Pub Date : 2023-12-28DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2023.105922
Petra Vaiglova , Janaína N. Ávila , Hallie Buckley , Jean Christophe Galipaud , Daniel R. Green , Siân Halcrow , Hannah F. James , Rebecca Kinaston , Marc Oxenham , Victor Paz , Truman Simanjuntak , Christophe Snoeck , Hiep Hoang Trinh , Ian S. Williams , Tanya M. Smith
Variations in human subsistence and settlement patterns have been documented at Holocene archaeological sites across Island and Mainland Southeast Asia. Although climate is frequently invoked as a causal mechanism underlying this variation, direct evidence of ancient rainfall variability on the scale of human lifetimes has thus far been elusive. Here we use a novel time-resolute method for in situ measurement of human tooth enamel δ18O values (n = 2629 near-weekly measurements sampling 51 years) to assess past rainfall seasonality patterns in Southeast Asia. Seasonal fluctuations in enamel δ18O values of ancient humans from several different periods are compared to modern rainfall recorded in Vietnam, Philippines, and Indonesia by the Global Network in Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP). The likelihood that the ancient humans reflect local precipitation patterns is established through measurement of bulk enamel 87Sr/86Sr ratios. Comparison of the archaeological individuals and the modern rainfall datasets shows that the seasonal variabilities in ancient δ18Oenamel are consistent with seasonal variabilities in modern δ18Oprecip across the study locations (highest in Vietnam, lowest in Indonesia, intermediate in the Philippines). Strong seasonal δ18Oenamel trends in four of five hunter-gatherers from Con Co Ngua, Vietnam, facilitate the inference of birth approximately six months prior to the onset of monsoons, consistent with tropical subsistence societies where food availability correlates with rainfall. High-resolution analysis of human tooth enamel represents a powerful new tool for seasonality reconstructions across different regional and climatic settings.
东南亚岛屿和大陆的全新世考古遗址记录了人类生存和定居模式的变化。虽然气候经常被认为是导致这种变化的一个因果机制,但迄今为止还没有直接证据表明人类生命周期中的古代降雨量变化。在这里,我们使用一种新颖的时间绝对法现场测量人类牙齿珐琅质δ18O值(n = 2629 次近周测量,取样 51 年)来评估东南亚过去的降雨季节性模式。将几个不同时期古人类牙釉质δ18O值的季节性波动与降水同位素全球网络(GNIP)在越南、菲律宾和印度尼西亚记录的现代降雨量进行了比较。通过测量大量珐琅质 87Sr/86Sr 比率,确定了古人类反映当地降水模式的可能性。对考古个体和现代降水数据集的比较显示,在研究地点,古人类δ18Oenamel的季节变化与现代δ18Oprecip的季节变化一致(越南最高,印度尼西亚最低,菲律宾居中)。在越南Con Co Ngua的五个狩猎采集者中,有四个人的δ18珐琅质具有强烈的季节性变化趋势,这有助于推断他们的出生日期大约在季风来临前六个月,这与食物供应与降雨量相关的热带自给社会是一致的。人类牙齿珐琅质的高分辨率分析为重建不同地区和气候环境下的季节性提供了新的有力工具。
{"title":"Past rainfall patterns in Southeast Asia revealed by microanalysis of δ18O values in human teeth","authors":"Petra Vaiglova , Janaína N. Ávila , Hallie Buckley , Jean Christophe Galipaud , Daniel R. Green , Siân Halcrow , Hannah F. James , Rebecca Kinaston , Marc Oxenham , Victor Paz , Truman Simanjuntak , Christophe Snoeck , Hiep Hoang Trinh , Ian S. Williams , Tanya M. Smith","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2023.105922","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2023.105922","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Variations in human subsistence and settlement patterns have been documented at Holocene archaeological sites across Island and Mainland Southeast Asia. Although climate is frequently invoked as a causal mechanism underlying this variation, direct evidence of ancient rainfall variability on the scale of human lifetimes has thus far been elusive. Here we use a novel time-resolute method for <em>in situ</em> measurement of human tooth enamel <em>δ</em><sup>18</sup>O values (n = 2629 near-weekly measurements sampling 51 years) to assess past rainfall seasonality patterns in Southeast Asia. Seasonal fluctuations in enamel <em>δ</em><sup>18</sup>O values of ancient humans from several different periods are compared to modern rainfall recorded in Vietnam, Philippines, and Indonesia by the Global Network in Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP). The likelihood that the ancient humans reflect local precipitation patterns is established through measurement of bulk enamel <sup>87</sup>Sr/<sup>86</sup>Sr ratios. Comparison of the archaeological individuals and the modern rainfall datasets shows that the seasonal variabilities in ancient <em>δ</em><sup>18</sup>O<sub>enamel</sub> are consistent with seasonal variabilities in modern <em>δ</em><sup>18</sup>O<sub>precip</sub> across the study locations (highest in Vietnam, lowest in Indonesia, intermediate in the Philippines). Strong seasonal <em>δ</em><sup>18</sup>O<sub>enamel</sub> trends in four of five hunter-gatherers from Con Co Ngua, Vietnam, facilitate the inference of birth approximately six months prior to the onset of monsoons, consistent with tropical subsistence societies where food availability correlates with rainfall. High-resolution analysis of human tooth enamel represents a powerful new tool for seasonality reconstructions across different regional and climatic settings.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440323002029/pdfft?md5=5d2d80c5d987e0f1c370d3e15dd96d21&pid=1-s2.0-S0305440323002029-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139061471","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-27DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2023.105923
Celia Díez-Canseco , Carlos Tornero
Intra-tooth or sequential stable isotope analyses are nowadays widely implemented in zooarchaeological research. Sequential isotopic analyses have been mainly restricted to the mineral fraction of the enamel, while a wider implementation in dentine collagen has been generally eluded, despite conforming an essential organic compound for paleodietary studies. In high-crowned teeth, dentine grows oblique to the vertical axis of growth and some challenges arise when trying to isolate dentine increments during a sequential sampling. Previous sampling strategies slice the whole dentine thickness and provide sequences where isotopic variation is largely attenuated. In this study, we show a new proposal for performing carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of dentine collagen which better fits dentine's growth. We implemented it in mandibular second molars of an experimental modern sheep flock. Our sampling largely reduces the isotopic “damping” of previous approaches and provides short time-span samples. Sequential δ13C values obtained in dentine tissue yielded similar resolution to those obtained in enamel tissue of the same individuals. This proposal, especially suitable for caprine and other bovid species, broadens the implementation of dentine collagen signatures in the field of stable isotope analyses in zooarchaeology.
{"title":"New methods for old challenges: A sampling protocol for sequential stable isotope analysis (δ13C and δ15N) of dentine collagen in high-crowned teeth","authors":"Celia Díez-Canseco , Carlos Tornero","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2023.105923","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2023.105923","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Intra-tooth or sequential stable isotope analyses are nowadays widely implemented in zooarchaeological research. Sequential isotopic analyses have been mainly restricted to the mineral fraction of the enamel, while a wider implementation in dentine collagen has been generally eluded, despite conforming an essential organic compound for paleodietary studies. In high-crowned teeth, dentine grows oblique to the vertical axis of growth and some challenges arise when trying to isolate dentine increments during a sequential sampling. Previous sampling strategies slice the whole dentine thickness and provide sequences where isotopic variation is largely attenuated. In this study, we show a new proposal for performing carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of dentine collagen which better fits dentine's growth. We implemented it in mandibular second molars of an experimental modern sheep flock. Our sampling largely reduces the isotopic “damping” of previous approaches and provides short time-span samples. Sequential δ<sup>13</sup>C values obtained in dentine tissue yielded similar resolution to those obtained in enamel tissue of the same individuals. This proposal, especially suitable for caprine and other bovid species, broadens the implementation of dentine collagen signatures in the field of stable isotope analyses in zooarchaeology.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440323002030/pdfft?md5=ea248d45be7304a50464fef520b3ec45&pid=1-s2.0-S0305440323002030-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139041680","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-23DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2023.105918
Francis Albarede , Gillan Davis , Liesel Gentelli , Janne Blichert-Toft , Haim Gitler , Marine Pinto , Philippe Telouk
Was silver coinage minted from fresh metal newly extracted from the mine or was it from recycled silver deriving from older coins, silverware, or cult objects? The answer helps understand the provenance of coins and their circulation. Using Pb isotopes, the present work proposes a method to disentangle the sources of 368 silver-alloy coins from Athens, Corinth, Aegina, Thasos, Thrace, Macedonia, and Ptolemaic Egypt. We outline a new mixing model based on Principal Component Analysis and allowing for multiple steps of bullion recycling. The first component accounts for 94–99% (typically 97–99%) of the total variance, which indicates that the data form a well-defined alignment indicative of a nearly binary mixture between two source ores referred to as ‘end-members’. Isotopic evidence establishes the subordinate but pervasive practice of remelting. The strong skewness of the first principal component distribution shows that lead is dominated by the binary mixing of end-members. The geologically young end-member has high 206Pb/204Pb and is best exemplified by Laurion ore used in Athenian coinage. With the possible exception of Ptolemaic samples, the second end-member attests to the persistence of a low-206Pb/204Pb, geologically much older, end-member. In most cases, the distributions of a further two principal components are nearly symmetric and can be considered normal. If they represent ore sources, their very small contribution to the total variance qualifies them as ‘noise’ (caused by random isotopic fluctuations in the ores and analytical issues). We find that the Pb isotope ratios in the coinage issued by each minting authority are distributed as a power law. The slope of this distribution varies from one mint to another, with the steepest slopes (Corinth and Ptolemaic Egypt) indicating the predominance of freshly mined silver. The shallow slope of Macedonia demands a larger proportion of geologically old Pb. Silver supplied to the mint of Athens shifted from a mixture of high- and low-206Pb/204Pb in the late 6th c. BCE to a predominance of unmixed high-206Pb/204Pb ore from the mines of Laurion thereafter and fell back to a mixture with intermediate Pb isotope compositions in the second half of the 4th c. BCE. The limitation of the present study resides in the relatively small number of Pb isotope data for each mint, which, in most cases, prevents a statistically significant analysis of these data by periods. Nevertheless, the quasi-binary nature of most silver mixes stands out as a new and strong first-order, albeit somewhat counterintuitive, inference from the present data.
{"title":"Bullion mixtures in silver coinage from ancient Greece and Egypt","authors":"Francis Albarede , Gillan Davis , Liesel Gentelli , Janne Blichert-Toft , Haim Gitler , Marine Pinto , Philippe Telouk","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2023.105918","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2023.105918","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><span>Was silver coinage minted from fresh metal newly extracted from the mine or was it from recycled silver deriving from older coins, silverware, or cult objects? The answer helps understand the provenance of coins and their circulation. Using Pb isotopes, the present work proposes a method to disentangle the sources of 368 silver-alloy coins from Athens, Corinth, Aegina, Thasos, Thrace, Macedonia, and Ptolemaic Egypt. We outline a new mixing model based on Principal Component Analysis<span> and allowing for multiple steps of bullion recycling. The first component accounts for 94–99% (typically 97–99%) of the total variance, which indicates that the data form a well-defined alignment indicative of a nearly binary mixture between two source ores referred to as ‘end-members’. Isotopic evidence establishes the subordinate but pervasive practice of remelting. The strong skewness of the first principal component distribution shows that lead is dominated by the binary mixing of end-members. The geologically young end-member has high </span></span><sup>206</sup>Pb/<sup>204</sup>Pb and is best exemplified by Laurion ore used in Athenian coinage. With the possible exception of Ptolemaic samples, the second end-member attests to the persistence of a low-<sup>206</sup>Pb/<sup>204</sup>Pb, geologically much older, end-member. In most cases, the distributions of a further two principal components are nearly symmetric and can be considered normal. If they represent ore sources, their very small contribution to the total variance qualifies them as ‘noise’ (caused by random isotopic fluctuations in the ores and analytical issues). We find that the Pb isotope ratios in the coinage issued by each minting authority are distributed as a power law. The slope of this distribution varies from one mint to another, with the steepest slopes (Corinth and Ptolemaic Egypt) indicating the predominance of freshly mined silver. The shallow slope of Macedonia demands a larger proportion of geologically old Pb. Silver supplied to the mint of Athens shifted from a mixture of high- and low-<sup>206</sup>Pb/<sup>204</sup>Pb in the late 6th c. BCE to a predominance of unmixed high-<sup>206</sup>Pb/<sup>204</sup>Pb ore from the mines of Laurion thereafter and fell back to a mixture with intermediate Pb isotope compositions in the second half of the 4th c. BCE. The limitation of the present study resides in the relatively small number of Pb isotope data for each mint, which, in most cases, prevents a statistically significant analysis of these data by periods. Nevertheless, the quasi-binary nature of most silver mixes stands out as a new and strong first-order, albeit somewhat counterintuitive, inference from the present data.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138887381","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-23DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2023.105920
Liubov Golovanova , Julia Kostina , Vladimir Doronichev
Research of coloring pigments and binding compounds from the Upper Palaeolithic (UP), including on portable art objects such as personal ornaments, provides new insights into social and cultural aspects of human history. However, we lack a comprehensive study of the composite pigment mixtures and binding materials that were produced intentionally and used for coloration. The study of several personal ornaments from the UP layers dated 31–23 ka calBP in Mezmaiskaya Cave, North Caucasus (Russia), shows that UP paints have a complex chemical composition. Using ATR–FTIR and SEM–EDS, we have identified that for coloring organic personal decorations UP humans used composite paint mixtures produced from organic (bitumen) and inorganic (red bolus/kaolin) natural pigments. Also, we firstly identified that UP humans applied a proteinaceous binder, likely representing a kind of the gelatine type animal glue, which they intentionally produced from animal origin materials using boiling. This is the oldest evidence of boiling placing its origin at about 30 ka within the late UP and linking this innovation to the need of producing organic binding material for dyeing rather than with the food preparation.
对上旧石器时代(Upper Palaeolithic,UP)的着色颜料和粘合剂(包括个人装饰品等便携式艺术品上的着色颜料和粘合剂)的研究为了解人类历史的社会和文化方面提供了新的视角。然而,我们缺乏对有意生产并用于着色的复合颜料混合物和结合材料的全面研究。对俄罗斯北高加索 Mezmaiskaya 洞穴中年代为 31-23 ka calBP 的 UP 层中的几件个人装饰品的研究表明,UP 颜料具有复杂的化学成分。通过使用 ATR-FTIR 和 SEM-EDS,我们发现 UP 人类使用有机(沥青)和无机(红栓/高岭土)天然颜料的复合颜料混合物为有机个人装饰品着色。此外,我们还首次发现 UP 人类使用了一种蛋白质粘合剂,很可能是一种明胶类型的动物胶水,他们有意用煮沸的方法从动物源材料中提取这种粘合剂。这是关于煮沸的最古老的证据,它起源于大约 30 ka 年前的晚期万国群星,并将这一创新与生产用于染色的有机粘合剂的需要联系起来,而不是与食物制作联系起来。
{"title":"The first identification of composite paints with proteinaceous binder in Upper Palaeolithic (31–23 ka) organic decorations","authors":"Liubov Golovanova , Julia Kostina , Vladimir Doronichev","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2023.105920","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2023.105920","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Research of coloring pigments and binding compounds from the Upper Palaeolithic (UP), including on portable art objects such as personal ornaments, provides new insights into social and cultural aspects of human history. However, we lack a comprehensive study of the composite pigment mixtures and binding materials that were produced intentionally and used for coloration. The study of several personal ornaments from the UP layers dated 31–23 ka calBP in Mezmaiskaya Cave, North Caucasus (Russia), shows that UP paints have a complex chemical composition. Using ATR–FTIR and SEM–EDS, we have identified that for coloring organic personal decorations UP humans used composite paint mixtures produced from organic (bitumen) and inorganic (red bolus/kaolin) natural pigments. Also, we firstly identified that UP humans applied a proteinaceous binder, likely representing a kind of the gelatine type animal glue, which they intentionally produced from animal origin materials using boiling. This is the oldest evidence of boiling placing its origin at about 30 ka within the late UP and linking this innovation to the need of producing organic binding material for dyeing rather than with the food preparation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138887364","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-23DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2023.105924
Angèle Jeanty , Jérôme Ros , Cyprien Mureau , Camille Dham , Célia Lecomte , Vincent Bonhomme , Sarah Ivorra , Isabel Figueiral , Laurent Bouby , Allowen Evin
Barley is one of the main cereals found in archaeological sites in the north-western Mediterranean basin, over the last 8 millennia. Grains are preserved in archaeological sediments by charring after or before dehusking. Morphological criteria for distinguishing 2-row from 6-row barley, but also hulled barley from naked barley, can be affected by charring and this can complicate identification of barley subgroups. In the last decade, geometric morphometrics applied to uncharred barley grains has shown the possibility of identifying barley subgroups, but its applicability to archaeological remains still needs to be ascertained. We used 3985 raw and charred grains of 113 current varieties to (1) assess charring effects on the shape of barley caryopses, depending on their subgroup and whether they were charred husked or dehusked and (2) select the best dataset for identifying barley subgroups. We also used 700 archaeological grains, from the Neolithic period to the end of the Middle Ages, to (3) compare the morphometric taxonomic assignment of the grains with their carpological identification based on discrete anatomical features in a series of 7 archaeological samples. Our results indicate size and shape differences between barley grains when charred husked or dehusked. Although the charring process results in greater morphometric homogeneity, it allows subgroups of barley to be identified. For the 2-row vs. 6-row identification, more than 71% of the charred modern grains can be correctly identified. For the hulled vs. naked identification, the correct cross-validation percentages range from 70 to 73%. Finally, the good correlation between carpological and morphometric identifications of archaeological grains suggests that it is possible to identify archaeobotanical samples in the future.
{"title":"Identification of archaeological barley grains using geometric morphometrics and experimental charring","authors":"Angèle Jeanty , Jérôme Ros , Cyprien Mureau , Camille Dham , Célia Lecomte , Vincent Bonhomme , Sarah Ivorra , Isabel Figueiral , Laurent Bouby , Allowen Evin","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2023.105924","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2023.105924","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Barley is one of the main cereals found in archaeological sites<span> in the north-western Mediterranean basin, over the last 8 millennia. Grains are preserved in archaeological sediments by charring after or before dehusking. Morphological criteria for distinguishing 2-row from 6-row barley, but also hulled barley from naked barley, can be affected by charring and this can complicate identification of barley subgroups. In the last decade, geometric morphometrics applied to uncharred barley grains has shown the possibility of identifying barley subgroups, but its applicability to archaeological remains still needs to be ascertained. We used 3985 raw and charred grains of 113 current varieties to (1) assess charring effects on the shape of barley caryopses, depending on their subgroup and whether they were charred husked or dehusked and (2) select the best dataset for identifying barley subgroups. We also used 700 archaeological grains, from the Neolithic period to the end of the Middle Ages, to (3) compare the morphometric taxonomic assignment of the grains with their carpological identification based on discrete anatomical features in a series of 7 archaeological samples. Our results indicate size and shape differences between barley grains when charred husked or dehusked. Although the charring process results in greater morphometric homogeneity, it allows subgroups of barley to be identified. For the 2-row vs. 6-row identification, more than 71% of the charred modern grains can be correctly identified. For the hulled vs. naked identification, the correct cross-validation percentages range from 70 to 73%. Finally, the good correlation between carpological and morphometric identifications of archaeological grains suggests that it is possible to identify archaeobotanical samples in the future.</span></p></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138887370","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-22DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2023.105921
Alastair Key , Metin I. Eren , Michelle R. Bebber , Briggs Buchanan , Alfredo Cortell-Nicolau , Carmen Martín-Ramos , Paloma de la Peña , Cameron A. Petrie , Tomos Proffitt , John Robb , Konstantina-Eleni Michelaki , Ivan Jarić
A fundamental goal of archaeologists is to infer the behaviour of past humans from the attributes of the artefacts they left behind. The archaeological record is, however, fragmented and often provides a partial record of the total artefacts produced by a given population. In turn, there is potential for population-level morphometric data, and therefore behavioural inferences, to be biased relative to the trends realised in the past. This includes morphological range data which are important for identifying similarities and differences between artefact groups, and for contextualising artefacts relative to external variables such as human anatomy, ecology, climate and chronology. Here, we investigate whether optimal linear estimation (OLE) modelling can be used to accurately identify the upper and lower limits of artefact morphological ranges (including those represented by sparse datasets). First, we test whether OLE reliably identifies morphological ranges using randomly sampled subsets of ‘known and complete’ replica artefact assemblages. Using morphometric data from lithic, ceramic, and metal archaeological case studies, we then identify how much further the upper and lower form limits of these artefact types would have been in the past, relative to the ranges evidenced by excavated (i.e., known partial) records. Validation tests demonstrate OLE to be capable of providing broadly accurate estimates for the true morphological range of artefact assemblages. Estimate accuracy increases relative to the percentage of the total assemblage used and the method is shown to function well using as few as five records (k) from an assemblage. The case studies reveal how OLE can overhaul or reinforce our understanding of artefact morphological ranges. In some instances, it is clear that the archaeological record provides a highly accurate representation of artefact morphological ranges and the overlap between artefact groups. For others, it is demonstrated that our understanding of the extreme artefact forms produced by past people is likely inaccurate
考古学家的一个基本目标是从人类留下的手工艺品的属性推断过去人类的行为。然而,考古记录是支离破碎的,往往只能部分记录特定人群生产的全部手工艺品。反过来,人口层面的形态计量数据以及行为推断也有可能与过去的趋势存在偏差。这包括形态范围数据,这些数据对于识别人工制品群体之间的相似性和差异性,以及将人工制品与人体解剖学、生态学、气候学和年代学等外部变量联系起来非常重要。在此,我们研究是否可以使用最优线性估计(OLE)模型来准确识别人工制品形态范围的上限和下限(包括稀疏数据集所代表的范围)。首先,我们使用随机取样的 "已知和完整 "复制文物集合子集来检验 OLE 是否能可靠地识别形态范围。然后,我们使用来自石器、陶瓷和金属考古案例研究的形态测量数据,确定这些文物类型的形态上限和下限在过去相对于出土记录(即已知部分记录)所证明的范围有多大。验证测试表明,OLE 能够大致准确地估计出文物组合的真实形态范围。估算的准确性随着所使用的记录在整个组合中所占比例的增加而提高,而且该方法在使用一个组合中少至五条记录(k)时也能很好地发挥作用。案例研究揭示了 OLE 如何彻底改变或加强我们对人工制品形态范围的理解。在某些情况下,考古记录显然高度准确地反映了器物形态范围和器物群之间的重叠。而另一些情况则表明,我们对过去人类生产的极端器物形态的理解很可能是不准确的。
{"title":"Identifying accurate artefact morphological ranges using optimal linear estimation: Method validation, case studies, and code","authors":"Alastair Key , Metin I. Eren , Michelle R. Bebber , Briggs Buchanan , Alfredo Cortell-Nicolau , Carmen Martín-Ramos , Paloma de la Peña , Cameron A. Petrie , Tomos Proffitt , John Robb , Konstantina-Eleni Michelaki , Ivan Jarić","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2023.105921","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2023.105921","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>A fundamental goal of archaeologists is to infer the behaviour of past humans from the attributes of the artefacts they left behind. The archaeological record is, however, fragmented and often provides a partial record of the total artefacts produced by a given population. In turn, there is potential for population-level morphometric data, and therefore behavioural inferences, to be biased relative to the trends realised in the past. This includes morphological range data which are important for identifying similarities and differences between artefact groups, and for contextualising artefacts relative to external variables such as human anatomy, ecology, climate and chronology. Here, we investigate whether optimal linear estimation (OLE) modelling can be used to accurately identify the upper and lower limits of artefact morphological ranges (including those represented by sparse datasets). First, we test whether OLE reliably identifies morphological ranges using randomly sampled subsets of ‘known and complete’ replica artefact assemblages. Using morphometric data from lithic, ceramic, and metal archaeological case studies, we then identify how much further the upper and lower form limits of these artefact types would have been in the past, relative to the ranges evidenced by excavated (i.e., known partial) records. Validation tests demonstrate OLE to be capable of providing broadly accurate estimates for the true morphological range of artefact assemblages. Estimate accuracy increases relative to the percentage of the total assemblage used and the method is shown to function well using as few as five records (<em>k</em>) from an assemblage. The case studies reveal how OLE can overhaul or reinforce our understanding of artefact morphological ranges. In some instances, it is clear that the archaeological record provides a highly accurate representation of artefact morphological ranges and the overlap between artefact groups. For others, it is demonstrated that our understanding of the extreme artefact forms produced by past people is likely inaccurate</p></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440323002017/pdfft?md5=915136d5930250ef9a69e41d213af53b&pid=1-s2.0-S0305440323002017-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138887404","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-22DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2023.105886
Melanie M. Beasley , Margaret J. Schoeninger , Randy Miller , Eric J. Bartelink
Stable isotope analysis of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) of archaeological bone has become an increasingly common research method for interpreting human behavior in the past. However, diagenesis of skeletal material can invalidate stable isotope ratios, thereby compromising interpretations. We examine patterns of bone diagenesis using infrared spectroscopy of bone bioapatite samples in relation to indicators of organic preservation quality indicators. We assess crystallinity, an indicator of bioapatite preservation, using the infrared splitting factor (IR-SF) and carbonate content (carbonate to phosphate ratio, C/P) calculated from infrared spectra. We then test the assumption that if the organic fraction of bone is preserved, the mineral fraction will also be unaffected by postmortem chemical alteration. We analyzed 454 bone bioapatite and extracted bone organic sample pairs from modern, historic, and prehistoric humans. Consistent with previous studies, we observed a strong, statistically significant negative linear relationship between IR-SF and C/P (r = −0.855, p < 0.001). Modern bone bioapatite samples unaltered by diagenesis have low IR-SF and high C/P values. There was no significant association between the collagen yield or atomic C:N ratio and IR-SF or C/P values. The range of variation in IR-SF and C/P values for samples with organic yields between 0 and >20 percent spanned the range of modern bone bioapatite unaltered by diagenesis as well as bone bioapatite significantly affected by diagenesis. The lack of predictive patterning between bone inorganic and organic diagenesis suggests that the depositional context and site formation history play critical and independent roles in the organic and mineral fraction of bone. Thus, the preservation of the organic fraction of bone is not predictive of the preservation of the inorganic fraction (e.g., bioapatite).
{"title":"Preservation of bone organic fraction is not predictive of the preservation of bone inorganic fraction when assessing stable isotope analysis sample quality control measures","authors":"Melanie M. Beasley , Margaret J. Schoeninger , Randy Miller , Eric J. Bartelink","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2023.105886","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2023.105886","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Stable isotope analysis of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) of archaeological bone has become an increasingly common research method for interpreting human behavior in the past. However, diagenesis of skeletal material can invalidate stable isotope ratios, thereby compromising interpretations. We examine patterns of bone diagenesis using infrared spectroscopy of bone bioapatite samples in relation to indicators of organic preservation quality indicators. We assess crystallinity, an indicator of bioapatite preservation, using the infrared splitting factor (IR-SF) and carbonate content (carbonate to phosphate ratio, C/P) calculated from infrared spectra. We then test the assumption that if the organic fraction of bone is preserved, the mineral fraction will also be unaffected by postmortem chemical alteration. We analyzed 454 bone bioapatite and extracted bone organic sample pairs from modern, historic, and prehistoric humans. Consistent with previous studies, we observed a strong, statistically significant negative linear relationship between IR-SF and C/P (r = −0.855, <em>p</em> < 0.001). Modern bone bioapatite samples unaltered by diagenesis have low IR-SF and high C/P values. There was no significant association between the collagen yield or atomic C:N ratio and IR-SF or C/P values. The range of variation in IR-SF and C/P values for samples with organic yields between 0 and >20 percent spanned the range of modern bone bioapatite unaltered by diagenesis as well as bone bioapatite significantly affected by diagenesis. The lack of predictive patterning between bone inorganic and organic diagenesis suggests that the depositional context and site formation history play critical and independent roles in the organic and mineral fraction of bone. Thus, the preservation of the organic fraction of bone is not predictive of the preservation of the inorganic fraction (e.g., bioapatite).</p></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138887394","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-20DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2023.105917
W. Powell , K.A. Yener , G. Barjamovic , F. Kulakoğlu , E. Yazgan , R. Mathur
Until recently, what was known about the trade of tin in the ancient Near East was based in large part on information derived from the extensive commercial archives found at the archaeological site of Kültepe (ancient Kaneš) in Turkey dating to the Middle Bronze Age (MBA) c. 1900-1750 BC. These archives were produced by an expatriate community of traders native to the city of Assur in modern-day Iraq and document an extensive shipping of tin ingots from unnamed sources east of their hometown. Tin was carried by donkeys through northern Syria and across the Taurus Mountains to Anatolia where it was sold for silver.
This paper presents the first set of tin isotope analyses of bronze objects from Kültepe to test the image provided by these ancient archives, finding that all artifacts dated to the main period of Assyrian trade excavated in the residential areas of the site indeed have high tin content and high values of δ124Sn (0.77–1.74‰) relative to the NIST 3161a standard. Such high values currently compare best with ores from Central Asia. The isotopic analysis of artifacts from the Assyrian Trading Colony Period of Kültepe is therefore consistent with the textual evidence.
However, Early Bronze Age samples recovered at the site are instead characterized by lower ranges that extend to neutral δ124Sn values (0.02–1.31‰). Likewise, one artifact coming from Mound Level 7 (c. 1830-1700) at the center of the site where public buildings were concentrated, and one object dated to the Hellenistic Period (Mound Level 2), when the site saw a resurgence in political importance, likewise have lower δ124Sn compositions of 0.11 and 0.31‰, respectively. Both samples also have low to moderate tin content.
The Early Bronze Age artifacts form a linear array between artifacts from low δ124Sn-low Sn wt% to high δ124Sn-high Sn wt% that suggests a mixing of two compositional groups – not simply the mixing of two isotopically distinct reservoirs of tin, but also distinct in the amount of tin present in the alloy. This would be consistent with the recycling of low tin bronze objects with local tin, together with high tin bronzes containing tin from Central Asia. The two samples from Mound Levels 7 and 2 suggest that although Central Asian tin was predominant in the MBA, Anatolian tin may have continued to be used in a separate bronze production system that remained active at shifting varying of intensity throughout antiquity.
{"title":"Tin isotopes reveal changing patterns of tin trade, connectivity and consumption from Anatolia and Central Asia at Kültepe","authors":"W. Powell , K.A. Yener , G. Barjamovic , F. Kulakoğlu , E. Yazgan , R. Mathur","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2023.105917","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2023.105917","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Until recently, what was known about the trade of tin in the ancient Near East was based in large part on information derived from the extensive commercial archives found at the archaeological site of Kültepe (ancient Kaneš) in Turkey dating to the Middle Bronze Age (MBA) c. 1900-1750 BC. These archives were produced by an expatriate community of traders native to the city of Assur in modern-day Iraq and document an extensive shipping of tin ingots from unnamed sources east of their hometown. Tin was carried by donkeys through northern Syria and across the Taurus Mountains to Anatolia where it was sold for silver.</p><p>This paper presents the first set of tin isotope analyses of bronze objects from Kültepe to test the image provided by these ancient archives, finding that all artifacts dated to the main period of Assyrian trade excavated in the residential areas of the site indeed have high tin content and high values of δ<sup>124</sup>Sn (0.77–1.74‰) relative to the NIST 3161a standard. Such high values currently compare best with ores from Central Asia. The isotopic analysis of artifacts from the Assyrian Trading Colony Period of Kültepe is therefore consistent with the textual evidence.</p><p>However, Early Bronze Age samples recovered at the site are instead characterized by lower ranges that extend to neutral δ<sup>124</sup><span>Sn values (0.02–1.31‰). Likewise, one artifact coming from Mound Level 7 (c. 1830-1700) at the center of the site where public buildings were concentrated, and one object dated to the Hellenistic Period (Mound Level 2), when the site saw a resurgence in political importance, likewise have lower δ</span><sup>124</sup>Sn compositions of 0.11 and 0.31‰, respectively. Both samples also have low to moderate tin content.</p><p>The Early Bronze Age artifacts form a linear array between artifacts from low δ<sup>124</sup>Sn-low Sn wt% to high δ<sup>124</sup>Sn-high Sn wt% that suggests a mixing of two compositional groups – not simply the mixing of two isotopically distinct reservoirs of tin, but also distinct in the amount of tin present in the alloy. This would be consistent with the recycling of low tin bronze objects with local tin, together with high tin bronzes containing tin from Central Asia. The two samples from Mound Levels 7 and 2 suggest that although Central Asian tin was predominant in the MBA, Anatolian tin may have continued to be used in a separate bronze production system that remained active at shifting varying of intensity throughout antiquity.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138821931","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-20DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2023.105915
Bruno Vindrola-Padrós , Vladimir Vilde
{"title":"Unravelling ancient drilling techniques: A case of pottery repair in the Early European Neolithic","authors":"Bruno Vindrola-Padrós , Vladimir Vilde","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2023.105915","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2023.105915","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440323001954/pdfft?md5=2ed103ff10d7931211026a7dd5ae598d&pid=1-s2.0-S0305440323001954-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138821975","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-16DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2023.105914
Marko Porčić , Mihailo Radinović , Marija Branković , Aleksandra Jovanić
Understanding the nature of copying errors in the cultural transmission of material culture is highly relevant for students of cultural evolution, especially in the field of evolutionary archaeology. In this paper, we set up a classic transmission chain experiment, which involves making clay anthropomorphic figurines, to explore the nature of the copying error related to the production of 3D objects. The experiment consists of four independent transmission chains, each with 10 participants. Three chains are non-expert chains, as they consist of students of archaeology and psychology with no formal training in arts. The fourth is an expert chain consisting of art students. Our results show that the copying error predictably differs between the experts and the non-experts – it is lower in the expert chain. However, in both groups, the error is higher than predicted by the models that assume that the copying error is only due to imperfections in the perception of linear dimensions. Taken together, these two results suggest that, in addition to the error in perception, the error in the execution contributes significantly to the overall error, as predicted by the recently formulated object-mediated transmission model (Crema et al., 2023). The results of our experiment also show that the errors are often biased rather than random, suggesting that the transmission process involves the transformations anticipated by the cultural attraction theory.
了解物质文化传播中复制错误的本质,对研究文化进化的学生,尤其是研究进化考古学的学生来说,意义重大。在本文中,我们设置了一个经典的传递链实验,其中包括制作粘土拟人雕像,以探讨与三维物体生产相关的复制误差的本质。实验由四个独立的传输链组成,每个传输链有10个参与者。三个链是非专家链,因为他们由考古学和心理学的学生组成,没有受过正式的艺术训练。四是艺术系学生组成的专家链。我们的研究结果表明,专家和非专家之间的复制误差可预测地不同-它在专家链中较低。然而,在这两组中,误差都比模型预测的要高,模型假设复制误差仅仅是由于线性维度感知的不完善造成的。综上所述,这两个结果表明,正如最近制定的客体介导传输模型(Crema et al., 2023)所预测的那样,除了感知误差之外,执行误差对整体误差也有很大贡献。我们的实验结果还表明,这些错误往往是有偏差的,而不是随机的,这表明传播过程涉及文化吸引力理论所预期的转变。
{"title":"Chinese whispers in clay: Copying error and cultural attraction in the experimental transmission chain of anthropomorphic figurines","authors":"Marko Porčić , Mihailo Radinović , Marija Branković , Aleksandra Jovanić","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2023.105914","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2023.105914","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Understanding the nature of copying errors in the cultural transmission of material culture is highly relevant for students of cultural evolution, especially in the field of evolutionary archaeology. In this paper, we set up a classic transmission chain experiment, which involves making clay anthropomorphic figurines, to explore the nature of the copying error related to the production of 3D objects. The experiment consists of four independent transmission chains, each with 10 participants. Three chains are non-expert chains, as they consist of students of archaeology and psychology with no formal training in arts. The fourth is an expert chain consisting of art students. Our results show that the copying error predictably differs between the experts and the non-experts – it is lower in the expert chain. However, in both groups, the error is higher than predicted by the models that assume that the copying error is only due to imperfections in the perception of linear dimensions. Taken together, these two results suggest that, in addition to the error in perception, the error in the execution contributes significantly to the overall error, as predicted by the recently formulated object-mediated transmission model (Crema et al., 2023). The results of our experiment also show that the errors are often biased rather than random, suggesting that the transmission process involves the transformations anticipated by the cultural attraction theory.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138656411","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}