Archaeological Assemblages Research Articles

Ancient DNA analysis of an archaeological assemblage of Chondrichthyes vertebrae from South Auckland, New Zealand

Sharks and their relatives (Chondrichthyes) were an important food source for pre-European Māori. However, their skeletons, which are largely comprised of cartilage, are poorly preserved in the archaeological record, with only teeth and vertebrae routinely recorded. Furthermore, it is often difficult to identify Chondrichthyes by their vertebral morphology. Here we compare the morphological and ancient DNA identification of 180 Chondrichthyes vertebrae representing seven different morphotypes sampled from a large archaeological assemblage in Auckland, New Zealand. aDNA sequences were obtained from 87 vertebrae and indicated the presence of four Chondrichthyes species at the site: rig (Mustelus lenticulatus), school shark (Galeorhinus galeus), bronze whaler (Carcharhinus brachyurus) and New Zealand eagle ray (Myliobatis tenuicaudatus). The aDNA results indicated several instances where morphological identification of vertebrae had been incorrect, including the most common taxon found in the assemblage, rig, which had been identified morphologically as school shark. Overall, our results indicated that aDNA analysis of Chondrichthyes vertebrae is a valuable tool to distinguish between specimens with morphologically similar vertebrae and to verify morphological identifications.

Social Identities in Roman Children’s Burials. Roman Cemetery at Apulum-Dealul Furcilor

The children’s graves from the cemetery at Apulum-Dealul Furcilor are a category of archaeological contexts that is worth studying because too little is known about the funerary treatments of the children from Roman Dacia. These graves contain the material remains of a number of practices that could indicate the perceived social identities of the child and the mourners. These coded identities can be deciphered by using statistical analyses, the process of understanding the archaeological assemblages being eased in this way. However, a proper interpretation of these contexts requires the incorporation of existing knowledge about the status of the Roman children, their activities, their surrounding material culture and the way in which it was handled, their obligations and rights, the relations with the parents and different relatives, etc. Therefore, the study of this theme could open many doors towards other related subjects.

A detailed analysis of the spatial distribution of Schöningen 13II-4 ‘Spear Horizon’ faunal remains

The Middle Pleistocene Schöningen 13II-4 ‘Spear Horizon’ (Germany) is a key site for the study of human evolution, most notably for the discovery of Paleolithic wooden weaponry and evidence for developed hunting strategies. On the other hand, the ‘Spear Horizon’ offers an excellent opportunity to approach hominin spatial behavior, thanks to the richness of the archeological assemblage, its exceptional preservation, and the vast expanse of the excavated surface. Analyzing how space was used is essential for understanding hominin behavior at this unique open-air site and, from a wider perspective, for approaching how humans adapted to interglacial environments. In this article, we present an exhaustive spatial study of the complete Schöningen 13II-4 ‘Spear Horizon’ faunal assemblage and its archeological context, combining zooarcheology and spatial analysis through the extensive application of geographic information systems. Our results indicate the existence of different activity areas related to changes in the position of the shoreline due to fluctuations of water table levels of the Schöningen paleolake. These activity areas were likely used on a seasonal basis, whereas the spatial patterning observed in the distribution of faunal remains suggests a diversity of behavioral strategies in terms of intensity and/or duration of occupations. This study refines previous interpretations of the site and reconstructs human behavioral adaptations and the occupational changing lakeland environment during the Middle Pleistocene in Europe.

Machine learning ATR-FTIR spectroscopy data for the screening of collagen for ZooMS analysis and mtDNA in archaeological bone

Faunal remains from archaeological sites allow for the identification of animal species that enables the better understanding of the relationships between humans and animals, not only from their morphological information, but also from the ancient biomolecules (lipids, proteins, and DNA) preserved in these remains for thousands and even millions of years. However, due to the costs and efforts required for ancient biomolecular analysis, there has been considerable research into development of accurate and efficient screening approaches for archaeological remains. FTIR spectroscopy is one such approach that has been considered for screening of proteins, but its widespread use has been hindered by the fact that its predictive accuracy can vary widely depending on the extent of sample preservation and the instrument used. Further, screening methods for ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis are scarce. Here we present a new approach to vastly improve upon FTIR-based screening methods prior to ZooMS (Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry) and aDNA analysis through the use of random forest-based machine learning. To do so, we use ATR-FTIR to examine three sets of archaeological bone assemblages and analyse them by ZooMS (for taxonomic identification). Two of these are from Palaeolithic contexts, dominated by terrestrial fauna and include specimens with a variety of preservational conditions. The third set consists of Holocene faunal remains, with variable levels of preservation and is dominated by cetaceans. Using the Holocene faunal remains, we were able to more consistently evaluate ATR-FTIR-based screening for mtDNA as well as ZooMS success. We report on the potential of machine learning in ATR-FTIR-based screening for ancient mtDNA analysis, and our machine learning models conclusively improve the accuracy prior to usage of ATR-FTIR-based screening for ZooMS by 20–40%. The results also suggest this approach potentially allows for a universal screening system, applicable across multiple sites and largely independent of the spectrometers used.

Household material culture in 19th-century Iceland: contextualising change in the archaeological record

SUMMARY The paper looks at changes in the composition of archaeological assemblages from 19th-century Iceland. It contextualises an increase in ceramics with other domestic materials by combining archaeological data with evidence from probate inventories. The study confirms that there was a marked change in domestic materiality in Iceland in the middle of the 19th century and suggests that further research into the origins and effects of this change needs to focus on how things depend on each other and their relationship with altered routines of household members.

Formation of cultural layers at the Krutaya site: towards the question of palimpsest archaeological assemblages

Formation of cultural layers at the Krutaya site: towards the question of palimpsest archaeological assemblages

Explanations of variability in Middle Stone Age stone tool assemblage composition and raw material use in Eastern Africa

The Middle Stone Age (MSA) corresponds to a critical phase in human evolution, overlapping with the earliest emergence of Homo sapiens as well as the expansions of these populations across and beyond Africa. Within the context of growing recognition for a complex and structured population history across the continent, Eastern Africa remains a critical region to explore patterns of behavioural variability due to the large number of well-dated archaeological assemblages compared to other regions. Quantitative studies of the Eastern African MSA record have indicated patterns of behavioural variation across space, time and from different environmental contexts. Here, we examine the nature of these patterns through the use of matrix correlation statistics, exploring whether differences in assemblage composition and raw material use correlate to differences between one another, assemblage age, distance in space, and the geographic and environmental characteristics of the landscapes surrounding MSA sites. Assemblage composition and raw material use correlate most strongly with one another, with site type as well as geographic and environmental variables also identified as having significant correlations to the former, and distance in time and space correlating more strongly with the latter. By combining time and space into a single variable, we are able to show the strong relationship this has with differences in stone tool assemblage composition and raw material use, with significance for exploring the impacts of processes of cultural inheritance on variability in the MSA. A significant, independent role for terrain roughness for explaining variability in stone tool assemblages highlights the importance of considering the impacts of mobility on structuring the archaeological record of the MSA of Eastern Africa.

Археологические материалы таштыкской эпохи на стоянке Казановка-14 в Аскизском районе Республики Хакасия

General information on archaeological excavations at the Kazanovka-14 site in 2021 is presented. The site is located on the right bank of the Askiz river on a small elevation above the floodplain at the foothills of the Abakansky mountain range. In 2020, mounds of the Late Bronze Age and Tagar culture of the Kazanovka-12 burial ground in the immediate vicinity of the camp were investigated. The site consists of a cultural layer deposited on a dealluvialplume at a relatively shallow depth from the present day surface. The cultural layer includes both scattered artifacts and bone material as well as the remains of a burnt construction with a series of pottery vessels. The archaeological material is unevenly deposited, with isolated concentration spots of animal bones, including processed bones. The archeological assemblage includes various ceramics (vessels of the different sizes, (mainly of the opened form, with a recessed and rounded rim, ornamentation of the top part in the form of dangling triangles, semicircular and triangular indentations), weaponry (arrowheads made of bone, as a rule, elongated-rhombic, and metal, tiered; fragment of an armor plate), fragments of clothing (belt cover plates). Among the finds, sandstone tiles with carved images stand out. On the basis of the finds complex, the site dates to the later stages of the Tashtyk epoch (middle of the 1st millenium A.D.). The surviving outskirts of the settlement, with preserved evidence of active bone carving and possibly ceramic production were excavated and examined. Given the small number of investigated settlement sites in the Khakass-Minusinsk Basin, Kazanovka-14 represents unique opportunities to characterize the economic life of the Tashtyk population and correlate the household and funerary object complexes known from the crypts.

Стратиграфия поселения Писаная-4 в окрестностях Томской Писаницы

This article discusses some problems in relative chronology of archaeological assemblages discovered at multilayered sites at the border of the Lower Tom and Middle Tom River regions, in their stratigraphic context. The research was aimed at establishing natural stratigraphy of the Pisanaya-4 site at its different sections, conducting archaeological attribution of the series of artifacts, identifying chronological and stratigraphical features of archaeological assemblages, and evaluating the data obtained for periodization of archaeological finds from the Tom River region and Kuznetsk Depression. In total, evidence from seven sites located on the high floodplain and at the edge of the first terrace above the floodplain has been analyzed. The depth of the stratigraphic pits was 2 m. General stratification of soil mass in the floodplain zone depended on intensity and frequency of seasonal floods in the Holocene and pedogenic processes in alluvial material. A distinctive situation of multiple layers with artifacts of the Neolithic-Chalcolithic, Early and Advanced Bronze Age, Early Iron Age, and Middle Ages with pebble layers between archaeological and chronological horizons has been observed. The terrace has shown poor traces of periodic floods in the Holocene soils; alluvial deposits consisted of light brown clay loam. These sections contained some Neolithic-Chalcolithic artifacts dislocated to humus deposits and Late Paleolithic stone artifacts in the underlying clay loam alluvium. The data obtained reveals the stratigraphic nature of the Pisanaya-4 site which is new for this region and relatively rare for the entire forest-steppe belt of Western Siberia. The chronostratigraphic data on cultural and chronological assemblages of the Late Paleolithic, Early Neolithic, Late Neolithic-Chalcolithic, Early Bronze Age, Advanced Bronze Age, and Early Middle Ages at the Pisanaya-4 site is an important component for periodization of archaeological finds in the landscape context of the sites in the Tom River region.

Two houses from the Third Intermediate Period settlement at Tell el-Retaba: a case study of activity-area analysis

In 2019, the Polish–Slovak Archaeological Mission in Tell el-Retaba continued the excavation of a Third Intermediate Period settlement in Area 9. The paper presents two houses, {1095} and {3111}, in detail. Activity-area analysis is employed to determine the main occupations of the inhabitants in successive phases. The analysis is based on the archaeological assemblage recorded from these features, including small finds, pottery, and installations.

New excavations in the MNK Skull site, and the last appearance of the Oldowan and Homo habilis at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

MNK Skull is one of the most significant archaeological sites in Olduvai Gorge, particularly due to the previous discovery of human fossils referred to in the paper where the Homo habilis taxon was originally defined. An important archaeological assemblage is contained in the same horizon as the hominin fossils, constituting the last evidence of both Homo habilis remains and handaxe-free tool kits in the Olduvai Gorge sequence. Our excavations at the site are the first to be conducted since the original work in the 1960s, and sought to refine the archaeological context wherein the Homo habilis remains were discovered. Chronostratigraphic results place the MNK Skull sequence in Middle Bed II prior to deposition of Tuff IIB. The assemblage was deposited near the shoreline, as Palaeolake Olduvai withdrew into the basinal depocentre, and fossils and stone tools were subjected to significant post-depositional processes. The assemblage was affected by mudflow deposits that buried and preserved the assemblage but also entrained surficial bone and lithic elements into the flow. Rather than an occupation site as originally interpreted, the assemblage is better understood as a background deposit, possibly accumulated on an unconformity surface over a long period of time. The stone tool assemblage is typical of the Oldowan, with no technological elements announcing the appearance of the Acheulean, which is well attested to across the Olduvai sequence in post-Tuff IIB times. Our results highlight that, with an approximate age of circa 1.67 Ma, MNK Skull stands as a key site to understand the late Oldowan and the disappearance of Homo habilis in East Africa.

Magdalenian and Epimagdalenian chronology and palaeoenvironments at K\u016flna Cave, Moravia, Czech Republic

Kůlna Cave is the only site in Moravia, Czech Republic, from which large assemblages of both Magdalenian and Epimagdalenian archaeological materials have been excavated from relatively secure stratified deposits. The site therefore offers the unrivalled opportunity to explore the relationship between these two archaeological phases. In this study, we undertake radiocarbon, stable isotope (carbon, nitrogen and sulphur), and ZooMS analysis of the archaeological faunal assemblage to explore the chronological and environmental context of the Magdalenian and Epimagdalenian deposits. Our results show that the Magdalenian and Epimagdalenian deposits can be understood as discrete units from one another, dating to the Late Glacial between c. 15,630 cal. BP and 14,610 cal. BP, and c. 14,140 cal. BP and 12,680 cal. BP, respectively. Stable isotope results (δ13C, δ15N, δ34S) indicate that Magdalenian and Epimagdalenian activity at Kůlna Cave occurred in very different environmental settings. Magdalenian occupation took place within a nutrient-poor landscape that was experiencing rapid changes to environmental moisture, potentially linked to permafrost thaw. In contrast, Epimagdalenian occupation occurred in a relatively stable, temperate environment composed of a mosaic of woodland and grassland habitats. The potential chronological gap between the two phases, and their associations with very different environmental conditions, calls into question whether the Epimagdalenian should be seen as a local, gradual development of the Magdalenian. It also raises the question of whether the gap in occupation at Kůlna Cave could represent a change in settlement dynamics and/or behavioural adaptations to changing environmental conditions.

Limestone millstones: Facies, provenance and use of sandy to pure limestones in France

Limestones are sedimentary rocks more commonly associated with building stones or sculptures than with millstones. Nevertheless, many examples of limestone saddle querns, rotary querns and millstones are spread across France, at times making up the bulk of the archaeological assemblages in various areas characterized by bedrocks rich of sedimentary stones. These limestone millstones are of different types, sources and geological origins: Eocene sandy or fossiliferous limestones, mainly from the various limestones layers from the Lutetian beds, Quaternary calcareous tufas, and fine Jurassic limestones. To explain the behaviour of these rocks, this study advances a classification of the rocks used for millstones, focused not only on the rock-type but mainly on the topological aspect of the stone surface. (empirical macroscopic surface roughness) This renders it possible to classify the rocks into categories by materials, rather than according to petrographic facies. The pure limestones in this study are essentially vacuolar, whereas sandy limestones or certain biodetritital limestones belong to either the granular rocks category, which also includes sandstones, or to the category of heterogeneous rocks. These limestones appear for the most part to have been used due to their availability. Moreover, they epitomise a very satisfactory compromise between their grinding properties and their ease of carving, even if the hardness of these limestones is lower than those of other rocks used as grindstone (basalts or sandstones).

Learning from Experiment: Unio Freshwater Mussel Shells in Fifth-millennium bc Romania

Raw materials from aquatic environments were systematically used for domestic activities even before the appearance of modern humans. Here, the authors analyse the possible use of freshwater mussel valves of the Unio species, whose surfaces preserve marks resulting from their use. They consider the ways in which wear develops on these valves, starting from the comparison between archaeological exemplars and experimental pieces. An experimental programme was developed to record variables such as the procurement of the raw material, the processing of various materials, and the time needed for each operation. Experimental pieces were assessed to document how use-wear develops. The archaeological assemblage from the site of Cheia in Romania (Hamangia culture, fifth millennium cal bc) served as a case study to illustrate the relevance of the results.

Canine Economies of the Ancient Near East and Eastern Mediterranean

ABSTRACT Archaeological assemblages, texts, and iconography indicate a multifaceted, yet often ignored, canine economy in the ancient eastern Mediterranean and Near East. This economy included not only dogs’ celebrated roles as hunting aids, guards, village scavengers, and companions, but also the regular processing, use, and consumption of dogs for foods, hides, and medicinal/ritual purposes. Drawing on ethnohistorical information and zooarchaeological data from three Chalcolithic/Bronze Age sites—Tell Surezha (Iraq), Mycenae (Greece), and Acemhöyük (Turkey)—we emphasize evidence for the processing of dog carcasses, which reflect a range of post-mortem treatments of dog bodies. We suggest the widespread use of primary products from dogs, features of an ancient canine economy that are rarely reported on in depth and often explained away as aberrations by modern scholars of the region. We speculate that this neglect stems in part from analysts’ taboos on cynophagy (unconsciously) influencing archaeological reconstructions of dog use in the past.

Geoarchaeological investigation of occupation deposits in Blombos Cave in South Africa indicate changes in site use and settlement dynamics in the southern Cape during MIS 5b-4

AbstractThe archaeological assemblage recovered from the Middle Stone Age (MSA) levels in Blombos Cave, South Africa, is central to our understanding of the development of early modern humans. Here, we demonstrate that the cultural and technological innovations inferred from the Blombos Cave MSA record also correlate with significant shifts in site use and occupational intensity. Through a comprehensive geoarchaeological investigation of three MSA occupation phases, we identified distinct diachronic trends in the frequency of visits and the modes of occupation. During the earliest phases (ca. 88–82 ka), humans inhabited the cave for more extended periods, but cave visits were not frequent. During the later phases (ca. 77–72 ka), the cave was more regularly visited but for shorter periods each time. We argue that these changes in local occupational intensity, which also coincide with shifts in vegetation, sea levels, and subsistence, can best be explained by broader changes in hunter-gatherer mobility strategies and occupation patterns. Fundamental changes in regional settlement dynamics during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stages 5b-4 would have significantly affected the nature and frequency of social interaction within and between prehistoric populations living in the southern Cape, a scenario that ultimately may explain some of the social and technological advances that occurred there during this time frame.

Ancient wetlands in the arid environments of Central Western Argentina: a palaeoecological perspective based on archaeological small mammal remains

The present study analyzes small mammal bone and tooth accumulations recovered in three open-air archaeological sites from the drylands of Northern Mendoza (Argentina), in the northern sector of Central Western Argentina. The sites, dated to the last two millennia (~0.3–2.1 ky BP), are located on the margins of a now-extinct swamp that formed a wetland environment in connection with other former lacustrine landscapes that were more widespread in the past. The taxonomic structure of the archaeological assemblages differs from modern small mammal assemblages from the area. Holochilus lagigliai, a probably recently extinct species, and Cavia aperea, a recently extirpated species, were recorded. These two species are strongly connected to wetland environments, but rare today, as the environment is more arid and in the context of urban development. A widespread decline in the diversity of modern small mammal assemblages was observed in comparison with archaeological ones, probably related to a scenario of greater environmental heterogeneity during the late Holocene than in the present.

Modelling dendro-anthracological parameters with dendrochronological reference datasets: Interrogating the applicability of anthraco-typology to assess Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Miller) wood management from archaeological charcoal fragments

Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Miller) is present in the palaeoenvironmental records of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Western Mediterranean) since the Early Holocene. It is also documented in the archaeological charcoal analysis (aka anthracology) of early prehistoric sites, but it was especially exploited at certain sites during the Late Iron Age. However, different woodland exploitation strategies cannot be deciphered purely through the taxonomical identification of charcoal fragments, so it is difficult to assess if the presence of Aleppo pine in archaeological assemblages is due to specific social management strategies (branches and/or trunks exploitation). Anthraco-typological methods, based on the measurement of charcoal-pith distance (allowing original wood diameters to be inferred) and ring width, have already been proposed for temperate species (Quercus petraea/robur) as a methodology to define the woodland exploitation of past societies and human impact on forest formations. However, such an approach yet to be set up for conifers growing in Mediterranean environments. In this study we have adapted the anthraco-typological methodology to conifer wood anatomy and evaluated its applicability on the archaeological charcoal assemblages of Aleppo pine, through complete dendrological analysis of the referential material. Our research is based on the systematic measurement of two different dendro-anthracological parameters on archaeological charcoal fragments: charcoal-pith distance and ring width. The results have been compared with the information on ring width and the growing conditions of modern trees in three different forest formations in Mallorca, representing the entire environmental variability of the Aleppo pine forests on the island. Trunk cores and wood discs of different diameter were measured in order to establish criteria to distinguish between both tree organs from the archaeological charcoal fragments. Analysis of this dataset has proved that anthraco-typological methods are applicable to Mediterranean conifers and to further interrogate pinewood exploitation in prehistoric Mallorca. Additionally, we have been able to question the formation of archaeological charcoal assemblages, identify various woodland management strategies and the human impact on woodlands during prehistory.

Factors affecting molar size in Sus scrofa

Teeth are thought to be less affected than post-cranial elements by factors such as age, region, sex, and post-Pleistocene climate change, making changes in tooth size a better gage of domestication-induced morphological change in Sus scrofa. Rigorous empirical evaluation of this assumption, however, has been lacking. Here we examine the impact of multiple factors on molar size in an assemblage of modern wild boar from Southwest Asia, as well as a large assemblage of ancient S. scrofa from an archaeological site in southeastern Turkey dated to 11,600 cal. BP. We find that age related interstitial wear has a profound impact on molar lengths. Comparisons of length measurements of S. scrofa molars should only be made if one strictly controls for the state of wear, as well as the stage of crown development and eruption in third molars. Breadth measurements, on the other hand, are little affected by progressive wear and, as a result, are preferable to length measurements in the analysis of molar size in S. scrofa. We also evaluate the impact of logarithm size index (LSI) scaling on molar dimensions. Molar lengths are subject to a number of factors that distort meaningful patterning rendering LSI values of length dimensions of little utility in the evaluation of molar size in S. scrofa. With the exception of the upper first molar, LSI values of molar breadths appear to both capture and amplify patterns seen among unconverted measurements of individual teeth. Our evaluation also confirms the assumption that the size of post-cranial elements is more profoundly affected than molars by factors such as region and Post-Pleistocene climate change. While sexual dimorphism also has a greater impact on the size of post-crania than on molars, the degree of sexual dimorphism in molar breadths, as well as in M3 lengths, is still substantial and must be taken into account in any study of S. scrofa molar size. Before interpreting downward shifts in molar size as an indicator of domestic status, archaeozoologists need to first to consider the possible impact of differences in the proportions of males and females in archaeological assemblages. We conclude with a number of recommendations for new protocols for the analysis of S. scrofa dental metrics. We also offer observations about the impacts of factors like region, sex, and change over time on the size of the molars of this species that may open up new areas of research.

Limpet (Cellana spp.) shape is correlated with basalt or eolianite coastlines: Insights into prehistoric marine shellfish foraging and mobility in the Hawaiian Islands

Marine molluscs are highly diverse in size, anatomical structure, behaviour, and habitat and can provide information on human foraging, mobility, diet, and palaeoenvironments. Molluscs occupy a variety of substrates including rocky shores, coral reefs, mud flats, and sandy beaches and shell morphology reflects their habitat and mode of life (e.g., mobility, method of feeding, defence against predators). The north windward coast of west Moloka‘i, Hawaiian Islands, consists mostly of smooth basalt boulders, with sections of eolianite (limestone) shoreline. These contrasting littoral shores influence the composition of the rocky shore intertidal mollusc populations, but both support large numbers of the ubiquitous Hawaiian limpet (Cellana exarata, C. sandwicensis, C. talcosa). We investigated if limpet shell shape (i.e., form and dimensions) varied between shoreline types by multi-year sampling of modern mollusc populations on basalt and eolianite coastlines. Using multiple discriminant analysis, modern shell shape was compared to archaeological limpet assemblages from three late prehistoric habitation sites adjacent to basalt and eolianite shorelines. Our results demonstrate that archaeological shell shape correlates to modern limpet shell shape from nearby basalt or eolianite coastlines suggesting low forager mobility during late prehistory.