Provenience

Definition

Provenience refers to the specific location and context from which an archaeological artifact or feature is recovered. It includes information about the horizontal and vertical position within a site, which is crucial for understanding the artifact's association with other items, layers, and features. This concept is fundamental in archaeology, particularly when examining settlements like those from the Viking Age, as it helps to reconstruct past human behavior and social organization.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Provenience is essential for understanding the chronological sequence of events at an archaeological site, particularly in layered deposits.
2. Artifacts with well-documented provenience can provide insights into trade networks, daily life, and cultural practices of Viking settlements.
3. The loss of provenience due to improper excavation techniques can lead to significant gaps in the archaeological record and misinterpretations.
4. Provenience helps archaeologists determine the relationships between different finds at a site, which can inform theories about social structure and community organization.
5. In Viking archaeology, provenience is particularly valuable in analyzing settlement patterns, as it allows researchers to map out how communities interacted with their environment.

Review Questions

• How does provenience influence our understanding of Viking settlements and their archaeological significance?
  • Provenience plays a vital role in understanding Viking settlements by providing context for each artifact's location within a site. This information helps archaeologists piece together the social dynamics, trade routes, and daily activities of these communities. By analyzing provenience, researchers can establish patterns of interaction between different artifacts and features, enhancing our comprehension of Viking culture and their adaptation to their environment.
• Discuss the relationship between provenience and stratigraphy in archaeological excavation methods.
  • Provenience and stratigraphy are closely interconnected in archaeological excavation. Provenience ensures that each artifact is recorded with its exact horizontal and vertical location, while stratigraphy provides a framework for understanding the layers in which these artifacts are found. By studying stratigraphic layers, archaeologists can infer chronological relationships and understand how different layers correspond to various periods of occupation or use at a site. This relationship is essential for reconstructing the history of Viking settlements accurately.
• Evaluate the implications of losing provenience on our interpretation of archaeological findings from Viking Age sites.
  • Losing provenience can severely compromise our interpretation of archaeological findings from Viking Age sites. When artifacts are removed without proper documentation of their location or context, it becomes challenging to understand their significance or connections to other finds. This loss can lead to misinterpretations regarding trade relations, social structures, or cultural practices. Ultimately, without provenience, archaeologists risk constructing narratives that lack accuracy or fail to represent the complexity of Viking life.

Related terms

Stratigraphy: Stratigraphy is the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification), often used in archaeology to analyze the sequence of human activity at a site based on the different layers of soil and artifacts.

Context: Context refers to the relationship of an artifact to its surroundings, including its location, association with other artifacts, and the specific layer or stratum it was found in.

Site Formation Processes: Site formation processes are the natural and cultural events that contribute to the creation and alteration of archaeological sites over time, affecting how artifacts and features are deposited and preserved.