A Raman spectroscopic study of glass trade beads excavated at Mapungubwe hill and K2, two archaeological sites in southern Africa,raises questions about the last occupation date of the hill

Thousands of glass trade beads were excavated over a 75 year period on Mapungubwe Hill and at K2, two archaeological sites in the Limpopo valley, South Africa. An assemblage of 175 beads that appeared to be different in shape, size and colour (red, yellow, green, blue, white, black, pink, plum) was studied with Raman scattering. At least seven different chromophores or pigments (lazurite, lead tin yellow type II, Ca/Pb arsenate, chromate, calcium antimonate, Fe–S “amber” and a spinel) have been identified. Pigment identification allows the recognition of specific productions and indicated that many of the pigments colouring the beads excavated on Mapungubwe hill were manufactured after the 13th century, confirming the presence of modern beads in the archaeological record, some dating from the 19th century. This date is in agreement with the last occupation date for the hill suggested by the earlier excavators and raises questions about the revision of this date to 1290 AD by archaeologists in the 1970’s.     

Archaeological material and ethnic identification. A study of Lappish material from Varanger,Norway

The term Lappish Iron Age has been established in Scandinavian archaeology but the ethnic affiliation of the body of archaeological material labelled so has never been discussed in detail. In this article two questions arc discussed: Is it possible from archaeological material to verify a hypothesis about a specific ethnic affiliation? And is it appropriate to refer to this archaeological material as iron age finds? A general discussion about problems involved in identifying ethnic groups is given, after a brief presentation of the empirical material. Attention is drawn to Barth's analysis, where he shows that the cultural content seems to be of two orders: (i) overt signs and signals, and (ii) basic value orientations. The discussion is carried out in accordance with these two orders. It is argued that this analysis cannot provide us with information about a specific ethnic affiliation; although it cannot tell us which group, it can verify that the material in question does represent one specific ethnic group. If we want to identify one specific ethnic group we have to use other sources besides the archaeological record. The use of sources like written documents, linguistics, place names and physical anthropology is discussed. The conclusion is drawn that by the use of various sources we can trace the identity of one specific ethnic group.     

Land Snail Shell Beads in the Sub-Saharan Archaeological Record: When,Where, and Why?

Shell beads are well established in the archaeological record of sub-Saharan Africa and appear as early as 75,000 BP; however, most research has focused on ostrich eggshell (OES) and various marine mollusc species. Beads made from various land snails shells (LSS), frequently described as Achatina, also appear to be widespread. Yet tracking their appearance and distribution is difficult because LSS beads are often intentionally or unintentionally lumped with OES beads, there are no directly dated examples, and bead reporting in general is highly variable in the archaeological literature. Nevertheless, Achatina and other potential cases of LSS beads are present at over 80 archaeological sites in at least eight countries, spanning the early Holocene to recent past. Here, we collate published cases and report on several more. We also present a new case from Magubike Rockshelter in southern Tanzania with the first directly dated LSS beads, which we use to illustrate methods for identifying LSS as a raw material. Despite the long history of OES bead production on the continent and the abundance of land snails available throughout the Pleistocene, LSS beads appear only in the late Holocene and are almost exclusively found in Iron Age contexts. We consider possible explanations for the late adoption of land snails as a raw material for beadmaking within the larger context of environmental, economic, and social processes in Holocene Africa. By highlighting the existence of these artifacts, we hope to facilitate more in-depth research on the timing, production, and distribution of LSS beads in African prehistory.     

Why does (archaeological) micromorphology have such little traction in (geo)archaeology?

Archaeological deposits are often complex and illustrative of an intricate interplay between geogenic and anthropogenic inputs and formation processes. Even for those archaeologists—particularly prehistorians—who consider the basic principles of natural stratigraphy to excavate their sites, they nonetheless typically underutilize the observations and data available at the microstratigraphic level. The technique of soil micromorphology—or archaeological micromorphology as referred to throughout this paper—has seen an astounding increase in its use to answer archaeological questions and archaeological sediments in the last decades. However, we consider that this tool is still quite underutilized and not as mainstream as other techniques. In this paper, we briefly reflect on what can be some of the causes underlying this situation and how we (that is, both producers and consumers of micromorphology data) can go about to change it. The main idea is that we need to establish a better and more approachable way to present micromorphological results and be better at integrating them with the macroscopic archaeological data and research questions.     

Earthquakes and archaeology

This article examines the use of archaeological evidence for the assessment of historical earthquakes in the Eastern Mediterranean region and Middle East, long before the advent of modern seismology. We ask the questions when and where have large earthquakes happened in the past? How can this evidence contribute to our scientific understanding of earthquake activity? Is it possible on literary and archaeological grounds to distinguish between earthquake damage and damage from other causes? It is found that archaeological evidence for an earthquake is not always clear or unambiguous and that there is a need for collaboration between archaeologists, historians, geologists, engineering seismologists and workers in other disciplines, to evaluate the traces of earthquakes in excavations, both for understanding their effects at the site and for the information they can provide about the nature of the earthquake implicated.     

Archaeological Visualization: Towards an Archaeological Information Science (AISc)

This paper reviews and evaluates the potential use of modern visualization techniques in archaeology. It suggests the need to apply and develop such techniques as a central part of any modern archaeological investigation. The use of these methods is associated with wider questions about data representations, in particular, their integration with archaeological theory and their role in facilitating analysis and shaping interpretation. Concern for these questions and with the overall potential that information systems provide to capture, represent, analyze, and model archaeological information suggests the need for a new interdisciplinary focus, Archaeological Information Science. For such a focus to prosper, archaeologists need to develop additional skills that go beyond mere technical ones. They need to become more active in the design and creation of future information archaeological systems. To this end, archaeologists are urged to view this task as a way to extend archaeology in new directions and to recognize that the digital representation and treatment of archaeological information can generate new forms of doing archaeology.     

Archaeology of Northeast Thailand in Relation to the Pre-Khmer and Khmer Historical Records

An earlier study of how the archaeological data from the Khmer period in northeast Thailand confirm and augment the information from historical texts is expanded into an examination of the early historic pre-Khmer and the post-Khmer periods. For these, both the historical and the archaeological data are more limited and problematic. The archaeological record confirms generally the changes associated with the transition from prehistory to history but raises questions about the sources of external influence and the types of political and economic organization which characterized northeast Thailand societies. More robust archaeological data and more precise chronological control will be necessary to test historical models of pre-Angkorian and post-Angkorian political development.     

Cut and Tooth Mark Distributions on Large Animal Bones: Ethnoarchaeological Data from the Hadza and Their Implications For Current Ideas About Early Human Carnivory

Distributions of cut and tooth marks on the bones of large animals found in archaeological sites are increasingly used as sources of inference about the relative importance of hunting and scavenging in early human diets, and (by extension) about the role of meat-eating in human evolution. Here we review the empirical basis for these inferences in light of ethnoarchaeological data from the Tanzanian Hadza, a modern East African foraging population. Comparison of the Hadza data with those produced by other actualistic work indicates that while there may be a relationship between cut and tooth mark distributions and order of consumer access (human- versus carnivore-first), it is less clear-cut than many have suggested. Application of these results to the analysis of Plio-Pleistocene archaeological collections is further complicated by inconsistencies in the ways cut and tooth marks have been defined and counted, and by significant differences between patterns observed in modern control samples and those reported at ancient sites. These observations indicate that cut and tooth mark analyses are unlikely to speak effectively to questions about early human carnivory in the absence of: (1) better-warranted, more comprehensive expectations about the potential range of variation in past human carcass acquisition strategies, (2) a larger, more rigorously designed set of control experiments that model the archaeological consequences of these strategies, and (3) a larger, more consistently analysed archaeological data base. Even if these requirements are met, the idea of meat-eating as an important catalyst in the evolution of early humans will remain highly problematic, mainly due to problems involving the frequency and short-term reliability of carcass access.     

Coalport Bridge: A Study in Historical Interpretation

Abstract

Industrial archaeologists frequently demand the preservation of monuments. Such preservation can be justified on the grounds that a monument has an educational function, or sometimes that it has potential for excavation. It is the purpose of this article to suggest that a surviving monument continually poses questions about its own past, and about wider historical issues, and to show how the understanding of one particular monument, the Coalport Bridge, has increased over the last twelve years, not just because new documentary sources have come to light, but because it has been possible to use the evidence of the structure itself to test the authenticity of other sources.     

Contemporary Archaeology in Transit: The Artifacts of a 1991 Van

This article uses an assemblage of recently abandoned material culture as a medium for exploring the world in which we all live. First it is suggested that if we are to study contemporary material culture, then our methodology must be collaborative, multivocal, and innovative. Next, an assemblage of materials recovered from a 1991 Ford Transit van, used by archaeologists in the field for 8 years, is investigated as a case study. The vehicle is epistemologically dismantled, and it is demonstrated that the car part should be treated as a diagnostic artifact. A close investigation of the recovered small finds uncovers explicit information about how the van was used and by whom. As with all people in every era, archaeologists too, leave material evidence of their passing. This evidence can be subversive and brings up questions about how archaeology is practiced today. Additionally, it is found that limitations to contemporary material culture also arise and esoteric knowledge can sometimes trump archaeological inquiry.     

Integrating archaeology,archaeometry and geology: local production technology and imports at Paola (Cosenza,Southern Italy)

This paper documents a comprehensive study of coarse wares for table use, serving, washing and cooking, found at the archaeological site of Paola (Cosenza, southern Italy). Major aims of the study were to group local products and imports and to determine technological features of local products. Results were obtained through a combination of archaeological (stratigraphy and ceramic typology), chemical and mineralogical–petrographical techniques (ICP-OES, ICP-MS, INAA, XRF, OM, SEM-EDS and EMPA). Data integration revealed that the coarse wares found at Paola were produced locally or imported over short (Calabria region), medium (Campania, Pantelleria, Sicily) and long distances (Greece and Africa). The local production focused on basins, stewpots, pitchers, bowls, pans, casseroles and lids, sometimes imitating African, or Pompei (Campania) or San Foca (Puglia) typical shapes. The production technology of local ceramics used a sandy–clayey blend of materials collected in the immediate vicinity of the archaeological site, fired at intermediate (about 800 °C) to low (around 650–750 °C) temperatures and used a Fe-rich clayey compound as a red ceramic coating. From a technological perspective, the Paola example arise new questions about table wares produced with clay bodies typical of cooking wares.     

New Neolithic sites in the western al-Hajar mountains

A new archaeological project in the western al-Hajar Mountains in northern Oman involves a systematic survey of the small valley of Qumayrah and excavation of selected sites. Two field seasons revealed a number of Neolithic settlement traces. Three newly discovered sites were excavated, two of which proved to be stratified. The most intensive fieldwork focused on QA 2, a Stone Age campsite that contained stone structures, numerous lithic tools, stone and shell beads and marine shell fragments. Radiocarbon dating provided a c.4200 cal. BC age, corresponding with the prevalent lithic evidence. Two other excavated sites yielded fewer materials, that were, however, diagnostically relevant. They indicate a diachronic occupation ongoing probably since the Late Neolithic till the end of that period, but some materials point to other stages of the Neolithic period as well. The appearance of marine shells suggests seasonal occupation and connections with coastal areas. It raises questions about the reasons for the settling of the Qumayrah valley.     

Archaeological evidence of an early Islamic monastery in the centre of al-Qusur (Failaka Island,Kuwait)

The history of Christianity in the Gulf is still largely unknown since both archaeological and written sources are sparse. Many questions remain about the development and disappearance of Christian communities, as well as their form. A few sites were identified as Christian because of the discovery of churches or crosses. A church was excavated at al-Qusur (Failaka Island, Kuwait) by the French Mission to Kuwait in 1988–1989. Since 2011, a new French–Kuwaiti Archaeological Mission in Failaka (MAFKF) has aimed to better understand the site’s phasing and organisation. The discovery of a large refectory and a small tripartite building that is most probably a monk’s cell, as well as the reinterpretation of a church-like building as a structure perhaps dedicated to the spiritual education of monks has demonstrated that at least the central part was a monastery, making it the second Christian settlement in the Gulf to be proven to be a monastery.     

Production sequences of ostrich eggshell beads and settlement dynamics in the Geelbek Dunes of the Western Cape, South Africa

The archaeological record attests to the significance of ostrich eggs as a valuable resource for the people of the Later Stone Age. People over a broad geographic range used ostrich eggs to provide nourishment, storage and ornamentation. This paper focuses on the production, use and discard of ostrich eggshell beads recovered from open-air sites in the Geelbek Dunes of the Western Cape, South Africa. We present a comprehensive production chain for analyzing the manufacture of beads and introduce the concept of a heuristic production value for evaluating the degree of completion reflected by an assemblage. The pattern of fabrication and the distribution in size allow for a detailed analysis of the beads that points to specific behavioral patterns involved in their production. This analysis yields information about the duration and intensity of site use, as well as the individual members and cultural affinities of the groups who made the beads. We document the intentional use of fire to blacken the majority of the beads as an aesthetic choice. Combined with the results from AMS radiocarbon dating, the majority of the beads from Geelbek provide insight into the socio-economic identity of their manufacturers: small groups of hunter–gatherers who inhabited and used specific locations on the strandveld near Langebaan Lagoon.     

Archaeology and Development: A Difficult Dialogue

Archaeology and development are considered here from the point of view of the relevance of archaeological results to the problems of development, those being mainly questions of identity in this case. The weight of archaeological contribution is emphasized, as well as the basic problem caused by the association of the peoples' conceptions of their own history with the definitions provided by archaeology. In effect, here are two kinds of knowledge different by constitution: one scientific, the other not. This unavoidable fact, whether it occurs in historical syntheses or in ideological manipulations, must be taken into account by pluridisciplinary research.     

THE BEAD MAKER’S MIDDEN: EVIDENCE OF LATE PREHISTORIC SHELL BEAD PRODUCTION ON OSSABAW ISLAND,GEORGIA

Abstract

In 2005, archaeological excavations were undertaken in a single shell midden at a late prehistoric Irene phase (circa A.D. 1380) site on Ossabaw Island, Georgia. The excavations were designed specifically to collect information on the fabrication of shell beads and other shell ornaments. A considerable amount of stone was recovered, almost all of which is petrified wood used specifically in the production of “microdrills” for perforating shell beads. Also recovered were large quantities of fragmented knobbed whelk (Busycon carica), the principal raw material used for shell beads, as well as examples of shell beads in all stages of manufacture. The excavations of this midden, designated the Bead Maker’s Midden, produced abundant information bearing on shellworking technology, including the full range of tools and raw materials used and the sequences involved in the production of shell beads. Replication experiments were conducted to validate the archaeological findings. The collected data provide direct evidence of the process of shell bead production during the Late Mississippi period.     

Identifying Narrative Descriptions in Agent-Based Models Representing Past Human-Environment Interactions

There is a growing use of bottom-up simulation models to reconstruct past human-environment interactions. Such detailed representations pose difficult questions not only in their design (the generality-realism trade-off) but also about the inferences that are made from them. The historical sciences are faced with seeking to make robust inferences from limited, potentially biased and/or incomplete samples from uncontrolled systems, and as a result have sometimes employed narrative explanation. By contrast, simulation models can be used experimentally and can generate large amounts of data. Here, using an agent-based model of hunter-gatherer foraging in a previously unexplored ecosystem, we consider how narratives might be identified from the trajectories produced by simulations. We show how machine learning methods can isolate qualitatively similar types of model behaviour based on summaries of model outcomes and time series. We stand to learn from this approach because it enables us to answer two questions: (i) under what conditions (representations and/or parameterisations) do we observe in the model what is recorded in the archaeological and/or palaeoenvironmental record? and (ii) does the model yield unobserved dynamics? If so, are they plausible? Using models to develop narratives is a logical extension of the bottom-up approach inherent in agent-based modelling and has the potential, alongside conventional methods of model evaluation, to aid in learning from the rich dynamics of such simulations.     

Probing the provenance of archaeological glaze colorants: Polychrome faunal reliefs of the Ishtar Gate and the Processional Way of Babylon

The polychrome glazes from the Processional Way and the Ishtar Gate of Babylon are among the best preserved from antiquity. Yet, little is known about the logistical choices involved in their production. Variations in isotope ratios can be useful for complementing an archaeological investigation of potential geological sources of raw materials. Consistent with archaeological evidence and ancient texts on trade in metals, Turkish ore deposits are thus tentatively proposed as possible sources of the metal oxide colorants used for the investigated polychrome glazes of three Neo‐Babylonian faunal reliefs that are now part of the collection of the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen.     

Starch granules,dental calculus and new perspectives on ancient diet

Recent work in various parts of the world has suggested the possibility of ancient starch granules surviving and adhering to archaeological artefacts. Often this information is used to infer aspects of diet. One additional source for recovery of archaeological starch granules is dental calculus. The presence of plant food debris in dental calculus is well known but has not been not widely investigated using archaeological material. The extraction of starch granules from dental calculus represents a direct link to the consumption of starchy food by humans or animals. Using dental calculus also sidesteps many other questions still inherent in using starch granules to reconstruct aspects of ancient diet, such as the effects of diagenesis on their morphology; as the starches are trapped inside a concreted matrix they are less likely to alter over time. We used amylase digestion by a starch-specific enzyme to confirm the material as starch.     

The Consequences of Early Food Production: Three Recent Contributions

This essay reviews three books on food production, including the emergence, spread, and strategies of agriculture. As a group, the books draw on ethnographic, linguistic, archaeological, and biological anthropological approaches and sources of evidence. Combining multiple sources of evidence and theoretical approaches—even when these compete with one another or appear to conflict—provides the safest answers to anthropological questions on the consequences of the shift from foraging to agriculture.