Bronze Age Site Research Articles

Unidentified artifacts and ornament production in the Late Bronze Age of the Southern Trans-Urals

Materials of archaeological excavations of the Bronze Age sites contain many items, the functions of which are quite difficult to determine. The subject of this study is a group of artifacts that, in our opinion, are related to the production of ornaments: ceramic saucers with signs, molds, cross-shaped pendants. A number of molds and ceramic saucers contain prints similar in form to cross-shaped pendants — the only type of molded ornaments in the Bronze Age of the Southern Trans-Urals and Kazakhstan. At the same time, the dimensions of negatives on the molds and saucers do not match in size with known finds of cross-shaped pendants, which does not allow considering them as working specimens used for casting these ornaments. Regarding ceramic saucers, various versions about their functions, from ritual to production (molds), have been proposed. The X-ray fluorescence analysis of the inside of the prints on ceramic saucers recorded past contact with metal — tin and lead, and to a lesser extent with copper. Various types of scientific analyses have found that tin and lead are concentrated in large quantities in bronze alloys, used for making cross-shaped pendants. Based on this, a hypothesis has been proposed regarding their possible application combining the ritual and utilitarian aspects, i.e. their potential use in rituals related to the production of ornaments.

Murhan: An Intermediate Bronze Age Site in the Harod Valley (pp. 13–28)

Murhan: An Intermediate Bronze Age Site in the Harod Valley (pp. 13–28)

The Early Bronze Age Site of Ashqelon Afridar, Area N (pp. 1–27)

The Early Bronze Age Site of Ashqelon Afridar, Area N (pp. 1–27)

Molluscs from the Early Bronze Age Site at Ashqelon Afridar, Area N (pp. 39–42)

Molluscs from the Early Bronze Age Site at Ashqelon Afridar, Area N (pp. 39–42)

Rescue Excavations at the Early Bronze Age Site of Qiryat Ata––Area N (pp. 11–44)

Rescue Excavations at the Early Bronze Age Site of Qiryat Ata––Area N (pp. 11–44)

Faunal Remains from the Early Bronze Age Site of Qiryat Ata—Area N (pp. 45–57)

Faunal Remains from the Early Bronze Age Site of Qiryat Ata—Area N (pp. 45–57)

Rescue Excavations at the Early Bronze Age Site of Qiryat Ata––Area S (with a contribution by Hamoudi Khalaily) (pp. 63–98)

Rescue Excavations at the Early Bronze Age Site of Qiryat Ata––Area S (with a contribution by Hamoudi Khalaily) (pp. 63–98)

Molluscs from the Early Bronze Age Site at Qiryat Ata––Area N (pp. 59–62)

Molluscs from the Early Bronze Age Site at Qiryat Ata––Area N (pp. 59–62)

Rescue Excavations at the Early Bronze Age Site of Qiryat Ata—Area O (with contributions by Raphael Greenberg, Hamoudi Khalaily and Henk K. Mienis) (pp. 27–60)

Rescue Excavations at the Early Bronze Age Site of Qiryat Ata—Area O (with contributions by Raphael Greenberg, Hamoudi Khalaily and Henk K. Mienis) (pp. 27–60)

The Early Bronze Age Site of Me‘ona in the Western Galilee (Hellenistic Amphora Fragments, by Gerald Finkielsztejn) (pp. 1–15)

The Early Bronze Age Site of Me‘ona in the Western Galilee (Hellenistic Amphora Fragments, by Gerald Finkielsztejn) (pp. 1–15)

A Bronze Age Site at Naḥal Rimmonim in the Jeareel Valley (pp. 53–74)

A Bronze Age Site at Naḥal Rimmonim in the Jeareel Valley (pp. 53–74)

The Early Bronze Age Site of Me‘ona in the Western Galilee (Hellenistic Amphora Fragments, by Gerald Finkielsztejn) (pp. 1–15)

The Early Bronze Age Site of Me‘ona in the Western Galilee (Hellenistic Amphora Fragments, by Gerald Finkielsztejn) (pp. 1–15)

The Early Bronze Age Site of Ashqelon, Afridar—Area M (with contributions by Hamoudi Khalaily, Moshe Sade and Elisabetta Boaretto) (pp. 19–51)

The Early Bronze Age Site of Ashqelon, Afridar—Area M (with contributions by Hamoudi Khalaily, Moshe Sade and Elisabetta Boaretto) (pp. 19–51)

Plant commodification in Northern Mesopotamia: evidence from the Early Bronze Age site of Kani Shaie, Iraqi Kurdistan

One of the milestones in the trajectory of economic and social change that spurred increasing societal complexity, and urbanization was the commodification of natural resources, such as plants, animals, and their derived products. In this paper, I examine new evidence of agricultural surplus in a small-scale Early Bronze Age (dated approximately to 2900 to 2300 BCE) community at Kani Shaie in the Bazyan Valley, Iraqi Kurdistan, situating it within the broader context of early commodification and the redistribution of staple foodstuffs. Excavations at an architectural complex dated to the early phase of the EBA suggest its function as a food storage and redistribution center, supported by the presence of administrative remains (sealings), restricted access to the space, and carefully stored agricultural crops, likely intended as the basis for meals. Considering the strategic location of Kani Shaie at a junction between the mountainous Zagros region and the Mesopotamian lowlands, the site's role as a redistribution center can be analyzed within the context of mobility networks linking lowland plains and highland valleys. This contributes to the broader discussion on the role of small, remote administrative centers in the commodification of plant resources, both preceding and existing outside major centers of urbanization.

Distinctive feature of ancient India

Civilization appeared in India in 1921. Before this, it was believed that Vedic culture was the oldest culture of India which was born thousand years before Christ. In 1921, suddenly remains of India’s Bronze Age civil civilization were discovered at a site called Harappa on the banks of the Ravi River. From this it became clear that in terms of history, Indian civilization is ahead of other ancient civilizations of the world and this civilization had flourished before the Vedic culture. To know its detailed form, Dayaram Sahni did excavations in Harappa. In search of other sites of this civilization, Rakhaldas Banerjee discovered the second site of this civilization in 1922 from a mole named Mohenjodaro, in Lakarana district on the western bank of the Indus River. From the complete Harappan style objects found here, it became clear that both these sites situated at a distance of 400 miles belong to the same civilization. The archaeological remains recovered from these sites included coins written in an unknown script, such as those from some sites in Babylonia, dated to the third millennium BC. Was received from the levels of. From these signs it became clear that Indian civilization is as ancient as the Sumerian civilization. As a result, the sites of Harappa and Mohenjodaro were excavated on a large scale. Madhosvarupa Vatsa in Harappa from 1925 to 1931; Marshall, Dixit, Hargreaves, and Sanaullah conducted extensive excavations at Mohenjo Daro from 1925 to 1927. After Marshall, Mackay continued the excavation work in Mohenjodaro till 1931. After this he excavated Chahunjodaro in 1935-36. Archeology was not satisfied with the information obtained over the years, so influential leaders like Majumdar, Hargreaves, and Orelstein made successful efforts to discover other Bronze Age sites in Sindh and Baluchistan. In 1935, Madhoswarup Vatsa found the remains of Indus civilization from Rangpur in Kathiawar, while Wheeler did re-excavation work in Harappa in 1956.

Exceptional Set of Lithic Arrowheads from an Early Bronze Age Site in Hosty (South Bohemia): Evidence of Sieges, Hunting, or Armed Escorts?

During the Early Bronze Age, the Hosty settlement in South Bohemia was important nodal point on the long-distance trade route con¬necting the Alpine and Danube regions with the Únětice-culture world and northern Europe. Its well-preserved settlement layers con¬tained imported exotics, artefacts, and raw materials from all directions. An outstanding set of 33 arrowheads forms the largest known projectile collection from settlement sites of the Early Bronze Age in central Europe. The main part of late lithic projectiles pro¬ceeds from a burial context, whereas those from settlements are generally infrequent. Preliminary results of material culture analysis identify the special status of Hosty settlement showing evidence of contact with west-Carpathian and Danube territories of cultures in the later phases of the Early Bronze Age. Here, we analyse Hosty arrowheads in terms of raw material, technology, use-wear, and ballistics and compare them with projectiles from the area of South Moravia and Western Slovakia that have recently undergone similar extensive analysis. Based on all results, we clarify the origin and the role of archers in events which took place at Hosty settlement.

Dietary reconstruction of domestic mammals in the Keriya Valley (Xinjiang, China) during the Bronze and Iron Ages using stable isotope analysis of animal hair

Textiles can provide a wealth of information about the practices of ancient cultures. Here we present the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses of a large corpus of well-preserved animal fibres from two Bronze and Iron Age sites in the Keriya Valley (Xinjiang, NW China), an area which lies at the crossroads of exchange and circulation of goods, practices and culture in Eurasia. Our aim is to reconstruct the diets of domesticated herbivores (goat, sheep, cattle, camel) found at these sites in order to shed light on pastoral practices. Caprines and cattle relied heavily on C3 plants with a δ13C mean ratio of −19.8 ± 1.5 ‰ and −20.3 ± 1.8 ‰ respectively, in accordance with other studies in Xinjiang. Occasional consumption of C4 plants is also observed in caprines. These variations may be due to herd mobility and/or seasonal availability of local vegetation or textile trade. Two Iron Age individuals (a camel and a bovid) show a high C4 plants intake. This diet is highly unusual in this context and specific herding practices with millet feeding could be considered.

Use-Wear traces on copper ore processing tools from Late Bronze sites of the Trans-Urals(use wear analysis)

The work is aimed at solving the problem of identifying tools for copper ore processing in tool inventory of the Late Bronze Age settlements in the Trans-Urals. The article presents the results of a series of 11 experiments on smashing and grinding copper-bearing rock. Pebbles and slabs from different types of stone (diorite, flint, silicite, porphyrite, quartzite, granite, quartz sandstone) were used as tools. As a result, use-wear traces on experimental tools were obtained, described in detail and analyzed. It has been established that usewear traces depend on the specific operation, physical properties of the rock, size of the workpiece and the hardness of the processed raw materials. Comparison of the obtained data with archaeological material from the Bronze Age of the Trans-Urals (Ustye I, Kulevchi III, Kamyshnoye I) showed that ore processing tools are represented in small quantity (10 copies), which may indicate the preparation of ore for smelting, mainly outside settlements.

Опыт электроразведки площадки поселения бронзового века Звягино-4 (Южное Зауралье)

The paper presents the findings of electrical survey of Zvyagino-4 unfortified settlement of the Alakul culture (1700s–1600s BC). The settlement is found in the forest-steppe part of the Southern Trans-Urals. The study uses total station survey, digital surface modelling and electromagnetic profiling (with AEMP-14 electromagnetic frequency sensing equipment) and investigates the territory of the Bronze Age site. The most significant findings were identified for the common-mode component. They suggest that the upper levels reveal contours of a site of a complex geometric shape. According to the total data, this site can be associated with the localization of the cultural layer, the ashfield and the place of construction of Bronze Age buildings. The experience of electrical survey at the Alakul culture unfortified settlement Zvyagino-4 allows a hypothetical reconstruction of the Bronze Age settlement planning. It is assumed there were 5 buildings arranged in two parallel rows. The study clarifies boundaries and area of the settlement buildings (1700 sq.m.). It is noteworthy that the problem of delimitation of the area of the buildings and the area of the developed space has not yet been raised in the light of the materials of unfortified settlements. Despite the insufficient interpretation methodology the electrical survey method we use for archaeological sites can be considered successful.

Stable isotope analysis of faunal remains from Bronze Age Kaymakçı, Western Anatolia

This paper presents the results of stable carbon ( δ13C) and nitrogen ( δ15N) isotopic analysis of bulk bone collagen from faunal remains from the Bronze Age site of Kaymakçı in western Anatolia. We use the isotopic values in conjunction with zooarchaeological data and contextual archaeological information to examine human-environment interactions; in particular, animal management and husbandry. Middle and Late Bronze Age agricultural systems in western and central Anatolia remain poorly understood, and this research aims to contribute to rectifying this research gap. We obtained stable isotopic values from both wild and domestic species, including deer, hare, birds, catfish, dogs, pigs, caprids and cattle. The δ13C values range from −22.0‰ to −16.9‰ and the δ15N values range from 2.3‰ to 10.3‰. For cattle, the δ13C values suggest that some specimens were subject to different management strategies, likely related to feeding or herding patterns or even the movement of animals in and around the region through some exchange mechanism. There appears to be no fixed location or strategy for the management of caprids and, furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that the herding/management areas of some caprids overlapped with those of wild animals such as deer and hare. Variation in δ15N values for pigs may indicate that whilst some animals in the sampled assemblage were free-roaming, others were penned. For the pigs and some other herbivorous domesticated species variation in δ15N values may also point to the exploitation of the wetland areas around Lake Marmara.