Archeological Studies

Mission: Using magnetic methods to advance our understanding of how and when humans and their predecessors interacted with their surroundings. 

Paintings of unknown age on a limestone exposure in Parque Nacional Cavernas do Peruaçu, Minas Gerais, Brazil 

Magnetic methods can contribute in many ways to archeological studies, and my research group is always eager to participate in interdisciplinary studies seeking to understand our shared human past.  

Archeological sites often contain evidence of fire treated materials, including ceramics, ovens, kilns, hearths, burnt soils, and fire-cracked rock. As these objects cool, they record the direction and strength of the Earth's magnetic field. These recordings can provide a variety of useful information to anthropologists, including the peak temperature that an object was heated and whether an object was heated in an oxidizing or reducing environment. If a regional reference curve is available, these magnetic recordings can be used to estimate when the object was last heated. 

Beyond the use of fire, magnetic methods can also help characterize whether an archeological site has remained undisturbed and where there are concentrations of organic material. For some archeological materials, such as obsidian, magnetic methods can help determine the provenance of an artifact, which in turn can be used to trace procurement and trading behaviors. 

We love working and learning in the field with our collaborators.

Funding for this research has been provided by

Related Publications


Lowe, K.M., Arthure, S., Wallis, L.A., and Feinberg J.M., 2020. Geophysical and archaeological investigations of an early European settlement in Australia: a pilot study on Baker’s Flat, a historic Irish site in South Australia. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. 12(33), 1-20, doi.org/10.1007/s12520-019-01003-2

Stillinger, M.D., Feinberg, J.M., Ben-Yosef, E., Shaar, R., Hardin, J.W., Blakely, J.A. 2018. A Rejoinder on the Value of Archaeomagnetic Dating: Integrative Methodology is the Key to Addressing Levantine Iron Age Chronology, Near Eastern Archaeology, 80(2), 141-144. Doi: 10.5615/neareastarch.81.2.0141.

Nengo I, Tafforeau P, Gilbert CC, Fleagle JG, Miller ER, Feibel C, Fox DL, Feinberg JM, Pugh KD, Berruyer C et al..  2017.  New infant cranium from the African Miocene sheds light on ape evolution. Nature. 548:169-174. Doi: 10.1038/nature23456.

Frahm, E., Feinberg, J.M., Monnier, G.F., Tostevin, G.B., Gasparyan, B., Adler, D.S.  2016.  Lithic raw material units based on magnetic properties: A blind test with Armenian obsidian and application to the Middle Palaeolithic site of Lusakert Cave 1. Journal of Archaeological Sciences. 74:102-123. Doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2016.09.001.

Halligan, J.E., Waters, M.R., Perrotti, A., Owens, I.J., Feinberg, J.M., Bourne, M.D., Fenerty, B., Winsborough, B., Carlson, D., Fisher D.C., Stafford, T.W., and Dunbar, J.S., 2016. Pre-Clovis Occupation 14,450 years ago at the Page-Ladson Site, Florida and the Peopling of Americas, Science Advances, 2(5), e1600375, doi:10.1126/sciadv.1600375.

Stillinger, M.D., Hardin, J.W., Feinberg, J.M., and Blakeley, J.A., 2016. Archaeomagnetism as a Complementary Dating Technique to Address the Iron Age Chronology Debate in the Levant. Near Eastern Archaeology, 79(2), 90-106. Doi: 10.5615/neareastarch.79.2.0090.

Lowe KM, Shulmeister J, Feinberg JM, Manne T, Wallis LA, Welsh K.  2016.  Using soil magnetic properties to determine the onset of Pleistocene human settlement at Gledswood Shelter 1, northern Australia. Geoarchaeology, 31(3), 211-228. Doi: 10.1002/gea.21544.

Frahm, E., Feinberg, J.M., Schmidt-Magee, B.A., Wilkinson, K.N., Gasparyan, B., Yeritsyan, B., Adler, D.S.  2016.  Middle Palaeolithic Lithic Procurement Behaviors at Lusakert Cave 1, Hrazdan Valley, Armenia. Journal of Human Evolution. 91:73-92. Doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.10.008.

Frahm E, Feinberg JM.  2015.  Reassessing Obsidian Field Relationships at Glass Buttes, Oregon. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2, 654-665,  doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2014.11.007.

Shaar R, Tauxe L, Ben-Yosef E, Kassianidou V, Lorentzen B, Feinberg JM, Levy TE.  2015.  Decadal-scale variations in geomagnetic field intensity from ancient Cypriot slag mounds. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. 16(1):195-214. Doi: 10.1002/2014GC005455.

Stillinger M.D., Feinberg J.M., Frahm E.  2015.  Refining the Archaeomagnetic Dating Curve for the Near East: New Intensity Data from Bronze Age Ceramics at Tell Mozan, Syria. Journal of Archaeological Science. 53:345-355. Doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2014.10.025.

Frahm, E., Feinberg, J.M., Schmidt-Magee, B.A., Wilkinson, K., Gasparyan, B., Yeritsyan, B., Karapetian, S., Meliksetian, K., Muth, M.J., and Adler, D.S., 2014. Sourcing geochemically identical obsidian: Multiscalar magnetic variations in the Gutansar Volcanic Complex and implications for Paleolithic research in Armenia, Journal of Archaeological Science. 47, 164-178. Doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2014.04.015.

Frahm, E., and Feinberg, J.M., 2013. From Flow to Quarry: Magnetic Properties of Obsidian and Changing the Scale of Archaeological Sourcing. Journal of Archaeological Science, 40(10), 3706-3721. Doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2013.04.029.

Monnier, G., Hauck, T.C., Feinberg, J.M., Luo, B., Le Tensorer, J.-M., and al Sakhel, H., 2013. A Multi-analytical Methodology of Lithic Residue Analysis Applied to Paleolithic Tools from Hummal Syria, Journal of Archaeological Science, 40, 3722-3739. Doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2013.03.018.

Frahm, E., and Feinberg, J.M., 2013. Environment and Collapse: Eastern Anatolian Obsidians at Urkesh (Tell Mozan, Syria) and the Third-Millennium Mesopotamian Urban Crisis, Journal of Archaeological Science, 40, 1866-1878. Doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2012.11.026.

Frahm, E., and Feinberg, J.M., 2013. Empires and Resources: Central Anatolian Obsidian at Urkesh (Tell Mozan, Syria) during the Akkadian Period, Journal of Archaeological Science, 40, 1122-1135. Doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2012.07.019.

Waters, M.R., Forman, S.L., Jennings, T.A., Nordt, L.C., Driese, S., Feinberg, J.M., Keene, J.L., Halligan, J., Lindquist, A., James, P., Hallmark, C.T., Collins, M.B., Wiederhold, J.E., 2011. The Buttermilk Creek Complex and the Origins of Clovis at the Debra L. Friedkin Site, Texas, Science, 331(6204), 1599-1603, doi: 10.1126/science.1201855.

Shaar, R., Ron, H., Tauxe, L., Kessel, R., Agnon, A., Ben-Yosef, E., Feinberg, J.M., 2010. Testing the accuracy of absolute intensity estimates of the ancient geomagnetic field using copper slag material. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 290, 201-213. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2009.12.022.

Feinberg, J.M., Renne, P.R., Arroyo-Cabrales, J., Waters, M.R., Ochoa-Castillo, P., and Perez-Campa, M., 2009. Age Constraints on Alleged ‘Footprints’ Preserved in the Xalnene Tuff near Puebla, Mexico, Geology, 37 (3), 267-270. doi: 10.1130/G24913A.1.

Renne, P.R., Feinberg, J.M., Waters, M.R., Arroyo-Cabrales, J., Ochoa-Castillo, P., Perez-Campa, M., and Knight, K.B., 2005, Age of the Xalnene ash, Central Mexico, and archeological implications: Nature, 438, doi:10.1038/nature04425.