Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports最新文献

{"title":"Early Islanders: Neolithic pottery from Soline, island of Korčula (Croatia)","authors":"Sarah Grabowski ,&nbsp;Maja Miše ,&nbsp;Patrick Quinn ,&nbsp;Mate Parica","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105304","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105304","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Late Neolithic period in the Eastern Adriatic was characterized by the emergence of settled communities along the coast and on the islands, including Soline, a Hvar culture site off the north-eastern coast of the Island of Korčula (Croatia). This open-air coastal site with stone architecture contrasts with preferentially preserved cave-sites, providing an opportunity to gain further insight into the organization and interactions of these seafaring communities during this period. The present study aims to ascertain whether this island community was producing their own pottery and if so, to reconstruct their technological choices. This has been carried out through a combination of ceramic petrography, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (pXRF) analysis of sherds recovered from the site. Geochemical and petrographic analysis revealed two distinct pottery traditions—both consistent with local raw materials though with different tempering practices, forming techniques, and firing conditions—while also identifying evidence of marine post-depositional alteration. Most of this assemblage was characterized by coarse calcite temper, with two untempered sherds resembling coarse <em>figulina</em> wares generally associated with the Danilo Culture. The analysis of the present samples suggests the local production of pottery, with material and technological similarities to vessels found elsewhere in Dalmatia. This fits the interpretation of Soline as a permanently occupied site that was part of a larger regional tradition, though future analysis of material from Soline will provide further insight into its role and interactions in Neolithic Dalmatia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"66 ","pages":"Article 105304"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144633074","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":"Multi-parametric µMRI and Synchrotron radiation-based XPCT for studying human bone tissue in archaeological contexts","authors":"Francesca Palermo ,&nbsp;Martina Trocchi ,&nbsp;Michela Fratini ,&nbsp;Inna Bukreeva ,&nbsp;Lorenzo Massimi ,&nbsp;Alfredo Coppa ,&nbsp;Alessia Cedola ,&nbsp;Silvia Capuani","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105315","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105315","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this study, the microporosity and the microstructural topology of archaeological cortical bones from a Roman necropolis, dated to the 1st-3rd century CE, were investigated using two approaches: a direct method based on Synchrotron radiation-based X-ray phase contrast tomography (SXPCT) images and an indirect method, based on a model to extract pore size utilizing data derived from Magnetic Resonance micro-imaging (µMRI) weighted in <em>T₂</em> relaxation times and molecular diffusion.</div><div>This study aimed to understand the interchangeability of these techniques, i.e. whether they provide the same or complementary information. To validate this, a multiscale approach based on High resolution SXPCT and µMRI was performed on the same samples and compared the results.</div><div>The study was carried out on three archaeological tibia samples. One of these samples was affected by periostitis, one was healthy and in a good state of preservation and one showed strong signs of post-mortem degradation. This selection was made by surface inspection of the bone samples by an expert archaeologist. The potential value of subsurface and volumetric examination using two non-destructive tomographic techniques based on X-ray and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance will be investigated. Since the SXPCT technique is well established for microscopic studies of archaeological bones, but its cost is significantly higher than a µMRI examination and its access is limited, a comparison of the SXPCT and µMRI results was made, highlighting their agreement, differences and complementarities.</div><div>The pore size dimension obtained by µMRI, is underestimated compared to that obtained by SXPCT, which agrees with the literature. This is due to the high value of magnetic susceptibility differences between the bone matrix and water inside the pores, which increases with the magnetic field. To extract pore sizes by µMRI, relaxivities were quantified at 9.4 T. The relaxivity value of the periostitis sample was significantly lower than that of healthy and taphonomic samples. Relaxivity depends on several factors, not only related to nano-micromorphology of pore walls, but also related to bone chemical and biochemical constituents. For this reason, it is suggested that the interplay between its values, together with the internal microstructure immediately below the bone surface, could indicate the origin of periostitis lesions, from trauma and hard work, or from bacterial infections. SXPCT allows 3D visualization of Haversian canals, which appear less ordered and have a smaller cross-sectional area in the periostitis sample compared to healthy and taphonomic samples.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"66 ","pages":"Article 105315"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144633557","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":"Procurement and exchange of obsidian in the Middle Palaeolithic of western Azerbaijan (South Caucasus)","authors":"Azad A. Zeynalov ,&nbsp;Yaroslav V. Kuzmin ,&nbsp;Michael D. Glascock ,&nbsp;Rashid A. Fataliyev","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105313","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105313","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Four key Middle Palaeolithic sites in the western part of Azerbaijan (Dashsalahly, Taglar, and Gazma caves, and Zar Grotto), provisionally dated to ca. 80,000–40,000 years ago, were examined for provenance of the obsidian artefacts (85 specimens) by the XRF method. The use of obsidian from ten primary sources was established. The majority of raw material was procured from locales situated ca. 20–160 km from the utilisation sites. Two remote sources were occasionally used, with distances of ca. 350–400 km in a straight line. This allows suggesting the existence of wide-ranging exchange networks in the Middle Palaeolithic of the South Caucasus created by Neanderthals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"66 ","pages":"Article 105313"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144631499","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 enigmatic ‘Newall boulder’ excavated at Stonehenge in 1924: New data and correcting the record","authors":"Richard E. Bevins ,&nbsp;Nick J.G. Pearce ,&nbsp;Rob A. Ixer ,&nbsp;James Scourse ,&nbsp;Tim Daw ,&nbsp;Mike Parker Pearson ,&nbsp;Mike Pitts ,&nbsp;David Field ,&nbsp;Duncan Pirrie ,&nbsp;Ian Saunders ,&nbsp;Matthew Power","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105303","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105303","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Some authors have questioned whether the bluestone megaliths present at the Stonehenge Neolithic stone circle were transported from their source area in north Pembrokeshire, over 200 km to the west, by ice, rather than humans. There is scant evidence for either hypothesis and much debate on the matter since the 1990s has involved the so-called ‘Newall boulder’, a stone collected in 1924 by Lt-Col Hawley. Initial studies considered the boulder to be a glacial erratic and hence supported the ice transport hypothesis. More recent work discounted this interpretation and proposed that the boulder was a piece of rhyolite debitage, itself derived from a broken-up monolith, most likely Stone 32d, originally sourced from Craig Rhos-y-Felin, in north Pembrokeshire although this has been challenged in a recent study.</div><div>This paper aims to clarify the record regarding previous studies on the Newall boulder and samples taken from it for analysis and to correct errors of fact introduced into the current literature. Petrographic, automated SEM-EDS analysis and portable XRF investigation (including new analyses) relating to the characteristics and composition of the Newall boulder are presented, supporting (a) the interpretation that its original source was Craig Rhos-y-Felin, in north Pembrokeshire and (b) that there is no evidence to support an interpretation that it is a glacial erratic. In addition, it is shown that the overall non-sarsen lithological assemblage at Stonehenge is restricted, supporting derivation by human activity from a limited number of sites, predominantly from west Wales, but also NE Scotland, and not derived from glacial erratics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"66 ","pages":"Article 105303"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144631498","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":"Unveiling the origins: Multi-analytical study on the provenance determination of white marble from the ecclesiastical complex of Beati Severi basilica in Classe (Ravenna, Italy)","authors":"Helena Tůmová ,&nbsp;Aneta Kuchařová ,&nbsp;Enrico Cirelli ,&nbsp;Alena Černíková","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105275","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105275","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The strategic role of Ravenna (Italy) in the northwestern Adriatic became particularly evident in the early fifth century, when it assumed the role of a <em>sedes imperii</em> and developed into a key center of the Western Roman Empire. This prominence was significantly supported by its seaport <em>Classis</em>, which functioned as one of major hubs for the trade and cultural exchange across the Mediterranean. In the past, the precious marble artefacts in Ravenna and its artistic circuit were described exclusively from stylistic and typological points of view, with no scientific methods employed for determining provenance. This study presents the results of a multi-analytical investigation into fifteen white marble samples, representative of the late antique and early medieval contexts of the ecclesiastical complex of <em>Beati Severi</em> Basilica in Classe. To determine the provenance of the marble, a combination of mineralogical-petrographic techniques (including polarizing, cathodoluminescence and electron microscopy, as well as X-ray powder diffraction) and geochemical methods (stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis and trace element content via ICP-MS) was employed. The geochemical data were processed using discriminant analysis and compared with reference datasets from known ancient quarries. Most calcitic samples were identified as Proconnesian marble. The remaining calcitic samples were attributed to Aphrodisias, Dokimeion, and Thassos-Aliki (Thassos-2). Two dolomitic samples were attributed to the Cape Vathy/Saliara (Thassos-3), although without statistical evaluation. For the studied marble samples, the most diagnostic factors for provenance determination were a combination of microscopic features (microfabric, grain size, mineral composition, and CL microfacies), carbon and oxygen isotope ratios, and trace element contents – primarily Mn, Sr, Y + REEs, and Pb. Although the combination of the aforementioned methods proved the generally accepted hypothesis that the Ravennate marbles originated from the Proconnesos quarries, it also revealed that these were not the only source. The provenance determinations of marble, imported to Ravenna and Classe in Late Antiquity and reused in the Middle Ages, offers critical insight into the city’s role within Mediterranean trade and cultural networks. It further underscores Ravenna’s orientation towards the Eastern Mediterranean, and its function as a redestribution centre in the broader regional context.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"66 ","pages":"Article 105275"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144623644","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":"Great pots look alike – social and political aspects of mass production of standardized storage jars in early monarchic Israel (late 10th-9th century BCE)","authors":"Ortal Harush ,&nbsp;Madeleine Harush ,&nbsp;Anastasia Shapiro ,&nbsp;Karen Covello-Paran ,&nbsp;Omer Sergi","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105309","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105309","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Identifying production units and distinct knowledge communities in the archaeological record is a complex challenge. However, the novel combination of innovative 3D methodologies, advanced shape analysis, and provenance studies enable the detection of consistent, repeatable, and stable characteristics in final products. Utilizing objective tools to trace these consistent parameters is crucial for uncovering the potters’ signatures within their communities.</div><div>This study focuses on a distinctive ceramic type, the Hippo Jar, primarily found in the northern valleys of the southern Levant (mainly in the Jezreel, and Beth-Shean Valleys, Israel) during the late Iron Age IIA (late 10th–9th century BCE). The research suggests a link between the widespread production of these jars and the systemic control of the Kingdom of Israel, indicating a coordinated manufacturing effort. The production and distribution of Hippo Jars offer valuable insights into the region’s socio-economic and political organization, particularly regarding centralized administrative oversight and trade networks. Examining Hippo Jars at both landscape and site-unit scales allow for the distinction of production units, revealing a structured and hierarchical manufacturing system. The findings suggest that these jars were produced in a limited number of workshops operating under a centralized framework. Additionally, they highlight the role of trained potters working within a unified social structure, facilitating the deployment of skilled artisans from a central production hub to administrative outposts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"66 ","pages":"Article 105309"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144605082","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":"Bowhunting in the Magdalenian? A tip cross-sectional area exploration of five antler point types from southwest France","authors":"Michelle C. Langley ,&nbsp;Marlize Lombard","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105310","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105310","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Over the past 40 years, several researchers have suggested that the bow-and-arrow may have been part of the Magdalenian hunting kit. Here, we present data for three Magdalenian sites (Isturitz, La Vache, La Madeleine) in southern France dating between ∼18.5 and ∼12.5 ka cal BP, assessing whether bowhunting can be supported or ruled out for these contexts. We use the ballistically relevant tip cross-sectional area approach as an investigative tool for exploring best-fit projectile categories and highlight confounding factors when using this approach in the dynamic Magdalenian context. Our results suggest that the bow-and-arrow may have been part of the hunting arsenal at the two Pyrenean sites of Isturitz and La Vache, but perhaps not at La Madeleine in the Dordogne. We discuss the assemblages in terms of climatic variation, topography, and their faunal assemblages, highlighting that the uniquely shaped Lussac-Angles points require further investigation regarding the possibility of bowhunting during the European Magdalenian.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"66 ","pages":"Article 105310"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144605083","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":"Ptolemaic perfume vases from newly discovered cemeteries in Alexandria, Egypt","authors":"Magda Mahmoud Ibrahiem","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105311","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105311","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Perfume vases, or unguentaria, are the most common pottery vessels found in cemeteries in Alexandria, probably because perfume was used in funerary rites, or perhaps the deceased used these vessels during his daily life and then they were buried with him. Two cemeteries were discovered recently by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities: the cemetery of El-Haddad and the cemetery of El-Abd. The cemetery of El-Haddad dates back to between the 2nd half of the 3rd century and the late 2nd/early 1st century BCE. However, the newly discovered areas of the cemetery of El-Abd (excavation seasons from the year 2017 to 2019) date back to the 2nd half/late 2nd century BCE to the 3rd century CE. Large numbers of these vessels of different types were found in loculi and in the fill of the cemeteries; a reasonable number of them were found in specific archaeological layers, or in three phases: two phases from the cemetery of El-Haddad dating to the 2nd half of the 3rd to mid-2nd century BCE and the 2nd half of the 2nd to early 1st century BCE, in addition to a later phase from the cemetery of El-Abd dating to the late 2nd to the end of the 1st century BCE. The majority of these vessels, recorded from the two cemeteries, were in local Alexandrian marl fabrics, and they were mainly influenced by the prevalent models in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Hellenistic and early Roman periods. This paper aims to trace the shape evolution of these vessels and compare the numbers of each type with its other counterparts from those three phases.<span><span>¹</span></span></div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"66 ","pages":"Article 105311"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144605081","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":"Invisible destruction? Identifying microscopic evidence of destruction by fire in iron age structures in Jerusalem","authors":"N. Shalom ,&nbsp;J. Regev ,&nbsp;O. Chalaf ,&nbsp;J. Uziel ,&nbsp;O. Lipschits ,&nbsp;Y. Gadot ,&nbsp;E. Boaretto","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105306","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105306","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The identification of destruction layers in the ancient southern Levant has traditionally focused on visible indicators like collapse, in situ pottery assemblages, and fire markers. However, microscopic criteria can provide insight into past destruction events when visible evidence has not been preserved and improve our ability to reconstruct them. The Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem at the end of the Iron Age is considered a key event in the region’s history. Three structures dated to this period were excavated in Area U, at the city’s ancient core on the southeastern ridge. However, only one room among those excavated showed a clear destruction layer. This paper analyzes the micro-archaeological evidence from this room and from another room that showed no clear indication of destruction by fire. The analysis revealed that both rooms were exposed to low levels of radiated heat caused by fire during the destruction and were left open to decay through natural erosion. The results of this study indicate that by carefully examining the microscopic markers in relation to the macroscopic context, we may identify destruction by fire in structures where no clear markers were identifiable during the excavation. In addition to searching for visible signs of destruction, the analysis of these “invisible” markers should be integrated to achieve a more accurate reconstruction of the site’s history.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"66 ","pages":"Article 105306"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144596346","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":"Macrobotanical remains of wild rice during the Late Holocene in the Southernmost region of the La Plata Basin (Argentina)","authors":"Marco A. Loperfido ,&nbsp;Mariano Bonomo","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105307","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105307","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper presents the archaeobotanical analysis from four archaeological sites located in the southern sector of the La Plata Basin, specifically within the lower stretch of the Paraná River (Argentina). The sites Los Tres Cerros 1 and 2, Cerro de las Pajas Blancas 1 and La Calavera have been culturally assigned to the Goya-Malabrigo archaeological entity, which corresponds to hunter-gatherer-fisher and horticultural societies who lived in aquatic environments and are known for constructing earthen mounds. The application of manual flotation for the first time at three of these sites enabled the recovery of wild rice caryopses (Oryzoideae), a significant food resource for various pre-Columbian societies across the American continent. These findings, along with previous botanic microremains evidence, highlight wild rice as a key subsistence resource in pre-Hispanic economies of the region, accessible in vast plain areas subject to recurrent flooding and annual river surges. Furthermore, the results are discussed in relation to other archaeological, ethnohistorical and ethnographic cases of economies based on rice exploitation across the Americas.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"66 ","pages":"Article 105307"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144596491","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}