Patterns of Cranial Trauma in a Prehistoric Population from Central California

Evidence of cranial trauma was investigated in a skeletal sample from the site CA-Ala-329 located on the eastern side of San Francisco Bay, Central California. The sample included 365 crania, including 134 adult males, 104 adult females, 22 adults of indeterminate sex and 105 subadults. Evidence of cranio-facial fracture was found in eight individuals, one of whom is an adolescent. Thus, the frequency in adult crania of traumatic injury is 7/260 (2.7 per cent). Of the seven individuals of known sex displaying such cranial trauma, all are male. The injuries are generally suggestive of some form of interpersonal aggression, with five healed vault fractures, one lesion with an embedded obsidian fragment (a probable projectile point) and two healed facial fractures. Further clear evidence of interpersonal aggression has been previously determined in this sample and has been reported at even higher levels elsewhere in California. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Initial Assessment of Prehistoric Ceramic Production and Exchange in Northern Yoruba,North Central Nigeria: Results of Ceramic Compositional Analysis

Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) was employed on 201 ceramic and clay samples fromthe Igbomina region of northern Yoruba in Nigeria. Ceramic data were obtained from 13 settlement sites spread over four Igbomina localities whose dates range between A.D. 1400 and A.D. 1800, and five raw clay samples from riverbeds and modern potters located in the Igbomina culture area. Quantitative analysis of the INAA data resulted in identification of four ceramic compositional groups that can be attributed to specific locales within the region. These results indicate that ceramics were moved within and among various Igbomina geographic areas and villages as well Ilorin (a Yoruba center located northeast of Igbomina).Results generated from this analysis indicate the tremendous potential for examining regional interaction in Yorubaland immediately before and during the Old Oyo period (fifteenth to the eighteenth century A.D.), a time of sociopolitical and settlement change. Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) a été utilisé sur 210 échantillons de céramiques et d'argiles provenant de la région Igbomina située au nord de Yoruba au Nigeria. Les données sur les céramiques proviennent de treize villages situés dans quatre endroits dans Igbomina dont les dates varient entre 1400 A.D. et 1800 A.D., et cinq échantillons d'argiles crues provenant des fleuves et des potiers modernes situés dans la zone culturelle d'Igbomina. L'analyse quantitative des données de l'INAA a pu identifier quatre composition de groupements céramiques qui peuvent être attribués à des endroits dans la même région. Ces résultats indiquent que les céramiques avaient été déplacées dans l'enceinte et parmi les différents villages et régions d'Igbomina aussi qu'en Ilorin (centre Yoruba situé au nord d'Igbomina). Les résultats obtenus de cette analyse indiquent le potentiel énorme d'un examen minutuex des interactions régionales dans le pays Yoruba dans les temps antérieurement et durant la période de l'Ancien Oyo (15ème au 18ème siècle A.D.), une période marquée par des changements socio-politiques.     

The Economics of Rural Households in Russia: Impact of Village Location

An American specialist on Russia's agrarian sector and two collaborators explore the effects of distance to nearby urban markets on the agricultural output and income of Russian rural households. Unlike previous studies that have largely tested such effects on the basis of household distance from relatively large oblast administrative centers, the authors adopt a micro-level scale of analysis, focusing on distance from smaller rayon centers. Comparison of two sample populations (near vs. remote from rayon center) from a larger survey population of 900 households in nine representative regions of Russia reveals marked differences in household incomes, commodity output, and real holdings of land that are statistically verified by a linear regression model. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: O18, P32, Q15, Q18. 4 tables, 46 references.     

Human Ecology of Shellfish Exploitation at a Prehistoric Fishing-Farming Village on the Pacific Coast of Mexico

ABSTRACT

Shellfish remains excavated from an early agricultural village on the Pacific Coast of Mexico (Guerrero) indicate a dietary shift from locally obtained estuarine shellfish (1400–1100 BC) to a greater diversity of mollusks collected from more distant marine environments (900–500 BC). The timing of this shift suggests that it occurred as human populations increased and impacted the availability of local estuarine resources. We argue that this prompted the incorporation of a more diverse array of shellfish species harvested at greater distances or obtained via trade, possibly with the use of boats to transport shellfish and other resources back to the village.     

论晋南曲沃羊舌村出土的史前玉神面

2006年4月在山西省曲沃县羊舌村两周之际的晋侯大墓Ml出土了一件玉神面(以下简称羊舌村玉神面),青白色,玉质莹润,扁平状,通高约7、宽4.8、厚0.8厘米(图一)①.此类玉饰在国内外均有收藏,但有明确出土地点的仅有湖北、陕西、河南及江西等地.     

Prehistoric Footprints in Jaguar Cave,Tennessee

Abstract

About 4500 years ago, during the Late Archaic period, nine explorers reconnoitered several passages within a large cave in north central Tennessee. Although prehistoric cave exploration was not unusual in eastern North America, this particular trip is unique because 274 footprints of these ancient cavers are preserved in the damp floor sediment of a side passage. Analyses of the route taken by the explorers, and of their footprint trail significantly enhance our knowledge of cave use in prehistoric eastern North America.     

A Discrete Variant in the Third Plantar Tarsometatarsal Joint: Patterns of Occurrence in a Prehistoric Population from West-central Illinois

A small pit in the articular surfaces of the third tarsometatarsal joint has been noted with particularly high frequency in North American Indians. This pit varies in depth, and covers most of the inferior third of the articular surfaces of the third metatarsal and the lateral cuneiform; it is accompanied by remodelling of the inferior surfaces of the bones involved. In the present study, patterns of occurrence are examined in a prehistoric skeletal population from west-central Illinois. This population is extremely well preserved, enabling a thorough examination of feet as well as hands for most individuals. The sample included 496 adults and juveniles above the age of 6 years. Of this total population, 18 per cent exhibit the variation, which occurs more frequently in females and is unrelated to size. Furthermore, 29 per cent of the individuals in which it occurs exhibit this variant only unilaterally, with no significant side differences. Various lesions, trauma and acquired or activity-related aetiologies are explored, as are the patterns of sex association, occurrence near an area of ligamentous attachment and lack of age and size association. It is hypothesized that a discrete genetic trait is represented in the third tarsometatarsal joint of this population in the form of an anomalous interosseous plantar ligament. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. Osteoarchaeol., 7 : 124–132 (1997) No. of Figures: 3. No. of Tables: 2. No. of References: 26.     

一部研究中国史前古城址的重要著作--读《中国史前古城》有感

20 0 3年由湖北教育出版社出版的马世之先生的力作《中国史前古城》 ,装帧精美 ,插图别致 ,用纸考究 ,全书给人以美的享受 ,散发着古代文明的清香。该书以研究中国史前古城为切入点 ,将考古材料有机地与古代文献结合 ,从一个侧面来研究中国史前古城的起源 ,探索中国早期文明的形成和发展。笔者读后 ,很受启发 ,认为这不仅是近年来研究中国史前古城址的一部重要著作 ,同时也是探讨中国史前古城、研究国家和文明起源的一部重要著作 ,值得所有从事历史考古研究的人员仔细品味和咀嚼。该书资料收集全面、详实。全书共 35万字 ,作者收集了 6 4座…     

On the challenges and benefits of indoor archaeology: 15 years at the Archeodome (Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village,South Dakota)

Abstract

Field archaeology is normally associated with outdoor excavation and exposure to the natural environment. Archaeological excavations have adapted to a wide spectrum of these conditions, but the recent prominence of archaeological sites as tourist attractions and educational facilities has occasionally led to dramatically different environments for the archaeological recovery, interpretation, and preservation of evidence, including facilities that permit indoor excavation. This article explores 15 years of experience at the Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village in South Dakota. An “Archeodome” covering part of the site represents a non-traditional excavation and preservation environment that presents considerable benefits and challenges for archaeologists. The structure provides the basis for evaluating the nature of indoor excavation within its archaeological and educational context and provides a cautionary note for archaeologists, heritage groups, tourist boards, and others interested in the preservation of archaeological sites. Though this article focuses on the Mitchell site, the information reported has broad implications for sites where structures cover archaeological deposits.     

Drought,Domestic Budgeting and Wealth Distribution in Sahelian Households

Over the past twenty‐five years, Sahelian households have experienced recurrent harvest failure and greater reliance on remittances from migratory wage labour. Household subsistence has become less dependent on household grain stores and more on the liquidation of individual wealth stores. This study investigates how these broader changes have affected struggles between household members over obligations to support the household in the Zarmaganda region of western Niger. As the land‐derived leverage of male patriarchs has declined and household dependence on individual wealth stores has increased, domestic budgeting has become more contested. Household heads make case‐by‐case moral claims on other household members during times of grain shortage. Women and subordinate males invoke Islamic law, which accords primary provisioning responsibility to the household head, to protect their individual wealth in times of grain deficit. This article investigates the nature of these budgetary struggles, showing how individuals’ decisions to contribute individual wealth to support the household are best understood as highly situated, affected not only by the specific material conditions of the household but also the interplay of the moral, structural, and individualistic imperatives that derive from one’s position within the household. Using reconstructed livestock wealth histories for the members of fifty‐four households in western Niger, this study investigates the material consequences of these struggles. Male heads of corporate households, the historic managers of the household’s land and agricultural labour, have lost wealth relative to their wives and married male subordinates since the drought of 1984.     

People of Stone: Stelae, Personhood, and Society in Prehistoric Europe

Stelae (also known variously as statue-stelae and statue-menhirs) are a pan-European phenomenon in fourth and third millennia b.c. Europe and are clearly associated with the social transformations characterizing Europe in this period. While the varying traditions of stelae, from the Ukraine to Iberia, differ considerably, they also share a set of general aesthetic choices towards representing the human body, reducing the body to a rigidly schematic, highly stylized with a widely shared geometry and with emphasis upon its surface as a canvas for social marking, particularly of gender. This paper reviews the aesthetic choices involved in stelae and relates them to the changing social contexts of later prehistoric Europe.     

Evaluating Fish and Meat Salting at Prehistoric Zhongba,China

Abstract

Cultural deposits at Zhongba, one of the most important archaeological sites in the Three Gorges Dam reservoir area in central China, provide a comprehensive perspective on diachronic changes from the late Neolithic through the end of the Bronze Age, or from ca. 2500 to 200 B.C. (calibrated radiocarbon years). Excavations produced large quantities of pottery, stone tools, small finds, and animal bones, which document the changes in the organization of specialized salt production and associated activities. The occurrence of large numbers of animal bones at a salt production site suggests that the salting of fish and mammal meat may have taken place there. This study provides one of the first detailed discussions of a faunal assemblage from this region of the world, allowing for preliminary tests of the “preservation hypothesis” through analyses of prevalence, diversity, and part representation of various taxa. Some, but not all, of the expected patterns consistent with the hypothesis of fish and meat salting were identified. It is clear that the increase in the importance of fish and in the diversity of mammals at Zhongba coincides with the increase in the scale of salt production.     

宗须村乡村教师索朗多吉

Overlooking the township of Chudogyang in Chusum County of Lhoka City,the snow on top of Mt.Rensum Gonpo was hanging on.It was April 14.A new week was about to start.Sonam Dorje,a primary school teacher in Dzongxu Village of Chudogyang,was riding his motorcycle on a country road.Thinking of the many things to attend to at the school,he hit the throttle.Every weekend,Sonam Dorje has to travel between his home in Jiangtang Village and the small learning center in Dzongxu Village at least once.     

Approaches to Prehistoric Diet Breadth, Demography, and Prey Ranking Systems in Time and Space

Zooarchaeological data on small game use hold much potential for identifying and dating Paleolithic demographic pulses in time and space, such as those associated with modern human origins and the evolution of food-producing economies. Although small animals were important to human diets throughout the Middle, Upper, and Epi-Paleolithic periods in the Mediterranean Basin, the types of small prey emphasized by foragers shifted dramatically over the last 200,000 years. Slow-growing, slow-moving tortoises, and marine mollusks dominate the Middle Paleolithic record of small game exploitation. Later, agile, fast-maturing animals became increasingly important in human diets, first birds in the early Upper Paleolithic, and soon thereafter hares and rabbits. While the findings of this study are consistent with the main premise of Flannery's Broad Spectrum Revolution (BSR) hypothesis (Flannery, K. V. (1969). In Ucko, P. J., and Dimbleby, G. W. (eds.), The Domestication and Exploitation of Plants and Animals, Aldine Publishing Company, Chicago, pp. 73–100), it is now clear that human diet breadth began to expand much earlier than the Pleistocene/Holocene transition. Ranking small prey in terms of work of capture (in the absence of special harvesting tools) proves far more effective in this investigation of human diet breadth than taxonomy-based diversity analyses published previously. Our analyses expose a major shift in human predator–prey dynamics involving small game animals by 50–40 KYA in the Mediterranean Basin, with earliest population growth pulses occurring in the Levant. In a separate application to the Natufian period (13–10 KYA), just prior to the rise of Neolithic societies in the Levant, great intensification is apparent from small game use. This effect is most pronounced at the onset of this short culture period, and is followed by an episode of local depopulation during the Younger Dryas, without further changes in the nature of Natufian hunting adaptations. An essential feature of the diachronic and synchronic approaches outlined here is controlling the potentially conflating effects of spatial (biogeographic) and temporal variation in the faunal data sets.     

Rice,Ethnicity, and the Collation of Archaeobotanical Data for Prehistoric Korea

Nationalism and archaeology are universally and almost unavoidably intertwined. The multilevel influence of nationalism not only delimits the legitimate interpretations of archaeological data but also determines the retrieval, analysis and dissemination of data. This point is illustrated in the present study with a historical overview of archaeobotanical data collation at four prehistoric sites, two in North Korea and two in South Korea, that were excavated between 1957 and 1981. The paper examines the persistent and increasing archaeological interest since the early 1970s in the search for rice, a crop that constitutes an integral part of the Korean ethnic identity. The remains of rice have tended to receive more scholarly attention, be subject to extended discussion, and be more widely publicized, compared to the relatively neglected research on the remains of other “miscellaneous” crops. This demonstrates that botanical remains from archaeological sites, often presented as an outcome of scientific scrutiny, are a social product and that greater attention needs to be paid to local archaeological concerns before the data are compared internationally or across different research traditions.