Small carnivores from a Late Neolithic burial chamber at Çatalhöyük,Turkey: pelts,rituals, and rodents

Results derived from the analysis of small carnivores from a burial chamber at the Late Neolithic Çatalhöyük (TP Area) shed light on the socioeconomic significance of stone martens (Martes foina), red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), and common weasels (Mustela nivalis). All of these are fur-bearing animals, though only the stone marten remains to show evidence that this animal was exploited for its pelt. The evidence consists of the observed skeletal bias (only the head parts and foot bones were present) and skinning marks. Two of five sets of articulated feet are most likely linked with an almost completely preserved human infant skeleton, one of two well-preserved skeletons that were interred on the burial chamber floor. In contrast to these, other human skeletons were found mostly incompletely preserved, though with evidence of articulation. It seems that the articulated forepaws were deliberately incorporated into the structure, most likely as a part of burial practice and ritual behavior. These distinctive deposits, along with rich grave goods, emphasize the uniqueness in the entire Anatolian Neolithic of the assemblage from the burial chamber, which is decorated by a panel incised with spiral motifs.     

Neutron imaging study of ‘pattern-welded’ swords from the Viking Age

We present novel imaging results from a non-invasive examination of three ‘pattern-welded’ swords from the Viking Age belonging to the National Museum of Denmark, using white beam and energy resolved tomographies with neutrons. Pattern-welded blades are made by forge welding together thin strips of iron and steel that were twisted and joined in various ways, producing a decorative pattern on the surface. The study shed light on the inner structure of the composite material and manufacturing techniques of these admired examples of past technology, revealing some otherwise invisible details of their assembly methods, phase distribution and extent of the corrosion.     

Flake selection and scraper retouch probability: an alternative model for explaining Middle Paleolithic assemblage retouch variability

It has been proposed that the relative abundance of retouched objects in Paleolithic assemblages can serve as a measure for artifact transport and by extension a proxy for site occupation duration. This approach is based on the assumption that retouch represents curatory effort for extending the service time of transported artifacts when raw material access is uncertain or limited, a condition that could arise when groups move frequently over long distances across the landscape. This paper proposes an alternative model that explains retouch as a probabilistic outcome of an expedient, on-site flake selection process. A simulation illustrates that the model is capable of producing assemblage retouch configurations akin to those commonly observed in Paleolithic settings. The simulation also indicates that the threshold applied by past individuals for selecting particular artifacts is an important parameter for explaining assemblage retouch variability. Using artifact weight as a proxy for flake selection criteria, several Middle Paleolithic assemblages exhibit patterns that support predictions made from the model simulation. Findings suggest that variation in scraper frequency among the studied assemblages can be accounted for by an interaction between the abundance of artifact production events and shifting artifact selection criteria, without appealing to higher-level behaviors of technological and mobility strategies.     

Carbon and nitrogen isotope composition of natural pastures in the dry Puna of Argentina: a baseline for the study of prehistoric herd management strategies

This study represents an isotopic survey of modern plants developed to establish baseline isotopic values in order to explore prehistoric herd management strategies employed by the South American camelid herders that occupied the southern Andean highlands during the past 3000 years. We present carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotopic compositions of natural pastures collected from different plant communities along an altitudinal gradient in the dry Puna of Argentina. Our results show that C₃ plants are the most abundant along the whole altitudinal gradient and that C₃ and C₄ plants exhibit a differential distribution, the latter being less abundant in those sites located above 3900?meters above sea level (masl). At the same time, plants growing at low-altitude sites with low water availability exhibit higher δ¹⁵N values than plants growing at high-altitude sites with higher water availability. These results explain the negative correlation found between altitude and South American camelid bone collagen δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values published in previous studies. This work represents a fundamental step towards the building of an isotopic ecology for the dry Puna area with the ultimate goal to explore herd management strategies employed by human groups in the past. In this sense, modern plant and South American camelid tissue isotopic compositions would provide a frame of reference to interpret isotopic compositions measured on archaeofaunal remains recovered at pastoral sites, with the aim to explore mobility and pastureland use by prehistoric herders.     

The ancient pozzolanic mortars and concretes of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Heliocaminus</Emphasis> baths in Hadrian’s Villa (Tivoli,Italy)

The aim of this work is the physical and mineralogical-petrographic characterization of the mortars from the Baths with Heliocaminus, a special and unique architectural building in the complex of the Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli. Thirty samples were investigated for composition and physical properties (density, porosity, water absorption, mechanical strength, particle size distribution of aggregate, etc.), representative of eight mortar groups: cubilia bedding mortar, brick bedding mortars, floor-coating and wall-coating bedding mortars, floor (rudus) and wall conglomerates (trullisatio), vault concretes, and lime plasters (arriccio). Physical parameters, together with the microscopic analysis and binder/aggregate ratio determined in three ways using image analysis (on thin sections and on specimens) and weight-data from dissolution of binder, have shown an interesting relationship between the physical-compositional characteristics and the function of mortars within the structure of the Heliocaminus baths. To identify the minerals and the reactant phases between binder and aggregate, as well as the hydraulic degree, selected samples were analyzed with x-ray powder diffraction, thermogravimetry, and differential scanning calorimetry techniques. The obtained results provide a close relation between pozzolanic characteristics and physical-mechanical properties of the mortars (i.e., punching strength index).     

The use of white marbles for sculpture in Roman Gortyn (Crete) as revealed by archaeometric analyses

Gortyn was an important Cretan town from the late Archaic to the Hellenistic period and then became one of the provincial capitals of the Roman Empire. It controlled the whole of Crete and Cyrenaica and was a flourishing centre of trade and agricultural products in the first centuries of our era. In more than 100 years, many portions of the Greek and Roman town were unearthed under the supervision of the Italian Archaeological School of Athens and a considerable number of stone artefacts found, many of them made of imported marble since the local variety was grey and of poor quality. Statuary and other prestigious marble sculpted artefacts found in Gortyn were sampled and subjected to archaeometric examination (by way of optical microscopy in thin section, powder X-Ray diffraction and mass spectometry for the determination of the C and O isotopic ratio) in order to identify the quarries they came from. The results obtained from the analysis of several dozen white marble objects have indicated the use of a quite wide variety of species including Parian (from Lakkoi), Pentelic, Thasian (dolomitic and calcitic) and (occasionally) Proconnesian marbles. The first three, especially Pentelic, were used for most of the statuary.     

Remembering and Forgetting: The Relationship Between Memory and the Abandonment of Graves in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Greek Cemeteries

This paper examines the concept of commemoration as an expression of social memory and its relationship to time and space as manifested through the mortuary evidence from Modern Greek cemeteries. Of particular interest is the act of commemoration itself: who remembers whom and the length of time that this type of memory endures. Based on evidence collected from a number of different cemeteries in northern Kythera and the eastern Corinthia, I argue that memory at the nuclear family level determines the length of time a grave is remembered as a physical location. Once this memory ceases to exist, the grave gradually enters a process of neglect, which ultimately leads to its abandonment. Some abandoned graves are recycled for use by other families who, in the absence of any recollection or memory of the grave, remove and destroy the old monuments (if they exist) and the remains of the previous occupants. Particular burial spaces are, thus, reclaimed by new groups.     

“We Wia Ragai”: Missionary Collection and Synergetic Assemblages in the Solomon Islands 1920–1942

An entry in Edith Safstrom’s diary, We Wia Ragai, marks her first posting to the girl’s mission school in the Solomon Islands, and is a Mota phrase told to her by lay missionary colleague, Ida Wench. The phrase essentially means “it is good to be here among you all” and echoed Edith’s thoughts on life at the school on tiny Mbungana Island. The Safstrom collection of artifacts held in the Museum of Victoria and Edith’s diaries unwrap a synergetic dialogue between lay missionary women and Indigenous women and children. The collection circumscribes a lay missionary’s collective experience of Christianity and acceptance of Indigenous cultural heritage from 1921 to 1942 in the Solomon Islands.     

Settlement Form and Evolution in the Central Highlands of Scotland,ca. 1100–1900

Since 1996, archaeologists from Glasgow University have been involved in a research project on the north shores of Loch Tay in the Central Highlands of Scotland. This work—known as the Ben Lawers Historic Landscape Project—was specifically focused on medieval and later settlement remains. For the purposes of this paper, the results of the archaeological work are contrasted with work from similar sites elsewhere in Scotland. The sweeping changes in tenurial, social and cultural spheres, known as the Improvements, of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are considered in relation to the preceding six hundred years.