Journal of Archaeological Science最新文献

Ants are among the soil mesofauna that cause significant bioturbation at the location of their nests. They can have significant impact on the preservation of soil features and on post-depositional artefact distribution. Moreover, there is discussion on the natural or anthropogenic nature of so-called ‘pit-hearth’ features dating to the Mesolithic. Such features are common in parts of the Netherlands, NW Belgium, and NW Germany, and form an important body of evidence in the study of hunter-gatherer landscape use. However, it has been hypothesized that these features represent ant nests burnt due to climate-related wildfires, instead of anthropogenic pit hearths, and are therefore of little archaeological value, other than as a potential proxy for climate conditions. Considering the lack of direct evidence on underground characteristics of ant nests, we investigated the characteristics of two wood ant nests: Oone abandoned and one accidently burnt in a wildfire c. 10 years earlier. We trenched through the ant nest remains and used micromorphology to study the characteristics of the ant-influenced soil profiles. The surface domes of the ant nests had disappeared, leaving behind a bowl-shaped depression. In the burnt ant nest, a thin band of charred litter-like organic material was all that was left over from the burned superstructure. These depressions seem not to reach deeper than the top of cemented podzol Bhs-horizons. Surrounding and underneath the depression, extensive networks of tunnels and chambers were found in the B- and C-horizons. If archaeological artefacts had been present on the site, they would have become buried and moved to the top of the B-horizon. Any soil features would have been destroyed. Moreover, the extensive tunnel and chamber network extending from the depression would potentially affect the botanical record and the OSL signal of the deposits.

Comparison of our results with Mesolithic pit-hearth features shows substantial differences between the two types of remains. Ant nest depressions do not extend into (cemented) podzol B horizons, whereas Mesolithic pit hearths typically have their base in the C horizons. The extensive tunnelling in B- and C-horizons of large ant nests has not been observed in Mesolithic pit-hearth features. On the other hand, the large amount of charred humus and charcoal fragments in Mesolithic pit hearths are lacking in the burned ant nest we studied. We therefore conclude that Mesolithic pit-hearth features are not the result of the burning down of ant nests, but should be regarded as anthropogenic features.

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is a non-invasive and efficient scientific tool in burial analysis that can 'see the unseen,' answering both simple questions such as the existence and boundaries of burials, as well as more difficult questions like whether burials are intact or decayed. This paper reviews common reflection signatures associated with burials and applies the three fundamental GPR principles (dielectric contrast, scattering and polarity of reflections) to two distinct caseworks involving historical graves and civilian burials, which serve as benchmarks with known ground truth. It encompasses a third test case involving family tree research in a civilian cemetery, drawing upon the benchmarked results obtained from the first two caseworks. In adherence to geophysical signal reflection principles, our study discerns distinct hyperbolic traits associated with three burial types including intact shroud-wrapped, coffin burials, and decayed or mass-grave burials. A GPR-geospatial integration workflow incorporating GPR, aerial photogrammetry and global navigation satellite system - real time kinetics (GNSS-RTK), is derived to enhance the identification and investigation of burials using GPR. Our workflow encompasses a range of indicators for survey methods and burial classification, presenting a general framework for the systematic contextualization of tailored workflows to individual contexts. This work exemplifies the efficacy of GPR in the detection of burials that have been undisturbed for over a century in the soils of Hong Kong and how geophysics and geospatial science can address the limitations inherent in conventional desktop-based archaeological investigation. Its implications extend to professionals in diverse fields including historians, archaeologists, cemetery management officials, and even family members searching for their lost loved ones.

We draw attention to differences in logistic least cost rationales that emphasize the practical conditions that push people toward optimization and social approaches, which emphasize the sociocultural conditions that can pull people away from optimization. To better incorporate the prosocial tendencies of people moving through lived landscapes, we develop a socially informed least cost approach that prioritizes social interactions at known sites without explicitly inputting those places as destinations. To highlight the utility of this technique, we deploy the social approach in a case study of the South Road—an important movement corridor during the Chaco fluorescence (ca. AD 850-1150) in present-day northwestern New Mexico. Results show that a social approach produces travel corridors that more closely resemble the route of the South Road than corridors derived through a logistic approach. The results demonstrate the importance of considering traditionally non-optimal and socially informed motivations when modeling human movement and large-scale transportation in the past.

It is unclear how dryland crops adapted to the humid climate of southern China, nevertheless they were an important component of prehistoric agricultural systems in the region. In this study, archaeobotanical results assembled from 110 archaeological sites in southern China, Digital Elevation Model (DEM)-based slope results of these archaeological sites, regional meteorological data and paleoclimate records were used to analyse the main factors affecting the distribution of prehistoric dryland agriculture, to help understand the adaptation of this agriculture to southern China and assess the role of climate change in the expansion of dryland crops in the region. The results highlighted the importance of effective water input and temperature. Farmers in prehistoric times adopted diverse strategies to plant dryland crops in southern China. The main proportion of the dryland crops centred on the use of foxtail millet (over 75% of the total dryland crops) and it was adjusted to adapt to the variations in effective water inputs resulting from precipitation and topography in the low-elevation area. Approximately 3° might be the slope threshold for agricultural transformation in the low-elevation humid areas of southern China. The millets-dominated (61.7%) or rice-dominated (85.3%) agricultural systems in dry-hot valleys, and wheat-dominated (51.8%) agriculture in the west Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau were developed to adapt to the arid climate and the low summer temperature, respectively. The weakening of the Asian monsoon since 5000 BC had objectively favoured the expansion of dryland agriculture in the low-slope areas of southern China, but the role of climate change should not be overestimated in the expansion of dryland crops.

The analysis of seeds from archaeobotanical assemblages is essential for understanding the history of crop cultivation. However, the majority of these seeds are typically found charred, a condition that not only degrades DNA, which hinders genetic studies, but also distorts their morphological features, which may bias comparisons with uncharred modern samples. While the effects of charring on several other crop seeds or fruits are well-documented, date palm seeds remain largely unexamined, limiting our ability to use charred seeds effectively to document the agrobiodiversity dynamic of this crop.

In this study, we assessed the morphological changes induced by the charring of 1375 Phoenix seeds under varied conditions, including charring temperatures of 200–600 °C, exposure durations from 10 to 120 min, and oxidizing/reducing conditions. By comparing charred samples with a modern reference collection of 6991 seeds, we evaluated the extent to which charring affects the ability to discriminate between groups of interest, particularly between wild and domesticated specimens.

Our study identified a significant shrinkage in Phoenix seeds, up to 25%, as a result of charring, with the extent of deformation influenced by the conditions of exposure. The shrinkage displayed an isometric pattern, keeping the proportions between seed dimensions consistent, thereby validating size ratios as a dependable metric for studying Phoenix agrobiodiversity even when dealing with charred material. Moreover, seed outlines stay predominantly unchanged, further endorsing their utility in morphometric studies. Using our results to examine 13 charred seeds from Shahi Tump and Miri Qalat, two Protohistoric settlements (5^th-3^rd millennia BCE) located in the Kech-Makran district of southwestern Pakistan, we deduced a predominance of wild resource utilization over the cultivation of date palms.

This research sheds light on the impact of charring on seed morphology and underscores its potential in differentiating between species and groups. It moreover confirms the value of charred seeds as a crucial resource for unraveling the complex history of crop cultivation, offering a detailed framework for future studies in this domain.

Parasites are the causative agents of infectious diseases that have affected humans throughout our evolution. Some appear to have been ubiquitous in past societies around the globe, but others were only viable in distinct regions where the conditions suited their complex life cycles. This review considers how we can recover and identify ancient parasites, before interrogating the literature to explore some of the ways this evidence can help us to better understand past societies. Variability in sanitation infrastructure, diet, cooking methods, lifestyle, behaviour and environment all affected the kinds of parasites that could infect past people, and determined how common infection was. The health consequences of parasite infection in different past communities are considered, as we think about the many ways health can be impaired by such infections. Where a good number of studies have focussed on one geographic region, variation in the apparent endemic range of certain parasite species allows an assessment of the relationship between humans and the surrounding environment. When parasites are found outside of their usual range this can be used as a marker of long distance travel and migrations. As the body of evidence for parasites in past populations expands, so do the ways we can use this information in an innovative manner to better understand those who lived in the past.

Material characteristics of casting moulds are crucial for understanding the evolution and diversification of bronze ritual vessel production in Bronze Age China. During relevant studies, a Back Scattered Electron (BSE) image detector is commonly employed to analyze mould microstructure, effectively revealing the volume ratios and shape features of the clay matrix, silt/sand particles, and voids. It is always challenging to analyze and cross-compare these BSE images quantitatively since they typically contain numerous phases with highly irregular shapes. Traditionally, time consuming manual point counting or multi-step image processing were used to obtain semi-quantitative results. Addressing these challenges, we have proposed a deep learning method called BCM-SegNet, an optimized Mask R-CNN-based algorithm for segmenting BSE images of bronze casting moulds and cores. Using the proposed method, key parameters, such as area, Feret diameter, roundness, and solidity of segmented particles, can be provided based on well segmented results, even for the images with complex background. Experimental outcomes show that the algorithm achieves a segmentation precision of 95% and an accuracy of around 91%, demonstrating its strong generalization capability. This study provides a significant foundation for micro-feature analysis of archaeological ceramic materials, classification of particles, and determination of technological processes in archaeological research.

The transition from dispersed to aggregated forms of settlement reflects a critical shift in the relative value of social and primary (food) modes of production. However, investigating trade-offs between these different forms of settlement requires estimates of the extent of community territories, including their nearby arable land. Here we demonstrate a simple algorithm to do that. Our algorithm is analogous to that used to define core-based statistical areas for the US census, though instead of central business districts, we rely on community centers (or areas of known and persistent interaction between unrelated individuals). We provide examples of our algorithm by applying it to archaeological sites in the central Mesa Verde, northern Rio Grande, and Cibola regions in the US Southwest. A sensitivity analysis is also conducted to demonstrate how each tuning parameter contributes to the algorithm.

This paper explores the burden of osteomalacia on pregnancy and childbirth through two cases from early medieval urban Milan. Two skeletons of female individuals with skeletal deformities and associated with 25–36 gestational weeks fetuses, excavated from the Ad Martyres and San Vittore al Corpo urban cemeteries and dated to the Early Middle Ages, were examined. Paleopathological and historical analyses were performed in a biocultural approach to investigate the impact of clinical complications and skeletal deformities on their daily life, the course of their pregnancy, and childbirth. The women showed severe skeletal deformities attributable to osteomalacia including scoliosis, reduced rib-neck angle, coxa vara, severe bending of the pelvic bones, protrusio acetabuli, and narrowed pelvic outlet. The condition and its biomechanical complications impacted the health of both mothers and fetuses, the quality of life of the women (i.e., gait alteration, difficult and limited mobility, compression of internal organs), as well as pregnancy outcomes. It is possible that both the mothers and fetuses died due to childbirth complications. Bioarchaeological cases of osteomalacia, pregnancy, and death during childbirth are excessively rare. This paper also provides insight into how maternal experiences and biocultural environments in early medieval Milan impacted childbirth outcome. The study of the Ad Martyres and San Vittore al Corpo necropolises is still ongoing and could provide further insight. Isotopic and paleogenomic analyses may shed more light into the factors that led to vitamin D deficiency in these women.

Natural terrestrial corridors have been shown to have influenced the positioning of past settlements. The scale at which this pattern-process relationship operates is often un-estimated and thus remains unclear. This paper proposes the comparison of multiple point process models as an approach for estimating the optimal scale at which this relationship is strongest. With this approach, it is revealed that the positioning of Roman forts used during the conquest of Wales was most influenced by natural terrestrial corridors at a scale of 1,100m. At this scale, the Roman army stationed at these forts could control natural corridors – both via on-the-ground response as well as through overseeing movements by the native communities of Wales. Comparing multiple scenarios, it is also shown that the control of river-systems did not influence the positioning of Roman forts at the expense of controlling these natural terrestrial corridors used by those on foot. With archaeological interpretations susceptible to change as a result of the scale at which this pattern-process relationship is measured, the estimation of the optimal scale is pivotal for non-biased inferences on the processes thought to have influenced the positioning of settlements in the past.