The logic of the herd: A computer simulation of archaeological herd structure

The advent of new techniques of dental ageing has permitted inferences about the age-structures of ancient animal populations on the basis of faunal remains. Unfortunately, inference from archaeological populations of faunal elements to the age-structure of ancient herds is fraught with both sampling problems and logical difficulties. The relationship between a living herd—a dynamic system characterized by growth—and a static archaeological population is more complex than that assumed by current models based on kill-off patterns and survivorship curves. Using a computer simulation, these logical relationships are explored, and the effects of herd growth on the composition of live and death populations are evaluated. By employing the simulation within a deductive framework, constrained by ethnographically derived criteria for reproduction, mortality, and economic viability in the Near East, it is possible to determine whether certain archaeological kill-off patterns could represent viable herding systems. Examples were found to vary widely in terms of both demographic plausibility and economic viability. Some implications for the possible course of ova-caprine domestication in the Near East are discussed.     

Refining the Quadratic Crown Height Method of age estimation: do elk teeth wear quadratically with age?

Teeth are the basis for the best methods for estimating the age-at-death of archaeological and paleontological faunal remains, because they change by eruption and wear throughout an individual's life and because they preserve well. However, age-at-death can be difficult to estimate when teeth are isolated or when no known-age reference sample is available. For these reasons, researchers developed the Quadratic Crown Height Method (QCHM), a set of quadratic formulae that can be used to predict age-at-death from tooth crown height, when unworn crown height and the ages when the tooth erupts and when its crown height should reach zero can be estimated. Previous tests of the QCHM suggest that modified equations could improve the method. Here, we use crown height measurements on a sample of 226 known-age Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus) to perform such modifications. We adjust the age at which each tooth type's crown height reaches zero from the species' potential ecological longevity or average maximum life span to an age that we empirically estimate for each tooth type. We also empirically assess whether for different elk teeth the exponent in the QCHM formula is actually equal to 2; it is for M1, but for P4 it is about 1, indicating a roughly linear relationship. The exponents for M2 and M3 are intermediate, being closer to 1.5. Because different teeth wear at different rates and wear completely away at different ages, we recommend that researchers use the modified equations provided here to estimate age-at-death for samples of Cervus elaphus.     

Core Use-Life Distributions in Lithic Assemblages as a Means for Reconstructing Behavioral Patterns

Artifacts with varying use-lives have different discard rates and hence are represented unequally among archaeological assemblages. As such, the ability to gauge the use-lives of artifacts is important for understanding the formation of archaeological assemblage variability. In lithic artifacts, use-life can be expressed as the extraction of utility, or work potential, from existing stone volume. Using experimental data and generalized linear modeling, this study develops models of artifact use-life on cores in the form of reduction intensity. We then apply these models to two archaeological case studies to (a) reconstruct the reduction intensities of archaeological cores and (b) investigate the survivorship curves of these archaeological cores across the reduction continuum using the Weibull function. Results indicate variation in core reduction and maintenance with respect to raw material properties and place use history and implicate evolutionary differences between Early Stone Age hominins and Holocene modern humans.     

Molar crown height: not always a reliable method for the evaluation of age-at-death

In this study, we tested the validity of molar crown height, which changes according to the degree of tooth wear, for the evaluation of age-at-death. The sample consisted of 372 first and second molars (lower and upper) from 157 individuals of known sex and age-at-death. For each molar, we measured the height of the two cusps most subjected to wear (protocone and hypocone for the upper M1 and M2; protoconid and hypoconid for the lower M1 and M2). The correlation between crown height and age-at-death was assessed by linear regression analysis. The resulting models were not very robust since a significant correlation was only found for a small part of the sample, at best (maxillary M1) around 35%. The result slightly improved when bucco-lingual diameter (BL diameter), ante-mortem tooth loss and dental caries were considered, mainly for the maxillary M2 for which the model using age-at-death and BL diameter as independent variables explained 47% of the sample (p < 0.001).     

A novel method for integrated age and sex determination from archaeological cattle mandibles

Analysis of ancient cattle husbandry is compromised by the need for conventional analysis of sex and age at death to use different elements of the skeleton, usually from different individuals. We demonstrate a technique using aDNA acquired from cattle mandibles and combined with age-at-death estimation based on dental eruption in the same specimens. Application to small sample groups from two sites in Na h-Eileanan Siar (the Scottish Western Isles) show a high success rate, and demonstrates the potential for a more nuanced interpretation of ancient cattle husbandry.     

Traditional pig herding practices in southwest Iberia: Questions of scale and zooarchaeological implications

Archaeological interpretations are interwoven with analogical reasoning. This paper presents a large volume of ethnographic data on traditional pig husbandry in modern Iberia and discusses their zooarchaeological importance. Europe-based ethnoarchaeological studies on traditional pig husbandry (e.g., in Sardinia/Corsica and Greece) have only recently made their appearance and have been proved environmentally and geographically more relevant than similar studies carried out in Asia. This paper presents archaeologically relevant data on a great variety of themes such as pig morphology, adaptation in and exploitation of environment, herd size and composition, the relations between wild and domestic populations, castration, breeding, genetic diversity, slaughtering practices, age-at-death, home range, control and movements, diet, weight, agricultural damage and products. The results show that traditional systems of animal husbandry do survive in Europe and their study widens and improves our interpretative framework. This Iberian-based study showed that domestic pig morphology is the combined result of the breeder’s selection and the pig’s adaptation to a given environment and husbandry system. Moreover, scale is a crucial factor significantly affecting all other aspects of a husbandry system.     

Cross-platform program for likelihood-based statistical comparisons of mortality profiles on a triangular graph

The construction of mortality profiles to investigate age-at-death patterns is a typical component of most faunal analyses. While many methods exist for constructing and comparing mortality profiles, plotting the percentages of juvenile, prime, and old individuals on a triangular graph, or ternary diagram, remains a popular method for making comparisons. Typically, these comparisons are made visually, but because sample sizes are often small, any differences may be the product of sampling rather than meaningful contrasts in depositional history. To overcome this problem, here we present a likelihood-based method for making statistical comparisons of mortality profiles on a triangular graph, and we make available a cross-platform computer program that implements the method. Although we developed the method with mortality profiles in mind, in principle, it can be used to analyze any kind of artifact for which there are three distinct categories.     

不同方法加固古建筑榫卯构架抗震试验

为保护古建筑,采用试验方法,研究了不同方法加固榫卯节点后木构架的抗震性能。基于故宫太和殿某开间梁柱节点的具体尺寸,制作了1:8比例的4梁4柱木结构空间框架模型,其中梁和柱考虑为燕尾榫形式连接。采用人工加载方式,进行了低周反复加载试验,研究了马口铁、CFRP布和钢构件加固榫卯节点后对木构架抗震性能的影响。基于试验结果,获得了加固前后构架的力-侧移滞回曲线和骨架曲线,分析了构架耗能能力、刚度退化规律及变形能力,对不同方法加固木构架的抗震效果进行了对比,对其工程应用提出了建议。     

Assessment of the Season of Death of Ancient Human from Cementum Annual Layers

Ground sections of the teeth of five humans from the burial grounds of Bronze Age Kalmykia (Russia) were studied. In the teeth of an old man and a child we found no cementum layers. In three other individuals (15–30 years old), analysis of the cementum layers allowed us to estimate age-at-death and season of death. The estimated seasons of death coincided with the seasons of the burials assessed using other methods. This investigation revealed the possibility of assessing the season of death of ancient humans less than 30 years old with permanent dentition, when several teeth in alveoli from the same specimen are available.     

马口铁加固古建筑榫卯节点抗震试验

为保护古建筑,采用试验方法,研究了马口铁加固古建筑榫卯节点后对节点抗震性能的影响.基于故宫太和殿三次间结构原型,制作了1:8缩尺比例的木结构空间框架模型,并考虑梁柱连接为燕尾榫形式,进行了低周反复加载试验,其中未加固构架和马口铁加固构架试验各做了3组.基于试验相关数据,获得了节点的弯矩-转角滞回曲线和骨架曲线,并对比分析了节点加固前后的耗能能力,刚度退化和延性等抗震指标.结果表明:马口铁加固榫卯节点后,虽然节点耗能能力略有下降,但节点拔榫量减小,抗弯承载力提高,刚度退化不明显,且节点仍具有较好的变形能力.因此,马口铁具有较好的加固效果.     

砖石结构古建筑修缮中的规范应用问题

我国现存大量的砖石结构古建筑急需修缮保护,但文物行业目前还没有关于古建筑修缮质量控制的一套完整标准体系和规范。鉴于当前古建筑修缮工作的发展水平,本文针对砖石结构古建筑的特点,就现有相关其它行业规范在砖石结构古建筑修缮中的材料、设计和施工等方面的应用进行分析,同时针对砖石结构古建筑修缮的特性提出问题及相应建议。     

基于概率法的木构古建筑地震破坏综合评价方法

为了研究木构古建筑地震破坏状态评估的准确性,应用概率的方法,以结构损伤指数、最大层间位移角作为评价因子,建立了地震破坏综合评价模型,提出了基于概率法的木构古建筑地震破坏综合评价方法。该方法在综合现状分析与实验数据,在一定烈度下计算各种破坏状态等级中每一种破坏状态出现的概率,古建筑地震破坏状态应为概率最大的地震破坏状态,从而比较准确地判别木构古建筑地震破坏程度。并对经受过汶川地震的两种结构形式的古建筑进行了验证,从而验证了该方法的合理性和有效性。这一方法将提高木构古建筑震害预测的准确性,为古建筑抗震加固提供有效的理论支持。     

汶川地震导致的壁画文物震害研究——以广元市觉苑寺大雄宝殿壁画为例

为保护壁画文物,以四川省广元市剑阁县大雄宝殿为例,对汶川地震作用下殿内壁画的震害进行了研究.根据震后勘查结果,讨论了大雄宝殿壁画的典型震害症状,分析了古建筑侧脚构造对壁画抗震的有利影响.根据大雄宝殿壁画加固工艺作法及古建筑榫卯连接特点,建立了大雄宗殿的震前有限元模型.为研究汶川地震作用下壁画的震害特征,首先对其进行了模态分析,然后将模拟汶川地震波进行调幅,然后作用于大雄宝殿进行地震反应分析.通过采用时程分析法,获得了地震作用下不同时刻壁画整体的内力与变形响应峰值,并获得了典型节点的地震响应曲线.结果表明:大雄宝殿壁画开裂与空鼓的主要原因是面层与墙体粘结不牢导致的受拉破坏;地震作用下壁画保持稳定的振动状态;为提高壁画的抗震性能,壁画木框与外墙板间应加强连接,并在空隙处填塞隔震材料,同时应加强壁画本身保养工作.     

The dual-processual model in ancient Greece: Applying a post-neoevolutionary model to a data-rich environment

Dissatisfaction with neoevolutionary concepts in social evolution has prompted archeologists to offer new post-neoevolutionary models to investigate social change. One concept, the dual-processual model, is salient among several because it focuses attention onto the central dynamics of exclusionary/networking or corporate strategies for obtaining power. Yet this model remains somewhat uncontextualized, with knowledge of how each strategy would work in a culture hinted at only in large concepts. This lack of contextualization hinders us from achieving the stated goals of the dual-processual model: the introduction of new cultural axes of analysis and the promotion of cross-cultural comparison. I argue here that we need to apply this model to a data-rich environment to elucidate to a greater degree how each of these power strategies operates. Classical cultures, within which post-neoevolutionary models are rarely applied, can supply this needed fine-grained context. In applying the model to the ancient city of Priene, which supplies several well-understood interactional contexts, I discern how we might define exclusionary/networking or corporate within different social contexts, how people use these strategies to gain power, and how these strategies change over time. Information from this application helps us to further the stated goals of its dual-processual proponents.     

MATCHING PAST AND PRESENT CERAMIC PRODUCTION IN THE BANDA AREA (GHANA): IMPROVING THE ANALYTICAL PERFORMANCE OF NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS IN ARCHAEOLOGY USING MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES*

The transfer of advances in chemometrics into archaeometric research opens up a wide range of new application possibilities in this rapidly developing field. Neutron activation analysis (NAA) of ceramic samples from the Banda Traditional Area (west‐central Ghana) combined with chemometrics allowed us to establish a link between current and ancient systems of ceramics production in the historic settlements of Kuulo Kataa and Makala Kataa. Principal component analysis (PCA) and the soft independent modelling of class analogy (SIMCA) method were applied to the Das Dores Cruz data set in order to unequivocally determine the geographical origin of the diverse archaeological samples. After global autoscaling pretreatment, PCA analysis showed a clear difference between samples from different locations. The classification models obtained by SIMCA showed a classification ability of 100% and a prediction ability of 97.7%, with a mean sensitivity of 84% and a specificity of 100% for the three categories. The application of SIMCA showed that some NAA variables (elements) were more important than others in terms of geographical classification. With the class models that we obtained, we were able to determine the origin of the ancient remains. SIMCA has proved to be a powerful technique for the class modelling of archaeological data.     

The Elusive Maya Marketplace: An Archaeological Consideration of the Evidence

The modeling of ancient Maya economies has been a dynamic area of archaeological research in the past few decades, but in most cases there has been little attention on how goods actually changed hands. Through an overview of the literature, this paper considers marketplace exchange as one mechanism of distribution. Researchers have proposed a number of physical features and artifact characteristics that may be expected in association with marketplace activity, and new methods of data collection have been offered that can be used to build a case for marketplace exchange. What remains is the challenge of developing strategies to identify ancient Maya marketplaces convincingly through archaeological excavation.     

The Natufian: Settlement variability and economic adaptations in the Levant at the end of the Pleistocene

The relationship between current interpretations of Natufian settlement and subsistence and available archaeological data are examined in light of recent research, particularly in Jordan. Regional variability in adaptive strategies is discernible, particularly between forest and coastal sites versus steppe and desert sites. Greater evidence of plant processing and more intensive occupation characterize settlement in the former, although year-round occupation has yet to be conclusively demonstrated. Patterned variability also exists between two classes of steppe and desert area settlements. One set of steppe and desert sites is characterized by a broad range of activities and moderate settlement permanence and activity intensity, while less permanent occupation and more specialized activities focused primarily on hunting typify the other set of sites. Evidence for food production in the Natufian is examined and, although the domestication process may have begun, no morphological evidence exists for the domestication of plants or herd animals. Finally, worthwhile areas for future research are outlined.     

Capacity Evaluation of Typical Stud-Track Screw Connections in Nonstructural Walls

A series of component-level experiments have been conducted aiming to evaluate the force and displacement capacities of typical stud-track screw connections (STCs) in steel-framed partition walls. The variables considered in these experiments included screw-edge distances, loading protocols (monotonic or cyclic), and stud and track thicknesses. The experimental data was then utilized to develop different capacity fragility curves for STCs in terms of displacements. A series of analytical STC hinge models were also proposed and validated using this data. The hinge models can be adopted in future studies to develop a comprehensive analytical model for a typical partition wall assembly.     

Gazelle bone fat processing in the Levantine Epipalaeolithic

We investigate mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella) carcass processing to reconstruct resource intensification strategies during the Epipalaeolithic period of northern Israel. We adopt a multivariate taphonomic approach to identify the processes that most influenced bone survivorship in five gazelle assemblages. All of the assemblages are characterized by significant density-mediated biases, yet in situ attrition played a minimal role in assemblage formation. In contrast, the survivorship of hare (Lepus capensis) skeletons is not mediated by bone density indicating that different prey taxa experienced independent taphonomic histories. Both gazelle cortical and cancellous bone is highly fragmented and the degree of fragmentation and survivorship are strongly correlated with fat yields. Results of multiple tests point to intensive marrow and grease extraction as the primary determinant of gazelle bone survivorship. Although gazelle carcasses were intensively utilized throughout the Epipalaeolithic, the intensity of use is stable across the duration of the period.