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Journal article
Light production by ceramic using hunter-gatherer-fishers of the Circum-Baltic
Artificial illumination is a fundamental human need. Burning wood and other materials usually in hearths and fireplaces extended daylight hours, whilst the use of flammable substances in torches offered light on the move. It is increasingly understood that pottery played a role in light production. In this study, we focus... -
Journal article
How can Neutron Imaging contribute to Heritage Science? An overview at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source
Heritage Science HS spans a large variety of objects and materials, as well as anything that has historic, artistic, anthropological, and natural significance. This paper aims to bridge the gap between the physical and natural sciences and the humanities, and divulge neutron imaging techniques to a wider community. Here we...Fedrigo, Anna ; Grazzi, Francesco ; O’Flynn, Daniel ; Kockelmann, Winfried ; Cantini, Francesco …
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Journal article
Forensic examination of a fragmentary funerary portrait in the collection of the Harvard art museums
The Harvard Art Museums’ collection includes six Egyptian funerary portraits of the Roman period. These portraits are all that remains of the funerary equipment of individuals whose bodies were carefully prepared for burial and the afterlife. One example, depicting a man, is particularly complicated, broken into multiple fragments which have...Rayner, Georgina ; Eremin, Katherine ; Smith, Kate ; Cartwright, Caroline ; Degryse, Patrick …
workshop, composite, analysis, Roman Egypt, and technical imaging
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Journal article
Parallel worlds and mixed economies: multi-proxy analysis reveals complex subsistence systems at the dawn of early farming in the northeast Baltic
The transition from foraging to farming was a key turning point in ancient socio-economies. Yet, the complexities and regional variations of this transformation are still poorly understood. This multi-proxy study provides a new understanding of the introduction and spread of early farming, challenging the notions of hierarchical economies. The most... -
Journal article
The impact of farming on prehistoric culinary practices throughout Northern Europe
To investigate changes in culinary practices associated with the arrival of farming, we analysed the organic residues of over 1,000 pottery vessels from hunter-gatherer-fisher and early agricultural sites across Northern Europe from the Lower Rhine Basin to the Northeastern Baltic. Here, pottery was widely used by hunter-gatherer-fishers prior to the...Lucquin, Alexandre ; Robson, Harry K. ; Oras, Ester ; Lundy, Jasmine ; Moretti, Giulia …
hunter-gatherers, organic residue analysis, pottery, and early farmers
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Journal article
The making of Bikini glass in Bida, Nigeria: ethnography, chemical composition, and archaeology
This paper discusses the process, prospects, and challenges of making glass in Bida (Nupeland), central Nigeria. The Masagá glassmakers of Bida provide the ideal case study for investigating the production of . Nineteenth-century Arab and European writings have described glassmaking in Nupeland; however, with the exception of the study carried...Lababidi, Lesley ; Babalola, Abidemi Babatunde ; Gratuze, Bernard ; Rolland, Joëlle ; Véron, Emmanuel …
Indigenous technology, Bida, Nigeria, ethnography, and glass making
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Journal article
An exploration of potential raw materials for prehistoric pottery production in the Tao River Valley, Gansu Province, China
Northwest China is known for its Majiayao‐style Neolithic painted pottery which has received much praise for its high level of craftsmanship, yet its chain of production, in particular the step of raw material selection, is still poorly understood. To fill this lacuna, the present study explores the raw materials used...Dammer, Evgenia ; Hein, Anke ; Spataro, Michela
Northwest China, petrographic analysis, ceramic technology, and Majiayao style
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Journal article
Molecular evidence for new foodways in the early colonial Caribbean: organic residue analysis at Isla de Mona, Puerto Rico
Ceramic objects account for over 90% of the cultural material recovered from archaeological sites in the Caribbean. However, little research has been conducted on molecular evidence for past food production from these same vessels. Forty ceramic sherds from Isla de Mona have been analysed by GC–MS and GC-C-IRMS in order...Briggs, Lisa ; Cooper, Jago ; Craig, Oliver E. ; Heron, Carl ; Lucquin, Alexandre …
food, organic residues, Colonial Caribbean, pottery, and wine
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Journal article
Evidence for the earliest structural use of wood at least 476,000 years ago
Wood artefacts rarely survive from the Early Stone Age since they require exceptional conditions for preservation; consequently, we have limited information about when and how hominins used this basic raw material . We report here on the earliest evidence for structural use of wood in the archaeological record. Waterlogged deposits...Barham, L. ; Duller, G. A. T. ; Candy, I. ; Scott, C. ; Cartwright, C. R. …
archaeology and limnology
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Journal article
Inside out: Fusing 3D imaging modalities for the internal and external investigation of multi-material museum objects
3D imaging methods are increasingly employed in cultural heritage research to analyse and document objects in museum collections. In this work, we provide an interactive visualisation plugin for the open-source software Blender, to combine and inspect two complementary 3D imaging modalities: CT images, which capture the interior; and surface scans,... -
Journal article
Science, not black magic: metal and glass production in Africa
Ongoing research continues to show that ancient Africans had their own versions of science that were embedded in local contexts. The apparent lack of writing systems in most of the continent, especially south of the Sahara, was used to undermine the continent’s scientific achievements. Rather than relegate Africa to a...Bandama, Foreman ; Babalola, Abidemi Babatunde
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Journal article
Some thoughts on glass in African archaeology: an introduction
The history of this collection of articles on glass dates to 2020, when one of us (Babalola) proposed a symposium on Glass in African Archaeology for the meeting of the Society for Africanist Archaeologists (SAfA) scheduled for Oxford, but eventually held virtually in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Although...Babalola, Abidemi Babatunde ; Rehren, Thilo
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Journal article
Advances in the characterisation and identification of mastic (Pistacia sp.) resin in archaeological samples by GC-QToF-MS
A new analytical method based on GC-QToF-MS is proposed for the enhanced characterisation and identification of mastic ( sp.) resin in archaeological samples. New insights into the use of mastic in ancient Egypt are provided. The optimisation and application of an analytical method based on gas chromatography coupled to quadrupole...Tamburini, Diego ; Fulcher, Kate ; Briggs, Lisa ; von Aderkas, Nelly ; Pulak, Cemal …
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Journal article
Human-environment interaction systems between regional and continental scales in mid-latitude Eurasia during 6000–3000 years ago
The Late Neolithic and Bronze Ages witnessed the extensive expansion of human settlements, along with the dispersal of crops and livestock originating from West and East Asia. These events profoundly reshaped the human-environment relationship in mid-latitude Eurasia and the underlying trans-Eurasian exchange. While the processes and factors that underpin the...Dong, Guanghui ; Du, Linyao ; Liu, Ruiliang ; Li , Yuejiao ; Chen, Fahu
Environment, Climate change, and Eurasia
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Book
The Sphinx Revealed: A Forgotten Record of Pioneering Excavations
In 2002 a two-volume manuscript memoir on the Pyramids and Sphinx, by Henry Salt, was rediscovered in the archives of the Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan, at the British Museum. It was then studied in depth for the first time. The Text volume, written by Salt, the British Consul...Usick, Patricia ; Manley, Deborah
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Book
Sailing the Monsoon Winds in Miniature: Understanding Indian Ocean Boat Models
Models of non-European watercrafts are commonly found in museum collections in the UK and throughout the world. These objects are understudied, rarely used in museum displays and at risk of disposal. In addition, there are several gaps in current understanding of traditional watercraft from the Indian Ocean, the region spanning...Dixon, Charlotte
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Book
The Hay Archive of Coptic Spells on Leather: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Materiality of Magical Practice
The Hay archive of Coptic manuscripts consists of seven fragmentary sheets of leather bearing spells for divination, protection, healing, personal advancement, cursing and the satisfaction of sexual desire. Purchased from the heir of the Scottish Egyptologist and draftsman, Robert Hay (1799–1863), the manuscripts arrived at the British Museum in 1869....O'Connell, Elisabeth
Egyptology, papyrology, Coptic studies, and religious studies
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Book
Catalogue of the Archives of Charles Townley in the British Museum
After his death Charles Townley’s collection of classical sculpture was acquired by The British Museum where it is now displayed in the Wolfson Galleries. In 1992 his personal papers were purchased, placed with the Museum’s Central Archive and subsequently arranged and listed by the author. This resultant catalogue lists the...Hill, Susan J.
museum studies, classical sculpture, and History of collecting
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Journal article
Early evidence for cancer in Sudan: an advanced example of bone metastases from ancient Nubia (circa 2500–2050 BCE)
WHO reports that cancer is currently a leading cause of death worldwide. An increasing body of bioarchaeological research offers new insights into the past prevalence, epidemiology, and evolution of cancer. An archaeological example from the Northern Dongola Reach in Upper Nubia, Sudan, is presented in this Perspectives piece.Whiting, Rebecca ; Phillips, Emma L. W. ; O'Flynn, Daniel ; Antoine, Daniel
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Journal article
Changes in the production materials of Burmese textiles in the nineteenth century - dyes, mordants and fibres of Karen garments from the British Museum’s collection
The materials of six Karen textiles from the British Museum’s collection were investigated with the main aim of studying the production changes over the course of the nineteenth century and how these changes related to local and colonial trade networks. The textiles span chronologically from the 1830s to the early...Tamburini, Diego ; Dyer, Joanne ; Cartwright, Caroline ; Green, Alexandra