Iron smelting and smithing in major urban centers in Israel during the Iron Age

By-products of iron production, mainly slag and bloom fragments, unearthed at three Iron Age urban centres in Israel (Hazor, Tel Beer sheba and Rehov), were analysed in order to better understand the organization of iron production during the Iron Age. The production remains studied are all dated not earlier than the Iron Age IIA, and thus shed light on a period of transition from bronze to iron production. Chemical composition and microstructural analyses enable us to determine that both the smelting of iron ores and the refining of the bloom took place within the urban centres of Hazor and Beer-Sheba. We show that slag cakes are the products of smelting, possibly carried out in pit-furnaces. Hammerscales, products of primary and secondary smithing, were attached to slags. From these observations we infer that all stages of iron production were practiced in these urban centres.     

Biomolecular archaeology of ancient tuberculosis: response to “Deficiencies and challenges in the study of ancient tuberculosis DNA” by Wilbur et al. (2009)

It is sixteen years since the first detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA in archaeological specimens, yet the validity of findings continues to be questioned. Rigorous scientific scrutiny and debate is valuable and has led to a coalescence of procedures and precautions amongst those actively engaged in this work. It is disappointing that these good practices are not recognised by certain scientists whose primary expertise is in the related fields of archaeology, palaeopathology, and eukaryote ancient DNA. There is a danger that by constant repetition, disputable and inadequately justified concerns will assume the status of self-perpetuating myths and misunderstandings. We discuss these issues with reference to a recent article in this journal, in which clear peer-reviewed scientific data were specifically targeted as part of a general critique of the field of the palaeomicrobiology of tuberculosis. We believe we have given sufficient evidence and cogent argument to persuade the unbiased reader that the views in the critique by Wilbur et al. are unjustified.     

The Evolution of Innovation Networks and Spin-off Entrepreneurship: The Case of RAD

Abstract

We conducted an in-depth analysis of an Israeli startup, RAD Bynet, founded in 1981, that has intentionally, through the vision of its founder, given rise to 129 other startups employing some 15,000 workers, and created a unique “cloud”. Through a survey of the existing firms, we sought to explore the nature of this ecosystem and to quantify the relationships that exist between the mother company and the enterprises that emerge from it. Our main findings were: (a) social and technological proximity encourages the tendency of the companies to maintain business relationships that probably contribute to knowledge exchange, while technological diversity drives innovation and startup formation; and (b) firms will choose to cooperate on the basis of a shared past and personal proximity relations, as well as technological proximity at a certain level; “viral clouds” of startups like the one we studied can thus intentionally be designed and developed.     

Social Stratification in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages: An Intra‐Site Investigation at Megiddo

The article presents an intra‐site investigation of the Strata VIIA and VIA faunal remains at Megiddo, Israel, which date to the LB III and late Iron I respectively. We examined social disparity between the populations of two areas of the city. Our finds indicate a difference in social status and division of labour: a dichotomy between producer‐consumers and consumers, who most probably interacted. Viewed in light of other types of remains at Megiddo, these findings reveal that the inhabitants of one sector engaged in agriculture and cottage industries, while the people in the other part of the city, close to the palace, were more affluent – related to the local ruler and administrators. Our study demonstrates the potential in intra‐site investigation at large, multi‐period sites.     

Politischer moralismus—Der triumph der gesinnung über die urteilskraft

Scholarship on race in the eighteenth century continues to treat the concept as somewhat foreign to Britain itself. This essay, which reviews two new works that contribute to the ‘domestication’ of eighteenth-century ideas of race, suggests one way in which race was interwoven with the fabric of British culture in the period.     

Human impact around settlement sites: a phytolith and mineralogical study for assessing site boundaries,phytolith preservation,and implications for spatial reconstructions using plant remains

Defining the extent of human activity around settlement sites is of particular significance in archaeology as it may define peripheral activity areas and thus the site's boundary. In Near Eastern archaeology, site boundaries are usually defined by the presence of architectural and other macroscopic archaeological remains. Here we use the phytolith concentrations and morphotype assemblages, as well as changes in the mineralogical composition of the sediments in and around the small Iron Age site of Izbet Sartah in central Israel to determine the site boundaries. The site has a shallow stratigraphy and highly bioturbated sediments. Coincidental changes in the clay/quartz ratio and phytolith concentrations define the boundary between high and low impact anthropogenic activities. This boundary is generally some 20 m away from the architectural remains. In addition, we note that the phytoliths in the site's core show clear evidence of having been affected by chemical dissolution (i.e., diagenesis), while those in the vicinity of the site's boundary have undergone severe diagenesis. These observations indicate that phytolith diagenesis will affect site boundaries determination, as well as phytolith-based reconstructions of activity areas. We propose that phytolith preservation depends on the initial amount of available silica, the depth of burial with respect to the active root area of modern vegetation, and the presence of fresh phytoliths in the soil.