Charlene Murphy, D. Fuller, C. Stevens, Tom Gregory, Fabio Silva, Rita Dal Martello, Jixiang Song, A. Bodey, Christoph Rau
{"title":"Looking Beyond the Surface: Use of High Resolution X-Ray Computed Tomography on Archaeobotanical Remains","authors":"Charlene Murphy, D. Fuller, C. Stevens, Tom Gregory, Fabio Silva, Rita Dal Martello, Jixiang Song, A. Bodey, Christoph Rau","doi":"10.24916/iansa.2019.1.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24916/iansa.2019.1.1","url":null,"abstract":"High Resolution X-Ray Computed Tomography (HRXCT) offers a powerful \u00003-dimensional, non-destructive and non-invasive diagnostic tool for imaging the \u0000external and internal structures of a range of specimens of interest including \u0000archaeobotanical remains. HRXCT offers new possibilities in terms of the \u0000research questions which may be asked of fragile and valuable archaeological \u0000and specifically archaeobotanical material. This technology, although currently \u0000somewhat limited in terms of time and access to beamtimes at National \u0000Synchrotrons, requires simple, non-destructive preparation of samples and \u0000produces exciting results. Based upon two rounds of successful work we believe \u0000that this new methodology has wider implications and utility for advancing the \u0000field of imaging, and investigating aspects of plant domestication such as \u0000internal anatomical changes.","PeriodicalId":38054,"journal":{"name":"Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87841544","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kelly Reed, Ivana Ožanić Roguljić, S. Radović, Tatjana Kolak, Zrinski trh Zagreb Croatia Arts
{"title":"Daily Food Consumption in a Rural Roman Villa: Excavations at Lički Ribnik, Croatia","authors":"Kelly Reed, Ivana Ožanić Roguljić, S. Radović, Tatjana Kolak, Zrinski trh Zagreb Croatia Arts","doi":"10.24916/IANSA.2019.1.4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24916/IANSA.2019.1.4","url":null,"abstract":"Large volumes of work exist on Roman villas; however, what the inhabitants ate on a daily basis at these sites is frequently overlooked. Here we present archaeobotanical, zooarchaeological and pottery evidence to explore aspects of daily consumption patterns within the rural villa of Lički Ribnik, Croatia. The remains date from the second half of the 2nd to the first half of the 3rd century AD and provide the first evidence of villa consumption in the Lika region. The discovery of broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) grains, domestic cattle (Bos taurus) and sheep (Ovis aries) bones suggest that they were consumed at the site. Different pottery types and fabrics also suggest a range of dishes were cooked, including the Roman dish patina. Although these conclusions are based on very limited data, the study shows the importance of looking at environmental evidence in conjunction with other archaeological material in order to explore local diet and economy in the Roman period. IANSA 2019 ● X/1 ● 53–63 Kelly Reed, Ivana Ožanić Roguljić, Siniša Radović, Tatjana Kolak: Daily Food Consumption in a Rural Roman Villa: Excavations at Lički Ribnik, Croatia 54 food system through the analyses of archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological remains. Where examined, the evidence has contributed meaningfully to the reconstruction of Roman villa production, management and supply, the preparation and consumption of foods, as well as exploring aspects of group identity, social status and ritual/religious practices (e.g. Crabtree, 1990; King, 2001; Šoštarić, Küster, 2001; Olive, 2004; Padrós, Valenzuela Lamas, 2010; McCallum et al., 2013; Árpád et al., 2015). In Dalmatia, over 200 villae rusticae have been recognised or excavated and around 350 in regio X Venetia et Histria (Matijašić, 1998). However, few have provided evidence on diet and subsistence. Published deposits of archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological remains dating to the Roman period (1st–5th Century AD) in Croatia are still relatively rare. For example, only 12 sites have published archaeobotanical remains (see Reed, 2016 for summary; Essert et al., 2018; Reed, Leleković, 2019; Reed et al., 2019) and only three of these are from villa sites: the 3rd–4th century AD rural villa at Danilo, Dalmatia (Šoštarić, 2003), the 1st–5th century AD rural villa at Veli Brijun, Istria (Šoštarić, Küster, 2001), and the 2nd–4th century AD urban villa of Osijek-Silos (Reed et al., 2019). Faunal data are even more underrepresented and only five Roman period sites being published in Croatia (Alvàs-Marion, 2001; Brajković, Paunović, 2001; Campadelli, 2007; Miculinić, 2018; Šimić-Kanaet et al., 2005; Šoštarić et al., 2015). Of these, only two are from villa sites: the 1st–2nd century rural estate of Crikvenica – Igralište, Vinodol area (Miculinić, 2018) and the maritime villa, villae maritimae, of Loron, Istria (Brajković, Paunović, 2001). This paper therefore presents the first evidence of Roman rural villa consumption in the Li","PeriodicalId":38054,"journal":{"name":"Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica","volume":"17 2-3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82544045","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The “Mediterranean Forest”: A Perspective for Vegetation History Reconstruction","authors":"M. M. Lippi, A. Mercuri, B. Foggi","doi":"10.24916/IANSA.2018.2.7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24916/IANSA.2018.2.7","url":null,"abstract":"Starting from the multifaceted meaning of “Mediterranean”, this thematic review wishes to reconnect the palaeobotanical with the phytogeographical approach in the reconstruction of the Mediterranean Forest of the past. The use of the term “Mediterranean” is somewhat ambiguous in its common use, and has not an unequivocal meaning in different research fields. In botany, geographical-floristic studies produce maps based on the distribution of the plant species; floristic-ecological studies, produce maps that deal with the distribution of the plant communities and their relationships with different habitats. This review reports on the different use of the term “Mediterranean” in geographical or floristic studies, and on the way climate and plant distributions are used to define the Mediterranean area. The Mediterranean Forest through the palynological records is then shortly reported on. Pollen analysis may be employed to reconstruct the Mediterranean Forest of the past but a number of problems make this a difficult task: low pollen preservation, lack of diagnostic features at low taxonomical level, and low pollen production of species which form the Mediterranean Forests. Variable images of this vegetation are visible in different landscapes, but the Mediterranean Forest often remains a sort of “ghost forest” in pollen spectra from the Mediterranean Region. IANSA 2018 ● IX/2 ● 207–218 Marta Mariotti Lippi, Anna Maria Mercuri, Bruno Foggi: The “Mediterranean Forest”: A Perspective for Vegetation History Reconstruction 208 a remarkable variety of topographical features, edaphic conditions, and plant communities. With regard to vegetation history, the palaeoand archaeo-botanical studies deal with the flora and vegetation changes as evidenced in long-term chronological records. Analyses of pollen and plant macroremains from sediment strata and archaeological layers provide lists of plants that better attends to the flora rather than the vegetation, but references to plant communities are highly informative for reconstructing landscapes. Single-case studies are often limited in time and in space, whereas syntheses of several sites allow for wide-ranging reconstructions that overcome specific local events (see, for example, Mercuri, 2014, for cultural landscapes reconstructed through pollen analyses). Local and regional studies can improve our knowledge on the cause-and-effect patterns which have determined broad palaeoenvironmental changes (sharp events or gradual transformations) under the various climate and anthropic influences. Synthesis of the data in a coherent scheme is needed for reconstruction of the vegetation history of each region, but the many inhomogeneities in the terminology concerning various vegetation types, often being referred to in a generic or ambiguous way, is a major difficulty in this task. In papers on palaeoand archaeo-botany, the authors rarely explain to which plant community their results refer to, even if important except","PeriodicalId":38054,"journal":{"name":"Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica","volume":"68 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90277276","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Y. Miras, M. Mariani, P. Ledger, Alfredo Mayoral, Léo Chassiot, Marlène Lavrieux
{"title":"Holocene Vegetation Dynamics and First Land-Cover Estimates in the Auvergne Mountains (Massif Central, France): Key Tools to Landscape Management","authors":"Y. Miras, M. Mariani, P. Ledger, Alfredo Mayoral, Léo Chassiot, Marlène Lavrieux","doi":"10.24916/IANSA.2018.2.5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24916/IANSA.2018.2.5","url":null,"abstract":"A multi-proxy palaeoecological investigation has been undertaken at high spatio-temporal resolution in the Lower Auvergne Mountains (France). It allows us to investigate the Holocene trajectories of landscape evolution arising from the interplay between human impact and adaptability, climate oscillations and environmental evolution. The mechanistic models for the regional vegetation reconstruction applied here provide the first quantification of land cover changes in this region. The results obtained allow an improved understanding of past vegetation dynamics and a discussion of: (1) the natural variability of the vegetation to climate oscillations; (2) the development of the cultural landscape and the land uses involved; (3) the timing and the extent of the landscape openness; and (4) the richness in vegetation units within the landscape mosaic measured by the floristic diversity. These long-term changes highlight the sensitivity of these mountainous landscapes: having formed socio-ecosystems that have been shaped over millennia. It is therefore crucial to consider this ecological and \u0000cultural heritage when directing future sustainable management plans.","PeriodicalId":38054,"journal":{"name":"Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86299848","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sustainable Fuel Practices in Roman North Africa and the Contemporary Mediterranean Basin","authors":"Erica Rowan","doi":"10.24916/IANSA.2018.2.2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24916/IANSA.2018.2.2","url":null,"abstract":"As a readily available and renewable resource, olive pomace has been used as a fuel throughout the Mediterranean for centuries. This article will first discuss the extensive use of pomace fuel in Roman North Africa, introducing and adding the once coastal city of Utica to our growing list of sites with archaeobotanical evidence for pomace residue. The paper will then focus on the ways in which the Romans linked olive oil and pottery production. While environmental sustainability was unlikely to have been one of the Romans’ conscious objectives, the use of this fuel was vital to the continued production of North African ceramics, particularly in more arid areas. Today, in the face of increasing energy demands, pomace is once again being recognized as an important and sustainable resource. More work, however, still needs to be done to improve the efficiency of pomace use. The article will conclude by highlighting the valuable lessons that can be learned from ancient practices, especially the efficient pairing of olive cultivation and pottery production. IANSA 2018 ● IX/2 ● 147–156 Erica Rowan: Sustainable Fuel Practices in Roman North Africa and the Contemporary Mediterranean Basin 148 pomace fuel assemblages from olives burnt for ritual purposes or as table waste. In all cases, the burning, or carbonization process, turns the olive flesh and skin to ash and as a result we are often only left with burnt olives stones (endocarps) and occasionally the seeds. Usually a pomace assemblage will appear as hundreds or thousands of fragmented olive stones in a concentrated deposit (see, for example, Smith, 1998; Margaritis and Jones, 2008; Rowan, 2015). The high degree of fragmentation is the result of crushing the olives prior to the pressing stage. Many of the olive stones will not survive combustion, especially when the pomace is subject to high temperatures such as those found inside a kiln. Consequently, a high concentration suggests largescale and/or repeat burning events and thus pomace fuel (Mason, 2007, p. 333; Warnock, 2007, p. 47). In the case of ritual or table waste, the assemblage is usually smaller and contains a greater quantity of intact stones despite lower burning temperatures increasing the chances of preservation. Reflectance measurements can also be used to confirm the use of olive pomace as a fuel and distinguish between the use of air-dried pomace and pomace that has been converted into charcoal (Braadbaart, Marinova and Sarpaki, 2016). 1.1 Current uses of pomace Today, 97% of the world’s olive oil is still made in the Mediterranean and in particular in Spain, Greece, Italy, Turkey, Morocco, and Tunisia (Christoforou and Fokaides, 2016; IOOC EU Olive Oil Figures 2018). Since 1990, EU production of olive oil has increased from 994,000 tonnes to 2.17 million tonnes or 2.36 million litres per annum (IOOC World Olive Oil Figures, 2018).1 As olive oil output increases so too does the volume of pomace. Although the modern twoand three-phas","PeriodicalId":38054,"journal":{"name":"Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica","volume":"48 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77381615","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
C. Moricca, F. Alhaique, L. Barelli, A. Masi, Simona Morretta, R. Pugliese, L. Sadori, Via del Forte Tiburtino Independent researcher
{"title":"Early Arrival of New World Species Enriching the Biological Assemblage of the Santi Quattro Coronati Complex (Rome, Italy)","authors":"C. Moricca, F. Alhaique, L. Barelli, A. Masi, Simona Morretta, R. Pugliese, L. Sadori, Via del Forte Tiburtino Independent researcher","doi":"10.24916/iansa.2018.2.6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24916/iansa.2018.2.6","url":null,"abstract":"This paper reports the archaeobotanical and archaeozoological data from a disposal pit, whose use started after the partial closure of a staircase, and from a mortar surface within a former porch in the Santi Quattro Coronati complex in Rome, Italy. The two contexts were in use in the Early Modern Age, when the complex served as a cardinal seat. The element that distinguishes the Santi Quattro Coronati from other contemporaneous contexts is the presence of New World species, until now only hypothesized based on a letter sent by the first resident bishop in Santo Domingo to Lorenzo Pucci, then cardinal with the titulus of the Santi Quattro Coronati. Pumpkin seeds ( Cucurbita pepo and C. maxima/ moschata ) were found in the pit, while a pelvis of guinea pig ( Cavia porcellus ) was found in a former porch. Numerous archaeobotanical remains preserved by mummification, identified mostly as food, and many archaeozoological specimens were found in the pit. Based on the data, it is hypothesized that the pit was used mainly as a deposit for table waste. The results as a whole help towards the investigation of the eating customs and daily habits of a Renaissance high-status clerical community.","PeriodicalId":38054,"journal":{"name":"Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica","volume":"437 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77858929","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cremaschi Mauro, A. Mercuri, Alessandra Benatti, Giovanna Bosi, Brandolini Filippo, Eleonora Clò, A. Florenzano, Elisa Furia, G. S. Mariani, M. Mazzanti, Maria Chiara Montecchi, Eleonora Rattighieri, Rossella Rinaldi, P. Torri, Zerboni Andrea
{"title":"The SUCCESSO-TERRA Project: a Lesson of Sustainability from the Terramare Culture, Middle Bronze Age of the Po Plain (Northern Italy)","authors":"Cremaschi Mauro, A. Mercuri, Alessandra Benatti, Giovanna Bosi, Brandolini Filippo, Eleonora Clò, A. Florenzano, Elisa Furia, G. S. Mariani, M. Mazzanti, Maria Chiara Montecchi, Eleonora Rattighieri, Rossella Rinaldi, P. Torri, Zerboni Andrea","doi":"10.24916/IANSA.2018.2.8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24916/IANSA.2018.2.8","url":null,"abstract":"This backstory article deals with the SUCCESSO-TERRA Project (2017–2020), an interdisciplinary research program aiming at reconstructing the land-use transformations that occurred during the development of the Terramare culture in the southern-central Po Plain of Northern Italy. Topics include climate-environment changes, human impact and exploitation of natural resources that are interconnected topics in human ecology and environmental sciences. These topics can only be understood in a long-term perspective integrating archaeology, geology, botany and other sciences. The text includes the theoretical basis, the research strategy and the main methodological approaches given by geoarchaeology and palynology, the two research sides constituting the partnership of the project. Figure 1. The logo and concept of the SUCCESSO-TERRA Project. IANSA 2018 ● IX/2 ● 221–229 Mauro Cremaschi, Anna Maria Mercuri, Alessandra Benatti, Giovanna Bosi, Filippo Brandolini, Eleonora Clò, Assunta Florenzano, Elisa Furia, Guido S. Mariani, Marta Mazzanti, Maria Chiara Montecchi, Eleonora Rattighieri, Rossella Rinaldi, Paola Torri, Andrea Zerboni: The SUCCESSO-TERRA Project: a Lesson of Sustainability from the Terramare Culture, Middle Bronze Age of the Po Plain (Northern Italy) 222 MIUR (Ministry of Italy for University and Research, action 20158KBLNB, P.I.: M. Cremaschi) joins together experts on Geoarchaeology (University of Milan) and Palynology (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia) to study highresolution archaeological sediments with an interdisciplinary ecological perspective. SUCCESSO-TERRA points towards the relationships between climate-environment changes, human impact, and exploitation of natural resources – topics that are traditionally interconnected in human ecology (Butzer, 1982). These topics can only be understood given a long-term perspective: integrating archaeology, geology, and biology (mostly consisting of botany and zoology). The concept that archaeological sciences can be a tool to deal with modern societal challenges is at the basis of SUCCESSO-TERRA: an “old but new approach” to compare current issues to those concerning sustainability in the 3rd millennium BP. Archaeological scientific investigations with a long-term perspective have repeatedly suggested a possible nexus between changes in climate (main trends and rapid events) and societal crises during the Holocene (Jalut et al., 2009; Mercuri et al., 2011); the main role played today by the on-going climate change in influencing human adaptation is also evident (Oldfield, 2005; Mercuri et al., 2015a). To establish if climate change influenced the cultural trajectory of the Terramare culture – and if so, then to estimate its true contribution – is the core of the project. The Terramare settlements are exemplar archaeological/ palaeoenvironmental contexts showing the complex dynamic between regional climatic/environmental changes and land use. SUCCESSO-TERRA avoids climatic determinism and","PeriodicalId":38054,"journal":{"name":"Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74530083","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The disappearance of cultural landscapes: the case of wooded-meadows in the Ligurian Apennines (NW Italy)","authors":"C. Molinari, C. Montanari","doi":"10.24916/IANSA.2018.2.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24916/IANSA.2018.2.3","url":null,"abstract":"The “wooded-meadows system” is a multifunctional use of vegetation resources widespread in Europesince the Neolithic, and well documented in the Ligurian Apennines (NW Italy) between the MiddleAges and the first half of the 19th century. The management of wooded-meadows included: collectionof fallen and dead branches in spring, later used for fuel; mowing and grazing in summer; collection ofsecondary products; making sheaves from branches in autumn, later used as cattle and sheep fodder;coppicing, pollarding and cutting of trees in winter.Three sites located in eastern Ligurian Apennines were studied by means of an interdisciplinaryapproach in order to better understand the impact and the consequences of this historical landusepractice on vegetation structure and composition. In particular, based on specific features ofpalynological diagrams, it was possible to conclude that (compared to the post-cultural phase) when thewooded-meadows system was in use, all the sites were characterized by: (1) lower pollen percentagesof trees; (2) higher pollen percentages of shrubs and herbs; (3) higher percentages of anthropogenicpollen indicators; (4) higher values of palynological richness.This research also represents a contribution to issues of nature-conservation policy for the preservationof cultural landscapes. (Less)","PeriodicalId":38054,"journal":{"name":"Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81312038","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. Beneš, G. Naumov, Tereza Majerovičová, Kristýna Budilová, J. Bumerl, V. Komárková, Jaromír Kovárník, Michaela Vychronova, L. Juřičková
{"title":"An Archaeobotanical Onsite Approach to the Neolithic Settlements in Southern Regions of the Balkans: The Case of Vrbjanska Čuka, a Tell Site in Pelagonia, Republic of Macedonia","authors":"J. Beneš, G. Naumov, Tereza Majerovičová, Kristýna Budilová, J. Bumerl, V. Komárková, Jaromír Kovárník, Michaela Vychronova, L. Juřičková","doi":"10.24916/IANSA.2018.2.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24916/IANSA.2018.2.1","url":null,"abstract":"This paper is focused on the Neolithic tell-site of Vrbjanska Čuka in Pelagonia, Republic of Macedonia, where the authors have been performing archaeobotanical research since 2016. Results of the analyses of botanical macroremains and microremains (starch, phytoliths) and faunal microremains collected in season 2016 are presented in the broader context of the Neolithic in the Balkans in order to estimate the bioarchaeological potential of this site. The first and final parts of the paper outline the bioarchaeological studies connected with Neolithic settlements in the southern regions of the Balkans. A substantial proliferation of environmental studies has been recorded in the last decade concerning the archaeobotanical and archaeozoological evidence. Here, most attention is paid to archaeobotanical studies which consider Neolithic settlements and their bioarchaeological context. IANSA 2018 ● IX/2 ● 121–145 Jaromír Beneš, Goce Naumov, Tereza Majerovičová, Kristýna Budilová, Jiří Bumerl, Veronika Komárková, Jaromír Kovárník, Michaela Vychronová, Lucie Juřičková: An Archaeobotanical Onsite Approach to the Neolithic Settlements in Southern Regions of the Balkans: The Case of Vrbjanska Čuka, a Tell Site in Pelagonia, Republic of Macedonia 122 pp. 47–51). This concept substantially favoured those studies dealing with material culture rather than ones addressing environmental and biological issues. Furthermore, the lack of local specialists led to a predominance of artefactual and architectural studies. Bioarchaeological research was concentrated towards large systematic excavations made by international expeditions. This is clearly the case with the older research history of the site of Amzabegovo (Gimbutas, 1974; 1976), Sitagroi (Renfrew et al., 1986; Näslund, 2009), Argissa (Reingruber, 2005), Nea Nikomedeia (Pyke, Yiouni, 1996; van Zeist, Bottema, 1971), Karanovo (Hiller, Nikolov, 1988) and Dikili Tash (Treuil, 1992) being the best examples. The activities of bioarchaeologists have been oriented towards the thematic pioneer research of Neolithic palaeoeconomy. In this regard, R. Dennell studied the archaeobotanical assemblages of such Neolithic sites as Chavdar and Kazanlak in Bulgaria. Dennell established an alternative approach which suggested that the economic value of a Neolithic plant resource can be ascertained by considering its context within the crop-processing activities of a site or area (Dennell, 1972; 1974; 1976). The research of Dennell has opened up new avenues in onsite archaeological interpretations, certainly in comparison to the older common approach of recording the presence/absence of economic plant species in archaeobotanical assemblages. R. Dennell also worked with the archaeozoologist G. Kovačev and attempted to provide a complete onsite bioarchaeological picture of the plants and animals. Likewise, P. Halstead has contributed much to the research area of archaeozoology. He has published a series of papers focused on archaeo","PeriodicalId":38054,"journal":{"name":"Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91103689","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Hajnalová, Zora Bielichová, J. Rajtár, Denisa Krčová, T. Čejka, Z. Šustek, Jana Mihályiová
{"title":"A Roman Structure from Hurbanovo, SW Slovakia: Multiproxy Investigation of Unique Waterlogged Deposit","authors":"M. Hajnalová, Zora Bielichová, J. Rajtár, Denisa Krčová, T. Čejka, Z. Šustek, Jana Mihályiová","doi":"10.24916/IANSA.2018.1.4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24916/IANSA.2018.1.4","url":null,"abstract":"The paper presents results of analyses of various types of organic remains recovered from a waterlogged fill of the sunken structure from Hurbanovo (SW Slovakia) dated to the Early Roman period (1st and 2nd century AD). The structure represents a unique find – the only archaeological feature with waterlogged infill at the site and one of nine known from the Roman Period “barbaric” territory of modern day Slovakia. The waterlogging enabled the preservation of a wider spectrum of organic remains and taxa as known from contemporary Roman period sites in the region. Here are discussed charred and waterlogged seeds and fruits, waterlogged wood, charcoal, animal bones, molluscs and insects. Floral and faunal data yield evidence of crop and animal husbandry, domestic/household activities at the site, and convey information on the surroundings and human-exploited landscape. Taphonomic analyses indicate that the majority of ecofacts from the pit are in the secondary position, and therefore cannot be used for ascertaining the original function of the structure. This has been done solely on archaeological analyses of the contextual data and by use of analogy. IANSA 2018 ● IX/1 ● 43–69 Mária Hajnalová, Zora Bielichová, Ján Rajtár, Denisa Krčová, Tomáš Čejka, Zbyšek Šustek, Jana Mihályiová: A Roman Structure from Hurbanovo, SW Slovakia: Multiproxy Investigation of Unique Waterlogged Deposit 44 Figure 1. Hurbanovo-Štrkovisko; geographic location (47.86027°N, 18.18335°E). Map of 2nd Military survey (1806 – 1869). http://www.mapire.eu Figure 2. Hurbanovo-Štrkovisko; plan of the excavation. Legend: 1 – Roman period; 2 – Early Middle Ages; 3 – other prehistoric periods; 4 – unknown. 0 1 km 0 1 km IANSA 2018 ● IX/1 ● 43–69 Mária Hajnalová, Zora Bielichová, Ján Rajtár, Denisa Krčová, Tomáš Čejka, Zbyšek Šustek, Jana Mihályiová: A Roman Structure from Hurbanovo, SW Slovakia: Multiproxy Investigation of Unique Waterlogged Deposit 45 ca 1 km, from the southern limit of the town to the village of Konkoľ. The ridge runs north to south and in the west borders with a terrain depression, the eastern margin of a marsh of the recently-channelled Hurbanovo stream (Figure 1). Aerial and field prospection has documented that the whole extent of the sand dune and nearby terrain has been exploited and densely occupied throughout prehistory, protohistory and the Middle Ages (Hanzelyová, Kuzma, Rajtár, 1995, p. 55; Kolníková, 2002; Rajtár, 2002, pp. 360–361, Figures 1–2). Hurbanovo lies 15 km north of the Danube, which in the Roman period formed the northern frontier of the Roman Province of Pannonia. Even though the area was close to border at the time, it still belonged to barbarian territory (Figure 1). The rescue excavation in 2003 was limited to a sounding of 55×30–35 m just below the planned building (Rajtár, 2004). It covered the area from the lower slope of the dune (altitude 121.1 m asl) to the depression (at 119.5 m asl), a rise of 1.5 m. The archaeological situation in th","PeriodicalId":38054,"journal":{"name":"Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica","volume":"70 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77389136","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}