Early and mid Holocene tool-use and processing of taro (Colocasia esculenta), yam (Dioscorea sp.) and other plants at Kuk Swamp in the highlands of Papua New Guinea

Recent multidisciplinary investigations document an independent emergence of agriculture at Kuk Swamp in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. In this paper we report preliminary usewear analysis and details of prehistoric use of stone tools for processing starchy food and other plants at Kuk Swamp. Morphological diagnostics for starch granules are reported for two potentially significant economic species, taro (Colocasia esculenta) and yam (Dioscorea sp.), following comparisons between prehistoric and botanical reference specimens. Usewear and residue analyses of starch granules indicate that both these species were processed on the wetland margin during the early and mid Holocene. We argue that processing of taro and yam commences by at least 10,200 calibrated years before present (cal BP), although the taro and yam starch granules do not permit us to distinguish between wild or cultivated forms. From at least 6950 to 6440 cal BP the processing of taro, yam and other plants indicates that they are likely to have been integrated into cultivation practices on the wetland edge.     

Hardwood ash nixtamalization may lead to false negatives for the presence of maize by depleting bulk δC in carbonized residues

Among the multiple proxies for detecting maize in precontact economies is the use of δ¹³C analysis of carbonized residues from ceramic cooking vessels. Although maize horticulture was widely established in Eastern North America (ENA) by A.D. 1000, there are carbonized residues from ceramic assemblages after this date that lack the elevated δ¹³C values indicative of the presence of maize. This may be due to the true absence of maize, or other factors including the masking of maize. Prior experimental research by Hart et al. demonstrated that the addition of C₃ plants or consumers to two part mixes with maize can mask maize presence even when maize is the dominant ingredient. Here we investigate the effect of alkali processing of maize (nixtamalization) on δ¹³C using the widespread ENA process of boiling maize kernels with wood ash, a C₃ product, to create hominy. Our experiments test whether or not the process of hardwood ash nixtamalization can mask the presence of maize in adhering carbonized residues by depleting δ¹³C values, and whether there is a reciprocal δ¹³C enrichment effect on the hardwood ash employed in nixtamalization. Overall, there is substantial δ¹³C depletion of residues when maize is cooked with hardwood ash, and hardwood ash cooked with maize shows the reciprocal enrichment. Therefore, the depleted values after the adoption of maize may be false negatives due to the nixtamalization process.     

Post-Roman crop production and processing: Archaeological evidence from Goldthorpe,South Yorkshire

The remains of a ditched field system dating from the late Iron Age to the early post-Roman period, and two associated corn drying ovens (dating to the 5th–6th centuries AD) were revealed during archaeological excavations at Goldthorpe, South Yorkshire. The site was excavated during 2012 and 2013, during which bulk environmental samples were taken in order to retrieve any surviving botanical remains from deposits associated with the corn drying ovens, and other features across the excavated area. Early post-Roman occupation is under-represented in the archaeological record, especially in northern England, as such human activity and subsistence during this period are currently not well understood. This paper combines evidence for the field system, the physical remains of the corn drying ovens and their associated botanical remains to further understand early post-Roman change and continuity in landscape use and crop production and processing practices.     

Evaluating copper isotope fractionation in the metallurgical operational chain: An experimental approach

Until today, raw material information of copper (Cu) objects is mostly gained from impurities and trace elements and not from the Cu itself. This might be obtained using its stable isotopes. However, isotopic fingerprinting requires the absence of fractionation during the smelting process. The Cu isotope evolution during outdoor smelting experiments with Cu sulphide ore was investigated. It is shown that external materials, in particular furnace lining, clay, manure and sand, alter the isotopic composition of the smelting products. Cu isotopes are fractionated within low viscosity slag derived from matte smelting. The produced metallic Cu has a Cu isotope signature close to the ore.     

Fishery in prehistoric and medieval Tallinn,Estonia

During archaeological excavations in central Tallinn, Estonia, many fish bones were collected among other archaeological finds. As these were salvage excavations conducted under limited time and cost restraints, only a very small part of the removed soil could be examined for fish bones. In such hasty conditions, the only option was to take soil samples from selected areas and carry out water sieving in the laboratory. This procedure resulted in the recovery of a variety of fish remains. Also, a previous conclusion that only large fish were captured is re-evaluated. This paper focuses on two recently excavated medieval sites in Tallinn: Tartu Road 1 and Vabaduse Square. In Vabaduse Square, a Late Neolithic settlement was also discovered under the medieval layers. The analysis of the three different assemblages of fish bones from the two sites, which were collected by somewhat different methods, contributes to our knowledge on fishing and fish consumption in Tallinn's past.     

台湾自由经济区演化及动力机制研究

随着经济全球化的深入发展,自由经济区在推动国民经济总体发展战略实施与经济体制改革、促进区域经济和城市化发展等方面发挥了重要作用。20世纪60年代,台湾建立了世界上第一个正式以"出口加工区"命名的经济型特区,通过不断转型升级推动了台湾的工业化和社会经济发展。本文通过文献归纳,总结了台湾经历的"出口加工区-科学工业园区-自由贸易港-自由经济示范区"四个发展阶段的特点;从目标、政策法规、管理、产业和空间结构入手,归纳出台湾自由经济区的形成演化规律;并认为要素、产业、效益、创新、政策、市场、环境各动力因素相互作用,构成推动其演化的动力机制。本研究对完善自由经济区形成演化理论探索和国内自贸区建设具有一定参考意义。     

色度测量在文物考古中的应用

颜色的定量判断、描述和比较是文物考古中的重要内容。色度测量可以快速、准确、无损地获取研究对象的颜色数据,对其计算分析,可得到更多信息。目前,色度测量已被广泛应用于科技考古和文物保护的实际工作中。本文结合国内外文献,对色度测量方法在文物考古中的应用和研究现状进行梳理后发现色度测量能够有效地帮助解决以下问题:研究文物呈色机制和制作工艺;评价文物清洗效果和保护材料的颜色稳定性;分析环境因素对文物色彩的影响。随着色度学理论和方法的完善和发展,以及与其他分析技术和方法等的结合,优化的色度测量条件、对颜色数据计算处理后得到的文物色貌模型和数字颜色管理系统将在文物考古研究中发挥更大的作用。     

河南登封王城岗遗址土壤样品的植硅体分析

作为分析古代人类与植物关系的手段之一,植硅体分析在研究考古遗址中的人类活动、栽培作物及加工方式等方面,都越来越显示巨大的潜力。对王城岗遗址部分土壤样品的植硅体分析发现,在城墙夯土、城壕填土乃至城墙附近灰坑的土壤中,植硅体的密度低可能与城墙建筑有密切关系;王城岗遗址中发现的水稻、谷子的植硅体,表明当时聚落内有这两种农作物,并可能在城墙附近进行了脱壳加工。     

Investigating the production provenance of iron artifacts with multivariate methods

The quest for suitable data, data treatments and statistical methods for identifying the provenance of iron artifacts has led to a variety of analytical strategies. Researchers working on the problem have been slow to develop or adopt the use of multivariate statistical techniques, despite their successful implementation in other archaeomaterials sourcing frameworks. This paper explores the analytical potential of a comprehensive multivariate statistical strategy for identifying the primary production origins of bloomery iron artifacts using bulk chemical analyses of bloomery smelting slag and slag inclusions in iron artifacts. This strategy includes a multivariate model for identifying distinct slag inclusion types introduced during smelting and refining. Principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis are then applied to smelting slag training sets to create multivariate provenance fields, the chemical distributions of which are defined by kernel density estimation. Single and multi-group evaluation methods are examined. Appropriate data transformations are discussed to facilitate the projection of the chemistry of “unknown” slag inclusions into the multidimensional space generated by the smelting slag groups of known provenance. The efficacy of this strategy is demonstrated through its application to a previously examined data set derived from three iron production experiments and a published archaeological example. Results indicate that an appropriately designed multivariate strategy can be an effective tool for evaluating provenance hypotheses for bloomery iron artifacts.     

Identifying stone tools used in mining,smelting, and casting in Middle Bronze Age Cyprus

Abstract

Metallurgical production sites are often difficult to identify in the archaeological record because ore beneficiation and slag processing in the past involved the use of ground stone tools that were similar to those used in other contexts to prepare cereals and foods. Analysis of the ground stone assemblage from a Middle Bronze Age copper mining and production site at Ambelikou Aletri in Cyprus provided an opportunity to distinguish industrial and domestic ground stone tools and to identify the types of tools used in different stages of metal production. A comparison of tool morphologies, raw materials, and wear and breakage patterns from Ambelikou Aletri with those from contemporary domestic contexts, suggests that distinctions in the nature and structure of industrial and domestic tool kits do exist and those distinctions have an important role to play in identifying mining, smelting, and casting sites in the future.