The experiment intended to make and test replicas of shoes, dated to the Neolithic, found with the mummy of a man (Otzi) in the Otzali Alps. The article describes in detail the boots, the making of their replicas with authentic raw materials and tools (with the exception of animal skins which were bought as already dried hides), including reasoning behind the methodology, and finally testing of the boots both in the field and in a lab.

The finds didn't correspond with our preconceived ideas of prehistoric shoe design. A net created the main body of the shoes and at the front it was protected with a leather upper. The netting allowed the filling of the shoe with dried grass and also helps with the fastening of the shoe firmly to the foot. As a contrast to the high quality netting is the low durability of the sole, bear hide, which is unusually thin. The durability and ability to resist damage due to walking of bear hide is several times lower than that of the other available materials such as cowhide or calf hide. This fact made us think about other possible reasons for this choice other than just practicality. A thin upper was another part of the shoe. It could fulfil only one function: improving the insulation - by preventing hay from falling out and increasing resistance to humidity. Otzi's shoes were probably not a common type of footwear but specialized boots for the cold conditions of the Alps glaciers. The owner must have had experience of staying in rough Alpine conditions and been able to repair his own boots.

The first step in making the replicas was the preparation of the leather. We based our choice of technology of preservation on the fact that most of the tribes living at a Neolithic level technology preserve with fat, probably from the brain and liver of animals. Mammal brain contains about 20% fat, liver about 6%. That's a sufficient amount to work the hide of the animal from which it was obtained.

In the next phase it was necessary to make a net from lime bast obtained from young twigs cut in spring. The most successful method was to weave the net warp on a simple form.

The original soles were damaged but their original shape seemed to be a symmetrical oval. Our soles were made in size according to size of the members of the expedition testing the replicas.

We don't have enough information on what way the upper was fitted to the shoe. We don't know if the upper was pre-shaped or if the shape was achieved with pleats. We decided on pre-shaping.

All together we needed 6 hours to make one shoe with the use of a hard wood splinter with a sharp edge, a single edged flint scraper, a wooden needle and a flint knife.

We tested the replicas in the area of the original find during September 2001. The ascent was about 8 hour long, a one day hike climbing about 1 500 vertical meters in unfavourable weather conditions (temperatures around and below 0°C, thawing and frozen snow, strong wind, snow falls). Four people took part in the climb.

The participants felt that the softening of tread forces was much better than a modern trekking boot. If there is high pressure point the hay spreads it into such a large an area that the pressure is not perceived as a pain and the arch of the foot adjusts to the ruggedness. The good insulation properties of Otzi's boots are provided by the air spaces in the layer of hay. The boots showed good insulation properties even in the difficult high mountain conditions. In the cold high altitude conditions we found to our surprise that the boots adhered with their damp, thin soles to the uneven rock surfaces. The participants assessed this property of the soles as comparable or better than the resistance of slipping of hiking boots with ridged soles.

These subjective properties have been supported by laboratory tests.

The thermal conductivity of the hay infill was measured by two independent laboratories using two different apparatus. The insulating properties of hay in low humidity and given pressures are comparable to modern footwear materials and can be even better. With an increase of humidity the thermal conductivity increases relatively little in comparison with classic leather materials.

The ability to soften the tread forces was tested with the help of an apparatus for measuring the spreading of maximum pressure point on the inner sole. Otzi's boots have much lower presence of maximum pressure point in comparison to trekking, high boots and low shoes.

Most finds of log-boats from Bohemia and Moravia are not dated. Only a part of the Elbe from Mělník to the German border was assessed with the view of navigational possibilities. The author here presents a current geographical listing (Fig 1). He has 10 years of experience with 5 experimentally made (Tab 1, Fig 4) log-boats of various types and sizes on Czech (Orlice 1989, Orlice 1994, the Elbe 1995, Vltava 1995) and European (Rega 1992, Petit Rhona 1998) rivers and dams (Seč 1991, Rozkoš 1993 - 1995, Opatovice 1995).

Burning out (Fig 6a, d-f) is difficult to prove but it does save wear on the tools. Ribbing in some log-boats was earlier interpreted as a feet support. It is possible to interpret it, according to our experience, as a strengthening of the hull.

The navigational properties of single log-boats are of course specific. According to our experience navigation is easy. In this connection I would like to point out that connecting boats slows down the vessel and it is more suitable as pontoon than a long distant transport. Holes in the sides of boats are interpreted as holds for outriggers and thus connected with the safety of the transport. Navigation is possible without them. Also other suppositions as to the unevenness of the bottom of the Elbe boat is not connected to the stability of the boat.

The river system probably had a great commuting potential. It is difficult to prove if "in prehistory rivers were nearly the only reliable connections" but during our experiments we tested paddling against a strong current (Fig 9Ba), navigation on a tributary of Elbe (Fib 9A a, b) and also navigation on a lake as at Komořanské jezero (Fig 9Ac,d, 9Bb, d-f). This allows for supposed navigation on tributaries despite the fact that we have minimum finds from there (Fig 1). They could have been dragged down stream by the current. It didn't need to be specific to the Elbe valley. The finds from the upper Elbe valley are found in similar environments as those, for example in the Orlice valley.

Experiments with log-boats have contributed also to our knowledge of their archaeologization. Fungi (Fig 16a) appeared on Boat II made of poplar within half a year. In the unsuitable storage conditions it eventually destroyed the bow (Fig 16b). The oak Boat III (Fig 16c) reacted in the same way. While common "wintering" of a boat (Fig 16d) could have been done by simple pulling it onto the bank (Fig 11e) only storage under dry and airy shelter has proved suitable for long term storage (Fig 16e). That can warn us about hasty conclusion based on the current number and placing of these specific artefacts.

Microscopic analysis recovers concrete data on the technology of prehistoric pottery manufacture that is, as yet, not fully exploited in archaeological experiment.

As coarse prehistoric pottery is a mixture of various minerals and rocks definition based on mineralogy and petrography seems more progressive than traditional chemical analysis. When evaluating sections under an optical polarizing microscope we study the following parameters: orientation of microstructure, nature of binder, grain, porosity, presence of minerals, presence of rocks, presence of alien materials, surface finish and temperature of firing.

The article describes the results of micropetrographic analysis of Neolithic, Aeneolithic and La Tene ceramic finds from Southern/Central Moravia. The observed characteristics were compared with results of analysis of control samples prepared under known conditions. The vessels were most often made of loess. Analyses of Neolithic and Aeneolithic sets of pottery confirmed that they were usually made from materials gained from the subsoil of the site or its close neighbourhood. The washing of clay was confirmed microscopically especially in the cases of fine, pear-shape, pots belonging to the Stroke Ware and fine beakers of the Moravian Painted Ware (Lengyel) from Těšetice-Kyjovice and Olomouc-Slavonín. It also appears often in the La Tene. In the Neolithic, the temper used was mostly crushed rocks (often weathered quern stones), micas (Fig 1), grog, etc. The addition of grog is a common attribute of many Aeneolithic cultures. In the Aeneolithic we observed among the surface finishes, aside from polishing, also slip. Slip was microscopically confirmed for Bell Beaker and Globular Amphorae cultures in Olomouc-Slavonín. The late La Tene red and white painted ware should probably be classified as glazed pottery. Analysis of pottery from Komárno confirmed that the white stripes on this type of pottery are of a glass nature. As we describe glassy finishes as glazes we have to classify these vessels as glazed pottery.

We can thus summarize that in the Neolithic and Aeneolithic only about 50% of pottery was fired between 600-700 °C, 30% between 400-500 °C, 15% between 800-950 °C and only 5% was fired in temperatures hire than 1000 °C. Reduction firing took place in temperatures varying from 500-650 °C, oxidation firing in the 300-1000 °C range. On the settlements of Stroke Ware culture in Olomouc-Slavonín some pots were only dried and their surfaces were probably covered with a mixture of soot and fat.

Kilns were constructed from raw pottery clay sometimes with a high amount of organic temper. If the site is not situated on sand or gravel subsoil, the kiln might be partly dug into subsoil.

This article describes the construction of a well in Všestary in 2001 according to a model from a chosen archaeological situation, feature 1/67 from Lusatian site near Pobedim in Slovakia (Fig. 7). This find corresponds with findings in our region and thanks to it preservation it allows a probable reconstruction.

We wanted to study the conditions necessary for well construction within the context of the possibilities of prehistoric farming communities and to observe the time demands of building. The building was also connected with other projects:

a) observing properties and efficiency of the chosen range of tools
b) observing the physical demands necessary to perform partial tasks and possible influences on human physiology.

The construction was done only with replicas of prehistoric tools.

The constructed well is 2 m deep, is 2 m in diameter at the bottom and 3 m in diameter at the surface. The box-frame is made from 2 m long split logs and has a square plan with 1.2 m long sides inside the frame.

The work altogether took 285 hours. Chart 4 shows the distribution of time among the single tasks. The well would be a communal building so it's possible there would have been more workers, though they would be usable only for cutting down trees and splitting wood. Constructing the box-frame, digging the hole, placing in the box-frame and filling in the excess space is work done effectively by at the most four people. Four people could build the well in about 7, 10 hour days.

The article also discusses the meaning of time in experimental archaeology. According to the authors of the article time doesn't have an absolute value in an archaeological experiment. It becomes important only with the possibility of comparing parameters obtained in identical ways from other experimental constructions. Recorded time is therefore a way of quantifying an archaeological situation and its interpretation. It doesn't represent prehistoric working time (in which the structure was built) but is a property of the construction (time necessary for the building). Time variation is dependent on a) working method, b) experience, and c) intensity of work. Each of these variables holds, at least in theory, a key to a partial solution: a) observing work traces on tools and especially worked material or looking for the most efficient methods, b) gaining experience by repeating tasks and the interconnection of the experiments, c) observing energy demands.

Full Czech version of the article is available here:

 eXrea-net_REA3_studie_Anyz.pdf (22 stran; 7,34 MB)