Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences最新文献

The Iron Age was a period of change, with many innovations in the glass-making technology. The chemical composition of the set of objects considered in the present study demonstrates the diversity of the raw materials used and the depth of knowledge about the manipulation of glass appearance in the eighth-sixth centuries BCE. The study was carried out using fibre optics reflection spectroscopy and portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry at the museums’ premises to examine a large number of glass beads and preliminarily group them on the basis of their composition and spectral characteristics. In addition, a smaller set of selected samples was analysed by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to provide a comprehensive chemical characterisation of the material. The compositional data indicated that the samples belonged to the high magnesium and low magnesium glass compositional types. Only one sample was recognised as low magnesium medium potassium glass. Glasses within each group were made from different sands, suggesting different provenances. Some of the samples were suggested to be of local origin, while the others were interpreted as imported glass. Evidence of glass colouring, decolouring and recycling are also discussed.

This study represents the first extensive residue analysis of prehistoric pottery from northern Belgium. It examines pottery use and culinary practices across the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition, from the late 6th to the early 4th millennium cal BC. Residue analyses were performed on more than 200 samples from nine archaeological sites, representing different cultural groups from this transitional phase. This includes the analysis of charred food residues encrusted on the vessel surfaces by elemental analysis-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (EA-IRMS), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), stereomicroscopic analysis and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), as well as the analysis of absorbed lipids by gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS). This study provides the first evidence of ruminant dairy fats in Early Neolithic Limburg pottery, supporting the hypothesis that this pottery was produced and used by LBK farmers rather than hunter-gatherer populations. The first indigenous pottery of the Swifterbant culture was frequently used to process freshwater fish (often together with plant foods) and ruminant meat, although several of the studied vessels likely contained mixtures of resources which could also include porcine products. Ruminant dairy is nearly absent from this pottery. Similar results were obtained for pottery of the subsequent Michelsberg culture/Group of Spiere of the late 5th and early 4th millennium cal BC. The limited presence of ruminant dairy fats in this pottery contrasts with the findings for Middle Neolithic pottery from neighbouring regions, providing further evidence for the existence of regional variations in pottery use or culinary practices throughout prehistoric NW Europe. However, our current view of pottery use during the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in northern Belgium might be biased by the difficulties in distinguishing between wild and domesticated ruminant adipose fats as well as in detecting plant foods through lipid residue analysis.

Plant stable carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotope values can be used to directly investigate crop husbandry practices such as manuring; a key variable in understanding the scale and intensity of past farming practices. We present new results from a four-year experiment examining the impact of manuring on the δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values of a heritage cultivar of the broad or faba bean (Vicia faba), the ‘Celtic black broad bean’. This paper builds upon our previous pilot study (Treasure ER, Church MJ, Gröcke DR (2016) The influence of manuring on stable isotopes (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) in Celtic bean (Vicia faba L.): archaeobotanical and palaeodietary implications. Archaeol Anthropol 8:555–562. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-015-0243-6). Our results indicate that manuring increased δ¹⁵N values in beans, with a mean value of 0.5 ± 0.4‰ in control samples compared to a mean value of 2.1 ± 1.3‰ in the most intensively manured plots. It was not always possible to distinguish between an unmanured and manured crop on the basis of δ¹⁵N values, although manured crops consistently exhibited larger variation in δ¹⁵N. Bean δ¹³C values show no clear relationship with manuring, although large variability (> 3‰) was found within crops cultivated under the same conditions. Manuring also increased plant biomass production, seed-size and the bean per plant ratio. Overall, we suggest that high δ¹⁵N values (> 1.5‰) in archaeobotanical remains of pulses can be attributed to small-scale, intensive cultivation that is typical of gardens where manuring rates are very intensive.

Reconstructions of palimpsest formation and dynamics in Early Pleistocene African archaeological deposits have undergone significant advances thanks to taphonomic research. However, the spatial imprint of different agents implicated in most of these accumulations still needs to be addressed. We hypothesize that different site formation dynamics may yield diverse spatial distributions of archaeological remains, reflecting the intervention of different agents (i.e., hominins, felids, hyaenids) in palimpsests. This study aims to investigate the spatial patterns of archaeological remains in a selected sample of Early Pleistocene accumulations with the goal of understanding and characterizing their spatial dynamics. Building on previous taphonomic interpretations of twelve paradigmatic archaeological deposits from Olduvai Bed I (FLK Zinj 22 A, PTK 22 A, DS 22B, FLK N 1–2 to 5, FLK NN 3, DK 1–3) and Koobi Fora (FxJj50, FxJj20 East and FxJj20 Main), we explore the spatial patterns of remains statistically and use hierarchical clustering on principal components analysis (HCPC) to group the highest-density spots at these sites based on a number of spatial variables. The results of this approach show that despite sharing a similar inhomogeneous pattern, anthropogenic sites and assemblages where carnivores played the main role display fundamentally different spatial features. Both types of spatial distributions also show statistical differences from modern hunter-gatherer campsites. Additional taphonomic particularities and differing formation processes of the analyzed accumulations also appear reflected in the classifications. This promising approach reveals crucial distinctions in spatial imprints related to site formation and agents’ behavior, prompting further exploration of advanced spatial statistical techniques for characterizing archaeological intra-site patterns.

Tell Kamid el-Loz (Lebanon) was an important Bronze Age urban center that dominated one of the central crossroads of the Ancient Near East, connecting Egypt and the Levant with northern Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and Syria, as well as the interior with the Mediterranean coast. However, by the early Iron Age, the site had shrunk to a small rural settlement. Later, in the Iron Age III / Persian-Hellenistic, only enigmatic pits and a large cemetery remained. In this paper, we analyzed plant micro-remains from the dental calculus of 15 individuals (3 from the Middle Bronze Age II and 12 from the Iron Age III / Persian-Hellenistic) and δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N stable isotope data from tbulk bone collagen of 74 individuals (10 from the Middle Bronze Age II and 64 from the Iron Age III / Persian-Hellenistic) and 13 Late Bronze Age animal bones (7 Ovis/Capra and 6 Bos). Our results indicate general stability of human diet throughout the Middle Bronze Age II and the Iron III / Persian-Hellenistic periods, with a reliance on C₃ plant crops and terrestrial animals also consuming C₃ plants. In the later period, the plant micro-remains indicate the consumption of C₄ plants and sedges, and the stable isotope analysis indicates differences in diet between males and females.

In human osteoarchaeology, individual age-at-death is traditionally assigned by scoring characteristic expressions of specific traits and applying formulas or algorithms. However, it is well known that the resulting age estimates in target samples suffer from bias due to the effect of age-mimicry, both at the individual and at the population level. A general statistical methodology to obtain unbiased estimates of the age-at-death distribution in skeletal samples has been available for more than two decades. Even so, the procedure is rarely used. This may be related to the fact that this methodology requires external input which has selection of distributional characteristics to be reported. In this paper, we translate the general methodology into a clearly stated six-step procedure to be followed. We illustrate the six steps using an archaeological sample of 675 adult individuals and 15 scoring methods from traditional age-estimation procedures. By clearly identifying the actions that are necessary for its application we intend to make the approach more accessible for osteoarchaeologists while at the same time highlighting some challenges that need to be addressed in the future. Our study demonstrates that the approach is feasible and illustrates the absence of age-mimicry. A combined analysis of five informative traits allowed to obtain estimates of several characteristics of the target sample age distribution. However, its routine use will benefit from improved input from relevant reference samples and improved statistical software.

Religion played an important role in many facets of life during the Middle Ages; however, most knowledge comes from historical documents of the elite and church leaders and biochemical signatures from skeletons buried in church cemeteries. This research explores diet among individuals buried in contemporaneous cemeteries that served individuals of distinct social statuses, the elite site of Saint-Jean de Todon (9th – 13th century AD), and the lower-status site of Saint-Victor-la-Coste (9th – 13th century AD). Individuals from Saint-Jean de Todon (n = 173) show a δ¹³C value range from − 21.6 to − 17.4‰ and a δ¹⁵N value range from 8.1 to 12.5‰. Individuals from Saint-Victor-la-Coste (n = 16) show a δ¹³C‰ value range from − 20.9 to − 18.3‰ and a δ¹⁵N value range from 8.6 to 10.8‰. There were statistically significant differences for δ¹⁵N values between males and females at Saint-Jean de Todon (p = .025), suggesting males having more animal protein in their diet. A statistical significance in comparison of δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N between Saint-Jean de Todon and Saint-Victor-la-Coste was found (p < .001 and p = .002, respectively), indicating differential diet due to status differences of the burial populations. The variety in burial styles at Saint-Jean de Todon suggest individuals with differing levels of social power; however, isotopically, their diet is similar to the rest of the cemetery population.

A series (thirty) of marble sculptures from the Archaeological Museum of Kavala, in North Greece, coming from Amphipolis and the greater area of East Macedonia, have been examined and analyzed in order to determine the provenance of their marble. A detailed in-situ examination with optical techniques was carried out, followed by sampling and laboratory analyses with the techniques of Stable Isotope Analysis (IRMS) for carbon and oxygen, Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (EPR), selective petrography and optical microscopy. In addition, the results from a new quarry near Kavala (Chalkero) that was field-examined and analyzed isotopically are presented for the first time. The results from the sculptures show that the dominant origin of the marble for a lot of them is Thasos, both the dolomitic marble quarries at Vathy and Saliara and the calcitic ones from Aliki or Cape Fanari. A very interesting find was that the source of the marble for several sculptures of the Hellenistic and Roman periods was the Chalkero quarry. Paros marble is used for five sculptures, Penteli and Asia Minor are also represented among the thirty sculptures examined. The marble provenance results have largely contributed to the archaeological/art historical interpretation regarding workshops and sculptors and facilitated the dating of some sculptures.

Reindeer are part of the faunal suite that dominated central Europe during the last glacial cycle. Their importance to Late Gravettian hunters as prey and a source of raw materials (hide, bone, antler) is well attested, however the context of Late Gravettian reindeer predation is lesser understood. This paper presents an investigation of human and reindeer predator-prey interactions at the Late Gravettian kill-butchery site of Lubná VI, Czech Republic. We reconstruct seasonal mobility (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, δ¹⁸O), diet (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N) and season of death (dental cementum) of up to nine reindeer prey, to inform on the strategic choices made by Late Gravettian hunters. Results indicate that most hunted reindeer lived year-round in the foothills of the Bohemian-Moravian highlands near where Lubná is located, at altitudes between ~ 200–450 m above present sea level, while a smaller number showed evidence of seasonal migration between this area and the open plains of the Elbe river corridor (Bohemian Cretaceous basin). No evidence for long distance migration of reindeer was detected, indicating that productive local environments were supporting reindeer herds within a single annual territory. Meanwhile, areas higher than ~ 450 m above present sea level were avoided entirely by all analysed individuals, consistent with these areas being topographic barriers to movement due to climate severity. We conclude that hunters visited Lubná as part of a logistically-organised subsistence strategy, deliberately targeting reindeer in late autumn when fat supplies, hides and antler are in prime condition knowing that they would reliably encounter their prey at this location.

The transportation of Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age ivory raw materials and artefacts across the Mediterranean has been in the focus of archaeological research for over a century now. However, tracing the flow of ivory has mostly been restricted to traditional theoretical models of raw materials distribution deriving from socio-culturally centred considerations. Environmental conditions, potential transportation networks and dissemination routes have not yet been considered decisive for the spread of ivory raw material from the African shores and the eastern Mediterranean towards the Iberian Peninsula. Implementing computational environmental and archaeological modelling, we present a fully reproducible quantitative approach to estimate potential communication and transportation networks based on environmental covariates. We deploy a Network Analysis model and a predictive model based on Least Cost Path density to propose a potential land- and sea-based movement corridor for the western Mediterranean Basin that could have enabled the cultural spread of resources during the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC. Using the presented model and the open-source data underlying the analyses, distribution patterns of multiple material resources from different chronological subsets or regions can be developed, which will contribute to understanding prehistoric human patterns across the Mediterranean.