Networks and Neolithisation: sourcing obsidian from Körtik Tepe (SE Anatolia)

This paper details the use of obsidian sourcing to reconstruct networks of interaction (or ‘communities of practice’) amongst populations of south-eastern Anatolia and the Near East in the context of ‘Neolithisation’ during the late 11th–early 10th millennia BC. EDXRF was used to elementally characterise 120 artefacts of Epi-Palaeolithic – Pre-Pottery Neolithic A date from Körtik Tepe in south-eastern Anatolia. Four eastern Anatolian sources are represented, mainly Bingöl A/B and Nemrut Da?, plus the first evidence for the use of Mu? obsidian. When the source data is integrated with the artefacts' techno-typological attributes it is possible to locate the assemblage within an Upper Tigris tradition (with some interesting local differences), which stands in stark contrast to contemporary practices in northern Mesopotamia and the Levant. These local and regional distinctions support recent views of the Neolithic being much more heterogeneous, with a ‘mosaic’ of community-specific/local traditions of subsistence practices, raw material choices and lithic technologies during the Younger Dryas–Early Holocene.     

Marking Identity through Cultural Cranial Modification within the First Sedentary Communities (Ninth to Eighth Millennium BCE) in the Near East: Tepe Abdul Hosein,Iran

This paper explores bioarchaeological evidence for cultural cranial modification (CCM; a.k.a. headshaping) in early Neolithic Near East and at Tepe Abdul Hosein (TAH), Iran, in particular. Skeletal remains from 12 Neolithic individuals (n  = 12) recovered from eight mortuary contexts were analysed for evidence of intentional CCM. The TAH remains are among the earliest Neolithic human skeletal remains in the world, dated to around 10 000 years ago. Five adult individuals have sufficient cranial remains to allow assessment of CCM. Of the remaining seven individuals, three are foetuses or perinates, for which no in vivo CCM was expected to be observed, two are subadults with no assessible cranial remains, and two adults have no associated cranial remains. Of the five adult individuals, which could be assessed for CCM, four display circumferential CCM, instigated by the use of two bands. Three are male, while the sex of the fourth cannot be estimated. The fifth individual displays no modification and is female. While all the modified individuals that can be sexed at TAH are male, the sample size is too small to draw extensive inferences as to the potential connection of CCM with any gendered sociocultural practices. Other possible motivations for CCM at TAH include elaboration of status differentiation or group affinity, the former of which can most likely be ruled out based on current understandings of early Neolithic societies in the region. The extent of the two‐band circumferential modification at TAH is significantly more pronounced than at Ganj Dareh, a contemporaneous site located within the same watershed. The discovery of different extents of headshaping within the same watershed, in relatively close proximity to each other, has a bearing on the understanding of the first sedentary Neolithic communities in southwest Asia and the elaboration of bodily difference and identity. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Forager–farmer connections in an ‘unoccupied’ land: First contact on the western edge of LBK territory

The interaction between local foragers and incoming farmers is one of the hot topics in the study of Europe’s recent prehistory. In Central and Western Europe’s loam region, occupied by the first farmers of the Linearbandkeramik (LBK), hunter–gatherer remains are scarce and consist mostly of surface finds. Hence, the hunter–gatherer occupation and activity on the loess has never been studied in detail. This paper tackles the problem of the visibility of hunter–gatherer activity on the loess belt. An interregional comparison of microlith datasets allows identifying behavioural changes and differences in exploitation intensity. With regard to forager–farmer interaction, a mutual influence in the spatial patterning of activity or settlement is demonstrated.