Necropoli of Pill'e Matta Quartucciu (Cagliari,Sardinia): wild bee and solitary wasp activity and bone diagenetic factors

During the excavation at the necropolis and the laboratory studies, a variety of damage was found in the human bone remains. This damage included round holes, irregular bone destruction and irregular etching. This can be found especially in the skulls and in the long bones, and sometimes in the vertebrae and on the hands and feet. The exceptionality of this demanded meticulous study in order to define whether it was a diagenetic phenomenon of biological origin. Further studies revealed that the damage to the bones was produced by three kinds of Hymenoptera that build galleries: one of these belongs to the Sphecidae family, the other two to the Halictidae family. During the excavation of a grave it had been observed that a Halictidae had invaded the burial context and consequently contributed to the taphonomic and diagenetic process. The laboratory activities were directed towards the measurement of the damage to the human bone remains in 45 tombs. A histogram shows that the holes are not the result of accidental lesions, and the more frequent percentage values show similarities with the dimensions of holes built by the insects. The observations and the results of the study at the archaeological site enabled me to establish how significant the role of the insects had been, in particular of the Hymenoptera, in modifying the condition of the bone remains. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Question of Authorship of the Coplas Attributed to Lucas Fernandez

In late eighteenth-century Spanish discourse, moralists and satirists attempted to redress what they deemed a grave social issue: the loss of a masculine, virtuous visibility in men, especially in young, well-heeled males. In moralist essays, the petimetre became the quintessential trope for the idle, effeminate, aristocratic Spanish man. He was created as a literary figure to stand in marked contrast to the manly hombre de bien, who represented martial valor and heteronormative privacy. Juan Antonio Mercadal, author of El Duende especulativo sobre la vida civil (1761), delved into the issue with, among other writings, his "Discurso IX." In this essay, he describes a type of man whom he refers to as "hermaphrodita." Like the petimetre, this is a queer male figure who transgresses the dimorphous gendered system. By using the term hermaphrodite, Mercadal conjures up images of an intersex person who retained a monstrous, almost mythical reputation during the eighteenth century. In effect, the satirist is employing a coded word to invent a new reality: an intergendered male who challenges what it means to be a man or a woman. The unintended result of Mercadal's essay is the creation of a new identity that brings together ser and aparecer, or reality and illusion. By creating the figure of the hermaphrodita, Mercadal engendered the very reality he wished to combat.     

“Copper people” of the bronze age: The reconstruction of their health and social status

“After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth” Dan. 2: 39 The Metal Age opened up new prospects for mankind and led to the emergence of a new category of professionals – miners, founders, smiths. With relation to the Bronze Age, these may be called “copper people.” The article explores new methods that can be used to identify their skeletal remains in museum collections. Based on biological data, certain aspects of the lifestyle of a male (presumably a smith) buried in an Abashevo collective grave at Pepkino, the Republic of Mari-El, Volga Federal District, and of other individuals buried in the same grave are reconstructed. Morphological, paleopathological, radiographic, and computer tomography examination of skeletal remains, as well as the results of histological, atomic absorption, and isotopic analyses of bone tissue provide information concerning diet, physiological stress, beginning of professional specialization, and the effects of heavy physical stress on their health status.     

The Present Condition of the Monuments of Egypt and Nubia

Studies of early Anglo-Saxon social identity have been largely based on information obtained from the skeletal remains and grave assemblages from inhumation burials. As a result, the social identity of populations that practiced the alternative mortuary rite, namely cremation, is often overlooked. This paper will provide new evidence for the social identity of cremation practicing groups based on a comprehensive study of the Elsham and Cleatham cemeteries, both located in North Lincolnshire. The demographic attributes of the burial populations will be scrutinized alongside their associated grave furnishings. In addition, the spatial distribution of burials will be assessed as a means of establishing whether certain social groups were segregated at these cemeteries. Based on the results presented in this paper, it is clear that the often binary differences in grave provisions afforded to men and women in the inhumation rite play only minor roles in the manifestation of social identity among cremating groups in eastern England. Instead, stages in the lifecycle, kin associations and perhaps even ideological beliefs seem to have been emphasized by the treatment of the cremated dead.     

Impact of Roots and Rhizomes on Wetland Archaeology: A Review

The general premise for successful archaeological in situ preservation in wetlands is that raising the water table will ‘seal the grave’ by preventing oxygen from reaching the deposit. The present review reveals that this may not be the entire picture, as a change in habitat may introduce new plant species that can damage site stratigraphy and artefacts. However, reviews on the types and degree of damage caused by vegetation to archaeological remains preserved in situ in wetlands have hitherto only been sporadically treated in the literature. Thus, this paper provides an overview of the adverse effects that various plants species have on the preservation status of wetland archaeology.Disturbance, due to growth of roots and rhizomes of the surrounding soil is denoted contextual disturbance, whereas deterioration of archaeological remains per se acts by several root-related factors that may be spatially and temporally concomitant. In waterlogged anoxic environments, deterioration is mainly related to (i) preferential growth of roots/rhizomes due to nutrient uptake and lesser soil resistance, (ii) root etching due to organic acid exudates, (iii) microbial growth due to root release of oxygen and labile organic compounds, and/or (iv) precipitation of hydroxides due to root release of oxygen. For example, roots of some wetland plants, such as marsh horsetail (Equisetum palustre), have been documented to penetrate archaeological artefacts down to c. 2 m in waterlogged anoxic soils. Here, we demonstrate that cultural heritage site management may unintentionally introduce deep-rooted or exudate aggressive plants by invoking change in hydrological conditions. Moreover, the implementation of biomass energy utilization and agricultural root depth optimization on a worldwide basis stresses the need for more research within root and rhizome impact on archaeological remains in wetlands. In conclusion, the worst-case scenario may be in situ deterioration instead of preservation, and one essential threat to archaeological wetland sites is the impact of wetland vegetation.     

Ad sanctitatem mortuorum: tomb raiders,body snatchers and relic hunters in late antiquity

In late antiquity there emerged new laws that sought to protect the dead through the prevention and punishment of crimes that contravened the sanctity of the body and its resting place, including the profanation of cadavers, tomb violation, and grave‐robbery. On a more personal level, individuals used epitaphs to convey their wishes to be left undisturbed after burial, and family and kin members began searching for new ways to commemorate the memory of loved ones that did not put their mortal remains at risk. At the same time, the increasing popularity of the cult of saints and martyrs put greater emphasis on the importance of relics as objects of veneration, which in turn led to elaborate strategies of acquisition, including the exhumation, transporting and dismembering of the dead. All of these developments were inspired in some degree by a growing awareness of the body as a symbol of God's eternal love for mankind. Yet paradoxically, literary and archaeological evidence confirms that grave‐robbing was a relatively widespread phenomenon during this time. The question for historians, therefore, is one of legitimacy: in what instances was the violation of tombs considered acceptable or legitimate, and by whom? In answering this, we can learn a great deal about the cultural and religious factors that underpinned the development of new laws and customs concerning the treatment of the dead.     

WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS: CHILDHOOD MORTALITY AND BURIAL PRACTICE IN LATE NEOLITHIC ATLANTIC EUROPE

Towards the end of the fifth millennium BC, a new funerary tradition developed in Iberia and elsewhere in Atlantic Europe involving the use of megalithic tombs and natural or artificially constructed caves for the collective burial of the dead. Ancestor worship has been the most common theoretical framework used to explain this Neolithic burial tradition, despite demographic information which indicates that these burials house the remains of a significant percentage of children and adolescents. Using data from Late Neolithic (3500–2500 BC) tombs in south‐western Iberia as a departure point, in this paper we suggest that by reconsidering the impact that childhood mortality had upon burial and grave visitation practices in Neolithic communities, archaeologists can gain valuable phenomenological information which will allow for a more robust, multivocal interpretative approach.     

Mobile Media as New Forms of Spatialization

Abstract

The physical space has historically served as an important support for human expression. However, the production of location-based information has been consciously used as means of social control by the hegemonic power, which decides what can be publicly displayed, and what should be hidden. With the development of mobile media, space has gained new dimensions, resulting in a sort of hybrid space where digital information overlays the physical space revealing what was previous unknown about a place. As mobile devices become increasingly present in our society, they should be understood as a social interface to our experience of space, serving not only as means to consume information, but also tools for communication. This paper discuss the current mobile media practices, such as mapping, urban electronic annotations, location-based mobile games, and smart mobs, which creates opportunities for new forms of human expression, reappropriations of space, and contestation of hegemonic power.     

On the accuracy of estimating living stature from skeletal length in the grave and by linear regression

This study evaluates a method for obtaining stature estimates for populations represented by skeletal material, with individuals buried in a supine position. During the excavation of a Danish mediaeval cemetery, in situ skeletal length in the grave was measured from a point above the cranial point farthest from the body to the most distal point of the talus. The measurement was made with a folding rule placed on the sagittal midline of the skeleton, allowed to follow any curvature of the skeleton in situ. In the laboratory, stature was reconstructed anatomically, and this stature was regarded as an accurate estimate of living stature. Stature was also reconstructed from femur length by two linear regression procedures: 1) by sample and sex specific formulae, employing a leave‐one‐out approach, and 2) by sex wise formulae for Euro‐Americans from Trotter & Gleser (1952, American Journal of Physical Anthropology 10 : 463–514). Skeletal length in the grave and the two stature estimates based on linear regression were compared to anatomically reconstructed stature. Skeletal length in the grave estimated anatomically reconstructed stature with practically no bias (95% CI: −1.3–1.5 cm). Sample specific regression formulae estimated anatomically reconstructed stature also with no bias (95% CI: −1.2–1.1 cm). In contrast, statures calculated from Trotter & Gleser's regression formulae estimated anatomically reconstructed stature with a bias of about 4 cm (95% CI: 3.3–5.0 cm). Estimates of stature variance were biased for all three estimation procedures. However, for samples of adults, an adjusted variance estimate can be obtained by subtracting 8.7 cm² from the variance obtained from skeletal lengths in the grave. It is recommended to measure skeletal length in the grave whenever possible, and use this measurement for estimating statures for prehistoric and early historic populations. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Beyond the grave: variability in Neolithic diets in Southern Germany?

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses were undertaken on human and faunal remains from two Neolithic sites in Southern Germany; the LBK settlement at Herxheim and the middle Neolithic cemetery at Trebur. Stable isotope data were used to reconstruct the diets of individuals buried at these sites and to look at dietary variation between groups classified by their sex, age, grave goods and cultural affiliation. Overall there was surprisingly little variation in the diet between the groups, as described by the stable isotope analysis, despite significant differences in the composition of grave goods. Also surprising, considering the archaeological evidence for extensive grain cultivation in this region during the Neolithic, was that the majority of individuals had δ¹⁵N values consistent with the consumption of significant amounts of animal protein.     

Dying Embers: Fire-lighting Technology and Mortuary Practice in Early Bronze Age Britain

In me thou see’st the glowing of such fire

That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,

As the death-bed whereon it must expire

Consum’d with that which it was nourish’d by.

Shakespeare, Sonnet 73

We examine the known examples of strike-a-light kits within prehistoric mortuary contexts in mainland Britain. Building on the seminal work of Clarke in the 1970s, and Needham’s recent work on Beaker grave groups, many further examples of this burial practice are documented from both historic and recent excavations. It is evident that strike-a-light kits have a considerable longevity in prehistoric mortuary practice, with all but one dating to between c. 2500 cal. BC and c. 1500 cal. BC. Our analysis presents new radiocarbon dates and data from stable isotope studies of human remains that indicate the practice reached a peak between c. 2200 and c. 2000 cal. BC. Strike-a-light kits appear to be associated both with individuals born local to their burial place, as well as those born at a considerable geographical distance. It is argued that strike-a-light kits had a particular significance in the burial of adult males, and that kits were symbolic inclusions rather than being linked to the practice of fire-lighting during the men’s life-time in this period.     

Computer-based,automatic recording and illustration of complex archaeological artifacts

We report on the development of a computerized automatic system to illustrate complex archaeological objects. The illustrations are based on 3D scans of the artifacts. The 3D models can be automatically translated, by new algorithms specifically designed for this purpose, into 3D or 2D line drawings; into colored images that emphasize the salient shape attributes of the artifacts and of the 3D designs on them; and to images that enhance faint/eroded designs that are otherwise difficult to discern. These illustrations are intended to replace traditional, manual drawings, which are very expensive to produce and not accurate enough. Our illustrations also provide a better visualization tool than the 3D models themselves. Though 3D scanning already improves the visibility of objects and their features, it does not suffice for rapid visual recognition. Our system generates efficient, objective, accurate and simplified representations of complex objects and the designs on them from any number of required views.     

Mortuary Variability and Status Differentiation in the Late Jomon of Hokkaido Based on the Analysis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Shuteibo</Emphasis> (Communal Cemeteries)

The shuteibo, a type of communal cemetery characterized by a circular embankment, was constructed in the latter half of the Late Jomon (c. 1520 cal BC–1250 cal BC) in Hokkaido, Japan. Shuteibo at the Kiusu, Misawa-1, Bibi-4 and Kashiwagi-B sites are key to understanding the complex hunter-gatherer societies of the Late Jomon. Elite graves inside the shuteibo and non-elite graves outside them show clear differences in terms of grave goods, red ocher and grave markers at Kiusu-4. These communal cemeteries may have been created and maintained by elites who had access to highly valued materials, such as jadeite, through long-distance trade. Differences in the number of graves and grave goods among shuteibo at the Misawa-1 and Bibi-4 sites indicate differences in group size and intra-site elite differentiation. The Kiusu site has both the largest example and the largest concentration of these cemeteries in Hokkaido. At the inter-site level, differences in the size of these communal cemeteries indicate variability in the number of corporate groups as well as in relative power between sites.     

New Interpretations Concerning the Shape of Queen Eleanor Plantagenet’s Headdress from her Tomb in Las Huelgas Abbey (1214)

This article focuses on the headdress with which Queen Eleanor Plantagenet was buried in Las Huelgas Abbey in 1214. Headdresses have not received much attention from scholars, perhaps because few remains survive. Fortunately, new research has made it possible to re-attribute to Queen Eleanor some of the textiles that once composed her headdress. Originally from Las Huelgas mausoleum and now housed in the Royal Palace in Madrid, all the grave goods were first studied when the mausoleum was opened in the 1940s. This paper also deals with issues arising from the preservation and interpretation of the headdress and problems related to the loss of data from the studies conducted in the 1940s. Studying the textiles, including technical analyses on their weaves and comparisons with visual sources and unpublished materials from the 1940s, has allowed for a new understanding of the appearance of the Queen’s headdress, an aspect never previously described in detail.     

The value of sieving of grave soil in the recovery of human remains: an experimental study of poorly preserved archaeological inhumations

The aim of this work is to assess the effects of sieving basal grave fills, following lifting of visible skeletal remains on the recovery of human bones and loose teeth in poorly preserved inhumation burials. The experiment was carried out during excavations at the 7th–9th century AD cemetery site at Whitby, England. Burials generally consisted of degraded bone fragments and/or soil stains. In each grave (N = 70 adult burials), all visible human remains were hand-collected on site; following this, the soil remaining in the grave was recovered and sieved successively through 8 mm, 4 mm and 2 mm meshes. No bone or dental fragments in the 2–4 mm fraction were identifiable to skeletal element. Approximately one third of the total weight of bone, and one third of the total numbers of teeth were recovered in the 4–8 mm and >8 mm sieved fractions. It is concluded that sieving down to 4 mm is adequate for recovery of adult skeletal remains at the study site. It would be useful to conduct similar sieving experiments at other archaeological cemetery sites to provide data on recovery when bone survival is good, and in subadult burials.     

The contemporary in post-medieval archaeology

SUMMARY: Contemporary archaeology is an emerging field of enquiry within the wider discipline associated with the questioning of temporal boundaries in what we study and why we engage with material remains of the recent past more generally. This article argues that contemporary archaeology should be broadly defined at this stage in its development and therefore can be located in Post-Medieval Archaeology through research that explicitly engages with what it is to conduct contemporary archaeology, but also through those implicitly considering how the past intrudes into the present. We believe that Post-Medieval Archaeology will continue to highlight archaeological studies of the contemporary into the future.     

BRONZE AGE CHILDHOOD MIGRATION OF INDIVIDUALS NEAR STONEHENGE,REVEALED BY STRONTIUM AND OXYGEN ISOTOPE TOOTH ENAMEL ANALYSIS*

Contrasting lifestyles are recorded by the isotope composition of Bronze Age Beaker people (c. 2500–2000 bc ) from three burial sites (Boscombe Down, Normanton Down and the ditch around Stonehenge) at or near to the Stonehenge monument in Wiltshire, southern England. Seven individuals (three adults, a sub‐adult, two juveniles and an infant) were recovered from a single grave at Boscombe Down. Strontium and oxygen isotope analysis of tooth enamel from two teeth (a premolar and third molar) from each of three of the adults in this grave (referred to as Boscombe Bowmen) show that they had all shared a pattern of mobility and migration during their lives. The three adult males spent their early childhood (as represented by data from the premolar teeth) in an area with a radiogenic ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotope signature of around 0.7135. They each then moved, during early adolescence (as represented by the third molar results), to a less radiogenic area, where they acquired an ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr signature of around 0.7112. This implies that they must then have travelled to the Stonehenge area of Wiltshire at a later time in their lives. Wales provides the closest area with rocks that supply suitable ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios and δ¹⁸O isotope compositions for these individuals, although other areas of Palaeozoic rock, such as Scotland and parts of Europe, cannot be ruled out. Enamel from the two juveniles from the Boscombe Down burial yields ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of 0.7098 and 0.7099, and strontium concentrations for both of 55 ppm. The very close match of the data for the two juveniles supports the possibility that they were raised in the same environment. The difference in strontium isotope data between the juveniles and three adult males described above shows that the children did not come from the same homeland as the adults with whom they share a grave. The two adult males from the single burials at Normanton Down, and from Stonehenge itself, had static lifestyles and show no evidence of migration, in contrast to the Boscombe Bowmen. Their oxygen and strontium data are consistent with a childhood in the Stonehenge area.     

Mixed messages Archaeology and the media

Abstract

Over the past few years in the UK, archaeology has joined gardening, cookery and home make-overs as a motherlode for popular TV programming and feature articles. From a period of shifting uncomfortably between dull, if worthy, accounts of new finds with a limited non-academic significance, and the blatant sensationalisation of evidence, there is an increasing tendency to make more of any ‘mysterious’ data particularly that involving bodies, Egyptians, cosmic links, drugs and sex. It makes for good viewing figures, but some archaeologists have expressed concern that the stories are skewing the subject. This paper offers evidence from the front-lines of both journalism and archaeology – and suggests that archaeologists should pay more attention to how they, too, tell stories.

[The grave]contained an inhumed body wearing hobnailed footwear accompanied by a small New Forest beaker placed at the neck. The body had been covered by a board of planks nailed together which rested on a ledge left towards the bottom of the grave pit.' (Cunliffe, 1991: 8)

SUNSPOT! The 1,700 year old skeleton of an womanstill wearing leather boots – has been dug up byarchaeologists on a farm at Over Wallop, Hants.' (The Sun, August 1991).     

Skeletal health and patterns of animal food consumption at S3W1:33 (Tlajinga 33), Teotihuacan

Food at Teotihuacan was more likely affected by social inequality than by availability. The skeletons from Tlajinga 33 have high prevalence of skeletal indicators of morbidity. Since this was a lower-status compound of artisans, this could be due to poor diet, as well as an unhygienic environment. Analysis of faunal remains suggests that animal remains were an important and plentiful component of the diet. However, most consist of insects, small fish, reptiles, avian eggs, and small mammals. Of particular importance is the size and nutritional value of these dietary items, as many would be considered vermin which were available solely because of attraction to stored foods. It is important to employ proper recovery techniques to eliminate bias in size of animal remains to obtain an accurate understanding of the total diet. We demonstrate that there was adequate animal protein in the Tlajinga 33 diet, but it was very different than what is usually considered “animal protein.” Thus, the residents had access to a nutritious and balanced diet, and this information eliminates protein deficiency as cause of the morbidity. Instead, the focus is on the urban environment and any status disadvantages faced by residents dependent on market exchange for staple foods.