Husbandry practices and livestock dung at the Numidian site of Althiburos (el Médéina,Kef Governorate,northern Tunisia): the phytolith and spherulite evidence

Recent excavations at Althiburos, northern Tunisia, have shown the existence of permanent pre-roman occupations in the central area of the urban settlement. Significantly, the site has been found to contain one of the most complete Numidian sequences, spanning from the Early Numidian (at least from the 10th–9th century BC) to its final stage. Research at the site addresses questions related to the identification of settlement patterns at this time.The combined study of phytoliths and spherulites recovered from well defined archeological contexts at the site have provided new data for identifying husbandry activities carried out by the ancient Numidian populations. The results show that there is abundant evidence for both cooking and processing cereals, primarily from common or bread wheat (Triticum aestivum). Also significantly, was the abundance of faecal spherulites in certain areas of the site, indicative of dung accumulation. The correlation between large amounts of spherulites and rich phytolith sediments in specific contexts, suggested that grasses were brought to the site or consumed offsite and deposited onsite as livestock dung or dung-products. The identification of dung accumulations in the site raises questions about the diversity of economic practices developed by Protohistoric communities in northern Africa. Future research questions regarding such dung rich layers will also be examined.     

Identifying Threshing Floors in the Archaeological Record: A Test Case at Iron Age Tel Megiddo,Israel

Abstract

The identification of activity areas in archaeological sites is an important part of archaeological research contributing to the reconstruction of past ways of life. The threshing floor is an activity area that relates to subsistence practices in agricultural societies, yet identifying threshing floors in the archaeological record is difficult. We present a geoarchaeological study conducted at an Iron Age layered feature unearthed in 1998 at Tel Megiddo, Israel, in which we tested a previous assumption that it represents the remains of a threshing floor. Using micromorphology, mineralogy, elemental analysis, phytoliths, and dung spherulites, we show that the materials comprising the bulk of the layers in the Megiddo feature include large amounts of wood ash and the inorganic remains of livestock dung. Based on these results, coupled with ethnographic data on threshing floors and observations on the macroscopic traits of the feature under consideration, we conclude that the layered feature at Megiddo does not represent a threshing floor but a single-household trash heap. We suggest that the interpretation of similar features at other archaeological sites as threshing floors be reevaluated.     

Geoarchaeology in an urban context: The uses of space in a Phoenician monumental building at Tel Dor (Israel)

Interpretation of past urban societies in the Near East, whose settlements are known mostly as tell sites, is largely based on macro-stratigraphy and on the association of architecture with macroscopic artifacts. Analyses of sediments, common in prehistoric sites, are rare in tell sites. Here we show the results of a detailed geoarchaeological study of the micro-stratigraphy of a sedimentary sequence associated with early Iron Age Phoenician monumental architecture. The study involves mineralogical, micromorphological and phytolith analyses and provides new insights into the stratigraphic sequence and the use of architectural spaces. The sedimentary sequence examined comprises alternating layers of gray ‘fill’ deposits and white ‘floors’. We show that ‘floors’ made from local calcareous sandstone in the lower part of the sedimentary sequence were heated and are thus in effect ‘plaster floors’. A concentration of micro-laminated, trampled fish remains above the most elaborate of these plaster ‘floors’ indicates activities related to fish processing. Fine white layers in the upper part of the sedimentary sequence that were considered as plaster based on macroscopic examination are in fact composed almost entirely of opaline grass phytoliths. The phytoliths appear in an undulating micro-laminated structure and are associated with dung spherulites and phosphate nodules, thus probably reflecting livestock penning. The formation of ‘phytolith floors’ involves extensive volume reduction due to the degradation of the organic material and this may result in ‘floor’ subsidence, a phenomenon that is often observed in archaeological sites. Most ‘fill’ deposits include macroscopic and microscopic remains of wood ash, bones, phytoliths, charcoal, ceramics, plaster and mollusk shells, reflecting the debris produced from household activities. This study shows how a combination of macro-stratigraphy with microscopic and mineralogical analyses of the sediments within architectural spaces can provide information on the varying ways in which the space was used through time, and also contributes to solving macro-stratigraphic problems.     

Early Animal Management Strategies during the Neolithic of the Konya Plain,Central Anatolia: Integrating Micromorphological and Microfossil Evidence

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the contribution of microscopic multi-proxy approaches to the study of early husbandry practices and animal diet by integrated micromorphological, phytolith, and calcitic dung spherulite analyses of midden deposits at the three neighbouring Neolithic sites of Boncuklu (9th–8th millennium cal BC), P?narba?? (7th millennium cal BC) and Çatalhöyük (8th–6th millennium cal BC) in the Konya Plain, Central Turkey.

The results reveal considerable chronological and contextual variation in human-animal inter-relations in open areas between different communities and sites. At Boncuklu, middens display well-defined areas where phytoliths and substantial accumulations of omnivore faecal matter low in spherulite content have been identified. By contrast, open spaces at the Late Neolithic campsite of P?narba?? comprise large concentrations of herbivore dung material associated with neonatal ovicaprine remains from spring birthing. Here, the deposits represent repeated dung-burning events, and include high concentrations of dung spherulites and phytoliths from wild grasses, and leaves and culms of reeds that, we suggest here, derive from fodder and fuel sources. Late middens at Çatalhöyük are characterised by thick sequences derived from multiple fuel burning events and rich in ashes, charred plants, articulated phytoliths – mainly from the husk of cereals, as well as the leaves and stems of reeds and sedges – and omnivore/ruminant coprolites, the abundance of the latter declining markedly in the latest levels of occupation.

The application of this integrated microscopic approach to open areas has contributed to unravelling the complexity of formation processes at these sites, providing new insights into herding practices, diet, and the ecological diversity of Neolithic communities in Central Anatolia.     

An experimental micromorphological investigation of bedding construction in the Middle Stone Age of Sibudu,South Africa

We conducted experiments to compare the micromorphological signatures of modern burnt sedge and grass bedding to laminated layers of carbonized material and phytoliths in Middle Stone Age deposits at the shelter, Sibudu. The experiments were designed to clarify the formation processes associated with the laminated layers and to investigate whether these previously identified layers of bedding were deliberately burned or not. The results indicate that the laminated layers were most likely produced by human activity related to the construction, maintenance and burning of bedding. Furthermore, our experiments demonstrate that large volumes of vegetal material could have produced the relatively thin, archaeological deposits of burnt bedding.     

An Ethnoarchaeological Case Study of Dung Fungal Spore and Faecal Spherulite Taphonomy in a Pastoral Cave Deposit

ABSTRACT

In alkaline cave sediments, the presence of faecal spherulites is regarded as a reliable indicator of animal dung. Spores of coprophilous fungi are nowadays frequently employed as grazing indicators in palaeoecological sequences, but their use in dryland pastoral deposits is not routine in geoarchaeological practice. The paper assesses the relationship between the occurrence of spherulites and dung fungal spores from an abandoned rock shelter used as a stable for several decades. A clear match between these proxies is shown, and their distribution across the sediments is discussed, highlighting the potential of coprophilous spore analysis from archaeological stabling deposits, alongside other established dung indicators. The abundance of other microfossils (parasite eggs, coccolith plates and freshwater indicators) is also quantified and discussed.     

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.     

The ‘invisible’ product: developing markers for identifying dung in archaeological contexts

Dung is one of the most valuable resources in arid countries: traditional communities all over the world use it for heating, cooking, building and decorative purposes. It is commonly assumed that the same happened in the past, especially after the domestication of herbivores in the 11th millennium B.C. The presence and use of dung in archaeological contexts has been routinely studied through different techniques among which spherulites (calcium carbonates that form in animals guts) and small seeds assemblages’ analyses. However all the proxies considered so far to trace dung can be unreliable, especially when used singularly. After a review of the traditional methods used to trace dung in archaeological contexts, this paper presents the results of an ethnographic study on 11 modern dung cakes collected in northern India that were analysed for chemical, spherulite and phytolith content. Our results show that the lack of spherulites cannot be taken as absence of dung input and that the combination of phytolith and chemical signatures can be a reliable proxy for the inference of dung presence in archaeological contexts.     

The Iron Age Maritime Interface at the South Bay of Tel Dor: results from the 2016 and 2017 excavation seasons

The aim of the Tel Dor joint Sea and Land Project is to reassess and expand understanding of the maritime interface of Iron Age Dor. During 2016 and 2017 five features excavated under water provided new data about the development and chronology of this interface. The results support a revised dating and interpretation of previously excavated structures and the identification of several new stone‐built coastal fortification and maritime features, dating to the Early Iron Age. A later phase of construction attributed to the 7th century BCE Assyrian period at Dor was also documented. The outcome of the excavation is the introduction of new aspects of the development of Dor in the Iron Age, including what is likely part of the Iron Age II city's harbour. This may encourage revisiting current views of harbour evolution in the eastern Mediterranean.     

Fuel Fodder and Faeces: An Ethnographic and Botanical Study of Dung Fuel Use in Central Anatolia

Abstract

The Norse inhabited Greenland between AD 1000 and AD 1500 and, toward the end of the occupation, according to archaeological evidence, they were predominately marine mammal hunters. Despite the fact that marine resources became important for subsistence, the Norse Greenlanders settled the area in o?der to farm. This is indicated by site locations, faunal material, archaeobotanical, and palynological evidence.

Phytolith analysis from a quern stone, likely made from stone of local origin, found at Gården Under Sandet, a Norse farmstead in Greenland, was examined to determine if there was any evidence indicating domestic cereal processing. The phytoliths found on the quern stone can be associated with grasses and sedges, but the absence of dendritic phytoliths likely indicates that the quern stone was not used to grind seed. This preliminary study demonstrates that information about Norse agriculture may be obtained by examining the phytolith remains from a quern stone.     

Morphometric distinction between bilobate phytoliths from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Panicum miliaceum</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Setaria italica</Emphasis> leaves

The development of identification criteria for crop plants based on phytoliths is of high relevance for archaeology, palaeoecology and plant systematics. While identification criteria are available for major food crops, these are mostly based on phytoliths from inflorescences, while other plant parts remain undetected. This paper focuses on bilobate phytoliths from leaves of Panicum miliaceum L. (common millet) and Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv. (foxtail millet), two taxa that co-occur in regions of Asia and Europe since prehistory and regularly occur at archaeological sites in Eurasia. Leaves of the investigated taxa were systematically sampled to explore the variation of short cells and to collect 27 morphometric variables of bilobate phytoliths with newly developed open-source software. The data was analysed by discriminant analysis, analysis of variance and multiple comparison tests. The resulting morphometric data from five populations per species enables a distinction between the bilobate phytoliths of P. miliaceum and S. italica. Observed differences between populations within species affect only few parameters. This possibility to classify populations of bilobate phytoliths from P. miliaceum and S. italica leaves offers a new method for the detection and identification of these taxa in archaeology, amongst others.     

Shepherds and plants in the Alps: multi-proxy archaeobotanical analysis of neolithic dung from “La Grande Rivoire” (Isère,France)

The analysis of phytoliths, pollen, charcoal and other macroremains was carried out in the neolithic shelter of “La Grande Rivoire”, Vercors massif (French Alps). The results show the predominance of tree species, in the form of phytoliths, clustered pollen, stomata, small branches charcoal, needles, bark, buds… The practice of leaf fodder is already known in the alpine and circum-alpine area from archaeological and historical sources. The analyses of the neolithic dung levels of “La Grande Rivoire” illustrate the use of leafy and flowering tree branches as fodder. The results also suggest that some species were used for special purpose in relation with the tending of livestock (litter, dietary supplement, veterinary practices).     

An ethnoarchaeological study of cooking installations in rural Uzbekistan: development of a new method for identification of fuel sources

Mud constructed cooking installations such as ovens and hearths are common in modern, pre-modern and archaeological domestic contexts in West and Central Asia. Archaeological cooking installations are primarily identified using analogy of shape and size to ethnographic installations. The study presented here establishes direct evidence to the use of fire within mud constructed cooking installations, thus providing means for reducing ambiguity in identification of archaeological cooking installations. In addition, we present here a newly developed method that enables a clear-cut distinction between wood and dung ashes used as fuel materials in many modern and archaeological domestic contexts. The study is based on an ethnoarchaeological research in rural households at the Republic of Uzbekistan that was followed by geoarchaeological analyses of installation walls, wood ash, dung ash and wood and dung standards collected in the study area. Field work included ethnographic observations, interviews with informants and temperature measurements during cooking experiments. We show that changes in the clay mineral structure due to exposure to high temperatures on the interior walls of cooking installations can be detected using FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared) spectroscopy, providing for the first time direct evidence to the use of fire within such installations. We demonstrate that the temperature recorded by clay alteration on installation walls as well as in the ashes left on installation bottoms does not correspond to baking or cooking temperatures. We also show that the newly developed method, based on the ratio of wood ash pseudomorphs to dung spherulites, separates between wood and dung ashes with very high certainty. Yet, we identify a range of values where differentiation between wood and dung ashes is uncertain, and suggest it results from intensive mixing processes. Lastly, we show that phytolith morphotype analysis is an insufficient tool, if used alone, for distinguishing wood from dung ashes in the study area. The newly developed tools for temperature estimation within mud constructed installations and for fuel origin determination contribute to better understanding of cooking-related practices, and can be applied to archaeological contexts worldwide.     

Differentiating banana phytoliths: wild and edible Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana

Recent reports indicate that phytoliths may provide direct archaeological evidence of banana cultivation. However, archaeologists may, in many places, recover phytoliths generated by banana plants with quite different historical backgrounds. Hence the need for a differentiation among phytoliths produced by specific banana groups. The present paper discusses the morphometric distinction between phytoliths produced by the constitutive diploid species Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. Our study suggests that domestication of the banana, which was initiated at the diploid M. acuminata level, does not appear to have influenced phytolith morphometry.     

A short note on banana (Musa) phytoliths in Lapita,immediately post-Lapita and modern period archaeological deposits from Vanuatu

We present results of phytolith analysis of deposits from three prehistoric settlement sites in Vanuatu: the small islands of Vao and Uripiv off the north east coast of the main island of Malekula and at Mafilau on the west coast of Epi Island. Samples from Vao Island coarsely encompass the period from Lapita times (c. 3000 BP) to the present. The data from this site suggest deforestation by people, with a decrease in palms and increase in grasses. The data from the three sites show evidence of an introduced cultigen during different prehistoric periods. Banana (Musa) phytoliths were found in one recent Vao layer (500 BP-present) and in Mafilau layers, the latter representing the immediate post-Lapita period (c. 2800–2500 BP). This phytolith type was also found at Uripiv in Lapita layers (c. 3000–2700 BP). Banana phytoliths are diagnostic so their presence in archaeological deposits in Remote Oceania, outside their natural distribution, provides secure evidence of cultivation. This demonstrates the potential of this line of evidence for identifying both the cultigens transported by early colonists and subsequent plant introductions. The data provide the first direct evidence of banana cultivation at a Lapita site in Remote Oceania and support the contention that horticulture was an integral part of the Lapita Cultural Complex.     

Palm reading: a pilot study to discriminate phytoliths of four Arecaceae (Palmae) taxa

A pilot study of an opal phytolith morphotype series diagnostic for palms (Arecaceae), using modern specimens of four economically important palm species (Areca catechu L., Calamus aruensis Becc., Cocos nucifera L., and Metroxylon sagu Rottb.), was undertaken to identify distinctive features of leaf phytoliths from each taxon. Our univariate and multivariate analyses documented that although it was not possible to identify individual palm phytoliths unambiguously to taxon, interspecific differences in phytolith morphology significantly outweighed intraspecific variation, revealing the potential value of further research in this area and the possible utility of assemblage-level analysis to palm phytoliths in archæological assemblages. The methods are applied to archæological phytoliths from Watom Island, East New Britain, Papua New Guinea, and directions for further research outlined.     

Phytoliths and microcharcoal at Jinluojia archeological site in middle reaches of Yangtze River indicative of paleoclimate and human activity during the last 3000 years

A variety of phytoliths, together with prolific microcharcoal particles, sponge spicules and diatoms were extracted and identified in four cultural layers from an archeological site at Jinluojia, Macheng, Hubei Province, Central China. The warmth (Iw) and aridity (Iph) indices calculated from grass phytoliths reveal warm and wet periods during the West Zhou, early East Zhou, Tang and Song Dynasties whilst cool and dry periods occurred during the late East Zhou, Ming and Qing Dynasties. The paleoclimate conditions reconstructed on the basis of grass phytoliths extracted from archeological sediments are in agreement with those from natural sediments in the Middle Yangtze region. In contrast, the woody phytoliths show a positive correlation with microcharcoal particles, suggesting an anthropogenic contribution to the woody phytoliths from the use of woody plants for fuel during cooking and heating. Two episodes of the enhanced abundance of woody phytoliths and microcharcoal particles were found to occur at East Zhou Dynasty and from Ming and Qing Dynasties to the Present, proposed to be a consequence of the population expansion and/or the frequent wars.     

Variable Ovicaprid Diet and Faecal Spherulite Production at Amara West,Sudan

ABSTRACT

This paper presents the results of integrated geoarchaeological and archaeobotanical analyses of desiccated and charred ovicaprid dung pellets from the New Kingdom pharaonic settlement of Amara West (Sudan). These analyses reveal diagnostic phytolithic evidence for considerable variations in plant diet amongst the site’s ovicaprid population. These data shed light on aspects of ancient animal husbandry practice, the settlement’s subsistence economy and residents’ exploitation of natural resources. We also observe that specific phytolith types correlate with the presence (and quantity) or absence of calcium carbonate faecal spherulites in analysed dung pellets. This evidence, augmented by experimental analysis of analogous modern plant material, suggests that dietary Ca intake is implicated in faecal spherulite crystallization within the ovicaprid digestive system.     

An integrated approach to reconstructing primary activities from pit deposits: iron smithing and other activities at Tel Dor under Neo-Assyrian domination

Secondary pit deposits in historical occupations of Near Eastern mounds are usually regarded as uninteresting and are seldom analyzed. We used an integrated approach to study all the artifacts as well as the sediments in a pit at Tel Dor, on Israel's Carmel coast, dating to the 7th c. BCE – a period when the site served as an Assyrian administrative center. This pit was unusually large, had a peculiar ceramic assemblage, and many macroscopic metallurgical wastes. A detailed excavation and analysis revealed that the pit served intermittently as a waste disposal site for an iron smithy and for pottery that was presumably involved in maritime trading. On two occasions the area was also used for animal penning. Despite the obvious importance of the iron industry to the Neo-Assyrian Empire, actual workshops are rare in its archaeological record. Hence the new information regarding an Iron Age iron smithy in the southern Levant contributes to the study of this industry, and also to the history of Dor in this period.     

Locally diagnostic phytoliths of wild rice (Zizania palustris L.) from Minnesota,USA: comparison to other wetland grasses and usefulness for archaeobotany and paleoecological reconstructions

Wild rice (Zizania spp.) is an important native grain of north-central North America, with spiritual and subsistence significance to many native peoples. Due to lack of suitable proxies, its past distribution and pattern of use are poorly known. This study demonstrates the diagnostic value of silica phytoliths from Z. palustris as a proxy tool to detect its past occurrence in a variety of paleoenvironmental and archaeological contexts. Our main findings are: 1) Dominant wetland grass species in Minnesota produce phytoliths distinct from Zizania phytoliths; 2) Closely related Leersia oryzoides produces a few Zizania-like phytolith morphotypes; however, these potential confusers can be identified based on 2-D and 3-D morphologies; 3) Z. palustris produces a wide variety of phytolith morphotypes, many of which are only found in certain parts of the plant (e.g., Inflorescence Type 1 from the spikelet); 4) Z. palustris produces 23 locally diagnostic phytolith morphotypes that can be used to determine the presence and abundance of wild rice in modern and paleo lake sediments; and 5) Wild rice phytolith Inflorescence Type 1 is the morphotype most likely to be observed in archaeological contexts, and may be unequivocally diagnostic for the genera Zizania.