Pollen analysis in the context of clearance cairns from boreal forests – a reflection of past cultivation and pastoral farming

The former agricultural use of two sites located in the boreal forest of eastern Norway is investigated through pollen analysis. A peat profile was taken from the vicinity in each of two clearance cairn fields where several cairns were analysed for pollen. The pollen samples from the peat profiles give an environmental context for the pollen samples from the clearance cairns, and this combination of samples assists in evaluating the management practices that were in place on the cairn fields during different time periods. In both study areas cultivation layers under the clearance cairns are dated to the Late Roman Iron Age (cal. AD 200–400), while the oldest clearance cairns are dated to the Migration period (cal. AD 400–570), and a second phase of clearance cairn establishment is dated to the Medieval period (cal. AD 1030–1537). Abandonment of the two cairn fields is dated to c. AD 1700. Pioneer trees were a feature on or around the clearance cairn fields during most of the Iron Age, whereas the cairn fields were more open in medieval times. The investigation suggests that cereal cultivation on the clearance cairn fields is difficult to detect in local peat deposits, and that caution is needed when interpreting lack of Cerealia pollen. Management practices on the cairn fields are discussed and a change in management practice is indicated in association with medieval intensification.     

Transition from hunting to animal husbandry in Southern,Western and Eastern Finland: new dated osteological evidence

The beginning of animal husbandry in Finland is one of the most debated topics in Finnish archaeology. For this study a total of 69 bone materials from archaeological sites in Southern, Western and Eastern Finland, dating from the Middle Neolithic to the Early Metal Period, were analysed: 52 represented identifiable animal bones. These data were complemented with those from previously analysed bone materials. A total of 19 domestic animal bones were radiocarbon-dated to determine their connection with a particular cultural period. However, 13 of them proved to belong to the historical and not the prehistoric period, emphasizing the importance of radiocarbon-dating and context awareness when interpreting prehistoric bone materials. Among the radiocarbon-dated material were the oldest dated sheep, cattle and horse bones in Finland. The oldest radiocarbon-dated domestic animal bone in Finland, from sheep or goat, derives from the Late Stone Age Kiukainen Culture site, while cattle and horse bones date to the Bronze Age. This is later than expected. However, the available material does not exclude the possibility that some animal husbandry was practised in Finland earlier. Nevertheless, domestic animal bones are rare in samples dated to the cultural periods studied, while hunting and fishing represented important subsistence activities.     

DNA in cremated bones from an early bronze age cemetery cairn

The discovery of polymeric DNA in charred wheat grains and other burnt plant remains prompted us to examine a set of cremated bones for the presence of ancient DNA. Extracts of cremated bones from an early Bronze Age cemetery cairn were analysed by hybridization probing and the polymerase chain reaction. Hybridization with two probes targeting human DNA resulted in strong positive signals. Polymerase chain reactions directed at a multicopy sequence in human nuclear DNA were successful, extracts of five burials giving amplification products of the expected size. Exploitation of ancient DNA in cremated bones could be of great value in archaeology as it may enable information pertaining to sex and kinship to be obtained from fragmented material.     

Tell el-Ful Revisited: The Assyrian and Hellenistic Periods (with a New Identification)

Abstract

This article deals with the settlement history of Tell el-Ful from the Iron Age until the Hellenistic period. The author rejects past theories that a great fortress was built at the site in the Iron I period and that the settlement was protected by a casemate wall in the Iron IIC. He also rejects the identification of Tell el-Ful as biblical Gibeah/Gibeah of Saul. The author proposes that the tower excavated by Albright and Lapp was first constructed in the Iron IIC as an Assyrian watchtower commanding the northern approach to Jerusalem, and that it was one link in a system of such forts around the capital of Judah. The author maintains that the building served as a Hellenistic fort in a later phase and suggests the possibility, however speculative, of identifying Tell el-Ful with Pharathon, mentioned as one of the forts constructed by Bacchides in Judea in the early 2nd century BCE, and with Perath/Parah of late-monarchic times.     

方寸之美——从提卡遗址出土的赫梯印章辨析古代两河流域文化交流

“‘叙’写传奇——叙利亚古代文物精品展”中有一枚发现于提卡遗址的戳印,年代为青铜时代中期（公元前2000年—前1600年）,在该遗址另发现两枚巴比伦风格的滚印,同样属于青铜时代中期。本文从考古学、文献材料、印章工艺等方面对这枚戳印的遗址信息、功能形制、图像结构、历史背景进行研究,由此探究距今约4千年前,提卡、赫梯、古巴比伦文明之间的交流与往来,进而解读古代两河流域地区的文化演进。     

New research and findings from Tell Sufan

Abstract

The article reviews archaeological surveys and excavations in the area of the Wadi Faynan, together with various dating proposals. In particular, the results so far published of the San Diego expedition under Thomas Levy and of the possible connection between Iron Age copper mining and the biblical King Solomon are considered, along with the necessity of utilizing evaluation of the material remains by conventional archaeological means (stratigraphy, ceramic typology) alongside laboratory analysis, and not the latter alone.     

Chronostratigraphy of an Eroding Complex Atlantic Round House,Baile Sear,Scotland

A high-resolution chronostratigraphy has been established for an eroding Atlantic round house at Sloc Sàbhaidh (North Uist, Scotland), combining detailed OSL profiling and dating of sediments encompassing the main bracketing events associated with the monument, radiocarbon AMS dates on bone recovered from excavated features and fills within it, and TL dates on pottery and burnt clay. Concordant OSL and radiocarbon evidence place construction of the wheelhouse in the first to second centuries AD, contemporary with dates from the primary occupation. Beneath the wheelhouse, clay deposits containing burnt material, attest to cultural activity in vicinity to the monument in the preceding second to first centuries BC. At a later date, the southern wall collapsed, was rebuilt, and the interior spaces to the monument re-structured. The chronology for the later horizons identified from the sediment luminescence dates extends to the second half of the first millennium AD, which goes beyond the range of the radiocarbon dates obtained. The data from ceramics encompass both periods. The juxtaposition of the dating evidence is discussed relative to short and longer chronologies for this Iron Age monument. Corollaries of this research are the implications that based on the long chronology, some of the ecofacts (bone) appear to be residual, and that the temporal duration of Hebridean Coarse Ware may extend into the second half of the first millennium AD.     

Assessing the contribution of integrated geoarchaeological approaches to understand the formation and function of burnt mounds: the example of Hoppenwood Bank,North Northumberland

Burnt mounds are detrital mounds of fire-cracked rock and charcoal, deposited as the result of a prehistoric process for heating water. They are the most numerous prehistoric monument found across Britain and Ireland and have traditionally been difficult to study due to their apparent homogeneity and lack of distinguishing features. This study seeks to change the discussion surrounding burnt mounds and evaluates a large early- to mid-Bronze Age burnt mound at Hoppenwood Bank in Northumberland using an integrated microarchaeological methodology, the contribution of which is assessed. A combination of micromorphology and silicic microfossil analyses indicates that these deposits are complex and multifaceted, showing variability in their depositional sequences, microcomponents, and taphonomy. The identification of hiatuses in deposition and desiccation of surfaces beneath the burnt mound indicate that the accumulation of material may have been periodic or seasonal, and dating suggests that sequential deposition may have spanned 500–700 years. Taphonomic issues identified at the microscale highlight concerns for the interpretation of microfossils. This paper considers the implications of these observations and argues that burnt mounds should be viewed as caches of environmental and sediment-based data, indicative of sequences within landscape use-patterns and human-environment interactions.     

Species specific marine radiocarbon reservoir effect: a comparison of ΔR values between Patella vulgata (limpet) shell carbonate and Gadus morhua (Atlantic cod) bone collagen

A number of recent studies of the UK coastal environment have assessed the ¹⁴C marine radiocarbon reservoir effect (MRE) via quantification of ΔR values for several periods throughout the Holocene using marine mollusc shells. However, none have employed fish bone as the marine sample, and the importance of being able to use this material as a reliable dating tool is evident when considering the boom in the British fish trade during the first millennium AD, the so-called ‘fish event horizon’, and the corresponding volume of fish remains that appear in the archaeological record from this time. This study compares ΔR values derived using the multiple paired sample approach employing burnt cereal grain (Hordeum sp.) as the terrestrial sample and either fish bone [North Sea cod (Gadus morhua)] or marine shell [limpet (Patella vulgata)] as the marine sample. The results show a general trend of increasing ΔR for the fish bone compared to shell, however, the differences are not statistically significant when the standard error for predicted values is used as the measure of variability in the ΔR values.     

Joshua’s Tomb

Abstract

Following the recent excavations of the Jerusalem 'Warren's Shaft System' and its attribution to the Middle Bronze II period, the authors re-evaluate the dating of the Gezer water system. R. A. S. Macalister attributed it to the 'Second Semitic' period, which roughly corresponds to the ME II period. Several scholars challenged this dating, suggesting a lower date in the Late Bronze or the Iron Age. The article draws attention to a detail which escaped the types of scholars, namely that the cave at the bottom of the system has in fact a lower outlet, to the tell's southern perimeter. This detail appears on a plan and section drawn by L Vincent, when visiting the excavation. This explains how the miners knew where to locate the entrance to the system within the city's boundary, and to what direction and angle to aim their tunnel to hit that cave. This increases the similarity between the Jerusalem and the Gezer water systems, and corroborates the MB II dating for the Gezer system, originally suggested by Macalister.     

An experimental study of bean and maize burning to interpret evidence from Stillhouse Hollow Cave in western North Carolina

ABSTRACT

Test excavations in a small rockshelter in the mountains of North Carolina uncovered remains of a hearth containing carbonized twigs, maize kernels, bean cotyledons, animal bone, and the fragments of a single ceramic vessel dating to approximately AD 1350. Experiments in carbonization of maize kernels and beans and involving fire-extinguishing conditions indicate that the burnt seeds recovered from the hearth were probably dry when burned, that the fire may have been smothered or doused, and that the remains may represent an offering of dry seeds, rather than food refuse, similar to that observed historically among the Cherokee.     

The Altars of Zeus and Hera on Mt. Arachnaion in the Argeia,Greece

Abstract

Pausanias (ii.25.10), who traveled extensively in Greece in the 2nd century A.C., mentioned the existence of two altars of Zeus and Hera on Mount Arachnaion above the village of Lessa in the Argeia of the Greek Peloponessos. Two travellers in the early 19th century climbed to the saddle between the two peaks of the mountain and saw there a quadrangular enclosure wall of polygonal masonry on a low hill which they assumed to be the site of these altars. Since then this identification has been accepted by most scholars, including J. G. Frazer. Since most altars of Zeus are found on or near the top of the mountains, I climbed the mountain to check this attribution.

A section of a crude polygonal retaining wall exists on the hill but no traces of the altars were found. Obsidian bladelets and sherds found on the surface suggest that the wall might mark the location of a farmstead or small settlement dating as early as the Bronze Age. On the summit of the western peak of the mountain two low foundations of rubble masonry and three concentrations of sherds and burnt animal bone fragments in a blackish-brown soil matrix were discovered. One of the foundations must represent the ruins of the chapel of Hagios Elias known once to have stood on the summit. The sherd concentrations, which date from the mid-8th century B.C. through at least the 6th century B.C., must represent remains associated with the altars of Zeus and Hera.     

Early medieval T⊘nsberg — dating problems and the results

According to the 13th century Icelandic Saga writer Snorre Sturlasson, there was a marketplace (in old Norwegian: Kaupstadir) in the T?nsberg area by the end of the 9th century. The origin of the medieval town of T?nsberg has therefore been much discussed in the light of this statement. Viking Age and early medieval settlements often lack material datable by archaeology alone. In T?nsberg radiocarbon dating has been used to distinguish between Viking Age deposits and medieval deposits, when stratigraphy alone does not state the differences. However, this dating method has produced various results and there is obvious need for a local calibration.     

Dating the A Cemetery at Kish: A Reconsideration

Abstract

The site of ancient Kish consists of a series of mounds about eight miles east of Babylon in the flood plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. On several of the eastern mounds extensive remains of the Sumerian (Early Dynastic = ED) period in the early 3rd millenium B.C. were excavated in the 1920s. Among these remains was a cemetery in which were found many examples of a distinctive kind of pottery, the so-called “goddess-handled jars,” which have come to be associated with the last phase of the period and thus to serve as a criterion for dating sites where these occur.

It will be argued here that such jars were actually manufactured over a longer span of time within the Early Dynastic period and that they are therefore a less precise instrument for dating than has been believed. In my view their absence from some sites is to be explained not by chronology but by regional differences. If this argument is correct, then the dating of a number of Early Dynastic sites will have to be re-examined with greater attention to regional considerations that have often been overlooked in the past.     

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.     

Ancient Mediterranean Sewn‐Boat Traditions

This article provides a summary and analysis of current knowledge of the archaeological remains of the 64 sewn boats that have been excavated in the Mediterranean region, dating from the Bronze Age to the Medieval periods. A detailed examination of the construction techniques, particularly the methods used to assemble and seal sewn planks and the systems used for lashing frames to the planking, has enabled six distinct construction traditions to be distinguished within the sewn‐boat assemblage. Phases within these traditions are examined, alongside transitions to mortise‐and‐tenon fasteners, and explanations for the longevity of sewn techniques in specific regions are suggested.     

Hunting,gathering, fishing and herding: Animal exploitation in Sandy Flanders (NW Belgium) during the second half of the fifth millennium BC

Abstract

At Doel, in the lower basin of the river Scheldt, excavations have revealed camp sites of the Swifterbant culture dating back to the second half of the fifth millennium BC. They document the transition period from the Late Mesolithic to the Early Neolithic in Sandy Flanders (NW Belgium). The sites were situated on the top of sandy ridges which were covered with an alluvial hardwood forest vegetation and surrounded by wetlands. Only burnt animal remains survived at the sites, illustrating (seasonal) fishing and hunting. In addition, botanical evidence indicates the herding of domestic mammals. The finds are of importance for the reconstruction of the chronological development of the food economy of the Swifterbant culture.     

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CAIRNS AND SETTLEMENT SITES

Summary. This article discusses the problem of how to relate a special grave construction to a particular settlement site. An example from the West Swedish Bronze Age is presented to pinpoint the difficulties of the chronological criteria and the drawbacks of using 'nearness' as a criterion.
The idea presented is that a relationship between a grave monument and a settlement site may be reflected in areas where the building material, the stones, were picked up. Such areas can be demonstrated in a test example from West Sweden, which showed that, under special circumstances, such a link may be valuable for solving the problem of how to relate a cairn to a settlement site.     

New evidence for Bronze Age agricultural settlements in the Zhunge’er (Junggar) Basin,China

Abstract

The Zhunge’er (Junggar) Basin in northern Xinjiang was a key crossroads in antiquity for the dispersal of ideas and technological innovations from the Eurasian steppe into the heartland of central China. The Bronze Age chronology of the Zhunge’er Basin is chiefly based on relative dating and little is known about subsistence strategies, although the strong tradition of nomadic and transhumant pastoralism among modern populations suggests that there may have been a high degree of mobility. The visibility of ancient cemeteries and the need to salvage graves before they are looted have resulted in a lack of focus on settlements, with a consequent assumption that in antiquity agriculture played a limited role. This assumption has been challenged by rescue excavations at the Jimusa’er (Jimsar) Luanzagangzi site, which indicate that agriculture may have been a significant component of Bronze Age subsistence strategies. Small-scale soundings at settlement sites provide well-stratified sequences of material for absolute dating which can be used to place the artifacts recovered from graves in a more secure chronological context.     

Investigation of palaeodiet in the North Caucasus (South Russia) Bronze Age using stable isotope analysis and AMS dating of human and animal bones

This paper addresses the question of human palaeodietary adaptation in the Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age periods of the North Caucasus (South Russia) using stable isotope analysis. One of the key questions is the presence of fish in the diet. AMS radiocarbon dating of archaeological bone collagen has also been carried out to investigate potential radiocarbon reservoir effects in human skeletal material as a result of an aquatic diet. A fish component has previously been suggested in the diet of Iron Age and Bronze Age humans across Eurasia by isotopic research and radiocarbon dating of contemporaneous human and animal bones. In the North Caucasus however, isotopic data is scant. This study presents a new set of stable isotopic data from several Early Bronze Age sites, mainly belonging to the Maikop culture of the North Caucasus. The results show that the diversity in climate and environment across the northern Caucasus may be a causal factor for the patterns observed in the stable isotope values of terrestrial herbivores. This affects the isotopic values of the humans consuming them. The differences in δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C ranges of both humans and fauna were found to correlate strongly with geography and climate; the most enriched isotopic values are found in the dry steppe areas to the north. Overall, a relatively high enrichment in δ¹⁵N values of humans compared to local terrestrial herbivores and carnivores was observed. This indicates that aquatic resources were probably part of the Bronze Age diet in the region although the extent of this needs further investigation. The dramatic effect of environmental factors on isotopic values in the Early Bronze Age of the North Caucasus illustrates how confident conclusions cannot be drawn on the basis of a small number of samples from widely differing regions and time periods. Radiocarbon dating can provide a useful tool for identifying dietary derived reservoir ages in humans, potentially caused by a fish diet. With two possible exceptions, the nine human–animal bone pair dated as part of this study showed no consistent indication for a consistent reservoir effect.