- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Edward B Banning
University of Toronto, Anthropology, Faculty Member
This article offers a possible identification of a previously unknown scrip issued by a S. Stone of Montreal in 1837, suggesting an association with a tavern-keeper and former seaman, Samuel Stone, who died in June 1838.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Many archaeological surveys make the assumption that a single field walk by a survey team is sufficient to determine whether a space does or does not contain archaeological materials. Making retrodictive statements about site... more
Many archaeological surveys make the assumption that a single field walk by a survey team is sufficient to determine whether a space does or does not contain archaeological materials. Making retrodictive statements about site distributions or locational preferences relies on the accuracy of this assumption. We instead take the approach that the probability of detecting artefacts by field walking is less than 1.0 and use calibration surveys to calculate the survey teams’ ‘sweep widths’. Our calibrations took place in typical fields in which we ‘seeded’ artefacts in known locations, but otherwise simulated actual survey conditions. Sweep widths, in combination with knowledge of the total length of transects walked, then allow us to calculate survey coverage. In prehistoric surveys in the Tremithos Valley, Cyprus, and Wadi Quseiba, Jordan, continually updated estimates of coverage and its effect on the probability that survey areas contained undetected sites were crucial elements in survey planning, execution, and evaluation.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
2010 Beyond the Artefact - Digital Interpretation of the Past - Proceedings of CAA2004 - Prato 13-17 April 2004, 123-124. Budapest: Archaeolingua.
Research Interests:
1996 Debating Complexity. Proceedings of the 26th Annual Chacmool Conference, D. A. Meyer, P. Dawson, and D. Hanna, eds. The Archaeological Association of the University of Calgary, Alberta
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The aim of this paper is to outline an experimental survey technique carried out by a team from the University of Toronto. For five weeks in April and May 2012, crew members surveyed part of Wadi Quseiba's drainage basin east of... more
The aim of this paper is to outline an experimental survey technique carried out by a team from the University of Toronto. For five weeks in April and May 2012, crew members surveyed part of Wadi Quseiba's drainage basin east of the Jordan Valley, and west of the modern city of Irbid. The goals of the survey were twofold: to search for late prehistoric (Epipalaeolithic, Neolithic and Chalcolithic) sites, and to test an innovative approach to surveying a large territory with limited resources.
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Archaeology and Antiquity
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Archaeologists can learn a great deal from the distribution of cultural evidence at various scales ranging from large regions, through small communities, down to individual households. Since in many societies a significant proportion of... more
Archaeologists can learn a great deal from the distribution of cultural evidence at various scales ranging from large regions, through small communities, down to individual households. Since in many societies a significant proportion of the human experience takes place within and around houses, houses play a prominent role in discussions of habitus. Yet archaeologists have also experienced challenges in their attempts to understand this habitus, especially when so many archaeological remains pertain to short-term activities that occurred near the end of a house’s use life, or even after, and may not even be typical. Focusing on the tiniest debris that accumulates over long periods may help us overcome these challenges, but many archaeologists have been reluctant to employ micro- refuse analysis because of the erroneous perception that the scale of effort it involves must be astronomical. The approach we demonstrate in this paper shows that careful consideration of sampling both in the field and in the lab makes it possible to detect robust patterns from persistent activities with a fraction of the effort that some previous analysts have employed. One of our key findings is that employing large numbers of volunteer counters, in combination with adequate quality assurance protocols, greatly facilitates this type of research.
Research Interests: Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Spatial Analysis, Practice theory, Archaeological Method & Theory, and 11 moreArchaeological GIS, Neolithic Archaeology, Habitus, Ancient Near East, Household Archaeology, Sampling (Mathematical Statistics), Microrefuse Analysis, Late Neolithic, Longue durée, Activity Areas, and Early Chalcolithic Wadi Rabah
Book reviews. Henri De Contenson with Marie-Claire Cauvin, Liliane Courtois, Pierre Ducos, Monique Dupeyron & Willem Van Zeist. Ramad: site Nélithique en Damascène (Syrie) aux VIIIe et VIIe millé avant l'ère Chrétienne. vi+340 pages, 123 figures, 29 plates. 2000. Beirut: French Institute of the A...more
Research Interests: Archaeology and Antiquity
Book reviews. Burton MacDonald, Larry G. Herr, D. Scott Quaintance, Geoffrey A. Clark & Michael C.A. Macdonald. The Ayl to Ras an-Naqab archaeological survey, southern Jordan 2005–2007 (American Schools of Oriental Research Archaeological Report 16). 2 volumes, xvi+534 pages, 188 b&w illustration...more
Research Interests: Archaeology and Antiquity
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Archaeology and Antiquity
Research Interests:
... In summary, our sub-surface survey, in conjunction with the gradually increasing familiarity of our staff with the local terrain and our local friends' increasing understanding of Neolithic artifacts, has resulted in the... more
... In summary, our sub-surface survey, in conjunction with the gradually increasing familiarity of our staff with the local terrain and our local friends' increasing understanding of Neolithic artifacts, has resulted in the detection of one PPNB hamlet or small village with overlying Late ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
... The core material is all light brown to fine brown flint, while only the retouched tools are made from very fine dark brown to black and high-quality flint, which is rare in Wadi Ziqlab. ... 1990 The Last Glacial Maximum in the... more
... The core material is all light brown to fine brown flint, while only the retouched tools are made from very fine dark brown to black and high-quality flint, which is rare in Wadi Ziqlab. ... 1990 The Last Glacial Maximum in the Mediterranean Levant. ... New York : Plenum Press. ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT The world's earliest houses were not merely shelters from the elements or the setting for food preparation, childrearing and other domestic activities, but mysterious places rich with symbolism and even magic. The author... more
ABSTRACT The world's earliest houses were not merely shelters from the elements or the setting for food preparation, childrearing and other domestic activities, but mysterious places rich with symbolism and even magic. The author synthesizes decades of research on the Neolithic, one of the most critical stages in human development, and addresses the many questions that remain about the relationship of early farmers to their domestic environment and the impact of settled life on the development of civilization.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT How can archaeologists discover and excavate the camping sites of ancient pastoral nomads? Observations of modern tent-dwellers and test excavations of potential camping sites have begun to detect elusive traces of ancient... more
ABSTRACT How can archaeologists discover and excavate the camping sites of ancient pastoral nomads? Observations of modern tent-dwellers and test excavations of potential camping sites have begun to detect elusive traces of ancient pastoralists in Jordan's Wadi Ziqlâb.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT Around 8000 BCE, the early farming villages of the Neolithic revolution disappeared. Explanations have been offered-from invasions, to socio-political dysfunction-but still the question remains: where did the villagers go?... more
ABSTRACT Around 8000 BCE, the early farming villages of the Neolithic revolution disappeared. Explanations have been offered-from invasions, to socio-political dysfunction-but still the question remains: where did the villagers go? Through systematic sampling of steam terraces, the Wadi Ziqlab Project is exposing Late Neolithic campsites and other small sites that hold the promise of putting the heirs of the first villagers back on the map.