Episode 18: Archaeological Methods

# AnthroAlert## Episode 18: Archaeological MethodsOriginally aired 29 September 2017 on bullsradio.orgIn this episode, we explore how archaeological methods and modern technology help us to better understand the earliest neolithic sites in Western Europe.Our guest, Dr. Robert Tykot, will present on current research in Western Europe.Robert H. Tykot is a Professor at the University of South Florida, where he has been for 21 years since receiving his PhD from Harvard University. His research emphasizes scientific analysis of archaeological materials such as obsidian, pottery, metals and marble to study trade and technology in the Mediterranean world, as well as skeletal remains to look at diet and mobility in many parts of the world. Professor Tykot has more than 185 published books and articles, and has presented more than 475 times at national and international conferences. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Editor-in-Chief of the journal Science and Technology of Archaeological Research, and has reviewed submissions to 70 different journals and book publishers, and for 18 grant agencies in 9 different countries. Professor Tykot has received from USF an Annual Global Award acknowledging his outstanding contributions to the USF System’s global mission.At USF, he teaches courses on Ancient Diet, Ancient Trade, Archaeological Science, Mediterranean and European Archaeology, and Fantastic Archaeology. His current graduate students come from Italy, France, Peru, and the USA.For the last several years, Tykot and colleagues have been surveying and using remote sensing to assess the earliest neolithic sites in western Europe, in the Tavoliere region of southeastern Italy. Many sites have been identified and surveyed, with large numbers of pottery sherds and stone tools recovered. Based on the chronology and the physical material found, we argue that domesticated plants and animals and the practice of year-round settlements passed from eastern Europe across the Adriatic Sea to this region ca. 8000 years ago. Pending external grant funding, we hope to conduct formal excavation of 1 or more of these large residential settings which were enclosed within circular ditches. Tykot also conducts elemental analyses using a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer on the obsidian, flint, and ceramic artifacts in many parts of Italy and nearby countries to determine their origin and reconstruct directions and frequency of trade and interaction across great distances. Obsidian has been identified as coming from geological sources hundreds of miles away, with significant overseas travel. Separately, in his lab at USF Tykot conducts isotopic analyses on human remains to reconstruct their individual dietary practices and origins, in order to compare differences based on sex and/or status and how they changed over time. This research is on multiple projects from Europe, where seafood has been found to be a negligible part of the diet while millet was introduced from Asia, and in the Americas where maize spread further south than thought in South America, and earlier than expected right here in Florida.## Podcast link## Video linkhttps://youtu.be/pRJGgogBqms## Album art photo credit:Oliver Thompsonhttps://flic.kr/p/9zVPYBCC License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/Italy by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center https://flic.kr/p/nWqvZGCC License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/## Intro music credit:There's A Better WAY ! by Loveshadowhttp://ccmixter.org/files/Loveshadow/34402https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.