Pub Date : 2024-12-10DOI: 10.1007/s12520-024-02104-3
Rudolph Alagich, Angelos Gkotsinas, Jacques Y. Perreault, Zisis Bonias, Elissavet Dotsika, Lewis Adler, Colin Smith
This paper contributes new data on animal management practices from the Greek Archaic and Classical periods. Management strategies and season of birth of caprines from the city of Argilos (ca. 655 − 357 BC) are established through the analysis of stable carbon and oxygen isotope ratios of sequentially sampled tooth enamel. The results reveal a variety of management regimes being practiced by farmers at ancient Argilos, with no observable differences in diet and herding strategies between the Archaic and Classical periods. The samples that provide season of birth data, however, suggest a possible distinction between the two periods. Births are centred around autumn/early winter in the Archaic period and late winter/spring during the Classical period and could be the result of the prioritisation of different commodities by farmers.
{"title":"Caprine management at Archaic and Classical period Argilos in northern Greece: the isotopic evidence from sequentially sampled tooth enamel","authors":"Rudolph Alagich, Angelos Gkotsinas, Jacques Y. Perreault, Zisis Bonias, Elissavet Dotsika, Lewis Adler, Colin Smith","doi":"10.1007/s12520-024-02104-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-024-02104-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This paper contributes new data on animal management practices from the Greek Archaic and Classical periods. Management strategies and season of birth of caprines from the city of Argilos (ca. 655 − 357 BC) are established through the analysis of stable carbon and oxygen isotope ratios of sequentially sampled tooth enamel. The results reveal a variety of management regimes being practiced by farmers at ancient Argilos, with no observable differences in diet and herding strategies between the Archaic and Classical periods. The samples that provide season of birth data, however, suggest a possible distinction between the two periods. Births are centred around autumn/early winter in the Archaic period and late winter/spring during the Classical period and could be the result of the prioritisation of different commodities by farmers.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12520-024-02104-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142798418","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-07DOI: 10.1007/s12520-024-02109-y
N. Escanilla, M Murillo-Barroso, E. Soriano, J. A. López Padilla, F. J. Jover Maestre, A. Lackinger
Metallurgy has been defined as a pivotal activity in understanding of the development of El Argar society. Nonetheless, comprehensive studies of extractive metallurgical processes based on archaeometallurgical analyses remain lacking. This article examines the production remains found at the El Argar site of Laderas del Castillo, documented from 2150 to 1950 cal BC, including samples of slag, crucibles, copper prills and artefacts. Laderas del Castillo emerges as a key site for understanding the technology and organization of metallurgical production in the El Argar world. There are few sites with archaeometric analysis of metallurgical remains, and the present case allows for an almost complete view of the entire metallurgical chaîne opératoire in this period. Microstructural analyses of smelting remains by SEM-EDS reveal a technological tradition that mirrors the previous Copper Age one and the direct exploitation of complex arsenical copper ores with occasional copper sulphides. Despite the existence of closer mineralizations, lead isotope analyses show the exploitation of various copper resources and sources far from the settlement (Linares, the Interior of the Baetic Cordilleras and Almagrera, about 300, 200 and 140 km respectively). These active exchange networks in Laderas del Castillo reflect the same pattern found in the rest of the El Argar territory, which is based on the intensive exploitation of mineralizations in the interior of the Baetics and the Southeast of the peninsula. Some of these sources have also been observed in Copper Age metallurgy, suggesting that the mobility and exchange networks operating in the southeast during the El Argar period were rooted in earlier archaeological phases, indicating a wide and complex exchange network in the region.
冶金一直被定义为了解阿尔加尔社会发展的关键活动。尽管如此,基于考古冶金分析的提取冶金过程的综合研究仍然缺乏。本文研究了在Laderas del Castillo的El Argar遗址发现的生产遗迹,这些遗迹记录于公元前2150年至1950年,包括炉渣、坩埚、铜丸和人工制品的样本。Laderas del Castillo成为了解El Argar世界冶金生产技术和组织的关键地点。很少有遗址对冶金遗迹进行考古分析,而目前的情况允许对这一时期的整个冶金chane opsamatoire几乎有一个完整的看法。SEM-EDS对熔炼残留物的微观结构分析揭示了一种技术传统,反映了以前铜时代的技术传统和直接开采复杂的含砷铜矿石,偶尔含有铜硫化物。尽管存在较近的矿化,但铅同位素分析表明,各种铜资源和来源远离定居点(Linares, Baetic Cordilleras和Almagrera的内部,分别约300,200和140公里)。Laderas del Castillo的这些活跃的交换网络反映了在El Argar领土其他地区发现的相同模式,这是基于对Baetics内部和半岛东南部矿化的密集开采。其中一些来源也在铜时代的冶金中被观察到,这表明在El Argar时期在东南部运行的流动性和交换网络植根于更早的考古阶段,表明该地区有一个广泛而复杂的交换网络。
{"title":"Metallurgical technology and resources mobility in the El Argar culture: An archaeometallurgical study at Laderas del Castillo (Callosa de Segura, Alicante)","authors":"N. Escanilla, M Murillo-Barroso, E. Soriano, J. A. López Padilla, F. J. Jover Maestre, A. Lackinger","doi":"10.1007/s12520-024-02109-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-024-02109-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Metallurgy has been defined as a pivotal activity in understanding of the development of El Argar society. Nonetheless, comprehensive studies of extractive metallurgical processes based on archaeometallurgical analyses remain lacking. This article examines the production remains found at the El Argar site of Laderas del Castillo, documented from 2150 to 1950 cal BC, including samples of slag, crucibles, copper prills and artefacts. Laderas del Castillo emerges as a key site for understanding the technology and organization of metallurgical production in the El Argar world. There are few sites with archaeometric analysis of metallurgical remains, and the present case allows for an almost complete view of the entire metallurgical <i>chaîne opératoire</i> in this period. Microstructural analyses of smelting remains by SEM-EDS reveal a technological tradition that mirrors the previous Copper Age one and the direct exploitation of complex arsenical copper ores with occasional copper sulphides. Despite the existence of closer mineralizations, lead isotope analyses show the exploitation of various copper resources and sources far from the settlement (Linares, the Interior of the Baetic Cordilleras and Almagrera, about 300, 200 and 140 km respectively). These active exchange networks in Laderas del Castillo reflect the same pattern found in the rest of the El Argar territory, which is based on the intensive exploitation of mineralizations in the interior of the Baetics and the Southeast of the peninsula. Some of these sources have also been observed in Copper Age metallurgy, suggesting that the mobility and exchange networks operating in the southeast during the El Argar period were rooted in earlier archaeological phases, indicating a wide and complex exchange network in the region.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12520-024-02109-y.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142789179","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-07DOI: 10.1007/s12520-024-02117-y
Kévin Roche, Nicolas Capelli, Alain Bouet, Matthieu Le Bailly
This article focuses on paleoparasitological analysis using microscopy and paleogenetics from 59 archaeological structures, comprising 51 latrines from the Hellenistic city of Delos, located in the Cyclades in the Aegean Sea. Among the analysed structures, 35 tested positive for one or more gastrointestinal helminth eggs, including Ascarididae, Trichocephalida, several Strongyle-types and one fluke egg. Subsequent paleogenetic analysis identified the presence of Ascaris sp., Trichuris trichiura and Enterobius vermicularis. To our knowledge, this is the only study of its kind covering almost the entire surface area of an ancient city, significantly demonstrating the reality of the parasitic burden experienced by an urban community in the Mediterranean basin during Antiquity.
{"title":"Evidence of parasites in the ancient city of Delos (Greece) during the hellenistic period","authors":"Kévin Roche, Nicolas Capelli, Alain Bouet, Matthieu Le Bailly","doi":"10.1007/s12520-024-02117-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-024-02117-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This article focuses on paleoparasitological analysis using microscopy and paleogenetics from 59 archaeological structures, comprising 51 latrines from the Hellenistic city of Delos, located in the Cyclades in the Aegean Sea. Among the analysed structures, 35 tested positive for one or more gastrointestinal helminth eggs, including Ascarididae, Trichocephalida, several Strongyle-types and one fluke egg. Subsequent paleogenetic analysis identified the presence of <i>Ascaris</i> sp., <i>Trichuris trichiura</i> and <i>Enterobius vermicularis</i>. To our knowledge, this is the only study of its kind covering almost the entire surface area of an ancient city, significantly demonstrating the reality of the parasitic burden experienced by an urban community in the Mediterranean basin during Antiquity.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142789178","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-05DOI: 10.1007/s12520-024-02108-z
Junjie Zhao, Hongyan Xiao, Jianfeng Cui
Metallurgical analyses of copper-based artefacts recovered from the royal temple of Changbai Mountain Deity in Northeast China reveals industrial brass-production in 12th -13th centuries. Brass, which used to be imported from the West, had been converted to locally produced and extensively adopted as an alternative to bronze during this era. Compared with brass objects from the Taizicheng site in North China, the consistency in the zinc content shows a high level of technic uniformity, suggesting that localisation of brass-production may have emerged at an earlier stage. Bronze scrapes were employed to manufacture Cu-Zn-Sn alloy for certain purposes. Lead isotopic analysis implies a multi-centre provenance of zinc ores, spanning from North China to Northeast China, further specified by serials of historical texts. The divergence of value observed between bronze and brass artifacts indicates a shortage of tin resources, which might be the primary catalyst for a bronze-to-brass transition within the Jin State.
{"title":"Metallurgical analyses reveal brass production in the Northeast China","authors":"Junjie Zhao, Hongyan Xiao, Jianfeng Cui","doi":"10.1007/s12520-024-02108-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-024-02108-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Metallurgical analyses of copper-based artefacts recovered from the royal temple of Changbai Mountain Deity in Northeast China reveals industrial brass-production in 12th -13th centuries. Brass, which used to be imported from the West, had been converted to locally produced and extensively adopted as an alternative to bronze during this era. Compared with brass objects from the Taizicheng site in North China, the consistency in the zinc content shows a high level of technic uniformity, suggesting that localisation of brass-production may have emerged at an earlier stage. Bronze scrapes were employed to manufacture Cu-Zn-Sn alloy for certain purposes. Lead isotopic analysis implies a multi-centre provenance of zinc ores, spanning from North China to Northeast China, further specified by serials of historical texts. The divergence of value observed between bronze and brass artifacts indicates a shortage of tin resources, which might be the primary catalyst for a bronze-to-brass transition within the Jin State.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142778571","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-04DOI: 10.1007/s12520-024-02095-1
Edward A. Standall, Oliver E. Craig, Jutta Kneisel, Johannes Müller, Wiebke Kirleis, Janusz Czebreszuk, Carl Heron
The translocation of broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) is an enticing subject of archaeological investigation. While the species was rapidly dispersed across Eurasia during prehistory, its adoption appears to have been inconsistent, with evidence for its sudden and gradual adoption, as well as its rejection, observed within and between contemporary communities and cultures. The translocation of P. miliaceum may be better understood through the identification of its role and significance as a foodstuff among past populations. This study employs molecular investigation and bulk and compound-specific isotope analysis to study organic residues produced during culinary activities at Bruszczewo, Poland, during the Early Bronze Age (EBA) and Late Bronze Age / Early Iron Age (LBA/EIA). The analysis of ceramic-absorbed and charred ‘foodcrust’ residues enabled a comprehensive examination of vessel use-life and the production of individual meals. This study strongly suggests that P. miliaceum was not present at Bruszczewo during the EBA, conforming to its established translocation chronology, while highlighting its extensive use during the LBA/EIA. The cereal was incorporated into a variety of culinary activities, constituting both a minor and major ingredient of many meals, while being absent in others. Finally, the observation of apparently unrestricted use of P. miliaceum at Bruszczewo provided further insight into the role and significance of this cereal relative to contemporary LBA/EIA evidence for its use across the region.
{"title":"Millet and meals: the role and significance of Panicum miliaceum in culinary contexts at Bruszczewo, Poland","authors":"Edward A. Standall, Oliver E. Craig, Jutta Kneisel, Johannes Müller, Wiebke Kirleis, Janusz Czebreszuk, Carl Heron","doi":"10.1007/s12520-024-02095-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-024-02095-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The translocation of broomcorn millet (<i>Panicum miliaceum</i>) is an enticing subject of archaeological investigation. While the species was rapidly dispersed across Eurasia during prehistory, its adoption appears to have been inconsistent, with evidence for its sudden and gradual adoption, as well as its rejection, observed within and between contemporary communities and cultures. The translocation of <i>P. miliaceum</i> may be better understood through the identification of its role and significance as a foodstuff among past populations. This study employs molecular investigation and bulk and compound-specific isotope analysis to study organic residues produced during culinary activities at Bruszczewo, Poland, during the Early Bronze Age (EBA) and Late Bronze Age / Early Iron Age (LBA/EIA). The analysis of ceramic-absorbed and charred ‘foodcrust’ residues enabled a comprehensive examination of vessel use-life and the production of individual meals. This study strongly suggests that <i>P. miliaceum</i> was not present at Bruszczewo during the EBA, conforming to its established translocation chronology, while highlighting its extensive use during the LBA/EIA. The cereal was incorporated into a variety of culinary activities, constituting both a minor and major ingredient of many meals, while being absent in others. Finally, the observation of apparently unrestricted use of <i>P. miliaceum</i> at Bruszczewo provided further insight into the role and significance of this cereal relative to contemporary LBA/EIA evidence for its use across the region.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12520-024-02095-1.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142761761","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-03DOI: 10.1007/s12520-024-02110-5
Nerantzis Nerantzis, Dimitris Matsas
The prehistoric settlement of Mikró Vouní lies on the southwestern coast of the island of Samothrace in the northeastern Aegean. The site’s stratigraphic sequence spans from the beginning of the Late Neolithic to the end of the Middle Bronze Age. Its importance has been emphasized due to the finding of Minoan pottery and clay mini-documents with Linear A inscriptions, indicative of the active links the settlement held with a Cretan palace (Knossos) in the 18th century BCE. The excavation yielded important finds related to Bronze Age metallurgy, namely furnaces, moulds, tuyères, crucibles and pieces of slag deriving from several contexts of different chronological periods, spanning from EBA II to MBA III. Notably the metallurgical finds of the MBA II-III periods derive from contexts with Minoan or Minoanising pottery and clay mini-documents suggesting a Minoan administration at the site. Recording of all relevant finds was followed by sampling of crucibles and slags that were subjected to laboratory analysis. The current article focuses on an investigation of metal production with the application of optical microscopy and SEM/EDS analysis aiming to reconstruct the prevalent processes that took place at the site during the Early and Middle Bronze Age. The results are significant as they provide crucial information on the technical intricacies of arsenical copper production in the early stages and the introduction of tin bronze technology most probably associated with the Minoan interaction on site. Evidence for cementation and co-smelting of Cu and Sn ores represent the earliest examples so far reported for the north Aegean. As the iconography of the Minoan clay documents’ seal impressions indicates, religious ideology of the Minoan palatial administration appears as an arena for encouraging metal manufacturing and trading in the north Aegean and beyond. In this context, Samothrace appears well incorporated into long-distance exchange networks for the procurement of tin to sustain bronze working practices, as the findings from Mikró Vouní suggest. Metallurgical technology seems to resonate in mythic accounts of the well-known smith deities, the Kabeiroi, who were essentially the same divinities as the Great Gods of Samothrace.
{"title":"Copper of the Kabeiroi: Bronze age metallurgy at Mikró Vouní on Samothrace and its Minoan connections","authors":"Nerantzis Nerantzis, Dimitris Matsas","doi":"10.1007/s12520-024-02110-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-024-02110-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The prehistoric settlement of <i>Mikró Vouní</i> lies on the southwestern coast of the island of Samothrace in the northeastern Aegean. The site’s stratigraphic sequence spans from the beginning of the Late Neolithic to the end of the Middle Bronze Age. Its importance has been emphasized due to the finding of Minoan pottery and clay mini-documents with Linear A inscriptions, indicative of the active links the settlement held with a Cretan palace (Knossos) in the 18<sup>th</sup> century BCE. The excavation yielded important finds related to Bronze Age metallurgy, namely furnaces, moulds, tuyères, crucibles and pieces of slag deriving from several contexts of different chronological periods, spanning from EBA II to MBA III. Notably the metallurgical finds of the MBA II-III periods derive from contexts with Minoan or Minoanising pottery and clay mini-documents suggesting a Minoan administration at the site. Recording of all relevant finds was followed by sampling of crucibles and slags that were subjected to laboratory analysis. The current article focuses on an investigation of metal production with the application of optical microscopy and SEM/EDS analysis aiming to reconstruct the prevalent processes that took place at the site during the Early and Middle Bronze Age. The results are significant as they provide crucial information on the technical intricacies of arsenical copper production in the early stages and the introduction of tin bronze technology most probably associated with the Minoan interaction on site. Evidence for cementation and co-smelting of Cu and Sn ores represent the earliest examples so far reported for the north Aegean. As the iconography of the Minoan clay documents’ seal impressions indicates, religious ideology of the Minoan palatial administration appears as an arena for encouraging metal manufacturing and trading in the north Aegean and beyond. In this context, Samothrace appears well incorporated into long-distance exchange networks for the procurement of tin to sustain bronze working practices, as the findings from <i>Mikró Vouní</i> suggest. Metallurgical technology seems to resonate in mythic accounts of the well-known smith deities, the Kabeiroi, who were essentially the same divinities as the Great Gods of Samothrace.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"16 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142761692","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-12-02DOI: 10.1007/s12520-024-02114-1
Antonio Tarriño, Benito Ábalos, Pablo Puelles, Luis Eguiluz, Fernando Díez‑Martín
{"title":"Correction To: The crystalline quartz‑rich raw material from Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania): why is it called quartzite when it should be called quartz?","authors":"Antonio Tarriño, Benito Ábalos, Pablo Puelles, Luis Eguiluz, Fernando Díez‑Martín","doi":"10.1007/s12520-024-02114-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-024-02114-1","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"16 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12520-024-02114-1.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142757949","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-29DOI: 10.1007/s12520-024-02113-2
Adrià Breu‑Barcons, Eduardo Vijande‑Vila, Jesús Cantillo‑Duarte, Pau Comes, Carl Heron, Joan Villanueva, José Ramos‑Muñóz
{"title":"Correction To: Diversified pottery use across 5th and 4th millennium cal BC neolithic coastal communities along the Strait of Gibraltar","authors":"Adrià Breu‑Barcons, Eduardo Vijande‑Vila, Jesús Cantillo‑Duarte, Pau Comes, Carl Heron, Joan Villanueva, José Ramos‑Muñóz","doi":"10.1007/s12520-024-02113-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-024-02113-2","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"16 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12520-024-02113-2.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142737190","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The bipolar technique has been widely used across a wide range of prehistoric contexts, from the Lower Pleistocene to the Metal Ages, and is a defining feature of the Uluzzian technocomplex, evident in the Early Upper Palaeolithic of Italy and Greece. The objective of this paper is to examine whether the use of the bipolar technique within the Uluzzian extends beyond its conventional definition as a mere technique. To address this question, we conducted goal-orientated experimental flaking, focusing on the industries found at key Uluzzian sites in Italy: Broion, La Fabbrica, and Castelcivita. A comprehensive review of archaeological and ethnographic evidence further supplemented our study on the application of the bipolar technique. While bipolar reduction typically involves less procedural control, resulting in a diverse range of blanks, our research shows that adhering to certain discernible principles can indeed exert control over specific morphological features of the resulting products. Factors such as blank selection and configuration, along with the management of volumes and edges, contribute to high productivity, the generation of elongated products, and miniaturization as distinctive characteristics. These findings collectively establish the bipolar reduction on an anvil in the Uluzzian as a systematic method of debitage.
{"title":"Not just a technique! An experimental approach to refine the definition of the bipolar anvil reduction in the Uluzzian","authors":"Davide Delpiano, Giulia Marciani, Jacopo Conforti, Serena Lombardo, Matteo Rossini, Marcos César Pereira Santos, Stefano Benazzi, Marco Peresani, Adriana Moroni","doi":"10.1007/s12520-024-02097-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-024-02097-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The bipolar technique has been widely used across a wide range of prehistoric contexts, from the Lower Pleistocene to the Metal Ages, and is a defining feature of the Uluzzian technocomplex, evident in the Early Upper Palaeolithic of Italy and Greece. The objective of this paper is to examine whether the use of the bipolar technique within the Uluzzian extends beyond its conventional definition as a mere technique. To address this question, we conducted goal-orientated experimental flaking, focusing on the industries found at key Uluzzian sites in Italy: Broion, La Fabbrica, and Castelcivita. A comprehensive review of archaeological and ethnographic evidence further supplemented our study on the application of the bipolar technique. While bipolar reduction typically involves less procedural control, resulting in a diverse range of blanks, our research shows that adhering to certain discernible principles can indeed exert control over specific morphological features of the resulting products. Factors such as blank selection and configuration, along with the management of volumes and edges, contribute to high productivity, the generation of elongated products, and miniaturization as distinctive characteristics. These findings collectively establish the bipolar reduction on an anvil in the Uluzzian as a systematic method of debitage.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"16 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142737032","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-27DOI: 10.1007/s12520-024-02112-3
Sara Watson, Li Li, Alex Mackay
In southern Africa, heat treatment of silcrete is documented by ~ 164 ka and is considered an important technological innovation, allowing knappers to improve the flaking properties of rocks for lithic blank production. Previous research has explored structural, mechanical, and geochemical changes in silcrete during heat treatment, but most studies have not explored the implications of those transformations for the blanks produced. Experiments that have examined the effects of heat treatment on blank production tend to rely on replicative flintknapping, where small changes in the way a blank is removed can create “noise.” In this study, we provide quantitative data to understand the effects of silcrete source and heating temperature on blank production using a flaking machine to isolate the effects of heat treatment on blank morphology. Our results show changes in absolute blank dimensions, and in the frequency of abrupt terminations as a result of heat treatment. However, the benefits of heat treatment may only occur within a limited temperature range and are heavily source dependent. This suggests that we should reconsider broad generalizations about the role of heat treatment in lithic technology and its supposed benefits and focus more on silcrete source and source-based effects on blank production.
在南部非洲,硅质混凝土的热处理在约 164 ka 年前就有记载,被认为是一项重要的技术革新,使石匠能够改善岩石的剥落特性,以生产石坯。以前的研究探讨了热处理过程中硅质混凝土的结构、机械和地球化学变化,但大多数研究没有探讨这些变化对所生产的坯料的影响。研究热处理对坯料生产影响的实验往往依赖于复制性燧石剥制,在这种情况下,坯料剥制方式的微小变化就会产生 "噪音"。在这项研究中,我们使用剥片机提供了量化数据,以了解硅混凝土源和加热温度对坯料生产的影响,从而分离出热处理对坯料形态的影响。我们的研究结果表明,热处理会导致坯料的绝对尺寸和突然终止的频率发生变化。然而,热处理的益处可能只出现在有限的温度范围内,而且在很大程度上取决于来源。这表明我们应该重新考虑热处理在石器技术中的作用及其假定的益处,并更多地关注硅质源和基于源的对坯料生产的影响。
{"title":"Quantifying the effect of heating temperature on silcrete blank production","authors":"Sara Watson, Li Li, Alex Mackay","doi":"10.1007/s12520-024-02112-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-024-02112-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In southern Africa, heat treatment of silcrete is documented by ~ 164 ka and is considered an important technological innovation, allowing knappers to improve the flaking properties of rocks for lithic blank production. Previous research has explored structural, mechanical, and geochemical changes in silcrete during heat treatment, but most studies have not explored the implications of those transformations for the blanks produced. Experiments that have examined the effects of heat treatment on blank production tend to rely on replicative flintknapping, where small changes in the way a blank is removed can create “noise.” In this study, we provide quantitative data to understand the effects of silcrete source and heating temperature on blank production using a flaking machine to isolate the effects of heat treatment on blank morphology. Our results show changes in absolute blank dimensions, and in the frequency of abrupt terminations as a result of heat treatment. However, the benefits of heat treatment may only occur within a limited temperature range and are heavily source dependent. This suggests that we should reconsider broad generalizations about the role of heat treatment in lithic technology and its supposed benefits and focus more on silcrete source and source-based effects on blank production.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"16 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142714660","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}