Ancient social landscapes of northwestern Argentina: preliminary results of an integrated approach to obsidian and ceramic provenance

This article presents the results of ongoing instrumental neutron activation analyses (INAA) conducted on archaeological artifacts from the Formative period of northwestern Argentina (NWA). These studies are part of a wider archaeological project that seeks to understand the structure of the social landscape of the period by examining domestic and burial evidence from a wide range of villages across the area known as the southern Calchaquí valleys. Elemental data is discussed in the light of its potential contribution to reassess past social interaction strategies in the region.     

INAA of pre-contact basalt quarries on the Samoan Island of Tutuila: a preliminary baseline for an artifact-centered provenance study

This project presents a material-centered instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) characterization of 120 geologic samples selected from four fine-grained basalt quarries on the Samoan Island of Tutuila. Previous attempts at definitive differentiation of these Tutuilan quarries have utilized x-ray fluorescence (XRF). In this study, clear differentiation of each analyzed quarry was achieved using INAA. Biplots of canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) scores for the INAA data illustrate clear separation based on the variation in chemical composition between each quarry. The samples analyzed not only define quarry separation, but also provide the “core group” for a preliminary baseline necessary for future artifact-centered provenance studies. Inclusion of these “core group” samples in the baseline was confirmed by stepwise discriminant analysis. These findings suggest the ability to determine artifact quarry of origin on the island of Tutuila, which can elucidate the importance of individual Tutuilan quarries in the production, distribution and consumption of fine-grained basalt artifacts in Polynesia.     

Roman lava quarries in the Eifel region (Germany): geochemical data for millstone provenance studies

Roman millstones of assumed Eifel origin were produced and exported in huge quantities to many parts of Roman Europe and can be used as tracers for trade patterns in Roman times. This study presents for the first time a raw-material centred geochemical definition of the 13 well-known Roman basaltic lava quarries in the Quaternary East and West Eifel volcanic fields. The aim is to find a way to characterize the individual exploitation sites precisely by means of their geochemical composition and to recommend a standard procedure for further millstone provenance analysis. Based on major and trace element composition analyses by XRF, a differentiation of each quarry is achieved by using a combination of geochemical discrimination and cluster and discriminant analysis. Therefore, for provenance analysis of a unknown millstone sample the following procedure is recommended: (1) geochemical discrimination to check if it actually belongs to the volcanic Eifel quarries; (2) cluster analysis to check to which quarry or cluster of quarries the millstone can be affiliated; and (3) discriminant analysis to assign the sample to its quarry of origin with a certain confidence.     

Obsidian from Pulo di Molfetta (Bari,Southern Italy): provenance from Lipari and first recognition of a Neolithic sample from Monte Arci (Sardinia)

Twenty-four obsidian artefacts of the Neolithic Age were found at the large karstic doline of Molfetta (near Bari) along the Southern Italian Adriatic coast. Non-destructive chemical analyses of the glass, by SEM-EDS, allowed their source rock regions to be determined. Twenty-three of the studied artefacts had been traded from the island of Lipari. Only one sample had a glass composition and microphenocrysts (biotite, pyroxene and feldspar) that indicate provenance from the Monte Arci area of Sardinia, in particular from the Perdas Urias (SC) outcrops. The attribution of this artefact to Sardinia enlarges the geographical pattern of Monte Arci obsidian exploitation and distribution from island to Southern Italy during the Middle to Late Neolithic.     

The use of SEM-EDS,PIXE and EDXRF for obsidian provenance studies in the Near East: a case study from Neolithic Çatalhöyük (central Anatolia)

In this paper we evaluate the relative analytical capabilities of SEM-EDS, PIXE and EDXRF for characterizing archaeologically significant Anatolian obsidians on the basis of their elemental compositions. The study involves 54 geological samples from various sources, together with an archaeological case study involving 100 artifacts from Neolithic Çatalhöyük (central Anatolia). With each technique the artifacts formed two compositional groups that correlated with the East Göllü Da? and Nenezi Da? sources. The non-destructive capabilities of these methods are emphasized (albeit with certain analytical limitations in the case of SEM-EDS), suggesting important new techniques for Near Eastern obsidian provenance studies.     

Strofilas (Andros Island,Greece): new evidence for the cycladic final neolithic period through novel dating methods using luminescence and obsidian hydration

The recently excavated coastal prehistoric settlement of Strofilas on Andros Island (Cyclades, Greece) in the Aegean sheds new light on the transitional phase from the Final Neolithic to Early Cycladic period regarding masonry, fortification, and richly engraved rock art. The fortification possesses early evidence of preserved defensive architecture, as evidenced from the plethora of scattered finds from within and around the settlement. Important features are carvings on rock walls which mainly depict ships, animals, and fish. Initial archaeometric dating via the application of luminescence dating of two samples from the fortified wall bearing engraved ships, and by obsidian hydration of two blades employing the new SIMS-SS method (secondary ion mass spectrometry via surface saturation), has been undertaken to determine the site's chronology. The former yields an average date of 3520 (±540) BC and the latter an average date of 3400 (±200) years BC, both of which, within overlapping errors, suggest the main settlement occurred during the Final Neolithic.     

Multitemporal analysis for preservation of obsidian sources from Melka Kunture (Ethiopia): integration of fieldwork activities,digital aerial photogrammetry and multispectral stereo-IKONOS II analysis

An integrated analysis of recent satellite imageries and dated aerial photos demonstrated to be a good investigation tool (Gallo et al., 2009) for the identification of new sites and for the assessment of landscape changes of wide archaeological areas in Ethiopia.     

Classification and provenance of soapstones and garnet chlorite schist artifacts from Medieval sites of Tuscany (Central Italy): insights into the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic trade

Soapstones (talc-bearing schists) and garnet chlorite schist artifacts found in Medieval archaeological sites of Tuscany (Central Italy) were classified, in order to define provenance of the different lithotypes. In Italy and throughout the Central Europe, these greenschist facies metamorphic rocks are generally known, among the archaeologists, as the pietra ollare from the Alps. The investigated Tuscan archaeological sites are between 6 and 13th century AD and were strictly linked, in that period, to the well defined network trade running along Tyrrhenian coast. Samples come from little containers used for cooking and preserving food and showing traces of lathe manufacturing at their sidewalls. According to modal mineralogy, petrographic texture, XRD, SEM-EDS and whole rock chemistry we recognised, among the 18 studied findings, three different petrographic groups of the Alpine pietra ollare. (i) Fine grained magnesite talc schists (i.e. soapstones) from outcrops of the Central Alps located in the Valchiavenna area. (ii) Garnet chlorite schists from the Valle d'Aosta region. (iii) Amphibole talc schists (i.e. soapstones) with a provenance in the Ticino area. It is worth noting that artifacts of pietra ollare lithotypes from the Western Alps (i.e. garnet chlorite schists and amphibole talc schists) were not detected in the archaeological sites of the Middle Adriatic coast of the Central Italy, belonging to the same Medieval time interval. This emphasises that the petrographic groups of pietra ollare from the Alps spread to the south of the Po Plain according to Western and Eastern trade along the Italian Peninsula, using respectively, the Tyrrhenian and the Adriatic Sea commercial routes.     

Geochemical provenance analyses of Roman lava millstones north of the Alps: a study of their distribution and implications for the beginning of Roman lava quarrying in the Eifel region (Germany)

In Roman times, rotary querns and different types of millstones, driven either by horse-capstan or water power, were produced in the lava quarries of the quaternary volcanic Eifel region and exported to many parts of the Empire. The geographic distribution of Roman lava millstones from the Eifel region provides important information about trade patterns and, in cases of well dated millstones, also allows an estimate as to when the Roman lava quarrying in the Eifel region began. Sixty-two millstones from Germany, France and Austria were sampled and analyzed for major and trace elements by X-ray fluorescence. To determine their provenance, the millstone data was evaluated by a combination of geochemical discrimination and cluster and discriminant analyses using an extensive and detailed database of all Roman lava quarries in the Eifel region. An Eifel provenance could be confirmed for forty-four artefacts and, furthermore, determined down to the exact lava flow. The affiliation of the other artefacts to other possible regions where millstones of comparable lava were extracted was carried out on the basis of geochemical data from the literature. However, because of insufficient data, only assumptions about the regional provenance can be made. The origins of the other finds are assumed to be the Vogelsberg region, the Massif Central, Orvieto, and, possibly, the Pannonian Basin. A preliminary map of the distribution of Eifel millstones in Roman times based on these data is presented; the beginning of Roman lava quarrying can be constrained to 8–7 BC.     

Investigating cross-Gulf trade in the Iron Age III period: chronological and compositional data on Burnished Maroon Slipped Ware (BMSW) in southeastern Arabia and Iran

Recently obtained ceramic compositional data from the late Iron Age sites of Tepe Yahya in Iran and Sharm in the United Arab Emirates is presented in this paper. Analysis of this data suggests that a distinctive ceramic, Burnished Maroon Slipped Ware (BMSW), was produced somewhere in southern Iran and exported across the Gulf to eastern Arabia. That this trade was not limited to any defined historical period, such as that represented by the Achaemenid Empire, is suggested by a series of new AMS C¹⁴ dates from Tepe Yahya. The paper concludes with speculative comments on the possible elite nature of BMSW in societies on either side of the Straits of Hormuz.     

A comment on Steele’s (2010) “radiocarbon dates as data: quantitative strategies for estimating colonization front speeds and event densities”

We show that Steele’s (2010) criticisms of Hamilton and Buchanan (2007) and Buchanan et al. (2008) do not hold water and demonstrate that his re-analyses of Hamilton and Buchanan’s (2007) and Buchanan et al'.s (2008) datasets are flawed. In the process, we highlight some important issues for researchers interested in using radiocarbon dates to reconstruct population movements and demography. Most notably, we explain why OLS regression is preferable to RMA regression when estimating diffusion velocity, and demonstrate that the summed probability distributions yielded by CalPal are more reliable as guides to past demographic change than those produced by Calib and OxCal.     

Carcass damage and digested bone from mountain lions (Felis concolor): implications for carcass persistence on landscapes as a function of prey age

This actualistic study examines the taphonomic signatures of modern free-ranging mountain lions (Felis concolor) on prey skeletal remains left at kill sites and digested bone fragments in the lions’ scats. Conducted in western Texas and southeastern New Mexico (U.S.A.), the study and its outcomes are relevant to models of carcass persistence and scavenging opportunities on ancient landscapes. Mountain lions in the study area ingested disproportionate quantities of bone from very young prey. This tendency holds true irrespective of prey body size. The results meanwhile confirm a relatively mild pattern of damage to adult deer carcasses. Digestive erosion of the surfaces of bones that passed through the gut was relatively severe, but many of these bone and tooth specimens retained identifiable features. It is clear that the mountain lions quickly remove the carcasses of very young prey from the pool of potentially scavenge-able resources. The non-linear relation between bone destruction from feeding by the cats and the skeletal maturity of prey also has consequences for prey mortality patterns, specifically a bias against the representation of very young individuals. This effect is not sufficient, however, to produce a global bias to prime-adult prey because older juveniles are much less affected.