A review of lessivage and neolithic cultivation in southern England

A critical re-examination is undertaken of a model for soil development which has been put forward to explain the occurrence of buried sols lessivés (Argillic brown earths) under several neolithic earthworks in southern England. The model attributes the formation of sols lessivés to neolithic agricultural activity, and is based on the assumption that lessivage will not occur under woodland, but will be facilitated by clearance and cultivation. A review of the pedological literature shows both these assumptions to be unsubstantiated, and a survey of the sites used in the development of the model reveals that at only one is there any independent evidence for neolithic agriculture. An alternative hypothesis for sol lessivé development is put forward which associates it with the post-glacial forest. The original model was taken as an environmental cause of the change in the neolithic economic base. In view of the arguments presented here this explanation is no longer tenable.     

Miliacin in palaeosols from an Early Iron Age in Ukraine reveal in situ cultivation of broomcorn millet

During the archaeobotanical investigation of Scythian–Sarmatian period (Early Iron Age), pits with crop processing waste, discovered in the floodplain of Donets River, eastern Ukraine, and charred remains of cereal grains, dominated by broomcorn millet, were recorded. The grains from the pits were radiocarbon dated to the fifth to first century BC. Those pits are distant from any known contemporaneous settlement. The apparent disconnection of these pits from any local settlement suggests that (1) millet was brought from other locations by mobile groups, or (2) millet was cultivated locally by populations whose settlements have left no discernible archaeological trace. The analysis of molecular biomarkers preserved in palaeosols that are stratigraphically connected to the pits revealed high levels of miliacin, a molecule that can be preserved in ancient soils and sediments, and that is consistent with broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum). High levels in miliacin in soils stratigraphically connected to the pits are interpreted as the result of a large biomass of P. miliaceum produced at time of soil formation. Our biogeochemical results applied to a palaeosol thus attest to the in situ cultivation of crops dominated by the broomcorn millet during the early Iron Age in the floodplain of Donets River. Biochemical examination of soils and palaeosols can thus provide useful information on past dynamics of land-use by ancient population, especially when settlements or macrobotanical remains are absent.     

陕西韩城普照寺彩绘泥塑制作材料与工艺研究

普照寺位于陕西省韩城市,寺内现存有五尊精美绝伦的元代彩绘泥塑。为了解普照寺彩绘泥塑制作材料与工艺,采用光学显微镜、X射线衍射仪、显微红外光谱仪、显微拉曼光谱仪、扫描电镜-能谱仪和X光照相等技术手段进行科学分析。结果表明,普照寺彩绘泥塑内部结构为十字型交叉木骨架,粗泥层和细泥层塑土矿物成分基本一致,具有强度高、抗风化能力强和可塑性好的特点;粗泥加筋材料为麦秸秆和麦粒壳,细泥加筋材料为棉和麻;颜料层显色成分除蓝色外均为古代壁画常见的矿物颜料,存在重层重彩情况。研究结果将为普照寺彩绘泥塑的后续保护修复提供科学依据,并为陕西地区元代彩绘泥塑传统工艺的研究补充科学信息。     

秦雍城豆腐村制陶作坊遗址发掘简报

秦雍城遗址位于陕西省凤翔县城以南,东距西安市170公里,西南距宝鸡市50公里。据文献记载,从春秋晚期的德公元年(前677年)至战国中期的献公二年(前383年)的294年间,雍城一直作为秦国都城,成为秦人由西向东逐渐迁徙     

古代彩塑和壁画中植物纤维种类鉴别

针对古代彩塑泥层和壁画地仗中植物纤维种类鉴定技术欠缺的现状,开发出一套以纤维横截面细胞形貌识别为基础的植物纤维种类鉴别方法。从秸秆类植物的化学脱胶技术、提取单根纤维、纤维横截面切片,以及纤维截面细胞形貌对比等开展了系列研究。将该方法应用于彩塑泥层和壁画地仗中常见的9种植物纤维：麦秸秆、稻秸秆、玉米秸秆、高粱秸、黄麻、亚麻、苎麻、剑麻和棉花,并以宁夏须弥山石窟以及甘肃麦积山石窟的彩塑文物样品中取出的纤维标本为例进行了鉴定。结果表明：须弥山石窟彩塑粗泥层中的植物纤维为小麦与黄麻,细泥层中的为苎麻,彩塑佛像手指中的为棉花;麦积山彩塑泥层中含有麦秸秆。研究结果证明本方法可以应用于文物样品中植物纤维种类鉴别。     

四川广汉三星堆遗址四号祭祀坑的碳十四年代研究

2020年,广汉三星堆遗址新发现祭祀坑的田野考古发掘工作正式启动,为解决祭祀坑的年代问题,四川省文物考古研究院委托国家文物局考古研究中心与北京大学考古文博学院考古年代学联合实验室对四号祭祀坑开展了碳十四年代研究,得到6个碳十四年代数据,经过贝叶斯统计树轮校正计算得到其埋藏年代有95.4%的概率落在距今3148—2966年的时间范围之内,属商代晚期。     

Firing Techniques of the Impasti from the Protohistoric Site of Concordia Sagittaria (Venice)

⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy provided relevant information on the firing techniques employed in manufacturing concotto and coarse pottery, two types of fired clay mixtures (impasti) of the protohistoric settlement site of Concordia Sagittaria. The firing techniques of Concordia were reconstructed by comparing the Mössbauer patterns of the artefacts with those of the local raw clays fired in the laboratory. The concotto was produced in kilns by firing clay mixtures under oxidizing conditions at 700–1000°C, or at lower temperatures in the open air. The firing of these clay mixtures containing mainly ground pieces of waste pottery, resulted in hard and variously coloured construction materials, particularly suitable for humid environments. In turn, the coarse pottery was produced by firing clay mixtures more homogeneous than those used for the artefacts of concotto. The firing of coarse pottery was performed under reducing conditions at about 900°C with a final exposure to air by opening the hot kiln. Light and agreeable coarse pottery, with a red surface on the grey-black core, was obtained when the effective temperature of air was higher than 500°C.     

Age and the palaeoenvironment of the West Ukrainian palaeolithic: the case of Velykyi Glybochok multi-cultural site

The Velykyi Glybochok Palaeolithic site near Ternopil town (Podolia Upland) contains a set of cultural layers in a sequence of loess and fossil soils. Beside the archaeological study of stone assemblages, the profile was investigated using lithological, palaeopedological and geochemical methods, including stable carbon and oxygen isotopes composition of pedogenic carbonates, soils micromorphology and TL dating. Remnants of vertebrates' bones and mollusc shells were also distinguished. The oldest cultural layer III documented the presence of Palaeolithic people during the Penultimate Interglacial represented by fossil soil – cambisol in type, developed under dense vegetation cover. The cultural layer III B is connected with initial cambisol originated in a short period of open landscape vegetation with shrubs development, dated to the climatic amelioration during the time of Penultimate Glaciation. The Last Interglacial is represented by luvisol formation with two stages of illuviation, which shows forest type of vegetation. Materials of the cultural layer III A were dispersed in the soil irregularly and mixed with artifacts of cultural layer II. Artifacts of III, III A and III B cultural layers represent the Middle Palaeolithic “Dniesterian Mousterian culture with Levalloisian technique”. These of assemblage II represent the Upper Palaeolithic. Inside the recent soil at the top of the sequence, the Mesolithic cultural layer I is present. Velykyi Glybochok is the only multilayer site in Podolia with detailed information about geological position of particular cultural layers.     

Factors Determining Magnetic Enhancement of Burnt Clay from Archaeological Sites

The magnetic susceptibility of a collection of 212 archaeological samples of burnt clay of different origin (burnt soil, ovens and bricks) taken from 60 archaeological sites from Bulgaria, were studied in order to determine factors which may have affected their magnetic enhancement. The highest magentic susceptibility values were obtained for bricks, and the lowest for burnt soils, suggesting that the firing temperature and the duration of burning are important conditions for determining magnetic enhancement. Specific spatial pattern of the low-field magnetic susceptibility was also observed, characterized by separation of sites situated in northern and southern parts of the country, divided by the west-east trending mountain chain Stara Planina. Maximum susceptibility values are obtained for burnt soils in southern Bulgaria and minima in northern Bulgaria. In contrast, burnt clay plasters and bricks show the opposite picture. It is supposed that the observed pattern is due to differences in the outcropped geological formations and variable climate conditions between the two regions which determine different iron-supply during burning of initial clay material. Results from the thermomagnetic analyses show that the dominant ferrimagnetic mineral in all burnt clay materials studied, is magnetite/titanomagnetite with low Ti content and different grain-sizes. High values of frequency-dependent magnetic susceptibility indicate the presence of significant amount of fine-grained (d<0·015 μm) superparamagnetic magnetite.     

The Significance of the Secular Sculptures in the Lane Chapel,Cullompton

FOUR kilns of roughly contemporary date included both double and multi-flued types. They were without internal structure and had been surrounded by low stone walls with clay flue arches. Pierced daub fragments indicated a superstructure of clay packed round a framework of stakes. Round the two largest kilns were a number of waster-filled pits with bases reddened but not fired. Roof-tiles and pottery were manufactured. The dominant decorative motif of the pottery was complex wedge rouletting similar to that found at Aardenburg (Holland), but examples of most of the ornament common in NE. England were present, as were knight jugs and zoomorphic forms.     

A further consideration of neolithic dogs with special reference to a skeleton from Grime's Graves (Norfolk), England

The complete skull and skeleton of a dog were recently excavated from the neolithic flint mines at Grime's Graves in Norfolk. As very few complete skeletons of dogs have been found from neolithic contexts in Britain a detailed metrical comparison was made between the Grime's Graves specimen and dog skeletons of comparable antiquity and completeness from Easton Down and Windmill Hill in Wiltshire.Implicit in the study of the dog from Grime's Graves was the need to date it precisely. As the skeleton could not be sacrificed for radiocarbon dating, closely associated antlers of Red deer (Cervus elaphus) were used for this purpose. The date of the Grime's Graves dog is compared with the dates for other dog remains from recently excavated neolithic sites in the British Isles.     

Tell formation processes as indicated from geoarchaeological and geochemical investigations at Xeropolis,Euboea, Greece

Xeropolis is a tell site on the island of Euboea, Greece just to the east of the village of Lefkandi, and was occupied from the Early Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age. Excavations in recent years have provided an opportunity to investigate site formation processes using geoarchaeological and geochemical techniques. Sediments derived from the tell on the southern side have been lost by coastal erosion whilst those on the north mantle the flanking slope. Of particular interest is a homogeneous and unstratified deposit of over 2 m which overlies the archaeology near the southern perimeter of the summit area. The soil structure as evident in thin sections indicates a high degree of bioturbation, probably stimulated by recent manuring and cultivation. The implication is that tillage erosion has had a major impact on the morphology as well as on the surface soils of the tell. Despite such reworking and redeposition of near surface materials, it is still possible from multi-element analysis to identify the geochemical distinctiveness of six archaeological contexts (pit, house, plaster floor, alley, road and yard); pits and floors have high loadings of all elements except Pb; in contrast pits and floors have the lowest elemental concentrations.     

汉代铸钱夹砂陶背范的分析研究

与汉代铸钱相关的遗物中,铸钱夹砂陶背范出土数量最多,是由泥质面层与夹砂背层组成。为了揭示铸钱夹砂陶背范的制作工艺并探讨陶范多次使用的可能性及夹砂层的作用,对陕西西安窝头寨汉代铸钱遗址出土的铸钱夹砂陶背范进行分析研究。结果表明,泥质面层采用细泥料制作,其作用是保证所铸造的金属钱币具有优良的表面质量;夹砂背层是在制范泥料中掺杂了较多的肉眼可见的砂砾,其作用是提高陶范的机械性能,减小陶范受热后的变形,有利于它与金属范合范铸钱。铸钱夹砂陶背范的制作过程是:先制作夹砂层,然后在夹砂层上制作细泥层,在细泥层上印制钱币的背郭型腔,与金属范组成铸型铸造钱币。证实夹砂层可以重复使用,当泥质面层损坏后可以除掉表面的细泥层或直接在原型腔面上另加一层细泥重新制作背郭型腔,再次进行钱币的铸造,夹砂层可以一直使用到被损坏为止,从而极大地提高了铸钱效率。     

Gabbroic clay sources in Cornwall: a petrographic study of prehistoric pottery and clay samples

Summary.  This analysis of prehistoric pottery and clay samples from Cornwall demonstrates that the clay used to make Cornish gabbroic pottery in prehistory originated around the gabbro rock outcrop in a small area of the Lizard peninsula. The research uses petrographic and chemical analysis to subdivide the prehistoric pottery into six groups. Owing to the unusual geology of the Lizard these groups can be attributed to specific locations. The most abundant pottery fabric, Typical Gabbroic , was made using coarse clay which is mainly found in a 1 km² area near Zoar. A finer version of this clay, found higher in the soil profile or slightly transported and redeposited, was used to make Fine Gabbroic pottery and an even finer variant called FNS (Fine Non-Sandy) Gabbroic . We identify for the first time here a Loessic/Gabbroic pottery fabric which can be matched exactly to clay found at Lowland Point. Serpentinitic/Gabbroic pottery was made using clay from the gabbro/serpentinite border zone. Pottery made from the Granitic/Gabbroic fabric did not match any clay from the Lizard, showing that gabbroic clay was sometimes removed and made into pottery elsewhere in Cornwall. The main clay source near Zoar was used for clay extraction throughout the Bronze Age and Iron Age for pottery which was traded all over Cornwall. Other gabbroic clay sources produced pottery only during certain periods and exclusively supplied particular settlements, such as the Loessic/Gabbroic fabric which was found only at Gear and Caer Vallack. The results suggest that pottery was produced by several small-scale cottage industries, which may have operated on a seasonal, part-time basis and probably formed only part of a wide range of activities located around the Lizard area.     

Long-term clay raw material selection and use in the region of Classical/Hellenistic to Early Byzantine Sagalassos (SW Turkey)

A provenance study was carried out on coarse ceramics from the Classical/Hellenistic to Mid-Byzantine city of Sagalassos, SW Turkey. The ceramics were sampled from the excavations of the city, and clay raw materials were sampled throughout its ancient territory. Used techniques were optical microscopy and electron microprobe analysis on thin sections, geochemical analysis (fusion ICP/MS and mineralogical analysis (X-ray diffraction). The geochemical/mineralogical diversity in the ceramics is not as wide as for the clay raw materials. It seems that even at the restricted scale of this study, the resources were limited to the area around the ancient site. The differences between the ceramics are likely due to the use of different ophiolitic clay bodies being exploited for their production.     

Integrated GIS,remote sensing and geomorphologic approaches for the reconstruction of the landscape habitation of Thessaly during the neolithic period

The aim of this study is to manifest the contribution of integrated approaches such as GIS, geomorphology, remote sensing and DEM analysis for the detection of neolithic settlements, the modeling of habitation and the reconstruction of neolithic landscape in the area of Thessaly.     

Evaluating soil resilience in long-term cultivation: a study of pre-Columbian terraces from the Paca Valley, Peru

This study evaluated the soil properties of pre-Hispanic stone-walled terraces by comparing soil quality along terraced catenas in the Paca Valley, a tributary of the Mantaro Valley, Peru. Micromorphological and bulk analyses of terrace soils revealed that despite terracing soil horizonation largely followed the catena. Upland terraced fields had deeper A-horizons with higher biotic activity than uncultivated controls, but less fine material and greater carbonate accumulation. Midslope fields were highly variable in depth and soil properties reflecting considerable substrate and anthropogenic variations in this growing zone. Silts and clay accumulated in valley bottom terraces where pedofeatures indicate an ongoing downhill movement of fine material. The distribution of soil separates down Paca hillsides demonstrates that terraces help moderate, rather than control, the erosion of key soil fractions required for long-term agricultural productivity. This study illustrates how the loss of fine material is partly mitigated by soil consolidation in dense topsoil peds, microaggregates and saprolite. These aggregates are retained by terraces and contribute to deep soil profiles. Nevertheless, many fields show signs of degradation, especially from insufficient organic matter amendment. In addition to farming itself, buried soils and associated artefacts in valley bottom fields indicate mass soil movement, a likely result of disruption caused by Inca road and terrace construction. The poor soil quality of many upland terraces also confirms that stone-walled terraces were constructed on mediocre substrates for farming, indicating a high labour investment for marginal agricultural returns in these areas. Overall, Paca Valley terraces improve topsoil retention and promote deep soil profiles. However, these fields present quite varied growing substrates. It is also apparent that over the last millennium, soil depletion from cultivation has compromised soil quality through loss of fine material and organic matter. Shifts in farming practice away from pre-Hispanic practices such as long-fallow and middening appear to exacerbate this trend.     

黑龙江大兴安岭呼中北山洞遗址2016年发掘简报

2016年对北山洞遗址的发掘,共清理灰坑3座、灶址16处,出土陶器、石器、玉器等遗物1800余件。依据层位关系及出土遗物特征分析,该遗址可分为六个时期文化遗存。第一期文化遗存属旧石器时代晚期,石器加工包含石片工业和石叶工业两种类型,剥片技术以锤击法为主,工具加工多采用打制修理技术。第二至第五期文化遗存属新石器时代,石器加工以细石核、细石叶等细石器工艺为主,剥片技术包括锤击法和间接压制法,工具加工多采用较为精细的压制修理技术。第六期文化遗存应与早期鲜卑遗存有密切关系,年代为东汉时期。北山洞遗址的发掘对大兴安岭东麓山区考古学文化编年体系的构建在一定程度上具有填补空白的意义。     

Unglazed pottery from the masjed-i jom’e of Isfahan (Iran): technology and provenance

The masjed-i jom’e of Isfahan is one of the earliest mosques of Iran. Since 1970, Italian researchers performed an extensive archaeological investigation uncovering huge amounts of finds. This study aims at investigating the technological features and provenance of the unglazed pottery finds by using a minero-petrographic approach. Twenty-three samples of storage, table and cooking wares were selected based on the recurrence of typologically identifiable fragments and fabrics. Two bricks, seven production indicators (spacers, kiln furniture, slags) and a local clay were analysed for comparison. The production indicators and most of the pottery show high-CaO concentration. Thick-walled wares contain coarse sedimentary/metamorphic inclusions. Samples with thinner walls contain similar but fine/well-sorted inclusions. The mineralogy and microstructure indicate firing temperatures mainly ranging from 850 to 1000 °C. Low-CaO samples contain coarse sedimentary inclusions; in one sample, volcanic lithics are present. Firing temperatures range from about 800 to 950 °C, and the low-CaO character can be related to their specific function for cooking foods. One sample, found in older stratigraphic levels, differs for its peculiar calcitic temper and lower firing temperature. Local production of most samples was constrained by the composition of the inclusions compatible with the sediments of the Isfahan area. High-CaO pottery shows compositional affinity with production indicators, local clay and tiles produced in Isfahan during the Safavid period. Cooking ware usually contains local temper, with the exception of a sample with volcanic inclusions, for which a non-local provenance is supposed. No appropriate information is, however, available regarding the low-CaO clays used in the area.     

Ashes to ashes, charcoal to dust: micromorphological evidence for ash-induced disintegration of charcoal in Early Neolithic (LBK) soil features in Elsloo (The Netherlands)

Charcoal and other forms of charred organic material - an important part of the archaeological record - consist of benzenoids. Such components are unstable in basic or alkaline conditions. Since ashes are alkaline, this means that archaeological charcoal may have been disintegrated and lost if they were buried together with ashes, e.g. as in fireplaces. Ash may also cause clay translocation in decalcified loess because of the disaggregating effect of K⁺ ions in the soil solutions. We investigated the interplay of these two processes, using micromorphological samples from the Early Neolithic site at the Joannes Riviusstraat in Elsloo. Evidence for charcoal disintegration was found in the form of cavities in charcoal fragments, most commonly filled in with thick reddish limpid clay coatings. The combination of cavities and clay coatings are evidence for the disintegration of charcoal under the influence of ash. Ash may also have been instrumental in preserving small bone fragments in these decalcified well-drained loess soils. The evidence of ash-induced charcoal disintegration implies that charcoal preservation in the archaeological record is dependent on (1) whether or not is was buried alongside with ashes, and (2) on various soil characteristics that determine that determine how quickly the ash-derived alkalinity and potassium ions are leached.