A Late Bronze Age foreign elite? Investigating mobility patterns at Seddin, Germany

Kogegruber – i klynger eller på rad og række

Thoughts on the Collapse: The Perspective of a Philistine

Bronzealderens kulthuse i Thy – Anlæg med relation til gravkulten

Et monumentalt midtsulehus ved Nørre Holsted i Sydjylland

To elucidate the mechanisms responsible for the long‐term retention of soil C, soil samples were retrieved from a paleosolic A h1orizon (Mbur) buried underneath a Bronze Age mound and from waterlogged anaerobic (Man) and aerobic zones (Mae) within the mound. For comparison with a modern soil, samples were taken from the surrounding arable field (Ar). The soils were characterized by cross‐polarization magic angle spinning13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis, and by CO2production during incubation. At sampling, the Ar, Man, Mae, and Mbursoils contained 22.6, 17.9, 6.5, and 6.2 g C kg−1soil, respectively. Compared with the Ar and Mansoils, the Mburand Maesoils were depleted in alkyl C, N‐alkyl C, and O‐alkyl C and enriched in aromatic and carboxylic groups. The content of PLFA in the mound soils was much lower than normally found for arable soils and the ability of the deprived biomass to decompose glucose was retarded and included a 2‐ to 3‐wk lag phase. The lability of C left under aerobic conditions for more than three millennia did not differ significantly from that of C in the contemporary Ar soil. Although the chemical nature of the C in the Ar and Mansoils was similar, C that had resided under anaerobic conditions was less labile than C from the arable soil. We consider the persistence of C in the unwaterlogged parts of the burial mound to result from physical restrictions imposed on gas exchange and water availability, and thus restricted microbial activity, rather than from biochemical recalcitrance of the remaining C.

Saving Scythians from oblivion

This book presents a systematic study of the decorative motifs and designs found on painted Canaanite pottery vessels excavated in Palestine and dating to the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age I. The study is based on an analysis of 3,225 painted vessels and sherds. One of its most important goals is to provide a taxonomy of the decorative motifs and designs found on the vessels. To achieve this goal, each of the motifs and designs is carefully described and codified as a unit within a system of classification grouping them into categories, sub-categories, classes, types, and sub-types. Based on this classification system, statistical figures representing the frequency of occurrence of the decorative motifs and designs are produced. The degree of popularity and the temporal or spatial distribution of each of the motifs and designs are thus clarified. Based on the statistical analysis, tree iconography (representing particularly the date-palm, often called “tree of life”) was confirmed to be the most prominent and representative feature of the Canaanite pottery painting tradition. The motif most commonly found on handles and best known as “Union Jack” mark is demonstrated to be a schematized representation of the date-palm. Canaanite tree iconography was probably associated with a fertility cult, but there is no direct evidence associating it with the goddess Asherah. The cultural origins of painted pottery traditions, colors used for decoration, archaeological contexts where the decorative motifs come from and their socio-political meanings are also considered in detail. Although during the Late Bronze and Iron IA ages the inhabitants of Canaan were politically controlled by New Kingdom Egypt, Egyptian influence on their pottery painting tradition was insignificant. Western Asiatic features prevail much more in the main motifs and design elements, their iconography, design, and style. The archaeological contexts of painted Canaanite vessels indicate that the decorative motifs reveal the Canaanites’ desire for blessing in present life rather than in the afterlife. The rise and decline of the painted pottery phenomenon is most likely associated with socio-political changes. The Canaanite pottery painting tradition declined notably in the 11th century BCE, following the end of Egyptian rule in Canaan. In the 10th century BCE, tradition virtually disappeared, indicating the rise of a new socio-political order in Canaan.

The Bronze Age landscape of the Bjäre peninsula, southern Sweden, and its relationship to burial mounds

VIRVELINĖS KERAMIKOS KULTŪRA LIETUVOJE 2800–2400 cal BC

En gravhøj i Sevel sogn

<p>The research of modern and fossil soils was conducted at three archaeological sites: Nizhniy Kayancha, Novoilinka-3, and Tytkesken-2. Nizhniy Kayancha is a burial ground (dated 5th century BC) situated on the left bank of the Katun River (400-700 m above sea level). An archaeological site is a burial mound with seven mounds which can be visually separated within the site, and which are placed by small chains with 2–3 objects. The south mound of the first group was examined for a phytolith analysis. Еhe Novoilinka-3 settlement (dated 3rd millennium BC) is situated in the north of Kulunda, in the southern part of a hill formed by the false River Burla. The Tytkesken-2 settlement is situated on the verge of the stream Tytkesken, the left tributary of the Katun River, on its second terrace above the flood plain.</p><p>Geobotanical research was conducted in the territory of the archaeological sites under study. Grass phytoliths of modern flora were examined. Soil samples from different layers of the walls of excavation sites were collected. Phytolith extraction was based on the methods described by A.A. Golyeva. 20 g of soil, and 100 g of plant material of each species were processed during the initial period. The examination of the phytoliths of leaves, stalks and flower heads from the samples obtained from the plant material was carried out with the help of an optical microscope (Olympus BX-51). The phytoliths were counted to 250 (in ashed plants) and to 300 (in soils) particles.</p><p>More mesophytic plant communities of the ancient epochs have been reconstructed for all three examined archaeological sites. The territory of the Nizhniy Kayancha burial ground was covered by birch forest at the time prior to formation of the archaeological site. The territory of Novoilinka-3 settlement was covered by pine and birch steppificated forest in the Eneolithic period, but the territory was deforested as the settlement developed. Several stages of vegetation change have been reconstructed for the Tytkesken-2 archaeological site. This includes deforestation of pine forest and further steppe formation in the late Neolithic Age, prairiefication in the Eneolithic Age and new steppe formation in the Bronze Age up to the present time.</p>

The Late Bronze Age is characterized by the increasing homogenization of material culture and the prevalence of urn burials. The cemetery of Inzersdorf, located in the Lower Traisen Valley, Austria, is used to investigate whether changes in burial practices during the Late Bronze Age were locally driven or influenced by external factors. This study interprets strontium isotope data from 215 calcined human bone samples in the context of a local baseline established from 163 modern plant samples (55 locations) within a 10 km radius of Inzersdorf. Complementary Correspondence Analysis and 14C dates were used to identify chronological changes. The high-density sampling carried out in the Traisen Valley for bioavailable strontium (BASr) enabled the differentiation of people who mainly sourced their food from the valley or the hills. A diachronic shift in land use was identified, with the main food resource obtained from the hills for the earlier and the valley providing most of the foods for the later phase of the cemetery, which is more distinct in men than in women. Five individuals with isotopic values that differed from the main population were identified, one of which has an 87Sr/86Sr of 0.7061 falling below the BASr baseline created with the modern plant data. While the latter may indicate metal-related travel, the other four individuals may be interpreted as inhabitants of single farmsteads. Additionally, an individual with a significant shift in isotopic values between the petrous bone and long bone was identified, indicating changing local food sources over the individual’s life.

Our study focused on the investigation of climate change and the fate of lead in soils from the Low Volga region of Russia over 3500 years. We used a comparative analysis of the modern soils and palaeosols preserved under burial mounds, which date back to the Middle Ages and the Early Iron and Bronze Ages. A climate reconstruction showed periodic changes, with the most humid climate conditions occurring during Golden Horde period. However, we could not find any consistent changes in Pb concentration and profile distribution following the climate change. We observed a clear difference in Pb isotopic ratios between the lower and upper horizons both for the modern and buried profiles, reflecting the influence of atmospheric lead depositions. However, there is no statistically significant difference in Pb isotopic ratios between the upper horizons of buried and modern soils (except modern soils collected in the vicinity of a motorway). This means that either anthropogenic input due to long range air transport was insignificant, or that airborne anthropogenic lead and natural airborne lead have similar isotopic composition.

Plant and soil samples were analyzed to determine the heavy metals (Cd, Zn, Cu, Cr, Pb and Ni) along major roads in Kwara State, Nigeria. Control plant and soil samples were obtained from Kwara State University (KWASU). Eight soil and plant samples were collected. One sample each of soil and plant was collected from Kwara State University as the control sample. Three plant species (Kyllinga pumila michx, Kyllinga squamulata thanm ex vahl, Cenchrus biflorus roxb) on which animals feed were collected along major roadsides. The samples were digested using wet method and heavy metals were analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry Technique. Lead concentration of plants from the sites was found between 24-142 mg/kg and 24-157.667 mg/kg in soil samples. Copper was found between 28.55-115.2 mg/kg and 7.70-80.13 mg/kg in plant and soil samples respectively. Zinc ranges from 13.00-120.45 mg/kg and 30.8- 219.23 mg/kg in plants and soil respectively. Cadmium was between BDL-0.400 mg/kg and BDL-0.366 mg/kg in plants and soil. Chromium was detected between BDL-53.65 mg/kg and 10.57-77.10 mg/kg in plants and soil respectively. Nickel was between 1.65-11.85 mg/kg and 1.83-14.87 mg/kg in soil and plants samples. Heavy metals (Cd, Zn, Cu, Cr, Pb and Ni) in the control samples were found to be 0.35, 40.00, 88.55, 0.65, 238 and 0.65 mg/kg for Cadmium, Zinc, Copper, Chromium, Lead and Nickel in plants respectively. The soil samples were between 0.066, 9.50, 4.83, 55.63, 33.667, 4.33 mg/kg, Zinc, Copper, Chromium, Lead and Nickel respectively. Based on this study, plant and soil along road sides were found with high concentration of heavy metals.

Agerbruget i enkeltgravskultur – Senneolitikum og ældre bronzealder i Jylland belyst ud fra plantemakrofossil