The changing Neolithic household: Household autonomy and social segmentation, Tell Halula, Syria

While households are widely held to have existed as the fundamental building block of early agricultural villages, researchers have only a limited understanding of the local social and economic trajectory of Neolithic households. Expanding our archaeological understanding of the Neolithic household beyond architecture, settlement organization, and subsistence practices, in this paper we explore how gradual changes in mortuary practices at Tell Halula, Syria, help us to understand the process of household development around 7500–7300 Cal. BC. Drawing upon high-resolution mortuary data we consider the tempo and mechanisms of change and how these patterns help us understand the organization of the household. Material patterns including the increased use of burial objects, an increased frequency of the placement of burial objects among adults, and the differential use of burial objects between households. These represent subtle, yet observable, small-scale shifts in how social roles were redefined and materialized. We argue that these reflect a series of gradual changes that are suggestive of increased household autonomy and an increase in social segmentation within and between households. The Tell Halula data highlight elements of continuity and how household members adhered to a broadly shared physical and organizational framework of life. Data also illustrate how household members developed subtle means by which practices were personalization, and potentially, reflect growing means by which households and individuals were identified within these communities. Collectively, this research provides a detailed understanding of the grass-roots building blocks of Neolithic households over a short time frame and a more detailed understanding of the local social and economic trajectory of Neolithic households.     

“Funerary bundles” in the PPNB at the archaeological site of Tell Halula (middle Euphrates valley,Syria): analysis of the taphonomic dynamics of seated bodies

This paper presents the results of the taphonomic analysis of the burials from Tell Halula (Middle Euphrates Valley, Syria). The numerous burials recovered from this Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) settlement, in addition to the large volume of field documentation, have provided an opportunity to study burials in more depth than is usually allowed. This data set is important because of the unique mode of deposition, the exceptional preservation of the related assemblages (including fabrics, mats, and basketry) and the highly standardized nature of the funerary practices. Although the burials were found in various stages of preservation and articulation, we will show that they all represented the same type of funerary deposit, namely seated burials, often encased in bottle-shaped funerary bundles, and that the variability found during excavation can be attributed to post-depositional taphonomic effects. We provide a study of the different forms that result from these taphonomic influences and highlight the importance of doing this type of analysis. We hope that this paper will be a valuable contribution to the growing body of literature surrounding both seated burials and the taphonomy of burials.     

The Neolithic Macro-(R)evolution: Macroevolutionary Theory and the Study of Culture Change

The macroevolutionary approach in archaeology represents the most recent example in a long tradition of applying principles of biological evolution to the study of culture change. Archaeologists working within this paradigm see macroevolutionary theory as an effective response to the shortcomings of neo-Darwinian biological evolution for studying cultural evolution. Rather than operating at the level of individual traits, macroevolutionary archaeologists emphasize the role of hierarchical processes in culture change. While neo-Darwinian archaeologists disavow any element of human intent in culture change, to macroevolutionary archaeologists human agency is a key component of cultural evolution that allows cultures to respond to pressures more quickly and with greater degree of flexibility and directedness than found in biological evolution. Major culture change, when it happens, is likely to be rapid, even revolutionary, with periods of rapid change separated by periods of relative stasis of actively maintained stability. The emergence of Neolithic cultures has long been recognized as one of two periods of major revolutionary culture change in human prehistory. Here I examine the record for the Near East, tracing the empirical record for the origin of agriculture in this region, as well as other demographic, social, and ideological components of Neolithic emergence. While the empirical record from the Near East subscribes in a general way to basic principles of macroevolutionary theory, cultural evolution cannot be understood through appeal to principles of biological evolution alone, whether based in macroevolutionary theory or neo-Darwinianism. Instead, the key role of human agency in culture change distinguishes cultural evolution from biological evolution and requires a more pluralistic and less doctrinaire appeal to multiple models of change based in both the biological and social sciences.     

Domesticating gender: Neolithic patterns from the southern Levant

This paper examines the extant evidence regarding gender reconstructions and relations for the Neolithic of the southern Levant of southwest Asia. Data from human skeletal remains, mortuary contexts, architecture, and figurative art provide the empirical bases for a broad assessment of gender in the realms of productive labor, social organization, and ideology. Overall, little evidence is found to support that Neolithic societies in this region were organized hierarchically in terms of gender.     

Food and social complexity at Çayönü Tepesi,southeastern Anatolia: Stable isotope evidence of differentiation in diet according to burial practice and sex in the early Neolithic

The identification of early social complexity and differentiation in early village societies has been approached in the past most notably through the evaluation of rituals and architectural layouts. Such studies could be complemented by an approach that provides data about everyday behaviours of individuals. We took 540 human and animal bone samples for stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis from the Neolithic site of Çayönü Tepesi in southeastern Anatolia. The inhabitants at this site chose to bury their dead in two different ways at different times during its occupation: beneath the floors of their houses, but also inside a public mortuary building known as the Skull Building. This variation provides an opportunity using isotope methods to test whether there was evidence for structuring of daily activities (diet in this case) that might serve to reinforce this change in burial practice. We show that when the inhabitants of Çayönü Tepesi changed their architecture and operated different burial practices in conjunction, this coincided with other aspects of behaviour including socially-constituted food consumption practices, which served to reinforce social identities.     

The spread of Neolithic plant economies from the Near East to northwest Europe: a phylogenetic analysis

Phylogenetic techniques are used to analyse the spread of Neolithic plant economies from the Near East to northwest Europe as a branching process from a founding ancestor. The analyses are based on a database of c. 7500 records of plant taxa from 250 sites dated to the early Neolithic of the region in which they occur, aggregated into a number of regional groups. The analysis demonstrates that a phylogenetic signal exists in the data but it is complicated by the fact that in comparison with the changes that occurred when the crop agriculture complex expanded out of the Near East, once it arrived in Europe it underwent only limited further changes. On the basis of the analysis it has been possible to identify the species losses and gains that occurred as the complex of crops and associated weeds spread and to show the influence of geographical location and cultural affinity on the pattern of losses and gains. This has led to consideration of the processes producing that history, including some reasons why the dispersal process did not produce a perfect tree phylogeny, as well as to the identification of some specific anomalies, such as the unusual nature of the Bulgarian pattern, which raise further questions for the future.     

Neolithic occupation and mid-Holocene soil formation at Encosta de Sant'Ana (Lisbon,Portugal): a geoarchaeological approach

Excavations at the archaeological site of Encosta de Sant'Ana (Lisbon, Portugal) uncovered a mid-Holocene buried alluvial soil associated with early Neolithic occupation layers. Routine laboratory analyses and micromorphological observations were undertaken on the soil material. Humic acids from its Ab horizon, as well as Neolithic ecofacts, were radiocarbon dated. The dates obtained indicate that soil was formed between c. 8.0 and 6.0 cal ka BP and that the pedological evidence fits the record of the North Atlantic Holocene IRD events (“Bond events”) and the so-called “Holocene climate optimum”. The geoarchaeological record reveals that Neolithic inhabitants settled upon a stable surface, still affected by soil formation that was suddenly interrupted by slope wasting, probably in correspondence to Bond event 4, at c. 6.0 cal ka BP.     

New radiocarbon dating of the transition from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic in Kebara Cave,Israel

The Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition (MP-UP transition) is considered a major technological and cultural threshold, at the time when modern humans spread “out of Africa”, expanded from the Levant into Europe and possibly into central and northern Asia. The dating of this techno-cultural transition has proved to be extremely difficult because it occurred sometime before 40,000 radiocarbon years before present (¹⁴C years BP), which is close to the end of the effective dating range of radiocarbon. Other dating methods such as Thermoluminescence (TL) or Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) are not sufficiently precise to date the recorded archaeological MP-UP transition in the Levant. Here we report a consistent set of stratified radiocarbon ages on freshly excavated charcoal from Kebara Cave, Mt. Carmel (Israel), that span the late Middle Paleolithic (MP) and Early Upper Paleolithic (EUP) This study applied novel strategies to improve sample preparation techniques and data analysis to obtain high-resolution radiocarbon models. From this study it is proposed that the MP-UP transition for this site can be placed immediately after 45,200 ± 700 ¹⁴C years BP and before 43,600 ± 600 ¹⁴C years BP or from 49/48 to 47/46 radiocarbon calibrated years before present (years Cal BP).     

Two Late Neolithic human skeletons,a recent discovery in the Netherlands

Recently, two Late Neolithic skeletons belonging to the Single Grave Culture (ca. 4500 BP) were discovered in the province of North-Holland. It is the first time that such complete and well-preserved skeletons of this age have been found in The Netherlands. Both skeletons were subjected to an extensive and close examination in order to gain more information about these two individuals and their way of life. Application of different methods resulted in the determination of the sex (a male and a female), the age at death and the stature of the skeletons. Pathological features could be established in the female skeleton by means of radiography. The male skeleton was incomplete owing to animal scavenging. The tooth marks on the bones were studied in an attempt to discover the circumstances of death. In order to obtain information about the diet of the two individuals, the dental microwear and the remains of plaque and calculus were investigated. This investigation demonstrates the importance of physical anthropological studies with regard to the reconstruction of life in the past.     

Plants as material culture in the Near Eastern Neolithic: Perspectives from the silica skeleton artifactual remains at Çatalhöyük

Investigating plants used for building and craft activities is important for understanding how environments surrounding archaeological settlements were exploited, as well as for considering the social practices involved in the creation and use of plant objects. Evidence for such plant uses has been observed at many Near Eastern Neolithic sites but not widely discussed. Survival may occur in a number of ways, including as impressions in clay, and as charred or desiccated macroremains. Another, less well-known, way in which plant artifacts can be found is as silica skeletons (phytoliths). Formed by the in situ decay of plants, their analysis may tell us about taxa exploited, and locations in which plant artifacts were used or discarded. At Çatalhöyük, an abundance of silicified traces of plants used in building materials and for craft activities survive, and are found in domestic and burial contexts. Their analysis demonstrates the routine use of wild plants, especially from wetland areas, for basketry (mats, baskets and cordage) and construction, as well as the secondary use of cereal husk chaff in certain types of building materials. The numerous finds suggest that plant-based containers played an important role as an artifactual class, even after the adoption of early pottery.     

湖北荆门龙王山新石器时代墓地发掘简报

2007年6月至11月,为配合湖北省荆门220千伏南桥输变电站工程建设进行了龙王山新石器时代墓地考占发掘,发掘面积1700平方米,共发掘清理大溪文化至屈家岭文化时期的墓葬203座,出土器物逾万件,质地有陶器、玉器等。这批墓葬的规模及随葬品数量的多寡不一,显示当时的社会分化情况已十分明显,为研究长江中游地区史前时期大溪文化与屈家岭文化之间的关系以及史前文明进程提供了十分宝贵的资料。     

Strofilas (Andros Island,Greece): new evidence for the cycladic final neolithic period through novel dating methods using luminescence and obsidian hydration

The recently excavated coastal prehistoric settlement of Strofilas on Andros Island (Cyclades, Greece) in the Aegean sheds new light on the transitional phase from the Final Neolithic to Early Cycladic period regarding masonry, fortification, and richly engraved rock art. The fortification possesses early evidence of preserved defensive architecture, as evidenced from the plethora of scattered finds from within and around the settlement. Important features are carvings on rock walls which mainly depict ships, animals, and fish. Initial archaeometric dating via the application of luminescence dating of two samples from the fortified wall bearing engraved ships, and by obsidian hydration of two blades employing the new SIMS-SS method (secondary ion mass spectrometry via surface saturation), has been undertaken to determine the site's chronology. The former yields an average date of 3520 (±540) BC and the latter an average date of 3400 (±200) years BC, both of which, within overlapping errors, suggest the main settlement occurred during the Final Neolithic.     

Wild at heart: Approaching Pitted Ware identity,economy and cosmology through stable isotopes in skeletal material from the Neolithic site Korsnäs in Eastern Central Sweden

The Middle Neolithic Pitted Ware Culture on the Baltic Sea islands comprised a common identity distinguished, in part, by an almost exclusively marine diet. Based on evidence from the first stable isotope analysis on Pitted Ware skeletal material from the Eastern Central Swedish mainland, we suggest that this identity was shared by PWC groups in the archipelago of the west side of the Baltic. Fifty-six faunal and 26 human bone and dentine samples originating from the Pitted Ware site Korsnäs in Södermanland, Sweden were analysed, and the data clearly shows that the diet of the Korsnäs people was marine, predominantly based on seal. The isotope data further indicate that the pig bones found in large quantities on the site emanate from wild boar rather than domestic pigs. The large representation of pig on several Pitted Ware sites, which cannot be explained in terms of economy, is interpreted as the results of occasional hunting of and ritual feasting on wild boar, indicating that the animal held a prominent position, alongside seal, in the hunting identity and cosmology of the Pitted Ware people. Further, eleven new radiocarbon dates are presented, placing the Korsnäs site, with a large probability, within Middle Neolithic A.     

Foraging,Farming, and Social Complexity in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of the Southern Levant: A Review and Synthesis

The transition from foraging to farming of the Neolithic periods is one of, if not, the most important cultural processes in recent human prehistory. Integrating previously published archaeological materials with archaeological research conducted since 1980, the first half of this essay synthesizes our current understanding of archaeological data for the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period (ca. 11,700–ca. 8400 B.P.) of the southern Levant, generally defined as including southern Syria and Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian Autonomous Authority, Jordan, and the Sinai peninsula of Egypt. The second half of the essay explores how these data inform archaeologists about the processes by which social differentiation emerged, the nature of regional and interregional connections, and the mechanisms and processes by which the transition from foraging to food production first occurred in the Neolithic.     

Early Neolithic diets at Baijia,Wei River valley,China: stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of human and faunal remains

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values are presented for faunal and human bone collagen from Baijia, in the Wei River valley region of Shaanxi Province, China. The remains have a calibrated age range of ca. 5709–5389 BC, and correspond with the early Neolithic Laoguantai Period. Stable isotopic results indicate that human diets included millet and probably aquatic foods such as fish and shellfish. Bovid samples are tentatively identified as water buffalo, and have a mean δ¹³C value of −14.6‰, which reflects some millet consumption. Whether bovids were grazing on wild millet, or had diets directly influenced by humans, is not known. The single Sus sample from Baijia had a diet dominated by C3 plants and is thus unlikely to have been a domesticated animal. Overall, the stable isotope results presented here conform to the current concept that the people of the Laoguantai culture were millet farmers, who had subsistence strategies that included hunted wild foods.     

The use of SEM-EDS,PIXE and EDXRF for obsidian provenance studies in the Near East: a case study from Neolithic Çatalhöyük (central Anatolia)

In this paper we evaluate the relative analytical capabilities of SEM-EDS, PIXE and EDXRF for characterizing archaeologically significant Anatolian obsidians on the basis of their elemental compositions. The study involves 54 geological samples from various sources, together with an archaeological case study involving 100 artifacts from Neolithic Çatalhöyük (central Anatolia). With each technique the artifacts formed two compositional groups that correlated with the East Göllü Da? and Nenezi Da? sources. The non-destructive capabilities of these methods are emphasized (albeit with certain analytical limitations in the case of SEM-EDS), suggesting important new techniques for Near Eastern obsidian provenance studies.     

Neolithic occupation of an artesian spring: KS043 in the Kharga Oasis,Egypt

Abstract

KS043 is a stratified site associated with a complex of artesian springs. The archaeological remains, as well as a series of radiocarbon determinations, date the site to between 4800 and 4200 b.c. Our study suggests a connection between Saharan pastoralists, forced to move into oasis areas by increasing aridification, and the first Predynastic cultures of the Nile Valley. The site is the only well dated stratified settlement attributed to the Late Neolithic in the eastern Sahara that is characterized by Tasian cultural traditions.     

Gazelle exploitation in the early Neolithic site of Motza,Israel: the last of the gazelle hunters in the southern Levant

We studied the faunal remains from the Early and Middle PPNB site of Motza, Judean Mts., Israel, in order to gain insight into the economic basis prior to livestock husbandry, with a focus on gazelle hunting. Taphonomic analysis showed that bone preservation at the site was excellent. The subsistence economy in Motza was based on a broad spectrum of hunted species, with mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella) as the dominant prey, similar to many Epipalaeolithic and Pre-Pottery Neolithic sites in the southern Levant. We studied gazelle exploitation patterns, in order to learn about the interaction of humans with this species prior to ungulate domestication. Analysis of the demography of the gazelle herd, which included aging and sexing, revealed no age preferences and no selective culling. Moreover, the PPNB gazelle population of Motza does not exhibit allometric changes in morphology, that are allegedly correlated to increased hunting pressure on gazelle populations prior to livestock domestication.     

Production and subsistence strategies at El Zafrín (Chafarinas Islands,Spain): new data for the early Neolithic of North-West Africa

Until a few years ago North-West Africa was ignored in our hypothesis on the neolithization of Western Mediterranean. Moreover, the few excavations focused exclusively on the test of stratigraphies in order to obtain chronological sequences. Recently developed archaeological projects allowed the inclusion of this region in the scientific debate on the origin and evolution of its Neolithic, on the contacts with the Iberian Peninsula through the Strait of Gibraltar, as well as on the documentation of ways of live, habitation structures, and economic strategies. The open area excavation of Zafrín, in the Chafarinas Isles – an archipelago located a short distance from the North African coast – and the full analysis of its lithic industry (technology, typology and use-wear), here presented, represents a novelty on the Neolithic research in North Africa. This in turn will permit us to approach subsistence strategies and the way of life developed by the Neolithic communities of the region.     

New insights on the first Neolithic societies in the Horn of Africa: The site of Wakrita,Djibouti

Abstract

The site of Wakrita is a small Neolithic establishment located on a wadi in the tectonic depression of Gobaad in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa. The 2005 excavations yielded abundant ceramics that enabled us to define one Neolithic cultural facies of this region, which was also identified at the nearby site of Asa Koma. The faunal remains confirm the importance of fishing in Neolithic settlements close to Lake Abbé, but also the importance of bovine husbandry and, for the first time in this area, evidence for caprine herding practices. Radiocarbon dating places this occupation at the beginning of the 2nd millennium b.c., similar in range to Asa Koma. These two sites represent the oldest evidence of herding in the region, and they provide a better understanding of the development of Neolithic societies in this region.