Handbook of Archaeological Sciences

by Brothwell, D. R.; Pollard, A. Mark

• ISBN13: 9780470014769
• ISBN10: 0470014768
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-06-09
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

D.R. Brothwell and A.M. Pollard have got together to create the first large scale review of the many sciences which contribute to modern archaeology for over 30 years. The Handbook of Archaeological Sciences is intended to bring together a substantial overview of the sciences in archaeology in one complete volume. The book is organised under eight broad headings: dating, quaternary palaeoenvironments, human palaeobiology, developments in biomolecular archaeology, resource exploitation, archaeological prospection, conservation science in the archaeological context and statistical and computer applications. The contributors, who are all well-known in their own areas of expertise, bring together in each chapter the basic science and the relevance of this science to the overall goal of archaeology - understanding humans in the past. This book is an invaluable source of reference for those interested in archaeology, anthropology, quaternary studies, geography, palaeoecology, computing, biology, chemistry and physics, those involved in commercial and local authority field archaeology units, museums and archaeological organisations.

Author Biography

Donald Reginald "Don" Brothwell, FRAI was a British archaeologist, anthropologist, and academic, who specialised in human palaeoecology and environmental archaeology. A. M. Pollard is the editor of Handbook of Archaeological Sciences, published by Wiley.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors Foreword: Martin Aitken FRS

Acknowledgements

Introduction: Archaeological Science: A current Perspective

Dating

Overview - Dating in Archaeology: Past, Present and Future

Quaternary Geochronological Frameworks

Radiocarbon Dating

Dendrochronology and Other Applications of Tree-ring Studies in Archaeology

Trapped Charge Dating (ESR, TL, OSL)

Uranium-Series Dating

Magnetic Properties and Archaeomagnetism

Obsidian Hydration Dating

In Situ Cosmogenic Isotopes: Principles and Potential for Archaeology

Quaternary Palaeoenvironments

Overview - Environmental Reconstruction

Modelling Quaternary Environments

Insects as Palaeoenvironmental Indicators

Non-Marine Mollusca and Archaeology

Mammals as Climatic Indicators

Peat Stratigraphy and Climate Change

Archaeology and Soil Micromorphology

Taphonomic Investigations

Global Biogeochemical Cycles and Isotope Systematics - How the World Works

Human Palaeobiology

Overview - Human Palaeobiology: Then and Now

Pleistocene and Holocene Hominid Evolution

Human Palaeobiology as Human Ecology

Disease Ecology

Assessment of Age at Death and Sex in the Adult Human Skeleton

The Study of Preserved Human Tissue

Palaeodemography

Body Tissue Chemistry and Palaeodiet

Cremated Bone

Biomolecular Archaeology

Overview - Archaeological Science in the Biomolecular Century

Ancient DNA

Blood Residues in Archaeology

Survival and Interpretation of Archaeological Proteins

Lipids in Archaeology

Archaeological Microbiology

Biological Resource Exploitation

Overview - At the Beginning of the Task: The Archaeology of Biological Remains

Biological Resource Exploitation: Problems of Theory and Method

Human Impact on Vegetation

Archaeobotany and the Transition to Agriculture

Dietary Evidence from the Coprolites and the Intestinal Contents of Ancient Humans

Vertebrate Resources

The Exploitation of Invertebrates and Invertebrate Products

Inorganic Resource Exploitation

Overview - Materials Study in Archaeology

Ceramic Petrology, Clay Geochemistry and Ceramic Production - From Technology to the Mind of the Potter

Lithic Exploitation and Use

Glass and Glazes

Science, Speculation and the Origins of Extractive Metallurgy

Pyrotechnology

The Provenance Hypothesis

Archaeological Prospection

Overview - The Role and Practice of Archaeological Prospection

Surface Collection Techniques in Field Archaeology: Theory and Practice

Geophysical Prospection in Archaeology

Remote Sensing

Geochemical Prospecting

Archaeological Data Integration

Burial, Decay and Archaeological Conservation

Overview - Degradation, Investigation and Preservation of Archaeologica

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