News

Publication date: February 2017Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 78 Author(s): Alejandra C. Ordóñez, R. Fregel, A. Trujillo-Mederos, Montserrat Hervella, Concepción de-la-Rúa, Matilde Arnay-de-la-RosaThe aim of this study was to establish the genetic studies of the population from one of the most important known aboriginal funerary spaces of the island of El Hierro (Canary Islands), the Punta Azul cave, which harbors remains of 127 individuals. Sixty-one adult tibiae were examined, 32 left and 29 right. Radiocarbon dating yields an antiquity of 1015–1210 AD. We have obtained an overall success rate of 88.5% for the molecular sexing, and of 90.16% for the uniparental markers. Short tandem repeats (STR) profiles were also possible for 45.9% of the samples. This performance is a consequence of the good conservation of the bones in their archaeological context. The mtDNA composition of the sample is characterized by the complete fixation of the H1-16260 lineage. These results can be explained by a mixture of consecutive founding events, a bottleneck episode at the beginning of the colonization and/or as a consequence of genetic drift. Paternal lineages were also affected by these processes but in a less acute way. These differences lead us to propose social behaviors as an explanation for this difference. The maternal transmission of the lineages, mentioned in ethnohistorical sources of the Archipelago, could be an explanation. These results could be in agreement with endogamous practices, but the autosomal STR results indicate a relative high diversity. These results have allowed us to characterize the Punta Azul cave population and see the way in which geographical isolation, the process of adaptation and specific social behaviors affected the aboriginal population of the Island.

Publication date: Available online 21 November 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science Author(s): J. Bates, C.A. Petrie, R.N. SinghThe nature and timing of rice domestication and the development of rice cultivation in South Asia is much debated. In northern South Asia there is presently a significant gap (c.4200 years) between earliest evidence for the exploitation of wild rice (Lahuradewa c.6000 BCE) and earliest dated evidence for the utilisation of fully domesticated rice (Mahagara c.1800 BCE). The Indus Civilisation (c.3000–1500 BCE) developed and declined during the intervening period, and there has been debate about whether rice was adopted and exploited by Indus populations during this ‘gap’. This paper presents new analysis of spikelet bases and weeds collected from three Indus Civilisation settlements in north-west India, which provide insight into the way that rice was exploited. This analysis suggests that starting in the period before the Indus urban phase (Early Harappan) and continuing through the urban (Mature Harappan/Harappan), post-urban (Late Harappan) and on into the post-Indus Painted Grey Ware (PGW) period, there was a progressive increase in the proportion of domesticated-type spikelet bases and a decrease in wild-types. This pattern fits with a model of the slow development of rice exploitation from wild foraging to agriculture involving full cultivation. Importantly, the accompanying weeds show no increased proportions of wetland species during this period. Instead a mix of wetland and dryland species was identified, and although these data are preliminary, they suggest that the development of an independent rice tradition may have been intertwined with the practices of the eastern most Indus peoples. These data also suggest that when fully domesticated Oryza sativa ssp. japonica was introduced around 2000 BCE, it arrived in an area that was already familiar with domesticated rice cultivation and a range of cultivation techniques.

Publication date: Available online 16 November 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science Author(s): Ben Marwick, Hannah G. Van Vlack, Cyler Conrad, Rasmi Shoocongdej, Cholawit Thongcharoenchaikit, Seungki KwakThis study reports on an analysis of human adaptations to sea level changes in the tropical monsoonal environment of Peninsula Thailand. We excavated Khao Toh Chong rockshelter in Krabi and recorded archaeological deposits spanning the last 13,000 years. A suite of geoarchaeological methods suggest largely uninterrupted deposition, against a backdrop of geological data that show major changes in sea levels. Although there is a small assemblage of mostly undiagnostic ceramics and stone artefacts, there are some distinct changes in stone artefact technology and ceramic fabric. There is a substantial faunal assemblage, with changes in both the mammalian and shellfish taxa during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition that correlate with local sea level fluctuation. This assemblage provides an opportunity to explore subsistence behaviours leading up to the transition to the Neolithic. We explore the implications for current debates on the prehistoric origins of agricultural subsistence in mainland Southeast Asia. The data highlight the importance of local contingencies in understanding the mechanisms of change from foragers to agriculturalists.

Publication date: Available online 16 November 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science Author(s): Mike W. Morley, Paul GoldbergGeoarchaeological research is now commonly undertaken as an integral component of archaeological investigations across much of the world. However, in humid tropical regions there is a relative shortfall of this Earth-Science approach to understanding archaeological records. In these regions, where hot and humid conditions prevail for significant parts of the year, sedimentological records are prone to high levels of diagenesis, bioturbation and weathering. This means that understanding and quantifying archaeological site formation processes can be very challenging because we may have not have sufficient existing data with which to decipher the stratigraphic (and microstratigraphic) features recorded in these sequences. In this paper we introduce a special issue of Journal of Archaeological Science in which we showcase a selection of geoarchaeological research from across the equatorial regions of five continents, highlighting the types of stratigraphic sequences and sedimentological features that are likely to be encountered, and evaluating the tools that can be employed to maximise the geoarchaeological potential of these unique records. Additionally, we use this opportunity to review geoarchaeology in the humid tropics from a global perspective, outlining the main problems that geoarchaeologists face working in these environments and the techniques available to mitigate them.

Publication date: December 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 76 Author(s): Barry Molloy, Mariusz Wiśniewski, Frank Lynam, Brendan O’Neill, Aidan O’Sullivan, Alan PeatfieldIn many regions of Europe, bronze metalwork survives in excellent states of preservation that enable us to examine traces of use on objects that are indicative of the ways in which they were used. This is a relatively young field of archaeometric research and the methodologies employed are as yet to be consolidated. A systematic relationship typically exists between experimental archaeology and the analyses of ancient objects to understand the character and causation of traces of use on objects. Mediation between these approaches has typically been undertaken using physical casts of damage on ancient objects or primary documentation and illustration by hand. We propose in this paper that advances in digital 3D modelling provide a new and dynamic interlocutor between artefact analyses and experimental archaeology. To this end, we evaluate the pros and cons of two of the affordable and commonly used modes of 3D data capture – laser scanning and structure from motion/photogrammetry – for studying the wear on bladed metal objects. We conclude that 3D modelling has considerable potential for enhancing metalwork wear analysis and object biography research. This is due to the dynamics of storing and displaying wear data for particular objects and by linking the study of traces of use on ancient objects more generally with those developed through experimental research.

Publication date: December 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 76 Author(s): Takumi Tsutaya, Akina Shimomi, Shiori Fujisawa, Kazumichi Katayama, Minoru YonedaJomon hunter–gatherers in Japan commonly show Neolithic characteristics, such as intensive utilization of potteries, grinding stones, and many plant food sources. In this study, breastfeeding and weaning practices in a Jomon hunter–gatherer population are investigated to evaluate two hypotheses concerning the relations between utilization of potteries/plant foods and early weaning and children’s diet around and after the weaning process. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios were investigated for 46 subadult and 47 adult human skeletons excavated from the Yoshigo site of the Late/Final Jomon period (approximately 4000–2300 years BP) in eastern Japan. A new analytical procedure was developed and residuals of nitrogen isotope ratios were calculated to cancel out the effect of positive correlation in the carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios. Age changes in the residuals showed that the age at the end of weaning in the Yoshigo population was 3.5 years (2.3–5.5 years in 95% credible interval), which is not younger than that in typical non-industrialized populations and the other skeletal hunter–gatherer populations. Furthermore, most infants were probably weaned using a combination of the same food sources as those eaten by adults. These results suggest that the utilization of pottery and plant food per se is not a sole determinant of the age at the end of weaning in past human populations, and a special diet was not always applied during and just after the weaning process.

Publication date: December 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 76 Author(s): Andrea Seelenfreund, Marcela Sepúlveda, Fiona Petchey, Barbara Peña-Ahumada, Claudia Payacán, Sebastián Gutiérrez, José Cárcamo, Olga Kardailsky, Ximena Moncada, Ana María Rojas, Mauricio Moraga, Elizabeth Matisoo-Smith, Daniela SeelenfreundBark cloth (‘tapa/kapa’) is a fabric made from beaten plant fibres. In the Pacific tapa made of paper mulberry has been of great cultural importance and its use is associated with both utilitarian and ceremonial contexts. In the 19th century, traditional bark cloth was largely replaced by Western cloth. On some islands, tapa making was banished with the arrival of missionaries and Christianization. This is the case for the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia. Only a few tapa pieces from this island group survive and are held in Museum collections.In this work, we present results of the analysis of a bark cloth bundle discovered at the Te Ana o te Tetea cave on Agakauitai in the Gambier Archipelago. The bundle was made up of large and small strips of thin tapa, with some watermarks left by the beaters. Associated with the tapa, were a piece of wood and cordage. A few of the bark cloth samples showed symmetrical black lines along some of the folds. This paper presents the results of a number of analyses performed on the bark cloth bundle from this island with the aim of determining its age, if the decorations were man-made and the plant species used for its manufacture. Samples were dated by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) and the designs were analyzed by portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Scanning Electron Microscopy – Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) for elemental characterization. Raman spectroscopy was also performed in order to assess the chemical nature of pigments. These analyses allow us to conclude that the finds date to the pre-European contact period for this island group and that these lines can be attributed to man-made designs. In addition, genetic analysis of the ribosomal region were performed to identify the species used in its manufacture, which indicate that the plant used to make the tapa cloth was Broussonetia papyrifera or paper mulberry. The availability of new genetic sequencing techniques allow for new and very sensitive analyses of archaeological material that require careful handling from the beginning in order to avoid sample contamination.

Publication date: December 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 76 Author(s): Peter Davies, Jodi Turnbull, Susan LawrenceThe integration of remote sensing technologies, GIS and mobile mapping platforms is producing new insights into the archaeology of historic water management systems. Our case study of the gold rush in 19th-century Victoria, Australia, has identified ditches, dams, mining claims and sediment sinks at site and landscape scales that are normally obscured by dense vegetation. New technologies including LiDAR provide solutions to these challenges and make possible the analysis and interpretation of these spatially diffuse but historically linked sites. For the first time it is possible to record and analyse a complex archaeological landscape in north-east Victoria that is the result of alluvial mining activity in the later 19th and early 20th century. This approach offers a significant advance in Australasian archaeological science and provides an important model for other researchers examining industrial landscapes.

Publication date: December 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 76 Author(s): Wesley D. StonerCeramic compositional analyses have become a common part of archaeological inference. With a multitude of techniques available, which provide the best opportunity to answer specific research questions? I define an analytical nexus of techniques to help archaeologists determine which techniques provide the most appropriate methodology for their study regions. The relation among bulk chemical (NAA), spot chemical (LA-ICP-MS), and in situ mineral (petrography) analyses are explored through ceramics sampled from different time periods across the Basin of Mexico. Spatial and temporal patterns of compositional variability are identified with respect to the cultural systems living there. While different questions require different techniques, a stable bulk signature, like that provided by NAA, acts as a closed system that sums to 100 percent of all cultural and natural variables affecting paste composition. By comparison to the bulk baseline, any other technique that focuses on a fraction of the whole will also provide information on the unknown fractions.

Publication date: December 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 76 Author(s): Christian Reepmeyer, Sue O’Connor, Mahirta, Tim Maloney, Shimona KealyThis study analysed over 1000 obsidian stone artefacts excavated from two adjoining shelters at Tron Bon Lei on Alor Island Indonesia using portable XRF. The study showed an unambiguous separation of three different source locations (Groups 1, 2 and 3). Two sources (Group 2 and 3a, b, c) dominate the assemblage numerically. Group 1 and 2 indicate use of a single volcanic formation with a strong match between Group 1 artefacts and artefacts from sites in Timor Leste. Obsidian occurs in the earliest occupation layer in the Alor sites but does not include Group 1 artefacts which occur only after approx. 12,000 cal BP. Currently the geographical location of the Group 1 outcrop is unknown, however, based on the late appearance of the Group 1 artefacts in the Alor sequence it is likely that the location is not on Alor, but rather on another island of the Sunda chain. The dating of Group 1 artefacts in widely spaced sites on the never geographically connected islands of Timor and Alor indicates that maritime interaction between islands began by at least the terminal Pleistocene. The distribution of the obsidian in Tron Bon Lei shelter Pit B shows that there were periods of more intense interaction punctuated by periods when interaction declined or ceased.