How do you find a "lost" village?

An article on BBC news today reveals that further details have emerged of the nature of a "lost village" discovered during water main works on the outskirts of Selkirk.

 
The stones, cobbles and artefacts unearthed are thought to date from between the 14th and 16th Centuries. They were found during a Scottish Water project to lay a new water main.
 
Initial studies in late 2012 suggested the findings may have been related to an Anglo-Saxon settlement but it now appears to date from a later period. Investigations by Guard Archaeology uncovered the foundations of stone-built structures, cobbled farmyards and the foundations of walls, buildings and hearths. Artefacts included a decorated stone spindle whorl, medieval pottery and pivot stones, thought to have been used as a hinge for doors on buildings.
 
This discovery was indeed a happy accident that offers great insight into medieval Scotland but what technologies are available for finding habitations deemed "lost"?
 
'LiDAR-aided reconnaissance and reconstruction of lost landscapes: An example of freshwater shell mounds (ca. 7500–500 CAL B.P.) in northeastern Florida' published in a recent issue of Journal of Field Archaeology explores LiDAR datasets from which "high-resolution topographic maps can be generated" and  "are becoming commonplace in archaeological analyses".

"Like any remote sensing technique, LiDAR records only a limited range of phenomena and the data are a snapshot of ground conditions at the time of collection. The temporally specific nature of LiDAR is problematic at sites with postdepositional destruction. This paper presents a method for identifying and recovering lost landscapes by combining LiDAR, archival aerial photographs, historical observations, and fieldwork.

This method was developed to reconstruct thetopography of ancient shell mounds constructed by hunter-gatherers on the St. Johns River in northeastern Florida (ca. 7500–500 CAL B.P.) and altered by modern land use. The reconstructions demonstrate the influence of ancient communities on modern landscapes and can be used as a basis for further analyses of hunter-gatherer land use, social interaction, and cosmology."

However "like any remote sensing technique, LiDAR records only a limited range of phenomena and the data are a snapshot of ground conditions at the time of collection. The temporally specific nature of LiDAR is problematic at sites with postdepositional destruction. This paper presents a method for identifying and recovering lost landscapes by combining LiDAR, archival aerial photographs, historical observations, and fieldwork.

This method was developed to reconstruct the topography of ancient shell mounds constructed by hunter-gatherers on the St. Johns River in northeastern Florida (ca. 7500–500 CAL B.P.) and altered by modern land use. The reconstructions demonstrate the influence of ancient communities on modern landscapes and can be used as a basis for further analyses of hunter-gatherer land use, social interaction, and cosmology."

Read the full article for free >
 

LIVE AT THE SAA 2014: What are you enjoying about this year's conference?

The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) is the largest organization of professional archaeologists of the Americas in the world. The Society was founded in 1934 and today has over 7000 members. Its annual conferences have been running every year since 1935 and is a major event in an archaeologist’s calendar.

This year’s meeting is in Austin, Texas and we’ve been asking delegates what they are most looking forward to and why they love the SAA 2014!

“I'm interested in historical archaeology, especially of the Caribbean. SAA is such a great opportunity to see people. It's a gigantic conference so it's impossible to do everything.” - Todd Ahlman, Historical Research Association

“I'm looking forward to a session on Conflict, Archaeology and the Press. It's a really under-discussed area and the session will cover areas like Egypt and the Arab Spring, and various battles - it's going to be a varied and interesting session. Interacting with the media can be risky, archaeologists don't have control over how their comments are conveyed. We had a module on the press when I did my degree at Newcastle but that's pretty unusual.” - Suzie Thomas, University of Helsinki

“The Defining Spatial Archaeometry session is one I'm really looking forward to - I'll pick up new techniques and ideas regarding modelling. I've been coming to SAA for about 20 years now and it's just fantastic for interacting with professionals, meeting old friends and developing collaborations. It recharges the inspiration batteries!” - Tad Britt, National Center for Preservation Technology

“The session Stewardship, Public Education, And Preservation: Promoting The

Value of Archaeological Collections and Research is perfect for me as I work in this field. There's also a great poster session on interactive interpretative technologies which is going to be really interesting. This is my 2nd SAA and I'm impressed with how much is going on. There's more historic archaeology too this year which is great!” - Tristan Harrenstein, Florida Public Archaeology Network

“I'm looking forward to Saturday's session, Subsistence and Landscape Change in Sub-Saharan Africa, which is about climate change in the Holocene. I'm based on the United States island territory of Guam. The west Pacific will be affected by climate change over the next 50 years with changing sea levels - it's quite scary for a lot of people. There's lots of debate in this area. Many islands will become uninhabitable. I'm very interested in doing climate change research in this region.” - John Peterson, University of Guam

And what are we looking forward to the most?…..probably a very large Gin & Tonic! J

Read all of the SAA session abstracts here

Palaeolithic Pests and Neolithic Nightmares: Were Prehistoric Children Really as Bad as You Think?

When you picture a prehistoric child, what do you see?

Popular culture and biological evidence have influenced our belief that children in prehistory were unruly, temperamental and ultimately extremely violent. There have been two interesting articles published this month that aim to shed light on prehistoric childhood.

A research team from PALAEO (Centre forHuman Palaeoecology and Evolutionary Origins) and the Department of Archaeology at York recently offered a new and distinctive perspective which suggests that Neanderthal children experienced strong emotional attachments with their immediate social group. This research results from an investigation into Neanderthal burial sites which suggests that children’s graves were generally more elaborate graves than those of older individuals.

“The traditional view sees Neanderthal childhood as unusually harsh, difficult and dangerous. This accords with preconceptions about Neanderthal inferiority and an inability to protect children epitomising Neanderthal decline. Our research found that a close attachment and particular attention to children is a more plausible interpretation of the archaeological evidence, explaining an unusual focus on infants and children in burial, and setting Neanderthal symbolism within a context which is likely to have included children.” Said Dr Spikins from the research team involved in the project.

A second paper, published as an advance article in  European Journal of Archaeology and titled Ageing, Childhood and Social Identity in the Early Neolithic of Central Europe, also challenges the traditional preconception of prehistoric children. In this case focusing on the children of the Neolithic Linearbandkeramik culture, the article argues that Neolithic children could have played an active role in their communities from a young age and visits the discovery of handmade tools, particularly smaller versions of axes or ‘grave goods’ that could be found in the child graves. These tools suggest that not only did children play an active role in their communities from a young age but also suggest an acknowledged engagement with the process of growing and learning into adulthood.

Read Ageing, Childhood and Social Identity in the Early Neolithic of Central Europe here >

NEW EVENT: 2014 American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo on The Innovation Edge

18–21 May, Seattle, USA

Innovation is a defining quality of our time. Creating the new, reimagining the old, adapting the present to changing needs have become the goals of the best and the brightest among us. To go from the seed of an idea to universally adopted reality seems to take mere weeks—reading books on our phones, wearing a computer, printing three-dimensional objects in our own homes.

So how can museums engage, support and sustain innovation in their communities? Can they serve as engines of innovation?

Hosted by the American Alliance of Museums, the 2014 Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo in Seattle aims to explore how museums can gain that Innovation Edge by showcasing the best and most innovative models in education, conservation, exhibitions, audience engagement and development.

MuseumExpo highlights

• The show floor will be an interactive extension of more than 150 educational sessions and events. More than 300 exhibitors will display and demonstrate cost- and time-saving solutions and cutting-edge technologies for the museum community and exhibit the latest in technology, exhibit design, lighting, security and countless other innovations critical to the museum field.
• Big idea sessions: Leading and up-and-coming voices from outside the museum field will share innovations, experiences and insights with museum professionals. Speakers this year include: Erik Larson, the award winning and New York Times bestselling author of Thunderstruck, Isaac’s Storm, Lethal Passage and The Naked Consumer; David Fleming, the Director of National Museums Liverpool (NML) and former President and current Vice President of the UK Museums Association; and Denis Hayes, Time magazines “Hero of the Planet,” former Director of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Professor of engineering and human ecology at Stanford University.
• Marketplace of ideas: An open-air forum in which museum professionals have the opportunity to participate in informal discussions and exchange ideas on timely issues brought to you by the Professional Networks.
• "The Un-Conference Room": This on-site "pop-up" room facilitates ten, 75-minute meetings on any subject of the speakers choosing and is promoted it to attendees via social media. 

For further information, please visit the Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo website