Open ArchaeologyPub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.1515/opar-2022-0283
Marian Berihuete-Azorín, O. Lozovskaya, Maria Herrero-Otal, Raquel Piqué i Huerta
{"title":"Fishing Nets and String at the Final Mesolithic and Early Neolithic Site of Zamostje 2, Sergiev Posad (Russia)","authors":"Marian Berihuete-Azorín, O. Lozovskaya, Maria Herrero-Otal, Raquel Piqué i Huerta","doi":"10.1515/opar-2022-0283","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0283","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The site Zamostje 2, located in Sergiev-Posad district of Moscow (Russia) on the west bank of the Dubna River, has provided two Mesolithic and one Early Neolithic occupations dated from 7000 to 5400 cal BC. Thanks to the waterlogged environment, the site has an exceptional preservation. The site has yielded fishing screens, fishing fences, wooden fishing traps, and several small cordage remains elaborated with plant fibres, pine bark floats, fragments of paddles, and other wooden objects. In this work, we present the study of the fragments of cordage and fishing nets with the objective of providing new insights into the production and use of implements made of plant fibres. We have characterized the production process by analysing the morphological and technical characteristics by carrying out experimentation with plant fibres in order to obtain reference material to recognize them at an archaeological level. The analysis of 82 knots and 23 fragments of strings has allowed to determine that they were elaborated with single threads from 0.5 to 1.5 mm thick, which is noticeably smaller than most examples from other sites. All of them were elaborated with woody bast fibres.","PeriodicalId":19532,"journal":{"name":"Open Archaeology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45582544","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Open ArchaeologyPub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.1515/opar-2023-0099
Piraye Hacıgüzeller, James S. Taylor, S. Perry
{"title":"Erratum to “On the Emerging Supremacy of Structured Digital Data in Archaeology: A Preliminary Assessment of Information, Knowledge and Wisdom Left Behind”","authors":"Piraye Hacıgüzeller, James S. Taylor, S. Perry","doi":"10.1515/opar-2023-0099","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2023-0099","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":19532,"journal":{"name":"Open Archaeology","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44200025","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Open ArchaeologyPub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.1515/opar-2022-0304
Benjamín Cutillas-Victoria, Marta Lorenzon, Francisco Brotons Yagüe
{"title":"Earthen Architecture and Craft Practices of Early Iron Age Ramparts: Geoarchaeological Analysis of Villares de la Encarnación, South-Eastern Iberia","authors":"Benjamín Cutillas-Victoria, Marta Lorenzon, Francisco Brotons Yagüe","doi":"10.1515/opar-2022-0304","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0304","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The use of mudbricks in Early Iron Age ramparts is an uneven feature of defensive architecture on the Iberian Peninsula. The use of mudbricks as a building material has been linked to the arrival of Levantine building traditions with the Phoenicians, and its appearance among local societies varies between the eighth and sixth centuries BC according to the public or domestic nature of the structures. In this article, we present the geoarchaeological analyses of the mudbricks used in constructing one of the defensive towers or bastions at Villares de la Encarnación (Caravaca de la Cruz, Spain). This site, endowed with two complex fortification lines and towers, is one of the main settlements for understanding the development of the Early Iron Age among the inland and mountain communities of the region. The analytical program includes wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence, CHN elemental analysis, and thin-section petrography and provides new data about soil procurement and manufacturing choices. These results highlight the technical and social complexity behind mudbrick constructions and the adoption of new earthen practices among Early Iron Age communities in order to build more imposing and elevated towers that might convey an image of the power and strength of these inland settlements.","PeriodicalId":19532,"journal":{"name":"Open Archaeology","volume":"36 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136202885","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Open ArchaeologyPub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.1515/opar-2022-0306
Lola Hauguel-Bleuven, Jorge Calvo-Gómez, G. Marchand
{"title":"Stylistic Study of the Late Mesolithic Industries in Western France: Combined Principal Coordinate Analysis and Use-Wear Analysis","authors":"Lola Hauguel-Bleuven, Jorge Calvo-Gómez, G. Marchand","doi":"10.1515/opar-2022-0306","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0306","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The notion of style has been the subject of much research and theoretical development in prehistoric archaeology. This vast concept touches several fields, including the morphology of artefacts, technical gestures and their function. The lithic typology of arrowhead armatures was widely developed in the twentieth century for the study of the French Mesolithic and includes some of these aspects. The functional, technical, or aesthetic nature of the morphological characteristics of these artefacts has received little attention, while the mapping of types has been overvalued This article presents a new approach combining statistical analysis with the use-wear analysis of arrowhead from several Breton sites, dated to the Late Mesolithic.","PeriodicalId":19532,"journal":{"name":"Open Archaeology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41960359","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Open ArchaeologyPub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.1515/opar-2022-0313
Minkoo Kim
{"title":"Leadership in the Emergent Baekje State: State Formation in Central-Western Korea (ca. 200–400 CE)","authors":"Minkoo Kim","doi":"10.1515/opar-2022-0313","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0313","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The process of state formation is a social phenomenon closely connected with a polity’s external relationships. During peer–polity interactions, polities undergo social reorganization as they mutually influence each other. This study examines this process and argues that in central-western Korea, around 200–400 CE, hostile interactions among multiple polities weakened the power of ingroup members to level social differences and increased social complexity. When confronted with unfriendly outgroups, potential rulers could assume different social roles (e.g., diplomat, war leader, or trader) and utilize new social threats to demand and legitimize higher social status. Archaeological data from central-western Korea illustrate the community’s efforts to build a defense system and prepare for war. Autonomous agricultural communities rapidly realigned into a state system in response to external threats, presumably from historically documented hostile groups such as the Lelang commandery and Goguryeo. The decision to oppose neighboring polities likely enhanced the leaders’ ability to consolidate power, while the rulers of the Baekje (also spelled “Paekche”) state could employ various other means for self-aggrandizement throughout its history.","PeriodicalId":19532,"journal":{"name":"Open Archaeology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42306078","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Open ArchaeologyPub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.1515/opar-2022-0310
Emma Richard-Trémeau, Catriona Brogan, J. Betts, M. Anastasi, N. Vella
{"title":"A Review of Malta’s Pre-Temple Neolithic Pottery Wares","authors":"Emma Richard-Trémeau, Catriona Brogan, J. Betts, M. Anastasi, N. Vella","doi":"10.1515/opar-2022-0310","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0310","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Sites from the earliest known phases of Maltese prehistory often consist of scatters of sherds for the Għar Dalam and Skorba phases (6000–4800 BCE), and tomb contexts for the Żebbuġ phase (3800–3600 BCE). Neolithic studies are, therefore, heavily reliant on the study of pottery. Although traditional typological and seriation-based analyses of the pottery record have substantially enhanced our knowledge of Early Neolithic Malta, there is a growing appreciation of the need to go beyond these approaches to gain new insights. This study reviews the accessible literature on fabric studies on assemblages found in the Maltese Islands, presenting the state of knowledge for the pottery of the Għar Dalam, Skorba (Early Neolithic), and Żebbuġ (Late Neolithic) phases. Microphotographs of pottery wares were selected from a compilation produced for an ongoing project (the MaltaPot project) to illustrate the descriptions found in the literature. The advances made by archaeologists in studying the Maltese Neolithic pottery are reviewed, and suggestions for building on them are proposed, as archaeometric and petrographic techniques have not been applied systematically to Neolithic pottery from Malta.","PeriodicalId":19532,"journal":{"name":"Open Archaeology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46918637","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Open ArchaeologyPub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.1515/opar-2022-0320
Linda R. Gosner, Jessica Nowlin
{"title":"Approaching Interaction in Iron Age Sardinia: Multi-Scalar Survey Evidence from the Sinis Archaeological Project and the Progetto S’Urachi","authors":"Linda R. Gosner, Jessica Nowlin","doi":"10.1515/opar-2022-0320","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0320","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Using west-central Sardinia as a case study, this article explores how multi-scalar survey archaeology can be used to address questions of the intensity, nature, and scale of interaction in the Iron Age central Mediterranean. This large island played an important role in Mediterranean trade networks and was frequented and settled by Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and Romans, among others over the course of the first millennium BCE. These foreign groups interacted with local Nuragic people through trade, the exchange of ideas, and genetic admixing, which led to increasing connectivity over time. Large excavations at major colonial sites and genetic studies have reinforced the perception that interactions were felt most strongly in coastal regions, while inland communities remained more isolated. Our multi-scalar survey data, drawn from site-based survey at the inland nuraghe S’Urachi and regional survey in its surrounding territory (the Sinis Archaeological Project), supply information concerning how Iron Age interactions impacted inland rural communities. These data show how interaction transformed over time, as trade increased and agriculture intensified in response to external demands. Ultimately, we suggest that survey archaeology is an important tool for illuminating multi-scalar interaction in Sardinia and elsewhere.","PeriodicalId":19532,"journal":{"name":"Open Archaeology","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136303619","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Open ArchaeologyPub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.1515/opar-2022-0276
Kalliroi Tsirintoulaki, David N. Matzig, F. Riede
{"title":"A 2D Geometric Morphometric Assessment of Chrono-Cultural Trends in Osseous Barbed Points of the European Final Palaeolithic and Early Mesolithic","authors":"Kalliroi Tsirintoulaki, David N. Matzig, F. Riede","doi":"10.1515/opar-2022-0276","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0276","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Studies on prehistoric osseous barbed points have relied heavily on typology in linking presumed types to broader techno-complexes, and for making chronological inferences. The accumulation of both new finds and of radiocarbon dates obtained directly on such artefacts, however, has revealed that (i) shape variability defies neat typological divisions, and that (ii) chronological inferences based on typology often fail. To further query these issues and to better understand the design choices and cultural evolutionary dynamics within this artefact class, we present a 2D open-outline geometric morphometric analysis of 50 directly dated Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene osseous barbed points primarily from northern and western Europe. The results indicate that (a) different components (tip, base, and barbs) of these artefacts were subject to varying design constraints and that (b) there is no clear-cut distinction between Final Palaeolithic and Mesolithic point traditions. Different techno-functional components evolved at various rates while specimens assigned to the same type and/or techno-complex are only occasionally morphologically similar. The results reflect a relatively low level of normativity for this artefact class and likely a repeated convergence on similar design elements. We propose that interpretations linked to cultural dynamics, individual craft agency, and repeated convergence on locally optimal designs may offer more satisfying avenues for thinking about the barbed points of this period.","PeriodicalId":19532,"journal":{"name":"Open Archaeology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48154210","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Roof Tiles and Bricks of the Etruscan <i>Domus dei Dolia</i> (<i>Vetulonia</i>, Italy): An Archaeological and Archaeometric Study of Construction Materials","authors":"Beltrame Massimo, Rafanelli Simona, Quaratesi Costanza, Mirão José, Coradeschi Ginevra","doi":"10.1515/opar-2022-0322","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0322","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In this article, the archaeological and archaeometrical study of several roof tiles and bricks retrieved at the Etruscan Domus dei Dolia is presented. The Domus is located in Etrusco-Roman neighbourhood (Hellenistic – Late Republican periods, third–first centuries BC) of the ancient city of Vetulonia (central Italy), in the area of Poggiarello Renzetti . The main goals were to establish the characteristics of the raw material/s used in their production, the possible provenance, the technology applied, and to get insight regarding the production organization and the local economy. The archaeological materials were analysed by optical microscopy (OM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray fluorescence (XRF). Principal component analysis was also applied to evaluate/interpret chemical data. Results evidenced that roof tiles and bricks were produced using a different technology and raw materials. Roof tiles were possibly manufactured within 12 km from the archaeological site and imported into the town, exploiting two different raw materials. Conversely, bricks were likely produced very close to the archaeological site. So, it is supposed that raw materials were selected considering factors such as distance, abundance, and accessibility to natural resources and security.","PeriodicalId":19532,"journal":{"name":"Open Archaeology","volume":"258 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135506522","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Open ArchaeologyPub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.1515/opar-2022-0295
Devin B. Pettigrew, D. Bamforth
{"title":"On the (Non-)Scalability of Target Media for Evaluating the Performance of Ancient Projectile Weapons","authors":"Devin B. Pettigrew, D. Bamforth","doi":"10.1515/opar-2022-0295","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0295","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract When they work, controlled experiments can efficiently and clearly reveal essential characteristics of the functions and performance of ancient hunting and fighting weapons. However, homogenous target media must be carefully validated to ensure that controlled tests capture the same variables that made weapons effective in their original application. Although homogenous flesh simulants have proven effective for studying firearms, the same simulants cannot be assumed to be effective when testing low-velocity cutting/piercing projectiles, which have significantly different performance characteristics than bullets. We build on past research showing that two flesh simulants that are commonly used by archaeologists, ballistics gelatin and pottery clay, fail to capture how atlatl darts and arrows perform when penetrating biological tissues. In accord with forensic research of knife-thrust attacks, natural and polymeric skin simulants may prove effective in future experiments, but this requires further research.","PeriodicalId":19532,"journal":{"name":"Open Archaeology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42131106","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}