Pub Date : 2025-06-13DOI: 10.1016/j.ara.2025.100626
Anna Pineda , Don Matthews
The jar burial tradition in the Philippines is commonly perceived as a single entity, but it is clear from recent analysis that similarities are occurring throughout the region based on interment method and associated artefacts. Nevertheless, there is little discussion that includes jar forms and lids as basis for comparison. This study considers this information while also taking unpublished and untranslated reports into account. This research uses excavators' observations, unpublished photos, drawings, and reconstructed jars in museums to identify physical attributes. In doing so, a pattern emerges suggesting that the jars and lids are indicators of differing burial traditions. We distinguish at least four jar burial traditions in the Philippines based on the combined pattern of jar burial body form and their associated lids.
{"title":"Interpreting archaeological mortuary jar traditions in the Philippines: Forms, lids, and regional connections in Island Southeast Asia","authors":"Anna Pineda , Don Matthews","doi":"10.1016/j.ara.2025.100626","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ara.2025.100626","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The jar burial tradition in the Philippines is commonly perceived as a single entity, but it is clear from recent analysis that similarities are occurring throughout the region based on interment method and associated artefacts. Nevertheless, there is little discussion that includes jar forms and lids as basis for comparison. This study considers this information while also taking unpublished and untranslated reports into account. This research uses excavators' observations, unpublished photos, drawings, and reconstructed jars in museums to identify physical attributes. In doing so, a pattern emerges suggesting that the jars and lids are indicators of differing burial traditions. We distinguish at least four jar burial traditions in the Philippines based on the combined pattern of jar burial body form and their associated lids.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51847,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological Research in Asia","volume":"43 ","pages":"Article 100626"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144270781","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-05DOI: 10.1016/j.ara.2025.100637
Itay Abadi, Adrian Nigel Goring-Morris
In this paper, we present a comprehensive techno-typological study of the lithic assemblages from two newly excavated sites in the Arava Valley (Israel), dated to ca. 24,000 years ago. The two assemblages feature comparable bladelet reduction sequences oriented to produce a variety of obliquely truncated backed bladelets made on straight, narrow blanks, with some typological variability detectable between them.
The Idan occupations are contemporaneous with the Masraqan and Nebekian industries during the early part of the Early Epipaleolithic (EEP) that, following Garrard and Byrd (2013), we refer to here as Initial Epipaleolithic (IEP).
We suggest that the Idan localities represent an IEP facies, stylistically more reminiscent of the Nebekian assemblages in the Transjordian highlands, but differing technologically in the absence of the microburin technique.
We highlight the different developmental trajectories of backed microliths in different regions within the Southern Levant, illustrating the complex cultural dynamics at the beginning of the Epipaleolithic.
We propose that these developmental trajectories are influenced by different population densities and adaptation strategies of forager groups in diverse environmental settings within the Levant.
{"title":"The lithic assemblages of Idan I and VII: New insights on the beginning of the Epipaleolithic in the Southern Levant","authors":"Itay Abadi, Adrian Nigel Goring-Morris","doi":"10.1016/j.ara.2025.100637","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ara.2025.100637","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this paper, we present a comprehensive techno-typological study of the lithic assemblages from two newly excavated sites in the Arava Valley (Israel), dated to ca. 24,000 years ago. The two assemblages feature comparable bladelet reduction sequences oriented to produce a variety of obliquely truncated backed bladelets made on straight, narrow blanks, with some typological variability detectable between them.</div><div>The Idan occupations are contemporaneous with the Masraqan and Nebekian industries during the early part of the Early Epipaleolithic (EEP) that, following Garrard and Byrd (2013), we refer to here as Initial Epipaleolithic (IEP).</div><div>We suggest that the Idan localities represent an IEP facies, stylistically more reminiscent of the Nebekian assemblages in the Transjordian highlands, but differing technologically in the absence of the microburin technique.</div><div>We highlight the different developmental trajectories of backed microliths in different regions within the Southern Levant, illustrating the complex cultural dynamics at the beginning of the Epipaleolithic.</div><div>We propose that these developmental trajectories are influenced by different population densities and adaptation strategies of forager groups in diverse environmental settings within the Levant.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51847,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological Research in Asia","volume":"43 ","pages":"Article 100637"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144212630","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The medieval wall and trench system of China and Mongolia covers ∼4000 km and consists of a series of rammed-earth walls, ditches, and hundreds of associated structures. This was not a unified system but rather different sections that were built by different political entities and perhaps for different purposes between ca. 1000 to 1220 CE. Among those lines, the earliest is the northernmost section dated to the period of the Liao empire (916–1125 CE). It is located deep in the sparsely populated steppe of today's northeastern Mongolia (Dornod Province) as well as in parts of China and Russia. Recent excavations at Site 23 along the northern line revealed a rich and well-preserved faunal assemblage from a midden pit dated towards the end of the Liao empire (ca. 1050 CE). Common Mongolian domesticates sheep, goat, horse, cow, and dog were identified, as well as wild species: gazelle, rabbit, mustelids, large raptors, and fish, including Amur catfish. Based on bone fusion, size, and teeth eruption, many of the sheep/goat bones and dogs belong to very young animals under six months. Historical texts, such as the Liaoshi (Liao history) and Qidan guozhi (Records of the Kitan empire), were the only source of knowledge available regarding human-animal relations, as very little is known of subsistence practices during the Liao period from faunal analysis in itself. The historical record documents aspects of Liao-era animal husbandry, hunting, fishing, and imperial diplomatic/tributary animal exchange between the Liao governors and local tribes. Through integration of textual evidence and the excavated faunal material, we can interpret the subsistence activities of a distinct Liao frontier garrison for the first time, going beyond the often-generic descriptions of the historical record which pertain more to the elite than the common people. This analysis allows us a glimpse behind the texts at the varied and flexible economic practices taking place deep in the Mongolian steppe.
{"title":"Subsistence and survival along the medieval long-wall system of northern China and Mongolia: A zooarchaeological and historical perspective","authors":"Tikvah Steiner , Gideon Shelach-Lavi , Johannes S. Lotze , Zhidong Zhang , Amartuvshin Chunag , Angaragdulguun Gantumur , Rivka Rabinovich","doi":"10.1016/j.ara.2025.100639","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ara.2025.100639","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The medieval wall and trench system of China and Mongolia covers ∼4000 km and consists of a series of rammed-earth walls, ditches, and hundreds of associated structures. This was not a unified system but rather different sections that were built by different political entities and perhaps for different purposes between ca. 1000 to 1220 CE. Among those lines, the earliest is the northernmost section dated to the period of the Liao empire (916–1125 CE). It is located deep in the sparsely populated steppe of today's northeastern Mongolia (Dornod Province) as well as in parts of China and Russia. Recent excavations at Site 23 along the northern line revealed a rich and well-preserved faunal assemblage from a midden pit dated towards the end of the Liao empire (ca. 1050 CE). Common Mongolian domesticates sheep, goat, horse, cow, and dog were identified, as well as wild species: gazelle, rabbit, mustelids, large raptors, and fish, including Amur catfish. Based on bone fusion, size, and teeth eruption, many of the sheep/goat bones and dogs belong to very young animals under six months. Historical texts, such as the <em>Liaoshi</em> (Liao history) and <em>Qidan guozhi</em> (Records of the Kitan empire), were the only source of knowledge available regarding human-animal relations, as very little is known of subsistence practices during the Liao period from faunal analysis in itself. The historical record documents aspects of Liao-era animal husbandry, hunting, fishing, and imperial diplomatic/tributary animal exchange between the Liao governors and local tribes. Through integration of textual evidence and the excavated faunal material, we can interpret the subsistence activities of a distinct Liao frontier garrison for the first time, going beyond the often-generic descriptions of the historical record which pertain more to the elite than the common people. This analysis allows us a glimpse behind the texts at the varied and flexible economic practices taking place deep in the Mongolian steppe.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51847,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological Research in Asia","volume":"43 ","pages":"Article 100639"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144212631","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-02DOI: 10.1016/j.ara.2025.100635
N.I. Shishlina , O.F. Chernova
The preserved Bronze Age wool textile samples obtained from various sites in the southern Caucasus and northern Eurasia were used to carry out technological analysis of the fibers in order to identify animal fiber origin. The aim of our study was to compare the dataset of the Bronze Age archaeological wool fibers and the reference dataset of mammalian species based on such characteristics as the structure of the wool fibers and hairs. The two identified types of raw material for woolen cloths in the southern Caucasus, the steppe, forest-steppe and forest belts of eastern Europe, southern Siberia and Kazakhstan demonstrate that the use of secondary products such as goat underwool and sheep wool is likely to have been linked to changes in animal husbandry in some local societies and appearance of various specialized types of local animal husbandry, including deliberate keeping of sheep for production of meat and milk and gradual transition towards wool production that was necessary to meet the needs of prehistoric society in innovation raw materials and novel cloths. Horse leather/hairs were also used to make items, presumably, clothes. In all likelihood, during the transition from the third to the second millennia BCE some northern Eurasia regions began to adopt specialized goat and sheep husbandry for wool, such specialization is reflected in the age composition of the sheep and goat flocks based on the analysis of archaeological assemblages, for example, an assemblage from a settlement in the southern Urals attributed to the Srubnaya (Timber-Grave) culture which dates to the first half of the second millennium BCE. The analysis of our dataset did not identify hairs and fur of other animals (domestic dog, camel, ground-squirrel, hair, beaver, etc.), though bones of these animals have been found in archaeological contexts in various areas of the study region. This analysis has revealed a special role that goat and sheep wool played in the production of novel wool cloths in northern Eurasia.
{"title":"Bronze Age wool textile and fur items from northern Eurasia: Identification of the fiber origin and differentiation between domestic animal species","authors":"N.I. Shishlina , O.F. Chernova","doi":"10.1016/j.ara.2025.100635","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ara.2025.100635","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The preserved Bronze Age wool textile samples obtained from various sites in the southern Caucasus and northern Eurasia were used to carry out technological analysis of the fibers in order to identify animal fiber origin. The aim of our study was to compare the dataset of the Bronze Age archaeological wool fibers and the reference dataset of mammalian species based on such characteristics as the structure of the wool fibers and hairs. The two identified types of raw material for woolen cloths in the southern Caucasus, the steppe, forest-steppe and forest belts of eastern Europe, southern Siberia and Kazakhstan demonstrate that the use of secondary products such as goat underwool and sheep wool is likely to have been linked to changes in animal husbandry in some local societies and appearance of various specialized types of local animal husbandry, including deliberate keeping of sheep for production of meat and milk and gradual transition towards wool production that was necessary to meet the needs of prehistoric society in innovation raw materials and novel cloths. Horse leather/hairs were also used to make items, presumably, clothes. In all likelihood, during the transition from the third to the second millennia BCE some northern Eurasia regions began to adopt specialized goat and sheep husbandry for wool, such specialization is reflected in the age composition of the sheep and goat flocks based on the analysis of archaeological assemblages, for example, an assemblage from a settlement in the southern Urals attributed to the Srubnaya (Timber-Grave) culture which dates to the first half of the second millennium BCE. The analysis of our dataset did not identify hairs and fur of other animals (domestic dog, camel, ground-squirrel, hair, beaver, etc.), though bones of these animals have been found in archaeological contexts in various areas of the study region. This analysis has revealed a special role that goat and sheep wool played in the production of novel wool cloths in northern Eurasia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51847,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological Research in Asia","volume":"43 ","pages":"Article 100635"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144196247","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-05-30DOI: 10.1016/j.ara.2025.100636
Minkoo Kim
This study examines 135 tombs (ca. 350–550 CE) in Gyeongju and the surrounding areas in Korea to elucidate social differentiation among the elites of the Silla Kingdom. Previous research has highlighted a vertical social stratification among the elites, assuming a correlation between social status and luxurious burial goods. By analyzing prestige items, tomb sizes, and locations, this study reveals that burial datasets support both vertical and horizontal differentiation within the elite hierarchy. Before 350 CE, emergent state leaders were signified by wooden-coffin tombs with iron weapons. These assemblages of burial goods persisted, but after 350 CE, the burial data indicate the emergence of two additional, distinctive elite identities: the highest-ranking individuals, evidenced by tumuli in central locations with lavish status symbols; and the mounted warrior group, characterized by burial goods that are modest yet represent direct enforcement power over broader regions. Notably, this study reveals some flexibility in the selection of luxury items in the highest-ranking tombs, challenging previous claims of strict regulation by sumptuary laws. These findings illustrate the social differentiation among the Silla elite, who wielded varying levels of economic, military, and ideological power essential for effective governance over an expanding territory.
{"title":"Enlivening warriors: Re-examining social rankings in the Silla Kingdom, Korea","authors":"Minkoo Kim","doi":"10.1016/j.ara.2025.100636","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ara.2025.100636","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines 135 tombs (ca. 350–550 CE) in Gyeongju and the surrounding areas in Korea to elucidate social differentiation among the elites of the Silla Kingdom. Previous research has highlighted a vertical social stratification among the elites, assuming a correlation between social status and luxurious burial goods. By analyzing prestige items, tomb sizes, and locations, this study reveals that burial datasets support both vertical and horizontal differentiation within the elite hierarchy. Before 350 CE, emergent state leaders were signified by wooden-coffin tombs with iron weapons. These assemblages of burial goods persisted, but after 350 CE, the burial data indicate the emergence of two additional, distinctive elite identities: the highest-ranking individuals, evidenced by tumuli in central locations with lavish status symbols; and the mounted warrior group, characterized by burial goods that are modest yet represent direct enforcement power over broader regions. Notably, this study reveals some flexibility in the selection of luxury items in the highest-ranking tombs, challenging previous claims of strict regulation by sumptuary laws. These findings illustrate the social differentiation among the Silla elite, who wielded varying levels of economic, military, and ideological power essential for effective governance over an expanding territory.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51847,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological Research in Asia","volume":"43 ","pages":"Article 100636"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144178814","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-05-29DOI: 10.1016/j.ara.2025.100634
Nicholas Groat
The theory of ‘Ancient Indian’ distillation and its characteristic Gandhāra still are deeply entrenched in the historiography of science and technology. This paper advances recent critiques of this widely accepted hypothesis by presenting a new, systematic evaluation of the archaeological materials, typology, and chronology that underpin the Gandhāra still reconstruction. Ceramic vessels characterised as specialist components of a distillation apparatus dated to the late 1st mil. BCE - early 1st mil. CE have previously been framed as key evidence of a technological tradition integral to the global development of distillation. Central to this is a unique typological form known as the receiver-condenser, allegedly identified across South-Central Asia and displaying a continuity from its earliest ‘Indo-Greek’ shape to later Kushan forms. These morphological evolutions and cultural characterisations, often linked to narratives on major sociocultural processes, have become accepted without critical assessment. By presenting the first detailed survey of reported instances of the ‘receiver-condenser’, other specialist components within the Gandhāra still reconstruction, and their contexts, this paper highlights fundamental weaknesses within the distillation hypothesis. Survey results revealed that many reported components were consistently mistyped as apparatus parts, illustrating that ‘receiver-condensers’ did not follow consistent chronological phases or shapes. By challenging and deconstructing the Gandhāra still, this study calls for a re-examination of associated archaeological materials away from long-held assumptions on distillation. In tandem, the paper encourages wider re-evaluations of existing narratives on early distillation technology, exemplifying how archaeological typologies shape dialogues on technological innovations and their attached cultural labels.
{"title":"Reassessing archaeological evidence for the Gandhāra still reconstruction and ‘Ancient Indian’ distillation hypothesis","authors":"Nicholas Groat","doi":"10.1016/j.ara.2025.100634","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ara.2025.100634","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The theory of ‘Ancient Indian’ distillation and its characteristic Gandhāra still are deeply entrenched in the historiography of science and technology. This paper advances recent critiques of this widely accepted hypothesis by presenting a new, systematic evaluation of the archaeological materials, typology, and chronology that underpin the Gandhāra still reconstruction. Ceramic vessels characterised as specialist components of a distillation apparatus dated to the late 1st mil. BCE - early 1st mil. CE have previously been framed as key evidence of a technological tradition integral to the global development of distillation. Central to this is a unique typological form known as the receiver-condenser, allegedly identified across South-Central Asia and displaying a continuity from its earliest ‘Indo-Greek’ shape to later Kushan forms. These morphological evolutions and cultural characterisations, often linked to narratives on major sociocultural processes, have become accepted without critical assessment. By presenting the first detailed survey of reported instances of the ‘receiver-condenser’, other specialist components within the Gandhāra still reconstruction, and their contexts, this paper highlights fundamental weaknesses within the distillation hypothesis. Survey results revealed that many reported components were consistently mistyped as apparatus parts, illustrating that ‘receiver-condensers’ did not follow consistent chronological phases or shapes. By challenging and deconstructing the Gandhāra still, this study calls for a re-examination of associated archaeological materials away from long-held assumptions on distillation. In tandem, the paper encourages wider re-evaluations of existing narratives on early distillation technology, exemplifying how archaeological typologies shape dialogues on technological innovations and their attached cultural labels.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51847,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological Research in Asia","volume":"43 ","pages":"Article 100634"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144169081","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Castles are among the structures that have always played important roles in various periods and regions of the world due to their multiple functions. The Dailam region in northern Iran is one such area where studying its castles is significant, particularly because of their strategic location, especially during the early Islamic period. This paper examines the role of these castles in the governance and security of the region, as well as the social, economic, and defensive stabilizing power of their inhabitants, focusing on the results of excavations conducted at the Sansiz Castle in Tarom, northern Iran. It appears that, in addition to their administrative role, the defensive and military advantages of these castles likely contributed to the political, economic, and social influence of the nobles who inhabited them, as well as the security of the region's population. The conclusion highlights the constructive role of these fortresses in stabilizing social, economic, and defensive power, making them strategic sites in the region.
{"title":"The castles of Dailam: Fortresses of power provision for the noble residences of northern Iran","authors":"Hamid Azizi Bondarabady , Hamzeh Karimi , Benham Ghanbari","doi":"10.1016/j.ara.2025.100623","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ara.2025.100623","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Castles are among the structures that have always played important roles in various periods and regions of the world due to their multiple functions. The Dailam region in northern Iran is one such area where studying its castles is significant, particularly because of their strategic location, especially during the early Islamic period. This paper examines the role of these castles in the governance and security of the region, as well as the social, economic, and defensive stabilizing power of their inhabitants, focusing on the results of excavations conducted at the Sansiz Castle in Tarom, northern Iran. It appears that, in addition to their administrative role, the defensive and military advantages of these castles likely contributed to the political, economic, and social influence of the nobles who inhabited them, as well as the security of the region's population. The conclusion highlights the constructive role of these fortresses in stabilizing social, economic, and defensive power, making them strategic sites in the region.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51847,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological Research in Asia","volume":"43 ","pages":"Article 100623"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144169080","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-05-28DOI: 10.1016/j.ara.2025.100638
Guoshuai Gao , Shuxin Kong , Haiyang Xing , Long Wang , Quanchao Zhang , Qian Wang
Children skeletons bear a wealth of information about childhood biological and social lives. Hence, collection of these patterns from the children group would suggest the overall environmental and social stress levels of the entire population. In this study, the skeletal remains of 74 children from three cemeteries used during the Bronze-Iron Age in the Turpan Basin of northwestern China (10th to 2nd centuries BCE) were investigated. Signs of abnormal porosity, enamel hypoplasia, abnormal new bone tissue, limb and rib deformities, and other signs of lesions were recorded. All three sites belonged to the Subeixi Culture (1100–100 BCE) in the Western Regions. Results demonstrated that children of the mortuary populations in Yanghai (1000–700 BCE), Jiayi (800–400 BCE) and Shengjindian (250–100 BCE) had generally high apparent prevalence of developmental stresses and signs of pathology. These patterns suggest children vulnerability in the historic Western Regions of a semi-nomadic and semi-agricultural economic mode. The hardship these children faced might have also been related to environmental stress and increased interpersonal conflicts in a transitional zone between nomadic and settled populations that eventually ended the Subeixi Culture. The regional socio-cultural structure and evolution might have had a significant impact on the health, morbidity, resilience, and mortality of children and adults alike. This study is the first effort to survey the health status of ancient minors in China.
{"title":"Hardship in the Western regions: Children vulnerability during bronze-iron ages in the Turpan Basin, northwestern China (1000–100 BCE)","authors":"Guoshuai Gao , Shuxin Kong , Haiyang Xing , Long Wang , Quanchao Zhang , Qian Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.ara.2025.100638","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ara.2025.100638","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Children skeletons bear a wealth of information about childhood biological and social lives. Hence, collection of these patterns from the children group would suggest the overall environmental and social stress levels of the entire population. In this study, the skeletal remains of 74 children from three cemeteries used during the Bronze-Iron Age in the Turpan Basin of northwestern China (10th to 2nd centuries BCE) were investigated. Signs of abnormal porosity, enamel hypoplasia, abnormal new bone tissue, limb and rib deformities, and other signs of lesions were recorded. All three sites belonged to the Subeixi Culture (1100–100 BCE) in the Western Regions. Results demonstrated that children of the mortuary populations in Yanghai (1000–700 BCE), Jiayi (800–400 BCE) and Shengjindian (250–100 BCE) had generally high apparent prevalence of developmental stresses and signs of pathology. These patterns suggest children vulnerability in the historic Western Regions of a semi-nomadic and semi-agricultural economic mode. The hardship these children faced might have also been related to environmental stress and increased interpersonal conflicts in a transitional zone between nomadic and settled populations that eventually ended the Subeixi Culture. The regional socio-cultural structure and evolution might have had a significant impact on the health, morbidity, resilience, and mortality of children and adults alike. This study is the first effort to survey the health status of ancient minors in China.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51847,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological Research in Asia","volume":"43 ","pages":"Article 100638"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144169079","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-05-28DOI: 10.1016/j.ara.2025.100627
Morteza Khanipour , Afshin Akbari
The kurgan burial tradition, prevalent across Eurasia from China to Europe, has been identified in northwestern Iran through archaeological surveys and excavations. During the survey of the Ahmadbiglou Dam in Meshginshahr County, several kurgans were documented, among which the Qieh-Boynou Kurgan stands out. The rescue excavation of this site was conducted in 2020. Despite the numerous kurgans excavated in Iran, a comprehensive analysis of their features is yet to be conducted. This paper examines the geographical distribution, chronological framework, and defining characteristics of kurgan burials in Iran based on findings from Qieh-Boynou and other excavated kurgans. The results indicate that this burial practice was prevalent in the region west of the Caspian Sea during the Bronze and Iron Ages. Variations in burial structures and grave goods suggest differences in social ranks, although all kurgans share the characteristic of mound construction, using diverse materials and methods. The absence of nearby settlements around many kurgans suggests that they likely belonged to nomadic pastoralist communities.
{"title":"Kurgans: Funerary evidence of nomadic communities with insights from Iran","authors":"Morteza Khanipour , Afshin Akbari","doi":"10.1016/j.ara.2025.100627","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ara.2025.100627","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The kurgan burial tradition, prevalent across Eurasia from China to Europe, has been identified in northwestern Iran through archaeological surveys and excavations. During the survey of the Ahmadbiglou Dam in Meshginshahr County, several kurgans were documented, among which the Qieh-Boynou Kurgan stands out. The rescue excavation of this site was conducted in 2020. Despite the numerous kurgans excavated in Iran, a comprehensive analysis of their features is yet to be conducted. This paper examines the geographical distribution, chronological framework, and defining characteristics of kurgan burials in Iran based on findings from Qieh-Boynou and other excavated kurgans. The results indicate that this burial practice was prevalent in the region west of the Caspian Sea during the Bronze and Iron Ages. Variations in burial structures and grave goods suggest differences in social ranks, although all kurgans share the characteristic of mound construction, using diverse materials and methods. The absence of nearby settlements around many kurgans suggests that they likely belonged to nomadic pastoralist communities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51847,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological Research in Asia","volume":"43 ","pages":"Article 100627"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144147450","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-05-22DOI: 10.1016/j.ara.2025.100622
Mayke Wagner , Moa Hallgren-Brekenkamp , Katrin Dilßner , Zhiyong Yu , Wenying Li , Xiaojing Kang , Xiaocheng Chen , Patrick Wertmann , Dominic Hosner , Carol James , Evelyn Sitter , Irina I. Elkina , Tengwen Long , Aleksandra I. Krikunova , Cataria Fahrendholz , Ariane C. Michaelis , Pavel E. Tarasov
Wool and silk are regarded as hallmarks of distinctly separate climates and environments, textile and tailoring crafts, social status and fashion regions. Wool was the domestic material for clothing in the Tarim Basin when silk became widely available some 2000 years ago. The multi-layered garment of a young woman discovered by a Sino-Japanese team in 1995 in tomb 95MN1M5 at the Niya site consists of both materials and shows an astonishing variety of textile and garment construction techniques. The outfit was thoroughly analysed and the results were validated by reproducing the entire costume, consisting of a robe, tunic dress, wrap skirt, blouse, loose trousers gathered round the ankle (bloomers), socks, shoes, and a girdle. These items represent three sets of garments belonging to different vestment traditions. The trouser-tunic suit resembles Parthian fashion, comparable to the pictorial art in Dura Europos, Palmyra and Noyon Uul (Noin-ula). The silk robe is reminiscent of Han fashion comparable to finds from Mawangdui (Hunan) and Mashan (Hubei), but with the addition of a wool fleece padded ruffle at the hem to change the silhouette from a tight fit to a loose conical shape. The blouse-skirt suit resembles local wool fashion from the Tarim Basin, but in silk. Insets of multicoloured floral tapestry bands framed by colour shading in the trousers and shoes belong to a family of closely related textile designs that were highly valued between the Mediterranean and Central Asia in the 1st–4th centuries CE. Direct radiocarbon dating places the burial between 60 and 130 CE, during the ‘First Silk Road Era’. Despite the seemingly archaic nature of the burial, in a tree trunk and wrapped in a felt blanket, the young woman's outfit is evidence of the most skilful recombination of elements from different fashion traditions to create something new, at once cosmopolitan, local and individual.
{"title":"Lady in wool and silk: 2000-year-old fashion from the Niya River oasis in the southern Tarim Basin, China","authors":"Mayke Wagner , Moa Hallgren-Brekenkamp , Katrin Dilßner , Zhiyong Yu , Wenying Li , Xiaojing Kang , Xiaocheng Chen , Patrick Wertmann , Dominic Hosner , Carol James , Evelyn Sitter , Irina I. Elkina , Tengwen Long , Aleksandra I. Krikunova , Cataria Fahrendholz , Ariane C. Michaelis , Pavel E. Tarasov","doi":"10.1016/j.ara.2025.100622","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ara.2025.100622","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Wool and silk are regarded as hallmarks of distinctly separate climates and environments, textile and tailoring crafts, social status and fashion regions. Wool was the domestic material for clothing in the Tarim Basin when silk became widely available some 2000 years ago. The multi-layered garment of a young woman discovered by a Sino-Japanese team in 1995 in tomb 95MN1M5 at the Niya site consists of both materials and shows an astonishing variety of textile and garment construction techniques. The outfit was thoroughly analysed and the results were validated by reproducing the entire costume, consisting of a robe, tunic dress, wrap skirt, blouse, loose trousers gathered round the ankle (bloomers), socks, shoes, and a girdle. These items represent three sets of garments belonging to different vestment traditions. The trouser-tunic suit resembles Parthian fashion, comparable to the pictorial art in Dura Europos, Palmyra and Noyon Uul (Noin-ula). The silk robe is reminiscent of Han fashion comparable to finds from Mawangdui (Hunan) and Mashan (Hubei), but with the addition of a wool fleece padded ruffle at the hem to change the silhouette from a tight fit to a loose conical shape. The blouse-skirt suit resembles local wool fashion from the Tarim Basin, but in silk. Insets of multicoloured floral tapestry bands framed by colour shading in the trousers and shoes belong to a family of closely related textile designs that were highly valued between the Mediterranean and Central Asia in the 1st–4th centuries CE. Direct radiocarbon dating places the burial between 60 and 130 CE, during the ‘First Silk Road Era’. Despite the seemingly archaic nature of the burial, in a tree trunk and wrapped in a felt blanket, the young woman's outfit is evidence of the most skilful recombination of elements from different fashion traditions to create something new, at once cosmopolitan, local and individual.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51847,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological Research in Asia","volume":"43 ","pages":"Article 100622"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144108257","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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