Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports最新文献

{"title":"Stone trowels during the Mid-Late Yangshao period (ca. 4000–3000 BCE) uncovered from Central China","authors":"Chaoming Wu ,&nbsp;Yiliang Li ,&nbsp;Yu Ye ,&nbsp;Juanying Xiao ,&nbsp;Qian Wu ,&nbsp;Wanfa Gu ,&nbsp;Siran Liu ,&nbsp;Guoding Song","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105110","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105110","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The process of building construction is perceived as a significant question of study on Neolithic settlements, as well as anthropogenic lime by pyrotechnology. However, the handstone tool for plastering has not received much attention. Samples of wall plaster with lime powder and certain handstones with residues of lime were unearthed at Mid-Late Yangshao Cultural sites in Central China. This study focuses on the investigation of handstones by employing scientific analysis, including Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), use-wear analysis by high quality digital microscope, and Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Two wall plaster samples, which were cut into 13 specimens, and 12 handstones with white residues were analyzed. The results revealed that the lime powder on wall plaster consists of anthropogenic calcined calcite, the handstone was likely used for plaster application by use-wear analysis, and FTIR spectroscopy confirmed the similarity in calcined calcite composition of the lime powder from wall plaster and surfaces of handstones. These findings not only offer a comprehensive understanding about the stone tools for applying plaster in Neolithic China, which are identified as stone trowels, but also expand the category of handstones significantly.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"64 ","pages":"Article 105110"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143785954","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":"Cleaning your tools doesn’t mean that the tools are clean. A qualitative and quantitative perspective using confocal microscopy","authors":"Anna Francès-Abellán ,&nbsp;Juan Luis Fernández-Marchena ,&nbsp;Andreu Ollé","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105121","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105121","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Use-wear analysis has traditionally been criticised for relying heavily on subjective interpretation of the marks present on artefact surfaces. In recent years, confocal technology has started to make it possible to quantify and partially resolve this subjectivity. However, certain methodological aspects of great relevance for the analysis, such as the cleanliness of the pieces, have been significantly underestimated. This work aims to quantitatively verify whether qualitatively reliable − although not perfect- cleaning processes can modify the roughness readings of the surface of the tools. For this, 3D ISO 25178 parameters were analysed on an experimental rock crystal sample obtained with a confocal optical LED profilometer. The differences that we have found indicate the need not only to wash the samples, but also to check the degree of cleanliness of the materials once they are washed, which leads to the qualitative and especially quantitative importance of an adequate cleaning procedure before analysing the materials.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"64 ","pages":"Article 105121"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143785810","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":"Ploughing through pathologies: Traction-related bone deformations in cattle as indicators of changes in political economies in Bronze and Iron Age Anatolia","authors":"Audrey Crabbé ,&nbsp;Christine A. Mikeska ,&nbsp;Evangelia Pişkin ,&nbsp;Willemien de Kock ,&nbsp;Canan Çakirlar","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105100","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105100","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper presents the first systematic study of cattle traction in Bronze and Iron Age Southwest Asia that integrates textual, iconographic, and primary zooarchaeological data. Using draught cattle as a proxy for state-driven agricultural and transport intensification, it explores spatial and temporal patterns in relation to political and economic developments, such as military expansion. Faunal assemblages from five key archeological sites – Hattuša, Šapinuwa, Troy, Klazomenai, and Gordion – were analyzed, spanning from the Middle Bronze to the Late Iron Age (2000–400 BCE). These sites, including three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, represent diverse urban and regional centers. A total of 992 lower limb bones (metapodia and phalanges) were examined for traction-related pathologies. Findings indicate a strong correlation between traction-related stress, large cattle size, and a high proportion of adult animals with periods of political and economic growth. Regional and temporal variations highlight differences in agricultural strategies between capitals, regional centers, and smaller settlements. This study provides new insights into the role of draught cattle in sustaining early state economies in Southwest Asia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"64 ","pages":"Article 105100"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143791272","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":"Wood fuel use in the Predynastic Upper Egypt Nile Valley","authors":"Ranran Zhang ,&nbsp;Peter Kováčik ,&nbsp;Kathryn A. Bard ,&nbsp;John M. Marston","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105092","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105092","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Predynastic cultures (4th millennium BCE) of the Nile Valley, especially the Naqada Culture of Upper Egypt, are documented mainly from excavated cemeteries, with few settlements excavated. Wood charcoal assemblages from two Naqada sites in the Nile Valley, Halfiah Gibli (HG) and Semaineh (SH), elucidate woodland ecology, economic strategies for fuel gathering and use, and human impacts on wood resource availability over time. Using traditional and dendroanthracological analyses to identify, quantify, and characterize these remains, we identify several lines of evidence that indicate that high-quality local fuel sources, mainly tamarisk and acacia, were abundant and low-effort gathering strategies were sufficient to meet local fuel needs. We find no evidence for human impacts on woodland structure over time and suggest this was due to low population density in the region throughout the 4th millennium BCE.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"64 ","pages":"Article 105092"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143785809","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":"Early settlements in the Uruguay river basin: a new reading based on recent data from Uruguay and Brazil","authors":"Antoine Lourdeau ,&nbsp;María Julia Melián ,&nbsp;Marcos César Pereira Santos ,&nbsp;Flavia Barceló ,&nbsp;Mirian Carbonera ,&nbsp;Jenny Volarich ,&nbsp;Federico Rey ,&nbsp;Rafael Suárez","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105098","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105098","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We present an updated synthesis of archaeological evidence relating to the earliest settlements in the Uruguay River basin, between 13,300 and 9300 cal BP. We propose a unified approach to these data, focusing preferentially on current research, which is concentrated in two regions of the Uruguay River, for which there is a good stratigraphic and chronological resolution and a good description of the archaeological record. Our approach was developed on two levels: a review of available radiocarbon dates, and a study of lithic productions using a single analytical grid. The results allow us to: 1) highlight a technological link between human occupations in the Uruguay Basin while revealing regional differences; 2) highlight changes over time, with sequences specific to both regions; 3) perceive a settlement dynamic from South to North, up the river. Putting these data into perspective in southern Brazil and Uruguay, we can see that the North-South variation between the two countries may have been overestimated, due to differences in research traditions. In fact, there is more of an East-West distinction in archaeological contexts, linked to two distinct settlement dynamics: the Uruguay River basin on the one hand, and the Atlantic slope on the other.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"63 ","pages":"Article 105098"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143767815","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":"Changing the settlement pattern at the beginning of the Iron Age in the north of the central plateau of Iran (Alborz Province)","authors":"Hasan Rostamirad,&nbsp;Amir S. Naghshineh","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105104","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105104","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>One of the crucial topics and innovations in contemporary archaeology is explaining the implicit processes involved in the emergence of settlement patterns in ancient communities. Recent studies have utilized spatially explicit modeling to interpret these patterns. In Alborz province, there are ancient sites dating from the Chalcolithic Age to the Iron Age. However, no study has yet employed explicit modeling to investigate the settlement of these sites. Through cluster analysis using the “Average Linkage” method in R software, pre-Iron Age sites were grouped together, while Iron Age sites were categorized into cluster 1, cluster 2, cluster 3, and cluster 4. Spatially explicit point pattern modeling was applied to explore potential relationships between archaeological sites and environmental variables such as elevation, slope, aspect, watershed, and soil type. The results revealed that soil type significantly influenced the settlement patterns of Iron Age clusters 1, 2, and 3. For cluster 1, the number of sites decreased in areas close to the watershed, while in cluster 2, a negative correlation with elevation was observed. In cluster 3, combining variables from clusters 1 and 2 yielded the best-fitting model, with soil type and elevation playing critical roles. For pre-Iron Age sites, elevation showed a significant negative correlation with settlement patterns. Conversely, cluster 4 displayed no significant relationship with any environmental variables, and its settlement distribution was best explained by a stationary model. These findings underscore the role of environmental variables, particularly soil type and elevation, in shaping settlement patterns during the Iron Age and pre-Iron Age periods. However, the distinct characteristics of cluster 4 suggest the potential influence of non-environmental factors, such as cultural or economic dynamics, in site distribution. The study highlights the importance of spatially explicit modeling in archaeological research and encourages integrating additional datasets to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of ancient settlement processes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"63 ","pages":"Article 105104"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143767723","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":"Old habits die hard: Early and Middle Copper Age pottery technical traditions in the Budapest Region, Hungary","authors":"Eszter Solnay ,&nbsp;Márton Szilágyi ,&nbsp;Zsuzsanna M. Virág ,&nbsp;Gábor Szilas ,&nbsp;Dávid Kraus ,&nbsp;Zsuzsanna Siklósi","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105103","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105103","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The location of today’s Budapest was an important interaction zone of the Carpathian Basin in the Early and Middle Copper Age (4500–3650 cal BCE). We investigate the technological knowledge of pottery-making, transmitted through interpersonal relationships, to detect whether making stylistically different pottery sets had common technological and therefore social origins or whether we can speak of newly emerging knowledge and techniques. Pottery assemblages of seven settlements were studied resulting in the observation of numerous forming methods, additional preforming techniques, and surface treatment techniques. A mutual technical tradition has been identified in the region in which most of the pottery forms had their own way of forming. This was possibly shared by most of the potters, despite the changes in pottery forms and decoration over time. Besides, different levels of technological diversity were observed on a few sites by using common techniques on different pottery forms or uncommon ways of pottery making. Thus, our results imply that various learning networks could have existed in the region. In some settlements, the dominance of the mutual technical knowledge implies that the potters were in close social connection contrary to others with possibly higher mobility and more intensive contact with other communities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"63 ","pages":"Article 105103"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143760166","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":"Unravelling ceramic content and organic coatings in Senegalese ethnographic pottery vessels","authors":"M. Turini ,&nbsp;A. Mayor ,&nbsp;J. Vieugué ,&nbsp;A. Delvoye ,&nbsp;M. Sall ,&nbsp;M. Regert ,&nbsp;L. Drieu","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105111","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105111","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ethnoarchaeological studies have highlighted a wide variety of organic coatings used by contemporary potters’ communities. Previous analyses have demonstrated the absorption of organic molecules from coatings in pottery, but these were mainly based on experimental approaches using only a few products, without considering the complexity of the <em>chaînes opératoires</em> of pottery manufacture. This study addresses the question of the identification of organic coatings, by investigating ethnographic vessels from three different pottery traditions in southern Senegal which involve such surface treatments. Coated pots are analysed before and after use, combining macro- and mesoscopic observations alongside biomolecular investigations. Based on observational criteria, this work highlights the partial degradation of the organic coatings during the initial use of the pottery, with an almost complete disappearance of visual clues observed after some months of use. Biomolecular analyses confirm that lipids from coating products can be absorbed. Yet, once the container has been used, it becomes challenging to distinguish between the coating products and the contents. However, one pottery displays molecular compounds that may originated from the coating product. These findings underscore the need to consider the entire life cycle of a ceramic vessel to ascertain the origin of the organic compounds trapped in its matrix. This origin may be traced back to either to the manufacturing stages of the vessel or to its use.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"63 ","pages":"Article 105111"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143747397","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":"Prehistoric colour palettes decoded by painted pottery analysis: the vivid past of the Early Neolithic Galabnik settlement mound (southwestern Bulgaria) over time","authors":"Tanya Dzhanfezova ,&nbsp;Yana Tzvetanova ,&nbsp;Aneta Bakamska","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105088","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105088","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The pigments utilised for decoration of Early Neolithic painted pottery (ca 6000–6500 cal BC) mark advanced chaîne opératoire stages, associated with the making of visually effective ceramic vessels. Considered as reflecting the genuinely intertwining technological, symbolic and aesthetic aspects of everyday life, representable wares from Galabnik – a long-lived settlement mound in southwestern Bulgaria, consisting of ten building horizons – are analysed chemically, macro- and microscopically (PXRD, SEM and optical microscopy). The established variability, much greater than previously thought, demonstrates the dynamic local development of the newly introduced pottery craft. These major technological components, encoding intentional acts and raw materials awareness, are considered along with transformations of know-how over time, as well as of the effects of post-depositional alteration. Traditional ways of doing and potential innovative approaches are illustrated by the application of calcareous raw materials and fine white clays for the white colours; of hematite-based paints and hematite-enriched clay slips for the red hues; and of magnetite-bearing materials used for the brown and the black paints. The choice of pigments is thus indicative of the locally dynamic ceramic technology, associated with the new ways of sedentary life, yet perhaps not completely detached from earlier, Pre-Neolithic approaches.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"63 ","pages":"Article 105088"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143747396","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":"Radiolarite provenance using machine learning methods as a tool for understanding Palaeolithic human mobility","authors":"Petr Hamrozi ,&nbsp;Filip Gregar ,&nbsp;Martin Moník ,&nbsp;Jitka Součková ,&nbsp;Zdeňka Nerudová ,&nbsp;Tomáš Pluháček","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105107","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105107","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Elemental analysis of radiolarite samples from Central Europe was performed to estimate their provenance and to track the mobility of Upper Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers in Moravia (Czech Republic). The methods used were portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (pXRF) and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). The primary aim of provenance studies is to distinguish between different possible sources, such as radiolarite outcrops. To address this problem, we created a training set for classification algorithms, including Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) and Random Forest (RF), based on geological samples from the outcrops. The classified geological samples were then used in an archaeological case study involving lithic artefacts from the Aurignacian site at Nová Dědina I (Czech Republic), mapping these artefacts to specific radiolarite outcrops. This approach allowed us to trace a particular hunter-gatherer mobility pattern during the early Upper Palaeolithic.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":"63 ","pages":"Article 105107"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143760165","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}