Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports最新文献

{"title":"Challenging the Atacama desert: Agronomic and water conditions for pre-Hispanic maize agriculture in hyper arid environments inferred by δ18O isotopes","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104775","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104775","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>During the Formative Period (ca.2400–950 years BP), pre-Hispanic farmers in Pampa del Tamarugal developed a complex agricultural system in the hyper-arid Atacama Desert in Tarapacá, northern Chile. This system involved numerous agricultural fields congregated near the Tarapacá Valley’s perennial stream and the Guatacondo ravine’s ephemeral stream. Well-established villages such as Caserones, Pircas, Ramaditas, and Guatacondo accompanied these developments. However, the importance of understanding the water sources has been neglected despite the efforts to understand the relationships between pre-Hispanic agriculture and their living environment. Thus, we presumed the use of local water sources without a clear understanding of their exploitation methods or the associated technological implications. Furthermore, there is limited research on groundwater use in Tarapacá. This research aims to understand water sources used in the cultivation of maize (<em>Zea mays</em>) using δ¹⁸O isotope values obtained from pre-Hispanic maize kernels in Tarapacá. We compared these values with published δ¹⁸O values of water sources and applied a generalized linear model (GLM) with a Gaussian distribution, performing a Tukey’s post hoc test for multiple comparisons of means with heteroscedasticity-consistent covariance estimation. The best-fit model was identified using a stepwise model selection procedure based on the Bayesian information criterion (BIC). Our results indicate that mean δ¹⁸O values of organic matter from maize kernels range from 24.73 ‰ to 31.65 ‰. The best performing model on δ¹⁸O only included Group (BIC=298.2) as the explanatory variable as Period, Site, and Weight had no effects. These findings point towards a significant statistical relationship between the δ¹⁸O values of organic matter derived from maize kernels and the specific geographic regions they originate from. These values also show an enrichment of δ¹⁸O isotope in Tarapacá samples, except for Pica 8. These results indicate diverse agricultural strategies that utilized different water sources including perennial flow in the Tarapacá River, ephemeral runoff at Guatacondo, and groundwater in the Pampa del Tamarugal. Also, due to the enrichment of δ¹⁸O, we suggest that the circular structures found among the fields were used as water reservoirs leading to the observed enrichment of δ¹⁸O isotope values. We discuss the role of ancient agriculture technology in water management, the role of maize, cultural strategies, and the relationships with their environment. In conclusion, pre-Hispanic farmers managed limited water sources successfully despite intermittent drought for hundreds of years until the 1970 s, when agriculture was abandoned due to multiple factors.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142240437","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 precise and accurate dating of medieval bridge remains at Ancrum, Scottish Borders, using stable isotope dendrochronology","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104753","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104753","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The discovery of Ancrum Old Bridge (River Teviot, Scotland) in 2018 was a significant archaeological finding for Scotland. Wiggle match radiocarbon dating placed construction of the bridge to around 1340–1360 Cal. AD (95.4 %); a period of political and social instability in the region. Oxygen isotope dendrochronology was applied to refine this date range and to provide a precise felling date for the bridge timbers. Somewhat unexpectedly, a felling date of winter AD 1428/29 was identified. This date was obtained using a reference chronology for the southern United Kingdom and independently verified against a new local isotope chronology developed from native Scottish oak. This new date falls within a more stable period in Scotland’s history which may have been more suited to major construction projects such as Ancrum Old Bridge. These results highlight the importance for radiocarbon end users to consider the nature of dating uncertainty when interpreting results, especially when the probability distribution is multi-modal.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X2400381X/pdfft?md5=507d2144932cc43be20ea38485237706&pid=1-s2.0-S2352409X2400381X-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142240432","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Scientific analysis on decorative sheet metals of the Spring and Autumn period unearthed from Zaoshulin cemetery, Hubei, China","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104751","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104751","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>A large number of decorative sheet metals were unearthed from elite tombs of the Eastern Zhou period (770–221 BCE), especially in the Zeng state. However, the technological analysis and comparison between sheet metals unearthed from different states and regions in this context remain limited. In this paper, 16 samples of sheet metals excavated from the tomb of the Marquis of Zeng in Hubei province, dated to the middle Spring and Autumn period (664–559 BCE), were studied. Elemental analysis shows that these sheet metals are made of gold-copper, gold-silver, copper–gold and copper-tin alloys. It appeared that the craftsmen of the Zeng state had the knowledge to adjust the gold-copper alloy compositions to obtain different colours, creating the earliest rosy gold reported to date used in ancient China. The use of bronze sheets reflects a continuation of the Zhou cultural tradition in the Zeng state. Furthermore, a variety of bonding techniques were mastered by the craftsmen: the mixture of clay and some sorts of binding materials such as lacquer was used for bonding copper sheets and rosy gold sheets, while gold-mercury amalgam was used to bond multiple layers of rosy gold sheets. The appearance of these sheet metals on a large scale and the use of rosy gold as a new colour may reflect the aesthetic trends and cultural choices during the middle Spring and Autumn period.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142240436","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 impact of the volcanic double event in AD 536 and AD 539/540 on tree-ring growth and felling activity in Danish oak trees","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104689","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104689","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Tree-ring chronologies around the Northern Hemisphere have revealed the formation of extremely narrow growth rings during the mid-sixth century due to drastic climate changes caused by two or more large volcanic eruptions in AD 536 and AD 539/540. We explored the influence of these climate changes on tree-ring growth and felling activity of Danish oak trees (<em>Quercus</em> sp.) between AD 300 and AD 800. In total, 654 wooden samples from archaeological excavations were used to create a solid tree-ring chronology on a national and regional level (eastern and western Denmark). Tree-ring data from The International Tree-Ring Data Bank were used for comparison of growth patterns. Furthermore, felling dates from all samples were pooled into ten-year intervals to reveal changes in felling activity over time; a factor which reflects human activity in relation to climate changes.</p><p>The national tree-ring chronology revealed a pronounced decrease in growth in AD 536 and AD 539 (33% and 53% growth reduction relative to the level of AD 535). Regionally, the same results were found for western Denmark, while trees from eastern Denmark showed the largest growth reduction in AD 540. Furthermore, tree-ring chronologies from four sample sites did not show a conspicuous growth decrease. This regional and local variation may be due to differences in soil characteristics between eastern and western Denmark and/or local differences in climate change impacts. Other tree-ring chronologies from the Northern Hemisphere showed growth reduction in AD 536 and the years between AD 539 and AD 543 indicating regional differences in growth and climate conditions as well.</p><p>A gradual decrease in felling activity was found from AD 430 and between AD 470 and AD 550 it was almost absent. The low amount dendrochronological material from the fifth century very likely affected our results and no effect of climate changes on felling activity i.e. changes in human activity could be linked to this event.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","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":"142240435","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":"In the search for the origin of the barley at Norse farms in Greenland","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104767","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104767","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Strontium (Sr) isotope analyses were performed on a number of individual charred grains of barley recovered from two selected Norse middens (Ø35; Ø49) in southwestern Greenland. The two middens were chosen because remnants of barley had been found in them in a previous project. Here we investigate whether barley was grown locally by the Norse or whether it was imported from Europe. While the Sr isotope signatures in each of the middens are in themselves homogenous through their depth profiles, they are distinctly different in each of their location (site Ø35 with an average ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.70728 +/- 0.00058 (n = 5; 2σ).; site Ø49 with an average ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.70978 +/- 0.00018 (n = 5; 2σ)). These compositions likely represent the homogenized signatures impacted by foodstuffs, mainly bones of domestic animals, fish, whales and seals as major dietary constituents. There is an additional contribution of local bioavailable strontium from the immediate surroundings, as emphasized by the strontium isotope signatures of soil extracts, plants and surface waters that are different from seawater strontium. Strong hydrochloric acid leaching of the barley grains, despite removal of &gt; 90 % of the labile strontium, only led to insignificant isotopic changes in the first residuals attacked by aqua regia. A second aqua regia attack however was successful in recovering systematically more radiogenic ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr signatures in both sites (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.711 to 0.718) than those characterizing the respective midden signatures. At Ø49 these are compatible with the environmental soil extracts and plants, while at Ø35 the barley signatures resemble those recovered from site Ø49 and most likely imply local cultivation of barley in the nearby elevated terrains around the sites which are dominated by granitoid basement rocks of the Paleoproterozoic Ketilidian Province. Import of barley from Norway can however not be excluded as bioavailable strontium from some areas along the western coast and inner fjords has the same signature. Our results imply an effective adsorption of strontium from the midden onto the charred grains, making it difficult to fully extract the original strontium isotope biosignature of the barley.</p><p>The ¹⁴C dating of the middens show that they had been extensively disturbed and reworked during their period of use, making it impossible to establish a reliable chronological stratigraphy. However, overall, the dates indicate that Ø35 was established in the early 1000 s and operated for at least a couple of centuries. The midden at Ø49 was likely established in the mid-1000 s and operated at least until the mid-1200 s.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","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":"142240434","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":"Archaeoparasitology and pathoecology of Buchta Nakhodka, a medieval settlement in the far north of Western Siberia, dating from the 13th century","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104754","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104754","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Buchta Nakhodka, which was inhabited by the Northern Samoyeds, is one of the few sites in the far north of Western Siberia that has been explored archaeologically and archaeoparasitologically. Many factors complicate research work in this region; therefore, any additional study of known sites can provide valuable data. Here, we report the results of soil samples from the cultural layer taken during the excavation of structures of the medieval settlement of Buchta Nakhodka. Six types of human and animal parasite eggs were found in the studied samples. The extent of contamination and number of parasite species varied, depending on the sampling location. The analysis of research results in the historical and archaeological context enabled the reconstruction of certain nutritional habits of the population of Buchta Nakhodka in the 13th century and such activities as hunting, fishing, and dog breeding, as well as an evaluation of the level of hygiene and possible population movements and trade links with neighbouring settlements.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142229489","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":"Hunting with poisoned arrows during the Terminal Pleistocene in Northern Europe? A tip cross-sectional area assessment and list of potential arrow poison ingredients","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104757","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104757","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The lithic projectile points of the Late Upper Palaeolithic (∼14.7–11.7 ka BP) in Northern Europe display a marked variation in size and design. The small tanged points characteristic of the latest phase in the sequence can be directly associated with finds of arrow-shafts and bow fragments, benchmarking the presence of archery. In the absence of such organic evidence during the older phases, size differences between tip designs may be used, with reference to ballistic principles, to derive hypotheses about ancient weapon systems. By calculating tip cross-sectional area values for a large sample of shouldered, backed, and tanged points from sites across the Northern Europe, we here explore likely changes in weapon use through time. In this context we specifically investigate the likelihood of the smallest of these tips as having been used with poison to increase hunting success. Our results show that: (i) bow-and-arrow technology most likely was in use already during the earliest phases of human occupation in the region; (ii) later on, different weapon systems equipped with different tip designs were used in parallel; and (iii) the smallest of lithic armatures align well with ethnographically documented poisoned arrows. To assist with future studies in the use of arrow poisons in Europe, we provide a list of potential poison sources, where they are currently distributed in the context of our study area.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X24003857/pdfft?md5=85de60d6aadf760937092960cde1cabe&pid=1-s2.0-S2352409X24003857-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142229488","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Isotope values reveal “canopy effect” in deer territoriality and maize consumption for dogs from archaeological sites in Kentucky dating to the Middle Woodland through Late Fort Ancient time periods","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104741","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104741","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This research analyzes stable carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotope values in tooth collagen and enamel to investigate foraging and territorial behavior in white-tailed deer (<em>Odocoileus virginianus</em> Zimmermann) and maize (<em>Zea mays</em> Linneaus) consumption in dogs (<em>Canis familiaris</em> Linneaus). The study analyzed 22 deer teeth from 13 archaeological sites in Kentucky covering a span of approximately 1,500 years of human occupation. The article presents evidence of foraging and territorial behavior in white-tailed deer, identified through the “canopy effect” observed in deer stable carbon isotope values in remains spanning from the Middle Woodland (200 BCE – CE 500) to Late Fort Ancient (CE 1400 – 1680) time periods in Kentucky. Additionally, teeth samples from nine dog and one wolf (<em>Canis lupus</em> Linneaus) were analyzed and indicate significant consumption of maize in seven of the dog samples. These specimens came from seven archaeological sites in Kentucky dating from the Early through Late Fort Ancient (CE 1400 – 1680) time periods. The study also contributes to the growing database of isotope studies in the Eastern Woodlands by presenting carbon and nitrogen isotope values on deer bone collagen from nine deer bone samples from three of the same archaeological sites dating to the Middle Woodland to Early Late Woodland.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142229487","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 Gravettian of the Southern Balkans revised: The stone industries from Tripsana, Skoini 3, Skoini 4 and Melitzia caves (Mani Peninsula, Southern Greece)","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104747","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104747","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The Gravettian or the Gravettoidal in Greece is characterized by many chronological and occupational hiatuses between 34 and 24 cal ka BP. In this paper we present the stone industries from four caves located at the most Southern extreme end of mainland Greece, Southern Peloponnese (Mani Peninsula). The AMS dates provided here suggest that typical Gravettian elements begin to appear around 31 cal ka BP. At the same time the sites present strong affinities with the Central Balkans in terms of chronologies and lithic production. The assemblages are dominated by single straight backed bladelets and backed points, suggesting an extremely specialized use and exploitation of the sites around the Oitylo Bay. Yet the time-period between 31 and 24 cal ka BP remains obscure, suggesting a rather late arrival of the Gravettian hunters in the area compared with Central Europe and the Northeastern Peloponnese (Klisoura I cave).</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142169026","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":"An adapted method for researching ancient Egyptian mirrors","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104743","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104743","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Some metallurgical analyses have been conducted on Ancient Egyptian mirrors; however, both compositional and microstructural data are necessary in order to fully reconstruct the manufacturing sequences of these artefacts. Traditional sampling and analytical methods for researching metal artefacts have their limitations for investigating mirrors in particular; for example, a mounted ‘V’ cross-section is often not a viable sampling option as it is too visually destructive to a complete disk, and surface analysis only provides limited compositional data.</p><p>These observations resulted in the adaptation of deep-filed edge abrasion sampling, based on coin studies, with SEM-EDX analyses for Egyptian mirrors. This paper will establish how the methodology gathers reliable compositional and microstructural data while remaining visually discreet. This study demonstrates the methodology on four mirrors varying in condition, shape, and size in comparison to the traditional mounted ‘V’ cross-section taken in the 1990s from the same specimens.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X24003717/pdfft?md5=fbcd34c63b6d31011cbe6eb806f03715&pid=1-s2.0-S2352409X24003717-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142172334","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}