Post-excavation analysis

Post-excavation analysis constitutes processes that are used to study archaeological materials after an excavation is completed. Since the advent of "New Archaeology" in the 1960s, the use of scientific techniques in archaeology has grown in importance. This trend is directly reflected in the increasing application of the scientific method to post-excavation analysis. The first step in post-excavation analysis should be to determine what one is trying to find out and what techniques can be used to provide answers. Techniques chosen will ultimately depend on what type of artifact(s) one wishes to study. This article outlines processes for analyzing different artifact classes and describes popular techniques used to analyze each class of artifact. Keep in mind that archaeologists frequently alter or add techniques in the process of analysis as observations can alter original research questions.

In most cases, basic steps crucial to analysis (such as cleaning and labeling artifacts) are performed in a general laboratory setting while more sophisticated techniques are performed by specialists in their own labs. The sections of this article describe specialized techniques and section descriptions assume that artifacts have already been cleaned and cataloged.

Pottery survives well in nearly all environments. It provides dating evidence and is also used to make inferences about exchange, economy and social dynamics. The Munsell color system is used to categorize colors of shards, while other aspects such as grain size and hardness are examined using other charts. Information on the process of manufacturing can also be rendered from pottery. Petrology studies characteristics of rocks, which are often used as temper in different forms of pottery. By studying temper in more detail, pottery can be sourced to specific manufacturers or geographic locations. Petrology can also inform studies of manufacturing techniques. Petrological techniques can be applied to pottery and bricks. However, 'fingerprinting' clay sources is much more difficult with certain artifact types with more ambiguous origins than others. Re-firing experiments and ethnology can also provide clues to fabric color and hardness, which inform understandings of manufacturing techniques.

There is debate as to whether the number or weight of shreds is more useful when quantifying the use of pottery on a particular site. Some archaeologists find it useful to employ a quantification method popular in faunal analysis. Instead of measures of Minimum Number of Individuals, pottery analysis sometimes employs Minimum Vessel Counts. This type of analysis uses the number of representative parts to extrapolate the number of complete objects in an assemblage. Though this can be problematic at times, it does give a good measure of the relative proportion and distribution of artifacts on a given site.

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