Browsing by Author "Claeys, Philippe"

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    Black pitch, carved histories: radiocarbon dating, wood species identification and strontium isotope analysis of prehistoric wood carvings from Trinidad's Pitch Lake
    (Elsevier, 2017-11-06) Ostapkowicz, Joanna; Brock, Fiona; Widenhoeft, Alex C.; Snoeck, Christophe; Pouncett, John; Baksh-Comeau, Yasmin; Schulting, Rick J.; Claeys, Philippe; Mattielli, Nadine; Richards, Mike; Boomert, Arie
    We report on the results of a multi-disciplinary project (including wood identification, radiocarbon dating and strontium isotope analysis) focused on a collection of pre-Columbian wooden carvings and human remains from Pitch Lake, Trinidad. While the lake's unusual conditions are conducive to the survival of organic artefacts, they also present particular challenges for analysis. There is a loss of any contextual association beyond that of the lake, and specific methodologies are required to deal with pitch contamination. A surprising taxonomic range of woods was employed for the various utilitarian and ceremonial items recovered. The 14C results range from ca. 3200 BCE to ca. 700 CE, and include the earliest known wooden carvings in the entire Caribbean. The strontium isotope results - interpreted with the aid of an isoscape developed for the project, based on extensive samples of modern trees across Trinidad and Tobago - indicate that most carvings are consistent with the site's immediate environs; however, a ‘weaving tool’ came from a more radiogenic region that is unlikely to be found on Trinidad, suggesting links with the South American mainland.
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    A unique recipe for glass beads at Iron Age Sardis
    (Elsevier, 2019-06-28) van Ham-Meert, Alicia; Dillis, Sarah; Blomme, Annelore; Cahill, Nicholas; Claeys, Philippe; Elsen, Jan; Eremin, Katherine; Gerdes, Axel; Steuwe, Christian; Roeffaers, Maarten; Shortland, Andrew J.; Degryse, Patrick
    In large parts of the Mediterranean recipes for the earliest man-made glass changed from melting mixtures of crushed quartz pebbles and halophytic plant ashes in the Late Bronze Age to the use of quartz sands and mineral soda during the Early Iron Age. Not much is known about this transition and the experimental materials which would inevitably have been connected to such technological change. In this paper we present a unique snapshot of developments in glass technology in Anatolia during the Middle Iron Age, when glass is still a relatively rare commodity. The present work focusses on black glass beads decorated with yellow trails from eighth to seventh century BCE Sardis, glass beads that are very rare for this period, and on this site. A full elemental analysis of the beads was made, and Sr, Pb and B isotope ratios were determined. This study reveals the use of a combination of a previously unknown source of silica and of mineral soda, giving rise to elevated (granite-like) Sr isotope signatures, as well as high alumina and B concentrations. The yellow trails of glass on the beads consist of lead-tin yellow type II, lead stannate, showing the earliest occurrence of this type of opacifier/colourant so far, predating any other findings by at least four centuries. The production of these glass beads may be local to Sardis and experimental in nature. It is therefore suggested that Sardis may have played its role in the technological development of the glass craft during the Iron Age.