Pine Nut Use in the Early Holocene and Beyond: The Danger Cave Archaeobotanical Record

Nuts of limber pine (Pinus flexilis) from Early Holocene strata in Danger Cave, Utah, are distinguishable by seed-coat sculpturing from pine nuts of single-needled pinyon (Pinus monophylla), which occur in strata dating <7000 years . Owls and other taphonomic agents may deposit pine nuts in archaeological sites, but the morphology of the pine nuts in Danger Cave strongly indicate they were deposited by human foragers who brought small quantities with them for food for at least the last 7500 years. Large-scale transport of pine nuts to Danger Cave from distant hinterlands is unlikely, however. The seamless transition from limber pine to pinyon pine nuts in the Danger Cave record suggests that foragers who had utilized limber pine as a food resource easily switched to using pinyon pine nuts when pinyon pine migrated into the region at the close of the Early Holocene.     

Analysis of resinous material present on an alabaster lid excavated from Nabataean Moa in the Arava valley

An alabaster lid with a resinous accretion burnt or stuck next to the handle and on the base was uncovered in the Nabataean rest stop in Moyat Aawad (Moa) in the Arava valley in Israel. The analysis of this resin sample utilising GC‐MS revealed several types of compounds. The chemical analysis revealed compounds typically present in pine tar and plant lipid material (probably oil). The use of pine resin, tar and pitch derived from plant resins is documented in antiquity, not only as a sealant or caulking material but also as medicines, antiseptics and ritual balms.     

POTASH,SALTPETER AND TAR

Quantitative calculations on the use of natural resources provide valuable tools, which can give new insights to old questions and rise new ones. In this article, I compare the wood consumption in the production of potash, saltpeter and pine wood tar in 19th century Finland. My calculations shows that in the 19th century the cumulative wood consumption in the production of potash might have been higher or at least on the same level as in the production of tar, while the production of saltpeter consumed only a fraction. In the 1830s their combined wood consumption reached the level of slash‐and‐burn cultivation.     

A Biographical Note on James Maxwell,Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod

This note seeks to clarify the course of the career of James Maxwell, gentleman usher of the black rod in several earlier Stuart parliaments. Maxwell was a Scot who followed James I south in 1603, serving in his household and that of Charles I, first as a gentleman usher daily waiter, and from 1619 as a groom of the bedchamber. In 1620 he secured the office of black rod. In 1642 he failed to follow the king to Oxford but remained with the parliament at Westminster, although largely delegating his duties as black rod to his associate, Alexander Thayne. In 1647, he was allowed by parliament to attend the king at Holdenby House. He died in 1650 as earl of Dirletoun in Scotland, although the circumstances in which he acquired this title are obscure.     

Investigations on pre-treatment prior to freeze-drying of archaeological pine wood with abnormal shrinkage anisotropy

The current research is aimed at determining the nature of changes in the dimensions and hygroscopicity of archaeological Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) wood after treatment with polyethylene glycols and vacuum freeze-drying. The research was undertaken on mature sapwood with narrow annual rings and a small percentage of latewood. The experimental material used in a comparative assessment is characterised by a considerable degree of wood degradation, but low tangential and radial shrinkage and relatively high longitudinal shrinkage. The waterlogged samples were treated with aqueous solutions of PEG 300 with final concentrations: 8, 12, 16 and 20% (v/v), to which PEG 4000 with final concentration: 15, 20 and 25% (w/v) was added. After freeze-drying and seasoning of samples in the air at RH 30, 40, 50 and 65%, the water content of the samples and the degree of shrinkage of wood in three anatomical directions were determined. The dimensional stability of the samples was also determined on the basis of ASE values at RH 50%.     

Local indicators for categorical data: impacts of scaling decisions

When the geographic distribution of landscape pattern varies, global indices fail to capture the spatial nonstationarity within the dataset. Methods that measure landscape pattern at a spatially local scale are advantageous, as an index is computed at each point in the dataset. The geographic distribution of local indices is used to discover spatial trends. Local indicators for categorical data (LICD) can be used to statistically quantify local spatial patterns in binary geographic datasets. LICD, like other spatially local methods, are impacted by decisions relating to the spatial scale of the data, such as the data grain (p), and analysis parameters such as the size of the local neighbourhood (m). The goal of this article is to demonstrate how the choice of the m and p parameters impacts LICD analysis. We also briefly discuss the impacts spatial extent can have on analysis; specifically the local composition measure. An example using 2006 forest cover data for a region in British Columbia, Canada where mountain pine beetle mitigation and salvage harvesting has occurred is used to show the impacts of changing m and p. Selection of local window size (m = 3,5,7) impacts the prevalence and interpretation of significant results. Increasing data grain (p) had varying effects on significant LICD results. When implementing LICD the choice of m and p impacts results. Exploring multiple combinations of m and p will provide insight into selection of ideal parameters for analysis.     

Assessing Hafting Adhesive Efficiency in the Experimental Shooting of Projectile Points: A new Device for Instrumented and Ballistic Experiments

With the aim of providing better control of shooting experiments performed with replicas of prehistoric projectiles, we have conducted an instrumental archaeology study on the efficiency of prehistoric projectile points by placing emphasis on their adhesion and ballistic characteristics. In order to avoid any reproducibility problems, hafting adhesives were made with controlled mixtures of commercial rosin (also called ‘colophany’) and beeswax added as a plasticizer. An original experimental device has been developed to instrument a bow, allowing the control of both the trajectories and the velocities of the different shoots. In the course of an experimental programme on Sauveterrian microliths from the Mesolithic period of the South of France, the experimental system was applied to composite replica projectile tips of Mesolithic hunters. Arrows being shot at transparent targets were filmed in order to evaluate the penetration length and residual damage. Interestingly, this study reveals that the properties of the mixture are highly dependent on the velocity of the arrows. It was shown that—contrary to previous experiments that usually used a mixture in which rosin predominates— the most efficient adhesive is made of 70 wt% beeswax with only 30 wt% rosin. This result is of great importance for improving further shooting experiments and overcoming the problems frequently mentioned due to the loss of the flint armatures before they reach the animal target, or at least before penetration. When using this appropriate mixture, the lateral armatures are resistant to most of the shots. Experiments performed on real boars’ flesh have also shown that the presence of lateral microliths allows the laceration inflicted on the target to be enlarged. Finally, a critical parameter has been identified, which is the location on the arrow of the microlithic element.     

出土饱水云南松的超微构造特征

对云南剑川县出土的木质文物进行了研究,从超微结构层面更深入地解析了饱水古木的降解情况。出土的云南松(Pinus yunnansis)古木在饱水环境中淹埋了4 000多年。降解主要发生在晚材管胞,而且降解在晚材部分并不均匀:一些未降解的完好管胞分布在降解严重的管胞中。透射电镜观察显示:降解从S1/S2和S2/S3的界面开始;对于一些降解较严重的管胞,到腐朽后期细胞次生壁全部发生降解,只留下复合胞间层;细菌侵蚀是云南松饱水古木降解的主要原因。固体核磁共振结果表明:纤维素和半纤维素降解严重,木质素也出现了一定程度的降解。本研究可为其后续的加固保护提供科学的参考依据。     

Exploitation of Beehive Products,Plant Exudates and Tars in Corsica During the Early Iron Age

In the north‐western Mediterranean area, the first Iron Age is characterized by intense contacts and cultural interactions between populations. Archaeological remains such as ceramic vessels or metal and glass objects are usually good indicators of the nature and the intensity of these exchanges, but can also be used to determine the way in which these populations were living at their time. In contrast, organic substances, despite their importance in a wide variety of activities, are rarely investigated due to their low degree of preservation. The recent discovery of a series of amorphous organic residues with adhesive properties at the site of Cuciurpula provided a unique opportunity to address questions related to the types of natural substances exploited, their provenance, their uses and their informational input to intercultural relationships. Our results, based on GC and GC–MS analysis of organic residues preserved at the site of Cuciurpula, provide strong evidence for the most southern use of birch bark tar in Western Europe, and also for the simultaneous use of this substance with pine resin. Beeswax was also identified in some samples. The combined study of residue composition, aspect and location on ceramic sherds reveals a variety of uses, highlighting a complex technical system.