Ongoing Research at CEAD
The Center for Experimental Archaeology at UC Davis (CEAD) is an interdisciplinary research group which aims to explore archaeological questions through actualistic studies designed by UC Davis undergraduate students, graduate students, post-doctoral candidates and faculty members. Areas of interest include: the heat treatment of flint, the specialized use of bone tools, the mechanical properties of cortical bone in relation to use-wear analyses, and the variation found between and within different stone tool technological complexes. Being a part of the CEAD research group provides an opportunity for members of the UC Davis community to gain experience planning and executing experimental projects that have relevance to personal research questions. |
Bone percussive tools
The analysis of bone tools in the archaeological record is often qualitative, with a lack of awareness of the artifact as a complex tool with its own specific curation and life history. The CEAD research group is currently testing hypotheses regarding specific damage morphologies created while using bones as tools, and tracking how patterns in damage change over time. This project aims to help CEAD researchers make inferences regarding behavior and knapping strategies in non-lithic tool technologies. Contact: Giulia Gallo (gtgallo@ucdavis.edu) |
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Heat Treatment
The use of heat treatment to alter the properties of stone tool raw materials is well documented in archaeological and ethnographic contexts all over the world. In this project, the CEAD research group is testing research questions related to the methods of production used in heat treatment and the specific changes that can be observed in flakes produced from heat treated materials. We are also examining methods for the identification of heat treated materials in archaeological assemblages. Contacts: Sara Watson (sewatson@ucdavis.edu) |
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3D Replication
Photogrammetry and 3D technology is proving useful in other areas of Anthropology such as Paleoanthropological bone reconstruction. Current archaeological utilizations for the technology include museum curation, instruction tools, outreach, and research. CEAD is currently focused on using 3D software in research and experimental applications as they pertain to lithic and site reproduction and analysis. Contact: Sonya Crocker (sycrocker@ucdavis.edu) |
Thermal Annealing in Pleistocene-Holocene California
Thermal annealing aka lithic heat treatment is a process whereby prehistoric craftspeople controlled the cooking of cryptocrystalline silicate raw materials as a pre-treatment for the production of flaked stone tools. Evidence for heat treatment in California spans the terminal Pleistocene to contact in the late Holocene. This study uses controlled and in-field experiments to decipher potential "recipes" used to successfully heat treat lithic raw materials from California's two main chert formations: the Monterey formation and the Franciscan formation. Special attention is paid to heat treatment procedures and implications for cultural transmission as well as new analytical methods for identifying evidence for controlled heat treatment in the California archaeological record. Contact: Kevin Smith (kncsmith@ucdavis.edu) |
Replicative Studies Used in Understanding Material Selection Strategies in Late Holocene Shell Fishhook Production in the Southern California Bight
Single piece shell fishhook technology revolutionized the fishery's of prehistoric maritime southern California. While previous studies have addressed how fishhooks were made, as well as the distribution of fishhook styles and materials in the region, this study addresses why certain marine shells were utilized while others were ignored by prehistoric craftspeople. Special attention is paid to key stages in fishhook manufacture, local resource frequencies, and material constraints. Contact: Kevin Smith (kncsmith@ucdavis.edu) |
The Use of Replicative Studies in Understanding Sinew Backed Bow and Atlatl Manufacture and Efficiency in California and the Great Basin
This study is aimed at replicating archaeological and ethnographic bows, arrows, atlatls, and darts from California and the Great Basin to address manufacturing time, efficiency, and projectile velocity. Special attention is paid to wood species, replication with period appropriate and locally reproduced stone tools (as well as tools made on bone, antler, wood, etc). This experiment has potential to help archaeologists understand wear patterns on tools used in the production of these technologies and therefore accurately identify bow or atlatl manufacturing loci in archaeological contexts. Additionally, this experiment will provide quantifiable data regarding projectile cast, speed, and force of impact that cannot be generated from ancient (and often very brittle) artifacts currently curated in archaeological collections. Contacts: Kevin Smith (kncsmith@ucdavis.edu) Martijn Kuypers from the Department of Anthropology at Sacramento State University |
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Bone as a Raw Material for Artistic Objects in the Upper Paleolithic
This experimental project is investigating both the chaine operatoire of bone disks from the Magdalenian period of the Upper Paleolithic and the selection and curation of bone for artistic objects during this cultural period. Bone disks are in the process of being created from both fresh and dry scapula with the technological stages of reproduction being reconstructed from observations made on the archaeological disks themselves. After multiple controlled replications, the participants of this study will determine if the Magdalenian disks were created on fresh or dry bone, and if all disks were made with uniform strategies or were the products of different approaches. Contact: Giulia Gallo (gtgallo@ucdavis.edu) |
Use Wear on Upper Paleolithic Shell Beads: Worn in life, or only in death?
Shell beads from the site of Riparo Mochi are under consideration of this study, with the major research question aiming to address if the beads in the cap of the 'Il Principe' Italian Upper Paleolithic burial were worn in life, or was created as a burial good. An additional aspect of this project is the creation of beads with three different types of perforating technologies to address how the beads at Riparo Mochi were made, and how these different modifications influence wear patterns. Beads are shaken continuously to create use wear, with the ultimate goal of quantification of wear to interpret the cap of 'Il Principe'. Contact: Giulia Gallo (gtgallo@ucdavis.edu) |
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