Table of Contents

List of Figures
Acknowledgments

Introduction
    The Basics: What Everyone Should Know
Most Common Ritualistic, Religious, and Magical Tropes
Common Attributes of Ritualistic, Religious, and Magical Material Culture

Chapter One: Defining Ritual, Religion, and Magic
    Definitions
    Magical Agency

Chapter Two: Classification and Typology
    Creating classification systems
    Criteria for Identifying Ritual in Archaeological Contexts
Criteria for Identifying Magic in Archaeological Contexts
    Witch Bottle Typology
    Concealed Cat Typology
    Concealed Footwear Typology
Gender and Ascribing Usage

Chapter Three: Ritual, Religion, and Magic Functions and Devices
    Divination
    Fertility
    Healing
Love and Marriage
    Maleficium
    Mortuary
    Propitiation/Immolation
    Protection
    Success
    Treasure Hunting

Chapter Four: Ritual, Religion, and Magic by Ethnicity and Religion
    African/African American
    Ancient World
    Arctic-Subarctic/Pacific Northwest
    Asian
    Australian/South Pacific
    European/American
    Latin/Mesoamerican
Mediterranean/Classical
    Middle Eastern/Indian
    Native American
    Scandinavian
    Buddhism
    Candomblé
    Christianity
    Confucianism
    Daoism
    Hinduism
    Islam
    Jainism
    Judaism
    Mormonism
    Rastafarianism
    Santería-Regla de Ocha
    Shinto
    Sikhism
    Voudou
    Zoroastrianism
Ritual and Magical Practitioners

Chapter Five: Ritual, Religion, and Magic at Particular Site Types
    Ceremonial (feasting, food procurement, initiation, military, political)
    Conflict (battlefields, fortifications, jails/prisons, prisoner camps/detention centers)
    Monumental (burials, cultural markers, guardian statuary, memorials)
    Mortuary (burials, cemeteries, cenotaphs)
    Mundane/Secular (commercial, domestic, institutional, occupational, public)
    Sacred (pilgrimage, religious features, religious structures, sacrifice)
    Underwater (inundated sites, plane wrecks and shipwrecks)

Chapter Six: Ritualistic, Sacred, and Magical Landscapes
    Astronomical Associations and Structures
    Cosmological Modeling
    Culturally Modified Ecofacts (CMEs)
Directional Orientation
Elementals
Flora & Fauna
Geological, Geographical, and Other Natural Markers
Light/Dark
Seasonality
Soundscapes
Travel Corridors
Viewsheds
Vertical/Horizontal Associations

Chapter Seven: Ritualistic, Religious, and Magical Material Culture by Material Type and Attribute
Ceramic
Color
Fauna
Flora
Glass
Metal
Mineral/Lithic/Soil
Numbers
Symbols, Designs, and Images
Textiles and Clothing

Chapter Eight: Sensory Elements in Ritual, Religion, and Magic
Affective
Auditory
Gustatory (Taste)
Olfactory
Tactility/Haptic
Vestibular
Vision

Chapter Nine: Forms and Templates
Burial Site Survey Form
Burial Recordation Form
Conflict and Battlefield Recordation Form
Individual Figurine/Statuary/Figural Vessel Recordation Form
Intentionally Concealed Object (ICO) Recordation Form
Plant Recordation and Collection Form
Quotidian and Occupational Site Recordation Form
Religious, Ceremonial, and Formal Ritual Building Recordation Form
Ritual Landscape Recordation Form
Ritual/Magic Assemblage Recordation Form
Rock Art Recordation Form
Censors
Crosses
Figurines

Chapter Ten: Technologies, Methodologies, and Analyses
    3-D Scanning
Accessibility Analysis
Botanical Analysis
Chemical Residue and DNA Analysis
Geophysical Survey
Mapping
Measuring
Photography

Chapter Eleven: Resources
    Databases
    Researchers
    Museums & Archives

Glossaries
    Glossary of Ritualistic, Religious, and Magical Gems and Other Stones
Glossary of Ritualistic, Religious, and Magical Plants
Glossary of Ritualistic, Religious, and Magical Terms
For Further Reading
Attribute Analysis
Ethnic Studies
Artifact Material Types
    Sensory and Landscape Studies
Mortuary Studies
Ritual and Magic Theory
General Sources

Index

About the Author

C. Riley Augé holds an M.A. in Folklore and Mythology, and a PhD in Anthropology. Her specialized area of research is the archaeology of ritual, religion, and magic, particularly the material expressions of these beliefs. Auge’ currently serves on the governor-appointed Montana State Historic Preservation Review Board to actively engage in state-wide efforts to preserve all aspects of the historical record.

Reviews

“While Augé addresses her volume to archaeologists, it seems to me that it has value also for those involved more tangentially, such as researchers in material culture studies, epigraphers, historic site interpreters, and members of the general public with interests in the spiritual side of the material world.” • American Journal of Archaeology “This is a valuable contribution to a relatively recent shift towards the study of the material culture of ritual and magic. Ritual interpretations that were previously either avoided or resorted to by default are now being thoroughly engaged with, and this Field Manual offers an accessible, concise but comprehensive guide to tackling this fascinating subject in archaeological contexts.” • Ceri Houlbrook, University of Hertfordshire