Post-medieval sheep (Ovis aries) metapodia from southern Britain

The ‘improvement’ of sheep (Ovis aries) in southern Britain during the post-medieval period is examined using measurements taken on the metacarpals and metatarsals from the late 18th to 19th centuries AD site of Tumbling Fields, Tiverton, Devon. This data set is a rare and important metric archive from which is derived information on the conformation (size and shape) of sheep. Comparisons are presented from other medieval and post-medieval sites, which demonstrate that Tumbling Fields is comparable to other sites of a similar period. The comparisons presented also reveal temporal variation with bones from later sites being taller and more robust on average than those from earlier sites. In addition, the abnormalities of sheep (O. aries) metapodia are examined. In particular, two different conditions are discussed: small, oval cavities in the proximal articulation of the metacarpals, and a ridge of bone on the proximal anterior shaft of the metatarsals. Comparisons are presented from other medieval and post-medieval sites, and potential aetiologies are discussed.     

Spondylolysis in Inuit skeletons from Arctic Canada

Inuit skeletons from archaeological sites in Arctic Canada were examined for the presence of spondylolysis. The largest series represent the Thule culture and historic Inuit from northwest Hudson Bay and Labrador, and Sadlermiut from Southampton Island. The condition was found in 90 individuals, with a total of 120 affected vertebrae producing 198 hemi‐arch defect sites. As in other studies, L5 is affected most frequently, followed by L4 and L3, but examples of L1, L2, L6, and S1 involvement are represented. Incomplete separations account for 20% (40) of the 198 defects, and 5% (10) occur at sites other than interarticularis. Affected males outnumber females at a ratio of 2.4 to 1. The condition was found to increase in frequency from adolescence to young adulthood, and then decrease to middle adulthood and decrease again to old adulthood, but the drop in frequency with age in the adult categories is significant only at the .20 level. Where comparisons could be made, the data obtained from the Canadian Inuit closely resemble those obtained from Alaskan Eskimos and Aleuts, especially their closest linguistic relatives, Inupiat speakers in northern Alaska. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

'Ubaid and ED pottery from five sites at' Ain as-Sayh, Saudi Arabia

This paper presents an analysis of sherds, collected from five archaeological sites at'Ain as-Sayh in Saudi Arabia. The original material has not been available to the author. Consequently, the analysis is based on drawings, photos, and notes provided by H. A. McClure, one of the researchers who collected the material in the field. The sherds may be divided into two groups: one dated to the'Ubaid period, and one dated roughly to the third millennium BC. In the paper the sherds are typologized and compared with material from other sites. A dating of the'Ain as-Sayh sites is attempted with reference to the distribution of pottery-types on the sites, geomorphological information, and a set of mutually consistent radiocarbon dates.     

夏家店下层文化遗址出土铜器的矿料来源分析

为进一步了解夏家店下层文化铜器的物料信息,探讨其矿料来源,采用多接收电感耦合等离子体质谱仪(MC-ICP-MS)对4处夏家店下层文化遗址和1处高台山文化遗址出土的部分铜器进行了铅同位素比值测定,并将测定结果同辽西地区几处金属矿的铅同位素数据进行了对比。结果表明:这4处夏家店下层文化遗址出土铜器的原料可能是使用辽西当地的大井多金属矿的矿石冶炼而成,而大山前遗址出土铜器的铅料有可能来自辽宁桓仁的多金属矿,二道井子遗址所出红铜器的铜料则可能另有来源。所属高台山文化的湾柳遗址铜器的铅同位素数据具有高放射性成因铅特征,表明其与同期其他考古学文化存在某种联系。     

Secondary burial cemeteries,visibility and land tenure: A view from the southern Levant Chalcolithic period

Off-site secondary burial cemeteries in the southern Levant are an innovation of the Chalcolithic period. Ethnographic studies suggest that location of burial places was one of the means used to establish and socially mediate ownership over the landscape. The current research examines whether the spatial pattern of burial sites during the Chalcolithic period in the southern Levant represents a land tenure system. Spatial analyses of burial and habitation sites located mainly along the central Israeli coastal area indicate that Ghassulian communities avoided locating their burial sites near habitation sites concentrations. Viewshed analysis indicates that the areas observed from burial sites are significantly larger than those observed from habitation sites, and that their location scattered across an area which increases rather than overlaps the size of area visible from the habitation sites. Furthermore, our results show that communities which wanted to claim land tenure over a larger territory use burial sites locations in order to maximize the observed area within habitation sites surroundings.     

Chronology and palaeoenvironment of levantine prehistoric sites as seen from sediment studies

Analysis of sediments from the sites of et-Tabun, Jebel Qafza, and Sefunim in Israel, of Ksar 'Aqil in Lebanon, and of Yabrud Rockshelter I and Jerf 'Ajla in Syria leads to a reconstruction of the environments of deposition, periods of weathering and erosion, and relations to changing sea level during the times of occupation of these sites by prehistoric man. The overlapping sequences span the interval from part or all of the last interglaciation through the time of the last glaciation into historic time. Aeolians and from the last interglacial littoral zone and aeolian silt from more distant deserts dominate the site sediments until the early part of the last glaciation (especially at Tabun), whereas colluvial slope deposits, alluvium (Ksar 'Aqil), and angular rockfall debris are characteristic of the mid-last glaciation sediments in most sites, commonly with an admixture of reworked terra rossa soil sediment. These latter sediments seem to reflect a period or periods of greater available moisture or surface run-off. Prominent unconformities mark many sites at times coincident with the final middle palaeolithic (mousterian) occupations or in the interval between middle palaeolithic and upper palaeolithic occupations. It is not clear, in the absence of firm radiometric dates, whether these hiatuses should be correlated from site-to-site or whether they are site-specific. Freeze/thaw phenomena appear not to have played a significant role, if any at all, in the origin of sediments in coastal Levantine sites, although the middle palaeolithic of the Syrian Desert (Yabrud, Jerf 'Ajla) is contained in typical cryoclastic rubble. Finally, the reconstructed sedimentary environments are compared with the still-too-sparse palynological record for the Near East. Parallels of more humid and less humid climatic intervals throughout the past 60,000 to 70,000 years in both of these records reinforce the growing impression of a regionally fluctuating climate in the eastern Mediterranean region during the time of the last glaciation.     

New Middle Palaeolithic sites from the Mani Peninsula,Southern Greece

We here report the first results from a systematic research project in Mani (Southern Greece), which includes survey and test excavations. Forty-six caves, rockshelters and open-air sites in lowland settings were surveyed. Geomorphological data were collected in order to assess how geological processes affect the preservation of sites and bias site distribution patterns. Artifacts manufactured from non-local rock indicate potential raw material transfers and suggest links among the different regions of Mani, related to mobility patterns. Our research in the Mani has nearly doubled the number of known Middle Palaeolithic sites from the region and confirmed that the peninsula has the strongest ‘Neanderthal signal’ identified to date in Greece. Almost all sites are located at coastal areas. Despite the influence of Pleistocene landscape dynamics, this distribution emerges as a persistent pattern, perhaps indicating a preference for coastal locations. The Neanderthal occupation of Mani can illuminate important aspects of Middle Palaeolithic adaptation in one of the southernmost coastal regions of Europe.     

Sourcing galena from a Middle Woodland habitation site in northeast Mississippi

Galena has been recovered mostly in mortuary contexts – burial mounds, burial caves, and associated mortuary facilities – from Middle Woodland sites in the Southeast. Three small pieces of galena from the Cork site (22OK746) in northeast Mississippi came from midden deposits at a site with no mound or burials. Lead isotope analysis was used to source the samples to the Central Missouri-Tri-State-North Arkansas region. Isotopes provide an excellent sourcing method because their ratios are stable and large comparative source datasets are available. Recovery bias may have led to underestimation of galena presence in Middle Woodland habitation sites.     

Critical urban heritage: from palimpsest to brecciation

This paper explores the commonly used metaphor of the palimpsest prevalent in urban studies, and suggests that there are realities in the field that are overshadowed by the dominant use of the metaphor. Whilst the palimpsest is a useful metaphor to illustrate chronological superimposition or traces of the past that remain hidden, it is inadequate in describing sites that feature material, spatial and temporal juxtapositions. To remedy this gap, the paper introduces the concept of brecciation, inspired by Sigmund Freud, to provide an alternative means to consider how the accumulation of materials affects planning in the city. Examples from two specific sites in Rome illustrate how brecciation enhances an understanding of the sites and enables to evaluate the practices of urban heritage in recent urban initiatives. By way of conclusion, the paper highlights the benefits of engaging with a concept that reveals concatenations at a site, and suggests that further work on brecciation could be expanded to include the exploration of intangible entanglements.     

Recent Research on Obsidian from Missouri Archaeological Sites

Obsidian has been noted at archaeological sites in the Midwest for over 160 years, although very few artifacts made from this material are recorded in archaeological contexts in Missouri. Background research revealed that only 16 obsidian artifacts from 13 sites had been documented from the state and that only 5 of the specimens had been geochemically analyzed and attributed to a source. Recent excavations at the Droste site (23PI1291), a Late Woodland period site in northeast Missouri, yielded two obsidian artifacts. The two specimens from the Droste site along with two previously unsourced obsidian artifacts from the Burkemper site (23LN104) and two from the Stapleton site (23HD110) were tested for trace element composition via X-ray fluorescence analysis. This article reports the results of these geochemical analyses, reviews the other obsidian artifacts reported from Missouri, and examines the cultural context and source of obsidian artifacts from other states in the upper Midwest.     

Avian egg-shell from archaeological sites

Avian egg-shell occurs fairly commonly on archaeological sites, particularly in alkaline deposits. It is rarely studied in detail. Egg-shell structure is described briefly below and features which may be of value for identification purposes are discussed. Egg-shells from 14 archaeological sites are tentatively identified as goose, domestic fowl, duck and guinea fowl. It seems likely that confident identification should ultimately be possible using a combination of features. This should yield information complementary to osteological evidence for the history of the utilization of birds and their eggs.     

Some observations on puff-balls from British archaeological sites

The occurrence of the puff-ball Bovista nigrescens in four British archaeological sites, approximately 2000 years old, is investigated, and the related Calvatia utriformis is reported for the first time in archaeological excavations from one of these sites. The circumstances of their discovery at two of these sites (Skara Brae and Vindolanda) strongly suggest that they did not arrive there fortuitously. The puff-balls are considered to have been used as haemostatic agents and/or as tinder. A detailed morphological comparison of early specimens with present-day material is made.     

Archaeological Site Management and Local Involvement: A Case Study from Abu Rawash,Egypt

Abstract

Local involvement is an essential element of successful archaeological site management. Recognition of the role of the local community could make a great contribution in improving the present critical situation of many archaeological sites worldwide. In Egypt, where internationally renowned archaeological sites attract both academic and tourism interests, archaeological sites and monuments are suffering from different issues. Amongst the various causes is the failure to recognize the relationship between the sites and the present society — both the local community and other stakeholders — and this has negatively influenced the sites. Not only have the local communities been given limited access to knowledge, and limited opportunities to become involved in the archaeology, but also their attempts to pursue a better standard of living have been restricted for the sake of protecting the national heritage. In this article I use a case study from Abu Rawash to explore strategies that could encourage local involvement in site management, through capacity building and communication with the government and other stakeholders. Although local involvement may not provide a drastic improvement of an individual site's condition, the principle of local involvement should contribute to a general improvement in Egypt, where conservation efforts largely focus on physical materials and little attention is given to the society surrounding the archaeological remains.     

The distribution and sources of archaeological obsidian from southern France

One-hundred-and-sixty-two pieces of obsidian have been found at 50 archaeological localities in southern France. The distribution is concentrated in the Rhône Valley, but includes sites in Drôme and in southwest France. The obsidian is mainly from sites of the Chassey culture (4th and 3rd millennium Neolithic), but there is one Impressed Ware site (Early Neolithic) and four Copper Age sites with obsidian. Only a small proportion of the obsidian (31 pieces) consists of waste pieces, providing little evidence for on-site working. 10 pieces of obsidian were analysed by instrumental neutron activation analysis to determine their geological provenance. Seven pieces proved to be from the Sardinian SA source, one from Lipari, and two from Pantelleria. Chronologically there is some division between sources used: all three pieces of Liparian obsidian so far identified from southern France, in this work and by earlier researchers, belong to Early Chassey contexts, and the two Pantellerian pieces are from a Copper Age dolmen. Sardinian and Liparian obsidian probably reached France by way of northern Italy. where both types were in use in contemporary cultures. The two Pantellerian pieces are evidence of some type of contact between France and the southern Mediterranean in the Copper Age, despite earlier suggestions of a very restricted distribution for the Pantellerian source. Obsidian was probably imported to southern France with other goods since the small amounts used would not warrant a separate trading network for obsidian alone.     

Bidirectional blade technology on naviform cores from northern Arabia: New evidence of Arabian-Levantine interactions in the Neolithic

Discovered in March 2015, the sites of DAJ-112 and DAJ-125 in the Al-Jawf province of northern Saudi Arabia consist of a large collection of surface lithic artefacts that can be compared to well-known Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) B technology from the Levant: the two sites include bidirectional blade technology with naviform core preparation and opposed platforms surface exploitation, as well as burin production at a wide scale. Other surface scatters have been identified during the 2013 and 2015 surveys, showing these two sites are not isolated in Al-Jawf, as rather important occurrences of Early Holocene technology have been identified across the region. Although the sites from Al-Jawf are surface occurrences and not radiometrically dated, the finds have proven to be extremely significant, representing a southward incursion of classic naviform cores-based technology, thus expanding the geographical distribution of this technology beyond the Levant. By addressing the lithic evidence from northern Arabia, the expansion and/or influence of PPN populations and cultural elements will be discussed.     

Prehistoric iron production technologies in the Upper Thai-Malay Peninsula: metallography and slag inclusion analyses of iron artefacts from Khao Sam Kaeo and Phu Khao Thong

This article presents a preliminary attempt to characterise Upper Thai-Malay Peninsula prehistoric iron technologies based on assemblages from two recently excavated coastal sites: Khao Sam Kaeo and Phu Khao Thong. These are the earliest known sites involved in the early trans-Asian exchange that connected the eastern Indian Ocean to the South China Sea from the mid-first millennium bc. It is from this period that iron assemblages start appearing at both continental and insular Southeast Asian sites. Three models have been offered confronting an indigenous vs. Chinese or South Asian impetus for the introduction of iron metallurgy in Southeast Asia. These models are discussed in the light of the metallographic and compositional analyses of iron and slag assemblages from these two sites using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectrometry, energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence and slag inclusion analysis techniques, together with other production materials from these and other contemporaneous Southeast Asian sites.     

Identifying sites at risk from illicit metal detecting: from CRAVED to HOPPER

Archaeological sites are at risk from acquisitive crime: this paper focuses in particular on illicit metal detecting. The effects of theft in this context are not merely financial, but have devastating impact on our knowledge and understanding of the site. Even where items are later recovered, we lose the vital clues about the precise context of an object. We therefore need to reduce the risk of theft occurring in the first place.

This paper draws on case studies from England and presents a new methodology to assess which archaeological sites may be at risk from illicit metal detecting: ‘HOPPER’ identifies the characteristics of sites likely to be targeted by offenders looking for antiquities. In brief: History (a history of finds at the site); Open (the site has physical public access, and/or is documented in the public domain); Protection (protected status can act as a beacon for offenders); Publicity (site is known about or receiving new attention); Evasion (there are known ways to escape apprehension); and Repeat victimisation (The site has been a target before). The impact of HOPPER will be its use in the field to develop a pragmatic risk assessment applicable both in a local and international context.     

Shell beads from Mississippian sites in the northern Yazoo Basin,Mississippi

ABSTRACT

In this paper, which focuses on the Mississippian period in the northern Yazoo Basin, Mississippi, I present some interesting findings from research done over the past century. In this area, most shell beads come from surface collections, or from excavated burials in cemeteries or ossuaries. Burial styles include extended, flexed, semi-flexed, and bundles, with very few cremations having been encountered. Bead burials also seem to reflect both common and elite people, and there are some interesting discoveries concerning association of shell beads. I will use 33 archaeologically investigated major sites as examples to illustrate an unexpected paucity of shell beads and other shell ornaments at some of the most heavily populated Mississippian sites in the Lower Mississippi Valley. Two other sites with shell beads in the uplands will be used for comparison.     

Experimental studies of personal ornaments from the Iron Gates Mesolithic

Personal ornaments, especially those made from the shells of marine mollusks and animal teeth, have been recovered from many Mesolithic sites across Europe. This paper reviews the evidence of personal ornaments from the Mesolithic of the Iron Gates, where such finds were identified in five sites on the Romanian bank: the cave and rock shelter sites of Climente II and Cuina Turcului, and three open-air sites—Icoana, Ostrovul Banului, and Schela Cladovei. The ornaments from these sites were made from the shells of several gastropod taxa and at least one species of dentaliid scaphopod, as well as the pharyngeal teeth of cyprinids, the teeth of several species of terrestrial mammal, fish vertebrae, and pieces of antler and bone. Particular attention is given to taxonomic identification and questions of taphonomy, provenance, selection, manufacture, and use. Experiments were conducted in which several types of ornament were replicated. Archeological and experimental pieces (at various stages of production) were examined under a microscope, to establish the durability of the beads and estimate the length of time over which they were worn. Our results show that shells of Lithoglyphus and Theodoxus sp. were simply perforated and fixed in composed adornments, as were shells of Tritia neritea in the early part of the time range. In the later Mesolithic, T. neritea shells were processed in a different way and fixed to clothing in the manner of appliqués. No technological modification of the cyprinid teeth was observed; these were sewn individually onto clothing by means of a thread coated with an adhesive substance. The other categories of personal ornament were used mainly as pendants. Experimental use-wear analysis suggests that many ornaments were used over long periods, with broken or missing pieces replaced when necessary.