The origins of agriculture in North-West Africa: macro-botanical remains from Epipalaeolithic and Early Neolithic levels of Ifri Oudadane (Morocco)

This research aims to shed light on the early stages of agricultural development in Northern Africa through the analysis of the rich macro-botanical assemblages obtained from Ifri Oudadane, an Epipalaeolithic–Early Neolithic site from North-East Morocco. Results indicate the presence of domesticated plants, cereals (Hordeum vulgare, Triticum monococcum/dicoccum, Triticum durum and Triticum aestivum/durum) and pulses (Lens culinaris and Pisum sativum) in the Early Neolithic. One lentil has been dated to 7611 ± 37 cal BP representing the oldest direct date of a domesticated plant seed in Morocco and, by extension, in North Africa. Similarities in both radiocarbon dates and crop assemblages from Early Neolithic sites in Northern Morocco and the Iberian Peninsula suggest a simultaneous East to West maritime spread of agriculture along the shores of the Western Mediterranean. Wild plants were abundantly collected in both the Epipalaeolithic and the Early Neolithic periods pointing to the important role of these resources during the two periods. In addition to fruits and seeds that could have been consumed by both humans and domesticated animals, fragments of esparto grass (Stipa tenacissima) rhizomes have been identified. This is a western Mediterranean native plant that may have been used as a source of fibres for basketry.     

Late Holocene climatic fluctuations and soil genesis in southern Patagonia: effects on the archaeological record

Geoarchaeological research conducted at five localities in southern Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego identified a mollisol within late Holocene aeolian and colluvial deposits associated with archaeological material. The mollisol's origin and development are related to an increase in humidity (c. 1000 BP) following an episode of severe drought during the Medieval Warm Period. Corroborating data is supplied from dendroclimatic and pollen studies. A drastic reduction in frequency of artefact distribution recorded at the sites studied corresponds to this pedologic event, suggesting a greater human presence at these sites during earlier, regional-scale arid conditions. However, the paucity of archaeological remains may also be the result of the low resolution of cultural evidence following the pedologic development due to superimposition over previous archaeological deposits.     

Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of La Olla,a Holocene archaeological site in the Pampean coast (Argentina)

The evolution of littoral palaeoenvironments in the southern Pampas region of Argentina towards the end of the early Holocene and the beginning of the mid Holocene is discussed, and the formation processes of the archaeological site of La Olla are analysed. This site is located in the intertidal zone of the present beach and is remarkably well-preserved. The human occupation at the site has been dated at between 7400 and 6480 yrs BP, and is interpreted as a place for the processing and consumption of the southern fur seal (Arctocephalus australis) and southern sea-lion (Otaria flavescens). It is concluded that biostabilization by microbial mats of the sedimentary structures and archaeological remains that developed and are present on the tidal flat prevented their erosion by wind, turbulence currents and waves. This is what has permitted the exceptional preservation of the site. On the basis of the analyses of one of the sectors of the site it can be concluded that the sedimentary succession of the La Olla site is the result of the coastal environmental changes during the early–mid Holocene in the pre-maximum transgressive episode. During this interval a tidal flat developed on the Pleistocene abrasion platform. Human occupation occurred during the formation of mixohaline marsh, an upper intertidal–lower supratidal zone ecosystem.     

Sedimentological and archaeological fabrics in Palaeolithic levels of the South-Eastern Pyrenees: Cova Gran and Roca dels Bous Sites (Lleida, Spain)

The comparative study of sedimentary fabrics in relation to archaeological fabrics in various levels of the sites of Cova Gran de Santa Linya (Middle and Early Upper Palaeolithic) and the Roca dels Bous (Middle Palaeolithic) has made it possible to analyse the formation dynamics of the deposits and determine the extent of disturbance of the archaeological levels by natural processes. To achieve this, diagrams and two- and three-dimensional indices were calculated from the azimuth and dip angle of natural clasts and artefacts. The results indicate that the sedimentary levels were formed mainly by planar fabric shape gravitational processes (low depositional angles), which differ notably from the archaeological fabrics they contain, characterised by a greater degree of isotropy. This difference in the fabrics would reflect human activity and indicates that the archaeological levels both in Cova Gran and Roca dels Bous have not been subject to significant natural modifications, and are preserved in situ.     

Investigating archaeological site formation processes on the battleship USS Arizona using finite element analysis

Scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) worked in a collaborative partnership with archaeologists from the National Park Service's (NPS) Submerged Resources Center (SRC) to develop a finite element model (FEM) of the battleship USS Arizona. An FEM is a computer-based engineering model that calculates theoretical stresses, propagation of force, and shape changes to a structure under loads using thousands or even millions of individual elements whose individual responses are well understood. NIST researchers created an FEM of an 80 ft. (25 m) midships section of the Arizona site to analyze archaeological site formation processes on the sunken battleship, in particular to determine the current condition of the wreck and predict its future strength and structural integrity as it continues to corrode. The NIST's FEM study is one aspect of a larger project under the direction of the NPS, the USS Arizona Preservation Project, whose goal is to determine the nature and rate of corrosion affecting USS Arizona, and to model its long-term structural deterioration. The FEM incorporates findings from other key components of the USS Arizona Preservation Project, such as steel hull corrosion rates, structural surveys of the vessel, sediment compaction studies, and analysis of the concretion that covers the ship's hull, into a single tool that is being used to predict how the wreck will degrade in the future.     

Solifluction-induced modifications of archaeological levels: simulation based on experimental data from a modern periglacial slope and application to French Palaeolithic sites

The taphonomic study of Petit-Bost, Croix-de-Canard and Cantalouette II, three Palaeolithic sites that were recently discovered near Périgueux and Bergerac (Dordogne, France) in a colluvial context, has enlightened the difficulty of adequately appreciating the relative role of cultural and natural processes in site spatial patterning. Periglacial solifluction was thought to have played a significant role in site formation. Because the nature of the modifications induced by solifluction was still poorly understood, a simulation was made using data of soil movement recorded at La Mortice (French Southern Alps, 3100 m in elevation) in a modern periglacial environment. The results show that, for a knapping location, the first steps of deformation are typified both by a downslope translation of the location center and by an anisotropic diffusion of the artifacts. The knapping spot becomes elongated along the slope, with a dense relic concentration of artifacts in the upslope portion. This type of pattern has been obtained after 100–200 years of simulated displacement according to the climatic and soil conditions that characterise the La Mortice site. The ultimate stages of deformation show that the artifact distribution tends to homogenise on larger surfaces and resemble a random distribution. The ability of the simulated patterns to closely fit those observed in archaeological contexts is evaluated at three sites from Southwestern France. At Petit-Bost, the hypothesis of limited solifluction explains accurately the association of both cultural (artifact concentrations) and natural (artifact preferred orientation) features. At Croix-de-Canard, long-term solifluction can be proposed. By contrast, the simulated patterns do not describe the structures observed on the steeper slopes at Cantalouette II, where the knapping spot transforms into distinct solifluction lobes.     

Geoarchaeological investigations at Diepkloof Rock Shelter,Western Cape,South Africa

The sedimentary sequence at Diepkloof Rock Shelter formed through a complex interaction of depositional and post-depositional processes and was variously influenced by biogenic, geogenic, and anthropogenic agents. Here, we present the results of a micromorphological study of the sediments at Diepkloof, focusing in particular on the numerous anthropogenic inputs and modifications recorded within the sequence. By applying the microfacies concept, we were able to identify hearth burning and maintenance, bedding construction and burning, and surface modification by trampling as major processes that contributed to the formation of the site. The human activities recorded within the sediments show a marked change throughout the sequence, implying a shift in the use of the site over time. The present study also provides a context for evaluating other classes of artifacts and data collected from the site.     

Making time: ‘Living floors’, ‘palimpsests’ and site formation processes – A perspective from the open-air Lower Paleolithic site of Revadim Quarry, Israel

The recognition of the dynamic role of site formation processes led archaeologists to recognize a behavioral dichotomy between ‘living floors’ and palimpsests’, Yet the archaeological proxies of ‘living floor’ and ‘palimpsest’ were never defined formally, and therefore have been used variably. We use archaeological criteria mentioned in the archaeological literature to model types of formation processes. The case study of the Lower Paleolithic open-air site of Revadim Quarry, Israel is used to test the model. Two types of palimpsests, differing in the rate of accumulation and thus in their effects on the anthropogenic remains, were discerned. Based on these results we review some other Lower Paleolithic instances. A sliding scale of formation processes provides a much needed middle ground between the scales of coarse, time-averaged formation processes and short, “near real-life” behavioral episodes and is an appropriate archaeological frame of reference.     

Phytolith evidence for hearths and beds in the late Mousterian occupations of Esquilleu cave (Cantabria,Spain)

Esquilleu cave site has provided a moderately well preserved archaeological cave deposit from the Late Pleistocene in the Cantabrian area. Phytolith quantification, identification and determination of the refractive index have been carried out, together with FTIR analyses, from sediment samples collected in the profile. The comparison of the data obtained with the previous micromorphological results allows us to make inferences about the site formation processes and the Neanderthals use of the cave. Phytolith results show the presence of grass leaves nearby the hearth suggesting the repetitive existence of a bedding zone on the same area. Neanderthal behavioral patterns should be revised on the light of high resolution analyses, since diagenetic processes can obscure the existence of differentiated activity areas in the site.     

山东高青县陈庄西周遗存发掘简报

2008～2010年在山东高青陈庄发现一座西周城址,并在城址内揭露了房基、祭坛、灰坑、窖穴、道路、水井、贵族墓葬、马坑、车马坑等遗迹。其中贵族墓葬内出土多件铜器,有2件铜簋的铭文各达70余字,并首次发现带齐公字样的金文材料。城址始建于西周早期,至中期废弃,墓葬年代多属西周中期。该遗存的发掘,填补了早期齐文化的空白。     

湖南道县玉蟾岩遗址早期陶器及其地层堆积的碳十四年代研究

位于湖南道县的玉蟾岩遗址包含大量灰烬,丰富的动物遗存,砾石和石片石器以及骨角器。从出土遗物,特别是人工制品来看,该洞穴应是一处旧石器晚期狩猎采集者的营地。洞穴堆积反映出人类的一系列短期活动或栖居,其间穿插着遗址被废弃的时期。微形态学研究显示堆积中的红色粘土条带是当时人类从洞外搬进来的。该遗址还出土了若干陶片,可以复原成2件或更多的陶器。多数陶片出自于1993和1995年的发掘。另有10多件陶片在2004和2005年的发掘中被发现。我们将在本文介绍该洞穴堆积的年代研究过程和结果,包括样品的采集、预筛选和前处理过程,以及最后对保存好的炭屑和骨头样品的测年。玉蟾岩遗址的年代为距今21000～13800年(校正后,后同),年代数据表明下层堆积中存在人类栖居的间断,陶片的年代为距今17,000～18,000年。这些陶片是在中国发现的制造陶器的最早证据之一。     

内蒙古科左中旗哈民忙哈新石器时代遗址2011年的发掘

对哈民忙哈遗址进行的第二次发掘共清理出房址29座、灰坑10座、墓葬3座以及环壕1条,出土陶器、石器、骨角蚌器、玉器等1000余件。此次发掘,发现了房屋木质结构痕迹,这是我国第一次发现并清理出史前时期的房顶梁架结构。房址内发现众多的人骨遗骸也是史前时期考古中所罕见。     

Wild and domesticated forms of rice (Oryza sp.) in early agriculture at Qingpu, lower Yangtze, China: evidence from phytoliths

Rice cultivation in parts of the Yangtze valley, eastern China, is thought to date to at least the early Holocene. Using phytolith analysis, sediments from an exposed profile at Qingpu in the lower Yangtze were examined in detail in order to contribute to the growing body of information relating to the history of rice agriculture in the Yangtze delta area. The presence of phytoliths from domesticated rice, Oryza sativa, indicates that rice agriculture was well developed at Qingpu by ca. 2350 BP and may have increased in intensity from ca. 2100 BP. Rice cultivation at Qingpu was comparatively late in relation to other areas in the Yangtze valley, possibly due to the seasonal intrusion of saline waters, while the cultivation of wild rice remained a prominent feature of food production in the area to at least as late as ca. 1800 BP. Results presented here support the existence of a period of overlap, during which both wild and domesticated forms of rice were cultivated, rather than a linear transition from wild to domesticated rice cultivation and the possible influence of environmental factors over farming in an area subjected to frequent flooding.     

河南灵宝市晓坞遗址仰韶文化遗存的试掘

2007年,河南省文物考古研究所调查并试掘了河南灵宝市晓坞遗址,清理出两座仰韶文化早期墓葬。两墓均为长方形竖穴土坑墓,多人二次葬。其中M1内残存79具个体,M2残存17具个体。三门峡地区很少发现仰韶文化的二次葬墓,晓坞遗址墓葬是该地区首次发现的仰韶文化早期的二次葬,具有重要学术价值。     

Application of GIS methods to retrieve orientation patterns from imagery; a case study from Beds I and II,Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania)

The role of natural processes in the formation of the Bed I and II sites at Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania) remains the subject of much debate, five decades after their original excavation. Preferred orientation of items is indicative of water disturbance, but compass bearings were not available in Mary Leakey's (1971) study. Using GIS methods, we have vectorized maps from 1960s excavations at Olduvai, and applied a range of statistical techniques to calculate items strike. The GIS analysis suggests strongly preferred orientation patterns in Bed I, and more heterogeneous angular histograms in Bed II. Two complementary lines of evidence support these results. Firstly, modelling of potential mapping errors provides a large interval of confidence for preferred orientation patterns. Second, the GIS study was extended to photographs of the earlier excavations and to maps from recent fieldwork at Olduvai; both yielded patterned arrangement of lithics and bones, and are consistent with results based on the analysis of the 1960s maps, i.e. a large number of the Bed I and II assemblages are preferentially oriented. These results highlight the potential of GIS applications to the analysis of imagery in Stone Age studies, and bear important implications for the understanding of the role of natural agents in site formation processes at Olduvai.     

The Flintlock Site (8JA1763): An Unusual Underwater Deposit in the Apalachicola River, Florida

In the fall of 2001, staff of the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research were led by river divers to an underwater site in the Apalachicola River containing a large concentration of prehistoric and historic artifacts lying on the riverbed. Subsequent inspection of the submerged river bank and scoured limestone river channel revealed a myriad of objects, which included iron fasteners, metal tools and implements, broken glass bottles, stone projectile points, scattered bricks and stone blocks, and other materials. Discovery of two large fragments of a wooden watercraft, a bayonet, a copper arrowhead, and flintlock gun barrels initially prompted researchers to hypothesize that the site might represent the remains of a U.S. Army boat that was attacked in 1817 by Seminole Indians while en route upriver. The episode, which caused the deaths of more than 30 soldiers and several women who were aboard the boat, led to the First Seminole War and the U.S. Army invasion of Florida. To investigate this hypothesis, a systematic survey of the riverbed was undertaken in the spring of 2002 to record underwater features and recover additional diagnostic artifacts. These activities employed side-scan sonar as well as diver visual investigations. This paper presents a case study of the value and broader significance of aggregate data where interpretation was underpinned by artefactual, historical and environmental analysis.     

Using ancient DNA identification and osteometric measures of archaeological Pacific salmon vertebrae for reconstructing salmon fisheries and site seasonality at Dionisio Point,British Columbia

Determining the diversity of salmon species represented in archaeological contexts is critical to understanding patterns of salmon harvesting and consumption, storage practices and seasonal patterns of resource exploitation by precontact peoples of the Northwest Coast. We present species determinations generated for salmon vertebrae from the Dionisio Point site (DgRv-003) in coastal southwestern British Columbia, a well-preserved village site that dates to between 1500 and 1300 cal BP. Molecular species identification was possible for 70 Pacific salmonid vertebral elements recovered from one excavated plankhouse at the site. Coupled with osteometric measures, we determine that residents of the plankhouse fished primarily for chum, sockeye and pink salmon, with a lesser emphasis on chinook, coho and steelhead. These results indicate a diverse fishery that likely occurred between July and December, suggesting a mid summer through winter season of occupation for the village.     

Neolithic occupation and mid-Holocene soil formation at Encosta de Sant'Ana (Lisbon,Portugal): a geoarchaeological approach

Excavations at the archaeological site of Encosta de Sant'Ana (Lisbon, Portugal) uncovered a mid-Holocene buried alluvial soil associated with early Neolithic occupation layers. Routine laboratory analyses and micromorphological observations were undertaken on the soil material. Humic acids from its Ab horizon, as well as Neolithic ecofacts, were radiocarbon dated. The dates obtained indicate that soil was formed between c. 8.0 and 6.0 cal ka BP and that the pedological evidence fits the record of the North Atlantic Holocene IRD events (“Bond events”) and the so-called “Holocene climate optimum”. The geoarchaeological record reveals that Neolithic inhabitants settled upon a stable surface, still affected by soil formation that was suddenly interrupted by slope wasting, probably in correspondence to Bond event 4, at c. 6.0 cal ka BP.     

辽宁西丰县永淳遗址及墓地的发掘

2009年9～10月,对永淳遗址及墓地进行了发掘。在遗址区发现房址、灰坑、灶址等遗迹,墓地中共清理墓葬11座,出土遗物有陶器、石器、铜器等。从遗物特征分析,永淳遗址及墓地的文化内涵一致,其时代为战国晚期至西汉初期。此次发掘对于认识辽北地区寇河流域这一时期的文化谱系起到重要推动作用。