20 BASICPRINCIPLES – MAKING THEMOST OF THECLUES
in the past, so it pays to look critically at the evidence,
though with due respect for past skills.
When examining prehistoric submerged landscape sites,
the questions raised above in relation to technology,
materials, resources and cross-cultural communication are
still highly relevant. Although the ‘structure’ or ‘feature’
of a mesolithic hearth or a bronze-age trackway might
not be as large or immediately obvious as the shipwreck
example, such sites still have great potential to inform on
periods of the human past.
Sediments: The arrival of a wrecked ship on the sea-bed
is only one in a series of steps that turn the lost vessel into
an archaeological site. Fortunately, clues that can help gain
an understanding of changes on a site can be found in the
sediments that cover it. For example, the nature and layer-
ing of sediments can provide information on the break-
up of a vessel, movement of material within a site, later
disturbance of the remains, and the stability of a site today.
It is even possible to use the nature of sediments to help
predict likely levels of preservation in different areas of a site.
On submerged landscape sites, the study of the nature
and extent of sediments can reveal important archaeo-
logical and environmental evidence. As these sites were once
dry land that has since been submerged, the sediments
present have the potential to yield information on the
nature and scale of inundation of the site and surround-
ing landscape, the possible effects on the people using
that landscape, and implications for the preservation of
the archaeological remains.
Contents: Within the structures and sediments are
objects such as timbers, coins, pottery, flint-tools and bones.
They are important for the study of the past because they
reflect how people were living their lives. They are the
tangible remains of the views and knowledge of the people
who made and used them to solve their problems.Artefacts: Objects can shed light on the people of the
time working, playing, worshipping, keeping warm, enter-
taining and decorating themselves. Characteristics such
as shape, composition, method of manufacture, evidence
of use of such items are all important. In addition, because
objects operate with other objects and with their surround-
ings, their position on site and in relation to other objects
(context) also provides important clues (see below).
The range of human-made objects is very large and
readers will be familiar with the idea of dividing them
into major groupings such as jugs made of clay, guns made
of iron, shoes made of leather. It is beyond the scope of
this book to explore these categories further but a wealth
of information exists in current archaeological literature.Ecofacts: A less obvious source of information among
the contents of the structure and sediments are the
non-artefactual remains, which are often referred to by
archaeologists as ecofacts. Animal and plant remains
associated with archaeological sites have become an
enormous source of clues about the past. Insects, seeds,
pollen, microscopic plants and animals, along with
animal and human bones all provide evidence about the
environment in which people lived (table 4.1). After all
the quality of food, cleanliness, sanitation, pests, parasites,
accidents and diseases in contemporary society, affect the
way people live as much as the things they own. People
in the past were no different.Table 4.1 Types of ecofactual material that may be expected from archaeological sites and what can be learned from
them. (After Spence, 1994, table 1 in section 3.2)
Material type Information availableHuman bone Diet, disease, injuries, height, sex, lifestyles
Large mammal bone Diet, husbandry, butchery, provisioning, disease
Small mammal bone Natural fauna, ecology
Bird bone Diet, natural fauna
Fish bone, scale Species inhabiting the site or the remains of fishing activities, diet
Large molluscs (shellfish) Diet, subsistence, trade, development of the site, shellfish, farming
Small molluscs (shellfish) Past vegetation, local environmental conditions
Parasite eggs Intestinal parasitic diseases, sanitation, identification of cesspits
Wood (charcoal) Date (dendrochronology), climate, building materials and technology, fuel
Other plant remains, charred and Vegetation, diet, plant materials used in building, crafts, technology, fuel,
uncharred (seeds, mosses, leaves, grain) processing of crops
Pollen Vegetation, land use, chronologies, container contents identification
Phytoliths As above
Diatoms Salinity and levels of water pollution
Sediment/soil Information on how deposits were formed, development of the site