Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences最新文献

In this study bronze mirrors from the Zonglvcheng cemetery in Linzi city, the unique bronze mirror production centre of the Western Han dynasty (WHD, 202 BCE-8 CE), were subjected to scientific examinations. Compositional and lead isotope ratio analyses on 41 bronze mirrors from different periods of WHD were conducted. For the first time, a mirror made of pure lead and another one made with highly radiogenic lead were identified. The compositional analysis revealed a roughly stable copper-tin-lead ratio of 14:5:1 for mirrors, providing insights into the standardised mirror production. The interpretation of isotope ratios was done by combining characteristic parameters and kernel density estimate methods, compiling a wide range of published data for comparison to mitigate the detrimental effects of the overlap effect. The results indicate that the majority of mirrors were produced within Linzi city, but their lead sources were likely from the Xiaoqinling metallogenic belt controlled by the Han Empire rather than local to Shandong province. This study demonstrates that changes in the alloy compositions and ore sources for bronze mirrors and other objects with time were influenced by state-intervention economic policies, providing a new perspective for the study of technical and economic history during the WHD.

The structure and age of remains of two ancient walls located in the city of Nan, a former part of the Lanna Kingdom in modern northern Thailand, were investigated. The remains differ in appearance with a well-preserved brick wall present at Mahawong Road (MHW), while an earthwork with a brick reinforcement core is found at Phaya Wat Temple (PWT). We employed an electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) survey and optically stimulated luminescence dating (OSL) to determine the buried structure of the earthwork at the PWT site and the production age of bricks from both locations. The ERT results reveal lateral heterogeneous resistivity domains cross-cutting the wall, which presumably relates to the construction of a dam. According to OSL dating, the PWT wall was likely built during the time of the war with Burma that ultimately resulted in a foreign occupation of Nan in the sixteenth century. This structure played a role in both flood mitigation and military defence of the city. The structure at MHW represents a city wall that was built at the end of the nineteenth century after Nan was relocated to its present position and rather reflects representative and social needs.

The additive log-ratio (alr) transformation is recommended as one of the most robust data transformations for multivariate analysis of archaeometric compositional data. However, alr and other transformations are not mutually exclusive and can be combined to assess different aspects of an archaeometric data set, such as the addition of temper, post-depositional effects in pottery and associated archaeological implications. This study presents a comparative analysis of a multi-element data set of pottery from Lago Grande and Osvaldo archaeological sites in the Central Amazon, which are considered a microcosm of the region. The concentrations of nine chemical elements (La, Lu, Yb, Ce, Cr, Eu, Fe, Sc, and Th) measured by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) were subjected to alr transformation, prior to chemical fingerprinting by cluster analysis (CA) and principal component analysis (PCA). The results were compared to a previous work using the log₁₀ transformation. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was employed to test for statistical differences between the chemical groups, and self-organizing maps (SOMs), a type of artificial neural network, were used for comparison due to their advantage of not depending on any specific data distribution assumption. In general, the results suggest the existence of socio-cultural interactions between Lago Grande and Osvaldo, which could have occurred through trade, exogamic marriage and territory sharing. In a broader perspective, the exchange networks corroborated by the results favor theories that minimize the role of ecological constraints in the emergence of social complexity and sedentary occupations in the Amazon region.

The potential scale of industrial outputs in the ancient world is often underestimated in current archaeological studies due to the lack of surviving artifacts for validation of the production scale. However, production traces left on extant artifacts can help us reconstruct production methods, and thus reveal the potential scale of production outputs of certain industries, even although there may not be a sufficient number of existing artifacts to demonstrate such volumes. The bronze bell casting industry operating in around 500 BCE in Xinzheng in Henan province, China, can be used as an example to demonstrate the then use by bell casters of the “pattern-block method” to efficiently create multiple bells sharing identical components. With their strong focus on efficiency, production speed, and low production costs, these casters intelligently designed assembly lines and assembled identical components replicated from models to prepare molds for casting. Knowledge of their production methods and currently preserved bells can provide evidence that the bell casting industry produced industrial outputs on a massive scale that was rare in the ancient world. This article also shows how innovative methods such as 3D model superimposition can be used to validate these hypotheses.

During the Early Holocene, northern China witnessed revolutionary changes, such as the emergence of sedentary lifestyles, the domestication of animals and plants, the spread of pottery making, and a radical restructuring of social relationships. During this period, the avifauna became an increasingly significant component of the diversified small game resources. This paper presents the results of a study of remains of pheasants, assigned to Phasianinae, recovered at the Xiaogao site in Shandong Province, northern China. The data show that the occupants of Xiaogao seasonally hunted predominantly male pheasants and systematically butchered them. They became familiar with the ecology and ethology of pheasants, and they were able to consciously and purposefully intensify the utilization of pheasants to a maximum foraging efficiency. Animal exploitation behaviors are manifestations and results of niche-construction efforts by human societies. This emphasizes humans’ capacity to actively exploit wild animal and plant resources and modify the environment and ecosystem to produce stable and sustainable subsistence economies.

Stable isotopic compositions of carbon and nitrogen (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N) of archaeological grains/seeds recovered from different cultural layers of an Indus (Harappan) archaeological site 4MSR (29°12'87.2"N; 73°9'421"E; Binjor, western Rajasthan, India) provide insights into the Harappan agriculture between ~2900 to ~1800 BCE. The δ¹³C values were used to retrieve hydrological status, while δ¹⁵N values were used to gauge agricultural intensification. Isotopic data of grains/seeds were generated representing three Indus phases (i) Early phase (~2900−2600 BCE), (ii) Transitional phase (~2600−2500 BCE), and (iii) Mature phase (~2500−1800 BCE). We find δ¹³C values of barley grains (winter crop) varied in overlapping ranges for all the three phases −21.34‰ ± 1.9; −22.55‰ ± 1.6 and −22.75‰ ± 1.7 respectively (n=10 for each phase) indicating insignificant changes in hydrology for winter crops. For summer crops like cotton, average δ¹³C values for Transitional phase −23.44‰ ± 1.8 were not significantly different from those of Mature phase −22.55‰ ± 2.5. The δ¹⁵N_barley values varied in wider range, however, intra-phase variability appears to have overlapping values but showing overall increase from Early (7.72‰ ± 1.8) to Mature phase (11.17‰±7.2) indicating a plausible agricultural intensification. We also measured δ¹³C of host soil organic matter (SOM) and sediment δ¹⁵N to assess regional environmental conditions. In contrast to the trends observed for archaeological grains/seeds, δ¹³C_SOM values showed a statistically significant enriching trend from Early (−23.54‰ ± 1.4) to Mature phase (−20.40‰ ± 1.9) hinting a growing aridity in the region. We surmise that Harappan farmers of western Rajasthan region might be managing arable hydrological conditions in their fields through agricultural interventions to continue agriculture practices despite growing aridity in the vicinity. The high proportion of water-demanding crop cotton during the Mature phase despite of changing environmental conditions, also corroborate our interpretation, possibly grown for the trade purposes.

Interactions with the Roman Empire presumably enhanced social differentiation and caused the emergence of an elite class among Gothic communities in present-day northern Poland (Pomerania) in the first centuries AD. Arguably, the process is documented archaeologically by the presence of exceptional burials, richly furnished with imported artefacts. Such features were discovered at the Wielbark culture cemetery in Czarnówko, however, due to poor preservation neither their infills nor the interred human remains have previously been fully examined. We studied (by means of osteological, Sr isotope, anthracological and soil analyses) a newly-found, well-preserved cremation grave in order to assess (1) the biological profile, geographical origin and mobility of the buried individual, (2) details of the multi-stage funerary practice, and (3) the formation of the grave-pit infill. Most probably, the grave belonged to a senilis woman who was born and spent her final years in Pomerania, seemingly living in good health. Except for outstanding grave goods, her funeral reassembled other Wielbark culture cremation interments: the body was burned shortly after death on a birch-wood pyre, together with single artefacts, at high temperatures, with good oxygen supply, until the calcination of bones. The burned remains were separated from the pyre debris and randomly deposited in the urn. The vessel was placed at the bottom of a pit and covered with sand containing charcoals. Subsequently, the grave was re-opened and backfilled once again. This singular cremation burial reflects the idea of “eliteness” in the local Gothic community – Roman-influenced but rooted in Wielbark culture traditions. However, to address the issue of social stratification comprehensively, similar research focused on graves of “common people” is required.

The dispersal and development of pastoralism during the Bronze Age profoundly influenced human livelihoods and adaptability to diverse environments in northwestern China. Although diachronic changes in the composition of animal resources have been discussed, the specific utilization form of these resources remains unclear due to the lack of age-class and sex ratio data for inferring population structure. Here, we report new zooarchaeological data from the Haizang site dated between 4000 and 3500 cal. yr BP in an oasis in northwestern China’s Hexi Corridor. The 7092 identified animal remains are dominated by sheep/goat (53.44%) and cattle (15.61%), supplemented by pig (11.96%) and wildlife (11.11%), representing the largest animal remains assemblage in this area thus far. The mortality age profiles of sheep/goat and cattle remains show that domesticated ruminants were utilized for multiple purposes, implying the introduction of livestock utilization knowledge alongside these species. During this stage, the reliance of local subsistence on ruminant pastoralism was geographically varied in and around the Hexi Corridor, although these areas shared similar Qijia cultural phenomena. We argue that ancient inhabitants of Haizang took a more ruminant-focused and multipurpose animal utilization strategy, which alleviated the survival pressure caused by colder and drier climate in the global context of ‘4.2 ka BP event’ and underpinned local social development. The acceleration of trans-regional exchange across Eurasia during the early Bronze Age provided the paramount material and knowledge for this transformation.

A collection of bronze chariot-horses was discovered in the Yang’an Han tomb in Qionglai City, Sichuan Province. These bronzes was used as burial objects, symbolizing the high status of the tomb owner during his lifetime. To analyze the samples taken from the bronze chariot-horses, various scientific techniques were employed, including metallographic microscopy, scanning electron microscope energy dispersive (SEM–EDS), multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS), and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES) were used to analyze samples from the bronze chariot-horses. Unlike most Han bronzes made of leaded tin-bronze, the bronze chariot-horses were crafted using copper and tin, and their metallographic structure revealed that they were cast. The origin of the copper material used for the bronze chariot-horses differed noticeably from that of bronzes excavated in the Sichuan area from the late Warring States period and Western Han period. Historical documents and archaeological findings suggested that the owners of the bronze chariot-horses were possibly vassals. As the Sichuan region was governed by the central government of the Western Han Dynasty through the establishment of prefectures and counties rather than through the enfeoffment system, the presence of the bronze chariot-horses in Yang’an Han tomb may be related to the family of Liu Yue (刘越). The analysis of the lead isotope data indicated that the copper material likely originated from the southeastern Hebei and western Shandong, providing strong evidence for the link between the bronze chariot-horses and the family of Liu yue in terms of resource circulation.

Cattle domestication and subsequent spread caused unprecedented biological, economic, ecological and social transformations in human history. Cyprus was one of the first places domestic taurine cattle were transported to outside of their core domestication region, making it a “hotspot” in which to investigate cattle acclimatisation and management practices. Accumulated archaeological, iconographic and zooarchaeological evidence has shed much light on the economic and socio-ideological significance of cattle in prehistoric Cypriot society, particularly from the Early Bronze Age onwards. However, little information exists on the mechanisms through which prehistoric cattle breeders experimented with this new, large, multifunctional and symbolically potent animal. Here, we use an integrated approach that combines zooarchaeological and stable isotopic data to reconstruct human-cattle interactions and cattle management in an island context. Stable carbon (δ¹³C) and oxygen (δ¹⁸O) isotopes were applied to a small sample (n = 16) of cattle (Bos sp.) and goat (Capra hircus) teeth from three key sites, spanning the Pre-pottery Neolithic B to the Middle Bronze Age. The results highlight discrepancies in patterns of isotopic variation between Bronze Age goat and cattle, likely reflecting differences in mobility and the more intensive management of cattle through the provision of fodder. Additionally, we observe differences in the isotope values of cattle through time (Neolithic vs. Bronze Age) and space (upland versus inland), which might be related to local resource availability as well as alterations in climate and environment. In spite of the small sample size, this current work highlights the potential of integrating zooarchaeological and stable isotopic data for addressing questions relevant to animal husbandry practices during key archaeological periods in Cyprus and beyond, inviting future research on the topic.