Archaeometry最新文献

The Ganga-Yamuna Valley in India has long been a site of archaeological significance, with numerous ancient copper hoards discovered over the years. These copper hoards have been the subject of intense study, as they offer a unique window into the metallurgical practices and trade networks of the region's past civilizations. The study was designed using recent advanced techniques EDXRF, FESEM-EDAX, and ICP-MS, including computed tomography scanning, to explore the copper metallurgy, casting technology, alloy composition, and the types of ores used in the creation material of excavated ancient copper hoards. The results of the present study denote that the studied copper hoard of the Ganeshpur assemblage was manufactured with pure copper (up to 98%) with the presence of Pb, Si, Co, Ni, and Fe as trace elements, and Ca, Cr, Al, Sn, and Au were reported as traceable impurities. The higher values of oxygen in SEM results are noticed in the microstructures and the formation of copper (I) oxide (Cuprite, Cu₂O), and the higher value of carbon is also identified as malachite as green patina on the corroded portion. Trace elements analysis indicate that cuprite was smelted from raw ores containing copper, iron, and sulphite. The lost wax casting method (Cire Purdue Technology) was used for the casting of the objects in the ancient period, which were supported by the results of noninvasive medical Computed Tomography. As per correlation with archaeological references, previous excavations, and the results of the present study, these copper hoards of the Ganeshpur assemblage of the Ganga-Yamuna River valley may also be contemporary with the OCP period.

This study explores the role of tambo San Francisco (4000 m a.s.l.), located near the Incahuasi volcano and associated high-altitude sanctuary (6638 m a.s.l.), as a potential aggregation site for political commensalism and religious pilgrimage within the Inca Empire. We analysed 221 ceramic sherds, representing a variety of vessel types, recovered from six Inca-period sites situated across diverse environmental zones in west-central Catamarca, northwestern Argentina. These sites fulfilled different functions within the empire's broader expansion strategies during the 15th and 16th centuries. Instrumental neutron activation analysis was employed to obtain chemical fingerprints of the ceramics. The resulting geochemical data served as the basis for modelling the circulation of people and goods. The findings suggest that multiple archaeological sites were linked through ritualized mobility circuits, acting as nodes in pilgrimage and travel routes across intermontane valleys and highland environments.

This paper investigates the temperature's impact on collagen degradation to explore how combustion affects biological analysis, especially isotopic studies. We conducted a burning experiment of guanaco (Lama guanicoe) bones at low temperatures (up to 400°C). Different analytical techniques were performed to measure changes in color and dimension (% mass loss), organic composition (collagen yield and quality), mineralogical (crystallinity), and structural (porosity and morphology). The results show that the quantity and quality of collagen decrease significantly at temperatures of 150°C and 200°C, respectively. Over these temperatures, the collagen changes, and the results of the isotopic analysis on it would not be reliable.

Archaeometallurgical studies at the Salh site in northern Oman have provided new data on copper technology in the Bronze Age and Islamic periods. Archaeological results indicate that it may have functioned seasonally. Slag analyses have shown possible technological changes over the centuries. Smelting was carried out under reducing conditions, using oxidized copper ores weathering zone deposits. The scale of copper production at Salh1 was relatively small in both periods, but—due to its strategic location near important trade routes—the site could have functioned as part of a short-range as well as long-range mercantile network.

The Sangdalongguo cemetery is located on the western Xizang Plateau (Tibetan Plateau), at Tuolin Town, Zhada County, Ali Prefecture, Xizang (Tibet). This paper studies the early use and production technologies of iron in western Xizang through scientific analysis of the iron objects excavated from the Sangdalongguo cemetery. The excavated iron objects are dated as early as the fourth century BCE. These are the earliest iron objects excavated from the western Xizang Plateau that have been scientifically analyzed. The results show that these iron objects are hypo-eutectoid steel products and were manufactured by forging processes. The emergence of iron objects on the western Xizang Plateau are more likely closely related to its cultural exchange between Xinjiang and Kashmir regions.

This study centers on a sample of ceramics (n = 37) from the site of San José Cuautitlan and contextualized within a much larger database of Formative ceramics (n = 1242), mostly from greater central Mexico. The sample was assayed through neutron activation analysis (NAA), with a subsample made into thin sections for petrographic analysis. In this article, we (1) situate the sample from San José within the longer history of ceramic traditions over the Formative period in the Basin of Mexico, (2) assess the pottery production recipe employed at San José in comparison to the composition of ceramics from neighboring segments of the Basin, and (3) source a sample of 10 Granular White amphora that were imported into the site. We demonstrate a low level of ceramic trade among sites within the Basin of Mexico. We also tentatively source Granular White amphora recovered at the site to central Morelos. Further, we show through a comparison of these Late Formative Granular White specimens to later Classic period Granular Ware from Teotihuacan and other sites that the source of this trade ware changed over time.

This study investigated the Chupícuaro ceramic production in Formative Mesoamerica through geochemical and petrographic examinations of a large set of Chupícuaro ceramic vessel sherds. The results are consistent with local domestic production using locally available resources, both for clays and for pigments of the painted decorations. Several production sites with their own sources of raw materials would have co-existed in the Acámbaro Valley, capable of great technical and stylistic mastery and uniformity. This production has evolved in the diachrony. In particular, the study reveals a change in the sources of raw materials between the two successive periods Chupícuaro and Mixtlan.

Methodological correlation of biogeochemical records is a common challenge in studies of animal and human palaeoecology. The correlation of datasets needs a repeatable mathematical method and statistical control of the strength of achieved correlation. To address it, we applied GenCorr software, a genetic algorithm designed for correlating the stable isotope records in speleothems, to correlate the intra-individual high-resolution strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric profiles in horse teeth from an archaeological context. We found GenCorr to provide very good correlation for both high-resolution profiles and profiles with the resolution selectively reduced. The method can be applied to other data as well, such as stable isotope or trace element profiles.