First deadline approaching...

March1st is the deadline to submit your initial application materials!  

R.E. TAYLOR STUDENT POSTER AWARD COMPETITION ANNOUNCEMENT

The Society for Archaeological Sciences invites applications for the R.E. Taylor Poster Award at the Society for American Archaeology's 76th Anniversary Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii.
This prestigious award acknowledges innovative student contributions to archaeological research through the use of scientific methods, and has enhanced the careers of prominent young scholars and professionals for more than a decade. The award is named in honor of Professor Emeritus R. Ervin Taylor of the University of California at Riverside for his outstanding contributions in the development and application of radiocarbon dating in archaeological research and his dedication to the founding of the Society for Archaeological Sciences; his leading role as President (1980) and General Secretary (1981-2002) of the Society; and his committed service as editor of the SAS Bulletin. Professor Taylor's many valuable contributions were recognized by the SAA in 2004 with the Fryxell Award for Interdisciplinary Research. The award consists of $100 US, a one-year SAS membership and subscription to the SAS Bulletin.

Entries will be judged on the significance of the archaeological problem, appropriateness of the methods used, soundness of conclusions, quality of the poster display, and oral presentation of the poster by the student, who should be the first author in order to be considered.

Students should submit an email application to Destiny Crider (destiny.crider@asu.edu) by March 1, 2013. Applications must include the title and abstract of the poster, evidence that you have registered for the SAA meetings in Honolulu (email from the SAA), and proof of your status as an undergraduate or graduate student (usually appears on your SAA registration). Email confirmation that your application has been received will be sent to you.

Please keep this email confirmation. In order to give the judges adequate time to posters, students will also be required to submit a PDF version of their poster on or before March 22 , 2013. Judges will be present in person at the SAA meetings to judge posters and to ask students questions about their research. Prizes will be awarded at the SAA meetings following the end of the last poster session.

Good luck to everyone!

To enter contact Destiny Crider (destiny.crider@asu.edu)

John Weymouth, former president of SAS

I'm sad to pass along this news:

"John Walter Weymouth, emeritus professor of physics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, died December 20, 2012, from complications of Parkinson's disease. John was born on the Stanford campus in Palo Alto, California, where his father and grandfather were professors. He attended both Stanford and Berkeley and earned a PhD in physics. He taught and did research in physics at the University of California, Vassar College, Clarkson University, and the University of Nebraska where he retired in l989.

"In mid-career John became interested in the application of scientific methods in archeology and worked with the NPS on many U.S. sites, for NATO-sponsored work in Greece, and other agencies. His pioneering work in the use of magnetometers and other remote sensing tools for subsurface mapping of sites transformed geophysical prospection in North American from a type of special analysis to an invaluable and standard part of contemporary archeology. He has been recognized with awards from the Society of American Archaeology and Nebraska Historical Society and, most recently, The Geological Society of America for lifetime achievement in the field of archeological geology."  (From the NPS)

From the Lincoln Journal Star:

January 05, 2013 2:30 am  •  By the Lincoln Journal Star

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John Walter Weymouth

Enlarge Photo

John Walter Weymouth, died December 20, 2012 from complications of Parkinson's disease. John was born on Stanford campus in Palo Alto, Calif., where his father and grandfather were professors. He attended both Stanford and Berkeley and earned a PhD in physics. He taught and did research in physics at the University of California, Vassar College, Clarkson University, and the University of Nebraska where he retired in l989. In mid-career John became interested in the application of scientific methods in archaeology and has worked with the National Park Service on many U.S. sites, for NATO sponsored work in Greece and other agencies. His pioneering work in the use of magnetometers and other remote sensing tools for subsurface mapping of sites has transformed geophysical prospection in North American from a type of special analysis to an invaluable and standard part of contemporary archaeology. His work was termed "unparalleled" and "groundbreaking". He has been recognized with awards from the Society of American Archaeology and Nebraska Historical Society and, most recently, The Geological Society of America for lifetime achievement in the field of archaeological geology. His family knew him as an exceedingly humble, thoughtful and gentle man, with a wonderful sense of humor; he loved puns, silly stories--we recall the exploits of Sir Basil Digmore, fabled and fictional archaeologist--and jokes. He loved his family, was a huge fan of opera and was super fond of his dogs.

He is survived by his wife, Laura; sons, Terry (Jacki), and Daniel(Deborah); daughter, Evelyn; step-daughter, Victoria; daughter-in-law, Rae Ann; six grandchildren; one great grandchild; and four step-greats; as well as Josie, a small Spaniel. Preceding him in death were his parents, two sisters, and his first wife, Patricia.
Memorial Service: 2 p.m. Saturday (1/5/13) at Unitarian Church, 6300 'A' Street, with Rev. Fritz Hudson officiating. Memorials in John's honor may be sent to the National Center for Science Education or the Southern Poverty Law Center. Condolences can be left online atwww.roperandsons.com.

John wrote a number of seminal papers on magnetometry and U.S. archaeology.

He was the SAA's Fryxell Medalist for interdisciplinary research in archaeology and the physical sciences in 1998.

John was a longtime member of the Society for Archaeological Sciences, and was its 4th president.

We'll miss you, John.

----
Rob Sternberg
Franklin & Marshall College
General Secretary, SAS

Walking Statue of Easter Island

Very interesting new article in the Journal of Archaeological Science in the "article in press" section of the online journal.  Carl P. Lipo, Terry L. Hunt, Sergio Rapu Haoa, in press 2012, The 'walking' megalithic statues (moai) of Easter Island, Journal of Archaeological Science, (http:dx/doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2012.09.029)

You might have seen the Nova-National Geographic special recently...here is a teaser from YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpNuh-J5IgE

This is a great study case for research implications that can use software modeling to produce archaeological replicas for experimentation. Use of photographs for 3D modeling allowed the researchers to evaluate the physics of the forces that result in motion of the statues.

The journal article is well illustrated and describes how they were using the 4.35 metric ton concrete replica from the 3d model to demonstrate how a small number of people could have moved the large statues across the island.  Combined with detailed attribute analysis of the various fallen and broken statues along the roads and paths, the authors make an interesting case that they were abandoned on route to a planned destination. 

Recent research in Archaeological Sciences: NSF University of Arizona IGERT

Dissertations from the NSF/University of Arizona IGERT Program in Archaeological Sciences

From 2003 to 2008 the National Science Foundation's Program for Integrated Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) funded a graduate training program in archaeological sciences at the university of Arizona. As of October 2012 this has produced 19 PhD dissertations; another 15 are on track for completion in 2013 and 2014. You can find the names of those who have finished, the titles of their dissertations, and where the authors are now, at:

http://anthropology.arizona.edu/content/igert

The list will be updated as further dissertations are completed.

Announcing the 2012 R.E. Taylor Award Recipients

This year SAS has granted two presentations the R.E. Taylor Student Poster Award. This prestigious award is named in honor of Professor Emeritus R. Ervin Taylor of the University of California at Riverside for his outstanding contributions in the development and application of radiocarbon dating in archaeological research and dedication to the founding of the Society for Archaeological Sciences, for his leading role as President (1980) and General Secretary (1981-2002) and his committed service as editor of the SAS Bulletin. In 2004, the SAA recognized his invaluable contributions with the granting of the 2004 Fryxell Award for Interdisciplinary Research.
 
We are pleased to announce the following 2012 poster award recipients:

2012 R.E. Taylor Award at the 77^th Annual Meetings of the Society for American Archaeology, Memphis, Tennessee : "On the formation and distribution of ochreous minerals in northern Malawi"

Andrew M. Zipkin (Hominid Paleobiology Doctoral Program;  Center for the Advanced Study of Hominid Paleobiology,Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University), Alison S. Brooks (Center for the Advanced Study of Hominid Paleobiology,Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University; Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution), John M. Hanchar (Department of Earth Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland), Jessica C. Thompson (School of Social Science, University of Queensland), and Elizabeth Gomani- Chindebvu (Malawi Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife, and Culture).

 
2012 R.E. Taylor Award Recipient at the 39th International Symposium on Archaeometry, Leuven, Belgium: “Chemical Fingerprinting of Hungarian and Slovakian Obsidian using Three Complimentary Analytical Techniques”

Fabienne Eder (Vienna University of Technology) with co-authors Christian Neelmeijer, Nicholas J.G. Pearce, Johannes H. Sterba, Max Bichler, and Silke Merchel.

 For more details, go to the SAS website and and check out pdf versions of these award winning posters. 

What's the Word from ISA 2012?  

Ruth Fillery-Travis offers the following blog.... sample activities from day 3 of ISA.

http://findsandfeatures.wordpress.com/2012/06/01/isa-2012-leuven-day-3-biomaterials-and-bioarchaeology/


We would love to hear from other attendees of ISA 2012.

Australian Archaeological Association- Call for Abstracts

The Australian Archaeological Association has recently announced a call for abstracts for its upcoming annual meeting from 9-13 December in Wollongong (New South Wales), hosted by the University of Wollongong Centre for Archaeological Science.  The theme of the meeting is Science and Archaeology, with a variety of sessions covering many aspects.

See the sessions and submission details here.  The deadline is July 6, 2012.

Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Archaeometric Archives

Many of you may not know this, but I've been working at the Archaeometry Laboratory at the University of Missouri Research Reactor to preserve the data and records of other laboratories as they begin closing their doors. Though our lab has always had an open-door policy for storing other labs' data, these efforts really took off in 2007 with the publication of a special issue of Archaeometry (v. 49, 2) commemorating fifty years of neutron activation analysis.

The first database posted on-line was generated at the University of Manchester in England. The Web page I created was intended to complement a table in G.W.A. Newton's discussion of the archaeometry program at Manchester, particularly since Dr. Newton died during preparation of this manuscript. While working on the Manchester Web page, the lab was contacted by Frank Asaro at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He was cleaning out his office and laboratory space, and asked if we would be interested in preserving the archives from that archaeometry program.

Since that time, I have been overseeing the slow digitization of the Berkeley data so that it may be viewed and manipulated on modern computers. The absolute amount of data in the Berkeley archive is overwhelming! Elemental abundance data for 10,000+ specimens, at least two photographs of each specimen, notebooks, loose-leaf papers, sample powders, XRF planchettes, surplus sherds, and lots of microfiche.

In 2009 I presented a status update for our work on the Manchester and Berkeley databases at the Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Since that time we have made significant progress with the Berkeley database, and so I recently submitted a second update for publication in the SAS Bulletin. With a small grant from Digital Antiquity, we have been able to make all of the data that has been digitized to this point, as well as complementary photographs and scanned images of all of the Berkeley lab's papers and notes publicly available through the Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR). You can connect directly to the Berkeley Project using this link.

I encourage all of the SAS membership to take a look at the Berkeley archives. I can imagine a host of reasons to use these data, including as comparative material for active research projects, data sources for teaching and evaluating statistical methods, and even for researching the history of archaeological sciences.

We aren't done yet, though! Data for about 3000 specimens remain to be digitized. I am hopeful that these will be completed at some point this summer, so keep an eye out here for future announcements concerning the Berkeley archives.

Dear colleagues,

May we invite you to the Society for Archaeological Sciences Business Meeting at the Society for American Archaeology Annual meeting in Memphis, TN, on Thursday 19 April, 5PM - 6:30PM (Oxford M).


Also, do not forget to register for the R.E. Taylor poster award! Students must submit an application via email to Destiny Crider (destiny.crider@asu.edu) by April 4, 2012 to be considered for this award. Applications in form of an email message must include the title and abstract of the poster, proof that you have registered for the SAA meetings in Memphis (email from the SAA), and proof of your status as an undergraduate or graduate student.

Warm regards,
Patrick Degryse
SAS President

Ultrasensitive Radiocarbon Technique

A recent issue of Nature reported on a new analytical method that has ultrasensitive capabilities for the detection of C-14. Instead of using accelerator mass spectrometry techniques, the researchers use a novel optical approach called saturated-absorption cavity ring-down spectroscopy. The technique takes advantage of IR spectroscopy to analyze the gas down to a detection limit of 43 parts per quadrillon. In addition, the instrumentation is significantly smaller than a mass spectrometer, and non-destructive to the sample. More details can be found in the article here.