Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences最新文献

The 13th century AD in southern Africa is a period associated with the emergence of class-based society and the establishment of Mapungubwe as the capital of a regional state. This study reports on ceramics excavated from four households at Bosbokpoort, a small Mapungubwe settlement situated approximately 95 km from Mapungubwe. By combining traditional stylistic analysis with chemical (pXRF) and mineralogical techniques (optical petrology), the research explores how pottery production and use reflected both regional Mapungubwe influences and local practices at the household level. The ceramic assemblage was predominantly characteristic of the Mapungubwe ceramic style, along with sherds from the Eiland ceramic facies. Mineralogical analysis indicated that the majority of the Mapungubwe ceramics at Bosbokpoort were made locally, with some produced elsewhere in the Limpopo River valley. The clay utilized in the manufacture of the Eiland ceramics were sourced from regions further to the south, where most Eiland communities occur. This approach highlights the active role of local communities in negotiating their identities and relationships within the larger Mapungubwe sociopolitical landscape.

DISH is a systemic noninflammatory condition with unknown causes, closely linked to factors such as sex, age, environmental influences, genetic predisposition, and changes in medication. In addition, certain medical conditions, including gout, metabolic disorders like type 2 diabetes as well as particular populations have significant effects on the frequency of this disease. The individual examined here was unearthed from Liyarsangbon cemetery in Amlash city, situated in the Guilan, Iran. The individual is estimated to be around 35 to 40 years old. In total, the remains of 48 adults and one child were uncovered, with only one specimen showing evidence of the condition known as DISH. On the basis of preliminary typology of the artifacts discovered and grave types, the site was dated to the Parthian (247 BCE–224 CE) and in few cases to the Sassanid period (224–651 CE). Based on the paleopathological analysis of the sample under investigation, indications of pathological changes in the spine, ribs, sternum, and sacroiliac region were detected. While various potential differential diagnoses like spondyloarthropathies, Paget’s disease, metabolic diseases, and POEMS syndrome could apply to the individual, through the utilization of advanced radiological imaging technique and the established criteria related to the aforementioned conditions, the ultimate diagnosis was determined to be either DISH or eDISH.

The Upper Palaeolithic (UP) of westernmost Europe was marked by technological and cultural transformations and abrupt climatic shifts. The Iberian Peninsula, particularly southwestern Iberia, served as a refugia and key eco-cultural niche, making it a key region for UP studies. Vale Boi, the only site in southwestern Iberia with a nearly complete UP sequence, provides critical insights into technological, economical and mobility patterns over time. This study examines lithic raw material procurement and technological organisation at Vale Boi, focusing on the differences between local and non-local cherts. We analysed chert assemblages from Gravettian, Proto-Solutrean, and Solutrean levels, integrating previously published techno-typological and raw material macroscopic and petrographic data. Our results indicate that non-local cherts were intensively reduced. The presence of varied techno-typological classes suggests that non-local cherts were not exclusively transported as finished tools, instead highlighting their role as versatile, transportable raw material volumes. Gravettian occupations exhibited greater reliance on non-local cherts, suggesting short-term occupations and higher mobility, while Proto-Solutrean and Solutrean occupations showed increased dependence on local materials, suggesting long-term occupations. These findings expand our understanding of UP technological adaptations in southwestern Iberia, emphasising the complex role of lithic resources in mobility, settlement, and social networks.

Zooarchaeological analyses were performed to assess the role of Sus (i.e., boar and pig) in the subsistence economy of two representative castles, Nakijin Castle and Shuri Castle (15th to 19th centuries) on Okinawa Island, Japan. Geometric morphometric analysis revealed that archaeological assemblages of the two sites were a mixture of several lineages including modern wild boar and native domestic pigs. Specifically, the wild lineage was still a significant source of meat at Nakijin Castle even after the introduction of domestic breeds to the island in the 14th century. Conversely, domestic breeds were consumed more frequently at Shuri Castle. Dental microwear texture analysis also revealed that foraging ecologies of Sus at Nakijin Castle and modern domestic breeds fed by crops were significantly different. Significant differences were also detected between Sus at Shuri Castle and both wild lineage and stall-fed domestic pigs, which suggests that they were more likely to be maintained under a free-ranging husbandry system. The proportion of foraged individuals among the assemblages could be explained by differences in accessibility to wild resources, rather than in husbandry management techniques between the castles. The existence of wild lineage in the two representative castles suggests that hunting of pigs played an important role even after a hierarchical society was established on Okinawa Island.

During the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, migrations and the advent of working bronze alloy materials triggered profound cultural, social, and economic shifts across Central Europe. As a result of this processes, many communities with distinct archaeological and cultural characteristics emerged during the Central European Early Bronze Age (between circa 2200/2100 and 1600/1500 BC) in Central Europe, and with the Middle Bronze Age of the Carpathian Basin (between 2000/1900 and 1500/1450 BC). This study examines the biological relationships among these populations through biodistance analyses, aiming to clarify connections between cultural and biological affinities within the emerging heterogeneous communities. Craniometric and population graph analyses highlight the Danube’s complex role as a barrier to gene flow across Early Bronze Age communities. The population graph analysis suggests varying connectivity among male and female groups. Beside geographical location and sex-biased mobility, population admixture may have had an impact on the formation of population structure in the Early Bronze Age, as communities north of the Danube have more connections to Corded Ware cultures, whereas southern groups are more closely associated with Bell Beaker populations.

This study examines the trajectories of granite column shafts in medieval Pisa as a proxy for shedding light on its architectural and economic history. Using magnetic susceptibility measurements on a sample of 201 shafts, we were able to identify the origins of granite from quarries in Elba, Corsica, Sardinia, Anatolia, and Egypt. By associating the origins of the columns with the chronology of the buildings and the morphology of the individual shafts, it is possible to trace some characteristics of the dynamics of material procurement and trade in the early and late Middle Ages. Findings reveal organized material procurement, with reused shafts particularly prevalent in 11th-century churches, which highlights the role of columns in the formal and symbolic language of city. The research demonstrates how the integration of archaeometric analyses and the study of urban topography could foster a more comprehensive understanding of material reuse and resource management in medieval urban centres.

This study presents a comprehensive investigation of a Roman metallic inkwell, identified as a Biebrich type typical of the first half of the 1st century CE, which was unearthed in the ancient town of Conimbriga, Portugal and remarkably preserved residues of its original ink. A multi-analytical methodology was employed to characterise both the alloy used in the inkwell production and the type of ink, integrating elemental techniques (X-ray fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive) and spectroscopy with molecular analyses (chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance, analytical pyrolysis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy). The results revealed that the inkwell, which was cast from a bronze alloy consisting of copper, tin and lead, contained ink residues that were primarily composed of amorphous carbon, which was derived from the combustion of organic matter and mixed with beeswax as a binder. Additional components included calcite and phosphate groups consistent with bone black, along with iron, indicative of a mixture with iron-gall ink components. This study identifies a rare example of ‘mixed ink’ at Conimbriga, providing direct archaeological evidence that advances debates on the chronology, diversity, and transmission of ink technologies in the Roman world. This find represents the first documented Biebrich type inkwell discovered on the Iberian Peninsula, significantly expanding the known geographical distribution of this artifact type and offering new insights into Roman writing technologies and trade networks in the western provinces.

Traces of bloomery iron production are known from 150 archaeological sites in the lowland Drava River valley, NW Croatia. Excavated workspaces are dated to Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages (4th/5th – 8th/9th century). The sites can be referred to as iron production environments. These include workspaces with traces of iron production activities and adjoining areas with natural preconditions for the development of bog iron ores. The study analyses topsoil properties of one of these environments with the objective to define and distinguish pedogenic markers related to bog iron ore formation and deposits from anthropogenic activity markers related to iron production. This is achieved through comprehensive analysis of 67 topsoil samples set within a regular square grid in the research area. The samples are characterized by mineralogical (XRD), geochemical (pXRF), granulometric, and soil pH analysis. Multivariate statistical and spatial analyses are used to understand influences on the topsoil properties. The analysis shows: (1) the spatial delineation of bog iron ore occurrence and iron production site, (2) primary (Fe, As, P, Mn, Ba, Th and goethite) and secondary (Ni, Cu, Zn, Hg, Pb) markers associated with the bog iron ore occurrence, (3) a positive trend in the representation of primary markers, associated with development potential of bog iron ores at different micro-locations, (4) markers for iron production sites related to ferrous slag (Fe, Pb, Zn), technical ceramics and wood ash/charcoal (P, Ca, K, Mg, Sr, Zn, Pb and calcite, amphibole minerals), (5) long-term influence on topsoil pH above archaeological record.

Archaeological field surveys frequently rely on collection unit methodologies to map surface artifact distributions across landscapes. While effective in rapidly covering large areas, these methods face persistent limitations that arise from sampling biases and post-depositional histories. The Maharal Valley Project, Israel, tackles these challenges through an innovative integrative framework that strengthens the analytical capabilities of collection unit field surveys. This includes high-resolution, contiguous collection-unit survey integrated with hexagonal tessellation for post-field data standardization as well as considering multiple parameters that influence artifact collection numbers. These steps enable modeling the effects of visibility conditions to adjust artifact counts for sampling biases towards a more accurate exploration of their distribution across time and space (To this end the article is accompanied by substantial methodological detail in the supplementary materials). We further emphasize the importance of incorporating geoarchaeology as an integral part of the survey and, accordingly, excavated several trenches to assess post-depositional processes, aiming to exclude sediment displacement and support the integrity of surface scatters as proxies for ancient activity. The results are discussed in comparison to former work in the southern Levant, highlighting the importance of landscape exploitation and reveal several distinct patterns from the Middle Paleolithic to the Ottoman-period. This integrative framework enhances the analytical power of surface surveys, providing a replicable model for bridging field data collection and spatial analysis in regional archaeological research.