Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences最新文献

In this study, cosmetics from the thousands of tombs of wealthy non-elites living in the capital of the Tang dynasty (618–907) in China, were comprehensively analyzed. One moisturizer was identified as ruminant fat with a small amount of Brassicaceae seed oil, which is easier to spread than ruminant fat in the cold, dry winters of northern China. This indicates that the recipe of the moisturizer had been optimized. Two organic residues in shells were identified as color cosmetics, one made from a mixture of vegetable oil, moths, and plant extracts, and another was from a mixture of rosin and plant pigments. Meanwhile a piece of graphite ore was used as an eyebrow cosmetic, and a mixture of cinnabar and animal glue was used as a lipstick or blusher. However, no white cosmetic powders were found in the thousands of Tang tombs. These findings suggest that the cosmetics were diverse and made from a wide range of raw materials, including plants, animals, and minerals, during the Tang dynasty in China.

Terrestrial snails gathered for consumption are found in large quantities at Capsian and Neolithic sites in Tunisia. Signs of preparation and consumption practices (cooking, piercing the shells) are frequent. At the same time, there are some unique finds, which could be related to a local culinary or cultural practice. The discovery of shells with epiphragms in the Upper Capsian (7710 ± 40 BP) rammadiya of Kef Ezzahi is the only known case in North Africa. All of the shells can be attributed to Sphincterochila candidissima. Ethnographic data suggests that the presence of shells with calcified epiphragms could be connected with a culinary tradition. Since shells with epiphragms have been identified only at Kef Ezzahi, this can be regarded as a local dietary practice, as is the case for the eating of Cantareus apertus with epiphragms in northern Tunisia today. The position of the epiphragm at the peristome in these specimens is consistent with collection at the beginning of aestivation (April- July).

This article presents an assemblage of 36 glass samples excavated in the urban site of San Esteban, part of the arrabal of Arrixaca (Murcia) (in al-Andalus, an arrabal was a relatively dense urbanised area outside the city walls) in contexts securely dated to the 12th and early 13th century, spanning the rule of Ibn Mardanīš, and the early period of Almohad domination in the city. The samples were analysed by electron microprobe (EMPA) for major and minor elements and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) for trace elements. The results are examined within the context of glass production, circulation, and consumption in al-Andalus and the Islamicate Mediterranean more broadly. The results show that some of the glasses found in San Esteban-Arrixaca may have been imported from other Islamicate regions (Egypt and Mesopotamia), but that the vast majority can be related to previously recognised compositional Iberian glass groups. At the same time, the identification of several fragments of production waste and raw glass suggest that some glass-working facility may have existed in the vicinity of San Esteban-Arrixaca. The compositional evidence also indicates that recycling (including of imported glass objects) may have been a fairly common practice in Andalusi glassmaking, but it is suggested that some of the usual chemical markers of recycling may, in the case of al-Andalus and perhaps also elsewhere in the medieval Mediterranean, be the result of the cross-breeding of glass- and glaze-making activities.

Reconstructing the transformation of plants based on use-wear is challenging due to the variety of technological choices available, the diverse range of plant species that could have been used, and the limited knowledge of how plant wear forms. The frequent appearance of ambiguous plant wear on stone tools from early and middle Holocene wetland contexts in Northwestern Europe provides an ideal case study to explore the complexity of plant wear formation. In this context, we present the outcomes of an exploratory experimental study which aimed to improve our understanding of plant wear formation resulting from processing activities of wetland plants. The program included the creation of a reference collection of plants available in. Particular attention was devoted to the effect of mineral plant elements, such as silica Northwestern European wetland ecosystems and a set of actualistic plant processing experiments minerals or calcium oxalates, on the development of plant polish. The elemental characterisation of wetland plants with scanning electron microscopy and the experimentally reproduced plant wear allowed us to draw comparisons between the plant composition and plant wear formation, and thus grasp the complexity of plant wear formation which depends on a large set of variables.

The sociopolitical organisation of Cyprus during the Late Bronze Age (LBA) is still an active field of scholarly debate. In the second half of the 2nd mil. BCE, the prevailing interpretations favour either a unified or a decentralised administration model on the island. Enkomi is listed as one of the most important Late Cypriot (LC) sites in both models. The rise of this urban centre can be largely attributed to the control of copper production during the LC period. The results of the chemical and microstructural analysis of the archaeometallurgical ceramic assemblage from the copper workshops in Area III at Enkomi are presented here. Our research revealed that the ceramics were exclusively used for copper-based secondary metallurgical activities. This project, the first in Cypriot archaeometallurgy to focus solely on technical ceramics, adds significant new knowledge to the reconstruction of the copper production organisation and Enkomi’s standing among the LC polities. Furthermore, these new findings pave the way for the development of a comparative analysis of the various stages of the copper production sequence in Cyprus, as reflected in metallurgical ceramic assemblages.

The Zhouyuan site was the largest central settlement in the western Guanzhong Plain during the Shang and Zhou periods; it was once the capital of the Zhou people before the establishment of Western Zhou. The archaeological culture used by the Zhou people before they destroyed the Shang Dynasty is called "pre-Zhou culture." In this work, bronzes excavated in the Zhouyuan area from the pre-Zhou period to the Western Zhou period were analyzed via a field emission electron probe microanalyzer for chemical compositions and MC‒ICP‒MS for lead isotope ratios. The results show that various alloy types were used in pre-Zhou, whereas more stable alloy recipes and materials with better performance were used in Western Zhou. The pre-Zhou bronzes contain highly radiogenic lead and common lead, and the Western Zhou bronzes are all common lead. The alloying techniques and metal resources of the Zhouyuan area both changed significantly from pre-Zhou to Western Zhou, which could be related to the great transformation of the bronze industry pattern after the Zhou people replaced the dominance of the Shang Dynasty. Zhouyuan also participated in the circulation network of metal resources centered on Yin Ruins during the late Shang. The highly radiogenic lead metal resources were probably obtained from Yin Ruins through the Shang culture in the eastern Guanzhong Plain (Laoniupo). It can be inferred that the Zhou people acquired bronze smelting and casting techniques from Shang after they conquered Laoniupo; then, their military equipment, as well as sacrificial vessels, improved considerably, which provided resources and technical support for the forthcoming war against the Shang capital.

As a crossroad of the ancient Silk Roads, the historic Lop Nur population of northwest China witnessed substantial cultural integration among the Han, Xiongnu, and Western Regions communities known as the ancient Loulan. However, the dietary practices of the Loulan population remains poorly understood due to the challenging, harsh environment for sampling. Here, we present human and faunal multi-isotope data from a simple-constructed cemetery dating to the Han-Jin Dynasties (130–320 AD). The results show that herbivores exhibited exceptionally high δ¹⁵N values, ranging from 10.2‰ to 15.5‰. Combined with regional climate conditions and direct evidence of extensive deposits of archeological animal manure found in Loulan sites, this phenomenon can be interpreted as indicative of extreme regional aridity and intensive fertilization. Humans had mixed C₃/C₄-based diets and relied on animal products. Our study indicates greater millet consumption among rural individuals compared to other more urban Loulan people. Additionally, our research reveals a much higher dietary diversity coupled with millet consumption of Loulan people in comparison to local Bronze Age communities.

Late Roman times imprinted with instability, and a consequent decline in large urban centres. In contrast, urbanization seems to have increased in Augusta Emerita (today Mérida), capital of Lusitania, because of the attractive commercial position of this powerful Christian centre. A mixed of beliefs, cultural and social backgrounds was coexisting at the core. These facts could have conditioned diet, perhaps becoming different from the surrounding rural areas, or increasing heterogeneity inside the capital. We reconstructed the diet of the largest Late Roman necropolis of Mérida, the Ampliación del MNAR (3rd -5th centuries AD), whose burial rites have been classified as no-Christian. A total of 70 humans (29 males, 14 females, 23 non-adults) were analysed for δ¹³C_col and δ¹⁵N_col to compare their isotopic values in bone with those of 14 animals: 6 sheep/goat, 5 cattle, 2 pigs and 1 horse. Faunal and human isotopic results indicate a trophic chain based on C₃ plants. Humans over 12 years old (δ¹³C=19.2 ± 0.8‰, δ¹⁵N = 10.2 ± 1.3‰) seem to have had lower consumption of animal protein and C₄ plants than other populations from rural sites, although general diet was rather homogeneous in Hispania. Three outliers, one with important intake of C₄ plants, have been identified. Medium animal protein diet reconstructed by stable isotopes and relatively low presence of pathological markers, contrast with high infant mortality, suggesting minor stress in early life. If confirmed, limited diet might be linked to the marginal situation of pagan people in a well christianised Augusta Emerita, but much likely being a consequence of the decline of urban centres during Late Roman times.

Staple crops play a pivotal role in human societies. Considerable attention has been dedicated to the changes in staple crops, particularly the alternation between wheat and foxtail millet in ancient China. However, the long-term development of staple crops in historical China is still unclear. Archaeobotanical investigations at the Zhengding Kaiyuan Temple South (ZKS) excavation site, which deposited continuously from the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty (618–1911 CE), have provided crucial clues. The result indicates to a recurring change in staple crops. During the Northern Song Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty, wheat dominated, while during the Tang Dynasty, Five Dynasties, Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty, foxtail millet was the most important staple crop. From the combination of written and paleo-climatic records, it can be inferred that the development of watermill technology and hydraulic engineering promoted wheat cultivation during the Tang Dynasty to Yuan Dynasty. While the deterioration of climate led to a resurgence of foxtail millet during the Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty. This study examines the changes in staple crops and their influencing factors in the North China Plain from the 7th to the 19th centuries, emphasizing the importance of technological innovations and climate changes in shaping human societies.

Cabeço Redondo is a fifth century BC archaeological site located on the left bank of the Guadiana river in the municipality of Moura (southern Portugal). The site was severely damaged by agricultural works in 1990, but among the preserved remains recorded by later archaeological surveys, a set of copper-based debris from a metallurgical workshop stands out. The set includes copper ingots, namely a large 6.4 kg fragment, a small plano-convex bronze ingot and numerous metal lumps and prills. Metal lumps and prills have a diverse elemental composition, characterised as pure copper, binary and ternary bronzes, very probably being intermediate or waste products from the manufacture of artefacts. In order to determine the provenance of the copper used by this workshop, nine samples including ingot fragments were selected for Pb isotope analysis by MC-ICP-MS, which results were complemented by minor and trace element contents determined by ICP-QMS. Crossing analytical data with archaeological evidence suggests that the majority of those metal items has an extra-peninsular provenance located on the Central Mediterranean. However, the small bronze ingot may have copper from the Iberian Peninsula, namely from the Torrubia mine (Los Pedroches Batholith complex, Central Iberian Zone). The combination of this evidence with other known imports from this period suggests an important trade originating in Central Mediterranean regions, whose products reach the inland regions of southwestern Iberian Peninsula via routes that are still uncertain.