Excavations at Balakot,Pakistan, 1973

Abstract

During the winter of 1973–74 preliminary excavations were conducted at the ancient coastal site of Balakot in Sanmiani Bay, Pakistan. Two periods are represented at the site. Period B, capping the mound, represents the Mature Indus (Harappan) period, the earliest urban period of South Asia. Balakot is one of five known coastal sites of the Indus Civilization. It is hoped that evidence will be discovered in subsequent seasons bearing on the question of the assumed sea trade contacts between the Indus and the Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia in the centuries just before and after 2000 B.C.

Period A at Balakot is designated as Early Indus. The more than 6 m. of occupational debris resting on sterile soil represent the developmental stages leading directly into the earliest civilization of South Asia. The Early Indus sequence at Balakot contains ceramic elements related to many of the so-called “painted pottery cultures” of Baluchistan and the southern Indus Valley. The proposed series of extensive excavations at the site should provide a sound chronological and cultural framework within which any of these presently isolated cultural traditions can be studied.

This report describes the location and potential importance of the site. The most significant findings of the first season's work are presented.     

Determining the settlement history of Hellenistic,Roman, and Byzantine sites in the Galilee,Israel: Comparing surface,subsurface, and stratified artifact assemblages

Abstract

Archaeological field survey is the basic method for determining the history of settlement on the regional level. The backbone of survey is locating and surveying individual sites, estimating their size, and uncovering their settlement histories. Various biases place doubt on the reliability of surface data and the conclusions drawn from them. This study presents three methods for investigating multiperiod sites in eastern Galilee, Israel: advanced surface survey, shovel test sampling, and large-scale stratigraphic excavations. Advanced surface survey was carried out at 46 sites settled during the Hellenistic through Byzantine periods (ca. 300 b.c.–a.d. 650). Three of these sites were later sampled using shovel test pits. Large-scale excavations were conducted at two of these sites, Khirbet Wadi ?amam and Nasr ed-Din enabling the comparison of the three methods. Applying these three methods to the same sites allowed us to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each method for determining settlement history. The results indicate that a thorough surface survey of a site in an area where local pottery is well documented can provide a clear picture of its occupation history. However, these data are not sufficient to determine variations in the size of the site over time. Shovel test sampling presents no advantage over surface survey with regard to documenting periods of activity at a given site, but it is preferable for tracing changes in the intensity of occupation during different periods. Excavation is the most informative method, but because it is costly and time consuming, it often sheds light only on small portions of selected sites.     

ARCHAEOGEOPHYSICAL INVESTIGATIONS AT AN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY CADDO SITE IN NACOGDOCHES COUNTY,EAST TEXAS

Abstract

The J. T. King site (41NA15) is an early-eighteenth-century Caddo habitation site in East Texas. Recent archaeogeophysical work (covering 2.5 ha) at the site has obtained unique data on the spatial organization of a Caddo settlement that was occupied at the time of the Spanish colonization of East Texas. Our interpretation of the magnetometer data is that there are 10 possible Caddo structures in the archaeogeophysical survey area. A few magnetic anomalies have been successfully ground truthed at the J. T. King site. These test excavations have demonstrated a positive correlation between magnetometer anomalies and the occurrence of Caddo architectural features.     

The Excavations at Tel 'Eton (2006–2009): A Preliminary Report

Abstract

Tel 'Eton, commonly identified with biblical 'Eglon, is a large site in the trough valley in the southeastern Shephelah. Since the summer of 2006, Bar-Ilan University has been carrying out a large-scale exploration project at the site and its surroundings. The excavations were preceded by a detailed mapping of the site, which was subsequently divided into 39 sub-units. This was followed by survey and shovel tests in each of those units, and by full-scale excavations in four excavation areas. It appears that the site was first settled in the Early Bronze Age, and again in the Middle Bronze Age to the late Iron Age (8^th century BCE). Following a settlement gap in the 7^th–5^th centuries BCE, the site was resettled for a short period in the late Persian or early Hellenistic period. Among the major finds is a thick Assyrian destruction layer (8^th century BCE), which sealed many houses with their content, including many pottery vessels, metal artifacts, and botanical material (some still within the vessels), and many additional finds. The present article summarizes the results of the explorations of the site in 2006–2009.     

The Geoff Egan Memorial Lecture 2012

Abstract

Archaeological excavations since 1994 have been uncovering the remains of James Fort in Virginia, the initial site of England’s Jamestown colony, established in 1607. Recovered from closely dated contexts that are associated with documented historical events, the material culture is revealing new and interesting information about the early settlement. The objects reflect the colonists’ interaction with the Virginia Indians, the activities of specialists sent to turn New World resources into profit for the colony’s investors, as well as the choices that individuals made as they transported domestic goods across the Atlantic.     

Settlement and Subsistence in the Remote Western Pacific: Archaeological and Radiocarbon Data from Alamagan,Northern Mariana Islands

Small, remote islands were marginal environments for prehistoric human populations. We report archaeological and radiocarbon data from Alamagan, a small and isolated island in the northern part of the Mariana Islands archipelago. Challenging environmental conditions, including rugged terrain, active or recent volcanism, and uncertain freshwater availability posed significant challenges for permanent settlement throughout the Northern Islands. The Alamagan archaeological investigations documented 14 megalithic domestic structures, or latte sets, as well as isolated and non-portable Latte Period artifacts, and one historical site. Test excavations were undertaken at two of the latte features. These investigations add to a growing body of data suggesting colonization of the Northern Islands during the middle part of the Latte Period (probably during the late a.d. 1200s or early 1300s). We consider the implications of these data for the study of human adaptations to marginal insular environments in the Pacific.     

Notes and News

Abstract

Most parts of Israel were excavated intensively, and most of the country was also covered by surveys. Our knowledge of settlement patterns and distribution during the various periods is very comprehensive — probably more so than in any other region in the world. Using data from the numerous excavations and from the detailed surveys, many studies have made use of various and sundry methods, in order to learn about the settlements and the population of the country, about changes in settlement patterns and distribution, and about periods of crises, decline, or growth.

Past studies, however, have ignored an entire array of findings that could have improved, refined, and even changed the familiar picture of the settlement history of ancient Israel. Thousands of salvage excavations ('rescue digs') were carried out over the years, and especially in the last decade, but these have not been dealt with systematically. These excavations provide comprehensive and reliable information, which is likely to change the picture of the history of settlement in some periods. While a comprehensive project of collecting and analysing the published data on these excavations is now in progress, the present article aims at drawing attention to this neglected source of information. We will demonstrate the advantages of this analysis as compared to other sources of information, and will show how this information, when combined with other sources of information, is changing our understanding of the settlement history of certain periods, including the transition from the Iron Age I–II and the formation of the Israelite monarchy, the nature of the Neo-Babylonian period, and the outcomes of the Jewish revolts against the Romans. The paper ends with a discussion of the advantages and limitations of the various sources of information, i.e., planned excavations, surveys, and salvage excavations.     

Open-area excavations at the Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village,South Dakota (A.D. 1000–1150): New interpretations of site function from interdwelling areas

Abstract

Excavations at the Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village (A.D. 1000–1150), an Initial Middle Missouri period Plains earthen lodge village site in eastern South Dakota, revealed new data regarding the lifeways and cultural systems of its prehistoric inhabitants. While extensive excavations had been conducted at the site and at a large number of other Middle Missouri sites prior to the present project, our open-area approach revealed new and significantly different information. New features in the areas between the dwellings were uncovered, features that are rarely studied in the context of the Middle Missouri cultural tradition. Other finds included Mississippian-influenced ceramics, Avonlea projectile points, and ceremonial goods that indicate long-distance cultural interaction. The discovery of large, complex features in the interdwelling areas of the site changes our understanding of Middle Missouri lifeways and settlement structure.     

Excavations at Opovo, 1985–1987: Socioeconomic Change in the Balkan Neolithic

Abstract

This is the second preliminary report of excavations and analyses of Opovo-Ugar Bajbuk, a Neolithic settlement of the Vin?a-Plo?nik culture located in the lower Tami? river valley, NE Yugoslavia. The Opovo Archaeological Project began in the summer of 1983; this report coversthe 1985–1987 field seasons. Work at Opovo has continued to reveal more about the unusual reliance placed by the site’s inhabitants on wild food resources, the apparent lack of long-term settlement occupation, and the social organization of production and consumption. An unexpected find of the 1987 season was a fragment of linen, the earliest direct evidence for textile production in European prehistory. Detailed examination of methods of house construction and house destruction—part of an effort to investigate the role of households at the site—led to the discovery of the first two-story dwelling ever encountered at a Vin?a site. The site of Opovo-Ugar Bajbuk is providing new light on previously unknown dimensions of variation within the Vin?a culture.     

Excavations at Huaca Herederos Chica,Moche Valley,Peru

Abstract

Detailed results of excavations from 1970 to 1973 at the site of Huaca Herederos Chica in the lower Moche Valley, Peru are presented. This now partially destroyed monumental site belongs to the Caballo Muerto Complex, a series of mound sites that span both the Initial Period (2100–1200 CAL B.C.) and the Early Horizon (1200–200 CAL B.C.). The existing mounds were constructed sequentially over a period of some 1000 years; some mounds, like Huaca Herederos Chica, are the result of the superposition of several phases of occupation and building over that long time period, each separated by phases of abandonment. The older remains, dating from the Initial Period, testify to the presence in this coastal region of Peru of architectural features such as small quadrilateral rooms with rounded corners and somewhat circular rooms reminiscent of similar features of the Kotosh Religious Tradition at the highland sites of La Galgada and Huaricoto as well as in the coastal Casma Valley. Huaca Herederos Chica was abandoned from 1200–400 CAL B.C. only to be reoccupied and rebuilt in the late Early Horizon (400–200 CAL B.C.). Architectural changes seen at the site and at the Caballo Muerto Complex as a whole probably reflect important social and political changes along much of the Peruvian north coast.     

Site and Community at Chunchucmil and Ancient Maya Urban Centers

Abstract

Classic Period lowland Maya urban centers often lack sharp boundaries due to progressive dispersal of residential settlement. This dispersal gives rise to questions about the concept of site and the notion of community affiliation. Research on settlement patterns at Chunchucmil, an urban center in NW Yucatan, Mexico, dating to the 5th and 6th centuries A.D., explores the issue of site boundaries and the social and economic implications of such boundaries. Detailed mapping, test pitting, and reconnaissance reveal that Chunchucmil had three densely occupied, concentric, contemporaneous zones of settlement covering between 20 and 25 sq km and inhabited by a population of up to 42,500. Data from both within and beyond the density thresholds marking the edge of the city imply the existence of communities whose boundaries do not always follow those of the site. A portion of the hinterland settlement close to the edge of the city shows stronger economic and social connections with the city, for example. These connections enable the delineation of Greater Chunchucmil, extending 5 km from Chunchucmil's center. The work at Chunchucmil also allows comparison with other large Maya cities that have been systematically documented. This comparison highlights considerable variability in Maya urban forms and in how these cities relate to their peripheries.     

湖北云梦楚王城遗址1988与1989年发掘报告

楚王城遗址位于湖北省云梦县城东侧,是一处省级重点文物保护单位。为配合当地的城建工程,于1988年10至11月和1988年12月至1989年1月先后两次对楚王城遗址的西城区进行了发掘,总面积445平方米。发现战国至唐宋的灰坑、灰沟、水井、房址、墓葬,出土了大批陶、铜、瓷、釉陶、铁、石器等,文化遗存丰富,其中以战国两汉的各类器物为主。本报告全面报道     

Excavations at E1 Remolino: Household Archaeology in the San Lorenzo Olmec Region

Abstract

Studies on the Olmec frequently focus on large centers and monumental works of art, often ignoring the important role of peripheral sites in regional hierarchies. Recent investigations at the Early Formative period (900–1500 b.c., uncorrected radiocarbon years) site of El Remolino help balance this “elite centered” focus by collecting household and community level data at a habitation area away from the regional center of San Lorenzo. Subsurface testing and extensive excavations produced evidence of living surfaces, features, and refuse disposal patterns, which together with phytolith data improve our understanding of a lower order Olmec site. El Remolino was established in the San Lorenzo phase as a permanent settlement whose inhabitants pursued fishing, hunting, gathering, and plant cultivation. The degree to which this site was politically or economically dependent on the elite center of San Lorenzo is unknown.     

Survey,Settlement, and Population History at the Ancient Maya Site of Pacbitun,Belize

Abstract

Survey and excavations of mounds on the outskirts of the site of Pacbitun in western Belize provide insights into the ancient Maya settlement pattern at this medium-sized regional center. This research employed two methods: analysis of structural remains from four separate 1000 m transect surveys,and a subsequent complete (100%) survey of intervening and adjacent quadrant areas. The overlap of quadrant zones with portions of the transect units permits an examination of the accuracy of transect surveys. Excavation of a 22% sample of all identified mounds provides chronological and functional information. An estimate of 200 persons for the resident elite population of the Epicenter of Pacbit un is offered. Initial settlement occurred in the Epicenter of the site during the Middle Preclassic period (900–300 B.C.), with a population rise through time until the final phase of the Late Classic period (A.D. 700–900), when density reached 550 persons (periphery Zone) to 950 persons (Core Zone) per sq km. The impact on settlement size and distribution of topography, soils,water resources,and intensive agriculture (hillside terracing) is assessed and found to be significant. At the time of florescence,the population of the 9 sq km site is estimated to have been about 5000–6000 persons. This population estimate is compared with several coeval lowland Maya centers,and found to be reasonable for a medium-sized, Late Classic Maya center.     

Early Medieval Settlement in Southern Russia: Changing Directions

Abstract

THIS ARTICLE CONCERNS the evolution of approaches to the archaeology of early medieval settlements in southern Russia. Over the last 70 years, a large amount of data have been collected, especially from sites related to the Saltovo-Mayatsk culture on the Middle Don river. In this region, large-scale excavations since the 1930s have produced information about the types of settlements and dwellings, making it possible to suggest what the overall settlement pattern may have looked like. By way of contrast, the early medieval settlement archaeology in the North Caucasus is less developed even though its beginnings go back further. Sufficient data exist only about a few areas of the region, in particular Dagestan, the Taman’ peninsula, and the Kislovodsk basin. In the latter area, a new systematic approach to surveys of, and trial excavations on, early medieval settlements have led to the reconstruction of the complex settlement hierarchy of the 5th to 8th centuries AD involving central fortifications, enclosed villages and a system of watch-towers.     

Long-Term Occupation and Seasonal Settlement of Eastern Eurasian Pastoralists at Begash,Kazakhstan

Abstract

Recent excavations of the prehistoric pastoralist settlement of Begash, located in the Semirech'ye region of eastern Kazakhstan, provide evidence of one of the earliest pastoralist settlements in the eastern Eurasian steppe region. The archaeological complex at Begash includes a multi-period cemetery and rock art in addition to the settlement—a site complex that is well distributed throughout the koksu River Valley. Excavations at Begash have revealed three major phases of architectural development and six phases of material transition and site use, dated by a series of 34 calibrated radiocarbon AMS dates. These data demonstrate that mobile pastoral populations were active in the Dzhungar Mountains and koksu River Valley (Semirech'ye) as early as 2460 CAL B.C., more than 800 years earlier than previous theories suggested. Pastoralist activity at this domestic locale spans nearly 4000 years, with no archaeological evidence for long-term abandonment of the site in prehistory. Rather the occupational phases of the site are only interrupted by short-lived periods of disuse followed by centuries of re-engagement by local pastoralist communities. Thus, the broadly continuous record of material culture, domesticated faunal remains, and settlement at Begash index a local evolution of herding economies in Semirech'ye throughout the Bronze Age, beginning in the middle part of the 3rd millennium B.C. Ultimately, the data from Begash contribute a new perspective on the dynamic nature of Eurasian mobile pastoralists while also illustrating broad continuity in the settlement ecology of local populations that had a key role in the regional transmission of numerous innovations throughout the Bronze Age and later.     

Recent Biblical Research in Palestine,Syria, and Asia Minor

Abstract

In the Neolithic Period seven sites were established in the delta area ot the rivers cl-Bire, el-Ish-sha and Jalud in the Valley of Beth-Shan. Four of them are concentrated in the Jalud area. Two sites (9, 21) were abandoned during subsequent Periods.

In the Chalcolithic Period, agricultural settlement was enlarged threefold. During this Period some settlements (sites 27, 34) were established in the hill country. Some sites were abandoned later (six—numbers 3, 9, 11, 14, 16 and 27—out of 12 sites were established in the Gesher-Beit Yosef area, two sites, numbers 64 and 100, out of four in the Tirat Tzevi area, one site, number 235, out of three in the Beth-Shan area).

It seems that the water-supply to the sites numbers 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 27, 30 and 31 came from Wadi el Bire and to the sites numbers 11, 12, 14., 16 from Wadi cl-lsh-sha and number 18 from Wadi Jalud as in the recent period. It seems likely that the Chalcolithic farmers irrigated the fields by means of canals from the above mentioned rivers rather than from the Jordan. The density of occupation and the prosperity of the early agriculture is due to the water resources in the Valley of Beth-Shan.

It seems likely that by archaeological work on the 130 sites at the Valley of Beth-Shan the picture might be changed, and some more Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites be revealed, especially underneath the mass of buildings at the fortified towns like Tell es-Sarim, Tell el-Manshiye etc., but our short survey throws new light on the first steps of the agricultural life in the Valley of Beth-Shan in the fifth and fourth millennium B.C.     

The Timing of Angel Mounds Palisade Construction A Search for the Best Chronological Model

Abstract

Angel Mounds was a heavily fortified Mississippian settlement with several discrete palisades. Although the palisades were identified early on, the construction sequence has remained elusive because the construction episodes do not have stratigraphic relationships with one another. Recent work at the site reexamined old test excavations and collected new material for radiocarbon dating. AMS dating yielded a suite of new dates from palisade contexts. To refine the construction sequence, five Bayesian chronological models were constructed for palisade building. These models indicate that palisades were first built at Angel Mounds sometime between A.D. 1278 and A.D. 1410, which precedes or coincides with regional depopulation in the lower Ohio River valley. These results further indicate that palisade building at Angel Mounds may be a consequence of external competition and conflict caused by resource-induced stress resulting from deteriorating climatic conditions.     

Contact and Missionization at Tayasal,Petén,Guatemala

Abstract

Until their conquest by the Spanish in 1697, many Itza Maya occupied a large village at Tayasal, Petén, Guatemala. After the conquest, two missions were built there. The village and missions are located within 2 km of modern Flores, which was once Nojpetén, the Itza capital, and later the Spanish presidio (fortified administrative center). Our excavations uncovered the San Bernabé mission on the Tayasal peninsula and defined the Late Postclassic-period (a.d. 1400–1525) occupation of the site. San Bernabé was established in the early 18th century as part of Spanish efforts to control indigenous populations in Petén. Our research demonstrates that the Late Postclassic settlement was larger than indicated by previous research and supported a relatively large ceremonial architectural group. Evidence of indigenous practices was recovered from deposits within the mission, though many elements of Itza religion found in the Late Postclassic group were absent from the mission settlement. These data provide additional evidence of religious syncretism in colonial situations.     

The Excavation of a Brick Clamp at Shotesham St. Mary,Norfolk, 1969

Abstract

Rescue excavations in the small village of Llanmaes investigated an area of earthworks indicating the presence of several buildings. Medieval evidence was largely confined to finds. Three late 17th-century properties were examined; it is possible that they represent a planned development on the east side of the village green in response to population expansion in the Vale of Glamorgan. The buildings are of simple two-roomed plan, and would appear to be tenements of low status. One of the buildings produced evidence of smithying. A large group of metal finds of agricultural and domestic use was found, as was a closely-dated assemblage of wine bottles; a large midden deposit on the north edge of the site contained a very large group of post-medieval pottery. The buildings were abandoned by the end of the 18th century, presumably following rationalization of the local settlement morphology and farming. Thus the site represents a short-lived expansion in low-status rural housing at the time of the ‘Great Rebuilding’.