ESR and AMS-based 14C Dating of Mousterian Levels at Mujina Pećina,Dalmatia, Croatia

This paper presents the first chronometric dates for sediments that contain a Mousterian industry in Dalmatia (south Croatia). Electron spin resonance (ESR) dating was conducted on two teeth from the Mousterian level E1 at the site of Mujina Pećina. Additionally five bone and one charcoal sample from five different strata of origin at this site were dated by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Assuming 30% moisture for both the gamma and beta dose rate calculations, the mean LU ESR age estimate is 44±5 ka for level E1, which is statistically indistinguishable from the mean EU ESR age estimate of 40±7 ka. A single, uncalibrated ¹⁴C age from the E1/E2 interface yielded an age estimate of 45,170 +2780/−2060 years bp while the mean of the five samples from overlying Mousterian levels is 39±3 ka. The true (calibrated) age of this mean is about 42 ka, which means that the entire stratigraphic profile in Mujina Pećina apparently was very rapidly deposited, and that the ESR age, regardless of uptake model is in good agreement with the calibrated ¹⁴C mean age. Temporally, Mujina Pećina overlaps with Pontinian Mousterian sites in west-central Italy and Vindija level G3 from northwestern Croatia. However, there are notable differences between the Mousterian industry from Mujina Pećina and these other sites. Collectively, the Croatian sites yield important evidence on the adaptation of European Mousterian people.     

Ancient long-distance trade in Western North America: new AMS radiocarbon dates from Southern California

Eleven Olivella biplicata spire-lopped shell beads from six sites located 250–365 km inland from the Pacific coast of southern California produced AMS dates between 11,200 and 7860 CAL BP. Olivella shell beads were well-documented items of prestige and media of exchange in Native California, and recovery of these examples from inland contexts indicates low-level exchange between resident populations of the coast and the southwestern Great Basin by at least 10,300–10,000 CAL years BP. These findings represent some of the earliest unequivocal evidence for long-distance trade in western North America and push the antiquity of this important form of inter-group interaction back several thousand years earlier than previously thought.     

Colonization of Northern Eurasia by Modern Humans: Radiocarbon Chronology and Environment

The distribution of frequencies of radiocarbon-dated Palaeolithic sites in northern Eurasia shows three peaks of 40–30, 24–18 and 17–1 ka bp. We argue that these peaks reflect the waves in the colonization of that area by Anatomically Modern Humans stemming from Central and Eastern Europe and caused by environmental stress.     

Man and woolly mammoth at the Kraków Spadzista Street (B) – taphonomy of the site

Excavations at the Kraków Spadzista Street (B) site, Poland were conducted over 16 years in which approximately 150 m² of the site was studied. The radiocarbon dates clustered around 23–24 ky BP, placing the site in the Gravettian cultural complex. In this paper, results from a detailed taphonomic study of faunal remains are discussed in conjunction with previous analyses of stone artefacts and site structure in order to address questions regarding site formation and Gravettian occupation. Up to 1994, ∼9000 bone remains were recovered and it was possible to identify the species and skeletal element for 5860 remains. The site contained bones of seven animal species associated with Pleistocene steppe–tundra habitats. At Kraków Spadzista Street (B), 99% of the faunal remains belong to the woolly mammoth, with other large mammal taxa represented by only isolated bones and teeth. This site yielded the largest number of mammoth bones and most individuals (MNI = 86) ever found in one place in Poland. Kraków Spadzista Street (B) represents a mammoth butchering locality and probably a mammoth hunting site as well. However, it is not yet possible to distinguish the mammoths killed by Gravettian hunters from those that died naturally and then were scavenged by people.     

Analyzing the process of domestication: Hagoshrim as a case study

Recent excavations at the Neolithic site of Hagoshrim, northern Israel, have yielded a large assemblage of skeletal fragments, representing mostly caprines, cattle and pigs. The three layers of the site's occupation span approximately 2000 years of a crucial period in the domestication of these taxa in the southern Levant, including Pre-Pottery Neolithic C (Layer 6, 7562 ± 85 BP and 7735 ± 55 BP) and the Pottery Neolithic cultures, Jericho IX (Layer 5, 6725 ± 120 BP) and Wadi Raba (Layer 4, 6505 ± 120 BP). Therefore, this site provides an outstanding opportunity to study the process of domestication in a comparative manner, both across taxa and through time. We used kill-off patterns, size reduction and changes in body proportions, and introduced statistical methods to discern the different stages of the domestication process for each taxon. Pig remains reflect simultaneous changes at the end of the 7th millennium BP: kill-off patterns, size and proportions of cranial and post-cranial elements all change between Layer 5 and 4 with no significant changes between Layer 6 and 5. Gradual changes—both between Layer 6 and 5 and between Layer 5 and 4—were found only for cattle, while caprine remains exhibit no changes throughout the site's occupation. These results can be explained in light of the differences between the taxa in terms of their life history strategies, among other things, that can be viewed as pre-adaptations to domestication.     

Sources of Archaeological Obsidian on Sakhalin Island (Russian Far East)

Instrumental neutron activation analysis was performed on 79 obsidian tools and flakes from 35 sites on Sakhalin Island dating from Upper Paleolithic (c. 19,000 bp ) to Early Iron Age (c. 2000–800 bp ). Due to the absence of volcanic glass on Sakhalin Island, raw materials from the nearest obsidian sources on Hokkaido Island, such as Oketo, Shirataki, Tokachi-Mitsumata, and Akaigawa, were also analysed. A strong correlation between the chemical compositions of obsidian artefacts from Sakhalin and volcanic glass sources from Hokkaido was discovered. In particular, the Oketo and Shirataki sources were used for tool manufacturing throughout all of Sakhalin Island's prehistory. The distances between sources and archaeological sites range from 200–1000 km. The intensive exchange of raw materials continued and even intensified after the appearance of the La Pérouse (Soya) Strait between Hokkaido and Sakhalin about 10,000–8000 bp. The Sakhalin Island populations were deeply involved in the obsidian exchange network centered on Hokkaido.     

Land Snails from an Ancient Shipwreck: The Need to Detect Wreck-Independent Finds in Excavation Analysis

Land snails recovered from shipwreck excavations can potentially provide information regarding human-based dispersal of the involved species and also contribute to hypotheses regarding a ship's route and geographical origins of some of its cargo. Such faunal material, however, must be subjected to critical study to ascertain whether they represent specimens originally associated with the ship itself or are simply elements introduced to the site after the ship sank. The excavation of a Late Bronze Age shipwreck at Uluburun, in southern Turkey, produced 36 land snails. Of these, 32 specimens are believed to have been on board the vessel in antiquity. Three other specimens represent an endemic Metafruticicola species, which lives exclusively in a 10 km zone in the region of Uluburun. The proximity of the species' habitat to the shipwreck site suggests that these specimens are intrusive elements. The intrusive nature of a single Zonites specimen also recovered from the excavation is amply demonstrated by a detailed comparative study of Zonites specimens collected in the same locality. The last study, which involves the analysis of spatial shell variations of populations collected from 61 separate localities (totalling 367 specimens) within a 50 km area extending from Megisti (Kastelórizo) and Kas to Finike, suggests that: (1) Zonites beydaglariensis is conspecific with Z. caricus, and (2) the shipwreck specimen not only belongs to this species, but that it originates from a population on the rocky Uluburun peninsula 0·8–1·2 km north of the shipwreck site. The specimen was probably blown into the sea by a natural phenomenon and settled on the shipwreck site.     

Cultural and trade practices in Sincu Bara (Senegal): a multi-proxy investigation

The Sincu Bara site in Senegal is one of the most famous archeological sites in Western Africa. Here we present the results of a multi-proxy study that combined microscopic analyses, carbon content, stable carbon isotope (δ¹³C) and radiocarbon (¹⁴C) measurements. This investigation exhibits a chronological framework in two phases: from 400 yr AD to 650 yr AD and 650 yr AD to 900 yr AD. Furthermore, it shows that besides basic potteries, some potsherds are notable for a temper exclusively made with human-harvested C4 plants. Finally, the ¹⁴C analysis performed on the organic slip strongly indicates the use of bitumen or bitumen-derived products for red slip preparation. This suggests the establishment of trade relationships with Nigerian and/or Trans-Saharan populations as early as 400 yr AD.     

Radiocarbon dating and the “old shell” problem: direct dating of artifacts and cultural chronologies in coastal and other aquatic regions

Archaeologists have long recognized the problem of the “old wood” effect in radiocarbon dating charcoal and wood samples, the age of which may be hundreds of years older than their use by humans. Such problems have resulted in significant changes in how most researchers select wood and charcoal samples for ¹⁴C dating, with many now using relatively short-lived carbonized materials for dating. Despite the significant strides made in our understanding of the potential biases of the “old wood” effect, little emphasis has been placed on the possible impacts of dating “old shell” in archaeological deposits. The use of marine shell for ¹⁴C dating is widespread in coastal areas around the world, including a growing emphasis on the dating of individual shell artifacts via Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS). In dating shell artifacts, we have obtained several dates older than associated ¹⁴C dates for short-lived subsistence remains from the same deposits, including great disparities (>10,000 years) and more subtle differences (≥100 years). These discrepancies appear to be due to the use of old shells by humans to make beads and other artifacts, including shells collected from fossil deposits, older archaeological sites, and beaches. The problems caused by the use of old shells to make beads and other artifacts are surmountable through careful sample selection, analysis of multiple ¹⁴C dates on a variety of materials, and proper calibration procedures.     

Carbon isotope fractionation between diet,breath CO2, and bioapatite in different mammals

The carbon isotope fractionation between tooth enamel bioapatite, breath CO₂, and diet was measured for voles, rabbits, pigs, and cattle on controlled diets. The measured fractionation (expressed as isotope enrichment ɛ*) between enamel and diet was 11.5 ± 0.3‰, 12.8 ± 0.7‰, 13.3 ± 0.3‰, and 14.6 ± 0.3‰ for these respective species. There is a 1:1 correlation between ɛ*_{breath–diet} and ɛ*_{enamel–diet} (r² = 0.94, p < 0.01), whereas our data do not resolve significant inter-species differences in ɛ*_{enamel–breath}. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that inter-species differences in ɛ*_{bioapatite–diet} are primarily a result of differences in digestive physiology, rather than differences in the magnitude of fractionation between mineral and body fluid.     

The antiquity of Olivella shell beads at CA-ORA-64: AMS radiocarbon dated between 9420 and 7780 cal BP

Investigations in the 1960s and 1970s showed the Irvine site (CA-ORA-64) to be among the oldest shell middens known from the Pacific Coast of North America. The site chronology, based on conventional analysis of mixed shell samples collected from heavily bioturbated soils, extended back to ca. 8440 RYBP. Recent work at the site provided an opportunity to refine the CA-ORA-64 chronology via AMS ¹⁴C dating of single shell fragments, including 14 Olivella beads. Long considered to be one of the earliest ornament types made by Pacific Coast peoples, such spire-removed Olivella beads were used through much of the Holocene and generally are not good chronological indicators. AMS analysis of the CA-ORA-64 specimens, however, produced a consistent series of Early Holocene dates that includes some of the oldest securely dated shell beads in North America. Along with obsidian from interior sources, Olivella beads played an important role in early exchange networks between coastal and interior peoples. Methodologically, our research demonstrates the utility of AMS ¹⁴C dating in determining the age of key artifact types found in multicomponent sites with assemblages affected by stratigraphic mixing.     

Reconstructing northern Chinese Neolithic subsistence practices by isotopic analysis

Stable isotope signatures of both human and non-human animal bone samples indicate that Neolithic farmers of the Yellow and Wei River basins in China potentially cultivated millet for two reasons: as a staple for human consumption and as fodder for domesticated animals, specifically pigs, dogs, and perhaps chicken. Bone samples were analyzed from four Neolithic sites: Jiangzhai, Shijia, Xipo, and Kangjia, spanning the time period from 7000 to 4000 years ago. A combination of very high carbon isotope ratios (δ¹³C = −7.7 ± 0.4‰) and low nitrogen isotope ratios (δ¹⁵N = 7.5 ± 0.5‰) in samples of Xipo pig and dog bone suggests that these monogastric animals consumed substantial quantities of C₄ plants, almost certainly millets. In fact, the proportion of C₄ plants in animal diets appears to have been even greater than that in human diet. Stable isotope values (δ¹³C = −10.0 ± 0.8‰; δ¹⁵N = 8.3 ± 0.5‰) of human bone collagen recovered at Jiangzhai and Shijia indicate a staple role for millets, as well as the consumption of both wild and other non-C₄ domesticated plant foods. As millet agriculture and animal husbandry apparently depended on one another, a strong mutualism between them was likely established in northern China during the Neolithic. We propose that variable redistribution of agricultural products between humans and animals, depending on the availability of wild resources and annual fluctuations in agricultural output, helped ensure the stability of Neolithic human subsistence in the Yellow and Wei River basins.     

An improved OSL chronology for the Still Bay layers at Blombos Cave,South Africa: further tests of single-grain dating procedures and a re-evaluation of the timing of the Still Bay industry across southern Africa

This paper presents a series of new single-grain optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages for the Still Bay at Blombos Cave, South Africa, and compares them to previously published OSL, thermoluminescence (TL) and electron-spin resonance (ESR) ages for this site. Details are provided about the measurement and analytical procedures, including a discussion of the characteristics of the OSL signals of individual quartz grains. This forms the basis for further investigations into the sensitivity of the equivalent dose (D_e) estimates to a range of different analytical approaches, including changes in the size of the test dose, the choice of signal integration interval, the subtraction of an appropriate background, and isolation of the most light-sensitive (‘fast’) component of quartz OSL. We also report the results of an inter-operator test of D_e determination using seven new samples from Blombos Cave, and demonstrate the reproducibility of results obtained for two samples that had been dated previously at another laboratory and were measured and analysed again in this study. Together, these tests validate the robustness of the Blombos Cave single-grain OSL age estimates to a variety of alternative OSL dating procedures. We have incorporated, for the first time, these ages for Blombos Cave into a data set of all single-grain OSL ages for Still Bay and Howieson's Poort sites across southern Africa, and have used a statistical model to re-evaluate the timing and duration of the Still Bay industry. We calculate the most plausible start and end dates of the Still Bay as 72.2 ka and 71.3 ka, respectively – amounting to a duration of 0.9 ka – and estimate (with conventional 95% confidence) that this industry began no earlier than 75.5 ka, ended no later than 67.8 ka and lasted no longer than 6.6 ka.     

Selective hunting of pine marten,Martes martes,in Late Mesolithic Denmark

Pine marten, Martes martes, is the dominating fur prey at three contemporaneous Danish Late Atlantic sites, Agernæs (EMNI = 34), Ringkloster (EMNI = 41) and Tybrind Vig (EMNI = 26). All skeletal elements are represented and the only marks present on the skeleton are those consistent with skinning. Burned teeth in the three populations suggest either new hunting methods or a ritual act. Ringkloster is on the mainland, while Tybrind Vig and Agernæs are island localities. Morphometric data indicate that the subfossil population of larger individuals was maintained on the mainland due to free migration, while the animals in the subfossil island populations had decreased in size in the Late Atlantic.     

Himalayan border citizens: Sovereignty and mobility in the Nepal–Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) of China border zone

For over half a century, a border zone mandated by bilateral treaty has existed along the full length of the international border between Nepal and China's Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR). Since 2002, people classified as “border inhabitants” who live within 30 km of the border on both sides have been issued “border citizen cards” which allow them to cross the border without a passport or a visa, and travel up to 30 km on the other side. This article explores historical and contemporary experiences of life in the Nepal–TAR border zone for such border citizens. Their state-sanctioned cross-border mobility complicates existing work on Tibetan refugee citizenship, and expands previous models for understanding ethno-political identities and sovereignty in the Himalayan region. The legally recognized category of border citizenship between Nepal and China's TAR provides a compelling example of how states may create alternative categories of citizenship in response to practices from below, while further shaping such practices through regimes of differentiated citizenship. I argue that this form of border citizenship emerges out of non-postcolonial trajectories of state formation in the Himalayan region, which offer important contrasts with other parts of South Asia.     

A rock magnetic record of Pleistocene rainfall variations at the Palaeolithic site of Attirampakkam,Southeastern India

Attirampakkam, an open-air stratified Palaeolithic site in southeastern India is the focus of ongoing studies to investigate the nature of Lower and Middle Palaeolithic occupation in relation to changing Pleistocene environments. The paucity of faunal or palaeobotanical remains at the site required the use of rock magnetic properties (χ_lf, χ_fd, χ_fd %, χ_ARM, SIRM, χ_ARM/SIRM, SIRM/χ_lf, χ_ARM/χ_lf, χ_ARM/χ_fd, S-ratio, HIRM and HIRM/IRM_300mT) as proxies for deciphering the palaeoenvironments and palaeoclimates of the region. Rock magnetic data from stratified deposits within excavated trenches show that the bulk of the sedimentation was intermittent with no subaerial exposure of sediments for long periods, and points to fluctuating wetter and drier climates associated with the Acheulian to Late Middle Palaeolithic levels. There is a general trend towards a wetter climate from Layer 5 upwards. Layer 7 offers evidence of bacterial magnetite (χ_ARM/χ_lf > 40 and χ_ARM/χ_fd > 1000), suggesting the onset of micro-anaerobic environments as a result of floods. Greigite is indicated in Layer 5 (SIRM/χ_lf > 30 × 10³ A m^?1), which indicates a reducing environment. Layer 2 represents an arid climate (higher proportion of haematite and a coarser magnetic grain size). Layer 1a again is indicative of an arid climate (presence of calcrete, magnetically “hard” minerals and coarser magnetic grain size). Results indicate that the southeast coast of India experienced a mostly dry tropical climate during the Pleistocene. The detected occurrence of a few notably more arid intervals did not disrupt occupation of the site by successive groups of hominins.     

Estimates of Upper Palaeolithic meta-population size in Europe from archaeological data

Three databases (2961 georeferenced archeological sites, simulated climatic variables simulating a typical “warm” phase of the isotopic stage 3 (IOS3 project), and ethnographic of hunter–gatherers (HG)) were used to estimate the size, growth rate and kinetics of the metapopulation of HG during four periods of the Upper Paleolithic in Europe. The size of the metapopulation was obtained by multiplying a demographic density (per 100 km²) by the size of the population territory of HG. Demographic density for each period was calculated by successively backprojecting a reference density obtained for the Late Glacial with inter-period growth rate of the archeological sites. From the Aurignacian to the Glacial Maximum, the metapopulation remained in a positive quasi-stationary state, with about 4400–5900 inhabitants (95% confidence interval (CI95%): 1700–37,700 inhabitants). During the Glacial Maximum, the metapopulation responded to the cold: (i) by moving the northern limits of its maximum expansion zone towards the low latitudes by 150–500 km from west to east, (ii) by concentrating in few refuge zones (mainly Périgord, Cantabria and the Ibérian coasts), (iii) by becoming perhaps distributed in smaller groups than during the pre and post Glacial Maximum. The metapopulation reached 28,800 inhabitants (CI95%: 11,300–72,600) during the mid-Late Glacial recolonisation.     

FOCUS: Provenance of Ceramics Revealed by Magnetic Susceptibility and Thermoluminescence

A new method for provenance determination of ceramics is presented. The samples were measured for magnetic susceptibility and for the TL intensity produced by artificially induced radiation in a pre-heated sample. Characteristic differences in magnetic susceptibility and TL sensitivity were found to exist between different clay sources, and in a diagram of susceptibility versus TL intensity, ceramics of different provenances often plot in distinctly different areas. Samples of 0·01–1 g of burnt clay were used. The method has been tested on a dozen archaeological sites, three of which are presented here as examples. Choice of tempering material, firing temperature, and oxygen tension during firing affect the susceptibility and the TL signals somewhat, and these effects have been tested experimentally.     

Palaeogeographical reconstructions of Lake Maliq (Korça Basin,Albania) between 14,000 BP and 2000 BP

Since the early 1990s, excavations of a protohistoric lakeside settlement in the Korça basin carried out by a French–Albanian archaeological team have induced geomorphological and palynological studies about the sedimentary records of Lake Maliq. These studies allow us to distinguish a series of centennial-scale high and low lake level events between 4200 and 4000 cal BP (2899–2637 BC/2843–2416 BC) and 2600 cal BP (822–671 BC), probably due to large-scale climate changes (in the Mediterranean basin). In addition, the sediment sequence also gives evidence of a millennial-scale trend of lake level rise. It appears to be an interplay between lake level rises and falls against tectonic subsidence of the basin allowing accommodation space for sediment deposition.The variations of the lake's level and the lake's surface area influenced the development and the abandonment of the nearby lakeside settlements (like the tell of Sovjan). In order to prepare an archaeological survey around the now dried up lake, we made a 3D model of the Holocene deposit from the lake including these lake level results, geomorphological mapping, excavation data, numerous core logs, AMS ¹⁴C dating and SRTM DEM data. The GIS model allowed us to propose four palaeogeographical reconstructions of the extension of Lake Maliq: around 14,000 BP, during the Mesolithic (around 9000 BP – 8781–8542 BC), the Early/Middle Bronze Age transition (around 3800 BP – 2310–2042 BC) and the Iron Age (2600 BP – 822–671 BC). A map of the thickness of the sediments above potential archaeological layers is also proposed.