Early Neolithic funerary diversity and mitochondrial variability of two Iberian sites

An analysis of the burial characteristics of the individuals recovered from two Early Neolithic sites in Navarre (Los Cascajos and Paternanbidea), in the Spanish Basque Country, revealed a complex funerary ritual. The individuals recovered from the Paternanbidea site were distributed in three double graves and a multiple one, while the individuals from Los Cascajos were buried in individual pit-shaped tombs; furthermore, the tombs had a variety of cultural and funerary features. The aim of this study is to evaluate the burial ritual by means of mitochondrial DNA data and the funerary characteristics of 36 individuals recovered from these two sites. The results show that the diversity of these Early Neolithic burial practices from the northern Iberian Peninsula cannot be explained by means of maternal kinship relationships.     

Functional,symbolic or ritual?

Tools for determining the value of metal appear as symbols among grave goods in prehistoric and early medieval Europe and the Near East. Also, five boat burials excavated in eponymous Vendel contained touchstones. This article presents the results of chemical microanalyses of metal traces preserved on them and discusses the linear streaks of zinc in light of extraordinary ore deposits in central Sweden, exploited as early as the Early Middle Ages. In addition, forging tools found in four boat burials in Vendel are interpreted as symbols belonging to the funerary assemblages of ancient leaders. However, although both forging tools and tools for determining the value of metal were used in the treatment of metal, it would be misleading to search for their functional connection. They are linked in prehistoric and early medieval graves exclusively by their function as a symbol, one which they share with other objects, regardless whether exclusive or common.     

Anselm Kiefer: a study of his artistic materials

The style of the contemporary German artist Anselm Kiefer is highly innovative and unconventional and is characterized by the use of diverse materials that he selects and combines according to the emotions that they stir in him. The conservation and preservation of works by Kiefer are particularly difficult tasks because of the heterogeneity and, in some cases, the incompatibility of the materials used; therefore, a thorough characterization is crucial before any intervention is considered. In this paper, we report the results of an investigation on a fragment from a multimaterial work and on samples from the paintings Bohemia Lies by the Sea and Die Größe Fracht. The large fragment was cut by the artist himself from a work in progress and is considered destitute of any artistic value; therefore, it was possible to sample it extensively. This fragment and the samples from the Die Größe Fracht and Bohemia Lies by the Sea paintings were analyzed by ultraviolet (UV) fluorescence imaging, fiber optic reflectance spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. This multitechnique approach allowed us to fully characterize and identify pigments, dyes, and organic components that reflect the diversity of the materials typically chosen by the artist. The results are evaluated in the context of the interview that Antonio Rava had with the Anselm Kiefer in 2000.     

Marbles,granites and basalt used in the cruciform basilica of Abila (Decapolis,Jordan): archaeometric characterization and provenance

The provenance of granite, basalt, and marble used in building the cruciform basilica of Abila of the Decapolis, northwestern Jordan, is investigated using chemical and petrographic techniques. The basilica is dated to the late fifth or early sixth century AD. The stones were characterized using macroscopic traits in combination with optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and stable oxygen and carbon isotope spectrometry. These data were compared to the published databases for marbles, granites, and basalts used in antiquity. The comparison showed that the basalts are most probably local. The islands of Marmara (Proconessos-1), Turkey, are the primary source of the white marbles, while Paros island (Paros-2), Greece, is a minor source. The source of the green Cipollino marbles is Styra in the island of Euboea (Greece). The pink and gray granites are likely microasiatic from the Çigri and Kozak Dâgs, respectively, northwest Turkey.     

Food for thought: using game cameras to better understand the movement of bones by scavenging in archaeological faunal assemblages

This paper questions our understanding of the movement of bones by animal scavengers in the archaeological record. Since assumptions regarding the effects of animal scavenging shape final interpretations of skeletal element frequencies in archaeological faunal assemblages, they are important for our understanding and reconstruction of ancient human behaviour. The results of a 4-year actualistic kangaroo scavenging study from Australia are used to question our understanding of the movement of the bone by contrasting visual data captured by motion-activated digital game cameras with traditional taphonomic studies using skeletal element frequencies. Game cameras are commonly used by ecologists to capture the behaviour of living species but have not yet been used in experimental archaeology where visually documenting animal scavenging behaviour can be used to understand the movement of carcasses and individual bones. Results suggest that traditional zooarchaeological analyses may not be accurate indicators of hunted versus scavenged prey in archaeological faunal assemblages. Moreover, they most certainly fail to document the entire suite of animals scavenging a carcass. These implications are discussed with particular reference to the ability to definitively ascertain the role of humans in the megafaunal extinction debate in Australia.     

From Goose Drops to Spec Ops: A Pinfire Shotgun Shell from Fort York

In 2011, during a salvage excavation at the Fort York National Historic Site, Archaeological Services Inc. (ASI) recovered a pinfire shotgun shell cartridge. This unique small find tells a story of the ebb and flow of the firearms technology used by armed forces around the world. It also shows how the pinfire shotgun was likely brought to Fort York in response to the Trent Affair. This international incident during the American Civil War risked a return to hostilities between Britain and the United States and sparked a defensive rearmament across the colony of Canada. This artifact also highlights the military evolution of the shotgun from a hunting tool brought to the battlefield by ragtag militia, to cutting edge weaponry used by military special forces around the world.     

Fighting or Dancing: Archaeology and Folklore Traces

The connections between archaeology and traditions or folklore may be thought of as a dance, in which archaeological traces complement or constitute elements of folklore, and traces of folklore complement and constitute archaeological interpretation. On the other hand, archaeology and folklore may engage in competition about the “true” past(s). In this paper I will explore the tensions between these perspectives, and the tensions between archaeology and many forms of folklore.     

Palaces,Feiras and Prazos: An Historical Archaeological Perspective of African–Portuguese Contact in Northern Zimbabwe

The consequences of the contact between Africans and Europeans during the early Atlantic Age are examined with a specific focus on the Mutapa State in northern Zimbabwe to the middle of the seventeenth century. The dynamics of contact are presented in terms of three categories of archaeological evidence, namely royal palaces (zimbabwe), trading markets (feiras) and fortifications. It is argued that some royal palaces assumed new identities as they adjusted to the new contact situations presented by the commerce with the Portuguese. The site reported in Portuguese documents as Massapa was one such palace initially, before becoming a fully fledged trading centre. With the intensification of market trade, the fortified stonewalled settlements found in the areas between the Mazowe and Ruya rivers attest to evidence for the conflict between the Mutapa state and the Portuguese, as presented in the written records, and environmental deterioration triggered by intensified exploitation of gold.