BUTCHERING PATTERNS AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF FAUNAL ANIMAL REMAINS CONSUMED AT THE LOS MILLARES CHALCOLITHIC SETTLEMENT (SANTA FE DE MONDÚJAR,ALMERÍA,SPAIN)

The archaeological settlement of Los Millares (Santa Fe de Mondújar, Almería) is located in the Mediterranean coastal area of southern Spain. This archaeological site constitutes one of the most important settlements belonging to the Copper Age in the Iberian Peninsula and has given its name to the ‘millariense’ culture. The settlement has been completely excavated, yielding major archaeological faunal remains, with 27,426 bone fragments classified by researchers from Munich University (Germany). In this paper, we apply different statistical methods (mainly χ² analysis) to study the spatial distribution of bones from domestic and wild animals, reconstructing the patterns of appearance within specific functional spaces. These functions can be associated with meat consumption (sites to cut the animals into small pieces, areas where the meat was eaten, garbage sites, etc.) and the production of handmade objects (bone tools, stone tools, etc.). The results show different spatial distributions of faunal remains within the areas of the settlement, according to the animal species and particular parts of the animal skeleton, as well as the age and the sex of individuals. The findings reflect social behaviour that relates the consumption of certain species to a specific sector of population, and such behaviour can be discerned in the animal remains. Moreover, there is evidence regarding economic matters, such as meat production and the exchange of animals, which require further research.     

Prehistoric Shellfish Exploitation in Coastal New York

Abstract

Sectioning studies of marine bivalves are broadening our understanding of prehistoric shellfish exploitation along the Atlantic coast of North America. We review the evidence for the timing of shellfish exploitation in coastal New York and present the results of a recent sectioning study of Mercenaria mercenaria from the Sungic Midden site on Shelter Island, New York. The results compare favorably with the harvesting patterns of other north Atlantic Sites, indicating that shellfish exploitation took place during more than one season of the year. The implications of these findings are examined in relation to current subsistence-settlement models of coastal New York.     

Shellfishing and the Colonization of Sahul: A Multivariate Model Evaluating the Dynamic Effects of Prey Utility,Transport Considerations and Life-History on Foraging Patterns and Midden Composition

ABSTRACT

Archaeological evidence of shellfish exploitation along the coast of Sahul (Pleistocene Australia-New Guinea) points to an apparent paradox. While the continental record as a whole suggests that human populations were very low from initial colonization through early Holocene, coastal and peri-coastal sites dating to that time are dominated by small, low-ranked, littoral taxa to the near-complete exclusion of large, higher ranked, sub-littoral species, precisely the opposite of theory-based expectations, if human populations and predation rates were indeed as low as other data suggest. We present a model of shellfish exploitation combining information on species utility, transport considerations, and prey life-history that might account for this apparent mismatch, and then assess it with ethnographic and archaeological data. Findings suggest either that high-ranked taxa were uncommon along the Pleistocene coastlines of Sahul, or that abundant and commonly taken high-ranked prey are under-represented in middens relative to their role in human diets largely as a function of human processing and transport practices. If the latter reading is correct, archaeological evidence of early shellfishing may be mainly the product of subsistence activities by children and their mothers.     

Late Holocene Changes in Shellfishing Behaviors From the Gulf of Carpentaria,Northern Australia

ABSTRACT

Dramatic changes in shellfishing behaviors occur across northern Australia during the late Holocene, marked most conspicuously by the cessation of large shell mound construction in some areas, and the reorganization of shellfishing behaviors towards more intensive production in the last 1,000 years. Excavations reveal rapid and widespread changes within coastal sites, an increasing diversification in overall subsistence resources, and patterns of increase in site establishment and use. Some of these changes have been argued to be associated with increasing climate variability and a trend towards increasing aridity during the late Holocene, thought to have transformed coastal ecosystems and mollusc availability. However, when these hypotheses are tested at the local level, more nuanced patterns of human-environment interaction emerge, which call into question interpretations based on broad-scale climate records. We suggest that disjunctions in the timing of the cessation of shell mound construction noted between the west and east Gulf of Carpentaria may be related, at least in part, to the timing and intensity of external cultural contacts with Macassan seafarers, associated with reorganization of mobility and production strategies, rather than as yet undemonstrated environmental changes impacting on shellfish availability.     

Global Patterns in the Exploitation of Shellfish

ABSTRACT

Shellfish are a crucial resource for past and present subsistence-level societies around the world. Despite the diversity of environments in which shellfish are exploited, an examination of the global patterns of shellfish exploitation reveal surprisingly common patterns in the opportunities allowed and constraints imposed by relying on shellfish. These commonalities, linked to the fundamental features of shellfish and their exploitation, can illuminate diverse social and ecological factors likely to influence variability in their archaeological signatures. Here we review contributions to this special issue and explore common trends in shellfish use and its archaeological consequences.     

Managing,Valuing, and Protecting Heritage Resources in the Twenty-First Century: Peatland Archaeology,the Ecosystem Services Framework,and the Kyoto Protocol

Abstract

This paper argues that the development of the Ecosystem Services framework, which has recently emerged as an internationally recognized framework for valuing ‘the ‘natural capital’ of ecosystems, presents a number of opportunities for heritage management and the archaeological record, arguing that the inclusion of archaeological and palaeoenvironmental ‘value’ within this framework presents an opportunity to incorporate heritage alongside a range of other critical ‘services’. It presents a short case study focusing on the problems facing the preservation of peatland archaeological sites and deposits in situ alongside developments within peatland conservation and restoration initiatives partly driven by the ability of healthy, functioning peatlands to sequester carbon and hence mitigate climate change. It is argued that this drive towards peatland re-wetting may bring both positive benefits and opportunities for heritage management but also presents a number of practical issues, which now require active engagement from the archaeological community.     

Tracing the Distribution of Late 16th and Early 17th Century European Copper Artefacts in Southern Québec and Ontario,Canada

To understand the nature of trade/exchange of ‘Basque’ copper kettles and their fragments among Indigenous communities from Québec to Ontario, Canada, we examined 948 copper samples from 75 archaeological sites. We found that 936 samples were sortable into 11 coarse chemical groups: seven biased towards Ontario, three favouring Québec and only one balanced between the two provinces. This pattern may represent kettles and pieces ‘mostly traded’ or ‘mostly kept’ by Indigenous groups within Québec. Chemical group distribution within individual provinces is complex. A tentative chronology of copper chemical groups provides additional insight into the complex trading/exchange patterns among the Indigenous groups of southern Ontario.     

Toy Story: Homophily,Transmission and the Use of Simple Simulation Models for Assessing Variability in the Archaeological Record

The interpretation of spatial and temporal patterns in the archaeological record remains a long-standing issue in the discipline. Amongst many methods and interpretations, modelling of ‘biased transmission’ has proved a successful strategy to tackle this problem. Here, we investigate a type of biased transmission, homophily, that is the tendency of individuals to associate and bond with similar others. In contrast to other social sciences, homophily remains underused in archaeology. In order to fill this gap, we develop six distinct variants of a well-established modelling framework borrowed from social science, Axelrod’s Cultural Dissemination Model. These so-called toy models are abstract models used for theory-building and aim at exploring the interplay between homophily and various factors (e.g. addition of spatial features such as mountains and coastlines, diffusion of innovations and population spread). The relevance and implications of each ‘toy model’ for archaeological reasoning are then discussed.     

Archaeology and the Moving Image

Archaeological filmmaking is a relatively under-examined subject in academic literature. As the technology for creating, editing, and distributing video becomes increasingly available, it is important to understand the broader context of archaeological filmmaking; from television documentaries to footage shot as an additional method of recording to the informal ‘home videos’ in archaeology. The history of filmmaking in archaeology follows innovations within archaeological practice as well as the availability and affordability of technology. While there have been extensive analyses of movies and television shows about archaeological subjects, the topic of archaeological film has been characterized by reactions to these outside perspectives, rather than examinations of footage created by archaeologists. This can be understood to fall within several filmic genres, including expository, direct testimonial, impressionistic, and phenomenological films, each with their own purpose and expressive qualities. Footage taken on site can also be perceived as a form of surveillance, and can modify behaviour as a form of panopticon. Consequently, there are considerations regarding audience, distribution, and methods for evaluation, as these films are increasingly available on social media platforms. This paper explores the broad context for archaeological filmmaking and considers potential futures for the moving image in archaeology.     

An assessment of the value of bone density measurements to archaeoichthyological studies

This paper reviews the meaning of the term ‘density’ and the problems associated with the methods of density determination for animal bones in archaeology. It has often been assumed that density is the intrinsic property of most influence in controlling the rate of a bone's decay. Values for whole bone density have been published only for large mammal bone, however. Fish bone appears to be particularly vulnerable to decay, and usually a restricted range of skeletal elements are recovered from archaeological sites. The object of this study was to examine the relationship between fish bone density and the ability of the bone to survive on occupation sites and in archaeological deposits. A set of ‘density’ measurements was established for the bones of cod (Gadus morhua). The usefulness of these measurements as a predictive tool in archaeoichthyological studies is assessed. It was found that ‘density’ as measured did not explain adequately the relative survival of skeletal elements after mechanical abrasion and weathering, or within archaeological deposits.     

Shellfish Exploitation Strategies at the Pinnacle Point Shell Midden Complex,South Africa,During the Later Stone Age

Pinnacle Point, Mossel Bay, is best known for the preservation of the earliest evidence for systematic shellfish exploitation by humans during the African Middle Stone Age (MSA). Comparatively little is known about the shellfish gathering strategies of the Later Stone Age (LSA) inhabitants of this region. This article reports on five LSA sites at the Pinnacle Point Shell Midden Complex excavated by the Centre for Heritage and Archaeological Resource Management in 2006 and 2007. These sites represent 2,000 years of hunter-gather and herder settlement and subsistence in the region. Shellfish remains from the five middens were analyzed in order to understand the exploitation patterns of their LSA inhabitants. Information on the relative abundance of different mollusk species in these assemblages and, where possible, the average size of collected specimens, is then compared with published accounts of shellfish material from other sites along the southern Cape coast. These include roughly contemporary assemblages from Noetzie, Hoffman's/Robberg Cave and sites in the Garcia State Forest, and MSA assemblages from Pinnacle Point, Blombos Cave, and Klasies River Mouth. Regional continuities in gathering strategies focused on a range of bivalves and gastropods, and chronological shifts in the exploitation of rocky shores and sandy beaches, and different littoral zones, are apparent.     

What are patterns in the humanities?

ABSTRACT

This paper is concerned with patterns in past human behaviour, what they are, and how this relates to the detection of patterns in data by means of computation. Theorists have not given patterns the attention they deserve. Therefore it is far from clear what patterns are and to what purpose scholars may use them. This paper presents eight propositions on patterns which hold true for patterns found ‘by hand’ and patterns found ‘by computation’. One such is that a pattern is discernible in behaviour when we subject it to the intentional stance, as the philosopher Daniel Dennett argues. Here behaviour is part of an intentional system. This paper’s argument is that the patterns found ‘by computation’ too are part of an intentional system. To substantiate this claim this paper discusses two important examples of detecting computational patterns in the domain of the humanities.     

THE BEAD MAKER’S MIDDEN: EVIDENCE OF LATE PREHISTORIC SHELL BEAD PRODUCTION ON OSSABAW ISLAND,GEORGIA

Abstract

In 2005, archaeological excavations were undertaken in a single shell midden at a late prehistoric Irene phase (circa A.D. 1380) site on Ossabaw Island, Georgia. The excavations were designed specifically to collect information on the fabrication of shell beads and other shell ornaments. A considerable amount of stone was recovered, almost all of which is petrified wood used specifically in the production of “microdrills” for perforating shell beads. Also recovered were large quantities of fragmented knobbed whelk (Busycon carica), the principal raw material used for shell beads, as well as examples of shell beads in all stages of manufacture. The excavations of this midden, designated the Bead Maker’s Midden, produced abundant information bearing on shellworking technology, including the full range of tools and raw materials used and the sequences involved in the production of shell beads. Replication experiments were conducted to validate the archaeological findings. The collected data provide direct evidence of the process of shell bead production during the Late Mississippi period.     

Valuing an Ancient Palaestra in the Centre of Athens: The Public,the Experts,and Aristotle

Abstract

This paper investigates the values assigned to the archaeological site widely known as ‘Lykeion’ of Aristotle’ — the famous ancient Greek philosopher — by experts and non-experts. The paper revolves around the premise that values should be holistically conceived as both the ‘what’ is valued and the ‘whys’ that drive the ‘whats’. Based on semi-structured interviews and quantitative questionnaires, the diverse values attributed by professionals, such as architects, archaeologists, or conservators, and the wider public will be unveiled. It will be demonstrated that values vary fundamentally not only between experts and non-experts but also within groups of experts. Furthermore, it will be argued that the conduct of in-depth research aimed at exploring experts’ and non-experts’ values and meanings, prior to interventions for the enhancement of any archaeological site, is vital for managing potential tensions and for offering an integrated interpretation strategy.     

The Shellfishers of St. Catherines Island: Hardscrabble Foragers or Farming Beachcombers?

ABSTRACT

St. Catherines Island (Georgia, USA) was separated from the mainland at about 3000 BC, creating massive estuarine tidal marshes, which aboriginal foragers began exploiting almost immediately. Correlative optimal foraging modeling and four decades of archaeological fieldwork demonstrate how this baseline shellfishing economy evolved and persisted, with some local impacts on estuarine resource patches, but no detectable changes in diet breadth over several millennia. The first St. Catherines islanders were likely tribal-level, egalitarian societies living in economically self-sufficient, virtually sedentary, and politically autonomous villages. They made the earliest pottery in North America. Shortly after AD 800, early Mississippian populations developed into chiefdoms characterized by ranked, inherited social hierarchies, ascribing social status and wealth at birth. This significant shift took place wholly in the context of their long-standing shellfishing economy. In the face of dramatically increasing populations, St. Catherines islanders gradually intensified their shellfishing and, at about AD 1400, they began cultivating maize and other domesticates. Shellfishing offers generally higher return rates than corn farming, so the adoption of a maize-based economy was likely driven by political, social, and perhaps adaptive changes in the Mississippian world rather than strictly provisioning strategies.     

‘Decision not to decide’: a new challenge for planning

This article examines how the policy-maker’s ‘decision not to decide’ affects different levels of internal organization and how it is reflected in the residential patterns of different population groups. The article explores the dynamics of residential patterns in two case studies: the Collective behaviour of the Sylheti community along Whitechapel Road in Eastern London and the Group Action of the ‘Kol-Torah’ Community in Zangwill Street, Jerusalem, where Inner-markets activities create clear property lines around/within their boundaries and result in a similar homogeneous pattern. Identifying the main engines of organized neighbourhood change and the difficulties of planning and dealing with individuals in the housing market shed light on similar processes occurring in other city centres with diverse population groups.     

Linking Land and Navy: archaeological investigations at the site of the Woolwich Royal Dockyard,south‐eastern England

This paper outlines the archaeological evidence found at the demolished Royal Naval Dockyard at Woolwich for the development and construction of dockyard structures of the 18th to early‐19th centuries. This is set within the framework provided by historic, documentary, map and historic‐model evidence. The results of earlier excavations at the same facility are also reviewed. The themes covered include; the interplay of ‘carpentry’ versus ‘shipwrightry’ in dockyard construction, aspects of naval timber‐supply and landscape, the recycling of ships' timbers, dockyard craft specialisation and changing relative sea‐levels. © 2011 Pre‐Construct Archaeology Limited     

On Some Marks of Cadency Borne by the Sons of King Edward III,and by Others of the Family of Plantagenet

Despite the inherent limitations of the archaeological evidence, some attempt is made to examine the internal morphology of Romano-British ‘Small Towns’. Discussion is directed both at the organization and development of the internal road or street network and at the way in which the individual building types and their associated features are arranged within the framework so created. From such evidence, broad morphological trends can be recognized within the ‘Small Town’ range.