Trends in pig product processing at British Neolithic Grooved Ware sites traced through organic residues in potsherds

Gas chromatography (GC), GC-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and GC-combustion-isotope ratio MS (GC-C-IRMS) analyses of absorbed and surface lipid residues preserved in potsherds were used to explore the extent of pig product processing exploitation in the later British Neolithic Grooved Ware tradition. Assessments were made regarding whether porcine lipids were associated with specific Grooved Ware traits, i.e. decoration, substyle, geographical area and type of site. Two hundred and twenty-two Grooved Ware potsherds were analysed, 70% of which contained lipid concentrations considered significant (>5 μg g⁻¹). All the lipid residues were dominated by animal fats, although plant and beeswax were also detected in a small number of extracts. δ¹³C values of the major fatty acid components of degraded animal fats (C_16:0 and C_18:0) were determined for 126 extracts and used to assign ruminant or porcine origins to the residues; 16% of these were found to have a predominantly porcine isotope signature. Statistical associations with pig exploitation were shown to exist with substyle, geographical area and site type, whereas, no relationship was seen between decoration and the type of commodity processed. Intact triacylglycerols were preserved in 19% of the sherds; half of these had distributions consistent with the identifications based on δ¹³C values, the remainder differed either due to the presence of mixed commodities or because lower molecular weight homologues had been lost due to degradation. In addition to the detection of pig exploitation, results from lipid residue analysis showed a good correlation with faunal assemblages, suggesting that stable isotope analysis may be used as a proxy for animal exploitation at sites where bones have not survived.     

Plant exploitation and ethnopalynological evidence from the Wadi Teshuinat area (Tadrart Acacus,Libyan Sahara)

Pollen analyses of 13 archaeological sites in the Wadi Teshuinat area, in southwestern Fezzan, Libya, were synthesised to explore the potential contribution of palynological investigation to archaeological research in this area. During the Holocene, the sites were occupied by pre-Pastoral (hunter–gatherers) and Pastoral (pastoralists) cultures. Different pollen stratigraphies and floras characterised the diverse sites and the relevant cultural phases. Pollen data were reported by discussing the sites separately, and by combining them to interpret the regional data set. Emphasis was made on the anthropogenic pollen indicators and grasses, including large grass pollen grains (>40 μm), which were considered evidence of plant transport into the site. These were ethnobotanical markers, human-made evidence of plant harvesting by hunter–gatherers, or of animal breeding by pastoralists. The disappearance of some wild cereals was also observed, consistent with increasing climate dryness and land exploitation. Macroremains were used as a parallel tool to better understand plant exploitation in the region.     

Same island, different diet: Cultural evolution of food practice on Öland, Sweden, from the Mesolithic to the Roman Period

The Mesolithic–Neolithic transition in north-west Europe has been described as rapid and uniform, entailing a swift shift from the use of marine and other wild resources to domesticated terrestrial resources. Here, we approach the when, what and how of this transition on a regional level, using empirical data from Öland, an island in the Baltic Sea off the Swedish east coast, and also monitor changes that occurred after the shift. Radiocarbon dating and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of bones and teeth from 123 human individuals, along with faunal isotope data from 27 species, applying to nine sites on Öland and covering a time span from the Mesolithic to the Roman Period, demonstrate a great diversity in food practices, mainly governed by culture and independent of climatic changes. There was a marked dietary shift during the second half of the third millennium from a mixed marine diet to the use of exclusively terrestrial resources, interpreted as marking the large-scale introduction of farming. Contrary to previous claims, this took place at the end of the Neolithic and not at the onset. Our data also show that culturally induced dietary transitions occurred continuously throughout prehistory. The availability of high-resolution data on various levels, from intra-individual to inter-population, makes stable isotope analysis a powerful tool for studying the evolution of food practices.     

Intervention or inspiration?: Kolam and fieldwork ethics in the Tamil diaspora (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)

This article explores a classic dilemma concerning the extent to which anthropologist fieldworkers may influence their fieldwork hosts. This dilemma arose in the course of the author's research on kolam drawing practices among diaspora Tamils in the UK. Kolam constitute a popular visual practice among Tamils in India and Sri Lanka, but less so in the diaspora. However, the researcher's interest in kolam practice began to awaken an interest on the part of diaspora Tamils in the UK and affect the very practices researched. Does this constitute an intervention or might it be considered an appropriate form of inspiration? The article makes a contribution to the literature on ethics and on diasporic communities, whose members, although reticent to perpetuate practices that might upset their host society, may nevertheless defer to researchers with specialist knowledge of their homeland.     

Heritage Management and Interpretation: Challenges to Heritage Site-Based Values,Reflections from the Heritage Site of Umm Qais,Jordan

The management of archaeological heritage is complex and problematic for site identity and local culture. Inattention to the array of values of heritage sites leads to the supremacy of a number of them and provides a controversy story of the archaeological site in question. Any heritage management and interpretation effort should correctly identify the different values of the site. Indeed, there is a need to manage and interpret the sites in a way to address the connection between the sites-based values and the associated and surrounding features. In current heritage management practice, values and values-based management are considered to be one of the most important approaches for the management of archaeological heritage. This study aims to understand how the values of the archaeological site of Umm Qais in northern Jordan can be adequately managed as both a natural and cultural landscape. At issue are conflicting views over the different values, their meaning and their uses by the different stakeholders. This research focuses on the ways in which these values are managed and interpreted to the public and whether it is done properly and in a fair manner. The fieldwork study led to a more complex understanding of how conflicting perceptions of values of Umm Qais as a national heritage site by the different stakeholders have affected implementation of management and interpretation projects. The results presented here indicate that the heritage management approach from the case study of Umm Qais focuses specifically on values associated with the physical archaeological aspect of the site, while those associated with the historic neighborhood of the site are neglected. The interpretation of the site has frequently focused on certain aspects of values at the expense of others. Information and insights gained from this study and specific suggestions for changing approaches are considered with regard to potential impacts on the management of the archaeological site and with regard to the public in general.     

Network Analysis and Entanglement

This article explores the extent to which formal network analysis can be used to study aspects of entanglement, the latter referring to the collective sets of dependencies between humans and things. The data used were derived from the Neolithic sites of Boncuklu and Çatalhöyük in central Turkey. The first part of the analysis involves using formal network methods to chart the changing interactions between humans and things at these sites through time. The values of betweenness and centrality vary through time in ways that illuminate the known transformations at the site as, for example, domestic cattle are introduced. The ego networks for houses across four time periods at the two sites are also patterned in ways that contribute to an understanding of social and economic trends. In a second set of analyses, formal network methods are applied to intersecting operational chains, or chainworks. Finally, the dependencies between humans and things are evaluated by exploring the costs and benefits of particular material choices relative to larger entanglements. In conclusion, it is argued that three types of entanglement can be represented and explored using methods taken from the network sciences. The first type concerns the large number of relations that surround any particular human or thing. The second concerns the ways in which entanglements are organized. The third type of entanglement concerns the dialectic between dependence (potential through reliance) and dependency (constraint through reliance).     

Reflections on the Identities and Roles of the Artists in European Paleolithic Societies

In an attempt to introduce concerns with social identities into the discussion and understanding of the making of what we call Paleolithic art, this article considers issues of gender, skill, apprenticeship, and tradition. We note that, as in every period of history, Paleolithic art can be seen as embedded in the society that studies it. Over the last 20 years, the research attention given to women in Paleolithic societies has grown considerably, leading us to ask what could have been the roles of women in Paleolithic art. On what criteria could we base a determination of those roles or of other social identities that were likely part of the making and viewing of Paleolithic art?Thanks to our microscopic analysis of engravings, it is possible to identify the skill level and expertise of the artists and thus to address the question of apprenticeship and how these techniques were transmitted. We observe many similarities that allow us to group together various works of art, sometimes from very distant sites, which indicate a movement of ideas, objects, and people. Are we talking about “imitation”? How can we define an “invention” within a social context strongly bound by traditions?     

A Test of Ideal Free Distribution Predictions Using Targeted Survey and Excavation on California’s Northern Channel Islands

Using targeted survey, excavation, and radiocarbon dating, we assess the extent to which human settlement patterns on California’s northern Channel Islands fit predictions arising from the ideal free distribution (IFD): (1) people first established and expanded permanent settlements in the regions ranked high for environmental resource suitability; (2) as population grew, they settled in progressively lower ranked habitats; and (3) changes in the archaeological record associated with high population levels such as increases in faunal diversity and evenness in high-ranked habitats are coincident with the expansion to other areas. On Santa Rosa Island, the early permanent settlements were located in both high- and middle-ranked locations, with the most extensive settlement at the highest ranked locations and only isolated sites elsewhere. Settlement at a low-ranked habitat was confined to the late Holocene (after 3600 cal BP). Drought influenced the relative rank of different locations, which is an example of climate adding a temporal dimension to the model that episodically stimulated population movement and habitat abandonment. Because the IFD includes a wide range of cultural and environmental variables, it has the potential to be a central model for guiding archaeological analysis and targeted field research.