Microarchaeology
Beyond the Visible Archaeological Record
Published on 15. February 2010
Book
Paperback/Softback
414 pages
978-0-521-70584-4 (ISBN)
Description
The archaeological record is a combination of what is seen by eye, as well as the microscopic record revealed with the help of instrumentation. The information embedded in the microscopic record can significantly add to our understanding of past human behaviour, provided this information has not been altered by the passage of time. Microarchaeology seeks to understand the microscopic record in terms of the type of information embedded in this record, the materials in which this information resides, and the conditions under which a reliable signal can be extracted. This book highlights the concepts needed to extract information from the microscopic record. Intended for all archaeologists and archaeological scientists, it will be of particular interest to students who have some background in the natural sciences as well as archaeology.
Reviews / Votes
'I found [this book] so engaging and useful that I read it through with extreme care, rereading and highlighting key passages ... It is a textbook, hopefully the first one in a new subfield, microarchaeology, that will become a required component of rigorous archaeology training at both the undergraduate and graduate level.' Hector Neff, Geoarchaeology: An International JournalMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
4 Plates, unspecified; 54 Halftones, unspecified; 42 Line drawings, unspecified
Dimensions
Height: 254 mm
Width: 178 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
786 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-70584-4 (9780521705844)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
04/2010
1st Edition
Cambridge University Press
€38.49
Available for download
Book
02/2010
Cambridge University Press
€149.40
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Stephen Weiner is Director of the Kimmel Center for Archaeological Science at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. He is the author, with Heinz A. Lowenstam, of On Biomineralization and has published more than 300 scientific journal articles.
Content
1. Archaeology, archaeological science and microarchaeology; 2. Information embedded in the microscopic record; 3. Completeness of the archaeological record; 4. Common mineral components of the archaeological record; 5. Biological materials: bones and teeth; 6. Biological materials: phytoliths, diatoms, eggshells, otoliths and mollusk shells; 7. Reconstructing pyrotechnological processes; 8. Biological molecules and macromolecules: protected niches; 9. Ethnoarchaeology of the microscopic record: learning from the present; 10. Absolute dating: assessing the quality of a date; 11. Reading the microscopic record on-site; 12. Infrared spectroscopy in archaeology.