RADIOCARBON DATING ARCHAEOLOGICAL SAMPLES IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN, 1730 TO 1480 BC: FURTHER EXPLORING THE ATMOSPHERIC RADIOCARBON CALIBRATION RECORD AND THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS*

The East Mediterranean Radiocarbon (Inter‐)Comparison Project (EMRCP) has measured time series of radiocarbon ages for known age samples of German oak (GeO) and for samples from the near‐absolutely placed Gordion juniper dendrochronology from central Anatolia. In this paper, we review the data for the calendar years from 1730 to 1480 bc , relevant in particular to controversy and debate concerning the absolute date of the Minoan eruption of the Santorini (Thera) volcano. We consider the issue of the radiocarbon (¹⁴C) dating of the Santorini eruption, and the problem of how this relates to the archaeological record and historical chronology of Egypt in light of the ¹⁴C data. We find that these ¹⁴C data, and other recent radiocarbon work, provide good grounds to be confident in the possibility of a robust radiocarbon‐based chronology for the eastern Mediterranean. In contrast, as the radiocarbon case becomes stronger, questions must be asked about some archaeological dating: in particular, at the site of Tell el‐Dab‘a in the Nile Delta of Egypt.     

QUANTIFICATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF LIPID IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL CERAMICS: IMPLICATIONS FOR SAMPLING POTSHERDS FOR ORGANIC RESIDUE ANALYSIS AND THE CLASSIFICATION OF VESSEL USE

Organic residue analysis has been performed on 62 reconstructed vessels from a single archaeological site (Rounds, Northamptonshire, U.K.). In order to establish regions of lipid accumulation within a vessel, sherds were sampled from different parts of a vessel, for example base, body and rim, and submitted to lipid extraction procedures. The techniques of high-temperature gas chromatography (GC) and GC/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) were then used to analyse the sherd lipid extracts. The quantitative results obtained show differential accumulation and preservation of lipid in various parts of the same vessel. This latter observation has serious implications for the sampling of potsherds for organic residue analysis. Furthermore, the amount of absorbed lipid varies quite considerably between vessel types. On this basis, a new method is proposed for classifying vessel use by comparing the concentration of lipid present in different parts of individual vessels.     

EVALUATION OF THE APPLICABILITY OF CONVENTIONAL METHODS FOR THE CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF WATERLOGGED ARCHAEOLOGICAL WOOD

A series of 112 waterlogged archaeological wood samples of different provenances, wood species, burial times and states of preservation were analysed with the aim of assessing the validity (in terms of limits and reliability) of procedures conventionally used in the pulp and paper industry, to evaluate the state of preservation of decayed wood. In particular, the extent of any damage wrought on decayed wood tissue by the repetitive cycles that characterize these procedures was evaluated as a function of the degradation of the samples. The results indicated that standard methodologies give reliable measurements regardless of the extent of wood decay. However, it is essential to compare these data with those of non‐decayed wood that has been measured using the same procedures to take account of the errors that are inherent in these methodologies and that affect measurements.     

THE BILZINGSLEBEN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE: NEW DATING EVIDENCE

New absolute dates have been obtained for the Bilzingsleben (D.D.R.) archaeological site, using uranium-series analyses of travertine, and electron spin resonance (ESR) analyses of travertine and tooth enamel of rhinoceros. The results indicate that the site was apparently occupied during interglacial isotope stages 9 or 11. The surrounding terrain has been subsequently dissected by at least three discrete stages of fluvial erosion during succeeding glacial stages. Bilzingsleben is thus shown to be significantly older than the Lower Travertine at the nearby site of Ehringsdorf, assigned to isotope stage 7 by uranium-series dating. The latter assignment is confirmed by new ESR data presented here.     

TECHNIQUES FOR INVESTIGATING THE ECONOMIC BASE OF CITIES

Economic-base analysis is applied to 15 small towns of Vologda Oblast in northern European Russia in an attempt to analyze the provision of services in these urban places. The employment structure of the town of Kadnikov, based on a “firm-by-firm” approach, is used as the standard to prorate total employment into basic and nonbasic components. The Kadnikov standard is then applied to the other towns and any excess in employment beyond the nonbasic Kadnikov standard is allocated to the basic sector. The higher proportion of basic employment in some of the study towns is interpreted as reflecting inadequate development of service activities. The analysis suggests that the small towns of Vologda Oblast are relatively well served by education, public health and retail trade-at any rate they are no worse off than the standard town, Kadnikov-but lag in the provision of housing and repair services. Economic-base concepts developed by J. W. Alexander and G. Alexandersson in the 1950s are used as a point of departure.     

EVIDENCE FOR THE MIXING OF FATS AND WAXES IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL CERAMICS

Lipid residues from two Late Saxon/early medieval ceramic vessels recovered from excavations at West Cotton, Raunds, Northamptonshire, U.K., have been investigated by high-temperature gas chromatography (GC) and GC/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The solvent extracts of sherds sampled from different points on each vessel (i.e., base, body and rim) were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively and compounds were identified which were characteristic of beeswax and animal fat. Furthermore, by determining the sites of accumulation of the specific lipid types and their concentrations in different parts of the vessels it can be inferred that the beeswax was added to the vessels prior to the addition of the fat. It was concluded that the two vessels performed different functions in antiquity.     

RADIOCARBON DATES FOR BEESWAX FIGURES IN THE PREHISTORIC ROCK ART OF NORTHERN AUSTRALIA

Accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon ages have been taken for a test suite of small samples of material removed from some of the ‘beeswax’art figures found in rock shelters in northern Australia. The results indicate that we can reliably date this unique form of rock art with no noticeable damage. We had not expected to find figures of any great antiquity, and so we were surprised to find that the ages obtained spanned the time period from the recent past to about 4000 BP.     

STATISTICAL ASPECTS OF POTTERY QUANTIFICATION FOR THE DATING OF SOME ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXTS*

This paper describes some statistical analyses of a particular archaeological material (pottery) originating at some sites in the city of Tours. An important part of the archaeological study of pottery is the comparison of ceramic assemblages to establish the absolute dates of contexts. In this paper, a statistical model is built to assess this comparison. The statistical procedure uses classical tools (correspondence analysis, linear regression and resampling methods) in an iterative scheme. Archaeologists may find in the paper a useful set of known statistical methods, while statisticians can learn a method of ‘arranging’ well‐known techniques. No method is new, but their combination is characteristic of this application.     

SIMULATION OF THE FOURIER PHASE SPECTRUM FOR THE GENERATION OF SYNTHETIC ACCELEROGRAMS

This study presents the application of a new method for generating synthetic accelerograms based on statistical distributions for Fourier phase differences and Fourier amplitudes as functions of earthquake magnitude, hypocentral distance and site geology. Two important characteristics of the methodology are that it requires a small number of input parameters and that ground motion time histories can be simulated without any specific modulation function. Two areas with different tectonic patterns (North-Eastern and Central Italy) were selected for the application. The results of our analysis are reliable in the case of Central Italy because the data set is large and quite uniformly distributed, while for North-Eastern Italy our results should not be used for distances greater than 30 km.     

赤仄五铢钱的考古新验证——从西汉御史大夫张汤墓考古发掘谈起

赤仄五铢钱是西汉武帝时期铸造的一种五铢钱,其行时既短,又时铸时销,后世流传者已不多闻,其钱文递变之迹两千年已不能通晓。故赤仄之谜成为千古“公案”。2 0 0 2年5月,西安市文物保护考古所为配合西安市西部大学城建设,在长安区郭杜镇西北政法学院南校区进行考古发掘。在考古清理该校体育办公楼的基槽过程中,发掘了一座东西向,略偏西北方向的斜坡墓道土洞墓,出土两枚双面穿带印,印主是张汤。笔者结合相关历史文献记载和考古发掘的第一手资料,考证此张汤墓就是西汉御史大夫张汤墓。其意义十分重大,对探寻赤仄五铢提供了考古学上的新线索和新…     

A NEW METHOD FOR EXTRACTION,ISOLATION AND TRANSESTERIFICATION OF FREE FATTY ACIDS FROM ARCHAEOLOGICAL POTTERY

This paper presents evidence for increased recovery of organic residues from archaeological pottery through use of a microwave‐assisted liquid chromatography protocol. C_16:0 and C_18:0 saturated fatty acids were obtained from archaeological potsherds recovered from nine Neolithic settlements in the Middle East dating between 4700 and 7300 cal bc , including materials that had not produced evidence for the survival of any lipid species through use of ‘conventional’ solvent extraction techniques. Compound‐specific isotopic analyses of C_16:0 and C_18:0 fatty acids in potsherd extracts subsequently revealed δ¹³C/δ¹²C compositions consistent with modern subcutaneous fats of wild boar and goats pastured on lands adjacent to the Jordan Valley, and residues from a modern pottery vessel used in the manufacturing of butter, cheese and yogurt in central Turkey. These results are presented as an illustration of capabilities of the microwave‐assisted recovery protocol. The reclamation of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids from archaeological pottery fragments recovered from a number of the earliest ceramic horizons in the Middle East is herewith reported, and the extraction methods and instrumental analytical techniques are described.