Pacific Islands Ichthyoarchaeology: Implications for the Development of Prehistoric Fishing Studies and Global Sustainability

The Pacific Islands—consisting of culturally diverse Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia—is the ideal region to investigate the development of prehistoric fishing studies, as nowhere else on Earth is there such environmental contrasts among island types and their marine environments. We review the ichthyoarchaeological literature for the Pacific and assess developments in recovery methods, reference collections, taxonomic identifications, quantification, taphonomy and site-formation processes, ethnoarchaeology, approaches to diet and subsistence reconstructions, sustainability, and the importance of applied zooarchaeology for fisheries management and conservation. Ichthyoarchaeologists are beginning to work more closely with resource managers, fisheries biologists, policy makers, and indigenous communities to produce holistic studies of conservation management, resource sustainability, and assessments of human impacts on marine ecosystems over centuries to millennial time scales.     

Now the Wars are Over: The Past,Present and Future of Scottish Battlefields

Battlefield archaeology has provided a new way of appreciating historic battlefields. This paper provides a summary of the long history of warfare and conflict in Scotland which has given rise to a large number of battlefield sites. Recent moves to highlight the archaeological importance of these sites, in the form of Historic Scotland’s Battlefields Inventory are discussed, along with some of the problems associated with the preservation and management of these important cultural sites.     

祥龙瑞彩 探索中国龙的足迹

龙的形象并非空穴来风,其有因由,有传承,有故事,在中华民族从原始走向现代,从愚昧走向文明的过程中起源,融合,发展,翻开中国龙的历史,其形象之多变令人为之目眩,千种姿态,万般风流,既可作成庄严凝重的庞然大物,又可变为蜷体蟠结的小巧灵兽,在几千年的龙象演变和龙文化创作中,它始终不离各个时代所共同经营缔造的不同审美风格,1月18日至3月20日,首都博物馆在2012在欢腾喜悦的中国农历新年的开年之际,推出以龙为主题的龙年文化大展,邀观众一同探索中国龙的足迹,寻觅龙的身影,发现中国龙的前世今生,感受这份因龙而生的精神归宿。     

甲骨文研究的历史、现状与未来展望

本文从甲骨文的发现、搜集、刊布到科学发掘,论述甲骨文的文字考释、历史研究,最后成为一门重要的学问——甲骨学,这门学问对于考古学、文字学、历史学的重要促进作用,以及这门学问走向未来、走向世界的前景展望。     

Material Movement in the Near Eastern Epipalaeolithic: Implications of the Shell and Stone Beads of Direkli Cave,Turkey

Direkli Cave is an Epipalaeolithic site in the central Taurus mountain range in southeastern Turkey that was used by mobile hunter-gatherer communities. The assemblage of beads from the cave, made primarily from shell (marine and freshwater) and stone, shows new evidence both that bead materials were brought to the site from the shores of the Mediterranean and that the material culture of the site has relationships to the Levant, northern Mesopotamia, and inner Anatolia. This article questions how such a bead assemblage should be interpreted in the light of existing evidence for the Near Eastern and Anatolian Epipalaeolithic and what it adds to our understanding of the better known contemporary Natufian culture of the Levant. It considers the long-distance movement of materials, interregional material cultural influences, and the way the Epipalaeolithic period is conceptualized more broadly.     

Prehistoric Fijian diet and subsistence: integration of faunal, ethnographic, and stable isotopic evidence from the Lau Island Group

We explore subsistence practices and dietary change on islands in the central Lau Group of Fiji with zooarchaeological methods and stable isotopic analysis of human and animal skeletal material interpreted through an ethnoarchaeological lens. Our dataset combines detailed identifications of fauna, especially fishes, with stable isotopic (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N) values of human and animal bone collagen and apatite carbonate spanning approximately three thousand years of human occupation on three study islands. Additionally, over fifty inshore and offshore contemporary fishing expeditions were observed on all study islands over a six-year period. We integrate these separate lines of evidence to form robust interpretations of Lauan subsistence patterns over a broad temporal scale. We add to the existing literature on stable isotopic analysis of archaeological bone from Remote Oceania and compare all of these groups through time. Our results indicate that Lauans differentially relied on nearshore reef resources rather than pelagic fishes, and terrestrial endemic species may have served as a portion of the diet during the early prehistoric period. Root crops (e.g., taro, yam) provided the majority of calories to the diet; however, sea grapes likely contributed to the early diet. Our isotopic results differ from previous studies of Fijian diet and that of Remote Oceania at a time of probable marine ecosystem shifts (AD 1300) illustrating diet breadth and variability in subsistence strategies potentially due to climatically influenced resource depletion.     

Prehistoric Mountain Goat (Oreamnos americanus) Mother Lode Near Prince Rupert,British Columbia and Implications for the Manufacture of High-Status Ceremonial Goods

Abundant mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus) remains were recovered from two archaeological sites on Kaien Island near Prince Rupert Harbour, British Columbia. No other archaeological sites in North America have anywhere near the abundance of mountain goat remains as were recovered from GbTo 54 (NISP 410, 7.1% of identified mammals) and GbTo 13 (NISP 27, 5.4% of identified mammals). In contrast, at the impressive Boardwalk site on nearby Digby Island (GbTo 31), only 1% of identified mammals were identified as mountain goat, although goat remains from Grassy Bay (GbTn 1), also on Kaien Island, comprised 1.7% of identified mammals. With one exception, other western North American sites, including those in Alaska, recovered only a few pieces of mountain goat each (<0.5% of identified mammals). The dates for GbTo 54 and GbTo 13 span AD 200–AD 1300, with all four directly dated goat bones falling within that period. Most goat bones appeared to come from adult or subadult males and element abundance analysis of GbTo 54 remains indicate that whole animals may have been selectively butchered into transportable units. Other evidence suggests the occupants may have specialized in the procurement of a variety of raw materials (not only mountain goat) used in the manufacture of high-status ceremonial goods.     

甲骨文研究的历史、现状与未来展望(续)

三除了殷墟之外,50年代以来．中国境内的不少地方还曾发现过一些商代和西周时期的甲骨文。这些新的发现开阔了人们的视野．丰富了学者们对于甲骨文的认识。河南郑州的二里岗,是一处商代中期的文化遗址,其时代早于殷墟文化并与之相衔接。1952年秋天,中国科学院考古研究所兴办的考古训练班在当地发掘时曾发现卜用兽骨375片、卜用龟甲11片,但均无文字。随后河南文物工作队在这处遗址发现了3片带字甲骨。其中一片牛肋骨上刻有练习契刻的10个字,是1953年4月在被翻动的地面上发现的,文字与殷墟出土的甲骨文大体相似,可能和殷墟甲骨文属于…     

New Bioarchaeological Evidence and Radiocarbon Dates from the Lambayeque/Sicán Culture Camelids from the El Brujo Complex (Northern Coast of Peru): Implications for Funerary and Herd Management Practices

ABSTRACT

Pastoralism and camelid management have been essential to all aspects of pre-Hispanic Andean societies. Here, we present zooarchaeological and isotopic data on domestic camelid remains from Huaca Cao Viejo (El Brujo archaeological complex) on the northern coast of Peru, and dated to the Lambayeque/Sicán period—to characterise their biological age, diet, life history, possible geographic origin and ritual use. Domestic camelids, representing a wide range of biological ages and a high rate of polydactyly, were found as burial offerings in direct association with human funerary bundles (fardos). Direct AMS dates indicated that camelids were buried over a short period of time (AD 1022–1176) confirming the Lambayeque presence in the Chicama Valley during the first half of the Late Intermediate Period. Stable isotopic analyses were carried out on both bone collagen and hair keratin, including incremental analysis. A considerable variability in δ¹³C values at both the intra-individual and the intra-group level and a large contribution of C₄ resources to diet are shown. This clearly supports local management and camelids originating from various herds. Zooarchaeological and isotopic evidences suggest diversity in herding practices and suggest the importance of the herds in fulfilling the transportation demands for trade in goods.     

Size Matters: 3-mm Sieves Do Not Increase Richness in a Fishbone Assemblage from Arrawarra I,an Aboriginal Australian Shell Midden on the Mid-north Coast of New South Wales,Australia

For 30 years the prevailing viewpoint regarding the retrieval of archaeological faunal material has been: smaller sieve mesh yields more identified taxa. We discuss the findings of sieving experiments from a coastal midden site, in which an assemblage of more than 60,000 fish-bone specimens was successively sieved through 6, 3, and 1-mm mesh sieves. Against expectations, we identified no more taxa in the 3-mm sieve fraction than were apparent in the 6-mm fraction. We discuss the probable causes of a result at odds with other researchers' results and attribute the difference to (a) idiosyncratic, inter-regional variability in the range of skeletal morphologies in fish communities; (b) the possibility that processing activities will differentially delete skeletal segments such as the head; and (c) destructive physical and chemical processes that may have rendered otoliths invisible, despite the use of small-mesh.     

Lead ingots from a shipwreck Off Poompuhar, Tamil Nadu, East Coast of India: evidence for overseas trade and their significance

Various types of lead ingots have been reported from a number of shipwrecks from different parts of the world. In 1991 exploration of a wreck off Poompuhar, Tamil Nadu, East Coast of India, at a depth of 19 m yielded a gun, rudder gudgeon, gunpowder boxes and a variety of lead ingots. The most significant ingots are those marked W: Blackett and D with a crown symbol on the obverse and 1791, 1792 and some merchant marks on the reverse. These are similar to Blackett lead ingots found in England, the Netherlands and Sumatra. Pb-isotopic analysis has revealed their source as the North Pennine lead mines of England. Further, the lead used was of high purity -93%. Records show that Blackett was a well-known lead-exporting company in England since 1694. The wreck off Poompuhar may be a Toni type cargo ship carrying traded lead ingots of different manufacturers.     

Cluster analysis of the coprolites from antelope house: Implications for anasazi diet and cuisine

This paper reports on a cluster analysis of 155 coprolites from Antelope House, a prehistoric Anasazi site in Canyon de Chelly, Arizona. The analysis revealed three primary clusters; whole kernel maize, milled maize, and nonmaize, which we believe to represent seasonal- and preference-related cuisine. Protein residue analysis on a subsample of the specimens added depth to the analysis.     

Domains and the Intercultural: Understanding Aboriginal and Missionary Engagement at the Mornington Island Mission,Gulf of Carpentaria,Australia from 1914 to 1942

The Mornington Island Mission in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia, was a site of historical engagement between Aboriginal people and missionaries. In this paper, we apply the theoretical concepts of “domains” and the “intercultural” to the investigation of this engagement between 1914 and 1942, when the mission was overseen by the Reverend Robert Wilson. Through the examination of the removal of Aboriginal children, the establishment of a mission compound and Aboriginal camp and the inclusion of Aboriginal adults into the mission compound through production and economy, we show how mutually constituted domains operated. At the same time, the interaction between Aboriginal adults and children with missionaries within these domains was increasingly intercultural in nature. Thus, both “domains” and the “intercultural” are shown to have relevance to the historical case study.