Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences最新文献

Thirty-eight Neolithic sherds from Yangshao and Majiayao period contexts were analysed via polarised light microscopy and by scanning electron microscope used with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM–EDX). Sixteen sherds come from the early Yangshao-period Banpo site in the Wei River Valley, east of Xi’an, 17 from the eponymous site of Majiayao and five from Waguanzui in the upper Yellow River region in eastern Gansu province. SEM–EDX was also used to measure the chemical composition of the clays and the paint (black, or in one case, red and white) applied to the ceramic surfaces. The analyses were carried out to detect differences or similarities in the chaînes opératoires of ceramic production at the three sites, in particular, to examine the clay types selected to make the three main categories of wares for which Yangshao and Majiayao are known, namely painted fine wares, burnished fine wares, and unpainted coarse wares. The results show that similar raw material selection and processing and technological choices were followed at the three sites to make both fine and coarse wares. At all sites, black paint was made by adding different mixtures of manganese and iron oxides to levigated clays, in a few cases possibly using the same levigated clay used to make the vessels themselves.

This study represents the first investigation into the materiality of pigment samples from the rock art of Teluk Berau, Fakfak, West Papua, employing a suite of analytical techniques including optical observation, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy. This comprehensive analysis provides nuanced insights into the material composition and cultural significance of these prehistoric artworks. The findings reveal that hematite is the primary component in red, brown, and purple pigments, while goethite is used for yellow pigments. Additionally, naturally occurring minerals such as quartz and clay minerals are also present in the pigments. The study further investigates the microstratigraphic layers of the rock surfaces, identifying a base of limestone composed of calcite, followed by gypsum layers, anthropogenic pigment layers, and surface crusts predominantly made of gypsum. The research also identifies the potential formation of whewellite on the rock art. XANES analysis sheds light on the oxidation states and chemical speciation of iron minerals, suggesting a complex interplay between iron oxides and/or iron oxy-hydroxides in the pigments. This study also indicates a similar pattern of the pigment utilization across Southeast Asia and affirm the continuity of pigment-use traditions, particularly the use of ferruginous minerals such as hematite and goethite throughout the region. The study enhances our understanding of iron oxide and iron hydroxide variability, providing new insights into prehistoric pigment characterization that have not been previously detailed. However, the source of the pigment materials used by prehistoric artists in the West Papua region remains unclear, highlighting the need for further field studies to pinpoint potential local sources and their relationship with the surrounding landscape. Overall, this research deepens our understanding of hematite and ochre use in prehistoric societies, reflecting their broader cultural and symbolic significance within the context of prehistoric West Papuan communities.

Mobility to and from cities represents an essential aspect of urban development in Flanders (Belgium) during the second half of the Middle Ages (AD 1000 – AD 1500). The city of Ypres was situated in one of the core regions of medieval urbanisation in Europe. Nevertheless, many uncertainties about the movement of men, and especially women and children remain. Oxygen and strontium isotope analyses were conducted on 113 individuals recovered from Ypres’ St. Nicholas parish cemetery (13th -14th centuries). The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr of the individuals suggests that a significant amount of foodstuffs available in the city probably originated from (present-day) northern France. Furthermore, 17% of the sampled population dating to before the arrival of the Black Death in Ypres in AD 1348 (14 individuals) does not reflect the values of the food and water sources available inside Ypres as their isotope results differ from the rest of the population. Nearly all of their oxygen values (11 out of 14) are compatible with areas just outside the city’s water reservoirs, suggesting that most of the mobility to and from the city occurred within the city’s vicinity. The absence of a statistically significant difference between males and females indicates that both moved to a similar extent, already before the Black Death. Evidence for mobility before the age of 9, both to and away from Ypres, suggests that this mobility was likely related to children moving towards family, moving for educational purposes, or that child labour might have happened at a younger age than expected. This study provides new insights into the mobility patterns of the inhabitants of medieval urban Ypres.

The origin of animal tissue consumption within the hominin lineage remains a central question in palaeoanthropology and taphonomy. This question is mostly addressed through the study of bone surface modifications (e.g., butchery marks) observed on fossils from East African sites. Albeit somewhat overlooked compared to East Africa, South Africa provides an additional body of evidence regarding the evolution of hominin behaviours. Here, we provide a comprehensive description and analysis of a butchered bone assemblage from the Sterkfontein Name Chamber and Member 5 East Oldowan infill in South Africa, dated conservatively to between 1.4 and 2.18 Ma. Based on the anatomical location and morphology of the bone surface modifications, we demonstrate that hominins using Oldowan tools were capable of performing a complete butchery sequence that included skinning, disarticulation, defleshing and marrow extraction. Furthermore, comparison with the butchered bones from the neighbouring sites of Cooper’s D and Swartkrans shows a continuity, or the repeated emergence, of similar butchery patterns through the Early Pleistocene. The identification of distinct butchery patterns, the range of exploited animals, as well as the presence of bone tools in many sites highlight the diversity of hominin subsistence behaviours during the Early Pleistocene, which we interpret as a reflection of the likely non-linear evolution of such behaviours. Finally, we argue that the research focus of taphonomic analyses should address how hominins processed carcasses in addition to how and when these were acquired. Such analyses would help identifying the development of complex butchery practices in the archaeological record.

Domestic horses had a profound impact on the economy, warfare, and social organization of the late Shang Dynasty (c.1300 − 1046 BC, Bronze Age). However, as horses from archaeological contexts of this period are almost exclusively associated with the elites, data on horsepower exploitation strategies from the rural, non-elite sites are still lacking. In this study, we present the results of pathological examinations on six horses from the late Shang period discovered at the Bronze Age village site of Qingqiu, Shandong, China. Our results suggest that horses were used for traction as early as the late Shang period in the rural site in the lower Yellow River valley. They were probably harnessed individually for draught work, unlike Yinxu, the Shang capital, where paired horses were harnessed to pull one chariot in the elite cemeteries. Additionally, taking into account evidence of frequent interregional resource exchange during the late Shang period, we propose that horse traction played a vital role in the transportation of important resources by the late second millennium BC.

Limited information is available regarding the early metallurgical practices in the Nenjiang River basin, despite the numerous copper objects that have been excavated in the region. To fill the existing gap in the study, a collection of metallurgical remains, such as slags, technical ceramics, and ores, was obtained from the Sihaipaozi site located in the lower reaches of the Nenjiang River in northeastern China. The metallurgical activity at the site dates back to the late Shang period (ca. 13th ~ eleventh century BC). Scientific research of metallurgical remains reveals that the production of arsenical copper at the site was achieved by the direct smelting of polymetallic ores containing both arsenic and copper. The paper also addresses the potential ore source of the site.

This research explores the modes of exploitation of marine molluscs at Riparo Bombrini (Ventimiglia, north-west Italy) during the Protoaurignacian and the Early Aurignacian. Our results prove that Early Modern Humans who inhabited the rockshelter extensively exploited marine malacofauna for both dietary purposes and ornament production, offering new insights into human adaptation to coastal environments during the early phases of the Upper Palaeolithic along the Mediterranean coast. Combining taxonomy and taphonomy, we identified five main categories of shell remains within the assemblage: edible specimens, shell beads, non-worked ornamental shells, accidental introductions, and potential ornamental shells. A total of 91 perforated gastropods were recovered during the excavations of the Early Upper Palaeolithic layers. The ornament assemblage shows a certain richness in mollusc species, whose shells were collected dead from the beach. However, a preference for spherical and semi-spherical shells can be observed, highlighting the existence of trends in the selection of shell species for bead production. Use wear analysis demonstrates that some of the shell beads exhibit rounding and polishing around the rim of the perforation, implying that most of them arrived at the site as worn components, possibly forming part of more complex decorative combinations. Finally, the presence of both perforated and unperforated shells interpretable as raw material suggests that the rockshelter served as a “manufacturing site”, where shell ornaments were fabricated, discarded and replaced in new beadworks. This hypothesis is further supported by the presence of broken shell beads, interpretable as manufacturing errors or worn beads ready for replacement. 

This study addresses longstanding questions concerning the ore sources used in the first series of coins of ancient Athens known as the Wappenmϋnzen (c.540-c.500 BCE) by combining comprehensive numismatic data on 22 coins (16 new and 6 legacy analyses) with lead isotope and surface elemental measurements (MC-ICP-MS and XRF). It finds usage of ores from Spain to Romania and Türkiye and frequent mixing. This upends current thinking based on a (mis)interpretation of historical sources which argues that the tyrant Peisistratos and his sons, who ruled Athens during the period, sourced most silver from the districts of Mt Pangaion and Strymon River in northern Greece and that silver did not flow from the western Mediterranean into their coinage. The data suggest that domestic ‘Lavrion’ mines of Athens did not contribute to the ore stock of the Wappenmϋnzen until the subsequent production of the ‘owl’ series when it was also used in some Wappenmϋnzen fractions and show that there is no correlation between coin types and ore sources. Elemental compositions nuance our understanding of the coins, but do not shed light on provenance. Together, these new findings force a reappraisal of numismatic and historical perceptions of the period of the Athenian tyranny in the lead up to democracy, not least because the multiple silver sources point to trading relationships with a greater variety of regions than previously contemplated.

We present the organic residue analysis of sherds of 50 cooking vessels from the 16th-century town of Nya Lödöse, Sweden. We confirm previous analyses showing that lipids are absorbed by glazed ceramic. By analyses of biomarkers and compound-specific stable carbon isotope analyses of fatty acids, we show that pipkins and pans were used for cooking ruminant carcass products, dairy, and plant foods. The dominance of ruminant fat and dairy reflects the importance of oxen and butter in the local food culture. The vessels included in the present study show some degree of specialized function. Pipkins had more traces of ruminant carcass fats compared to pans. Medium and large-sized pipkins contained a combination of animal fats and plant traces, possibly representing the preparation of stews. In contrast, the smallest pipkins showed no traces of plant foods and might have been used to melt animal fat. Pans had more traces of butter and had been exposed to higher temperatures, indicating frying. Flat pans were, to a higher degree, used for the frying of fish than the deep ones, but fish seem nonetheless to be underrepresented in the lipid residue data. According to zooarchaeological and historical data, fish, pork, and poultry were important parts of the diet, but as traces of these foodstuffs are scarce in the organic residue analysis, it may be inferred that they were prepared differently—boiled in metal cauldrons, roasted on metal spits over the open fire, or consumed in their dried, salted, or smoked state without further preparation.

From their first appearance in the archaeological record, the varying degree of biface presence in individual assemblages has long been a notable aspect of discussions surrounding the nature of the Early Acheulean. These debates have largely focused on the relative influence of random processes, site formation dynamics, raw material constraints, biological and/or cultural groupings, and differences in ecology and activity. Here, we collate published technological information from Early Acheulean assemblages 1.8–1.2 Ma, attempting to document patterns of wider inter-assemblage variability, and focus on the potential role of seasonality in structuring some of this variation. We suggest that there are relationships between a number of lithic variables in the Early Acheulean that are a reflection of consistent activity variants and patterns of landscape use, and that these variables account for discrete clusters of sites according to shared technological bases. While data on seasonality at individual sites in this period are sparse, we hypothesise that there is a likely association between the absence of handaxes and dry season patterns of hominin behaviour, which may reflect a focus on bifaces during the wetter parts of the year. The implications of these findings for the Oldowan-Acheulean transition, seasonal patterns of hominin behaviour, and Early Acheulean landscape use are discussed.