.org.za
SAS Bulletin Staff
Editor:  Robert H. Tykot, Department of Anthropology, University of
South Florida, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, Tampa, Florida 33620-8100, USA;
tel 813-974-7279; fax 813-974-2668; e-mail rtykot@luna.cas.usf.edu
Associate Editor, Archaeological Ceramics:  Charles C. Kolb, National
Endowment for the Humanities, Division of Presevation and Access, Room
411, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20506, USA; tel
202-606-8250; fax 202-606-8639; e-mail ckolb@neh.fed.us
Associate Editor, Archaeological Chemistry:  Carl P. Heron, Dept. of
Archaeological Sciences, Univ. of Bradford, West Yorkshire BD7 1DP, UK;
tel 44-1274-383531/2; fax 44-1274-385190; e-mail c.p.heron@bradford.ac.uk
Associate Editor, Archaeometallurgy:  Martha Goodway, CAL MSC,
Smithsonian Institution MRC 534, Washington, DC 20560, USA; tel
301-238-3700 x164; fax 301-238-3709; e-mail cal.meg@cal.si.edu
Associate Editors, Bioarchaeology:  David B. Landon, Industrial
Archaeology Program, Dept. of Social Sciences, Michigan Technological
University, Houghton, MI 49931-1295, USA; tel 906- 487-2366; fax 906-
497-2468; e-mail dbland@mtu.edu; Linda Scott Cummings, Paleo Research
Laboratories, 15485 W. 44th Ave., Suite A., Golden, CO 80403, USA; tel
(303) 277-9848; fax (303) 216-9616; e-mail  lscummings@aol.com
Associate Editor, Biomolecular Archaeology:  Richard P. Evershed,
Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol,
Cantock’s Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK; tel 44-117-9287671; fax 44-117-
9251295; e-mail r.p.evershed@bristol.ac.uk
Associate Editor, Book Reviews:  Michael D. Glascock, Missouri
University Research Reactor, 223 Research Reactor Center, University of
Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA; tel 573-882-5270; fax 573-882-6360;
e-mail glascock@reactor.murr.missouri.edu
Associate Editors, Dating:  Donna L. Kirner, UCR Radiocarbon
Laboratory, Department of Anthropology, University of California-Riverside,
Riverside, CA, 92521-0418 USA; tel 909-787-6346; fax 909-787-5409; e-
mail dkirner@ucrac1.ucr.edu;  Jack Rink, Department of Geology, McMaster
University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, Canada L8S 4M1; tel 905-
525-9140 x24178; fax 905-522-3141; e-mail rinkwj@mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca
Associate Editor, Geoarchaeology:  Mike Waters, Anthropology
Department, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4352, USA;
tel 409-845-5246; fax 409-845-4070; e-mail waters@tamu.edu
Associate Editor, Meetings Calendar:  Susan Mulholland, Archaeometry
Laboratory, U. of Minnesota-Duluth, 10 University Drive, Duluth, MN 55812,
USA; tel 218-726-7957; fax 218-726-6979; e-mail smulholl@d.umn.edu
Associate Editor, Remote Sensing and GIS:  Apostolos Sarris, Laboratory
of Geophysical - Satellite Remote Sensing & Archaeoenvironment, Institute
of Mediterranean Studies, Foundation of Research & Technology Hellas,
Melissinou & Nikiforou Foka 130, P.O. Box 119, Rethymnon 74100, Crete,
Greece; tel (30)-831-25146, (30)-831-56627; fax (30)-831-25810; e-mail:
asaris@ret.forthnet.gr
Department of Anthropology
University of South Florida
4202 E Fowler Ave SOC 107
Tampa FL 33620-8100
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SAS Bulletin
Society for Archaeological Sciences
SAS Administration
General Secretary:  R. E. Taylor, Radiocarbon Laboratory, Department
of Anthropology, University of California-Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521,
USA; tel 909-787-5521; dept. tel 909-787-5524; fax 909-787-5409; e-mail
retaylor@ucrac1.ucr.edu
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
Published quarterly by the Society for Archaeological Sciences
Distributed to subscribers: $75.00/year individual (with Journal of
Archaeological Science), $15.00 student (without JAS), $30.00 institution;
lifetime and associate memberships available. Payable with major credit cards
(+7%): provide card number and expiration date. ISSN 0899-8922.
Please send subscription address changes to Secretary/Treasurer.
Visit the Society for Archaeological Sciences web page:
http://www.wisc.edu/anthropology/sas/sas.htm
SAS Executive Officers 1997-1999
President:  Rob Sternberg, Department of Geosciences, Franklin and
Marshall College, Lancaster, PA 17604-3003, USA; tel 717-291-4134; dept.
tel 717-291-4133; fax 717-291-4186; e-mail R_Sternberg@FandM.edu
Vice President/President-elect:  Christine Prior, Radiocarbon Laboratory,
Univ. of California-Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA; tel 909-787-5521;
dept. tel 909-787-5524; fax 909-787-5409; e-mail cprior@citrus.ucr.edu
Past President:  Patrick E. Martin, Dept. of Social Sciences, Michigan
Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931, USA; tel 906-487-2070; dept.
tel 906-487-2113; fax 906-487-2468; e-mail PEM-194@MTU.edu
Secretary/Treasurer:  Felicia R. Beardsley, Department of Anthropology,
Univ. of California-Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521-0418, tel 909- 787-5524;
fax 909-787-5409; e-mail beards@citrus.ucr.edu; beardsley@qnet.com
Internet and the World Wide Web:  James Burton, Department of
Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706-1393,
USA; tel 608-262-4505; fax 608-265-4216; e-mail jhburton@facstaff.wisc.edu
Vice President for Intersociety Relations:  Steven Shackley, Phoebe Hearst
Museum of Anthropology, 103 Kroeber Hall, University of California-Berkeley,
Berkeley, CA 94720-3712, USA; tel 510-643-1193, x-3; fax 510-642-6271;
e-mail shackley@qal.berkeley.edu
Vice President for Membership Development:  Arleyn W. Simon,
Archaeological Research Institute,  Department of Anthropology, Arizona State
University, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402, USA; tel 602-965-9231, 6957(direct);
fax 602-965-7671; e-mail Arleyn.Simon@asu.edu
Editor, Journal of Archaeological Science:  Richard Klein, Department
of Anthropology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-2145, USA; e-mail
RKlein@Leland.Stanford.edu