Mound Site Research Articles

Материалы из культурных слоев поселений, нарушенных при возведении элитного кургана № 51 Усть-Тартасского могильника

The results of the hillock and the nearest area of mound No. 51 of the Sargat culture of the Ust-Tartas mounds site study are presented. A wide complex of ceramics and stone tools was obtained which made it possible to date these materials earlier than the mound. Stone products are represented by a tool complex, production waste, technical chips. Scrapers predominate among tools. Several cultural groups have been identified in the ceramic complex: the early Neolithic, the pit-comb community, the Krotovo, Irmen’, the early Middle Ages cultures. The “Sargats” took the soil for the mound from the surrounding area, breaking the cultural layer of the Neolithic — early-developed Bronze Age.

A morphological typology for the “Kranzhügel” of the Greater Western Jazira and its impact upon interpretations of Early Bronze Age north-eastern Syria

In the poorly-investigated Greater Western Jazira (GWJ) of north-eastern Syria, the most well-known sites are large tell settlements often called “Kranzhügel”. While this term broadly describes sub-circular mounded sites with two concentric ramparts, it is neither precise nor applicable to all fortified tells of the region. Its widespread application across morphologically heterogeneous sites has led to a distortion of concepts of settlement dynamics and human activity in the GWJ during the Early Bronze Age. This paper uses an intensive remote sensing study and results from past fieldwork to disentangle the term “Kranzhügel” from indiscriminate use and lack of academic dissemination, and build a new typology based upon the absolute morphological forms of fortified GWJ sites. This not only provides a framework for researchers in this region, especially when working with remote sensing data, but also a case study of the pitfalls of terminological ambiguity which are present across many areas of archaeological research.

The impact of the transition from broad-spectrum hunting to sheep herding on human meat consumption: Multi-isotopic analyses of human bone collagen at Aşıklı Höyük, Turkey

At Aşıklı Höyük, one of the earliest Pre-pottery Neolithic mound sites in Central Anatolia, a shift in animal utilization from broad-spectrum exploitation of diverse animal species to a concentration on managed caprines has been observed. Changes in the balance of meat to plant foods over the same time frame remain an open question. In this study, carbon and nitrogen isotopic analyses of bulk collagen and compound-specific nitrogen isotopic analysis of amino acids were undertaken for the human remains to elucidate the dietary impact of the hunting to herding transition over a span of about 1000 years. The results showed that animal protein consumption did not change very much as managed sheep became the main source of meat. The contribution of animal protein to the total human diet at Aşıklı Höyük is similar to comparison data on later Neolithic farmers in Anatolia measured in previous studies. The early development of ungulate management and the increasing focus on just a few prey species do not appear to have forced drastic changes in the extent human carnivory from the early Pre-pottery Neolithic to the early Pottery Neolithic. However, human individuals showed similar isotopic compositions within the same buildings at Aşıklı, suggesting variation in food consumption by household.

Revisiting Kalundu Mound, Zambia: Implications for the Timing of Social and Subsistence Transitions in Iron Age Southern Africa

Novel trajectories of food production, urbanism, and inter-regional trade fueled the emergence of numerous complex Iron Age polities in central and southern Africa. Renewed research and re-dating efforts in Botswana, Zimbabwe, and along the Swahili Coast are transforming models for how inter-regional interaction spheres contributed to these patterns. While societies in present-day Zambia played an important role in the trade of copper, ivory, gold, and other resources between central and southern Africa, little is known about lifeways during the rise of social complexity in this region. This paper reports the results of re-excavation at Kalundu Mound on the Batoka Plateau of southern Zambia, one of the iconic mound sites of the Iron Age “Kalomo Culture.” New radiocarbon dates were combined with the original dates in a series of Bayesian models, indicating that previous chronologies for the site are not reliable and that the mound site likely developed rapidly from AD 1190 to 1410. Archaeobotanical, zooarchaeological, and paleo-proteomic analyses of excavated materials suggests a broad subsistence base combining wild and domesticated species, including the first reported evidence for finger millet (Eleusine coracana) in the region. Considering these findings, it is necessary to re-evaluate the temporal context of the Kalomo site-group, and to also systematically reinvestigate the systems of exchange and subsistence that supported Later Iron Age complexity.

The earliest lacquerwares of China were discovered at Jingtoushan site in the Yangtze River Delta

AbstractIn the Yangtze River Delta, natural lacquer has been used as coating and adhesive since the Neolithic. At Jingtoushan Neolithic site, the earliest, deepest buried prehistoric shell mound site discovered in China's coastal areas, where stratigraphic age lies between 7,800–8,300 cal BP, we discovered the earliest lacquerwares of China. The relics are a piece of dowelled wood and an oblate wooden stick. The black coatings on the two relics were studied by using non‐destructive infrared analysis, pyrolysis‐gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py‐GC/MS), and enzyme‐linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA), and the analysis determined that black coating on the two relics is natural lacquer. This discovery refreshes the history of natural lacquer used by humans in the Yangtze River Delta to more than 8,000 years ago and also complements the history of organic coatings used during the Neolithic period in China.

Mercury enrichment in anthrosols and adjacent coastal sediments at a Classic Maya site, Marco Gonzalez, Belize

AbstractElevated concentrations of total mercury (THg) are found in the surface soils and flanking wetland sediments at the Classic Maya coastal site of Marco Gonzalez, Belize. Significant concentrations (up to 1.3 µg·g−1dry mass) of THg occur in leaf litter‐rich soils, as well as in the artefact‐rich anthrosol spread over the vegetated mound site of structures and occupation debris. The abundance and spatial pattern of major and trace elements measured in the surface soils indicate both site‐scale controlling factors of topography, structures and vegetation on soil geochemistry as well as local highs in concentration compared with background, due to human activity. Geochemical stratigraphy of wetland sediment cores shows that a shift from carbonate‐reef sediments to mangrove peat in the 13th century AD was attended by an input of allogenic (mineral) elements, including mercury. A THg concentration peak (0.8 μg·g−1) in brackish pool sediment is210Pb‐dated to 1960–1970 AD, but the incorporation of mercury in multiple cores adjacent to the site shows increasing mercury inputs to have occurred before, during Classic‐period Maya occupation and following the sites abandonment. Analysis of element values from site‐scale soil sampling, combined with results from off‐site cores, provides a numerical framework upon which outlier values of THg and other element spatial patterns can be assessed, especially the spatial co‐association of elements related to differences in soil–sediment matrices. Geochemical results from active soils developing from occupation deposits (anthrosols) and sediment cores open up questions concerning contemporary and past mercury accumulation at coastal Mayan sites, and the wider interaction of human and natural biogeochemical processes that occur in human‐modified soils and coastal wetland sediments.

LiDAR predictive modeling of Pacific Northwest mound sites: A study of Willamette Valley Kalapuya Mounds, Oregon (USA)

Archaeologists need new methods to survey large areas and overcome environmental and archaeological barriers to site discovery in heavily forested regions. LiDAR (light detection and ranging) technology is one possible solution to these challenges as LiDAR digitally clears away vegetation, facilitating large-scale remote sensing survey. The Calapooia Watershed, located in the southern Willamette Valley of Oregon, is an ideal area to utilize LiDAR. While valley lowlands are cleared for agriculture, riverine areas remain heavily wooded and are known to contain hundreds of low-lying earthwork features created by pre-colonial Kalapuyan people. To assess the potential application of LiDAR in this region, we developed and tested a mound detection predictive model using LiDAR and aerial imagery. Field testing of the model identified seven new Kalapuyan mounds and verified the location of several others. Our model was 44 percent successful in identifying cultural mounds and 100 percent successful in identifying extant previously identified mounds. The model is effective and can be used to identify and preserve mound features in the Pacific Northwest; the model can also be modified and used to identify earthwork features in other regions.

‘A PATH LESS TRAVELLED’? A CASE STUDY OF CROSS-REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY IN THE THIRD MILLENNIUM BC FROM THE MADRA RIVER DELTA ON THE COASTLINE OF NORTH-WEST ANATOLIA

Assumptions are always made about the levels and directions of cultural connections across regions in western Anatolia and the eastern Aegean in the Early Bronze Age (EBA). However, a lack of primary fieldwork data still inhibits clear conclusions and an understanding of the subtleties and variations in such patterns. In particular, primary data is still lacking from the critical coastal ‘touch-point’ of these two regions where material evidence is usually obscured by significant geomorphological change. This article looks at this complex issue of variations in regional connectivity in the EBA through a case study of unpublished primary fieldwork material from the Madra River Delta, a coastal region of north-west Anatolia. Material from the excavation and surface survey of two EBA mound sites in the delta, carried out as part of the interdisciplinary research project, gives a rare opportunity to explore ‘connectivity’ on this coastal area through elements of its EBA material culture, ranging from ceramic and textile production to figurines. The article highlights not only the complex, and unexpected, nature of the inter-regional cultural ‘pathways’ visible in the delta itself, but also the implications – and further questions – which this raises for the cultural connections with the neighbouring region of the north-east Aegean.

From the Mound to the Moon: Geophysical insights into Angel phase landscapes

• Geophysics offer effective methods for understanding socio-spatial practices. • Angel social identities were negotiated in both monumental and residential landscapes. • Mound C was converted to a defensive structure as the Angel Mounds site contracted. • The lunar Angel Axis was repeated in residential architecture at hinterland sites. • Nearly one quarter of hinterland structures were aligned to the Angel Axis.

Archaeology, Epigraphy, Philology

Archaeology, Epigraphy, Philology William J. Urbrock, Christopher T. Begg, John R. Spencer, and Victor H. Matthews William J. Urbrock University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Christopher T. Begg Catholic University of America John R. Spencer John Carroll University Victor H. Matthews Missouri State University 1903. [Arad Altars] Anonymous, "High Offerings," BARev 46 (5, 2020) 16. A recent residue analysis of two incense altars found at the site of the 8th-cent. b.c.e. temple at Arad has revealed traces of frankincense mixed with animal fat on the larger altar [End Page 709] and cannabis and animal dung on the smaller. This is the first discovery of frankincense in an archaeological context in ancient Israel or Judah and an unexpected find of cannabis, which is not mentioned in the Bible. Photo-illustrated. See also #1907.—W.J.U. Google Scholar 1904. [Oil Lamps, Pit Burial Caves; Hasmonean Period Judean Ethnic Identity] Omri Y. Abadi and Eyal Regev, "Folded wheel-made oil lamps, standing pit burial caves and Judean ethnic identity in the Hasmonean period," PEQ 152 (3, 2020) 248-72. Two distinct archaeological phenomena emerged between the middle of the 2nd cent. b.c.e. and the middle of the first cent. b.c.e.: the Hasmonean folded wheel-made lamp and the standing pit burial cave. Following an examination of the dating, distribution, and social significance of these phenomena, we suggest that these items of material culture were characteristic of Judean Jews during the above period and reflect the process of ethnic identity formation. The fact that the Hasmonean wheel-made lamp and the standing pit burial cave were typical of Jews in Judea in this time indicates that these phenomena constituted ethnic features of Jewish society. In their use of these items, Jews emphasized their dissimilarity from the rest of the population. The archaic appearance of the lamps and the burial caves, which replicate the cultural characteristics of the Kingdom of Judah during the monarchic/First Temple period, indicates that Jewish society in the Hasmonean period sought to legitimize its existence through the use of earlier culture and the memory of this. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] Google Scholar 1905. [Kāmid el-Lōz] Jihad Al-Daire, "Kāmid el-Lōz: Typology of Iron Age Cooking Pots in the Perspective of R. Hachmann's Excavations 1963–1981," ZDPV 136 (1, 2020) 21-49. This study focuses on the cooking pots that have been found in the Iron Age levels at the site of its title. In particular, the study explores the typology of these cooking pots and seeks to shed light on the development of the cooking pot tradition in the eight Iron Age levels at the site. In addition, I review the dating of the Building Periods at the site suggested by the site's excavator, R. Hachmann. In so doing, I adduce archaeological parallels from various sites in the southern Levant which highlight the technological and morphological similarities of cooking pots throughout the southern Levant during the Iron Age. Finally, I argue that the cooking pots from the above site should be dated to the Iron Age I and II periods. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] Google Scholar 1906. [Digital Methods for the Study of Flat Archaeological Sites] Mark Altaweel, "The importance of flat archaeological sites in the Age of Empires and new digital methods for their identification and analysis," The Reach of the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires, 7-23 [see #2534]. In the Age of Empires of the first millennium b.c.e. when large, major urban centers dominated the plains of Mesopotamia and the coastal regions of the Mediterranean, the rural landscape began to transform as well, with settlements often located away from traditional, mounded sites. Finding these sites can be challenging, but it is not impossible. However, the mountainous regions in Iraq and its neighboring areas present special methodological challenges in this regard. Many of the sites occupied in the above period were flat and low, making them less visible in surveys and even in satellite-based remote sensing data. Machine-learning techniques and the use of point pattern...

Waterlogged: Examples and Procedures for Northwest Coast Archaeologists. KATHRYN BERNICK, editor. 2019. Washington State University Press, Pullman. x + 246 pp. $32.95 (paperback), ISBN 978-0-087422-366-8 — ERRATUM

Toad bones, sometimes occurring in great numbers in pit features and other contexts in Native American village and mound sites in the Appalachian Summit, have been interpreted as evidence that toads were consumed, used for their purportedly hallucinogenic toad venom, placed as ritual deposits, or naturally entrapped/intrusive. A paucity or lack of bones of the head in some contexts is suggestive of decapitation and consumption of toads. Alternatively, bones of the head may be less preservable, recoverable, or identifiable. This study examines toad remains on Appalachian Summit late precontact and contact period sites, reviews previous experimentation, and presents a new experimental study undertaken to identify agencies of accumulation. We propose that toads were regularly consumed and possibly as part of ritualized events associated with village and mound construction. The temporal and geographic restriction of this practice to the Pisgah and Qualla phases of the Appalachian Summit suggests subsistence ethnicity as alluded to in historical accounts.

Элистинский курганный могильник: анализ соотношения курганов и погребений раннего и среднего бронзового века

Introduction. Elista grave field is a largest and most investigated one in the Ergeni Uplands, with the bulk of barrows and burials dated to the Bronze Age. Burial mound sites in the mentioned area are distinguished by linear positioning of tumuli — the most sizeable groups constitute chains of kurgans located transversally along watershed lines. Plateau-like ridges may comprise groups consisting of several parallel kurgan chains. Goals. The study aims at analyzing the correlation (ratio) between kurgans and burials of Early and Middle Bronze Age cultures within the grave field of Elista. Results. The work reveals some specific functions of under-kurgan rooms (space) in different cultures of the examined period. So, burial mounds of the Yamnaya culture contained one central burial each. In the Early Catacomb era, inlet burials were made only in ‘own’ barrows, while the arrived North Caucasian steppe culture gave rise to scattered cases of constructing inlet burials in culturally alien kurgans. Pit-catacomb burials were characterized by somewhat differing use of foreign culture barrows: one such construct virtually demolished the main burial in a Yamnaya kurgan; in another instance, the creation of an inlet burial was followed by heaping quite a plenty of soil which resulted in that the tumulus became several times as large. The distinctive feature is that all the monuments are arranged along the watershed without visible clustering. The largest group is that of kurgans and burials referred to as the East Manych Catacomb culture. Catacomb barrows were inserted into the existing chain, and dimensionally the bulk of them were virtually identical to previous monuments. Conclusions. The analysis shows research of Early and Middle Bronze Age burials should focus not only on quantitative properties in separate kurgans. When it comes to counting inlet burials it is critical to identify the cultural and chronological affiliation of the main burial. Moreover, it is important to obtain additional data, such whether the burial is located inside the tumulus or below the latter, whether there is any trace of later soil heaping, etc. This may be instrumental in discovering additional groups of inlet burials that vary from ‘common’ to ‘elite’ ones and could have been accompanied by several-fold enlargement of the initial (original) tumulus.

Over the hills and far away: Middle to Late Woodland archaeology and toolstone conveyance at Hyre Mound (46RD1), West Virginia

The archaeology of the eastern West Virginia uplands remains significantly understudied compared to other areas of the Appalachian Plateau. Bettye Broyles’ excavations at the Hyre Mound site (46RD1) in 1963 recovered a variety of artifacts within and directly adjacent to a burial mound but the excavations remain largely unpublished. We provide a report of Broyles’ excavations, new radiocarbon dates, and an analysis of the lithic raw material frequencies at the site. Material culture and ceremonial practices suggest the initial mound construction dates to the Middle Woodland period. Radiocarbon dating of cultural features confirms that people also used the locality during the Late Woodland period. Lithic raw material frequencies indicate a preference for non-local, Hillsdale chert found ∼100 km from the site throughout both time periods. The directionality of toolstone conveyance supports existing models that emphasize the quality and location of raw material sources and the orientation of the region’s physiography.

Early specialized maritime and maize economies on the north coast of Peru

We assess diet and economies of middle Holocene (∼7,500 to 4,000 calibrated [cal] B.P.) humans at coexisting mound sites (Huaca Prieta and Paredones) in north coastal Peru and document regular consumption of maize by ∼6,500 to 6,000 cal B.P. and its earliest use as a staple food in this area of the Andes between 5,000 and 4,500 cal B.P. Stable isotope data from enamel carbonates and dentin collagen (childhood diet) and dental microwear texture analysis (adult diet) demonstrate dietary and economic specialization. Previous studies revealed maize and mixed-food refuse at both sites, but this study documents actual food consumption, showing that these communities situated a few hundred meters apart had significantly distinct diets in childhood and adulthood. Huaca Prieta focused on marine resources, although there are some contributions from terrestrial meat. Paredones individuals primarily consumed maize during childhood (up to 70% of the juvenile diet), as shown by δ13C values, apatite-collagen spacing, and discriminant analysis of δ13Ccoll, δ13Ccarb, and δ15N values. Maize was likely used as a weaning food (e.g., gruel and/or chicha-a maize beverage), hinting at the significant role of breastfeeding mothers, weanling infants, and children in the development of maize as a staple crop. Additionally, dental microwear data show Paredones adult diets are high in abrasives, potentially from maize processing. The distinct foodways at these neighboring sites result from and also reflect their social and political distinctions. These differences in food production, distribution, and consumption generated opportunities for exchange, an interaction that bound them together in mutual benefit.

Exploration of the digital display design method of ancient coconut shell hill archaeological site

With the development of science and computer technology, digital display design breaks through geographical and time and space constraints, not only can realize the restoration and protection of ancient coconut shell mound ruins, at the same time, the rapid spread of ancient coconut shell mound site culture was realized. This paper analyze the current situation of the ancient coconut shell mound site display and discover the core content of the ancient coconut shell mound site display to explore a solution to the digital display design of the ancient coconut shell mound site. The digital display design is conducive to the cultural information dissemination of the ancient coconut shell mound site, and improves the interactive experience and satisfaction of visitors; it aims to play a certain guiding role for the ancient coconut shell mound site to truly and completely explain the value of the site and spread the connotation of the site.

Diet and subsistence in Bronze Age pastoral communities from the southern Russian steppes and the North Caucasus.

The flanks of the Caucasus Mountains and the steppe landscape to their north offered highly productive grasslands for Bronze Age herders and their flocks of sheep, goat, and cattle. While the archaeological evidence points to a largely pastoral lifestyle, knowledge regarding the general composition of human diets and their variation across landscapes and during the different phases of the Bronze Age is still restricted. Human and animal skeletal remains from the burial mounds that dominate the archaeological landscape and their stable isotope compositions are major sources of dietary information. Here, we present stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data of bone collagen of 105 human and 50 animal individuals from the 5th millennium BC to the Sarmatian period, with a strong focus on the Bronze Age and its cultural units including Maykop, Yamnaya, Novotitorovskaya, North Caucasian, Catacomb, post-Catacomb and late Bronze Age groups. The samples comprise all inhumations with sufficient bone preservation from five burial mound sites and a flat grave cemetery as well as subsamples from three further sites. They represent the Caucasus Mountains in the south, the piedmont zone and Kuban steppe with humid steppe and forest vegetation to its north, and more arid regions in the Caspian steppe. The stable isotope compositions of the bone collagen of humans and animals varied across the study area and reflect regional diversity in environmental conditions and diets. The data agree with meat, milk, and/or dairy products from domesticated herbivores, especially from sheep and goats having contributed substantially to human diets, as it is common for a largely pastoral economy. This observation is also in correspondence with the faunal remains observed in the graves and offerings of animals in the mound shells. In addition, foodstuffs with elevated carbon and nitrogen isotope values, such as meat of unweaned animals, fish, or plants, also contributed to human diets, especially among communities living in the more arid landscapes. The regional distinction of the animal and human data with few outliers points to mobility radii that were largely concentrated within the environmental zones in which the respective sites are located. In general, dietary variation among the cultural entities as well as regarding age, sex and archaeologically indicated social status is only weakly reflected. There is, however, some indication for a dietary shift during the Early Bronze Age Maykop period.

The Nature of Feasting at Feltus (and Beyond): A Response to Hayden

My recent article offered a model by which to better classify feasts by distinguishing between archaeological correlates of group size and sociopolitical competition. Applying this model to remains from a precontact mound site, I highlighted feasting's role in promoting group solidarity in the American South. Hayden's comment argues that my scheme does not accommodate certain types of events, and it questions my noncompetitive interpretation. I address both critiques here by citing further data from the Southeast, emphasizing the importance of interpreting feasts within their cultural and historical contexts, and highlighting Hayden's continued reliance on long-standing assumptions about feasting and monumental architecture.

Coastal subsistence and platform mound feasting on Florida’s northern Gulf Coast

Platform mounds during the Woodland period (ca. 200 BCE to 600 CE) of the American Southeast were integrative structures that included elevated stages for communal food consumption (feasting). While this pattern appears consistent across inland mound sites, food remains from contemporaneous coastal platform mounds have not been adequately studied and the activities associated with these monuments are poorly understood. To address this lacuna, we present results of zooarchaeological analysis of assemblages from a platform (Mound II) and contemporaneous domestic midden at the Garden Patch site, a civic-ceremonial center on the northern Gulf coast of peninsular Florida. One difficulty arising from the coastal context comes from the building material used to construct mounds, which often included redeposited midden originally associated with daily refuse. Our study navigates this difficulty through multiple lines of evidence showing that mound constituents include remains from special events that occurred mostly during the winter. The faunal assemblage from the platform mound is broadly similar to the midden except in the prevalence of toadfish (Opsanus sp.) and in the high diversity of migratory birds. Different proportions of these fauna in each context may reflect seasonal availability, preferences for particular taxa at feasts, or both. Ultimately, the feasts at coastal platform mounds appear to have been the maritime version of their inland counterparts, supplied with local foods at particular times of the year.

Discovery of a giant cold-water coral mound province along the northern Argentine margin and its link to the regional Contourite Depositional System and oceanographic setting

In the southern oceans, only a few cold-water coral mound sites have so far been reported compared to the extensively surveyed North Atlantic. Here, we document for the first time the widespread occurrence of exposed and buried coral mounds at the northern Argentine margin named Northern Argentine Mound Province (NAMP). The integration of multibeam bathymetry, sediment echosounder, Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP), and CTD data allowed the characterisation of its morphosedimentary, stratigraphic, and hydrodynamic setting.The NAMP, covering at least 2000 km2, represents the largest coral mound province in terms of areal extent reported so far and a major site in the southern oceans. The coral mound distribution is directly linked to morphosedimentary features of the regional Contourite Depositional System (CDS) influenced by the Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW), the Upper Circumpolar Deep Water (UCDW), and their interface, forming a complex bottom-current-controlled environment here termed Coral-Contourite System. Coral mounds are most abundant in the lower AAIW between 900 and 1050 m, just above the Ewing Terrace Moat, which has been shaped by high-velocity currents associated with the AAIW-UCDW boundary. This clustering appears to be the result of an increased concentration of suspended sediment and food particles, transported along the AAIW-UCDW density gradient and delivered upward by turbulent hydrodynamic processes, which are enhanced by the irregular moat topography. Within the Ewing Terrace Moat, coral mounds are restricted to topographic obstacles, modifying the otherwise highly erosive, destructive hydrodynamic regime and thereby locally creating favourable conditions for coral growth. The low-velocity currents of the UCDW, currently influencing the Ewing Terrace, promote extensive contourite deposition, which has led to a progressive demise and burial of pre-existing mounds. The presence of these buried mounds suggests past mound aggradation 100 to 150 m deeper likely due to a downward shift of the AAIW during glacials as a consequence of sea-level lowering. Overall, the mound formation in the NAMP seems to be mainly controlled by the availability of suspended particles, in combination with a sufficient bottom-current strength, keeping material in suspension while preventing destructive erosion and excessive sedimentation.Our study highlights (1) the importance of high-energy processes at water-mass boundaries for the delivery of sediment and food particles to corals, (2) the role of the AAIW as a crucial water mass for coral mound development, (3) the variability of mounds in response to glacial-interglacial cycles, and (4) the potential of CDSs in general and the Argentine margin in particular as hotspots for coral mounds and, thus, ideal site for future studies.

Recognizing Different Lifeways and Subsistence Practices through Analysis of the Material Cultures of Mound Sites in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

In the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, the term cerrito was traditionally used to designate archaeological phenomena that emerge in the form of mounds in different landscapes. Except for recent research developed in the southwestern region of the Patos Lagoon, few advances have occurred since the 1980s in the study of cerritos in Brazil. This article presents an analysis of the lithic industries of sites with mounds in the southwestern region of the Patos Lagoon and in the central region in the current territory of Rio Grande do Sul. The results, along with other data from the sites, suggest that coastal sites were occupied by sedentary fisher-hunter-gatherers, who also possibly domesticated certain plants. Lithic material was scarce there and was mainly produced from pebbles and quartz cobbles using the anvil technique. In contrast, central region formations presented mounds on outcrops, using land, pebbles, and boulders; the area was occupied by a hunter-gatherer group that had projectile points and other instruments carved mainly by façonnage and débitage.