00:00.00 Alex animals episode 60 ancient crafts and ghostsav experimental zoo archeology I'm your host alex fitzpatrick and with me as always. And yeah I mean it's basically what the title says we are going to talk about experimental. 00:11.30 Cpt Granarius See Mon of helanka. 00:19.80 Alex Zoo archeology and more importantly, it's another case study heavy episode folks. So all in all, great up already. 00:30.40 Cpt Granarius Yeah, every segment is third segment. 00:31.89 Alex Just just as God intended truly but experimental zoo archaeology or even experimental archaeology in general I feel like something we've kind of touched upon every. So often in episodes. 00:55.80 Cpt Granarius Think most likely cause I mean a lot of ah what the case studies in particular a sort of sometimes focus on how certain hypotheses have been proven through experimental means. So. 00:56.10 Alex Okay. 01:03.93 Alex So yeah, we've definitely kind of touched upon a bit but just as a bit of a quick kind of debrief on what we are talking about. In case, you're a new listener and this is your first one in which case hello and sorry for starting you off like this. But. Experimental archaeology in general is basically contemporary experiments that try to replicate or recreate either activities or objects or you know even events in some cases from the archaeological record to better understand. How for example with objects how they were used or however they ended up the way they do when we find them when we actually excavate them so some examples can include you know, recreating tools and weapons which is probably the most common form of experimental archaeology like ah flynnapping and things like that. Ah, trying certain methods of cooking or crafting which we'll obviously get into a bit more later on in this episode or even recreating structures or replicating writes which is I think particularly popular at least recreating structures here in the u k. 02:17.79 Cpt Granarius Oh absolutely I think can think of a few places that you can visit in Britain where you can see sort of Replicas of archaeological structures I guess more specific the zoo archeology. However, so it's well pretty much the same thing. Um except that. 02:19.49 Alex Yeah. 02:37.17 Cpt Granarius Animal bones are involved so it specifically looks ah how to replicate or recreate ah the exploitation of animals in the past. So that way you gain an understanding of how sort of your zo archeological assemblage is coming to being that could be you know like both in the. Way The animals were kept and exploited. But also what the animals may have looked like in the past. 02:58.16 Alex Yes, so there's especially with zoo archaeology where we're dealing with 1 ne's living creatures loads of elements in place when it comes to how they were used how they died how they decomposed and were impacted by taphonomy. So there's loads of reasons why we should be doing experimentals or archeology and also it's very interesting and cool. So yeah, yeah, and it's fun depending on what you do. It's pretty fun if not a bit gross and smelly because it's archeology anyway. 03:26.58 Cpt Granarius And fun. 03:37.20 Alex So let's look at animal use to start off with and perhaps 1 pretty easy first kind of example of experimental zoo archeology is hunting obviously like 1 of our First. Relationships perhaps between human and animal species is that of prey predator. Maybe not the first but 1 of the earlier ones I guess yeah, big bood. 04:05.81 Cpt Granarius Yeah, look at that fluffy animal I'm going to eat that basically um, so the first case study that we have in this again all case study episode um is um, weapons made up what shark teeth used as weapons. 04:23.20 Cpt Granarius And sharp teeth commonly found in archaeological contexts well not so much in Britain but around the world are often interpreted as natural remains or used as ornaments but tools. It's not necessarily the first sort of thing that comes to mind now like various. Shark species remains from riodo may of Brazil I've been analyzed. Um, so um, the methods include sort of useware analysis. Ah, where experimental replicas are compared to archaeological artifacts now the tool designs. Ah, were replicated based on both ethnographic and archaeological data. Um thus like they were able to create recreate various stalls such as knives pierces and arrowheads which were then tested and that's the gross bit on animals such as pigs fish and deer. Um, and with the results a database was created ah for further use which then it be implemented to understand how to best identify various uses of shark teeth in the archaeological context essentially by comparing the marks that the shark teeth would leave on the remains of these species. I apologize that for my coffee machine turning itself off no sharks were harmed in in the making of that coffee. Um, and it's still going. 05:39.00 Alex Fitness. 05:47.18 Alex But yeah I mean it's a good example of kind of 1 of the reasons why you'd want to do experimental archeology or zoo archeology which is you know one of the things about archeology is it's not nice and neat in any sense of the way we use that phrase so you know. You never really have a perfect or good sample set to kind of compare things with so one great thing is to kind of try and replicate objects or artifacts or whatever and you know be able to see how it impacts other objects like in this case, you know stabbing and um. Different kinds of animal flesh and being able to kind of see how we can use that data to compare it to archaeological samples and speaking of we're going to continue with the the fishy type of theme. Unfortunately I guess for me talking about. Bone gorges so a bone gorge is a type of hook that it's not really a hook though. It's like a long cylinder of bone and then both ends are sharpened so these are found in sites on the western cape coast of South Africa but are. Not entirely confirmed to be for fishing despite what you may think some other theories are they might have been used to catch birds or even to prye shellfish from rocks. So archaeologists have. 07:19.44 Alex Done experiments where they've recreated bone gorges using impala. 07:27.53 Alex Thank you Metapollioss and strung them with threads of antelope pear leather sinew and other kind of plant materials. So the fishing experiments they did with these showed a success rate for of about 37% 07:29.23 Cpt Granarius Abieros Melampus melampus 07:46.54 Alex Although the failures may have been due to kind of animal-based threads which were not as good as plant fiber and would snap or loosen when they caught a fish So again, a really good example of why you'd want to kind of test these theories out because ultimately we are kind of dealing with the aftermath. Of things and it it can be really difficult to figure Out. You know what? these things are being used for so you kind of have to try it out in some cases. 08:16.47 Cpt Granarius Absolutely and I mean like it's going to be a lot of trial and error because as scientific as you can be about this of course there's lots of caveats that you need to bear in mind 1 thing like coming to mind will be the the skill of the past and that's performing the act. Um. Say for example, you know like the person that's recreating the experiment by using say going back to the shark teeth using the shark teeth to sort of fill it or like remove meat from a carcass may be more or more likely less skilled than someone would have used them. You know. 08:48.34 Alex Yeah, and I think a lot of these experiments that we'll talk about do kind of consider that in the way they interpret the data that they end up with because yeah, it's ultimately a not. 08:50.29 Cpt Granarius With that being their livelihood. 09:02.41 Alex Entirely perfect experiment but you know it's as perfect as we can get in the circumstances. 09:11.30 Cpt Granarius No, but it's also like it's there like an incredibly useful discipline. So it's ah just one of those things like that there might be biases there as there is in everything and ever absolutely everything that pertains archeology. So so long as you recognize that fact then. 09:19.15 Alex Um. 09:27.43 Alex Speaking of happy days I feel like you should probably take the next example. 09:28.30 Cpt Granarius Who happy days. 09:37.33 Cpt Granarius Well because I guess ah, um, yeah, a happy day. It was well. We'll wind back a bit. Ah so another thing ah sort of that for which experimental zoo archeology is used. Is sort to recreate the process of domestication and the livestock that would have been kept by past populations. So one of the case studies we have here is actually a place more anything called buttser ancient farm which I'm sure we've mentioned several times, especially during our earlier episode. Which is well. It's just that it's an experimental archaeology farm just located in Charlton in the south of England and was created in 1972 to test archaeological theories relating to iron age Britain at first it now includes ah Roman. Period work including a roman villa which my dog hates by the way what because they've got the period accurate statues and the bright colors and she hates them which ah I get it. Those statues were super tacky. Um, but ah them Romans ah, but they also now have ah. 10:28.51 Alex Um, yeah, yeah. 10:45.26 Alex Wow. 10:46.30 Cpt Granarius Saxon period stuff as well including a saxon hall and now going all the way back to happy day. Ah because one of the events that buts her ancient farm organized was the one and only time that Alex and myself met irl. 10:57.34 Alex Um, ah. 11:01.15 Alex Yeah, we did not take any any photos I have photo myself there no photos was together to be Fairmona is incredibly elusive in general. 11:02.72 Cpt Granarius And there isn't even a photo to brew it. 11:16.90 Cpt Granarius Yeah, um, bear. So um, they have a lot of ah reconstructions of archaeological buildings. These include sort of from I think pray so they have some earlier prehistoric structures as well Now I believe forget with your. 11:28.47 Alex What do they. Oh yeah, yeah. 11:33.74 Cpt Granarius Mezzolli. Um, yeah, there was one but they had a fundraiser for I think um, of course iron age brown houses. They also have some grain storages course the villa construction. Um, ah the Saxon Hall ah and they also like sort of tried to recreate prehistoric farming and like growing sort of prehistoric variety or ancient varieties of crop. Ah and also ah raising domestic livestock breeds that would have been found in sort of in the iron age. Roman period in Britain wouldn't and say that would have been found but I guess the modern ancient breeds so to speak that would have most looked like what I'm going to risk good to start that sentence again. Sorry only wind a bit. Um, to buttser ancient farm also keeps ancient breeds of livestock which while I guess modern in date are sort of the closest to what? um breeds sort of in the iron age and Roman Period would have looked like. In the case of sheep that includes soey which I believe they don't keep anymore because they're too good. An escape artist and they just keep running away everywhere. Ah Manx Lauton um and shetland sheep they have old english goats. 13:02.53 Cpt Granarius Ah, um, pigs which have been sort of crossbred between Wa Bore and Tamworth pigs again sort of like trying to reconstruct so to speak sort of how not necessarily exactly what livestock would have looked like in those time periods but probably close ass. 13:14.48 Alex Yeah, and it's also kind of a great example of why experimental archeology in general is quite a popular thing to do. It's a very important thing to do because it does help us potentially fill in some of the gaps in knowledge. But it's also like a great kind of outreach type of activity I mean ah buttserfar is a really good example of that and that it is a to ah kind of stop stop as well as a great source of research and ah kind of education. As well. But it's just it's a nice way to kind of get people really involved in archeology and I think it it particularly works for people who are not archeologists themselves because I think there's sometimes a disconnect talking about the past because it is ultimately a very long time ago but doing things like this and reconstructive work and. Ah, you know reenactment work is really interesting and useful for that kind of stuff. 14:20.11 Cpt Granarius Next I think like a special and it's as you said like much more tangible evidence because like say if you're not ah, don't already have a predisposition towards history and archaeology and is something you don't necessarily not not care about. But that's never really interested. You actually seeing it. 14:27.12 Alex See. 14:39.87 Cpt Granarius Ah, sort of having that they do walk in herds moment. You know might spark somewhat more of an interest. 14:42.99 Alex Yeah, and to be honest as an archeologist archeology can be really boring a lot of the time. So like this was really it was fun to go when we went because I was like. Midway through my Ph D and was at that kind of like exhaustion point of doing the lit review and it was like kind of rejuvenating to go and see iron age British kind of reconstructions and ah reenactments in some sense as Well. Because otherwise I'd been bogged down in like you know hundreds of papers and it was just really boring. Sorry it was really Boring. Oh that was great. Oh Cool Louis I mean that should be That's my kind of zoo archeology and archeology. 15:23.23 Cpt Granarius And also watching a massive wicker man being set on fire. Perhaps. 15:32.55 Alex Those burn stuff that was cool. It's Great. I mean I feel like I missed my calling I could do that really? well I need Ph D for that I can do that I do all time without doing archeology. It's fine. 15:39.85 Cpt Granarius Um, in the archeology of setting things on fire. 15:45.95 Cpt Granarius Continue. 15:53.69 Cpt Granarius There you go this the episode where Alex found her calling. 15:56.81 Alex Gonna set stuff on fire. Well we'll say so our last case study for this segment is a bit different and potentially not really and ah. 16:00.65 Cpt Granarius But scientifically. Okay. 16:14.69 Alex Example of experimental I mean it's experimental. But I mean yes, so it's the hour rind project apologies I didn't look up the pronunciation that's on me and I my german is not as good as I'd like it to be. But yes. This is a rewilding project in Southwest Germany using backbreeding to attempt to create a modern day equivalent of an auroch based on both genetics and phenotypes so like not only will it be genetically similar based on Dna markers but it will also. 16:52.23 Alex Look like an auro so it started in 2013 and it combines modern day breeding methods with archaeological data comparing modern Dna of the current herd. Ah, its being part of the project. To a Dna or ancient Dna from aurac remains from the upper Rhine Valley so they're actually at their third generation of cattle and it's mixed from ah several species the saya goisa which helps kind of. Give them their proper coloring that they're looking for the what to see the Hungarian Step step cattle the marin mana and the chianina cattle with Chi I don't know but. 17:39.61 Cpt Granarius Kenny enough but mar mana canina stay there two italian breeds. 17:43.11 Alex Thank you I was gonna say I do vaguely remember that 2 of them were Italian So thank you for that. But the chiniea helps with the horn size. So It's a bit mixing and matching to see what works best Another kind of secondary project. They're doing is to examine the impact. Of Cattle on the biodiversity of the grazing environment that they're working with which I believe they've currently suggests the current results suggest that it actually is improving with this kind of New. Because it's not really an old species. They're Creating. It's more of a new species. It's like an old species. It's very complicated I feel like but I think it's kind of an interesting adjacent to experimental or Gallaxy I don't know what you call that I mean it's rewilding but Like. It's very interesting. 18:38.23 Cpt Granarius Yeah, I'm not sure either if any of your listeners know please send us an email would you call this. 18:44.56 Alex You're using Yeah because you're using the past to create something for the my brain hurts now. Oh gosh Anyway, yeah I'm gonna take a break and I'm it's not is it. It's like future archeology I don't know. 18:54.39 Cpt Granarius Shall we take a break. 19:02.24 Alex Um, let's take a break now gone. 19:03.68 archpodnet I Can I Actually I've got I've got something for you. So I think this is the most powerful part of archeology is that we investigate the past through the present for the future and it's funny I No no. But then it it is really it. It is and. 19:06.96 Cpt Granarius First. 19:15.28 Cpt Granarius Oh. 19:22.39 archpodnet In some ways what we are creating in the present becomes the past for the Future. So I Like to think of it like we're sending stuff into the Future. You know, like where we're pushing it out there like we are literally manifesting the archaeological record of the future. And I think that's night. 19:41.14 Alex Whoa. 19:46.65 Cpt Granarius Does that apply to me putting my leftovers in the bin cause I'm creating the future archaeological record. 19:47.69 archpodnet Ah, yeah, some like Keiths. 19:52.70 archpodnet Um, yes, a Midden's a midden. 19:53.20 Alex A Middens Zameden 19:56.77 Cpt Granarius Found a t-shirt and middens amidted on that note. 20:01.37 Alex Big time.