From commodity to money: The rise of silver coinage around the Ancient Mediterranean (sixth–first centuries bce)

The reasons why the Western Mediterranean, especially Carthage and Rome, resisted monetization relative to the Eastern Mediterranean are still unclear. We address this question by combining lead (Pb) and silver (Ag) isotope abundances in silver coinage from the Aegean, Magna Graecia, Carthage and Roman Republic. The clear relationships observed between ¹⁰⁹Ag/¹⁰⁷Ag and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁶Pb reflect the mixing of silver ores or silver objects with Pb metal used for cupellation. The combined analysis of Ag and Pb isotopes reveals important information about the technology of smelting. The Greek world extracted Ag and Pb from associated ores, whereas, on the Iberian Peninsula, Carthaginians and Republican‐era Romans applied Phoenician cupellation techniques and added exotic Pb to Pb‐poor Ag ores. Massive Ag recupellation is observed in Rome during the Second Punic War. After defeating the Carthaginians and the Macedonians in the late second century bce , the Romans brought together the efficient, millennium‐old techniques of silver extraction of the Phoenicians, who considered this metal a simple commodity, with the monetization of the economy introduced by the Greeks.     

The prehistory of Cyprus: Problems and prospects

The archaeological record of prehistoric Cyprus is rich, diverse, well-published, and frequently enigmatic. Regarded by many as a bridge between western Asia and the Aegean, Cyprus and its past are frequently seen from scholarly perspectives prevalent in one of those two cultural areas. Its material culture, however, differs radically from that of either area. Apart from the early colonization episodes on the island (perhaps three during the pre-Neolithic and Neolithic), evidence of foreign contact remains limited until the Bronze Age (post-2500 B. C.). This study seeks to present the prehistory of Cyprus from an indigenous perspective, and to examine a series of archaeological problems that foreground Cyprus within its eastern Mediterranean context. The study begins with an overview of time, place, and the nature of fieldwork on the island, continues with a presentation and discussion of several significant issues in Cypriot prehistory (e.g., insularity, colonization, subsistence, regionalism, interaction, social complexity, economic diversity), and concludes with a brief discussion of prospects for the archaeology of Cyprus up to and beyond 2000.     

Maʻagan Mikhael B,Israel: a preliminary report of a Late Byzantine–Early Islamic period shipwreck

The Ma?agan Mikhael B shipwreck was found in 1.5m of water, beneath 1.5m of sand, 70m off the Mediterranean coast of Israel. The hull remains are in a good state of preservation, comprising the endposts, aprons, framing timbers, hull planks, stringers, and bulkheads. The finds comprise rigging elements, wooden artefacts, organic finds, animal bones, glassware, coins, bricks, stones, ceramic sherds, and complete amphoras. The shipwreck was dated to the 7th–8th centuries AD; which makes it an exceptional source of information regarding various aspects of ship construction, seamanship, and seafaring in the area in Late Antiquity.     

The Supply of Glass at Portus Ilicitanus (Alicante,Spain): A Meta‐Analysis of HIMT Glasses

Portus Ilicitanus (Picola, Alicante) was the main sea harbour of the Roman Colonia Iulia Ilici Augusta and as such played a crucial role in the supply of fundamental commodities to the Iberian Peninsula. Excavations yielded large quantities of glass in fourth‐ and early fifth‐century contexts. Elemental analysis of 60 samples by laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) confirmed that the glasses were imported from the Eastern Mediterranean. A majority of the glasses correspond to the HIMTa primary production group, which originates from Egypt. The statistical evaluation of published data of 589 HIMT glasses further revealed differential distribution patterns of the HIMTa and HIMTb subtypes between the Eastern and Western Mediterranean, suggesting chronological trends that are linked to wider geopolitical changes. This demonstrates the need for systematic large‐scale approaches to identify supply patterns and possible factors underlying geographical differences and/or chronological developments.     

The Making of Tupaia’s Map: A Story of the Extent and Mastery of Polynesian Navigation,Competing Systems of Wayfinding on James Cook’s Endeavour,and the Invention of an Ingenious Cartographic System

Tupaia’s Map is one of the most famous and enigmatic artefacts to emerge from the early encounters between Europeans and Pacific Islanders. It was drawn by Tupaia, an arioi priest, chiefly advisor and master navigator from Ra‘iātea in the Leeward Society Islands in collaboration with various members of the crew of James Cook’s Endeavour, in two distinct moments of mapmaking and three draft stages between August 1769 and February 1770. To this day, the identity of many islands on the chart, and the logic of their arrangement have posed a riddle to researchers. Drawing in part on archival material hitherto overlooked, in this long essay we propose a new understanding of the chart’s cartographic logic, offer a detailed reconstruction of its genesis, and thus for the first time present a comprehensive reading of Tupaia’s Map. The chart not only underscores the extent and mastery of Polynesian navigation, it is also a remarkable feat of translation between two very different wayfinding systems and their respective representational models.     

Rising and Narrowing: 16th-Century Geometric Algorithms used to Design the Bottom of Ships in Portugal

Methods of designing the bottom of ship's hulls were only a small part of the process of building a frame-based ship in Portugal in the 16th and early 17th centuries, but they deserve a careful look. Using a number of geometric algorithms that were already well-known to Italian shipwrights of the 15th century, Portuguese shipwrights obtained the co-ordinates of the turn of the bilge points of the central, pre-designed, frames without the need for making drawings.
© 2006 The Author     

New Evidence for Fish Processing in the Ancient Eastern Mediterranean: Formalised Epinephelus Butchery in Fifth Century bc Kinet Höyük,Turkey

Archaeological evidence for fish preparation in the Eastern Mediterranean is scarce. A Late fifth century deposit at Kinet Höyük provides tangible evidence for the systematic butchering of large individuals of Epinephelus (groupers), and possibly of Mugilidae (mullets), and Clarias gariepinus (African catfish). Butchery marks on head and proximal trunk regions of groupers follow a consistent pattern, indicating the processing of large fish heads for, apparently, local redistribution and consumption at the settlement. Although elements of the vertebral column remaining between the atlas and the ultimate vertebra are virtually absent in the assemblage associated with these butchered fish remains, this differential representation of elements does not appear to be an unequivocal reflection of fish processing techniques and subsequent trade. The insufficiency of research on ancient fisheries and fishing in the Eastern Mediterranean poses an obstacle to contextualise this deposit within a general historical and archaeological framework. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Holocene Historical Ecology: The Timing of Vertebrate Extirpation on Crooked Island,Commonwealth of The Bahamas

We report eight new accelerator-mass spectrometer (AMS) radiocarbon (¹⁴C) dates performed directly on individual bones of extirpated species from Crooked Island, The Bahamas. Three dates from the hutia (Geocapromys ingrahami), recovered from a culturally derived bone assemblage in McKay's Bluff Cave (site CR-5), all broadly overlap from AD 1450 to 1620, which encompasses the time of first European contact with the Lucayan on Crooked Island (AD 1492). Marine fish and hutia dominate the bone assemblage at McKay's Bluff Cave, shedding light on vertebrate consumption by the Lucayans just before their demise. A fourth AMS ¹⁴C date on a hutia bone, from a non-cultural surface context in Crossbed Cave (site CR-25), is similar (AD 1465 to 1645) to those from McKay's Bluff Cave. From Pittstown Landing (site CR-14), an open coastal archaeological site, a femur of the Cuban crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer) yielded an AMS ¹⁴C date of AD ～1050–1250, which is early in the Lucayan cultural sequence. From a humerus in a non-cultural surface context in 1702 Cave (site CR-26), we document survival of the Cuban crocodile on Crooked Island until AD ～1300–1400, which is several hundred years later than the well-documented extinction of Cuban crocodiles on Abaco in the northern Bahamas. We lack a clear explanation of why Cuban crocodiles likely survived longer on Crooked Island than on a larger Bahamian island such as Abaco. One AMS ¹⁴C date on Crooked Island's extinct, undescribed species of tortoise (Chelonoidis sp.) from 1702 Cave is BC 790 to 540 (2740 to 2490 cal BP), which is ～1500–1700 years prior to human arrival. A second AMS ¹⁴C date, on a fibula of this tortoise from McKay's Bluff Cave, is AD 1025 to 1165, thereby demonstrating survival of this extinct species into the period of human occupation.     

Laboratory Excavation of a Neolithic Grave from Avignon-La Balance-Ilot P (France): Burial Practices and Garment Reconstruction

The grave of La Balance-Ilot P, in Avignon, southern France, is an individual and isolated burial, attributed in the 1970′s to the Mesolithic or the Early Neolithic. The grave, partially unearthed, was exhibited and stored at the Calvet Museum until its rediscovery and laboratory excavation in 2009. We used 3D laser recording and field anthropological methods, followed by a multidisciplinary approach. The deceased, an adult male, was buried in primary deposition without any architectural features preserved. For the first time in the Mediterranean early Neolithic, this study led to the identification of a garment adorned with sophisticated embroidery using 158 red-colored Columbella rustica shells and 16 red deer canines. Calibrated AMS dates allow us to reliably place it in the early 5th millennium b.c. reinforcing evidence for long distance intercultural relationships in Europe during the Neolithic.     

Middle Bronze Age II Battleaxes from Rishon LeZion,Israel: Archaeology and Metallurgy

Thirteen bronze battleaxes from Middle Bronze Age II graves at Rishon LeZion, Israel were analysed by ED XRF at multiple surface locations in order to determine their metallurgical composition. Six of these were further subjected to neutron diffraction using an ENGIN‐X diffractometer in order to determine bulk phase composition. The results indicate that the previously established geographical and chronological variability in Sn–Cu (with occasional Pb) and As–Cu alloys found using the former method may be an artefact of preservation and conservation. In addition, the varying homogeneity determined by the latter reflects special treatment for improving on the metal cast.