Chronological Issues Research Articles

Architectural terracottas from San Giovenale. Addenda and conclusions

The publication of most excavation areas at San Giovenale has made it possible to offer a much more detailed and more accurate account of the use of architectural terracottas at the site. This article presents the finds according to categories and types as well as according to their distribution in different excavation areas. It also discusses technical matters and chronological issues. A survey of all decorative terracottas discovered at the site shows that these were not as rare as earlier believed. The conclusion tries to sketch the development of the local terracotta industry.

Backed pieces at Sharbithat SHA-10 (Sultanate of Oman)

Sharbithat 10 (SHA-10) was discovered in 2017 during the first extensive survey of the northern part of the Dhofar region. Located on a vast mesa surrounded by wadi deltaic branches and abundant sources of flint, SHA-10 is characterized by flint scatters, dwellings, and cairns. Initial test trenches revealed a single period stratification sequence, highlighting a rich marine faunal composition and intense flintknapping activity. The fishing equipment, typical of coastal sites from this period, accompanies a distinctive lithic industry comprising blades, backed pieces, and tanged points. Through the study of technological processes leading to the manufacture of these artefacts, analysis of the points’ morphological variability, and examination of the prevalence of backed bladelets, new hypotheses regarding coastal subsistence strategies and chronological issues have emerged. However, the potential co-occurrence of different facies complicates a chronological definition which can be partly clarified by radiocarbon data results. In this communication, we present a preliminary study of this unique assemblage, discuss its chrono-typological implications, and explore their significance within the framework of South Arabian prehistory.

Paleoclimatic reconstruction of the Karewa deposits of Kashmir Valley, northwest Himalaya: A review

Plio-Pleistocene sedimentary successions, comprised of fluvio-glacial-lacustrine sediments capped by loess, are widespread in the Kashmir Valley, NW Himalaya, India. These sediments act as a repository of climate records for the past 4.4 Ma suggesting the dominance of southwestern monsoon up to 1.95 Ma and thereafter the dominance of mid-latitude western disturbances in the region. However, the younger strata of the loess-paleosol sequences (LPSs), <200 ka old, and Holocene sediments have been studied for high-resolution climate records compared to older archives because of the contentious chronological issues of the older deposits. Earlier studies revealed moderate climatic conditions from ∼65.8 ± 7.2 ka to 44.3 ± 5.8 ka, followed by periods of extreme dry phases of enhanced wind velocity, coinciding with the last major magnetic inversion. The climatic conditions have produced strong pedogenic signatures on the LPSs during the MIS-3 (∼43–34.7 ± 2.3). The dry arid climate phases recorded during the MIS-2 stage up to ∼14.7 ± 5.4 ka revealed a weak pedogenic alteration and a high amount of CaCO3 accumulation in the loess. Subsequent sporadic alluvial deposition of sediments over the LPSs implies widespread precipitation and glacial melting linked to the onset of the Holocene warming punctuated by dry and cold climate phases corresponding to the Bond events of 0, 3, 4, 5, and 7, which indicated a westerly-dominated climate during the Holocene. This review therefore critically examines existing literature on Karewa deposits in the Kashmir Valley, identifies knowledge gaps, and offers recommendations for future research, emphasizing their paleoclimatic potential for the Quaternary Period.

Chronologia, kalendarz i datowanie Roman de Flamenca – próba bilansu

This article aims to review and summarise previous research on the chronology of the medieval occitan narrative text Le Roman de Flamenca in two aspects: dating the text and dating the time of the action. The state of research makes it possible to identify the main ways of interpreting the chronology of the text: in terms of the time of its composition, as a work from the first or second half of the 13th century; while in terms of determining the time of the plot of Flamenca, it is dated by various authors to the first half of the 12th century, the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries, or the first half of the 13th century. Among the main arguments used to support these hypotheses are the organisation of the text’s chronology around the liturgical calendar and the absence of the feast of Corpus Christi in that calendar, the description of the coat of arms of the Bourbons, attempts to identify the characters of the text as historical figures, and references to political events of the period. On the basis of an analysis of the data collected, the rejection of implausible and poorly argued concepts, and additional arguments related to the participation of the novel’s protagonist Guillaume in the war in Flanders, the author establishes the most probable dating range of Le Roman de Flamenca as 1287–1293, and the time of action as 1217–1224. In conclusion, an interpretative problem is presented that is closely related to the chronological issue of the text: the different perspectives on the novel as a current novel of manners or a novel of historical character. The analysis carried out here supports the conclusion that Le Roman de Flamenca is a text describing the golden age of the trobar from the perspective of its period of decline and decadence.

Research methodology of the zolnik (ash hill) at the Scythian cultural circle hillfort in Chotyniec

Abstract The article presents the methodology of archaeological research on the hillfort in Chotyniec in south-eastern Poland. In addition to other elements, the research project included the discovery and examination of an object known as a zolnik. A zolnik is a unique object which functioned as a cult place where rituals took the form of communal feasts. Similar objects can be found among those located in the forest-steppe zone of Eastern Europe, which in the early Iron Age was influenced by the Scythian culture. The research methodology presented in the article deviates significantly from that used so far in relation to the investigation of zolniks. This is due to the focus on identifying the most complete spatial and functional context possible, as well as creating a permanent excavation documentation for further analysis and verification. Particular emphasis was placed on the accuracy and meticulousness of documenting the discoveries, which would not have been possible without the application and implementation of spatial information systems. Due to its innovative nature, the article is also intended to start a discussion about the way in which the proposed change in the methods of zolnik examination translates into greater interpretation possibilities. This applies to both functional and chronological issues, which in turn leads to a fuller knowledge and reconstruction of these objects.

История ханской столицы г. Касимова до XVII в. (по материалам археологических исследований)

Research objectives: The aim of the study is to analyze the history of the city of Kasimov, show its development, and explore the issues of chronology and localization of individual urban areas. Research materials: Archaeological research data, written and cartographic sources, previously published works on this issue. Results and scientific novelty: This article deals with the history of the medieval city of Kasimov. This was the capital of the Kasimov Khanate from the middle of the 15th to the end of the 17th centuries. The study is based on the results of archaeological excavations and extensive historical data. It provides a detailed analysis of the development of a medieval city from the pre-Mongolian center on the Volga-Oka trade route to the capital of the Kasimov Khanate. The author highlighted the areas that arose at different times. The Kasimov archaeological complex is historically associated with the pre-Mongol period in the city’s history. At the end of the 13th century, the city was moved to the area of the Old Posad. In historical sources, it was called Gorodets Meshchersky (13th – the first half of the 16th centuries). Kasimov of the Khan’s time (middle of the 15th – middle of the 16th century) was located in the same place. In historical sources, it was known as Tsarevichev Gorodok. Settlement in the area of Tatarskaya Gora and Tatarskaya Sloboda began later than the middle of the 16th century. The Khan’s mosque bilding was also built at the same time. The territory of the modern city center with the Kasimov Kremlin was being developed at the end of the 16th – beginning of the 17th century. The author has traced the continuity of the development of medieval settlements from the Kasimov archaeological complex (the ancient settlement of Zemlyanoy Strug, the settlement of Dorofeevo Pole of the 9th – 13th centuries) to the Gorodets Meshchersky (13th – the first half of the 15th century) and to the capital of the Kasimov Khanate and the modern city. The article establishes the time of formation of the historical core of the medieval city and the stages of development of territories on the basis of archaeological research.

Погребение «жрицы» из Филипповки: опыт комплексного исследования

The paper addresses chronological issues with burial 2 from kurgan 1 from Filippovka 1 burial ground, a semantic analysis of some uncovered objects of art, as well as the anthropological type/genetic status of the buried woman. Using complex research methods (molecular-genetic, mineralogical, X-ray, technological, traceological analyses, methods of age-sex diagnostics, craniology, multidimensional analysis of principal components and search for archaeological analogies) ensured the authenticity of determining manufacturing techniques and anthropological studies as well as modern ideas about the cultural and chronological interpretation of the presented archaeological materials. A study of horse harness items abd typological attribution of arrowheads and beads made it possible to date the burial within the middle — third quarter of the 4th century BC. The context of items in the burial, the stylistics of their forms and structure convincingly showed that certain items were not used in everyday/social life, but rather served as some sacred attributes used in religious ceremonies and ritual practices only. A search for analogies to the iconography and images from these relics made it possible to clarify the compositional semantics and suggested their purpose in sacred scenarios. The anthropological type distinctive features and genetic structures, as well as the presence of traces of deliberate artificial deformation of the skull, confirm the local, South Ural, origin of the woman.

The Nordic meetings on Stratigraphy – 20 years and 10 meetings later

The first Nordic Meeting on Stratigraphy took place in Stockholm in 1996. The tenthsession in Helsinki 2015 opened for reflections from the earlier meetings. What was theoriginal intention when we started the conference? Which topics has been discussed overtime, what can we say about geographical and chronological issues? Is it possible to detectnew ways of thinking concerning stratigraphy and contextual archaeology? These arequestions that will be addressed in this paper.

A miscellany of the Jordanów culture chipped stone industry from Bohemia

The article primarily presents two small-sized finds from the group of the little-known chipped stone industry of the Proto-Eneolithic Jordanów culture in Bohemia. These chipped stone artefacts from Central Bohemia reflect human behaviour in settlement and mortuary contexts. The first find, a knife made of Baiersdorf tabular chert, was found at a settlement site from the upper phase of the Jordanów culture that had been reutilised as a splintered piece. This is typical of the Proto-Eneolithic and Early Eneolithic periods (e.g. the Funnel Beaker Culture). The second find was a blade of an earlier – perhaps from the Paleolithic period – which had been retrieved and retouched during the Eneolithic age and deposited in a grave dating from the upper phase of the Jordanów culture. The authors also draw attention to other constituent-related issues, such as the advent of flat retouched and longer blades during the Proto-Eneolithic period. The informative potential of the chipped stone industry for monitoring cultural and chronological issues has not yet been fully exploited. This also includes technological and typological changes and the differences between the Lengyel and Jordanów cultures.

Bishops in Early Iceland

Bishops in Early Iceland

14С Data of Post-Catacomb Sites in the Volga Region and the Volga-Urals in the Context of Regional Radiocarbon Chronology

Issues of radiocarbon chronology of Post-Catacomb cultural communities of the Volga region and Volga-Urals are considered in the article. They are represented by sites of the Volga-Don Babino culture and the Volga-Ural cultural group, which went through two completely synchronous stages in their development. The 14C data analysis makes it possible to date the Post-Catacomb antiquities in these regions within the 22nd –20th centuries BC. Comparison of the radiocarbon dates of the Volga-Don Babino culture and the Volga-Ural cultural group with the dates of the Middle Don Catacomb culture of the Middle Bronze Age and chariot cultural communities of the early Late Bronze Age shows that the Post-Catacomb sites followed the Catacomb ones and preceded the Pokrovka, Potapovka, and Sintashta antiquities.

Время появления техники отжима пластинчатых заготовок на Северо-Западном Кавказе и хронология ее распространения на сопредельных территориях

Introduction. The paper deals with the issue of pressure blademaking emergence chronology in the North-Western Caucasus. The possible paths of the innovation diffusion are discussed. Materials and methods. The study of the lithic technology is based on the materials from the Early Holocene layers of the Dvoinaya Cave and the Chygai Rockshelter. The series of AMS dates were obtained for the layers. The earliest use of pressure blademaking was revealed in the layer 4/5 of the Dvoinaya Cave and the layers 3-5 of the Chygai Rockshelter dated to 11,3–8,5 cal kyr BC and 11,1–8,5 cal kyr BC respectively. Results. The full technological context of the bladelet and microbladelet production with the use of pressure was revealed at the Dvoinaya Cave. The blanks were produced from the conical cores with faceted platforms. In layers 3–5 of the Chygai Rockselter the pressure bladelets and microbladelets were discovered. In both cases the metrics of the pressure produced blanks indicate the use of Mode 3 of the pressure technique (pressure with the use of short crutch in a sitting position). Discussion. We don’t consider possible the diffusion of the technique from the Elbrus region of the North Caucasus as there were two technologically distinct traditions that were partly synchronous. The lower chronological range of the Mode 3 pressure emergence in the North-Western Caucasus roughly coincides with the Early Mlefaatian and the Nemrikian in the south and the Early Butovo in the north. The possible intermediate industries dated to the Early Holocene have not been discovered so far in the neighboring regions to the south or to the north of the North-Western Caucasus. Conclusion. The early timе of the complex mode of the pressure technique emergence in the North-Western Caucasus is indicative of the external adoption and an extremely fast pace of the innovation diffusion in the Early Holocene.

Leibniz and Kant

<i>Leibniz and Kant</i>

The Baptistery in the North Church of Shivta: structure, ritual, art

Abstract This paper focuses on the remains of the Baptistery chapel within the North Church complex on the outskirts of Shivta, a fifth-seventh century Byzantine village in the Negev. Presumably a monastery, the North Church is the largest and most elaborately constructed of the three Shivta churches. After addressing general structural and chronological issues of the complex, a comparison of the North Church Baptistery to the South Church Baptistery aims to clarify the linkage between shape and ritual. The authors propose that the earlier South Church Baptistery probably served the public, while the later North Church Baptistery fulfilled the internal needs of the monastery. The remains of the Baptism of Christ wall painting, recently rediscovered in the apse of the North Church Baptistery, complements, even if partially, knowledge of the links between architecture, liturgy, and art within the space. The study offers a glimpse into the religious and cultural world of the people who lived in this arid and remote, but by no means isolated area.

About two seal‐impressed jars from Tell Abraq (Emirate of Umm al‐Quwain). New evidence for intercultural networks in the lower Arabian Gulf in the late 2nd – beginning of the 1st millennium BC

AbstractOngoing excavations at Tell Abraq (Emirate of Umm al‐Quwain, U.A.E.) are revealing new aspects of this multiperiod site, which was occupied from c. 2500 BC to 300 AD. Together with substantial architecture dated to the 2nd and 1st millennia BC, relevant assemblages of archaeological materials are being collected and dated to different phases of the site’s life. Among this material, exceptional is the discovery of two jars bearing the impression of two different cylinder seals, which will be presented here. Seal impressions on any media are extremely rare in the whole of south‐eastern Arabia and strongly indicate a foreign provenance for the jars. Their iconographic study, the fabric and morphological parallels for the jars, and probable chronology will be discussed, as this can highlight transmarine connections during the late 2nd‐first half of the 1st millennium BC, as well as provide new data to address chronological issues in south‐eastern Iran itself.

Pottery from Tell Khaiber: A Craft Tradition of the First Sealand Dynasty By Daniel Calderbank (Archaeology of Ancient Iraq 1). Ludlow: Moonrise Press 2021. Pp. xii + 282. £ 35. ISBN 978-1-910169-02-5 (cloth).

<i>Pottery from Tell Khaiber: A Craft Tradition of the First Sealand Dynasty</i> By Daniel Calderbank (Archaeology of Ancient Iraq 1). Ludlow: Moonrise Press 2021. Pp. xii + 282. £ 35. ISBN 978-1-910169-02-5 (cloth).

A question of time: historical overview and modern thought on Quaternary dating methods to produce fluvial chronologies

Since its early stage one century ago, Quaternary geochronology has witnessed major progress with the development of a vast array of relative, correlation and numerical dating methods. Fluvial geomorphologists have simultaneously striven to quantitatively assess processes on very different timescales (101-106 years). Dating fluvial/alluvial landforms and/or associated material/archives rapidly turned out to be one of the main challenges accordingly. Here, a bipartite reflection is proposed on how Quaternary dating methods have allowed the production of fluvial chronologies over the last century, including at the present time. Firstly, a progressive methodological shift has been witnessed. Whilst age controls were mostly attained via relative and correlation dating until the late xxth century, numerical dating methods have increasingly taken over the prevailing role since the last two or three decades. Two explanatory causes are then proposed. The bipartite evolution of relative dating methods over the last decades is explored: whilst some methods were further developed in the fluvial context (e.g., amino-acid racemization), some others were vehemently questioned (e.g., lichenometry). The late flourishing of radiometric dating methods during the second half of the xxth century is also considered. Secondly, the current status of Quaternary geochronology is doubly questioned: (i) Is the die cast for “disused” relative dating methods? and (ii) Can radiometric dating methods solve all chronological issues related to fluvial environments? Surface exposure dating of alluvial surfaces via cosmogenic nuclides is then thoroughly discussed in this respect, focusing on some methodological issues. A rehabilitation of some methods fallen into disuse, such as weathering indicators, is then proposed to support numerical age outputs. Finally, geochronological approaches based on multiple dating tools, either by crosschecking the outputs of different methods or coupling numerical dating methods, are fostered.

Tata Liba Ceremony for Reconciliation and Healing (Palu’e Island, Eastern Indonesia)

This article examines the Palu’e Tata liba ceremony with the help of multimedia research documentation, participant observation, and comparison with other local ceremonies. The form and performance, including reasons and effects, are described and analysed. On Palu’e, a person who is ill, or who has tried medicines without results, wonders if he/she has done something wrong according to custom or toward fellow human beings, and can request one of several ceremonies or healing genres. Tata liba is integrated into a holistic system of general health and can also be performed preventively for good feelings and the maintaining of good relations. The ancestors are called upon with ritual language, shown to exhibit semantic parallelism, to heal the participants’ suffering relations and possible ill health. The overcoming of negative feelings is symbolically displayed by wiping the participants with water, throwing rice grains behind the back, and spitting in a coconut bowl. The main objective is to achieve harmony within or between families, and there is no argumentation or chronological issues producing a win-win situation.

Materials from the burials of Sergushkin-3 ground cemetery in the Northern Angara region: on the issue of chronology and geneses of the Tsepan Culture

The Sergushkin-3 ground cemetery (Northern Angara region), studied in 1974-2011, included 24 burials of the Bronze Age, Early Iron Age and the Middle Ages. The cultural and chronological attribution of some com-plexes is polemical. The purpose of this article is to introduce into scientific discourse materials from burials 8 and 9, including the results of contextual and comparative study of funeral and commemorative practices of these assemblages, as well as paleo-anthropological data and radiocarbon dates. Burial 8 contains macerated, broken and partly burned bones of a 25–30 year old woman and represents an oval pit oriented along the river. Accord-ing to the grave contents, the remains of the dead woman were burnt in the burial pit. She was accompanied with two sickle type bronze blades, a stone arrowhead and two bone plates. The burnt tree samples provided the ra-diocarbon ages of 3165 ± 130 BP (SPb_147) and 2945 ± 130 BP (SPb_148). Burial 9 contains macerated, partly broken and burnt bones of a young 18–20 year old man and a young 16–20 year old woman in a ground pit ori-ented along the river. The partial cremation of the remains was performed outside. The deceased were accompa-nied with a piercing tool made of moose splint bone, one stone and four bone arrowheads, four horn arrowhead sockets and a hollow horn collar. The burnt tree samples were radiocarbon dated to 2790 ± 100 BP (SPb_381) and 2750 ± 100 BP (SPb_382). The grave goods of both burials are similar to those of the Tsepan Culture of the Early Iron Age (8th–2nd c. BC), while the calibrated calendar interval of their radiocarbon ages is within 15th-10th c. BC. It agrees with the dates of the same “early” Tsepan burial 4 on the Pashina settlement (late 2nd — early 1st mil. BC). The recorded details of funeral rites of these burials are typical for earlier assemblages in the Baikal-Angara re-gion. The sickle type bronze blades and horn sockets are unique for the Bronze Age materials in Angara and Baikal regions, but they impressively resemble the curved knives and bone sockets of the pre-Scythian period from Yakutia and Trans-Baikal region. Based on the above, a suggestion has been made regarding the initial stage of formation of the Tsepan Culture as having been the result of migration processes in the region in the second half of the 2nd mil. BC.

Statehood Day or Candlemas Day – Ideology vs. Chronology

The paper deals with the ideological and chronological issues concerning Statehood day, which is celebrated on the 15th and 16th of February in Serbia. The focus will be on the connection which is being established between the state holiday of Statehood day and Candlemas Day which is a church holiday. The paper will further deal with the problems with dating the two key events – the start of the First Serbian Uprising in 1804 and the adoption of the first Serbian Constitution in 1835 – which, according to the Serbian law on national and other holidays, form the basis for the celebrating of Statehood day. The paper will prove that it wasn’t necessary for the legislators to insist on establishing a connection between the aforementioned events and the date of the church holiday neither in the 19th nor in the 21st century. The author will also point out the significant errors in chronology: it is falsely claimed that the anniversaries of both these events coincide with Candlemas Day (in 1804 and 1835, respectively), and that it is hence unwarranted to claim that they coincide with Candlemas Day in the 21st century. It will be shown that the reason for these errors lies in the incorrect calculation and translation of dates from the Julian into the Gregorian calendar, as w&#x0D; Cet article traite les problèmes idéologiques et chronologiques en relation avec le Jour de la souveraineté de la Serbie, fêté le 15 et le 16 février. La question du rattachement du Jour de la souveraineté à la fête religieuse de la Présentation du Christ a été problématisée, ensuite la question concernant la datation de deux événements qui, d’après la Loi sur les fêtes nationales dans la République de Serbie, sont à l’origine de la célébration du Jour de la souveraineté de la Serbie (début de la Première insurrection serbe de 1804 et l’adoption de la première Constitution serbe en 1835). Dans l’article, l’auteur démontre que le législateur a inutilement insisté sur le rattachement des événements évoqués à la date de la fête religieuse de la Présentation au XIXe puis au XXIe siècle. L’auteur rend compte des erreurs importantes concernant la chronologie : l’on soutient à tort que les deux événements ont eu lieu le jour de la Présentation en 1804 puis en 1835 ; par conséquent, les anniversaires des deux événements sont indûment associés à la Présentation au XXIe siècle. Dans l’article est expliqué que la raison de ces erreurs tient à la transposition erronée des dates du calendrier julien en calendrier grégorien, et l’auteur soutient la thèse que l’insistance actuelle sur l’association du Jour de la souveraineté à la Présentation est idéologiquement conditionnée, qu’elle est une conséquence de la désécularisation de la société en Serbie. &#x0D; y is ideologically conditioned and that it is a consequence of the desecularization of Serbian society.