Quaternary International最新文献

The aim of this paper is to present the archaeological data that allows us to characterise the agrarian practices of Roman farmers through the study of cultivated fields. To undertake this research, we designed an analytical strategy combining spatial analysis, microstratigraphic analysis through soil micromorphology and physical-chemical analyses of bulk soil samples, and archaeobotanical analyses including palynology, phytoliths and geochemical analysis. All this has allowed us to obtain data of interest for the reconstruction of agrarian land use and to establish a methodological basis for developing future research. This high-resolution, multiscalar, and multianalytical approach pursues to characterise these archaeological contexts to singularize intensive agricultural practices developed in terraced field. The creation of this Roman peasant landscape is related to a specific models of socioeconomic organisation of agricultural work based on the household and its workforce as a determining vector in agrarian intensification.

Funerary cremations in Roman times were important rites of passage that involved the use of fire to accompany the dead into the afterlife. In the present study, we investigated the wood fuel that was used to build cremation pyres and the foodstuffs involved in offerings and funerary feasts in a necropolis of Barcino (present-day Barcelona), dated to the 1st century CE and located at the Sant Antoni Market site. Our approach began with the analysis of wood charcoal and fruit/seed remains, which were preserved over time through carbonisation. These archaeobotanical remains offer valuable insights into the selection of woody species and the condition of wood logs used for cremations. Additionally, they shed light on the food composition of offerings and feasts in this area of the Mediterranean coast, where data on such practices are scarce.

The anthracological analysis of different combustion structures revealed that the principal taxon used for the stacks was evergreen oak, with deciduous oak playing a significant role during the initial use of the necropolis. Dendro-anthracological analysis indicated that medium to large diameters wood logs of deciduous oak obtained from mature individuals were commonly employed. Moreover, charcoal analysis suggested the use of pruning remains from fruit trees such as olive, grapevine, walnut, plums, and members of the apple family, providing evidence of arboriculture practices in the city. Additionally, various minor woody species (Aleppo and mountain pines, juniper, cypress, mastic, and rockroses) may have had several functions, including symbolic sensory aspects relating to smell and good flammability, the constitution of small objects or furniture placed on the stack (boxwood), and fire kindling or decoration (mastic, rockroses, honeysuckle, and laurustinus).

Carpological analysis indicated that the most abundant offerings and/or feast remains consisted primarily of cultivated fruits such as figs, walnuts, and grapes, while pulses and cereals were comparatively scarce or absent. Finally, a noteworthy quantity of Arbutus berry remains was recorded, marking the first occurrence of such findings in similar Roman contexts to date.

The study of zooarchaeological collections from Mérida is still rare, lacking above all information on the Romans diet and animal management. Here we present the description of the fauna found in a dump next to the northern part of the Roman wall, which also includes some contexts of ritual nature, dated to the 1st century AD until the beginning of 5th century AD. The osteological remains of animals have shown that most of them come from food waste and worked bones. We can see that there is a temporal evolution in the use of that space and in the species used, with smaller animals being preferred in the first phase and cattle being more abundant in the 4th century. Some improvement indicators were also identified, as would be expected for a provincial capital, such as Emerita Augusta. Also, ritual burials of numerous dogs as well as a skeleton of the oldest specimen in Iberia of Egyptian mongoose, camel and an edible dormouse, constitute interesting discoveries in this assemblage, demonstrating that this is an exceptional sample.

A detailed geomorphological mapping allowed to understand the complex relationships interplayed between local tectonics and sedimentation across the coastal area of the Baixo Alentejo (Portugal) all along the Quaternary. Different outcrops of coastal sediments between Sines and Vilanova de Milfontes permitted to reconstruct a general sequence of up to fifteen stair-cased marine terraces, while wide sequences of alluvial fans develop in the hinterland. The distinct geomorphological disposition of these alluvial fans together with the presence/absence of marine terraces, have allowed to define different phases of paleolandscape evolution based both in sea level changes and differential uplift. A dune system has been attributed to MIS 5e in basis of OSL, and ¹⁴C and U-series dating permitted the adscription of a beach unit to MIS 5. These data allowed to stablish the relative chronology of the entire marine terrace sequence and to determine the vertical movement rates along the studied coastal area. The results give values ranging from slight uplift (+0.015mm/a) to subtle subsidence (−0.030 mm/a), coinciding with other author's determinations.

Paleoreconstructions of coastal and near-coastal areas have always served as a tool towards better understanding of past, present and future geological and geomorphological processes. The reliability of paleocoastline and sea-land extent modelling is controlled by input data. Here the difference between paleoreconstructions based on present-day bathymetry and a paleotopographic elevation model are examined on the example of the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic sea) - a low-gradient submerged Last Glacial Maximum alluvial plain with fairly well-resolved bathymetry and pre-transgressional paleotopography. Results presented in this study show striking differences between the spatial extent of the two modelled sets of paleocoastlines which in places exceeds tens of kilometers. These results demonstrate the importance of using an appropriate geologically-supported elevation model for paleoreconstruction as unsuitable models can result in significant errors and unreliable reconstructions. This is especially noteworthy for low-gradient settings where even a slight variation in sea level can affect vast areas. Finally, the results of this study provide insight into the Early Holocene evolution of the present-day area of the Gulf of Trieste as an abrupt and predominant northeasterly oriented transgression direction is indicated from the paleocoastline reconstructions.

This study presents a detailed investigation of the Kisiljevo loess-palaeosol sequence in north-eastern Serbia, offering a refined understanding of its paleoenvironmental dynamics. Contrasting our updated OSL chronology with a previous study, reveals discrepancies, particularly at 400 cm depth, where a considerable age underestimation is evident. While variations in sampling depth and methodology may contribute to some differences, the substantial deviation raises concern about the reliability of the earlier chronology. Our robust age-depth model constructed using Bayesian modelling, and the consistent increase in ages with depth suggest a potential underestimation in the uppermost layer of the earlier study, possibly due to partial bleaching or post-depositional mixing. The Bayesian age-depth model portrays a continuous sedimentation history from the later stages of Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3) to the present day. The patterns in the calculated Mass Accumulation Rates reveal distinctive peaks during MIS 3 and the middle of MIS 2, deviating from typical dust deposition models. The MIS 3 peaks in dustiness could be attributed to regional factors such as increased transportation rates, enhanced trapping efficiency, or elevated palaeowind intensity. This research not only enhances our understanding of the Kisiljevo LPS but also provides valuable insights into regional paleoenvironmental dynamics. The study emphasizes the importance of considering local geological variations in reconstructing past climates from sediment archives and sets the stage for further investigations into the factors influencing dust deposition in north-eastern Serbia. The MAR trends established here serve as a crucial reference for broader paleoclimatic interpretations in the Carpathian Basin.

The Qicheng city wall is located in Puyang, Henan Province, China, and it is an important archaeological site from the Neolithic period in the North China Plain region. A trench across the northwest corner of the city wall revealed an 11 m thick sediment sequence, closely associated with human activities, which provides valuable records for the dating and environmental evolution of the site. In this study, we have applied field geological investigation, grain size analysis, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, and radiocarbon (¹⁴C) dating to reveal the history and changes in the site. The ancient city wall was built on the sedimentary sequence (U1) of the high terrace of the Ancient Yellow River. The upper 11 m thick sedimentary sequence (U2) recorded early moat sedimentation (U2_L) and was followed by three cycles of paleosol-flooding deposits (U2_U). The quartz OSL signals of the U2 silts are extremely bright, indicating high sensitivity. Partial bleaching was observed as well. The quartz OSL single-grain SAR dating results are consistent with that of charcoal ¹⁴C dating and are closer to the ‘true’ burial ages of the sediments than those obtained with multiple grains. By using a Bayesian statistical model, a chronological framework for the U2 sedimentary sequence was established. The earliest construction date of the Qicheng city wall is dating to 2100–1300 BC, during the late Longshan period, which is consistent with archaeological evidence (Li et al., 2015). The Qicheng city was not significantly affected by paleo-flooding prior to 870–960 AD, but experiences frequent flooding thereafter.

Lago Argentino is one of the largest lakes in Patagonia. Some of its arms host calving glaciers that flow from the southern Patagonian Ice Field. The best known of these is the Perito Moreno glacier. Although recent studies have reconstructed part of glacier dynamics in the southern arms of Lago Argentino, there are no studies yet for the northern arms. A high-resolution seismic survey was carried out in the northern area of Punta Bandera, i.e., in the sector between the Brazo Norte and the Canal de los Témpanos to characterize the stratigraphy of the sedimentary fill of the lake and identify the main unconformities related to glacial dynamics. Eight seismic facies grouped into two seismic units were mapped, and ten unconformities were recognized. Based on the acquired data, a bathymetric grid was created for the first time to obtain a morphological representation of the lake floor and access to a previously unmapped area of Lago Argentino. The analysis of the geometries and acoustic properties of the different seismic facies identified, correlated with the available information on land moraines, has allowed us to partially reconstruct the advance and retreat phases of the glacial lobes that formerly were present in the two arms of the lake, although the temporal assignments are still speculative due to the lack of calibrations with boreholes. Nevertheless, this study provides important information for deciphering the glaciation history of a key sector of the southern Patagonian Ice Field during the late Pleistocene/Holocene. The data show that the northern and southern areas have different lake floor morphologies, with the southern, shallower area of the Canal de los Témpanos being glaciated first than the northern, more overdeepened area of the Brazo Norte.

The post-Infrared Infrared Stimulated Luminescence (pIRIR) protocol has been successfully applied to date Quaternary sediments using the K-rich feldspar fraction (density ＜2.58 g/cm³). However, during the extraction of K-feldspar grains, Na-feldspar particles (density 2.58–2.62 g/cm³) may be included, especially within the medium grained fraction. However, the possible influence of Na-feldspar contamination on K-feldspar IRSL dating results has not been investigated in detail. In this study, we applied the pIRIR dating protocol to measure the coarse- and medium-grained K-and Na-feldspar fractions of eight aeolian samples from various regions. Blue-violet and yellow-green detection windows were used for derived the signals of K- and Na-feldspar, respectively, and we attempted to evaluate the influence of the contamination by Na-feldspar grains on feldspar pIRIR dating. Comparison of the three signals (K-feldspar blue, Na-feldspar blue, Na-feldspar yellow) from each sample showed that the influence of the IRSL blue signal from Na-feldspar grains on the signal of the K-feldspar fraction was < 1–3%. Because of high fading rates, the D_es or pIRIR ages obtained from the Na-feldspar yellow signal were underestimated. The Na-feldspar blue pIRIR D_es and ages were nevertheless consistent with their corresponding K-feldspar blue D_e values and ages. This is because the few K-feldspar grains included within the Na-feldspar fraction emitted the greater part of the blue signals. From these observations, we conclude that the influence of Na-feldspar grains within the K-feldspar fraction on K-feldspar IRSL dating results can be ignored.