Archaeomusicology

The largest book ever written on the Songs of Ascents: fifteen psalms in 120,000 words. Chapters 1 to 7 deal with the Ascents Songs’ unique place in the Book of Psalms, of numerological codes, of their heading, of their life-setting, of the ark of the covenant which they sing about, of their composition and first performance, and of their authors. Chapters 8 to 10 deal with their performance by the Levite singers and musicians on the fifteen eastern steps of the temple on the first night of the Feast of Sukkot. Chapters 11 and 12 approach the reconstruction of the temple psalmody from the Masoretic cantillation, guided by church and synagogue chant. Chapter 13 provides reconstructions of the ancient melody of each Song, followed by commentary. Chapter 14 considers the Songs within the redactional agenda of the Book of Psalms. Chapter 15 takes the musical and liturgical practice of ancient Israel as a pointer towards the central place of song in modern worship. There follow four appendices on: (I) the Tetragrammaton; (II) Solomon’s temple; (III) Hebrew calendar; (IV) the signs revia mugrash and oleh ve-yored. Glossary and bibliography.

D’une teneur principalement méthodologique et épistémologique, cet article aspire avant tout à remettre en question la démarche de l’archéomusicologie et à proposer une nouvelle approche dans laquelle la recherche se mêlerait à l’artisanat, ainsi qu’à en définir la portée dans la pratique de la recherche archéomusicale. Il aborde la question de la lecture des techniques et des savoir-faire des temps archéologiques, puis propose quelques réflexions sur les connaissances et les démarches archéomusicales. Il finit par la question de l’apport mutuel entre artisanat et archéologie.

The construction of rattles from turtle (Testudines) shells is an important consideration when distinguishing between food and non-food uses of archaeological turtle remains. However, the identification of turtle shell rattles in prehistoric contexts can be quite challenging. Equifinality is a major problem for being able to distinguish rattles from food refuse, particularly when a carapace is not burnt or modified. In addition, diversity, abundance, and distribution of Chelonian taxa varies throughout the southeastern United States, creating differential access for indigenous groups. Thus, multiple lines of evidence are needed from archaeological, ethnographic, and ethnohistoric records to successfully argue for the production and use of turtle shell rattles in the prehistoric southeastern United States. In this article, we present examples of turtle shell rattles in the southeastern United States to highlight their function and use by indigenous groups, the construction process, and several common characteristics, or an object trait list, that can aid in the identification of fragmentary turtle shell rattle remains. Proper identification of turtle remains is important for interpreting faunal remains and may be of interest to indigenous groups claiming cultural items under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).

The string instrument, the Kandyan vina (Uḍaraṭa Vīṇā), once portrayed in the book by John Davy as “Venah”, shares close resemblance with the Coconut shell fiddle instruments in India, in terms of their inherent form, structure, cultural peculiarities and playing posture. Such similarities serve to confirm that the prototypic musical instrument – the Kandyan vina, originated from the Coconut shell fiddle instruments of India. According to sources, the prototype instrument of the Kandyan vina arrived with the gypsy groups who migrated to Sri Lanka from Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu during the Kandy period of 1600-1750 AD. Since then, until 1980-1990 AD, the prototype instrument was developed by the influence of the Western musical instruments and musical intelligence, available material, creative methods inherent in the aristocratic, villagers, beggars, Veddas, and gypsy communities. Therefore, the rise of the Kandyan vina is proven to have originated within Sri Lanka as a unique native string instrument. Research objectives of this study are: firstly, to re-introduce a native string instrument according to its true historic trails; secondly, a modern Kandyan vina is constructed using the modified knowledge discovered through exploring the ancient Kandyan vina instruments; and thirdly, to assimilate knowledge of a musical instrument based on its historical literature and archaeological data from an Archaeomusicological perspective. With this in mind, Frescoes/murals, artefacts, legal documents and primary books were used as the primary sources, while journal articles and secondary books were used as secondary sources.

The following PowerPoint presentation (slides) contains information that was used as part of an online "Text-in-Translation Reading Group" (Seminar) led by Dylan Lawrence Gibson and hosted by Save Ancient Studies Alliance (SASA). It was funded by a grant from the Society for Classical Studies (Ancient Worlds, Modern Communities).

This was the first session from a series of 3 dedicated to discussing Ancient Near-Eastern music 'theory' cuneiform tablets:

Full Series Title: "An Introduction to Ancient Near-Eastern Music ‘Theory’: Understanding Musical Inscriptions"

Session 1 Title: "UET VII 126: String Names and Order of an Unknown Instrument"

This is ideal for students interested in the field of Archaeo-Musicology.

Chapter 6 of Jorge Sarmientos: His Music, Politics, and the "Guatemalan Imaginary" in Four Selected Works. It discusses that "Realismo Magico" does not belong solely to this literary movement, but it is an essential core that trespasses its philosophical and fantastical narrative Latin American reality.

En El Salvador, el trabajo en materia musical prehispánica es mínimo, lo cual planteó la necesidad de hacer un primer análisis organológico enmarcado en las principales corrientes teórico-metodológicas contemporáneas.

El presente trabajo representa un primer paso; que manifiesta la necesidad de utilizar nuevos parámetros clasificatorios, propone el uso de nuevos métodos de análisis y revela la diversidad de artefactos sonoros de una sociedad de la Zona Oriente de El Salvador, que habitó durante el Período Clásico Tardío el sitio arqueológico Asanyamba.

El objetivo de este trabajo es hacer una reflexión sobre el quehacer arqueomusicológico, la problemática metodológica inherente al tema, sus alcances y sus limitaciones y, por último, los aportes que esta disciplina puede generar no sólo para el gremio académico sino también como fuente de inspiración para el diseño de estrategias novedosas para la difusión del patrimonio cultural.

In this paper I review the religious role of percussive performance in the Greek world. I argue that percussive drōmena convey concepts that are essential to the ritual, and which stem from the origins and effects of mundane percussive actions and from the biological value of rhythmically structured behaviour. The analysis of selected examples of percussive performance in Greek ritual reveals the inherent potential of percussive enactment to imitate the nature of the divine through sequences of metaphorical associations.

This thesis reports on the 2010 excavations of the North Group and Eastern Court at the ancient Lowland Maya site of Pacbitun. It provides a construction history of the architecture and an analysis of associated artifacts, burials, and caches. The archaeological investigations demonstrate that the seven structures (Strs. 34-40) of this restricted access plazuela group were built in the Early Classic period, and renewed in the Late Classic period. Based on analyses of artifacts (ceramics and lithics), skeletal and faunal remains, and intra- and inter-site comparisons, the North Group functioned as a secondary elite domestic residential group. Reconstruction suggests that the inhabitants here were not commoners; instead, the occupants probably were related to the ruling elite of Pacbitun. Some of the evidence includes the central location and elevation of the North Group, the presence of red painted plaster surfacing, a burial with multiple ceramic musical instruments, and multiple dedicatory caches with exotic goods (e.g., marine shell, jadeite, "Charlie Chaplin" figures).

The article deals with ancient bells cast in bronze, formed of terra cotta or hammered of iron sheet. It shows an overview of typologies of Egyptian, Grecian and Roman bells. Differences of typologies are demonstrated. The possible origin of three rare bell finds could be determined. To round up acoustical phenomenona are illustrated. Abstrakt: Antike Glocken aus Bronze, gebranntem Ton und Eisen sowie deren gängige Typologien ägyptischer, griechischer und römischer Glockenfunde werden in einem Überblick präsentiert. Dabei werden diverse Unterschiede demonstriert. Drei seltene Glockenfunde, deren Ursprung ermittelt wurden konnte, werden vorgestellt. Akustische Eigenheiten der Glocken bilden den Abschluss des Artikels.

This is an extract from my new book, Messiah ben Joseph. It's the largest book ever written—and the first ever in English—on Messiah ben Joseph, the slain messiah of Rabbinic Judaism. It traces Messiah ben Joseph, from his origins in the Book of Genesis, through the Pentateuch, the Prophets, the Psalms, the Pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Targums, the New Testament and Church Fathers, the Talmud, the homiletic, exegetic, and apocalyptic midrashim, the Zohar, and the medieval rabbis, down to modern times.
This journey to the roots of messianism has profound implications for Jewish-Christian debate and fresh insights for all who love the Bible.
Foreword by Robert Gordon.

El objetivo de esta ponencia es presentar y discutir representaciones iconográficas en la cerámica Moche, en las cuales se notan personajes portando o tocando instrumentos sonoros (aerófonos, membranófonos o idiófonos ). Se identifican en estos músicos atributos y características que los definen como individuos de rol político-religioso protagónico. Buscamos comprender cuál ha sido el espacio específico de actuación de los músicos dentro de las ceremonias oficiales manejadas por los grupos de poder Moche, específicamente durante el período Moche Medio, marcado por el ascenso de las élites de los valles al sur de Jequetepeque (Billmann, 2010: 181). En este contexto se manifiesta, en la iconografía de la cerámica ritual arqueológica, una expresiva cantidad de músicos portando los mismos atributos de personajes de alto rango o seres sobrenaturales, identificados en la iconografía como el Sacerdote Guerrero (Chero, 2012: 36), los Adoradores (Uceda, 2008: 154), Tomadores de Coca (ibid.), entre otros.
Con base en la presentación de datos iconográficos y de excavación discutiremos como los atributos de los músicos representados y sus respectivos instrumentos sonoros reflejan el rol político y religioso que protagonizan.


Moche iconographic representations of music and its interpreters: a discussion about sound instruments and social roles in the Middle Moche period.
This paper intends to present and discuss Moche ceramic artefacts portraying characters playing sound instruments (aerophones, membranophones and idiophones), searching attributes and characteristics that would identify these “musicians” as individuals who concentrate political and religious power.
The general aim of the communication is to understand specific political-religious field of expertise for musicians in the Moche power structures, as well as the connection of these characters with the power groups during the Middle Moche Period, an epoch marked by the rise of southern valley’s Moche elites. In this specific context many musicians are depicted in the ritual ceramic’s iconography carrying the same power attributes seen on high status individuals, widely portrayed both in iconography and in the burials of elites, e.g. the Warrior Priest (Chero, 2012: 36), Worshippers (Uceda, 2008: 154), Coca Takers (ibid), among others.
Under this premise we seek to discuss if there was a hierarchical relationship concerning specific kinds of musicians and their sound instruments (panpipe players, drum players, rattle players, etc) and how it would reflect their political and religious status. For this purpose both the iconography and the burial patterns related to the Moche power structures excavated in the last three decades will be analysed.

A rcheohudobné a archeozvukprodukujúce nástroje vzbudzujú záujem, ktorý obracia pozornosť na poznanie ich zvuku. Veď sú to jediné archeologické artefakty, ktoré mali kedysi svoj zvukový prejav, nie sú "nemé" ako ostatné nálezy. My môžeme tento zvuk dnes tiež počuť, stačí spraviť repliku archeohudobného nástroja a zahrať na ňom. Obecne možno povedať, že najväčšou prekážkou v tomto smere je možnosť zhotoviť repliky a následne nájsť inštrumentalistu, ktorý by vedel hrať či narábať s týmito nástrojmi tak, aby sa čo najviac priblížil k pôvodnému zvukovému a hudobnému prejavu. Viac o tom si možno prečítať v štúdiách autorov D. Staššíková-Štukovská a M. Smetanka, ktoré sa nachádzajú na s. 9-28 tohto zborníka. Na Slovensku nemáme nahraný audionosič, ktorý by obsahoval nahrávky zvukov či hudby archeologických nálezov archeohudobných nástrojov. Chýba tiež prameň zameraný na archeológiu, ktorý by inštruoval o nálezoch typov nástrojov, ktoré patria do idiofónov, aerofónov, membranofónov či chordofónov.

There is a growing body of evidence to support the hypothesis that in ancient times there existed throughout the Near East a common mathematical approach to the definition of musical pitch in terms of ratios of pipe or string-length. This tradition became known by the time of Plato as the science of harmonics. As a branch of music theory, harmonics probably originated in Mesopotamia. It would later have been transmitted to Greece and Egypt. As performing musicians were traded widely by kings between the temples and palaces of cities across the Near East, they would have taken their knowledge of music theory with them. It seems reasonable therefore to assume that the science of harmonics would then have been accommodated to the various regional systems of arithmetic in use: sexagesimal in Mesopotamia; Pythagorean in Greece and in Egypt by means of Egyptian fractions. 12 Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Oudjat.SWVG -attribution: Benoit Stella alias BenduKiwi

The French archaeomusicologist Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura made two important proposals that have never been fully investigated: first, that the te'amim or cantillation marks of the Hebrew scriptures did not originate with the Masoretes, but date back to temple times; second, that she had developed a system for their musical deciphering. This paper suggests that there is indeed evidence for the great antiquity of the Masoretic cantillation. It also suggests that the basic idea of Haïk-Vantoura's deciphering system—that the sublinear te'amim represent the steps of a diatonic scale—is confirmed by more recent archaeomusicological research. Finally, a comparison between the ancient tonus pere-grinus to Psalm 114 and the cantillation of the same psalm deciphered according to Haïk-Vantoura's system provides strong evidence in support of her claims. The fragrance of the songs of Zion blows down through the leaves of the Bible.

Whistling vessels comprise a unique type of musical instrument characteristic of pre-Hispanic cultures in Mesoamerica and beyond. The distinctiveness of these instruments lies in their mechanics of sound production whereby an internal and unseen device is activated by inclining and pouring out the vessel’s liquid contents. Called aerophones, these instruments appear in the archaeological record of Mesoamerica towards the Middle Preclassic period mainly in Oaxaca and the Maya area, and continued in use up until the conquest. In this article, I present the results of an archeo-musicological analysis of the earliest documented whistling vessels in Oaxaca, their operating mechanism and context of discovery. Finally, I consider aspects of their acoustics, iconography and possible uses.

A paper for the The Oxford Research Centre for the Humanities, Pusey House, Oxford. Tuesday 7 February, 2017.
By a process of inductive reasoning, the six lower symbols of the Masoretic poetic te'amim (cantillation marks) are assigned musical values to reveal the Jerusalem Temple melody of Psalm 136.

El catálogo reúne ejemplos de instrumentos musicales prehispánicos de diversas culturas de Mesoamérica que datan del Preclásico hasta el Posclásico. La exhibición, montada en 2004, fue la primera de su tipo en el Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca.

This paper discusses the sound artifacts from archaeological excavations made in the present-day State of Oaxaca, Mexico. The finds reveal the rich diversity of ancient music cultures such as the Zapotec, Mixtec, and Mixe-Zoque.Based on the organological data, important aspect of the musical history of this cultural area can be reconstructed.

Como resultado de trabajos de salvamento arqueológico en el sur del Istmo de Tehuantepec, se localizaron instrumentos musicales y objetos sonoros como un tambor, una flauta triple, vasijas tipo Tohil Plumbate con cascabeles y dos socarrinas de piedra, todos en contextos mortuorios, unos relacionados con el entorno ecológico y otros utilizados en rituales de tipo doméstico.

Au cours de fouilles récentes dans la ville portuaire syrienne de Tell Tweini (Gibala), plusieurs coquilles triton ont été fouillé à proximité d'un temple de l'âge de fer (900 av. J.-C.). De deux de ces coquilles, le sommet a été retiré d'une manière professionnelle, ce qui pourrait indiquer qu'ils fonctionnaient comme des instruments de musique, et plus précisément comme des trompettes de conque. Ces conques étaient probablement utilisée dans un contexte cultuel et / ou de communication. A côté de cette fonction religieuse, il est difficile de trouver de confirmation pour l'utilisation du conque comme un appareil signalant / communicative. Des recherches concernant les capacités de communication ont été menées, en testant la hauteur, le volume et la portée du son des conques. Les résultats de ces tests seront présentés dans cet article.

The earliest allusions to the performance of tympana (frame drums) in the Aegean are found on Crete: on the well known 8th century BC bronze votive sheet from the Idaean Cave, often referred to as ‘tympanon’ in scholarship, and on two late 7th century BC female terracotta figurines from Praisos. The iconography of both sets of objects demonstrates a multiplicity of musical references from the Assyrian and Neo-Hittite kingdoms of Anatolia to the Cypro-Levantine experiences of drumming. Both Cretan artefacts, however, exploit in an unparalleled manner a visual and notional conflation between a shield and a tympanon, evoking a culture-specific theogonic and initiatory framework for the regenerating and protective qualities of tympanon-playing. Focusing on one of the most striking examples of musico-cultural amalgamation in the Aegean, this paper argues that the process of incorporating foreign musical elements into one’s culture is closely related with internal social negotiations and dynamics, and proposes a shift in the way we qualify musical exchanges.

Published by ICONEA, editor dr Richard Dumbrill, ICONEA
Institute of Musical Research, University of London.
Igor Đurović’s most informative book is about an instrument which is rarely mentioned in the international iconography, let alone the organology: The gusle.
The volume discusses the instrument from its earliest sources in prehistory to the Middle-Ages. The instrument would have developed organically from the earliest form of the musical bow that we know from parietal art in archaeology and with its various forms in ethnomusicology. The seminal earth bow that we find in the Cameroon, the Congo and in Mali would have had its counterpart in the Serbian periphery probably as a polygenetic phenomenon as soon as man invented the hunting bow, the harp was not far behind. Đurović gives a fascinating account of the development of the instrument with very good illustrations which seriously lacked in other works.
There are two principle aspects of organology which are discussed in this book. Firstly the usage of an inflated an dried pig’s, sheep’s and even a bull’s bladder having the function of sound-box, or resonator, a method which was not used in the Ancient Near-East, or rather that the iconography did not represent. It was certainly the earliest form of sound-box/resonator in Central Western Antiquity, and secondly the usage of a stick used to ‘bow’ the instrument, a method which we thought had originated in the Middle-East when the ‘bowing’ bow became complemented with horses’ or other animal’s hairs.
Then Đurović embarks on the ornamentation of these instruments in a comparative study with other sources such as Ancient Egypt and finally reaches the Middle-Ages with a rich and fascinating iconography.
The volume carries on with a chapter dedicated to philology where the author approaches Panslavic linguistics which I will leave the reader to discover for themselves. 
The conclusion consists of fifteen concise paragraphs which are an excellent resumé about the gusle, an authentic Serbian instrument.
The author must be congratulated for such an essential work on the rich heritage of Serbian organology.

Angela Bellia
Università di Bologna – New York University
E-mail: angelabellia1@virgilio.it; angela.bellia@unibo.it
Sessione: Pratiche funerarie
Titolo: Pratiche funerarie e «messaggi» musicali: considerazioni sulle tombe di ‘musicisti’ nell’Italia meridionale (VI-IV sec. a.C.).

La ricerca «strumenti musicali contenuti nei corredi funerari», si colloca in un ambito di studi interdisciplinare che coniuga la documentazione storica a interesse musicologico con la ricerca archeologica. È stato condotto uno studio sulla presenza degli strumenti musicali nelle sepolture di Crotone, di Locri, di Metaponto, di Poseidonia, dell’area Iapigia e di Taranto in relazione al loro contesto di rinvenimento. La significativa diffusione degli strumenti musicali nei corredi funerari per quantità, cronologia e significato, nonché per lo stato di conservazione di alcuni esemplari, ha arricchito notevolmente le testimonianze finora note del mondo antico. Alla luce della ricognizione e delle indagini svolte, le tombe si sono rivelate di straordinario interesse non solo per la peculiarità degli oggetti ricorrenti deposti, ma anche per la presenza di frammenti di carapaci usati come casse di risonanza di strumenti musicali a corde trovati accanto ai resti ossei o sullo scheletro del defunto, talvolta, ancora conservati.
Da un lato l’associazione dello strumento musicale a corde, con un considerevole numero di vasi da simposio nelle sepolture, sottolinea la relazione tra l’esperienza collettiva del canto e della musica con il piacere della convivialità, in molti casi associata alle attività atletiche praticate dalle classi privilegiate, dall’altro è legittimo chiedersi se la deposizione dello strumento musicale risponda ad una precisa ideologia funeraria connessa alla speranza di salvezza promessa dalle dottrine salvifiche. Non sfugge che nell’ambito dei movimenti religiosi diffusi in Magna Grecia alla musica era attribuita la capacità di elevare l’anima del fedele e di portarla fuori dagli Inferi, superando i vincoli della morte. Nella poleis italiote la presenza di circoli orfico-pitagorici, che potevano comprendere gruppi di iniziati, è documentata non solo da tracce riconoscibili nella cultura materiale funeraria ma anche dalle fonti scritte che ricordano come l’ondata religioso-filosofica avesse provocato rivolgimenti politici nel VI-V sec. a.C. e all’inizio del IV. Nell’ambito di tali credenze, che costituivano uno dei canali privilegiati per la diffusione dei modelli greci tra le aristocrazie dominanti, l’adozione di emblemi musicali e di simboli riferibili ad un destino oltremondano di sopravvivenza, tendevano ad una vera e propria eroicizzazione del defunto.
D’altra parte, la presenza dello strumento musicale nelle tombe che richiama l’educazione musicale, potrebbe fornire un preciso riferimento alla presentazione retrospettiva del defunto e la sua appartenenza a un mondo colto e raffinato, con un preciso riferimento al suo ruolo socio-politico e allo status, celebrandone l’areté e la formazione culturale.
Da un lato la musica, che nell’antichità costituiva uno dei piaceri terreni, sembra alludere anche all’idea di felicità e di gioia nell’aldilà, dall’altro la deposizione degli strumenti musicali può essere connessa con l’affermazione della credenza di un legame diretto fra rango sociale e speranza di salvezza, a tutto vantaggio del ruolo delle élites che nelle attività collegate al banchetto terreno vedevano prefigurato il simposio riservato ai Beati.

Archaeomusicology is quite a rich and fascinating research field when we try to operate with more acoustical methods. Having used frequency analysis, sound level measuring and calculating acoustic radius in the open air in my dissertation  for making statements on the development of musical instruments in prehistory, I shall now include in this work the analyzing of musical instruments represented in pictures and statues. The geographical region of my present research area expands from the river Salzach in Austria to the Danube in Hungary, from the Upper-Sava to the Bohemian Massif .  All in all 44 musical instruments and sound objects of the Late Bronze Age (Lausitz Culture and Urnfield Culture), 109 musical objects of the Hallstatt Culture, 11 of the La Tène Culture as well as 29 iconographical depictions are the basic corpus of this archaeomusicological essay.

«TELESTES» seeks to fill a gap in current scholarly publications and specialist periodicals on the archaeological evidence of musical and dance interest. It also aims to place musical and choral performances of the past into one clearly defined space and event in order to interpret their cultural significance, both religious and social, and to understand what music and making music and dance meant in ancient societies. Furthermore, the Journal publishes papers on the study of sound and hearing along with related sensorial aspects in archaeological contexts and on past soundscapes and sonic fabrics (anthrophony, biophony, and geophony): this includes subject areas that range from the behaviour of sound in a sonic space and aural architecture to auditory experience and physical acoustics, as well as auditory archaeology and the importance of sound as a medium of social interaction in the past.

The Journal welcomes research on the broadly defined Mediterranean region and from other areas of the world, such as North Europe, Central and South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Rim. Contributions pertaining to different periods are welcome. Cross-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary approaches would be particularly appreciated.

The preferred language for the contributions is English, but other languages (including German, French, Italian and Spanish) are acceptable.

At this stage, the goal for the Journal is to publish one issue per year with 5-6 contributions, with a total of ca. 200 pp. The preferred length for the contributions is 8,000 words. The format of the Journal will be 21, 5x31cm. The Journal will be published in both print and digital formats, the former in black and white and the latter in colour. The digital issue will be available on www.libraweb.net. Manuscripts should be sent to angbellia@gmail.com and will be subject to peer review by two anonymous readers. The deadline for the submission of manuscripts for the first issue is 30 November 2019.

Link: https://www.libraweb.net/promoriv.php?chiave=147

Please see my newer papers that are peer-reviewed publications:
"Creation to Rhythm: An Ethnographic and Archaeological Survey of Turtle Shell Rattles and Spirituality in the United States" published by Journal of Ethnobiology (https://doi.org/10.2993/0278-0771-39.3.425)
"An Experimental Study of Turtle Shell Rattle Production and the Implications for Archaeofaunal Assemblages" published by PLOS ONE (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0201472)
"Identifying Turtle Shell Rattles in the Archaeological Record of the Southeastern United States" published by Ethnobiology Letters (https://doi.org/10.14237/ebl.8.1.2017.979)

Abstract:
Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina) remains are frequently recovered from archaeological sites across the Southeastern United States. Typically they are counted as food refuse; however, ethnographic and taphonomic data suggest box turtles may have functioned as rattles. Rattles were made using modern box turtle shells, and examined for manufacturing marks, use-wear, and breakage patterns. The information gained from the experimental studies was compared to archaeological turtle remains from two Mississippian Period sites. We determined that box turtle remains cannot always be classified as food refuse. Instead taphonomic history and contextual associations must be taken into account in functional interpretations.

Metal pole-tops of the 7th—4th centuries BC is one of the most unique finds associated with the tribes of the Eastern and Central Europe of the Scythian Age. However, opinions on their function are diverse. Now the pole-tops have a rather general name reflecting the purpose of these objects only approximately. Nevertheless, the study of these artifacts allows us to distinguish three periods: the first (1850—1940s), the second (1950—1980s) and the third (from the 1990s to the present).