Provenance study of early and middle bronze age pottery from Kaman-Kalehöyük,Turkey, by heavy mineral analysis and geochemical analysis of individual hornblende grains

The provenance of Early Bronze Age and early Middle Bronze Age pottery produced between 2100 and 1970 B.C. and excavated from Kaman-Kalehöyük, Turkey was studied using mineralogical methods, including heavy mineral analysis and geochemical study of individual hornblende grains. The relative abundances of heavy minerals in the fabrics of 20 Early Bronze Age (EBA) and early Middle Bronze Age (MBA) pottery sherds, together with 27 local sediments collected within a radius of 25 km of the site were studied. The heavy mineral distributions in the Kaman region were statistically analyzed for consistencies in their occurrence. Amphibole was found to be the most abundant heavy mineral in most of the analyzed samples, followed by titanite and epidote. The amounts of other minerals such as garnet, clinopyroxene, and zircon are subordinate. Different proportions of heavy minerals in the fabrics allow categorization of the EBA and early MBA potteries into 5 groups. Comparative study of heavy mineral assemblages of local sediments and pottery suggests that half of the EBA and most of the MBA potteries were produced from sediment near the excavation site, whereas the other half of the EBA potteries were produced from sediment occurring at 25 km east or more east of the site. The geochemistry of individual amphibole grains was studied by electron-microprobe analysis. Most of the studied amphibole grains are calcic and aluminous, corresponding to hornblende. They can be further characterized into four types based on their chemical composition. The combination of heavy mineral identity and hornblende geochemistry provides diagnostic evidence for the origins of Kaman-Kalehöyük pottery. These and analogous heavy mineral techniques are effective archaeometric tools for determining pottery provenance.     

LOCATING OUTSIDE A LINEAR CITY CAN BENEFIT CONSUMERS*

ABSTRACT We investigate the effects of restricting the locations of firms in Hotelling duopoly models. In standard location‐price models, the equilibrium distance between firms is too great from the viewpoint of consumer welfare. Thus, restricting the locations of firms and shortening the distance between them improves consumer welfare by reducing prices and transport costs. We introduce strategic reward contracts into location‐price models and find that, in contrast to the above result, restrictions on the locations of firms reduce consumer welfare. These restrictions reduce transport costs but increase prices by changing the strategic commitments of the firms.     

Do body proportions among Jomon foragers from Hokkaido conform to ecogeographic expectations? evolutionary implications of body size and shape among northerly hunter‐gatherers

This study documents and interprets adaptive postcranial morphology among prehistoric Jomon period foragers from Hokkaido, Japan (HKJ). The Hokkaido climate is differentiated from other Japanese islands by freezing winters with sea‐ice accumulation in the northern regions. Increased brachial and crural indices are, however, observed among HKJ foragers, while body mass (BM) has not yet been estimated for these groups. Based on previous observations and paleoclimatic reconstructions, it was predicted that increased BM and increased distal relative to proximal limb lengths would typify HKJ foragers. Similar BM was observed between HKJ foragers and groups from colder environments. Intralimb indices do, however, suggest similarity between HKJ foragers and groups from high‐latitude, warm environments. It is likely that HKJ foragers retained cold‐derived BM in association with Pleistocene migrations to Hokkaido via Northeast Asia. That is, enlarged BM among HKJ foragers is associated with long‐term evolution in a colder environment. Relatively elongated distal limbs may represent morphological response to a slightly warmer environment. Following migration to Japan from a colder environment, elongation of distal limb segments resulted in elevated brachial and crural indices. Relatively elongated distal appendages may also reflect positive nutritional status as HKJ people experienced lesser rates of systemic stress than other Jomon groups. It is also possible that elongated distal relative to proximal limbs are associated with neutral mutation and genetic drift. This interpretation suggests a neutral mutation associated with relative limb length in some HKJ ancestor with subsequent spread of this allele through isolation and drift. Ontogenetic and temporal studies of intralimb indices among Jomon people are necessary to further evaluate these interpretations. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis in Late Jomon Hokkaido,Japan

The purpose of this study is to describe and analyse the evidence for diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) in samples of human skeletal material recovered from Late Jomon (ca. 1500–300 BCE) and Okhotsk (CE 500–900) cultural period sites, northwestern Hokkaido, Japan. Two individuals from the Jomon period assemblage (n = 14) exhibited lesions consistent with DISH, while the larger Okhotsk sample (n = 39) was free of this condition. The aetiology of this condition is reviewed with reference to the clinical and bioarchaeological literature, in addition to behavioural and environmental considerations specific to this region and these time periods. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Settlement Reorganisation and the Rebirth of the Ottoman Empire: Bayesian Modelling Narrows Dates for Post-Medieval Occupation at Kaman-Kalehöyük,Kırşehir Province,Turkey

The Ottoman reoccupation of the site of Kaman-Kalehöyük (K?r?ehir Province, Turkey) apparently occurred sometime during the fifteenth century CE, a time of massive territorial and administrative transformation in the Empire. A rich suite of archaeobotanical material recovered from the site offers a potentially invaluable source of information on Ottoman-era Anatolian agroeconomy, especially since historiographic research on the topic has uniformly ignored archaeological perspectives. Here we present results of a multi-proxy analysis aimed at establishing an absolute multiphasic chronology for Kaman-Kalehöyük’s Ottoman occupation, founded upon Bayesian statistical modelling of high-precision radiocarbon dates from cereal remains. We use the new chronology to position Kaman-Kalehöyük’s resettlement within a historical context, allowing a new perspective on settlement responses to large-scale Ottoman sociopolitical change in Anatolia.