Lithic Economy and Specialized Activities Among the Iberomaurusian Populations of Tamar Hat Rockshelter (Northeastern Algeria)

Tamar Hat rockshelter (Béjaïa, northeastern Algeria) has yielded a lithic assemblage showing general characteristics of an Iberomaurusian Early Late Stone Age nature. Specific “becs,” which we shall call “becs of Tamar Hat,” appear as an important component of the assemblage in the upper occupations, which occurred at the end of Late Glacial Maximum. These becs, from a technological point of view and especially by their shaping processes, constitute a reliable reference collection, though showing morphological variability resulting in part to the reduction process. The use-wear analysis conducted, based on a microscopic examination validated by experimentation, testifies the becs would have functioned for engraving hard bone, such as those of deer. Other scars observed on the sharp edge and lower face near the active portion of the tool are caused by hafting. Hence, the results of the technological and functional analyses of the becs from Tamar Hat reveal the presence of specialized activities in the upper occupations, related to the animal bone processing. These results are supported by the archaeozoological study, which confirms that the site functioned as a seasonal habitat, where Megacerin deer was exploited in the upper occupations for utilitarian, non-food purposes. The emergence of the use of the becs of Tamar Hat is synchronous with the end of the Upper Paleolithic, prior to the expansion of bec use in the Upper Magdalenian of Europe, where technical and stylistic convergences were observed. This raises the question of the emergence of these lithic implements in North Africa and the possible spread of similar industries elsewhere.     

Recent Investigations on Holocene Occupations in Northeastern Algeria: The Contribution of Kef en-Naga

The discovery of Kef en-Naga site, an open-air human occupation in northeastern Algeria, was favored by a sandstone quarrying where work truncated much of the archaeological sequence on its cross-section. A multidisciplinary rescue excavation conducted on this site provided, for the first time in the region, the evidence of superimposition of two stratigraphic levels (lower and upper) of sandy clay deposits formed in humid paleoenvironmental conditions. Besides, XRD analysis show that a large amount of hematite (Fe₂O₃) is localized at the lower level of the stratigraphic section, where iron is found in oxide form due to the moisture. As for rock magnetic property characterization analysis, the various magnetic parameters have strong values in the upper level, and the grains are small-sized. However, various magnetic parameters are lower at the lower level and the magnetic grain concentration is reduced. Although the site is lacking faunal and carpological remains, thereby depriving us of reliable dates, the two stratigraphic levels are correlated to the Holocene according to archaeological and paleoenvironmental considerations. The lower level likely corresponding to an early Epipaleolithic culture marked by the production of microliths using a microburin blow technique, while the upper level is related to a subsequent Epipaleolithic phase, characterized by the disappearance of microburin blow technique, the dominance of an industry on flakes and the existence of pressure debitage.     

Re-examination of the Zone I Material from Tamar Hat (Algeria): Zooarchaeological and Technofunctional Analyses

New analyses of faunal and lithic remains from stratigraphic Zone I (the top 15 layers) of the Iberomaurusian site of Tamar Hat, provide new data for understanding the function of this site and various activities carried out there. The occupation of Tamar Hat Zone I occurred in a prevailing mountainous environment which especially favoured game such as Barbary sheep. Zooarchaeological study of mammal remains revealed behaviours and technical processes which are related to hunting activity and the various stages of processing and butchering these animals. In addition, a technofunctional analysis of the backed bladelets indicates impact damage typical of the kind produced on projectile points used in hunting. Strong similarities in techniques and behaviours were observed in all of the occupation phases of Zone I.     

Winning a War with Words: oaths as means in military conflict in early modern Scandinavia

From a distance, the many wars that took place during the early modern period were fought by kings and armies, conquering territories and losing them, signing peace treaties and breaking them. Wars fought with armies were, however, costly and, if possible, the rulers did what they could to avoid them while still trying to acquire and protect territories. One strategy employed was to persuade the people of a disputed territory to surrender to the conquering state by swearing an oath of allegiance to its king. Seen in this perspective, territories could be acquired and lost by using the oaths as means in military conflict. The following article discusses the role of oaths in keeping and conquering territories in the early modern Scandinavian countries, with a special focus on Sweden and to some degree Sweden’s constant enemy during this period, Denmark-Norway. It also studies the same oaths from the people’s point of view, and what happened after an oath was sworn and the war ended. By taking examples from areas under dispute, the article investigates how oaths could be used by both authorities and subjects in warfare and after in the early modern context.