Tine Schenck
My main research interest is the methodology and epistemology of experimental archaeology.
I also do experiments on ground stone tools, and have worked with organic materials and pottery for years. My technological specialty is hand built pottery and plant materials.
Additionally, I’m a composer, with a focus on video games and programmatic music. I’m also a game writer and am currently part of developing a video game that unites an adventure game experience with dissemination of cultural heritage from a variety of contemporary indigenous cultures.
I concluded my PhD on Experimental Archaeology at the University of Exeter in 2016. The thesis revolves around the theoretical, deconstructive evaluation of archaeological experiments as a method for reaching behind the practical and physical, and whether experiments can contribute artefactual grounding to information that is otherwise usually generated through mental constructs and (il)logical operations alone.
Other aspects of archaeological practice that I have previously researched are conditions in the archaeological labour force and market, gender issues in current archaeology, archaeological ethics, and political implications of archaeological practice.
Supervisors: Bruce Bradley and Alan Outram
I also do experiments on ground stone tools, and have worked with organic materials and pottery for years. My technological specialty is hand built pottery and plant materials.
Additionally, I’m a composer, with a focus on video games and programmatic music. I’m also a game writer and am currently part of developing a video game that unites an adventure game experience with dissemination of cultural heritage from a variety of contemporary indigenous cultures.
I concluded my PhD on Experimental Archaeology at the University of Exeter in 2016. The thesis revolves around the theoretical, deconstructive evaluation of archaeological experiments as a method for reaching behind the practical and physical, and whether experiments can contribute artefactual grounding to information that is otherwise usually generated through mental constructs and (il)logical operations alone.
Other aspects of archaeological practice that I have previously researched are conditions in the archaeological labour force and market, gender issues in current archaeology, archaeological ethics, and political implications of archaeological practice.
Supervisors: Bruce Bradley and Alan Outram
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Thesis by Tine Schenck
The thesis begins with an in-depth examination of experimental archaeology and the criteria, paradigms and theories that determine its practice. Through this study, elements of the dichotomy positivism//postmodernism are uncovered and discussed. To resolve this dualism, a third paradigm – philosophical pragmatism – is introduced as an alternative. This conceptual debate represents Part I, and is subsequently collated into a methodological framework for the creation of a typified experiment.
Part II consists of the experimental segment of this study, in search for practical obstacles for the exploration of the intangible. Through experimenting with Iron Age Bucket-shaped pots, Mesolithic faceted pebbles and Middle Palaeolithic birch bark tar production, different components of an experiment are highlighted for investigation. An element that comes forward as problematic is the relationship between experimental archaeologists and science ideals that is underscored by experimental tradition. Conclusively, the final discussion leaves the conceptual and practical barriers that may prevent archaeologists from studying the intangible aspects of technology overturned. In sum, this may enable experimental archaeologists to take a fuller view of their own practice and that of the people of the past.
Papers by Tine Schenck
of the multifunctional antler picks from the Swiss lake dwellings and present a critique of the attempts by some researchers to find a finite spatial and temporal origin of the idea to haft weapons such as halberds. We suggest that the technological origin of the halberds goes back to multifunctional tools, and therefore that it is possible for innovative weapons like halberds developed in various places and times.
Résumé: Dans bien des régions d'Europe les chercheurs considèrent les hallebardes comme un phénomène de courte durée datant du début de l'âge du Bronze. Dans cet article nous soutenons que les premières lames de hallebardes en cuivre ou en alliage de cuivre remontent à la première moitié du quatrième millénaire av. J.-C. Nous démontrons que l’idée d’emmancher des lames et des pointes comme on le fait pour les hallebardes était déjà connue au quatrième millénaire et au début du troisième millénaire av. J.-C et ceci sur un vaste aire géographique allant du centre de l’Italie jusqu’au sud de la Scandinavie. Nous examinons la possibilité de fixer les pointes épaisses de la culture des gobelets en entonnoir (TRB) de façon perpendiculaire ainsi que la possibilité de leur utilisation comme armes par l’analyse macroscopique des traces d’usage relevées sur 115 lames. Nous passons en revue
les arguments en faveur d’une utilisation belliqueuse des pointes en bois de cerf à usage multiple retrouvées dans les habitats lacustres de Suisse et offrons un point de vue critique sur les approches de certains chercheurs qui ont tenté de trouver une origine spécifique dans l’espace et le temps à l’idée d’emmancher des armes telles que les hallebardes. Nous proposons que l’origine technique de ces hallebardes remonte aux outils à fonctions multiples et que, par conséquent, il est possible d’envisager des origines multiples, dans l’espace aussi bien que dans le
temps, pour de telles innovations.
Book Reviews by Tine Schenck
Monographs by Tine Schenck
Undersøkelsen ble utført våren 2006 og hadde 725 respondenter, omtrent 16,5 prosent av den totale studentpopulasjon ved Juridisk fakultet.
Employment. Across the 21 participating states, it is calculated that a total of over €1 billion is spent on professional archaeology every year, with the majority of that expenditure being on the salary costs of the estimated 24,740 people who work as archaeologists in these countries. This group of professionals represents 0.006% of the combined total workforces of those states. In many states, the absolute numbers employed in archaeology has fallen significantly over the previous six years. It is estimated that approximately 33,000 archaeologists now work across Europe as a whole.
Growth of the sector. Across Europe, organisations employing archaeologists have typically become smaller over the five years prior to this project, and employers are very cautious about predicting future growth.
Nature of the workforce. A slight majority (50.3% to 49.7%) of archaeologists are women. The proportion of women in the workforce has increased over the six years since 2006-08 from 45.9%. On average, European archaeologists are 40 years old. Very few European archaeologists are disabled – 1.1% of the total number of workers for whom data were available, a reduction from 1.5% in 2006-08.
Countries of Origin. 94% of archaeologists work in their own countries of origin, 5% are from other EU states and 1% from elsewhere in the world. Overall, this shows a slight decline in sectoral transnational mobility, as in 2006-08 more archaeologists were working away from their countries of origin.
Qualifications. In every participating state, it is normal for people working in archaeology to hold a degree – on aggregate, 94% of European archaeologists are graduates and the majority (69%) are postgraduates. 90% of archaeologists gained their highest qualifications in the countries in which they now work, with 9% obtaining those qualifications elsewhere in Europe (and 1% elsewhere in the world). When compared with the figures from 2006-08, this shows that archaeologists are increasingly educationally mobile.
Salaries. In twelve of the 21 participating states, archaeologists were paid less than the national average for all workers. An average figure of €24,901 was calculated as the mean salary earned by an archaeologist, but this is relatively meaningless as average salaries vary enormously between counties, with Danish archaeologists earning on average nine times the amount earned by their peers in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Nature of the work. 78% of the archaeologists for whom data were available worked full-time and 22% part-time. This is a marked change from 2006-08, when the percentages were 86% full-time and 14% part-time. 63% of archaeologists held permanent contracts at the time of the research, while the remaining 37% of workers had time-limited contracts.
Structures. As was identified in the predecessor project in 2006-08, archaeological practice in the participating states is organised on different models, with varying levels of commercial activity balanced against state agency engagement. This is often linked to the funding basis of archaeological practice (variation both on the basis of funding from the state or from private sector industries, and on whether delivery is achieved by the state or by the private sector). Different states define who can be considered to be an archaeologist in different ways. Vocational education and training (VET) in the sector is almost universally delivered by universities through academic degree programmes.
Skills and Training Needs. Issues relating to specific training needs were assessed in each participating country, but, as in 2006-08, because of the variety of ways in which these questions were asked by the project partners (in order to accommodate the differing structures and approaches to archaeological work in each participating state), the information obtained cannot be usefully compared transnationally.
Trends and developments. In comparison with the predecessor work undertaken in 2006-08, the main ways that the sector has changed are that the number of jobs has decreased and the proportion of women working in the sector has increased. Furthermore, jobs are more likely to be part-time and for shorter contractual periods; archaeologists are more highly qualified, but are less well-paid in comparison with other sectors.
Papers & Sessions by Tine Schenck
The thesis begins with an in-depth examination of experimental archaeology and the criteria, paradigms and theories that determine its practice. Through this study, elements of the dichotomy positivism//postmodernism are uncovered and discussed. To resolve this dualism, a third paradigm – philosophical pragmatism – is introduced as an alternative. This conceptual debate represents Part I, and is subsequently collated into a methodological framework for the creation of a typified experiment.
Part II consists of the experimental segment of this study, in search for practical obstacles for the exploration of the intangible. Through experimenting with Iron Age Bucket-shaped pots, Mesolithic faceted pebbles and Middle Palaeolithic birch bark tar production, different components of an experiment are highlighted for investigation. An element that comes forward as problematic is the relationship between experimental archaeologists and science ideals that is underscored by experimental tradition. Conclusively, the final discussion leaves the conceptual and practical barriers that may prevent archaeologists from studying the intangible aspects of technology overturned. In sum, this may enable experimental archaeologists to take a fuller view of their own practice and that of the people of the past.
of the multifunctional antler picks from the Swiss lake dwellings and present a critique of the attempts by some researchers to find a finite spatial and temporal origin of the idea to haft weapons such as halberds. We suggest that the technological origin of the halberds goes back to multifunctional tools, and therefore that it is possible for innovative weapons like halberds developed in various places and times.
Résumé: Dans bien des régions d'Europe les chercheurs considèrent les hallebardes comme un phénomène de courte durée datant du début de l'âge du Bronze. Dans cet article nous soutenons que les premières lames de hallebardes en cuivre ou en alliage de cuivre remontent à la première moitié du quatrième millénaire av. J.-C. Nous démontrons que l’idée d’emmancher des lames et des pointes comme on le fait pour les hallebardes était déjà connue au quatrième millénaire et au début du troisième millénaire av. J.-C et ceci sur un vaste aire géographique allant du centre de l’Italie jusqu’au sud de la Scandinavie. Nous examinons la possibilité de fixer les pointes épaisses de la culture des gobelets en entonnoir (TRB) de façon perpendiculaire ainsi que la possibilité de leur utilisation comme armes par l’analyse macroscopique des traces d’usage relevées sur 115 lames. Nous passons en revue
les arguments en faveur d’une utilisation belliqueuse des pointes en bois de cerf à usage multiple retrouvées dans les habitats lacustres de Suisse et offrons un point de vue critique sur les approches de certains chercheurs qui ont tenté de trouver une origine spécifique dans l’espace et le temps à l’idée d’emmancher des armes telles que les hallebardes. Nous proposons que l’origine technique de ces hallebardes remonte aux outils à fonctions multiples et que, par conséquent, il est possible d’envisager des origines multiples, dans l’espace aussi bien que dans le
temps, pour de telles innovations.
Undersøkelsen ble utført våren 2006 og hadde 725 respondenter, omtrent 16,5 prosent av den totale studentpopulasjon ved Juridisk fakultet.
Employment. Across the 21 participating states, it is calculated that a total of over €1 billion is spent on professional archaeology every year, with the majority of that expenditure being on the salary costs of the estimated 24,740 people who work as archaeologists in these countries. This group of professionals represents 0.006% of the combined total workforces of those states. In many states, the absolute numbers employed in archaeology has fallen significantly over the previous six years. It is estimated that approximately 33,000 archaeologists now work across Europe as a whole.
Growth of the sector. Across Europe, organisations employing archaeologists have typically become smaller over the five years prior to this project, and employers are very cautious about predicting future growth.
Nature of the workforce. A slight majority (50.3% to 49.7%) of archaeologists are women. The proportion of women in the workforce has increased over the six years since 2006-08 from 45.9%. On average, European archaeologists are 40 years old. Very few European archaeologists are disabled – 1.1% of the total number of workers for whom data were available, a reduction from 1.5% in 2006-08.
Countries of Origin. 94% of archaeologists work in their own countries of origin, 5% are from other EU states and 1% from elsewhere in the world. Overall, this shows a slight decline in sectoral transnational mobility, as in 2006-08 more archaeologists were working away from their countries of origin.
Qualifications. In every participating state, it is normal for people working in archaeology to hold a degree – on aggregate, 94% of European archaeologists are graduates and the majority (69%) are postgraduates. 90% of archaeologists gained their highest qualifications in the countries in which they now work, with 9% obtaining those qualifications elsewhere in Europe (and 1% elsewhere in the world). When compared with the figures from 2006-08, this shows that archaeologists are increasingly educationally mobile.
Salaries. In twelve of the 21 participating states, archaeologists were paid less than the national average for all workers. An average figure of €24,901 was calculated as the mean salary earned by an archaeologist, but this is relatively meaningless as average salaries vary enormously between counties, with Danish archaeologists earning on average nine times the amount earned by their peers in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Nature of the work. 78% of the archaeologists for whom data were available worked full-time and 22% part-time. This is a marked change from 2006-08, when the percentages were 86% full-time and 14% part-time. 63% of archaeologists held permanent contracts at the time of the research, while the remaining 37% of workers had time-limited contracts.
Structures. As was identified in the predecessor project in 2006-08, archaeological practice in the participating states is organised on different models, with varying levels of commercial activity balanced against state agency engagement. This is often linked to the funding basis of archaeological practice (variation both on the basis of funding from the state or from private sector industries, and on whether delivery is achieved by the state or by the private sector). Different states define who can be considered to be an archaeologist in different ways. Vocational education and training (VET) in the sector is almost universally delivered by universities through academic degree programmes.
Skills and Training Needs. Issues relating to specific training needs were assessed in each participating country, but, as in 2006-08, because of the variety of ways in which these questions were asked by the project partners (in order to accommodate the differing structures and approaches to archaeological work in each participating state), the information obtained cannot be usefully compared transnationally.
Trends and developments. In comparison with the predecessor work undertaken in 2006-08, the main ways that the sector has changed are that the number of jobs has decreased and the proportion of women working in the sector has increased. Furthermore, jobs are more likely to be part-time and for shorter contractual periods; archaeologists are more highly qualified, but are less well-paid in comparison with other sectors.
In recent years the theory has gained credibility with the discovery of Grave 2 from Spilamberto (Emilia Romagna, Italy). A stone blade was discovered placed parallel to the collarbone and was subsequently interpreted as a halberd because of its positioning (de Marinis 1994; 69-87). Furthermore, the dating of metal halberds in the 4th BC in the Western Carpathian Mountains and Italy (Dolfini 2004) provides a contemporary background for Klaus Ebbesen’s hypothesis of a presence of stone halberds in the Funnel Beaker period of the Western Baltic Sea (Ebbesen 1992) since these regions were connected at the time (Klassen 2000).
This poster presents an outline to put the suggested construction of stone halberds of both aforementioned types to an experimental test. It aims at several questions:
1. Is it possible to haft stone blades as halberds?
2. Did they have utilitarian properties?
3. Does the experiment leave use-wear and hafting traces distinguishable from actual dagger blades?
As a result we launched ArchaeologistsEngage in 2015, an international organisation wholly dedicated to enabling direct contact between ar-
chaeologists and their audience through local events. One of the key elements of our outreach strategy is the non-hierarchical exchange of information between archaeologist and lay-person, in which we strive to communicate laterally as much as possible. In our presentation, we will discuss and problematise several elements of a multilateral practice that we think are critical to re-appropriating our role as a primary source for archaeological information.
1) Hierarchical, traditional communication strategies are losing ground to “exciting” and interactive experiences. As professionals, how can we change our approach to remain the key providers of archaeological outreach?
2) We have a professional responsibility to respond to the needs of our public. The incorporation of these in outreach activities can greatly enhance public engagement with archaeology.
3) By increasingly diversifying our communicative practice, we can actively increase the ability of our public audience to relate to archaeology. Capturing the attention of the public audience through participation and storytelling enables archaeologists to use the power of imagination in communicating archaeology.
4) The perceived barrier between specialists and the wider audience must be addressed and challenged.