Fire in Archaeology

by Dragos Gheorghiu

Fifteen papers, from a session held at the European Association of Archaeologists Sixth Annual Meeting held in Lisbon in 2000, reflect on the field of pyroarchaeology, investigating the remnants of fire in the archaeological record and demonstrating the wealth of information that fire, when treated as an artefact, can provide about prehistoric culture. The papers, which mostly comprise case studies, predominantly focus on sites and cultures in Europe between the Palaeolithic and Greek periods. Subjects charcoal, cremation fires in Neolithic France, fire as a means of ritual transformation in Scandinavia, the fire management of bracken fern, burned houses in Neolithic southeastern Europe, the technology of pottery, fire-cracked stones, Greek funeral rituals. Two papers in French, the rest in English.

154 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2002