Fingerprints and Archaeology

Modern police have collaborated with archaeologists to study the fingerprints left during production at a Byzantine era pottery workshop. The workshop produced oil lamps in Israel.

Thumbprints pressed into the clay during the molding process have a story to tell. That modern experts can tell from fingerprints how many potters worked at this workshop is interesting but not surprising. However, did you know that an expert can judge gender and age from a fingerprint?

Police Assistance with Archaeology and Fingerprints

An article in Smithsonian, “What Fingerprints Tell Us About Jerusalem’s Ancient Artisans” also discusses what similar collaborations between police and archaeologists revealed at Pueblo sites in the Southwest US and cave paintings in Spain, among other intriguing locations and times. Apparently fingerprints can tell us as much about the past as they can about the identities of modern criminals. And then there’s that collaboration part–crossing the boundaries between professions and cooperating produces excellent archaeology. Archaeology has grown into a flourishing hybrid of disciplines. Fingerprints are only a small tidbit in the mix, but I enjoyed reading about them.

Further Reading

For more detail about archaeology and fingerprints, you can read the article in Smithsonian, “What Fingerprints Tell Us About Jerusalem’s Ancient Artisans.”

If you’d enjoy an article about an archaeologist turning into a detective, read this post about “Tut’s Missing Collar.”