Lithic refitting and movement connections: the NW area of level TD10-1 at the Gran Dolina site (Sierra de Atapuerca,Burgos, Spain)

The first lithic refit studies were carried out at the end of 19th century, but the method was not considered an area of real interest to archaeology until quite recently. Today, lithic refitting is applied in a multitude of areas of enquiry including lithic technology, intra-site and inter-site spatial distribution, archaeostratigraphy and formation processes. In this paper, we present a refit study of the lithic materials recovered in the base of the NW sector of level TD10 at the site of Gran Dolina (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). We aim to provide information about spatial distribution through identifying activity areas and the internal connections between those areas. Our work resulted in various refits whose connections reveal the movements of the pieces and/or knappers that once occupied the site. Our results also show the importance of studying the set of materials as a whole and the bias involved in analyzing only a small sample. The refits, connections and directions of movement allow us to infer areas in which an activity took place, but these results must be confirmed in future works covering the entire lithic assemblage of TD10.     

Inclusion in Public Archeology in Brazil: Remarks on Collaborative Practices

There are several experiences of Public Archaeology in Brazil. In this paper, we will focus our attention on an experience developed by the Public Archeology Laboratory Paulo Duarte (LPA), located in the Center of Environmental Studies and Research (Nepam), University of Campinas, Brazil. Four main concepts have been used in this work: collaboration, inclusion, conflict, and subjectivity. We will develop the experiences between archaeologies and communities, and how these relations are linked with archaeological practice and interpretation.     

Analysis of the spatial distribution of geochemical signatures for the identification of prehistoric settlement patterns in ADE and TMA sites in the lower Amazon Basin

The Archeological Dark Earth (ADE) and Terra Mulata (TMA) anthrosols found at Juruti, on the lower Amazon River, extend over a wide area located within the local ferralsol domain. The ADE soils are dark in color and contain large quantities of fragmented ceramics, while the TMA soils are also relatively dark, but lack ceramics. Multi-element chemical analyses of soil samples of ADE and TMA from the A2 horizon (depths of 10–20 cm) indicated that the ADE soils are characterized by higher concentrations of P₂O₅, CaO, K₂O, MgO, Cu, Mn, and Zn, while the TMAs have median levels of these compounds, and the ferralsols have much lower concentrations. These chemical elements make up the geochemical signature of these anthrosols, whereas Al₂O₃, Fe₂O₃, TiO₂, Cr, Sr, La, Li, Ni, Pb, V, Y, and Zr characterize the geochemical signature of the ferralsols, which was identified partially in the ADEs and TMAs. The isoline maps of these two geochemical associations permitted the delimitation of the different areas and the identification of the ADEs as sites of long-term human occupancy, and the TMA as an area of temporary occupation associated with agricultural activities. Seven villages were delimited within the study area, and were separated by corridors of ferralsols. These settlements were established on the riverbank, with the more temporary cultivated areas behind them, running almost parallel to the river. The identification of functional patterns based on geochemical associations, the abundance of ceramic material, and concentrations of organic matter, indicated that an area of more than 350 ha was occupied.     

Massive storage in As Laias/O Castelo (Ourense,NW Spain) from the Late Bronze Age/Iron Age transition to the Roman period: a palaeoethnobotanical approach

The highest platforms of As Laias, a settlement located in northwest Iberia, were used for storage during the Iron Age and until the turn of the Era. In this time-span, the whole hilltop – the croa – was a walled enclosure mostly used for storage and due to recurrent fires affecting the settlement's terraces, abundant plant remains were preserved in overlying wattle and daub storage structures.     

Bronze production in Southwestern Iberian Peninsula: the Late Bronze Age metallurgical workshop from Entre Águas 5 (Portugal)

Archaeological works at Entre Águas 5 (Portugal) uncovered a seasonal LBA settlement with significant metallurgical remains (crucibles, moulds, prills and a tuyere) related to bronze production. Radiocarbon dating ascribes an occupation period (10th–9th century BC) previous to Phoenician establishment in Southwestern Iberia. In spite of the proliferation of metal artefacts during LBA, the production of bronze alloys is still poorly understood. An integrated analytical approach (EDXRF, optical microscopy, SEM–EDS, micro-EDXRF and Vickers microhardness) was used to characterise this metallurgy. Crucibles show immature slags with copious copper nodules, displaying variable tin content (c. 0–26 wt.%), low iron amount (<0.05 wt.%) and different cooling rates. Certain evidences point to direct reduction of oxide copper ores with cassiterite. Scorched moulds with residues of copper and tin indicate local casting of artefacts. Finished artefacts also recovered at the site have an analogous composition (bronze with ∼10 wt.% Sn and low amounts of Pb, As and Fe) typical of coeval metallurgy in SW Iberia. Some artefacts reveal a relationship between typology and composition or manufacture: a higher tin content for a golden coloured ring or absence of the final hammering for a bracelet. An uncommon gilded nail (gold foil c. 140 μm thick; 11.6 wt.% Ag; ∼1 wt.% Cu) attests the existence of evolved prestige typologies. This LBA settlement discloses a domestic metallurgy whose main features are typical in Iberian Peninsula. Finally, it should be emphasized that a collection as comprehensive and representative of a single workshop has rarely been studied, enabling a deeper understanding of the various operations involving the bronze production and manufacture of artefacts.     

Tourism and Archaeology in Brazil: Postmodern Epistemology in Two Case Studies

This article discusses the relationship between archaeology and tourism in Brazil. After providing a diachronic perspective of the interaction between both two case studies in which we have been involved are examined: the Palmares maroon (Alagoas) and the Erasmos plantation (São Paulo). They exemplify how since the end of the last dictatorial period archaeology and tourism have been increasingly concerned with the social dimensions of both disciplines.     

Sentimental Capitalism in Contemporary India: Art,Heritage, and Development in Ahmedabad,Gujarat

Using a critical cultural politics approach and deploying the concept of sentimental capitalism, this article problematizes the burgeoning creative economy discourse while analyzing spaces of art and heritage production in Ahmedabad, India. I situate the Cotton Exchange exhibit (April 2013) in an erstwhile mill in recent histories of mill closures, genocide, creative economy initiatives and development aspirations of revitalizing degraded space. I argue that in remaking place, art mobilizes sentiments—here, nostalgia and hope—while erasing violence and inequality. Sentimental capitalism is at work in the exhibition by mobilizing artisans as entrepreneurial agents not victims of capitalism; constructing art's aura of grassroots participation and artisanal empowerment while obscuring displacement and exploitation; and fostering cult‐like regard for art's intrinsic and instrumental value as non‐profit and its capacity to engender opportunity, recognition, and even property. While another spatial politics is possible, in Ahmedabad today, art is being mobilized to obscure dispossession and exploitation in the name of urban revitalization and heritage production.     

Simulation of Shake Table Tests on Out-of-Plane Masonry Buildings. Part (V): Discrete Element Approach

ABSTRACT

The analysis of the shaking table test of a 3-wall stone masonry structure performed with a discrete element model is presented. The numerical model, created with the code 3DEC, employed a rigid block representation and a Mohr-Coulomb joint model. Joint stiffness calibration to match the experimental natural frequencies is discussed, as well as the boundary conditions to simulate the shake table. Comparisons are made with the measured displacements at key locations, and the modes of deformation and fracture of the walls. The DEM model was able to reproduce important features of the shaking table tests. The experimental deformation and near collapse patterns were clearly identifiable in the numerical simulations, which produced displacements within the observed orders of magnitude, for the various levels of excitation.     

Technological continuity in Early Iron Age bronze metallurgy at the South-Western Iberian Peninsula – a sight from Castro dos Ratinhos

A collection of 54 bronze artefacts recovered from the inland settlement of Castro dos Ratinhos (Portugal) and belonging mainly to the 9th–8th centuries BC, was studied by the use of non-invasive and micro analytical techniques. EDXRF, Micro-EDXRF, SEM-EDS and Optical Microscopy were used to determine the alloy composition and to identify the different thermo mechanical operations applied in the production of the artefacts. Results show that the collection is entirely composed of good quality binary bronzes (with an average tin content of 10.1 ± 2.5%). Alloys with higher tin contents were kept in as-cast condition and used in the making of ornaments, while tools were often finished with forging and annealing operations. Despite the existence of some Orientalising features in the Castro dos Ratinhos, e.g. rectangular habitat structures, wheel-turned ware and amphorae, the exclusive use of binary alloys with a narrow range of tin content seems to be associated with an indigenous metallurgical tradition inherited from the Late Bronze Age. This may indicate that the Phoenician interaction within the inland indigenous communities was a slow and selective process, probably dependant on the social-economic and cultural development of local communities.