Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory最新文献

The aim of this paper is to present the methodology used to study the megalithic architecture of Menjez’s monuments (Akkar, Lebanon), as part of the MEG-A Project - “First megalith builders in the northern Levant” (2022–2025). Twenty-four monuments have been investigated since 2018. The primary objective is to pioneer a comprehensive understanding of the unique Levantine megalithic building techniques and re-establish the “chaînes opératoires,” by determining the builders’ sequence of actions. This groundbreaking methodology originally developed for Western European megalithic monuments, notably in Brittany, France, has been innovatively applied and customized to suit the Levantine context, specifically focusing on the distinctive basaltic monuments of Menjez and its surrounding areas. By using photogrammetry as a tool, the researchers are able to de-construct the megalithic architecture by analyzing the different components of these monuments. Moreover, it is then possible to describe monoliths according to their place within the monument and their geological and geomorphological features. Our work has led us to consider the symbolic aspect expressed in the megalithic architecture of Menjez. Employing this groundbreaking methodology not only yields concrete answers regarding the typology of these monuments but also dramatically reshapes our perception of their construction. It establishes a precise relative chronology for the various architectural phases and, most significantly, reveals the hidden details of the raw material supply chain.

Abstract

Lime-based materials are found in archaeological contexts across many world regions. The earliest evidence of lime production was discovered in the Levant dating to about 16,000 cal BP. Methods for transforming limestone, shells, and corals into slaked lime varied depending on region, culture, and period. Similarly, the use of lime had an extensive variation of applications such as hafting, plastering, mortars, flooring, plastering skulls, decorating, and making frescos. Each step of the lime production process—from raw materials sourcing to the mixing of finished materials—results in specific archaeological assemblages, each capable of delivering critical insight into the knowledge of the people who created them. Here, we review approaches and methodologies used to analyze each production step, and, specifically, those targeting raw materials selection and firing conditions. For investigating effectively raw materials selection and firing conditions of archaeological lime-based materials, we propose a methodological approach based on the integration of petrography and Fourier transform infrared microscopy (mFTIR) that uses chemical and mineralogical reference libraries prepared using experimental lime produced with provenienced raw materials.

Energetic conditions during storms cause major geomorphological changes in coastal environments and drive taphonomic transformations of coastal archaeological sites. Facing the emerging realities of modern climate change and sea-level rise, archaeologists have justifiably focused on erosional processes and the loss of cultural heritage. However, sedimentologists have long recognized that storm-forcing also involves significant (re)depositional processes and the formation of supratidal features. Geoarchaeological research at partially inundated Native American shell mound sites in Tampa Bay, Florida, integrated topobathymetric aerial LiDAR with sub-surface testing to reconstruct complex site-formation histories. These histories include reworking of cultural deposits by contemporary, recent-historical, and ancient storms, forming archaeological tempestites—sediment deposits that have been scoured from and/or deposited within archaeological contexts by storm-forcing. Using sedimentological, zooarchaeological, and radiometric data, as well as post-storm observations, we present methods for recognizing storm-driven redeposition in coastal-estuarine archaeological contexts and demonstrate the potential of archaeo-tempestites for improving archaeological and paleoenvironmental interpretation. Storm-reworking of estuarine shell mounds on the Florida Gulf Coast produces diagnostic signatures in stratigraphy, granulometry, organic content, and mollusk-composition. Ephemeral ground surfaces and overwashed sand-sheets provide suitable loci for radiometric dating of past storm events (¹⁴C and OSL). We discuss inter- and intra-site variation among regional archaeo-tempestites to better understand late-Holocene ecosystem transfer and the long-term effects of shell-bearing sites on inshore-estuarine ecological conditions. We consider the absorption of energetic forcing as part of the life-history or use-life of shell-bearing features and suggest that a broader study of Indigenous coastal terraforming may aid modern coastal protection and management efforts.

For the last seven years, PlanetScope satellites have started near-daily imaging of parts of the Earth’s surface, making high-density multitemporal, multispectral, 3-m pixel imagery accessible to researchers. Multitemporal satellite data enables landscape archaeologists to examine changes in environmental conditions at time scales ranging from daily to decadal. This kind of temporal resolution can accentuate landscape features on the ground by de-emphasizing non-permanent signatures caused by seasonal or even daily changes in vegetation. We argue that the availability of high spatial and temporal resolution multispectral imagery from Planet Inc. will enable new approaches to studying archaeological visibility in landscapes. While palimpsests are discrete overlapping layers of material accumulation, multitemporal composites capture cyclical and seasonal time and can be used to interpret past landscape histories at multiple scales. To illustrate this perspective, we present three case studies using PlanetScope imagery in tropical environments on the Indian Ocean islands of Madagascar, Mauritius, and Zanzibar.

Strontium (Sr) isotopes measured in fossil remains have been a useful tool to assess the geographical origin and even migrations of humans and other animals. In particular, dental enamel generally represents the ideal material, as it is dense and less prone to diagenetic replacement of Sr post-burial. However, fossil teeth can often be precious artefacts and difficult to access for destructive analysis. Here, we assess whether measuring Sr isotopes in fossil dental calculus could be used at least as a rangefinder to determine the geographical origin of an individual. We measured trace element concentrations in modern calculus (from a local dental practice), and trace element concentrations and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios in human fossil calculus, dentine, and enamel from specimens collected in York, UK. Comparing trace element concentrations between modern and fossil calculus show that metals present in fossil calculus are mostly acquired post-burial, including Sr. The relationship between ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and Rb/Sr ratios in fossil calculus, dentine, and enamel suggests that the diagenetic end member would have a ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio consistent with the one modelled for the York region, but a low Rb/Sr. Without calculus data, dentine and enamel data would have probably suggested a lower ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio for a diagenetic end member, expecting high Rb/Sr values. Thus, while Sr isotopes in fossil calculus may not be useful to identify the geographical origin of an individual, they may be useful in constraining the composition of the diagenetic end member. Combining Sr isotopes in fossil dental calculus and enamel could be a more robust approach to identify geographical origin than using enamel alone.

The cave of Saint-Marcel is known for its extensive network (64 km of galleries) and its history of human occupation (Middle Palaeolithic and Neolithic) in the entrance area. Close observation of the main network reveals areas with high concentrations of broken speleothems, which are usually attributed to the first tourist visits of the nineteenth century. However, archaeo-geomorphological mapping of the broken speleothems, many of which are lying on the floor and sealed by stalagmite regrowth or crust, indicates intentional organisation of the underground space into speleothem supply zones and zones in which the speleothems were used to build structures. Age estimates of the stalagmite seals on these human-made structures suggest that the structures were a result of human activity that occurred between the end of the Upper Palaeolithic and the European Mesolithic. These age estimates radically change the way we look at the broken speleothems in the cave of Saint-Marcel and the structures associated with them. They bring to light the engagement of past human communities with the deep underground environment, at more than 1.5 km from the cave entrance, which can only be accessed by crossing obstacles (pits) that, today, are considered as difficult to be crossed. Our findings and ongoing research stress the unequivocal archaeological significance of the cave.

The recognition of low-density urbanisation has been important in documenting how diverse human settlements generated enduring social and economic change. In tropical regions, the key challenges to studying low-density urbanisation have been the difficulty in acquiring past built environment data and integrating the frameworks that illuminate the social behaviours intrinsic to urbanisation. The introduction of lidar mapping and urban science methods has proven revolutionary in our understanding of low-density urbanisation as demonstrated by emerging research on settlements and states in Mesoamerica and Southeast Asia. These studies draw on urban theory to highlight patterns in the built environment associated with profound societal changes including the rise of social institutions, agglomeration effects, and ongoing settlement growth. Here, we present an approach that combines lidar survey and archaeological fieldwork with recent developments in urban science to understand the built environment of Tongatapu; the location of an archaic state whose influence spread across the southwest Pacific Ocean between the thirteenth and nineteenth centuries a.d. Quantitative results show—for the first time—that settlements on a Pacific island were urbanised in a distinct low-density form and that the processes of urbanisation began prior to state development. This study highlights the potential contribution of Pacific landscapes to urban science and the low-density settlement phenomena given the presence of large populations, hierarchical societies, and vast distributions of archaeological built remains on many island groups.

Finger flutings are channels drawn in soft sediments covering walls, floors and ceilings of some limestone caves in Europe and Australia and in some cases date as far back as 50,000 years ago. Initial research focused on why they were made, but more recently, as part of a growing interest in the individual in the past, researchers began asking questions about who made them. This shift in direction has led to claims that by measuring the width of flutings made with the three middle fingers of either hand, archaeologists can infer the ordinal age, sex and individuality of the ‘fluter’. These claims rest on a single dataset created in 2006. In this paper, we undertake the first critical analysis of that dataset and its concomitant methodologies. We argue that sample size, uneven distribution of sex and age within the sample, non-standardised medium, human variability, the lack of comparability between an experimental context and real cave environments and assumptions about demographic modelling effectively negate all previous claims. To sum, we find no substantial evidence for the claims that an age, sex and individual tracing can be revealed by measuring finger flutings as described by Sharpe and Van Gelder (Antiquity 80: 937-947, 2006a; Cambridge Archaeological Journal 16: 281–95, 2006b; Rock Art Research 23: 179–98, 2006c). As a case study, we discuss Koonalda Cave in southern Australia. Koonalda has the largest and most intact display of finger flutings in the world and is also part of a cultural landscape maintained and curated by Mirning people.

Archaeologists are increasingly interested in studying the role emotions have played in past human decision making. This paper demonstrates how awe is under-appreciated within archaeology despite it being uniquely available to archaeological research given its connection to monumental architecture and communal rituals. Archaeological engagement with awe is particularly important as psychological research has demonstrated that it is a prosocial emotion that leads to the creation of more extensive and stronger social bonds between individuals. A novel interpretation of Poverty Point (USA) is provided to illustrate the importance of studying awe, as this massive earthwork site was built more than 3000 years ago through large-scale gatherings. Reconsidered as a place of awe, Poverty Point is recast as an emotional locale where larger social and cultural identities and relationships were formed.