Discoveries of Neolithic prehistoric sites at Pleistocene carbonate rock shelters on the east coast of the UAE

Three newly discovered prehistoric sites on the east coast of the United Emirates (UAE) are described. All are located on surfaces of Pleistocene carbonates or rock shelters that are generally rare along the eastern coast of the Gulf of Oman. Aqqah 1 (Le Meridien al Aqqah Beach Resort), the most important and best preserved of these sites, is a partially collapsed rock shelter with an exposed section, lithic finds and marine molluscs. Deriving an exact date from the material present is difficult because of a lack of comparanda. A bifacial fletched arrowhead made of yellow jasper and the lithic debris of five different raw materials as well as an undecorated ceramic fragment might suggest a date in the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age. The presence of many marine bivalves and snails with operculae, which differ from recent coastal species, indicates the collection and consumption of living molluscs by the prehistoric population of Aqqah. Nearby burials may be related to the rock shelters.     

The earliest evidence of domesticated wheat in the Crimea at Chalcolithic Ardych-Burun

Abstract

This paper reports the discovery of the earliest evidence of domesticated wheat in the Crimean peninsula from the Ardych-Burun shell midden site, Ukraine. The Ardych-Burun site dates to middle of the 4th millennium cal b.c. For the first time, the chronology of a Ukrainian Chalcolithic period site has been established through direct radiocarbon dating of cereal grains retrieved from it. This discovery allows for a wider discussion of the chronology and geographical origins of domesticated plant species in Ukraine and the role the Caucasian corridor may have played in the spread of agriculture into eastern Europe. The presence of cereal crops in the southern Crimea enriches our understanding of the subsistence strategies of the coastal population, which was previously linked only with pastoralism, hunting, and the exploitation of marine resources.     

西江中游文化区的生业经济及其发展阶段

西江中游地区是岭南历史文化区内一个相对独立的考古学文化区,新石器时代大致经历了三种生业经济形态,早期是一种广谱的渔猎采集经济,中期是一种利用贝类为主的渔猎采集经济,晚期是较发达的稻作农业经济。演进过程在整个文化区内具有一致性。贝类利用自新石器时代早期开始呈现出一种显著强化的趋势,但一直未在食物结构中占据主要地位。     

The deposit of KHB-1, Ra’s al Khabbah (Ja’lān region,Sultanate of Oman): Stratigraphy,features and structures

The excavation of KHB-1 archaeological site was part of the Joint Hadd Project [Joint Hadd Project is a project operating in the Ja’lān region since 1985, born under the collaboration between ISIAO (Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente, Rome), CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris) and the University of Bologna] carried out in the Ja’lān region, along the coast of the Sultanate of Oman. Different phases of occupation with significant structural evidences were identified within the deposit: an early short-term occupation in the 7th millennium, followed by a longer, extended period of occupation during the 4th millennium by a community of hunter-gatherers, with some evidence of animal husbandry. The material culture recovered from KHB-1, which includes architectural remains, provides new insights on the cultures of this region, highlighting a need for further excavations and analysis. This paper will illustrate the stratigraphic sequence and the main features recovered at KHB-1, followed by a discussion on the two main periods of occupation which will help shed a light on the site function and more broadly provide key insights on mobility, economy, and material culture of Ja’lān in the beginning of 7th and along the 4th millennium B.C.     

Molluscan calendars: The use of growth-line analysis to establish seasonality of shellfish collection at the Mesolithic site of Morton,Fife

The technique of growth-line analysis is used to examine seasonal growth patterns in modern specimens of the edible cockle, Cerastoderma edule L. The modern control work provides a basis for the interpretation of seasonal collection in archaeological cockles, and is applied to shells from the Mesolithic site of Morton, Fife. The seasonal use of the site is shown to be clearly related to site function.     

Oxygen isotope seasonality in a temperate estuarine shell midden: a case study from CA-ALA-17 on the San Francisco Bay,California

Seasonality determination using stable oxygen isotope (δ¹⁸O) analyses in archaeological mollusk shell has been largely limited to aquatic settings where one of the two factors that control shell δ¹⁸O – water δ¹⁸O (or salinity) and temperature – is assumed to be constant. Open coastal marine environments reflect the former situation, and tropical estuaries constitute the latter. In an effort to expand stable isotope seasonality to an ecological setting where neither variable remains constant, we present a model of annual shell δ¹⁸O cycle of aragonite deposition derived from instrumental data on salinity and temperature from San Francisco Bay, California. The predicted range of modeled shell δ¹⁸O is consistent with observed δ¹⁸O values in prehistoric and modern shells when local conditions are considered. Measurements of δ¹⁸O taken at 0 mm and 2 mm from the terminal growth margin were made on 36 archaeological specimens of Macoma nasuta from a late Holocene hunter-gatherer site CA-ALA-17, and season of collection was inferred using the shell δ¹⁸O model. We conclude that shellfish exploitation occurred through the year with the exception of fall, which may indicate scheduling conflicts with acorn harvesting or other seasonally abundant resources elsewhere. The model supports the feasibility of stable isotope seasonality studies in temperate estuaries, provided that instrumental records are available to quantify the relevant water conditions at appropriate spatial and temporal scales.