Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences最新文献

{"title":"Early Arabian Neolithic agropastoral communities from Asifir, Northwestern Saudi Arabia","authors":"Rémy Crassard,&nbsp;Yamandú H. Hilbert,&nbsp;Michèle Dinies,&nbsp;Hervé Monchot,&nbsp;Bruno Depreux,&nbsp;Samer Sahlah,&nbsp;Walid Al-Badaiwi,&nbsp;Guillaume Charloux","doi":"10.1007/s12520-025-02234-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-025-02234-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Discovered during the survey of ancient Madyan, in the modern Al-Bad‘ oasis in north-western Saudi Arabia, the site of Asifir is distinguished by numerous surface concentrations of Neolithic artefacts. Low sediment mounds identified at the site indicated the possible preservation of in situ archaeological remains; one such mound was excavated in November 2019. Dated to the Early Arabian Neolithic period, Asifir is an open-air site located at the top of a conglomerate terrace along Wadi Ifal. The archaeology from the site is characterized by a high number of lithic artefacts, such as flakes, blades, and bladelets, as well as various lithic tools, including arrowheads, sickle blade insets, scrapers, borers, and grindstones. Personal ornaments such as small-sized worked shells and beads, are also present. The excavations have yielded a large hearth, with faunal (including mammals, birds and fish), malacological and botanical macro-remains. The archaeological evidence reveals the nature of the site as probably a dwelling place where domestic activities were performed. Presence of sickle blades with pronounced gloss represents a remarkable and unique find in Saudi Arabia, providing compelling evidence for cereal harvesting practices, possibly involving domesticated species such as <i>Hordeum vulgare</i> (barley). Asifir represents one of the rare sites in Saudi Arabia dating to this period, and one of the rare to indicate the use of agropastoral subsistence strategies in the region some 9000 years ago.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12520-025-02234-2.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144117741","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":"Living on sand. A functional and PDSM analysis of obsidian and other volcanic rock tools from two coastal settlements: Playa Chica and Dunas de Maspalomas (Gran Canaria, Spain)","authors":"Idaira Brito-Abrante,&nbsp;Laurence Astruc,&nbsp;Jonathan Santana,&nbsp;Jacob Morales,&nbsp;Amelia Rodríguez-Rodríguez","doi":"10.1007/s12520-025-02245-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-025-02245-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The state of the surfaces of prehistoric stone tools must be assessed before initiating traceological research as they may have suffered from post-depositional surface modifications (PDSM) stemming from sediment and aeolian abrasion and trampling that could have eliminated their original use-wear traces. PDSM research not only serves to avoid misinterpreting the use-wear but can shed light on formation processes of archaeological sites. Recognising these modifications helps determine the choice of which stones to study, especially in the case of industrial volcanic rock assemblages where use-wear analyses require a deep understanding of their physical characteristics. Observations of tools from two coastal indigenous settlements on the Island of Gran Canaria, notably Playa Chica (sixth-thirteenth centuries AD) and Dunas de Maspalomas (eighth-eleventh centuries AD), reveal the problems of identifying the use-wear in the framework of activities carried out in open, sandy environments. Moreover, the composition and granulometry of the sands of each site differ. The objective of this study is thus to identify the effects of the mechanical alterations provoked by these sands on the macro and micro use-wear of the different archaeological tools hewn from obsidian and other volcanic rocks. This was carried out by means of a programme of experimentation involving knapping a series of tools of both obsidian and other volcanic rocks, working them with different types of contact materials (animal and plant) to observe their use-wear, and ultimately simulate the PDSM they suffered in a vibration device using sand samples collected at each of the two sites. The findings shed new light on the post-depositional taphonomic alterations affecting the surfaces and use-wear of archaeological volcanic rocks tools.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12520-025-02245-z.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144100429","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":"Taphonomy through fisheyes: an historical and methodological overview","authors":"Irit Zohar,&nbsp;Arturo Morales-Muñiz,&nbsp;Eufrasia Roselló-Izquierdo,&nbsp;Yolanda Fernández-Jalvo,&nbsp;Romina Frontini","doi":"10.1007/s12520-025-02233-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-025-02233-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This paper provides a comprehensive overview of recent advancements in archaeological fish taphonomy, synthesizing key achievements in the field. We remark that although taphonomic research in archaeology has traditionally focused on mammalian remains, fish taphonomy began to grow steadily from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, and was followed by exponential growth in subsequent decades. Today, fish taphonomy is experiencing an unprecedented expansion in scope, objectives, methodologies, and analytical techniques. This progress has enabled the developmemt of both quantitative and qualitative criteria for reliably identifying the agents responsible for fish accumulation (e.g., humans, animals, natural deaths) and the diagenetic processes involved (e.g., cultural practices, deformations, abrasion). Throughout the paper we stress the significant role that state-of-the-art techniques and meta-data analyses play to enhance our understanding of how taphonomic processes shape the preservation of fish remains in archaeological contexts, broadening the analytical tools to reconstruct ancient human communities and their economies.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12520-025-02233-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144100430","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":"Changes in lithic raw material and technological management during the Mesolithic: a view from El Mazo (Northern Iberia)","authors":"Diego Herrero-Alonso,&nbsp;Natividad Fuertes-Prieto,&nbsp;Antonio Tarriño,&nbsp;David Cuenca-Solana,&nbsp;Asier García-Escárzaga,&nbsp;Jorge Calvo-Gómez,&nbsp;Igor Gutiérrez-Zugasti","doi":"10.1007/s12520-025-02225-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-025-02225-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study investigates the lithic industry at the Mesolithic shell midden site of El Mazo (Andrín, Asturias), on the Asturian coastline in Northern Iberia, focusing on resource management, production strategies, and mobility patterns of the last hunter-gatherer-fishers. El Mazo provides a unique opportunity to examine lithic resource use across the Early-Middle Holocene transition, with a particular emphasis on the dynamic of the 8.2 ka climate event. Raw material analysis reveals that most lithic resources originated locally (&lt; 30 km), although some were transported from distances exceeding 250 km, indicating extensive mobility and exchange networks. Technological trends (bladelet production) and typological changes in microliths (backed points and geometric forms) across the extensive stratigraphy connect this sequence to broader Mesolithic developments in both Iberian and European contexts. The occurrence of trapezoids and microburins at the base of the stratigraphic sequence links this assemblage to the European Second Mesolithic and the Iberian Geometric Mesolithic. The 8.2 ka event stands out as a pivotal period marked by increased mobility and intensified long-distance contacts, influencing both raw material procurement and armature typology. However, post-8000 cal BP stratigraphic units indicate a narrowing of lithic resource acquisition ranges, alongside the introduction of new geometric forms such as triangles and a novel retouch technique (“double bevel”). This highlights diachronic changes around 8000 cal BP that align with broader Iberian trends. These findings challenge traditional conceptions of the Asturian culture as isolated; instead revealing complex adaptive strategies, dynamic territorial organization, and extensive connectivity among Mesolithic groups in northern Iberia.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12520-025-02225-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144091143","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":"Silcrete use and heat treatment in the middle stone age at Nelson Bay cave, South Africa","authors":"Sara E. Watson","doi":"10.1007/s12520-025-02240-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-025-02240-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The heat treatment of lithic raw materials to modify their physical properties was a major technological innovation of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) and was present by at least ~ 130 ka in southern Africa. Most research on the heat treatment of silcrete in MSA lithic technology have come from sites in western South Africa. Less data is available about the context in which silcrete was acquired and modified along the southern coast, raising questions regarding how widespread the heat treatment of silcrete was in the MSA. This paper examines how silcrete was used at Nelson Bay Cave, South Africa and the role of heat treatment in MSA technology at the site. Silcrete was a minor component of Early MSA lithic technology but makes a comparatively high contribution to the assemblage in the earliest Howiesons Poort layers at the site. Frequencies of silcrete use decrease in the later Howiesons Poort. The application heat treatment remains relatively consistent, despite variation in the contribution of silcrete to the lithic assemblage. Results from Nelson Bay Cave support data from other sites in southern Africa indicating the widespread use of heat treatment in the Early MSA with little change in frequency through the Howiesons Poort.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144073720","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":"Magdalenian environments and ecosystems of the northern Alpine foreland: the case of Gnirshöhle and Petersfels","authors":"Theoni Panagiotopoulou,&nbsp;Madison J. McCartin,&nbsp;Susanne C. Münzel,&nbsp;Dorothée G. Drucker,&nbsp;Britt M. Starkovich,&nbsp;Samantha Brown,&nbsp;Yvonne Tafelmaier,&nbsp;Chris Baumann","doi":"10.1007/s12520-025-02230-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-025-02230-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>After the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM: ~ 26.5–19.0 ka cal BP), large-scale warming resulted in glacial retreat and climatic amelioration, prompting changes to local and regional ecosystems across Eurasia during the Late Glacial. Consequently, Magdalenian hunter-gatherers reoccupied parts of Central Europe that were mostly devoid of humans during the LGM. Petersfels and Gnirshöhle (~ 17.0–13.0 ka cal BP), two Magdalenian cave sites in the Hegau Jura of southwestern Germany, preserve the later stages of this recolonization and serve as archives of paleoenvironmental data. In this study, we examine carbon (<i>δ</i>¹³C) and oxygen (<i>δ</i>¹⁸O) stable isotopes in horse (<i>Equus ferus</i>) and bovine (<i>Bos/Bison</i> sp.) tooth enamel carbonate from both sites to investigate the microenvironment of the northern Alpine foreland. We contextualize our results within a broader geographical framework by comparing the Hegau Jura to Verberie (Le Buisson Campin), a contemporaneous Magdalenian site in northern France (~ 16.0–14.0 ka cal BP). The apparent difference in <i>δ</i>¹⁸O suggests that northern France was warmer with weaker seasonal climatic fluctuations than southwestern Germany. This difference likely affected cold-adapted fauna, such as reindeer (<i>Rangifer tarandus</i>), resulting in diverse animal ecologies that influenced hunter-gatherer subsistence behaviors across western and central Europe. Our exploration of Magdalenian landscapes reveals a mosaic of ecological variability, which likely influenced daily activities such as movement and food procurement, highlighting the interconnected relationship between environment and hunter-gatherer behavior during this period.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12520-025-02230-6.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143944350","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: Birds from the oven: the Middle Palaeolithic avifauna of Tabun Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel","authors":"Linda Amos,&nbsp;Reuven Yeshurun,&nbsp;Mina Weinstein‑Evron,&nbsp;Ron Shimelmitz","doi":"10.1007/s12520-025-02239-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-025-02239-x","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12520-025-02239-x.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143938569","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":"Investigating Bronze Casting Production in Chu’s Western Borderlands during the late Warring States Period (c.306–221 BC): A case study of metallurgical materials excavated from tomb M19 of the Wangbao cemetery in Hunan, China","authors":"Hang Xiao,&nbsp;Wei Yuan,&nbsp;Yingfu Li,&nbsp;Leixu Tong,&nbsp;Yuniu Li","doi":"10.1007/s12520-025-02237-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-025-02237-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The Wangbao cemetery (王堡墓地) is a burial site associated with the Sifangcheng settlement in Baojing County, Hunan Province, with tombs from the late Warring States period (306–221 BC) exhibiting typical Chu features. Analysis of the metallurgical materials excavated from tomb M19, suggests that bronze casting activities may have occurred at Sifangcheng during this period, with two types of alloys identified: lead–tin bronze and tin bronze. The lead isotope ratios of samples BJ-22, BJ-26, BJ-23, BJ-24, BJ-25, and BJ-27 indicate the likely sources of the lead material, suggesting it was sourced from areas in western Henan or western Hunan. The lead isotope ratio of sample BJ-21 indicates that the source of the copper material is likely close to the copper mines along the Yangtze River in present Jiangxi and Hubei provinces. Based on existing literature and research, it is likely that the tin materials used in western Hunan originated in the southern region of the Nanling Mountains. Being located in Chu’s western borderlands during the mid to late Warring States period (391–221 BC), a relatively complete bronze production system, including mining, smelting, and casting, has been established in the western Hunan region. Among these, the metallurgical artifacts from Wangbao M19 not only directly reflect the technological aspects of bronze production in the middle reaches of the Youshui River, but also serve as a concrete manifestation of the Chu state’s development and control over its western frontier during this period.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143938579","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":"Tyrants, democrats and the first silver ‘owl’ coins of Athens","authors":"Gillan Davis,&nbsp;Janne Blichert-Toft,&nbsp;Liesel Gentelli,&nbsp;Francis Albarède","doi":"10.1007/s12520-025-02229-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-025-02229-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Late in the sixth century BCE, the ancient Athenians overthrew the previous tyrant rulers and adopted a new democratic form of government militarily establishing themselves as a regional power. They constructed a fleet which played a crucial role in defeating the Persian invasion of 480/79 BCE and led to their creation of a naval-based empire. A key funding source for the ships was silver from the domestic mines at Lavrion situated in the south-east corner of Attica (Hdt. 7.144; <i>Ath. Pol</i>. 22.7). The current consensus based on earlier metal analysis is that the Athenians must have found and exploited the rich, so-called ‘third contact’ silver mines in 520–515 BCE, a discovery that led to the introduction of the larger tetradrachm monetary unit (Kraay, 1956) and the iconic ‘owl’ coin ‘type’ (Picard, 2001) as a branded medium for exporting silver. Here, we present new lead isotopic and elemental abundance data for 52 archaic Athenian owls (pre-479 BCE) combined with previously published legacy data for 12 other owls. The results show that only a small proportion of the coins were wholly struck from Lavrion ore or other discrete sources while most of the coins were struck from Lavrion ore mixed with ore from a single or homogeneous, geologically older source. Crucially, this was not the multitude of external sources used for the preceding <i>Wappenmünzen</i> series. We deduce that the discovery of the third contact only occurred shortly before 483/2 BCE, precisely as claimed in the literary sources, at which point Lavrion silver came to represent the bulk of the supply. This forces a reappraisal of the current paradigm since it seems that there was no abrupt and complete change of ore source to Lavrion, and therefore this cannot be connected with the introduction of the owl coin type. It also impacts our understanding of the very low gold content of Athenian owls compared with the earlier <i>Wappenmünzen</i> series, which should be attributed to the replacement of ore sources.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12520-025-02229-z.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143925674","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":"Tracing the origins of Carnelian ornaments in Northeast Africa: morphological, technological and chemical compositional analyses of beads from medieval and post-medieval upper Nubia, Sudan","authors":"Jonathan Mark Kenoyer,&nbsp;Joanna Then-Obłuska,&nbsp;Randall Law,&nbsp;Laure Dussubieux","doi":"10.1007/s12520-025-02228-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12520-025-02228-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Morphological, technological and chemical compositional analyses of carnelian beads and raw materials from two sites in ancient Sudan are presented. Six carnelian beads are from Banganarti, a Christian pilgrimage center of the Makuria Kingdom (9th -14th centuries) and 18 beads and two carnelian flake fragments are from Old Dongola, capital of the Kingdom of Dongola (14th–18th centuries). Bead shapes show considerable variation, but bead perforations were all done with diamond tipped drills, a technique originating in ancient India and closely associated with South Asian bead workshop traditions. Chemical compositional analyses using laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and data processing using both Canonical Discriminate Analysis and Principal Components Analysis, show that many of the beads were made using carnelian that can be sourced to peninsular or western India. Other beads derive from geological sources in Iran, Yemen, Egypt and Türkiye. The two carnelian flakes source to India. These beads provide new insights into issues of technology transfer, stylistic variation and trade networks linking Medieval and post-medieval Nubia to distant regions of West and South Asia.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"17 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12520-025-02228-0.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143919228","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}