Identifying the Involvement of Multiple Carnivore Taxa with Archaeological Bone Assemblages

Information on the number of carnivore taxa that were involved with archaeological bone assemblages is pertinent to questions of site formation, hominid and carnivore competition for carcasses and the sequence of hominid and carnivore activity at sites. A majority of early archaeological bone assemblages bear evidence that both hominids and carnivores removed flesh and/or marrow from the bones. Whether flesh specialists (felids) or bone-crunchers (hyaenas), or both, fed upon the carcasses is crucial for deciphering the timing of hominid involvement with the assemblages. Here we present an initial attempt to differentiate the tooth mark signature inflicted on bones by a single carnivore species versus multiple carnivore taxa. Quantitative data on carnivore tooth pits, those resembling a tooth crown or a cusp, are presented for two characteristics: the area of the marks in millimetres, and the shape as determined by the ratio of the major axis to the minor axis of the mark. Tooth pits from bones modified by extant East African carnivores and latex impressions of tooth pits from extinct carnivore species are compared to those in the FLK Zinjanthropus bone assemblage. Data on tooth mark shape indicate greater variability in theZinj sample than is exhibited by any individual extant or extinct carnivore species in the comparative sample. Data on tooth mark area demonstrate that bone density is related to the size of marks. Taken together, these data support the inference that felids defleshed bones in the Zinj assemblage and that hyaenas had final access to any grease or tissues that remained.     

Archaeological Views of Aztec Culture

To understand Aztec society most scholars have relied heavily on the rich and abundant documents written during the 16th and 17th centuries. But new archaeological fieldwork is yielding data that supplement the documents; it offers new insights into Aztec society that contribute to comparative studies of complex societies. Publications from 1989 to 1997 emphasize (1) chronologies based on archaeological evidence rather than texts; (2) the origins of the Aztecs and the nature of the preimperial period; (3) developmental sequences and internal organization of individual sites and polities; (4) the economies of households, communities, and regions; and (5) the impact of the Aztec empire on subject regions.     

Archaeology and Inka Origins

The recent proliferation of Andean archaeological research presents new interpretive opportunities for reconstructing different aspects of Inka origins. Early colonial historiography reveals that “Inka origins” refers to multiple aspects of the past, including the first appearance of Andean people, Inca ancestors, and the imperial title. The intellectual history of Inka archaeology demonstrates the lasting influence of Spanish colonial interpretive values, even with the gradual introduction of new scientific methods during the 20th century. Since 1970, significant advances in the archaeology of Cuzco, the Inka capital region, and other parts of the Andes have established an independent database that highlights the long-term and regional aspect of Inka origins, as well as areas where interpretive questions remain. The shift from colonial chronicles to archaeological data improves the accuracy of reconstructions of Inka origins, but it also raises some epistemological questions for the future relationships between history and archaeology in the study of ancient empires.     

GEOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS AND SOCIOCULTURAL COMPLEXITY: A CASE STUDY FROM EARLY IRON AGE MEGIDDO (ISRAEL)*

Few archaeological sites can claim a more celebrated position than Megiddo, the Armageddon of biblical revelation. Guardian to a strategic pass on the ancient land bridge that traverses the region, it has long been known that Megiddo played a prominent role in the emergence of the Iron Age nation‐states of biblical fame. Given its pivotal location, Megiddo provides an ideal opportunity to examine the experience of a community that found itself at the centre of these developments. The archaeological and textual evidence indicates a community that enjoyed extensive contact with an array of culturally distinct sociopolitical groups emerging in its hinterland. To further explore the nature and extent of this interaction, an assemblage of 86 ceramic sherds was analysed by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). This paper presents the results of this analysis, together with an evaluation of potential geochemical and archaeological interconnections. Based on this comparative analysis, implications are drawn regarding Megiddo's role in the changing cultural and political landscape of this formative period in the history of the region.     

Autochthony and orientation patterns in Olduvai Bed I: a re-examination of the status of post-depositional biasing of archaeological assemblages from FLK North (FLKN)

Recent excavations at FLK North (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania) have produced new information on the orientation of archaeological materials at various levels of the site. This information includes the uniform distribution of material azimuths, which contrasts with previous inferences of highly patterned orientations of materials in the Bed I archaeological sites. Those previous inferences of patterned material orientations are based on Mary Leakey's 50-year-old drawings of artifact and fossil bone distribution, but are not verified by our precise measurements of archaeological objects made in situ. Nor do those previous results agree with the general lack of geological, geomorphological, and/or taphonomic data that would indicate significant post-depositional movement of archaeological materials in the sites. We argue here that Leakey's drawings are incomplete (only portions of each assemblage were drawn) and inaccurate in their representation of the original locations, shapes and orientations of most archaeological specimens. This argument is supported by several important mismatches in object representations between a photograph taken of a small portion of the FLK 22 Zinjanthropus site floor before the removal of the archaeological items, and the sketch of the same area drawn by Leakey. Thus, we conclude that primary orientation data of excavations (i.e., direct measurements taken from items) generated prior to object removal are the only valid indicators of the relative isotropy or anisotropy of these important paleoanthropological assemblages.     

Reporting oppression: mapping racial prejudice in Anti-Caste and Fraternity, 1888–1895

This paper presents a close reading of the reports of racial oppression that appeared in issues of two periodicals, Anti-Caste and its successor Fraternity, between 1888 and 1895. Edited in Street, Somerset, these periodicals created an extensive political geographical imagination by mapping international cases of racial prejudice. Although critical of the British empire, neither Anti-Caste nor Fraternity demanded the destruction of the British empire. In a tactic similar to that used by early Pan-Africanists, the papers’ narratives desired an end to the expansion of the British empire and an increase in the respect for and conditions of those who were ruled ‘under the British Flag’. However, Anti-Caste’s focus upon racial inequality across the United States as well as the British empire enabled it to create a distinctive critique of racial prejudice across the English-speaking world. Its criticism of the imperial project combined with support for human brotherhood allowed the paper to develop a framework for debates on racial prejudice that drew together criticisms of labour laws in India, the removal of people from their lands in Southern Africa, the racial segregation of public transport in the United States and the restriction of Chinese labour in Australia.     

Strangers in the grave? Investigating local provenance in a Greek Bronze Age mass burial using δS analysis

The present study employs δ³⁴S analysis to investigate the potential of this method in the investigation of local/geographic origin for the 12 individuals buried collectively over the ruins of a Bronze Age building, under a tumulus, in Thebes, Greece, and to help in the understanding of this unique case in Greek archaeology. Sulphur isotope analysis of bone collagen is applied with increasing frequency to elucidate aspects of paleodiet and movement in archaeology. Sulphur is linked to local geology and can also be used to indicate proximity of people and animals to the sea. The osteoarchaeological analysis of the assemblage revealed that it included individuals of both sexes and all age groups, a configuration which could traditionally be interpreted as an extended family. The absence of synchronous burials in Thebes amplifies the importance of this assemblage. At the same time, traditional archaeological practice has been unable to elucidate the conditions that led to this event, proposing a biological affinity for the individuals and personal reasons for their extinction. However, sulphur isotope analysis clearly demonstrated that at least one of the individuals had spend the last years of life in an environment different from the rest, a fact likely to indicate a rather random composition of this assemblage.     

Canidae volume bone mineral density values: an application to sites in western Canada

We present volume bone mineral density values from five different canid species: domestic dog (Canis familiaris), wolf (Canis lupus), coyote (Canis latrans), red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and swift fox (Vulpes velox). We use these density values to investigate Canidae remains from four archaeological sites in western Canada and show the importance of explicitly stating assumptions made about the original composition of the deposited faunal assemblage as this influences whether correlations are found between density and percent survivorship (%MAU).     

Seasonality in the prehistoric Faiyum based on the incremental growth structures of the Nile catfish (Pisces: Clarias)

A methodology for constructing a seasonality study based on incremental growth structures of the Nile catfish (Clarias spp.) was developed and applied to an archaeological assemblage from the Faiyum Depression, Egypt. This study reveals that the Nile catfish was collected by terminal Palaeolithic and early Neolithic Faiyum inhabitants at two different periods of the year: late spring/early summer and summer/fall.     

The Scale and Impact of Viking Settlement in Northumbria

DISCOVERIES AT the Viking winter camp at Torksey indicate that the armies that invaded Anglo-Saxon England in the late 9th century were much larger than is often assumed, and that a literal reading of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle’s assessment of the size of Viking fleets may, after all, have been correct. Furthermore, study of the Torksey metalwork assemblage has allowed the identification of the archaeological signature of the Viking Great Army, and when applied to Cottam, it confirms the identification of an initial phase of raiding by an element of the Army, followed shortly thereafter by settlement represented by the development of a hybrid Anglo-Scandinavian culture. Taken together, over 25 categories of non-ferrous artefacts are diagnostic of Viking or Anglo-Scandinavian activity in Northumbria. Applying this model to sites, largely known only from metal-detecting, we can observe a common pattern. At the majority of sites, a large and fairly standardised middle Anglo-Saxon finds assemblage is succeeded by just a few Viking finds, which we attribute to raiding following Halfdan’s return to Northumbria with part of the Great Army in AD 876. At a smaller number of sites, assemblages of Anglo-Scandinavian finds relate to the establishment of settlements by the new landowners. The overall picture is of major settlement disruption and dislocation of existing land holdings and populations in the late-9th century. This demonstrates, for the first time from archaeological evidence, the scale and impact of Viking activity in Northumbria.     

Through the Glass Darkly: Prehispanic Obsidian Procurement and Exchange in Southern Peru and Northern Bolivia

Recent discovery of the major geological sources of Central Andean obsidian permits a new understanding of the patterns of obsidian procurement and exchange by the Prehispanic societies of southern Peru and northern Bolivia. Based on the trace element analysis of obsidian artifacts from 160 archaeological sites, it can be established that the two major deposits of obsidian were being exploited by 9400 BP, and that volcanic glass was being transported over long distances throughout Andean prehistory. Inhabitants of the Cuzco region acquired most obsidian from the Alca source in central Arequipa, while those in the high plateau surrounding Lake Titicaca obtained most obsidian from the Chivay source in southern Arequipa. Obsidian evidence suggests close ties between the Cuzco and Circum-Titicaca regions throughout prehistory, except during the Middle Horizon (ca. 1400–1050 BP), when the expansion of the Huari and Tiahuanaco states disrupted this pattern.     

New evidence for Upper Palaeolithic small domestic dogs in South-Western Europe

Osteoarchaeology and genetics agree that the earliest dog domestications took place during the Upper Palaeolithic. However, they partially disagree about the process of domestication. The former indicated multiple origins, when some of the results of the latter suggested that dogs mainly came from a Chinese centre of domestication. In this study, we describe and discuss new evidence for Late Glacial small dogs in the South-West (Pont d’Ambon and Montespan) and North of France (Le Closeau). Special attention was paid to the possibility of miss-identification between small early dogs and dholes (Cuon alpinus), a middle-sized Canidae, the size of which can be similar to early small dogs. Detailed analyses of the archaeological contexts alongside that of taphonomy, morphoscopy, morphometry and pathology, identified 49 small canid remains from the three sites. They allowed us to exclude the presence of dholes and to conclude that they were all small Upper Paleolithic dogs. These, together with other more sparse discoveries, confirmed the presence of Western European Upper Paleolithic Small (WEUPS) dogs from, at least, the Middle Magdalenian to the end of the Epipaleolithic (i.e. 15,000–11,500 cal BP). As they are contemporaneous with the much larger Russian Upper Paleolithic dogs, they plea for several Euro-Asian origins for Late Palaeolithic dogs.     

Genetic characterization of an archaeological sheep assemblage from South Africa’s Western Cape

The Neolithic Revolution, constituting a shift from food acquisition to food production, came to Africa as it did to most of the rest of the world: through processes of transmission rather than through de novo innovation. In contrast with other regions the pastoral management of cattle, sheep and goats was widespread in Africa thousands of years before settled agricultural communities or the use of domesticated plants were in evidence ( 46, 35 and 10). We report here the discovery of haplogroup B in the first genetic analysis of an African archaeological sheep assemblage.     

A PILOT STUDY IN NON-CONTACT LASER PHOTOTHERMAL ARCHAEOMETRY OF ANCIENT STATUARY PEDESTAL STONES FROM CYPRUS

Several samples of geological stones from statuary pedestals found in various archaeological sites in Cyprus have been characterized using non-contact laser infrared photothermal radiometry. Thermal diffusivities and effective optical absorption coefficients were calculated using a one-dimensional thermal-wave model. The mean values and standard deviations were tabulated and comparisons were made with lithographic and petrographic studies of the samples. Good correlations were found, thus demonstrating that laser photothermal archaeometry is a promising methodology for the accurate, potentially non-destructive and convenient characterization of the origins of ancient stones in Cyprus and other geological and archaeological sites.     

Disentangling long bones of foxes (Vulpes vulpes and Alopex lagopus) from arctic archaeological sites

To discern the presence of two anatomically close species within an archaeological assemblage is always a problem for the analyst. A particularly interesting case is the distinction between the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and the arctic fox (Alopex lagopus), which is often determined using non-rigorous criteria and producing results that must be regarded with caution. Classical methods for separating these two species and determining sexual dimorphism, and eventually the sex ratio, such as analyses using uni- and bivariate plots, are based on arbitrarily fixed limits between sexes. In this text, a more robust statistical method termed mixture analysis (MA) is used to determine the species of limb bones from foxes. First, the MA is applied to a sample of each species using metric data taken from a collection of present-day fox skeletons. Afterwards, the MA is applied to archaeological samples dated to the Dorset period and retrieved from the Tayara site (near Salluit, South Hudson Strait, Nunavik). The results clearly demonstrate that the greatest length (GL) of long bones, especially the humerus and tibia, is the best measurement for distinguishing the species, followed by the distal breadth and the proximal breadth; and that GL is better suited for sexing foxes. The results of MA applied to the Tayara site collection lead to the conclusion that the red fox is present along with the arctic fox among the assemblage, and that there is no fox body size change during the last two millennia in the Eastern Arctic.     

Molecular and morphological analyses of avian eggshell excavated from a late thirteenth century earth oven

Using ancient DNA (aDNA) extracted from eggshell of the extinct moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes) we determined the species composition and number of eggs found in a late thirteenth century earth oven feature at Wairau Bar (South Island, New Zealand) – one of New Zealand’s most significant archaeological sites. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA signatures confirmed this oven feature contained fragments of at least 31 moa eggs, representing three moa genera: Emeus; Euryapteryx; Dinornis. We demonstrate through the genetic identification of 127 moa eggshell fragments that thickness is an unreliable character for species assignment. We also present a protocol for assessing the preservation likelihood of DNA in burnt eggshell. This is useful because eggshell fragments found in archaeological contexts have often been thermally modified, and heat significantly increases DNA fragmentation. Eggshell is widely used in radiocarbon dating and stable isotope research, this study showcases how aDNA can also add to our knowledge of eggshell in both archaeological and palaeoecological contexts.     

Prehistoric Human and Ungulate Remains from Preston Docks,Lancashire, UK: Problems of River Finds

Isolated and usually undated human crania from riverine deposits in the British Isles present something of an archaeological mystery. The large numbers sometimes involved—several hundred from the River Thames alone—together with the recovery of unassociated metal artefacts have been taken to imply some or other “ritual” activity. We offer a taphonomic investigation of human crania and ungulate remains obtained from dock excavations during the 1880s at Preston in Lancashire in northwestern England. Although apparently recovered in close spatial proximity, a series of AMS determinations on crania of humans, aurochsen (Bos primigenius) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) has established at least a Neolithic to Saxon age range for the sample. Such a chronological span for a diverse assemblage when considered against modern forensic studies of the taphonomy of bodies in water strongly implies that the human crania need represent no more than an accumulation of elements that normally separate quite naturally from the rest of the body. While the reasons for initial entry to the water may well have included “ritual” activity in one or more case there is simply no reason to infer such behaviour for the human sample as a whole in the absence of direct evidence.     

An investigation of the origins of cattle and aurochs deposited in the Early Bronze Age barrows at Gayhurst and Irthlingborough

The Early Bronze Age round barrows at Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire and Gayhurst, Buckinghamshire contained remarkably large quantities of cattle (Bos taurus) remains. At Irthlingborough, at least 185 skulls with smaller numbers of mandibles, shoulder blades and pelves were found together with a small number of skeletal elements from aurochs (Bos primigenius). In contrast, the remains from Gayhurst are dominated by the limb bones from more than 300 animals. This study employed strontium isotope ratio analysis of cattle tooth enamel from 15 cattle and one aurochs to investigate the diversity of the animals' origins at both sites and provide insights into Early Bronze Age funerary practices. Although strontium results show that most of the cattle and the aurochs included in this study were consistent with local origins, one animal from each barrow was born remotely, most likely in western Britain. In addition, a second Gayhurst animal was consistent with origins in a region of chalk rather than the local Jurassic sediments.     

Biofilm growth in human skeletal material from ancient Mesopotamia

Investigators have long recognised the effects of microbial activity on archaeological bone. These investigators, however, have focused on single or groups of microbes rather than on complex microbial aggregates such as biofilms, a focus that has affected our understanding of archaeological bone biodeterioration. In this paper, we report on the investigation of a biofilm in archaeological human bone from the site of Tell Leilan, Syria (2900–1900 BCE). Scanning electron microscopy indicated that the biofilm is characterised by single cells and microcolonies of bacteria and fungi, as well as calcite crystals that were all embedded within extracellular polymeric substances. Using culture techniques and DNA sequencing, we isolated and identified several microbes from the biofilm including Amycolatopsis sp., Penicillium chrysogenum, Aspergillus sp., Chaetomium sp., and Cladosporium sp. Having characterised the Leilan biofilm, we are now closer to understanding the complex process of bone biodeterioration in archaeological bone collections.     

The Lead Ingots from the Wreck of the Zuiddorp (1712), Western Australia: a report on their provenance and manufacture

The Dutch United East India Company ship Zuiddorp vanished on its way to Batavia in 1712 – its last port of call was the Cape of Good Hope. After its wreck was found on the Western Australian coast, archaeological investigations resulted in the retrieval of 21 lead ingots. Recent study of this artefact assemblage, comprising both great pigs and pieces, suggests that they were of north English origin. Historical records indicate that the Dutch procured large quantities of lead from English sources and maritime trade links between English and Dutch ports were well established at the beginning of the 18th century. © 2012 The Authors