Cabinets of curiosities were a phenomenon of the European elite throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that sought to understand and summarize the expanding world. This craze involved the aristocracy dedicating a space in their interior towards the collection of rare items. These rooms were heavily decorated and filled with drawers and sections containing objects that often didn’t contain a unifying link beyond their ability to produce awe and intrigue (“What is a…” n.d.). Collections greatly differed and were known under different names, often being called wunderkammer, meaning wonders or miracles of the world (“What is a…” n.d.).

Image 1. A painting of objects contained in a cabinet of curiosity

The origin of these rooms of collection is due to the nature of both the time period and the European elite. Collection is a human trait and has become embedded in current culture through the presence of modern museums. What specifically stemmed this desire towards collection during the era of the Renaissance was the emphasis on exploration and discovery. This period of time included a vast increase in travel and a shift of focus away from the Mediterranean. When exploring the uncertainty of the corners of the world, there was a need to classify, organize, and familiarize the influx of knowledge and materials that were being discovered (Yaya 2008). The cabinets acted as a way to frame the unfamiliar information in a comfortable and digestible way. This behavior was able to satisfy the Europeans’ object of wonder and curiosity for the “exotic”. The possession of the rare and exotic allowed someone to reconstruct the understanding of the world by assembling their own “microcosm” of the universe (Yaya 2008). 

Image 2. An illustration of a group of elite admiring and discussing a collection of animal artifacts.

A central feature of the cabinet of curiosities was the social aspect as they were designed for the accessibility of visitors. The intention of the collections was for others to be able to come and discuss what the owner had curated. While the collections were partly for personal intrigue and classification of knowledge, they were also a show of social prestige. The collections showed that one was an intellectual and educated man of taste (Arnold 2012). The grand size of collections and the exotic nature of the exhibits were signs that the owner was both wealthy and well traveled. The philosophical speculation acted as entertainment for the nobility that was intellectually stimulating (Arnold 2012). Somebody who could engage in knowledgeable conversation was well informed and by association, those who were invited to come witness the attractions were also considered men of taste. Scholars and nobility sought to amuse themselves with discussion and debate above gossip and cards, hobbies of the less educated. The curation of collections was for the socially ambitious and the most prestigious of collections could even entice visitors from all across Europe, even including royalty. The cabinets of curiosities are a representation of our desire to understand the past through what has been left behind.

References

Further Readings

https://www.sothebysinstitute.com/news-and-events/news/cabinets-of-curiosities-and-the-origin-of-collecting

What Is a Wunderkammer? Best Cabinets of Curiosities

Relative dating is a crucial tool in roughly ordering artifacts or sites into sequences. Archaeologists utilize many different sequencing techniques, depending on the site or the questions they want answered. These include stratigraphy, typological sequences, and environmental sequences.

Environmental sequences can include deep-sea cores, ice cores, and pollen dating. Deep-sea cores are used to mark climatic change most accurately for the last 2,000-3,000 years (Renfrew 2007, 115). When dealing with time periods farther back, pollen dating is most useful. Pollen grains are incredibly durable, lasting for millions of years, and aid in our comprehension of ancient environments.

Northern Europe, specifically Neumark-Nord near Halle, Germany (Aridi 2021), and Western and Central Asia (Figure 1) were home to Neanderthals (Monnier 2012). Neanderthals lived “from about 400,000 to 30,000 years ago” (Renfrew 2007, 135 ). During that time period, those regions saw some of the coldest conditions ever experienced, evidenced by the shorter limbs and broader chests of Neanderthals (Figure 2) specifically adapted to withstand colder temperatures (Monnier 2012). Neanderthals survived several ice ages, and their effects on Neanderthals can be studied using relative dating.   

Figure 1. Range of Neanderthal populations

Figure 2. Model of what Neanderthals were thought to look like

A research team from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology conducted a study on how shifting environmental conditions affected human presence, focusing on a former lakeshore in Lichtenburg, Northern Germany (Max Planck Society 2022). The team used several archaeological methods, including pollen dating to uncover the aforementioned relationship. Stone tools were discovered at the campsite and their evolution was aligned with changing environmental conditions. The study resulted in accurate dating of an interglacial period (Brörup Interstadial), and connecting a cooling period to climate change in the Greenland ice and North Atlantic, a relationship that had previously only been speculated. 

The Neanderthals of Northern Europe not only evolved and adapted their tools to suit their surrounding environment, but directly altered their environment. In Lichtenberg, research aiming to answer if Neanderthals were well adapted to colder temperatures, showed that the Neanderthals repeatedly visited Northern Central Europe, even during the last Ice Age. This region developed from a heavily forested area, to sparser forests, to cold tundra (Max Planck Society 2022). A different team, led by archaeologist Wil Roebroeks, sought to explain how the region changed from forest to a relatively open space. The study involved pollen dating and charcoal sampling to piece together how fire was utilized, with the wood and seeds found. This connection allowed researchers to speculate that the phenomenon of humans clearing land for fields occurred much earlier than once thought. This revolutionary discovery shows the oldest known evidence of “hominids reshaping their environment” (Aridi 2021).

Environmental sequences have provided a way of looking into the past when radiocarbon dating fails. Although it is not as accurate or widely used as radiocarbon, it is crucial in our understanding of early time periods.

References:

Aridi, Rasha

  12/17/21  Scientists Find the Oldest Evidence of Neanderthals Altering the Natural Landscape. Smithsonianmag.com.                     https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-find-the-oldest-evidence-of-ancient-humans-altering-the-natural-landscape-180979251/ 

Max Planck Society

  4/26/22  Neanderthals of the North reveal tolerance of humans to changing environmental conditions. Phys.org.                                      https://phys.org/news/2022-04-neanderthals-north-reveal-tolerance-humans.html

Monnier, Gilliane

  2012  Neanderthal Behavior. Nature.com. https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/neanderthal-behavior-59267999/

Renfrew, Colin

  2018  When? Dating Methods and Chronology. In Archaeology Essentials: Theories/Methods/Practice. 4th edition. pp. 115-135. Thames & Hudson, London, England 

Links of interest:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0920544608700773

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/01/07/462132043/itchy-eyes-sneezing-maybe-blame-that-allergy-on-neanderthals

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379122001500?via%3Dihub

Radiocarbon dating is an archeological dating technique based on the radioactive decay of carbon-14 atoms (Renfrew and Bahn 2018, 108-140).  Ireland is a country where radiocarbon dating has been vital because of its climate, harsh weather patterns, and features.  Without this technique, key parts of Ireland’s history would continue to be murky or undetermined.

A recent find that involved the use of radiocarbon dating was that of a pagan deity statue (Figure 1), which gave insight into the religious and spiritual practices of the Irish people before St. Patrick made his way to the island (Gershon 2021).  Given that the excavation team found the statue in a bog, it was in excellent condition due to the natural preservation of the matrix.  

Figure 1. Archaeologist Cathy Morre standing next to the pagan deity statue found in a bog in Gortnacrannagh, Ireland. Photograph by Archaeological Management Solutions.

The process of radiocarbon dating involves finding an uncontaminated sample, running tests to determine the carbon-14 atoms’ decay level, and finally calibrating the found date to the modern time system (Renfrew and Bahn 2018, 108-140).  Once the samples from the statue went through this process, it was determined to be sculpted between 200 and 400 C.E. (Gershon 2021).  With this given time range, archaeologists could link together multiple ritualistic ruins and artifacts in the local area, allowing for a better understanding of the religious practices of the ancient Irish peoples.  Without radiocarbon dating, this would have been much more difficult to determine, and the time period of this site and others would be unclear.

Radiocarbon dating also helped immensely with dating ancient architecture in Ireland.  What has been learned from these sites has been essential for putting together a more accurate timeline of Irish civilization.  In 1992, Rainer Berger selected architecture, and then targeted the mortar within the infrastructures.  Specifically, he wanted to perform radiocarbon dating on the charcoal within the mortar to better understand when the buildings were constructed.  To isolate the carbon-14 atoms within the charcoal, the mortar was “treated with cold dilute hydrochloric acid until all inorganic carbonate [has] been destroyed” (Berger 1992, 882).  Once that step was complete, further cleansing commenced, eventually leaving just the desired atoms.  

The decay of the atoms obtained by Berger revealed that the small chapels, churches, and towers (Figure 2) he was analyzing were all constructed after the arrival of St. Patrick, meaning that they were made to withstand Viking attacks and raids during an era of violence and uncertainty.  This hints at cultural and societal values of the time, as well as the ‘why’ behind the unique architecture.  The accuracy of the radiocarbon dating also made it easier for archaeologists to individually order the buildings based on the time of construction, which was challenging to do in the past.

Figure 2. The Clonmacnoise Round Tower, one of the many sites throughout Ireland where   Carbon-14 isotopes were extracted from mortar. Photograph by Sarah Murphy.

All-in-all, this is just a glimpse into the vast array of archaeological progress that radiocarbon dating has catalyzed in Ireland.  As time goes on, radiocarbon dating will thicken Irish culture with layers of complexity and change how the history of Ireland is written.  

Further Readings:

Radical New History of Britain and Ireland Enabled by Precise Radiocarbon Dating

What Ancient Secrets Lie Beneath this Little-Known Irish Bog?

References:

Berger, Rainer. 1992. “14C Dating Mortar in Ireland.” Radiocarbon 34 (3): 880–89.

Gershon, Livia. 2021. “Eight-Foot-Tall, 1,600-Year-Old Statue of Pagan Deity Found in Ireland.” Smithsonian Magazine, 2021, sec. Cool Finds. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1600-year-old-wooden-idol-found-ireland-180978453/.

Renfrew, Colin, and Paul Bahn. 2018. Archaeology Essentials: Theories, Methods, and Practice. Fourth edition. Thames & Hudson. 108-140.

History is written in blood and almost every conflict throughout time has been inadequately documented, creating mysteries and gray areas in battles that forged nations. A specific sub-area of archaeology, battlefield archaeology, studies the material remains of these conflicts in order to evoke a greater understanding of the violence and strategy of these historic battles.

Troop formations, military tactics, and the exact positions soldiers were standing can be determined by the martial debris left behind: buttons, coats, straps, shrapnel, etc. (American Battlefield Trust 2021). The concentration of martial debris is equally important as well, where a higher concentration of artifacts in a specific area can better track movement and positions on the battlefield. These artifacts are carefully excavated, flagged, and categorized in order to map out the battle. Furthermore, the location of these artifacts is often more important than the artifact itself because it helps archaeologists visualize the entirety of the battle in the surrounding area. 

Archaeologists excavate and flag the locations of artifacts using cameras and photo scales at Minute Man National Historical Park (American Battlefield Trust 2021).

Military data and records have been a historical gray area for years, as militaries rarely recorded detailed information and after-action reports in previous centuries. More specifically, many aspects of battles throughout American history have remained mysteries, as records have been few and far between. One of the most important conflicts in American history, the Revolutionary War, had many sporadic and scattered skirmishes, and accurately dating and identifying these battles has been difficult for historians. With the help of battlefield archaeology, historians have been able to paint a clearer picture of the movement, positions, and artillery formation of these battles that define vital moments of American history.

One battle of the Revolutionary War, Parker’s Revenge, in which Captain John Parker rallied his troops in Lexington and Concord after the “shot heard round the world” has recently been brought to light after ten musket balls and a cluster of other artifacts were uncovered by battlefield archaeologists (American Battlefield Trust 2021). The shape and disfigurement of these musket balls accurately show the troop formation in which they were shot, the target they were aimed at, and the firing range of the muskets (Zorich 2022). Battlefield archaeologists were able to conclude which musket balls hit soldiers, missed, or were mistakenly dropped on the ground, allowing them to map out specific locations of the battle, and how these soldiers moved in reaction to the environment and conflict itself. 

Archaeologists flagging and excavating artifacts found on the site of Parker’s Revenge in Minute Man National Historical Park (Archaeology 2016).

Battlefield archaeology brings gray areas of history to light, solving mysteries of past battles. Visualizing the movement, positions, and actions of these soldiers as they fought for their lives depicts the bravery, sacrifice, and violence of the history of each nation. Battlefield archaeology reveals the untold stories of past conflicts and provides an in-depth comprehension of important moments of history.

Additional Content for Further Discovery

Battlefield Archaeology

Archaeology at Antietam

References

American Battlefield Trust. “Archaeology Pinpoints Site of Parker’s Revenge near Lexington.” American Battlefield Trust. American Battlefield Trust, March 25, 2021. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/archaeology-pinpoints-site-parkers-revenge-near-lexington. 

American Battlefield Trust. “The Importance of Battlefield Archaeology.” American Battlefield Trust. American Battlefield Trust, March 25, 2021. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/importance-battlefield-archaeology.

Carman, John. “Battlefield Archaeology.” SpringerLink. Springer New York, January 1, 1970. https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_1330.  

National Parks Service. “Archeology at Antietam (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, April 16, 2020. https://www.nps.gov/articles/archeology-at-antietam.htm. 

Urbanus, Jason. “Finding Parker’s Revenge.” Archaeology Magazine. Archaeological Institute of America, 2016. https://www.archaeology.org/issues/202-1601/trenches/3933-trenches-massachusetts-revolutionary-war-parker-s-revenge. 

Zorich, Zach. “A Battlefield from 1777 Yields a Dozen Mercenaries’ Remains.” The New York Times. The New York Times, August 3, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/02/science/archaeology-revolutionary-war-red-bank.html. 

Most archaeological excavations do not find golden statues or treasure troves, like what is portrayed in films, but rather ceramic shards. To the general public, this might not seem like an important find but these fragments offer a lot of information. Organic residues found on or in ceramic matrices or plasters (see Figure 1) are one feature, in particular, that contain valuable archaeological data. These residues represent precious history and the analysis of such residues can recover many aspects of ancient ways of life including diet, cooking, food storage, etc. (Pecci 2014).

Figure 1. Analyzed pottery fragment with an attached food residue. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2016.07.004.

So what exactly is organic residue analysis? It is a method that utilizes “analytical organic chemical techniques to identify the nature and origins of organic remains that cannot be characterized by using traditional techniques of archaeological investigation” (Evershed 2008). There are two main approaches used when performing residue analyses. The first is the analysis of lipids through identification of fatty acids by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), often coupled with the analysis of carbon stable isotopes (Pavelka 2016). The second is identifying source-specific proteins by either mass spectrometry or by more traditional immunological methods and using peptide mapping (Pavelka 2016). Both approaches have their advantages which should be taken into account. Lipids are less susceptible to “leaching” and “diagenetic degradation” than proteins but peptide mapping for proteins is very analogous and can detect distinct differences in amino acids for individual species (Pavelka 2016).

Many studies have been done on recovered ceramics using organic residue analysis to further study the diets of past societies and also show connections between them. A study conducted by Boyd et al. (2006), focused on the consumption of maize in North America through the analysis of food residue for starch and phytolith content. Their results showed that maize consumption was more widespread than believed. They examined small-scale societies living at the northern edge of the Great Plains (see Figure 2), where the role of domesticated plants in their diets was hidden due to little to no archaeological evidence using traditional methods. However, residue analysis from ceramic pieces in this area demonstrated that maize was evidently present and even became an important dietary. This then raised questions as to whether the maize presence was reflecting local production, trade, or both. Boyd et al. observed that one sample obtained from a large loop-handled pot, which was the only one recovered at that site, was similar to another location’s traditional style pot where maize was known to be grown locally; so it is reasonable to suspect that it was acquired through trade.

Figure 2. Location of study sites, and Middle Missouri region within the Great Plains (shaded in gray). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2008.04.008.

As the organic residue field further expands and develops, it can propose evidence to challenge many long-standing archaeological hypotheses (Evershed 2008). A critical step forward will be treating recovered ceramics as biological material that is susceptible to irreparable damage and contamination so that no potential information is lost (Pavelka 2016).

Further Readings

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2016.04.015

https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciadv.abb9314

References

Boyd, M.,  T. Varney, C. Surette, and J. Surette. 2008. “Reassessing the Northern Limit of Maize Consumption in North America: Stable Isotope, Plant Microfossil, and Trace Element Content of Carbonized Food Residue.” Journal of Archaeological Science, 35: 2545-2556. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2008.04.008.

Evershed, Richard P. 2008. “Organic Residue Analysis in Archaeology: The Archaeological Biomarker Revolution*.” Archaeometry, 50: 895-924. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4754.2008.00446.x.  

Pavelka, Jaroslav, Ladislav Smejda, Radovan Hynek, and Stepanka Hrdlickova Kuckova. 2016. “Immunological Detection of Denatured Proteins as a Method for Rapid Identification of Food Residues on Archaeological Pottery.” Journal of Archaeological Science, 73: 25-35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2016.07.004. 

Pecci, A. 2014. “Organic Residue Analysis in Archaeology.” In: Smith, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_334.

The archaeology of prisoner of war camps during the American Civil War reveals much about the culture of the war, all the way down to the beginning of why POW camps were created. While there was originally a POW exchange system, when the Union army deployed African American troops into battle, the Confederate army refused to continue the trade system, instead enslaving all captured African American troops, and POW camps needed to be built to  hold the growing numbers of captives (Partridge 19).

Johnson’s Island Prison- from http://johnsonsisland.org/

The interest in the archaeological field in these and similar sites is that they were sites of heavy and consistent use for a relatively very short period of time. Additionally, since they were sites of wartime behavior, it is possible to see the behavior of prisoners while in violent and oppressive situations, as well as captors, in an environment where violent and oppressive actions are accepted (McNutt 690).

One such site is that of the Johnson’s Island Civil War Military Prison, where archaeologists investigated the sinks (latrines) as a great source of information about the growth of the camp, as well as the treatment of prisoners. Using maps from different years, archaeologists were able to see when new latrines were created to replace old ones, sometimes to the exact day, and find that latrines were replaced roughly every five months, and then covered with soil from the new latrine and capped with clay. Not only were the latrines used for discarding of human waste, but also for disposal of contraband materials and secondary refuse, including use as a site to burn things like clothing before being capped off and ceased to be used (Bush 69).

Map of the prison compound– latrines marked as “sinks” (Bush 66)

Prisoners used these sinks as well to plan escapes, showing resistance from the confederate soldiers held there. Tunnels were found, as well as Union buttons that may have been used as a disguise for escaped prisoners (Bush 71). In terms of survival, many prisoners turned to finding their own meat, including rats, fish, birds, and one dog, evidenced by the faunal remains (remains of animals) found in the latrines (Bush 72), as the retrieval of supplemental rations was technically contraband.

The takeaways from these findings in the latrine, which are far more vast than this blog post can cover, is that archaeology is a fantastic source of information for research of Prisoners of War and their treatment, resistance, and survival in prison camps. 

For more information about POW camps in the civil war, please visit:

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/civil-war-prison-camps

https://www.britannica.com/video/195089/lot-military-prisoners-American-Civil-War-Andersonville

https://www.nps.gov/ande/learn/historyculture/npsprisons.htm

http://johnsonsisland.org/

Reference List

Bush, David R.

  2000  Interpreting the Latrines of the Johnson’s Island Civil War Military Prison. Historical Archaeology. Volume 34 (No. 1): 62-78

McNutt, Ryan K.

  2019  The archaeology of military prisons from the American Civil War: globalization, resistance and masculinity. World Archaeology. Volume 51 (No. 5): 689-708

Partridge, Colin H.

  Fall 2019  Preserving the Memory of those Perilous Times: Archaeology of a Civil War Prison in Blackshear, Georgia. Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2027.

Image 1: Illustration of the overwhelming amounts of trash in landfills

Trash is our most widespread artifact and one of our most identifiable landmarks. In an average life span, Americans toss 102 tons of trash from clothing to broken pieces of technology and even plastic water bottles. These objects are important in framing how we think about the world. When a new model of the object comes out and the one we have doesn’t serve us any purpose, we throw it away. It’s the height of capitalism driving consumerism, ultimately filling up landfills with artifacts. Artifacts can be defined as an object made or altered by humans at any time and place (Renfrew 2018). Often found secreted under sediments, they provide essential clues about life by allowing a glimpse into a society’s culture and era. We make sense of people’s beliefs and practices by studying the treasures and objects that serve a function in humans’ daily lives.

Recently, scientists like William Rathje have studied how the materials in landfills decompose in various environments, identify how waste shifts over time, and then draw conclusions about artifacts and behavior through landfill excavation (Ian McTaggart 2015). When studying trends of human behavior, trash is an important physical data point. It looks at consumerism in aspects such as diet, clothing trends, and planned obsolescence in tech.  Most of Rathje’s studies have taken place in moderately modern landfills dating from the early 1970s to the early 2000s which constantly leads to the connotation that garbology is about more present-day artifacts (Jeff Harrison 2012). However, the notion of garbology, studying the waste of a specific society, has been present for some time within the boundaries of archaeology. From lithic debitage to middens, waste or byproducts have been studied to give context to the specific diet and practices of a society.

Image 2: William Rathje and his team work through a landfill sifting and identifying artifacts

Middens are archives of lifeways and environments. Archeologists have studied middens through the shell refuse and soil which builds up at these trash sites, resulting in the formation of mounds on what was once level ground. These middens preserve a record of occupation by providing a record of ancient inhabitants. These archeological studies have included food processing methods, seasonality, and even other purposes for the shell mounds.

Image 3: An excavation of a shell midden showing the different layers of artifacts such as bone, ash, and shell

More specifically,  in shell middens, bone artifacts, shell artifacts, food remains, and oftentimes, even ceramics are preserved. They are found throughout the world, on coastlines, near lagoons, and tidewater flats, along major rivers, and even in small streams. Most shell middens have been dated to the Late Archaic or Late Mesolithic periods(around 4,000-10000 years ago) thanks to the use of radiocarbon dating (K. Kris Hirst 2019). Middens are flourishing with waste and they help give archaeologists an enhanced perspective of ancient livelihoods.

Although garbology remains a term more often used in the modern sense, the study of human waste has had a large presence within the field of archeology. Artifacts range from an array of subjects but human waste is abundant in this world and it’s what allows us to keep learning information about human behavior. 

References:

McTaggart, Ian. 2015. “A Tale of Garbage.” Earth Common Journal 5 (1), http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/a?id=1331

Harrison, Jeff. 2012. “William L. Rathje: 1945-2012.” The University of Arizona News.https://news.arizona.edu/story/william-l-rathje-1945-2012 

Hirst, K. Kris. 2019. “The Archaeological Study of Shell Middens.” ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/archaeological-study-of-shell-middens-170122 

Renfrew, Colin, and Paul Bahn. 2018. Archaeology Essentials: Theories, Methods, and Practice. Fourth edition. Thames & Hudson.

Further Readings:

https://galapagosconservation.org.uk/garbology-new-perspectives-on-waste/

https://www.musingsofahistorygal.com/2015/04/garbology-it-is-more-than-just-trash.html 

https://science.jrank.org/pages/6122/Shell-Midden-Analysis.html

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1040618220302251

The history of the World Trade Center (WTC) is not ancient; 21 years ago, the building was under an attack coordinated by a terrorist group known as Al-Qaeda. This incident snatched thousands of lives and left many injured, and the trauma still pervades numerous lives. It is now memorialized as 9/11 to remember the victims of this unexpected attack and to support the families who lost their loved ones. 

The archaeology of the WTC post-9/11 was never about finding and displaying the remains and artifacts found, but in fact it is more profound than that. It is about finding the story of the individuals who lost their lives. It is about the shared emotions that emphasize and evoke our connection to daily life. Many artifacts collected were exhibited at the Smithsonian in 2004, which included a wallet, a computer screen, a stairwell sign, and a resume (Shanks 2004). One such case is of the resume found in a briefcase by an EMT on ground zero who tracked down the owner, and upon sharing their testimonies about the normal morning they had before 9/11, they realized their normal lives had changed to a rather traumatic one with the blink of an eye (Shanks 2004). Hence, these artifacts depict a story of an individual’s daily life and are preserved for future generations to see and learn the history of people who lost their lives, people who were tracked down later for their belongings, and of those who came out to rescue. 

Since the collapse of the two buildings, tons of debris collected around it and was dumped in the Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island, and archaeologists and forensic investigators later sifted through the landfill to find numerous artifacts and human remains (Atimian 2011). In the scenario of 9/11, it was unusual because the debris from the collapse contained tons of artifacts that became a source of knowing the victims intimately. It started to seem like the City of Pompeii, another mass casualty incident, even though the destruction occurred due to completely different reasons. But it held archaeological significance and the pieces of artifacts unlocked bigger pictures and understandings of those immediately affected by the incident. 

Image 1. Investigators sift through the World trade Center debris on September 18, 2001

Anything that happens in the present becomes the archaeology of the future and hence this disheartening incident did too. 9/11 entailed an archaeology lost and an archaeology found. The World Trade Center is not just home to the many artifacts of archaeological significance but also to the emotions, connections, and personal stories. It’s like a patchwork quilt made of stories that were carved from the remains, the stories that we might never have known and the individuals who those stories belonged to.

Image 2. The remains of the World Trade Center standing amid the debris on September 11, 2001.

References

Shanks, Michael, David Platt, and William L. Rathje. 2004. “The Perfume of Garbage:     Modernity and Archaeological.” John Hopkins University Press. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/53097

Strochlic, Nina. 2021. “The Archaeological Treasures That Survived 9/11.” History. National Geographic. September 2, 2021. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/the-archaeological-treasures-that-survived-911

Mayorquin, Orlando. 2022. “21 Years Later, These Powerful Photos Tell the Story of 9/11.” USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network. September 11, 2022. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/09/11/911-photos-nyc-pentagon-shanksville/8036782001/

Atimian. 2011. “Fresh Kills Landfill.” Atlas Obscura. Atlas Obscura. December 30, 2011. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/fresh-kills-landfill

Further Readings

https://nleomf.org/9-11-2001-artifacts-at-the-museum/

https://www.npr.org/2022/09/11/1122247528/us-marks-21st-anniversary-of-9-11-terror-attacks

https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/09/02/two-decades-later-the-enduring-legacy-of-9-11/

There are many types of dating in archaeology, including dendrochronology, radiocarbon, and potassium-argon dating, but most only accurately measure back about 50,000 years. Amino acid dating, also known as amino acid racemization, is a dating technique capable of measuring backwards up to three million years. It works by extracting proteins from a deceased organism and separating them into categories of amino acids. By measuring the exact ratio of two different amino acids, archaeologists can create an estimate of how long ago the specimen died, an example of which can be seen in Figure 1 (Demarchi 2020).  Although this dating technique is usually considered relative and most effective when used in comparison with other dated artifacts, it is also capable of being an absolute method.

Figure 1. Fundamentals of amino acid geochronology. Chart by Dr. Beatrice Demarchi. https://www.antarcticglaciers.org/glacial-geology/dating-glacial-sediments-2/amino-acid-racemisation/

Unfortunately, despite its potential, amino acid dating is used more rarely in archaeology than expected. When it was first developed in the 1960s, various environmental aspects caused some fossils to lose their original protein, impacting early studies. After more time was spent studying amino acid dating, more reliable methods were produced, but the previous issues caused it to be pushed aside by many archaeologists. 

Luckily, amino acid dating is now becoming slightly more common. For example, University of York researcher, Kirsty Penkman, has been using amino acid racemization to date molluscs, egg shells, and corals, up to three million years old, as can be seen in Figure 2. Penkman is also currently working on a large project involving using amino acid dating to date hundreds of European sites.

Figure 2. Kirsty Penkman works with fossil shells for amino acid dating. Photo from NEaar lab at the University of York. https://www.world-archaeology.com/features/expanding-amino-acid-dating/

Unfortunately, amino acid racemization does present some difficulties. The enclosing matrix is a challenging variable, since it can impact the acids (Method 2016). Temperature is also heavily connected to the accuracy of amino acid dating. Faster reactions occur in the development of the amino acids when it is warmer, so more precise dates are produced. However, these dates go back a shorter period of time. Slower reactions occur when it is cooler, so the dates are less specific, but go back over a longer period of time (Marchini 2020). 

Although there can be some inconsistencies, overall, amino acid dating holds a lot of promise. It can provide insights to human behavior, such as the use of fire and burial practices (Johnson, and Miller 2007). It can be used to date a variety of artifacts, including mollusks, ostrich eggshells, corals, and some sediments. Using the amino acid dating on sediments is invaluable when incorporated into stratigraphy. Amino acid racemization can even be used on tooth enamel, allowing archaeologists to date mammals, including human remains. And because it can cover a large period of time, it is incredibly valuable when looking at human, animal, and technological evolution.

Further Readings 

Identification of Remanie Fossils Using Amino Acid Racemisation

Relative and Absolute Dating of Quaternary Mollusks With Amino Acid Racemization: Evaluation, Applications and Questions

References

  Demarchi, Beatrice. “Amino Acid Racemisation.” AntarcticGlaciers.Org (blog), June 22, 2020. https://www.antarcticglaciers.org/glacial-geology/dating-glacial-sediments-2/amino-acid-racemisation/.

  Johnson, B. J., and G. H. Miller. “ARCHAEOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS OF AMINO ACID RACEMIZATION.” Archaeometry 39, no. 2 (September 7, 2007): 265–87. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4754.1997.tb00806.x.

  Marchini, Lucia. “Expanding Amino Acid Dating.” World Archaeology (blog), May 27, 2020. https://www.world-archaeology.com/features/expanding-amino-acid-dating/.

  “Method – Amino Acid Geochronology Laboratory – Northern Arizona University,” October 2, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161002171642/http://nau.edu/CEFNS/NatSci/SESES/AAGL/Method/.

Figure 1: a bead from the Neolithic Era

According to the Oxford Dictionary, “Typology is a classification according to general type.” Typology can range from the mapping of unknown gravestones in cemeteries to even objects themselves. Beads can be found in many different sections of the world from all different time periods dating back to 3800 BC. In looking at the physicality of a bead, archaeologists gain a deeper understanding of the technology used to produce the bead as well as the time period that the bead was crafted in. By mapping different types of beads by date, material, and shape, archaeologists are able to determine the types of societies in a specific region and the technology that they had access to/developed. 

Horace Beck was one of the first archaeologists to attempt a study of beads in 1928. He categorized different materials and sizes of beads, which led to an increased interest in the archaeological study of beads . Before Beck, beads were often viewed as smaller objects and their meaning was largely unknown. They were often lost due to insufficient recovery techniques.

In a study done 30 years ago in the Levant, Daniella E Bar-Yosef Mayer studied beads and categorized them by shape, region, age, and material. She visited twenty-two archaeological sites in an effort to work towards a typology of beads from in and around the Neolithic Period. The conclusions drawn from this study include findings such as how characteristics of the beads display aspects of chronology within societies, how societies can be dated due to the type of bead, and how certain groups were trading their resources with other groups. She is continuing to work on her typology of beads today in different areas of the world.

Figure 2: the beginning of a typology of Neolithic beads in the Levant

The beads found throughout the Levant display a wide range of time periods. As time periods changed, so did the type of beads and the technological features that were used to create them. Bar-Yosef Mayer writes in PLos journal, “We conclude that between 160 ka BP and 140 ka BP there was a shift from collecting complete valves to perforated shells” (Bar-Yosef Mayer 2022). Not only does this mean that new technology was being developed, but also, people were developing new ways to display and exchange beads. As soon as perforated shells were introduced, the beads could now be worn on a string. The transition from carrying beads to a form of human adornment with “jewelry” shows a change in time period and another way for beads to move larger distances.  

As more typologies of beads are created, more information about the connections of certain societies can be drawn. For instance, if one bead is found in one region but the same bead is found 100 miles away, it can be inferred that those societies are interconnected. The mapping of beads on different archaeological sites throughout the world has led to a better understanding of the connections between groups of people throughout the world, human necessity for self adornment, and the understanding of past behavioral patterns.

References 

Beck, Horace

1928  Classification and Nomenclature of Beads and Pendants. Journal

Archaeologia(77):(1-17)

E. Bar-Yosef Mayer, Daniella

  February 24, 2014  Towards a Typology of Stone Beads in the Neolithic Levant.

    Journal of Field Archaeology(2):129-142

E. Bar-Yosef Mayer, Daniella

  2017  In Not Just for Show, edited by Daniella Bar- Yosef Mayer, pp. 69-81. Oxbow

    Books, Oxford.

E. Bar-Yosef Mayer, Daniella

  July 8, 2020  On Holes and String. PLoS ONE journal 15(7):abstract

Extra Image References

https://www.ancientbead.com/neolithic_beads.html

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-bead-color-by-feature-context_fig9_292708642

Additional Content/Readings

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32640002/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292708642_Revising_the_Community_Plan_of_the_ell_Site_47_WN_009_Processes_and_Outcomes_of_GIS_Spatial_Analysis#pf18