Adult and juvenile aurochs, Bos primigenius Boj. from the maglemosian site of ulkestrup lyng Øst,Denmark

Bones of adult and juvenile aurochs (Bos primigenius Boj.) from the refuse of a Mesolithic settlement, Ulkestrup Lyng Øst (c. 6090 BC), are examined. The problem of estimating the ontogenetic age of the younger animals is dealt with in order to establish the time of the year at which they were killed and thereby the possible season of hunting.The age-determination is mainly based on tooth-wear, which is discussed in its relationship to physiological changes in the stomach, that are correlated with the dietary changes from milk to solid food. The subfossil mandibles are compared with modern material from domestic calves and with other Danish subfossil calves' mandibles.     

Viking age wood resources at Argisbrekka,Faroe Islands

A project is described concerning the examination of wood from two settlements on Eysturoy. Argisbrekka is a seasonally occupied inland settlement radiocarbon‐dated to the 9th–11th centuries, while Toftanes is a year‐round coastal settlement from the 9th–10th centuries. Preliminary investigations of wood from houses and refuse layers at Argisbrekka demonstrate the utilization of three resources: (a) local vegetation of Juniperus, tree Betula and heathland dwarf shrubs, (b) driftwood Picea and Larix, (c) imported wood Pinus and Quercus. The impact of man and husbandry on the vegetation probably resulted in the extinction of tree Betula and the almost total disappearance of Juniperus.     

Where the garbage goes: Refuse disposal in the Maya Highlands

Secondary refuse disposal behavior is structured by three major concerns in the Maya Highlands: economy of effort, potential value of refuse, and potential hindrance by refuse. According to the needs of each household and the nature of the refuse, material slated for discard may be sorted and dumped in separate locations, within or outside compounds. Archaeologists should be aware of this refuse structure in seeking specific types of refuse as well as in comparing refuse from households, or other types of excavational units. At the household level, recognition of the toft area (the area immediately surrounding the household and related outbuildings) is especially important in acquiring representative samples of “hard” types of refuse. Analysis of neighborhood dumps is strongly advocated as one of the more economical, meaningful, and representative ways of dealing with refuse accumulations. Because of several randomizing and dispersive processes operating at the household level, as well as sample size considerations, simple diversity measures are recommended for comparing household assemblages.     

Early Middle Ages Houses of Gien (France) from the Inside: Geoarchaeology and Archaeobotany of 9th–11th c. Floors

ABSTRACT

At Gien (France), indoor floors from early Middle Ages occupation (8th–10th c. AD) are very well preserved, providing a new reference for archaeological investigation in northern France. This site is located on an outcrop, 20 m above the Loire valley, where a 15th c. castle stands now. The medieval occupation combines high-status houses with crafting and agricultural areas. They constitute a new urban nucleus, which grew 2?km east from an ancient Roman settlement. During the rescue excavation, four buildings of different status were sampled and studied using an integrated approach, combining stratigraphy, micromorphology, chemical, macro-remain and phytolith analyses. Micromorphological investigations helped to identify 74 built floors, from 0.5 to 150?mm thick, made with transformed local clay or imported silty earth. Mineral floors were covered by vegetal ones, consisting of crop processing refuse. These litters include an abundance of phytoliths and some seeds, both produced by cultivated cereals, which were processed in situ, such as Triticum durum, Secale cereale and Hordeum vulgare. The refuse above the mineral and vegetal floors were trampled. They were produced not only by domestic activities, such as cooking and eating, but also by metallurgic activities and animal husbandry. The investigation of a contemporary pit indicated that, despite the large amount of refuse, floors were well maintained and regularly rebuilt. The spatial distribution of waste indicated that a single space could be dedicated to several activities, which were not necessarily separated by new floors. Moreover, the total absence of bioturbation allowed the study of a stage of dark earth formation, by comparing it to the contemporaneous mechanical disturbance of a part of the strata which occurred when building new floors. All these results give new evidence of the richness and the complexity of the early Middle Ages town, in addition to help identifying the activities which could take place in early castral areas.     

The Siege of Colchester

Archaeological excavations in advance of quarrying at Cheviot Quarry, Northumb. have produced important evidence for Neolithic, Late Bronze Age and Dark Age settlements. Neolithic pit features containing domestic midden material including broken pottery, lithics and cereal grains from two distinct parts of the quarry have provided evidence for what is interpreted as settlement and subsistence activity from the Early and Later Neolithic periods. Together with the Neolithic remains from the nearby sites at Thirlings and those recently excavated at Lanton Quarry, it provides evidence for significant, and perhaps intensive, settlement on the sand and gravel terraces of the Milfield Plain throughout the Neolithic. Indeed, these sites provide the precursors to the better known ceremonial and henge complex located nearby which probably dates to the Beaker period. Radiocarbon determinations associated with the full sequence of Neolithic pottery have been obtained from Cheviot Quarry and analysis of the residues adhering to the ceramics has provided some of the earliest evidence for dairy farming in the region, as well as information relating to other dietary and subsistence practices. Two substantial roundhouses with porches, internal hearths and pits containing domestic refuse, provide the first evidence for Late Bronze Age lowland settlement in the region. The botanical macrofossil and faunal evidence, together with the pottery residues, show clear evidence for arable and pastoral activity in a small, unenclosed farming settlement. A detailed programme of radiocarbon dating and the application of Bayesian modelling has shown that these two buildings are contemporary and date to the tenth century cal. BC. In addition to this prehistoric archaeology, three Dark Age, rectangular, post-built buildings were also discovered on the site and have been radiocarbon dated to the fifth or early sixth century cal. AD. These substantial, although heavily truncated, structures are thought to represent the homesteads of a small farming community, although the lack of material culture makes understanding their use and cultural attribution problematic. Because of their early date these buildings could have belonged to either post-Roman British inhabitants or perhaps early Anglo-Saxon mercenaries or settlers. A reconstruction of one of these buildings has been built close to the site at the nearby Maelmin Heritage Trail where it can be visited by the public.     

Taphonomic evidence for site formation processes at fort Christanna

Fort Christanna was an early eighteenth century Indian trading post on the western frontier of Virginia. This paper describes and interprets the faunal remains recovered during three seasons of excavation at the site. Taxonomic and body part representation are examined to gain insight into diet on the frontier, food provisioning at the fort, and the relationship between the fort's occupants and the neighbouring Indian settlement. These interpretations are limited by the poor preservation apparent in the faunal assemblage. The patterning of a variety of different surface modifications is explored to understand the taphonomic history of the assemblage. These characteristics of the assemblage seem to be related largely to the bone refuse disposal practices of the fort's occupants, and thus give important insight into a crucial aspect of the site formation processes.     

Surface and Subsurface Evidence for Community Size at Coapexco,Mexico

Abstract

It has become customary in the Basin of Mexico to derive the population size of prehistoric communities from the density of refuse on the surface of archeological sites. A study of the extensively littered Early Pre classic site of Coapexco leads to reservations concerning this practice. The plotting of all surface refuse over 0.8 ha at Coapexco has suggested that two other factors — elapsed time and the deposition of overburden — account for a substantial part of variation in the distribution and density of surface scatter on the site. Several categories of evidence contribute to this conclusion and are discussed in the paper. A consideration of this evidence tends to show that a) it is not likely that all surface concentrations in the same sampled area are contemporary, despite their cultural homogeneity and relative brief span of time within the Preclassic in which their occupation took place; and b) that the amount of refuse displayed on the surface at anyone point depends on the depth at which occupation strata are buried below present surface.     

Identification and assessment of secondary refuse aggregates

Secondary refuse contains a wealth of information on the people who generated it. This article identifies some means by which archaeologists can identify and characterize secondary refuse aggregates — localized, high-density deposits of artifacts that have been discarded away from their place of use. A variety of studies of archaeological deposits — from prehistoric and historical archaeology, ethnoarchaeology, and modern material culture studies — provides hypotheses and a comparative database for discussion. I suggest that socioeconomic and demographic factors operating in a society greatly affect the composition of secondary refuse aggregates and propose some hypotheses regarding the directions and magnitudes of these relationships.     

Excavations at E1 Remolino: Household Archaeology in the San Lorenzo Olmec Region

Abstract

Studies on the Olmec frequently focus on large centers and monumental works of art, often ignoring the important role of peripheral sites in regional hierarchies. Recent investigations at the Early Formative period (900–1500 b.c., uncorrected radiocarbon years) site of El Remolino help balance this “elite centered” focus by collecting household and community level data at a habitation area away from the regional center of San Lorenzo. Subsurface testing and extensive excavations produced evidence of living surfaces, features, and refuse disposal patterns, which together with phytolith data improve our understanding of a lower order Olmec site. El Remolino was established in the San Lorenzo phase as a permanent settlement whose inhabitants pursued fishing, hunting, gathering, and plant cultivation. The degree to which this site was politically or economically dependent on the elite center of San Lorenzo is unknown.     

Diversity in foddering strategy and herd management in late Bronze Age Britain: An isotopic investigation of pigs and other fauna from two midden sites

Abstract

Middens of the southern British late Bronze and Iron Age are vast accumulations of cultural debris that can be explained as refuse dumps linked with large periodic feasting events. A distinctive feature of these sites is that their faunal assemblages invariably comprise a considerably higher proportion of pig remains than contemporaneous settlement sites. This paper presents results from a programme of stable carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotope analysis of fauna from two major midden sites, Llanmaes in South Wales and Potterne in Wiltshire. The research aim is to reconstruct husbandry strategies and foddering regimes, particularly concerning pigs, to better understand how the challenges of raising large herds were met. Analysis produced exceptionally wide-ranging results for pigs and other domesticates at both sites, particularly in terms of δ¹⁵N values, demonstrating that diverse foddering strategies were employed. Diversity in the late Bronze Age pig foddering regimes indicates that the Neolithic husbandry practices (focusing on woodland fodder) had not been abandoned, but that new husbandry methods (consumption of household waste) were also being practised, which subsequently became more widely established in the Iron Age. The heterogeneity of signatures suggests that animals may have been husbanded in a piecemeal fashion at a local, household level. This in turn hints that fauna may have been brought to these sites from households across the surrounding landscape, rather than being husbanded by specialist producers in the vicinity of the middens.     

Using multivariate statistics and fuzzy logic system to analyse settlement preferences in lowland areas of the temperate zone: an example from the Polish Lowlands

The influence of relief, as well as other environmental features such as soils or the hydrological regime, on prehistoric settlement patterns is commonly accepted. Settlement patterns and preferences changed over time in different areas, so it is difficult to formulate general rules of human behaviour throughout history. In lowland areas of the temperate zone, which lack radical relief changes and have widespread access to water resources, specific settlement preferences and significant changes in these preferences are difficult to interpret.New methods developed to address the problem of the settlement transformations as a result of prehistoric settlement and economic processes using multivariate statistics have been adapted for the middle part of the Great Poland Lowland. In this region, data from the Polish Archaeological Record Project database have been used.Models of the dependence between geomorphological features and settlement intensity form the basis for estimating changes in prehistoric settlements. The degree of preference (or avoidance) is a nonparametric function of the number of archaeological sites observed in the area relative to the number of sites expected from a completely random pattern. The most crucial factors for settlement are distance to plateau edges, distance to water bodies, and the wetness index. The results show that the entire investigated area is more or less suitable for settlement, but the most occupied terrains are the areas near plateau edges.     

Feasting at Marj Rabba,An Early Chalcolithic Site in the Galilee

Feasting is a common part of human culture in the present and past that can serve a variety of roles such as creating and maintaining social identities within and between social groups. In zooarchaeology, feasting evidence, rather than the accumulated and mixed refuse from long‐term consumption, often gives us some of the only data from individual events at a site. A cattle bone refuse pit at the site of Marj Rabba, Israel, provides evidence for feasting from the early Chalcolithic (c.4500–3600 BC) in the southern Levant. The presence of cattle feasts at Marj Rabba provides a glimpse of cultural practices in this critical transitional period that may mirror practices from earlier periods.     

Neanderthal settlement patterns in Crimea: A landscape approach

Traditional settlement pattern analysis involves classifying sites within a region using previously established functional categories. Faunal and lithic data are frequently combined as archaeological indicators of site function. The results are interpreted in terms of a settlement system from which inferences about mobility patterns and social organization are drawn. The previously published site of Karabi Tamchin is used here as a spring-point for a discussion of the problems inherent with established site typologies and some of the settlement models that have been proposed in the past. The rich Middle Paleolithic archaeological record of Crimea is used to demonstrate the usefulness of the landscape approach as a means of supplementing existing information about Middle Paleolithic settlement patterns.     

SOCIAL-GEOGRAPHIC PROBLEMS IN THE REGULATION OF SETTLEMENT SYSTEMS IN A DEVELOPED SOCIALIST SOCIETY

An analysis of the impact of social development on forms of settlement and of the reverse impact of settlement forms on social processes. The author challenges the view that spatial forms have no bearing on social processes. The point is made by tabulating types of social contacts at various spatial levels and for different forms of settlement, from household to large urban agglomeration. The significance of information flows at different spatial levels is discussed. Large cities are found to have potential for the development of material and spiritual benefits that are lacking in smaller places. But since an integrated economy also requires smaller forms of settlement, ways must be found to provide a minimum set of material and cultural services at the lower level as well. Recommendations for raising the level of living in smaller Soviet populated places are offered.     

Mossland Reclamation and Refuse Disposal in the Manchester area in the nineteenth century

Abstract

Mossland reclamation is a distinctive feature in the formation of the English cultural landscape. Most mosslands were reclaimed purely for agricultural purposes. Manchester's growth in the later nineteenth century brought acute problems of refuse disposal. Carrington and Chat Mosses were acquired by Manchester Corporation for the dumping of that refuse. Between 1886 and 1910, the two mosses absorbed 20 per cent of all refuse. At the same time, but originally less important these two mosslands were converted into agricultural land. The reclamation of Carrington and Chat Mosses is a fine example of the influence of towns in the nineteenth century on the agricultural development of their hinterlands.     

Rubbish, Relatives, and Residence: The Family Use of Middens

Secondary refuse deposits such as middens may be used for intrasite comparisons of consumption, status, ethnicity, or activities. Our analysis of residence and household discard patterns in the modern village of Dalupa in the Pasil River Valley in Kalinga Province, the Philippines, suggests that midden assemblages may be used to compare the refuse of extended families. We define three types of middens (household, local, and communal) on the basis of catchment zones and describe their spatial distribution. Almost all middens in Dalupa are dominated by contributions from one family group based on mother–daughter relationships, despite some deviation from ideal residence patterns.     

Secondary migration of immigrants to Canada: an analysis of LSIC wave 1 data

Immigrant settlement patterns are inherently more dynamic and diverse than those observed at the time of the census. In particular, it is likely that the intended settlement pattern (the destination stated to immigration officials at the time of entry) differs from the initial settlement pattern (the actual settlement location). At best, previous research has relied upon census data to illuminate these patterns, but only allowing a rough estimate of the dynamics of the system. As a result, spatial adjustments to the settlement process are only partially understood, with limited distinctions between recent and earlier arrivals, those who settled after a series of moves, or those that did not move at all after arrival. Using the recently released Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC), this article examines differences in the evolution of the settlement pattern of immigrants in their first 6 months in Canada, potentially illuminating differences between the intended and initial settlement patterns. The advantage of this file is its longitudinal nature, allowing settlement location of the same individuals to be traced over time. Results suggest that while mobility is high among the newest arrivals, the intended and initial destinations are largely equivalent.     

ROUTINE MAGIC,MUNDANE RITUAL: TOWARDS A UNIFIED NOTION OF DEPOSITIONAL PRACTICE

This article seeks to advance ongoing discussions within archaeology concerning the relationship between ritual and depositional practices. Previous researchers have argued that ‘structured’ or ‘placed’ deposits are the result of ritual activities, but also that in many societies the disposal of refuse is governed by social ‘rules’. Distinguishing ‘technical’ actions such as rubbish disposal from deliberately ‘placed’ deposits is extremely difficult, however, and reinforces modern dualistic thought. Instead, this article argues that there was a continuum of practices from formal and ritualized events through to small‐scale, informal acts undertaken on a routine basis, including everyday refuse discard. It also questions purely utilitarian interpretations of storage structures. Drawing on ethnographic and ethnohistorical examples, it explores case studies from the later prehistoric and Romano‐British periods of north central England, and concludes by proposing methodologies through which these practices can be explored more fully in the future.     

国家重点生态功能区乡村人居环境演变及影响机制——以湖北省利川市为例

采用层次分析等方法,从农民生活、生产环境、生态产品供给以及生态安全等人居环境核心领域出发,构建重点生态功能区乡村人居环境评价体系,对1998-2012年间利川市乡村人居环境做了评价,剖析了自然生态环境、社会经济要素空间变化特征。研究表明:①重点生态功能区乡村人居环境建设时序演变历经传统发展、过渡发展、生态化建设三个阶段,人居环境系统及影响因子在不同时期呈现出不同的特征;②社会经济环境、生态环境空间格局变化显著,主要表现为农村人口向盆地、城镇集聚,城乡收入差距增大,河流流域生态环境改善,高山区生态脆弱性增强;③农户行为受政策调控作用由无序、扭曲化向规范化变迁,政策调控与农户行为互动作用促使重点生态功能区乡村人居环境演变。     

Prehistoric activity and environment on the North York Moors

A synoptic view and interpretation of archaeological material from the mesolithic to the end of the Iron Age is provided, and this is viewed in the context of available palaeoenvironmental information. The evidence of various settlement forms suggests that mesolithic folk occupied the region for a long period, but their environmental impact appears to have been low although not negligible. In neolithic times a probably higher population density was capable of more thorough changes of vegetation but the total permanent alteration of ecosystems is thought to be small. Evidence for settlement is entirely inferential. By contrast, the Bronze and Iron Ages were periods of considerable clearance of forest and subsequent ecological changes like the leaching of soils increased, and traces of settlement are plentiful. New data on Iron Age settlements shows a downward movement of settlement sites and some Celtic fields are noted, though they are sparse compared with other uplands in Great Britain. A number of unanswered questions are posed, mostly about the nature of the settlement pattern in mesolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age times. No complete synthesis of archaeological and palaeoenvironmental data is yet possible at this scale but certain parts of the moors have a high potential for reconstructing prehistoric geography.