Geoarchaeology-An International Journal最新文献

Lithic raw material properties are often invoked to explain the presence, absence, form, or ontogeny of Paleolithic stone tools. Here, we explore whether the frequency of the Middle Paleolithic Nubian core form and core-reduction systems co-varies with toolstone quality in two neighboring regions in Oman: the southern region of Nejd, Dhofar, and the south-central region of Duqm, Al Wusta. Specifically, we predicted that if raw material differences were influencing the distribution of Nubian cores, the chert would be of higher quality in the southern region, where Nubian cores were frequent, and of lower quality in the south-central region, where they were scarce. We tested this prediction by collecting 124 chert samples from 22 outcrops and then quantitatively assessed two geochemical variables that are widely thought to influence knapping: impurity amount and silica content. We also examined the mineralogical composition, and the crystallite size and lattice strain for quartz (crystalline α-SiO₂) of representative chert samples. Our results suggest that the cherts in the two regions are similar, which is not consistent with the hypothesis that lithic raw material quality contributed to Nubian core spatial distribution in Oman. We discuss potential alternative hypotheses to explain Nubian core geographic patterning, and provisionally suggest that the scarcity of Nubian cores in south-central Oman may be due to a concomitant scarcity of toolmakers, given a lack of water availability.

This study presents the results of a provenance study on Middle–Upper Paleolithic chert tools from North Bosnia. It is part of a larger geoarchaeological research dedicated to using interdisciplinary methodologies to collate and review the known Middle–Upper Paleolithic archaeological record of North Bosnia. Chert is a raw material commonly used in prehistory for tool crafting and this region is known to have abundant geological sources. However, there is a lack of detailed data, especially regarding the geochemical characteristics and composition of these sources. The Middle-Upper Paleolithic lithic assemblages found in North Bosnia are dominated by chert and there is an untested theory suggesting the exploitation of local sources. The presented research uses macroscopic examination and laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to distinguish the different chert varieties and identify groups with specific geochemical characteristics/signatures in the assemblages. The field- and lab-based work suggests multiple sources but most importantly, presents strong evidence of chert tools having almost identical geochemical signatures with specific chert sources from North Bosnia. These are the first results confirming the exploitation of Indigenous chert sources and subsequently providing insights into hominan activity and raw-material networks during the Middle–Upper Paleolithic in the region.

Siliceous sandstone (including quartzites), petrified wood, and agates located in Alabama and Mississippi were utilized as a toolstone resource during every recognized cultural period in the Lower Mississippi Valley region of the Southeastern United States. Regrettably, these materials have not been the focus of many provenance-related investigations. Recent analyses of quartzite and sandstone from other regions in North America and from the Pyrenees were successful in discriminating sources using petrographic techniques. The current study examines the application of visible/near-infrared reflectance and Fourier transform infrared reflectance (FTIR) spectroscopy on sourcing siliceous materials besides chert, particularly sandstones, orthoquartzites (quartz sandstone), petrified woods, and agates. This source characterization investigation focuses on a case study involving materials gathered from eight distinct collection sites, encompassing nine different siliceous resources collected in Alabama and Mississippi. These materials were sourced from two distinct geological formations: the Hattiesburg and Tallahatta. Results demonstrate the ability of non-destructive reflectance spectroscopy and introduces a new outlier modeling method that detects, clusters, and separately models outliers with their own set of basis vectors. Principal component analyses, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression, linear discriminant function analysis (LDA), and random forest classification are used in this paper to better identify outlier elements as well as discriminate for stone materials accurately (between 67% and 100%). Although this is the first reflectance spectroscopy investigation used to characterize these materials for provenance applications, the preliminary results compare favorably with other provenance techniques whose aim is to quantify between-formation (inter) and within-formation (intra) outcrop variation. The quantified and differentiated sources, based on the hyperspectral signatures of the material, will provide a better understanding of prehistoric reliance on these lithic resources and produces a proxy to determine mobility, social interaction, and other past behavior.

This research presents the findings of a petrographic analysis conducted on pre-colonial Ceramics from Aruba, focusing on understanding ceramic mineral resources and production. The study compared ceramics from nine sites with a selection of clay sources from the island. Petrographic analysis identified the existence of three different mineralogical compositions. Two groups of undecorated vessels were likely manufactured using locally sourced clay materials. Group 1 ceramics show a connection with the weathering of quartz-diorite intrusions in the northwest part of the island and suggest the exploitation of multiple, geographically close sources with similar compositions. Group 2 ceramics are related to clay sources found in the southeast of Aruba, with a mixed geological composition, including limestone, volcanic tuff and quartz-diorite. In contrast, Group 3 ceramics are mostly decorated and belong to the Early Urumaco Period. They display a distinct composition characterized by a calcareous matrix with clay pellets, clay streaks and the presence of shell fragments added as temper. The extensive clay preparation practice leaves uncertainties concerning the origin of ceramics from Group 3. The study also highlights clay selection and use patterns, indicating that different clay sources were interchangeably utilized by communities across Aruba.

The Roman mill complex of Barbegal in France is the largest preindustrial structure in Europe. Carbonate incrustations that formed from water flowing through basins, over flumes and waterwheels of the mill complex are partly preserved. The largest carbonate fragments are derived from three wooden flumes that once served the wheels of three mills in a train of eight. The deposits formed from the same water as it moved down from mill to mill. The shape, microstratigraphy and stable isotope patterns of the deposits of each flume reveal a unique history of use for each mill during the last 8 years of operation until their final abandonment. The sidewall carbonate deposits of the flumes vary in shape due to differences in the slope of the flumes during operation, associated with different-size millwheels in different basins. At least one of the flumes must have been mobile and was uplifted to fit a millwheel of a different size. During 8 years, two millwheels were exchanged and one flume was taken out of action. Carbonate deposits from two flumes were subsequently reused for some unknown industrial purpose in a water basin, and one was later embedded as spolia in a building during late antiquity.

Fragments of marble revetment and floor slabs as well as some broken statuary and vessels were recovered from the excavation of a Roman temple in the harbor town of Berenike on the Red Sea coast of Egypt. Petrographic analyses, including optical, cathodoluminescence, and scanning electron microscopy as well as isotopic analyses (δ¹³C, δ¹⁸O, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr), were conducted to determine the provenance of the marble. The aim was to reconstruct the commercial ties that led to this prized building stone being brought to Berenike. Most, if not all, of the slabs are of banded gray to white marble showing properties indicative of a Prokonnesian origin. This marble, exploited on Marmara Island (Sea of Marmara, Turkey) and extensively utilized throughout the Mediterranean, including Egypt from at least the second century A.D., might have been procured from the marble depots in Alexandria. This could have involved engaging a team of Bithynian master craftsmen for the project, presumably to embellish the main temple of the city during the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian. The statuary and vessel finds are composed of white marble representing several sources. Some coarse-grained specimens were surely extracted in Prokonnesos. For others, the source is uncertain and the likely candidates are Prokonnesos, Paros (Cyclades, Aegean Sea), and Ephesos (Aegean coast of Asia Minor). The fine-grained varieties represented high-quality Dokimian (Afyon region, Asia Minor) and most likely expensive Parian (lychnites type) marble. Marble from the ancient Gebel Rokham quarries in Egypt was also examined for comparison, but its properties have excluded this source in the case of the marble artifacts from Berenike analyzed in this work.

Patina formed on ancient glass holds potential to be a useful tool in determining the age of patina and to interpreting its formative environment climatically, pedogenically, hydrochemically and biologically. To date, its usefulness in this regard appears to have been underestimated. However, if patina is to be used as a reliable indicator of age and the environmental conditions underpinning its formation, there needs to be a systematic examination and understanding of its development under controlled laboratory conditions using various types of glass and with various climate types and soil types. As such, to calibrate and interpret the age of patina, processes of its development and products of its formation, we believe that it is useful to produce patina under varying experimental conditions in the laboratory. This paper focuses on the successful experimental development of patina on glass under controlled laboratory conditions and paves the way for further exploration of the rich resource of information that can result from such experimentation. We cannot produce in detail the full range of long-term products of patination.

In the Biosphere Reserve of the Maya Lowlands, the large-scale characterisation of the current wetlands ecology and the exploitation and management of their natural resources by the ancient Maya is severely constrained by the forest. This paper presents an integrated geomatic, geoarchaeological and ecological approach, developed to overcome this obstacle in the microregion of the Naachtun Maya city. It is based on the analysis of LiDAR, and field and laboratory data. This approach has revealed the mosaic of current ecological conditions of the wetlands, thanks to the characterisation and spatial modelling of the landforms, hydrology, vegetation and soil cover. It has enabled the characterisation of numerous hydraulic and agricultural structures: 70 large reservoirs, raised fields (the largest over 1.5 km²), canals and ditches (with a cumulative length of over 300 km) and dikes. Eight morphological types of hybrid structures—hydraulic and agricultural—are described. These constructions have enabled the intensive exploitation of water and soil resources, their management and the resulting environmental risks. This study has shown that the agroecosystems of lowland areas were created as early as ~1500 B.C.E. and evolved in a polyphasic way, until a phase of radical decline around 1000 C.E. This study has made it possible to characterise the legacy of the Maya Early Anthropocene on current wetlands, as well as their important natural and cultural heritage.

This study broadens our knowledge of the relationship between the clayey georesources available in northern Apulia and the artisanal production of ceramics. The focus is placed on a collection of 6^th and 7^th century A.D. pottery found in the domus excavated within the archaeological complex of Canosa San Pietro (ancient Canusium) in Italy. The integration of the results obtained from this study with those already available made it possible to outline conscious technological choices in terms of raw materials' exploitation, based on which the alluvial deposits were selected for the production of coarse cooking ware and the marine Subapennine clays for the production of fine common ware. This selective choice undoubtedly had a practical implication since it supplied raw materials that required little processing, being already suitable for the type of ceramic to be produced. Moreover, the compositional comparison of investigated pottery with products distributed along the Carapelle valley, rather than those from Canusium previously studied, provides new perspectives for reconstructing the microcirculation of ceramics in northern Apulia. Lastly, the imports of Classe-type pottery, probably from the northern Adriatic area, are worth mentioning since they represent the most consistent distribution of this type of ceramic in southern Italy and may reflect the assiduous pilgrimage of the monastery after the death of Bishop Savinus.