Archaeological Evidence Research Articles

Culturing the body in the context of the neolithisation of the southern Levant

The body is a site of lived experience as people engage their social, cultural, and physical worlds through their bodies. As a product of both nature and culture, it can be modified to fulfil, challenge, or rebel against ideals and expectations. While not all the ways in which humans modify their bodies leave traces in the archaeological record, the use of personal ornaments is well documented. In this paper, we focus on the practice of body modification through personal adornment in the context of the neolithisation of the southern Levant. We argue that shifting subsistence strategies, settlement patterns, and social relationships (including relationships with ancestors) necessitated new ways of being in the world that were manifested in and through material culture including personal ornaments. In the Neolithic, living bodies did not need to be present for an individual to have a social “life” and personal ornaments as heirlooms likely played a fundamental and complementary role in “presencing” a person who would otherwise be absent.

Combining geological and archaeological evidence to infer the recent tectonics of the Montagne du Vuache Fault, Jura Mountains, France

Combining geological and archaeological evidence to infer the recent tectonics of the Montagne du Vuache Fault, Jura Mountains, France

Monumental Walls, Sovereign Power and Value(s) in Pharaonic Egypt

Large walling projects are among the most visible features in the archaeological record. However, enclosure walls remain relatively under-theorized relative to other monumental buildings. In an attempt to move beyond simple explanations that analyse walls solely as defensive features or symbols, I link monumental walls to notions of sovereign power and action-oriented theories of value(s). Using examples from Pharaonic Egypt, I argue that monumental enclosure walls were attempts to define and realize particular social totalities, whether these were a temple complex, a royal tomb or an urban centre. If all efforts at border-making are also an exercise in power, walls have the potential to illuminate some of the goals and values of those ordering their construction. By analysing changes and continuities related to which structures required the protection of a monumental enclosure wall over time, it is possible to shed light on the fluid priorities of the most important political actors in Pharaonic society. Yet the very presence of a wall implies potential dissent and alternative practices—otherwise a wall's construction would not have been necessary.

Everyday Life in the Tropics

Swedish emigration to the US during the second half of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century is well documented by historians and statisticians, but this is not the case with Swedish emigration to Cuba, which is largely unknown. This article introduces the project Everyday Life in the Tropics: The “Forgotten” Swedish Immigrant Colony in Bayate, Cuba and the results of its initial fieldwork at the former colony of Bayate and its surroundings in November 2022. The objective of this work was to initiate documentation of the material remains of the Bayate colony, which flourished from 1905 to 1920 and was finally dissolved in the 1930s, through a survey of the remains of buildings and other structures and investigating the extent and nature of these for future research. It is stressed that the areas inside and outside the nucleus of the colony hold huge potential for further archaeological investigations/excavations, and for studying the social and material aspects of the everyday life of the colonists, through the combination of historical, archaeological, anthropological and botanical evidence. It is also possible to focus on the colonists’ construction of identities due to their cross-cultural interactions with Cuban society, and on how these eventually led to social and material continuity or change.

Eastern Bloc Agents in West Germany

This paper highlights how contemporary archaeology can contribute to our knowledge of contemporary history, in a case where written sources no longer exist and any surviving protagonists either will not or cannot divulge what they know. Its focus is on a Soviet spy radio from the last years of the Cold War which was discovered during a recent archaeological excavation in Germany’s Rhineland. The radio was probably produced in 1987 and was soon afterwards concealed in woodland, most likely by someone working for Soviet military intelligence, the GRU. The findspot is close to various Cold War military installations involving nuclear weapons, and the radio would have enabled the swift transmission of military information into the Eastern Bloc that would have been useful in the event of war. As rare archaeological evidence of espionage, the radio can also help us to understand continuities between the Cold War and the present time.

Concept of Cosmetology and its Historical Background in Unani Perspective

Unani physicians have paid great attention to the use of cosmetics since very ancient times. Around 4000 BC first archaeological evidence of cosmetics usage was found in ancient Egypt. The use of perfumes, oils, burning of aromatic incense, copper eye shadows, lamp black for eyes and dying of hairs red were in practice by ancient Egyptians. Unani literature is very rich in cosmeceutical formulations taking care of appearance and dealing with cosmetic diseases in humans. In Unani classical text like Kitab-ul-Mansoori, Al-Hawi-fil-Tib, Kamil-us-Sana, Al-Qanoon-fit-Tib, Zakheera-e-Khwarzam Shahi, the details of cosmetics are mentioned under the headings of Tazeeniyaat. This systematic review can be concluded that various cosmetics and cosmeceuticals prevailing in contemporary era may have been introduced or inspired by these physicians. There are several single drugs or compound formulations described in Unani classical text. Unani cosmetics can be a very good choice owing to their range, low cost and safety and can also be incorporated as an adjuvant in several contemporary preparation. There are several Unani cosmeceuticals are described in unani classical text like Solid Cosmeceutical (Ghaza, Ghaliya, Kajal), Semi-solid Cosmeceutical (Tila, Zimad, Ubtan) and Liquid cosmeceutical (Ghusool, Pashoya).
 Keywords: Unani Medicine, Cosmetics, Cosmeceuticals, Tazeeniyaat

Ancient mitogenomes from Pre-Pottery Neolithic Central Anatolia and the effects of a Late Neolithic bottleneck in sheep (Ovis aries).

Occupied between ~10,300 and 9300 years ago, the Pre-Pottery Neolithic site of Aşıklı Höyük in Central Anatolia went through early phases of sheep domestication. Analysis of 629 mitochondrial genomes from this and numerous sites in Anatolia, southwest Asia, Europe, and Africa produced a phylogenetic tree with excessive coalescences (nodes) around the Neolithic, a potential signature of a domestication bottleneck. This is consistent with archeological evidence of sheep management at Aşıklı Höyük which transitioned from residential stabling to open pasturing over a millennium of site occupation. However, unexpectedly, we detected high genetic diversity throughout Aşıklı Höyük's occupation rather than a bottleneck. Instead, we detected a tenfold demographic bottleneck later in the Neolithic, which caused the fixation of mitochondrial haplogroup B in southwestern Anatolia. The mitochondrial genetic makeup that emerged was carried from the core region of early Neolithic sheep management into Europe and dominates the matrilineal diversity of both its ancient and the billion-strong modern sheep populations.

Beyond the Greco-Roman or Jewish Monocle: Reading Philippians and Paul ‘Kaleidoscopically’

Typically, scholars view/read the enigmatic apostle Paul monolithically—that is, through either a Greco-Roman or Jewish socio-cultural lens. The traditional Lutheran (Greco-Roman/Western) lens was criticized in the mid-/late-twentieth century by scholars highlighting Paul’s Jewishness—resulting in the so-called “New Perspective on Paul” and “Paul within Judaism” movements. This paradigmatic post-Shoah shift of Pauline interpretation begs the questions, “Should we abandon Greco-Roman readings of Paul?” and “Should we continue to read Philippians and Paul through a singular (Jewish) lens?” Building upon the work of Markus Bockmuehl, Abraham Malherbe et al., I argue for an “eclectic and pragmatic” approach. I explain how “monocular” (Greco-Roman or Jewish) and even “binocular” (Greco-Roman and Jewish) approaches flatten Paul’s complex thought world and Sitz im Leben as an in-Christ church-planting missionary. The purpose of this study is to read Philippians and Paul “kaleidoscopically”—considering the distinct Romanitas, juxtaposed and colliding cultures, worldviews, and religions that Paul likely encountered in the cosmopolitan colonia of first-century Philippi. This article transcends the Greco-Roman/Jewish debate surrounding Paul—highlighting the literary and archaeological evidence of competing pagan, Jewish, and Pauline Christ cults in first-century Philippi—and thus encouraging scholars to read Philippians and Paul through a “kaleidoscopic” rather than a monolithic lens.

Archaeological evidence of rodent consumption in North Africa: The Middle Stone Age of the rock shelter Ifri n'ammar in northeastern Morocco

This study presents undeniable evidence of anthropogenic exploitation of small mammals in Ifri n'Ammar rock shelter, located in the northeast of Morocco. Among the rodent species found at this site, Ctenodactylus gundi predominates in the assemblage of small mammals between approximately 130 ± 8 ka and 83 ± 6 ka. The taphonomic analysis of the fossil remains of this species, discovered alongside other components of the archaeological assemblage, clearly indicates that during the Middle Stone Age (MSA), humans consumed this species. Therefore, they are considered the main agents responsible for the accumulation of dental and postcranial remains of this species recorded in the shelter. Since the early Upper Pleistocene, bone elements bearing cut-marks and burn traces unequivocally attest to the consumption of this rodent by the hunter-gatherers at the Ifri n'Ammar rock shelter. Our findings regarding the exploitation of this species by humans in the northeastern region of Morocco are corroborated by ethnographic data, demonstrating that North African populations captured and consumed this large-sized rodent until the last century. The species Ctenodactylus gundi is known for its diurnal activity, gregarious and social habits, as well as its preference for rocky and arid environments.

Changes in prehistoric wood procurement strategies in Northern China from 6500 – 2000 BP. Evidence for human preferential harvesting in the face of climatic change

In the past, humans have adapted their strategies of wood collection to shifts in the surrounding environment. Shifts in wood procurement strategies have been assumed to have been heavily influenced by changes in biomes due to shifts in climate. In these models, wood found on archaeological sites is interpreted as being representative of the surrounding environment. Around the world there is an increasing recognition that human preferences and management strategies impacted forest composition and species harvesting. We evaluated charcoal data gathered from 92 archaeological sites in northern China, with chronologies spanning the period from 6500 BP to 2000 BP. By combining the results of the analysis with published paleoenvironment records and archaeological evidence, we aimed to determine when and how there was an anthropogenic impact on wood procurement strategies. Our results indicated that a distinct spatiotemporal pattern of wood utilisation existed in northern China during the period 6500–2000 BP that could not be fully explained by changes in climate. Spatially, anthropogenically-collected woody assemblages showed remarkable differences in northern China. Northern China's climate gradually became colder and drier during the mid to late Holocene, especially during the period 4000–2000 BP. This appears to have led to a decreased use of Quercus L. in the Loess Plateau and the Guanzhong Basin. However, in the Central Plains and Shandong Peninsula, Quercus L. usage continued and increased in the late Holocene. During the same period, a striking shift in wood procurement occurred in the western part of China. In the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, wood procurement shifted from predominantly coniferous to broadleaved trees, and forest succession caused by anthropogenic collection played the significant role. Paleoclimatic information in Hexi Corridor suggests that some arbour trees in archaeological sites were not locally available, suggesting that human preference for certain wood types led them to engage in long distance transport. This finding indicates that starting after 4000 BP, climatically driven shifts in biomes were no longer a primarily influencing variable in human procurement of trees in north-western and eastern China. Key regional differences in strategy emerged. In Eastern China, wood species which humans preferred were still harvested even when climatic change reduced their availability. In North-western China, however, changes in biomes following 4000 BP meant that people needed to change the species on which they had previously relied and began to engage in long distance transport of wood.

Archaeological and molecular evidence for ancient chickens in Central Asia

The origins and dispersal of the chicken across the ancient world remains one of the most enigmatic questions regarding Eurasian domesticated animals. The lack of agreement concerning timing and centers of origin is due to issues with morphological identifications, a lack of direct dating, and poor preservation of thin, brittle bird bones. Here we show that chickens were widely raised across southern Central Asia from the fourth century BC through medieval periods, likely dispersing along the ancient Silk Road. We present archaeological and molecular evidence for the raising of chickens for egg production, based on material from 12 different archaeological sites spanning a millennium and a half. These eggshells were recovered in high abundance at all of these sites, suggesting that chickens may have been an important part of the overall diet and that chickens may have lost seasonal egg-laying

The development of crop production in the northern Horn of Africa: a review of the archaeobotanical evidence

ABSTRACT This article presents a synthesis of the hypotheses and evidence for plant domestication and the origins of agriculture in the northern Horn of Africa. To date, available archaeological data point to an introduction of agricultural practices to Ethiopia during the late Holocene, c. 1600 BC, influenced by adjacent areas including eastern Sudan, Egypt and southern Arabia. The archaeobotanical record shows that farming in the northern highlands was based on the cultivation of barley, linseed and lentils, combined with the exploitation of local wild grasses from the Panicoideae and Chloridoideae sub-families. This indicates that local populations also played a role in the development of productive activities in the region, a process that might have been in place before the arrival of the southwest Asian agricultural package. After the first millennium BC, amidst an increase in sedentary settlements in the region, new domesticated crops appeared in the archaeological record. These include exogenous crops such as emmer wheat, but also indigenous plants such as t’ef and noog, which were locally domesticated likely throughout the Pre-Aksumite period. With the rise of the Aksumite Kingdom, c. 50 BC – AD 700, the agricultural package again expanded to include of a wide range of pulses, geophytes and other economic crops. Macrobotanical remains of sorghum and finger millet also appear for the first time during this period, although this contrasts with the microbotanical record of the region, which points to an earlier presence. In the southern highlands and southwest Ethiopia, evidence of Plectranthus edulis (Vatke) Agnew (Ethiopian potato or Oromo potato) has been identified by the late first millennium BC, pointing towards an earlier domestication than previously considered. Similarly, enset and coffee remains have been documented during the early first millennium AD. Altogether, new studies are needed to confirm some of these hypotheses, as archaeobotanical studies in the northern Horn are still limited. The combination of macrobotanical and microbotanical data, along with ethnoarchaeological and experimental research programs and linguistic studies, will be of critical importance for refining our current understanding of the processes associated with plant domestication and the introduction of crop production in the region.

Assessing the role of meat consumption in human evolutionary changes. A review

The historical study of changes in food patterns is an integral part of the study of biological and social adaptations during the formation and further development of Homo sapiens species. For quite a long time, diets have been considered the driving force of human evolution. Changes in the type of food consumed and the way it was obtained have been associated with encephalization and the emergence of bipedalism, as well as ecological, social and cultural evolution of hominins1 . Archaeological and paleontological evidence indicates that at least about 3 million years ago, hominins increased their meat consumption and developed the necessary fabricated stone tools, while their brains and bodies evolved for a novel foraging niche and expanded hunting grounds. Animalsource foods have always been an integral part of the human diet. However, the way they are obtained and processed changed dramatically during human evolution. Meat became a common food source when systematic hunting began using technologies and tools focused on killing animals and meat cutting, which reduced the time and effort spent on chewing food, and later, on its cooking. At some point after this, humans began to hunt together, which made it possible to obtain meat from big game, and as a result, develop the social and altruistic skills to distribute the prey between sexes and ages. The eating habits of our ancestors have been studied using a variety of methods, including anthropometry, the use of archaeological data, and isotope analysis of bones and teeth to determine trophic status. The adaptive biological significance of meat-eating, which played an important role in human evolution, was analyzed, including the “expensive tissue hypothesis” draw attention to the evolutionary forces responsible for the increase in hominin brain size. Furthermore, data on changes in human anatomy, digestion and metabolism are systematized, indicating an evolutionary dependence on and compatibility with significant meat consumption. At the same time, a number of changes in the human body are associated with the skill of using fire in cooking. Heat processing of food stimulated our ancestors to overcome the food specialization intrinsic to animals. The question of what is the right diet for the human species and what are the potential consequences of limiting meat consumption is briefly addressed.

The wooden artifacts from Schöningen’s Spear Horizon and their place in human evolution

Ethnographic records show that wooden tools played a pivotal role in the daily lives of hunter-gatherers including food procurement tools used in hunting (e.g., spears, throwing sticks) and gathering (e.g. digging sticks, bark peelers), as well as, domestic tools (e.g., handles, vessels). However, wood rarely survives in the archeological record, especially in Pleistocene contexts and knowledge of prehistoric hunter-gatherer lifeways is strongly biased by the survivorship of more resilient materials such as lithics and bones. Consequently, very few Paleolithic sites have produced wooden artifacts and among them, the site of Schöningen stands out due to its number and variety of wooden tools. The recovery of complete wooden spears and throwing sticks at this 300,000-y-old site (MIS 9) led to a paradigm shift in the hunter vs. scavenger debate. For the first time and almost 30 y after their discovery, this study introduces the complete wooden assemblage from Schöningen 13 II-4 known as the Spear Horizon. In total, 187 wooden artifacts could be identified from the Spear Horizon demonstrating a broad spectrum of wood-working techniques, including the splitting technique. A minimum of 20 hunting weapons is now recognized and two newly identified artifact types comprise 35 tools made on split woods, which were likely used in domestic activities. Schöningen 13 II-4 represents the largest Pleistocene wooden artifact assemblage worldwide and demonstrates the key role woodworking had in human evolution. Finally, our results considerably change the interpretation of the Pleistocene lakeshore site of Schöningen.

Images of Fish in the Rock Art of the Ancient Population of Northern Europe

The article presents the results of the analysis of the study of the image of fish in the rock art of ancient hunters and fishermen of Northern Europe (final VI – III BC). During the study, 134 fish figures were studied on 6 rock paintings and in 17 clusters of petroglyphs of Fennoscandia. The small proportion of fish figures in relation to the total number of images on the rocks of the region, with a high proportion of fishing in the primitive economy, established by bone remains at Neo-Eneolithic sites, suggests a mythological basis for the images under consideration. Spatial differences in the appearance of fish figures in Northern Europe make it possible to distinguish two areas (western and eastern), radically different in the style of the ichthyomorph image. The rock art mainly reflects representatives of the largest fish species that lived in the region: catfish, sturgeon, halibut, pike, salmon, whitefish. In the bone remains at the sites located near the clusters of rock carvings, other types of fish are usually dominant: zander, cod. In the compositions of fishing, as in other hunting scenes carved on the petroglyphs of Fennoscandia, only active methods of its extraction are presented, although there is numerous archaeological evidence of the use by the inhabitants of the region for catching fish and other animals of various types of traps.

Towns in Kalidāsa’s Kāvyas and the Thesis of Urban Decay

This essay tries to look at the way in which Kālidāsa approaches towns in his three kāvyas: Meghadūta, Kumārasaṁbhava and Raghuvaṁśa. Most of the descriptions are stereotypical, using stock phrases and formulaic expressions, some of them straight from texts like the Arthaśāstra. However, there is one city that is described somewhat realistically—Ayodhya, which was deserted following Rāma’s departure. Both these—the stereotypes of prosperous towns and the realism of a decayed town—fit into the pattern of ‘urban decay’ presented by historians on the basis of archaeological evidence, a landmark in Indian historiography.

Two new Later Stone Age sites from the Final Pleistocene in the Falémé Valley, eastern Senegal.

The understanding of cultural dynamics at work at the end of the Final Pleistocene in West Africa suffers from a significant lack of excavated and dated sites, particularly in the Sahelian and Sudanian ecozones. While the Later Stone Age shows varied behavioral developments in different parts of the continent, the chrono-cultural framework of this period remains largely unknown in West Africa. We report on archaeological, geomorphological, and chronological research on two Final Pleistocene Later Stone Age sites in the Falémé Valley, eastern Senegal. Optically stimulated luminescence ages place the site of Toumboura I-2017 between 17 ± 1 and 16 ± 1 ka and the Ravin de Sansandé site between 13 ± 1 ka and 12 ± 1.1 ka. The excavated lithics show typical Later Stone Age industries, characterized by chaînes opératoires of core reduction mainly producing flakes and bladelets as well as blades and laminar flakes. Segments dominate the toolkits but a few backed bladelets and end-scrapers on flake blanks were recognized. Local raw materials were used, with a preference for chert and quartz, as well as greywacke. These Later Stone Age lithic assemblages are the oldest known in Senegal so far and add to the small number of sites known in West Africa for this period, which are mainly located farther south, in sub-tropical ecozones. The Later Stone Age sites of the Falémé Valley are contemporaneous with typical Middle Stone Age technologies in Senegal dated to at least the Pleistocene/Holocene transition. Our results thus provide new archaeological evidence highlighting the complex cultural processes at work during the Final Pleistocene in West Africa.

Human brains preserve in diverse environments for at least 12 000 years.

The brain is thought to be among the first human organs to decompose after death. The discovery of brains preserved in the archaeological record is therefore regarded as unusual. Although mechanisms such as dehydration, freezing, saponification, and tanning are known to allow for the preservation of the brain on short time scales in association with other soft tissues (≲4000 years), discoveries of older brains, especially in the absence of other soft tissues, are rare. Here, we collated an archive of more than 4400 human brains preserved in the archaeological record across approximately 12 000 years, more than 1300 of which constitute the only soft tissue preserved amongst otherwise skeletonized remains. We found that brains of this type persist on time scales exceeding those preserved by other means, which suggests an unknown mechanism may be responsible for preservation particular to the central nervous system. The untapped archive of preserved ancient brains represents an opportunity for bioarchaeological studies of human evolution, health and disease.

Kakhramontepa in Southern Uzbekistan

The paper presents a brief overview of the excavation results from the early medieval, 4th–5th-century AD fortress of Kakhramontepa in southern Uzbekistan, with a wide range of analogies from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Nearby burial groups were also surveyed, some of which belong to the same period. Based on the joint evaluation of the fortress, the find material, the structure of the burials, and written sources, the entire complex could be attributed to the Kidarites, one of the enigmatic peoples known from historical sources and difficult to identify in the archaeological record.

New archaeobotanical finds from Baradla Cave

The Baradla Cave is located in the Aggtelek Karst Region in Northern Hungary; it is one of the oldest known prehistoric sites in the country. The first excavations there in 1876–1877 are considered a milestone in Hungarian archaeology, and the research involved the first archaeobotanical analyses in Hungary. Although the cave was used in many periods with varied intensity, the vast majority of the artefacts are dated to the Middle Neolithic, while the Late Bronze Age represents a smaller but still significant portion of the archaeological record. The latest rescue excavation was carried out in 2019 in the Róka-ág [Róka branch] of the cave by a team from the Institute of Archaeological Sciences of the Eötvös Loránd University. This paper presents the preliminary results obtained from the archaeobotanical analyses of the macro-remains recovered from the soil samples collected during this excavation. The charred remains were badly preserved, but it was possible to identify, among other seeds, emmer, barley, pea, and lentil. The uncertain dating of the samples further complicated the interpretation of the archaeobotanical finds.