Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports最新文献

{"title":"What is a good shape? Analysing variability in early Neolithic spherical vessels from Kuyavia (Poland) using geometric morphometrics","authors":"Joanna Pyzel ,&nbsp;Stefan Suhrbier","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104807","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104807","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The pottery of the first Central European farmers associated with the LBK is remarkably homogeneous: most vessels belong to a typologically single form of the so-called spherical vessels. The paper presents the application of geometric morphometrics combined with further explanatory data analysis such as redundancy analysis to investigate the morphological differentiation within this group and the factors that influenced it. Kuyavia in the Polish lowlands was used as a case study and compared with the upland loess regions of Silesia and western Lesser Poland as potential areas of origin and contact of the Kuyavian LBK communities. The variation in the shapes of spherical vessels concerns mainly the proportion of height and width, as well as the degree of openness of the rim and the width of the vessel base. In the early phase, LBK vessels are homogeneous throughout the study area, their shape depends on the ware group, which may be related to different functions of the vessels. Over time, these differences blur, while regional variability becomes important. Within Kuyavia, two groups are visible: eastern and western. Regionalisation, visible in the shape of vessels, does not correlate with the pottery decoration, which is homogeneous for the whole of Kuyavia. The observed differences are probably an expression of various learning networks and therefore different groups, which, however, shared a common identity expressed in pottery decoration.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142446333","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":"Establishing life trajectories for British and Irish Middle Bronze Age palstave axes","authors":"Miriam Andrews ,&nbsp;Tomas Polcar ,&nbsp;Jo Sofaer ,&nbsp;Alistair W.G. Pike","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104811","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104811","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper presents the results of chemical characterisation, metallography, metalwork wear-analysis, and damage assessment conducted on 102 British and Irish Middle Bronze Age (c. 1500–1000 BCE) tin-bronze palstave axes. There is uncertainty regarding the role of palstave axes; they very likely facilitated ongoing forest clearances, yet expressed often in hearsay, is the ‘pristine’ nature of their recovery condition. A better appreciation of underlying metallurgy, combined with insight from prior experimentation with replica palstave axes, has allowed a more nuanced evaluation of wear characteristics and use-intensity. This, alongside available contextual data, has permitted the life trajectories of prehistoric palstave axes found within the archaeological record to be determined, highlighting a common narrative of preparation for, and minimal application in, functional use, with preservation favoured over destruction at deposition, as well as the considerable variability presented within their life histories.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142446334","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":"Dwarfism-related skeletal dysplasia in Italy. Multy-analytic study of 8th century CE human remains from Azzio (Varese) and biocultural implications of a pathology","authors":"Omar Larentis ,&nbsp;Enrica Tonina ,&nbsp;Massimo Venturini ,&nbsp;Ilaria Gorini","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104793","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104793","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Skeletal dysplasias are a broad family of genetic disorders, often challenging to diagnose even in clinical literature without molecular analysis. Some cases of possible skeletal dysplasia have also been identified in osteoarchaeological samples, although achieving a definitive diagnosis is fraught with difficulties. This paper presents the analysis of the osteological remains of AZ-III-3, discovered in the archaeological context of the Church of Sant’Antonio and Eusebio in Azzio (Varese province, Italy). The study aims to demonstrate that even with limited skeletal elements, a diagnosis can be hypothesised using macroscopic morphometric and radio diagnostic techniques. These methods, compared with clinical and paleopathological literature, have allowed for the identification of a rare Italian case of dwarfism-related skeletal dysplasia. This contribution seeks to address the biocultural presence of individuals affected by these skeletal dysplasias, listing and discussing all published Italian cases, including that of AZ-III-3, whose chronological framework was established through both archaeological context analysis and ¹⁴C dating.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142441973","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":"Microscope agnosticism and the characterization of sedimentary abrasion of flint stone tools","authors":"Guillermo Bustos-Pérez ,&nbsp;Andreu Ollé","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104806","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104806","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The surface of lithic stone tools from Paleolithic archaeological sites can undergo a range of different postdepositional alterations, including sedimentary erosion induced by water displacement or wind. The surface of flint artifacts can reflect these alterations as changes in texture. Microscopic analyses and grayscale images can be employed to obtain quantitative data to help determine the degree to which the surfaces of flint stone tools have been altered. However, surface quantitative values depend directly on the image capturing system of each microscope. This raises the question of whether the quantitative values are actually capturing the evolution of the surface, whether they are dependent on the type of microscope and its image capturing system, and whether the detection of the degree of abrasion might vary depending on the type of microscope. The present work sought to determine whether data extracted from images from two different microscopes point to the same trends in surface change due to postdepositional alterations. Surface photographs of a sample of 25 flakes were taken using a Dino-Lite Edge 3.0 AM73915MZT and a 3D Optical Profiler Sensofar S neox 090. These flakes represented three different stages of alteration (fresh, ten hours of experimentally-induced sedimentary erosion, and geological neocortex). Results from grayscale images indicate that, despite yielding different numeric ranges, the quantitative values of the images from both types of microscope reflect the same trends in surface change. The classification accuracy of the three stages of erosion did not vary between microscopes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142441976","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":"Archaeometallurgical characterization of Greco-Roman copper-based and iron nails from Tel Abu Seify, North Sinai, Egypt","authors":"Mohamed Abdelbar ,&nbsp;Ahmed Roshdy Elsakhry","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104815","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104815","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The current study focuses on the investigation of a collection of copper alloy and iron nails discovered amid numerous metal artifacts in the archaeological excavations of Tel Abu Seify, North Sinai, Egypt. This site, identified as a shipbuilding and repair facility, dates back to the Greco-Roman era (Circa 332BCE–A.D. 641). Different analytical methods were employed to ascertain the composition of the alloys, manufacturing techniques, and characteristics of the corrosion products in the nails. A range of techniques were utilized to achieve this goal, including optical and metallographic microscopy, X-ray radiography, portable X-ray fluorescence, SEM-EDS, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The results indicated that 19 of the examined nails were composed of copper alloy, except for two nails made of iron. The analysis revealed that the tin bronze nails were predominantly composed of copper, with a minor presence of tin (4.3 wt%), lead (4.7 wt%), and traces of iron and arsenic. Additionally, the iron nails were made of low-carbon iron alloys. Microscopic examination indicated that the nails were manufactured via cold hammering. The patina observed on the copper nails encompassed cuprite, atacamite, clinoatacamite, antlerite, and cerussite, often interspersed with the soil residues. The rust surfaces of the iron nails comprised hematite, magnetite, goethite, akaganeite, and lepidocrocite. The iron nails and some copper nails exhibited partial or total mineralization, whereas most copper nails remained in good condition, generally retaining their metallic cores.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142441977","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":"Osteometric examination of sheep and goat metapodial bones in Komana ancient city in the Turkish period (12th to 14th century)","authors":"Filiz Koyuncu ,&nbsp;Burcu Onuk ,&nbsp;Evangelia Pişkin ,&nbsp;Serhat Arslan ,&nbsp;Sokol Duro","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104794","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104794","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The osteometric study was performed on the metapodial bones of sheep and goats found during archaeological excavations in the site of Komana, Tokat, Turkey, dated in 12th-14th AD. The purpose of this study was to provide data on the variation of these animals after the Byzantine era, during the period of consolidation of the Turkish rule in Anatolia. The main research questions focus on whether flocks of sheep and goats were introduced to Anatolia by the Turkish people, as well as on the phylogenetic development history of these animals in a little-studied period. Morphometric measurements were meticulously taken from 480 metapodial bone fragments, followed by calculations and statistical analyses. This research confirms that different parameters used for metapodial bone measurements can effectively aid in species identification. On average, the estimated shoulder heights derived from these measurements were 59.24 cm for sheep and 64.31 cm for goats. Macroscopic examination revealed evidence of butchery activities on 65 of the bone fragments. In conclusion, the study provides valuable insights into the morphology of animals from the ancient site of Komana. The shoulder height analysis indicates that the sheep were relatively small, comparable to those from earlier periods, while the goats were of medium size, similar to those from the Byzantine period.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142434267","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":"Thermally-Shocked and fire-cracked Rock: Defining attributes of archaeological boiling stones","authors":"Kate Shantry","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104796","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104796","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This work investigates ancient heating technologies via fire-cracked rock (FCR) analysis to inform upon foodways and land-use intensification. How FCR was used in the past is quite variable globally, and depends on such factors as the organization of settlements and use of raw materials at multiple scales. This analysis identifies thermal properties that influence fracture mechanics relevant to fire-cracked rock (FCR) recovered from many types of archaeological sites around the world. This article has two goals. The first is to establish macroscopic attributes diagnostic for boiling stones, a sub-class of FCR that can inform on acquisition and use life based on thermal properties. The second is to present sampling considerations for FCR analyses.</div><div>Building on results of an earlier study (<span><span>Shantry 2020</span></span>), four material types—basalt, basaltic andesite, diorite, and granodiorite—are examined here microscopically to determine what makes them resistant to thermal shock and preferable for boiling tasks. The four material types were imaged on a microprobe and examined petrographically before and after thermal shock. Results show strong bonding and smooth textures influence the resistance to thermal shock in these igneous rocks. Attributes of crazing on cortex, crenulated edges, intersecting fracture lines, and peak fractures were found to be the result of thermal shock.</div><div>Sampling for FCR should include a variety of primary and secondary contexts to capture the entire use-life of the materials. Accumulation of FCR involves decisions related to acquisition and management of raw materials. Feature contexts where FCR is associated with other materials greatly inform on the nature of hot rock usage. However, FCR is commonly found in secondary contexts or on the periphery of feature deposits. Sampling methods that can accommodate FCR outside of feature contexts are likely to provide finer-grained understandings of heating technologies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142434266","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":"New Neolithic finds from the highlands between Central Anatolia and Cilicia","authors":"Abdullah Hacar ,&nbsp;Nilay Çetin ,&nbsp;Yakup Ünlüler","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104802","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104802","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>During archaeological survey carried out in 2017–2021 in the highlands of the northern Central Taurus, a new permanent settlement (Hacıbekirli-Karayer) and a number of seasonal sites dated to the Neolithic Period were discovered. This area is characterized by important geological and geographical features, fertile pastures, polymetallic ores and natural passages connecting Central Anatolia and Cilicia (and also the Levant) that may have affected prehistoric cultural development. Particularly in the context of the circulation of obsidian into Southwest Asia during the Epipaleolithic and Neolithic periods and its effects on the Neolithization of Central Anatolia, several questions have been raised for the region. The permanent Neolithic site of Hacıbekirli-Karayer, located in one of the primary natural passes connecting Central Anatolia and Cilicia, and other sites in the highlands may provide information about these questions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142418255","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":"Technological choices and practices of Early Bronze Age pottery production in the Central Plains: Focusing on the sites of Xinzhai and Huadizui","authors":"Chao Yuan","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104803","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104803","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Aspects of the Early Bronze Age (ca. 2050–1640 BCE) pottery production technology and knowledge transfer in the Central Plains of China (i.e., the Zhengzhou-Luoyang area) were studied. To this aim, 120 domestic pottery samples and ten geological samples from two central sites at Xinzhai and Huadizui were studied macroscopically and analysed with X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. Based on a discussion of macroscopical evidence and chemical composition, the results tentatively indicate the technological knowledge transfer between the potters in Xinzhai and Huadizui sites despite being located about 80 km apart. Pottery of the same category was manufactured with similar selection and preparation strategies of ceramic raw materials, decorated with similar patterns, and adopted similar forming techniques. More specifically, the cookware from the Xinzhai and Huadizui sites was hand-made and Ca-poor, while the storage- and drinking wares were wheel-made and Ca-rich. These results likely indicate the existence of one overarching community of practice, potters located at Xinzhai and Huadizui, who shared strategies for raw materials selection, paste preparation, and finishing.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142418391","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":"Quantifying the last 7500 years of land-use changes on the island of Karmøy, southwestern Norway, with focus on three periods with monumental burial mounds","authors":"Lisbeth Prøsch-Danielsen ,&nbsp;Erik Daniel Fredh ,&nbsp;Catherine Jessen","doi":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104797","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104797","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The northern part of the island Karmøy in southwestern Norway contain one of Scandinavia’s largest assemblages of monumental burial mounds. The size and rich grave goods of the mounds demonstrate three separate periods of elite societies from the Bronze Age Period II/III (1300 BCE) until the final ship graves were constructed in the Merovingian Period (550–800 CE). In this study, the vegetation history and land-use practices are reconstructed from 5500 BCE to 2000 CE, with a focus on the three phases with burial mounds. We examine whether the elite societies formed due to a surplus in the agro-pastoral economy or due to the islands strategic position near the Karmsund Strait. The regional scale vegetation is reconstructed using REVEALS and the local scale vegetation is based on a pollen record from Lake Bøvatn and the LOVE model. The results show that the breakthrough of agriculture with cereal production started in the region <em>c.</em> 2000 BCE with a reduction in forest cover 500–700 years before the first monumental burial mounds were constructed. This agricultural practice probably created the surplus needed for the development of the first elite society. Woodland cover was reduced to <em>c.</em> 50 % on a regional scale between <em>c.</em> 1 and 500 CE (representing the second phase of burial mounds), while on a local scale around Lake Bøvatn the woodland cover was absent. A simultaneous increase in animal husbandry and cereal cultivation, suggests population expansion. During the third phase, between <em>c.</em> 650 and 820 CE, the subsistence strategy appears to be more focused on animal husbandry, which is less labour intensive. The pollen composition from one of the ship graves, Storhaug, indicates that the surrounding landscape was dominated by heather and grassland. The strategic location near the Karmsund Strait became increasingly important over time, especially in the period corresponding to the third phase of burial mounds. This study shows the complex relationship between physical landscape properties and the development of elite societies as well as the benefit of combining archaeological and palaeoecologial data to study past societal change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48150,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science-Reports","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142418254","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}