The Terramare and the surrounding hydraulic structures: a geophysical survey of the Santa Rosa site at Poviglio (Bronze Age,northern Italy)

The Terramara Santa Rosa is a Middle and Late Bronze Age archaeological site located in the Po alluvial plain, northern Italy. It is constituted of two moated villages delimited by earthen ramparts. The peripheral structures of the site are sealed by fine-textured flood plain deposits and they have not been fully explored through excavation due to their large extent. Because the shape of the villages and their relation to moats and the fluvial network are of paramount importance to understanding the landscape management and the use of water resources in the Terramare civilisation, a geophysical survey was planned to extend the results of the existing archaeological excavations to the site scale. A frequency-domain electro-magnetic sounding (FDEM) and electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) covered an area of approximately 26 ha; ERI was conducted for a total length >9000 m. Despite the predominance of electrically conductive fine-textured sediments, electrical resistivity anomalies were observed and they were attributed to subtle lithological differences in the sedimentary context of the alluvial plain. The geophysical interpretation, after the calibration with the excavation data, revealed the structures of the Terramara and of the surrounding hydraulic network, which are not visible at the surface due to flood plain deposits. The Santa Rosa site was founded in a favourable geomorphological position, on the top of a crevasse splay lobe of the adjoining Po palaeo-channel, rising above the surrounding alluvial plain. The Terramara and their surroundings were delineated through an artificial modification of this pre-existing crevasse splay lobe and a well-targeted urban design, with the objective of diverting water, most likely from a palaeo-channel of the Po River, through the digging of peripheral moats used to collect water around the site and to distribute it to the surrounding fields for irrigation. The water management documented by this study in the Terramara Santa Rosa can be considered as paradigmatic for the whole Terramare civilisation, which is therefore responsible of the introduction of the irrigated agriculture into western Europe for the first time.     

Automated mound detection using lidar and object-based image analysis in Beaufort County,South Carolina

The study of precontact anthropogenic mounded features—earthen mounds, shell heaps, and shell rings—in the American Southeast is stymied by the spotty distribution of systematic surveys across the region. Many extant, yet unidentified, archaeological mound features continue to evade detection due to the heavily forested canopies that occupy large areas of the region, making pedestrian surveys difficult and preventing aerial observation. Object-based image analysis (OBIA) is a tool for analyzing light and radar (lidar) data and offers an inexpensive opportunity to address this challenge. Using publicly available lidar data from Beaufort County, South Carolina, and an OBIA approach that incorporates morphometric classification and statistical template matching, we systematically identify over 160 previously undetected mound features. This result improves our overall knowledge of settlement patterns by providing systematic knowledge about past landscapes.     

Parameters in the use of pXRF for archaeological site prospection: a case study at the Reaume Fort Site,Central Minnesota

Field portable/hand-held x-ray fluorescence (pXRF) analyzers have been characterized as potentially useful for archaeological site prospection, but little has been published on the parameters of their use in this manner. The purpose of this study is to explore whether the variability of surface geochemistry as characterized with a pXRF analyzer corresponds with subsurface archaeological features at a site subsequently excavated, and what conditions influence the success of this endeavor, including feature depths, soil moisture, and sample processing. A 520 m² within-site area was systematically surveyed on a 2 m interval, within which several types of archaeological features were excavated (chimney bases, wall trenches, and a bonebed of faunal waste), taking readings in situ and collecting samples for ex situ testing (undried, dried but not powdered, and dried/powdered). The four different tests of each grid location, analyzed through univariate and multivariate tests, showed that the pXRF surface data does correspond with some types of subsurface features when those features are very shallow (within 5 cm of surface level) and are associated with clayey fills. Further, the data from the subsurface samples provides excellent distinction of feature fills from other sediments, regardless of sample preparation. In situ surface survey with pXRF analyzers may however be adequate for sites with a thorough baseline geochemical database.     

Genesis,age and archaeological significance of a pedosediment in the depression around Tell Mozan,Syria

A pedosedimentological profile from the ditch surrounding the lower town of the Bronze Age site of Mozan is investigated for its soil and sedimentological characteristics and has been dated in order to gain information on the use of the ditch and on the landscape development surrounding the settlement. The depression did not contain large amounts of water (flowing or stagnant) and probably was used for agricultural purposes. Accumulation – that in part includes anthropogenically-derived, redeposited, and bioturbated debris – started at around 2800 cal. BC or later, and was especially intensive at some time between 2800 and 1000 cal. BC. Deposition may have been caused by intensive agricultural use of the landscape during the urban explosion of the Early Bronze Age or in the early Middle Bronze Age.     

Determining the habitats of mollusk collection at the Sapelo Island shell ring complex, Georgia, USA using oxygen isotope sclerochronology

Sequential oxygen isotope analysis was performed on Mercenaria spp. (n = 41) and Crassostrea virginica (n = 17) valves excavated from the Sapelo Island Shell Ring complex, coastal Georgia, USA. The data were analyzed to determine the habitats in which the mollusks were harvested in order to gain insight into the subsistence practices of the site occupants. The rationale for this study is based on the observation that temperatures are similar in all of the habitats surrounding the island, but the δ¹⁸O_water trends across the habitats co-vary with salinity. Accordingly, the shells grown in these habitats contain sinusoidal oscillations in δ¹⁸O through ontogeny due primarily to seasonal temperature variation, but the absolute values reflect the salinity ranges of each habitat. Assuming a relatively constant oxygen isotope/salinity gradient since the time of site occupation, it appears that both of these mollusks were exploited over nearly the full range of their salinity tolerances. While a precise estimate of travel distance during collection cannot be made, these data suggest that mollusks were harvested at distances from the site greater than would be predicted using terrestrial foraging models. In addition to providing insight into past subsistence strategies in this region, this research establishes a new method of assessing catchment area and mobility practices.     

Detection of exposed and subsurface archaeological remains using multi-sensor remote sensing

Multi-sensor airborne remote sensing has been applied to the Itanos area of eastern Crete to assess its potential for locating exposed and known buried archaeological remains, and to delineate subsurface remains beyond the current limits of ground geophysical data in order to permit future targeted geophysical surveys and archaeological excavations. A range of processing techniques (e.g., Reed–Xiaoli anomaly detection) have been applied to the CASI, ATM and lidar data in order to detect anomalies based on the premise that buried remains are likely to alter the physical and chemical characteristics of the soil compared with those of the surroundings due to variations in soil depth and drainage. Through a combination of CASI, ATM and lidar data, surface remains have been classified and mapped effectively using an object-oriented approach. The detection of subsurface remains is more problematic; however, the thermal data is most promising in this respect. The value of capturing multi- or hyperspectral data at a high spatial resolution has been demonstrated as well as the additional benefits of combining these with airborne lidar.     

广州摊贩空间疏导模式及其成功效应的影响因素——基于沥滘村疏导区的实证研究

摊贩治理是我国城市社会空间矛盾的重要问题。本文在分析广州摊贩空间疏导模式的基础上,以案例研究揭示了疏导区成功的微观要素。与此前的强制性控制不同,空间疏导体现了一种政府主导、社会力量参与、多方利益主体协调的管治模式。研究认为,有效的疏导区需要满足摊贩的需求以使其入区之后获得比入区前更好的收益,具体而言需要包含以下要素:①合适的区位,靠近主要人流路线、使摊贩与正规经济形成集聚和互补关系并延续原有的社会关系;②维持摊贩的低成本优势;③形成规模化的多样商品集市;④清洁、安全和有序的经营空间;⑤提供有保障的空间使用权和经营权。     

The use of magnetometry and pole-dipole resistivity for locating Nabataean Hawar archeological site in the SW-Jordan

This paper is focused on the joint use of magnetometry and pole-dipole electrical resistivity geophysical methods for assessing their capability in the detection of a prehistoric site in the southwestern Jordan. The survey area, Auara, was built in the first century BC during the Nabataean time and is located in a very arid environment framed on the east and north by white sandstone hills. In order to test this site, a number of magnetic stations and two pole-dipole resistivity traverses were carried out in the investigated area. Magnetic data were taken with one sensor at height of 0.8 m along survey lines spaced 1 m apart. Resistivity measurements were carried out utilizing the pole-dipole array along two profiles. A total of 32 geoelectrical stations spaced 2 m were made along the two profiles. Magnetic method found structure with contrasting physical properties to those of the surrounding material. The archeological interpretation of such structure is in terms of rectangular cistern (pool) with dimensions 26 × 16 m. A probable location of two buried walls spaced 16 m are indicated by low resistivity values.     

Two sides of the same coin—rocks, bones and site function of Picareiro Cave, central Portugal

The issue of site function rarely has been a main focus in the study of Portuguese Upper Paleolithic. This fact may be related to a lack of interest in this research area. More likely, however, it is due to the fact that there are relatively few Paleolithic sites with data that allow a serious study of site function. At Picareiro Cave, central Portugal, there are various data sets from level F/G dated to the latter Magdalenian that are adequate for this type of research. These are habitat structures, lithic artifacts, macro- and mesofauna, as well as 3D location of all artifacts and fauna larger than 1 cm. Based on the interpretation of the analytical results of each data set, it is possible to reconstruct site function of this particular level of Picareiro Cave. The morphology of one of the hearths, being very large in size, with the base prepared and a pavement surrounding it, as well as the condition and diversity of fauna, indicates that it was used for processing the meat of rabbits, red deer, and wild boar, probably through smoking and grilling. All of the evidence from the different types of data (lithic artifacts, habitat structures, use of space, and fauna) indicate that Layers F/G of Picareiro Cave are the result of a specific task, that of processing animal carcasses of rabbits, red deer, and wild boar.     

A sequence of inland desert settlement in the Oman peninsula: 2008–2009 excavations at Saruq al‐Hadid,Dubai, UAE

The 2008–2009 excavations conducted by the Dubai Desert Survey at Saruq al‐Hadid, Dubai, have transformed our interpretation of the site from an Iron Age bronze production centre to a site with multiple occupations over the course of more than three millennia; they underline the importance of this site for understanding land use and settlement patterns in the deserts of the Oman peninsula. Saruq al‐Hadid probably began as an oasis site where nomadic pastoralists during the Umm an‐Nar and Wadi Suq periods camped and took advantage of a relatively well‐watered landscape. In contrast, Iron Age remains at the site do not bear any definite signs of settlement per se; instead, the material culture suggests that Saruq al‐Hadid may have been one of several sites in south‐east Arabia that were dedicated to a snake cult. The site is capped by waste from an intensive metalworking operation that appears to have taken place during the later first millennium BC. Iron age and later remains from the site tie Saruq al‐Hadid to a regional network of settlement and trade centres and suggest that, like the mountain piedmont and coasts, the sandy desert expanses of the Oman peninsula held economic and ritual importance in the overall landscape.     

Exploring subsistence and cultural complexes on the south coast of Papua New Guinea using palaeodietary analyses

We present the results of a palaeodietary study of a skeletal sample (～800–300 BP) from the south coast of Papua New Guinea (Nebira, site ACJ) using multiple stable isotope analysis of bone collagen. The carbon, nitrogen and sulphur stable isotope ratios of 28 individuals (n = 12 males, n = 13 females and n = 3 subadults) suggested the diet at Nebira was based on C₃ plants (likely starchy vegetable staples) and included protein resources from the surrounding forested areas and C₃/C₄ savannah grasslands such as wallaby and other wild animals. Domestic species (e.g. Sus scrofa, Canis familiaris and Gallus gallus) may also have been consumed but could not be differentiated from wild species by stable isotope analysis. There were no significant differences in stable isotope values between males and females, but the δ³⁴S values of the juveniles suggest they may have consumed varied protein resources. The sulphur stable isotope ratios indicate there was no discernable marine component in the diet of any of the individuals from Nebira. The stable isotope results are interpreted within a wider context of Papuan south coast trade and exchange systems in an attempt to understand local interaction in the region.     

Land-use change for rice and foxtail millet cultivation in the Chengtoushan site,central China,reconstructed from weed seed assemblages

Archaeobotanical analysis of moat sediments from the Neolithic site of Chengtoushan, Hunan, China, provides evidence of the land-use change for rice and foxtail millet cultivation around the site. Rice constantly appeared through the three phases of Daxi culture with high percentages, while accompanying wetland species of paddy field weeds gradually decreased. In contrast, foxtail millet increased together with upland field and ruderal weeds through the time. These changes suggest that foxtail millet cultivation was established with the expansion of dry farming in region of the site, while rice cultivation was continuously practiced on the alluvial plain surrounding the site. This diversification of land-use through the addition of foxtail millet cultivation may be attributed to population increase or as a buffer to natural disasters such as flooding. In addition, gathering of wild nuts and fruits continued alongside cultivation. These multiple strategies for food procurement provided sustainable food supply for the population of Chengtoushan for 1,800 years.     

Palaeoenvironmental significance of grain-size distribution of river flood deposits: a study of the archaeological sites of the Apengjiang River Drainage,upper Yangtze region,Chongqing, China

The grain-size distribution (based on cumulative probability curves) in the sediments produced by potential palaeofloods at the Shiniusi archaeological site is similar to that of modern flood sediments from the Wujiang River Drainage in the upper Yangtze River. There is an obvious pattern in the curves, with two segments, and the mean grain size (Mz), standard deviations (σ1), skewness, and kurtosis are all similar. Combined with the AMS¹⁴C dating data and the ages judged based on the presence of cultural remains, our data suggests frequent palaeoflood events within the Wujiang River Drainage. We hypothesize the existence of seven high flood possibility layers in the QST4 unit from Shiniusi archaeological site: during the periods of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 AD) to the Qing Dynasty (1616–1911 AD), and the end of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770 BC–256 BC) to the Shang Dynasty (1600–1100 BC). We also hypothesize ten high flood probability layers in the QST2 unit from Shiniusi archaeological site: during the periods of the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, the periods of Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD) to the Yuan Dynasty (1206–1368 AD), as well as during the Han Dynasty (207 BC–220 AD) to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770 BC–256 BC). These results are consistent with palaeoflood events inferred from pollen and spore analysis and from historical records in other rivers.     

Preliminary U-series and Thermoluminescence dating of excavated deposits in Liang Bua sub-chamber,Flores, Indonesia

We report the results of a test excavation of deposits in a limestone cave sub-chamber located beneath the main chamber of Liang Bua, Flores, Indonesia; the discovery site of the small hominin species, Homo floresiensis. Well-preserved remains of extinct Pleistocene fauna and stone artefacts have previously been identified on the surface of a sediment cone within the sub-chamber. Our excavation of the deposits, at the base of the sediment cone in the sub-chamber (to 130 cm depth) yielded only a few fragmentary bones of extant fauna. Uranium/Thorium (U-series or U/Th) dating of soda straw stalactites excavated from 20 to 130 cm in depth demonstrates that the excavated sediments were deposited during the Holocene. Red Thermoluminescence (TL) dating of the sediments at the base of the excavation (130 cm depth) indicates these sediments were last exposed to sunlight at 84 ± 15 ka (thousand years), similar to red TL ages of cave sediments from the main chamber. Together, these results indicate that the surface faunal remains, which are morphologically analogous to Pleistocene finds from the main chamber excavations, were transported to the sub-chamber relatively recently from the main chamber of Liang Bua and probably originated from conglomerate deposits at the rear of the cave and from deposits around the front entrance. There is no evidence for hominin occupation of the sub-chamber, instead it seems to have acted as a sink for cultural materials and fossil remains transported from the surface via sinkholes. Despite the small number of finds from the test excavation, it is possible that more extensive excavations may yield additional transported cultural and faunal evidence at greater depths.     

Testing the efficacy and reliability of common zooarchaeological sampling strategies: a case study from the Caribbean

Zooarchaeological analysis typically involves implementing a suitable sampling strategy that provides meaningful information representative of a site under investigation. To test the efficacy of how various sampling procedures can influence interpretation of a faunal assemblage, we analyzed in full, a large assemblage of mollusks (minimum number of individuals [MNI] = 58,000+) from the late Ceramic Age (ca. AD 850–1440) site of Coconut Walk on the island of Nevis (northern Lesser Antilles, Caribbean). These remains were recovered from 25 discrete 1 × 1 m units within a larger 5 × 5 m trench that overlaid a dense midden deposit. Using statistical procedures, we compared the results of the number of identified specimens (NISP), MNI, and weight (g) of each mollusk taxon between both units and plana to determine how different sampling strategies would have affected the interpretation of mollusk composition across space and time had different sampling procedures been used. The results reveal that sampling less than 16% (4 out of 25 squares for this study) of a midden is likely to produce results outside of a 95% confidence interval for the population composition, with samples of connected squares having a higher likelihood to lie outside the interval. Discerning change between plana (or layers) may require a larger sample (i.e., 16%+). In addition, samples selected randomly or judgmentally will produce similar results, provided that proper spacing is given between units. The data in this case suggest that the midden was efficiently sampled for midden composition and key species at a rate of 16% of the surface area.     

Complicating the Local: Defining the Aymara at Tiwanaku, Bolivia

The archaeological site of Tiwanaku, Bolivia, is commonly held to be the “Spiritual Capital of the Aymara People.” But negotiating who qualifies as Aymara, and in what contexts, is decidedly more complicated. Local political divisions between residents of the village of Tiahuanacu (who are seen locally as less-Aymara but not as not-Aymara) and residents of the surrounding rural communities (who are considered to be unquestionably Aymara) structure discussions about who has the right to earn income at the Tiwanaku archaeological site, who manages major public events, and who is responsible for the site’s maintenance and security. The situation is complicated further by national-level events such as the Winter Solstice, where urban Aymara travel to Tiwanaku to seek their roots, and Bolivian Presidents and politicians come to participate in national Aymara “culture.” I focus on the intervención (“Intervention”) that took place in Tiahuanacu in August 2000, which resulted in the transfer of management of the Tiwanaku archaeological site from the Bolivian state to local municipal and indigenous authorities. Heritage researchers should take such local divisions into account, rather than assuming that “locals” are politically unified or easily delineated by geographical boundaries.     

A chronometric tool for Hawaiian archaeology: the hydration dating of Pu'u Wa'awa'a trachytic glass

The Pu'u Wa'awa'a trachytic glass deposit located on the Big Island of Hawai'i was a source of lithic tools for much of Hawaiian prehistory. Routinely encountered at habitation sites, the glass has the potential to provide absolute dates based upon the degree of surface hydration. Infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry were used to monitor the diffusion of water in archaeological and experimental samples. Accelerated laboratory hydration experiments show that water diffusion in trachytic glass containing a structural water content of 0.16% ± 0.03% is linear with time. Application of the calibration to trachytic glass artifacts from the Kahalu'u habitation cave have produced chronometric dates in the 17th–18th centuries. These age estimates are in agreement with radiocarbon dates and artifactual data that bracket the site occupation. However, the glass dates do not correlate well with site stratigraphy and this suggests that slight sample imperfections that retain water may be one factor that results in ages that are too early for later occupation levels.     

Late Pleistocene Crocuta crocuta spelaea (Goldfuss, 1823) clans as prezewalski horse hunters and woolly rhinoceros scavengers at the open air commuting den and contemporary Neanderthal camp site Westeregeln (central Germany)

Late Pleistocene Ice Age Crocuta crocuta spelaea ( Goldfuss, 1823) hyenas from the open-air gypsum karst site Westeregeln (Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany) is dated into the early to middle Late Pleistocene. Hyena clans apparently used the karst for food storage and as “commuting den”, where typical high amounts (15% of the NISP) of hyena remains appear, also faecal pellets in concentrations for den marking purposes. Additionally small carnivores Meles, Vulpes and Mustela appear to have used some cavities as dens. Several hundreds of lowland “mammoth steppe fauna” bones (NISP = 572) must have been accumulated primarily by hyenas, and not by Neanderthals at the contemporary hyena/human camp site. Abundant caballoid horse remains of “E. germanicus Nehring, (1884)” are revised by the holotype and original material to the small E. c. przewalskii horse. Woolly rhinoceros Coelodonta antiquitatis remains are also abundant, and were left in several cases with typical hyena scavenging damages. Rangifer tarandus (11%) is mainly represented by numerous fragments of shed female antlers that were apparently gathered by humans, and antler bases from male animals that were collected and chewed in few cases (only large male antlers) by hyenas. The large quantities of small reindeer antlers must have been the result of collection by humans; their stratigraphic context is unclear but such large quantities most probably resulted from schamanic activities. The hyena site overlaps with a Middle Palaeolithic Neanderthal camp, as well as possibly with a later human Magdalénian site.     

Survivorship of Earthworks Mapped by T. H. Lewis in Iowa 1884–1894

ABSTRACT

Between 1884 and 1894, Theodore Hayes Lewis mapped 370 prehistoric American Indian mounds and earthworks in Iowa as part of a larger survey of mounds in the upper Midwest. Georeferencing remapped Lewis survey notes allows their comparison with modern GIS data including lidar topographic maps, aerial photos, and land records. Of the 370 mounds, 190 (51.4%) are clearly visible in lidar, 160 (43.2%) are probably destroyed, and 20 (5.4%) are undetermined. Data analyses explore the factors that influenced mound survivorship. By far the strongest correlations for survivorship are modern land use, modern ownership, and local landform, with mounds most likely to survive in wooded areas, on public land, and on islands. Iowa data are compared with Lewis map data from Minnesota, revealing Iowa has a far higher survivorship, 51.4% versus 25.6%, likely attributable to land use in the late nineteenth century. Further comparison with Minnesota data suggests perhaps twice as many mounds stood in modern agricultural fields of Iowa before Lewis made his surveys.     

From the modern to the archaeological: starch grains from millets and their wild relatives in China

Starch grains from 31 modern samples of millets derived from the seeds of 7 species within the genus Setaria and 2 species within the genus Panicum were analyzed to determine diagnostic morphological characteristics. Ancient starch grains recovered from a sample of broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) excavated from the Cishan site (10.0-7.6 cal yr BP) in the North China Plain were then subjected to the same analyses to determine the differences in morphologies, if any, between modern and ancient samples. The data indicate that morphological features, and particularly surface and fissure features, will allow for solid identifications of ancient millet starches, while size classes will be helpful, but will not be dependable taxonomic indicators.