Archaeology in Megalopolis: Updated Assessment

Abstract

Because of the “disturbed” nature of the terrain, archaeologists working in builtup “urban” situations frequently underestimate the possibilities for the survival of useful archaeological information. Recent experience, most of it in connection with federally-mandated historic resource surveys, has demonstrated that such disturbances are often quite superficial, and that important sites and features may exist, intact, beneath them. In fact, since all human activity disturbs the locale in which it occurs, the evidence of past construction and destruction may be the very resource that gives an area its historical and cultural importance. This paper presents examples of successful recovery of archaeological data in urban contexts in the northeastern United States, and discusses some as yet unsolved problems associated with this relatively new field of archaeological endeavor.     

ARCHAEOSEISMOLOGY IN ITALY: CASE STUDIES AND IMPLICATIONS ON LONG-TERM SEISMICITY

Four Italian cases from central Apennines and central-eastern Alps show how the use of archaeoseismology and paleoseismological investigations on deformed archaeological remains may improve the knowledge on long-term seismicity. In the Fucino Plain (central Apennines), the displacement of a Roman canal (built during the lst-2nd century AD) was caused by the movement of one of the active faults affecting the basin. The paleoseismological analysis and available archaeological data permitted to date the event at the 5th-6th century AD and to hypothesise that this earthquake was also responsible for significant damage to the Colosseum in Rome shortly before 508 AD. At the Egna site (Bolzano province, northern Italy), the displacement of a Roman building has been paleoseismologically investigated. It probably resulted from surface faulting, thus permitting to hypothesise the occurrence of strong earthquakes in an area for which seismicity does not show significant historical earthquakes. In the Sulmona Plain (central Apennines) the occurrence of a strong event around the middle of the 2nd century AD is testified by ah epigraph. Widespread evidence of building, collapses and abandonments characterise a number of archaeologically investigated sites and confirm the age of occurrence inferred from the epigraph. In the Trento area (northern Italy), evidence of earthquake-induced damage to medieval buildings suggests that the earthquake which affected northern Italy in 1117 may have been responsible for significant damage also in the Adige Valley. Gained experience indicates that in areas where historical research does not contribute significantly to the knowledge of the effects of strong earthquakes, the use of archaeological evidence of past earthquakes may be a valuable tool to obtain information on the historical seismicity related to moderate-large magnitude events.     

Deep Impact: What Happens When Archaeological Sites are Built on?

Abstract

Increasingly, developers and archaeologists search for ways to build on archaeological sites, while at the same time preserving the remains underneath. However, deciding which effects of construction on archaeological sites are acceptable and which are not is hampered by the lack of knowledge on the impacts of construction on archaeological sites. This paper provides an update on some of the effects of building on archaeological sites. Recent research had shown that displacement piles cause less disturbance in soft soils than previously thought. Moreover, replacement piles may be less benign that assumed up till now. Effects of loading on archaeological sites are described, and gaps in the knowledge on these effects are indicated. More research is needed in this field, especially on predicting soil disturbance and damage to weak materials. Impermeable surfaces and constructions on top of sites may affect the visibility of soil features due to decreased rainwater infiltration. Finally, a series of non-physical effects are mentioned that will have to be taken into account when deciding on allowing building on archaeological sites.     

Extra! Extra! Read All About It: Newspaper Archives as Archaeological Site Survey

Relative to other historic documents, newspapers have received little attention from researchers as a source of archaeological data. Now that many historic newspapers have been digitized and placed online, this traditionally underutilized resource has the potential to yield new information about archaeological sites, especially those in heavily developed urban areas where sites are inaccessible or have been destroyed. In this article, a methodology is proposed by which archived newspapers might be searched for data about archaeological sites. A case study using newspapers from Allen County, Indiana and its principal city, Fort Wayne, demonstrates the utility of the methodology by producing evidence about many previously unrecorded archaeological sites.     

日本人群的种族起源和演化

日本弥生时代人群的体质特征和比其早的绳文时代人群有很大的不同,他们之间可能不具有继承关系。本文主要根据体质人类学、遗传学和考古学的研究成果,阐述了日本不同时期人群的起源和演化。此外,还从中国考古遗址出土的古代人骨材料的研究,探讨了日本弥生时代人群的源乡。虽然现代日本人起源的“移民说”基本得到认可,但因古代人骨材料涉及的出土地点和时代有限,而且可能与日本弥生时代人起源有关的古代人骨DNA的研究结果也非常少;因此,从目前对中国大陆和日本弥生时代遗址出土人骨的对比分析结果看,关于弥生人源乡在哪里还无法得出一个明确的认识,还不能肯定地说出中国大陆的哪些古代人群对现代日本人种族形成有过重要的基因贡献。     

Archaeoastronomy in the Ancient Americas

Since its popular resurgence in the 1960s, the interdisciplinary field of archaeoastronomy, which seeks evidence from the written as well as the unwritten record to shed light on the nature and practice of astronomy and timekeeping in ancient civilizations, has made ever-increasing significant use of the archaeological record. This essay briefly touches on the origin and history of these developments, discusses the methodology of archaeoastronomy, and assesses its contributions via the discussion of selected case studies at sites in North, South, and Mesoamerica. Specifically, archaeology contributes significantly to clarifying the role of sky events in site planning. The rigorous repetition of axial alignments of sites and individual oddly shaped and/or oriented structures can be related to alterations in the calendar often initiated by cross-cultural contact.Together with evidence acquired from other forms of the ancient record, archaeology also helps clarify the relationship between functional and symbolic astronomical knowledge. In state-level societies, it offers graphic evidence that structures that served as chronographic markers also functioned as performative stages for seasonally timed rituals mandated by cosmic connections claimed by the rulership.     

FORTY FRENCH TOWNS: AN ESSAY ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE EVALUATION AND HISTORICAL AIMS

Summary. A preliminary review of forty French towns suggests that the survival of archaeological evidence in urban sites is due to a combination of physical factors, many of which can be known before an excavation campaign begins. The distribution of surviving archaeological strata proves to be uneven, both in time and space; neither is it generally coincident with the riches of the written record. A new approach to national research-policies is offered, where archaeological site-evaluation plays a major role and the bias inherent in the differential survival of archaeological and documentary data is explicitly stated. Some compensation for the inadequate record left to us may be achieved by redefining the range of objectives accessible to archaeological investigation in towns.     

Assessing the reliability of pRIA for identifying ancient proteins from archaeological contexts

The use of immunological techniques for identifying the origin of proteins and inferring foodstuffs exploited by prehistoric occupations has been conducted for several decades. Cases of experimental laboratory and archaeological studies have shown the potential of these techniques for reliable results. However, very few of these case studies employ archaeological sites that have excellent preservation and high-resolution spatial contexts between identifiable faunal remains, features, and stone tools. We present an assessment of the identification reliability of one immunological technique, protein radioimmunoassay (pRIA), using faunal remains and stone tools from two sites from arctic and subarctic contexts. The results of this research indicate that, even in contexts with excellent preservation, the identifications produced by the pRIA technique are subject to misidentification and cross-reactions due to diagenetic alteration of proteins. We propose a higher minimum reaction value (percent binding of labeled antibody) that mitigates these effects, and renders the pRIA results more reliable for ancient, poorly preserved organic remains.     

Paper 5: Historic Mortars from the Coudenberg Archaeological Site: Characterization and Source of Raw Materials

Abstract

The characterization of historic mortars by means of a concise methodology of material analyses can provide crucial information with regard to the origin of the raw materials and the ancient mortar technology. For the analysis of the historic mortars of the Coudenberg archaeological site, the methodology consists of optical and scanning electron microscopy, simultaneous thermal analysis, and an acidic treatment. These analyses were carried out on a total of seventeen samples lifted from various areas in the site, in function of the building chronology resulting from a historic built investigation. The type of binder and aggregate as well as their volumetric ratio were determined.

Both binder and aggregate present distinctive features, which made it possible to identify the probable geological provenance of the raw materials. The observations are verified with available historical records regarding the construction of the main banqueting hall — the Aula Magna — and the use of raw materials such as limestone and sand for the production of lime and construction purposes.     

Development of a Methodological Framework for Handling Urban Archaeological Resources: Tarsus Historic City Centre,Turkey

In Turkey, most of the historic city centres have been continuously occupied since early ages, and ongoing research or ad hoc findings indicate urban archaeological resources beneath modern cities. According to the results of such research, archaeological and conservation sites are determined in terms of current legal frameworks. However, urban archaeological resources have not been included in the planning process because of inadequacy in spatial documentation, so archaeological deposits have been seen as problem areas in urban development. Thus, urban archaeological resources — not only subsoil resources, even monumental sites — could not be integrated into urban daily life, so most citizens are not aware of archaeological layers beneath their feet. The research project in Tarsus historic city centre, which is supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), primarily aims to develop a method to include urban archaeology — especially subsoil archaeological resources — into the urban conservation planning process of multilayered historic city centres in Turkey. In this way, planners would be informed, aware, and equipped about the urban archaeological potential at the earliest stages of the planning process. Consequently, urban archaeology, as an inter-/ multi-disciplinary field of research, is going to evolve as a crucial planning analysis in urban conservation including not only archaeological research, but also in evaluating settlement history and issues in urban development.     

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.     

张謇对文化遗产保护的历史贡献

张謇是中国近代著名实业家教育家,中国博物馆事业的开拓者,他创办中国最早的博物馆南通博物苑,开中国博物馆事业之先河。他还是不可移动文物保护的先行者,对历史纪念性建筑和古遗址的保护。对寺庙古建筑的保护以及对非物质文化遗产保护都作出过可贵的贡献。     

Site Interiography and Geophysical Scanning: Interpreting the Texture and Form of Archaeological Deposits with Ground-Penetrating Radar

The remarkable potential of geophysical scanning—to assess the internal variability of sites in new ways, to highlight important phenomena in the field, to exercise co-creation of interpretation and commitment to minimal destruction of community partners’ resources, and to aid in the practice of due diligence in avoiding desecration of the sacred—continues to be underutilized in archaeology. While archaeological artifacts, features, and strata remain primary foci of archaeological geophysics, these phenomena are perceived quite differently in scans than in visual or tactile exposures. In turn, new registers of site exploration afforded by geophysical prospection may be constrained by the language of site excavation and visual observation, requiring adjustments in the ways of thinking about and describing what the instruments are measuring. The texture and form of site deposits as rendered in ground-penetrating radar scans can be examined in detail prior to making interpretations of cultural features or stratigraphy. Far more than simple “anomalies” demanding our attention for excavation, patterns in geophysical data can be the focus of extensive archaeological analysis prior to, in conjunction with, or independent from excavation.     

Material Culture and Indigenous Spiritism: the Katamansu Archaeological “Otutu” (Shrine)

Through the integration of oral history and ethnographic and historical data with archaeological evidence, attempts have been made to understand and reconstruct the settlement history of Katamansu, a late eighteenth-century historic town located on the Accra Plains of Ghana. Two seasons of archaeological excavations at the Koowule site of the town yielded some evidence of the 1826 Battle of Katamansu, a battle that was fought on the site between the Asante and the Ga and their coastal allies of the Gold Coast. The excavations also yielded two spectacular features, whose configuration and content appear to be the remains of a shrine of the Ga people. The features correlate well with ethnographic parallels described by Margaret Field, an anthropologist, in her research on the religion and medicine of the Ga in the 1930s. This paper presents the historical and material evidence of the 1826 battle as well as the analysis of the shrine contents. The shrine features provide insights into an archaeological shrine's mundane materiality. They also expose how local (Neolithic and historic) and European artifacts were recrafted and imbued with medicinal, magical, and spiritual properties to possibly cure and impress patients and supplicants in shrine ritual practices.     

我国古代的地方志

本文论述了我国地方志的起源和性质,认为地方志是记述一定地域内自然与社会,历史与现状科学的资料性的独特的文字载体,具有其他文献不可代替的功用,并将它归纳为政府主修和私人著述两类,还提出了我国地方志发展所经历的主要阶段。     

Late Holocene climatic fluctuations and soil genesis in southern Patagonia: effects on the archaeological record

Geoarchaeological research conducted at five localities in southern Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego identified a mollisol within late Holocene aeolian and colluvial deposits associated with archaeological material. The mollisol's origin and development are related to an increase in humidity (c. 1000 BP) following an episode of severe drought during the Medieval Warm Period. Corroborating data is supplied from dendroclimatic and pollen studies. A drastic reduction in frequency of artefact distribution recorded at the sites studied corresponds to this pedologic event, suggesting a greater human presence at these sites during earlier, regional-scale arid conditions. However, the paucity of archaeological remains may also be the result of the low resolution of cultural evidence following the pedologic development due to superimposition over previous archaeological deposits.     

湖北十堰潘口水电站三处古遗址的发掘

潘口水电站与陕南和川东接壤,是古庸国所在地.遗址地处河流边缘地带,长年受河水的冲刷,破坏殆尽,出土遗物甚少,文化内涵主要包含新石器晚期和东周时期遗存.东周时期文化面貌较为复杂,既有楚文化特征又具巴蜀文化风格,同时还包含陕南文化因素,这种多元文化因素,是与周边文化相互影响、碰撞形成的一种以地方文化为特色的多元文化.因此,我们认为潘口水电站淹没区的小府坪、红花湾、王家套等遗址是东周时期楚灭庸后的一处村落遗址.     

Ionoluminescence and Cathodoluminescence in Marbles of Historic and Architectural Interest

Ion beam induced luminescence (IBIL) was applied, along with cathodoluminescence (CL), on seven samples of marbles of historic and architectural interest. The CL colours, observed in a cold cathode device, have been related to the IBIL spectra. Moreover, a detailed analysis of the IBIL spectral features has made it possible to disclose the influence of the chemical composition and to emphasize the crystal‐chemical role of the Mn²⁺. Beyond the chemical information and the crystal‐chemical interpretation, the spectra are recognized as being valuable in the field of archaeological studies for their significance as fingerprints of marbles, giving information on their nature and origin.     

The unification of archaeological sites of Athens: The birth of an archaeological park?

Abstract

Recently, there has been a growing trend to present archaeological resources in the form of archaeological parks. These are an innovative way of presenting vast archaeological sites that contain a number of monuments, as a single entity, using components of the environment as interpretation features and creating an ‘invented’ integrity of the landscape. Even though the overall concept of an archaeological park emerged in Scandinavia at least three decades ago, only recently has it taken on a wider character and been applied to a variety of archaeological sites. But no clear criteria exist for them.

The current project of the Unification of the Archaeological Sites of Athens involves creating an archaeological park that includes most features considered essential for a park of this kind. However, the special characteristics of Athens (the over-built urban landscape, environmental pollution, and the mystical relationship between the ancient and modern cities), give the future park a rather individual character.     

The archaeology of slighting: a methodological framework for interpreting castle destruction in the Middle Ages

ABSTRACT

The use of destruction in the past, its purpose and function, is poorly understood and an under-studied area. With hundreds of excavations at castles, there is a body of archaeological evidence that can be synthesised into a study of destruction. Slighting is the damage of a high-status structure, its associated landscape and contents to degrade its value. This article aims to bring the study of destruction into the established discourse of castles and medieval archaeology. It does this by establishing a methodological framework for understanding slighting and examines its application at key sites. In doing so, a chronology and geography of slighting is produced, along with a rich understanding of how and why castles were destroyed in the medieval period. Case studies of Weston Turville (Buckinghamshire) and Degannwy (Caernarfonshire) are used to explore how the archaeological and historical records interact and can be used to corroborate each other. By examining the archaeology of destruction, a new interpretation of slighting has been advanced, understanding it as an activity rich in social meaning with implications beyond the study of castles and the medieval period.