Age Artefacts Research Articles

Copper for the early oxhide ingots traced to the South Urals

Oxhide ingots are flat, rectangular slabs of metal, most commonly of copper, with protruding corners of varying styles. These Late Bronze Age artifacts were widespread across the Mediterranean for approximately half a millennium between the 16th and 11th centuries BC. Although they are generally known as essentially a Cypriot “commodity brand” by the late 15th century BCE, the origin of this ingot’s distinct shape has remained unknown. With the expansion of the lead-isotope database of Eurasian copper ores, the origin of the oldest chemically characterized oxide ingots may now be defined. The bimodal lead isotope compositions of 15 early, pillow-shaped oxhide ingots excavated in Crete are consistent with those of copper ores from the Southern Urals, which are known to have been actively mined in the Bronze Age. Together, Pb isotope and trace element compositions indicate that the majority of the ingots were cast from copper derived from Ural-type Cu-Zn volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits. However, two ingots enriched in Ni, As, and Co match Main Ural Fault-type ores that are hosted by ultramafic rocks.The characteristic design of the pillow-shaped ingot was likely related to the particulars of overland transport, facilitating their long-distance conveyance on pack animals. There is further support of a non-Cypriot origin of this form in the possible association between the words for “ingot”, “copper” and “hide” across languages of Western Asia and the Mediterranean. Thus, an eastern origin of the oxhide form for ingots is likely.

All That Is Solid Bursts into Flame: Capitalism and Fire in the Nineteenth-Century United States

Abstract Industrial capitalism arrived in Europe as great urban fires were already retreating. The United States, however, was generously timbered and far more reliant on wooden construction. As a result, its infernos continued, and even increased, well into its age of capital. They especially struck places of intense commodification: hastily built settler towns, slave cities, financial centres and sites of mineral extraction. Noting the connection between fire and capitalism, a class of upwardly mobile strivers came to appreciate fires for their ability to disrupt social hierarchies, reset property relations and nurture economic dynamism. Oddly, many who had suffered fires even interpreted them as ‘blessings in disguise’. This pyrophilia was not universal, however, and the richest men of the Gilded Age strenuously opposed it, seeking instead to fireproof the environment. The clash between pyrophobes and pyrophiles was between economic incumbents and economic insurgents, and it touched on many areas of late nineteenth-century culture. Familiar Gilded Age artefacts such as Chicago’s White City and L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz can be productively understood in terms of this widespread fight over the value of fire, and thus the shape of capitalism.

Tin isotopes reveal changing patterns of tin trade, connectivity and consumption from Anatolia and Central Asia at Kültepe

Until recently, what was known about the trade of tin in the ancient Near East was based in large part on information derived from the extensive commercial archives found at the archaeological site of Kültepe (ancient Kaneš) in Turkey dating to the Middle Bronze Age (MBA) c. 1900-1750 BC. These archives were produced by an expatriate community of traders native to the city of Assur in modern-day Iraq and document an extensive shipping of tin ingots from unnamed sources east of their hometown. Tin was carried by donkeys through northern Syria and across the Taurus Mountains to Anatolia where it was sold for silver.This paper presents the first set of tin isotope analyses of bronze objects from Kültepe to test the image provided by these ancient archives, finding that all artifacts dated to the main period of Assyrian trade excavated in the residential areas of the site indeed have high tin content and high values of δ124Sn (0.77–1.74‰) relative to the NIST 3161a standard. Such high values currently compare best with ores from Central Asia. The isotopic analysis of artifacts from the Assyrian Trading Colony Period of Kültepe is therefore consistent with the textual evidence.However, Early Bronze Age samples recovered at the site are instead characterized by lower ranges that extend to neutral δ124Sn values (0.02–1.31‰). Likewise, one artifact coming from Mound Level 7 (c. 1830-1700) at the center of the site where public buildings were concentrated, and one object dated to the Hellenistic Period (Mound Level 2), when the site saw a resurgence in political importance, likewise have lower δ124Sn compositions of 0.11 and 0.31‰, respectively. Both samples also have low to moderate tin content.The Early Bronze Age artifacts form a linear array between artifacts from low δ124Sn-low Sn wt% to high δ124Sn-high Sn wt% that suggests a mixing of two compositional groups – not simply the mixing of two isotopically distinct reservoirs of tin, but also distinct in the amount of tin present in the alloy. This would be consistent with the recycling of low tin bronze objects with local tin, together with high tin bronzes containing tin from Central Asia. The two samples from Mound Levels 7 and 2 suggest that although Central Asian tin was predominant in the MBA, Anatolian tin may have continued to be used in a separate bronze production system that remained active at shifting varying of intensity throughout antiquity.

The Zambia Rift Valley research project: Exploring human evolution at the crossroads of Africa

Key evolutionary events in hominin evolution occurred between 3.5 and 2.4 Ma, including the origins of flaked tool technology and the first appearance of the genera Homo and Paranthropus. This period remains poorly understood, however, because deposits of this age are rarely exposed across Africa. The Luangwa River Valley of eastern Zambia is part of the southernmost extension of the East African Rift System; a fossil femur from South Luangwa, identified as Theropithecus cf.darti, hints at the presence of fossiliferous beds of this age in the Luangwa Valley. Additionally, Middle Pleistocene fossils and Early and Middle Stone Age artifacts have also been recovered in sediments adjacent to the Luangwa River. Fossils from these deposits could contribute data on the diversification of hominins and mammals that occurred during the Plio-Pleistocene. The Luangwa River also supports a rich modern mammalian community that represents a critical analogue for reconstructing hominin paleoenvironments. However, no systematic ecological characterizations of living or past mammalian communities of the Luangwa River Valley have been completed. The newly initiated Zambia Rift Valley Research Project (ZRVRP) will analyze the ecology of modern and fossil Luangwa River mammalian and human communities using dental microwear, enamel and collagen isotopic composition, the distribution of bones, fossils, and vegetation on the landscape, and archaeological materials. Patterns of paleoenvironmental change, climatic seasonality, and hominin landscape use over time will provide important comparative context for other Plio-Pleistocene sites. Here, we describe the goals, methods, and community engagement of the ZRVRP, and some challenges involved in launching new paleoanthropological field research.

Plant resource diversity in the ethnobotanical record of precolonial Puerto Rico: Evidence from microbotanical remains

We present new starch grain and phytolith data from two sites in Puerto Rico: Maisabel and HU-7. Our findings reveal a strong emphasis on the use of maize, followed by chile pepper and arrowroot in Early and Late Ceramic Age deposits. Manioc was rare, with nearly all manioc residues coming from Early Ceramic Age artifacts in the Maisabel site. Integrating both starches and phytoliths provides a more accurate view of plant use than if only one or the other of these classes of microfossils are studied. We then review previously reported microbotanical findings from the island to document the diversity of plant resources utilized by precolonial occupants of Puerto Rico and how commonly these resources occur. There is now a sufficient body of residue data available to allow new insights into precolonial agricultural economies of Puerto Rico. Applying ecological measures of diversity, richness, and evenness to microbotanical datasets for Puerto Rico reveal declines in diversity for both the initial and later colonizing populations of the island. These findings are consistent with expectations from agroecology, whereby productive domesticates are identified and over time exploited in greater proportions to other taxa, both wild and domesticated.

The Blackwater is not a Back Water: Locating the Mesolithic and its Environment at Eversley Quarry, Fleet Hill Farm, Finchampstead, Berkshire

Archaeological fieldwork at Eversley Quarry, Fleet Hill Farm, Finchampstead, Berkshire documented evidence of Mesolithic activity, associated with paleoenvironmental deposits, on the Blackwater River floodplain, a river for which activity of this period was previously unknown. The discovery evolved from initial recognition of worked flint artefacts across a well weathered, stripped subsoil surface in part of the site. Additional material was collected subsequently from the summit of an adjacent low knoll. The findings were of sufficient extent and importance to warrant supplementary archaeological fieldwork using a gridded test pit strategy to evaluate the Mesolithic potential in remaining parts of the site. This resulted in the identification of additional clusters of worked flints, which were preserved in situ.The clusters were predominantly of Mesolithic date but also included Neolithic and Bronze Age artefacts, indicating prolonged use of the landscape. Concentrations were consistently located on slightly elevated sand bars flanking palaeochannels of a formerly braided river system. The contemporaneity of the palaeodrainage and Mesolithic activity has been confirmed by radiocarbon dates from peat that formed during the Holocene. The collective results mark a significant contribution to knowledge of the Blackwater River valley, a major communications artery in the Mesolithic period linking the west end of the Wealden Greensand to the Rivers Thames and Kennet. These findings also highlight the importance that river valleys can make to locations that have been less well studied but nevertheless enjoyed prolonged use.

SECRETS OF THE DRAVA: BRONZE AGE METALWORK IN CONTINENTAL CROATIA

SummaryThe article presents a group of Bronze Age artefacts recovered from the Drava river wetlands in continental Croatia, examining their typological and chronological markers, and assessing the technological characteristics of the material through spectrometric and use‐wear analyses. We discuss the context of the finds, types of items retrieved and deposition locations, and how these fit into the patterns of European Bronze Age metal deposition practices. Compositional and metalwork use analyses indicate that most of the items were in use prior to their deposition and display solid metallurgical skill. Chronologically, typologically, compositionally, and conceptually, the items align with the depositional trends seen in the wider region and beyond.

The hoard of the Early Iron Age at the settlement of Dianovo-II (Belozersk district of the Kurgan region)

In 2016, in the area of Dianovo village of the Belozersk district of the Kurgan region (West Siberia), a hoard of the Early Iron Age artifacts was found. While examining the area for the identification of structures of the Civil War period, a round-bottomed vessel was accidentally discovered. Inside the container, there was a massive rectangular bronze plate, glass beads, and fragments of jewelry, including bronze strings, bronze plaques in the shape of fish and four-petal plaques strung on leather cords, all wrapped in organic material (felt?). In total, the Dianovo treasure contains 370 ob-jects made of bronze and glass, assembled within a single set, classified as women’s. At present, this is one of very few elements of the women’s costume of the Early Iron Age that have been best preserved in the Southern Trans-Urals. These finds were transferred to the archaeological laboratory of the Kurgan State University, and later the archaeologi-cal survey was carried out at the discovery location by I.A. Spiridonov. The purpose of this research is a typological description of the contents of the hoard, its chronological analysis, and a possible reconstruction of the bronze orna-ment. The main research materials are the container in which the treasure was found — a ceramic round-bottomed vessel, a set of bronze objects that piece together a female (breast?) adornment, a set of glass beads of three types (rounded blue, black (square and rounded) with festoon-like white and yellow pattern), and a massive bronze plate with traces of manufacturing, which probably had the purpose of an ingot. Based on the analysis of the materials, it has been established that the hoard was most likely left by the population of the Gorokhovskaya Culture. This conclusion was made on the basis of the shape and features of the ceramic vessel. This is also supported by the location of the treasure and the general dating of individual items: glass beads of the Black Sea origin have numerous similarities in the sites and are quite clearly dated by these analogues to the 4th–3rd c. BC. The dating of other items of the hoard — elements of the bronze ornament and a bronze ingot-plate is complicated due to the lack of clearly dated analogues or chronological duration of their use. Judging by the composition and carefulness of packing of the items, this hoard ap-parently was of a situational (possibly in the event of an attack) and returnable character.

The origin of Neolithic copper on the central Northern European plain and in Southern Scandinavia: Connectivities on a European scale.

The production, distribution and use of copper objects and the development of metallurgical skills in Neolithic Northern Central Europe and Southern Scandinavia are linked to early centres of copper metallurgy of South East Central Europe and Southeast Europe. A total of 45 Neolithic copper objects, until now the largest sample of Early Neolithic objects from the Northern Central European Plain and Southern Scandinavia, were selected for new lead isotope analyses. They aided in the identification of the origin of the copper: These new analyses indicate that the copper ore deposits in Southeastern Europe, especially from the Serbian mining areas, were used for the Early Neolithic northern artefacts (ca. 4100-3300 BC). The most likely sources of copper for the few Middle Neolithic artefacts (ca. 3300-2800 BC) seem to be from the Slovak Ore Mountains, the Serbian mining areas and the Eastern Alps, whereas deposits of the Slovak Ore Mountains and the Alpine region were used for the Late Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age (ca. 2300-1700 BC) artefacts. For the artefacts dated after 2000 BC, the Great Orme mine in Wales also appears to have been the source of copper for the analysed metals. The use of copper from different regions of Europe probably reflects changing social and cultural connectivities on a European scale and the changing chronology of copper exploitation.

Uncertainty as Affective State and Critical Engagement Strategy in Museum and Heritage Site Settings

Some pasts have long been uncertain—among those, prehistoric lives in areas where limited archaeological evidence has been unearthed. The Scottish Crannog Centre holds a collection of Iron Age artifacts that have been excavated from the bottom of Loch Tay, jigsaw pieces that are used to tell the story of the everyday lives of crannog dwellers two and a half thousand years ago. The visitor experience at the museum is built on direct interaction with the museum team as the visitors are guided through the site, presenting ample opportunities for critical questions to be raised and discussed about how the past can be understood in the present and how it can inform the future. Facilitating such conversations—and using Iron Age artifacts as points of connection and as conversational prompts—involves a careful balance between fact, interpretation, and imagination; what we know for certain, what is likely, and what we do not, and cannot, know. This paper focuses on how Scottish Crannog Centre museum practitioners employ uncertainty as a feeling, a process, and an engagement strategy in generating critical reflections and conversations among visitors. Drawing on data generated through twenty-five interviews with museum staff, apprentices, and volunteers, as well as ethnographic observations, we explore how the team manages uncertainty, how it is positioned and functions in interactions with visitors, and how uncertainty facilitates a sense of connection to the distant past. In so doing, we argue that uncertainty can be more clearly conceptualized as an affective state and a critical strategy when exploring how prehistoric and present-day life are connected in museum contexts.

Early Bronze Age artefacts from hard animal materials found in the south Moravia region

The presented article focuses on Early Bronze Age artefacts made from hard animal materials found in the south Moravia region. This topic tends to be neglected in the literature, as these artefacts are not as numerous as ceramics or bronze objects. However, their study can bring important knowledge. Open rural settlements of the Early Bronze Age are compared. Two sites are dated to the Únětice culture, the third to the Věteřov group. Processed assemblages are the largest known collections of artefacts from the period in south Moravia. The main aim of the thesis is a detailed analysis of the assemblages, which consist mainly of objects assembled from bones and antlers; the use of other raw materials is rare. The article compares the production of artefacts between the earlier Únětice and later Věteřov phases. It briefly addresses the find circumstances and contexts of individual artefacts. The analytical part includes an osteological determination of raw materials used for the production of artefacts. It focuses on a morphological and typological description of objects based on new descriptive standards in an effort to revise previously used subjective terms such as awl. The third part of the analysis is devoted to a study of use-wear marks created in the production and use of individual artefacts or their archaeologisation. The discussion addresses the possibilities of interpreting and identifying the function of individual objects on the basis of the above analyses.

Analysis of Lead Smelting Technology in the Early Bronze Age Based on Smelting Slag from the Central Plains of China

To explore the source of Pb in Bronze Age artefacts from the Central Plains (Zhongyuan) in China, we investigated non-ferrous minerals from the Qingyuan archaeological site in Yuanqu County near the Zhongtiao Mountains. Fragments of smelting slag from the Erlitou cultural layer were collected. The smelting slag was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and lead isotope analysis. The SEM and EDS results confirmed that the slag contained Pb, Pb–As, and Cu–Pb–Sn inclusions and non-metal impurities such as low-Zn spinels. The XRD results signified that the bulk of the slag comprised Fe–Mn–Si phases. The chemical state of Pb was mainly Pb–O with some metallic Pb, as identified by XPS. The theoretical melting point was calculated using FactSage7.1 based on the composition and phase characterisation. The calculated temperature was 1100–1200 °C, which agreed well with the actual melting point of 1114–1354 °C. The slag composition and inclusion phases indicated that Pb–Zn–O ores with Mn and As were added during reduction smelting in Qingyuan. The raw materials of smelting included crude Pb with minor amounts of Cu, As, and Sn. Lead isotope analysis revealed that the lead materials produced in Qingyuan were likely transferred to Yanshi City in the Shang Dynasty. The findings of this study provide significant clues for exploring lead mineral production in the Central Plains during the Early Bronze Age.

Preliminary handheld XRF analysis of Late Bronze Age metal finds from the Budakeszi-Őzvölgy-tető site (Pest county, Hungary)

This study discusses the chemical analysis results of Middle and Late Bronze Age stray finds and the Late Bronze Age hoards excavated at the recently discovered Budakeszi-Őzvölgy-tető site (Pest County, Hungary). This measurement series is the second stage in the scientific evaluation of the finds, which helps to characterize the elemental composition and raw material characteristics of the A and B hoards and the stray finds. Our aim is to obtain elemental composition information on the 103 objects, which can be used to identify the main alloy types within the hoards, as well as to establish a research strategy for the further examination of the metal finds from the Őzvölgy-tető with more complex and reliable methods. A handheld XRF device was used, which provides compositional information on the surface of the objects, but its main advantage is that it enables the analysis of a large number of samples within a short time. Here, we interpret the obtained data within the limits of the applied method. Based on our results, the majority of the artifacts can be identified as Cu-Sn alloys. Pb, Sb, Ni, Zn, Ag, Fe, Co and As are the main accompanying elements of the objects’ patina from Budakeszi, their presence being indicative of the raw material and its source. The presence of certain elements at higher quantities may indicate specific technological phenomena. The high surface Pb content on the convex part of the ingots is probably due to the phenomenon of lead segregation. While the high Fe content could be interpreted as a technological defect and the result of an incomplete iron removal process during smelting. Handheld XRF measurements show a correlation between patina color and surface elemental composition in some cases (e.g., dark gray – high Pb, black – high Pb-Sb), but more typically, the same color can be associated with different elemental combinations (grayish-silver, high Pb-Sb, Pb-Sn, high Sn). Our results help to independently verify the relative dating of the hoards and the stray finds. The high Fe or Zn content, which is not typical of the Late Bronze Age, allows us to date some of the stray find lumps and one sheet of metal to the Medieval Period or Modern Ages. The high surface Sb and Pb contents observed in Late Bronze Age artifacts from Budakeszi are in good agreement with former quantitative elemental composition data from Transdanubian (e.g., Biatorbágy, Velem-Szent Vid), Austrian and Slovenian artifacts deposited in the Ha B1 period, which support the archaeological dating of the hoards and most stray finds.

Hydroclimatic and geochemical palaeoenvironmental records within tufa: A cool-water fluvio-lacustrine tufa system in the Wadi Dabsa volcanic setting, western Saudi Arabia

A series of uncharacterised tufa deposits within the lowland volcanic provinces of western Saudi Arabia are investigated here in order to account for their presence and to examine their utility as a palaeoenvironmental archive. The Wadi Dabsa basin, in the Harrat Al Birk, is part of the Saharo-Arabian region, where there is increasing evidence for multiple hominin dispersals during windows of reduced aridity during the last ~400 ka of the Late Quaternary. This first and detailed petrological and geochemical characterisation of these tufa carbonates is particularly important for palaeoenvironmental and climatological reconstruction at a site that contains a major concentration of Early and Middle Stone Age artefacts. We aim to determine the nature of deposition, to answer whether these are cool, freshwater tufa or hydrothermal travertine, and to establish what the tufa settings, stratigraphies and facies reveal about the hydroclimatic regime in this semi-arid environment.A widespread lacustrine-paludal and fluvial tufa system is preserved, as well as topographically-controlled tufa barrages and cascades. Observable sections, exposed by incision, reveal a thickness of tufa deposits of 3 to 6 m in places, which contain two packages of tufa-cemented conglomerate facies. This allows us to provide a conceptual model for the deposition of semi-arid tufa, based on existing type sites in the Naukluft Mountains of Namibia and the Ebro Basin of Spain. The varied topography within this volcanic harrat provides a setting at Wadi Dabsa that combines the low-lying lacustrine-paludal model from Spain with the steeper and higher-energy model from Namibia. The two tufa-cemented bedload units and the evidence for post-depositional erosion of other tufa facies indicates a shifting hydroclimatic regime, with episodes during which the basin contained water and there was steady flow in the fluvial channels, alternating with episodes of high-energy flashy flows.Geochemical analysis using 87Sr/86Sr isotopic ratios (0.7049 to 0.7056 with one sample at 0.7062) and stable carbon isotopes (−12.9 to −6.3‰) reveal that these are cool-water tufas were deposited from meteoric water that has interacted with both metamorphosed limestone in the Asir Escarpment and the mafic metavolcanic bedrock of the Wadi Dabsa Basin, without a geothermal influence. These tufa are low-concentration‑magnesium calcite, with traces of quartz (to a maximum of 3%) and other silicates. Some samples have ≤7.5% palygorskite, which along with petrological evidence for microbial filaments suggests the importance of biomineralisation by cyanobacteria within some of these tufa. Petrological analysis shows the fabrics are dominated by micrite cements with some microspar, and very little post-depositional alteration. Where samples are banded, this reflects variation in calcite crystal size as opposed to any striking variations in mineralogical composition. Oxygen stable isotopic composition (−14.6 to −1.9‰) indicates deposition from an isotopically more depleted rainfall source than the modern day, noting additional corrections for unknown past temperature and any other fractionation effects are needed. Depleted rainfall sources in this region may relate to either a far-travelled Atlantic moisture source or a higher-intensity Indian Ocean monsoon source, or some combination.

Preserving the Nieuwdonk collection, a hidden Pleistocene mammal assemblage from the Flemish Valley (Berlare - Belgium)

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the municipality of Berlare (East Flanders, Belgium) acquired an important collection of Late-Pleistocene remains from the former Nieuwdonk quarry (near Uitbergen and Overmere, province of East Flanders). This previously private collection comprises a diverse assemblage of Pleistocene mammals from the Flemish valley and covers an important part of Belgium's Quaternary fossil record, offering a window into the regional biodiversity of the last Ice Age and Interglacials (ca. 10 Ka - 126 Ka). Within the collection, various remains (318 specimens) of roughly 20 different taxa are represented, as well as reworked Tertiary ichnofossils and Stone Age artefacts, including a bone tool. Although sampling bias occurred during collecting in the 1970s, it still counts as one of the most complete Pleistocene collections from this classic location within the Scheldt basin and Unesco Global Geopark (Schelde Delta). As a result of years of poor storage conditions, almost all of the specimens suffered from desiccation and pyrite decay. A restoration project was set up during the coronavirus pandemic with restrictions imposed by the Belgian government on daily activities. In this article, we focus on the lessons we learned from both the restoration and inventorisation project during the pandemic, as well as the challenges faced in transitioning a former private collection into a public one.

Later Stone and Iron Age Cohabitation at the Nsongezi Open-Air Site, Western Uganda

Abstract This research at the Nsongezi open-air site examines the intergenerational artefacts at a site where the first Stone Age artefacts were identified in Uganda. The purpose was to examine the nature and cause of the mixed Later Stone Age (LSA) and Iron Age (IA) artefacts in the same stratigraphic context at Nsongezi. The specific objectives included examining the ceramic assemblage, discussing the nature of interactions between the Later Stone Age and Iron Age people and accounting for why and how the mixture of artefacts occurs at Nsongezi. Using a documentary review, archaeological survey, and excavation, the research re-examines the theories of displacement and coexistence concerning the LSA and IA material mixture, which has always been dismissed as a disturbance of stratigraphic contexts. Guided by the Law of superimposition, the association of archaeological material from different cultural periods such as the Later Stone Age and Iron Age artefacts at Nsongezi is attributed to four phenomena. First is the cultural interaction of distinct LSA and IA populations. Secondly, the LSA populations may have adopted Iron Age technology and pottery while continuing with some of the LSA technology and pottery. Thirdly, the Iron Age populations occupied the LSA sites previously abandoned, and some of the LSA peoples occupied the old Iron Age sites as the two groups crisscrossed the region in shifting agricultural and hunter-gatherer economies. Finally, the mixed LSA and Iron Age deposits might have resulted from post-abandonment taphonomic processes. Therefore, the social interactions between the LSA and IA at Nsongezi challenge the dominant narrative that the IA populations used their metal technology’s superiority to displace and absorb the LSA people.

New geomorphological and archaeological evidence for drainage evolution in the Luangwa Valley (Zambia) during the Late Pleistocene

This is the first systematic investigation of two distinctive geomorphological features recorded in the central Luangwa River valley, Zambia. A series of low hills was found to be capped by thin (~1 m) gravel deposits containing stratified Stone Age artefacts. More widespread gravels occur on the margins of the Luangwa River floodplain lacking stratified artefacts. The previously unreported hilltop deposits are interpreted as remnants of a dissected land-surface, and the valley floor gravels as redeposited clasts from c. 20 m of down-cutting. Clast analysis and drainage basin size analysis support a hypothesis of gravel deposition by unconstrained debris flows from the distant Muchinga escarpment, or from an intermediate zone. Excavation of a perched deposit revealed a coarsely stratified Stone Age record indicating periodic emplacement of artefact-bearing gravels over an extended period. Deposition of these perched gravels continued into the Late Pleistocene (~77 ka), based on OSL dating, after which the current dissected landscape formed. We hypothesize further, based on a regional record of landscape instability and core data from Lake Malawi, that fan formation in the valley was linked to periods of extended aridity and reduced vegetation cover followed by episodic erosional events on the return to wetter conditions. We argue that the subsequent dissection of the land-surface is the end state of a sequence of responses to base-level changes and climate change.

English

The current fast growth of the city of Dodoma in central Tanzania threatens cultural heritage materials scattered on the landscape. However, natural processes such as weathering and erosion also add to this threat. Earlier, we reported on the existence of two cultural traditions on this landscape, the Middle Stone Age artefacts and the much younger Wambambali tradition based on pottery, grinding stones and remains of collapsed buildings. This paper presents qualitative data about the latter tradition from the perception of elders. Although our main focus was on the Wambambali tradition, elders broadened our scope and so we discuss the Wambambali on the wider perspective that includes succeeding communities, the Wagogo. Interview and focus group discussion techniques were used to collect data. The current whereabout of the Wambambali people is not known but there are two suggestions: The majority went south while a small group may have gone to the north. On the other hand, the Wagogo communities are formed by founders from different ethnic groups and regions and elders involved in our research predominantly trace their origins to the Hehe and Bena communities in today’s Iringa/Njombe regions. The collective name for these incoming groups came to be known as Wagogo.   Key words: Origin, disappearance, Wambambali tradition, Wagogo, cultural heritage.

Eighteenth-century visions of the Stone Age

Archaeological concepts of prehistory and the Stone Age are rooted in nineteenth-century scientific discoveries, which extended the human past much further back in time than was previously thought. Without this deep past, the disciplines of archaeology and history would not be what they are today. However, when the division of prehistory into the ages of stone, bronze, and iron was introduced in 1836, it was already an old idea. Stone Age artefacts and the initial phase of human history were discussed in the eighteenth-century academic world, even though the periodisation of history was constructed differently. In the philosophy of the Enlightenment several ideas surfaced which were essential to the formation of archaeology as a scientific practice, and which still affect the way the prehistoric past is imagined. This article examines the concept of a prehistoric, furthest past in Finnish scientific texts, within the framework of eighteenth-century Swedish traditions of science and historiography. How did the scholars in the Academy of Turku view Stone Age artefacts that had a multi-faceted nature in the antiquarian tradition? In what way did their visions of the earliest phase of the Nordic past set up later nationalistic narratives about prehistory?

Development of an Optimized NDT Methodology for the Investigation of Ancient Greek Copper-Based Artifacts

A multi-analytical non-destructive testing (NDT) methodology was applied to copper-based artifacts originated from various archaeological sites of Greece. X-ray fluorescence (XRF), fiber optics diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (FORS) and scanning electron microscopy coupled with an energy dispersive X-ray detector (ESEM-EDX) were used for the characterization of the alloys and the corrosion products. The key elements of the artifacts belonging to the Early Bronze Age (2700–2300 BC) were copper and arsenic, while tin bronze was used for the fabrication of the Late Bronze Age (1600–1100 BC) artifacts. The effectiveness of XRF for the determination of the bulk composition was confirmed by comparative study with the previously applied atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) destructive techniques. Significant differences between the artifacts were revealed through the spectral measurement of their surface corrosion products color by FORS. ESEM-EDX provided information on the microstructure, the elemental composition of the corrosion layers and bulk, as well as the distribution of the corrosion products on the surface. Conclusively, the combined NDT methodology could be regarded as a valuable and appropriate tool for the elemental composition of the bulk alloy, thus leading to the classification of their historical period and the corrosion products, contributing significantly to their conservation–restoration.