Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences最新文献

The ancestral fief system was a traditional Chinese political practice in which the emperor granted his brothers and sons territories as vassal kings—a process known as enfeoffment—to consolidate national stability. Enfeoffment, a term rooted in feudal governance, refers to the formal act of granting land or titles in exchange for loyalty and service. This system reached its peak during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 CE), which introduced specific policies for managing vassal kings. Gold enfeoffment books, physical tokens of this system, reflect the Ming government's stance toward vassal kings. This study employed portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy to analyse twelve gold books given by the Ming royal court to the Rong vassal state to reveal the diachronic change of their compositional characteristics. These books are all found to be ternary alloys of Au, Ag, and Cu but show a significant declining trend in their Au content from the Hongzhi to the Chongzhen eras (1501–1634 CE). Two major compositional changes of the gold books coincided with the promulgation of the "Regulations of Clans and vassals" during the Jiajing era (1522–1566 CE) and the implementation of the "Fixed Benefits System" during the Wanli era (1573 -1620 CE). The material characteristics of the gold books evidenced the rise, sustenance, and eventual collapse of the ancestral fief system during the Ming dynasty.

The study aimed to determine the width of the neonatal line (NNL) and time of occurrence of accentuated lines (ALs) in enamel of deciduous incisors to assess the biological condition during pre, peri- and early postnatal development of individuals from the cemetery. For 32 incisors (16 i¹, 7 i², 9 i₂) thin sections for microscopy analyses were performed. ALs could be identified in the enamel of 14 specimens (43.75%). In the prenatal enamel the earliest observed AL occurred around 69.2 days before birth (upper confidence limit 95% 73.8 days; lower confidence limit 95% 64.7 days), while the latest AL approximately 24.6 days before birth (upper 95% 27.4 days, lower 95% 21.8 days). In postnatal enamel the earliest AL were observed approximately 9 days after birth. Statistical analyses shows that neither prenatal nor postnatal ALs time of occurrence vary with the child’s age at death (Z=-0.168; p = 0.093 for prenatal and Z = 0.048; p = 0.962 for postnatal enamel). The mean value of NNL width was 18 μm (min. 9 μm, max. 36 μm) and no relationship between the child’s age-at-death and neonatal line width (r = 0.117; p = 0.581) was statistically significant. The number of accentuated lines did not significantly affect the individual’s life expectancy (Z = 0.116; p = 0.908) either. The group of children from Cerro Colorado site is characterized by a high frequency and earlier time of occurrence of accentuated lines as well as a greater width of the neonatal line compared to other prehistoric and historical populations. It may indicate worse living conditions and poor biological conditions of the studied Chancay population.

This study examines stone beads from the Rabat Cemetery in Uzbekistan in Northern Bactria, dating from the second century BCE to the first century CE. Through detailed analysis of the stylistic and technological features of the selected carnelian and garnet beads, using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), two distinct drilling tools were identified, with diamond drilling as the primary method. A unique perforation process, involving the use of diamond drills of varying diameters on both sides of the same bead, was discovered in Rabat, a tradition that differs from those of known South Asian workshops. This suggests that these beads may have been produced outside of South Asia, with the possibility of local production and processing. However, further archaeological studies of stone bead workshops in Central Asia and detailed analysis of the geochemical characteristics of local carnelian beads will provide more insights.

Horses became increasingly integrated into various aspects of Chinese society following the establishment and consolidation of the Silk Roads at the end of the first millennium BC. Previous research has shed light on the use of horses for transport and their roles in mortuary practices prior to the rise of China’s first unified dynasty, both within and beyond the core regions of agricultural societies. However, zooarchaeological data on horses from post-Qin contexts remains limited. Here, we present an osteological analysis of horse skeletons recovered from burials of the late Eastern Han to early Wei-Jin periods at Yangjiazhai in northeastern Qinghai Province of China. Our results show that the selection of horses for inhumation at Yangjiazhai did not appear to follow specific standards or customs. The two horses from burials M2 and M23 exhibited distinct skeletal and dental abnormalities, which point to their use as ridden horses. The severe vertebral fusion observed in the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae suggests that these horses suffered from spondylosis of varying degrees. These findings represent the first archaeological cases of equine spondylosis reported in China. The zooarchaeological data from the Yangjiazhai horses provide new insights into the mortuary use of horses and their role in transport on the peripheries of the agricultural dynasties during the early first millennium AD and open up further discussions on the dynamics that may have shaped mortuary practices in the region during this period.

The discovery of a Hellenistic shipwreck dating back to the fourth century BCE off the coast of Žirje Island in Dalmatia, southern Croatia in 2015 has sparked a series of investigations aimed at determining the vessel's origin of departure and direction of travel. Our study aims to determine the departure port of this merchant ship through the archaeometric analysis of 40 tableware and kitchenware samples recovered from the ship’s galley. To investigate their provenance, we employed various analytical techniques, including ceramic petrography and instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). Given that the samples were retrieved from the seabed and exposed to seawater for over two millennia, a series of scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses were conducted to assess post-depositional alterations in the microstructure. Operating under the assumption that the ship originated from a port in the vicinity due to its size, we conducted analyses on samples of raw clay collected on the island of Hvar, where the Greek colony of Pharos was established at the beginning of the fourth century BCE, engaging in local pottery production. Our study reveals that the tableware was produced in Pharos, whereas the origins of the kitchenware aboard the ship's galley remain undetermined, adding another variable to the reconstruction of the ship's departure and shedding light on the broader network of contacts within the Hellenistic trading system in Dalmatia. Furthermore, examination of the post-depositional context unveiled significant alterations in the ceramic microstructure, including the precipitation of secondary minerals such as calcite, gypsum, and pyrite, as well as chemical enrichments and depletions.

This study examines the expansion of Amazonian forager-horticulturalists grouped within the Guaraní archaeological unit, who migrated from southwestern Amazonia to southeastern South America, spanning much of the La Plata basin and the Atlantic coastal slope of southeastern Brazil, covering over 2500 km in a relatively short period. This process, marked by rapid expansion and extensive territorial coverage, represents one of the most remarkable migrations recorded among known pre-industrial societies. The initial expansion probably began in southwestern Amazonia, progressing southeastward to the headwaters of the La Plata basin, where this population appears as a weak archaeological signal around 500 CE. Approximately 800 years later, these Amazonian groups reached the Río de la Plata estuary, 1400 km farther south. Based on calibrated age ranges, the spatial distribution of Guaraní sites across the basin, and the application of various statistical methods (Silhouette Coefficient Analysis, Hierarchical Cluster Analysis, Principal Components Analysis, and Summed Probability Distribution of radiocarbon ages), this expansion was divided into four clusters or phases, reflecting a complex migratory process. In addition to redefining the dynamics of Guaraní expansion, this study provides a better alignment with linguistic dispersion models of these populations and offers new perspectives on how canoeing societies, in general, can rapidly spread across a vast territory within a brief archaeological timeframe.

The Bohemian Massif and the Alps are regions that are generally known for their rock crystal artefacts and the study thereof. The most important archaeological findspots in the Czech Republic are the Palaeolithic sites at Nová Dědina (East Moravia) and in Žitný Cave (Moravian Karst), which yielded numerous rock crystal artefacts. The study of fluid inclusions as sensitive objects reflecting the conditions of their formation was included in the research. Subsequently, natural sites with the occurrence of rock crystals were selected as potential extraction sites, and a comparative study was carried out. The methodological approach has been completed using microthermometry, Raman spectrometry, EPMA and stable isotopic studies of oxygen. The best match of the fluid inclusion assemblage resulted from samples from the Bory-Cyrilov area (West Moravia, the Moldanubicum geological unit) as the rock crystal source for the Nová Dědina Aurignacian site. Unfortunately, no natural sample that would match the artefacts from the Žitný Cave was discovered in terms of the investigated properties. Certain features of the artefacts suggest a possible origin in the Tauern Window region. The inaccessibility of the Alps during large parts of the Palaeolithic and the properties of fluids may point more to the source area of the Moldanubicum. The applied methodological approach clearly shows that the combination of the methods used and the interpretation of their data defines the formation conditions and provides essential information for a discussion of the provenance of the raw material used for rock crystal artefacts.

The Iron Age Zhagunluke culture in southern Xinjiang was characterized by cultural connections with surrounding regions and the coexistence of agriculture and livestock farming, which was suggested to represent the ancient Qiemo kingdom. However, the detailed population history of the ancient Qiemo kingdom and whether cultural exchanges were accompanied by population migration remain unclear. In this study, we report ancient genomes of two individuals from the Zhagunluke No.1 cemetery. Combined with published ancient genomic data, we observed an east-west admixture pattern in Zhagunluke people with varying proportions of diverse ancestries, corresponding to the diverse cultural elements in the Zhagunluke site. Moreover, we identified a genetic outlier with a dominant ancestry related to millet farmers of the Yellow River or West Liao River Basin, indicating the presence of immigrants from northern China to southern Xinjiang. Our findings suggest that population interactions significantly shaped the genetic profile of the Zhagunluke population.

Yue state was one of the most significant vassal states during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, and Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province as the capital of the Yue state was discovered the Dahutou site, which has been excavated on a large scale in recent years, and has constituted a significant archaeological discovery pertaining to the Yue state. The Dahutou site has yielded a substantial quantity of bronze artifacts with distinctive Yue cultural characteristics, and notably, it marks the first concentrated discovery of lead and tin metal ingots through the scientific excavation. In this paper, a total of 95 samples of bronzes and metal ingots unearthed at the Dahutou site were analyzed by technological analyses, including metallographic microscope, scanning electron microscope, and ED-XRF. The results reveal that bronze artifacts from the Dahutou site were primarily produced through casting and predominantly consisted of copper-tin–lead ternary alloys, characterized by a high tin content. Additionally, evidence of tin-plating and carving techniques has also been uncovered. While a small portion of the metal ingots comprised lead ingots and tin ingots, the majority were lead–tin alloy ingots, which exhibited two formulations: high-lead low-tin and high-tin low-lead, revealing that the ternary alloy bronzes in the Eastern Zhou period were not directly made by fusing the pure metal ingots of copper, tin, and lead together. Instead, it is likely that the predominant alloying technique at the time involved blending two types of alloy ingots. The newfound discoveries at the Dahutou site provide crucial insights for exploring bronze alloy technology during the Eastern Zhou period.

It has become increasingly apparent that the origins of agriculture in Southwest Asia were an emergent and extended process that resulted from local evolutionary processes and social networks of interaction and exchange that extended across the region. Although the end of the process of domestication and economic transformation shows general regional similarities, sub-regional trajectories differ when evidence of economy and domestication processes are examined independently. This research evaluates the presumed linear trajectory, from hunting and gathering to pre-domestication cultivation to domestication with agriculture and explores the mosaic of subsistence practices leading to agricultural reliance. This paper compiles quantitative data on the proportion of crops in archaeobotanical sites over time and across the Near East. Foraging-focused, mixed subsistence and agricultural economies are compared alongside non-shattering data from cereals with the results suggestive of sites with higher levels of food production (agriculture) without domesticated crops, low-levels of food production with domesticated crops, and variability of economic systems when crops were under pre-domestication cultivation. Results show a dominance of mixed-subsistence economic systems and the persistence of “middle ground societies” for nearly 4,000 years, contradicting ethnographic inferences that intermediate or mixed-subsistence economies are unstable. The potential correlation between reliance on cultivation and domestication, as quantified from morphological evidence for non-shattering or grain size change, indicates that there is not a single directional trend in economy and domestication. There also appears to be some evidence for intensification of the reliance on cultivation as domesticated sheep/goat become widespread. These data highlight the need to consider economic trajectories on different sites and regions independently from the evidence for morphological change.