Hearth Area Research Articles

Seasonality, duration of the hominin occupations and hunting grounds at Middle Pleistocene Qesem Cave (Israel)

The behaviour and mobility of hominins are dependent on the availability of biotic and abiotic resources, which, in temperate ecosystems, are strongly related to seasonality. The objective of this study is to establish evidence of seasonality and duration of occupation(s) of specific archaeological contexts at late Lower Palaeolithic Qesem Cave based on the study of ungulate teeth. Combining individual ageing using dental eruption and replacement with variability measurement of tooth microwear, we estimated the seasonality of occupations at different levels of the site and their relative duration. Information about the diet of the ungulates and the habitats where they were hunted was also derived from tooth mesowear and microwear analyses. In the different tooth assemblages analysed, where the fallow deer was the most abundant herbivorous species, animals were selectively hunted in specific habitats. For example, the fallow deer individuals brought back to the Hearth area had a different diet than those found in other parts of the cave. The Hearth area seems to have been used seasonally, probably during short-term events and more than once a year. The other areas of the cave show different seasons of game procurement and different patterns of occupation of the site, possibly more than once a year or, alternatively, for a longer period. The data suggest that Qesem Cave was inhabited by human groups for a long period, perhaps not continuously, and their knowledge of the environment surrounding the cave allowed them to allocate specific game, most probably from distinct hunting grounds, to designated activity areas at the cave. We hypothesise that the difference in feeding locations might have been related to specific needs of the cave inhabitants (food, hide and marrow extraction), and thus, animals from different hunting grounds were wisely used to maximise the potential of specific habitats in the environment. This study is an additional testimony to the ingenuity of the cave inhabitants that allowed them to persistently use the cave for a prolonged period in a year.

Big Arms - The Transformation of an Indigenous Name

This article examines how personhood was shaped in the routine dispositional relations of longhouse life among the Iroquoian societies of eastern North America. Drawing on scholarship that situates the emergence of culturally-specific modes of personhood within relational networks of people and things, I present evidence that over seven centuries, a deep resonance developed between the ‘polyvalence’ of Iroquoian domestic spaces and a broadly ‘fractal’ (sensu Fowler 2004) or ‘part-in-whole’ sense of personhood in Iroquoian societies. An ethnohistoric review of seventeenth-century Ontario Iroquoian concepts of personhood is followed by an archaeological analysis of the development of longhouses between the tenth and sixteenth centuries. I report the results of a kernel density estimation (KDE) analysis of the spatial distribution of post and pit features across longhouse living floors in a diachronic study of 45 hearth areas. The results indicate that everyday practices within the longhouse came to follow several characteristic patterns by the mid-twelfth century ad. These patterns served to define ‘polyvalent’ relationships in which resident persons and nuclear families were at once identifiable as distinct social atoms and as inextricable components of larger hypostatic wholes — most especially house and lineage. A fundamental coherence was thereby established between the embodied experience of domestic taskscapes and a mode of personhood in which any social whole was understood as a dynamic and partible alliance of elements.

What happens around a fire: Faunal processing sequences and spatial distribution at Qesem Cave (300 ka), Israel

The technological innovation involving the controlled use of fire represents a decisive change in human subsistence. Hearths and the spatial distribution patterns associated with them constitute a valuable element in deepening our knowledge on human behaviour and its evolution. Studies focused on hearths and on the use of fire in general are diverse and carried out through different perspectives. Thus, hearths are studied for their meaning in terms of diet, caloric and light capacity and spatial organisation as well as for their role as communication and socialization focal points. The site of Qesem Cave (Israel) shows evidence of the controlled use of fire as early as 400 ka, judging by the burned bones from the lowest units of the stratigraphic sequence. A particular superimposed central hearth that was repeatedly used as a focus for human activities ca. 300 ka is the topic of this study. This succession of hearths at the same location in the cave yields dense faunal and lithic remains as well as evidence for spatial differentiation between areas. Here, we present faunal taphonomical data from this specific archaeological context, which includes not only the hearth area (approximately 4 m2) but also the surrounding areas (approximately 11 m2). The most common prey species is the Mesopotamian fallow deer (Dama cf. mesopotamica), which displays a wide age range and a biased anatomical profile including mainly marrow-rich bones such as long-limb bones. These characteristics, especially those regarding the relative abundance of infantile and young fallow deer, lead us to propose that social hunting techniques were practised following a seasonal regime. This paper provides data on human subsistence behaviour during the formation of the hearth and the archaeological unit around it, comparing the two from a taphonomical perspective. Elements such as size (length) of bone fragments and intensity of burning are spatially plotted to show differential space division. All these data are considered in the reconstruction of subsistence strategies and hominin behaviour in the Acheulo-Yabrudian Cultural Complex in the Levant.

Raw material choices in Amudian versus Yabrudian lithic assemblages at Qesem Cave: A preliminary evaluation

The lithic assemblages recovered from Qesem Cave can be divided into two distinct industries, the Amudian and the Yabrudian, based mostly on different proportions of blades and scrapers. The assemblages can also be divided chronologically and by area within the site, such as the shelf, and the hearth area. The goal of our study is to try to determine whether the assemblages vary in their use of the landscape and its resources. Were the same raw materials used in each case, or do the assemblages differ, either in proportions or in sources exploited? We have therefore undertaken an examination of a sample of approximately 6000 pieces, divided fairly equally between three assemblages: the Amudian and the Yabrudian from the shelf area, and the hearth area (which is Amudian). We begin by categorizing each distinct raw material as to rock type, and, since most of them are varieties of flint, distinguish individual types based on criteria such as colour, cortex characteristics, homogeneity, and any visible fossils. To date we have identified 51 raw material types, some of which are varieties of each other which will be grouped together later. Each lithic piece examined is recorded as to typological category, assigned a raw material type, and weighed. We are thus able to examine the differences in proportions of use of the raw material types in each assemblage, by typological category, and in terms of number of pieces and of weight of material used. This paper reports only on the data concerning numbers of pieces, and shows that some raw materials were selected for specific types of tools or technological requirements. In addition, we have started field work aimed at locating the sources of the flint varieties. We have located 15 potential sources, most within 5 km of the site, but also two located more than 15 km away. Comparison of samples from the geologic sources with samples from the site assemblages has allowed us to tentatively suggest the origins of 46 of the 51 raw material types. This gives us an idea of the extent of the territory exploited by the hominins at Qesem, how different raw materials were used for different purposes, and how use of these resources and territory differs between assemblages.

Archaeobotanical remains found in a house at the archaeological site of Cardonal, valle del Cajón, Argentina: a view of food practices 1,800 years ago

This paper explores food and daily activities in domestic areas at the archaeological site of Cardonal, Provincia de Catamarca, Argentina. It is based on archaeobotanical carpological macro remains recovered by flotation techniques in a residential compound. A set of five taxa including wild plants such as Geoffroea decorticans (chanar), Phaseolus vulgaris var. aborigineus (wild bean), Prosopis sp. (algarrobo) and the crops P. vulgaris var. vulgaris (domesticated bean) and Zea mays (maize) were identified. These well-known staples of ancient communities in this area suggest that the Cardonal people combined agriculture with foraging practices, taking advantage of a diversified environment and extensive social networks. The most abundant plant food remains were bean cotyledons and maize cupules, which were densely concentrated in the “kitchen”, near the hearth. Conversely, chanar endocarps, algarrobo seeds and also Chenopodium sp. seeds were almost exclusively confined to the “patio”, in the hearth area. As a result, two distinct food-related activity areas could be identified, defined by the relative density of plant remains, occurrence of plant taxa and the different practices of processing and consumption which they evoke.

Finite difference tomography of the crustal velocity structure in Tengchong, Yunnan province

This paper applies the finite difference tomography method to invert for the P-wave velocity structure in the Tengchong area using earthquake data from a temporary network and other permanent stations, and analyzes the magmatic activity of the Tengchong volcanoes and the deep tectonic genesis of Longling M7.3/M7.4 earthquakes. The results show the mean velocity in the crust with clear heterogeneity is a little lower. The lower velocities in the shallow layers are caused by unconsolidated basin deposits, Cenozoic volcanic deposits, fluid fractures and hot springs. The high-velocity zone at 5 similar to 15 km depth probably represents the cooled and solidified magmatic intrusions or the less volatile ultramafic remnants. The low-velocity structure in the deep indicates the molten or semi-molten magma. It is probable that the magmatic activity beneath the volcanoes and heat flow intrusions in the deep crust of Longling earthquake zone are from the same magmatic hearth area, which is the main area of the present magmatic activities. A strong lateral heterogeneity is observed in Longling earthquake zone. The east of the Nujiang fault belt and the west of the Long ling fault belt have the characters of high-velocity with the high strength of rock, which are the main bearing body of stress accumulation. However, the low-velocity anomaly between the two faults extends to lower crust, probably caused by magmatic intrusions in the deep crust. The magmatic activity in this area is controlled clearly by the Long ling fault and the Nujiang fault. The Long ling M7.3 and M7.4 earthquakes occurred near the velocity boundary beneath the faults. The main reasons of the strong earthquakes in the Long ling area contain the heterogeneity of stress accumulation caused by the lateral variation of the crustal medium strength, the deep magmatic aggregation and dynamic effects.

Finite Difference Tomography of Crustal Velocity Structure Beneath Tengchong, Yunnan Province

Abstract:This work applies the finite difference tomographic method to invert P‐wave velocity structure beneath the Tengchong area using earthquake data from a temporary network and other permanent stations, and analyzes the magmatic activity of Tengchong volcanoes and the deep structural genesis of the Longling M7.3/M7.4 earthquakes. The results show the velocity structure of the crust in this area has a pronounced heterogeneity. The lower velocities in the shallow subsurface are caused by unconsolidated basin deposits, Cenozoic volcanic deposits, fluid fractures and hot springs. The high‐velocity zone at 5∼15 km depth probably represents cooled and solidified magmatic intrusions or less volatile ultramafic remnants. The low‐velocity structure in the deep crust indicates molten or semi‐molten magma. It is probable that the magmatic activity beneath volcanoes and magma intrusions in the deep crust of the Longling earthquake zone are from the same magmatic hearth area, which is the main area of the present magmatic activities. A strongly lateral heterogeneity is observed in the Longling earthquake zone. The east of the Nujiang fault belt and the west of the Longling fault belt are characterized by high velocity, implying large strain strength of rocks, which are the main carriers of stress accumulation. The low‐velocity anomalies between the two faults extend to lower crust, probably caused by magmatic intrusions in the deep crust. The magmatic activity in this area is controlled clearly by the Longling fault and the Nujiang fault. The Longling M7.3 and M7.4 earthquakes occurred near the velocity boundary beneath the faults. The main reasons for the strong earthquakes in the Longling area inlcude the heterogeneity of stress accumulation caused by the lateral variation of the crustal medium strength, the deep magmatic aggregation and dynamic actions.

The Domestication of Personhood: a View from the Northern Iroquoian Longhouse

This article examines how personhood was shaped in the routine dispositional relations of longhouse life among the Iroquoian societies of eastern North America. Drawing on scholarship that situates the emergence of culturally-specific modes of personhood within relational networks of people and things, I present evidence that over seven centuries, a deep resonance developed between the ‘polyvalence’ of Iroquoian domestic spaces and a broadly ‘fractal’ (sensu Fowler 2004) or ‘part-in-whole’ sense of personhood in Iroquoian societies. An ethnohistoric review of seventeenth-century Ontario Iroquoian concepts of personhood is followed by an archaeological analysis of the development of longhouses between the tenth and sixteenth centuries. I report the results of a kernel density estimation (KDE) analysis of the spatial distribution of post and pit features across longhouse living floors in a diachronic study of 45 hearth areas. The results indicate that everyday practices within the longhouse came to follow several characteristic patterns by the mid-twelfth century ad. These patterns served to define ‘polyvalent’ relationships in which resident persons and nuclear families were at once identifiable as distinct social atoms and as inextricable components of larger hypostatic wholes — most especially house and lineage. A fundamental coherence was thereby established between the embodied experience of domestic taskscapes and a mode of personhood in which any social whole was understood as a dynamic and partible alliance of elements.

Charcoal scarcity in Epigravettian settlements with mammoth bone dwellings: the taphonomic evidence from Mezhyrich (Ukraine)

Fuel management during the Paleolithic periods is an important issue to understand past human subsistence. Numerous Palaeolithic sites relate an abundance of burnt bones in hearths and an absence or scarcity of wood charcoals, which leads studies to focus on burnt bone remains and the use of bones in hearths. Few works take into account the micro-residues of wood charcoals which can still be present in hearth areas and excavated sediments. We studied the Epigravettian site with mammoth bone dwellings of Mezhyrich (Ukraine) previously characterized by its high content of burnt bones and an “absence” of wood charcoal during the so-called mammoth steppe. The presence or absence and proportions of both wood charcoals and burnt bones were quantified in macro-, meso- and microscale sediment size fractions by an image analysis method. Our results show that excavations during field-works at Mezhyrich give only a partial image of the original anthracological record and that most charcoal materials are lost with standard archaeological and anthracological approaches. The scarcity of charcoals in this site was possibly due to an important mass reduction accentuated by the addition of bones in hearths. By applying our protocol we recovered a significant amount of wood charcoals which provides the first 14C dates from charcoals at Mezhyrich. Numerous charcoals are identified contributing subsequent information about vegetation, environment and burning practices. They indicate, by comparison with pollen data already collected, the presence of forest patches in a mammoth steppe landscape, which might have influenced the collecting behavior of Epigravettian populations.

Size matters: Preliminary results from an experimental approach to interpret Middle Stone Age hearths

This paper reports on ten fire experiments and their significance for interpreting hearths from the Middle Stone Age site, Sibudu, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The experiments were conducted on four different substrata and four wood taxa were used in the experiments. Four of the experiments consisted of a single fire, while the other experiments consisted of multiple fires on top of each other. The experimental fires produced hearth areas of ∼962.1–∼1661.9 cm² and hearth depths of 3–12 cm. Hearth size and depth do not correlate. Hearth area seems to correlate with the fuel load used in a hearth, and it is argued that this can be used in interpretations of fire use at an archaeological site. Nine hearths from the same layer at Sibudu are used as examples, and it is argued that variation in hearth area indicates variation in hearth use. Some hearths at Sibudu were possibly only used once, whereas others represent long-term use and/or repeated reloading of the same hearth.

Fine particles and carbon monoxide from wood burning in 17th–19th century Danish kitchens: Measurements at two reconstructed farm houses at the Lejre Historical–Archaeological Experimental Center

Carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM 2.5) were measured in two reconstructed Danish farmhouses (17–19th century) during two weeks of summer. During the first week intensive measurements were performed while test cooking fires were burned, during the second week the houses were monitored while occupied by guest families. A masonry hearth was located in the middle of each house for open cooking fires and with heating stoves. One house had a chimney leading to the outside over the hearth; in the other, a brickwork hood led the smoke into an attic and through holes in the roof. During the first week the concentration of PM 2.5 averaged daily between 138 and 1650 μg m −3 inside the hearths and 21–160 μg m −3 in adjacent living rooms. CO averaged daily between 0.21 and 1.9 ppm in living areas, and up to 12 ppm in the hearths. Highest concentrations were measured when two fires were lit at the same time, which would cause high personal exposure for someone working in the kitchens. 15 min averages of up to 25 400 μg m −3 (PM 2.5) and 260 ppm CO were recorded. WHO air quality guidelines were occasionally exceeded for CO and constantly for PM 2.5. However, air exchange and air distribution measurements revealed a large draw in the chimney, which ensured a fast removal of wood smoke from the hearth area. The guest families were in average exposed to no more than 0.21 ppm CO during 48 h. Based on a hypothetical time-activity pattern, however, a woman living in this type of house during the 17–19th century would be exposed to daily averages of 1.1 ppm CO and 196 μg m −3 PM 2.5, which exceeds WHO guideline for PM 2.5, and is comparable to what is today observed for women in rural areas of developing countries.

Post-Occupancy Evaluation of a Transformed Nursing Home: The First Four Green House® Settings

To study how well the physical environments of four Green Houses® served the residents, staff, and visitors and to develop recommendations for similar small-house nursing home projects. Longitudinal post-occupancy evaluation of four houses using mixed-methods, including behavioral mapping, checklist ratings of individual bedrooms and bathrooms, place-centered time scans, environmental tracers, and questionnaires and interviews. The small residential environments achieved the desired functional results for residents and staff. Some components of the environment proved problematic, especially bathroom designs, lighting and fixtures, and storage spaces. Certain areas of the buildings were under utilized, particularly a den. Space was used differently in the two houses dedicated to residents with dementia compared to the other two houses. In the latter, residents tended to use their own rooms for a variety of activities, including visits, and often kept their doors closed, whereas in the former the central hearth area was used more frequently. The physical design of the Green Houses was associated with desired behavior and outcomes in residents and staff. Post-occupancy evaluation methods were useful to elicit detailed information about environmental performance and suggest modifications for the next iteration of Green Houses.

An attempt to separate anthropic and natural fire signals in an archaeological context-The case of the Mousterian site Grotta Reali (Rocchetta a Volturno Molise, Central Italy)

This paper presents an image analysis method for automated quantification of charcoal total area, focusing on the charcoal fractions less than 160 μm observed on 14 pollen slides from Grotta Reali samples. Four fire signals were recorded with 4 high values in the microcharcoal concentration curve. On the basis of modern microcharcoal study, mean length/width ratio of the microcharcoal particles was applied in an archeological context as an indicator of vegetal type (wood, grass or leaves). Therefore, the 4 fire signals were separated into two types: high concentration with high length/width ratio, and high concentration with low length/width ratio. Two fire signals might be interpreted as anthropic fire based on hearth or combustion areas, as inferred from archeological remains.

Faunal exploitation by Early Holocene hunter/gatherers on the Great Plains of North America: Evidence from the Clary Ranch sites

Analysis of the faunal remains recovered from two penecontemporaneous Early Holocene archeological sites on the Clary Ranch in western Nebraska offers a series of functional insights on the organizational structure of Late Paleo-Indian subsistence behavior on the central Great Plains of North America. At each location, radiocarbon assays on charcoal and bone indicate occupation between 9100 and 9000 BP. The deposits appear to represent functionally divergent, although complementary, dimensions of a single, spatially differentiated settlement and subsistence system situated along a intermittent tributary of the North Platte River. The Clary Ranch site provides a view from the perspective of a late summer–early fall secondary processing area for bison carcasses derived from a nearby mass kill. The intensive character of carcass exploitation here, involving defleshing and marrow extraction, suggests that the bulk of the yield was destined for storage in anticipation of impending winter food shortages. The primary component at the partially excavated, stratified O.V. Clary site is a residential camp, with evidence for occupation during the mid-summer, mid-winter, and late winter/early spring. On-site activities there are organized around an intact hearth area, to which the carcass parts from at least six bison were transported for processing and subsequent consumption. Non-bison remains recovered from the hearth area include coyote, box turtle, raven, great horned owl, and several small, indeterminate passerines

Étude fonctionnelle du matériel en silex du site mésolithique ancien de Verrebroek (Flandres, Belgique) : premiers résultats

The sealed early Mesolithic site of Verrebroek, radiocarbon dated to between 8740 and 7560 cal ВС, has yielded an abundant lithic industry, recovered from more than 55 well-preserved artefact units. In the present study a small selection of 162 flint artefacts from three close-lying concentrations has been analysed functionally. The observed use-wear traces support the idea of short-term occupations probably focused on a rather restricted and specialised set of activities (hunting, butchering, wet/fresh hide working and plant processing). Moreover spatial analysis points to a certain degree of spatial organisation of these activities around hearth areas. Finally the site of Verrebroek seems to be unique within Europe because of the high frequency and early date (Pre-Boreal/Boreal) of plant processing evidence (reed/hazelnut sticks, ...)

Maritime Fragmentation: Inherent or People-Made?

The reasons behind Maritime industrial decline continue to be hotly debated. Capitalism and capitalists are blamed by some. Others favour cultural interpretations. Neo-classical economists see the process as a rational outcome of the decisions of profit-seeking capitalists. Regionalists blame discriminatory policies of the federal government. In a recent article in this journal, geographer Larry McCann, using the example of the rise and decline of the Nova Scotia Steel and Coal Company [Scotia], focusses on the fragmentation of the region.1 Fragmentation, McCann argues, refers to several conditions: a variegated coastline; large uninhabited forests; scattered areas of usable agricultural lands; cultural groups limited to original hearth areas; political, ethnic and religious diversity; dispersed and scattered resources that shift in relative value and quality; and income differentiation. It is McCann's thesis that Scotia was a tenuous affair. Its promoters struggled valiantly to integrate a series of diverse operations, succeeded for some time (fragmented integration), but in the end succumbed to three forces of fragmentation: dispersed and limited regional markets, increased costs of producing poor quality resources, and the minimal presence of external economies. McCann is careful to argue that, "[o]f course, no one explanation can be offered to account solely for the deindustrialization and urban population losses of this hinterland region." But he nevertheless feels that "the forces of fragmentation associated with the Maritime space economy shaped 'Scotia's' unwillingness to emphasize internal growth over external markets, and also contributed to the company's eventual demise."2

Homelands: A Conceptual Essay

The crucial component of a definition of homelands is the bonding of ethnic groups to the land. This bonding varies in its intensity and may be greatest for folk or more primitive cultures in which belief systems of animism persist. Animism involving a belief in spirits inhabiting the land provides a cultural foundational construct for an emotional psychological tie between ethnic groups, most primitively speaking, the tribe, and their social territory, i.e. zones of exclusivity. In the European evolution of these animistic beliefs Romanticism and nationalism developed as cultural expressions of homeland bonding. Among ethnic groups the development of cultural myths often focuses on supposed homeland hearth areas. The result is the development of mythic homelands or hearth areas. The size or scale of homelands and the internal structure of homelands, i.e. the degree of fragmentation, are issues that are preeminently the domain of the cultural geographer.

The Re-Use of Thermally Altered Stone

This article presents an experimental study concerning the uses of thermally altered stone, commonly referred to as fire-cracked rock. A series of experiments were conducted as granitic cobbles contained within hearth areas were re-used. These cobble assemblages were then stone-boiled and subsequently analyzed for thermal alteration characteristics such as color change, cracking, and spalling, for comparative purposes. Quantitative analyses were then applied to the data in order to establish whether differential patterns of thermal alteration exist dependent upon re-use.

The Spatial Evolution of Academic Geography in the United States

Abstract Geography became established as a separate discipline in American higher education institutions in the late nineteenth century. The Midwest served as the hearth area from which the discipline diffused outward. The number of new departments grew steadily until the 1960s, when a dramatic increase in the number of establishments took place. Since the 1970s, geography has gone through a period of retrenchment, with the number of new departments decreasing and department closings increasing. Representation of these changes through cartographic techniques clearly depict the establishment, expansion and contractions of geography departments at the college and university level beginning in the late 1800s and concluding with the present decade.

Palaeolithic Investigations at Klithi: Preliminary Results of the 1984 and 1985 Field Seasons

Field-work in 1984 and 1985 centred on the Klithi rockshelter has combined excavation and analysis of finds with palaeoenvironmental and palaeogeographical studies of the wider regional setting. Radiocarbon dates show that the deposits so far excavated extend from 10,000 BP to 17,000 BP. Excavations have concentrated on the uppermost levels (10,000 BP to 12,500 BP) immediately accessible below the surface, in order to develop methods for investigating spatial variation in the distribution of materials in the deposit. They have revealed a large hearth area in the back of the shelter as a major focus of activity. New details of the flint industry and faunal remains are presented, along with preliminary indications of spatial patterning. There is evidence for the performance of a wide range of subsistence activities based on locally available resources as well as evidence, in the form of exotic flint and marine shells, for contacts over a wide area. Palaeogeographical methods of analysis based on field mapping of geology, relief and terrain have been developed to define the distribution and density of the main herbivores under Pleniglacial conditions. Both the evidence from excavation and from these wider palaeogeographical studies emphasize the small scale of human activities, the small size of residential groups, and the likelihood of seasonal movements and social contacts over very extensive territories during the Upper Palaeolithic period.