The metal compositions of a series of Geistingen-type socketed axes

The bulk metal compositions of twelve socketed axes of the Geistingen type are determined in a fully non-destructive manner by neutron resonance-capture analysis (NRCA). These axes named after a hoard found in Geistingen, a Belgian village along the Dutch-Belgium part of the river Meuse, are considered in the literature to be votive or prestigious objects from the Late Bronze Age. They contain considerable amounts of antimony, arsenic, silver and nickel, adding up to 6–16 wt%. Seven axes have no detectable, or little tin; the other five objects contain 6–12 wt% tin. The compositions of the Geistingen axes are evidence for a further example of the return to the Early Bronze Age practice of smelting fahlore related minerals.     

Networks of Adjacent Action Situations in Polycentric Governance

Within the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework, the concept of an action situation generalizes a game to allow for endogenous changes in its rules. This article re‐visits this core concept to explore its potential for serving as the foundation for a systematic approach to the construction of more elaborate models of complex policy networks in which overlapping sets of actors have the ability to influence the rules under which their strategic interactions take place. Networks of adjacent action situations can be built on the basis of the seven distinct types of rules that define an action situation or by representing generic governance tasks identified in related research on local public economies. The potential of this extension of the IAD framework is demonstrated with simplified network representations of three diverse policy areas (Maine lobster fisheries, international development assistance, and the contribution of faith‐based organizations to U.S. welfare policy).     

Governance Structures: Using IAD to Understand Variation in Service Delivery for Club Goods with Information Asymmetry

Club goods with information asymmetry are frequently provided through mixed economies of for‐profit, nonprofit, and public providers. Theory explaining mixed economies relies on sector to classify providers based on assumptions that sector‐level differences in how organizations either distribute or reinvest profit will affect behavior. However, this classification is overly broad and is not able to adequately capture the diversity of providers of these types of goods. The author utilizes the Institutional Analysis and Development framework to identify six “governance structures” in the for‐profit and nonprofit sectors. Governance structures are constitutional‐choice level rule variations in who has the power to make rules. I argue that there are two types of power that affect rules: (1) concentration of constitutional‐choice level decision‐making power (i.e., how many principals) and (2) proximity of monitoring and enforcement of those rules. The extent to which the constitutional rules actually guide service delivery outcomes depends on a nested rule environment. Only if there is consistency across three level of rules (constitutional, collective, and operational) can we connect sector to outcomes. The empirical reality of service delivery, particularly for club goods with information asymmetry, is far too complex for simplistic assumptions linking profit distribution or its reinvestment to outcomes. This article directs further research toward building contingent theory, with if/then conditions, based on empirical research.     

Intrinsic or extrinsic population growth in Iron Age northeast Thailand? The evidence from isotopic analysis

Here we present strontium, carbon and oxygen isotope measurements from the tooth enamel of 34 adults from Noen U-Loke, an Iron Age site (c. 300BC–500AD) in the Upper Mun River Valley (UMRV), northeast Thailand. The Mun Valley is rich in archaeological sites from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age, with evidence for changes in social complexity, new technologies and population growth. Whether the population growth in the UMRV was intrinsic, as opposed to extrinsically due to immigration, is an unresolved question. Our results suggest low levels of long-distance immigration, with only three (two females, one male) of the thirty-four individuals as probable immigrants from outside the region. We discuss the implications of this result as a contribution to longer-term investigations of population growth, human mobility and fertility during this prehistoric period of substantial societal changes in mainland Southeast Asia.     

The relative effects of core surface morphology on flake shape and other attributes

It is long been thought that many flake attributes, including both size and shape, are largely due to the morphology of a core’s flaking surface, yet this has never been tested under strictly controlled conditions. Using molded glass cores with surface morphologies that highly resemble prehistoric ones, this experiment demonstrates that while core surface morphology does exhibit some influence on flake size and shape, a high degree of variation in flakes produced with the same core surface morphology shows that the effects of other independent variables, such as exterior platform angle and platform depth, have an even stronger effect. A major implication of these results is that current approaches to reconstruct prehistoric knapping strategies are overlooking significant sources of variation.     

Understanding ceramic variability: an archaeometrical interpretation of the Classical and Hellenistic ceramics at Düzen Tepe and Sagalassos (Southwest Turkey)

Within the aim of contributing to the artisanal craft history at Sagalassos (SW-Turkey), an archaeometric programme including thin section analysis, ICP-MS and multivariate statistics was developed to define the variability on a provenance and/or technological scale of the Classical/Hellenistic ceramic assemblage of Sagalassos and Düzen Tepe. The obtained data were used to evaluate the extent and variation of local pottery production. Petrographic and geochemical analysis as a grouping technique proves to be conditional for documenting the variation in ceramic wares present on both archaeological sites. Elemental evidence supports local production activities between Classical and Hellenistic times, documenting a deliberate change in treatment of raw materials during the Late Hellenistic period in function of ware groups.     

Obsidian provenance for prehistoric complexes in the Amur River basin (Russian Far East)

The sources of high quality volcanic glass (obsidian) for archaeological complexes in the Amur River basin of the Russian Far East have been established, based on geochemical analyses by neutron activation and X-ray fluorescence of both ‘geological’ (primary sources) and ‘archaeological’ (artifacts from the Neolithic and Early Iron Age cultural complexes) specimens. A major obsidian source identified as the Obluchie Plateau, located in the middle course of the Amur River, was found to be responsible for supplying the entire middle and lower parts of the Amur River basin during prehistory. The source has been carefully studied and sampled for the first time. Minor use of three other sources was established for the lower part of the Amur River basin. Obsidian from the Basaltic Plateau source, located in the neighboring Primorye (Maritime) Province, was found at two sites of the Initial Neolithic (dated to ca. 11,000–12,500 BP). At two other sites from the same time period, obsidian from a still unknown source called “Samarga” was established. At the Suchu Island site of the Early Neolithic (dated to ca. 7200–8600 BP), obsidian from the ‘remote’ source of Shirataki (Shirataki-A sub-source) on Hokkaido Island (Japan) was identified. The range of obsidian transport in the Amur River basin was from 50 to 750 km within the basin, and from 550 to 850 km in relation to the ‘remote’ sources at the Basaltic Plateau and Shirataki-A located outside the Amur River valley. The long-distance transport/exchange of obsidian in the Amur River basin in prehistory has now been securely established.     

A calf for all seasons? The potential of stable isotope analysis to investigate prehistoric husbandry practices

The Early Bronze Age barrows at Irthlingborough and Gayhurst in central England are notable for the large number of cattle (Bos taurus) remains associated with their human Beaker burials. Previous work using strontium isotope analysis has indicated that most of the cattle analysed, and one aurochs (Bos primigenius), were of local origin [Towers, J., Montgomery, J., Evans, J., Jay, M., Parker Pearson, M., 2010. An investigation of the origins of cattle and aurochs deposited in the Early Bronze Age barrows at Gayhurst and Irthlingborough. Journal of Archaeological Science 37, 508–515.]. In this study, stable isotope analysis of enamel and bone was carried out to investigate whether the mature cattle had experienced similar husbandry practices, climate and environment. Bulk carbon, nitrogen and sulphur isotope analysis of collagen suggested most were consuming similar sources of plant protein from environments probably local to the sites and this was supported by high resolution intra-enamel carbon isotope profiles. Oxygen isotope profiles indicated the aurochs and most of the cattle experienced similar climatic regimes: the only exception being an animal with a non-local strontium isotope ratio. However, a comparison of seasonality profiles of the local animals using estimated tooth formation times showed that there was no consistency in season of birth: the animals appeared to have been born throughout the year. Cattle can breed throughout the year but it requires considerable human effort and intervention to successfully overwinter young stock; it is therefore unlikely to have been carried out without good reason and benefit if winters were harsh. One reason is to ensure a continuous supply of milk. Measuring oxygen isotope profiles to identify year-round calving may thus be a potential indicator of dairying economies.     

An Introduction to IAD and the Language of the Ostrom Workshop: A Simple Guide to a Complex Framework

This guide provides definitions or brief explanations of all the major terms and concepts used in the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework. Also included are terms from the closely related frameworks on local public economies, public service industries, grammar of institutions, and social‐ecological systems (SES).     

Laboratory and in situ assays of digital image analysis based protocols for biodeteriorated rock and mural paintings recording

Rock art paintings, and in general mural paintings, are one of the many elements of cultural heritage complex systems. As the different elements of a system have diverse spatial positions, spatial recording allows understanding their interactions. Thus, a useful approach to mural paintings recording is to understand it as a microcartography issue, managing each element of the system as a cartographic coverage.