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Publication date: March 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 91 Author(s): Nicola Ialongo, Agnese Vacca, Luca PeyronelIn this paper we provide an analytical insight on a specific form of bullion-currency. Through the comparison of the statistical properties of different samples of hacksilver and balance weights from various contexts of the Near Eastern Bronze Age, the study attempts to assess whether the weight values of bullion-currencies can be expected to comply with existing weight-standards. The results of the statistical analyses on a silver hoard from Ebla (Syria) strongly suggest that hacksilver in the Bronze Age Near East was shaped and/or fragmented in order to comply with the weight-systems that were in use in the trade networks where it circulated. The results also show the possibility to quantify the level of affinity between different weight-systems. The study is intended to provide a starting point for future research, aimed at the identification of different forms of bullion-currencies in pre- and protohistoric economies.

Publication date: March 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 91 Author(s): Fanny Mendisco, Christine Keyser, Veronica Seldes, Axel E. Nielsen, María Gabriela Russo, Eric Crubézy, Bertrand LudesA palaeogenetic analysis has been undertaken on the pre-Hispanic settlement of Los Amarillos (Regional Development Period, Jujuy Province, Argentina) to reconstruct kin relationship between individuals buried in two domestic areas. The aim of this study was first to genetically characterize the relationships between the individuals buried within the same funerary structure and, secondly, to correlate these genetic data with archaeo-anthropological data to discuss the burial practices and social organization of the Los Amarillos community. An analysis of both uniparental (mtDNA and Y-chromosome) and biparental (autosomal STRs) genetic markers was conducted on eighteen individuals recovered from three different burial structures. The very good DNA preservation contributed to characterize 13 mitochondrial haplotypes, 5 Y-chromosomal haplotypes and 11 complete autosomal STR profiles. The kinship analysis revealed that the domestic areas were used as family graves. Furthermore, they reveal that a maternal lineage is shared by a majority of the studied individuals from different sectors, suggesting matrilocal practices.

Publication date: Available online 3 February 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science Author(s): Luc Janssens, Liane Giemsch, Ralf Schmitz, Martin Street, Stefan Van DongenThe Bonn-Oberkassel dog remains (Upper Pleistocene and 14223 +- 58 years old) have been reported more than 100 years ago. Recent re-examination revealed the tooth of another older and smaller dog, making this domestic dog burial not only the oldest known, but also the only one with remains of two dogs. This observation brings the total known Magdalenian dogs to nine.Domestication of dogs during the final Palaeolithic has important implications for understanding pre-Holocene hunter-gatherers. Most proposed hunter-gatherer motivations for domesticating dogs have been utilitarian. However, remains of the Bonn-Oberkassel dogs may offer another view.The Bonn-Oberkassel dog was a late juvenile when it was buried at approximately age 27–28 weeks, with two adult humans and grave goods. Oral cavity lesions indicate a gravely ill dog that likely suffered a morbillivirus (canine distemper) infection. A dental line of suggestive enamel hypoplasia appears at the 19-week developmental stage. Two additional enamel hypoplasia lines, on the canine only, document further disease episodes at weeks 21 and 23. Pathological changes also include severe periodontal disease that may have been facilitated by immunodeficiency.Since canine distemper has a three-week disease course with very high mortality, the dog must have been perniciously ill during the three disease bouts and between ages 19 and 23 weeks. Survival without intensive human assistance would have been unlikely. Before and during this period, the dog cannot have held any utilitarian use to humans.We suggest that at least some Late Pleistocene humans regarded dogs not just materialistically, but may have developed emotional and caring bonds for their dogs, as reflected by the survival of this dog, quite possibly through human care.

Publication date: March 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 91 Author(s): Christopher Morgan, Dallin Webb, Kari Sprengeler, Marielle (Pedro) Black, Nicole GeorgeTemporal and caloric costs associated with building common hunter-gatherer residential features – housefloors, housepits, storage pits, rock rings, and various types of wickiups – are presented based on experimental construction of these types of features. For subsurface features, excavation rates and associated labor costs are consistent regardless of feature type, soil type, or feature size. Labor costs for surface features are largely dependent on feature size, complexity, and availability of raw materials. In total, the per-family costs of building a single-family hunter-gatherer residential base are just under one 8-h day and approximately 2500 kcal per person. Combined, these data indicate relatively low costs are associated with hunter-gatherer investments in persistent places and in residential facilities made from locally-available resources. Implied by the study is that initial use of a place might reduce the costs of and thus encourage subsequent reoccupations and that raw material availability may have played as much of a role in decisions about when to move as density and distribution of subsistence resources.

Publication date: Available online 31 January 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science Author(s): Janice Wood, Ben FitzhughResearch in the field of wound ballistics has identified three major types of penetrating trauma injuries that will affect wound severity of a projectile point into hard or soft tissues: puncture, incised, and lacerated. In this study, we report on dual ballistics experiments conducted to better understand the wounding mechanisms of three prehistoric projectile point classes made respectfully of polished bone, bifacially flaked stone, and composite antler inset with microblades. Each class of projectiles was launched into ballistics gelatin and into the carcass of a reindeer to explore the relative performance characteristics of each class in terms of tool durability and wound infliction. Our methods of evaluation included a detailed measurement of projectile attributes before and after penetration of both gelatin and carcass that were then compared using tip-metrics, penetration depth, and total interior wound area. Our results strongly suggest that the wounding potential differed significantly between projectile point classes and in turn, strongly influenced wound severity. We suggest that point mechanics may implicate a “prey specific” hunting strategy and propose that such analyses can help us better understand prehistoric hunter-gather behavior and technological variability.

Publication date: March 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 91 Author(s): Alastair Key, Michael R. Fisch, Metin I. ErenPalaeolithic stone technologies have never been investigated in terms of how sharpness influences their ability to cut. In turn, there is little understanding of how quickly stone cutting edges blunt, how past populations responded to any consequent changes in performance, or how these factors influenced the Palaeolithic archaeological record. Presented here is experimental data quantitatively detailing how variation in edge sharpness influences stone tool cutting performance. Significant increases in force (N) and material displacement (mm) requirements occur rapidly within early stages of blunting, with a single abrasive cutting stroke causing, on average, a 38% increase in the force needed to initiate a cut. In energetic terms, this equates to a 70% increase in work (J). Subsequent to early stages of blunting we identify a substantial drop in the impact of additional edge abrasion. We also demonstrate how edge (included) angle significantly influences cutting force and energy requirements and how it co-varies with sharpness. Amongst other conclusions, we suggest that rapid reductions in performance due to blunting may account for the abundance of lithic artefacts at some archaeological sites, the speed that resharpening behaviours altered tool forms, and the lack of microscopic wear traces on many lithic implements.

Publication date: Available online 17 January 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science Author(s): Abidemi Babatunde Babalola, Laure Dussubieux, Susan Keech McIntosh, Thilo RehrenThe site of Igbo Olokun on the northern periphery of Ile-Ife has been recognized as a glass-working workshop for over a century. Its glass-encrusted crucibles and beads were viewed as evidence of secondary processing of imported glass until the high lime, high alumina (HLHA) composition of the glass was recognized as unique to the region. Archaeological excavations conducted at Igbo Olokun recovered more than twelve thousand glass beads and several kilograms of glass-working debris. Fifty-two glass beads from the excavated assemblage were analyzed by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) to understand the chemical characteristics of the Igbo Olokun glass beads in comparison with previously analyzed beads. The analyses affirm the prevalence of HLHA glass beads, and provide firm evidence of a new compositional group characterized by low lime, high alumina (LLHA); no imported soda-lime glass beads were among the analyzed samples. The evidence from crucibles indicates that LLHA glass was worked together with HLHA glass at Igbo Olokun and may have been made locally as part of the same technological tradition. Most likely, granitic sand with or without added calcium carbonate was used to produce these two types of glass, and colorants rich in MnO, Fe2O3, CuO, and CoO were intentionally added. Its occurrence in other West African societies, and the presence of some soda-lime glass beads in other sites in Ile-Ife suggest that Ife was involved in regional and inter-regional networks during the early to mid 2nd millennium AD and possibly earlier.

Publication date: January 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 89

Publication date: February 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 90 Author(s): Matthew D. Howland, Ian W.N. Jones, Mohammad Najjar, Thomas E. LevyCutting-edge photogrammetric techniques combined with traditional methods are a boon for archaeologists interested in performing spatial analyses. Low-altitude aerial photography (LAAP) combined with photogrammetric Image Based Modeling (IBM) comprise a workflow that allows for precise and accurate recording of both photographic and elevation data of archaeological sites with a great deal of speed and efficiency. Through these techniques, the researcher can create spatially-referenced orthophotos and digital elevation models (DEMs), which can serve as the basis for investigations into site formation processes. Due to the rapidity of the creation of these datasets, analysis of site formation processes can be completed over the course of hours or days. The results of such site formation studies can inform and guide further archaeological investigations of sites. This paper presents the application of a combined LAAP-IBM method to acquire GIS data, which serves as the basis for a case study of a new model of the effects of erosion on archaeological sites – a key factor in understanding site formation processes. These methods are applied to Khirbat Nuqayb al-Asaymir, a Middle Islamic site in southern Jordan, as a case study.

Publication date: February 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 90 Author(s): Chris Loendorf, Lowell Blikre, William D. Bryce, Theodore J. Oliver, Allen Denoyer, Greg WermersArchaeologists have previously proposed several different measures of flaked stone raw material “quality”, but this variable has proven difficult to quantify, and the precise characteristics that improve performance remain unclear. This paper presents the results of controlled experiments that were designed to test projectile points made from stones with varying impact strength. By comparing an independent measure of strength with projectile point experimental data, our research suggests that this variable can be objectively measured, and it is a good predictor of some aspects of projectile tip function. Our results show that highly homogenous fine-grained materials with low impact strength (e.g., obsidian) perform well when penetrating elastic materials such as skin and muscle. These same materials, however, function poorly when penetrating more inelastic materials like rawhide, and they are substantially less durable.