Archaeological Seriation

Recension de l'ouvrage J. Swinton, Dating the Tombs of the Egyptian Old Kingdom, Archaeopress, Oxford, 2014, Archaeopress Egyptology 2.

La datation des tombes égyptiennes est un champ d’étude en perpétuel progrès et, pour l’Ancien Empire, la définition de critères de datation permet depuis longtemps de proposer un séquençage assez pertinent des monuments. Pour autant, la publication récente d’un ouvrage sur cette question rappelle combien la méthode reste contrainte par l’existence ou l’absence de cartouches royaux. Cette publication fournit l’occasion de proposer une alternative qui permettrait de dépasser cette écueil, afin d’établir une sériation plus complète et plus fine.

This study presents a systematic approach to the classification of triangular projectile points from the Tombigbee River drainage of Mississippi and Alabama for the purpose of constructing historical classes. Paradigmatic classification based upon morphometric attributes of triangular points from 16 sites provides a series of historical classes useful for the chronological placement of point specimens.

The reduction of the length of chronological phases is still a major issue in the current chronological debate in early medieval archaeology on the continent. Short phases imply a rapid and steady change of grave goods assemblages and are thought to support the assumption that the dead were buried with their inalienable personal possessions. This article explores the premises that relate to short phases and the chronological method of seriation, which excludes social variables as essential components of the dating process. Various modes of object exchange and transmission are therefore the next discussion in this article. It is suggested that the wide variety of movables from graves were more often subject to prolonged circulation than generally assumed. The discussion of exchange and transmission shows that the chronological debate can be extended with a theoretical component that reflects on the role of the pre-burial life of objects which contributes to the understanding of chronological results.