Pub Date : 2025-09-25DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2025.106384
Jingyi Shen , Chao Geng , Ruiliang Liu , Yichao Zhao , Zhigang Wu , Kui Chen , Yu Peng , Ji Zhang , Jianfeng Lang
{"title":"Corrigendum to “Bridging the crafts: lead isotopes reveal the innovation of lead-glazed pottery in Warring States China” [J. Archaeol. Sci. 182 (2025)106354]","authors":"Jingyi Shen , Chao Geng , Ruiliang Liu , Yichao Zhao , Zhigang Wu , Kui Chen , Yu Peng , Ji Zhang , Jianfeng Lang","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106384","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106384","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"183 ","pages":"Article 106384"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145363575","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 : 2025-09-24DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2025.106379
Tamsin C. O’Connell
Isotopic analysis as a method of assessing diet or geographical origin is now ubiquitous in archaeology, to the point where seemingly no project is complete without it. Yet despite its prevalence, it is not a straightforward technique that provides a simple answer. I argue that many researchers overlook the fact that the situation is rarely clear-cut, with many contributing factors, that each situation is usually complex and can vary depending on the nature of each study or sample. This can lead to interpretations that are overly simple or at a higher degree of precision than are warranted by the data.
In this paper I outline some of the issues that confront us as we try to unravel the tangled web that is isotopic patterning in consumer data, in particular the factors that determine the limits of the technique’s resolution, and therefore our interpretations. I identify some points for best practice, and then discuss in more detail areas that I think need overt attention at the level of each and every study: confidence in specimen and data integrity; considerations of analytical scope and scale; data interrogation.
{"title":"The signal and the noise: inherent challenges for isotopic studies in bioarchaeology","authors":"Tamsin C. O’Connell","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106379","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106379","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Isotopic analysis as a method of assessing diet or geographical origin is now ubiquitous in archaeology, to the point where seemingly no project is complete without it. Yet despite its prevalence, it is not a straightforward technique that provides a simple answer. I argue that many researchers overlook the fact that the situation is rarely clear-cut, with many contributing factors, that each situation is usually complex and can vary depending on the nature of each study or sample. This can lead to interpretations that are overly simple or at a higher degree of precision than are warranted by the data.</div><div>In this paper I outline some of the issues that confront us as we try to unravel the tangled web that is isotopic patterning in consumer data, in particular the factors that determine the limits of the technique’s resolution, and therefore our interpretations. I identify some points for best practice, and then discuss in more detail areas that I think need overt attention at the level of each and every study: confidence in specimen and data integrity; considerations of analytical scope and scale; data interrogation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"183 ","pages":"Article 106379"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145119994","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 : 2025-09-22DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2025.106380
Jian Yang , Yongxiang Xu , Yao Huo , Huan Liang , Ruiliang Liu , Huihui Cao , Gang Li , Tingting Yan , Sizhe Ai , Guanghui Dong
Northwestern China had a pivotal role in the development of a series of Late Neolithic cultures, including the Caiyuan Culture in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region that spans between 5000 and 4000 BP based on 24 published radiocarbon dates from 9 sites. However, the chronology of the Caiyuan Culture and its relationship to other contemporary cultures in northwestern China remains an ongoing debate, primarily due to the complex cultural attributes between these sites and the conventional 14C dating method. To resolve these issues, 32 bone samples and short-lived charred millet grains from 32 Caiyuan Culture sites have been dated by accelerator mass spectrometry. Based on the material remains, we identified these sites as exclusively belonging to the Caiyuan Culture and applied Bayesian chronological models to refine their chronology to 4450–4000 BP. In comparison with the chronologies and geographic distributions of other Late Neolithic cultures, including Majiayao, Qijia, and Lower Changshan, we argue that the Caiyuan Culture represents an independent trajectory of cultural development in the northwest margin of the Loess Plateau. It was significantly affected by the Banshan Type of the Majiayao Culture and served as an important source of the Qijia Culture, which prevailed widely across the Gan-Qing region and its surroundings during the transition from the Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age.
{"title":"Reassessing the chronology of the Caiyuan Culture and its relationship with Late Neolithic cultures in northwestern China","authors":"Jian Yang , Yongxiang Xu , Yao Huo , Huan Liang , Ruiliang Liu , Huihui Cao , Gang Li , Tingting Yan , Sizhe Ai , Guanghui Dong","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106380","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106380","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Northwestern China had a pivotal role in the development of a series of Late Neolithic cultures, including the Caiyuan Culture in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region that spans between 5000 and 4000 BP based on 24 published radiocarbon dates from 9 sites. However, the chronology of the Caiyuan Culture and its relationship to other contemporary cultures in northwestern China remains an ongoing debate, primarily due to the complex cultural attributes between these sites and the conventional <sup>14</sup>C dating method. To resolve these issues, 32 bone samples and short-lived charred millet grains from 32 Caiyuan Culture sites have been dated by accelerator mass spectrometry. Based on the material remains, we identified these sites as exclusively belonging to the Caiyuan Culture and applied Bayesian chronological models to refine their chronology to 4450–4000 BP. In comparison with the chronologies and geographic distributions of other Late Neolithic cultures, including Majiayao, Qijia, and Lower Changshan, we argue that the Caiyuan Culture represents an independent trajectory of cultural development in the northwest margin of the Loess Plateau. It was significantly affected by the Banshan Type of the Majiayao Culture and served as an important source of the Qijia Culture, which prevailed widely across the Gan-Qing region and its surroundings during the transition from the Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"183 ","pages":"Article 106380"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145109453","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 : 2025-09-21DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2025.106342
Daniela Eugenia Rosso , Àfrica Pitarch Martí , François Orange , Josefina Zapata , João Zilhão
The use of colour is a common feature in Upper Palaeolithic sites. However, the analysis of ochre assemblages recovered in residential contexts is rarely the object of systematic analyses. Here we analyse two ochre assemblages, recovered in the Upper Palaeolithic levels of two sites, Abrigo de la Boja and Finca Doña Martina, located in Mula, Spain: 407 and 35 ochre pieces respectively, spanning the entire Upper Palaeolithic. We combined a technological analysis with an elemental and mineralogical characterisation of the archaeological ochre and natural ochre pieces collected in nearby outcrops. Our findings suggest that the inhabitants of the sites collected ochre of different compositions, from different proveniences. They consistently processed ochre using the same techniques throughout, probably to produce large quantities of powder and for a variety of purposes of a symbolic or functional nature.
色彩的使用是旧石器时代晚期遗址的一个共同特征。然而，对居住环境中发现的赭石组合的分析很少是系统分析的对象。在这里，我们分析了两个赭石组合，分别在位于西班牙穆拉的Abrigo de la Boja和Finca Doña Martina两个遗址的旧石器时代晚期发现：407块和35块赭石，跨越了整个旧石器时代晚期。我们将技术分析与在附近露头收集的考古赭石和天然赭石的元素和矿物学特征相结合。我们的发现表明，这些遗址的居民从不同的产地收集了不同成分的赭石。他们始终如一地使用相同的技术加工赭石，可能是为了生产大量的粉末，并出于各种象征性或功能性的目的。
{"title":"Ochre use during the Upper Palaeolithic: a continuous record from Finca Doña Martina and Abrigo de la Boja rock-shelters, Mula, Murcia, Spain","authors":"Daniela Eugenia Rosso , Àfrica Pitarch Martí , François Orange , Josefina Zapata , João Zilhão","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106342","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106342","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The use of colour is a common feature in Upper Palaeolithic sites. However, the analysis of ochre assemblages recovered in residential contexts is rarely the object of systematic analyses. Here we analyse two ochre assemblages, recovered in the Upper Palaeolithic levels of two sites, Abrigo de la Boja and Finca Doña Martina, located in Mula, Spain: 407 and 35 ochre pieces respectively, spanning the entire Upper Palaeolithic. We combined a technological analysis with an elemental and mineralogical characterisation of the archaeological ochre and natural ochre pieces collected in nearby outcrops. Our findings suggest that the inhabitants of the sites collected ochre of different compositions, from different proveniences. They consistently processed ochre using the same techniques throughout, probably to produce large quantities of powder and for a variety of purposes of a symbolic or functional nature.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"183 ","pages":"Article 106342"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145363574","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 : 2025-09-20DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2025.106382
Shirui Lin , Patrick Sean Quinn , Deming Kong , Weipeng Kong , Jianli Chen
The renowned Anyang moulds from the late Shang period represent the pinnacle of piece-mould technology in ancient China. This research examines recently excavated mould materials from the Xindian site in Anyang. A combination of archaeological, geological, and targeted experimental samples has been used to systematically reconstruct the chaîne opératoire using OM, SEM-EDS, micro-CT scanning, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. Ancient craftspeople intentionally prepared four distinct pastes for specific components of the mould assembly, employing varied raw material selection and processing strategies. Diverse finishing techniques were used to refine the decoration on outer moulds. Outer moulds and inner cores were fired at different temperatures and then reassembled, possibly undergoing preheating before casting. Coatings serving as releasing agents and sealing materials were identified. The technological choices made by ancient craftspeople indicate extensive knowledge and expertise, balancing stringent performance requirements with efficient production. The high level of craftsmanship applied to the Anyang moulds provided a foundation for the extraordinary artistic and stylistic achievements in bronze production during the late Shang period.
商代晚期著名的安阳模具代表了中国古代单件模具技术的巅峰。本研究考察了安阳新店遗址最近出土的模具材料。结合考古、地质和目标实验样品，利用OM、SEM-EDS、micro-CT扫描、FTIR和拉曼光谱系统地重建了cha ne opsamatoire。古代工匠特意为模具组装的特定组件准备了四种不同的浆料，采用不同的原材料选择和加工策略。不同的精加工技术被用来完善外部模具的装饰。外模和内芯在不同的温度下烧制，然后重新组装，可能在铸造前进行预热。确定了作为脱模剂和密封材料的涂料。古代工匠所做的技术选择表明了广泛的知识和专业知识，平衡了严格的性能要求和高效的生产。安阳模具的高水平工艺为商代后期青铜器生产的非凡艺术和风格成就奠定了基础。
{"title":"Crafting excellence: reconstructing the mould technology of Shang period bronze ritual vessels at Anyang, China","authors":"Shirui Lin , Patrick Sean Quinn , Deming Kong , Weipeng Kong , Jianli Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106382","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106382","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The renowned Anyang moulds from the late Shang period represent the pinnacle of piece-mould technology in ancient China. This research examines recently excavated mould materials from the Xindian site in Anyang. A combination of archaeological, geological, and targeted experimental samples has been used to systematically reconstruct the <em>chaîne opératoire</em> using OM, SEM-EDS, micro-CT scanning, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. Ancient craftspeople intentionally prepared four distinct pastes for specific components of the mould assembly, employing varied raw material selection and processing strategies. Diverse finishing techniques were used to refine the decoration on outer moulds. Outer moulds and inner cores were fired at different temperatures and then reassembled, possibly undergoing preheating before casting. Coatings serving as releasing agents and sealing materials were identified. The technological choices made by ancient craftspeople indicate extensive knowledge and expertise, balancing stringent performance requirements with efficient production. The high level of craftsmanship applied to the Anyang moulds provided a foundation for the extraordinary artistic and stylistic achievements in bronze production during the late Shang period.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"183 ","pages":"Article 106382"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145097810","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}
Reconstructing past sheep birth seasons relies on oxygen isotope analysis in dental enamel, using modern reference datasets with known birth seasons for comparison. However, the comparability of dental growth calendar between modern and ancient sheep remains uncertain. The current mouflons in Europe, descended from Neolithic domestic sheep that later became feral in Corsica, Sardinia, and Cyprus, are amongst the closest living relatives of Neolithic sheep. Their suitability as references for the estimation of the birth season was explored by analysing the third molar of individuals from two populations giving birth in the spring: Cyprus mouflons (n = 7) and Mediterranean mouflons from southern France (n = 10). Results from oxygen isotope analysis of dental enamel reflect environmental and management differences (e.g., wild vs. captive conditions, local climate and seasonal temperature fluctuations). Isotopic sequence modelling indicated a good agreement between the Mediterranean mouflons from southern France and previously published western European sheep references. However, a radical shift in the record of the δ18O values of the seasonal cycle between the Cyprus mouflon and the sheep references has been observed.
This divergence suggests distinct dental growth calendars between the Cyprus mouflons and the remaining Ovis included in the study, which may be attributed to a different genetic lineage, reduced genetic diversity in Cyprus mouflons due to one or more founder events—potentially leading to the expression of traits not present or rarely present in the source population—and/or long-term isolation resulting in phylogenetic drift.
These findings suggest that Mediterranean mouflons from southern France are as suitable as modern sheep breeds as references for reconstructing past birth seasons in Western Europe. In contrast, the use of the Cyprus mouflons as a reference requires further investigation, both in the context of Cyprus and more broadly across the Near East.
{"title":"Testing the use of southern France and Cyprus mouflons as a reference to reconstruct birth season in sheep from oxygen isotope analysis in teeth","authors":"Eléa Gutierrez , Angelos Hadjikoumis , Eleftherios Hadjisterkotis , Jean-Denis Vigne , Fabien Dewilde , Denis Fiorillo , Lionel Gourichon , Marie Balasse","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106381","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106381","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Reconstructing past sheep birth seasons relies on oxygen isotope analysis in dental enamel, using modern reference datasets with known birth seasons for comparison. However, the comparability of dental growth calendar between modern and ancient sheep remains uncertain. The current mouflons in Europe, descended from Neolithic domestic sheep that later became feral in Corsica, Sardinia, and Cyprus, are amongst the closest living relatives of Neolithic sheep. Their suitability as references for the estimation of the birth season was explored by analysing the third molar of individuals from two populations giving birth in the spring: Cyprus mouflons (<em>n</em> = 7) and Mediterranean mouflons from southern France (<em>n</em> = 10). Results from oxygen isotope analysis of dental enamel reflect environmental and management differences (e.g., wild <em>vs.</em> captive conditions, local climate and seasonal temperature fluctuations). Isotopic sequence modelling indicated a good agreement between the Mediterranean mouflons from southern France and previously published western European sheep references. However, a radical shift in the record of the <em>δ</em><sup>18</sup>O values of the seasonal cycle between the Cyprus mouflon and the sheep references has been observed.</div><div>This divergence suggests distinct dental growth calendars between the Cyprus mouflons and the remaining <em>Ovis</em> included in the study, which may be attributed to a different genetic lineage, reduced genetic diversity in Cyprus mouflons due to one or more founder events—potentially leading to the expression of traits not present or rarely present in the source population—and/or long-term isolation resulting in phylogenetic drift.</div><div>These findings suggest that Mediterranean mouflons from southern France are as suitable as modern sheep breeds as references for reconstructing past birth seasons in Western Europe. In contrast, the use of the Cyprus mouflons as a reference requires further investigation, both in the context of Cyprus and more broadly across the Near East.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"183 ","pages":"Article 106381"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145097749","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 : 2025-09-18DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2025.106367
Dagmar Fritzsch , Astrid Röpke
In thin sections from archaeological sediments, slag-like glassy components are very common. They can refer to differently heated materials, but most of them are considered to be phytoliths (amorphous, biogenic silicon dioxide (SiO2)) of grasses. In order to gain more detailed knowledge about the combustion conditions of phytoliths, we carried out burning experiments with four typical cereals that are frequently found in archaeological contexts. The segmented plant parts leaf, husk and stem were burnt from 250 °C up to 800 °C. The main recognized heat-induced alterations are colouration, deformation, glassy phytolith slags and pseudo-crystallisation. Our results indicate that high temperatures are not necessarily required to produce heat-altered phytoliths from cereals, as they form at around 450 °C or, in some cases, even at lower temperatures. Glassy phytolith slags already occur at 600 °C. This temperature is typical for fireplaces, which are very common at archaeological sites. They could therefore be an important source for the frequent occurrence of glassy phytolith slags. At 800 °C pseudo-crystallisation occurs, but according to Raman spectroscopy silica remains amorphous. Furthermore, the plant parts stem, leaf and husk react differently to heat. The stem, particularly the parenchyma, shows first alterations at 250 °C and distinct deformations at 450 °C. In contrast, most phytoliths of leaves and husks are still identifiable at 600 °C. This implies that stems are more sensitive to heat and might be underrepresented in the archaeological record. As this part of the plant, commonly referred to as straw, was used extensively as building material, matting and fuel, their under-representation could be relevant to the reconstruction of archaeological sites.
{"title":"Phytoliths on Fire – Experimental production of heated phytoliths for analysis of archaeological sediments","authors":"Dagmar Fritzsch , Astrid Röpke","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106367","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106367","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In thin sections from archaeological sediments, slag-like glassy components are very common. They can refer to differently heated materials, but most of them are considered to be phytoliths (amorphous, biogenic silicon dioxide (SiO<sub>2</sub>)) of grasses. In order to gain more detailed knowledge about the combustion conditions of phytoliths, we carried out burning experiments with four typical cereals that are frequently found in archaeological contexts. The segmented plant parts leaf, husk and stem were burnt from 250 °C up to 800 °C. The main recognized heat-induced alterations are colouration, deformation, glassy phytolith slags and pseudo-crystallisation. Our results indicate that high temperatures are not necessarily required to produce heat-altered phytoliths from cereals, as they form at around 450 °C or, in some cases, even at lower temperatures. Glassy phytolith slags already occur at 600 °C. This temperature is typical for fireplaces, which are very common at archaeological sites. They could therefore be an important source for the frequent occurrence of glassy phytolith slags. At 800 °C pseudo-crystallisation occurs, but according to Raman spectroscopy silica remains amorphous. Furthermore, the plant parts stem, leaf and husk react differently to heat. The stem, particularly the parenchyma, shows first alterations at 250 °C and distinct deformations at 450 °C. In contrast, most phytoliths of leaves and husks are still identifiable at 600 °C. This implies that stems are more sensitive to heat and might be underrepresented in the archaeological record. As this part of the plant, commonly referred to as straw, was used extensively as building material, matting and fuel, their under-representation could be relevant to the reconstruction of archaeological sites.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"183 ","pages":"Article 106367"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145097751","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 : 2025-09-15DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2025.106368
Dongyi Yang , Xiaotong Wu , Herong Zhang , Kui Li , Li Tao , Xingxiang Zhang
The Bronze Age cultures of Southwest China were marked by remarkable diversity and vibrancy. As the Han Empire (202 BCE–220 CE) expanded into the region and established governance, indigenous polities gradually disintegrated. Existing research paradigms that interpret archaeological materials primarily through historical texts are limited in explanatory power. Studies on the interactions between the Han Empire and its southwestern periphery must now prioritize the cultural agency of indigenous groups. By integrating archaeometallurgical data with historical textual evidence, this study explores the subtle process by which the Han Empire gradually infiltrated Guizhou.
Metallurgical analyses indicate that western Guizhou, the core of the Yelang culture, experienced a technological evolution from unalloyed copper to tin bronze and then to lead-tin bronze between the 5th and 1st centuries BCE. Lead isotope data from Hezhang suggest four distinct lead sources. Copper and Type B lead were likely local to the Yunnan–Guizhou region. Type C lead may have come from northern China, and Type D appears to be a mixture of common local lead and highly radiogenic lead from northeastern Yunnan. Type A lead, matching isotopic signatures from Xiaoqinling in western Henan, was introduced into northwestern Guizhou under Han cultural influence.
These findings suggest that Han influence reached northwestern Guizhou before the mid-Western Han. Even prior to Emperor Wu's campaigns, Han artifacts, technologies, and mineral resources had already permeated the region. Resource exploitation drove Han expansion into the southwest, while both local and external forces shaped the integration of Yelang. Subjected to multifaceted cultural influences, Yelang underwent gradual transformation, accelerating the Sinicization process in the Guizhou region. In its early engagement with the Southwest, the Han empire adopted a low resistance strategy of infiltration and control rather than outright replacement. Through the gradual introduction of goods, technology, and raw materials, it steadily penetrated Guizhou, reflecting the power structure when the Han Empire initially encountered the highlands of Southwest China.
{"title":"From periphery to borderland: Yelang metallurgy and Han imperial governance of Southwest China","authors":"Dongyi Yang , Xiaotong Wu , Herong Zhang , Kui Li , Li Tao , Xingxiang Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106368","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106368","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Bronze Age cultures of Southwest China were marked by remarkable diversity and vibrancy. As the Han Empire (202 BCE–220 CE) expanded into the region and established governance, indigenous polities gradually disintegrated. Existing research paradigms that interpret archaeological materials primarily through historical texts are limited in explanatory power. Studies on the interactions between the Han Empire and its southwestern periphery must now prioritize the cultural agency of indigenous groups. By integrating archaeometallurgical data with historical textual evidence, this study explores the subtle process by which the Han Empire gradually infiltrated Guizhou.</div><div>Metallurgical analyses indicate that western Guizhou, the core of the Yelang culture, experienced a technological evolution from unalloyed copper to tin bronze and then to lead-tin bronze between the 5th and 1st centuries BCE. Lead isotope data from Hezhang suggest four distinct lead sources. Copper and Type B lead were likely local to the Yunnan–Guizhou region. Type C lead may have come from northern China, and Type D appears to be a mixture of common local lead and highly radiogenic lead from northeastern Yunnan. Type A lead, matching isotopic signatures from Xiaoqinling in western Henan, was introduced into northwestern Guizhou under Han cultural influence.</div><div>These findings suggest that Han influence reached northwestern Guizhou before the mid-Western Han. Even prior to Emperor Wu's campaigns, Han artifacts, technologies, and mineral resources had already permeated the region. Resource exploitation drove Han expansion into the southwest, while both local and external forces shaped the integration of Yelang. Subjected to multifaceted cultural influences, Yelang underwent gradual transformation, accelerating the Sinicization process in the Guizhou region. In its early engagement with the Southwest, the Han empire adopted a low resistance strategy of infiltration and control rather than outright replacement. Through the gradual introduction of goods, technology, and raw materials, it steadily penetrated Guizhou, reflecting the power structure when the Han Empire initially encountered the highlands of Southwest China.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"183 ","pages":"Article 106368"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145097750","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 : 2025-09-14DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2025.106366
Harel Shochat , Cheryl A. Makarewicz , Guy Bar-Oz , Michael Buckley , Linda M. Reynard , Ayelet Gilboa
Finely crafted ivory objects were highly valued prestige commodities in the Levant and more generally throughout the ancient Near East, wielded as symbols of authority, rulership, and participation in trans-regional trade networks. Our research aims to trace the networks and agents involved in the trade of ivory to the Southern Levant over a period of a thousand years (1600 BCE–600 BCE) by identifying its biological and geographical sources. This timespan encompassed major shifts in the geopolitical landscape of this region, from Late Bronze Age Canaanite city-states under Egyptian hegemony to autochthonous Iron Age territorial polities. Proteomic analyses reveal that ivories were harvested mostly from African elephants, while multi-stable isotope analyses indicate that these animals generally inhabited woodland mosaic habitats, probably located in the upper White Nile tributary. Elephant ivories were probably acquired by Nubian traders via small-scale exchange with local hunters who harvested elephants from diverse ecological niches within that broader ecoregion. The persistence of ivory sourced from this region despite the political disintegration of Dynastic Egypt, the widely recognized mediator of ivory exchange networks, suggests that Nubians actively asserted their monopoly over the procurement and distribution of lucrative ivory independent of Egyptian control and prestige economies.
{"title":"A thousand years of Nubian supply of sub-Saharan ivory to the Southern Levant, ca. 1600–600 BCE","authors":"Harel Shochat , Cheryl A. Makarewicz , Guy Bar-Oz , Michael Buckley , Linda M. Reynard , Ayelet Gilboa","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106366","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106366","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Finely crafted ivory objects were highly valued prestige commodities in the Levant and more generally throughout the ancient Near East, wielded as symbols of authority, rulership, and participation in trans-regional trade networks. Our research aims to trace the networks and agents involved in the trade of ivory to the Southern Levant over a period of a thousand years (1600 BCE–600 BCE) by identifying its biological and geographical sources. This timespan encompassed major shifts in the geopolitical landscape of this region, from Late Bronze Age Canaanite city-states under Egyptian hegemony to autochthonous Iron Age territorial polities. Proteomic analyses reveal that ivories were harvested mostly from African elephants, while multi-stable isotope analyses indicate that these animals generally inhabited woodland mosaic habitats, probably located in the upper White Nile tributary. Elephant ivories were probably acquired by Nubian traders via small-scale exchange with local hunters who harvested elephants from diverse ecological niches within that broader ecoregion. The persistence of ivory sourced from this region despite the political disintegration of Dynastic Egypt, the widely recognized mediator of ivory exchange networks, suggests that Nubians actively asserted their monopoly over the procurement and distribution of lucrative ivory independent of Egyptian control and prestige economies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"183 ","pages":"Article 106366"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145057397","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 : 2025-09-13DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2025.106356
Miriam de Diego , Ignacio Clemente-Conte , Raquel Piqué , Xavier Terradas , Millán Mozota , Antoni Palomo
The finds of several remains of cordage in waterlogged conditions at the early Neolithic site of La Draga (5292-4729 cal BC) have conclusively shown that ropes were made with plant fibres there. Tools made from wood, bone, stone and even shells linked with the processing of plant fibres for their use in cordage and/or textiles, or for working with animal skins, have also been found. The present study focuses on a category of implement made from bovid bones that display two or three holes. We propose the hypothesis of a possible use of this type of implement as a tensioner to make cordage by twisting plant fibres. A morphometric study of the different specimens has been carried out and an experimental programme with replicas of the archaeological objects has been undertaken to produce a cord of similar attributes to one documented at La Draga. A use-wear analysis of the best preserved artefact has also been performed. The experimental study has enabled a better understanding of the cordage manufacturing process and provided evidence supporting the hypothesis of the function of those implements.
{"title":"Neolithic cordage-making implements at La Draga, Spain (5292-4729 cal BC): Analysis and experiment","authors":"Miriam de Diego , Ignacio Clemente-Conte , Raquel Piqué , Xavier Terradas , Millán Mozota , Antoni Palomo","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106356","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106356","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The finds of several remains of cordage in waterlogged conditions at the early Neolithic site of La Draga (5292-4729 cal BC) have conclusively shown that ropes were made with plant fibres there. Tools made from wood, bone, stone and even shells linked with the processing of plant fibres for their use in cordage and/or textiles, or for working with animal skins, have also been found. The present study focuses on a category of implement made from bovid bones that display two or three holes. We propose the hypothesis of a possible use of this type of implement as a tensioner to make cordage by twisting plant fibres. A morphometric study of the different specimens has been carried out and an experimental programme with replicas of the archaeological objects has been undertaken to produce a cord of similar attributes to one documented at La Draga. A use-wear analysis of the best preserved artefact has also been performed. The experimental study has enabled a better understanding of the cordage manufacturing process and provided evidence supporting the hypothesis of the function of those implements.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"183 ","pages":"Article 106356"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145050280","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}
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