The Study of Archaeological Floors: Methodological Proposal for the Analysis of Anthropogenic Residues by Spot Tests,ICP-OES,and GC-MS

The identification of chemical activity residues on archaeological surfaces requires the analysis of large numbers of samples, which can be costly and time consuming. Researchers wishing to apply sediment chemistry often are confronted with a dilemma of which technique to use and how to accommodate sediment chemistry into their budget. We propose an approach to the identification of chemical activity residues in which semiquantitative spot tests, which are cheap, quick, and easy to apply, are employed as an initial phase of analysis in order to leverage the results of more time-consuming and costly instrumental techniques. Three examples that pair spot tests with gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry analysis show that spot tests successfully identify areas of interest. This approach can save both time and research funds.     

Taphonomic studies with wild brown bears (Ursus arctos) in the mountains of northern Spain

In this work we present data obtained from experiments with wild brown bears from the Cantabrian Mountains in northern Spain. Our results show that wild brown bears do not take carcasses to their dens, but can displace them by tens of meters before eating them, and the remains can become dispersed some meters around the place where the carcass is consumed. The long bones of large-sized carcasses show no fractures, but they do show tooth marks (scores, pitting, punctures and furrowing) especially on the cancellous bone of the epiphyses. Ribs and vertebrae show fractures and furrowing. The innominate also shows furrowing on cancellous bone of the ilium and ischium. The results of this study are in agreement with previous work and also shed some light on the behavior of this carnivore in the wild. The data gathered are of great importance when interpreting paleontological and archaeological sites where the bear is a likely taphonomic agent.     

First Approach to Study the Presence of Domesticated Camelids (Lama glama) in the Chaco‐Santiago Region,a Marginal Zone of the South Central Andes

We analysed bone remains of camelids from the Maquijata site, assigned to the late pottery‐making and farming stage (ca. 800–400 BP), in order to differentiate between domestic and wild species in the Chaco‐Santiago archaeological region. This region is considered marginal to the Argentine Northwest regarding its cultural development and has received less attention than other regions. South American camelids have been one of the major resources in this continent, with domestication recorded in the South Central Andes at around 4400–3000 BP. We applied osteometric techniques and multivariate statistical analyses to proximal phalanges; the results showed interspecific differentiation of archaeological specimens, though with some methodological application issues. These results are the first contribution regarding the presence of domesticated animals in the study area. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Technological aspects of Mesopotamian Uruk pottery: estimating firing temperatures using mineralogical methods,thermal analysis and luminescence techniques

The Middle Uruk phase in Mesopotamia (3600–3500 bc) has been characterised by the massive production of “bevelled rim bowls” (BRBs). They are characterised by their similar shape and volume in Mesopotamia and surroundings. However, their production method has not been studied in detail, including the firing temperature. The determination of the firing temperature of ancient pottery has been attempted by studying mineral phase transformation sequences; although, very little knowledge exists about such transformations in mixtures or thermal analyses. These methods usually provide imprecise firing temperatures between 500 and 800 °C, as other factors such as the raw materials or firing time and conditions must be considered. As an alternative, luminescence techniques have been tested with promising results, as they have provided reliable maximum firing temperatures for ancient pottery at mild conditions (below 600 °C) with high precision. In this work, the firing temperatures of BRB samples from two archaeological sites located in the Middle Euphrates Valley (Syria) have been studied using mineralogical, chemical and thermal analysis. Both mineral characterization techniques and thermal analyses show agreement and firing probably below 600–700 °C. Luminescence yields ambiguous results but circumstantial evidence on the firing temperature between 400 and 550 °C.     

Seismic Vulnerability of an Inventory of Overturning Objects

A methodology is presented for assessing the probability of overturning under the action of ground motions of given intensities, and the expected values and standard deviations of damage produced by overturning of objects in a group or inventory exposed to the same seismic event. We apply this methodology to one example of the typical contents located on the base (i.e., free-field) of a middle-class house or apartment. A detailed inventory was gathered, and recent well-recorded accelerograms at the site were used to compute the rocking response of every object. Vulnerability functions for the whole inventory computed at four different sites in terms of epicentral distance and site effects show large differences between them.     

A Roman Skeleton with Possible Treponematosis in the North‐East of the Iberian Peninsula: A Morphological and Radiological Study

The main goal of this paper is to describe and discuss pathological lesions observed in a Roman skeleton (between 2^nd and 3^rd century AD) from the north‐east region of the Iberian Peninsula (St Nicasi 18–24 site. Gavà, Barcelona), which may be compatible with treponematosis. Most of the skeleton, with the exception of the neurocranium, was recovered. Only the left tibia was affected, whereas the rest of the recovered skeletal remains were unaffected. Macroscopic examination revealed a male individual between 25 and 30 years of age at death with a sabre‐shaped left tibia. The proximal half of the diaphysis was pitted and the bone overall enlarged. The surface of the tibia showed occasional vascular impressions where, in some instances, small raised plaques of new bone appeared to bridge over them, specifically in the most affected area of the proximal half of the tibia. No destructive lesions were observed. Radiographic examination and gross inspection at the cross section of the tibia showed encroachment into the medullary cavity of coarse cancellous bone and cancellization of the cortex. The observed lesions indicate that the tibia was affected by a chronic infectious disease. Differential diagnoses were considered, and these included other infectious diseases, fibrous dysplasia, Paget's disease, chronic varicose ulcers affecting bone and trauma, with the conclusion that the disease affecting the tibia could have been treponematosis. This could be significant in the history of the treponematoses being one of the oldest examples of treponematosis in pre‐Columbian Europe. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mapping colonial Quechua through trial interpretations in 17th-century Cajamarca

Andean linguistics has not determined the geographic extent in which Quechua was spoken in Peru's Cajamarca region during the colonial period. The debate centers on whether it ranged beyond where it is currently found in the ‘enclaves’ of Porcón and Chetilla. No previous systematic efforts have attempted to clarify this problem. Here, we seek to reconstruct 17th-century Quechua distribution using data from trial interpretations (oral language translations carried out during the testimonies) in the document series ‘Protector de Naturales' (‘Advocate of the Indians’), held in the Regional Archive of Cajamarca. We represent this data cartographically using the dot density map technique, a visualization method that allows us to conclude that in the 17th century Quechua covered a wider territory than that which is currently observed. We suggest that this method could be applied in other contexts, to increase knowledge of the historical distribution of indigenous languages in South America.     

‘Las Indias del Pirú en lo alto de España … ’. Relaciones entre la Nueva corónica de Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala y los qeros coloniales

It is proposed that there is an iconographic and epistemological relationship between some drawings in Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala’s Nueva corónica y buen gobierno and the images recorded in several colonial wood vessels (qeros) which circulated widely during the time that Guaman Poma was writing his letter to the King of Spain. This connection shows that the work of Guaman Poma was not an isolated or singular act in the colonial context and that both communicative and creative processes, that of the Nueva corónica and that of the qeros, formed part of a process of shared colonial semiosis through which Andean societies maintained a certain autonomy in the production and circulation of their own discourses. Secondly, the article discusses the epistemological tension that results from the coexistence of different narratives (European and Andean) that used their own temporal and spatial categories to account for new colonial conditions.