Journal of Archaeological Science最新文献

{"title":"Assessing quantitative methods in archaeology via simulated datasets: The Archaeoriddle challenge. Concept, project and motivations","authors":"A. Cortell-Nicolau ,&nbsp;S. Carrignon ,&nbsp;I. Rodíguez-Palomo ,&nbsp;D. Hromada ,&nbsp;R. Kahlenberg ,&nbsp;A. Mes ,&nbsp;D. Priss ,&nbsp;P. Yaworsky ,&nbsp;X. Zhang ,&nbsp;L. Brainerd ,&nbsp;J. Lewis ,&nbsp;D. Redhouse ,&nbsp;C. Simmons ,&nbsp;M. Coto-Sarmiento ,&nbsp;D. Daems ,&nbsp;A. Deb ,&nbsp;D. Lawrence ,&nbsp;M. O'Brien ,&nbsp;F. Riede ,&nbsp;X. Rubio-Campillo ,&nbsp;E. Crema","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106179","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106179","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Compared to what is found in many other scientific disciplines, archaeological data are typically scarce, biased and fragmented. This, coupled with the fact that archaeologists can rarely test their hypotheses using experimental design, makes archaeological inference and our ability to assess the robustness of quantitative methods used to make such inferences challenging.</div><div>Archaeoriddle is a project that was born as an attempt to compare archaeological methods in an artificial scenario where the behaviour to be reconstructed was known. In this project we organised an experiment where a virtual archaeological record generated from a simulated interaction between hunter–gatherers and early farmers in a fictional landscape was shared with interested participants. Three archaeological questions were posed and the participants were challenged to answer them with the data that the developer team made available. The model and the generative processes behind the virtual record were known to the developers of the virtual world (<em>Rabbithole</em>) but not to the participants. Additionally, players were allowed to sample only a subset of the data from <em>Rabbithole</em>, mimicking real-life archaeological research and sampling efforts.</div><div>The long-term aim of the project is to assess how different methods performed under a controlled environment since, in this case, we knew the correct answers to the questions posed. This experience provided us with some insights into (1) how efficient various archaeological methods are in answering complex questions; (2) the degree of interest from archaeologists in improving their analytical techniques; and (3) the potential of archaeological method when free from external constraints (e.g. budget, fieldwork, etc.).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"177 ","pages":"Article 106179"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143463675","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":"Genomic substructure in Yellow River Basin farmers during the transitional Yangshao-Longshan period","authors":"Hao Ma ,&nbsp;Jizhong Hu ,&nbsp;Rui Wang ,&nbsp;Yu Qiao ,&nbsp;Panming Yang ,&nbsp;Xiaoyang Qiao ,&nbsp;Youwei Pu ,&nbsp;Yawei Zhou ,&nbsp;Yu Xu ,&nbsp;Haodong Chen ,&nbsp;Chuan-Chao Wang ,&nbsp;Zhaohui Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106178","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106178","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Yellow River (YR) Basin is a pivotal region for understanding the origins and evolution of Chinese civilization. Previous genomic data here suggest a temporal shift in population genetics towards southern Chinese profiles, possibly due to the introduction of rice agriculture and climatic shifts in the Holocene. Here, we report the ancient genomes of two individuals from the Dahecun site during the Yangshao and transitional Yangshao-Longshan (Longshanization) periods. We found a genetic homogeneity in the Middle Neolithic YR basin, but we have not detected a southern-related ancestry among YR farmers in our sample of the Longshanization period compared with the Middle Neolithic YR farmers. Our results indicate a genomic substructure in YR Basin farmers during the transitional Yangshao-Longshan periods. The initial introduction of rice farming into the Central Plain might not be always accompanied by demic diffusion. The Neolithic Yellow River farmers were suggested to significantly contribute to the formation of modern Han Chinese.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 106178"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143465258","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":"Burnt ant nests and their parallels with Mesolithic charcoal-rich pits: A comment on Huisman et al. (2024)","authors":"Philippe Crombé ,&nbsp;Roger Langohr","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106186","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106186","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This short paper provides arguments against Huisman et al.’s (2024) conclusion that Mesolithic “pit-hearths” are definitely anthropogenic in origin. We believe that this conclusion is insufficiently supported by the presented data and the size of the study, which is limited to two recent ant nests. The main problem resides in the assumption that Humus-iron Podzols pre-date the construction of “pit-hearths” and ant nests contain only little organic remains that are vulnerable to forest fires. In this comment paper we present arguments to the contrary.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 106186"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143550889","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":"Ancient glass: From crystal ball to seeing clear","authors":"Patrick Degryse","doi":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106166","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jas.2025.106166","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Specific chemical compositions of glass indicate certain raw materials, sources, technical processes and chronologies. A decade ago, Journal of Archaeological Science published a perspective into future glass research, emphasizing the need to further characterize glass compositional groups with their production location and long-distance movement, next to determining the timing and location of inventions and innovations in glass technologies and their spreading in and between ancient societies. While many of the previously suggested lines for future research are very much still valid today, this paper revisits those prospects and offers some thoughts for the decade to come. As different technologies of glass making and more and more areas of production become known through chemical analysis, the prime challenge of glass research in the near future will be to unravel the ‘why’ of these technical developments and innovations. Glass making will need to be studied in its societal and environmental context to come to answers on scales of production, resource management and processes such as recycling. Additionally, cross-craft interactions between glass making and other industries remain understudied and deserve further work.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50254,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Archaeological Science","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 106166"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143453848","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":"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}