Reconstructing site organization in the eastern Aleutian Islands,Alaska using multi-element chemical analysis of soils

This study presents the results of multi-element analysis of weak-acid extractions of 953 soil samples collected by coring on and around pre-historic village sites on two islands, Sanak and Amaknak, in the eastern Aleutians. Concentrations of aluminum (Al), barium (Ba), calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), phosphorus (P), strontium (Sr), titanium (Ti), and zinc (Zn) were determined using an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). Resultant elemental signatures allow the identification of site features and organization in the absence of large-scale excavation. All the archeological sites showed similar and distinct chemical signatures regardless of the several thousand year date range of the sites or the length of time a site was occupied. However, intensity of occupation does appear to affect concentrations of elements. Site features such as houses, house berms, house floors and middens had distinct anthropogenic signatures and could be distinguished from one another. This approach may be used to identify sites that do not have distinct surface features and to target areas for excavation.     

Multi-element soil prospection aiding geophysical and archaeological survey on an archaeological site in suburban Sagalassos (SW-Turkey)

In order to take full advantage of the archaeological information contained within buried archaeological sites, it is important to apply an integrative approach combining complementary prospection methods. In this study, geochemical prospection data are combined with archaeological and geophysical survey results on an unexcavated site in suburban Sagalassos (SW-Turkey), with the aim of obtaining better insights into the structural shapes and past functionalities of the area. Spatial and multivariate statistical analyses of the chemical data reveal anomalies of K, P and Zn on a location where archaeological and geophysical results suggest the presence of ceramic producing kilns. These elemental enrichments are thought to result from burning wood or dung as fuel for the detected kilns. In addition, local anomalies of Co, Cr, Fe, Mg, Mn and Ni were found to reflect the working and storage of ophiolitic clays, employed as a raw material for ceramic production. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal in a 2.5 m deep drill core in this zone provides ages between AD 120 and 350 at depths of 50 and 60 cm. Al, As, Ba, Ca, Na, Sr, Ti and Pb are considered geogenic elements in this study. The present study supports the theory that geochemical prospection holds potential as a surveying technique, as it was found that chemical data facilitate the interpretation of structures detected by geophysical and archaeological methods, thereby creating an extra dimension to the interpretation of survey data. The results further argue in favour of using strong-acid extractions and the consideration of a large suite of elements when applying chemical soil survey as an archaeological prospection technique, and highlight the importance of considering site lithology. Multivariate statistics proved to be invaluable in distinguishing anthropogenic from lithological soil patterns.     

Charcoal scarcity in Epigravettian settlements with mammoth bone dwellings: the taphonomic evidence from Mezhyrich (Ukraine)

Fuel management during the Paleolithic periods is an important issue to understand past human subsistence. Numerous Palaeolithic sites relate an abundance of burnt bones in hearths and an absence or scarcity of wood charcoals, which leads studies to focus on burnt bone remains and the use of bones in hearths. Few works take into account the micro-residues of wood charcoals which can still be present in hearth areas and excavated sediments. We studied the Epigravettian site with mammoth bone dwellings of Mezhyrich (Ukraine) previously characterized by its high content of burnt bones and an “absence” of wood charcoal during the so-called mammoth steppe. The presence or absence and proportions of both wood charcoals and burnt bones were quantified in macro-, meso- and microscale sediment size fractions by an image analysis method. Our results show that excavations during field-works at Mezhyrich give only a partial image of the original anthracological record and that most charcoal materials are lost with standard archaeological and anthracological approaches. The scarcity of charcoals in this site was possibly due to an important mass reduction accentuated by the addition of bones in hearths. By applying our protocol we recovered a significant amount of wood charcoals which provides the first ¹⁴C dates from charcoals at Mezhyrich. Numerous charcoals are identified contributing subsequent information about vegetation, environment and burning practices. They indicate, by comparison with pollen data already collected, the presence of forest patches in a mammoth steppe landscape, which might have influenced the collecting behavior of Epigravettian populations.     

Ethnoarchaeological study of phytolith assemblages from an agro-pastoral village in Northern Greece (Sarakini): development and application of a Phytolith Difference Index

Phytolith assemblages are analysed in an ethnographic agro-pastoral community in Northern Greece. A new method for analyzing the data, combined with the concentrations of phytoliths per gram sediment, helps to differentiate diverse uses of space in the village. The Phytolith Difference Index (PDI) contrasts the phytolith assemblages in sediment samples from the region around the village least affected by human activities with those in the village and its immediate surroundings. The PDI reveals that many of the samples are dominated by the input of the stalks of the domestic cereal, rye, which is used for food, animal fodder and roof thatching. The PDI also differentiates between dung from mules or donkeys with dung from free ranging cows and goats. Activity areas analysed include storage areas, stabling areas, animal enclosures, floors from living areas that were repeatedly swept, hearths and open areas between structures. The combined use of the PDI, together with phytolith concentrations and phytolith morphotype analyses, may prove to be useful for deciphering activity areas in archaeological sites of not only agro-pastoralists, but also pastoralists and hunter–gatherers.     

Stratigraphic and spatial variability in shell middens: microfacies identification at the ethnohistoric site Tunel VII (Tierra del Fuego,Argentina)

Based on ethnographic accounts from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, functional areas have been identified within Fueginian shell middens. In this context, archaeological microfacies acquire a functional meaning when the microscopic record is compared to information gathered from ethnology, macroscopic observations made during excavation, and experimental modern analogues. All these lines of evidence were combined for the first time at Tunel VII, an eighteenth/nineteenth century shell midden occupied repeatedly by Yamana people, the last hunter–gatherer–fisher groups of the Beagle Channel. The sampling strategy involved three sets of samples: (1) two stratigraphical columns taken from the hut “entrance” and from a portion of the shell midden (i.e., the surrounding refuse shell ring), (2) thin sections from five hearths representing successive phases of frequentation of the hut, and (3) experimental burnt valves of Mytilus edulis, the main malacological component of the site. Comparison of microfacies from groups (1) and (2) provided microscopic indicators to distinguish between shell dumping areas and occupation surfaces. Comparison of microfacies within columns from group (1) allowed recognizing periods of site abandonment and periods of more intense/longer site frequentation. The experimental samples from M. edulis served as a reference to characterize the five central hearths in terms of maximum burning temperatures reached. Different burning structures were correlated to the season of hut frequentation and to their location (and function) within different portions of the hut. The intra-site micromorphological comparison strategy within a well-documented ethnohistorical context provides valuable indicators for the identification of functional areas in archaeological contexts when ethnographical information is not available.     

Plant-food preparation area on an Upper Paleolithic brush hut floor at Ohalo II,Israel

While a division of domestic space into separate sectors dedicated to different activities has been suggested for a number of Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherer sites, it has never been demonstrated based on plant remains from this period. Moreover, due to the usual scarcity of plant macrofossils in archaeological deposits, only animal food preparation activities associated with hearths have been reported in the literature on Near Eastern prehistory. Ohalo II (Israel) is the first Upper Paleolithic site where such a patterned use of interior space and plant processing are evidenced by the distribution of plant remains on a sealed floor of a brush hut. This paper describes and interprets the distribution of almost 60,000 identified seeds and other plant remains on that floor, proposing a reconstruction of three activity areas in the interior of the 12-m² hut: processing of food centered on a grinding stone; a flint knapping area; and an access area in between. Finally, it is suggested that these activity areas might represent male-female division of labor.     

Economic and environmental changes during the 4th and 3rd millennia BC: the 25th Jubilee Symposium of the AEA in Bad Buchau,southern Germany

Abstract

This study represents the first detailed published analysis of a relatively large archaeologically derived faunal assemblage in eastern Beringia for the Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene. The faunal remains, dated to 10,100 cal. BP, are well preserved and have highly resolved spatial association with lithics and hearth features. Factors in the formation of the assemblage are assessed through analyses of weathering, presence/absence of carnivore damage, fragmentation patterns, bone density, and economic utility. Taphonomic analyses indicate that human transport and processing decisions were the major agents responsible for assemblage formation. A spatial model of wapiti and bison carcass processing at this site is proposed detailing faunal trajectories from the kill sites, introduction on site in a central staging area to peripheral marrow extraction areas associated with hearths and lithic items. Data from mortality profiles, spatial analysis, and economic analysis are used to interpret general economy and site function within this period in Interior Alaska. These data and intersite comparisons demonstrate that considerable economic variability existed during the Early Holocene, from broad spectrum foraging to efficient, specialized terrestrial large mammal hunting.     

A new approach to study the fuel used in hearths by hunter-gatherers at the Upper Palaeolithic site of Abri Pataud (Dordogne,France)

The fuel used in hearths in the Upper Palaeolithic period and the management of this fuel have long given rise to questions on intentional or opportunistic human comportment. To understand how fuel was managed during the Aurignacian and Gravettian cultures, hearth samples from the French site of Abri Pataud (ca. 34–20 kyr BP) were collected. An image analysis method for the automated quantification of burnt particles from macroscopic-to-microscopic sediment fractions was developed, and the results obtained using this method were compared with the palaeoenvironmental data available close to the site. At Abri Pataud, the use of bones was dominant during the Pleniglacial, suggesting an intentional practice. However, environmental pressures could have influenced the fuel management practices of the hunter-gatherers, even if the dualistic relationship between the availability of firewood and the use of bone in hearths must be considered. Thus, burnt particle quantification provides more than just an observation of burnt macroremains in hearths: it relates to fundamental information on human behavior.     

Cesium magnetometer surveys at a Pithouse Site near Silver City,New Mexico

The La Gila Encantada Site is located on an isolated ridge top north of Silver City, New Mexico in an area defined culturally as the Mimbres Mogollon region. The 180 m × 80 m (14400 m²) sized site was originally recorded as a dense scatter of ceramics, lithics, and ground stone along with a number of surface depressions that appear to represent pithouses. Cesium magnetometer surveys were conducted to identify hearths, pithouse boundaries, and activity areas outside of pithouses in support of archaeological investigations, and to test this instrument's ability to image these features. This paper presents a characterization of the magnetic signature of a pithouse as a magnetic high in the center caused by the central hearth, low magnetic variability along the floor of the house, and then increased magnetic variability at the pithouse boundary. This characterization was successfully confirmed for three pithouses using cesium magnetometery and archaeological excavation.     

Refuse patterning and behavioral analysis in a pinniped hunting camp in the Late Jomon Period: A case study in layer V at the Hamanaka 2 site,Rebun Island,Hokkaido, Japan

During the Dobayashi New Phase (ca. 1450 cal BC–1300 cal BC), the Jomon maritime hunter–gatherers established pinniped hunting camps at the Hamanaka 2 site on Rebun Island, Hokkaido, Japan. They used the camps for animal processing and possibly cooking meat or processing fat using pottery vessels. Concentrations of conjoinable pottery around hearth features reveal that hearths were centers of activity. Analysis of conjoinable pottery within the excavated areas also indicates that artifacts were moved for the purposes of maintenance and cleaning of the hearths and activity areas.     

Identifying domestic functional areas. Chemical analysis of floor sediments at the Classical-Hellenistic settlement at Düzen Tepe (SW Turkey)

For over a decade, multi-element chemical analysis of floor sediments in archaeological contexts has been a tool to identify and interpret anthropogenic chemical residues and activities. For the current study, a multi-element chemical analysis was applied to floor samples from a Classical-Hellenistic courtyard building at Düzen Tepe (SW Turkey). Among a series of 19 elements analyzed, K, Mg, Fe, P and Sr are thought to directly reflect anthropogenic chemical residues. The elements Cr, Mg, Ni, Pb and Ti are considered to reflect the geological background of the site, yet their contents seem to vary over different chemical residue zones, making them a suitable tool for delineating activity areas. Overall, the sampling and analysis techniques applied at Düzen Tepe – mild acid sample extraction and ICP-OES analysis – have proven to be fit for this kind of study. The analyses allow human activity zones within the study area to be identified and interpreted and deliver insights into the archaeological contexts that could not be obtained by archaeological research alone.     

Reduction of topography effect in inductive electromagnetic profiles: application on coastal sambaqui (shell mound) archaeological site in Santa Catarina state, Brazil

We present results of electrical conductivity profiles obtained with inductive electromagnetic geophysical method in Santa Marta archaeological site, Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil. This site is a sambaqui (shell mound), in which several human occupation remains are found during pre-colonial period such as buried lithic and bone artifacts, fire-place, etc. Most of these mounds include as well many human burials, which, in many cases, point to funerary ritual as a main agency for mound building. A set of profiles of apparent electrical conductivity and magnetic susceptibility was acquired in two sites aiming the identification of geophysical anomalies with potential interest for excavation. To enhance conductivity data, we applied an effective procedure to remove topographical effects in the apparent conductivity measurements, which are rather conditioned by the presence of a variable water table depth or conductive sediment layer. A linear dependence among conductivity values and the site elevation provided a simple linear model to remove the influence of topography. Corrected electric conductivity maps substantially improved the definition of anomalies, many of them rather subtle in raw data images. Corrected maps also show a better adherence with magnetic susceptibility maps, both of them identifying archaeological structures of interest: a well-structured fire-place and a concentration of ceramic fragments.     

An investigation of soil phosphorus distribution within occupation deposits from a Romano-British hut group

A simple scheme for soil sampling and subsequent analysis for total soil phosphorus using perchloric acid digestion is described and its application illustrated by samples from the native farmstead of the Roman period at Cefn Graeanog in North Wales. The floor deposits of three distinctive buildings were analysed, and the data obtained enhanced by Trend Surface Analysis to produce generalized maps of the phosphorus distribution, together with levels of significance of such distribution patterns. These were then used to clarify the details of the interpretation of the usage of the various types of building. Data for soil phosphorus concentration clearly reveal the pattern of erosion of constructed floors, the presence of features such as hearths and drains, and can be used to reveal patterns not otherwise discernible by excavation techniques.     

Luminescence dating of prehistoric hearths in Northeast Qinghai Lake and its paleoclimatic implication

Archeological research has been trying to provide evidence relevant to understanding both the timing of and processes responsible for human colonization of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). Hearth is one of the most extensive, important, and typical prehistoric humanity activity evidence on the QTP. However, there are a number of hearths lacking charcoal material because of the wind and water erosion. Fortunately, most of these hearths can be dated by luminescence dating on the remnant sediments around the hearth. In this study, 18 optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) samples from 14 hearths in Yandongtai site (YDT) and Bronze Wire site (BW) in the northeast of Qinghai Lake area were systematically dated. The OSL ages range from 6.8 ± 0.7 to 14.4 ± 1.2 ka. There is a good agreement between OSL dating results and charcoal ages during the last deglaciation period, which indicates that OSL method has great potential in dating hearth on QTP. Combined with the previous dating results from other hearths, the age of hearths concentrates in 11–13 ka BP, i.e., the Younger Dryas (YD) chronozone. The increased number of hearths indicates reinforced colonization in the Qinghai Lake area during YD cold event, implying that the cold climate during YD event was not severe enough to hinder the inhabitation of prehistoric humanity at an elevation of 3.2 km.     

Microchemical and crystallographic analysis of human bones from Nasca,Peru. A possible method of direct dating of archaeological skeletal material

This paper provides two archaeometric equations obtained by crystal–chemical parameters for dating human bone samples from the archaeological site of Nasca, Peru. Based on radiocarbon dating, the burials span from 500 BC to AD 1000. Crystal–chemical modifications in bone hydroxylapatite over time were compared with a twentieth century skeleton from Italy. Chemical analysis was carried out by means of electron microprobe along a profile from the periosteal to the endosteal border of the midshaft of four human femurs. The results indicate that the Ca/P ratio is linearly correlated with time according to the equation t=7880.68Ca/P−12805.90 (r=0.97; r²=0.95). Bone apatite X-ray powder diffraction analysis showed a systematic increase in the (002) reflection intensity with time, according to the equation t=250.49h/a−1961.86 (r=0.98; r²=0.97). The two independent archaeometric equations permit good accuracy in dating osteoarchaeological remains from the south coast area of Peru. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bedding, hearths, and site maintenance in the Middle Stone Age of Sibudu Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Micromorphological analysis of sediments from the Middle Stone Age site of Sibudu Cave, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, provides a high-resolution sequence and evidence of site formation processes of predominantly anthropogenic deposits. This methodology allows for a detailed interpretation of individual anthropogenic activities, including the construction of hearths and bedding and the maintenance of occupational surfaces through the sweep out of hearths and the repeated burning of bedding. This analysis also provides a context for evaluating other studies at the site relating to magnetic susceptibility, paleobotany, paleozoology, anthracology, and studies of ochre.     

The telltale potency of a simple milligram of charcoal found in a hearth left by Mesolithic reindeer hunters in the Norwegian mountains

The discovery and excavation of superimposed, information-rich Pre-Boreal hunting sites around the mountain lakes of Myrvatn and Fløyrlivatn in Southwest Norway have been the subject of archaeological debate. A brief review of research is presented here. In contrast to the well-preserved sites, settlement remains of a diametrically different order occur in the strongly water-eroded zone of the lakeshores: small, surface hearths in almost every stage of preservation, from evident hearths to diffuse and irregular scatters of fire-cracked stones. The latter category seems generally underestimated as a source of evidence. However, recent finds at Myrvatn demonstrate how even blurred, heavily eroded and almost intangible hearth remains, by the support of wood anatomical analysis, radiocarbon dating and intra-site comparison, may reveal concise, invaluable information both about the history of local use and regional landscape development.     

Pre-Neandertal behaviour during isotopic stage 9 and the beginning of stage 8. New data concerning fauna and lithics in the different occupation levels of orgnac 3 (Ardèche,South-East France): occupation types

The morphology of the Orgnac 3 site has changed over time. This human settlement was once a cave, until it was transformed into a rock shelter and finally an open air site. The stratigraphical sequence has been dated to between isotopic stages 9 and 8. Human groups frequented the site in spite of its changing context, establishing living spaces close to cave walls or around hearths. The site thus provides an ideal opportunity to observe artefact spatial distribution and changing technological systems. The Levallois debitage method appears at the top of the sequence, around 300 000 B.P. Analysis of fauna and lithics from levels 6 and 2 reveals evidence of different human activities. Regardless of these activities, human groups lived and organized their settlement in the same way, whatever the length of the occupation (several short and one long occupation are represented). Their behaviour appears to have remained unchanged no matter what species was hunted or what lithic technology was practised.