In prehistoric archaeology, experiemntal archaeology encompasses
experiemnts in "Middle-Range Theory," that is, those processes
intervening between cultural deposition and archaeological discovery that
add to or take away from the information content of the archaeological
material and the site context.
        An example might be an experiment to determine the effects of
cryoturbation on artifact distribution within a frozen site.

On Fri, 27 Sep 1996, Genevieve M LeMoine wrote:

> John,
> Experimental Archaeology is a broad and rather porly defined field.  As I
> understand it, it includes making and using (replicas) of ancient
> technology within scientific framework.  By that I mean, not just making
> things for the fun, but with some larger goal, usually understanding
> either the ins-and-outs of the the technology itself or some specific
> element of it, to answer questions about the past.  As an example, my own
> work involved making replicas of archaeological bone tools, using them in
> various ways and then observing teh microscopic wear patterns on them, so
> that I could identify similar patterns on archaeological tools.  Others
> have done such vaious things as cutting down trees with replica stone or
> bronze axes and more ambitiously, recreating whole prehistoric living
> environments.  A classic source is John Coles 'Archeology by Experiment'
> (Scribners, 1973).  P. J. Reynolds 'Iron Age Farm' (British Museum 1979)
> describes just that, a living Iron Age Farm.  This is a very active area
> of archaeology, and publications are scattered around in a vareity of
> journals (e.g. Journal of Archaeological Science, for the more scientific
> end of the spectrum, and various regional jornals for specific studies).
> Hope this helps.
> Genevieve LeMoine
> The Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum
> Bowdoin College
> Brunswick ME  04011   [log in to unmask]
>