Experiencing Archaeology by Experiment: Proceedings of the Experimental Archaeology Conference, Exeter 2007

There is a growing trend among archaeologists to re-create artefacts and actions at a 1:1 scale in order to answer questions and gain new insights into the past. In November 2007, the University of Exeter hosted a one-day conference on experimental archaeology, and it was soon discovered that experience is a key issue in understanding the use of materials and past processes. Papers presented in this volume consider both theoretical issues and practical case studies. The scope ranges from skinning animals or dyeing wool the Roman way, to producing sound with flint tools, carving stone on Chalcolithic Cyprus, or casting bronze objects both as art and science in Ireland. The eight chapters in this book demonstrate the myriad possibilities of archaeology by experiment. Experimental archaeology is multi-disciplinary by nature, with examples from anthropology, ethnography, taxidermy, finite element analysis and manufacturing systems theory all being present in this volume. Not only does this sub-discipline have a colourful and meaningful past, but it will surely have a significant future.

Table of Contents

Introduction (Penny Cunningham, Julia Heeb and Roeland Paardekooper)
Flint tools as portable sound-producing objects in the Upper Palaeolithic context: An experimental study (Elizabeth C Blake and Ian Cross)
Analytical and experimental approaches to carving technology during the Cypriot Middle Chalcolithic period (Elizabeth Cory-Lopez)
Experimental archaeology within the heritage industry: Publicity and the public at West Stow Anglo-Saxon village (Mary Ellen Crothers)
101 ways to skin a fur-bearing animal: The implications for zooarchaeological interpretation (Eva Fairnell)
The nature of scientific experimentation in archaeology: Experimental archaeology from the nineteenth to the mid twentieth century (Carolyn Forrest)
Experiment and experience - Practice in a collaborative environment (Cordula Hansen)
Exploring the materiality of prehistoric cloth-types (Susanna Harris)
Using experimental archaeology to answer the unanswerable: A case study using Roman dyeing (Heather Hopkins)

edited by Penny Cunningham, Julia Heeb and Roeland Paardekooper