Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences最新文献

A group of metal objects excavated at Qasr-e Abu Nasr in south-central Iran in the 1930s, now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, has been analyzed to examine metalworking techniques and metallurgical processes. Thirty-three objects were studied and analyzed by micro-X-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and metallography techniques. The results of these analyses show a wide range of copper alloy compositions including impure copper, tin bronze, brass, leaded tin bronze, leaded brass and leaded ternary Cu-Sn-Zn (gunmetal) alloys. Also, two silver-copper and one pewter object were identified among the analyzed objects. The results of this interdisciplinary study provide new insights onto the archaeology of Qasr-e Abu Nasr, as well as present new information about the history and evolution of copper-base metallurgy on the Iranian Plateau during the Sasanian and early Islamic periods.

Bronze coins, starting to be used in the Eastern Zhou period (770 − 221 BC) in China, were produced in ceramic piece molds, a predominant technique for bronze casting in the Chinese Bronze Age. This study examined coin-casting molds unearthed at the Ju Mint and the Linzi Mint in the Qi state, dating to the Eastern Zhou period, to investigate the specialization of early Chinese coin production. The material characteristics, repair and reuse were examined using analytical techniques including SEM-EDS, DIL, FTIR, p-XRF, XRD and specific gravity balance. A simulation experiment was conducted to rebuild the mold production process. The dimensions of both the molds and their cavities were measured. The results showed that the material characteristics of these coin-casting molds significantly differ from those of other types of bronze-casting molds. The coin-casting mold was most likely modified from the conventional bronze-casting molds to increase their lifespan in coin-casting. Moreover, the high degree of uniformity in the material characteristics, the dimensions of molds as well as the cavities, on one hand, indicates a standardization of coin production under unified government control; on the other hand, the differences in minor and trace elements between the coin-casting molds from the two mints suggest that the molds may have been produced independently at each mint using local materials. This paper offers a novel perspective in understanding China’s early monetary system and technical history.

The Later Stone Age site Faraoskop Rock Shelter yielded the human remains of twelve individuals in an ash-rich sedimentary sequence that also preserved anthropogenic bedding features. This geoarchaeological study is concerned with the sedimentary context of the human remains, the reconstruction of the human activities that formed the ash deposits as well as the bedding features and the paleoenvironmental conditions during site occupation. To investigate these topics, we employed micromorphological analyses on the deposits coupled with micro-Fourier-Transform-Infrared spectroscopy and phytolith analysis. This approach enabled us to reconstruct site use patterns as well as paleoenvironmental conditions. Our analysis shows a break in site occupation between the Pleistocene and Holocene deposits at the site and before and after the interment of the 12 individuals. The Holocene ash deposits pre-dating the interments result from continuous use of hearths at a central location of the shelter with an increase in fire intensity over time. Site occupants also repeatedly used plant bedding features as living surfaces around the fires and phytolith analysis revealed the particular use of eudicots for some of these bedding features. The occupation of the site took place during grassland regimes with a shift to a shrubbier environmental context during the Holocene. Unfortunately, the direct interment context of the human remains was not available for this study and it remains open what cultural practises may have been preserved in the burial sediments.

Chemical fingerprinting and spectrophotometry were combined to conduct a provenance analysis of radiolarite artefacts from three Moravian (Czech Republic) Aurignacian sites of Tvarožná I, Nová Dědina I and Milovice I. Of the different methods used, laser ablation with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) was the best suited to distinguish the different areas containing radiolarite outcrops. Based on their chemical fingerprint, Moravian Aurignacian radiolarite artefacts were most likely imported from the western Slovak part of the Pieniny Klippen Belt. The abundant radiolarite outcrops in the Vienna region were apparently ignored, with the possible exception of two radiolarite artefacts from the Milovice I site. However, these could also have been manufactured from gravel radiolarites found around the site. Upon assigning other lithologies from Aurignacian sites in Moravia to their areas of provenience, it transpired those imports derived primarily from non-south-western regions. A similar situation was previously observed in the Moravian Szeletian, possibly indicating information exchange between the two Upper Palaeolithic cultures. Although the subsequent Gravettian culture relied more on long-distance imports, north-eastern − south-western movements and transfers were predominant up until the end of the Moravian Upper Palaeolithic, largely due to the communication corridor of the Moravian Gate. Upper Palaeolithic Moravia was an important source of raw materials and a hub for gathering other materials and information from concrete supply zones, while others were neglected.

The middle reaches of the Huai River was a key zone for the exchange, collision, and fusion of ancient cultures between the Yangtze and Yellow River basins and between the eastern coast and western hinterland. Between 5.0 and 4.3 ka BP, the Late Dawenkou culture from the Haidai region moved south, which brought the Neolithic culture of this area into a new stage of development and initiated the agricultural transformation from mono-rice cultivation to mixed rice-and-millet cultivation. However, the characteristics of the Late Dawenkou culture’s agroeconomy and its influencing factors are unclear. Thus, this study used the Gaixia site in Guzhen County, Anhui Province, as the object of study and performed analysis of charred plant remains and AMS ¹⁴C dating. Results showed that a mixed pattern centered around rice cultivation emerged during the Late Dawenkou period. Further, the analysis of rice grain shape and spikelet bases indicated the rice remains correspond to the small-grained japonica rice variety with a high degree of domestication; this rice type may have been preferred because of its uniform harvest time or greater environmental adaptability. Combined with existing archaeobotanical, paleoenvironmental, and cultural analyses, we can conclude that overall, the Late Dawenkou culture in the middle reaches of the Huai River had an agricultural economy dominated by rice and supplemented by millet. Environmental changes, agricultural traditions, and cultural exchange jointly influenced this agricultural structure. Finally, geomorphological factors may be behind differences in the relative proportions of rice and millet cultivation at different sites in the region.

Zooarchaeological identification often rests heavily on analysts’ opinion, experience, and access to reference specimens or manuals. A review of the literature reporting archaeological domestic dog remains demonstrates the danger of this approach. Domestic dogs have played, and continue to play, important roles in many human societies; however, they also exhibit strong skeletal similarities to wild canids -to the extent that post-cranial elements are often identified only as “canid”. Accessing these data is dependent upon the ability to correctly identify domestic dog remains. To accomplish this, zooarchaeologists rely on an array of often poorly tested methods, many developed to separate dogs from only their progenitor the grey wolf. Despite the potential and implications of misidentification, archaeologists frequently do not specify the methods used to identify dog remains rendering it impossible to assess data quality and reliability. The absence of data quality standards critically weakens zooarchaeological (and other) archaeological data, especially increasingly popular efforts to synthesize published data, and contribute to debates outside of the field.

Settlement systems are often characterized by a mixture of different site types, each with potentially different locational properties reflected by differences in their functions and uses. Prehistoric settlements in China are commonly known for their wooden defense structures and rammed earth. However, from the late Neolithic period, ca. 2800 BCE, a new type of stone-wall site emerged in northern China, coexisting with earth-wall sites. Examining differences in the locational properties of stone-wall and earth-wall settlements is essential for understanding regional settlement patterns and human–environment interactions in prehistoric northern China. Studies of this topic have so far been limited to descriptive qualitative accounts, and formal statistical comparisons of their differences have yet to be carried out. This paper contributes to this research agenda by examining, via point process models (PPMs), stone-wall and earth-wall sites associated with the Lower Xiajiadian Culture (2000–1400 BCE) in the Aohan Banner, northern China. We fitted log-linear and generalized additive models (GAMs) and identified the relevance of key spatial covariates via information criterion importance for both site types. Our results highlight not only the spatial preferences of stone-wall and earth-wall sites but also some differences, suggesting a defensive function of the former site type.

In this study, we use high-resolution data from airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) acquisitions to comprehensively analyse late prehistoric earthwork structures in the alluvial plain of Friuli (NE Italy). By comparing LiDAR-derived models with direct topographic surveys of the structures carried out in the past we provide a detailed overview of the main characteristics of the structures. The new documentation, including Digital Terrain Models (DTMs), profiles and 3D models of the preserved structures, refines the topographic information collected by previous scholars and offers new insights into the development of sophisticated building techniques by Bronze Age communities. Additionally, by converting earthwork volumes into energetics and combining workforce investment analysis with other archaeological proxies—particularly site size and distribution—we have supported the analysis of settlement patterns and organization. Assuming 100 hypothetical full-time workers, the construction of burial mounds would have required from 1 week to 2 months; phase 3 monumental embankments at Sedegliano, Savalons, and Galleriano forts would have taken 4–10 months while 2.5–4 years at Udine. The Udine mound would have demanded up to 28 times the labour needed for other forts’ embankments, requiring approximately 11 years to complete and likely necessitating additional workforce from nearby settlements. This approach reveals the emergence of a defined hierarchical settlement system in the Friuli plain during the Recent Bronze Age, with the fort of Udine serving as a top-order settlement within a polity of smaller ones, akin to those recognized in the nearby regions of the Po Plain.

This study investigates the underlying mechanisms driving the formation of the largest known burial site of the Northern European Mesolithic, Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov (YOO). Radiogenic strontium isotope analysis (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) was used to identify group dynamics within the cemetery and examine the site’s place within local and supra-regional networks. The analysis of 57 humans and 31 animals was supported by the creation of an environmental baseline which identified four key geological zones and defines the strontium characteristics of Lake Onega. Only two individuals had strontium values indicating time spent outside of Lake Onega’s northern shores, where the majority of the burial population is likely to have resided. These results suggest that the YOO cemetery predominantly served as a burial place for those with semi-permanent residence in this area, with no significant evidence for gender-based relocation patterns indicative of patri- or matrilocal residency. However, materials seem to have travelled towards Lake Onega even over great distances and the presence of the two outlier individuals suggests these exchanges also involved long-distance travel of people. Our results align with an increasing number of studies that suggest a high degree of residential stability for Late Mesolithic foraging groups relying primarily on aquatic resources, yet simultaneously places the Lake Onega community within a wider Mesolithic communication network.

During the Iron Age, north-eastern Iberian communities relied on crop cultivation and animal husbandry for their subsistence. The latter was mainly focused on caprine, with sheep being prominent due to their suitability to the Mediterranean climate, orography, and environment. Despite the pivotal role of sheep in livestock husbandry, information on Iberian communities’ feeding strategies for this species is limited. To address this lacuna, this study investigates the livestock feeding habits at four Catalan sites dating back to the 3rd century BC: Mas Castellar de Pontós, Tossal de Baltarga, Sant Esteve d’Olius, and Turó de la Rovira. Bulk carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) of bone collagen and sequential carbon and oxygen analyses (δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O) of dental enamel were performed on 74 remains (43 bones, 31 teeth) from 51 sheep. Additionally, 153 bone remains from other domestic and wild species from the four sites were analysed. Our results revealed the complex and adaptive livestock feeding strategies of Iron Age Iberian populations. Sheep exhibited minimal diet variations, mainly consuming C₃ plants across the four sites. Nevertheless, their feeding habits changed seasonally depending on pasture availability and settlement requirements. The other main domestic species were subject to individualised and variable feeding strategies within the same settlement. This diversified feeding management unveiled the complex and adaptive nature of the husbandry practices employed by Iron Age Iberian communities. Finally, the extensive number of remains analysed provides the first data on livestock feeding strategies for the Middle/Late Iron Age in the north-eastern Iberian Peninsula.