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Publication date: Available online 15 March 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science Author(s): P. de la Peña, N. Taipale, L. Wadley, V. RotsIn this paper we present the results of a use-wear study of quartz micro-notches identified during a technological analysis of lithics from the Howiesons Poort layers of Sibudu Cave. Building on the technological analysis and preliminary functional screening of the archaeological material, a series of experiments was designed to evaluate different hypotheses for notch formation (blank production, intentional notching, hafting, projectile use, and trampling). The experimental reference collection was compared with archaeological micro-notches and a large sample of other archaeological quartz pieces (including bladelets, bipolar blanks, flakes and retouched pieces). This allowed us to evaluate the causes of micro-notch formation in the studied assemblage. Results indicate two novelties in the Howiesons Poort hunting technology at Sibudu: the use of quartz barbs and non-retouched quartz blanks. It seems that in addition to backed pieces (segments, obliquely backed points, etc.), unretouched pieces were mounted as elements in hunting weapons during the Howiesons Poort techno-tradition. Seven probable and 29 tentative barbs were identified. We thus present one of the strongest and oldest bodies of evidence for the use of barbs as projectile elements.

Publication date: April 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 92 Author(s): Andreas Rott, Bernd Päffgen, Brigitte Haas-Gebhard, Joris Peters, Michaela HarbeckSimultaneous collective burials appear quite regularly in early medieval linear cemeteries. Despite their relatively regular occurrence, they are seen as extraordinary as the interred individuals’ right to be buried in a single grave was ignored for certain reasons. Here, we present a study examining the possible familial relationship of early medieval individuals buried in this way by using aDNA analysis of mitochondrial HVR-I, Y-STRs, and autosomal miniSTRs. We can show that biological relatedness may have been an additional reason for breaking the usual burial custom besides a common cause of death, such as the Plague, which is a precondition for a simultaneous burial. Finally, with our sample set, we also see that signs of interaction between individuals such as holding hands which are often interpreted by archeologists as signs of biological or social relatedness, do not always reflect true genetic kin relationships.

Publication date: April 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 92 Author(s): F. Nocete, R. Sáez, A.D. Navarro, C. San Martin, J.I. Gil-IbarguchiThe Carambolo Treasure (Seville, Spain), is a key collection of materials from the 1st Millennium BC Mediterranean. Besides the uniqueness, technical complexity and beauty of this assemblage of gold associated with the mythical name of Tartessos, the treasure has been at the epicentre of debates over the last 50 years regarding the Phoenician presence in the west and the origin of the first great western civilization. However, the absence of a precise archaeological context and systematic analyses aimed at identifying the source of the supply of gold have led to diverse and conflicting interpretations in terms of its functionality (ritual from a Phoenician temple versus ostentation of a palatial royalty), and origin (Atlantic vs Eastern Mediterranean).New chemical (by LA-ICP-MS) and isotopic data (Pb by MC-ICP-MS) are presented in this work, which provide an alternative interpretation. The results suggest that the origins of the gold may not be thousands of kilometres away, in the Atlantic or the Mediterranean, but rather in the same region. We highlight geochemical similarities with the gold of the preceding 3rd Millennium BC civilization, with its main political and economic hub at Valencina de la Concepción, located just 2000 m from the Carambolo itself.

Publication date: April 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 92 Author(s): Daniel Berger, Elin Figueiredo, Gerhard Brügmann, Ernst PernickaProvenance studies of metal artefacts are well-established in the interdisciplinary field of science-based archaeology primarily using the chemical and isotopic composition. In the last decades, tin isotopes became gradually more important as a fingerprinting tool for the provenance of tin, but many questions especially regarding the behaviour of tin isotopes during pyrometallurgical processes are still not satisfactorily answered. This paper is a contribution to the understanding of tin isotope fractionation on tin ore smelting under prehistoric conditions and discusses the consequences for tin provenance studies. It presents the results of smelting experiments that were carried out with cassiterite in the laboratory and in the field, respectively. Besides chemical characterisation with XRF, SEM-EDX and Q-ICP-MS, tin isotope composition of tin ores and smelting products (tin metal, tin vapour, slag) were determined using solution MC-ICP-MS.Although tin recovery on smelting in the field was low (20–30%) due to tin losses to fuming and slag formation, the results indicate that the tin isotope composition is less affected than anticipated from theoretical considerations (Rayleigh fractionation). If cassiterite is completely reduced during the smelting reaction the tin metal becomes enriched in heavy tin isotopes with a fractionation of Δ124Sn = 0.09–0.18‰ (0.02–0.05‰ u−1) relative to the original cassiterite. An estimate of the provenance of the original cassiterite and the potential ore source would still be possible because the variability of tin isotope ratios in tin ore provinces is much larger. If the cassiterite becomes incompletely reduced, however, then fractionation increases significantly up to Δ124Sn = 0.88‰ (0.22‰ u−1) and conclusions on tin sources are limited. Similarly, condensed tin vapours (Δ124Sn = 1.13‰ (0.28‰ u−1)) and slags (Δ124Sn = 0.42–1.32‰ (0.11–0.33‰ u−1)) that are by-products of the smelting process show large fractionation with respect to the original tin ore as well, which makes them unsuitable for provenance studies.

Publication date: April 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 92 Author(s): Habiba, Jan C. Athenstädt, Barbara J. Mills, Ulrik BrandesThere have been a number of similarity measures developed in a variety of research domains. Generally, these measures are developed for a specific context and later reused in other contexts and applications, depending on their ease of use and perceived applicability. While there might be statistical reasons to use a particular similarity index, the results of other measures should be taken into account as well, as various similarity measures do not necessarily have similar contextual meaning. Two entities can be similar with respect to a certain similarity criterion but may be distinct in terms of another. Thus, an understanding of the mathematical logic behind a method is crucial to the interpretation of the resulting network of similarities. We review a number of methods from the literature, for constructing similarity networks among disparate entities, regarding their applicability on data from archaeological sites. Formally, given an N X p matrix of N entities with p distinct classes of attributes, how are the entities comparable to each other with respect to the kinds of attributes they share? We distinguish three qualitatively different families of similarity measures for deducing relationships among entities that may meaningfully map onto various distinct social phenomena, such as migration, material acquisition, and movement of goods and skills, among others. Entities can be compared based on: (a) non{uniform weighting of attributes, (b) asymmetric dominance relationships, and (c) rank correlations. We ground the significance and distinction of these classes of measures by giving comparative and contextual examples of selected methods on a case study of archaeological collections pertaining to 1200–1500 CE from the US Southwest region. We attempt to elucidate the differences in outcomes and their meanings when choosing various similarity methods for comparing disparate entities.

Publication date: April 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 92 Author(s): Lara Maritan, Paola Iacumin, Andrea Zerboni, Giampiero Venturelli, Gregorio Dal Sasso, Veerle Linseele, Sahra Talamo, Sandro Salvatori, Donatella UsaiIn prehistoric hunter-gatherer-fisher communities, demographic growth and a more sedentary life-style are usually associated with locally concentrated food resources. Technologies believed to have been employed for preserving excess food resources include, among many others, salting, smoking, and/or sun-drying of fish and meat. However, direct proof of salting is often lacking, as salt is highly soluble. We present here the first robust evidence of the earliest known examples of fish salting from Middle Mesolithic structures at an archaeological site in Central Sudan (7th millennium BC). A multidisciplinary approach was applied, including a contextual geoarchaeological study (field analysis; micromorphological and scanning electron microscopy), a mineralogical-microstructural analysis of salt crystallization (X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy), and a chemical analysis of salt concentration (ionic chromatography) in the soil in which salted fish bones have been found. The results indicate that salting fish with the aim of preserving it was common at the site of Al Khiday since the Middle Mesolithic and this habit cannot be related to post-depositional precipitation due to aridification of the area. A clear-cut emphasis on fishing characterized the economy of the human population of the time. This foraging system, together with salting and storing fish seems to be closely connected with its nearly sedentary status.

Publication date: April 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 92 Author(s): Xavier Rubio-Campillo, Jean-Marc Montanier, Guillem Rull, Juan Manuel Bermúdez Lorenzo, Juan Moros Díaz, Jordi Pérez González, José Remesal RodríguezThe creation of the Roman Empire promoted the connectivity of a vast area around the Mediterranean sea. Mobility and trade flourished over the Roman provinces as massive amounts of goods were shipped over thousands of kilometres through sea, rivers and road networks. Several works have explored these dynamics of interaction in specific case studies but there is still no consensus on the intensity of this connectivity beyond local trade.We argue here that the debate on the degree of large-scale connectivity across the empire is caused by a lack of appropriate methods and proxies of economic activity. The last years have seen an improvement on the availability of evidence as a growing amount of datasets is collected and published. However, data does not equal knowledge and the methods used to analyse this evidence have not advanced at the same pace.A new framework of connectivity analysis has been applied here to reveal the existence of distinctive trade routes through the provinces of the Western region of Rome. The amphora stamps collected over more than a thousand sites have been analysed using quantitative measures of similarity. The patterns that emerge from the analysis highlight the intense connectivity derived from factors such as the spatial closeness, presence of military units and the relevance of the Atlantic sea as a main shipping route.

Publication date: April 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 92

Publication date: Available online 9 March 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science Author(s): W. Powell, R. Mathur, A.H. Bankoff, J. John, O. Chvojka, M. Tisucká, A. Bulatović, V. FilipovićWe present a detailed response to the critique by Mr. Jansen of the paper “Digging Deeper: Insights into Metallurgical Transitions in European Prehistory through Copper Isotopes”. When we consider Cu isotope ratios of European Eneolithic and Early Bronze Age artifacts in the context of their local geological settings, climates, and archaeological contexts, Mr. Jansen’s hypothesis that 63Cu enrichment results from the adoption of fahlore ores is untenable. In both Serbia and Central Europe, the earliest copper production is associated with 65Cu-enriched ores and subsequently produced artifacts yield lower ranges δ65Cu. This shift in Cu isotopic composition correlates with the initial use of predominantly hypogene ores, not with variations in their trace element content. Essentially the expanded dataset supports the conclusions that were presented in the original paper—Cu isotopes are an effective means of delineating the transition from oxide-based smelting to methodologically more complex smelting of sulphide ores in prehistoric Europe with its relatively limited production and trade. Mixing did not mask the critical Cu isotope signatures in this setting. Therefore, Cu isotope compositions of artifacts can be used to interpret the mineralogical character of the ores from which they were produced, regardless of their provenance, as long as trade networks remained within a region of similar climatic history.

Publication date: May 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 93 Author(s): Simon Hammann, Lucy J.E. CrampThe uptake of cereal agriculture in the Neolithic is one of the most important processes in later human prehistory. However, in many parts of Europe, early evidence from pollen or macrofossils is scarce or inconclusive, and there are considerable ambiguities about timing, intensity and the mode of transition to agriculture in these regions.An alternative approach is organic residue analysis, a technique that targets lipids preserved in the walls of unglazed ceramic pots used for storage and processing of foodstuffs. By analysing the molecular and isotopic composition of absorbed lipid residues, many different food items and processing techniques can be detected and distinguished. However, this approach is by-and-large limited to animal-based food sources, and despite their importance, many plant-based food items including cereals are currently not accessible with this approach.For a better understanding of the behaviour of cereal lipids, cooking experiments were conducted and the uptake of cereal-specific compounds such as alkylresorcinols and plant sterols into the ceramic matrix was investigated using a new sensitive method based on GC-Q-ToF-MS. Furthermore, changes in the lipid composition through post-burial degradation was assessed by incubation of potsherds dosed with cereal lipids at 35 °C in compost. The cooking experiments showed that only small quantities of cereal lipids are liberated, but additional lipid sources (meat) can increase the transfer of cereal biomarkers into the ceramic matrix. Anoxic degradation conditions allowed for twentyfold higher levels of alkylresorcinols and twofold higher levels of plant sterols after 20 weeks compared to oxic conditions. Therefore, samples from anoxic burial environments should be targeted and high sensitivity methods are a necessity to detect the trace amounts of cereal-specific biomarkers. To test the applicability of these biomarkers for archaeological pottery, organic residues from ten coarse ware vessels from an anoxic burial context at Vindolanda were analysed. Plant sterols and stanols were detected in three sherds, and two of the sherds also contained traces of alkylresorcinols.