An analytical study, using inductively coupled plasma (ICP) spectrometry, of samian and colour-coated wares from the Roman town at Colchester together with related continental samian wares

Over 200 sherds of samian and colour-coated pottery of late 2nd or early 3rd century date have been analysed by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) emission spectrometry. Most of this material was excavated at Colchester, England; the remainder is related East Gaulish material. Some clay samples were also analysed. The material divides, after multivariate statistical analysis, into 11 clusters. These accord well with known archaeological evidence and suggest assignments of origin where these are uncertain. In particular, the archaeological evidence for a link between Colchester and the Sinzig potters is supported.     

Relics of 16th-century gutted herring from a Dutch vessel

Abstract

During the excavation of a 16th-century vessel at Biddinghuizen in the Netherlands, barrels containing the remains of thousands of herring were found. The skeletal element distribution made it clear that these fish had been preserved by means of gutting. The large amount of material, combined with the differences in the size and composition of the samples taken allowed the complex to serve as a good reference framework for the variability in the occurrence of preserved herring of this type. The method, described by Seeman (1986), of identifying gutted herring on the basis of archaeological material has been extended to include more diagnostic skeletal elements, criteria for sample sizes and requirements concerning the elements that must be present in a sample to obtain reliable conclusions.     

Investigating crop processing using phytolith analysis: the example of rice and millets

The application of crop processing models to macro-botanical assemblages has traditionally been used to interpret past husbandry practices and organisation of labour involved in crop-processing. Phytoliths offer an alternative method of analysis because they are durable in most environments, regardless of whether plant parts are charred, and the identification of plant types and plant parts allows them to be used in much the same way as macro-botanical remains. Indeed macro-remains and phytoliths are complementary datasets for examining the input of plant parts, such as crop-processing waste, into archaeological deposits. We outline crop-processing models in relation to macro-remains and then develop the framework for their application to archaeological phytolith assemblages. Rice and millet processing models are explored in relation to patterns expected in both macro-remains and phytoliths. The utility of these models is demonstrated with archaeological evidence from the site of Mahagara, an early farming site in North-Central India. The results indicate a way to employ phytoliths in archaeology which complements the fragmentary evidence available from plant macroremains.     

Trade or Trash: an examination of the archaeobotanical remains from the Byzantine harbour at Caesarea Maritima,Israel

A rich collection of waterlogged plant‐remains was recovered from the harbour at Caesarea Maritima, Israel. These remains were identified and represent several varieties of fruit, nut, cereal crop, crop by‐product and weed species. The two areas where remains were recovered provided assemblages that were different in composition. Trade or trash are the two interpretations discussed. In either case, however, the information derived from the assemblage is of archaeological importance, as the species present can aid in economic, dietary and trade reconstructions. © 2010 The Author     

From textiles to sheep: investigating wool fibre development in pre-Roman Italy using scanning electron microscopy (SEM)

The first diachronic investigation of wool fibre from Italian pre-Roman archeological contexts was carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A total of 22 archaeological wool samples from 10 Italian and one Austrian site dating from the Middle Bronze Age to the Roman period were analysed. The results demonstrate the processing of wool and development of sheep fleece from primitive wool with very fine underwool and very coarse kemps to the disappearance of kemp and coarser but more uniform fleece. By the end of the Iron Age several fleece qualities coexisted in Italy, possibly indicating the presence of different breeds. Classification of the wool qualities based on existing systems was problematic leading to a conclusion that a more nuanced approach to the classification of archaeological material is needed.     

FTIR and statistical studies on amber artefacts from three Romanian archaeological sites

In the present study Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in the reflectance mode (FTIR-reflectance) – was performed on well preserved archaeological amber, originating from three Romanian archaeological sites of Roman and Byzantine cultures, which did not allow sampling material. Resulting spectra were subjected to multivariate data analysis (MDA) using Principal Components Analysis (PCA). In the light of the FTIR-reflectance bands of archaeological samples from the region 1275 to 1155 cm⁻¹ and 900–600 cm⁻¹ we could conclude that the samples from first two locations, Ro?ia Montan? and Nuf?ru, are made from amber of Baltic origin. In the case of the third location, Isaccea, we take into account the possibility of a mixture of raw materials, both Baltic and Romanian amber. These assertions are supported by statistical analysis and the historical context. Besides the FTIR spectra comparison or other analytical data, it is very important to correlate any information about the material (colour, conservation status, historical context, connections with other artefacts) and the statistical analysis in order to favour safe conclusions.     

Flotation versus dry sieving archaeobotanical remains: A case history from the Middle Horizon southern coast of Peru

Abstract

During excavations at the site of Casa Vieja located in the Peruvian coastal desert, archaeological plant remains were systematically collected to assess whether it is more productive and informative to sieve sandy sediments in dry environments or to process such samples by water flotation, a persistent methodological concern. At Casa Vieja, dual subsamples were collected and analyzed using both of these procedures. For dry, sandy sediment conditions, each processing strategy was found to yield a different view of the botanical remains. Dry sieving recovers more of the larger plant specimens whereas water flotation yields more of the smaller-sized material. These results should be incorporated into archaeological research designs in the future, especially for desert environments.     

Microscope observations and DNA analysis of wine residues from Roman amphorae found in Ukraine and from bottles of recent Tuscan wines

Morphological analysis by light and electron microscopy was conducted on wine residues from second century Roman amphorae found in Myrmekion (Ukraine). The results of the archaeological samples were compared with residues formed in bottles of wine from Tuscan vineyards, corked between 1969 and 1977 without filtration and enzyme or biochemical processing. Staining and histochemical observation of the archaeological and recent residues detected nucleic acids. Molecular analysis was also performed using nuclear microsatellite SSRs markers having high polymorphism to study genetic relationships. Genotype profiles of archaeological and recent residues were compared with contemporary cultivars in a data bank. Low homology of genotype profiles of all residues, and oral evidence, confirmed the presence of autochthonous varieties in recent wines and enabled indirect assessment of varieties detected in the archaeological material. The results confirmed that the archaeological material could be related to Sangiovese and indicated Roman wine trade as far afield as Ukraine, whereas the recent residues provided evidence of disappearing native Tuscany cultivars like Gorgottesco, Mammolo, Verdello, Rossone and Tenerone, used for table wines until the late seventies.     

One,two, three phytoliths: assessing the minimum phytolith sum for archaeological studies

The number of phytolith studies has increased steadily in the last decades in palaeoecological as well as archaeological research, and phytolith analysis is currently recognised as a proper area of expertise within archaeobotany. This has led towards a strengthening in the standardisation of the different steps involved in analysis; e.g. sampling strategies, laboratory extraction or processing of plant material/soils for the creation of reference collections. In spite of this, counting procedures remain one of the areas that could be further developed. The aim of this paper is to assess representativeness of phytolith count size in archaeological samples and specifically to assess whether an increase in total number of individuals counted influences the number or distribution of morphotypes observed. Two statistical tests are performed to evaluate the representativeness of count size: phytolith sum variability analysis (PSVA) and morphotype accumulation curve (MAC). The analyses show the relationship among the number of counted phytoliths, the variability (that is, the number of different morphotypes identified) and the stabilisations of the MACs. Results allow us to support the standard count size in phytolith studies, which ranges from 250 to 300 particles. Together with a quick scan, this strategy should produce a precise and clear phytolith assemblage for archaeological studies.     

Comparing the survival of osteocalcin and mtDNA in archaeological bone from four European sites

The small mineral-binding bone protein, osteocalcin, has been applied in a number of studies on ancient bone due to predictions of its long-term stability. However, the intact protein has not been shown to survive in ancient bone devoid of DNA, which is a much more phylogenetically informative biomolecule. In this investigation, the survival of osteocalcin is directly compared to the amplification of mtDNA in a set of 34 archaeological samples from four sites throughout Europe. We also present unpublished osteocalcin sequences of seven mammalian species in addition to the 19 published sequences to highlight phylogenetic limitations of this protein. The results indicate that the intact osteocalcin molecule survives less in archaeological samples than mtDNA and is more subject to the temperature of the archaeological site. Amino acid analyses show the persistence of the dominant protein collagen in samples that failed both osteocalcin and mtDNA analyses. The implications these findings present for biomolecular species identification in archaeological and palaeontological material are that, although proteins do survive beyond ancient DNA, osteocalcin does not appear to be the most ideal target.     

Post-Roman crop production and processing: Archaeological evidence from Goldthorpe,South Yorkshire

The remains of a ditched field system dating from the late Iron Age to the early post-Roman period, and two associated corn drying ovens (dating to the 5th–6th centuries AD) were revealed during archaeological excavations at Goldthorpe, South Yorkshire. The site was excavated during 2012 and 2013, during which bulk environmental samples were taken in order to retrieve any surviving botanical remains from deposits associated with the corn drying ovens, and other features across the excavated area. Early post-Roman occupation is under-represented in the archaeological record, especially in northern England, as such human activity and subsistence during this period are currently not well understood. This paper combines evidence for the field system, the physical remains of the corn drying ovens and their associated botanical remains to further understand early post-Roman change and continuity in landscape use and crop production and processing practices.     

Fish Processing in the Mediterranean: Varying Traditions,Technologies and Scales of Production with Particular Reference to the Eastern Mediterranean

Research into the processing of marine resources along the Mediterranean coasts in antiquity reveals an uneven picture. The archaeological evidence for the systematic processing of fish and seafood in the western part is abundant and varied. Here, the production of salted fish and fish sauces seems to have been an important factor contributing to economic growth in many locations. In the eastern part of the Mediterranean, however, archaeological evidence for the processing of marine resources is much less common and is often indirect. Large-scale processing plants are virtually absent from the archaeological record and there are few studies of the remains of fish and shellfish or of other material evidence relating to fish preservation and commerce. Yet written evidence on the subject abounds, but places heavy emphasis on consumption and commerce rather than production. This paper describes the evidence and explores possible reasons for this imbalanced representation in an attempt to assess the actual importance of the processing of marine resources across the whole Mediterranean region. Issues discussed are the shifting emphasis on fish processing across space and through time, archaeological research agendas and methodologies, resource availability and abundance and, finally, issues of scale and visibility.     

Warriors and blacksmiths: Mediating ethnicity in East African spears

Ethnoarchaeology offers some ability to transform contemporary forms of social constitution into a method for interpreting prehistoric social patterns and for understanding the coevolution of symbolic and utilitarian technologies. In north-central Kenya, one social caste of Lokop pastoralist actors (warriors) interacts with another (blacksmiths) to build a technology for socially constituting gender and social age. Three aspects of this process can help to direct analogous archaeological research in prehistoric contexts. First, this case reiterates that symbols for and symbolic acts of gender and social age continually help actors to constitute or negotiate their places within varied social fields. It is clear, however, that the connection between social prestige—essentially the goal of Lokop personal adornment—and real economic or political power is not necessarily direct. For Lokop herders, foreign traits of spear morphology are the stylistic raw material for constituting internally defined social fields. Ethmic distinctions are more pasively constituted, almost as an epiphenomenon. Second, the constituative significance of material symbols may be grasped without appealing to or understanding the cultural meaning of forms (in an emic sense) from only the archaeological evidence. In fact, prehistorians should not concern themselves with attempts to reconstruct the meaning of cultural phenomena. Rather, archaeological inquiry should attempt to infer the meaningfulness of formal traits within a specific social context, based on significant material patterns in the archaeological record. Third, the items of meaning themselves are constituted with their own material means of production, and these systems may be interpreted through economic models more familiar to archaeology. The Lokop case encompasses producers and users both as specialists. Blacksmiths rely on their marginal positions in herding society to make them the brokers of morphological traits. Warriors, also accustomed to marginal status, effectively collaborate with blacksmiths to set up their own future place as elders. For archaeological applications in prehistory, the exchange and processing of raw materials should reconstitute economic hierarchy in a very clear manner.     

良渚遗址群考古地理信息系统构建探索

运用GIS软件对良渚遗址群多源数据进行数字化处理,构建良渚遗址GIS应用模型,为进一步考古研究与文物保护提供更为科学的方法和便捷的管理手段。本文阐述良渚遗址群考古信息的空间数据库与属性信息库的建设,并简单介绍了数据采集与处理过程。     

Phytolith identification criteria for foxtail and broomcorn millets: a new approach to calculating crop ratios

Broomcorn and Foxtail millets were major crops in the Yellow River Valley region, Henan, China, during the Neolithic Yangshao period. Phytoliths and macro remains have been used to understand crop choices in this period. Distinguishing between phytoliths from millet crops and panicoid non cultigens can be challenging. We examine the effect of using only one or two identification criteria compared with a more stringent five or more with phytoliths from archaeological samples to examine crop ratios. We compare our results with the results from the macro remains. This demonstrates, firstly, that using more identification markers has a very definite effect on the results and secondly, phytoliths and macro remains are complementary proxies that when used together can produce more accurate results than used alone.     

From Traditional Farming in Morocco to Early Urban Agroecology in Northern Mesopotamia: Combining Present-day Arable Weed Surveys and Crop Isotope Analysis to Reconstruct Past Agrosystems in (Semi-)arid Regions

ABSTRACT

We integrate functional weed ecology with crop stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis to assess their combined potential for inferring arable land management practices in (semi-)arid regions from archaeobotanical assemblages. Weed and GIS survey of 60 cereal and pulse fields in Morocco are combined with crop sampling for stable isotope analysis to frame assessment of agricultural labour intensity in terms of manuring, irrigation, tillage and hand-weeding. Under low management intensity weed variation primarily reflects geographical differences, whereas under high management intensity fields in disparate regions have similar weed flora. Manured and irrigated oasis barley fields are clearly discriminated from less intensively manured rain-fed barley terraces in southern Morocco; when fields in northern and southern Morocco are considered together, climatic differences are superimposed on the agronomic intensity gradient. Barley δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values clearly distinguish among the Moroccan regimes. An integrated approach combines crop isotope values with weed ecological discrimination of low- and high-intensity regimes across multiple studies (in southern Morocco and southern Europe). Analysis of archaeobotanical samples from EBA Tell Brak, Syria suggests that this early city was sustained through extensive (low-intensity, large-scale) cereal farming.     

STATISTICAL ASPECTS OF POTTERY QUANTIFICATION FOR THE DATING OF SOME ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXTS*

This paper describes some statistical analyses of a particular archaeological material (pottery) originating at some sites in the city of Tours. An important part of the archaeological study of pottery is the comparison of ceramic assemblages to establish the absolute dates of contexts. In this paper, a statistical model is built to assess this comparison. The statistical procedure uses classical tools (correspondence analysis, linear regression and resampling methods) in an iterative scheme. Archaeologists may find in the paper a useful set of known statistical methods, while statisticians can learn a method of ‘arranging’ well‐known techniques. No method is new, but their combination is characteristic of this application.     

Assessing Ceramic Compositional Data: A Comparison of Total Reflection X‐ray Fluorescence and Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis On Late Iron Age Spanish Celtiberian Ceramics

A solid‐phase, non‐chemical processing protocol was recently developed as a means of chemically characterizing archaeological ceramics by total reflection X‐ray fluorescence (TXRF). Following this methodology, TXRF can provide semi‐quantitative determinations for 18 elements with comparable levels of precision and accuracy for the majority of them in comparison with a clay reference material analysed by instrumental neutron activation (INAA). In order critically to assess the analytical capabilities of TXRF, a large sample set of Late Iron Age Spanish Celtiberian ceramics and modern clays was analysed both by TXRF and INAA. Semi‐quantitative chemical data provided by TXRF and quantitative data provided by INAA were subjected to commonly used multivariate statistical methods as a way of evaluating the ability of the new technique to discriminate among different compositional groups. The comparison of the two data sets shows no significant discrepancies, thereby allowing support for the same archaeological interpretation. These results suggest that TXRF has potential applicability for compositional characterization of archaeological ceramics, providing data that are useful for provenance studies.     

Trampling vs. Retouch in a Lithic Assemblage: A Case Study from a Middle Stone Age Site,Steenbokfontein 9KR (Limpopo,South Africa)

At the site of Steenbokfontein 9KR, virtually 80% of the lithic blanks presented retouch—an extreme proportion for Middle Stone Age assemblages. The high percentage of putative retouch led us to investigate whether post-depositional processes played a role in the preservation of the lithic assemblage. We designed and performed an experiment that reproduced all the archaeological conditions inferred from the site formation analyses to determine if the archaeological assemblage was trampled or retouched. We defined several qualitative attributes and studied both trampled and retouched experimental samples, and compared them to the archaeological material. We subsequently performed different statistical analyses and a correspondence analysis with all the macro qualitative attributes that we defined. We were then able to discern which attributes were the most eloquent variables and assess the usefulness of a multivariate analysis in discriminating between trampling and retouch.