Geography and Human Settlements in Ancient Southern Arabia

The use of remote sensing in archaeological research leads to a better understanding of the geography of ancient and modern South Arabia. The five main regions are discussed in relation to the conditions for settlement and farming. A case study from the heartland of the Kingdom of Awsān indicates in the lower part of Wādī Marha beginning of irrigation in the second half of the third millenium and an end already in the first half of the first millenium BC. The huge tell of Hǎar Yahirr seems to have been destroyed at the same time, whereas in the upper part of the wadi irrigation and settlements continue till the first centuries AD. On aerial pictures a dozen ancient settlements could be detected and located. Consequently, it may be suggested that Hǎar Yahirr is the site of the capital city of Awsān. The capitals of the ancient South Arabian kingdoms were all located along the most frequented camel route, the incense road. A comparison of the climatic conditions and the irrigation agriculture of Arabia Felix and the Fertile Crescent shows the difficulties of the transfer of know-how between these two fertile and rich regions on the Arabian Peninsula.     

TL and IRSL dating of Jiahu relics and sediments: clue of 7th millennium BC civilization in central China

Thermoluminescence (TL) dating of pottery and infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) dating of sediments from early Neolithic layers at the Jiahu site, Henan Province, east-central China, have been achieved. The pottery TL ages range from 6800 (±450) to 8900 (±640) years and the sediment IRSL ages from 6750 (±760) to 8860 (±870) years confirming former ¹⁴C data. Both TL and IRSL ages agree well with each other. They reinforce the very early existence of a fully developed Neolithic civilization in central China, starting already in the first half of the 7th millennium BC and lasting about 2100 years. From these layers finds of bone flutes and Chinese characters have already been reported [X. Li, G. Harbottle, J. Zhang, C. Wang, The earliest writing? Sign use in the seventh millennium BC at Jiahu, Henan Province, China, Antiquity 77 (2003) 31–44; J. Zhang, G. Harbottle, C. Wang, Z. Kong, Oldest playable musical instruments found at Jiahu early Neolithic site in China, Nature 401 (1999) 366–368.] The Jiahu pottery of the 7th millennium BC belongs to the earliest in China and elsewhere.     

Characterization of dyestuffs in ancient textiles from Xinjiang

Extraordinarily well-preserved organic remains from mortuary and settlement sites, including mummified bodies, are scattered along the outer, oasis-laden rim of the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang Province, China, ranging in date from about 1400 BC to the late first millennium BC. Specimens of textile finds from Chärchän, dated at about 1000 BC were selected for dye analysis using newly developed protocols employing high performance liquid chromatography with spectrophotometric and mass spectrometric detection. A single blue (from an indigo plant), a red (from madder, a Rubia species) and two yellow dyes were detected, although the exact plant source for none of them could be identified with certainty. This research offers new insights in the interpretation of textile finds from prehistoric Xinjiang, and more generally, of early Bronze Age Eurasia.     

COMPOSITION AND ORIGIN OF IAPYGIAN POTTERY FROM ROCA VECCHIA,ITALY

We have studied 35 samples of fragments of ceramic containers dated between the eleventh and the eighth centuries BC, found at the archaeological site of Roca Vecchia, some 20 km from Lecce along the Adriatic (Salentine) coastline. Analysis of the elemental composition of the finds has been performed by means of atomic emission spectroscopy in plasma and the results obtained have been treated with diverse multivariate statistical techniques. Except for some minor differences, the statistical analysis confirms the grouping structures indicated by typological and stylistic evaluations of the samples, in accordance with the validity of the above methods.     

USING AND ABANDONING ROUNDHOUSES: A REINTERPRETATION OF THE EVIDENCE FROM LATE BRONZE AGE–EARLY IRON AGE SOUTHERN ENGLAND

Summary.   It has recently been demonstrated that a number of roundhouses of the early first millennium BC in southern England show a concentration of finds in the southern half of the building. It has thus been argued that this area was used for domestic activities such as food preparation, an idea which has formed the basis for discussion of later prehistoric 'cosmologies'. However, reconsideration of the evidence suggests that this finds patterning does not relate to the everyday use of the buildings, being more likely to derive from a particular set of house abandonment practices. Furthermore, evidence can be identified for the location of domestic activities within contemporary roundhouses that appears to contradict the established model.     

Third-Millenniurn and Later Pottery From Abu Dhabi Airport

Surface pottery collected from a site on Abu Dhabi airport indicated sporadic occupation from the Hafit period, c. 3100–2700 BC, with maximum settlement in the second half of the third millennium BC. The ceramics, which could be related both to the coastal Umm an-Nar culture and to the sequence established at Hili 8 in Period II, included wares of probably Mesopotamian and Eastern Arabian origin. The site was unused throughout most of the second millennium BC and the Iron Age but pottery of first century BC-second century AD date suggested that it may have served as a point of entry or transit at that time, the first to be recognised in the coastal area of Abu Dhabi.     

PRE‐CHRISTIAN OFFERINGS FROM GULDHULLET NEAR SMØRENGE ON BORNHOLM,DENMARK

As a result of metal detector surveys over several years, a unique find of gold figurines and gold foil figures from the 6^th century AD has come to light at a locality known as Guldhullet (‘the gold hole’). Geomagnetic surveys and a subsequent excavation in 2017 revealed a large number of ‘cooking pits’ close to the present‐day damp area where the finds were made. The pits are roughly contemporary with the gold finds, which suggests that the location was both a sacrificial site and an important communal meeting place.     

THE DISTRIBUTION OF DRESSEL 1 AMPHORAE IN NORTHWEST EUROPE

The dating and distribution of the trade in Italian wine to northwest Europe in the last two centuries BC is discussed. The previously recorded Atlantic emphasis is shown to be a product of differential research; many new finds in north-eastern France, the Benelux countries, Germany and Switzerland are documented but finds are absent from 'Germanic' areas. The trade may start in the later second century BC, and around the middle of the first century BC there appears to be an increase in the availability of wine in non-maritime Gaul and eastern England, possibly at the expense of the Atlantic routes. The debut of the trade in Spanish wine to north-west Europe is discussed. Attention is briefly drawn to the importance of the revised distribution both to cross-Channel links between Belgic Gaul and Britain and to the difference between 'Celts' and 'germans' and the idea of a 'Nordwestblock'.     

Life at the end of the Holocene moist phase in south‐east Arabia — the Late Neolithic site of Jebel Thanais 1 (JTH1)

The surface site of Jebel Thanais 1 is located in the Emirate of Sharjah (U.A.E.) at the western flank of the Jebel Faya/Jebel Buhais anticline structure. A dense scatter of lithic artefacts and fireplaces indicates Stone Age settlement activities in this area. Radiocarbon dates obtained from fireplaces date the occupation of the site to both the beginning and the very end of the fifth millennium cal. BC. During the second half of the fifth millennium the deterioration of climatic conditions in south‐east Arabia had a noticeable impact on settlement patterns and subsistence strategies. While coastal habitation sites from this time are well known along the shores of the Oman peninsula, only a few poorly dated sites allow insights into habitation and raw material procurement strategies and lithic technology in the interior. Investigations into the spatial structure of the site and an analysis of lithic finds will contribute to a better understanding of this period.     

The volcanic eruption of Thera and its effect on the Mycenaean and Minoan civilizations

Since Professor Sp. Marinatos linked the eruption of Thera with the destruction of Cretan sites, difficulties have been met in reconciling the dates of the two incidents which, based on pottery, were c. 1520 BC and 1450 BC, respectively, giving a “time gap” of 70 years. None of the mechanisms proposed for the Cretan site destructions-tsunamis, ash fallout, earthquakes, civil disturbances or invasion can be reconciled with the magnitude of the simultaneous site destructions. Therefore, an alternative theory is proposed that the Cretan holocaust was caused by “nuées ardentes” emanating from Thera. It is postulated that these were released through a “split” in the cone wall, of limited area, generating a high velocity jet of tephra fluidized in a red hot gas stream. Such a jet is immensely destructive and lethal, causing death by pulmonary oedema. The shape (like a blowtorch) and course of the ash fallout, as measured by deep sea cores, shows that these nuées ardentes passed over the eastern part of Crete, causing severe destruction and depopulation. The geological record confirms that tephra deposits from such Peléan eruptions have travelled for 160km, or more, and that normally the main eruption is preceded by a preliminary one of lesser intensity, with a time gap ranging from 51 to 203 years. Settlements on or at the base of the volcano would have been abandoned at the time of the preliminary eruption/earthquakes (c. 1520 BC). A time gap of 70 years would be reasonable, fitting with the Cretan catastrophe around 1450 BC. In the meantime, reoccupation had commenced, but was terminated by the final eruption. Apparently, Knossos on the periphery of the blast was severely damaged by fire (possibly again in LM II) and rebuilt, being finally destroyed in late LM IIIB. During this time span some “blurring” of pottery dating may be attributed to recovery and use of pottery “heirlooms”. The nuée ardente theory explains the simultaneous destruction of sites by fire and blast, the Cretan depopulation, as well as the time gap. In general ¹⁴C results confirm the dates proposed. So far tephra deposits have not been identified on Crete itself, but grains of it have been found at Pyrgos. It is suggested that cores from lake bottoms should be examined for the area, and that Cretan soil samples should be checked for tephra particles by employing the flotation technique, used in mining, for separating them.     

The site of Al-Qurainiyah: Topography and phases of an early Islamic coastal settlement on Failaka Island

This paper presents the latest finds from the early Islamic site of Al-Qurainiyah on Failaka Island, Kuwait. Trenches opened to the west of the main late Islamic village led to the identification of residential buildings and a workshop located along the shoreline, while the pottery assemblage suggests a permanent occupation from at least the seventh century CE to the early ninth century CE. The last two years of excavations allowed us to uncover archaeological contexts that seem to indicate a previous occupation, dating to the late Hellenistic period (second century BC). The long-term occupation, strategic position of the settlement facing a wide and well-sheltered lagoon, as well as the installation of a stable settlement in the same period of Al-Qusur—the main early Islamic site of the island—seem to suggest the interpretation of Al-Qurainiyah as a landing place used both in the early Islamic period and beforehand.     

Stable isotope analysis of Neolithic and Chalcolithic populations from Aktopraklık,northern Anatolia

This paper presents the results of stable isotope (carbon and nitrogen) analysis of human and faunal remains from the site of Aktoprakl?k, one of the earliest farming sites in the Eastern Marmara region of Northwest Anatolia. Excavations at this site have shown that occupation occurs from the middle of the 7th millennium BC through to the middle of the 6th millennium BC. The earliest Neolithic activity at this location occurs at the settlement site of Aktoprakl?k C. Since 2004 a number of Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic burials have been recovered from the settlement areas and an Early Chalcolithic cemetery (Aktoprakl?k B and A respectively). To date a total of 60 individuals have been recovered from Aktoprakl?k, 23 of which (20 adults [10 males, 8 females and 2 indet adults] and 3 children below ca. 12 years of age) form the basis of the current isotope study. In addition, 14 faunal samples from cattle, pig, sheep/goat and fallow deer are included in the analysis in order to facilitate a consideration of trophic level shifts and to interpret the ¹³C data. The data represents the first isotopic study of a farming community from this region of Anatolia. This region is important to our understanding of the north-westwards transmission of farming into Europe from the Near East, and as such Aktoprakl?k represents a key site for studying the diet of farmers at the transition to agriculture. The close clustering of isotope values overall indicates homogeneity in subsistence practices for this farming population. Interestingly, the isotope values indicate a general focus on C₃ terrestrial resources at Aktoprakl?k, despite the close proximity of both freshwater and marine environments where alternative resources could have been procured.     

The emergence of rice agriculture in Korea: archaeobotanical perspectives

This paper reviews archaeobotanical records on the beginning and spread of rice agriculture in the Korean peninsula. Argument for the earliest evidence of domesticated rice at the Sorori site, 15,000 years ago, is invalid. The evidence for rice cultivation in the Neolithic (Chulmun) is still insufficient although rice remains have been reported from a few late Neolithic sites in central-western Korea which dated to about 3000 BC. The existence of rice agriculture in the Bronze Age (Early and Middle Mumun: c.1300 ∼ 300 BC), on the other hand, is demonstrated by the high percentage and/or frequency of rice remains among crops recovered from various sites, as well as through the numerous findings of paddy fields. Rice appears to have been introduced from the Liaodong region, China, while so called 'southern diffusion route' that the beginning of rice cultivation was first stimulated by influences from Southeast Asia or South China is no more valid. Charred rice remains recovered from the Bronze Age dwellings consist of dehusked clean grains and weedy seeds are very rare among samples containing rice grains, which could be related with the harvesting and processing methods of rice. Measurements of charred rice grains also will be reported in this paper. Agricultural villages disappear from the archaeological records from the third century BC, which corresponds to the beginning of the Early Iron Age (Late Mumun), and reappear from the late first century with the emergence of urban societies.     

古铜矿遗址地表坑木的保护

针对铜绿山古铜矿遗址露出地表的浸饱水古坑木进行了研究和保护工作,在分析湖北大冶地区的气侯和环境的基础上,根据遗址现场保护的要求以及浸饱水坑木的特性,产生出“自然慢干法”、“室外冻干法”和“木屑填补法”等处理方法,一定程度上有效地控制了浸饱水古坑木的脱水速率,并通过控制脱水速率,冻干和加固,在现场脱水保存浸饱水坑木上取得了较好的效果。     

The ESR geochronology and geology of the open‐air Palaeolithic deposits in Bollschweil,Germany*

This paper presents ESR (electron spin resonance) ages of rhinoceros and equine tooth enamel from the open‐air Palaeolithic site of Bollschweil on the western edge of the Black Forest near Freiburg, Germany. Bollschweil is one of very few archaeological sites in southern Germany to yield Lower or Middle Palaeolithic faunal and lithic materials from a buried, open‐air context. The geological context of the archaeological remains indicates that the loessic sediments have been reworked. Excavation at this site yielded a cold‐period fauna characterized by bones of mammoth, horse, large bovids and wooly rhinoceros. In the absence of any clear chronostratigraphic marker horizons, the age of the finds could not be determined without the use of a chronometric dating method. Lithic artefacts from the site, including a handaxe and a side scraper, suggest either a Middle Pleistocene or early Late Pleistocene age. The ESR dating results indicate that the deposit enclosing the archaeological finds should be assigned to oxygen isotope stage (OIS) 6, although there exists some possibility that some teeth were deposited later, in OIS 5.     

Fields,Ritual and Religion: Holistic Approaches to the Rural Landscape in Long‐Term Perspective (c.1500 BC–AD 1086)

This paper discusses the relationship between agricultural activity and ritualized/religious practices in England from the middle Bronze Age to the early medieval period (c.1500 BC–AD 1086). It is written in the context of the ERC‐funded, Oxford‐based ‘English Landscapes and Identities project’ (EngLaId), which involved the compilation of an extensive spatial database of archaeological ‘monuments’, finds and other related data to chart change and continuity during this period. Drawing on this database alongside documentary and onomastic evidence, we analyze the changing relationship between fields, ritual and religion in England. We identify four moments of change, around the start of the middle Bronze Age (c.1500 BC), in the late Bronze Age (c.1150 BC), the late Iron Age (c.150 BC) and the middle/late Anglo‐Saxon period (c.800 AD). However, despite changes in both agricultural and ritual/religious practices during this extensive timeframe, a clear link between them can be observed throughout.     

On the Origins and Dissemination of Domesticated Sorghum and Pearl Millet across Africa and into India: a View from the Butana Group of the Far Eastern Sahel

Four decades have passed since Harlan and Stemler (1976) proposed the eastern Sahelian zone as the most likely center of Sorghum bicolor domestication. Recently, new data on seed impressions on Butana Group pottery, from the fourth millennium BC in the southern Atbai region of the far eastern Sahelian Belt in Africa, show evidence for cultivation activities of sorghum displaying some domestication traits. Pennisetum glaucum may have been undergoing domestication shortly thereafter in the western Sahel, as finds of fully domesticated pearl millet are present in southeastern Mali by the second half of the third millennium BC, and present in eastern Sudan by the early second millennium BC. The dispersal of the latter to India took less than 1000 years according to present data. Here, we review the middle Holocene Sudanese archaeological data for the first time, to situate the origins and spread of these two native summer rainfall cereals in what is proposed to be their eastern Sahelian Sudan gateway to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean trade.     

Notes & News

Abstract

This paper examines the British Museum unpublished records related to an Early Bronze (EB) Age pithos burial uncovered a century ago in the Inner Town at Carchemish. The grave, cursorily cited and variously dated (Chalcolithic, EB or even LBA) in the final reports, was described in some detail by Hogarth and Thompson; a precise dating is, however, possible today thanks to the information of paramount importance given by T. E. Lawrence who identified and took a picture of the associated finds, which was recently rediscovered in the Carchemish Archives. The pithos can be now ascribed to the third quarter of the third millennium BC and helps to confirm the recent theory according to which the Inner Town of Carchemish, with its massive earthen rampart, had already developed at the time of the second urbanisation in Syria and upper Mesopotamia.