Anthropological and physicochemical investigation of the burnt remains of Tomb IX in the ‘Sa Figu’ hypogeal necropolis (Sassari,Italy) – Early Bronze Age

Excavations carried out in Tomb IX of the hypogeic necropolis of ‘Sa Figu’, near the village of Ittiri (Sassari, Italy), supplied burnt human bone remains and pottery unambiguously referred to the Early Bronze Age (characterised by the local culture of ‘Bonnannaro’). Besides the anthropological study, we have investigated and evaluated the possibility of a funerary cremation practice in Sardinian pre‐history, a subject that has previously not been considered from a scientific point of view. Making use of a calibration procedure based on X‐ray diffraction (XRD) line‐broadening analysis, related to the microstructural properties, it was possible to estimate the combustion temperature to which the fragmented bones were subjected. It was found that the studied bones reached temperatures varying from 400°C up to a maximum of 850°C. This spread of values suggested inhomogeneous combustion of the bones, which seems compatible with funerary cremation practices. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment of Relationships Between Precipitation and Satellite Derived Vegetation Condition Within South Australia

The normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) has evolved as a primary tool for monitoring continental‐scale vegetation changes and interpreting the impact of short to long‐term climatic events on the biosphere. The objective of this research was to assess the nature of relationships between precipitation and vegetation condition, as measured by the satellite‐derived NDVI within South Australia. The correlation, timing and magnitude of the NDVI response to precipitation were examined for different vegetation formations within the State (forest, scrubland, shrubland, woodland and grassland). Results from this study indicate that there are strong relationships between precipitation and NDVI both spatially and temporally within South Australia. Differences in the timing of the NDVI response to precipitation were evident among the five vegetation formations. The most significant relationship between rainfall and NDVI was within the forest formation. Negative correlations between NDVI and precipitation events indicated that vegetation green‐up is a result of seasonal patterns in precipitation. Spatial patterns in the average NDVI over the study period closely resembled the boundaries of the five classified vegetation formations within South Australia. Spatial variability within the NDVI data set over the study period differed greatly between and within the vegetation formations examined depending on the location within the state. ACRONYMS AVHRR Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer ENVSAEnvironments of South Australia EOS Terra‐Earth Observing System EVIEnhanced Vegetation Index MODIS Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro‐radiometer MVC Maximum Value Composite NDVINormalised Difference Vegetation Index NIRNear Infra‐Red NOAANational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration SPOT Systeme Pour l’Observation de la Terre     

安徽潜山薛家岗遗址第六次发掘简报

本次发掘发现了一批相当丁二薛家岗文化二、三期的墓葬、灰坑以及红烧十遗迹,确认薛家岗三期墓葬大都有墓坑。此外发现了大最的商周时期的遗物和遗迹,它们具有较强的地方特征而与同时期的中原文化有明显差异。在该遗址两面的永兴遗址,还发现了一处可能与建筑有关的大面积红烧十堆积,它与薛家岗遗址应有密切的关系。     

甘肃新石器时代与青铜代陶器研究的内容和科学意义

综述了现代分析测试方法和数学方法在古代陶器成分分析、年代测定、制作工艺、产地判断、形态分析方面的应用以及甘肃新石器与青铜时代陶器研究的意义。     

Stone Age Prehistory of the Songwe River Valley, Lake Rukwa Basin, Southwestern Tanzania

This paper reports on results from survey and preliminary test excavations at MSA and LSA sites along the Songwe River in the Lake Rukwa Rift Valley of southwestern Tanzania. At IdIu22, a continuous, extensive archaeological deposit was revealed which may have both Pleistocene and Holocene components. The lithic material here shows a gradual transformation from a flake based LSA assemblage to one employing microburin techniques.Cet article discute la recherche préhistorique aux environs de la rivière Songwe, dans le vallée rift de Lac Rukwa en la sud-ouest de Tanzanie. Au gisement IdIu22, un sequence de l'âge de la pierre finale (LSA) a été découverte avec possible niveaux du Pleistocene et Holocène. Les assemblages lithiques changent graduellement dès un LSA avec outils sur les éclats, vers un LSA employant la téchnique microburin.     

Characterization and textural analysis of Middle Bronze Age Transdanubian inlaid wares of the Encrusted Pottery Culture,Hungary: a preliminary study

Inlaid ceramics belonging to the Encrusted Pottery Culture and dated to the Middle Bronze Age (2000–1500 BC) are highly distinctive vessels with complex decorative motifs found in large numbers in the Transdanubia region of Hungary. Despite this considerable corpus of material there has been little systematic investigation of the composition of the inlays. Micro-analysis of Transdanubian inlaid wares by X-ray diffraction (XRD), micro-Fourier transform infrared microscopy (FT-IR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) provides new compositional, structural and textural information on the inlays. In contrast to common statements in the literature regarding the materials used to make inlays, these new data show that the majority of inlays are composed of hydroxyapatite (bone) that was previously ashed, although some of the inlays are composed of calcium carbonate. Additional compositional and textural variation in the bone inlays suggests that bone material from different skeletal elements and/or of different age may have been used, and that contrasting recipes for inlay preparation were employed during fabrication. These results suggest that the production of inlaid vessels of the Encrusted Pottery Culture was more complex than has hitherto been thought.     

Application of non-adult Bayesian dental age assessment methods to skeletal remains: the Spitalfields collection

The aim of this study was to test with non-adult skeletons the quality of a recently published dental age assessment method based on Bayes' theorem. The test sample consisted of dental X-rays from 16 individuals (range 2.6–15.1 years) recovered from the crypt of Christ Church, Spitalfields, London, for which age-at-death and sex were known. The training sample consisted of dental X-rays from 1346 girls and 1040 boys (range 1.9–16.0 years). Bayesian dental age assessment method was alternatively used with dependent and independent assumptions; the dependent Bayesian method (DBM) and independent Bayesian method (IBM), respectively. Moreover, both DBM and IBM were used alternatively with sex-specific standards and with non-sex-specific standard. Due to the training sample age distribution, both methods are efficient between 5.0 and 14.0 years. Whatever the method or the sex standard used, when dental age was different from chronological age, the discrepancy did not exceed one age group of one year. DBM produced tighter dental age 100% confidence intervals than IBM for the majority of assessments. The observed stability between results produced according to the type of sex standard used (i.e. sex-specific or non-sex-specific), and the number of teeth studied (range 4–7), is worthy of note for both archaeological and forensic contexts.     

Bronze Age upland settlement decline in southwest England: testing the climate change hypothesis

The division of land on Dartmoor during the Bronze Age by the construction of moor-wide boundaries known as reaves represents a significant development in agricultural practice and land tenure. Previous research relating to the Dartmoor reaves suggests this way of life may have continued for no longer than 200–400 years. It has been suggested that their abandonment occurred as the result of a deteriorating climate, although there are no published palaeoclimatic reconstructions from the area. We therefore test the hypothesis that on Dartmoor, a marked climatic deterioration occurred in the late Bronze Age that can be linked to the abandonment of the reaves. A palaeoclimatic reconstruction derived from testate amoebae and peat humification analyses is presented from Tor Royal Bog, central Dartmoor, the first such record from southwest England. A major shift to a cooler and/or wetter climate is inferred from ca. 1395 to 1155 cal BC that is coincident with the period hypothesised as encompassing the abandonment. This climatic deterioration is replicated in sites in northern Britain, suggesting it was a widespread event. It is concluded that while the evidence supports a climatically forced retreat, there are a range of other socio-economic factors that must also be taken into consideration.     

Experimentally produced glass compared with that occurring at The Torr, NW Scotland, UK: vitrification through biotite melting

It is proposed that the vitrification in some Iron Age forts in NW Scotland can be explained through decomposition of micas (largely biotite) giving melts that react with or dissolve quartz and crystallise orthopyroxene and feldspars, so equating with the reaction biotite + quartz = sanidine + orthopyroxene + liquid. A sample of Moine semi-pelite has been experimentally melted at c. 850 °C demonstrating this breakdown reaction. A preserved thermal gradient across the sample reveals the progressive degradation of biotite towards the melting (upper) surface. Degradation is evident from the initial emphasis of mica cleavages in grains at the bottom of the sample, and then appearance and progressive increase in size of bubbles associated with biotite and melt towards the top of the sample. A chocolate-brown melt was produced as a coating on the upper surface and along micaceous layers. A near equivalent sample was located from the fort at The Torr that, whilst being more thoroughly affected by heat, with no unaffected biotite, preserved similar textures. Compositions of original Moine minerals are used to constrain the melts produced and melt evolution is tracked through quenched crystals. These include ternary feldspars as well as sanidine, spinels and orthopyroxene. Spot geochemical evidence demonstrates the heterogeneity of the melts, plus varying contributions of Ca and Na that could be attributed to the onset of reactions involving feldspars and other minerals from the original assemblage. It is thus concluded that a similar temperature to that of c. 850 °C derived in the experiment was reached in the vitrification process at The Torr in order to produce the glass observed.