Journal of Archaeological Science最新文献

{"title":"Early tobacco use by populations of the interfluvial coast of Antofagasta during the Archaic period (6000–3000 BP; northern Chile): A GC-MS study of dental calculus","authors":"Pedro Andrade ,&nbsp;Daniela Nova-Baza ,&nbsp;Vania Arancibia-Concha ,&nbsp;Lucas Romero-Albornoz ,&nbsp;Luis Bustamante-Salazar ,&nbsp;Claudia Mardones","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106359","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106359","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The use of <em>Nicotiana</em> species among pre-Hispanic populations in the Americas has a long and diverse history. This study provides direct evidence of early tobacco consumption on the hyper-arid coast of Antofagasta, Chile, dating to the Archaic period (ca. 6000 BP). Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), we analyzed dental calculus samples from 12 individuals and detected cotinine—a metabolite of nicotine—in seven samples. These findings extend the regional timeline of tobacco use by about 4000 years compared to previous evidence. The absence of smoking or snuffing paraphernalia suggests alternative consumption methods, such as chewing, possibly for medicinal purposes. The presence of cotinine in both male and female individuals suggests that tobacco use may not have been limited to one gender, although further research is needed to confirm possible patterns of access or consumption. This research highlights dental calculus as a valuable bioarchaeological substrate and offers new insights into early cultural practices and human–plant interactions associated with <em>Nicotiana</em> in South America. Due to the small sample size and variable preservation, these results should be viewed as preliminary and require confirmation through further archaeological and botanical analyses.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"182 ","pages":"Article 106359"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144932984","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":"Bridging the crafts: lead isotopes reveal the innovation of lead-glazed pottery in Warring States China","authors":"Jingyi Shen ,&nbsp;Chao Geng ,&nbsp;Ruiliang Liu ,&nbsp;Yichao Zhao ,&nbsp;Zhigang Wu ,&nbsp;Kui Chen ,&nbsp;Yu Peng ,&nbsp;Ji Zhang ,&nbsp;Jianfeng Lang","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106354","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106354","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study reassesses the origin of low-fired lead-glazed pottery in ancient China through a systematic analysis of seven excavated specimens from the ancient Linzi City, the capital of the Qi State, dated to the late Warring States period (300–221 BCE). By integrating archaeological context, compositional and lead isotopic analysis, the research establishes these ceramics as the earliest scientifically verified lead-glazed pottery in China. The findings indicate that these wares were produced using a standardized technological protocol, locally sourced clay bodies coated with high-lead glazes (50–62 wt% PbO), exclusively colored by iron oxide (Fe₂O₃), and fired in a reducing atmosphere, which represent a rather different process compared to the typical Chinese lead glaze technology since the Western Han dynasty (202BCE-8CE). Moreover, lead isotopic data attribute the lead source to highly radiogenic deposits that were locally available and mined for Qi bronze production, revealing a shared lead supply to both ceramic and metallurgical production. The study argues that the initial development of lead glazing emerged as a result of cross-craft interaction involving ceramic production, proto-porcelain, lead-barium siliceous materials, and, most significantly, leaded bronze manufacturing. These findings contribute to the ongoing debate regarding the earliest lead-glazed pottery, underscore the significance of cross-craft interactions in technological innovation, and reframe the Qi State as a key center for early ceramic experimentation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"182 ","pages":"Article 106354"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144925960","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":"Revolution and Resilience: A multianalytical approach to the study of diet, metabolic stress, and life experiences in Revolutionary Philadelphia","authors":"Sara A. McGuire ,&nbsp;Jared S. Beatrice ,&nbsp;Christine A.M. France","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106312","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106312","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>We took a multi-analytical approach to study a skeletal assemblage from Revolutionary-Era Philadelphia to discern whether the tumultuous events of this period impacted individuals’ diets, nutrition, and metabolic stress.</div></div><div><h3>Materials and methods</h3><div>Osteological analyses estimated osteological sex, age at death, stature, and identified the presence of metabolic pathologies. Stable isotopes were analyzed in teeth, long bone, and rib samples to reconstruct diet at different periods of individuals’ lives. Integrating isotopic and osteological datasets, we explored relationships between demographic variables, diet, and metabolic stress.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Skeletal pathologies were present in all age and sex groupings. Carbon isotope values showed the most variation. Nitrogen was more consistent, but female infants showed higher values. Lower collagen carbon and higher nitrogen isotope values corresponded to decreased stature. Lower collagen carbon and nitrogen isotope values correspond to increased skeletal pathologies in subadults.</div></div><div><h3>Discussion</h3><div>Revolutionary-Era Philadelphians consumed a European-style diet of primarily C3 plants, animal proteins foddered on similar plants, and either a significant portion of terrestrial animal protein or marine protein. Differences in isotope values between males and females suggest differences in diet by sex that may pertain to differential food access or social practices, and differences in diet by age and sex provide insight into weaning practices. The presence of metabolic diseases and associated differences in diet suggest nutritional deficiencies may have impacted the health of this historic assemblage. Wide variation in diet and survival with and without metabolic disease suggest resiliency in the face of significant historical change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"182 ","pages":"Article 106312"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144922287","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":"Early legume exploitation in Neolithic southern China: Starch residues evidence from the middle Yangtze River","authors":"Zhiwei Wan ,&nbsp;Zhikun Ma ,&nbsp;Xiujia Huan","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106363","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106363","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Ganjiang-Poyang Lake basin is situated in a key corridor region for the dissemination of Neolithic agriculture in eastern China. However, the role of food legumes in the agricultural utilization patterns of this area remains unclear. This study presents systematic analysis of starch granules extracted from stone tools and pottery residues at 6 Neolithic sites (ca. 5900-3100 cal. a BP) in the Ganjiang-Poyang Lake basin, Jiangxi, southern China. Through morphological comparisons and statistical analysis with modern reference collections, we identified 56 starch granules attributable to the Fabaceae family. These legume starches accounted for 2–24 % of the total starch assemblage, coexisting with remains of rice and other crops. Our findings demonstrate that legume exploitation constituted a critical component of early agricultural subsistence in southern China, supplementing the traditional pattern dominated by rice cultivation. This work underscores the role of multi-crop systems, particularly protein-rich legumes, in enhancing dietary diversity during the Neolithic era, and provides novel insights into the dispersal of legume domestication in southern China.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"182 ","pages":"Article 106363"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144919751","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":"Phytolith analysis reveals plant tempering in bronze-casting moulds from Bronze Age China (1250 -221 BC) as a technological choice","authors":"Bingyan Wang ,&nbsp;Naidong Liu ,&nbsp;Xu Liu ,&nbsp;Xuexiang Chen ,&nbsp;Rongyu Su ,&nbsp;Siran Liu ,&nbsp;Yu Liu ,&nbsp;Qiang Ma ,&nbsp;Quanyu Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106358","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106358","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ceramic bronze-casting moulds played an important role in determining the quality of ancient Chinese bronze artefacts. While the addition of vegetal temper to ceramic moulds is considered an important factor in enhancing mould quality, detailed studies on this practice have been limited. This study conducts phytolith analysis of ceramic moulds from four Bronze Age foundry sites: Yinxu (Late Shang), Yaoheyuan (Western Zhou), Houma (Eastern Zhou), and Guanzhuang (Eastern Zhou). A comparative analysis of these samples with local loesses revealed significant differences in phytolith compositions and charcoal concentration, indicating intentional use of plant materials in the moulds rather than a result of natural inclusions. The primary vegetal tempers were various species of Poaceae grasses, with notable differences in selection across sites, reflecting various technological choices. Although foxtail millet (<em>Setaria italica</em>), broomcorn millet (<em>Panicum miliaceum</em>) and rice (<em>Oryza sativa</em>) husks were identified in some moulds used to make more exquisite artefacts, they were not the dominant vegetal temper used during the Bronze Age, in contrast to the widespread use of rice husks as the main temper material in the later periods. These findings provide preliminary insights into the technological choices of Bronze Age craftsmen, and highlight temporal variations in temper material selection and its impact on mould performance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"182 ","pages":"Article 106358"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144917771","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":"As the water flows: A method for assessing river navigability in the past","authors":"Clara Filet ,&nbsp;Clement Laroche ,&nbsp;María Coto-Sarmiento ,&nbsp;Toon Bongers","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106315","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106315","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although textual and archaeological sources inform us about the importance of river transport in Protohistory, Antiquity, and the Middle Ages, integrating it into studies of ancient mobility remains a challenge. Empirical navigability studies are time-consuming and are only feasible for rivers well-documented by historical, archaeological, and palaeogeographical studies.</div><div>This work proposes a method for realistically approximating navigable sections without empirical data by algorithmically detecting the plain sections of a river and testing its reliability as an indicator of navigability. Using 18 rivers in central-eastern Gaul, for which we have empirical knowledge of ancient navigable sections, we demonstrate that estimating the plain section of the river based on a change-point detection algorithm provides a good approximation of navigable sections. This method is applied to 48 Roman rivers where empirical information about navigable sections is scattered. A subset of these rivers is then empirically tested to validate the results obtained.</div><div>Applying this method offers a new perspective on navigable areas in the Roman world, providing a reasonable first guess that could guide future empirical research into the navigability of ancient rivers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"182 ","pages":"Article 106315"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144913205","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":"Skeletal fluorosis in Italy beyond vesuvius? Multi-analytical evidence for an environment-linked pathology from the alps","authors":"Omar Larentis ,&nbsp;Enrica Tonina ,&nbsp;Caterina Pangrazzi ,&nbsp;Ilaria Gorini ,&nbsp;Cristiano Tomasi ,&nbsp;Marcello A. Mannino","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106362","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106362","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The incidence of a disease in a given period might be underestimated due to various factors, such as its non-endemic nature, variations in the pathocenoses, difficulty in establishing its aetiology, or changes in environmental factors related to its presence and development in a specific territory. Among these, we can consider fluorosis, a bone and dental disease resulting from excessive fluoride accumulation, causing heterotopic ossification and hypoplastic defects. In Italy, skeletal fluorosis is considered endemic in the Vesuvian territory, with cases dating back to the 1st century CE. This paper presents the results of the analyses conducted on a sample of 31 individuals from the 1st century CE to the 19th century CE, likely affected by fluorosis, discovered in the church of Santa Maria Assunta in the village of Smarano (northeastern Italian Alpine region). Our investigation employed macroscopic, electron microprobe and isotopic methods to recognise skeletal changes, assess the fluoride content in the teeth and the burial soil, and acquire data on the diet of 19 of these individuals. The results of the chemical analyses, conducted on the 12 individuals who had teeth, revealed abnormal levels of fluorine, in two cases accompanied by evident skeletal and enamel alterations. The analyzed individuals allow us to enhance our understanding of the historical presence of skeletal fluorosis in Italy and represent the first probable cases of skeletal fluorosis identified outside the Vesuvian plain. Moreover, the study highlights the significance of evaluating the contemporary environmental context of individuals to acquire data for differential diagnosis. This research also demonstrates the importance of osteological studies in investigating environmental health and its history.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"182 ","pages":"Article 106362"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144913204","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":"A new approach to radiocarbon summarisation: Rigorous identification of variations/changepoints in the occurrence rate of radiocarbon samples using a Poisson process","authors":"Timothy J. Heaton ,&nbsp;Sara Al-assam ,&nbsp;Edouard Bard","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106237","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106237","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A commonly-used paradigm to estimate changes in the frequency of past events or the size of populations is to consider the occurrence rate of archaeological/environmental samples found at a site over time. The reliability of such a “<em>dates-as-data</em>” approach is highly dependent upon how the occurrence rates are estimated from the underlying samples, particularly when calendar age information for the samples is obtained from radiocarbon (¹⁴C). The most frequently used “^<em>14</em><em>C-dates-as-data</em>” approach of creating Summed Probability Distributions (SPDs) is not statistically valid, or coherent, and can provide highly misleading inference. Here, we provide an alternative method with a rigorous statistical underpinning that also provides valuable additional information on potential changepoints in the rate of events. Furthermore, unlike current SPD alternatives, our summarisation approach does not restrict users to pre-specified, rigid, summary formats (e.g., exponential or logistic growth) but instead flexibly adapts to the dates themselves. Our methodology ensures more reliable “^<em>14</em><em>C-dates-as-data</em>” analyses, allowing us to better assess and identify potential signals present. We model the occurrence of events, each assumed to leave a radiocarbon sample in the archaeological/environmental record, as an inhomogeneous Poisson process. The varying rate of samples over time is then estimated within a fully-Bayesian framework using reversible-jump Markov Chain Monte Carlo (RJ-MCMC). Given a set of radiocarbon samples, we reconstruct how their occurrence rate varies over calendar time and identify if that rate contains statistically-significant changes, i.e., specific times at which the rate of events abruptly changes. We illustrate our method with both a simulation study and a practical example concerning late-Pleistocene megafaunal population changes in Alaska and Yukon.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"182 ","pages":"Article 106237"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144894819","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":"Towards an archaeology of attention: A neuro-genetic exploration","authors":"Marlize Lombard","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106344","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106344","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Late, large-brained humans such as <em>Homo sapiens</em>, Denisovans and Neanderthals are/were obligatory tool users. Making and using technology requires attention. The archaeological record may thus contain aspects of how people were able to allocate and regulate attention, but few technologies have been studied in this context. Here I use a neuro-genetic triangulation approach consisting of: a) An overlap between genes associated with attention network theory, genes with non-synonymous changes at high frequency in current humans compared to Neanderthal-Denisovan genomes, and genes classified as brain-elevated; b) the transcripts per million expression throughout the human brain detected for the resulting gene-overlap list; c) attention-related phenotypes and/or conditions associated with both the resulting genes and brain regions. This approach led to a list of 18 genes, seven brain regions, and white matter pathways as probably representing variation in the development of attentional ranges in <em>Homo sapiens</em>, Denisovans and Neanderthals. Interestingly, most of the brain regions highlighted by this study reflect selection for sub-cortical interconnectivity hubs, as opposed to cortical regions associated with traditional attention network theory areas. I therefore propose the following working hypothesis: The separate brain regions associated with alerting, orienting/selective and executive/controlling attention were already in place in a common ancestor, but after the <em>H. sapiens-</em>Denisovan-Neanderthal split, human ways of paying attention developed differently in degrees of interconnective robusticity, speed and efficacy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"182 ","pages":"Article 106344"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144879095","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":"Early history of parasitic diseases in northern dogs revealed by dog paleofeces from the 9000-year-old frozen Zhokhov site in the New Siberian Islands of East Siberian Arctic","authors":"S.M. Slepchenko ,&nbsp;A.V. Khrustalev ,&nbsp;S.N. Ivanov ,&nbsp;I.V. Titova ,&nbsp;A.K. Kasparov ,&nbsp;V.G. Chasnyk ,&nbsp;E.Y. Pavlova ,&nbsp;V.V. Pitulko","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106337","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106337","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We herein report the results of archaeoparasitological research on dog paleofeces from the Early Holocene Zhokhov site located in the New Siberian Islands of Arctic East Siberia about 8500–9000 years ago. We aimed to 1) determine parasitic diseases of dogs through archaeoparasitological analysis of their excrement, 2) establish possible routes of infestation, and 3) use the obtained data to reconstruct economic activities, domestic practices, and diet of the ancient population that inhabited the Zhokhov site. In the search for evidence, we analyzed 34 samples of dog paleofeces excavated from the site in 2002 and 2003. In 91.18 % of the samples, eggs from tapeworms of the genus <em>Dibothriocephalus</em>, presumably <em>Dibothriocephalus latus</em>, were found, and in 32.35 % of the samples, eggs from cestodes of the Taeniidae family were detected. The high infection rate in dogs with diphyllobothriasis indicates a significant role of fishing in the economic activities of Zhokhov inhabitants, despite the small amount of direct archaeological evidence for this activity. The presence of Taeniidae eggs indicates that dogs were fed reindeer meat. The results of the study allowed us to reconstruct the dietary composition of dogs and, indirectly, that of humans, assess the risk of zoonotic infections, and determine the parasitic load on the Early Holocene population of the Arctic zone of Eastern Siberia. The obtained data are also considered from the perspective of the Stockholm Paradigm (SP) to fully understand the evolution of relationships in the parasite-host system in the context of ancient Arctic human adaptations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"182 ","pages":"Article 106337"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144866908","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}