A Bayesian C chronology of Early and Middle Bronze Age in Sicily. Towards an independent absolute dating

This paper proposes a Bayesian model for the ¹⁴C chronology of Sicilian Early and Middle Bronze Age, with a specific focus on the northeastern sector of the island. Building on the available ¹⁴C determinations, the model allows addressing a number of chronological questions left open in literature, making a first step towards an independent absolute chronology. The analysis put the start of the earlier part of Early Bronze Age (Capo Graziano 1-Casa Lopez phase) between 2400 and 2175 cal BC, and the end at about 1960 cal BC. The advanced stage of the same period (Capo Graziano 1-Filo Braccio phase) is likely to have started and ended around 1960 and 1730 cal BC respectively. The model indicates that the time slot with the highest posterior probability for the start of the Middle Bronze Age–Milazzese (Portella phase) is between 1490 and 1460 cal BC. This turns up to be earlier than held to date. Notably, the model enables for the first time to bracket the development of the later stage of Early Bronze (Capo Graziano 2-M. di Capo Graziano phase) between 1730 (end of Filo Braccio phase) and 1490/60 cal BC (start of Middle Bronze Age–Portella phase). The latter date is earlier than usually held for the end of Capo Graziano 2. The existence of a narrow gap between the end of the latter and the start of Middle Bronze Age-Portella phase is tentatively proposed only on stratigraphic grounds. Further, the analysis enables for the first time to pinpoint and quantify the lag that is likely to have existed between the start of those Sicilian prehistoric phases and the appearance of Late Helladic imports. The comparison with the Aegean ¹⁴C Bayesian chronology indicates that a time lag (about 45 yr) is likely to have occurred between the start of Capo Graziano 2 and of the Late Helladic period. A time lag between 20 and 70 yr is likely to have existed between the start of the Sicilian Middle Bronze Age and of the Late Helladic III. Arguments tentatively supporting the narrower interval are also discussed.     

Exploring socioeconomic relationships from surface survey ceramics: New methodologies from Bronze-Age Benta Valley,Hungary

A Phase II survey team collected samples of ceramics from the Benta Valley in the western Carpathian Basin of Hungary to identify secondary (rural) sites, determine their extent and density, and investigate everyday economic and social routines. By comparing ceramic attributes such as function, decoration, and exterior finish, the authors argue that studies of ceramics from plow zone contexts can address nuanced questions of social and economic behavior played out on the landscape beyond what can be investigated in traditional excavations, which are principally focused on tell centers. The efficient, low-cost survey demonstrates the potential of plow zone archaeology in studies of socioeconomic relations within settlement systems. This micro-regional approach and the methods involved can be employed on other survey projects in Hungary and beyond, as rescue excavations across the region are becoming standard practice.     

Fuel Efficiency of Ancient Copper Alloys: Theoretical Melting Thermodynamics of Copper,Tin and Arsenical Copper and Timber Conservation in the Bronze Age Levant*

The melting of pure or alloyed copper, tin and arsenical copper ingots or recycled objects was a drain on the timber and dung fuel resources of many cultures. This paper suggests formulae grounded in thermodynamic principles in an attempt to estimate the energy requirements necessary to melt copper alloys common to both Old and New World cultures, with the goal of identifying consumption and conservation patterns. It has been suggested that tin bronze metallurgy was first adopted in the Levant during the Early Bronze Age (EB) IV, at the onset of the Late Holocene climate episode (c.2300–2000 bc ), becoming the most desired alloy by the Middle Bronze Age (MB) II (2000–1530 bc ) due to the ease of melting tin. To test this hypothesis, the formulae are applied here to all published Levantine EB IV – MB II copper alloys. Fuel conservation rates are proposed based on the thermodynamic formulae. Tin bronze is demonstrably more fuel efficient than pure copper. Due to the inherent difficulties in predicting the behaviour of arsenical copper compounds, it is suggested that melting experiments with representative alloys are conducted to further test and refine these energy relationships.     

Short Report: Evidence of Trepanation on a Female Individual from the Middle Bronze Age Necropolis of Casas Velhas (Melides,Portugal)

Recent reanalysis of the human remains unearthed from the grave cists of the necropolis of Casas Velhas (Melides, Portugal) from the Southwest Iberian Middle Bronze Age, with a minimal number of 25 individuals (23 adults and 2 non‐adults), allowed relevant anthropological data. This culture, although widespread in southern Portugal and nearby areas of southwest Spain in the Middle Bronze Age, is characterized by the paucity of preserved human remains and thus the anthropological knowledge of these human populations. The adult female skeleton exhumed from cist 30, the last interment of this double burial, exhibit a complete perforation on the right parietal bone. The aim of this paper is to present and discuss this defect, which most probable diagnosis is trepanation. The hole is oval shape exhibiting long term healing. A shallow remodelled area is visible around the defect, which suggests scraping method. No complications or evident reasons for the intervention were observed. In terms of mortuary practices no clear distinction was observed between this individual and others from this cemetery. The features of this trepanation fit in the major points summarized by Silva ( 2003 ) for prehistoric Portuguese trepanation. These data sustain the existence of an old tradition of this procedure is this region of Iberia, present, at least, since the Middle Neolithic. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Organizational principles of Khirigsuur monuments in the lower Egiin Gol valley,Mongolia

Khirigsuurs are the largest and most common archaeological monuments of the Mongolian Steppe in the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age, a critical time for the spread of nomadic pastoralism and the emergence of a new social order during the Bronze Age in Inner Asia. Using data from a full coverage regional survey of the Lower Egiin Gol valley, this paper presents a system for studying the defining ground level features of Khirigsuurs to discover structural categories, organize sites, compare Khirigsuur monuments across regions and explore activities that may have gone on around the Khirigsuurs themselves as they were built and used. The primary methods used are a study of monumental scale and a typology of additive parts from which complex and comparable types emerge. Elaborate Khirigsuurs illustrate the use of Khirigsuurs as small monuments, stages for group activities, and are the persistent backdrop for social transformations during the spread of nomadic pastoralism. I suggest that the Khirigsuurs of the Lower Egiin Gol are monuments constructed with relatively regular frequency, by a consistently sized group, and used for group oriented activities rather than the memorialization of an elite. This is consistent with something one might see as part of a regular yearly nomadic round.     

Lambs to the Slaughter: A Zooarchaeological Investigation of Stone Circles in Mongolia

Stone circles are a common monumental feature of the Mongolian Bronze Age (c. 1500–800BC), frequently occurring in association with other monument types, especially khirigsuurs. Until now the content of the stone circles has not been identified, a fact which has hampered our understanding not only of khirigsuurs and their related cosmology but also of the contemporary economy, owing to a research paradigm that was monument‐focused until very recently. The identification of domestic bovids in these features thus has profound implications for our approach to studying the society of this period and region. These implications, including a well‐developed cosmology and economy which included the ritual sacrifice of at least three different kinds of livestock, are introduced here. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

湖北荆门左塚楚墓群出土金属器研究

利用XRF、金相显微分析等手段对湖北省荆门市境内左冢楚墓群出土的金属器,特别是青铜器进行了测试分析,XRF分析表明该楚墓群出土的青铜器多为铜、锡、铅三元合金,且容器的锡含量低于兵器和工具,而铅含量则相反。金相分析显示左冢楚墓群出土青铜器多为铸造组织,其中3件铸后经过不同程度的加热;而热锻成形的器物有4件,其中有一件在锻后进行了冷加工。结果显示,此批青铜器合金成分比较科学、制作工艺比较先进。     

新干大洋洲商代鱼镖形器探析

新干大洋洲出土的青铜器中,有一批名为“镖形器”和“镞”的器物。分析它们的形制,并与新石器时代的渔猎工具比较,细察器物的遗痕,参照相关史料等综合研究,认为它们是可用于渔猎的工具。     

Igbo-Ukwu and the Nile

The external connections of Igbo-Ukwu, in the forest belt of south-eastern Nigeria, around the ninth century AD, are demonstrated by the large numbers of glass beads, apparently of Egyptian manufacture, and are implicit in the rich collection of bronze artwork that lacks known prototypes. Although the metals were mined locally, the labor and the expert alloying and casting of numerous ritual or ornamental objects indicate an accumulation of wealth derived from distant trade of special commodities. The identification of these commodities, however, and the routes by which they—and in the reverse direction the beads—would have traveled, remain unsatisfactorily resolved. A preference is repeated here for an eastern Sahelian routing from Lake Chad to the Middle Nile kingdoms (Alwa and Makuria/Dongola), then at their height, thus avoiding the Sahara. The alternative direction suggested recently (Insoll, T., and Shaw, T. (1997) Gao and Igbo-Ukwu: Beads, interregional trade and beyond. African Archaeological Review, 14:9–23), through Gao on the Niger bend and across the west-central Sahara, seems less likely on grounds of geography and chronology. The essential items of merchandise deriving from Igbo-Ukwu are unlikely to be those commonly assumed for sub-Saharan Africa, notably ivory and slaves, but would have been more local and precious, presumably metals. The bronzes stored and buried at Igbo-Ukwu might be regarded as by-products of this export activity. Demands in the Nile Valley for tin (for bronze alloying) and for silver, both of which occur in the ores exploited, deserve consideration. A call is made for comparative study of metals and their uses between the Middle Nile and West Africa in the first millennium AD—a neglected subject owing to the intellectual gulf that persists between Africanists and Egyptologists.Les contacts extérieurs d'Igbo-Ukwu, dans la région forestière du sud-est du Nigéria, vers le 9^e siècle après J. C., sont indiqués par les très nombreuses perles de verre, apparemment de fabrication Égyptienne. Ils sont aussi suggérés par un ensemble remarquable d'objects en bronze dont on ne connaît aucun prototype. Bien que les métaux proviennent de la région, le travail, et aussi l'alliage et la fonte très spécialisés de nombreux objects rituels ou décoratifs, indiquent une accumulation de richesse résultant du commerce à longues distances de produits recherchés. Pourtant, l'identification de ceux-ci, et les itinéraires pour leur transport—et, en sens inverse, ceux des perles—restent hypothétique. Nous réiterons une préférence pour une route est-Sahelien, de Lac Tchad jusqu'aux royaumes du Nil Moyen (Alwa et Makouria/Dongola), à leur apogée à cette époque, et donc évitant le Sahara. L'autre direction, proposée récemment (dans cette revue par Insoll et Shaw), via Gao sur la boucle du Niger et à travers le Sahara ouest-central, semble moins probable pour les raisons géographiques et chronologiques. Les objets principaux de ce commerce qui provenaient d'Igbo-Ukwu ne seraient pas ceux qui sont normalement imaginés pour l'Afrique Sub-saharienne, notamment l'ivoire et les esclaves; ce seraient des produits plus locaux et précieux, vraisemblablement des métaux. Les bronzes enterrés à Igbo-Ukwu pourraient être les sous-produits de cette activité destinée à l'exportation. La demande dans la vallée du Nil pour l'étain (pour l'alliage du bronze) et pour l'argent, qui existent tous les deux dans les minerais du sud-est du Nigéria, mérite considération. Il faut qu'on fasse des recherches comparatives sur les métaux et leurs emplois entre le Nil Moyen et l'Afrique de l'Ouest durant le premier millénaire après J. C.—un sujet négligé à cause du fossé intellectuel qui persiste entre les études Africanistes et Égyptologiques.     

青铜病的发生与小孔腐蚀的关系

青铜病的产生与青铜器铸件本身的缺陷所产生的小孔腐蚀有一定的关系,小孔腐蚀可以解释青铜病的腐蚀现象。根据小孔腐蚀的特征,采用激振除锈垢和化学溶液相结合的方法,可以提高对青铜病的处理效果。进一步深入对小孔腐蚀的研究是解决青铜病问题的方向。