Application of GIS methods to retrieve orientation patterns from imagery; a case study from Beds I and II,Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania)

The role of natural processes in the formation of the Bed I and II sites at Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania) remains the subject of much debate, five decades after their original excavation. Preferred orientation of items is indicative of water disturbance, but compass bearings were not available in Mary Leakey's (1971) study. Using GIS methods, we have vectorized maps from 1960s excavations at Olduvai, and applied a range of statistical techniques to calculate items strike. The GIS analysis suggests strongly preferred orientation patterns in Bed I, and more heterogeneous angular histograms in Bed II. Two complementary lines of evidence support these results. Firstly, modelling of potential mapping errors provides a large interval of confidence for preferred orientation patterns. Second, the GIS study was extended to photographs of the earlier excavations and to maps from recent fieldwork at Olduvai; both yielded patterned arrangement of lithics and bones, and are consistent with results based on the analysis of the 1960s maps, i.e. a large number of the Bed I and II assemblages are preferentially oriented. These results highlight the potential of GIS applications to the analysis of imagery in Stone Age studies, and bear important implications for the understanding of the role of natural agents in site formation processes at Olduvai.     

Using ancient DNA identification and osteometric measures of archaeological Pacific salmon vertebrae for reconstructing salmon fisheries and site seasonality at Dionisio Point,British Columbia

Determining the diversity of salmon species represented in archaeological contexts is critical to understanding patterns of salmon harvesting and consumption, storage practices and seasonal patterns of resource exploitation by precontact peoples of the Northwest Coast. We present species determinations generated for salmon vertebrae from the Dionisio Point site (DgRv-003) in coastal southwestern British Columbia, a well-preserved village site that dates to between 1500 and 1300 cal BP. Molecular species identification was possible for 70 Pacific salmonid vertebral elements recovered from one excavated plankhouse at the site. Coupled with osteometric measures, we determine that residents of the plankhouse fished primarily for chum, sockeye and pink salmon, with a lesser emphasis on chinook, coho and steelhead. These results indicate a diverse fishery that likely occurred between July and December, suggesting a mid summer through winter season of occupation for the village.     

Geoarchaeological investigations at Diepkloof Rock Shelter,Western Cape,South Africa

The sedimentary sequence at Diepkloof Rock Shelter formed through a complex interaction of depositional and post-depositional processes and was variously influenced by biogenic, geogenic, and anthropogenic agents. Here, we present the results of a micromorphological study of the sediments at Diepkloof, focusing in particular on the numerous anthropogenic inputs and modifications recorded within the sequence. By applying the microfacies concept, we were able to identify hearth burning and maintenance, bedding construction and burning, and surface modification by trampling as major processes that contributed to the formation of the site. The human activities recorded within the sediments show a marked change throughout the sequence, implying a shift in the use of the site over time. The present study also provides a context for evaluating other classes of artifacts and data collected from the site.     

Particle size distribution of lithic assemblages and taphonomy of Palaeolithic sites

Lithic debris derived from knapping and used tools can be assimilated to simple sedimentary particles that may undergo size sorting when exposed to geomorphic processes such as streamflow or overland flow. Sorting can be identified by comparing the size distribution of archaeological assemblages to that of experimental core reduction sequences. A new database including different types of raw material (mainly flint and quartzite) and Palaeolithic debitage (blade, Levallois, discoid, on anvil, and shaping) has been built for this purpose. Palaeoeskimo data have also been added to illustrate microlithic industries. For all the debitages and raw materials, the particle size of knapping products >2 mm in width fits with a power-law distribution and shows only minor fluctuations, the range of which is always <15% between experiments (all steps of the chaîne opératoire included up to the final tool). A lithic assemblage derived from block/core knapping or blank/preform production will display a particle size distribution close to the experimental distributions if not subsequently modified. Modifications may originate either from sedimentary processes or from anthropogenic factors. To help distinguishing amongst these, data on the impact of both water flows on sedimentary particles or experimental assemblages, and anthropogenic processes such as importation-exportation (of core, preforms or finished tools) or uneven spatial distribution of the different steps in core reduction and tool production within a site, are reviewed. By contrast to anthropogenic modifications, sedimentary processes are generally typified by strong impoverishment in or selective accumulation of fine-grained (<10 mm) artefacts together with a low intra-site variability (spatial homogenization) or a downslope size trend. Archaeological case studies taken from French Palaeolithic site are then detailed. Evidence for lithic redistribution implies that care should be taken in archaeological site analysis since sorting may impact significantly the initial techno-typological balance of the assemblage.     

河北临漳县邺城遗址北吴庄佛教造像埋藏坑的发现与发掘

2012年1月,中国社会科学院考古研究所、河北省文物研究所组成的邺城考古队在河北省邯郸市临漳县邺城遗址抢救发掘了一处佛教造像埋藏坑,获得一批重要的学术资料。一、发掘概况北吴庄佛教造像埋藏坑位于临漳县习文乡北昊庄北     

安徽东至县华龙洞旧石器时代遗址发掘简报

华龙洞旧石器时代遗址出土了丰富的动物骨骼化石、加工使用痕迹清晰的骨器和百余件石制品。其石制品组合具有旧石器时代晚期工业的特征。动物骨骼化石上同时发现了动物啃咬与人工切割的痕迹,推断该遗址的动物骨骼被人类利用,但人类可能是利用动物残余的食腐者,而非这些动物的狩猎者。     

陕西淳化县枣树沟脑遗址先周时期遗存

2006年4~7月,西北大学文化遗产与考古学研究中心等单位对枣树沟脑遗址进行了发掘,发现大量先周时期的灰坑、房址、墓葬等遗迹,出土了大量陶器、石器、骨器等遗物。该遗址的文化内涵丰富,特征明显,为研究先周文化提供了一批新资料;对于探索古"豳地"考古学文化的发展,也具有非常重要的意义。     

陕西长安县沣西新旺村西周遗址1982年发掘简报

1982年年初,陕西省长安县沣西新旺村的村民在村南土壕取土时,挖出西周窖藏铜鼎2件[1]。当年春季,我队即在新旺村村南约150米处出土的铜鼎土壕边布方发掘,共开探方6个,编号为SCXT1～T6,发掘面积216平方米。秋季继续发掘,布探方8个,编号为SCXT151～T158,发掘面积200平方米。全年发掘面积共计416平方米,发现的遗迹有房址、窖穴、烧坑、井、灰坑、墓     

Autochthony and orientation patterns in Olduvai Bed I: a re-examination of the status of post-depositional biasing of archaeological assemblages from FLK North (FLKN)

Recent excavations at FLK North (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania) have produced new information on the orientation of archaeological materials at various levels of the site. This information includes the uniform distribution of material azimuths, which contrasts with previous inferences of highly patterned orientations of materials in the Bed I archaeological sites. Those previous inferences of patterned material orientations are based on Mary Leakey's 50-year-old drawings of artifact and fossil bone distribution, but are not verified by our precise measurements of archaeological objects made in situ. Nor do those previous results agree with the general lack of geological, geomorphological, and/or taphonomic data that would indicate significant post-depositional movement of archaeological materials in the sites. We argue here that Leakey's drawings are incomplete (only portions of each assemblage were drawn) and inaccurate in their representation of the original locations, shapes and orientations of most archaeological specimens. This argument is supported by several important mismatches in object representations between a photograph taken of a small portion of the FLK 22 Zinjanthropus site floor before the removal of the archaeological items, and the sketch of the same area drawn by Leakey. Thus, we conclude that primary orientation data of excavations (i.e., direct measurements taken from items) generated prior to object removal are the only valid indicators of the relative isotropy or anisotropy of these important paleoanthropological assemblages.     

大遗址保护提出的历史叙事

系统分析“大遗址”及“大遗址保护”作为重要文物保护政策提出和专项保护行动出台的历史背景、重要事件和主要特点,从历史渊源、学术支撑、管理需求、制度保障四个方面展开,兼论彼此之间的交流互动与共同推进,并依据时代背景不同和工作内容侧重划分为三大阶段,试图为了解这一政策和专项行动出台的历史背景及相关问题构建一个比较系统的认知框架.