Archaeological Settings Research Articles

Immune proteins recovered in tooth enamel as a biochemical record of health in past populations: Paleoproteomic analysis of Mission Period Native Californians

The enamel proteome includes a range of proteins that are well-preserved in archaeological settings but have so far received less study than those associated with sex-estimation of enamel. We look beyond sex-specific sequencing of amelogenin to investigate the potential of several serum proteins, including immunoglobulin gamma (IgG), the major immunoglobulin found in blood serum, and C-reactive protein (CRP), which is associated with inflammatory response, to provide insight into the health and stresses experienced by individuals in the past. We apply this approach to enamel samples from Mission-Period ancestral Ohlone interred at Asistencia San Pedro y San Pablo (CA-SMA-71/H; n = 11). For comparison, we also examine enamel from historic-period European-Americans interred in the City Cemetery in San Francisco (n = 12), and extracted third molars from present-day military cadets (n = 8). Results indicate that IgG is elevated among individuals at the asistencia relative to samples from present-day military cadets, and historic City Cemetery individuals (ANOVA with post-hoc Tukey Kramer tests, p < .02). Further, the inflammatory protein CRP, normally expressed at much lower levels than IgG, was present in 55% (6 of 11) of the asistencia samples, and in 17% (2 of 12) of the historic City Cemetery samples, but was not detected in enamel samples from present-day military cadets. While more studies are needed, we argue that the difference in IgG could reflect higher levels of chronic diseases such as tuberculosis among Ohlone living within the Mission system, and the presence of measurable amounts of CRP could relate to higher degrees of physical, social, and emotional stresses. To our knowledge, this is the first paleoproteomic study of immune proteins in tooth enamel. The ability to track immune responses during tooth formation could provide valuable and high-resolution information on ancient health and disease at the level of the individual over archaeological time-scales.

Dynamic 3D model for decoding archaeological complexity of funerary contexts. Phenomena of collapse and fragmentation in an Iron Age burial of Padua (Italy)

Archaeological settings are intrinsically dynamic, undergoing transformations over time that significantly impact the archaeological record. These changes result from both deliberate human interventions and natural degradation processes. Post-depositional phenomena often distort our understanding of ancient contexts, complicating the identification of the original arrangement and hindering the interpretation of archaeological findings. This issue is particularly pronounced in funerary contexts, such as burials, which are susceptible to various natural and human-induced alterations. This study shows the potential of analysing funerary contexts within a processual framework and reconstructing them in a dynamic 3D environment. By employing metrically and morphologically accurate 3D reconstructions, it becomes possible to simulate, isolate, and analyze post-depositional phenomena. The precision of 3D simulation increases significantly when considering factors such as gravity. The goal of this study is to assess changes resulting from transformative phenomena, with a specific focus on creating a sequential representation that elucidates the burial's transformation processes, spanning from deposition to excavation phases.

Visions of light: New reconstruction techniques of photometric data and visual perception inside Etruscan painted tombs

This study utilises reconstruction technologies together with material and experimental photometric data to investigate how light intersects with perceptual processes inside subterranean painted tombs in Tarquinia, Italy. A fifth century BCE tomb, the Tomba dei Demoni Azzurri located in the Necropoli dei Monterozzi in Tarquinia, Italy is used to illustrate the usefulness of the methodology. Patterns involving the organisation of tomb imagery together with an analysis of specific lighting conditions in a scaled 3D space reframes tomb paintings in a manner that further recognises the performance of burial rites and other funerary activities from the perspective of human cognition. The methodology has applicability across archaeological settings and regions, particularly with respect to settings where little or no natural lighting is present.

Behaviourally modern humans in coastal southern Africa experienced an increasingly continental climate during the transition from Marine Isotope Stage 5 to 4

Linking human technological and behavioural advances to environmental changes is challenging, as it requires a robust understanding of past climate at local scales. Here, we present results from regional high-resolution numerical simulations along with climate data directly from the archaeological sequence of Blombos Cave (BBC), a well-studied site in coastal southern Africa. The model simulations cover two distinct periods centred at 82 and 70 thousand years (ka) ago (Marine Isotope Stage [MIS] 5 and the onset of MIS 4, respectively), when orbital parameters and global sea level were markedly different from one another. Climatic changes from 82 to 70 ka are determined through four simulations that use past and present-day coastline configurations. The hydrogen isotopic composition of leaf waxes (δ2Hwax) and n-alkane distributions and abundances are used to reconstruct hydroclimate around BBC. The leaf wax n-alkane record, one of the first produced in an archaeological setting in this region to date, can be interpreted as a drying signal from MIS 5c to 4. This agrees with our modelling results, which indicate a drier and more continental climate over coastal southern Africa at 70 ka, compared to 82 ka. The simulated aridification is most evident from the reduced precipitation amounts in both summer (∼20%) and winter (∼30%). The annual number of summer days (Tmax ≥ 25 °C) and cold nights (Tmin &amp;lt; 5 °C) in the vicinity of BBC increases more than 5 and 3-fold, respectively, under the more continental climate at 70 ka. Weaker westerly winds in winter, a cooler Agulhas Current, and a land surface expansion associated with the coastline shift due to lower sea levels at 70 ka all contribute to the simulated climate shift. Our approach highlights the importance of multiple lines of evidence for achieving robust results, while demonstrating how both large-scale forcing and local influences worked together in shaping the local climate that early humans lived in. Adaptation to a drier climate and increased continentality around BBC might have induced greater mobility, which led to increased population interactions, cultural transmission rates, skill exchange, and material complexity during the so-called Still Bay period.

All our relations: The Grandview site and ancestral Huron-Wendat gathering logics

Together with the development of ancestral Huron-Wendat village life in what is now southern Ontario, Canada, unusual deposits consisting of animal parts, small stones, and manufactured items such as smoking pipes were occasionally sequestered in sweat lodges, longhouse post holes, and other features. In instances where such deposits have received comment, most turn on notions of ritual behavior that betray commitments to a modernist distinction between sacred and profane acts. Such deposits, it is thought, align with the former category and can be reduced to their veiled symbolic meanings. In this paper, we seek to reframe this understanding by drawing upon Indigenous scholarship, particularly the Huron-Wendat philosophy and theology of Georges Sioui, along with the early documentary record and archaeological evidence. We argue that such deposits are better understood as the material vestiges of gatherings — concerted efforts to reveal latent yet ever-powerful beings or forces by bringing together seemingly disparate things and siting them in important places. Recast as products of an immanent rather than transcendent ontology, Huron-Wendat gatherings work against traditional notions of ritual as applied in archaeological settings. The late fourteenth through mid-fifteenth century ancestral Huron-Wendat village known as Grandview provides the case study for exploring these ideas.

Průzkum a restaurování archeologického souboru renesančního skla z historické sbírky Národního muzea

Research and restoration of an archaeological set of Renaissance glass from the historical collection of the National Museum The studied set of archaeological Renaissance glass originates from salvage research related to the construction of the metro in the centre of Prague in 1966. According to contemporary records, it was collected at the intersec­tion of Opletalova Street and Vrchlického sady, in the vicinity of archaeological sites, among others with a fixed early modern reservoir. Chemical analyses confirmed that, with one exception, the glass finds were made from potassium-calcium glass. It therefore belongs among typical glasses of domestic regional production between the middle of the 16th and the end of the 17th century. Part of the find was in a fragmented state, while part had already undergone an earlier conservation intervention. Given the time since the first intervention, the previous gluing was not strong enough and the accessories unsightly. The glass was contaminated with dust and damaged by corrosive processes. During the newly-realised intervention, the set of Renaissance glass was successfully restored using modern methods. For the sake of spatial stabilisation, supporting crosses were constructed for the four torsal ob­jects, which today enables them to be displayed effectively. The work is an exemplary result of the collaboration between the National Museum and the Institute of Glass and Ceramics of the University of Chemistry and Tech­nology in Prague, where the restoration was carried out as part of student seminar work.

ASSESSING THE 14C MARINE RESERVOIR EFFECT IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXTS: DATA FROM THE CABEÇUDA SHELL MOUND IN SOUTHERN BRAZIL

ABSTRACTPrehistoric shell mounds can be useful for the quantification of the radiocarbon marine reservoir effect (MRE) and, at the same time, knowledge about the MRE allows for the establishment of robust chronologies for these sites. This creates a loop in which the archaeological setting has a dual role: it is part of both the method and the application. Therefore, it is paramount to address these sites from both archaeological and environmental perspectives, investigating their origin and diagenesis in order to overcome biases caused by post-depositional alterations. In this study, samples of bone, charcoal and shell from a Late Holocene shell mound in Southern Brazil, the Sambaqui de Cabeçuda, were analyzed following a multidisciplinary approach to disentangle the complex relationships between archaeology and the environment. We performed X-ray diffraction, radiocarbon dating, stable isotopes (δ13C, δ18O, δ15N) and anthracology analyses as well as Bayesian Chronological Models and Isotope Mixing Models to assess the local MRE and to reconstruct the diet of Cabeçuda builders. Our results reveal a negative local correction for the MRE (ΔR = –263 ± 46 14C yr), expected for the lagoon next to the site, and diets with considerable intakes of marine proteins. We examine the implications of these results for the chronology of the site and discuss a series of complications when performing MRE studies using shell mound sites.

Rock surface luminescence dating of prehistoric rock art from central Iberia

AbstractRock art paintings are notoriously difficult to date numerically. Recently, luminescence dating has been shown to provide reliable rock surface burial ages in various archaeological settings. Here we use the cross‐cutting relationship between a fallen rock and two paintings of the Iberian Levantine (older) and Schematic (younger) styles to constrain the age of the paintings by dating the rockfall event using rock surface luminescence dating. Infrared‐stimulated luminescence (IRSL) signals as a function of depth into the buried face of the talus border indicate that the IRSL signal measured at 50°C (IR50) was sufficiently reset to a depth of about 1.6 mm prior to burial. An uncorrected IR50 age of 1.6 ± 0.2 ka was calculated for the rockfall event by dividing the surface equivalent dose (De) by the total dose rate. This age was corrected using both conventional and field‐to‐laboratory saturation approaches to yield indistinguishable ages of 2.7 ± 0.5 and 2.9 ± 0.3 ka, respectively. Since the panel with Schematic art was first available to the artist after the rockfall, we conclude the Schematic rock art at Villar del Humo is younger than ~2.9 ka. The Levantine rock art was painted on a panel constrained by the talus boulder before detachment, and so it is likely to be older than ~2.9 ka.

Exploiting HBIM for Historical Mud Architecture: The Huaca Arco Iris in Chan Chan (Peru)

The construction technique of raw earth, which has always been in use in most of the world, has left large monuments or architectural complexes to cultural heritage that need special attention due to the notable vulnerability of the material. A convenient way to deal this threat, besides physical intervention, is by using an information system, such as HBIM (Heritage Building Information Modeling), as a tool for damage assessment and conservation planning. This paper reports on its application in an archaeological setting, in particular, on the Huaca Arco Iris, a religious building of the old city of Chan Chan (Peru), the largest monumental complex in mud on the American continent. The study is part of the bilateral international project between the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) and the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Tecnológica (CONCYTEC) in the use of HBIM for the prediction of possible natural or anthropogenic damages to buildings in raw mud. Exploiting the data coming from the direct and indirect analyses, a dedicated ontology is built to guide the management of these data within the information system. The creation of an HBIM system for the archaeological domain, based on the trinomial data–information–knowledge, is presented and validated. Following this approach, a customizable HBIM has been created with the 3D model of the spatial entities of the Huaca. As a result, the semantic relationship of an external wall, taken as the benchmark test of our experiment, with the contained bas-relief and the conservation cover is tested.

The effect of edge serration on the performance of stone-tip projectiles: an experimental case study of the Maros Point from Holocene South Sulawesi

Serrated stone points have been documented in a variety of archaeological settings worldwide. In Indonesia, serrated points known as Maros point began to appear during the mid-Holocene as part of the Toalean techno-complex in southern South Sulawesi. Researchers have speculated functional and cultural reason behind the emergence of these distinctive artefact as projectile points, an assumption that has yet to be verified by archaeological data. In particular, the edge serration has been suggested to allow for deeper penetration and/or act as barbs to prevent the easy withdrawal of the points from the target. In this study, we experimentally test these functional hypotheses regarding the effect of edge serration on stone arrowheads resembling Maros points when fired using different bow draw weights. We also investigate variation in breakage and impact fracture pattern between serrated and non-serrated points. Our result show that, compared to the non-serrated points, the serrated arrows not only deliver deeper penetrations, but also require less force to withdraw from the ballistic gel target. However, these relationships are complicated by the inclusion of skin and bone in the ballistic target. The findings demonstrate that the effect of serrated stone points on projectile performance depends on factors such as the projectile delivery system and prey type. Moreover, under identical firing settings, the serrated points develop more variable macrofracture patterns than the non-serrated points, likely owing the irregular edge morphologies. Taking these results together, we discuss the implications of our experimental study on the appearance of Maros points and the Toalean techno-complex in South Sulawesi during the mid-Holocene.

Surface wave tomography using dense 3D data around the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy

A dense single-node 3D seismic survey has been carried out around the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua (Italy), in order to give new insights about the archaeological setting of the area. The survey made use of nearly 1500 vertical nodes deployed over two rectangular grids. 38 shot positions were fired all around the two receiver patches. The fundamental mode Rayleigh wave signal is here analysed: traveltimes are directly inferred from the signal phases, and phase velocity maps are obtained using Eikonal tomography. Also surface wave amplitudes are used, to produce autospectrum gradient maps. The joint analysis of phase velocity and autospectrum gradient allowed the identification of several buried features, among which possible remains of radial walls of the adjacent Roman amphitheater, structures belonging to a medieval convent, and the root area of an eradicated tree. Finally, depth inversion of 1D dispersion curves allowed the reconstruction of a quasi-3D shear-wave velocity model.

사회 지속성에 대한 이해

One of the cardinal global issues of our time is to ferret out determinants of sustainability of human society. Archaeology has long identified and addressed endogenous and exogenous variables and mechanisms which are keys to elucidating continuity and termination of past societies. This critical review addresses a brief overview of some major theoretical constructs – overshoot, diminishing marginal returns and resilience theory – as they are related to the sustainability discourses. Their applicability in archaeological research settings and limitations thereof are also discussed. A rigorous review of the research on the demise of the Bronze Age sub-periods in Korean peninsula reveals that the related research is scarce except for studies considering climate change as the main variable. Paleo-environmental and climatic reconstruction at an enhanced higher resolution show it is not easy to identify the causal relationships between the climatic conditions and the social changes through Bronze Age. In order to lucidly articulate and delineate emergence and decline of Bronze Age sub-period cultures and societies, environmental, social and cultural resilience must be reconsidered. In particular, the role of rice agriculture played in the contexts of social complexity and economic systems ought to be reexamined and reassessed. Ultimately, it is suggested that employing a heuristic model would contribute to heightening our present understanding of the diversified developments and demise of the Bronze Age cultures.

Dating dry-stone walls with rock surface luminescence: A case study from the Italian Alps

Dating the construction of dry-stone walls is challenging since such structures are typically built without any mortar that can be used for dating. Rock surface luminescence dating is a developing dating method that could advance chronological insights from structures constructed using dry-stone techniques. This study explores rock surface luminescence dating by targeting dry-stone walls from two enclosure complexes and a hut located in the pastoral upland landscape in Val di Sole, Italy. Gneissic rocks were collected from the dry-stone walls, including surfaces that were either exposed or covered (buried) during the time of sampling. Their respective exposure and burial histories were investigated by measuring the luminescence intensity in feldspar minerals from polymineral rock slices. From covered rock surfaces from one enclosure complex, we calculated recent burial ages (∽200 a) from one rock, and burial of ∽500 a (bottom surface) and 3750 ± 660 a (top surface) from a second rock. The top surfaces of two additional rocks date the construction of an adjacent hut to the Early Middle Ages. The luminescence-depth profile from one such rock has a complex exposure and burial history, including events that predate the hut’s construction. Fitted exposure ages from a second enclosure complex suggest with significant errors either a recent age (<10 a) or construction during the 19th century AD. Burial dating using rock surface luminescence dating appears feasible for dry-stone walls provided that the rock surface was sufficiently exposed before being incorporated into the structure; here, the gneissic surfaces were bleached to depths of ∽0-2 mm before the last burial. Contrariwise, exposure dating generally underestimates the expected age. The variation in ages observed from our rock surfaces indicates that the degree of preservation of the wall, the position of the rock, erosion, and knowledge regarding the general archaeological setting are essential to interpreting the estimated ages. In this study, rock surface luminescence dating provides new, previously inaccessible chronological data with implications for interpreting human activities in the alpine areas of Val di Sole.

The Spanish wells: Freshwater lenses and the Florida Keys

The Florida Keys comprise a unique ecological and archaeological setting in the southeastern United States yet have remained relatively understudied archaeologically for much of the twentieth century. Anecdotal accounts of “Spanish wells,” employed by sailors and settlers during the colonial and early modern eras, have long posed questions about the availability of freshwater resources to Indigenous communities in the islands and how this availability may have impacted settlement patterns. Herein, we conduct the first systematic investigation of the “Spanish wells” in English-language historical records and compare their descriptions and locations to those of known Indigenous archaeological sites in the archipelago. In total, 22 distinct water sources in and near the Keys were attested to in documents and personal accounts from 1601 CE to 2021 CE. Geospatial analysis of their distribution relative to local archaeological sites returned few statistically significant results, however, likely influenced by the extensive history of site loss in the region. While the exact nature of most “wells” remains unclear, descriptions of their reliability and their broad spatial distribution bolsters the possibility of these water resources supporting year-round Indigenous communities in the archipelago prior to colonization. Future investigation focused on the identified water sources could shed further light on their exact nature and possible exploitation by Indigenous communities.

First case of juvenile primary bone malignant neoplasm in ancient China: A skeleton from the Northern Wei Dynasty (386–534 CE)

Discoveries of juvenile primary bone malignant neoplasm have been rare in archaeological settings. This study presents the first case as such from ancient China. An individual (M799) aged 14–17 years from the Dongxin cemetery of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386–534 CE), Datong, Shanxi Province, was found with signs of the bone malignant neoplasm. The skeleton of the juvenile was macroscopically examined with the aid of computed tomography imaging. Results demonstrated that a bony outgrowth was found on the distal one third of the diaphysis of the left femur; both osteoblastic and osteolytic processes were present on the lesion (about 148 mm long), and the highly dense and lobulated exophytic mass protruded about 50 mm from the posterior aspect of the diaphysis. A periosteal new bone reaction was found on the adjacent cortex while the medullary cavity was invaded by the lesion. Osteosarcoma was considered the most likely diagnosis, with differential diagnoses of Ewing sarcoma and chondrosarcoma. Otherwise, the disease had no asymmetric effect on femoral length. This rare case enriches our knowledge on the paleoepidemiological patterns of osteosarcoma and other malignant neoplasms from the past.

Arqueologia, comunidades e histórias da paisagem de Felício dos Santos, Alto Araçuaí, Minas Gerais

This paper presents the results of part of the efforts of the team at the UFVJM's Laboratory of Archeology andLandscape Study to working closely with the communities of the Felicio dos Santos, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. It's a actionbeyond Extension or Extroversion, but in a collaborative way, we have understanding the communities as co-producers ofknowledge. From this perspective, we have used the concept of Landscape to understand the experiences of communities inFelicio dos Santos and their relationships with the archaeological record with which they live daily and they organize narrativesabout origins, meanings, cultural heritage and possibilities of life. We started the discussion with the presentation of the physiographic characteristics and the archaeological data obtained by the investigations, to then argue about the local narratives that involve this multiplicity of knowledge, both in materiality and in immateriality. The aim is to underline how many archaeological sets and landscape landmarks are present in communities’ lives in a very intrinsic way, from basic subsistence issues to reflections on the cosmos. Our attention was based on the cultural diversity of Jequitinhonha Valley and on the ethical and political-social engagement of the UFVJM. Finally, we conclude this text for the defense of the regional cultural heritage and of the communities which are responsible for the preservation of multiplicity of existences in the Alto Aracuai Valley.

Rock surface IRSL dating of buried cobbles from an alpine dry-stone structure in Val di Sole, Italy

Here, we investigate the application of rock surface IRSL dating to chronology restrain archaeological structures related to upland pastoralism. We applied the method to cobbles collected from archaeological units in an excavation of a dry-stone structure in Val di Sole in the Italian Alps. At this site, archaeological finds and previous radiocarbon analyses have dated an initial human occupation of the site to the Early Bronze Age (ca. 2200–1600 BC), and a possible second occupation to the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 1600–1350 BC). These archaeological units have later been buried by colluvial sediments. Theoretically, the luminescence-depth profiles from rock surfaces from inside such structures could record the exposure and burial of these archaeological units. We collected buried gneiss cobbles from these archaeological units and measured rock slices and chips from 1 to 4 cm long cores with a low-temperature pIR-IRSL protocol to investigate the signal resetting in these cobbles. Only the IRSL 50 signal was deemed appropriate for dating. Measured luminescence-depth profiles demonstrate varying levels of signal resetting before burial. Dating of two paragneiss cobbles from the lower unit yielded corrected burial ages of ∽ 1450-700 BC and ∽ 19 ka. The older date is clearly not associated with human occupation; the younger date slightly underestimates the Early Bronze Age occupation, which was confirmed by new radiocarbon dating of charcoal (1731-1452 and 2124-1773 cal. BC). The burial of the upper archaeological unit was dated to ∽ AD 1000, based on ages derived from the bottom surface of an orthogneiss cobble and the top surface of a paragneiss cobble. This is slightly younger than two new radiocarbon ages (426-596 and 537-654 cal. AD) from charcoal fragments sampled from the same unit. This new chronological data show longer exposure of the upper archaeological unit than was previously known. Furthermore, the paragneiss cobble from the upper unit has been exposed to sufficient heat to reset the IRSL 50 and pIR-IRSL 290 signals throughout the cobble; an event which can be dated to ∽ AD 100–1500 BC. Comparisons between fading-corrected IRSL 50 ages and pIR-IRSL 290 ages from the heated cobble are in agreement, which suggests that the conventional g-value approach accurately corrects for signal loss during burial. Overall, our research suggests that rock surface IRSL dating can provide complementary chronological data for archaeological settings.

Blue and green in the decoration of a Kushite chapel in Karnak, Egypt: Technical evaluation using low-tech, non-invasive procedures

Visible-Induced Luminescence (VIL) has become a widely accessible investigation tool to identify and image the presence of Egyptian blue on in situ wall paintings. Portable microscopy has similarly entered mainstream usage to examine painted surfaces in archaeological settings. A project to investigate the extremely scant remains of decoration of the 7th c. BC Kushite chapel of Osiris Neb-ankh/Pa-wesheb-iad on the north side of Karnak temple demonstrated the effective use of these low-tech, non-invasive procedures. In order to better understand the nature of the highly deteriorated painting, an interdisciplinary approach was adopted that combined these intensely practical in-situ investigations with a process of comparative evaluation and deduction, drawing on expertise from the fields of painting technology and Egyptology. Beyond expected confirmation of the widespread use of Egyptian blue as a pure color, the skilful and selective admixture of this pigment with yellow and white pigments was detected. This appears to have been used to enhance painted subject matter of particular symbolic importance. The study was the basis for recognising a conspicuous absence of green in the decoration, determining where green was once present, and – by evaluating factors of pigment impermanence versus durability – helping to define the likely nature of the missing pigment. Definitive pigment identification was not always possible, nor was it a primary aim, although the evaluative process employed is also the most efficient way of identifying analytical procedures that might still be required. Even without identification, the findings made in relation to the missing green were highly significant, providing important evidence of a technological shift in the use of greens in Late Period wall paintings, which parallels similar developments found on other Egyptian artefacts. A low-tech, iterative approach to painting investigation therefore has great validity.

Eternal love locked in an embrace and sealed with a ring: A Xianbei couple's joint burial in North Wei era, China (386–534 CE)

AbstractLove as an important part of human emotion has been depicted in literature, folklore, and art since ancient China. However, in archaeological settings, direct skeletal evidence for love is rare. A joint burial from North Wei Dynasty (386–534 CE) was reported, in which skeletons of an adult male and an adult female were found placed in loving embrace posture with a ring in situ on the left ring finger of the female, displaying the desire for eternal love of the couple, and the respect to their love by people who buried them as well. It is likely that the wife sacrificed herself to be buried with her dead husband, though other scenarios could not be ruled out. The free expression and active pursuit of love in Chinese culture became prominent during the first millennium. This funerary practice might have been influenced by the customs from the Western Regions and beyond through the Silk Roads and the Sinicization and assimilation of the Xianbei people. This discovery is a unique display of human emotion of love in a burial, offering a rare glimpse people's views towards love, life, death, and afterlife in northern China during a time of intense cultural and ethnic exchange.

Investigating Hydrogen Isotope Variation during Heating of n-Alkanes under Limited Oxygen Conditions: Implications for Palaeoclimate Reconstruction in Archaeological Settings.

This paper reports on a series of heating experiments that focus on n-alkanes extracted from leaf, bark, and xylem tissues of the Celtis australis plant. These lipid biomarkers were analysed for their compound-specific hydrogen isotopic composition (δ2Hwax) under limited oxygen conditions at 150, 250, 350, and 450 °C. Our results reveal isotopic variations in wax lipids of different plant organs during short-term low-temperature combustion. We conclude that, in the absence of a detailed characterisation of the depositional environment in advance of sampling, δ2Hwax values in archaeological or otherwise highly anthropogenic environments should be interpreted cautiously. In addition, we observed that variation in δ2Hwax of leaves is minimal at temperatures ≤ 350 °C, highlighting the potential for δ2Hwax in thermally altered combustion substrates to yield palaeoclimate information, which could allow researchers to investigate links between archaeological and climatic records at a high spatial and temporal resolution.