Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports最新文献

How do resource-poor island communities develop networks to ensure their supply of foodstuffs and basic commodities? The growth of the Late Antique (5^th-7^th century CE) town at Kekova Adası on the southern Turkish coast of Lycia offers an instructive case study. Underwater survey along the town’s harbor front yielded large quantities of amphoras, utilitarian and fine pottery, and ceramic building materials that testify to local consumption and transshipment activities on the island. The origins of these materials serve as proxy for the networks of exchange that underpinned life on Kekova Adası. Yet because many of the most common amphora and other pottery types were produced over wide areas of many hundreds of kilometers of coast in Late Antiquity, ceramic petrography is necessary to determine or more precisely define the origins of these materials and, in turn, the shape of the networks through which they moved. The results reveal that the inhabitants of Kekova Adası developed a hinterland for supply by sea that encompassed the coastal plain around Limyra some 40 km to the east as well as, seemingly, across the open sea to the southwest corner of Cyprus. While most of the bulk processed agricultural goods (particularly wine and oil) carried in these amphoras, and the ceramic building materials and other imported wares, derived from these two regions, this hinterland also intersected with larger networks of exchange that brought amphoras as well as fine and cooking wares from across the Levant, Cilicia, the east Aegean, and the northeast Peloponnese. This pattern articulates the integration and mutual interdependence of Kekova Adası’s local network with the particularly busy interregional route that supplied major urban centers and the state during this period. In the process, the case study highlights the necessity of ceramic petrography as a means of precisely reconstructing such networks.

Brown hyenas (Parahyaena brunnea) are often implicated as either contributing to or scavenging faunal remains at archaeological sites in southern Africa. Various criteria have been established to distinguish between anthropogenic and brown hyena accumulations. Brown hyenas regularly feed on other carnivores. It is expected that such hyena assemblages will have a greater diversity of carnivore species, compared to accumulations of humans. We test this notion using anthropogenic accumulations dating to the Middle Stone Age from the Eastern and Western Cape of South Africa, as well as (nearly) contemporaneous fossil brown hyena accumulations from the same region, using a Carnivore Richness Index (CRI). This index measures the richness of carnivore taxa in samples against the richness of ungulate taxa. The results show that CRI values are generally low for faunas from layers and whole assemblages accumulated by hominins. The range is between 0.13 and 0.42 when all the layers are considered together as a whole for individual sites. For fossil brown hyena samples, the CRI values are consistently higher relative to hominin-induced samples with values ranging between 0.40 and 0.52. The results indicate that quantification using the CRI effectively discriminates layers and sites with higher probabilities of brown hyena activity from those of anthropogenic accumulations. Thus, if used in conjunction with other methods such as the carnivore-ungulate ratio, taphonomic modifications and the presence of juvenile hyena remains and coprolites, it will allow for better identification of the agents involved in the accumulation process.

In 1976, one set of bronze plowshares and moldboards, considered the earliest evidence of ancient practical Chinese ’machinery,’ was unearthed in Nanzhuang village, Pu Cun town, in Qishan County, Shaanxi Province, China, dating back to the Han dynasty. The contours and curved surfaces of these moldboards are difficult to design and manufacture. Focusing on these excavated moldboards, this study examined their shape to identify and understand the depth of the science and technology used during the Han dynasty, while simultaneously focusing on their contribution to the design of modern moldboards. To this end, this study used three-dimensional software to model and reimage the moldboard and plow body of a straight-shaft plow used during the Han dynasty and conducted a dynamic simulation of the mechanics of the curved surface of the moldboard to demonstrate the rationality of its design. This approach facilitated deeper understanding of the agricultural culture and technological achievements of China during the Han dynasty through studying the design and principles involved in the use of moldboards.

A type of black foodcrust was found adhering to several pottery fu pots from the early stratum of the Hemudu archaeological site (c. 7000–6500 cal. BP), China. These residues have long been described as cooked rice crusts, but specific analysis has been lacking. To clarify the nature of these crusts and explore potential clues to ancient diets, we conducted botanical and chemical analyses on one sample. Various starch granules and a phytolith particle were recovered, including those from rice (Oryza sp.), Triticeae tribe, oak acorn (Quercus sp.), Papilionoideae beans, and lily bulbs (Lilium sp.). SEM examination confirmed the presence of rice. FTIR and GC–MS tests revealed lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates. Stable isotope analysis indicated C₃ plant dominance with minor animal components. Radiocarbon dating revealed a freshwater reservoir effect, suggesting aquatic ingredients. GC–MS and GC-c-IRMS measurements provided information on rice cooking and multiple terrestrial and aquatic animal sources. These comprehensive analyses prove that the Hemudu fu pot crusts were food-derived but not purely rice. The findings reveal the diversity of food resources utilized by the Hemudu people, reflecting a subsistence strategy that combined low-level food production and foraging in early sedentary settlements. They also provide new evidence for the fu pot's cooking function.

Ionian cups are a ceramic class widely spread in the Mediterranean basin from the second half of the VII century BCE and even more throughout the VI century and a little beyond. Initially imported from Eastern Greece, they were successively produced also in the West, in the colonies and in the indigenous hinterland.

This research is a recent development of a study started about a decade ago aimed at identifying the production area of Ionian cups type B2 found in various archaeological contexts in central-eastern Sicily (Italy). Here we focus on 30 items from Gela, a Greek colony located along the southern coast of Sicily, where cups of type B2 and their variants exceed 600 specimens. Mineralogical-petrographic and chemical investigations have been performed through polarized optical microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) aiming at: i) assessing if the examined findings were locally manufactured; or ii) if, on the contrary, they can be considered imports in Gela from another specialized production site or area.

Results revealed three different petro-chemical groups corresponding to as many provenance areas. Specifically, the main group, including most of the examined samples, display characteristics similar to those of Ionian cups from the other investigated Sicilian sites whose workshops could be located in the Strait of Messina area. Conversely, a small group of samples can be attributed to a local production, while another minor group indicates a Greek provenance.

Marked environmental changes occurred in the southern Patagonian archipelago during the middle and late Holocene, including increased variability in glacial coverage and marine productivity. Those changes likely impacted the lives of marine hunter gatherers and their exploitation of faunal resources. Here, we examine temporal trends in fishes captured during the mid- and late Holocene, including variation in stable isotope values (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) of the most commonly exploited taxa to explore potential changes in fishing strategies due to environmental and cultural causes. We examined fish remains from eight archaeological sites and cultural periods in the Strait of Magellan. The ichthyoarchaeological results indicate drastic changes in the assemblages of fishes captured, with demersal species dominating catches before 2700 cal. yr BP and a subsequent switch to coastal fishes associated with subtidal kelp forests afterwards until 500 cal yr BP, both in the Strait of Magellan and adjacent seas. Although limited by sample sizes, our isotopic data show little obvious variation in Eleginops maclovinus over the different periods. However, Patagonotothen sp. and Salilota australis displayed significant isotopic shifts during the Holocene, but followed distinct, taxon-specific trajectories. This suggests that responses to the late Holocene environmental changes differed between species. This study also contributes to the baseline ecological information prior to the impact of modern industrial fishing practices with data from native fishes that are important components in kelp forests (Macrocystis pyrifera) ecosystems of the sub-Antarctic region.

This study presents an innovative approach to underwater archaeological prospection using non-invasive methods of seabed exploration. The research focuses on the Puck medieval harbour, a cultural heritage site, and utilises acoustic and optical underwater remote-sensing technology. The primary objectives include optimising the use of Airborne Laser Bathymetry in underwater archaeology, enhancing the filtration process for mapping underwater sites, and utilising data from both multibeam echosounder and bathymetric LiDAR for detailed archaeological research. A systematic approach to data processing is advocated to maximise the value of collected data and inform subsequent investigations. The study demonstrates the high accuracy of bathymetric datasets from optical and acoustic sources, with an R-squared correlation coefficient of 0.9853. The application of these techniques is demonstrated, underscoring the compatibility and effective combination of these methods in underwater archaeological exploration. This research provides valuable insights and directions for future archaeological prospections based on active remote-sensing measurements.

Early Qin culture played a crucial role in the development of Qin civilization. The Xishan site located in the eastern part of Gansu Province is closely related to early Qin culture and has important archaeological value. This study uses strontium isotope analysis on human and pig teeth from Xishan to explore the Early Qin population’s makeup and migration. Analysis suggests some individuals were foreign migrants, aligning with varied burial customs observed there. These foreigners might link to the Rong of Longdong and Central Plains’ Zhou remnants. This study suggests that the Qin state consisted mainly of the Qin, the Zhou remnants, and the Rong. Over an extended period of time, people continued to migrate to live at the Xishan site, and the integration of different groups of people reflects the complexity and special attributes of Qin culture, which was formed during the long period of conquests and exchanges with the Rong people and various neighboring ethnic groups. These discoveries provide new perspectives for understanding the social structure of the early Qin people of Xishan site and the historical background of the rise of the Qin dynasty.

The Vermand site (Aisne) is a Gallo-Roman craft area specialised in pottery production, with clay pits, potters’ wheels, kilns and buildings. The waste from this activity included 67 flint artefacts, comprising 38 tools on flakes characterised by a well-marked and very shiny polish, 27 rough flakes and 2 hammers. A techno-functional analysis of this material was undertaken. The locally sourced flint was probably knapped in situ with the aim of producing flakes of calibrated dimensions, both in length and thickness. Two debitage methods were employed. The first involved unipolar flaking of the cortical surfaces of fragments of probably unfinished blocks. The second − the Kombewa method − entailed removing a circular, semi-circular or oval flake with very regular contours from the convex surface provided by the underside of a flake. The first functional analyses have shown use that evokes contact with a soil-like material with characteristics similar to experimental data on clay scraping. These tools were thus part of the production chain of pottery and a specific experimental program is underway to confirm these initial analyses and to specify the methods of use of these flint tools. This discovery confirms not only their permanence in the Gallo-Roman period, but also the perpetuation of know-how required for the production of flint supports.