Mission Statement

Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology is an electronic peer-reviewed publication series devoted to the fast dissemination of shorter specialized technical papers in historical archaeology, maritime archaeology, material culture technology and materials conservation. Submissions are high quality contributions of no more than 3000 words of immediate and long term relevance to the SHA membership and the profession in general. All aspects of the publication process, from submission through paper review to final publication are done online. Submission requirements, format, and copy-editing conform to the SHA Style Guide.

Briefs published after 2016 are published in Historical Archaeology and are available for purchase through the Springer website. if you are a SHA member, log into the SHA website first, and then use the link from the Member’s Area to access these for free.

Prior to 2017 Briefs are available below paginated sequentially within a numbered volume based on a calendar year. A Table of Contents will be published annually in the SHA Newsletter. ISSN 1940-6894 Contact: Emily Williams, Technical Briefs Editor, at ewilliams@cwf.org if you are interested in contributing an article to this series.

Table of Contents

Volume 10 (2016)

Attribution Enhanced: An SEM/EDS – LA-ICP-MS Investigation of a Suspected Mid-18th-Century Wistarburgh Glass Globular Bottle.

J. Victor Owen, Patrick Cruise, John D. Greenough, and Joseph Petrus
Technical Briefs In Historical Archaeology 10: 1-8 View PDF

Chemical Analyses of the Ingredients of an 1850s Thomson’s Compound Syrup of Tar Patent Medicine Bottle.

Richard L. Fishel, John W. Scott, Kristin M. Hedman, and Trudi E. Butler
Technical Briefs In Historical Archaeology 10: 9-20 View PDF

Generating 3-D Models of Artifact Density in Excavation Units: A Case Study at Site 41WT69, the McAdoo Plantation Home

Heather A. Fischer
Technical Briefs In Historical Archaeology 10: 21–28 View PDF

A Trial Study of the Use of Luminol in Conflict Archaeology: The Revolutionary War Battle of Bennington

Kevin Bradley, Eric Bennett, Bethany D. Scott, Ted Yeshion, and Christopher T. Espenshade
Technical Briefs In Historical Archaeology 10: 29–35 View PDF

Volume 9 (2015)

Identification and Analysis of Utilized Glass in Early Colonial Contexts: A Case Study from 17th-Century Rhode Island

Colin A. Porter
Technical Briefs In Historical Archaeology 9: 1-15 View PDF

Geochemical Identification of the Extramural Activity of Laundry Washing at Cantonment Burgwin, Taos, New Mexico

Judith E. Thomas and Kaitlin R. Volanski
Technical Briefs In Historical Archaeology 9: 16-24 View PDF

Deceptive Content: Unexpected Materials in Historical Bottles

Ray von Wandruszka, Mark Warner, Tara Summer, Elizabeth Harman, and Sidney Hunter
Technical Briefs In Historical Archaeology 9: 25-33 View PDF

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for Documenting and Interpreting Historical Archaeological Sites: Part I—Attack of the Drones

Thomas G. Whitley
Technical Briefs In Historical Archaeology 9: 34-40 View PDF

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for Documenting and Interpreting Historical Archaeological Sites: Part II—Return of the Drones

Thomas G. Whitley
Technical Briefs In Historical Archaeology 9: 41-48 View PDF

Using Photogrammetry to Document, Analyze, and Reverse-Engineer Grave Markers

Robert Z. Selden Jr.
Technical Briefs In Historical Archaeology 9: 49–56 View PDF (12 MB)

Volume 8 (2014)

Origin and Development of French Faience: The Contribution of Archaeology and the Physical Sciences

Laetitia Métreau and Jean Rosen Technical Briefs In Historical Archaeology, 2014, 8: 1–21 View PDF

Applying the Methods of Evidence Photography to Archaeological Collections

Patrick S. Rivera Technical Briefs In Historical Archaeology 8: 22-31 View PDF

Volume 7 (2013)

Using Ground-Penetrating Radar to Map the Historic Pottersville Kiln, Edgefield, South Carolina

Sarah Lowry Techanical Briefs In Historical Archaeology 7: 31-39 View PDF

A Critique of the Fundamentals of the “Commercial Salvage” Model of the Excavation of Historic Shipwrecks: An Examination of the Profitability of Six Commercial Salvage Ventures

John M. Kleeberg Technical Briefs In Historical Archaeology 7:19-30 View PDF

Virtual Artifact Curation of the Historical Past and the Next Engine Desktop 3D Scanner

Bernard K. Means, Ashley McCuistion and Courtney Bowls Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 7: 1-12 View PDF

Three-Dimensional Models of Archaeological Objects: From Laser Scanners to Interactive PDF Documents

Angel M. Felicisimo, Maria-Eugenia Polo and Juan A. Peris Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 7: 13-18 View PDF

Volume 6 (2011)

Use of Remote Surveillance Motion-Activated Cameras for Monitoring Rural Archaeological Sites

Chris Merritt and Don Merritt Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 6: 1–12 View PDF (1.6 MB)

Metallographic Analysis of a Spearhead Found Near Fortlet Miñana, Argentina

Maria Lucchetta, Horacio De Rosa, and Carlos Landa Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 6: 13–19 View PDF (819 KB)

Evidence of Use and Reuse of a Dog Collar from the Sloop of War HMS Swift (1770), Puerto Deseado (Argentina)

Nicolás C. Ciarlo, Horacio De Rosa, Dolores Elkin, and Phil Dunning Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 6: 20–27 View PDF (2.2 MB)

Vase Rollout Photography Using Digital Reflex Cameras

Ángel M. Felicísimo Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 6: 28–32 View PDF (748 KB)

Volume 5 (2010)

Guide to Ceramic MNV Calculation Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis

Barbara L. Voss and Rebecca Allen Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 5: 1–9 View PDF (884 KB)

The Use of Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence in an Underwater Archaeology Case Study

Cristina Vázquez, Susana Boeykens, and Dolores Elkin Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 5: 10–15 View PDF (524 KB)

Expanded Spectrum Photography and Archaeological Conservation

C. Wayne Smith Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 5: 16–19 View PDF (549 KB)

Delineation and Resolution of Cemetery Graves Using a Conductivity Meter and Ground-Penetrating Radar

Charles A. Dionne, Dennis K. Wardlaw, and John J. Schultz Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 5: 20–30 View PDF (811 KB)

Telling Time for the Electrified: An Introduction to Porcelain Insulators and the Electrification of the American Home

Adrian T. Myers Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 5: 31–42 View PDF (3.7 MB)

Forensic Hair and Fiber Examinations in Archaeology: Analysis of Materials from Gravesites at the Home of Samuel Washington

Walter F. Rowe Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 5: 43–51 View PDF (811 KB)

Volume 4 (2009)

An Effective Diver-Operated Coring Device for Underwater Archaeology

Rachel L. Horlings Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 4: 1–6 View PDF (584 KB)

Identification and Dating of Japanese Glass Beverage Bottles

Douglas E. Ross Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 4: 7–17 View PDF (920 KB)

Characterization of Archaeological Cotton (G. herbaceum) Fibers from Yingpan

Qiuling Cao, Sukang Zhu, Ning Pan, Yuping Zhu, and Hengxian Tu Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 4: 18–28 View PDF (2.3 MB)

A Comparison and Review of Window Glass Analysis Approaches in Historical Archaeology

Jonathan Weiland Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 4: 29–40 View PDF (488 KB)

Surefire Techniques for Archaeological Photography in Dark Places

C. Wayne Smith Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 4: 41–43 View PDF (560 KB)

Volume 3 (2008)

A New Approach to Investigating Shipwreck Sites in Littoral Environments: Multi-Technique Geophysical Investigations of Port Elliot, South Australia

Ian Moffat and Jason Raupp Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 3: 1–7 View PDF (2.2 MB)

Geoarchaeology and the Hydrometer at the Bequette-Ribault Site, Ste. Genevieve, Missouri

Dana Lee Pertermann Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 3: 8–14 View PDF (824 KB)

Metallurgical Analysis of Shell and Case Shot Artillery from the Civil War Battles of Pea Ridge and Wilson’s Creek

Alicia L. Caporaso, Carl G. Carlson-Drexler, and Joel Masters Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 3: 15–24 View PDF (812 KB)

Geophysical Mapping of Historic Cemeteries

Geoffrey Jones Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 3: 25–38 View PDF (1.5 MB)

Historical Archaeology of the Hannibalic Invasion of Italia: Technical Applications

William C. Mahaney, Michael W. Milner, Barbara Kapran, Pierre Tricart, Stephane Schwartz, Rene W. Barendregt, David H. Krinsley, Ronald I. Dorn, Barbara Trapido-Lurie, Sal Boccia, Rana N.S. Sodhi, Volli Kalm, and Roelf Beukens Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 3: 39–47 View PDF (648 KB)

Volume 2 (2007)

Publishing Primary Data on the World Wide Web: Opencontext.org and an Open Future for the Past

Eric C. Kansa Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 2: 1–11 View PDF (1.2 MB)

A Sample Geodatabase Structure for Managing Archaeological Data and Resources with ArcGIS

Edward W. Tennant Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 2: 12–24 View PDF (1.1 MB)

A Comparison of Invasive and Non-Invasive Site Location Methods at Oakland Plantation, Natchitoches, Louisiana

Liza Gijanto Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 2: 25–31 View PDF (750 KB)

Characterization of a Coin from the Shipwreck of HMS Swift (1770)

Horacio De Rosa, Dolores Elkin, Nicolás C. Ciarlo, and Fabiana Saporiti Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 2: 32–36 View PDF (750 KB)

Volume 1 (2006)

The Electronic Darkroom: Turning Bad Photographs Into Useful Line Art

C. Wayne Smith Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 1: 1-5 View PDF (618 kb)

The Electronic Darkroom: Artifact Presentation

C. Wayne Smith Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 1: 6-10 View PDF (452 kb)

Technical Tips for Obtaining Reliable DNA Identification of Historic Human Remains

Dongya Y. Yang and Camilla F. Speller Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 1: 11-15 View PDF (84 kb)

Overview of BLM’s Historic Glass Bottle Identification and Information Website

Bill Lindsey Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 1: 16-20 View PDF (500 kb)

The Reburial of Waterlogged Archaeological Wood in Wet Environments

Jessica Curci Technical Briefs in Historical Archaeology 1: 21-25 View PDF (452 kb)