Archaeological Evidence Research Articles

Place and Person at Pre-Hispanic Teotihuacan, Mexico

There are significant societal differences evident in the material remains of the Classic period (ca. AD 250-600) city of Teotihuacan in central Mexico compared to contemporary Maya kingdoms in southern Mexico and Guatemala, despite both being part of the larger Mesoamerican civilization, sharing many cultural features. One proposed explanation for these differences derives from an analytical social science dichotomy that contrasts groups and individuals. According to this approach, Maya art and architecture indicate a society centered on individuals, particularly the rivalrous semi-divine rulers. Teotihuacan’s depersonalized art, lack of royal tombs, and gridded city plan are believed to indicate a corporate ethos in which individuals were subsumed by the societal collective. However, archaeological evidence for these interpretations is not compelling; moreover, the dichotomy itself is misleading. The key to these differences may lie in conceptions of embodied versus emplaced personae. The identity of Teotihuacanos was shaped by living within the city itself, and their concepts of personhood were entwined with their built environment in ways different from their Maya counterparts.

Evolving landscape and cultural change during the Middle Palaeolithic in Southeast Zagros (Iran): Insights from a micromammal assemblage

The Iranian Zagros is a remarkable zone to study Middle and Upper Palaeolithic human occupations and Tang-e Shikan (Arsanjan) is a strategic cave site which archaeological evidence can be taken as a proxy for the southeast portion. Micromammals have been extensively used as palaeoecological indicators and here we use the assemblage from Tang-e Shikan to infer the landscape and environment that framed and arguably triggered cultural change. A thorough taphonomic analysis was undertaken prior to any interpretation. Fourteen taxa have been identified: two “insectivores” s.l., nine rodents, two lagomorphs, and unidentified chiropterans. The remains would be the digestion by-products of a category 5 opportunistic predator: either an avian raptor or a mammalian carnivore. Our results show that shrubland and grassland dominated the distribution of habitats in the area during the Middle Palaeolithic (MP), followed by moderate rocky, desert, and steppe components, and sparse patches of woodland. The younger period of the MP occupation (NMP: ∼55-45 ka BP) would be somewhat wetter than the older period (OMP: ∼70-55 ka BP). Within a general environmental stability, slight changes between OMP and NMP are reasonably correlated with a shift in certain cultural patterns, as the use of a water reservoir and a stone drainage system during the OMP or the increase of hunting and moderate change in lithic technology and raw material acquisition during the NMP. Our environmental inferences are further supported by palynological data and match a regional trend towards wetter habitats in moving from the MP to the present.

A Chalcolithic presence east of the Sea of Galilee: The earliest finds on Mt. Sussita

ABSTRACT The characteristics and settlement patterns of the Early–Middle Chalcolithic period (ca. 5,800– 4,700 cal bc) around the Sea of Galilee have hardly been studied so far. The regional diversity of Chalcolithic material culture and the fragmentary nature of the archaeological record hinder a broader understanding of socio-cultural processes in this area. Chalcolithic architecture and finds, excavated for the last 23 years under the Graeco-Roman city of Hippos on Mt. Sussita, provide a rare opportunity to delve into the characteristics of the Chalcolithic period east of the Sea of Galilee. The current paper presents these remains and discusses their typological traits, spatial distribution, and possible cultural attribution. The site represents one of the few non-Golan Chalcolithic occurrences in the region, and its finds suggest an Early–Middle Chalcolithic period dating.

Archaeological Evidence of Landscape and Environmental Changes Due to Iron and Gunpowder Production in Mauritius

Archaeological Evidence of Landscape and Environmental Changes Due to Iron and Gunpowder Production in Mauritius

Performers and Sites of the Ashwamedha Yagya in Medieval India

India has a very rich cultural history. The Ashwamedh Yagya, an important ritual and experiment from Vedic times, aimed to refine consciousness. Since the Vedic era, many Ashwamedha Yagyas have been performed. In light of scriptural texts and archaeological findings, the present study aimed to retrospectively analyze the performers and sites of the Ashwamedha Yagya in medieval India. The study found that 27 kings from 18 dynasties had performed a total of 81 documented Ashwamedha Yagyas from the 1st century BCE to the 18th century CE. Although the study tried to comprehensively identify all instances of Ashwamedha performed in medieval India, there may be more awaiting further study. The study observed that these findings were based on archaeological evidence, including copper plate inscriptions, stone inscriptions, brick and pillar inscriptions, yagya kunds, and coins. Ashwamedha sites were present throughout present-day India. An interdisciplinary approach combining archaeological, inscriptional, scriptural, and sociological findings, along with expertise from ritualistic scholars, could unveil new research directions on the rich history of Ashwamedha Yagya in Indian culture.

Millukmungee 1: Stone artefacts and occupation at the junction of the Buchan and Snowy Rivers, GunaiKurnai Country, East Gippsland (Victoria, Australia)

Recent excavations at Millukmungee 1, a limestone rock shelter along the upper bank of the Buchan River in GunaiKurnai Country (southeastern Australia), uncovered archaeological evidence of Mid- to Late Holocene occupation spanning c. 5000 years. Here we report on the stone artefacts and faunal remains, especially in light of a paucity of published details on artefact types and technologies for this part of southeast Australia. Results indicate that this part of the site was occupied only rarely from 5590–5050 cal BP (the uncertainty range for the oldest artefact from the excavation) to 2340–2030 cal BP. During this period, most of the artefacts were made from silcrete, quartz, chert, and quartzite. Small backed artefacts are present during this phase, all dating between 4570–1940 cal BP. A single, much larger backed artefact (elouera) dates to later, ≤290 cal BP. After 1960 cal BP, activities focussed on the production of flakes from locally available quartz and, to a lesser extent, hornfels; large pebbles obtained from the nearby Buchan River channel were flaked during this period. Occupation ceased with the onset of settler colonialism in the mid-1800s CE.

Inequality in relational wealth within the upper societal segment: evidence from prehistoric Central Europe

While our understanding of long-term trends in material wealth inequality in prehistoric societies has expanded in recent decades, we know little about long-term trends in other dimensions of wealth and about social developments within particular societal segments. This paper provides the first evidence of inequality in relational wealth within the upper societal segment of a supra-regional network of communities in prehistoric Central Europe over the first four millennia BCE. To this end, we compiled a novel dataset of 5000 single-funeral burial mounds and employed burial mound volume as a proxy for the buried individual’s relational wealth. Our analysis reveals a consistently high level of inequality among the buried individuals, showing a wave-like pattern with an increasing trend over time. Additionally, our findings show temporal shifts in the size of the upper societal segment. Based on a review of archeological and paleo-environmental evidence, the temporal change in inequality may be explained by technological progress, climate and population dynamics, trade and social networks, and/or sociopolitical transformations.

Examining evidence for violence at the end of the Assyrian trading colonies period at Kaman‐Kalehöyük

AbstractThe end of the Assyrian Trading Colonies Period (ATCP) in Anatolia represents a time of significant change in the region. Historical and archaeological evidence suggests that considerable conflict and turmoil were associated with the end of the ATCP, but thus far little evidence from human skeletal remains has been available to support this hypothesis. One of the largest human skeletal samples dating to the end of the ATCP has been excavated at Kaman‐Kalehöyük in central Anatolia. A minimum of 73 individuals have been found in and around areas of the site that have signs of destruction and burning. These individuals appear to be associated with a battle that occurred in the town in the mid‐18th century BCE. The results show that the victims of the battle included individuals of all age groups and both sexes. The degree of burning and fragmentation made the identification of perimortem trauma challenging; however, perimortem trauma was observed in at least two individuals. An additional five individuals had evidence of antemortem trauma that was likely the result of interpersonal violence prior to the attack on the town. The skeletal evidence for trauma further supports the idea that a battle occurred at the site. This battle may have also been a part of a regional pattern of violence corresponding with the end of the ATCP, as suggested by the textual and archaeological evidence.

Geomagnetic Field Intensity During the First Millennium BCE From Royal Judean Storage Jars: Constraining the Duration of the Levantine Iron Age Anomaly

AbstractThe rich and extensively studied archaeological record of the Near East provides an opportunity to develop a comprehensive archaeomagnetic dataset for exploring the behavior of the geomagnetic field with high precision. The Levantine archaeomagnetic curve (LAC) project is an ongoing effort to develop a continuous high‐resolution geomagnetic intensity curve for the Levant and Mesopotamia. The first version of the LAC covered the period between 3000 and 550 BCE. Here, we report archaeointensity data from 169 samples compiled into 32 groups dating between the 7th and the 1st centuries BCE aiming at extending the LAC up to the end of the first millennium BCE. Twenty‐two groups are assembled from storage jar handles bearing different types of royal seal impressions, which were used in Judah as part of a taxation administrative system. These groups are combined with 10 other groups of pottery assemblages, three of which are from Hellenistic destruction layers dated using radiocarbon and coins. The new curve shows that the Levantine Iron Age Anomaly (LIAA) spanned 550 years (1100 ‐ 550 BCE) and that the rate of decline during the last spike around 600 BCE could have reached ∼0.6 μT/year. During the 6th century, the virtual axial dipole moment (VADM) dropped from 160 ZAm2 to 125 ZAm2 after which field intensity only slightly increased to 135 ZAm2, until another considerable decline to ∼90 ZAm2 during the 3rd to the 1st centuries BCE. We highlight the archaeomagnetic implication of the new curve in inferring the relative chronological relationship between different stamp types.

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

홍산문화 우하량 유적을 통해 본 『삼국유사』 「고조선조」의 神市

The Hongshan culture is a Neolithic culture which developed in the Liaoxi region (the west part of Liaoning province) from 4700 BCE to 3000 BCE. It has been studied as the source of Korean history from an early age as it is a distinct civilization, independent from the Yellow River civilization. Chinese scholars consider the social stage at the time of the Niuheliang's site to be ‘already a complex society and entering the stage of early State’ and consider it a core culture that formed the Chinese culture alongside the Yellow River Civilization. Despite the geographical location and nature of the artifacts that distinguish the Hongshan culture from traditional historical perceptions centered on China's Yellow River, the majority of Korean scholars are skeptical of its relevance to Korean history. The Niuheliang's site group, where birds, bears, and goddess statues were simultaneously revealed in the Hongshan culture, is an archaeological evidence that proves the records about Hwanung and Ungnyeo found in the section about Gojoseon (ancient Joseon) in Samguk yusa. The story of Hwanung handed down by the Gojoseon Dynasty and the ruins and relics of Hongshan culture clearly fit together, we must study Hwanung's founding of Shinsi more seriously.

Population, culture history, and the dynamics of change in European prehistory★

AbstractDespite many attacks on its shortcomings, culture history has remained in practice the dominant framework for describing and interpreting European prehistory. It has gained even more salience in recent years because the new information coming from ancient DNA about the genetic ancestry of individuals in prehistory seems to show that this correlates closely with the cultural affiliation of the archaeological material with which they are found, raising concerns that old and discredited links between biological and cultural identity are being revived. This article argues that exploring the links between cultural and genetic ancestry does not need to fall into these errors if it takes its theory and methods from the discipline of cultural evolution and rejects characterization of the relationship in terms of ‘ethnic groups’. This involves describing the archaeological record in more fine‐grained, less essentialist ways and at the same time linking the archaeological and genetic patterns to histories of the rise and decline of populations and the interactions between them.

Cooked or discarded? Experimental distinction of rabbit burnt bones and its application to the archaeological record

Leporid bones from Middle Palaeolithic assemblages may result from the contributions of various predators, including humans, or natural processes. Although the acquisition, processing, and consumption of small mammals by Neanderthal groups has been widely demonstrated, there are still some unresolved issues. Cut marks are typically the most reliable indicators of human processing of carcasses. However, animals the size of rabbits often pose a challenge in this regard, as the use of stone tools is not always necessary for their consumption, particularly for meat or marrow extraction. Consequently, the quantity of these types of marks, such as cuts or hammer-stone percussion damage, indicating human processing, may be limited. Burning is another type of bone damage that could be indicative of human action, although both intentional and accidental processes could lead to the thermal alteration of remains without necessarily linking them to consumption. Therefore, efforts to distinguish the processes resulting in bone burning are of vital importance in determining the origin of these animals in archaeological assemblages. In this work, the results of several experimental series designed to characterise the roasting and subsequent cleaning of waste on rabbit bones are presented. These results confirm most of the characteristics described in previous experimental works on burnt bones, highlighting the differential damage between bones with and without meat. The current study aims to contribute new data for characterising burned rabbit bones resulting from human actions, which can then be applied to Middle Palaeolithic assemblages with this type of thermal alteration bone modifications.

Evaluating the impact of historical climate and early human groups in the Araucaria Forest of eastern South America

It has been hypothesized that the Araucaria Forest in southern Brazil underwent expansions in the past, driven either by human groups or by climate fluctuations of the Holocene and Pleistocene. Fossil pollen records of the Paraná pine Araucaria angustifolia, a dominant tree in that forest, provide some insights into when those may have occurred. Still, the timing of those expansions has never been estimated. To infer past range shifts and shed light on their main drivers, we employed next‐generation DNA sequencing (ddRADseq), machine learning, and a comprehensive database of fossil pollen records into a study of historical demographic inference and paleo‐distribution modeling of the Paraná pine. We found that A. angustifolia comprises two populations expanding at different times: one in the Mantiqueira mountain chain, the other in the southern Brazilian plateau. The southern population began to expand during the Last Glacial Period ~ 70 kya, long before human arrival in South America. Still, genetic analyses support that humans later impacted this population, resulting in lower genetic diversity, higher inbreeding, and high levels of gene flow over large distances with a weak pattern of isolation‐by‐distance. It is possible this resulted from human influence on seed dispersal and germination on the southern Brazilian plateau. The Mantiqueira population, in contrast, expanded only recently (~ 3 kya). This timing coincides with Holocene climatic changes and human settlements established further south, although, to date, there is little archeological evidence of human impact in the Mantiqueira. In addition, multitemporal species distribution models built from a combination of present‐day and pollen records infer a range expansion of the Araucaria Forest during glacial times until the cold humid HS1 event (~ 16 kya), when the forest was most widespread, with no evidence of glacial refugia. The combination of genomic and spatial analyses suggests that both human and climatic controls played a role in the dynamics of the Araucaria Forest.

Palaeogenomic insights into the origins of early settlers on the island of Cyprus

Archaeological evidence supports sporadic seafaring visits to the Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus by Epipaleolithic hunter-gatherers over 12,000 years ago, followed by permanent settlements during the early Neolithic. The geographical origins of these early seafarers have so far remained elusive. By systematically analysing all available genomes from the late Pleistocene to early Holocene Near East (c. 14,000–7000 cal BCE), we provide a comprehensive overview of the genetic landscape of the early Neolithic Fertile Crescent and Anatolia and infer the likely origins of three recently published genomes from Kissonerga-Mylouthkia (Cypriot Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B, c. 7600–6800 cal BCE). These appear to derive roughly 80% of their ancestry from Aceramic Neolithic Central Anatolians residing in or near the Konya plain, and the remainder from a genetically basal Levantine population. Based on genome-wide weighted ancestry covariance analysis, we infer that this admixture event took place roughly between 14,000 and 10,000 BCE, coinciding with the transition from the Cypriot late Epipaleolithic to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA). Additionally, we identify strong genetic affinities between the examined Cypro-LPPNB individuals and later northwestern Anatolians and the earliest European Neolithic farmers. Our results inform archaeological evidence on prehistoric demographic processes in the Eastern Mediterranean, providing important insights into early seafaring, maritime connections, and insular settlement.

A chromosome-level genome of Chenghua pig provides new insights into the domestication and local adaptation of pigs

As a country with abundant genetic resources of pigs, the domestication history of pigs in China and the adaptive evolution of Chinese pig breeds at different latitudes have rarely been elucidated at the genome-wide level. To fill this gap, we first assembled a high-quality chromosome-level genome of the Chenghua pig and used it as a benchmark to analyse the genomes of 272 samples from three genera of three continents. The divergence of the three species belonging to three genera, Phacochoerus africanus, Potamochoerus porcus, and Sus scrofa, was assessed. The introgression of pig breeds redefined that the migration routes were basically from southern China to central and southwestern China, then spread to eastern China, arrived in northern China, and finally reached Europe. The domestication of pigs in China occurred ∼12,000 years ago, earlier than the available Chinese archaeological domestication evidence. In addition, FBN1 and NR6A1 were identified in our study as candidate genes related to extreme skin thickness differences in Eurasian pig breeds and adaptive evolution at different latitudes in Chinese pig breeds, respectively. Our study provides a new resource for the pig genomic pool and refines our understanding of pig genetic diversity, domestication, migration, and adaptive evolution at different latitudes.

Network of large pedigrees reveals social practices of Avar communities.

From AD 567-568, at the onset of the Avar period, populations from the Eurasian Steppe settled in the Carpathian Basin for approximately 250 years1. Extensive sampling for archaeogenomics (424 individuals) and isotopes, combined with archaeological, anthropological and historical contextualization of four Avar-period cemeteries, allowed for a detailed description of the genomic structure of these communities and their kinship and social practices. We present a set of large pedigrees, reconstructed using ancient DNA, spanning nine generations and comprising around 300 individuals. We uncover a strict patrilineal kinship system, in which patrilocality and female exogamy were the norm and multiple reproductive partnering and levirate unions were common. The absence of consanguinity indicates that this society maintained a detailed memory of ancestry over generations. These kinship practices correspond with previous evidence from historical sources and anthropological research on Eurasian Steppe societies2. Network analyses of identity-by-descent DNA connections suggest that social cohesion between communities was maintained via female exogamy. Finally, despite the absence of major ancestry shifts, the level of resolution of our analyses allowed us to detect genetic discontinuity caused by the replacement of a community at one of the sites. This was paralleled with changes in the archaeological record and was probably a result of local political realignment.

Mass capture fishing in the Marquesas Islands

ABSTRACTMass capture of small fishes with a variety of nets, traps, and weirs was widely practiced and economically important across East Polynesia at western contact. Archaeological research, however, has suggested these technologies were less important during the early settlement period and gained prominence over time. Several explanations have been proposed, including resource depression, changes in marine environments, and/or social and economic reorientations. In the Marquesas Islands, pelagic and offshore fishes were historically well represented in early assemblages relative to most Polynesian islands. Here we report on fishbone assemblages from Nuku Hiva Island that were recovered with fine mesh screens, identified using a wide range of skeletal elements, and analysed with morphometric methods. The Hakaea Beach results demonstrate that mass capture of small fishes was especially important at this locality and sustained over three early, successive occupations. These patterns may reflect the nature of the local fisheries, preferential use of high‐return capture strategies in this reef‐limited setting, and/or purposeful avoidance of ciguatera‐prone fishes and a preference for less vulnerable fishes. Overall, our findings highlight geographic variation in early Marquesan fisheries and provide archaeological evidence that mass capture technologies had an important place in the maritime toolkits of the earliest East Polynesian fishers.

Archaeological evidence of resource utilisation of walrus, Odobenus rosmarus, over the past two millennia: A systematic review protocol.

The walrus, Odobenus rosmarus, is an iconic pinniped and predominant molluscivore that is well adapted to Arctic and subarctic environments. Its circumpolar distribution, large body size and ivory tusks facilitated its vital role as food, raw material (for tools and art), income, and cultural influence on many Arctic Indigenous communities for millennia. Intensification of hunting (often due to the arrival of Europeans, especially between the 16 th and 19 th centuries) to obtain ivory, hide, blubber and meat, resulted in diminished, sometimes extirpated, walrus populations. Zooarchaeological, artefactual and documentary evidence of walrus material has been collated at local and regional scales and is frequently focused on a specific culture or period of time. Systematic collation of this evidence across the Northern Hemisphere will provide insight into the chronology and circumpolar distribution of walrus hunting and provide a tool to document societal change in walrus resource use. Here, we lay out a systematic review protocol to collate records of archaeological walrus artefacts, tusks and bones that have been documented primarily within published literature to archive when and where (as feasible) walrus extractions occurred between 1 CE and 2000 CE. These data will be openly available for the scientific community. The resulting dataset will be the first to provide spatiotemporal information (including the recognition of knowledge gaps) regarding past walrus populations and extirpations on a circumpolar scale. Our protocol is published to ensure reproducibility and comparability in the future, and to encourage the adoption of systematic review methodology (including pre-published protocols) in archaeology.

Rare earth elements sediment analysis tracing anthropogenic activities in the stratigraphic sequence of Alagankulam (India)

A methodological approach based on rare earth elements analysis was developed to observe human activities in the stratigraphic sequence of Alagankulam. The site was one of the main ancient ports in south-eastern India and one of the transoceanic connecting points between East and West during the Classical Period. The sampled sediments where collected from vertical profiles, areas with traces of firing activities and filled deposits. Major, minor and trace element concentrations were measured by the means of spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques. Data from multielemental analysis were then cross-referenced together with archaeological evidence to map the variability within the site and its association with the detected anthropic activities. The matching of the interpretation of the archaeological record and the analytical data has allowed a combined mapping of visible and invisible traces of human activities in the site, giving a deeper insight of the Alagankulam occupational history.