Archaeological Research in Asia最新文献

Using zooarchaeological methods, this article examines and discusses the faunal remains recovered from a Han dynasty non-elite residential site in Yishengci, situated in the southeastern corner of the ancient city of Wan (Nanyang, Henan Province). Despite its limited size, the assemblage provides valuable insights into the local economy, which the relative taxonomy suggests was predominantly agricultural, with pigs, cattle, and dogs being the most prevalent species. Pigs played a crucial role as meat producers, with cattle and dogs also contributing to a lesser extent. The evidence points to the exploitation of animals for traction in addition to the manufacture of animal-derived products including the use of horns and antlers for tool-making. Patterns in faunal mortality and biometry suggest that animals served as a meat source for the urban population and supported intensive small-scale agriculture in the surrounding area. Population size, land management and high-yield farming production were important factors that shaped, and were shaped by animal use at Yishengci. This research contributes to a better understanding of the subsistence strategies that supported the increasing urbanization during the early empire, supplementing what is predominantly known from historical texts and iconography.

South Siberia and the Northern Central Asia is one of the centers of Upper Paleolithic appearance and expansion. One of the northern areas of UP expansion is Central Siberia and the Yenisei River valley. The appearance of modern anatomical type humans in this area is presumed in the final MIS3 and is associated with the Early Upper Paleolithic (EUP). Currently, the key problem of EUP studies in Central Siberia is that archaeological artifacts come from redeposited or unstratified complexes. This article discusses the preliminary results of the Sabanikha 3 study, a new EUP site in the Yenisei River valley. In situ characteristics of the cultural layer from Sabanikha 3 site are unique for the region. New archaeological, paleontological, and spatial data from the stratified complex allow to fill the existing lacuna in the reconstruction of Central Siberia occupation by anatomically modern humans at the MIS3/MIS2 boundary.

During the late fifth millennium BP, cattle and sheep were reintroduced into North China, then they were widespread adopted under the 4.2 ka climate event, which was associated with the rise of early states. With the synchronous exploitation of primary and secondary products, the herding revolution contributed to the cultural dynamics in North China.

The chemical variations of pottery provide important insights into how pottery may have been produced, distributed, and consumed within a certain spatial extent. Present-day communities engaged in pottery-making, using traditional materials and techniques, offer valuable materials and information for exploring this subject. In China, no ethnoarchaeological study has been carried out, along with archaeometric methods and techniques, to test and compare the composition of clays, tempering materials, and vessels within a relatively small spatial extent for which there is verification from local informants. Focusing on a still active pottery-making workshop located in Guidian, within Zhoudang Town of Luoshan County, Xinyang City, Henan Province of central China, we collected 152 samples (including 53 clays and 95 sherds) from five pottery kiln sites (Guidian, Shangfuchong, Zuoyao, Songyao, and Houzhouyao) within a relatively small sector of the town. The five kiln sites have been involved in pottery making for over a century, and all of them, except for the Guidian and Shangfuchong kiln sites, were fully abandoned before 1949 AD. The composition of prepared powder samples was determined by wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (WDXRF). By conducting multivariate statistical analyses on the chemical compositional dataset and drawing upon substantial information from our informants (i.e., specialized potters, local villagers, and cultural heritage management personnel), we present initial insights into the chemical variations in a relatively small spatial limit while also delving into their implications for pottery provenance studies. Furthermore, we highlight subjects to be addressed in forthcoming studies.

Previous chronometric age estimations of freshwater shell mounds in Guangxi, China have been controversial, ranging from c. 10,000 to c. 5000 cal BP. The accuracy of the radiocarbon dating performed on freshwater shell and bone samples have been questioned due to the possible presence of a freshwater reservoir effect and potential bone sample contamination. This study presents new results of 18 new AMS dates obtained on macrobotanical and freshwater shell remains from three representative shell mound sites in Guangxi. The project demonstrates that problems do indeed exist with previous dating methods and materials. The preliminary research outcomes presented here indicate Guangxi shell mounds likely accumulated within a much narrower chronological range during the Early Holocene than previously recognised.

The site of Manot Cave in western Galilee, Israel, has been a focus of research on the Levantine Upper Paleolithic since its discovery in 2008. Thick archaeological accumulations and good preservation of organic remains, including charcoal fragments, provided a stable base for the study of the Upper Paleolithic chrono-cultural sequence, alongside the paleoenvironmental conditions at the time of human occupations. Past research indicated the presence of at least three cultural entities in the cave: Early Ahmarian, Levantine Aurignacian, and a younger entity temporarily referred to as ‘post-Levantine Aurignacian’, while radiocarbon and isotope dating provided a preliminary chronological frame ca. 46–34 ky calBP.

This paper presents a comprehensive study of the unpublished, in-situ occupation layers identified near the entrance to the cave (Area E). This study, encompassing stratigraphic reconstruction and lithic analysis of eight distinct occupation layers, presents a refined chronological frame and revised cultural affiliations. It suggests a division of the sequence from Area E into three main occupation phases: Phase 3, containing a combination of technological and typological attributes comparable to both the Early Ahmarian and Levantine Aurignacian, to which a secure cultural affiliation is pending further research; Phase 2, containing ‘classic’ Levantine Aurignacian industries, dated ca. 37.5–36.0 ky calBP; and Phase 1, contains industries with increasing microlithic dominance, and the prominent presence of truncation burins and items with lateral carination, affiliated here with the Atlitian of the Levantine Mediterranean region. Radiocarbon chronology indicates a maximum age of ca. 34.5–33.1 ky calBP for this occupation phase.

This study establishes Manot Cave as a key site for the study of Levantine Upper Paleolithic cultural dynamics, providing a unique, well-dated sequence and comparable techno-typological data of the flint industries.

Unlike the well -documented Bronze Age, the Iron Age of southeastern Iran remains largely elusive. Apart from the limited information derived from the levels of Tepe Yahya III, dating back to Iron Age III period (ca. 800 BCE), little is known about the Iron Age history of the region. The recent excavation of the early Iron Age levels at Tom -e Gavan in the Jiroft Plain has yielded for the first time well -dated material, shedding light on this enigmatic era.

The first season's excavations at Tom -e Gavan revealed in the center of the mound (referred to as Area A) a high mud -brick platform of the late second millennium BCEE. Five radiocarbon samples obtained from the occupation levels associated to the platform span from 1250 to 1000 BCE. The new data from Tom -e Gavan provides fresh evidence of cultural connections that existed between southeastern Iran, southeastern Arabia and Central Asia during the last quarter of the second millennium BCE^.

The Caucasus region, located at the juncture of the European and Asian continents, is an area that has already seen, from an archaeological perspective, the passage of people and cultures over a long period of time and is of key importance in helping us better understand the global rock art phenomenon. Palaeolithic rock art from this region had previously only been known from Gobustan, Azerbaijan. However, prior to the discovery of this extensive site by I. Jafarzade in 1939, Russian archaeologist S. Zamyatnin found Palaeolithic engravings in Mghvimevi rock shelter near the town of Chiatura, western Georgia, in 1934. Until now, this key discovery was neglected, even believed to be destroyed. In 2022, a re-examination of the cave and rock shelter sites in Western Georgia, specifically in the municipality of Chiatura, with a major focus on Mghvimevi, successfully relocated the rock art site. As a result, this previously forgotten discovery has been brought to light.

Archaeological excavations at the site of Đầu Rằm in northern Việt Nam provided new insights into the chronology of Tràng Kênh settlement sites that emerged in the Red River delta during first half of the 2nd millennium BCE. The investigations produced evidence for the production of nephrite/jade rings. This study confirms that Đầu Rằm was a settlement associated with the Tràng Kênh culture that specialised in the manufacture of nephrite jewellery. These settlements were likely integrated into a complex trade and exchange network that had emerged within northern Việt Nam by 4000 years ago.