{"title":"Dietary Variability in the Varna Chalcolithic Cemeteries","authors":"Bisserka Gaydarska, Joe Roe, Vladimir Slavchev","doi":"10.1017/eaa.2024.33","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2024.33","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article presents the results of AMS radiocarbon dating, stable isotope analysis, and FRUITS dietary modelling to investigate dietary variability among sixty individuals buried at Varna in the mid-fifth millennium <span>bc</span>. The principal pattern was the isotopic clustering of some forty-three per cent of the population, which suggests a ‘Varna core diet’, with the remainder showing a wider variety of isotopic profiles. While there is a slight trend for heightened meat and fish consumption among male individuals compared to female and undetermined individuals, the authors found no clear correlation between dietary variation and the well-attested differentiation in material culture in the graves. Three children had isotopic profile and estimated diets unmatched by any of the adults in the sample. Two scenarios, dubbed ‘regional’ and ‘local’, are presented to explain such dietary variability at Varna.</p>","PeriodicalId":46261,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Archaeology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142248599","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Urban Dimensions of Mountain Society in Late-First Millennium bc Italy: Monte Vairano in Samnium","authors":"Rafael Scopacasa","doi":"10.1017/eaa.2024.26","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2024.26","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The mountain communities of late-first millennium <span>bc</span> Italy have been regarded as non-urban societies that reverted to city life mainly owing to Roman intervention. A growing body of archaeological evidence is uncovering the diversity of settlement forms and dynamics in the region's pre-Roman past, which included sites encompassing a range of functions and social agents. This article presents an in-depth, microscale analysis of one such site, Monte Vairano in Samnium, drawing on perspectives from comparative urbanism. Monte Vairano developed urban characteristics such as a complex socioeconomic profile and political cohesion, as well as potentially more unique features such as an apparently balanced distribution of wealth. These results can shed further light on the diversity of ancient urbanization and its sociopolitical implications in late-first millennium <span>bc</span> Italy and the Mediterranean.</p>","PeriodicalId":46261,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Archaeology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142248594","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Javier Martínez Jiménez, Juan Jesús Padilla Fernández, Elena H. Sánchez López
{"title":"An Experiment Measuring Water Consumption in Roman Hydrophobic Mortar (opus signinum)","authors":"Javier Martínez Jiménez, Juan Jesús Padilla Fernández, Elena H. Sánchez López","doi":"10.1017/eaa.2024.20","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2024.20","url":null,"abstract":"<jats:italic>Opus signinum</jats:italic> is a lime mortar mix that includes crushed pottery as an aggregate. Because it is water-resistant, it was used to line hydraulic structures like pools and aqueducts. While there have been numerous recreations of Roman ‘concretes’ in the past, hydrophobic linings have received little attention, and all preliminary studies in these recreations have paid more attention to the dry components and the lime than to the hydric needs of the mortar. The experiment presented here was to gain a better understanding, with the help of traditional builders, of the process of mixing and applying hydrophobic linings and calculate the water consumption of individual samples. The data obtained contribute to assessing the water consumption needs on Roman construction sites, what associated logistics these volumes required, and what the technicalities of applying this specific type of lining were.","PeriodicalId":46261,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Archaeology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142214565","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Herding with the Hounds: The Game of Fifty-eight Holes in the Abşeron Peninsula","authors":"Walter Crist, Rahman Abdullayev","doi":"10.1017/eaa.2024.24","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2024.24","url":null,"abstract":"The game of fifty-eight holes is one of the longest recognized games of antiquity, but also one of the least understood. New evidence from the Caspian littoral points to an early adoption of the game by Middle Bronze Age seasonally pastoral cattle herders in the late third millennium and early second millennium <jats:sc>bc</jats:sc>. Six boards bearing this game's distinct pattern were found at sites on the Abşeron Peninsula and Gobustan Reserve in Azerbaijan. Their presence there not only indicates that the region was connected to societies to the south, but also demonstrates the game's popularity across cultures and socioeconomic groups. Its supposed first appearance in Egypt is questioned in favour of a south-western Asian origin.","PeriodicalId":46261,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Archaeology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141195678","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"From Roman Table to Anglo-Saxon Grave: An Archaeological Biography of the Scremby Cup","authors":"Hugh Willmott, Lenore Thompson, Jasmine Lundy, Courtenay-Elle Crichton-Turley","doi":"10.1017/eaa.2024.12","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2024.12","url":null,"abstract":"The presence of Roman material in early Anglo-Saxon graves in England is well documented, and recent excavations at Scremby in Lincolnshire have revealed a complete copper-alloy enamelled drinking cup in a sixth-century <jats:sc>ad</jats:sc> female burial. Not only is such a Roman vessel a very rare find, but also its inclusion in an early medieval grave makes it a unique example of the reuse of an antique object in a funerary context. This article presents a typological and metallurgical analysis of the cup and selected comparative examples from England and France are discussed. The context of deposition and the role the cup played as a burial container for animal fat are examined, as are the mechanisms that lay behind the cup's continued life several centuries after its manufacture.","PeriodicalId":46261,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Archaeology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141195897","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Peggy Piggott and Post-war British Archaeology","authors":"Rachel Pope, M. Davies","doi":"10.1017/eaa.2024.13","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2024.13","url":null,"abstract":"The later career of British prehistorian Peggy Piggott, latterly Guido, is evaluated in this article, in a bid to further develop our understanding of women's participation in twentieth-century British archaeology. After WWII, when her husband Stuart Piggott was appointed to the Abercromby Chair in Edinburgh, she worked to assist his role. By the early 1950s, she had co-directed and published eight hillfort excavations, advancing our understanding of prehistoric architecture before the advent of radiocarbon dating. The authors consider Peggy Piggott's contribution as a fieldworker, promoting open-area excavation and influencing the next generation. We also consider her thinking, as an early advocate for continuity and Childe's diffusionism, in contrast to the invasionist views of Christopher Hawkes and Stuart Piggott. The authors reflect on the role her marriage played in enabling and restricting her career, her work in 1960s Italy, her expertise in ancient glass beads, and her activity in retirement.","PeriodicalId":46261,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Archaeology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141109806","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Continuity Within Discontinuity: Cypriot Political Forms from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age","authors":"Nathan Meyer","doi":"10.1017/eaa.2024.25","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2024.25","url":null,"abstract":"Debate regarding the continuity of Cypriot political forms from the Late Bronze Age to the Cypro-Archaic is persistent, resulting in a scholarly divide with few signs of resolution. This article reviews the historiography of political forms proposed for Cyprus as the essential context for this debate. It considers several major themes that emerge from the debate: the use of anthropological models for state formation, regionalism, social networks, and the nature of spatial power. The author views the debate as centred on two equally valid motivations: using related social science theory to enhance archaeological explanation and emphasizing Cypriot autonomy. These motivations need not be set in opposition but, together, illustrate the island's unique history and provide the basis for vibrant scholarship.","PeriodicalId":46261,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Archaeology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141122181","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mounds Against the State? An Anarchist Approach to Mound Construction, Environmental Stress, and Centralization of Power in Viking and Merovingian Age Scandinavia","authors":"Andreas Ropeid Sæbø","doi":"10.1017/eaa.2024.14","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2024.14","url":null,"abstract":"In this article, the author explores the cooperative aspects of mound construction in Late Iron Age Scandinavia. Arguing against the outdated but widely held view that only centralized rule could organize monument construction, he investigates how participation in mound construction affected the people of Sør-Fron in south-eastern Norway. He contends, first, that repeated participation in mound construction helped create a sense of belonging and shared identity, which was maintained through centuries of major environmental and political turmoil. Second, mound construction was part of an active and conscious strategy to limit aggrandizement and prevent centralization and concentration of power. Rejection of Christianity arguably worked in similar ways. The author concludes with considerations of approaches to Iron Age monuments, emphasizing the importance of consensus and community-building and the role of communal opposition to centralized rule.","PeriodicalId":46261,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Archaeology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140968619","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Organically Grown Archaeological Databases and their ‘Messiness’: Hobby Metal Detecting in Norway","authors":"Irmelin Axelsen, Caroline Fredriksen","doi":"10.1017/eaa.2024.10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2024.10","url":null,"abstract":"Hobby metal detecting in Norway has grown since 2014. In the Norwegian recording system, all finds are catalogued by professionals at five regional museums. The examination of the dataset thus created allows the authors to look at regional and national patterns and discuss the inherently messy and ‘human’ nature of a seemingly quantitative material. Their study suggests that both archaeologists and detectorists influence the quality of the evidence and how representative the data are. They argue that metal detecting patterns are primarily the result of modern activities, such as management practices and the endeavours of a few very prolific detectorists in certain areas. Understanding these biases and systematically recording the activities of the actors involved is crucial if we are to make full use of the metal-detected material.","PeriodicalId":46261,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Archaeology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140971041","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"‘Unmaking’ the Deer in Medieval Europe: Historical and Archaeological Evidence","authors":"Umberto Albarella, Veronica Aniceti","doi":"10.1017/eaa.2024.11","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2024.11","url":null,"abstract":"Deer hunting was heavily ritualized in medieval Europe, as indicated by historical and archaeological evidence; it also emphasized social differentiation. The butchery of a deer carcass (‘unmaking’) was integral to the ritual and led to different body parts being destined for individuals of differing status. Archaeologically, the practice is particularly visible in high-status sites in Britain, but documentary and archaeological sources are consistent in pinpointing its earliest occurrence in twelfth-century France. In Italy, late medieval evidence for such ‘unmaking’ is present but is not supported by any known historical sources. Red and fallow deer were butchered in a formalized manner, whereas the data for roe deer are unclear. Although the Normans contributed to the diffusion of the ‘unmaking’ practice, in France it is also found outside the core area of Norman influence. The extensive spread of the practice demonstrates the connectedness of the medieval hunting culture in Europe.","PeriodicalId":46261,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Archaeology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140970179","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}