Open ArchaeologyPub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.1515/opar-2022-0311
Daniel Prusaczyk, K. Juszczyk, A. R. M. Gracida
{"title":"New Insights Into the Water Management System at Tetzcotzinco, Mexico","authors":"Daniel Prusaczyk, K. Juszczyk, A. R. M. Gracida","doi":"10.1515/opar-2022-0311","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0311","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This work presents the results of new archaeological research carried out in Tetzcotzinco, Mexico, with a special focus on its water management. Survey documentation at the site, with the use of 3D photogrammetry, offered new images and maps of water control features, namely, canals, reservoirs, and aqueducts. The integration of these data into a GIS database, as well as the complementation of information from previous archaeological research and colonial historical accounts, allowed further analysis of the flow, velocity, and quantity of water distributed at the site, and its possible connections with watercourses in its surroundings. This research studies the broader regional water sources and three possible courses of water in the area which could have provided the flow of liquid into Tetzcotzinco. This article is a contribution to a better understanding of the importance of water and its distribution not only in Tetzcotzinco but also in the Center of Mexico during pre-Hispanic times.","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":"46450395","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-2022-0301
Irene Bavuso, G. Furlan, E. E. Intagliata, J. Steding
{"title":"Circular Economy in the Roman Period and the Early Middle Ages – Methods of Analysis for a Future Agenda","authors":"Irene Bavuso, G. Furlan, E. E. Intagliata, J. Steding","doi":"10.1515/opar-2022-0301","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0301","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In recent years, studies on reuse practices in premodern societies have multiplied. Nonetheless, a linear model (production – usage – discard) is still widely employed for describing past economic systems. Integrating it with a circular model, instead of assuming that products were discarded after their usage, would greatly benefit our knowledge of ancient and medieval economies. In this work, we present a model of circular economy and define the terms used in this context. Thereafter, a possible agenda on how to study circularity both through archaeological material and written sources is traced. This covers archaeological fieldwork methods, as well as the process of interpretation and the re-evaluation of old data. It also proposes new strategies to use and read written sources to explore reuse practices. If different theoretical and methodological approaches are combined, a more holistic and vivid picture of premodern economies can be gained and help our understanding of how past societies used the resources available to them.","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":"46890867","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-2022-0287
Astrid J. Nyland, D. Hofmann, R. Iversen
{"title":"The Blurry Third Millennium. “Neolithisation” in a Norwegian Context","authors":"Astrid J. Nyland, D. Hofmann, R. Iversen","doi":"10.1515/opar-2022-0287","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0287","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In this article, we critically review recurrent tropes, implicit frameworks, and unexplained concepts in current research on the process of “Neolithisation” in the western part of southern Norway. Two models are on offer, as also seen elsewhere in the European research: either 1) the transition to agriculture is rapid and substantially carried by migrants, or 2) the Late Neolithic transition builds on a long history of local adaptation. After outlining these models, we scrutinise especially west Norwegian evidence, pointing out ambiguities and limitations in the material which mean that neither of the two models fit. In the final section, we consider which new questions could be asked to move beyond the current, somewhat polarised debate: Who are the actors of the transition, how are boundaries between groups created, and can the acknowledgement of the complexity of the process of ‘migration’ result in new narratives? Addressing these questions remains a fundamental challenge for archaeological migration studies as a whole.","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":"46905009","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-2022-0303
Hasan Fırat Diker
{"title":"The Story of the Architectural Documentation of Hagia Sophia’s Hypogeum","authors":"Hasan Fırat Diker","doi":"10.1515/opar-2022-0303","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0303","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Hagia Sophia’s hypogeum is a group of subterranean Roman tomb structures located in the area between the northeastern side of the structure and the imaret (“soup kitchen”) of Hagia Sophia. Consisting of three chambers connected by a passage, the hypogeum is dated to the fourth century and older than the current Hagia Sophia. The story of the architectural documentation of the hypogeum is also interesting. As a matter of fact, exposed findings during the museum research still contribute to the dating studies of the structure. The first digital architectural visualisation of the space was made in 2020 within the documentation of the subterranean structures of Hagia Sophia. After the partial cleaning of the inner space at the end of 2021, a relatively more favourable environment allowed for its visualisation. This study presents the most recent architectural documentation of the hypogeum carried out, the first reconstruction plan proposal, and a virtual superposition of the structure with its superstructure. Completely cleaning the interior and top will enable this space to be thoroughly documented and dated. By including the narrative of the documentation story to the present, this study is expected to be the last visualisation of the hypogeum until it is completely cleaned. The lack of architecturally similar structures in Istanbul requires special attention to this subterranean structure.","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":"48985480","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-2022-0298
M. Mărgărit, A. Boroneanţ, A. Bălășescu, C. Bonsall
{"title":"Exploitation of Osseous Materials During the Mesolithic in the Iron Gates","authors":"M. Mărgărit, A. Boroneanţ, A. Bălășescu, C. Bonsall","doi":"10.1515/opar-2022-0298","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0298","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The Mesolithic settlements on the left bank of the Danube in the Iron Gates have yielded numerous artefacts made of osseous materials. Products and sub-products of the chaîne opératoire are present, suggesting in situ manufacturing of the finished items. Among a restricted range of artefact types, the most characteristic ones are bevelled tools made of antler, pointed tools of bone, and boar tusk scrapers. Our research has focused on identifying both the manufacturing processes applied to the various raw materials and the marks left by use, which are key indicators of the function of the artefacts. We were also interested to know if a unitary technological scheme could be identified throughout the Iron Gates, or if there are features specific to individual sites. Our findings suggest that despite a general unitary pattern, it is nevertheless possible to identify elements that are characteristic of individual sites but whether these were the result of economic or cultural factors is more difficult to assess. The results of this combined approach suggest wood processing and hunting were among the main activities performed with osseous artefacts. Contrary to some previous interpretations, there is no evidence for their use in connection with plant cultivation.","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":"42978344","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-2022-0314
Ralph Araque Gonzalez
{"title":"From the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and Back: Sardinia, Iberia, and the Transfer of Knowledge in Late Bronze Age Networks","authors":"Ralph Araque Gonzalez","doi":"10.1515/opar-2022-0314","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0314","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Sardinia was a hub of sea routes in the Final Bronze Age, c. 1200–850 BC, connecting the Aegean and the Levant in the East with the Iberian Atlantic façade in the West at its latitudinal extremes. Although situated some 1,200 nautical miles apart, bronze working techniques on the island, specific decorations, and implement typologies were clearly related to those in western Iberia, which was a pivotal node connecting the Atlantic and Mediterranean worlds. Without doubt, individuals have travelled between and beyond both regions, and transported objects alongside technological as well as theoretical information. Although serious challenges accompanied the multi-directional intensification of interactions, the local communities had innovative responses to them, managing to integrate new people and knowledge. The general aim of this contribution is to provide a theoretical framework with which to analyse the motivations and social mechanisms for cooperation and communication that facilitated technology transfer in an environment of dispersed, socially heterogeneous communities. The exchanges and interactions within this decentralised network must have been self-organised by individuals and communities, and encompassed all forms of entanglement. Consequently, practises of self-governance, hospitality, conflict management, and inter-group communication as well as shared symbols are of central interest.","PeriodicalId":19532,"journal":{"name":"Open Archaeology","volume":"103 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":"135212282","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-2022-0325
Silviane Scharl
{"title":"Human Mobility and the Spread of Innovations – Case Studies from Neolithic Central and Southeast Europe","authors":"Silviane Scharl","doi":"10.1515/opar-2022-0325","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0325","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The spread of innovations is an important driver for transformation processes in human societies. It is carried by two crucial conditions – the flow of information and the adoption/appropriation of the innovation. While the latter is a social and cultural process, the first is among others carried by mobility. Mobility in this context can take on different forms and range from migration events up to small-scale everyday mobility between neighbours. In this article, the transmission of ideas and technology without major migration events will be treated. This is based on two case studies – the spread of agriculture from Central Europe to South Scandinavia and the spread of copper metallurgy from Southeast to Central Europe. For both, the spatio-temporal spread of the innovation will be described and factors influencing the information flow and the process of adoption will be taken into account. This will help to develop a more detailed understanding concerning the transmission of ideas and technology without major migration events and allows us to follow the question of what roles did mobility and other factors play in it.","PeriodicalId":19532,"journal":{"name":"Open Archaeology","volume":"43 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":"135212300","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-2022-0323
Jørgen Christian Meyer, Eivind Heldaas Seland
{"title":"Water, Communication, Sight, and the Location of Fortifications on the Strata Diocletiana (Syria) in Late Antiquity","authors":"Jørgen Christian Meyer, Eivind Heldaas Seland","doi":"10.1515/opar-2022-0323","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0323","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The Strata Diocletiana was a military road in Late Roman Period Syria. It ran from Damascus to the Euphrates by way of Palmyra. The road was fortified and received its name during the reign of Diocletian (284–305 CE), following the Roman sack and subsequent garrisoning of Palmyra after the city’s failed revolt 272–273 CE. The Strata Diocletiana is only one of several attested routes between Palmyra and western Syria and one of two between Palmyra and Damascus. In this study, we seek to understand why this route was chosen for the new fortified road. We compare the location of Late Roman fortifications along the Strata Diocletiana to the modern distribution of water in the Syrian Desert and the theoretical least-cost paths between Palmyra and Damascus, and Palmyra and the fortress of Sura on the Euphrates. The argument is made that some parts of the Roman road network in the Syrian Desert were planned in order to control major water sources along the desert rim, but that the new military road between Damascus and Palmyra in the late third century CE was constructed with the aim of monitoring and controlling access to settled regions from the desert, in addition to ease and speed of communication. The conclusions have bearings not only on our understanding of the Late Roman defence and communication system, but also on nomad-settled interaction in Late Antiquity and the use of GIS methodologies in the reconstruction of ancient communication networks.","PeriodicalId":19532,"journal":{"name":"Open Archaeology","volume":"53 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":"136258327","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-2022-0317
Edward B. Banning
{"title":"Paradise Found or Common Sense Lost? Göbekli Tepe’s Last Decade as a Pre-Farming Cult Centre","authors":"Edward B. Banning","doi":"10.1515/opar-2022-0317","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0317","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The spectacular finds at Turkey’s Göbekli Tepe have fired the imaginations of archaeologists and the general public alike. Reflecting on developments at and about the site since the 2011 publication of a critique of the site’s dominant interpretation as a hunter-gatherer cult centre, this article shows that some elements of that critique, including assertions about roofing and a residential population, have gained traction, while others have fallen on deaf ears. Göbekli Tepe has also become the locus of discussion and speculation in disciplines ranging from astronomy and religion to psychology and architectural history, while also inspiring pseudoscientific claims that associate the site with the Garden of Eden, a supposed technologically sophisticated pre-Holocene civilization or extraterrestrial visitors.","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":"136305899","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-2022-0284
F. Fontana, D. Visentin, Stefano Bertola, E. Cristiani, Noemi Dipino, E. Flor, A. Fontana
{"title":"Investigating the Early-to-Late Mesolithic Transition in Northeastern Italy: A Multifaceted Regional Perspective","authors":"F. Fontana, D. Visentin, Stefano Bertola, E. Cristiani, Noemi Dipino, E. Flor, A. Fontana","doi":"10.1515/opar-2022-0284","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/opar-2022-0284","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article focuses on the Mesolithic record of northeastern Italy, one of the key European regions for studying the last prehistoric hunter-gatherer groups. Most specifically, it aims to compare the rich Early and Late Mesolithic evidence, trying to shed some light on the shift between these two periods. Such a topic is approached at a regional scale, that is to say, by comparing the overall record and trying to identify similarities and divergences concerning different aspects of past lifeways such as settlement strategies, technology, exploitation of faunal resources, ornamental traditions and burial rituals. Overall, by providing an updated regional synthesis, the presented data highlight aspects of continuity and discontinuity between these two periods and contribute significantly to the debate concerning the modalities in which this transition took place in Southern Europe.","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":"41902646","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}