Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences最新文献

The Archaeological Rock Art Park (PAAR) of Campo Lameiro contains one of the most important concentrations of open-air late prehistoric rock art in Europe. We extended and improved the spatial and temporal resolution of the palaeoenvironmental reconstructions with colluvial soil records of pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs (NPPs). We sought to identify scale effects of the impact of anthropogenic disturbance on the basis of differences between sampling locations, and between proxies of different source area within samples: local scale (soil organic matter, char, NPPs) vs. regional or extra-local scale (land pollen). The results include: (1) the identification of a pre-Neolithic deciduous oak-dominated forest opening around 6.8 ka cal BP, when charcoal and dung indicators suggested that fire was deliberately used to facilitate game habitats (local small-scale event); (2) more profound fire-induced deforestation and heathland expansion between 5.9 and 4.5 ka cal BP, with differentiation of sub-phases based on the balance between grazing and fire activities, possibly related to the management of landscape visibility around the petroglyphs at the end of this phase; (3) a period of lower erosion and fire regime intensities, eutrophication and the formation of a mosaic of leguminous shrubs and pasture (Poaceae, Urtica, Plantago, etc.) during the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age (3.3–2.6 ka cal BP), resembling the traditional slash-and-burn practices of the region; and (4) destruction of remaining tree communities and regional expansion of heathland as a result of fire regime intensification and possibly climate deterioration during the Roman-Germanic transition (after c. 1700 cal BP), part of which coincided with evidence for chestnut silviculture. Finally, we performed a data-based visualization of the palaeolandscapes of these four important phases in the human-environment relationship. This study represents a significant advance after two decades of palaeoenvironmental reconstructions in the PAAR.

The Lijiaya Culture represents a significant branch of the Bronze Age culture in northern China during the Late Shang period, and its area of distribution intersects the agro-pastoral ecotone between the Central Plains and the Eurasian Steppe. The Late Longshan period (4100 − 3900 B.C.) to the Late Shang period (1400 − 1100 B.C.) coincided with a global climatic shift towards cooler and drier conditions, marking the development phase of prehistoric pastoralism in northern Shaanxi. Due to the lack of materials and relevant research, academic understanding of the survival strategies of the early inhabitants in northern Shaanxi remains fragmented and contradictory. This study takes ceramic sherds unearthed from the Qingjian Xinzhuang site, a representative site of the Lijiaya Culture, as research objects, conducting lipid analyses using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography combustion isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS) techniques. The results confirm the processing and utilization of millet crops, as well as the presence of ruminant dairy and adipose fats, with indications that the ruminants consumed C₄ plants. These findings point to a mixed farming-pastoral economic model existing at that time and place. The study of lipid residues in ceramics provides new evidence for understanding the patterns of resource utilization and agricultural-pastoral practices in the region during that period.

This research presents a metallographic study of an archaeological iron knife from the Nubian civilization. The study aims to characterize the structural and chemical composition of the metal, analyze the morphology and formation mechanisms of corrosion products, and, finally, conduct a treatment and conservation plan based on the obtained results. Several analytical and investigative techniques were employed, including scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), reflected-light microscopy (RLM), portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF), micro-Raman spectroscopy, and USB digital microscopy. The results revealed that the knife was made of bloomery wrought iron, predominantly consisting of the ferrite phase, with slag inclusions dispersed throughout the structure. Furthermore, the investigation revealed the presence of an incomplete and irregular pearlite phase and the twinning phenomenon, which is uncommon feature of BCC structures in general and ferrite iron in particular. Despite being buried in soil for a long time, the artifact exhibited an unusually good state of preservation, lacking typical corrosion morphologies. The corrosion appeared as a powdery superficial layer on a well-preserved original surface. Iron oxides and hydroxides, typically accompanying excavated iron artifacts, were identified. The knife’s exceptional preservation is largely attributed to the dry environmental conditions of Nubia, which limited the electrochemical activity necessary for severe corrosion. These findings provide valuable insights into the preservation mechanisms of iron artifacts in arid burial environments. Finally, the obtained results were used to carry out conservation and protection procedures for the artifact.

While bronze casting technology has been extensively studied through macroscopic observations and empirical inference, the internal factors underlying the significant differences in corrosion observed across different sections of bronze artifacts remain unexplained. This study digitally reconstructed solidification of a Shang-Zhou bronze tripod using finite element modeling (ProCAST), deriving local solidification time (τ_f) at five locations. A physically identical tripod was cast via piece-mold techniques, with secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS) measured at corresponding locations. The results demonstrate that SDAS and τ_f conform to the Kattamis─Flemings dendrite coarsening model, exhibiting a statistically significant power-law relationship (that is, SDAS ∝ τ_f^p, with p > 0). This validates numerical simulation for ancient metallurgy research and bridges macro-solidification dynamics with micro-structures. This work not only explains the differential corrosion observed across a single bronze vessel body but also provides a predictive tool for locating structurally weak zones, aiding preventive conservation. Moreover, it offers a novel analytical framework for reconstructing ancient casting processes, such as inferring gating systems and mold design.

Graphical Abstract

Desert kites – large-scale stone structures used for mass game hunting – are among the most extensive prehistoric constructions in the Middle East. Despite their ubiquity, the chronology of their emergence has long remained unresolved. This study presents the earliest direct and robust evidence for the construction and use of desert kites, based on integrated radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of three kites from a single chain in Jibal al-Khashabiyeh, southeastern Jordan. Excavations focused on the cell-like features around kite enclosures, revealed to be deep pit-traps. Bayesian modeling of 28 dates (10 radiocarbon, 18 OSL) places the highest probabilities of construction of these structures firmly within the Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (LPPNB), during the second half of the 8th mill. cal BCE. These findings firmly place kite use as a parallel, indigenous developments in the arid east roughly coinciding with the inhabitation of large agro-pastoralist settlements in the Jordanian highlands to the west, reflecting the mosaicked nature of Neolithic developments that characterized the southern Levant already for two millennia. They support a model of indigenous development by highly organized hunter-forager groups inhabiting the arid margins of the southern Levant. The scale, planning, and ecological knowledge embedded in kite architecture produced food in abundance while also supporting novel forms of social organization. The results reposition desert kites as a distinct form of early landscape modification and hunting architecture. The Jibal al-Khashabiyeh data thus anchor a transformative hunting tradition in deep time, offering a new lens on Neolithic innovation beyond the “Fertile Crescent” core.

The settlement mound structures interpreted as tepe at the Ak-Dzhar locality in Southern Kyrgyzstan can be understood as sedimentary archives reflecting how they were constructed and how people used the space and maintained water management. These structures, located on one of the branches of the Silk Road at the eastern edge of the Fergana basin, make the study important not only in terms of climate change but also in understanding the settlement and subsistence strategies of prehistoric societies The infill of the water reservoir buried under the tepe had its main phase of function from 200 AD to 400 AD as a seasonal watering place for animals. The spectra of crops reflect arable agriculture, including one of the first findings of the grapevine in this region and time period. The pollen analyses show treeless vegetation with abundant grasses and ephemeral Chenopodiaceae species, and the malacological analysis proved the existence of open steppe shrub habitats. The main source of animal diet was meat from domesticated ungulates.

The properties of ancient compound adhesives are gaining increasing research attention through substance identification and mechanical testing. Research on the latter relies on experimental replication as ethnographic cases of hafted stone artifacts are rare. Here we characterize the lap-shear and compression stress behaviors of a hitherto undescribed compound adhesive used for hafting stone scrapers by hideworkers in Ethiopia. We found that the Balanites aegyptiaca resin mixed with charcoal powder provides high stability and cures within a few hours. However, this adhesive suffered catastrophic failure across substrate when subjected to strong tensile or compressive force. The relative elasticity and curing contrast with gum-based compound adhesives commonly used in experimental replications, with charcoal or ochre as filler. In acacia-ochre adhesives, adding beeswax resulted in increased elasticity but reduced bonding strength. Our observations, tests, and comparisons suggest that adhesive selection is governed by the properties of the main ingredient and the intended task, in addition to raw material availability. In stone hidescrapers hafted to wooden handles, relative adhesive stiffness affords tool stability within the haft. Our results have implications for the interpretation of archaeological hafted technologies, including decision-making processes involved in the selection of raw materials for adhesive production and qualities optimized for specific tasks.

The use of mineral pigments is considered one of the trademarks of behavioural complexity during the Middle Stone Age in southern Africa. Though many sites report large mineral pigment assemblages during the Still Bay (ca. 71.9–71 ka BP) period, pigment behaviours during the Howieson’s Poort (HP; ca. 65–59.5 ka BP) are less understood in terms of mineral varieties, collection strategies, and associated practices. Though some previous work exists on the ochre assemblage from the HP layers at Klipdrift Shelter (KDS) specific aspects regarding the use of pigments at the site are unexplored, including the post-HP layers, in-situ ochre features at the site and the use of manganese-based pigments. Here, we provide a new synthesis on the ochre and mineral pigment assemblage from the 2011–2018 excavation seasons at KDS, including new pieces from the 2018 excavation season, the first scored ochre piece from KDS, and newly identified manganese-based pigments which are rare at MSA sites, and were likely heat-treated. This intensive and systematic investigation allows for new interpretations regarding material collection strategies, responses to environmental and climatic changes, long-distance trade and regional movement, functional uses, social signalling and group cohesion, cognitive evolution, and symbolic mediation.

Recent archaeological research on the emergence of red figure pottery in Sicily in the late fifth and early fourth century BCE reveals a fragmented yet dynamic artisanal landscape, with workshops catering to different sub-regional markets and exhibiting notable mobility. Red figure pottery from three of the most significant archaeological sites in Sicily – namely Himera, Lipari, and Syracuse – has been examined by optical and electron microscopy and atomic spectroscopy (ICP-OES and LA-ICP-MS) to broaden the documentary framework with the archaeometric evidence, in order to strengthen the foundations upon which to base interpretative proposals for new insights into South Italian figurative productions. The results allow us to distinguish between imported Greek and locally produced vases and to shed light on the production activities of key workshops, including the Chequer Painter, the Painter of Louvre K236, and the Locri Group. By highlighting the compositional and micromorphological features of artefacts from the same archaeological site, it has also been possible to confirm the existence of multiple production centres in Sicily, improving the framework for characterization and identification of certain local productions and their technological procedures. Moreover, it is also possible to consider this historical and archaeological framework from the perspective of the movement of painters, workshops and vases between Sicily, the Tyrrhenian region and Southern Calabria. Although the number of samples limits the possibility of drawing general conclusions, the research shows the merits of an integrated approach to better understand the complexities of this artistic and cultural tradition.