The neolithic and early bronze age of the Lake Baikal Region: A review of recent research

Rich settlement and burial evidence from the Baikal/Angara region in Central Siberia provides one of the most promising opportunities in the global boreal forest for studying Holocene foragers. The Neolithic and Early Bronze Age prehistory of the region is known to western scholars only through a few English translations of the works of A. P. Okladnikov. Since the publication of Okladnikov's model, the region has witnessed large-scale archaeological fieldwork that has produced abundant quantities of new evidence. Moreover, the model has been partly invalidated by extensive radiocarbon dating. Research advances over the last couple of decades have augmented the area's previous reputation but have also revealed the need for new theoretical perspectives and modern analytical techniques.     

Quality Quartz: working stone at a bronze age kerbed Cairn at Olcote,near Calanais,Isle of Lewis

This paper discusses an assemblage of worked and smashed quartz associated with a Bronze Age kerbed cairn at Olcote. Most analytical treatments of quartz in Scottish prehistory have been structured around a pervasive dualism: quartz working is either the mundane use of a low quality raw material or the ritual use of a symbolically laden referent. The assemblage from Olcote highlights the dangers of such dichotomous analytical positions.     

Frequency table analysis: Examples from early bronze age axe decoration

This paper describes the use of log—linear models for the analysis of frequency tables and also introduces an alternative technique, “iterative proportional scaling” (IPS). The log—linear approach is illustrated using data on the reliability of reported decoration in a set of Early Bronze Age axes from southern Britain. The method, as implemented in the computer package GLIM, is then applied to data on the decoration of the faces and sides of those axes, divided into two chronological phases to form a three-dimensional table. The same table is analysed using IPS, and the relative advantages and the applicability of the two methods are discussed. The appendices give some practical information on the availability of programs and the computational steps involved in IPS.     

Inscribed landscapes in the Black Desert: Petroglyphs and kites at Wisad Pools,Jordan

Petroglyphs are well known in the Negev, eastern and southern Jordan, and the Arabian Peninsula. Intensive documentation of hundreds of petroglyphs at the site of Wisad Pools in the Black Desert of eastern Jordan records animals, humans, hunting traps and geometric designs, connecting people and places to the larger landscape. These were recorded at the landscape scale with drones and photogrammetry, and the local scale through the construction of a database combined with GPS recording and terrestrial photogrammetry. Petroglyphs of animals and hunting traps are significant because the site is located within a landscape that includes enormous and enigmatic hunting traps (desert kites). Mapping these depictions highlights typological distribution, association of types, and relation to landscape features as well as the topography of the basalt boulders on which they were pecked. The depictions of animals and hunting traps provide clues about the use of desert kites, the social role of hunting, communal gatherings, and feasting in the region.     

Iron age chronology and biblical history rejoinders: The late bronze/iron age transition,Tel ʿEton and Lachish

ABSTRACT

In this article, I review three recent articles. In the first, Asscher and Boaretto (2018 Asscher, Y. , and Boaretto, E. , 2018. ‘Absolute time ranges in the plateau of the Late Bronze to Iron Age transition and the appearance of Bichrome pottery in Canaan, Southern Levant’, Radiocarbon 60, 1–25. doi: 10.1017/RDC.2017.96 [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]. ‘Absolute time ranges in the plateau of the Late Bronze to Iron Age transition and the appearance of Bichrome pottery in Canaan, Southern Levant’, Radiocarbon 60, 1–25) suggest that the Late Bronze/Iron I transition occurred in neighboring sites a century and more apart. In the second, Faust and Sapir (2018. ‘The “Governor's Residency” at Tel ?Eton, the United Monarchy and the impact of the old-house effect on large-scale archaeological reconstructions’, Radiocarbon 60, 801–820.) date the construction of a solid building at Tel ?Eton to the tenth century bce and interpret this as validation for the historicity of the United Monarchy of ancient Israel. In the third, Garfinkel et al. (2019a Garfinkel, Y. , et al. , 2019a. ‘Lachish fortifications and state formation in the Biblical kingdom of Judah in light of radiometric datings’, Radiocarbon 61, 1–18. doi: 10.1017/RDC.2019.5 [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. ‘Lachish fortifications and state formation in the Biblical kingdom of Judah in light of radiometric datings’, Radiocarbon 61, 1–18) announce the discovery of a city-wall belonging to Level V at Lachish, and affiliate it with the building operations of King Rehoboam of Judah, described in 2 Chronicles. Scrutiny of the methods and facts dismisses all three theories.     

An Archaic Human Ulna from Chagyrskaya Cave Altai: Morphology and Taxonomy*

Excavations at the Chagyrskaya Cave site in Gorny Altai have revealed a Mousteroid industry along with fragmented human remains. This study focuses on a left ulna from stratum 6a. Its size, proportions, symptoms of disease, and indicators of muscular activity, point to Neanderthal affinities. The bone is large, linking the individual with certain Near Eastern Neanderthal males such as Shanidar. Symptoms of what might be diagnosed as Forestier disease suggest likewise.     

Iron Age tin bronze metallurgy at Marlik,Northern Iran: an analytical investigation

The archaeological excavations performed in 1961 and 1962 at the necropolis of Marlik (Gilan District, northern Iran) revealed important archaeological remains dating to Iron Age I and II periods (late second/early first millennium BCE). While the metal collection from Marlik includes various gold, silver and bronze objects and is considered one of the most significant finds of metal objects from the prehistoric Iran, the technological investigations discussed in this paper provide information on tin bronze objects only from Marlik. Both the composition and the microstructure of 25 copper alloy objects have been determined in order to achieve a better understanding of the metallurgical processes used in northern Iran from the second to the first millennium BCE. Experimental analyses were carried out using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and optical microscopy. The results demonstrated that the copper-base objects were made of the binary copper–tin alloy with variable tin contents. Other elements such as As, Ni, Pb, Zn and Sb were detected in minor/trace amounts. Variable tin content may be due to the application of an uncontrolled procedure to produce bronze alloy (e.g. co-smelting or cementation). Microscopic observations and microanalyses revealed the presence of numerous copper sulphide inclusions, lead globules and intermetallic phases scattered in the bronze solid solution. The microstructures seen in the bronze objects under study were varied and included worked/annealed or dendritic grain structures.     

“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.     

Looking for circular structures in post hole distributions: Quantitative analysis of two settlements from bronze age England

A statistical procedure is suggested for the analyses of hypothetical round-house plans among post hole patterns. The data are compared with an analogous random scattering of points and differences are noted. Plausible interpretations are contrasted with chance configurations to determine their strength. Single-link cluster analysis and statistical geometry are used. The emphasis throughout the paper is on data analysis rather than hypothesis testing.     

Fusion status of the jugular growth plate: An aid for age at death determination

To assess the feasibility of the fusion (synostosis) status of the jugular growth plate as an age at death indicator, a series of 98 skulls of documented age and sex from the so-called ‘Utrecht collection’ was examined. Ages at death in the series ranged from 14 to 92 years. Only specimens that could be inspected bilaterally were taken into account. According to the few but conflicting data from the literature, fusion happens at 16–18 years, or starts at ca. 25 years of age. In our sample no fusions were seen before the age of 22 years. Unilateral fusions were found only in the age range 22–34 years. At ages above 34 years in females and above 36 years in males all jugular growth plates were fused bilaterally. These results indicate that examination of the fusion status of the jugular growth plate is of use in age at death determination.     

Cold-worked and annealed bronze objects and relevant motif techniques in the Chinese Bronze Age: Analysis of bronze sheets found at Songjia cemetery in Shaanxi,China

Six thin Chinese bronze chariot accessory sheets from Songjia cemetery in Shaanxi province were dated to the late Western Zhou dynasty (ninth to eighth centuries bce ) and analysed for their elemental composition and motif techniques. The objects were cold worked and annealed with embossed motifs and carved lines. This is the only case of cold working and annealing with embossed motifs and carved lines in China; these techniques may have come from or been influenced by other cultures. These findings are important for revealing the development of the cold-working, annealing techniques and relevant motif techniques in China.     

Olive oil production on bronze age Crete: nutritional properties, processing methods and storage life of Minoan olive oil

Archaeological studies on olive oil produced in Crete in the Bronze Age focus primarily on aspects such as the period when olive cultivation became widespread, the number of olive trees cultivated, or the quantity of oil stored in the Minoan palaces. Olive oil is however an organic substance, a perishable product, the nutritional and storage properties of which are determined by environmental, agronomic, processing and storage conditions. In this paper archaeological, environmental and biochemical evidence is combined to present a comprehensive picture of the potential quality, nutritional and storage properties of Minoan olive oil. The comparative evidence presented suggests that Minoan olive oil was equal in quality to the cold-pressed virgin olive oils produced today, and as such, the oil was nutritionally important in the Bronze Age and a valuable trade commodity.     

达巴:泸沽湖最后的通灵者

20世纪初叶,有一个叫洛克的美国学者跟随着一伙赶马人悄然来到了泸沽湖.当他亲历摩梭人的本土宗教--达巴教的祭祀仪式之后,他这样写道:"这些宗教神职人员从黎明时分开始,就与神灵念念有词地述说,直到日落时分方结束.完成仪式时,他们无一例外地醉倒了,被家人抬着回去."洛克以为达巴因在做仪式时不停地用酒而醉,实际上,酒只是起牵引作用,达巴们借酒与神灵和鬼怪对话,醉的是躯体,疼的是灵魂.多少世纪以来,一直到洛克来到泸沽湖的那个时代,达巴教一直是这片母系家园的主宰,每个母系家族都有自己的达巴传人,无论生老病死,还是婚丧嫁娶,都离不开达巴这种特殊的人物,甚至连土司府也有自己的专职达巴,以至于民间产生了这样的格言:"没有母鸡孵不出蛋,没有达巴就成不了史."