Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences最新文献

{"title":"Cultural and social innovations in southwestern China during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition","authors":"Yongxu Fu,&nbsp;Yuqing Wang,&nbsp;Xinglong Zhang,&nbsp;Valentine Arnaud,&nbsp;Solange Rigaud,&nbsp;Hao Li,&nbsp;Luc Doyon","doi":"10.1007/s12520-026-02541-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-026-02541-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The Pleistocene-Holocene transition witnessed diverse pathways to socio-economic complexity globally. In contrast to the agricultural trajectories, communities in the karst landscapes of southwestern China maintained a resilient, long-term foraging tradition. This study examines the technology and function of organic artifacts from Niupodong Cave, Guizhou, through the analysis of teeth and bone tools, and personal ornaments. The results reveal a diversified osseous technological repertoire, providing direct evidence for symbolic expression, garment making, freshwater fishing, and probable plant processing. Critically, the presence of marine shells indicates long-distance exchange or mobility networks linking this inland site to coastal regions at least 600 km away. These findings illuminate a pattern of gradual, locally embedded innovation where technological elaboration and expanding social networks enhanced a mixed foraging context without an immediate shift to agriculture. The Niupodong assemblage demonstrates the need to document regional technological and subsistence changes at a micro-scale to investigate the extent to which they relate to ecological resources, subsistence economy, and social organization during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition in southwestern China.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"18 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148661943","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cultural and social innovations in southwestern China during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition","authors":"Yongxu Fu,&nbsp;Yuqing Wang,&nbsp;Xinglong Zhang,&nbsp;Valentine Arnaud,&nbsp;Solange Rigaud,&nbsp;Hao Li,&nbsp;Luc Doyon","doi":"10.1007/s12520-026-02541-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-026-02541-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The Pleistocene-Holocene transition witnessed diverse pathways to socio-economic complexity globally. In contrast to the agricultural trajectories, communities in the karst landscapes of southwestern China maintained a resilient, long-term foraging tradition. This study examines the technology and function of organic artifacts from Niupodong Cave, Guizhou, through the analysis of teeth and bone tools, and personal ornaments. The results reveal a diversified osseous technological repertoire, providing direct evidence for symbolic expression, garment making, freshwater fishing, and probable plant processing. Critically, the presence of marine shells indicates long-distance exchange or mobility networks linking this inland site to coastal regions at least 600 km away. These findings illuminate a pattern of gradual, locally embedded innovation where technological elaboration and expanding social networks enhanced a mixed foraging context without an immediate shift to agriculture. The Niupodong assemblage demonstrates the need to document regional technological and subsistence changes at a micro-scale to investigate the extent to which they relate to ecological resources, subsistence economy, and social organization during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition in southwestern China.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"18 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148662013","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Using bone retouchers in the early Middle Palaeolithic. First application of a multi-proxy approach to Biache-Saint-Vaast (MIS 7)","authors":"M.-P. Vignes,&nbsp;K. Alaime,&nbsp;F. Bray,&nbsp;V. Rots,&nbsp;P. Auguste,&nbsp;M.-A. Julien","doi":"10.1007/s12520-026-02530-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-026-02530-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In recent years, the number of studies on bone tools from Middle Palaeolithic contexts has increased considerably. Mainly identified as retouchers and predominantly documented during the transition from the Middle to the Upper Palaeolithic, around 50 to 40 ka BP, these bone tools provide key insights into <i>Homo neanderthalensis</i> behaviour. The bone tool assemblage from Biache-Saint-Vaast (Pas-de-Calais, northern France, MIS 7), although never studied in detail, is one of the largest known for early Neanderthal occupations in northern France. Several approaches can be applied to the study of bone artefacts, particularly those focusing on raw material management and techno-functional aspects. Owing to the exceptional preservation of its surfaces, the Biache-Saint-Vaast material is especially well-suited for testing different analytical techniques. Here, we present the results of a multi-scalar approach combining anatomical studies, palaeoproteomics (ZooMS and LC-MS/MS), taphonomy, traceology, and experimentation. Applied to 10 archaeological artefacts, this study represents the first successful application of such an approach to ancient bone tools. Our results highlight the potential and importance of conducting similarly comprehensive studies on larger assemblages of bone artefacts, including those recovered from ancient open-air contexts, as well as the need to develop additional comparative datasets.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"18 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148615093","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Chert procurement for inferring Neanderthal mobility in central western Iberia","authors":"Telmo Pereira,&nbsp;Ana Abrunhosa,&nbsp;Eduardo Paixão,&nbsp;Milena Carvalho,&nbsp;Jonathan Haws,&nbsp;Michael Benedetti,&nbsp;Eduardo Alves,&nbsp;Luís Alves","doi":"10.1007/s12520-026-02535-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-026-02535-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Lithic raw material sourcing is one of the most effective approaches for inferring exploitation territories during the Palaeolithic, including for Neanderthals. Certain raw materials, particularly chert, are especially well suited to this type of investigation because the distinctive characteristics of each geological source can be reliably identified through a combination of macroscopic observation, low-magnification analysis, and geochemical methods. With that in mind we questioned if chert sourcing would allow identification of territorial patterns for the Neanderthal populations of central Portugal, in western-most Iberia. To answer that question, we conducted an exploratory study comparing archaeological cherts from Gruta Nova da Columbeira, Praia Rei Cortiço and Mira Nascente with geological samples from nearby sources using macroscopic, low-magnification PIXE and pXRF analysis. Our results showed similarities between archaeological and geological cherts proving that the sites, sources and analytical protocols used were viable for such investigation and, therefore, can be developed and refined in the future. They also showed that correspondences between geological and archaeological cherts are limited to the area between the coast and the western façade of the first mountain ridge (Serra d’Áire e Candeeiros) to the east, and between the Cesaredas Plateau to the south and the River Lis to the north. This territory is adjacent to the area already delimited by chert sourcing and isotopic analysis for the Neanderthals that occupied Oliveira Cave, located at the southeastern façade of the same mountain range. This contributes to a better understanding of Neanderthal territorial patterns, which is particularly important in regions where research is underdeveloped and where identifying other patterns of variability, particularly across time, has proven difficult.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"18 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12520-026-02535-0.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148615095","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"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":"Archaeofauna from an Early Iron Age (900 − 500 BCE) village in Central Iberia: the role of meat consumption and secondary products in an extended household at Cerro de San Vicente (Salamanca, Spain)","authors":"Rocío Pazos-García,&nbsp;Antonio Blanco-González,&nbsp;Esteban Álvarez-Fernández","doi":"10.1007/s12520-026-02537-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-026-02537-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This paper presents the results of the archaeozoological analysis of more than 5,000 bone remains in a domestic context in the village of Cerro de San Vicente (Salamanca, Spain). One of the objectives is to infer the use of domesticates and meat consumption in a multi-dwelling compound arranged around a central courtyard dating from c. 650 − 500 BCE and interpreted as the neighbourhood of a well-off virilocal corporate group, which yield numerous indications of intensely ritualised maintenance, festive and commensal activities. The study of the fauna is approached here from a taxonomic, anatomical and taphonomic perspective, and the target depositional contexts were several middens and the occupation layers infilling domestic structures. The results indicate the predominance of the consumption of adult sheep and goats, adult bovids and the slaughter of adult pigs, consistent with husbandry strategies focused on secondary products. This investigation draws attention to the high proportion of bone remains from game species such as deer compared to domestic species. Selective slaughter of young individuals, as well as the sporadic consumption of chelonians, equids and probably dogs, are spatially associated with a domestic sanctuary, suggesting special commensal or ritual consumption.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"18 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12520-026-02537-y.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148614731","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"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":"Correction to: Fishing at the Late Islamic settlement in Kharā’ib al‑Dasht, Failaka Island, Kuwait","authors":"Urszula Iwaszczuk,&nbsp;Agnieszka Pieńkowska,&nbsp;Wim Wouters,&nbsp;Anna Gręzak,&nbsp;Marta Mierzejewska","doi":"10.1007/s12520-026-02525-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-026-02525-2","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"18 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148614382","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Production and provenance of Inka pottery in Qullasuyu: petrographic and geochemical evidence from the Arica-Carangas macroregion (northern Chile and western Bolivia)","authors":"Ester Echenique,&nbsp;James Davenport,&nbsp;Frances M. Hayashida,&nbsp;Thibault Saintenoy,&nbsp;Calogero Santoro,&nbsp;Joselline Quijada,&nbsp;Paloma Arellano,&nbsp;Brandi L. MacDonald,&nbsp;Suzanne Eckert","doi":"10.1007/s12520-026-02527-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-026-02527-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The production and circulation of Inka ceramics were central to structuring negotiations between the Inka state and local communities annexed to Tawantinsuyu, as well as to strategies of imperial legitimization and control. Archaeological and ethnohistorical evidence indicates that distinctive Inka ceramics—such as <i>urpus</i> (or aríbalos) and shallow plates, often decorated with polychrome designs—were used in the provinces to emphasize the state’s role as both a symbolic and material sponsor. Studies of Inka ceramic production show that potters were relocated throughout the empire to provincial administrative centers and production enclaves, including in Qullasuyu, the southeastern sector of Tawantinsuyu. However, the limited identification of Inka-style pottery production sites in Qullasuyu, together with the scarcity of regional analyses of ceramic technology, has hindered our understanding of the origins of Inka vessels circulating in the southern provinces—specifically whether they were produced in centralized workshops, locally produced, imported, or resulted from multiple production strategies. Using ceramic petrographic analysis and neutron activation analysis, this study shows that Inka ceramic production and circulation in one region of Qullasuyu was more complex than previously assumed. The results highlight the compositional diversity of Inka-style ceramics associated with the Arica–Carangas macroregion, spanning present-day northern Chile and western Bolivia, revealing that multiple strategies of production and distribution operated within this province. This diversity reflects varied production origins, interpreted as the material expression of differentiated circulation and distribution networks of Inka-style pottery across the southern provinces. Overall, the findings support the absence of a centralized system of pottery production, provide no evidence for local manufacture in the study area, and suggest that vessels circulated through multiple, differentiated networks of interaction.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"18 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148614214","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Patterns of regional production and distribution of red slip pottery in the Ararat Plain and Sevan Lake basin during the Urartian and post-Urartian periods (8th–6th centuries BCE)","authors":"Mateusz Iskra,&nbsp;Barbara Woronko,&nbsp;Hayk Avetisyan,&nbsp;Miqayel Badalyan,&nbsp;Stéphane Deschamps,&nbsp;Saskia Erhardt,&nbsp;François Fichet de Clairfontaine,&nbsp;Sandra Heinsch-Kuntner,&nbsp;Tomasz M. Kossowski,&nbsp;Walter Kuntner,&nbsp;Achim Lichtenberger,&nbsp;Aurelia Lureau,&nbsp;Karen Pahlevanyan,&nbsp;Ashot Piliposyan,&nbsp;Torben Schreiber,&nbsp;Hasmik Simonyan,&nbsp;Katarzyna Zalewska,&nbsp;Mkrtich H. Zardaryan,&nbsp;Arshavir Hovhannisyan","doi":"10.1007/s12520-026-02531-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-026-02531-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Red slip pottery represents one of the most technologically and morphologically distinctive ceramic traditions of the South Caucasus. Its appearance and initial phase of development, known as Urartian Red Burnished Ware, are closely linked with the existence of the Urartian Kingdom during the Middle Iron Age. This study examines patterns of production and distribution of red slip pottery in the northeastern provinces of the Urartian Kingdom, covering the area between the Ararat Plain and Lake Sevan. The analysis is based on a technological and provenance study of 87 potsherds from ten archaeological sites dated to the 8th–6th centuries BCE. The analytical framework combines thin-section petrography, ICP-MS geochemical analyses of ceramic fabrics, and SEM-EDS investigations of the microstructure and chemical composition of the red slip. The results point to the existence of at least four production centers within the region, characterised by a broadly standardised slip technology and more variable recipes of the ceramic bodies. These findings indicate that the availability of suitable raw materials for red slip production likely played a major role in constraining both the scale of manufacture and the spatial distribution of red- slip pottery. Moreover, access to this pottery appears to have been influenced by the position of individual settlements within the regional economic system, particularly their administrative, political, or economic significance within the Urartian Kingdom.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"18 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12520-026-02531-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148614007","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"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":"Technological strategies and morphometric variation in MSA pointed tools from Gademotta and Kulkuletti (280–180 ka), Main Ethiopian Rift","authors":"Misganaw Gebremichael,&nbsp;Lloyd A. Courtenay,&nbsp;Yonas Beyene,&nbsp;Anne Delagnes","doi":"10.1007/s12520-026-02536-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-026-02536-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Pointed tools are common throughout the Acheulean–Middle Stone Age (MSA: ~300–35 ka) transition and are often considered a hallmark of the MSA. Produced through different reduction systems, they provide an opportunity to examine whether variation in lithic reduction strategies is associated with differences in tool morphology and volumetric properties. To address this, we analyze 115 complete pointed tools from Gademotta (ETH-72-8B) and Kulkuletti (ETH-72-1) in the Main Ethiopian Rift (c. 280–182 ka). We combine technological analysis with morpho-volumetric measures (Tip Cross-Sectional Area and Perimeter) and geometric morphometric approaches, including Elliptic Fourier Analysis (EFA) applied to 2D and pseudo-3D outlines derived from 3D models. Despite clear technological differences between assemblages, morphometric analyses reveal extensive overlap. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) identifies no discrete shape categories, and multivariate regressions indicate weak allometric effects. Variation in TCSA and TCSP is not statistically significant, although ETH-72-1 shows greater dispersion. A significant difference is observed only at the distal cross-section, indicating localized variation rather than overall morphological divergence. These results indicate that technological variation did not produce distinct morphological outcomes but instead generated continuous variability within a shared design framework, reflecting limited variability rather than morphological diversification. These findings further inform the Acheulean-MSA transition, suggesting a reorganization and transformation of production strategies rather than a redesign of tool concepts, and highlighting technological flexibility within stable design frameworks.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"18 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148614044","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"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 histological approach to mortuary variability in Early Bronze Age Transylvania","authors":"Nandini Subramaniam,&nbsp;Colin P. Quinn,&nbsp;Jess Beck,&nbsp;Horia Ciugudean,&nbsp;Claes Uhnér,&nbsp;Hannah Lau","doi":"10.1007/s12520-026-02532-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-026-02532-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The shift from the Copper Age (c. 3600–2700 BCE) to the Early Bronze Age (c. 2700–2000 BCE) in Transylvania (Romania) was a period of significant changes in mortuary practices. We combine bone histology with bioarchaeological and archaeological assessments of mortuary variability to better understand the organization and diversity of funerary practices in the region. Bone histology, the study of microscopic structures of connective tissues in bone, can help disentangle complex mortuary programs. In this study we detail histological analyses of burials from two Early Bronze Age cemeteries: Meteș-<i>La Meteșel</i>, an upland cemetery associated with local Transylvanian communities, and Hăpria, a lowland cemetery associated with Yamnaya migrants. We identify the presence of multiple different pathways from death to burial in primary inhumations and secondary inhumations at these sites. The results here provide new insights into the complex process of cultural exchange during a time of social transformation and high human mobility.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"18 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12520-026-02532-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148466397","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}