Specialized Salt Production During the Ancient Maya Classic Period at Two Paynes Creek Salt Works,Belize: Chan b’i and Atz’aam Na

Underwater excavations at the Classic period (a.d. 300–900) ancient Maya salt works of Chan b’i and Atz’aam Na in Paynes Creek National Park, Belize, reveal activity areas associated with a substantial salt industry for distribution to nearby southern Maya inland sites where this biological requirement was scarce. Wooden architecture and salt making artifacts are abundantly preserved in a peat bog composed of red mangrove. Excavations, screening, and analysis of recovered material at the submerged underwater sites reveal that the artifacts are overwhelmingly briquetage: pottery vessels used to evaporate salty water by heating over fires to make salt. The spatial distribution of briquetage in relation to the interior and exterior of buildings reveals that salt production was occurring indoors. The plethora of briquetage and the scarcity of domestic artifacts indicate that the sites were specialized salt works and not physically attached to households.     

The hunted hunter: the capture of a lion (Panthera leo fossilis) at the Gran Dolina site,Sierra de Atapuerca,Spain

Many Pleistocene caves and rock shelters contain evidence of carnivore and human activities. For this reason, it is common to recover at these sites faunal remains left by both biological agents. In order to explain the role that carnivores play at the archaeological sites it is necessary to analyse several elements, such as the taxonomical and skeletal representation, the age profiles, the ratio of NISP to MNI, the anthropogenic processing marks on the carcasses (location and purpose of cutmarks and burning and bone breakage patterns), carnivore damage (digested bones, location and frequencies of toothmarks and bone breakage), length of the long bones, frequencies of coprolites and vertical distribution of the faunal remains, inter alia. From this, the documentation of carnivores in a faunal assemblage with a clear anthropogenic component can be understood from three main phenomena: (1) the carnivores as accumulators and the use of the site as a den; (2) carnivores as scavengers of hominid refuse and; (3) carnivores as hominids’ prey. Of these three phenomena, the last one is the least documented at the Middle Pleistocene sites. From this perspective, here we present the case of the anthropogenic use of a lion (Panthera leo fossilis) from level TD10-1 of Gran Dolina (MIS 9, Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain). The lion bone remains show signs of direct interaction between this big cat and human groups that occupied Gran Dolina in these chronologies. From this perspective, the aim of this paper is to contribute to the knowledge of the role developed by large carnivores in the anthropogenic contexts and to provide data on human use of these predators at the European Middle Pleistocene sites.     

The Chalcolithic Period of the Southern Levant: A Synthetic Review

In the southern Levant, the late fifth millennium to mid-fourth millennium BC—traditionally known as the Chalcolithic period—witnessed major cultural transformations in virtually all areas of society, most notably craft production, mortuary and ritual practices, settlement patterns, and iconographic and symbolic expression. A degree of regionalism is evident in material culture, but continuity in ceramic styles, iconographic motifs, and mortuary practices suggests a similar cultural outlook linking these sub-regions. Luxury items found in group mortuary caves provide good evidence for at least some inequality in access to exotic materials. The level of complexity in social organization, however, is still debated. Divergent interpretations of Chalcolithic socio-economic organization suggest that, with the large amount of new information now available, a reevaluation of the debate is due. In this article we synthesize the more recent evidence and weigh interpretations of processes that led to the widespread fundamental changes witnessed during the late fifth to early fourth millennium BC.     

Site Reconnaissance in the Kipsing and Tol River Watersheds of Central Kenya: Implications for Middle and Later Stone Age Land-Use Patterns

Two seasons of archaeological site reconnaissance and geo-archaeological fieldwork in the Kipsing and Tol river valleys of central Kenya have resulted in (1) the location of 58 surface sites and 13 spot finds and (2) the excavation and dating of 11 alluvial stratigraphic profiles. These data are incorporated with our previous work in the study area to yield a preliminary interpretation of Middle and Later Stone Age tool technologies and land-use strategies during the Late Pleistocene period there. Specifically, the nature of the lithic inventories and observed distribution of archaeological sites suggests that people in the Middle Stone Age employed a patch choice resource and land-use strategy while those in the subsequent Later Stone Age period utilized a logistical strategy.Pendant deux saisons de la reconnaissance archéologique d'emplacement et des travaux sur le terrain geo-archéologiques les vallées dans de Kipsing et de Tol fleuve du Kenya central ont eu comme conséquence (1) l'endroit de 58 emplacements extérieurs et 13 trouvailles de tache et (2) l'excavation et dater 11 profils stratigraphiques alluviaux. Ces données sont incorporées avec nos travaux précédents dans le secteur d'étude pour rapporter une interprétation préliminaire de milieu et de stratégies postérieures d'utilisation de la terre de technologies d'outil de âge de pierre pendant la période pléistocène en retard là. Spécifiquement, la nature des inventaire lithic et la distribution observée des emplacements archéologiques suggère que les gens dans le âge de pierre moyen aient utilisé un choix de morceau (patch choice) stratégie de ressource et d'utilisation du territoire, alors que ceux dans la période postérieure suivante de âge de pierre utilisaient un logistique stratégie.