Pottery Production in the Buddhist Communities in Central Asia: The Kushan‐Sassanian Pottery Workshop of Kara Tepe (Termez,Uzbekistan)

We present the first full archaeometrical study of Kushan‐Sassanian pottery from the Buddhist monastic complexes at Kara Tepe (Termez, Uzbekistan), recovered both in the pottery workshop and in the monastery, using a combination of analytical methods (XRF, XRD, SEM–EDS and OM). The study allowed the identification of the reference group, the correspondent fabric, the raw materials used for its productions, some of the technological processes involved in manufacture and several weathering processes. All the results confirm that the kiln was supplying the religious community of the monastery with pottery, made using local raw materials, and highlight the possibility that the kiln could have supplied the nearby monastic complexes, where no kilns have been found. Further archaeological evidence indicates the existence of specialized potters working itinerantly at the broader Bactrian area.     

Mapping the Stone Age of Mozambique

Under the auspices of the Portuguese colonial government, Lereno Barradas and Santos Júnior (coordinator of the Anthropological Mission of Mozambique) carried out several archaeological field surveys from 1936 to 1956 that resulted in a data set that includes a total of close to 90 sites, mostly attributed to the Stone Age. This early research added to the previous work of Van Riet Lowe in the Limpopo Valley of southern Mozambique. With the new millennium, Mozambique has emerged as a crucial geographic area in which to understand the various hypotheses about recent human evolution. Specifically, its coastal location between southern and eastern Africa is ideal for testing ideas about the link between early coastal adaptations and the appearance of anatomically modern humans (AMH). Except for the recent work by Mercader’s team in northern Mozambique, the number of researchers and projects on this topic in Mozambique is still limited because of the general predominance of interest in later periods among archaeologists working in the country, mainly due to their focus on issues related to precolonial heritage and national identity. Based on the early maps from Santos Júnior and more recent data acquired through various projects, we present a series of maps for the Stone Age prehistory of Mozambique. The maps are also based on a critical evaluation of the sites and a review of some of the materials that are presently curated at the Instituto de Investigação Científica e Tropical (IICT) in Lisbon, Portugal, as well as the materials stored at the Department of Archaeology of Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo. The sites are also presented in an online database with the information on all sites used in this study. This database is open to all and will be updated continuously. A preliminary interpretation of the regional distribution of the sites is also attempted, linking aspects that include region, topography and altitude, geomorphology, and cultural phase. These results will be the first step for research and knowledge in Mozambique on Stone Age prehistory and the emergence and settlement pattern of AMH.     

The Hidden Consequences of Credit: An Illustration from Rural Indonesia

Interest in rural financial development has been booming, but often with a blind eye to the broader consequences. Very few studies have tackled the unintended economic, social and ecological outcomes of ordinary indebtedness, the inevitable other side of credit. This article explores some of the main ‘hidden’ side‐effects of credit/debt relations, with special reference to the Indonesian plantation sector. I argue that widespread credit/debt relations are not only an important factor behind capital, land and labour control; they also generate constraints that foster market discipline and contribute to undermine traditional community bonds as well as environmental conditions. More generally, credit/debt relations represent a powerful mechanism of social selection that has, in the long run, crucially shaped the trajectory of capitalism at the household, firm and government levels.     

The role of shellfish in hunter–gatherer societies during the Early Upper Palaeolithic: A view from El Cuco rockshelter,northern Spain

The role of coastal resources in the subsistence strategies of Palaeolithic human populations has only recently become an important topic in Old World archaeology. Information on the exploitation of these resources, both as foodstuffs and symbolic elements, can be used to infer the emergence of modern human behaviour as well as to track the diversification and intensification of human diet over time. The excavations carried out at El Cuco rockshelter, located in northern Spain have provided evidence for the exploitation of marine resources during the Early Upper Palaeolithic. The accumulation of Patella shells at El Cuco provides the largest accumulation and the first clear evidence of collection and consumption of molluscs during the Aurignacian on the Atlantic Façade of Europe. A deposit of ornamental shells appeared in a very homogeneous context dated to the Gravettian, suggesting that the shells belonged to the same item. The analysis of this evidence has allowed us to conclude that marine resources were systematically used at least from the beginning of the Upper Palaeolithic in the region. However, a comparison with the Mesolithic shows that intensive shellfish gathering did not occur until the end of the Upper Palaeolithic. Regarding the ornaments, it is interpreted that the identified shell beads were used as social or personal status markers.     

Lagos leprosarium (Portugal): evidences of disease

In 2009, an archaeological intervention in the Valle da Gafaria (Lagos, Portugal) allowed the excavation of part of a leprosarium and an associated necropolis (15th–17th centuries). The individuals recovered were buried directly in the soil, in positions and orientations discordant to the prevailing Christian rules. The sample is made up of eleven adult individuals of both sexes.     

First evidence of Equus asinus L. in the Chalcolithic disputes the Phoenicians as the first to introduce donkeys into the Iberian Peninsula

Two equid species have been documented in the Pleistocene of the Iberian Peninsula, the horse Equus caballus, and the Eurasian hemione Equus hydruntinus. While the former survived the Holocene–Pleistocene until now, the timing for the extinction of the latter is unclear. Scarce, fragmented archaeological remains assess the presence of small equids living in the Holocene of Iberia. Those could possibly correspond to the Eurasian hemione although unambiguous morphological identification is often not possible. With the find of an equid tooth from Leceia, a Chalcolithic fortified site in Portugal, and using both morphological and mitochondrial genome analyses, we demonstrate for the first time the presence of a new equid species in Holocene Iberia, namely a donkey (Equus asinus). Radiocarbon dating of the tooth to Cal 2340–2130, and 2080–2060 BC with 95% probability, demonstrates that donkeys were present in Iberia well before the arrival of Phoenicians in the first quarter of the first millennium BC (900–750 years BC), which were considered so far as the first who introduced donkeys in the region.     

Infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) properties of natural aluminum corrosion

In this paper, the infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) property of naturally corroded aluminum and its possible applications in retrospective dosimetry have been briefly studied. Results are interesting, in particular with regard to the efforts of finding new and widely available materials for accident dosimetry. For aluminum corrosion, the dose response was found to be approximately linear between 2–80 Gy and to reach saturation before 300 Gy. The signal also showed good repro-ducibility without significant fading over storage durations of up to four mounts at room temperature. In addition to the luminescence, the corrosion samples were also analysed by X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD), but conclusive identification of the luminescent phase could not be made. It is concluded that the IRSL signals of this material can be favourable for dosimetry research.     

Experimental Dynamic Behavior of Free-Standing Multi-Block Structures Under Seismic Loadings

This article describes the dynamical behavior of free-standing block structures under seismic loading. A comprehensive experimental investigation has been carried out to study the rocking response of four single blocks of different geometry and associations of two and three blocks. The blocks, which are large stones of high strength blue granite, were subjected to free vibration, and harmonic and random motions of the base. In total, 379 tests on a shaking table were carried out in order to address the issues of repeatability of the results and stability of the rocking motion response. Significant understanding of the rocking motion mechanism is possible from the high quality experimental data. Extensive experimental measurements allowed to discuss the impulsive forces acting in the blocks and the three-dimensional effects presented in the response.