Early 4th Millennium Research Articles

Combining Geo-Archaeology and Historical Nile Records to Understand Predynastic Settlement Patterns in the Region of the Nile’s First Cataract, Egypt

Abstract This paper aims to contribute new data to understanding early Predynastic settlement patterns in Egypt at the beginning of the state formation process in the 4th millennium bce. It focuses on the early settlements of the First Nile Cataract region. We employ three different datasets to address the issue retrieved from a recent archaeological investigation and drill coring and from Nile records available from archaeological and historical sources. The analysis is performed in a gis-based environment and through inundation modelling. Data suggest early Predynastic settlements at the First Cataract may have been settled all year round. They appear to be deliberately placed above the annual high flood level and have water resources for most of the year. The new geo-archaeological data further suggests that the average high inundation level for the early 4th millennium bce was similar to that documented for the end of the millennium.

Pottery use across the Neolithic transition in northern Belgium: evidence from isotopic, molecular and microscopic analysis

This study represents the first extensive residue analysis of prehistoric pottery from northern Belgium. It examines pottery use and culinary practices across the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition, from the late 6th to the early 4th millennium cal BC. Residue analyses were performed on more than 200 samples from nine archaeological sites, representing different cultural groups from this transitional phase. This includes the analysis of charred food residues encrusted on the vessel surfaces by elemental analysis-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (EA-IRMS), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), stereomicroscopic analysis and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), as well as the analysis of absorbed lipids by gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS). This study provides the first evidence of ruminant dairy fats in Early Neolithic Limburg pottery, supporting the hypothesis that this pottery was produced and used by LBK farmers rather than hunter-gatherer populations. The first indigenous pottery of the Swifterbant culture was frequently used to process freshwater fish (often together with plant foods) and ruminant meat, although several of the studied vessels likely contained mixtures of resources which could also include porcine products. Ruminant dairy is nearly absent from this pottery. Similar results were obtained for pottery of the subsequent Michelsberg culture/Group of Spiere of the late 5th and early 4th millennium cal BC. The limited presence of ruminant dairy fats in this pottery contrasts with the findings for Middle Neolithic pottery from neighbouring regions, providing further evidence for the existence of regional variations in pottery use or culinary practices throughout prehistoric NW Europe. However, our current view of pottery use during the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in northern Belgium might be biased by the difficulties in distinguishing between wild and domesticated ruminant adipose fats as well as in detecting plant foods through lipid residue analysis.

Mid‐ to Late Holocene landscape dynamics and rural settlement in the uplands of northern Bavaria, Germany

AbstractWe present results from a systematic interdisciplinary study on (pre‐)historic rural settlement and landscape development in an upland region of northern Bavaria, Germany. The archaeological and geoarchaeological investigations—supported by radiocarbon dating, optically stimulated luminescence dating, and palaeoecological analysis—were performed to (i) identify so far unknown prehistoric rural settlement sites, (ii) determine site‐specific soil erosion from colluvial deposits, and (iii) assess the composition of woodland from on‐ and offsite charcoal finds. The earliest indicators of human activities from the Younger Neolithic (late 5th to early 4th millennium B.C.E.) come from colluvial deposits. Our investigations, for the first time, show Middle to Late Bronze Age (ca. 1400–800 B.C.E.), permanent rural settlement in a German central upland region, with a peak in the Late Bronze Age. Due to the varying thicknesses of Bronze Age colluvial deposits, we assume land use practices to have triggered soil erosion. From the spectrum of wood species, Maloideae, ash, and birch are regarded as successional indicators after fire clearance in that period. Settlement continued until the 5th century B.C.E. After a hiatus of 500 years, it re‐flourished in the Late Roman and Migration periods (mid‐3rd–5th century C.E.) and went on in the Medieval period.

The Neolithization Process in the Lower-Scheldt Basin (Belgium, mid-6th to mid-4th Millennium cal BC) from a Lithic Technological Perspective

ABSTRACT This paper discusses the results of a detailed analysis of the lithic assemblages from four key sites in the Lower-Scheldt basin of NW Belgium in the context of the Neolithization process beyond the agro-pastoral frontier of the European loess area. The study demonstrates both continuity and change in raw material use, lithic technology and the toolkit throughout the 5th and early 4th millennium cal BC, supporting the theory of acculturation of indigenous hunter-gatherers under the influence of southern farming groups.

Late Prehistory of the Lower Galilee: Multi-Faceted Investigations of Wadi el-Ashert

In the southern Levant, fundamental changes in economic organization, mortuary practices, and settlement patterns took place during the 5th to early 4th millennium b.c.e., or the Chalcolithic period (ca. 4500–3700/3600 b.c.e.). Our best evidence derives from sites in the Negev, and to a lesser degree, the Jordan Valley and Golan Heights, and the mortuary sites along the coast. The goal of the Galilee Prehistory Project is to examine this period based on information from a different environmental region, by undertaking survey and excavation in the Galilee, a region with virtually no radiocarbon dates or plans derived from Chalcolithic sites. The multi-faceted investigation of the Wadi el-Ashert included unpiloted aerial vehicle fly-overs during different seasons, geophysical and pedestrian survey, and methodical sub-surface test sampling. The comprehensive approach to this prehistoric landscape resulted in a more nuanced understanding of the site.

New Evidence for Upland Occupation in the Mesolithic of Scotland

This paper discusses the evidence for periodic human activity in the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland from the late 9th millennium to the early 4th millennium calbc. While contemporary paradigms for Mesolithic Europe acknowledge the significance of upland environments, the archaeological record for these areas is not yet as robust as that for the lowland zone. Results of excavation at Chest of Dee, along the headwaters of the River Dee, are set into a wider context with previously published excavations in the area. A variety of site types evidences a sophisticated relationship between people and a dynamic landscape through a period of changing climate. Archaeological benefits of the project include the ability to examine novel aspects of the archaeology leading to a more comprehensive understanding of Mesolithic lifeways. It also offers important lessons in site survival, archaeological investigation, and the management of the upland zone.

RELIABILITY OF AMS 14C DATES OF MOSS TEMPER PRESERVED IN NEOLITHIC POTTERY FROM THE SCHELDT RIVER VALLEY (BELGIUM)

ABSTRACTDirect dates of pottery obtained from food crusts or other organic residues on the vessel surfaces can be affected by a reservoir effect and/or an old wood effect and therefore be unreliable. Hence, there is a need for alternative ways to directly date pottery. Moss is used as temper by several cultural groups of the late 6th to early 4th millennium cal BC in northwestern Europe. After the pottery is fired, charred moss remains are often preserved in the clay, so that relatively short-lived plant material with a direct chronological link to the pottery and human occupation is available for radiocarbon (14C) dating. In this study, charred moss temper is extracted for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dating from pottery of the Swifterbant Culture and Spiere group in the Scheldt river valley (Belgium). The moss dates are then compared to reference dates of organic macro-remains from the same sites and food crust dates with or without a reservoir effect of the same pottery. Eleven out of 13 moss dates are in line with the expected pottery age. The paired dates of moss temper and food crusts from the same potsherds confirm a freshwater reservoir effect (FRE) for the latter. We conclude that moss temper has great potential as a sample material for direct pottery dating. However, more research on the extraction and pretreatment of moss temper as well as on the reliability of moss dates is necessary in the future.

Ранненеолитическое поселение Новопетровка III в Западном Приамурье и его хронология

В статье рассмотрена хронология неолитического памятника Новопетровка III в Западном Приамурье, установленная по данным радиоуглеродного датирования нагара на керамике. Новопетровская культура в целом, представленная памятниками Новопетровка I-III и Константиновка, исследованными в первой половине 1960-х гг., по результатам типологического анализа пластинчатой индустрии была отнесена к V (возможно, VI) — началу IV тыс. до н.э. Обзор данных по изготовлению призматических пластин с помощью отжимной техники показал, что хронологически пластинчатые индустрии появились на обширной территории Евразии в финале плейстоцена — начале голоцена и продолжали существовать в отдельных регионах вплоть до энеолита. Поэтому они могут служить лишь ориентиром в определении относительной хронологии памятников. С появлением в 1990-х гг. радиоуглеродных дат, полученных по органическому наполнителю в керамическом тесте и нагару на керамике с поселения Новопетровка II, новопетровская культура была удревнена до 15,5-10,8 тыс. л.н. (калиброванные значения). На основе сравнительного анализа новых радиоуглеродных дат, определенных по нагару, установлен возраст памятника Новопетровка III -9,0-9,5 тыс. лет. В связи с тем, что в археологическом материале с новопетровских поселений в рамках длительного периода изменений не выявлено, обозначена проблема хронологической оценки как новопетровской культуры в целом, так и ее отдельных памятников.

Dogs in funerary contexts during the Middle Neolithic in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula (5th–early 4th millennium BCE)

In this article, a zooarchaeological and isotopic analysis is presented for 26 dog exemplars (Canis familiaris). These dogs were deposited in burial and ceremonial structures in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Neolithic, within the Pit Grave cultural horizon (ca. 4200–3600 cal BC). Four archaeological sites of the Catalonian coastal strip are studied: Camí de Can Grau, La Serreta, Ca l'Arnella, and Bòbila Madurell (one of the most important necropolises of the Iberian Peninsula). The presence of these dogs is interpreted as evidence of accompanying offerings and represents the most ancient use of this animal in the context of burials within the studied territory. Although it is a not a globally recorded gesture during this period, in light of the present results, it can be considered as a stereotyped ritual activity and evidence of the close relationship between these animals and the human communities. The diet of most of the dogs must be considered mixed and very similar to that of the humans, including consumption of herbivores and terrestrial plants.

Step by step – The neolithisation of Northern Central Europe in the light of stable isotope analyses

There is a long lasting debate on the nature of the neolithisation process in the northern European lowlands and in southern Scandinavia. Early evidence of domesticates and crop cultivation indicate a transition to farming in this area during the late 5th millennium cal BC. However, there is limited information how this process took place and to what extent the new economy was adopted during the subsequent centuries. Here we present new results of more than 50 stable isotope samples of human remains (13C/15N) from northern Central Europe covering the period from the Mesolithic to the early Bronze Age. They show a high relevance of aquatic resources during the early Mesolithic. Food from marine and fresh water environments was also of considerable relevance during the late Mesolithic (6th/5th millennium cal BC). Aquatic resources were still important for parts of farming societies during the 4th millennium cal BC, especially around 3000 cal BC. Farming economy was introduced in all parts of the lowlands during the early 4th millennium cal BC, but it was not before the 3rd millennium cal BC that it became fully established on a general scale. Our results correspond well with archaeobotanic evidence. They also contribute important information to the discussion of palaeogenetic data, which provide evidence for autochthonous individuals with signals of hunter-gatherer ancestry in farming societies until c. 3000 cal BC.

A Neolithic palaeo-catena for the Xagħra Upper Coralline Limestone plateau of Gozo, Malta, and its implications for past soil development and land use

Geoarchaeological survey on the island of Gozo combined with test excavations and new chronometric dating of two Neolithic temple sites at Santa Verna and Ġgantija on the Xagħra plateau have revealed well-preserved buried soils which tell a new story of soil development and change for the early-mid-Holocene period. Micromorphological analysis has suggested that the earlier Neolithic climax soil type was a thick, well-developed, humic and clay-enriched argillic brown Mediterranean soil. With human intervention on the Xagħra Upper Coralline Limestone plateau from at least the early 4th millennium BCE, the trajectory of soil development quickly changed. Radical soil change was marked by the removal of scrub woodland, then consequent poorer organic status and soil thinning, and rubefication and calcification, no doubt exacerbated by Neolithic agricultural activities and a more general longer-term aridification trend. The beginnings of this transitional brown to red Mediterranean soil change process has been observed at Santa Verna temple by the early 4th millennium BCE, and appears to be much further advanced by the time of the latter use of Ġgantija temple in the early-mid-3rd millennium BCE. There is also evidence of attempts at amending these deteriorating soils during this period and into the 2nd millennium BCE, a practice which probably underpinned the viability of later Neolithic agricultural society in the Maltese Islands. The changes observed ultimately resulted in the creation of the thin, xeric, red Mediterranean soils on the Coralline Limestone mesa plateaux which are typical of much of Gozo and Malta today.

Geomagnetic Field Intensity during the Neolith in the Central East European Plain

The conducted archeomagnetic studies resulted in data on variations in the geomagnetic field intensity in the central East European Plain (Sakhtysh I site area, ϕ = 56°48′ N, λ = 40°33′ E) during the time interval of 5–3 ka BC. The geomagnetic field intensity varied mainly within the range of 30–60 μT. In the first half of the 5th millennium BC, the mean level of geomagnetic field intensity was about 35 μT. In the second half of the 5th–early 4th millennium BC, it rose to about 50 μT and then decreased again to reach a mean value of about 40 μT in the period of 4–3 ka BC. Comparison of the geomagnetic field intensity variation based on the obtained data and the data on the Caucasus region for the same time interval demonstrates a certain similarity.

Transforming Technical Know-how in Time and Space. Using the Digital Atlas of Innovations to Understand the Innovation Process of Animal Traction and the Wheel

The paper uses a new research tool, the Digital Atlas of Innovations to re-think the invention and diffusion of wheeled vehicles in Eurasia during the 4th and 3rd millennium BC. It is argued that the diffusion of wheeled vehicles is the result of the local transformation of several technical components which have been known since the Pottery Neolithic. The technical knowledge to combine these components was widely spread and resulted in experimentation with the use of animal traction already in the late 6th millennium. It were, however, the significantly better connected networks which were established during the early 4th millennium, which enabled the innovation-diffusion of the wheel from its presumed zone of origin in the Black Sea area to the Baltic. The same technology (minus the wheels) is also adopted in many other regions, where it is transformed according to local specifications (ploughs, sleds).

New evidence for early 4th millennium BP agriculture in the Western Himalayas: Qasim Bagh, Kashmir

Palaeobotanical studies at Qasim Bagh, a site of the Northern Neolithic culture in the Kashmir Valley, India, have produced important new data on the spread of agriculture across Inner Asia, and on the cross-transmission of Chinese and West Asian cultivars. Directly dated broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) and compact wheat (Triticum aestivum), and a series of charcoal dates suggest that the Valley of Kashmir was integrated into a wider network of crop exchange in the mountainous regions of South and Central Asia from at least the 5th/4th millennium BP transition. The evidence of Qasim Bagh supplements recent data from other Central Asian sites which suggest that exchange of East and West Asian cultivars took place earlier than previously believed.

New Absolute Dates for the Trans-Uralian and Western Siberian Neolithic

This article deals with the absolute chronology of the Neolithic cultures of the eastern Ural, Middle Irtysh-Baraba, and the Upper Ob basin. Twenty-two new radiocarbon dates for the ceramic assemblages of Trans-Uralian Neolithic and thirteen for those of the western Siberian forest-steppe suggest that Kozlov Mys, Poludenka, and Boborykino sites in the forest-steppe coexisted with those of the Makhandzhar type in eastern Ural and Kazakhstan during the early Neolithic and in the beginning of the Late Neolithic. Late Neolithic Artyn settlements on the Middle Irtysh and in Baraba are contemporaneous with the Protoka and Vengerovo-2A burial grounds (middle and second half of the 5th millennium BC). Boborykino sites in the eastern Ural are contemporaneous with Avtodrom-2/2 representing the same culture (fi rst half and mid-5th millennium BC). The Izylino/Zavyalovo stage of the Middle Neolithic on the Upper Ob dates to late 6th to early 5th millennia BC. Late Neolithic Kiprino-Novokuskovo sites on the Upper Ob date to the mid-5th to early 4th millennia BC. The Bolshoy Mys sites date to the 4th millennium BC.

A Generalized Assessment of Cultural Changes at Stratifi ed Sites: The Case of Chalcolithic Fortresses in Northwestern Caucasus

A multivariate method for assessing cultural changes at stratified sites is proposed. Variables are technological properties of ceramics and occurrences of various categories of fl int implements. The method is applied to stratigraphic sequences of Chalcolithic fortresses in northwestern Caucasus (late 5th–early 4th millennia BC): Meshoko and Yasenova Polyana. Properties of ceramics include hardness, assessed on the Mohs scale, wall thickness, and frequency of fragments tempered with calcium carbonate. For Meshoko, S.M. Ostashinsky’s data on the number of implements made of colored flint, splintered pieces, and the total number of segments, points, inserts, scrapers, and perforators were used as well. Each parameter undergoes regular changes from the lower to the upper levels of the sequence: ceramics progressively deteriorates whereas fl int industry becomes more and more sophisticated. These changes occur in parallel. Data were subjected to principal component analysis. The fi rst principal component is regarded as a generalized measure of cultural change. Results support the view of the excavators: changes were caused by the interaction of two cultures differing in origin. The earlier culture, associated with constructors of the Meshoko fortress, shows no local roots and was evidently introduced from Transcaucasia. One that replaced it was signifi cantly more archaic, a few copper tools notwithstanding, and revealed local Neolithic roots. It alone can be termed the Culture of Ceramics with Punched Node Decoration. The ceramics of Yasenova Polyana, too, indicates cultural heterogeneity and two stages of settlement, but cultural changes are more complicated there, probably because the site existed longer, and more than two cultural components were involved.

New theoretical discourses in the discussion of the Neolithisation process in South Scandinavia during the late 5th and early 4th millennium BC – an identification of learning processes, communities of practise and migrations

In this paper, it is argued that agriculture is a very complex technology, which takes a long time to learn, thus making it very difficult for agrarian practises to spread as ideas. Instead, based on a detailed survey of primary agrarian evidence (direct 14C dates of cereals and domesticated animals) and secondary evidence of material culture (polished axes and pottery), it is claimed that the expansions of agrarian practises in South Scandinavia are associated with the migration of farmers who were related to the Michelsberg Culture. These incoming farmers had the appropriate skills and the ability to teach the indigenous hunter-gatherer populations about agriculture by establishing communities of practice, a fact which supports the theory of integrationism. The engagement in these communities of practise changed the identity and material culture of the immigrating farmers, as well as the indigenous hunter-gatherers, thus creating new agrarian societies in South Scandinavia which were interconnected in a regional as well as larger European network.

Maritime Havens in Earlier Prehistoric Britain

It is widely accepted that between the beginning of the Early Neolithic period and the end of the Early Bronze Age different regions of Britain were connected to one another by sea, but little is known about the nature of maritime contacts before plank-built boats developed during the 2nd millenniumbc. This paper considers a series of coastal sites, some of which were first settled from Mesolithic times. From the early 4th millennium they were also associated with artefact production and the use of imported objects and raw materials. Their distribution focuses on the region of isostatic uplift in northern Britain where the ancient shoreline still survives. It is considered in relation to a new model of coastal change which suggests that these locations were characterised by natural havens sheltered behind islands or bars. The sites can be compared with the ‘landing places’ and ‘beach markets’ discussed by historical archaeologists in recent years.

Landscape opening and herding strategies: Carbon isotope analyses of herbivore bone collagen from the Neolithic and Bronze Age lakeshore site of Zurich-Mozartstrasse, Switzerland

Abstract Carbon isotope analysis (δ13C) was performed on collagen extracted from 54 domestic cattle (Bos taurus) and 20 red deer (Cervus elaphus) bones from the Neolithic (3913–2586 BC) and Bronze Age (1950–950 cal. BC) layers of the lakeshore site Zurich-Mozartstrasse located in the lower Lake Zurich basin, Switzerland. We observed shifts in the δ13C of both domestic cattle and red deer over two millennia. Mean δ13C values of red deer changed from −24.1 ± 0.7‰ to −22.5 ± 0.3‰, while mean δ13C values of domestic cattle showed minor changes from −22.7 ± 1.3‰ to −22.1 ± 0.3‰. Our data suggest that in the early 4th millennium BC the landscape was densely forested with red deer feeding in closed habitats and cattle grazing in more open landscapes. Forest was also a food resource for some young cattle as indicated by the lower δ13C values of non-adult relative to adult animals. This points to a greater diversity of herding strategies and feeding techniques compared to the later periods. The landscape was still rather forested towards the mid-3rd millennium BC, with no obvious changes in the habitat use of the large herbivores. However, the carbon isotopes suggest a clearly reduced forest cover in the 2nd millennium BC with red deer using similar open feeding grounds as domestic cattle. Our study demonstrates that the stable carbon isotope composition of archeological bone material from large herbivores can provide integrative constraints on paleoenvironmental and vegetation changes, prehistoric animal management and land-use.

10. BECOMING PART OF A LARGE AGRARIAN NETWORK DURING THE EARLY 4THMILLENNIUM BC

Acta ArchaeologicaVolume 85, Issue 1 p. 177-227 ANALYSIS OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EVIDENCE FROM THE FIRST AGRARIAN SOCIETIES IN SOUTH SCANDINAVIA 10. BECOMING PART OF A LARGE AGRARIAN NETWORK DURING THE EARLY 4TH MILLENNIUM BC First published: 14 November 2014 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0390.2014.00932.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume85, Issue1December 2014Pages 177-227 RelatedInformation