Journal of Archaeological Science最新文献

{"title":"Identify the genus origin of animal glue used in Chinese historical mortars using a new DNA mini-barcoding method","authors":"Qian Wu ,&nbsp;Bingjian Zhang ,&nbsp;Qiong Zhang ,&nbsp;Mingzhi Ma ,&nbsp;Yulan Hu","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106305","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106305","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In historic buildings and paintings, animal glue was one of the first and most used organic binders. The identification of these binders would provide a clue for the life of the ancient human beings. However, the precise detection of the clue is challenging as the amount of the glue is very low and always mixed with other impurities. Previously, the ELISA method was successfully used in the identification of the glue in family level. However, the method can not tell the species of the glue. For example, it can not known whether the glue was from cattle or sheep using ELISA methods. This study provides a novel biological technique to identify the species of animal glue used as ancient binders. Hence, the accurate identification results at the species level can be obtained by DNA barcoding method with low detection limits. Moreover, ten animal glues belong to different species can be identified using a pair of universal primer at one time. These species include pigs, cattle, buffalo, goats, sheep, camels, deer, dogs, horses, and rabbits. Actually, the species of animal glue used in mortars obtained from three cultural heritages, the Neolithic Yulin City in Shaanxi Province, the Forbidden City in Beijing, and the Confucian Temple in Qufu, Shandong Province, China, were successfully identified. It was demonstrated that certain animals were not only consumed as food resource at that time, but their leftover bones, skins, and other parts were also utilized to produce animal glue. Additionally, our findings is consistent with the records in ancient books, which documented the species of animals frequently used in the manufacturing of animal glue. This is the first report using DNA barcoding method for the identification of animal glue in historic mortar. The identification of animal glue's species can not only help archaeologists understanding the agriculture and animal husbandry in certain area, but also can help people find the suitable materials for restoration and conservation of cultural heritage.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"181 ","pages":"Article 106305"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144517189","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Rethinking early hominin toolmaking through comparative primate models","authors":"Shelby S.J. Putt ,&nbsp;Chloe Holden","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106306","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106306","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Our understanding of human cognitive and linguistic evolution is largely dependent on inferences drawn from the experimental replication of Stone Age tools by human subjects in Western society. However, the stone-knapping behaviors of nonhuman primates may complement human models by offering additional insights into the toolmaking actions of (pre)Oldowan hominins, who in many respects were more anatomically and cognitively similar to apes than to modern humans. This study investigated whether the stone reduction behaviors of apes fall within the range of experienced modern humans. The actions of two bonobos while engaged in stone toolmaking were coded by two raters and compared to five experienced human knappers using a correspondence analysis. We found that actions associated with bonobo-made tools cluster together and are distinct from those used by modern humans to make choppers, chopping-tools, and handaxes. However, when handaxe toolmaking actions are excluded, greater overlap in action patterns emerges. The most discriminating behaviors associated with the bonobo-made tools include holding the hammerstone in their left hand and above the shoulder before striking, supporting the core on both the hand and foot or on the ground, a secant angle of percussion, and an impact location deep beyond the edge of the core. Additionally, the bonobos’ tools are associated with negative percussion results (e.g., a strike that fails to produce a flake). These results highlight the probability for equifinality in how Stone Age tools were made, calling into question our reliance on human subjects alone for inferring the evolution of technological, cognitive, and linguistic behaviors of our hominin ancestors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"180 ","pages":"Article 106306"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144501340","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Technology, inhabitants and ritual traditions revealed by scientific analyses of Eastern Zhou bronze artefacts from the Lu state, Qufu, China","authors":"Jun Gao ,&nbsp;Xingbin Xu ,&nbsp;Chenghao Li ,&nbsp;Na Hao ,&nbsp;Jianfeng Lang ,&nbsp;Hui Han ,&nbsp;Quanyu Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106309","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106309","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Bronze ritual vessels played a crucial role in Chinese civilisation during the Bronze Age of China. However, bronze artefacts from the Lu state, one of the vassal states which fully implemented <em>the Rites of Zhou</em>, have rarely been scientifically analysed. This study presents the metallographic and elemental results as well as lead isotope ratios on 67 bronze artefacts excavated from three burial complexes in Qufu, the capital of the Lu state (8th–3rd century BCE). The results suggest that craftsmen understood the effect of alloy compositions on the mechanical properties of the objects and skilfully produced forged, thin-walled vessels with low lead content for ritual purposes. Furthermore, by integrating lead isotope data with archaeological contexts, it reveals the similarities and differences in lead isotope ratios between bronze artefacts belonging to different genders, social strata and vassal states, as well as diachronic changes in metal circulation networks. This offers a new perspective for understanding the social and cultural changes during the Eastern Zhou period.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"180 ","pages":"Article 106309"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144489929","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reconstructing life history and ancestry from poorly preserved skeletal remains: A bioanthropological study of a Copper Age infant from Faenza (RA, Italy)","authors":"Owen Alexander Higgins ,&nbsp;Francesco Fontani ,&nbsp;Federico Lugli ,&nbsp;Sara Silvestrini ,&nbsp;Antonino Vazzana ,&nbsp;Adriana Latorre ,&nbsp;Massimo Sericola ,&nbsp;Anna Cipriani ,&nbsp;Gianluca Quarta ,&nbsp;Lucio Calcagnile ,&nbsp;Luca Bondioli ,&nbsp;Alessia Nava ,&nbsp;Elisabetta Cilli ,&nbsp;Donata Luiselli ,&nbsp;Stefano Benazzi","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106291","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106291","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The poor preservation of archaeological skeletal remains, particularly those of infants, can result in partial representations of populations and significantly limit our understanding of the development and life of their infant segment. This study investigates the potential of combining dental histology, high spatial resolution biogeochemistry, radiocarbon dating, palaeoproteomic and ancient DNA (aDNA) analyses alongside traditional osteological methods to reconstruct the biological profile and life history of the heavily degraded skeletal remains of an infant from Faenza, Italy.</div><div>Severe skeletal degradation left only dental crowns and small osseous fragments, restricting traditional osteological analysis to an estimation of the age at death. Histological analysis of two dental specimens, a deciduous upper right first molar and a permanent lower right first molar, provided detailed insights into the infant's development, ultimately refining the age at death at approximately 17 months. Biogeochemical analysis using Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) revealed pronounced diagenetic alterations masking the original biogenic signal. Proteomic analysis of enamel peptides and genomic analysis of the osseous fragments identified the infant's sex as male. Genomic analysis, facilitated by a sufficient quantity of endogenous aDNA, enabled the reconstruction of the mitochondrial genome, providing valuable insights into the matrilineal ancestry of the individual and identifying an uncommon mtDNA haplogroup for the Eneolithic period in the Italian peninsula.</div><div>Despite the limited preservation of the skeletal elements, the combined application of advanced bioanthropological techniques demonstrated the substantial informative potential inherent in even a few preserved anatomical elements. This study underscores the critical value of multidisciplinary approaches in overcoming the challenges posed by highly degraded remains, revealing insights that would otherwise remain inaccessible.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"180 ","pages":"Article 106291"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144481638","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Lipidomics of naturally preserved brains from the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia cemetery","authors":"John E. Cebak ,&nbsp;Beatrix Dudzik ,&nbsp;Kimberlee Moran ,&nbsp;Alexandra L. Morton-Hayward ,&nbsp;Paul L. Wood","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106296","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106296","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The preservation of human soft tissue in archaeological contexts is rare, and the natural preservation of brain tissue is even more uncommon. This study examines the lipidomic profiles of naturally preserved brains recovered from the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia (FBCP) cemetery, dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. Using high-resolution mass spectrometry, we successfully extracted and identified sphingomyelin and phosphatidylcholine species from naturally preserved brain tissues. These findings demonstrate that lipidomic analysis can be applied to archaeological brain tissues, providing insights into neurological health and disease in past populations. The integration of advanced molecular techniques in bioarchaeological research holds significant potential for future studies of ancient diseases, preservation processes and forensic applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"180 ","pages":"Article 106296"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144481650","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"High-precision chronology and scientific analysis of Panchi mirrors reveal the state policy impact in early Imperial China","authors":"Zhe Luo ,&nbsp;Ruiliang Liu ,&nbsp;A.M. Pollard ,&nbsp;Zhengyao Jin ,&nbsp;Li Liu ,&nbsp;Yan Gu ,&nbsp;Yuan Xu ,&nbsp;Ruitong Guo ,&nbsp;Fang Huang ,&nbsp;Anchuan Fan","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106310","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106310","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As one of the most important handicrafts in China during the Warring States period (475–221 BCE) and the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), the mirror-casting industry provides a unique source of evidence to understand the response of the bronze production industry to the gradually febrile political-economical ecology and international trade and exchange. This paper focuses on the Panchi mirror, which is a widespread mirror type with long chronology. Systematic analysis is performed on style, inscription, alloying technology, lead isotope ratio and trace element pattern of 40 Panchi mirrors unearthed from Luan region of Southern China, dated to two phases within the Qin to early Western Han dynasties (221-141 BCE). The new data reveals two mirror categories, the first being deeply influenced by Chu-style mirrors and cast by special alloy technology (high lead low tin) and using a short-lived source of lead, and the second marking the start of the well-known Han mirror tradition, characterized by a well-controlled alloying technology (low lead high tin) and more diversified copper sources. The high-precision chronology of the Panchi mirror allows this crucial transformation in the mirror-casting industry to be anchored around the reign of the Emperors Wen (180–157 BCE) and Jing (157–141 BCE), when the early Han state policy of Restoration and Recuperation became fruitful and contributed to a thriving economy, rather than the period of Emperor Wu (141–87 BCE), which is widely accepted as the peak of the Western Han dynasty (202–8 BCE).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"180 ","pages":"Article 106310"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144481649","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Energy expenditure during grain grinding using reciprocal quern and rotary quern","authors":"Martin Hora,&nbsp;Vojtěch Mařík,&nbsp;Matěj Dundr,&nbsp;Michal Struška,&nbsp;Vladimír Sládek","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106292","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106292","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Previous experimental archaeology studies have shown that the transition from reciprocal quern to rotary quern in the Iron Age saved grinding women 75 % of the time and muscle activation per amount of ground grain. However, whether the detected between-quern differences in time and overall muscle activation reflect differences in energy cost is unclear. Here, we used indirect calorimetry (analysis of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production) to measure the energy expenditure during grinding on a Neolithic reciprocal quern and an Iron Age bun-shaped rotary quern in adult females (n = 30). Our results revealed that rotary quern grinding required a 123–153 % higher energy expenditure per minute (by about 2.7 kcal per minute of grinding) but a 42–49 % lower net cost of grinding, i.e., energy expenditure per given amount of grain (by about 74 kcal per kilogram of grain) compared to reciprocal quern. We estimated that transitioning from reciprocal to rotary quern reduced women's daily subsistence costs by 100–300 kcal.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"180 ","pages":"Article 106292"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144366222","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fallow deer abundances and age profiles indicate opportunistic hunting in the Middle Paleolithic Levant","authors":"Meir Orbach,&nbsp;Reuven Yeshurun","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106304","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106304","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Advanced Paleolithic hunting skills have been suggested to include the targeting of specific prey species or prime-age individuals. The Mesopotamian fallow deer (<em>Dama mesopotamica</em>) was the second most abundant prey species in Levantine Middle Paleolithic anthropogenic sites, and it has been argued that humans deliberately hunted prime-aged individuals. We present a regional analysis of the fallow deer abundance and age structure at Middle Paleolithic cave sites in the Mediterranean zone of the Levant. We also refine and standardize fallow deer dental aging, responding to critical discrepancies between existing methods regarding the prime-old age boundary that change significantly the interpretation of mortality curves. Our study demonstrates that using wear diagrams, supplemented by crown height measurements for specific wear stages, enables coherent separation of age cohorts. Following that, our results show that fallow deer are more abundant in natural traps than human sites and hyena dens and that all sites, regardless of the agent of accumulation, possess an unselective age structure, disproving the claim for intentional selection of prime-aged fallow deer. At the same time, species associated with open environments, the smaller-bodied gazelle and much larger aurochs, seem to have been preferentially targeted. These lines of evidence suggest that Paleolithic hunters preferred open biomes and captured fallow deer opportunistically as they traveled to their designated hunting grounds. We suggest that this patch-choice pattern may be attributed to the reduced search costs in non-wooded environments and gregarious, anti-predatory behaviors of prey species. Ultimately, we demonstrate that animal size was not a primary determinant of human prey choice in the Middle Paleolithic southern Levant.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"180 ","pages":"Article 106304"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144366223","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Decoding hunter-gatherer-knowledge and selective choice of lithic raw materials during the Middle and Later Stone Age in Eswatini","authors":"Gregor D. Bader ,&nbsp;Christian Sommer ,&nbsp;Jörg Linstädter ,&nbsp;Dineo P. Masia ,&nbsp;Matthias A. Blessing ,&nbsp;Bob Forrester ,&nbsp;Brandi L. MacDonald","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106302","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106302","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Reconstructing past movement and mobility patterns requires a landscape-scale approach with knowledge of potential raw material sources and, ideally, multiple archaeological sites. Building on legacy collections in the Lobamba Museum in Eswatini and the identification of primary lithic raw material outcrops through landscape survey, we can provide scenarios of raw material provisioning for hunter-gatherers in Eswatini over the past 40 000 years. We used Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) to refine the terminology as the three ‘chert’ varieties from the archaeological sites Hlalakahle, Siphiso, Sibebe and Nkambeni are more precisely described as red jasper, green chalcedony and black chert. We were able to identify the primary outcrops for both red jasper and the green chalcedony. Using a least cost path (LCP) analysis together with hydrological and geomorphometric estimates of clast transport in relevant rivers, we reconstructed potential transportation routes of raw material and infer likely provisioning scenarios. During the final Middle Stone Age (MSA), red jasper occurs rarely or is absent in archaeological assemblages, while green chalcedony and other chert variants are frequently observed. This is despite the source of red jasper occurring near the green chalcedony outcrop. During the Later Stone Age (LSA), the red jasper, and a red chert variant of unknown provenance appear more frequently, indicating different raw material provisioning choices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"180 ","pages":"Article 106302"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144471130","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Statistical modelling in archaeology: some recent trends and future perspectives","authors":"Enrico R. Crema","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106295","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106295","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper reviews the application of statistical models in archaeology in the last decade, focusing in particular on multilevel models, statistical treatment of missing data and measurement error, and simulation-based generative inference. These techniques are designed to 1) account for the nested and hierarchical nature of the archaeological record, 2) formally integrate different forms of data uncertainties, and 3) provide a more direct inferential link between formal theory and observational data. The extent to which archaeology has engaged with these methods is variable, but it can be argued that none are currently regarded as part of the standard analytical toolkit in quantitative archaeology. The objective of this paper is to promote awareness of the existence of these techniques and highlight the consequences of ignoring the underlying problems that these statistical methods can address.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"180 ","pages":"Article 106295"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144366224","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}