Journal of Archaeological Science最新文献

{"title":"Ancient DNA insights into Neolithic bone-tool use on the Tibetan Plateau","authors":"Linying Wang ,&nbsp;Ting Li ,&nbsp;Qing Wang ,&nbsp;Yan Tong ,&nbsp;Songtao Chen ,&nbsp;Sijia Yuan ,&nbsp;Yu Gao ,&nbsp;Ruxue Liao ,&nbsp;Shargan Wangdue ,&nbsp;Xiaoyan Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106183","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106183","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Bone tools are an important component of human material culture and contain rich information about ancient cultures and technologies. The selection strategies of prehistoric humans for bone-tool materials in ultra-high-elevation regions represent a cultural adaptation to extreme environments characterized by cold and hypoxia. Current research on bone tools predominantly emphasizes artifact description, typological analysis, and processing methods, while study on the source of the bone-tool materials is less due to the method limited. The Mabu Co site (4420–4465 m a.s.l.) is the world's highest site with sedentary lifestyle supported by fishing and hunting in the high-elevation interior of the Tibetan Plateau more than 4000 years ago. Commonly excavated bone tools at this site include bipoints, ornaments, bone awls, needles. This study selected several fragmented bone tools from the site and used ancient DNA technology to identify the species to learn the humans' selection strategies for materials. The results show that the long bones of argali (<em>Ovis ammon</em>) and blue sheep (<em>Pseudois nayaur</em>) were used to make bone awls. The limb bones of animals with thin-walled bones such as Himalayan musk deer (<em>Moschus leucogaster</em>) were used to make bone needles. For bone bipoints, which were likely used for fishing and bird hunting and were in high daily demand at this lakeside village, species of water birds, including the abundant cormorant (<em>Phalacrocorax carbo</em>) and the occasional crane (<em>Grus</em> sp.), were used. Our study reveals that the ancient people living on the Tibetan Plateau 4000 years ago strategically selected bone-tool material from local animal resources, demonstrating a preference and consideration of different types of bone to suit the tool. By using ancient DNA technology to analyze the source material of the bone tools excavated from archaeological sites, our understanding of the organic artifacts is enhanced.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"177 ","pages":"Article 106183"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143453258","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":"Bioarchaeological perspectives on the ancient Han-Xiongnu war: Insights from the Iron Age site of Bayanbulag","authors":"Pengcheng Ma ,&nbsp;Minmin Ma ,&nbsp;Bing Sun ,&nbsp;Chunxiang Li ,&nbsp;Jiajia Dong ,&nbsp;Guanghui Dong ,&nbsp;Diimaajav Erdenebaatar ,&nbsp;Alexey Kovalev ,&nbsp;Yinqiu Cui","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106184","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106184","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Han-Xiongnu War, a series of pivotal conflicts between the two most powerful empires in early Iron Age Eastern Eurasia, was investigated through an integrated multidisciplinary approach encompassing genetics, geology, anthropology, and archaeology. This study focuses on the analysis of a mass grave at the Bayanbulag site (BBS) in Mongolia, initially identified as a Xiongnu fortress. Our primary objective was to identify the individuals buried in the grave, providing deeper insights into the tactics and interactions of the Han-Xiongnu War. Through meticulous archaeological and anthropological investigation, we confirmed the site's war-related nature, evidenced by the fortress's architecture, excavated weapons, and trauma on the remains. Genomic analysis of the remains revealed a genetic affinity with present-day Han and ancient Northern Chinese populations. Strontium isotope analysis offered the critical evidence of the individuals' military affiliation, indicating their origin from regions beyond the Mongolian Plateau, specifically North China and the Central Plains, confirming their identity as Han soldiers. This result is further supported by carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis, which revealed dietary characteristic of agricultural populations from North China. By integrating data from various disciplines in a mutually supportive manner, our study presents a comprehensive account of the Han-Xiongnu War, offering new insights into the military organization and strategic engagements of the period. This interdisciplinary approach significantly enriches the historical narrative and contributes to the existing body of knowledge on early Eastern Eurasian conflicts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"177 ","pages":"Article 106184"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143453257","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Southeast Asian mainland archaeological science 1964–2034: Multiscalar relations between individuals, communities and neighbouring populations during the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages (early-3rd mill. BC to late-1st mill. AD)","authors":"T.O. Pryce ,&nbsp;Anna Willis","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106154","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106154","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 106154"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143445053","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"I walk an ancient road: A straightforward methodology for analyzing intra- and inter-regional connectivity systems along Roman Frontier Zones (c. 1st—5th century AD)","authors":"Dominik Hagmann","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2024.106151","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2024.106151","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper presents a broadly reusable and straightforward methodology for examining ancient road networks in the hinterlands of Roman frontiers, with attention to both intra- and inter-regional connectivity. It employs a range of tools—including Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Least Cost Analyses (LCA), Spatial Social Network Analysis (SSNA), and Visibility Analysis (VA)—to trace and interpret the road systems that facilitated troop movements, goods transport, and social exchange. The study exemplifies this methodology through an investigation of a frontier zone within a specific area of interest at the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Danube Limes” in Northern Noricum (modern Austria), spanning the mid-1st to the 5th century CE. By integrating archaeological data, open government datasets, and advanced digital methods, the analysis reveals a variety of pathways that may have supported military logistics and civilian travel across this strategically significant region. Selected roads identified through the analyses could be subsequently verified through ground-truthing.The paper also emphasizes the need for cautious interpretation, acknowledging the hypothetical nature of certain pathways and the inherent limitations of tracing ancient infrastructure through the methods employed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 106151"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143437373","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Combining ATR far- and mid-infrared spectroscopy to distinguish native Australian plant exudates for cultural heritage analysis","authors":"Abigail K. Mann ,&nbsp;Dominique Appadoo ,&nbsp;Claire E. Lenehan ,&nbsp;Rachel S. Popelka-Filcoff","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106167","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106167","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Native Australian plant exudates are an important material for a variety of cultural uses including hafting materials and pigment binders. Spectroscopic analysis of exudates informs on their composition, properties, use and conservation status. However, native Australian exudates are not as well characterized as European species, although there are often chemical parallels between the two. While mid-IR has been demonstrated as an effective and standard method to distinguish some key exudate species, the fingerprint-region characterisation can become challenging for a particular group of exudates due to spectral similarities or overlaps, and therefore discrimination is not easily achievable. Therefore, the complementary data on molecular interactions observed in the far-IR region can provide additional means to characterize and discriminate between genera. In this study, samples from European artist materials and native Australian exudates were studied by both laboratory-based mid-IR and synchrotron based far-IR. Results from this work include establishing a novel non-destructive far-IR method for plant exudates such as resins, gums and kinos on the molecular level, as well as multivariate statistical analysis to differentiate at both the genera and species level. These outcomes identify an innovative approach to understanding these complex molecular chemistries of plant exudates as well as a method to characterize resins, kinos and gums in important archaeological and cultural heritage materials in Australia and worldwide.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 106167"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143422649","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Origins of medieval lead glass ornaments in Central Europe in the light of lead isotopic analysis of finds from Wrocław and Sypniewo (Poland)","authors":"Aleksandra Pankiewicz ,&nbsp;Ewelina Miśta-Jakubowska ,&nbsp;Sylwia Siemianowska ,&nbsp;Renata Czech-Błońska ,&nbsp;Mariusz Błoński ,&nbsp;Ryan Mathur ,&nbsp;Jakub Karasiński ,&nbsp;Rafał Siuda ,&nbsp;Grzegorz Żabiński ,&nbsp;Aneta Gójska","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106168","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106168","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Lead glass ornaments are common throughout Central and Eastern Europe from 10th to 13th c. They are regarded as a local product due to the discovery of glass crucibles, semi-finished products and an ore deposit. Technological (electron probe microanalysis) and provenance analyses (lead isotope analyses) of eleven fragments of high-lead-glass jewellery from Wrocław (SW Poland) and high-lead-glass and lead-potassium glass (Slavic lead-ash glass) from Sypniewo (NE Poland) confirmed the use of local lead deposits. The isotopic composition of glass from this area has not yet been determined, except for one site in SW Poland. The chemical analysis shows early medieval glass production originated from the Silesian Upland and Lesser Poland.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 106168"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143403116","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bulk-bone ancient metagenomics reveals the transport of South Asian fish across the Himalayas in the 8th century CE","authors":"Qing Wang ,&nbsp;Jingkun Ran ,&nbsp;Zhengquan Gu ,&nbsp;Shungang Chen ,&nbsp;Jianglong Guo ,&nbsp;Yuanyang Cai ,&nbsp;Yu Gao ,&nbsp;Shalini Sharma ,&nbsp;Jishuai Yang ,&nbsp;Yongco ,&nbsp;Yan Tong ,&nbsp;Yucheng Wang ,&nbsp;Xiaoyan Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106157","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106157","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Fish was an important component of (pre)historical consumption products. The study of (pre)historical fish products has been impeded by the morphological identifications in zooarchaeological research, based on poorly preserved fish bones. In this study, we applied the Bulk Bone Shotgun Metagenomic (BBSM) approach to unidentifiable bone fragments excavated from the Kongsangqiao site (dated to 652–768 CE) located on the southern slope of the central Himalayas. Among other species, the low-land South Asian fish species Rohu (<em>Labeo rohita</em>) was identified, marking the first discovery of a South Asian fish species on the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau. This new evidence suggests that fish may have been carried by travelers departing from South Asia to provide necessary nutritional sustenance and energy for their long-distance journeys, or was exported from the low-land South Asian plain to the Tibetan Plateau along the ancient Tubo-Nepal Road. The results also show the great potential of ancient DNA analysis on unidentifiable bone fragments in enhancing our understanding of the history of fish utilization.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 106157"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143372934","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":"Spatial analysis of Amazonian Dark Earth formation supports an anthropic origin at the Caldeirão site, Brazil","authors":"Jonas Gregorio de Souza ,&nbsp;Jonas Alcaina-Mateos ,&nbsp;Carla Lancelotti ,&nbsp;Pablo Vidal-Torrado ,&nbsp;Marcia R. Calegari ,&nbsp;Wenceslau Geraldes Teixeira ,&nbsp;Gilvan Martins ,&nbsp;Rodrigo Santana Macedo ,&nbsp;Marco Madella","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106169","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106169","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Amazonian Dark Earths (ADEs) are distinct archaeological sites in the Amazon, characterized by their enriched nutrient content in soil layers. While activities related to human occupation are acknowledged as the primary driver of the geochemical properties of ADEs, the intra-site spatial variations in their formation processes, and how they relate to human settlement, are not completely documented. In this study, we employ geostatistical analysis to investigate spatial variations in the geochemical signature and pottery concentration of ADE at the Caldeirão site, Central Amazon, a site that has sparked ongoing debates due to the revival of a natural genesis hypothesis of ADEs. Our findings reveal non-homogeneous spatial distribution of the ADE geochemical signature at the site, suggesting multiple foci of human activity at different temporal stages. Notably, we document the possible emergence of a semi-circular village pattern, prevalent in other Amazonian contexts, gradually transitioning to a more homogeneous ADE cover during the final stage of occupation. This observed pattern, consistent with archaeological and ethnographic evidence, provides compelling evidence for human activity as the primary driver of ADE formation at Caldeirão, laying to rest the hypothesis of a natural origin.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 106169"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143372933","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":"Current methods and theory in quantitative zooarchaeology","authors":"Nimrod Marom","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106165","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106165","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Zooarchaeology has undergone a significant transformation in recent years, evolving from a discipline focused on human-animal relationships to a broader investigation of the complex interplay between humans, animals, and environments. This shift is driven by advancements in methodologies, including geometric morphometrics, low-magnification dental dietary analysis, and palaeo-species distribution modelling, which allow for detailed phenotyping and environmental reconstruction. By adopting a niche construction framework, zooarchaeologists can explore the multifaceted ways in which humans and animals have shaped their environments and been shaped by them. This approach offers a unique perspective on the Anthropocene, a geological epoch characterized by human-induced global change. By examining the long-term consequences of human ecosystem engineering, zooarchaeology contributes to a deeper understanding of our impact on the planet and the future of human-animal relations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 106165"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143373014","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Frozen motion: Contextualizing wheel rut data within and beyond the Pompeiian street grid","authors":"David Picker-Kille","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106155","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106155","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The past few decades have seen a growing use of GIS in archaeological research to study ancient movement at varying scales. In the case of urban networks, most spatial analyses of street systems have been modelled on pedestrian movement. At the site of Pompeii, however, recent scholarship has highlighted the ways in which the material evidence of the construction, use, and disuse of the street network inherently underlie the importance of vehicular traffic throughout the city. Dividing Pompeii's streets into discrete units of movement, this study geospatially maps wheel-rut measurements collected by the author onto previously published data of Pompeiian street paving and vehicular traffic. The resultant patterns between the paving history, traffic flow, and wheel-rutting across the street network reveal important transformations in the nature and extent of the city's connectivity to the surrounding countryside, and highlight the potential for similar approaches at other ancient urban centers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"175 ","pages":"Article 106155"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143350552","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}