Testing the provenance of Patayan pottery at Las Colinas: chemical and petrographic analyses of phyllite-temper fragments

Mobile Patayan foragers of the interior desert of southwestern Arizona were makers of Lower Colorado Buff Ware ceramics. These containers were sometimes traded to Hohokam irrigation agriculturalists at the western margin of the Hohokam territory. By A.D. 1100, the distribution of Patayan Buff Wares shifted to the east, penetrating the Hohokam heartland. Some theorists have suggested the ceramic distribution implies a migration of Patayan people, who joined agricultural communities in the Hohokam core area. One way to assess this idea is to identify the production of Patayan material culture within the Hohokam territory. We test for the local manufacture of Lower Colorado Buff Ware at the Hohokam village of Las Colinas, where Patayan pottery was found in abundance, and a Patayan enclave has been inferred. Using petrographic analysis and SEM-EDS assays of the phyllite temper fragments in the Patayan wares, we conclude that the Patayan pottery was made elsewhere and was not fabricated with local materials at Las Colinas.     

Hematite sources and archaeological ochres from Hohokam and O’odham sites in central Arizona: an experiment in type identification and characterization

The use of ochre is a defining characteristic of populations living in the Sonoran Desert of the American Southwest. Red pigments and paints were used for craft production, bodily adornment, rock art, and in mortuary contexts. Hematite and other iron-oxides are common components of this pigment that frequently appear in the archaeological record in a variety of forms and in various stages of production. Beyond this, very little is known about these materials. This paper describes the collection of potential geological sources of ochre in the Phoenix Basin and presents a methodology for the identification of processed paints. Geological sources samples are characterized using instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and compared to raw materials recovered archaeologically from the Gila River Indian Community reservation. This preliminary study indicates that iron-oxide sources can be distinguished from each other and that artifacts can be matched to these sources, revealing local procurement along the Gila River by Hohokam and O’odham artisans and continuity in use of one source from the prehistoric period to the present.     

Investigating compositional diversity among Fijian ceramics with laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS): implications for interaction studies on geologically similar islands

This paper presents a ceramic provenance analysis of 260 Fijian sherd clays by laser-ablation inductively-coupled-plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Our analyses define three compositional groups in western Fijian ceramics distributed across the 2700 year ceramic sequence. Frequencies of compositional groups represented in the diachronic assemblages indicate an increasing spatial sphere of interaction until approximately 1500 BP. By 1000 BP interaction had spatially contracted to a significant degree. These findings suggest re-evaluation of current ideas about interaction in the southwest Pacific is necessary.     

Glaze and slip pigment analyses of Pueblo IV period ceramics from east-central Arizona using time of flight-laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (TOF-LA-ICP-MS)

This paper presents the results of glaze-paint and slip analysis of 161 White Mountain Red Ware ceramic samples (AD 1275–1325) from east-central Arizona. Time of flight-laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (TOF-LA-ICP-MS) analysis is used (1) to establish viability of the technique for measuring chemical compositions of glazes and slips, and (2) to establish a methodology for inferring this structured variability, specifically delineating the presence of specific pigment mixtures or “recipes” used by prehistoric potters in the Greater Southwest. These data bear on archaeological questions about craft production, exchange, technology, and social organization.     

Ceramic production,consumption and exchange in the Banda area,Ghana: Insights from compositional analyses

Ceramic production, exchange and consumption in the Banda area, west central Ghana has been affected by historical developments ranging from recent competition with alternative vessels (made of metal and plastic) to political economic upheavals that altered community relationships within and outside the region. In this study, we explore spatial and temporal patterning in pottery production, exchange and consumption using a combination of analytical techniques. Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) of a large sample (491 specimens) of archaeological and ethnographic pottery, clay and temper samples from sites across the Banda area has led to the identification of seven compositional groups whose differential distribution implies shifts in resource selection through the last thousand years. Laser ablation-ICP-MS analysis was used to explore the effects of distinctive tempering agents (crushed slag) on the bulk chemical signature of a subset of Banda ceramics, while petrographic analysis provides insight into the preparation of ceramic fabrics. We integrate insights from these diverse physical studies to investigate the dynamics of pottery production, exchange and consumption over the course of the last millennium in the Banda area and explore potential linkages with broader political economic transformations.     

Geomorphological setting and Native American acquisition of buff-firing ceramic clays in the Lower and Middle Gila River Valley, Arizona

This study addresses buff-firing clay sources in dynamic alluvial settings along Arizona’s Gila River in the U.S. Southwest. We establish clay resource distribution relative to the geomorphic histories of the Lower and Middle Gila River based on 38 clay samples and ethnographic data from two US Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) projects. Buff-firing clayey alluvium, deposited in the Gila River floodplain 800 to 1,500 or more years ago, was a surficial ceramic raw material source for prehistoric Hohokam and lowland Patayan potters. This geomorphic unit was later removed in some places and buried by up to 3-4 m of sediment in others, reducing the availability of buff-firing clays in the Hohokam Classic period and requiring historic Pee Posh and Akimel O’odham potters to dig pits to access it. Sources were further destroyed in catastrophic floods in the late 19th and early 20th century, affecting ceramic manufacture patterns and ultimately contributing to the decline of pottery production by the O’odham living in the Gila River Valley. Our results contribute to regional ceramic ecology and should also be of interest to others investigating alluvial clay use in general or buff-firing alluvial clays in particular. The study also illustrates the value of combining geomorphic and ethnographic data to examine major changes in resource distribution and use.     

Understanding ceramic variability: an archaeometrical interpretation of the Classical and Hellenistic ceramics at Düzen Tepe and Sagalassos (Southwest Turkey)

Within the aim of contributing to the artisanal craft history at Sagalassos (SW-Turkey), an archaeometric programme including thin section analysis, ICP-MS and multivariate statistics was developed to define the variability on a provenance and/or technological scale of the Classical/Hellenistic ceramic assemblage of Sagalassos and Düzen Tepe. The obtained data were used to evaluate the extent and variation of local pottery production. Petrographic and geochemical analysis as a grouping technique proves to be conditional for documenting the variation in ceramic wares present on both archaeological sites. Elemental evidence supports local production activities between Classical and Hellenistic times, documenting a deliberate change in treatment of raw materials during the Late Hellenistic period in function of ware groups.     

A new perspective on Late Holocene social interaction in Northwest Alaska: results of a preliminary ceramic sourcing study

This research examines the evidence for prehistoric ceramic exchange networks over the last 2000 years in northwest Alaska through the use of neutron activation analysis of ceramic artifacts. Results from ceramic analysis on eight coastal and inland archaeological sites identified three source macrogroups and three associated subgroups. Clay source diversity and shared source macrogroups between geographically distant sites suggest the use of multiple sources and/or the movement of pots between production locales, mirroring related patterns in pottery stylistic data. Although additional analytical work is needed to fully understand the changing character of clay procurement and ceramic distribution across this time period, this study provides exploratory data on past ceramic production and distribution that hints at changes in exchange and territoriality in northwest Alaska during the late Holocene.     

Point/counter point: the accuracy and feasibility of digital image techniques in the analysis of ceramic thin sections

Digital Imaging Analysis has been proposed as an efficient alternative to traditional petrography for some applications. This paper tests that proposition in the measurement of temper size and abundance in four pottery thin sections from the Pevey Site, Mississippi. The findings of both studies are presented here and the relative merits of the two techniques are evaluated in terms of accuracy, precision, cost, and time.     

Osteophagia and dental wear in herbivores: actualistic data and archaeological evidence

The ability of herbivores to produce damage in bones and antlers has recently been described by the present authors (Cáceres et al., 2011), showing several cases of modified bones and various stages of bone modification due to osteophagic behavior by herbivores. Herbivores chew and eat bones and antlers to make up for mineral scarcity in their diet. In this paper we describe how the consumption of bone and antlers by herbivore can result in distinct differential tooth wear, breakage and the loss of some dental pieces. This damage has also been identified in fossils. These preliminary results are especially relevant in archaeological contexts, because this marked tooth wear can be mistaken for dental disease or lead to the incorrect assignment of age to the animals.     

In the beginning: Marhashi and the origins of Magan's ceramic industry in the third millennium BC

Ceramics from the Jiroft plain in southeastern Iran are compared with material of Umm an-Nar-type dating to the mid- and late third millennium BC in the Oman Peninsula. Technological and stylistic comparisons suggest the strong possibility that potters from the Iranian side of the Straits of Hormuz may have been the instigators of Magan's earliest ceramic industry.     

Strontium isotope ratios in fossil teeth from South Africa: assessing laser ablation MC-ICP-MS analysis and the extent of diagenesis

This study tests the precision and accuracy of laser ablation multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICP-MS) for measuring strontium isotope ratios (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) in fossil teeth from Swartkrans and Sterkfontein in South Africa, and explores the extent of diagenesis in these specimens. Compared to solution MC-ICP-MS or thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) methods, LA-MC-ICP-MS can be faster and less expensive, but has lower precision and accuracy. We found that ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios in fossil rodent teeth measured by LA-MC-ICP-MS were offset from solution values by a mean of 0.0005 ± 0.0010 (2σ). Because of the very wide spread of biologically available ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (∼0.710 to ∼0.790) in the region, LA-MC-ICP-MS is more than sufficient for assessing the geographic origins of the fossil rodents. The concentration of strontium in modern and fossil enamel from the area is statistically indistinguishable, as is the range of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios in modern rodents and fossil rodents from Swartkrans. Thus, there is little evidence of diagenetic Sr in the fossil enamel. In contrast, the fossil dentine may contain up to ∼50% diagenetic strontium, although many dentine ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios are still far removed from the background cave value of 0.729. We propose that LA-MC-ICP-MS will also be of use for investigating the geographic origins of other, non-rodent fossil teeth from the Sterkfontein and Swartkrans collections, and may prove of similar utility at other suitable sites.     

Laser ablation depth profiling of U-series and Sr isotopes in human fossils

We have explored laser depth profiling to obtain data sets for U-series as well as Sr analyses. Laser probing with an 81 μm spot size allows for the exploration of low uranium domains of up to 400 μm below the outer surface in tooth enamel. These low U domains will contain Sr isotope compositions of the individual, that are least affected by diagenetic Sr overprints. The small holes drilled for U surveying are not visible to the naked eye. Using larger spot sizes of around 233 μm, laser drilling can be used to obtain reliable U-series isotope data to a depth of approximately 1000 μm in enamel and around 1300 μm in bone. Furthermore, meaningful ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotope data can also be obtained with this spot size. Using our sampling strategy, the overall damage to a human tooth is minute, as demonstrated on a Neanderthal tooth from Moula-Guercy. We expect that laser ablation depth profiling will become routine for gaining insights into the age of human fossils and the migrations of ancient humans.     

Cross-cultural interaction on Wuvulu Island,Papua New Guinea: the perspective from use-wear and residue analyses of turtle bone artifacts

Recent studies have emphasized the importance of Indigenous producers and traders in the formation of ethnographic museum collections, but have found difficulty in finding concrete evidence for their active roles. A use-wear and residue study of turtle bone cleavers from Wuvulu Island, Papua New Guinea provides the opportunity to test whether objects that comprise a significant component of early collections were made specifically for sale, as hypothesized by contemporary observers in the late 19th century. Comparative studies of used and unused turtle bone artifacts from the Caroline Islands and Papua New Guinea identified differences between wear traces resulting from manufacture and use. Analyses of the Wuvulu turtle bone cleavers showed they had been heavily used prior to sale. Rather than produce artifacts to meet the high demand from German traders, the local people sold old, worn-out objects, many of which had been repaired. The study demonstrates that archaeological approaches to ethnographic museum collections can trace Indigenous agency within cross-cultural interaction. It also showcases the potential of use-wear and residue analytical techniques for the analysis of bone tools and the utility of digital, hand-held microscopes for the analysis of large artifacts.     

Patterns of pastoralism in later Bronze Age Kazakhstan: new evidence from faunal and lipid residue analyses

Current research themes relating to prehistoric Central Asian pastoralism are discussed, and the Neolithic to Bronze archaeological sequence in Kazakhstan is briefly outlined. The results of new faunal analyses of six later Bronze Age sites in Central and Northern Kazakhstan are presented. These studies are based upon the analysis of 63,529 bone fragments, of which 27,023 were identifiable to species and element. These assemblages are compared with 16 other sites in Central and Northern Kazakhstan, and the Trans-Ural region. The herd structures at the final Bronze Age site of Kent are discussed in detail. Analyses of absorbed lipid residues from four sites are also presented. In total, 140 pottery sherds were analysed, of which 73 provided sufficient residues for stable isotope ratio determinations. It is concluded that species proportions are highly variable regionally. Cattle are most prevalent in the forest steppe zone, whilst caprines become more common in semi-arid steppe regions. Proportions of horse are particularly variable, even within environmentally similar areas. Lipid residue results indicate the high prevalence of ruminant dairy products in pottery vessels, whilst faunal data from Kent suggests that cattle husbandry might have been particularly focussed on milk, in comparison with sheep and goats. The significance of horses within prehistoric pastoralism is discussed.     

On the origins of extractive metallurgy: new evidence from Europe

The beginnings of extractive metallurgy in Eurasia are contentious. The first cast copper objects in this region emerge c. 7000 years ago, and their production has been tentatively linked to centres in the Near East. This assumption, however, is not substantiated by evidence for copper smelting in those centres. Here, we present results from recent excavations from Belovode, a Vin?a culture site in Eastern Serbia, which has provided the earliest direct evidence for copper smelting to date. The earliest copper smelting activities there took place c. 7000 years ago, contemporary with the emergence of the first cast copper objects. Through optical, chemical and provenance analyses of copper slag, minerals, ores and artefacts, we demonstrate the presence of an established metallurgical technology during this period, exploiting multiple sources for raw materials. These results extend the known record of copper smelting by more than half a millennium, with substantial implications. Extractive metallurgy occurs at a location far away from the Near East, challenging the traditional model of a single origin of metallurgy and reviving the possibility of multiple, independent inventions.     

Lipid residue analyses of Early Neolithic funnel-beaker pottery from Skogsmossen,eastern Central Sweden,and the earliest evidence of dairying in Sweden

This study address the question of the use and function of Early Neolithic (4000–3000 cal. BC) funnel-beaker pots from Mälardalen in eastern Central Sweden. The material studied is pottery from a wetland offering at the site Skogsmossen in the province of Västmanland. While deposited under ritual circumstances in a fen, the pots were likely used in a domestic domain on the settlement adjacent to the offering fen, prior to final deposition. The lipid analysis indicate a varied vessel use, there are traces of aquatic resources, plants, terrestrial animals and milk. The identification of milk residue is the oldest so far from Sweden.     

Shell-gathering from mangroves and the seasonality of the Southeast Asian Monsoon using high-resolution stable isotopic analysis of the tropical estuarine bivalve (Geloina erosa) from the Great Cave of Niah, Sarawak: methods and reconnaissance of molluscs of early Holocene and modern times

This paper describes a reconnaissance, high-resolution, study of stable isotopes (δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C) from modern shells of the estuarine bivalve Geloina erosa, and those dated to the early Holocene that were harvested by people from mangroves near the Great Cave of Niah on the north coast of Borneo. This reconnaissance study provides high-resolution palaeoclimatic-palaeohydrological information concerning early human activity in the region and the past character of the Southeast Asian Monsoon. Laser ablation continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry (LA-CF-IRMS) on modern shells of Geloina erosa revealed ‘saw-tooth’ stable isotopic profiles that bear a close resemblance to peaks and troughs of trends in recent local rainfall, including the 1998 El Niño drought, highlighting the potential of Geloina erosa for reconstructing seasonality of the Southeast Asian Palaeomonsoon. LA-CF-IRMS analysis of prehistoric shells of Geloina erosa held in the Harrisson Archives of the Sarawak Museum revealed cyclical shifts in δ¹⁸O with similar amplitudes of variation as found in modern shells of Geloina erosa. As at the present day, this probably reflects the changing seasonality of the monsoon rains with shifts to negative δ¹⁸O values during periods of high runoff. Lighter mean δ¹⁸O values of the prehistoric shells, however, may indicate a greater annual surplus of rainfall and possibly consistent with the early Holocene strengthening of the summer monsoon at that time. The similarity of the last growth increment δ¹⁸O of the prehistoric shells to their mean δ¹⁸O profile values suggests that gathering took place during times of moderate runoff.     

Changes in regional organization and mobility in the Zuni region of the American Southwest during the Pueblo III and IV periods: insights from INAA studies

The transition from the late Pueblo III (AD 1200–1275) to Pueblo IV (AD 1275–1400) period marks one of the most dramatic eras of demographic and social upheaval in the American Southwest. At this time, much of the northern Southwest was depopulated as thousands of ancestral Pueblo people moved to new homelands. In the Zuni region, this transition included a residential shift from dispersed, largely household-scale settlements to massive, multi-storied pueblos housing hundreds of people and a simultaneous contraction of regional settlement to a central core along the Zuni River and its major tributaries. This article presents a synthesis of our recent independent efforts to utilize instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) to investigate changes in social interaction in the Zuni region before and after this transition. We suggest that in addition to significant local and regional settlement shifts, the Pueblo III–IV transition in the Zuni region was accompanied by a major reorganization of pottery distribution networks as clear social boundaries began to emerge between village clusters. More generally, our combined study also highlights the iterative nature of INAA data analysis, the benefits of large sample sizes, and the utility of a diachronic interpretative approach.     

Bite marks on an ichthyodectiform fish from Australia: possible evidence of trophic interaction in an Early Cretaceous marine ecosystem

Wretman, L. & Kear, B.P., 2013. Bite marks on an ichthyodectiform fish from Australia: possible evidence of trophic interaction in an Early Cretaceous marine ecosystem. Alcheringa 38, 000–000. ISSN 0311-5518.

A well-preserved fish skull from late Albian deposits of the Allaru Mudstone near Richmond in Queensland displays a conspicuous V-shaped pattern of indentations, punctures and depression fractures consistent with a vertebrate bite trace. This is the first direct evidence of trophic interaction between vertebrates within an Early Cretaceous marine ecosystem from Australia. The specimen is taxonomically referable to the large-bodied (ca 1?m snout–tail length) ichthyodectiform Cooyoo australis, but the size and spacing of the tooth marks is incompatible with attack by a conspecific individual. The lack of osseous growths concordant with healing also suggests that the bite occurred shortly before or after the animal’s death. Comparison with the dentitions of other coeval vertebrates indicates compatible tooth arrangements in longirostrine amniote predators such as polycotylid plesiosaurians, ornithocheiroid pterosaurs and especially the ichthyosaurian Platypterygius. The implications of this as a potential predator–prey association are that Early Cretaceous actinopterygians occupied middle-level trophic niches and were in turn consumed by higher-level amniote carnivores, similar to many extant marine vertebrate communities of today.

Lovisa Wretman [lovisa.wretman@ebc.uu.se], Subdepartment of Evolution and Development, Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18A, SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden (address for correspondence); Benjamin P. Kear [benjamin.kear@geo.uu.se], Palaeobiology Programme, Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Villavägen 16, SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden. Received 8.8.2013, revised 17.9.2013, accepted 23.9.2013.