The Dor 2001/1 Shipwreck, Israel—a Summary of the Excavation

Dor 2001/1 was probably a Byzantine coaster carrying building stones, dated to the end of the 5th or beginning of the 6th century AD. No shell-first construction features were identified, specifically no kind of planking edge-joints; but instead all the essential components showed that it was a frame-based hull. Thus it is apparently among the earliest frame-based shipwrecks found so far in the Mediterranean.
© 2006 The Authors     

Archaeological,Historical, and Ethnographic Approaches to the Study of Sewn Boats: past,present, and future

Sewn‐plank vessels have been a pervasive form of ship construction since antiquity. This paper provides an introductory overview of the current state of the field of sewn‐plank studies, with a particular focus on the Indian Ocean. It describes the basic function of sewn‐plank techniques, and then discusses textual references and historical approaches to the topic. The relevant archaeological evidence is reviewed, and prior ethnographic work relating to the topic is outlined. It summarizes numerous experimental sewn‐plank reconstructions that have been undertaken and concludes with a discussion of the current directions of the field and suggestions for the future.     

The 4th-century B.C. shipwreck at Mazotos,Cyprus: New techniques and methodologies in the 3D mapping of shipwreck excavations

Abstract

Well preserved ancient shipwrecks are rare in the archaeological record, but when discovered, they can provide valuable information on a wide range of research issues if analyzed and documented properly. In this paper we discuss the significance, potential, and constraints of mapping methods applied during the underwater excavation of shipwreck sites with special emphasis on stratigraphy, documentation of finds, and reconstruction of site formation processes. As a case study, we present the digital photogrammetry and computer vision software programs used in the excavation of the 4th-century b.c. shipwreck at Mazotos, Cyprus. Our goal is to develop a targeted documentation and mapping method of ongoing shipwreck excavations so that others can address complex research questions concerning this unique discipline of archaeology.     

河南许昌灵井许昌人遗址考古发现与探索

本文简要介绍了河南许昌灵井许昌人遗址2005～2008年田野考古的一系列新发现,并着重对与之有关的现代人类起源、石工具面貌、末次冰期时人类对环境的选择与适应和今后研究工作的着力点等,进行了简要概述和讨论.     

安阳市西高平遗址晋、唐宋遗存发掘报告

2004年9～11月,为配合安阳至林州的高速公路建设,河南省文物考古研究所对安阳市西高平遗址进行了发掘,发现晋、唐宋时期文化遗存,出土较丰富的瓷、铜、陶器等遗物,为了解安阳地区唐宋时期的文化面貌增添了较丰富的实物资料.     

Game Resources, Social Interaction, and the Ecological Footprint in Southwest New Mexico

Humans have modified their environments for millennia, but the role of these impacts on economic and social strategies among communities can be difficult to assess. This is due in part to the difficulty of quantifying impacts, which hinders our evaluations of the effects of different resource acquisition strategies and impairs attempts to understand competing demands on resources and their effects on the evolution of social relations. In this paper we employ footprint analysis, a tool used in ecology, to assess the impact of prehistoric subsistence farming communities on the environment, specifically faunal resources. We use footprint analysis to quantify the impact of various strategies of game acquisition by Classic Mimbres period (AD 1000-1130) farmers in the North American Southwest. Assessments are then employed in identifying changes in social relations among communities that may have contributed to settlement changes in the region.     

Evidence for Earliest Olive-Oil Production in Submerged Settlements off the Carmel Coast, Israel

Thousands of crushed olive stones with olive pulp are concentrated in pits at the Kfar Samir prehistoric settlement off the Carmel coast south of Haifa. Observations at this site, and at other Late Neolithic to Early Chalcolithic offshore settlements in this region, record an olive-oil technology that began along the Carmel coastal plain as early as 6500 years ago. This is about 500 years earlier than previously held. These new finds help define the technology of olive-oil production and refine the chronological definition of cultural units along the southern Levant coast during the 7th millenniumbp, a time of major transition between the end of the Neolithic and beginning of the Chalcolithic.     

Fragments of Boats from the Canale Anfora of Aquileia,Italy, and Comparison of Sewn‐Plank Ships in the Roman Era

Fragments of Roman sewn‐plank boats have been found, during rescue excavations, in the Canale Anfora, an artificial channel used by Roman ships to enter the Roman city of Aquileia. Remains were found in both 1988 and 2005 at the same site. Elements of what were probably two boats are analysed and compared to other finds of Roman sewn boats found along the coast of the Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions. They are evidence of the use of this technique, instead of the more widespread mortise‐and‐tenon system, in the quite limited area of the Northern Adriatic. These boats were used both for inland and for maritime navigation.     

江苏泗洪韩井遗址水稻驯化的植硅体证据及相关问题

韩井遗址顺山集文化一期由洼地和水沟组成的水稻田,很可能是目前发现的最早与人类驯化水稻相关的遗迹,植硅体分析也在一定程度上对这一论断给予支持。从顺山集文化一期到二期,韩井遗址均以水稻双峰型植硅体居多,而且其百分比和浓度(均值)均呈现增多的态势;水稻扇型和横排哑铃型植硅体表现出相反的规律。与同时期顺山集遗址相比,韩井遗址的水稻扇型植硅体尺寸偏小。水稻扇型植硅体鱼鳞状纹饰个数和水稻双峰型植硅体形态测量用于水稻驯化程度的判定上,表现出非协同性。陶胎中掺入破碎稻壳是韩井遗址水稻栽培与驯化实践的又一反映。     

Terminal Late Woodland Mortuary Ceremonialism,Social Differentiation,and Long Distance Interaction in Northern Ohio: New Evidence from the Danbury Site

Abstract

The period from A.D. 800 to 1200 was a time of marked cultural transitions across the Midwest which featured the Mississippian emergence in the west and development of sedentary, tribal societies to the north and east. Recent salvage excavations at the Danbury site, a terminal Late Woodland habitation and cemetery in northwestern Ohio, document the intensified exploitation and storage of aquatic faunal resources and maize and the creation of a large corporate cemetery. Whelk shell ornaments accompanying certain burials point to long-distance interaction with southeastern societies as well as new forms of social differentiation. Preserved fibers of cotton (Gossypium spp.) in the dental calculus of several important individuals reveal previously unrecognized social or economic linkages with societies as distant as the Southwest or northern Mexico. The combined evidence for subsistence intensification, specialized mortuary treatments, and long-distance material exchange at Danbury represent unique local responses to pan-regional socio-cultural transformations.     

The Tel Akko Total Archaeology Project (Akko,Israel): Assessing the suitability of multi-scale 3D field recording in archaeology

Abstract

Archaeology is a destructive discipline, and, unfortunately, the majority of methods employed by archaeologists to record and preserve the archaeological record consist of two-dimensional representations of three-dimensional (3D) subjects. Recent breakthroughs in 3D technology, however, have the potential to revolutionize the discipline. In recent years, multiple software suites capable of generating spatially accurate, photorealistic 3D models with a series of digital photographs have become available. Following a successful season of field testing in 2011, the Tel Akko Total Archaeology Project (Akko, Israel) expanded the use of Agisoft’s PhotoScan Pro—one of the commercially available software suites—to test the accuracy and suitability of the program for archaeological applications at multiple scales. After two years of field testing, it is clear that the implementation of PhotoScan Pro in archaeology facilitates unprecedented accuracy in field recording and digital heritage management, and provides a new outlet for the dissemination of archaeological data.     

New discoveries in the Piramide Naranjada in Cahuachi (Peru) using satellite,Ground Probing Radar and magnetic investigations

The detection of buried earthen structures by using remote sensing techniques is still an open issue and a strategic challenge as crucial as it is complex. It is crucial because earthen archaeological remains are widely present thoughtout the world (in South America, Asia, Africa) and it is complex due to the subtle physical contrast between earthen remains and the surrounding subsoil.     

3D Digital Documentation,Assessment, and Damage Quantifi cation of the Al-Deir Monument in the Ancient City of Petra,Jordan

Abstract

The rock-cut monuments in the ancient city of Petra in Jordan form an outstanding tangible heritage site. Unfortunately, this important part of the world's cultural heritage is gradually being diminished due to weathering and erosion problems. In this research, an approach combining in situ surveying and laboratory analysis is applied in order to provide sufficient and comprehensive data regarding the documentation and evaluation of the status of the Al-Deir monument in Petra. The purpose was not only to quantify the damage, but also to make a first step towards creating a 3D monitoring programme of the deterioration rate. The approach presents a correlation study between the environmental condition and the surface weathering damage, using 2D mapping of the weathering form and accurate 3D realistic modelling from laser scanning and digital photogrammetry. The 2D mapping provides detailed weathering damage information for the entire stone surface of the monument, whereas the 3D modelling provides information on the spatial distribution and texture of the damage. Additionally, the 3D digital model can provide reference data as an exact guide to the restoration needed. In order to support the visual presentation of 3D surface details, a hybrid approach combining data from laser scanning and digital imagery was developed.

Studies of stone texture and spatial distribution of soluble salts were carried out at the monument in order to explain the mechanism of the weathering problem. Relative humidity, temperature, and wind are the main factors in the salt damage process. In order to study the effect of these conditions in the salt crystallization process a series of fieldwork investigations and laboratory work were undertaken. The results show that visible zoning of weathering damage is correlated to different salt concentrations.     

New Evidence for the Submerged Ancient Harbour Structures at Tolmetha and Leptis Magna,Libya

Surveys carried out in 2009, during a project for the creation of three underwater archaeological parks in Libya, have allowed archaeologists both to analyse already known ancient structures and to discover new evidence about the harbour areas of the ancient cities of Tolmetha and Leptis Magna. © 2012 The Author     

邳州市发现京杭大运河古船闸遗址

１９９５年在邳州市发现的一处京杭大运河古船闸遗址,对于了解明末至清徐州的水利、清运有一定的研究价值。     

Iron mineralization and dolomitization in the Paran Fault zone,Israel: implications for low‐temperature basinal fluid processes near the Dead Sea Transform

Petrography, Eh‐pH calculations and the stable isotope composition of oxygen are used to interpret geochemical processes that occurred during iron oxide mineralization and dolomitization along the Menuha Ridge segment of the Paran Fault, southern Israel, adjacent to the Dead Sea Transform (DST). Iron mineralization is strongly localized in the fault zone as ferruginous lenses, whereas Fe dolomitization spreads laterally into the Cenomanian‐Turonian carbonate host rock as stratabound beds. The average oxygen isotope fractionation between syngenetic quartz and iron oxides in the ferruginous lenses gives a temperature of 50 ± 10°C and δ¹⁸O SMOW water = ?3.5‰; consistent with an origin from metalliferous groundwater flow in the sedimentary basin. Ferroan dolomite initially formed under strongly reducing conditions, but this was followed by oxidation and pseudomorphic replacement of the dolomite by a mesh of fine‐grained iron oxides (simple zoned dolomites). This cycle of ferroan dolomite formation and replacement by iron oxides was repeated in complex zoned dolomites. Dolomite oxygen isotope compositions fall into two groups: a high δ¹⁸O group corresponding to the simple zoned dolomites and non‐ferroan dolomites and a low δ¹⁸O group corresponding to the complex zoned dolomites. Water‐rock calculations suggest that the epignetic dolomites formed under fluid‐buffered conditions: the high δ¹⁸O group are indicated to have formed at temperatures of ca. 25°C for waters with δ¹⁸O = ?4 to 0‰; the low δ¹⁸O complex zoned dolomites at 50–75°C for waters with the same isotopic composition. A kinetic calculation for a complex zoned dolomite‐bearing bed indicates that dolomitization must have occurred at high values of the dolomite saturation index. This requirement for high Mg supersaturation and the indication that epigenetic dolomitization is more protracted in stratigraphically deeper formations located closer to the DST is consistent with models proposing that Mg‐rich solutions originated in the Dead Sea Rift.     

Palynological and Archaeological Evidence for Ritual Use of Wine in the Kura-Araxes Period at Aradetis Orgora (Georgia,Caucasus)

Pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs from two zoomorphic Kura-Araxes vessels (ca. 3000 b.c.) from Aradetis Orgora suggest they were utilized for the ritual consumption of wine and likely represent the beginning of the enduring tradition of animal-shaped wine-drinking containers in Georgia. This hypothesis is supported by archaeological and geoarchaeological data: they resemble later wine-containing vessels from Georgia and elsewhere and were found in a building whose context is suggestive of a small shrine. Their palynological spectra match those of present-day wine and wine containers of other periods. One of them was intact, with only a small access hole; consequently, its palynological spectrum can be utilized as a standard for determining the presence of wine in other archaeological vessels. Palynological analyses from different contexts of the Aradetis Orgora settlement and its cemetery (Doghlauri) yielded other significant results regarding the practice of viticulture and the cultural relevance of wine during the Kura-Araxes period.     

Pre-Columbian jadeitite artifacts from the Golden Rock Site,St. Eustatius,Lesser Antilles,with special reference to jadeitite artifacts from Elliot's,Antigua: implications for potential source regions and long-distance exchange networks in the Greater Caribbean

A detailed electron microscopy analysis of jadeitite celts from the Early Ceramic Age Golden Rock settlement on the small volcanic island of St Eustatius, Lesser Antilles, is presented in an effort to identify the source region(s) of these jadeitite axes and evaluate the extent of trade networks in the Caribbean during pre-Columbian times through which those tools (or source rocks) circulated. Habitation at the site occurred between ca. AD 230–890, and the jadeitite tools most likely date between cal. AD 600 and 825/890. We argue that in provenancing jadeitite emphasis should be placed on the identification of the entire mineral assemblage (including the accessory minerals) and textures, given the complex geological histories and processes that form this quasi-monomineralic rock. Indeed, the mineral assemblages and the characteristics of the individual minerals within the studied jadeitite samples are far from homogenous, suggesting either the source has a high degree of internal variation or there are multiple sources. We have identified three jadeitite groups among the analyzed samples on the basis of mineralogical assemblages: Group 1 consists of samples bearing phlogopite (plus phengite and epidote but without lawsonite or quartz); Group 2 contains lawsonite (plus phengite and quartz but without phlogopite and epidote); and Group 3 is defined by containing hematite. Importantly, we have not identified glaucophane in the analyzed materials. The comparison of these artifact data with those of jadeitites from the four potential known source regions of Caribbean jade, i.e., Guatemala (North and South Motagua Fault mélanges), Cuba (Sierra del Convento mélange) and Dominican Republic (Río San Juan complex) allows us to conclude that both the North and South Motagua Valley mélanges are the most likely sources for artifact groups 2 and 3, and perhaps also for group 1. This identification supports earlier hypotheses on the existence of pan-regional exchange networks, tying the northern Antilles with the Isthmo-Colombian region (Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica) during the Ceramic Age of the Caribbean.