Neolithic Assemblages Research Articles

Investigating figulina pottery technology in the southern Po Plain through an integrated archaeometric approach

Figulina pottery refers to a fine, light-coloured ceramic class commonly occurring in Neolithic assemblages of southern and central Italy and, on the opposite side of the Adriatic Sea, along the Dalmatian coast of Croatia. In northern Italy, figulina pottery occurs in limited quantities during the 5th millennium cal. BCE and seems to diverge from the local ceramic productions in terms of technological choices and firing procedures. In light of these technical considerations, past scholarly research hypothesised the existence of networks involving either the exchange of figulina vessels or dynamics of knowledge transmission between Neolithic communities bearing distinct pottery traditions. In this paper, figulina sherds from five mid-late Neolithic settlements located in the southern Po Plain area of northern Italy have been analysed through a multi-analytical archaeometric approach that comprises macroscopic fabric analysis, thin section petrography, X-Ray Powder Diffraction (XRPD) and portable X-Ray Fluorescence (p-XRF). The investigation was carried out with the scope of exploring the technological choices behind the rare figulina pots exceptionally retrieved at the Po Plain sites. Results shed light on the production technology and presumable provenance of the raw materials selected for figulina productions in the region, disclosing possible scenarios of technological transmissions while calling into question the ceramic production model currently hypothesised for Neolithic northern Italy.

Integrating New Prehistoric Palaeopathological Finds from Hungary.

Eight newly identified pathological animal remains identified in two Middle Neolithic assemblages (ca 5330-4940 calBC) in northern and western Hungary were placed within the broader context of relevant prehistoric finds. The aim was to understand the underrepresented Middle Neolithic finds in light of the better-known cases from other prehistoric periods. The newly reported cases include arthritic and inflammatory lesions, as well as dental disorders, such as linear enamel hypoplasia, recognized for the first time in the Hungarian Neolithic. Identifications were based on bone macromorphology. When large samples are available, the frequencies of pathological bone specimens reflect the taxonomic composition. Along with the increasing number of cases, longevity related to exploitation for secondary products also became manifest. Therefore, the effects of assemblage size, disease classification and differences between authors (related to training and the time of publication) need to be considered before pathological lesions can be interpreted in terms of diachronic changes in animal husbandry.

Культурные тренды и их особенности в материалах стратифицированных комплексов нижнего течения р. Селенги (Итанцинская впадина, юго-восточное Прибайкалье)

The proposed publication presents materials of multilayered geoarchaeological sites of the Southeastern Baikal Region, which have their own specifics of formation. Cultural horizons are included in deposits of subaerial genesis, which mainly form the surfaces of river terraces on the right bank of the main water artery of the region, the Selenga River in its lower reaches. Preliminary cultural and chronological definitions, based on the results of a typological analysis of archaeological collections, demonstrate the dynamics of the development of cultural phenomena from the Final Pleistocene to the Holocene. The main trend, characteristic of almost all the studied sites, demonstrates the “delay” of cultural innovations noted in the archaeological cultures of the eastern coast of Lake Baikal and Western Transbaikalia. As a result of a study of a series of sites in the Itantsa depression (lower reaches of the Selenga River) in the early 2000s, we revealed the stability of the morphological and technical and technological appearance of stone tools in the Final Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic. We also noted the uniformity of the typology of the tool set made of stone and bone, and the stability of the exploitation of a single raw material base (raw materials are of the same type in terms of isotropic characteristics). These characteristics indicate a strong tradition of stone processing for more than 10 thousand years. The situation changes about 3–4 thousand years ago (the beginning of the Paleometal era), which is expressed in the expansion of the raw material base of stone raw materials, although stone processing technologies remain in the same technical traditions. Traditions of ceramic production are represented by fragments of vessels with imprints of woven net and cord, found both in the Neolithic assemblages and in the materials of the cultural horizons of the Early Bronze Age. The obtained materials can serve as initial data for the reconstruction of the development of cultural phenomena against the background of changes in the paleoclimatic situation in the Baikal region as a whole. It should also be concluded that human stay in the southeastern Baikal region is associated with climatic fluctuations towards relatively warm conditions, while the humidity indicator did not play a big role.

The Origin of Cattle in China from the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age. Chong Yu. Oxford: BAR Publishing, 2020. 108 pp., 20 figures, 13 tables. Paperback £31, ISBN: 9781407316871.

Asian Perspectives, Vol. 62, No. 2 © 2023 by the University of Hawai‘i Press. The Origin of Cattle in China from the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age. Chong Yu. Oxford: BAR Publishing, 2020. 108 pp., 20 figures, 13 tables. Paperback £31, ISBN: 9781407316871. Reviewed by Noel AMANO, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology The domestication of cattle (Bos taurus) from extinct Eurasian aurochs (Bos primigenius) around 10,500 years ago somewhere in the Upper Euphrates and Tigris basins of the Fertile Crescent marks one of the defining moments of the Neolithic Period (Helmer et al. 2005; Peters et al. 2005). Genetic evidence hints that this process started out in a restricted area, constrained by difficulty in managing and sustaining herds, with just around 80 female aurochs estimated to be initially domesticated (Bollongino et al. 2012). Valued for their meat, in addition to secondary products such as milk, hide, blood, and dung, and services including use for traction, domestic cattle were soon present in Cyprus by the end of the eleventh millennium B.P. (Vigne et al. 2000) and almost all throughout the Near East by the eighth to seventh millennium B.P. (Arbuckle and Kassebaum 2021; Helmer et al. 2005; Peters et al. 2005; Vigne et al. 2011). But as with any history of animal domestication, that of cattle is complex and not straightforward. Genetic studies of early cattle outside the Fertile Crescent have revealed multiple introgressions of wild aurochs to domestic populations. Some researchers argue that pre-domestic cattle management, as well as early “morphologically” domestic cattle, originated in multiple centers in Southwest Asia, rather than in just a single center in the Upper Euphrates Valley (Arbuckle and Kassebaum 2021). In addition, a separate domestication event occurred in the Indian subcontinent with the domestication of the Zebu cattle (Bos indicus) (Park et al. 2015). By around 4200 B.P., genetic evidence shows zebu cattle introgression to Southwest and Central Asia, which is hypothesized as linked to the introduction of arid-adapted zebu bulls to enhance herd survival during a widespread, multi-century drought (Verdugo et al. 2019). In the archaeological record, evidence of early cattle domestication and herding at sites in the Levant (e.g., Dja’de al-Mughara, Tell Hallula, Mureybet) and Anatolia (e.g., Çayönü Tepesi, Göbekli Tepe, Çatalhöyük) was detected by looking at a range of attributes including size diminution, reduction in sexual dimorphism, shift in age of individuals exploited as shown by kill-off patterns, and change in diet as revealed by stable isotope analyses, not to mention relative increase in the frequencies of cattle bones at the archaeological sites. In China, genetic and archaeological evidence points to cattle being introduced, presumably from West Asia, sometime between 5600 and 4000 years ago at sites such as Shantaisi and Pingliantai (Lu et al. 2017; Yuan 2010). However, based mostly on the presence of aurochs remains at some Late Pleistocene sites, Chinese scholars have also proposed the possibility of local domestication or at least management of cattle in China. Zhang and colleagues (2013) reported a conjoining mandible directly dated to 10,700 B.P. that showed hyper-attrition. This was taken as evidence for oral stereotypy, which they then interpreted as evidence for Early Holocene cattle management in northern China. Other scholars have proposed the presence of cattle in other Early Neolithic assemblages in northern China, although the evidence remains inconclusive. This complex history of human-cattle interaction is the background for Chong Yu’s The Origin of Cattle in China from the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age, published in 2020 by BAR Publishing as the second volume in its Archaeology of East Asia Series. In the book’s abstract, Yu spelled out the publication’s goal: [To] bring together biometrical information of Bos bones from Early Neolithic to early Bronze Age (10,000 to 3600 BP), in order to gain a better understanding of the morphological variation of this animal in a biological point of view- the main indicator for tracing domestication (both locally and imported elsewhere). (p. xi) Early online release of article in press. This slim volume accomplished that goal in my opinion, and in the process demonstrated the...

The Zooarchaeology of Neolithic farmers: Herding and hunting on the Dalmatian coast of Croatia

Archaeofaunal remains (n = 41,081) from six Neolithic villages in northern Dalmatia indicate the intensification of livestock management from 6000 to 4700 cal BC through changes in the demographic and species compositions of livestock herds that coincide with larger cultural and economic developments in the region. The majority of animal bone at each Neolithic site consisted of sheep and goats. Though cattle and pigs were minor contributors to Early or Middle Neolithic assemblages, both are more prominent in the Late Neolithic. Furthermore, wild species typically range from 4 to 10% of faunal assemblages in open air villages, regardless of phase, and the wild species contain a significant proportion of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). We suggest the shift in the proportions of domestic animal species during the Neolithic signifies a change in management strategies that is also visible in other proxies (e.g., lipid residues), and the presence of roe deer at these sites results from a variety of behavioral responses by farming communities to their changing agropastoral practices and climatic shifts identified in the region.

Domination of Women? Gender Representation in the Corpus of Late Neolithic Anthropomorphic Figurines

Since the inception of the discipline of archaeology, figurines have been considered as the basis for research into the praehistoric social order and religious ideas. In spite of the numerous critiques, the idea that they are the reflection of adoration of Mother Goddess and fertility cults, has persevered even to the present day, mainly thanks to the work of Maria Gimbutas. Her simplified approach to praehistory, apart from giving rise to pseudo-archaeological narratives, has induced severe criticism and polemics inside archaeology. The concept of the Goddess has migrated during the recent period from the academic writing to the realm of pseudo-science, daily politics and activism. In our country, the ideas of the Golden Past, considered to be the origin of the European civilization, are particularly present in the „grey zone“: the public sphere, facilitated through media. All these narratives are based upon the preconception that in the Neolithic collections the representations of women dominate. The results of the preliminary analyses of gender representation in Neolithic assemblages have proven that the claims of women’s dominance are ill-founded, and emphasized once more the significant presence, or even dominance of asexual figurines. On the other hand, the criteria for identification have shown to be unreliable, raising the question of usefulness of such attempts, as well as a number of new questions. Primarily, the role and meaning of the presence/absence of secondary sex attributes, their correlation to age, as well as possible regional differences in meaning and function of figurines are discussed.

A Very Early “Fashion”: Neolithic Stone Bracelets from a Mediterranean Perspective

Abstract Ring-shaped objects, used mainly as bracelets, appear in the archaeological record associated with the first farming societies around the Mediterranean area. These bracelets, among other personal ornaments, are related to the spread of the farming economy in the Mediterranean (10th–6th millennium BC). In particular, stone bracelets, given their intricate technology, are linked with the early stages of craft specialization and the beginnings of complex social organization. Likewise, their frequency in Early Neolithic assemblages and the lithologies in which they were made have become an important element in the study of the circulation networks of goods, as well as the symbolic behaviors and aesthetic preferences of the first farming groups. This research provides the first overview of the stone bracelets of Neolithic groups in the Mediterranean. We compare the similarities and differences among these ornaments in different geographical zones across the region including Turkey, Greece, Italy, and Spain. Using all the information available about these ornaments – chronology, typology, raw materials and manufacturing processes, use-wear, repair, and alteration practices – we shed light on a complex archaeological trans-cultural manifestation related to the spread of the Neolithic lifestyle across the European continent.

A morphometric approach to track opium poppy domestication

Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L. subsp. somniferum) was likely domesticated in the Western Mediterranean, where its putative wild ancestor is indigenous, and then spread to central and northern Europe. While opium poppy seeds are regularly identified in archaeobotanical studies, the absence of morphological criteria to distinguish the seeds of wild and domestic forms prevents the documentation of their respective historical and geographical occurrences and of the process of opium domestication as a whole. To fill this gap and better understand the status of this crop in the Neolithic, we combined seed outline analyses, namely elliptic Fourier transforms, with other morphometric descriptors to describe and identify Papaver setigerum, Papaver somniferum and other Papaver taxa. The combination of all measured parameters gives the most precise predictions for the identification of all seven taxa. We finally provide a case study on a Neolithic assemblage from a pile-dwelling site in Switzerland (Zurich-Parkhaus Opéra, ca. 3170 BC). Our results indicate the presence of mixed populations of domestic and wild seeds belonging to the P. somniferum group, suggesting that the plant was already in the process of domestication at the end of 4th millennium BC. Altogether, these results pave the way to understand the geography and history of the poppy domestication and its spread into Europe.

Local trend of symbolism at the dawn of the Neolithic: The painted bone plaquettes from PPNA Körtiktepe, Southeast Turkey

The PPNA site of Körtiktepe in the Upper Tigris Basin yielded one of the richest Pre-Pottery Neolithic assemblages in Western Asia. The site also stands among a few key Epipalaeolithic–Neolithic transitional centers that played vital roles in the origin and evolution of Neolithic symbolism in Upper Mesopotamia. The site was occupied from the second half of the 11th millennium BCE, and throughout much of the 10th millennium BCE the sedentary hunter-gatherers at Körtiktepe engaged in a socio-symbolic organization with elaborate funerary practice and extensive manufacture of symbolic artifacts, including figurative plaquettes, engraved stone vessels, incised shaft straighteners with elaborate designs, scepters, and large assemblages of beads, mostly unearthed from c2000 intra-site burials. No other PPN site has yielded such an extensive number of burial remains and grave goods. Here, we present a group of painted bone plaquettes displaying morphological features and some imagery so far not seen at any other Pre-Pottery Neolithic site in Western Asia. Assessing the specimens in light of the wider symbolic practices among the first Neolithic societies, we argue that Körtiktepe was an important center of symbolic trend at the dawn of the Neolithic in the Upper Tigris Basin.

Cattle husbandry and aurochs hunting in the Neolithic of northern Central Europe and southern Scandinavia. A statistical approach to distinguish between domestic and wild forms

AbstractIt is a well‐known and geographically widespread problem in archaeozoology that the discrimination between remains of domesticated animals and their wild ancestors is not always possible. Due to an overlap in size as well as other features, substantial parts of bone and teeth assemblages sometimes cannot be assigned either to the wild or the domestic form. In this paper, we apply the logarithmic size index (LSI) method as a tool for discrimination between aurochs (Bos primigenius) and domestic cattle (Bos primigenius f. taurus). By comparing LSI data from definite aurochs with data from Neolithic bovids within a limited geographical area, we show that the overlap of both groups is larger than previously thought.Our analysis also shows that the LSI width values are suited for both differentiating domesticated versus wild animals and sexes within the single groups. For future studies but also for correcting known results, we present division lines between LSI values of aurochs and cattle. The analysed data indicate that female and male aurochs had comparable heights, whereas the latter had a generally more sturdy physique in southern Scandinavia. We consequently expect that the investigated Middle Neolithic assemblages contain a significantly higher number of aurochs bones than previously assumed.

Challenges to reconstruct chert availability in tectonically highly modified environments: Examples from the Dead Sea Transform (Gesher Benot Ya’aqov, Wadi Hammeh, Greater Petra Region)

In the Near East, more particularly in the Southern Levant, the Rift Depression, also called the Dead Sea Transform (DST), reveals unique natural phenomena that have deeply marked the landscape, notably its topographic and hydrographic features, since the Miocene, about 5 million years ago (Mya).In this paper, we present four geo-archaeological case studies associated with the Central Jordan Valley (i.e. Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Wadi al-Hammeh and the Greater Petra Region). These examples intend to illustrate the importance of taking the context and development of the geological substratum into account for the reconstruction of prehistoric lithic procurement strategies. Chert features and availability have been profoundly impacted by these diverse and complex processes. Continental and marine erosion, associated with plate tectonics and lateral plate displacements, have altered silicifications in their primary matrix and have also resulted in the accumulation of secondary deposits rich in chert nodules.Prehistoric peoples throughout the Pleistocene have extensively exploited these various sources. At Acheulian Gesher Benot Ya'aqov the presence of a non-local chert provided the opportunity to focus on and better understand the battered chert only available south of the Sea of Galilee, in the Central Jordan Valley (Case Study #1). The Natufian inhabitants of Wadi Hammeh 27 mainly exploited a yellow chert collected in secondary outcrops of limited geographical distribution that have vanished with the Holocene erosion (Case Study #2). In the Petra Region the lithic analysis of Neolithic assemblages was challenged by the presence of cherts of supposedly non-local origin. Lithic analysts working in the Dead Sea Rift should be aware that the chert spectrum of “the other side” of the depression might be different and that knowledge on local or regional chert availability cannot simply be transferred (Case Study #3). In the Wadi Sabra lateral and vertical displacements as well as tilting processes have affected primary chert-bearing formations resulting in heavily fissured and cracked cherts badly suitable for knapping. In contrast, the tectonically unaffected outcrops in the highlands show no internal damage of the material. This difference is clearly mirrored in the procurement behaviour of the Upper Palaeolithic groups occupying the wadi (Case Study #4).

The Early and Middle Holocene Lithic Industries of Ifri n\u2019Etsedda (Eastern Rif, Morocco)

Archaeological research has been carried out in the Eastern Rif (Morocco) since 1995 by a collaborative Moroccan-German research team. A major topic of the project is the transition from hunting-gathering to food production and related cultural developments. Innovations such as pottery and domesticated species appeared around 7.6 ka calBP. The cultivation of cereals and pulses is evident at that time. Two of the most important sites in the area are Ifri Oudadane and Ifri n’Etsedda. Both provide Epipaleolithic as well as Neolithic deposits. While innovative technologies such as pottery production and cultivation indicate external influences, lithic artifacts demonstrate local technological and behavioral traditions. Therefore, the study of lithic industries is crucial to understanding the nature of cultural continuity and discontinuity between the hunting-gathering and agricultural populations in the Eastern Rif. Ifri n’Etsedda provides two distinct Epipaleolithic deposits and thus offers the opportunity to study possible changes throughout the Epipalaeolithic and relationship to the later Early Neolithic (ENC). In combination with the earlier phases of Early Neolithic assemblages (ENA, ENB) at Ifri Oudadane, we are now in a better position to understand the development of early-to-mid Holocene lithic technology in the Eastern Rif. We show that the lithic record of Ifri n’Etsedda does not indicate any significant change in raw material supply, blank production, and tool distribution from the Early Epipaleolithic to the Early Neolithic B. Therefore, we argue for behavioral continuity from the Epipaleolithic to the Neolithic period. In contrast, the assemblages of the Early Neolithic C show changes in lithic technology.

The function and flexible use of a Neolithic microlithic assemblage from the Huihe dam site, Inner Mongolia: a quantifiable analysis of use-wear evidence

Microblade technology played a key role in the everyday lives of the occupants of Inner Mongolia during the Neolithic period. However, the functional aspect of the microblade assemblage and its role had not been widely studied. In order to better understand the occupants’ daily life and toolkit management within this context, the current study conducted use-wear analyses on a large sample of lithic tools from a Neolithic microlithic assemblage found at the Huihe dam site and then addressed the implication of the results by integrating different lines of evidence from morphological, technological, and functional aspects through quantifiable analysis. Our study supports the site as a base camp where a wide range of activities were carried out. The results of the study also showed that it is highly probable that the intensive and flexible use of the microblade assemblage contributed to a sustainable hunter-gatherer lifestyle over a long period.

Сравнительный анализ каменных индустрий поселений «плоскодонного неолита» Барабы

Purpose. The article presents the results of a study of technological and morphological characteristics of stone tool collections from the Early Neolithic settlement assemblages of Barabinsk forest-steppe containing flat-bottomed ware – Avtodrom-2, Avtodrom-2/2, Staryi Moskovsky Trakt-5 settlements. The results of a mineralogical study of the raw materials has been used. The objects of all considered collections have been proven to be identical (lithic cores, flakes, blades, perforators, sandstone abrasives, polished axes; in the absence of primary flakes and arrow points). Similarities of three sites have been found in preferable raw material (silty sandstone and other metamorphic rocks, flint, opal) in primary technology (prismatic lithic core), big amount of microblades, predominance of regular end-scrapers made from flakes, big abrasives. Results. A difference in the predominant retouch location in a special work of blades: ventral (Avtodrom-2/2, SMT-5 – up to 60 %) and dorsal (Avtodrom-1 – 61 %). The specifics of the stone industries in Baraba Neolithic settlements with flat-bottomed ceramic ware can be clearly seen in comparison with local assemblages of Artynskaya culture (late Neolithic). In comparison with considered industries, Artynsksya culture (Avtodrom-2/1 settlement) preferred another type of raw material (gray silicified sandstone), bigger role of counterstrike knapping, larger blades, clear predominance of dorsal retouch in treatment of blade tools, and differences in object classification (series of arrow points, scrapers of occasional forms, knives on large blades, stone club knobs). Conclusion. The obtained results do not contradict the idea of cultural and chronological unity of all settlements in Barabinsk forest-steppe with flat-bottomed Neolithic ware. Comparative and typological analysis of stone industries of all Neolithic assemblages with flat-bottomed ceramic ware in the Ural-West Siberian region is still advantageous, yet an undeveloped approach taking into account their polemical cultural and chronological attribution.

Хроностратиграфия памятников «плоскодонного» неолита Западной Сибири

Purpose. The article outlines three large provinces on the Asian territory of Russia which determine morphology of Neolithic ceramic ware (Amour River region and border areas of Far East and Pacific Ocean islands; Trans-Baikal region and Eastern Siberia, Western Siberia). Western Siberia is a territory where, in the Neolithic Age, such traditional shapes as round-, point- and flat-bottomed ones were spread. At the same time, inside the region, two areas – Western (trans-Ural and North-Western regions of Barabinskaya forest-steppe) and Eastern (Barabinskaya forest-steppe, high Ob area, including forest-steppes of Altai, and its foothills, and Kuznetsk basin) are outlined. If in the western part two traditions have been determined, in the eastern part, only one tradition – round-bottomed ceramic ware, has been found so far. Morphological specifics of ceramic assemblages of the Neolithic in the trans-Ural region caused a polemic in solving the issue of their cultural and chronological attribution. The stratified sites of Andreevskaya Lake System were the base of the main line of reasoning. The article presents a critical analysis bringing into question the use of stratified sites of Andreevskaya Lake System Neolithic as the reference. Results. The article suggests that the research of Taiga area sites, in particular Kondinskaya lowland, is the best approach to solve the main issues of flat-bottomed Neolithic of trans-Ural region in the actual conditions. In spite of its poor state of knowledge, the North of Western Siberia shows a relative stability of cultural tradition development. Synchronic and diachronic aspects of a zoned existence of round, pointed and flat bottomed Neolithic ceramic assemblages in the Taiga zone of Western Siberia is presented. Conclusion. The paper analyses the stratigraphic situations on the sites and objects in North-West Baraba (Tartas-1, Ust-Tartas, Avtodrom-1 and 2) which proves the early age of the Neolithic assemblages with flat-bottomed ware. This allowed to draw the conclusion about the identical development processes in the Neolithic of Trans-Ural and Baraba.

Burials in Anthropomorphic Jars in the Philippines

The fi rst joint study by Russian and Philippine archaeologists addresses an unusual variant of a burial tradition distributed in Island Southeast Asia – burials in anthropomorphic clay jars, found in Ayub Cave (southern Mindanao Island, Philippines), excavated by specialists from the National Museum of the Philippines in 1991–1992, and tentatively dated to 500 BC to 500 AD. Of special interest are lids of jars shaped as painted human heads with individualized facial features and expressions. The fi nds suggest that Ayub Cave was a necropolis of the tribe elite, and that vessels were produced by a special group of potters using elaborate “prestige technologies”. The Ayub ceramic collection has various parallels relating to clay fi gurines and decoration including painting, among Late Neolithic and Early Metal Age assemblages from the Philippines (Luzon, Palawan, and Negros Islands), Indonesia (Sumba, Flores, and Bali Islands), and other regions of the Pacifi c Basin from Japan (Jomon) and Korea (Early Iron Age burials) to Vanuatu Islands (Lapita culture). These parallels suggest that the source of the anthropomorphic symbolism was the Austronesian migration with one of its routes passing from southern China via Taiwan, the northern Philippines, Mariana Islands, and further south to Melanesia and Polynesia.

Ambiguity, Ambivalence, Multiplicity: A Case Study of Late Pottery Neolithic Ceramic Assemblages from the Southern Levant

This paper presents an experiment. Can a typologically inarticulate assemblage be accounted for by other means? What might such an articulation look like? What prospects would it offer? Focusing on three small late Pottery Neolithic assemblages from the southern Levant, the paper argues that they are typologically inarticulate, primarily because they possess considerable morphological fluidity that is at odds with the segmented structure demanded by this mode of classification. The paper presents an attempt to formulate an account of these assemblages that incorporates their morphological fluidity and ambiguity. Allowing for differential quantitative emphases across the assemblage, it is suggested that certain forms may be specified as types. In turn, the relations among these types are shown to constitute a structural order. Yet the assemblages are also fundamentally ambivalent, both constituting and de-constituting their order and logic. For the types are constituted in relative (rather than absolute) terms and the orderly structures are accompanied by elements that are incommensurable with it. Acknowledging these conflicting qualities, it is proposed that they are multiple, that the one assemblage is several. Finally, the paper explores some implications this understanding of the ceramic assemblages might have for the discussion of temporal development.

Carrowkeel to Cambridge: resolving the origins of a Neolithic bone assemblage

Carrowkeel to Cambridge: resolving the origins of a Neolithic bone assemblage

Salt, Sand, and Saddles: Exploring an Intriguing Work Face Configuration among Grinding Tools

ABSTRACTThe field of macrolithic use-wear analysis has developed dramatically in recent years, but the morphological evolution of surfaces resulting from use has not received much attention. To a large extent, this neglect is due to the substantial amount of time that experiments exploring this aspect would require. This article presents a time-saving experimental program that involves rock salt and sand, used in combination with archaeological data, ethnographic evidence, and an engineering perspective to investigate the so-called saddle work face configuration of grinding tools. This intriguing shape is found among both passive and active tools and includes a concave longitudinal axis and a convex transverse one. Our work uses a Greek Neolithic assemblage as its case study and suggests that the saddle shape can develop as a result of specific kinematics.

Developing a Holocene tephrostratigraphy of Ethiopia

The research lead by the French Archaeological Mission in Libya and the Cyrenaican Prehistory Project (CPP) in the beginning of the 21st century, added to those realized by McBurney in the middle of the 20th century, gathered important information on the Neolithic and the Neolithisation of Cyrenaica, the region of northeast Libya. Despite numerous unknown which will have to be resolved by future investigations, it already appears that pottery production and animal domestication of ovicaprines started very early in that area. These data were obtained for the first time at the site of Haua Fteah, a huge cave excavated in the 1950s and nearly fifty years later by the University of Cambridge. The discoveries made on the new site of Abu Tamsa confirm that the Neolithic began in north Cyrenaica as early as the beginning of the 8th millennium cal BP. The elements we possess indicate that this Libyan region had many traits in common with the eastern regions from where people obtained domesticated animals and shared technological lithic practices. Nonetheless, although the influence of Egypt is present, the local character of the industries dominates. The study of the Neolithic assemblage of Abu Tamsa indicates that there are no visible contacts with the Maghreb Capsian in the west, a hypothesis first supported by McBurney for Haua Fteah's Holocene industries.