Phytolith-rich layers from the Late Bronze and Iron Ages at Tel Dor (Israel): mode of formation and archaeological significance

The presence of many phytolith-rich layers in late Bronze and Iron Age deposits at Tel Dor, Israel, are indicative of specific locations where plants were concentrated. Detailed studies of six of these phytolith-rich layers and associated sediments from Tel Dor show that the phytoliths were derived mainly from wild and domestic grasses. The most common domestic grass was the cereal Triticum aestivum (bread wheat). Three of these layers have a microlaminated microstructure, associated dung spherulites and phosphate nodules; characteristics that all point to the phytolith-rich layers having formed from dung in animal enclosures. In two of the layers, the microlaminated structure is absent while dung spherulites and phosphate nodules are present, suggesting that these too originate from dung that was not deposited in an enclosure. The sixth layer is microlaminated but does not contain spherulites. We thus cannot suggest a parsimonious explanation of its observed properties. Concentrations of burnt phytoliths are present in three locations, implying that dung was either burnt in situ or the ashes from burnt dung were redeposited. The transformation of dung accumulations into phytolith-rich layers involves a loss of organic material and hence a significant reduction in sediment volume, which is clearly apparent in the stratigraphy of some of the locations examined. The volume reduction can be observed in the macrostratigraphy and has important implications with regard to macrostratigraphic interpretation. The presence of abundant phytolith-rich layers on the tell has significant implications for the concept of ‘urbanism’ during these periods.     

Species identification of archaeological dung remains: A critical review of potential methods

Abstract

Dung, macroscopically recognisable as such or not, can more commonly be found in archaeological contexts than is perhaps realised. Up to now, identification of dung to the species which produced it is usually either tenuous, or is not possible. However, species identification can be very informative and is necessary before any further studies can be conducted on the dung, for example on health and hygiene in the past and palaeoecology. This study presents a review of potential methods by which species identifications of archaeological dung can be undertaken. Criteria for identification can be divided into three broad categories: morphometric features of the dung; the content of dung and contextual evidence. Overall, the chances of a precise identification are high; however, a combination of different criteria and techniques will often be necessary to establish a secure identification. Moreover, preservation issues may exclude the application of some criteria while several criteria require more research and the expansion of reference collections of recent material. The overall aim is to move towards standardised methods for species identification of archaeological dung.     

Holocene archaeological evidence of extinct and very rare British Scarabaeoidea

Abstract

The analysis of British Holocene insect assemblages has discovered nine species of scarabaeoid dung beetles which are now extinct in Britain and two more that are extremely rare. Some of these species had been suspected as native by early 19th century entomologists but doubt had been cast on specimens in old collections of British Coleoptera. Eight are dung feeders which, although they would have initially been favoured by clearance for pasture and a possible warm climate episode in the middle Bronze Age, subsequently declined as a result of increasing cultivation and a slight cooling of the summer climate. The other three species probably became extinct due to human-induced habitat loss.     

Fuel, Fire and Heat: an experimental approach to highlight the potential of studying ash and char remains from archaeological contexts

As in traditional societies today ancient societies probably selected different fuels to meet specific heat requirements. Char and ash, the end products of fire, are often found in abundance in archaeological contexts. These end products can provide information regarding (i) the original fuel resource and type, (ii) the characteristics of the fire and (iii) combined with other archaeological evidence shed further light on possible socio-economic activity(-ies) associated with that fire. The three main fuel resources would have been (i) modern vegetation, (ii) fossil fuel and (iii) animal by-products. Local availability and abundance would have influenced the choice made.In this study an experimental approach was adopted to try and distinguish between the three different fuel resources that are known to have been used by ancient societies (and continue to be used by traditional societies today) from their char and ash remains to help determine original fuel-type and understand the relative heating properties. For this end one fuel-type from each fuel resource listed above, namely wood, peat and cow dung, was chosen.     

The relative abundance of Onthophagus species in British assemblages of dung beetles as evidence for Holocene climate change

Abstract

The ratio between scarabaeid beetles of the genera Aphodius and Onthophagus in European dung faunas is influenced by summer climate, such that individuals of Aphodius species predominate in Northern Europe but are largely replaced by Onthophagus species in the Mediterranean region. Detailed study of insect assemblages from Neolithic to Saxon date showed a changing ratio between the genera with time. For the Neolithic and most of the Bronze Age, individuals of Onthophagus contributed around 16% of the sum of Aphodius and Onthophagus, but during the Iron Age the proportion of Onthophagus fell to around 3% and remained low. This decline of Onthophagus was probably the result of a slight cooling of mean summer temperature and agricultural intensification. However, the proportion of Onthophagus peaked at over 60% during the middle Bronze Age around 1450 BC. This is argued as reflecting a brief warm episode with mean July temperatures for Central Southern England at least 2°C warmer than at present.     

Subsistence practices in an arid environment: a geoarchaeological investigation in an Iron Age site,the Negev Highlands,Israel

The Negev Highlands (southern Israel) is an arid zone characterized by settlement oscillations. One settlement peak occurred in the early Iron Age IIA (late 10th and early 9th centuries BC). The most conspicuous structure in many sites of this period is an oval compound comprised of an internal courtyard surrounded by rooms. Two hypotheses for the function of these oval compounds are that they served as Israelite fortresses which guarded the southern border and routes of the Solomonic kingdom, or that they represent local agro-pastoral groups. In order to gather more information regarding the subsistence practices conducted in these oval compounds, we carried out a small-scale excavation at the site of Atar Haroa. We focused on sediment sampling and used several geoarchaeological, as well as isotopic, techniques in order to identify macroscopic and microscopic remains related to animal husbandry and crop agriculture. The remains identified from the archaeological sediments were compared with modern reference materials collected from abandoned Bedouin camps. The excavation included two half rooms and several test pits in the courtyard of the oval compound, featuring one Iron Age occupation level composed of gray sediments and relatively small amounts of pottery, bones and macro-botanical charred remains. Micromorphological, mineralogical, dung spherulite and isotopic analyses carried out on the gray occupational sediments from the rooms show that they originate from wood ash and dung, both used as fuel. Similar analyses of the gray sediments in the courtyard show that they originate only from degraded livestock dung. Phytolith analyses show that the gray anthropogenic sediments have similar concentrations of phytoliths as in control (yellowish) sediments and in the dung of winter free-grazing desert livestock and lichen-grazing black dwarf Bedouin goats. Phytoliths indicative of cereal crops are completely absent in the archaeological dung remains, indicating that cereal crops were not processed by the site inhabitants. Based on ethnographic and archaeological parallels, and on the presence of grinding stones and absence of sickle blades in the excavated rooms, we infer that the inhabitants at the oval compound at Atar Haroa subsisted on livestock herding and bought or exchanged cereal grains. Our results support the hypothesis that the inhabitants at the oval compound at Atar Haroa were desert-adapted pastoralists, rather than garrisoned soldiers.     

The ‘invisible’ product: developing markers for identifying dung in archaeological contexts

Dung is one of the most valuable resources in arid countries: traditional communities all over the world use it for heating, cooking, building and decorative purposes. It is commonly assumed that the same happened in the past, especially after the domestication of herbivores in the 11th millennium B.C. The presence and use of dung in archaeological contexts has been routinely studied through different techniques among which spherulites (calcium carbonates that form in animals guts) and small seeds assemblages’ analyses. However all the proxies considered so far to trace dung can be unreliable, especially when used singularly. After a review of the traditional methods used to trace dung in archaeological contexts, this paper presents the results of an ethnographic study on 11 modern dung cakes collected in northern India that were analysed for chemical, spherulite and phytolith content. Our results show that the lack of spherulites cannot be taken as absence of dung input and that the combination of phytolith and chemical signatures can be a reliable proxy for the inference of dung presence in archaeological contexts.     

Dung matters: An experimental study into the effectiveness of using dung from hay-fed livestock to reconstruct local vegetation

This paper explores the relationship between standing vegetation and dung from hay-fed cattle and sheep. In an experimental study, hay is retrieved from a known hay field, surrounded by a semi-open landscape of hedgerows, forests and heather fields. The hay is fed to cattle and sheep, after which the dung is collected and from which the botanical remains are analysed, according to archaeobotanical standards. The results from the macro-remains are compared to vegetation relevés from the hay field. The pollen analysis is compared to both the hay field and the surrounding vegetation. Results from the plant macro remains provide an excellent representation of the vegetation in the field itself on the presence/absence level. Pollen analysis reflects the regional vegetation very well and are comparable with ‘surface samples’.     

Archaeobotanical inference of Bronze Age land use and land cover in the eastern Mediterranean

Charcoal and charred seeds at five Bronze Age archaeological sites discern ancient land use in the eastern Mediterranean. Seed frequencies of orchard crops, annual cereals and pulses, and wild or weedy plants are used to characterize plant utilization at different archaeological sites on the island of Cyprus, in the Rift Valley of Jordan, and in the Jabbul Plain and along the upper Euphrates River valley in Syria. Seed to charcoal ratios provide proxies to determine the relative usage of dung versus wood for fuel across the ancient Mediterranean landscape. Greater charcoal and lower charred seed values are interpreted to represent a wooded environment, while higher amounts of charred seeds and minimal wood charcoal suggest a much great use of dung as a fuel source. Interestingly, Politiko-Troullia (Cyprus, Cypriot archaeological sites are, by convention, named for the nearest modern village (Politiko), followed by an italicized toponym (Troullia) referring to the plot of land that incorporates the site) has the lowest seed to charcoal ratio, suggesting its residents primarily burned wood and that the landscape surrounding Troullia remained relatively wooded during the Bronze Age. In contrast, villagers at Tell el-Hayyat (Jordan) utilized a mixture of wood and dung, in contrast to Tell Abu en-Ni’aj (Jordan), and especially Umm el-Marra and Tell es-Sweyhat (Syria), where inhabitants relied solely on dung fuel. Comparative analysis and interpretation of seed and charcoal evidence thus illustrates the variety of fuel use strategies necessitated by the dynamic and diverse Bronze Age landscapes of the Eastern Mediterranean.     

An Experimental Investigation into the Accidental Invention of Ceramic Glazes

Glazed objects, mainly in the form of glazed quartz and steatite solid stones, first appeared during the fifth millennium bc . At the present time, it is generally accepted that the accidental discovery of glazing was associated with ancient copper production. However, the replication experiments already conducted on glazed stones were unable to provide a convincing explanation for the accidental invention of ceramic glazes. This paper attempts to suggest a possible explanation for the accidental invention of glazes on solid stones (i.e., steatite and quartz) during the Chalcolithic period. A series of replication experiments were undertaken and the resulting objects were examined using SEM–EDS.