Designing Experimental Research in Archaeology: Examining Technology through Production and Use

8: Retrieving the Perishable Past: Experimentation in Fiber Artifact Studies

153 Throughout most of humanity’s history, perishable objects such as cordage, netting , textiles, and basketry have constituted a large percentage of peoples’ material culture. Despite this fact, until recently perishables have been largely ignored in archaeological research because of preservation’s bias toward durable objects (e.g., ceramics, bone, stone, antler, and ivory), the historical association of perishable technologies with women’s work (Adovasio, Soffer, and Page 2007; Barber 1994; Mason 1899), and a failure to sufficiently account for variation in the archaeological record (Wobst 2001). Yet since the beginning of perishables studies, experimentation has been key to understanding the interrelatedness of material, technique, and form in perishable artifacts. Professional interest in archaeological perishables has increased dramatically over the past three decades, with substantial growth in the number and sophistication of studies. Yet experimentation continues to be an uncommon and often underreported component of this research, despite being integral to informed interpretation (Clark 2002.) In this chapter we address how experimentation enriches our understanding of perishable technologies and the people who made and used them. By reviewing previous work, suggesting avenues for future study, and offering guidelines for developing experiments, our goal is to take a step toward establishing [ c h a p t e r e i g h t ] Retrieving the Perishable Past: Experimentation in Fiber Artifact Studies Edward A. Jolie and Maxine E. McBrinn m m m m m m m m m 154 Edward A. Jolie and Maxine E. McBrinn a body of knowledge that can be drawn on by other archaeologists in the analysis and interpretation of perishable material culture wherever it is encountered. Perishables, the Past, and Experimentation In the present context the term “perishables” denotes a class of artifacts constructed from organic materials, including diverse but interrelated technologies wherein the primary raw material source is plant or animal tissue. Wherever perishables are recovered archaeologically, the depositional context has retarded decay and microbial growth. Typically, these settings are limited to extremely wet, dry, or cold depositional contexts, although on occasion perishables become mineralized or are preserved through contact with corroding metal as pseudomorphs. The inherent plasticity of the many fiber sources and techniques employed by different peoples dictates that many types of items can be manufactured using them. The most commonly recognized perishable technologies are additive ones associated with well-known production sequences. These typically include basketry, textiles, cordage, and cordage products such as netting. Objects such as sandals, fish traps, skin bags, moccasins, animal fur robes and blankets, and other miscellaneous constructions are also included, but such technologies typically receive less-focused research attention. This is true because of their considerable technological variability through time and space, as in the case of sandals, or a complete lack of any comprehensive schema for their classification, as with many items of wood, animal fur, feathers, and hide. As many colleagues have told us, among the most daunting aspects of perishables are the complex analytical and descriptive terminologies associated with them. This is especially true of basketry and textiles, where technical terms and inconsistent uses of those terms abound. Recognizing this, our use of technical terms here is limited. A discussion of terminology in perishables studies is beyond the scope of this chapter, and we refer the reader to the generally accepted treatments of analytical and descriptive terms that exist for basketry (Adovasio 1977; Wendrich 1994), textiles (Emery 1995; Seiler-Baldinger 1994), and cordage and netting (Emery 1995; Hurley 1979). Although less standardized, useful summaries also exist for footwear (Andrews, Adovasio, and Carlisle 1986; Deegan 1993; Goubitz 2007) and, to some extent, wooden artifacts (Adovasio et al. 2002; Dillehay 1997; Sands 1997). Retrieving the Perishable Past The substantial increase in perishable studies over the past three decades is in part the result of improved recovery techniques, the maturation of archaeological textiles research, and its wider recognition within the discipline as a viable avenue of anthropologicalinquiry(Drooker2001a;DrookerandWebster2000;Good2001). 155 Retrieving the Perishable Past In addition, Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating now allows perishable artifacts to be accurately placed into a temporal framework without sacrificing a significant part of the artifact itself. One of the most important observations to emerge from this has been the recognition that perishable technologies, particularly basketry and textiles, are among the most culturally “sensitive” classes of material culture available for study (e.g., Adovasio 1986a; Baumhoff 1957; King 1975; Pryor and Carr 1995; Webster and Loma’omvaya 2004...