Pub Date : 2025-12-20DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105553
Marcos García García
The impact of the medieval Arab expansion on agriculture in the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Mediterranean was defined by Andrew M. Watson, 1974, Watson, 1983 as an “agricultural revolution,” although both the use of the term and the nature of this impact have been the subject of considerable debate. Archaeological research into this phenomenon has focused primarily on specific issues—such as the archaeobotanical identification of crop dispersals or the analysis of irrigation systems—while devoting far less attention to the role of animal husbandry in this process of historical and agrarian transformation.
This paper pursues a twofold objective. First, drawing on ethnographic and agroecological data on the traditional functioning of pre-mechanised agrarian systems, it offers a reappraisal of the Islamic Green Revolution model that challenges one of its central postulates: the alleged structural disassociation between irrigated agriculture and livestock husbandry. Second, it presents a preliminary, macro-scale and essentially qualitative cross-cutting analysis of a set of zooarchaeological results—focusing primarily on evidence from al-Andalus—which are shedding new light on changes in the management and exploitation of animals as part of the processes of agrarian change associated with the medieval Arab expansion.
中世纪阿拉伯扩张对中东、中亚和地中海地区农业的影响被Andrew M. Watson （1974, Watson, 1983）定义为“农业革命”，尽管该术语的使用和这种影响的性质一直是相当大的争论的主题。对这一现象的考古研究主要集中在具体问题上，如对作物扩散的考古植物学鉴定或灌溉系统的分析，而对畜牧业在这一历史和农业转型过程中的作用的关注要少得多。本文追求双重目标。首先，利用关于前机械化农业系统传统功能的人种学和农业生态学数据，它对伊斯兰绿色革命模式进行了重新评估，挑战了其核心假设之一：所谓的灌溉农业和畜牧业之间的结构性分离。其次，它对一系列动物考古结果进行了初步的、宏观的、本质上是定性的交叉分析，主要集中在安达卢斯的证据上，这些结果揭示了动物管理和利用的变化，这是与中世纪阿拉伯扩张相关的农业变化过程的一部分。
{"title":"Animalising the Islamic Green Revolution: zooarchaeology and socio-ecological change in the Islamic Far West","authors":"Marcos García García","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105553","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105553","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The impact of the medieval Arab expansion on agriculture in the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Mediterranean was defined by Andrew M. <span><span>Watson, 1974</span></span>, <span><span>Watson, 1983</span></span> as an “agricultural revolution,” although both the use of the term and the nature of this impact have been the subject of considerable debate. Archaeological research into this phenomenon has focused primarily on specific issues—such as the archaeobotanical identification of crop dispersals or the analysis of irrigation systems—while devoting far less attention to the role of animal husbandry in this process of historical and agrarian transformation.</div><div>This paper pursues a twofold objective. First, drawing on ethnographic and agroecological data on the traditional functioning of pre-mechanised agrarian systems, it offers a reappraisal of the Islamic Green Revolution model that challenges one of its central postulates: the alleged structural disassociation between irrigated agriculture and livestock husbandry. Second, it presents a preliminary, macro-scale and essentially qualitative cross-cutting analysis of a set of zooarchaeological results—focusing primarily on evidence from al-Andalus—which are shedding new light on changes in the management and exploitation of animals as part of the processes of agrarian change associated with the medieval Arab expansion.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"69 ","pages":"Article 105553"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145796861","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-19DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105547
Alejandro Beltrán Ruiz , José Antonio Riquelme Cantal , Fernando Molina González , Trinidad Nájera Colino , Nelson J. Almeida
This study analyses Phase 2 (ca. 1950–1875 cal BCE) of Motilla del Azuer (Daimiel, Ciudad Real) to refine current understanding of subsistence strategies and livestock management. Zooarchaeological analysis reveals a predominance of caprines, followed by pig and cattle. Other domestic taxa, including horse and dog, are present but less abundant. Wild taxa are also represented, with leporids standing out, while large game such as red deer and wild goat are comparatively scarce. Taphonomic analysis of a subsample shows widespread anthropogenic modifications, including butchery marks and marrow extraction, as well as frequent burning traces, mostly mild to moderate, probably related to culinary practices. When compared with previous studies, the results indicate both stability and shifts in herd composition and slaughter patterns.
At a broader scale, the assemblage fits within regional Bronze Age trends of increasing caprine exploitation, while differing from Argaric (ca. 2200–1550 cal BCE) contexts in the relative roles of cattle and pigs. The scarcity of large game appears to be a defining feature of the Motilla culture, contrasting with Levantine and Argaric sites, where big game hunting played a more significant role. These results highlight the adaptive strategies of Motilla del Azuer communities to conditions of aridity and demographic growth, and provide new insights into the economic and social dynamics of Bronze Age southeastern Iberia.
本研究分析了Motilla del Azuer （Ciudad Real Daimiel）的第二阶段（约公元前1950-1875 cal），以完善当前对生存策略和牲畜管理的理解。动物考古学分析显示，主要是山羊，其次是猪和牛。其他家养分类群，包括马和狗，也有，但数量较少。野生类群也有代表，其中以leporids突出，而马鹿和野山羊等大型猎物相对较少。对一份亚样本进行的语言分析显示，人类活动对其造成了广泛的影响，包括屠宰痕迹和骨髓提取，以及频繁的燃烧痕迹，这些痕迹大多是轻微到中度的，可能与烹饪实践有关。与以前的研究相比，结果表明畜群组成和屠宰模式既稳定又变化。在更广泛的范围内，该组合符合区域青铜器时代增加山羊开采的趋势，而在牛和猪的相对角色方面与Argaric（约公元前2200-1550 cal）不同。大型动物的稀缺似乎是Motilla文化的一个决定性特征，与黎凡特和阿加尔地区形成鲜明对比，在那里大型动物狩猎扮演着更重要的角色。这些结果突出了Motilla del Azuer社区对干旱和人口增长条件的适应策略，并为研究青铜时代伊比利亚东南部的经济和社会动态提供了新的见解。
{"title":"Subsistence strategies in Bronze Age south-eastern Iberia: insights from Motilla del Azuer Phase 2 (ca. 1950–1875 cal BCE)","authors":"Alejandro Beltrán Ruiz , José Antonio Riquelme Cantal , Fernando Molina González , Trinidad Nájera Colino , Nelson J. Almeida","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105547","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105547","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study analyses Phase 2 (ca. 1950–1875 cal BCE) of Motilla del Azuer (Daimiel, Ciudad Real) to refine current understanding of subsistence strategies and livestock management. Zooarchaeological analysis reveals a predominance of caprines, followed by pig and cattle. Other domestic taxa, including horse and dog, are present but less abundant. Wild taxa are also represented, with leporids standing out, while large game such as red deer and wild goat are comparatively scarce. Taphonomic analysis of a subsample shows widespread anthropogenic modifications, including butchery marks and marrow extraction, as well as frequent burning traces, mostly mild to moderate, probably related to culinary practices. When compared with previous studies, the results indicate both stability and shifts in herd composition and slaughter patterns.</div><div>At a broader scale, the assemblage fits within regional Bronze Age trends of increasing caprine exploitation, while differing from Argaric (ca. 2200–1550 cal BCE) contexts in the relative roles of cattle and pigs. The scarcity of large game appears to be a defining feature of the Motilla culture, contrasting with Levantine and Argaric sites, where big game hunting played a more significant role. These results highlight the adaptive strategies of Motilla del Azuer communities to conditions of aridity and demographic growth, and provide new insights into the economic and social dynamics of Bronze Age southeastern Iberia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"69 ","pages":"Article 105547"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145796959","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-18DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105544
Teresa P. Raczek
Hundreds of sites across northwest India have published mentions of Ahar white painted black and red ware, a pottery type that is often used as a proxy for the Ahar Culture (c. 3000–1700 BCE). Together, these sites comprise a “potscape,” a setting of shared pottery use that transcended geographic and social boundaries. About 65 of these sites have been excavated and 22 sites have produced 283 radiocarbon dates. However, a review of published site reports shows that less than half of these radiocarbon samples were collected from the same context as the pottery and even fewer meet the standards of chronometric hygiene. This paper systematically reviews the dates from these sites to assess the contemporaneity of Ahar white painted black and red ware across three regions: Southeastern Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh. It reviews the radiocarbon samples for completeness of publication data, intact nature of contexts, and other factors. The most relevant 74 dates are used to re-assess and refine the accepted chronology for Ahar white painted black and red ware. The results suggest that the chronology of this pottery type varies regionally and that the potscape changed over time.
{"title":"Seeing black and red: Refining chronologies of a complicated pottery type","authors":"Teresa P. Raczek","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105544","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105544","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Hundreds of sites across northwest India have published mentions of Ahar white painted black and red ware, a pottery type that is often used as a proxy for the Ahar Culture (c. 3000–1700 BCE). Together, these sites comprise a “potscape,” a setting of shared pottery use that transcended geographic and social boundaries. About 65 of these sites have been excavated and 22 sites have produced 283 radiocarbon dates. However, a review of published site reports shows that less than half of these radiocarbon samples were collected from the same context as the pottery and even fewer meet the standards of chronometric hygiene. This paper systematically reviews the dates from these sites to assess the contemporaneity of Ahar white painted black and red ware across three regions: Southeastern Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh. It reviews the radiocarbon samples for completeness of publication data, intact nature of contexts, and other factors. The most relevant 74 dates are used to re-assess and refine the accepted chronology for Ahar white painted black and red ware. The results suggest that the chronology of this pottery type varies regionally and that the potscape changed over time.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"69 ","pages":"Article 105544"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145796680","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-17DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105523
Jérôme Robitaille , Lisa-Elen Meyering , Paul Pettitt , Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser , Olaf Jöris , Robert Kentridge , Markus Hausmann
In the context of Palaeolithic archaeology, identifying traits of individual creators of prehistoric art remains a formidable challenge. This study introduces innovative traceological methods employed to analyze engraved stone plaquettes from the 15,800-year-old Late Upper Palaeolithic site of Gönnersdorf, Germany. Utilizing advanced techniques such as confocal microscopy, alongside manual and robotic experimentation, we investigate the hand preferences of individual engravers. Preliminary results reveal discernible patterns in tool positioning and tool angle variations, providing insights into engravers’ lateralities. By integrating experimental findings with archaeological data, this study enhances our understanding of prehistoric engraving practices and contributes to the growing research on lateralized cognitive and motor processes in prehistoric art creation.
{"title":"Tracing individuality and hand preference in Upper Palaeolithic engraving: experimental and traceological insights","authors":"Jérôme Robitaille , Lisa-Elen Meyering , Paul Pettitt , Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser , Olaf Jöris , Robert Kentridge , Markus Hausmann","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105523","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105523","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the context of Palaeolithic archaeology, identifying traits of individual creators of prehistoric art remains a formidable challenge. This study introduces innovative traceological methods employed to analyze engraved stone plaquettes from the 15,800-year-old Late Upper Palaeolithic site of Gönnersdorf, Germany. Utilizing advanced techniques such as confocal microscopy, alongside manual and robotic experimentation, we investigate the hand preferences of individual engravers. Preliminary results reveal discernible patterns in tool positioning and tool angle variations, providing insights into engravers’ lateralities. By integrating experimental findings with archaeological data, this study enhances our understanding of prehistoric engraving practices and contributes to the growing research on lateralized cognitive and motor processes in prehistoric art creation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"69 ","pages":"Article 105523"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145796862","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-16DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105549
Nilay Çetin Demir
This study evaluates the initial findings concerning the chipped stone industry unearthed during the post-2021 excavations at Domuztepe Höyük, located in the Türkiye’s Eastern Mediterranean region. The chipped stone artifacts recovered from various architectural units have been analyzed through a chaîne opératoire approach. The research specifically addresses first assessment of raw material preferences, production strategies, tool types, and initial spatial observations. These assessments provide an opportunity to reconsider the traditions of chipped stone production and use at Domuztepe during the Neolithic period and contribute to the existing knowledge on this subject. This study constitutes a preliminary assessment intended to establish a basis for future research aiming to define Domuztepe’s position within the Türkiye’s Eastern Mediterranean through its chipped stone assemblage and to enable interregional comparisons. For this reason, the scope of the present study has been limited to the chipped stone assemblage from Domuztepe.
本研究评估了2021年后在位于 rkiye的东地中海地区的Domuztepe Höyük进行的挖掘中发现的有关碎石业的初步发现。通过cha ne opsamatoire方法分析了从各种建筑单元中恢复的破碎的石头文物。该研究特别针对原材料偏好、生产策略、工具类型和初始空间观察的首次评估。这些评估提供了一个机会来重新考虑新石器时期多穆兹特佩的碎石生产和使用传统，并对这一主题的现有知识做出贡献。这项研究是一项初步评估，旨在为未来的研究奠定基础，旨在通过其碎石组合确定Domuztepe在 rkiye的东地中海地区的位置，并进行区域间比较。因此，本研究的范围仅限于多穆兹特佩的碎块石组合。
{"title":"The Late Neolithic chipped stone industry from the new excavations at Domuztepe: preliminary observations","authors":"Nilay Çetin Demir","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105549","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105549","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study evaluates the initial findings concerning the chipped stone industry unearthed during the post-2021 excavations at Domuztepe Höyük, located in the Türkiye’s Eastern Mediterranean region. The chipped stone artifacts recovered from various architectural units have been analyzed through a chaîne opératoire approach. The research specifically addresses first assessment of raw material preferences, production strategies, tool types, and initial spatial observations. These assessments provide an opportunity to reconsider the traditions of chipped stone production and use at Domuztepe during the Neolithic period and contribute to the existing knowledge on this subject. This study constitutes a preliminary assessment intended to establish a basis for future research aiming to define Domuztepe’s position within the Türkiye’s Eastern Mediterranean through its chipped stone assemblage and to enable interregional comparisons. For this reason, the scope of the present study has been limited to the chipped stone assemblage from Domuztepe.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"69 ","pages":"Article 105549"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145796864","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-16DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105536
Tara Steimer-Herbet , Meryl Defours Rivoira , Sahar al Khasawneh , Marie Besse
The architectural and ritual biography of dolmen ST_30 in the Rjile necropolis (Kufr Yuba, Jordan) provides new chronological and cultural insights into Levantine megalithism. A multidisciplinary investigation – combining building techniques with chaîne opératoire analysis, excavation data, human osteological evidence and scientific dating – reveals at least four distinct phases of use. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of sediments indicates that the dolmen was initially constructed and used during the Early Bronze Age (EBA) IB/II and III-IV periods, while a series of calibrated radiocarbon determinations from human remains points to three subsequent episodes of reuse between 3100 BCE and 800 BCE. The limited but significant human assemblage, associated artefacts, and architectural modifications suggest that ST_30 functioned either as a continuous memorial space or, more plausibly, as a funerary monument periodically reactivated over more than a millennium. These results refine the chronological framework for dolmen construction and use in the western Irbid region and highlight the complexity of their cultural biographies.
Rjile墓地（Kufr Yuba，约旦）ST_30墓室的建筑和仪式传记为黎凡特巨石时代提供了新的时间和文化见解。一项多学科调查——将建筑技术与cha ne opacimatoire分析、挖掘数据、人类骨骼学证据和科学年代测定相结合——揭示了至少四个不同的使用阶段。沉积物的光激发发光（OSL）年代测定表明，这些墓石最初是在早期青铜时代（EBA） IB/II和III-IV时期建造和使用的，而一系列校准的人类遗骸放射性碳测定表明，在公元前3100年至公元前800年之间，有三次重复使用。有限但重要的人类组合、相关的人工制品和建筑修改表明，ST_30要么作为一个连续的纪念空间，要么更有可能作为一个葬礼纪念碑，在一千多年的时间里定期重新激活。这些结果完善了西部伊尔比德地区石棺建造和使用的时间框架，并突出了其文化传记的复杂性。
{"title":"Biography of a Levantine dolmen during the Early Bronze Age: construction, reuse and memory at Rjile (Kufr Yuba, North Jordan)","authors":"Tara Steimer-Herbet , Meryl Defours Rivoira , Sahar al Khasawneh , Marie Besse","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105536","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105536","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The architectural and ritual biography of dolmen ST_30 in the Rjile necropolis (Kufr Yuba, Jordan) provides new chronological and cultural insights into Levantine megalithism. A multidisciplinary investigation – combining building techniques with <em>chaîne opératoire</em> analysis, excavation data, human osteological evidence and scientific dating – reveals at least four distinct phases of use. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of sediments indicates that the dolmen was initially constructed and used during the Early Bronze Age (EBA) IB/II and III-IV periods, while a series of calibrated radiocarbon determinations from human remains points to three subsequent episodes of reuse between 3100 BCE and 800 BCE. The limited but significant human assemblage, associated artefacts, and architectural modifications suggest that ST_30 functioned either as a continuous memorial space or, more plausibly, as a funerary monument periodically reactivated over more than a millennium. These results refine the chronological framework for dolmen construction and use in the western Irbid region and highlight the complexity of their cultural biographies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"69 ","pages":"Article 105536"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145796865","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In the last years, knowledge about husbandry during Roman times in the northeast of Iberian Peninsula has increased significantly thanks to an increasing number of archaeozoological studies applied to Roman villae. Nonetheless, these studies have hardly focused their attention on the usually scarce remains of wild animals that appear in these sites. In this sense, the archaeological fieldwork carried out in Pla de Palol villa (Platja d’Aro, NE Iberian Peninsula) during the years 1998–99 retrieved a relatively outstanding amount of deer remains. The study of such an assemblage can help to better understand the capture and management of wild fauna in these kinds of rural settlements.
The results indicate that hunting activity primarily targeted adult red deer stags, which served as a source of multiple raw materials, including skin, tendon, meat, bone, and antler. The carcasses were butchered in the villa, where antler processing also took place. Although the presence of wild boar is more difficult to trace, morphometric analysis points out that they were also a significant targeted species. Specifically, only male individuals have been identified. Other less important prey species included leporids and ursids.
In general terms, hunting was a subsidiary practice when compared to the volume of products that husbandry supplied. On the contrary, hunting activity displayed a ludic character that provided the villa owners (or their villici) with preeminent status.
{"title":"Wild fauna exploitation and management in a Roman villa: New insights from Pla de Palol (NE Iberian Peninsula)","authors":"Isaac Rufí , Arnau Brosa-Planella , Clàudia Tura-Poch , Neus Coromina , Josep Burch","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105551","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105551","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>In the last years, knowledge about husbandry during Roman times in the northeast of Iberian Peninsula has increased significantly thanks to an increasing number of archaeozoological studies applied to Roman</em> villae<em>. Nonetheless, these studies have hardly focused their attention on the usually scarce remains of wild animals that appear in these sites. In this sense, the archaeological fieldwork carried out in Pla de Palol villa (Platja d’Aro, NE Iberian Peninsula) during the years 1998</em>–<em>99 retrieved a relatively outstanding amount of deer remains. The study of such an assemblage can help to better understand the capture and management of wild fauna in these kinds of rural settlements.</em></div><div><em>The results indicate that hunting activity primarily targeted adult red deer stags, which served as a source of multiple raw materials, including skin, tendon, meat, bone, and antler. The carcasses were butchered in the villa, where antler processing also took place. Although the presence of wild boar is more difficult to trace, morphometric analysis points out that they were also a significant targeted species. Specifically, only male individuals have been identified. Other less important prey species included leporids and ursids.</em></div><div><em>In general terms, hunting was a subsidiary practice when compared to the volume of products that husbandry supplied. On the contrary, hunting activity displayed a ludic character that provided the villa owners (or their</em> villici<em>) with preeminent status.</em></div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"69 ","pages":"Article 105551"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145796866","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-13DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105546
Jing-Wen Xu , Feng Gao , Jillian Huntley , Shi-Xia Yang , Ke-Liang Zhao , Xin-Ying Zhou , Fa-Xiang Huan , Yu-Xiu Zhang , Qi-Jun Ruan , Lin-Shan He , Kai-Wei Qiu , Michael Petraglia , Xiao-Qiang Li
The gathering and use of ochre is a common behavior documented among Late Pleistocene human populations across the globe. Yet ochre use in the Paleolithic archaeological record of China remains poorly understood. Here we report on 36 pieces of ochre and 21 lithic artifacts with ochre residues from the archaeological deposits in Fodongdi Cave, Yunnan Province. These ochre finds, recovered from a succession of well-dated stratigraphic layers, offer an opportunity to discuss ochre use during the terminal Pleistocene in southwest China between 18,400 and 14,000 cal BP. We characterized the ochre assemblage using a combination of optical microscopy, thin section analysis, portable X-ray fluorescence, laser-induced breakdown and Raman spectrographic techniques, alongside scanning electron microscopy (with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy). Results indicate at least three petrographic and chemically distinct groups of locally available ochre were used (presumably as red pigments). The ochre assemblage contains 27 pieces with clear anthropogenic modification including microstriations within grooves, parallel striations with polish, as well as smoothed areas with microstriations and luster. Use-wear traces and ochre residues on processing tools indicates that ochre was ground on grindstones and rubbed on soft materials, with quartzite pebbles used to process ochre before the pebbles were themselves flaked (used for tool stone). The Fodongdi Cave study provides novel information for southern China, suggesting the selection of local ochre sources, their processing directly onto grindstones and by rubbing against soft surfaces such as hide or human skin at the site, and the collection and use of different proportions of (local) ochres during the terminal Pleistocene.
收集和使用赭石是全球晚更新世人类中记载的一种常见行为。然而，在中国旧石器时代的考古记录中，赭石的使用仍然知之甚少。本文报道了在云南佛洞地考古沉积物中发现的36件赭石和21件带有赭石残留物的石器制品。这些赭石发现是在一系列年代确定的地层中发现的，为讨论中国西南部更新世末期（18400 - 14000 cal BP）的赭石使用提供了机会。我们利用光学显微镜、薄片分析、便携式x射线荧光、激光诱导击穿和拉曼光谱技术以及扫描电子显微镜（带有能量色散x射线光谱）对赭石组合进行了表征。结果表明，至少有三种岩石学和化学性质不同的当地可用赭石被使用（可能是作为红色颜料）。赭石组合包含27件具有明显人为修饰的作品，包括沟槽内的微条纹，抛光的平行条纹，以及带有微条纹和光泽的光滑区域。加工工具上的使用磨损痕迹和赭石残留物表明，赭石是在磨石上研磨并在柔软的材料上摩擦的，在鹅卵石被剥落（用于工具石）之前，石英岩鹅卵石被用来加工赭石。佛洞地洞穴的研究为中国南方提供了新的信息，表明当地赭石来源的选择，直接在磨石上加工，在遗址上摩擦柔软的表面，如皮革或人体皮肤，以及在更新世晚期收集和使用不同比例的（当地）赭石。
{"title":"Terminal Pleistocene ochre use at Fodongdi Cave, southwestern China","authors":"Jing-Wen Xu , Feng Gao , Jillian Huntley , Shi-Xia Yang , Ke-Liang Zhao , Xin-Ying Zhou , Fa-Xiang Huan , Yu-Xiu Zhang , Qi-Jun Ruan , Lin-Shan He , Kai-Wei Qiu , Michael Petraglia , Xiao-Qiang Li","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105546","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105546","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The gathering and use of ochre is a common behavior documented among Late Pleistocene human populations across the globe. Yet ochre use in the Paleolithic archaeological record of China remains poorly understood. Here we report on 36 pieces of ochre and 21 lithic artifacts with ochre residues from the archaeological deposits in Fodongdi Cave, Yunnan Province. These ochre finds, recovered from a succession of well-dated stratigraphic layers, offer an opportunity to discuss ochre use during the terminal Pleistocene in southwest China between 18,400 and 14,000 cal BP. We characterized the ochre assemblage using a combination of optical microscopy, thin section analysis, portable X-ray fluorescence, laser-induced breakdown and Raman spectrographic techniques, alongside scanning electron microscopy (with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy). Results indicate at least three petrographic and chemically distinct groups of locally available ochre were used (presumably as red pigments). The ochre assemblage contains 27 pieces with clear anthropogenic modification including microstriations within grooves, parallel striations with polish, as well as smoothed areas with microstriations and luster. Use-wear traces and ochre residues on processing tools indicates that ochre was ground on grindstones and rubbed on soft materials, with quartzite pebbles used to process ochre before the pebbles were themselves flaked (used for tool stone). The Fodongdi Cave study provides novel information for southern China, suggesting the selection of local ochre sources, their processing directly onto grindstones and by rubbing against soft surfaces such as hide or human skin at the site, and the collection and use of different proportions of (local) ochres during the terminal Pleistocene.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"69 ","pages":"Article 105546"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145747736","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-13DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105552
Jordi Nadal , Tània Bacardit , Philip Banks , Alexandre Tarragó , Josep Medina , Lluís Lloveras
The monastery of Avinganya (Seròs, Lleida, north-eastern Iberia) was founded at the beginning of the 13th century (1201) and was occupied by the Trinitarian Order. Initially it operated as a male community although it subsequently became a nunnery (1251), reverting to being a friary (1529) until its final demise and abandonment in 1835. In addition, in its early stages, it was a burial space for some important figures of the Catalan-Aragonese nobility, and a place of hospitality for pilgrims throughout its history.
The study of the faunal remains, which has focused on the second phase of the friary (16th- early 19th centuries), has enabled us to observe a variety of events that can be related to the use of the different spaces of the monastery during the course of its history. Moreover, the results of this analysis reveal differences in the management of food resources of animal origin with respect to other previously studied monastic houses in Catalonia, especially those located in urban or peri-urban contexts. In the case of Avinganya, the low proportion of food of marine origin is apparent, together with a greater anatomical diversity among domestic fauna, especially caprines, as well as a certain importance of hunting. This is understood to be a consequence of food production being of a fundamentally local nature, with animal carcass processing being carried out entirely on site or nearby.
{"title":"Nostra Senyora dels Àngels d’Avinganya (Seròs, NE Iberia). Zooarchaeology studies in a rural monastery (16th-19th centuries)","authors":"Jordi Nadal , Tània Bacardit , Philip Banks , Alexandre Tarragó , Josep Medina , Lluís Lloveras","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105552","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105552","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The monastery of Avinganya (Seròs, Lleida, north-eastern Iberia) was founded at the beginning of the 13th century (1201) and was occupied by the Trinitarian Order. Initially it operated as a male community although it subsequently became a nunnery (1251), reverting to being a friary (1529) until its final demise and abandonment in 1835. In addition, in its early stages, it was a burial space for some important figures of the Catalan-Aragonese nobility, and a place of hospitality for pilgrims throughout its history.</div><div>The study of the faunal remains, which has focused on the second phase of the friary (16th- early 19th centuries), has enabled us to observe a variety of events that can be related to the use of the different spaces of the monastery during the course of its history. Moreover, the results of this analysis reveal differences in the management of food resources of animal origin with respect to other previously studied monastic houses in Catalonia, especially those located in urban or <em>peri</em>-urban contexts. In the case of Avinganya, the low proportion of food of marine origin is apparent, together with a greater anatomical diversity among domestic fauna, especially caprines, as well as a certain importance of hunting. This is understood to be a consequence of food production being of a fundamentally local nature, with animal carcass processing being carried out entirely on site or nearby.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"69 ","pages":"Article 105552"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145796863","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-13DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105545
Ellery Frahm , Chunag Amartuvshin , Kellina Brennan , Aubrey Chambers , Michael Corolla , Mallory Cox , Zining Deng , Hassan Elzawy , Matthew Fiore , Tia B. Graham , Corey Herrmann , William Honeychurch , Shuzheng Jiang , Lia Kalinkos , Hannah Kronengold , Tsz Mei Li , Jeannine Mullan , Alexandra Northrup , Yuqing Ren , Huiwen Ru , Lingyi Zeng
In 2016, during systematic pedestrian surveys around Delgerkhaan Uul highlands in southeastern Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, archaeologists with the Dornod Mongol Survey encountered, among > 9000 medieval ceramic sherds, two blue-green glazed sherds at two artifact surface scatters that reflect small seasonal camps of the local nomadic people. Based on appearance, these two sherds were provisionally identified as Early Islamic glazeware, dating to the Abbasid (ca. 750–1258 CE) dynasty, given that their associated sherds were typical of the medieval Kitan-Liao and Mongol Empires (ca. 10th–14th centuries CE). Their small sizes, however, precluded traditional diagnostic methods, so the geographic origins had to be tested by scientific means. Our approach focused on technological aspects of the glazes, not sourcing sensu stricto, using scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS) and portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF). The composition of the glazes, specifically the presence of key fluxing agents, is consistent with Persian, including Abbasid, technologies. Our comparative analysis with hundreds of Persian and Chinese ceramics, spanning several centuries, emphasizes the distinctive characteristics of their glazes, supporting their origins in the Middle East. Given the associated medieval Kitan-Liao and Mongol sherds, we contend that the two blue-green glazed sherds also date to this period, consistent with the appearance of exotic materials and novel trade goods at other sites throughout the region. This result suggests that rare ceramic artifacts, like Persian glazeware, reached – at least occasionally – even the remote nomadic communities along the Gobi Desert’s edges, attesting to a web of interactions and exchanges that spanned vast regions of Asia. Such an outcome also highlights the project’s objectives of exploring the intertwined growth of political communities and long-distance trade within the region.
{"title":"Occurrences of Persian glazeware in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia","authors":"Ellery Frahm , Chunag Amartuvshin , Kellina Brennan , Aubrey Chambers , Michael Corolla , Mallory Cox , Zining Deng , Hassan Elzawy , Matthew Fiore , Tia B. Graham , Corey Herrmann , William Honeychurch , Shuzheng Jiang , Lia Kalinkos , Hannah Kronengold , Tsz Mei Li , Jeannine Mullan , Alexandra Northrup , Yuqing Ren , Huiwen Ru , Lingyi Zeng","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105545","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105545","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In 2016, during systematic pedestrian surveys around Delgerkhaan Uul highlands in southeastern Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, archaeologists with the Dornod Mongol Survey encountered, among > 9000 medieval ceramic sherds, two blue-green glazed sherds at two artifact surface scatters that reflect small seasonal camps of the local nomadic people. Based on appearance, these two sherds were provisionally identified as Early Islamic glazeware, dating to the Abbasid (ca. 750–1258 CE) dynasty, given that their associated sherds were typical of the medieval Kitan-Liao and Mongol Empires (ca. 10th–14th centuries CE). Their small sizes, however, precluded traditional diagnostic methods, so the geographic origins had to be tested by scientific means. Our approach focused on technological aspects of the glazes, not sourcing <em>sensu stricto</em>, using scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS) and portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF). The composition of the glazes, specifically the presence of key fluxing agents, is consistent with Persian, including Abbasid, technologies. Our comparative analysis with hundreds of Persian and Chinese ceramics, spanning several centuries, emphasizes the distinctive characteristics of their glazes, supporting their origins in the Middle East. Given the associated medieval Kitan-Liao and Mongol sherds, we contend that the two blue-green glazed sherds also date to this period, consistent with the appearance of exotic materials and novel trade goods at other sites throughout the region. This result suggests that rare ceramic artifacts, like Persian glazeware, reached – at least occasionally – even the remote nomadic communities along the Gobi Desert’s edges, attesting to a web of interactions and exchanges that spanned vast regions of Asia. Such an outcome also highlights the project’s objectives of exploring the intertwined growth of political communities and long-distance trade within the region.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"69 ","pages":"Article 105545"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145747743","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号