Storage in traditional farming communities of the western Mediterranean: Ethnographic,historical and archaeological data

Abstract

This paper presents ethnographic, historic and archaeological data from the western Mediterranean in order to explore the variability of storage methods and the various strategies that may have existed in the past in this region. The paper includes ethnographic information on traditional storage methods collected in farming communities in northern Morocco (Rif area). We record the use of plant fibres such as canes (Arundo donax), dwarf palm (Chamaerops humilis), esparto grass (Stipa tenacissima) and dis (Ampelodesmos mauritanica) to make containers. Recipients made of cow dung and unfired clay, as well as underground silos, have been also used in this region to store food. In addition, we explore historical and ethnohistorical data on the use of large storage structures, including the study of communal granaries, a particular type of granary located at inaccessible places, such as cliff faces or mountain tops, or within fortified buildings, from which harvests can be easily protected and defended. We also examine the archaeological evidence of storage strategies in the Iberian Peninsula during prehistoric times. The paper informs of the large variety of systems and materials used, the functioning of storage structures, and more generally, provides a framework for reflecting on the enormous diversity of solutions that could have existed in the past and that may have left little or none archeological traces.     

The Origins and Ethics of Maritime Archaeology – Part I

Abstract

For archaeologists, the principal value of prehistoric figurines is that they offer a means – however limited – into the cultures and lives of prehistoric peoples. There is a long tradition of archaeologists assuming that the figurines they unearth had a religious significance for the people who created them (since anthropomorphic figurines have a religious use in many cultures with which we are familiar). However, just as archaeologists began questioning their attribution of divine status to prehistoric figurines in the 1960s, practitioners of neopagan and goddess spiritualities – particularly those in the feminist spirituality movement – were adopting it. Moreover, in addition to describing prehistoric figurines as images of a Great Goddess who dominated prehistoric religious life, these contemporary feminist neopagans use reproductions of prehistoric figurines to inspire and enact their own spirituality. Feminist neopagan appropriation of prehistoric figurines has been problematic for many archaeologists, who quarrel – legitimately – with the conclusions feminist neopagans make about prehistory based on these artefacts. Yet, as this article argues, the contemporary religious use of prehistoric figurines should not be a matter for archaeologists to decide.     

NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE SPECTROSCOPIC AND ISOTOPIC ANALYSIS OF CARBONIZED RESIDUES FROM SUBARCTIC CANADIAN PREHISTORIC POTTERY

Late prehistoric pottery is found in abundance at archaeological sites around Southern Indian Lake. Black residues, found on the two dominant vessel forms, flat plates and round pots, are presumed to be the remains of prehistoric meals. ¹³C cross-polarization magic-angle-spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (CPMAS NMR) and¹³C and¹⁵ N isotopic ratios and C/N ratios are used to reconstruct prehistoric diet and to shed light on possible uses for the plates. Samples of foods were cooked in clay pots, on a wood fire, to simulate the conditions of burning that could have produced the residue. Decomposition of carbohydrates, protein, and fat during cooking is studied with ¹³C CPMAS NMR, and the effect of cooking on isotopic and C/N ratios documented. Predominantly fish and fat were cooked in the pots, whereas the residues from plates contain a greater proportion of fat and could have been used as frying pans or possibly as fat-burning lamps placed on the ashes of a wood fire.     

Experimentation in the Formation of Edge Damage: A New Approach to Lithic Analysis

Abstract

The paper describes a series of experiments recently carried out to test the formation of edge-damage on flaked stone tools which results from their being used in various tasks. Variables that were systematically tested include action, worked material, angle of the edge, and grip. The main criterion in distinguishing different patterns of damage was microflaking rather than abrasion in the form of striations and polish.

The results of these experiments may be applied to the identification of patterns of damage to the edges of prehistoric stone tools. The information gained from such microwear analysis may be used not only to provide details on the activities and settlement organization of prehistoric societies, but also to provide an important new dimension to lithic analysis in general. In lithic analysis, the main criteria of change have been the macromorphological features of the tools. It is our contention, however, that the additional information on the function of the tools, which is provided by microwear analysis, can contribute to the greater understanding of the processes of change in lithic assemblages and culture change as a whole.

The experimental program was designed to test the formation of edge-damage on implements manufactured in European chalk flint. It was to aid in the identification of wear patterns on lithic assemblages from the neolithic period in Central and Eastern Europe, a project in which the authors were involved. Its relevance, however, includes directly those assemblages of the post-Pleistocene period in temperate and Mediterranean Europe. The results of the experiments may also be useful, it is hoped, for lithic analysis in general, both in the Old and New World.     

The meaning of sedentism and mobility in an archaeological and historic context

Sedentism is a commonly used concept in settlement pattern analysis. In a recent review of this concept Rafferty (1985) found “sedentary” to be related to both settlement permanence and site size. Both space and time are fundamental aspects of sedentism. While maintaining permanence as a central factor, this paper discusses further aspects of sedentism primarily in relation to the use and meaning of space. A case study based on archaeological and historical materials on Sami and Norwegian settlements in arctic Norway is used as an illustration. In arctic Norway prehistoric maritime settlements have often been interpreted as being either transhumant or sedentary. The prehistoric case of sedentism is then viewed in relation to the historically known differences in settlement permanence in space and time for Norwegian and Sami populations in the same area of arctic Norway. It is proposed that models of sedentism should not only be based on ecological, economic, and adaptational considerations but should also include the importance of the meaning of place in the relationship between human populations and landscape.     

3D imaging of Skoteino Cave,Crete, Greece: Successes and difficulties

Abstract

Interpreting cave use, especially from antiquity, requires the perception of subterranean space in all dimensions (floor to ceiling to lateral extent) including spatial variability resulting from geological factors. Subterranean conditions, coupled with variable atmospheric conditions, create a special environment not readily conveyed by conventional mapping techniques limited to two-dimensional floor plans. Skoteino Cave in north central Crete, Greece was used as a ritual and refuge site in the Bronze Age and later. Mapping of the cave attempted to depict and interpret prehistoric and historical use of this space by employing two mapping techniques: EDM total station mapping and terrestrial/point cloud laser scanning. Comparisons with earlier methods used to map cave show the advantages and disadvantages of various mapping schemes. To date, this was the first use of three-dimensional (3D) scanning to explore the complex shapes and space of a subterranean archaeological site on Crete (and the second such use in Greece), and this use demonstrates its own consequent successes and difficulties.     

Submerged Paleoindian and Archaic Sites of the Big Bend,Florida

Abstract

The discovery and investigation of submerged prehistoric sites in the Big Bend region of the Gulf coast of NW Florida has revealed occupation ranging from the latest Pleistocene to the middle Holocene age. A summary of the local prehistoric record and the history of sea level rise are used to present the kinds of sites that may exist offshore and how far out on the continental shelf they might be discovered. A local paleoriver channel (the PaleoAucilla) has been traced offshore and parts of it have been surveyed for archaeological sites with excellent results. The local offshore environment is described, the history and methods of research are presented, and the results of selected analyses are briefly discussed.     

The Geoarchaeological Context of Grand Island

Abstract

Interpretations of the geoarchaeological context of Grand Island, Michigan have been a critical part of prehistoric archaeological investigations. Geoarchaeological investigations have generally focused on determining the age of various geomorphic surfaces, interpreting site settings, and paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Although no Paleoindian materials have yet been found, the island was available for human occupation following final deglaciation sometime after 13,000 cal b.p. High lake levels during the Nipissing Phase (ca. 5700–4450 cal B.P.) built a series of coastal landforms that where heavily used by Archaic Period people. Post-Nipissing fluctuations in lake levels presented a highly variable coastal setting for Terminal Archaic and Woodland Period people     

COLOUR SYMBOLISM IN THE PREHISTORIC ARCHITECTURE OF CENTRAL ANATOLIA AND RAMAN SPECTROSCOPIC INVESTIGATION OF RED OCHRE IN CHALCOLITHIC ÇATALHÖYÜK

The use of red ochre in the prehistoric architecture of Central Anatolia has long been recognized. Scholars have often argued that its use in architecture has a symbolic role, and that it has been used in sacred parts of ritual buildings. This paper examines red‐painted buildings in the prehistoric settlements of Central Anatolia. Recently, a building with red‐coloured plastered walls and floors was found in Chalcolithic Çatalhöyük West. The technique of Raman Spectroscopy has been applied to identify the red pigment and results show that it is red ochre, which contains predominantly hematite, Fe₂O₃.     

Chemical characterization of ancient pottery from sudan by x‐ray fluorescence spectrometry (xrf), electron microprobe analyses (empa) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP–MS)*

Sixty‐four sherds and seven natural clays from prehistoric sites in northwestern Sudan have been submitted to petrological and chemical analysis using XRF spectrometry, EMPA and ICP–MS. According to their texture, the sherds form five different groups. The high contents of P₂O₅ (more than 0.5 wt%) discerned in 19 samples and the variation of the P₂O₅ content in two samples of the same vessel can be explained by post‐depositional processes or by the ancient organic contents (e.g., milk) of the vessel. Chemical classification of the pottery bulk suggests that vessels were made locally, as only sherds from the same area show homogeneity of data.     

Tremper Mound,Hopewell Catlinite,and Pima Technology

Abstract

Archaeologists have long recognized that the Hopewell period was marked by the movement of exotic raw materials and artifacts across the eastern United States. The use of archaeometric techniques to trace the sources of these materials is well established. However, little work has been done on sourcing the pipestone used in Hopewell pipes. In this research we use Portable Infrared Mineral Analyzer (PIMA) technology to identify the presence of Minnesota catlinite as a raw material used for pipes recovered from the Tremper Mound (33SC4) caches in the Scioto Valley of Ohio. A new radiocarbon date places the deposition of these caches between B.C. 50 and A.D. 79. The presence of catlinite pipes in Ohio and in Wisconsin, but rarely in Illinois, suggests the existence of a direct west-to-east route from the catlinite quarries through Wisconsin to Ohio. This movement of catlinite appears to have been a short-term Hopewellian event and the material was not used again until late prehistoric times.     

The Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology 2003–2005: A Retrospective

Abstract

Archaeologists have long recognized that the Hopewell period was marked by the movement of exotic raw materials and artifacts across the eastern United States. The use of archaeometric techniques to trace the sources of these materials is well established. However, little work has been done on sourcing the pipestone used in Hopewell pipes. In this research we use Portable Infrared Mineral Analyzer (PIMA) technology to identify the presence of Minnesota catlinite as a raw material used for pipes recovered from the Tremper Mound (33SC4) caches in the Scioto Valley of Ohio. A new radiocarbon date places the deposition of these caches between B.C. 50 and A.D. 79. The presence of catlinite pipes in Ohio and in Wisconsin, but rarely in Illinois, suggests the existence of a direct west-to-east route from the catlinite quarries through Wisconsin to Ohio. This movement of catlinite appears to have been a short-term Hopewellian event and the material was not used again until late prehistoric times.     

Paradigms,Assumptions, Enclosure,and Violence: The Hillforts of Strathdon

Abstract

This paper examines the assumptions and intellectual models that lie behind the debate around the connections between violence, warfare, and hillfort construction. These underlining academic paradigms have been heavily influenced by current social and political mores, which have created a context in which prehistoric and Early Medieval hillforts are studied in isolation and where the theoretical models have been developed from and with sole reference to the prehistoric period. In turn the debate in Scotland is based on a very limited number of dated hillforts. New excavation by the author from Aberdeenshire has allowed an attempt at an integrated settlement sequence and this is presented in the assumed context of violence as a dominant influencing factor in hillfort design and construction at specific periods.     

CHALLENGES IN APPROACHES TO SKELETAL STATURE ESTIMATION: AN EXAMPLE FROM PREHISTORIC EASTERN MISSISSIPPI AND WESTERN ALABAMA

Abstract

Although stature is used widely as a bioarchaeological health indicator, its determination and subsequent interpretation are not always straightforward. A study of 77 individuals from eight prehistoric populations from the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway illustrates this issue. Application of three common stature estimation formulae to five Middle/Late Woodland and four Mississippian groups strongly suggests that use of partial versus whole bone, choice of element, and stature estimation method can create disparate patterns in health interpretation, not only for the direction of differences but particularly regarding the degree of differences among groups.     

The “land of conjecture:” New late prehistoric discoveries at Maitland’s Mesa and Wisad Pools,Jordan

Abstract

Major cultural transformations took place in the southern Levant during the late prehistoric periods (ca. late 7th–4th millennia b.c.). Agropastoralists expanded into areas previously only sparsely occupied and secondary animal products played an increasingly important economic role. In the arable parts of the southern Levant, the olive in particular became increasingly significant and may have played a part in expanded exchange contacts in the region. Technological expertise developed in craft production, and the volume and diversity of status goods increased, particularly in funerary contexts. Mortuary and other ritual practices became increasingly pronounced. General study syntheses, however, rarely include more than a cursory mention of the more arid regions of the southern Levant (i.e., Negev, eastern and southern Jordan, and Syria). Recent investigations indicate that intensive exploitation of the regions may date to these late prehistoric periods, yet this evidence has been difficult to attribute to specific chronological period or cultural affiliations. The Eastern Badia Archaeological Project investigates two regions for a potential florescence of building and occupation during the late prehistoric periods in the eastern desert of Jordan.     

Joined-Up Archaeology at Old Scatness,Shetland: Thin Section Analysis of the Site and Hinterland

Abstract

Excavations on the multi-period settlement at Old Scatness, Shetland have uncovered a number of Iron Age structures with compacted, floor-like layers. Thin section analysis was undertaken in order to investigate and compare the characteristics of these layers. The investigation also draws on earlier analyses of the Iron Age agricultural soil around the settlement and the midden deposits that accumulated within the settlement, to create a 'joined-up' analysis which considers the way material from the settlement was used and then recycled as fertiliser for the fields. Peat was collected from the nearby uplands and was used for fuel and possibly also for flooring. It is suggested that organic-rich floors from the structures were periodically removed and the material was spread onto the fields as fertilisers. More organic-rich material may have been used selectively for fertiliser, while the less organic peat ash was allowed to accumulate in middens. Several of the structures may have functioned as byres, which suggests a prehistoric plaggen system.     

From the sublime to the Druidical: changing perceptions of prehistoric monuments in southern Anglesey in the post-medieval period

Abstract

The prehistoric monuments of southern Anglesey have been interpreted in various ways over the past three centuries, as an examination of the work of antiquarians, artists, landscape designers and other contemporary commentators reveals. During the post-medieval period, the meanings of these monuments shifted, as perceptions of the pre-Roman era changed. As embodiments of the past, megalithic monuments were embraced by Welsh historians, antiquarians and artists in the movement to formulate a Welsh national identity. Moreover, their incorporation into landscape gardens was indicative of the extent to which they captured the contemporary imagination. Local communities, meanwhile, reacted in differing ways to the megaliths, influenced concurrently by superstition and agrarian pragmatism.     

Urban Settlement Systems and Rural Sustaining Communities: An Example from Chan Chan's Hinterland

Abstract

The study of prehistoric cities has often been marked by research strategies that focus completely on urban centers and thus preclude the delineation of entire settlement systems by ignoring the interrelationships between cities and their rural sustaining communities. A major focus of recent research in the Moche Valley on the Peruvian North Coast has been on elucidating the nature of urbanrural relations between the prehistoric Chimú city of Chan Chan and contemporaneous sites located in its hinterland. Excavation at the village of Cerro la Virgen together with additional evidence obtained from other sites in Chan Chan's rural sustaining area has provided insights into Chimú lifeways in nonmetropolitan areas, as well as evidence suggesting a multifaceted plan for organizing lands outside the civic center of Chan Chan. The archaeological data indicate that an important aspect of the organization of rural argicultural zones was the restriction of settlement to villages circumscribed by the Chimú state.     

THE EARLIEST USE OF CORUNDUM AND DIAMOND,IN PREHISTORIC CHINA*

The majority of prehistoric lithic artefacts were fashioned from rocks and minerals no harder than quartz, and there is no prehistoric evidence for the working of harder materials, such as corundum and diamond. The earliest physical evidence for the use of corundum (ruby, sapphire) is thought to be the abrasive grit recovered from Bronze Age Minoan quartz beads (c. 1700–1500 bc ), while diamond is thought to have been used no earlier than 500 bc , in India. Here we show that corundum was worked c. 4000–3500 bc during the Neolithic period in China, in the form of polished axes from the Liangzhu and Sanxingcun cultures. We also present physical evidence that later Liangzhu axes (c. 2500 bc ), made from the same previously undescribed rock whose most abundant component is corundum, were polished to a mirror‐like finish with a diamond abrasive. Our findings, which are the first to support the use of corundum and diamond in a prehistoric context, may also help to explain the trademark feature of the Neolithic in China, vast quantities of finely polished nephrite jade artefacts.