Geoarchaeology-An International Journal最新文献

{"title":"Geoarchaeological characterisation of a Younger Dryas site in the Alpine uplands: Cornafessa rock shelter (Italy)","authors":"Diego E. Angelucci,&nbsp;Erica Patauner,&nbsp;Rossella Duches","doi":"10.1002/gea.21935","DOIUrl":"10.1002/gea.21935","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The effects of the Younger Dryas (YD) fluctuation on Late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers' settlement and subsistence systems in the southern Alps are poorly known. This is primarily due to the scarcity of archaeological sites dating from the YD, in contrast with the extensive evidence available from the lateglacial interstadial and the early Holocene. Here, we present the initial stratigraphic, chronologic and geoarchaeological data collected from Cornafessa rock shelter, a new site located in the Lessini massif of the Italian Alps, at an elevation of 1240 m. The site was occupied during both the YD and the early Holocene. The YD archaeological deposit is clearly recognisable within the fairly uniform lateglacial and Holocene clastic succession. Geoarchaeological data indicate that the YD deposit corresponds to an occupation surface, which was formed during short visits to the site by late Epigravettian hunter-gatherer groups, who settled in the sheltered area and performed distinct activities.</p>","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":"38 1","pages":"35-56"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/gea.21935","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47007033","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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":"On de Mundo and pseudo-Aristotle, a geoarchaeological analysis","authors":"Stathis C. Stiros","doi":"10.1002/gea.21929","DOIUrl":"10.1002/gea.21929","url":null,"abstract":"<p>“De Mundo” (“On the Cosmos”), an influential ancient anonymous treatise (manuscript) covering natural phenomena and philosophical ideas, is assigned by the majority of investigators to pseudo-Aristotle, an unknown philosopher of Roman times mimicking Aristotle. This article focuses on differences in the geological content between “Meteorologica” (“Meteorology”), the famous work of Aristotle on Natural Sciences, and “de Mundo.” Four themes are examined: the evolution of the legend of the 373 BC earthquake and tsunami at Helike and Boura (Gulf of Corinth, Greece) based on new geoarchaeological and archaeological evidence, volcanic eruptions of the Aeolian Islands and Etna, but not of Vesuvius (Italy), neurotoxic effects of gas seepage, mostly in oracles, and the style of referencing to geological information. The new geoarchaeological evidence permits the dating of “de Mundo” in the first century AD, thereby refining previous interpretations, and implies no evidence of change in Aristotle's philosophical and geographical ideas at the end of his life. The overall analysis provides an explanation for the legend of the catastrophe of Helike, and it highlights the potential of geoarchaeological methods to provide new insights even into literary, philosophical, and geographical issues, and the dating of various ancient manuscripts.</p>","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":"37 6","pages":"819-839"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42237537","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Diversification of lithic raw materials used by Mesolithic inhabitants of Los Canes cave (Sierra del Cuera, Eastern Asturias, Spain), and quartz crystallite size of chert as an essential indicator parameter of its provenance","authors":"C. Marcos, María de Uribe-Zorita, Patricia Fernández, P. Álvarez-Lloret, Jorge Vallejo‐Llano, P. Arias","doi":"10.1002/gea.21930","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21930","url":null,"abstract":"Two types of studies were carried out on the lithic materials found in stratigraphic unit 6 of Los Canes cave used by Mesolithic human groups: (1) quantification of the retouched and nonretouched lithic materials to determine the adaptive strategy in relation to changes in the availability and technology resources and (2) crystallographic/mineralogical characterization of the nonretouched lithic materials using the RGB (R being red, G green, and B blue) code for color, transmission polarization optical microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, X‐ray fluorescence, infrared and Raman spectroscopies, and total organic carbon analyses. Cluster and factorial statistical analyses were performed to establish the relationship between samples. The main conclusions extracted are as follows: (1) The mobility of the inhabitants of Los Canes cave may have been very restricted, and they used local raw materials. (2) The inhabitants of Los Canes cave used chert preferentially in the elaboration of different typologies. (3) The mineralogical and elemental compositions of the chert samples from Level 6 of Los Canes cave and those from nearby outcrops are similar. (4) The crystallite size values of the tool cherts (>1000 Å) and the almost complete absence of moganite and chalcedony indicate a high degree of maturity and could belong to the Carboniferous, the period to which the cherts of the outcrops used for comparison also belong.","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":"37 1","pages":"902 - 922"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47062556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"3D modeling of the impact of ancient Yellow River floods on urban landscapes: A new look at the late imperial landscape at the Shuntianmen Site of Kaifeng City, Henan Province, China","authors":"Chen Panpan,&nbsp;Lu Peng,&nbsp;Yang Ruixia,&nbsp;Michael J. Storozum,&nbsp;Zhang Yingzhuo,&nbsp;Ge Qifeng,&nbsp;Wang Cheng,&nbsp;Yan Lijie,&nbsp;Wang Xia,&nbsp;Guo Lanbo,&nbsp;Wang Zhen,&nbsp;Zhai Haiguo","doi":"10.1002/gea.21931","DOIUrl":"10.1002/gea.21931","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Floods had a massive impact on the development of ancient cities around the world and understanding this phenomenon constitutes an essential part of the history of long-term and dynamic human–environment interactions. There remains, however, an enormous challenge in identifying records of ancient floods in urban environments due to various sedimentation and postdepositional processes that often remove, erase, and alter such environmental records. During archaeological excavations in the famous historic city of Kaifeng, we identified records of two historical floods at the Shuntianmen site. Related stratums were carefully studied, from which dating and sediment samples were collected. These excavated stratums were also scanned to obtain digital data for modeling. Combining these data, we then applied three-dimensional modeling to reconstruct the evolution of the natural and cultural landscape of the site since the Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127 AD), which was not possible in previous studies due to the deep burial of archaeological strata. Our results indicate that the two floods occurred during the late Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 AD) and the Qing Dynasty (1636–1912 AD), respectively. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Shuntianmen was an important part of Kaifeng, which was, at that time, the capital of China and one of the largest cities in the world. Later, during the Yuan and Ming dynasties, Shuntianmen became a suburban settlement situated along various traffic routes. During the Qing Dynasty, the area became a small village. Subsequently, the area was completely abandoned and deserted until modern Kaifeng, which was built at the same place. The evolution of the regional landscape is the direct result of the interaction between the natural environment and human activities, among which the precarious alluvial processes of the Yellow River were playing an increasingly vital role. Over the centuries, the Yellow River floods, warfare, and wind-blown sand accumulation reduced the Kaifeng region from a prosperous capital to a comparatively deserted area.</p>","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":"38 3","pages":"293-305"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-08-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48587877","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Possible linkage between Paleolithic site occurrence and past climate change in the central Korean Peninsula","authors":"Seungwon Shin, Yong-Hee Park, Jaesoo Lim, D. Cheong, Seung‐Yup Choi, Jeong-Heon Choi, Chang-Pyo Jun, H. Lim, Jin-Young Lee","doi":"10.1002/gea.21927","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21927","url":null,"abstract":"Korea's Paleolithic sites are primarily located in riverine environments and the margins of alluvial fans. More than 100 Paleolithic excavations have been conducted in the Korean Peninsula, but the relationship between the locations of these sites and past climate change has received little attention. In this study, we investigated this relationship at a Paleolithic site in Wonju city, Korea, that contained two cultural layers and yielded a total of 336 stone artifacts. The lithological units present at the site indicate that the sedimentary environment changed from a riverine sandy channel to an alluvial plain owing to channel migration at the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4. The alluvial plain sediments deposited during MIS 4–2 are characterized by low sand content (<5%) and two soil wedges. Most Paleolithic artifacts were excavated from the upper soil wedge, deposited during MIS 3 under relatively warm and wet conditions associated with global climatic changes (as indicated by sea level or continental ice volume) and the East Asian summer monsoon. The number of Paleolithic cultural layers increases in late MIS 3 in other regions, suggesting that climate conditions are an essential factor in the development of Paleolithic cultural layers.","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":"37 1","pages":"887 - 901"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47583180","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Life near the water: Geoarchaeological investigation of site formation processes and occupation patterns at the near-bank mound of Liangzhu City, China","authors":"Huiru Lian,&nbsp;Natalia Égüez,&nbsp;Minghui Chen,&nbsp;Kaikai Yan,&nbsp;Yonglei Wang,&nbsp;Ningyuan Wang,&nbsp;Bin Liu,&nbsp;Charles French","doi":"10.1002/gea.21928","DOIUrl":"10.1002/gea.21928","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Liangzhu City site, located in the center of the Liangzhu Culture (3300–2300 cal. BC), is characterized by gigantic earthen mounds containing about 10 million m³ of earth, as well as crisscrossed waterways that flow through the mounds. This study presents a geoarchaeological study of a mound structure adjacent to the South Zhongjiagang channel of Liangzhu City. By applying soil micromorphological and associated bulk sedimentological analyses, this study reconstructed the site formation processes and multiple occupations of the mound structure together with related hydrological changes. The results suggest that this site is in a near-bank activity area formed due to the build-up of sequential settlement buildings and activity deposits. At least six intact activity surfaces have been recognized based on the presence of intact matting materials and the trampling of fine anthropogenic debris. This study thus reports the first detailed micromorphological study of Neolithic floor sequences in East China. In addition, lipid and isotope analyses of the plant material shed light on how Liangzhu people exploited grass materials, especially bamboo, for both long-term and short-term occupation near waterways. This study has demonstrated the potential of micromorphological studies for reconstructing site formation processes and identifying different types of human activities in a landscape that was highly modified by Neolithic people. The findings have far-reaching implications for archaeological research around the Tai Lake region and investigations of other large earthen mound archaeological sites around the world.</p>","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":"38 3","pages":"268-292"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48329780","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Indurated soil nodules: A vestige of ancient agricultural practices?","authors":"Alain Giosa, T. Delbey, Clément Menbrivès, K. Rasmussen, Michelle Elliott, C. Petit","doi":"10.1002/gea.21926","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21926","url":null,"abstract":"The identification of controlled fires in ancient agricultural systems is important for understanding how past societies managed the landscape. Although the use of fire in agriculture is documented in recent historical records, and combustion markers can persist in soils over a long time scale, this is a complex issue because combustion traits in general are ubiquitous. Archaeopedological surveys undertaken in an ancient forest in Burgundy (France) have led to the recovery of several red indurated nodules scattered in the soils. Gallo‐Roman housing structures and parcels were recognized using light detection and ranging mapping, stimulating questions about the understanding of the nature of these nodules. Elemental and structural analyses by X‐ray fluorescence and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the local origin of these features by comparing their composition with on‐site sediments, and thermoluminescence dating placed the samples in the Medieval period. The results cast light on the nature of the nodules and how they can be related to controlled fires used in agricultural practices. Even though questions remain about which processes lead to the formation of the nodules, the firing temperature estimated via XRD analysis seems to be in agreement with that used in the “paring‐and‐burning” technique. The present study provides new information about medieval agriculture practices from the 10th to the 12th centuries CE and shows how past societies managed the opening and maintenance of agricultural fields using natural resources and “archaeological” remains from the antique period.","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":"37 1","pages":"870 - 886"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43025813","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Base cation evidence for enhanced water infiltration in Ancestral Pueblo gravel mulch fields, Northern New Mexico, USA","authors":"Nicholas V. Kessler","doi":"10.1002/gea.21925","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21925","url":null,"abstract":"In the Northern Rio Grande region of New Mexico, USA, Ancestral Pueblo villages experienced rapid demographic and economic growth in the late 14th and 15th centuries A.D. Recent research has proposed that this growth was underwritten by cotton production for exchange. Gravel mulch was an important component of cotton agriculture, but its function and soil legacies are not well understood. Since water management was likely a critical feature of gravel mulch, this study examines soil variables affected by changes to water supply. Gravel mulch analyzed in this study was found to have a substantial impact on the surface soil particle size distribution, but other aspects of soil quality were unaffected. The depth profiles of base cation ratios in mulched and unmodified locations suggest that gravel mulch continues to enhance water infiltration. Based on the timing of cotton development and inferred infiltration depths associated with gravel mulch soils, gravel mulch technology is well suited to the monsoonal precipitation regime of the region and the phenology of cotton.","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":"37 1","pages":"858 - 869"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44146948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mapping magnetism: Geophysical modelling of stratigraphic features by using in situ magnetic susceptibility measurements at Pinnacle Point 5‐6 North, South Africa","authors":"Ada Dinckal, E. Fisher, A. Herries, C. Marean","doi":"10.1002/gea.21924","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21924","url":null,"abstract":"This study utilizes geostatistical modelling of magnetic susceptibility (MS) for geophysical prospection of archaeological stratigraphy at the Middle Stone Age rock shelter site of Pinnacle Point 5‐6 North. These models are overlaid onto high‐resolution photography of the stratigraphic sequence to study the lateral and vertical changes within the magnetic signature of the archaeological sequence and correlate these changes to micromorphological interpretations previously made at the site. In situ analysis is reinforced by laboratory magnetic mineralogical analysis utilizing MS; frequency‐dependent susceptibility (χFD); isothermal remanent magnetization; and anhysteric remanent magnetization to understand the composition of the magnetic minerals creating the in situ signature. This study shows that there is consistent variation in the magnetic signatures of the sequence that can be mapped with in situ MS; there is a correlation with laboratory analysis of magnetic mineralogy, which provides insight into changes in human behaviour; and our models correlate well with micromorphological interpretations of the site.","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":"37 1","pages":"840 - 857"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46703798","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Applying geoarchaeological principles to marine archaeology: A reappraisal of the “first marine” and “in situ” lithic scatters in the Dampier Archipelago, NW Australia","authors":"Ingrid Ward,&nbsp;Piers Larcombe,&nbsp;Peter J. Ross,&nbsp;Chris Fandry","doi":"10.1002/gea.21917","DOIUrl":"10.1002/gea.21917","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The absence of known prehistoric underwater cultural heritage (UCH) sites on the Australian inner shelf stands in stark contrast to the thousands of sites revealed elsewhere in the world. Two recent claims—Dortch et al. (D2019) and Benjamin et al. (B2020)—put forward the first in situ (i.e., primary context) UCH sites in the shallow waters of the Dampier Archipelago, North West Australia, each arguing that the stone artefact scatters are at least 7000 years old and are now submerged because of postglacial sea-level rise. We present new hydrodynamic modelling and data on coastal erosion and bathymetry, and reassess each site's sedimentary setting and archaeological site-formation history. D2019 and B2020 clearly present lithic cultural artefacts, but the arguments for their sites being of primary context and reflecting early Holocene land surfaces are mistaken. Rather, these sites occur in the intertidal zone, and many or all artefacts are likely to have been reworked. Sites of secondary context, if treated appropriately, can inform our understanding of site-formation process and change, and may support more powerful contributions to submerged archaeology than attempts to seek the first or the oldest.</p>","PeriodicalId":55117,"journal":{"name":"Geoarchaeology-An International Journal","volume":"37 5","pages":"783-810"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2022-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/gea.21917","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41835641","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}