Open-air Archaeological Sites Research Articles

ESR/U-series dates on Equus teeth from the Middle Pleistocene Acheulean site of Cueva del Angel, Spain

Abstract The Cueva del Angel (Lucena, Spain) is an open-air archaeological site with a sedimentary sequence remnant of a collapsed rock shelter which was part of a still active karst complex. The lithic assemblage consists essentially of abundant retouched tools including 46 identified handaxes along with non-modified flakes, and is associated with faunal remains dominated by Equus ferus and other large bovids and cervids. A large proportion of bones has undergone intense anthropic actions and been subjected to intense fire, thus evidencing sustained use of animal meat resources by humans. In order to better ascertain the chronological framework of the site, we dated several proxies. Various speleothem samples were processed by U-series using a coupled induced plasma mass spectrometer (ICPMS-MC). The resulting isotopic ratios are beyond the secular equilibrium and show that these samples do not appear to be in direct stratigraphic relation with the archaeological sequence. Nine Equus teeth were analyzed by the combined ESR/U-series method. These samples were taken from Unit I to Unit XVI representing at least 2.5 m of stratigraphic depth and approximately 90% of the infilling. Many of the dated samples are burnt given that more than 85% of the faunal remains exhibit traces of fire exposure. The bone retouchers, for which a comparative analysis with other sites has been published (Moigne et al., 2016), were probably produced during the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS 11-5) chronological interval corresponding to the later part of the Middle Pleistocene, inference that is in agreement with the palaeontological assemblage of the site. The radiometric results presented here are consistent and indicate a range from 350 to 183 ka, suggesting that a major part of the sedimentary infilling coinciding with the human occupation was contemporaneous with the MIS 9 to 7 time period.

Landscapes, depositional environments and human occupation at Middle Paleolithic open-air sites in the southern Levant, with new insights from Nesher Ramla, Israel

Middle Paleolithic human occupation in the Levant (250–50 ka ago) has been recorded in roofed (cave and rockshelter) and open-air sites. Research at these different types of sites yielded different perspectives on the Middle Paleolithic human behavior and evolution. Until recently, open-air Middle Paleolithic sites in the Levant were found in three major sedimentary environments: fluvial, lake-margin and spring. Here we describe a unique depositional environment and formation processes at the recently discovered open-air site of Nesher Ramla (Israel) and discuss their contribution to understanding site formation processes in open-air sites in the Levant. The site is 8-m-thick Middle Paleolithic sequence (OSL dated to 170–80 ka) that is located in a karst sinkhole formed by gravitational deformation and sagging into underground voids. The sedimentary sequence was shaped by gravitational collapse, cyclic colluviation of soil and gravel into the depression, waterlogging, in situ pedogenesis and human occupation. Original bedding and combustion features are well-preserved in the Lower archaeological sequence, a rare occurrence in comparison to other open-air archaeological sites. This phenomenon coincides with episodes of fast sedimentation/burial, which also allowed better preservation of microscopic remains such as ash. The Upper archaeological sequence does not exhibit bedding or preservation of ash, despite presence of heat-affected lithic artifacts, which makes it similar to other open-air sites in the Levant. We suggest that rate of burial is the major factor that caused the difference between the Upper and Lower sequences. The differences in the burial rate may be connected to environmental and vegetation changes at the end of MIS 6. We also identified an interplay between sediment in-wash and density of human activity remains, i.e. during episodes of low natural sediment input the density of artifacts is higher relative to episodes with high rate of sediment in-wash. The detailed analysis of natural and anthropogenic processes at Nesher Ramla suggests a much wider spectrum of processes than previously reported for southern Levantine Paleolithic sites. Nesher Ramla shares certain depositional and post-depositional characteristics with both cave and open-air sites and provides a better insight into processes which control both types of sites.

Crowned solitary eagle (Buteogallus coronatus) as accumulator of armadillo osteoderms in the archaeological record? An actualistic taphonomic study for central Argentina

To distinguish whether the presence of osteoderms of armadillos (Xenarthra, Dasypodidae) in the zooarchaeological and paleontological record can be assigned to anthropic action or predators is an interesting topic. The Crowned solitary eagle (Buteogallus coronatus, Accipitriformes, Accipitridae) is among the predators that usually consume armadillos. It is one of the largest South American birds of prey, inhabiting southern Brazil to northern Patagonia in Argentina. Prey remains of the armadillos Zaedyus pichiy, Chaetophractus villosus and C. vellerosus were collected in 13 breeding areas from two biogeographic regions including La Pampa and Mendoza provinces, central Argentina, during 2010–2012. The significant amount of carapaces, osteoderms, and cranial elements of armadillos accumulated in nests is a distinctive feature of the Crowned solitary eagle. These accumulations are taphonomically characterized by the presence of: 1) complete or almost complete flattened, depressed or book-shaped folded carapace; 2) scarce caudal armors and cephalic shields; 3) flexible bands, and scapular and pelvic shields well represented; 4) anterior region of scapular shields usually broken; 5) many isolated osteoderms broken, crenulated or with irregular borders; 6) posterior regions of skulls often with crenulated, broken or missing borders; 7) skulls with beak marks in the dorsal and posterior parts of the braincase, and in the palates; 8) some mandibles with the posterior part broken; 9) scarce, but well preserved limb bones; and 10) beak marks on scapulae and pelves. In addition, the information obtained from abandoned nests showed that these taphonomic features could have been altered by weathering. These observations can be used in subsequent studies of armadillo bone accumulations from open-air archaeological or paleontological sites from central Argentina, and other parts of America, inhabited by the Crowned solitary eagle, as well as in future revisions of samples.

Diagnosis of abnormal patterns in multivariate microclimate monitoring: A case study of an open-air archaeological site in Pompeii (Italy)

Chemometrics has been applied successfully since the 1990s for the multivariate statistical control of industrial processes. A new area of interest for these tools is the microclimatic monitoring of cultural heritage. Sensors record climatic parameters over time and statistical data analysis is performed to obtain valuable information for preventive conservation. A case study of an open-air archaeological site is presented here. A set of 26 temperature and relative humidity data-loggers was installed in four rooms of Ariadne's house (Pompeii). If climatic values are recorded versus time at different positions, the resulting data structure is equivalent to records of physical parameters registered at several points of a continuous chemical process. However, there is an important difference in this case: continuous processes are controlled to reach a steady state, whilst open-air sites undergo tremendous fluctuations. Although data from continuous processes are usually column-centred prior to applying principal components analysis, it turned out that another pre-treatment (row-centred data) was more convenient for the interpretation of components and to identify abnormal patterns. The detection of typical trajectories was more straightforward by dividing the whole monitored period into several sub-periods, because the marked climatic fluctuations throughout the year affect the correlation structures. The proposed statistical methodology is of interest for the microclimatic monitoring of cultural heritage, particularly in the case of open-air or semi-confined archaeological sites.

Micro-abrasion of flint artifacts by mobile sediments: a taphonomic approach

Fluvial redeposition of stone artifacts is a major complicating factor in the interpretation of Lower Palaeolithic open-air archaeological sites. However, the microscopic examination of lithic surfaces may provide valuable background information on the transport history of artifacts, particularly in low energy settings. Replica flint artifacts were therefore abraded in an annular flume and examined with a scanning electron microscope. Results showed that abrasion time, sediment size, and artifact transport mode were very sensitive predictors of microscopic surface abrasion, ridge width, and edge damage (p < 0.000). These results suggest that patterns of micro-abrasion of stone artifacts may enhance understanding of archaeological assemblage formation in fluvial contexts

Early and Middle Holocene Hunter-Gatherer Occupations in Western Amazonia: The Hidden Shell Middens

We report on previously unknown early archaeological sites in the Bolivian lowlands, demonstrating for the first time early and middle Holocene human presence in western Amazonia. Multidisciplinary research in forest islands situated in seasonally-inundated savannahs has revealed stratified shell middens produced by human foragers as early as 10,000 years ago, making them the oldest archaeological sites in the region. The absence of stone resources and partial burial by recent alluvial sediments has meant that these kinds of deposits have, until now, remained unidentified. We conducted core sampling, archaeological excavations and an interdisciplinary study of the stratigraphy and recovered materials from three shell midden mounds. Based on multiple lines of evidence, including radiocarbon dating, sedimentary proxies (elements, steroids and black carbon), micromorphology and faunal analysis, we demonstrate the anthropogenic origin and antiquity of these sites. In a tropical and geomorphologically active landscape often considered challenging both for early human occupation and for the preservation of hunter-gatherer sites, the newly discovered shell middens provide evidence for early to middle Holocene occupation and illustrate the potential for identifying and interpreting early open-air archaeological sites in western Amazonia. The existence of early hunter-gatherer sites in the Bolivian lowlands sheds new light on the region’s past and offers a new context within which the late Holocene “Earthmovers” of the Llanos de Moxos could have emerged.

Sites on the landscape: Paleoenvironmental context of late Pleistocene archaeological sites from the Lake Victoria basin, equatorial East Africa

Open-air archaeological sites record only a small fraction of the behavioral traces of mobile forager populations. Whereas caves and rockshelters were often occupied at least in part for protection from the elements, the reasons why human foragers occupied other places on the landscape (however briefly) are varied and not always readily recoverable. We develop a framework for interpreting human use of the landscape and modeling occupation of open-air sites using the archaeological and paleoenvironmental record of Middle Stone Age (MSA) sites from Rusinga and Mfangano Islands, located near the eastern margin of Lake Victoria. Paleoenvironmental reconstructions using fossil faunas suggest an arid grassland setting unlike the present. Paleoecological modeling of the habitats of extant and extinct bovids, combined with GIS-based reconstructions of lake level change, indicate that human occupation of these sites coincided with substantial declines in the level of Lake Victoria. During this time, both Rusinga and Mfangano would have been connected to the mainland and represented local topographic highs within an extensive grassland. Geological, ecological, and ethnobotanical observations suggest that these topographic high points would likely have been important sources of stone raw material, fresh water, and a variety of plant resources for food, fuel, and other purposes. In contrast, the grassy lowland plains were probably exploited primarily as a source of large game, which included numerous species of large gregarious grazers, several of which may have followed now extinct migration routes.

Paleoenvironmental change and settlement dynamics in the Druze Marsh: Results of recent excavation at an open-air Paleolithic site

Large open-air archaeological sites provide a unique contribution to our understanding of the range of environments exploited by hominins and how their mobility patterns were affected by local, regional, and global environmental fluctuations. The challenge, however, is that in open-air contexts the distribution of buried and surface archaeological remains is greatly affected by geomorphic processes that acted on the landscape throughout the Pleistocene and Holocene. Deciphering the behavioural patterns of large open-air sites necessitates an approach that incorporates landscape evolution as a critical component contributing to the spatial distribution and variability in the archaeological record. We suggest that it is more appropriate to speak of open-air archaeological landscapes rather than sites in the traditional sense.Within this framework, we present our ongoing research at Druze Marsh, a Paleolithic locale in the northwest corner of the Azraq Basin (Jordan), and an oasis that may have functioned as a desert refugium at different points during the Pleistocene. Surveys and excavations in the Azraq Basin have recovered material from the Lower Paleolithic to historical periods. Recent research by our team has identified a stratified sequence of artifacts that typologically correspond to the Late Lower, Middle, Upper, and Epipaleolithic industries. Both the surface and stratified material are the remains of prehistoric behaviour, and a full understanding of the prehistoric settlement system and land-use surrounding the Druze Marsh requires amalgamating these different contexts with the environmental history of the area, particularly accounting for the contribution of geomorphic processes on the spatial distribution of the archaeological record.

Airborne LiDAR application to karstic areas: the example of Trieste province (north-eastern Italy) from prehistoric sites to Roman forts

The Trieste Karst, at the northernmost shore of the Adriatic Sea, is rich in prehistoric caves and protohistoric hill forts. Most of these archaeological sites were already identified in the second half of the 19th century when large parts of the area were almost without vegetation coverage for the effect of sheep breeding and exploitation of wood resources. Only a few open-air archaeological sites have been discovered in recent years due to the lack of systematic archaeological surveys and reforestation.Airborne LiDAR (light detection and ranging) data, originally acquired for environmental monitoring over the Friuli Venezia Giulia region (north-eastern Italy), have been recently analysed by means of free open source softwares for archaeological prospection of the Trieste Karst area. The LiDAR derived images have allowed identifying numerous unknown fortified structures ranging from prehistory to Roman time within a complex archaeological landscape that includes possible funerary barrows, agricultural terraces and other structures. The discovery of a probable Roman republican fort is particularly significant since similar structures, almost unknown in Italy, find comparison only with later examples of military forts from Roman provinces.The discovery of prehistoric, protohistoric and Roman fortified sites reported in this paper shows that airborne LiDAR remote sensing represents a revolution in landscape archaeology and archaeological mapping of karstic areas. This technique can provide unexpected results even in relatively urbanized territories investigated for a long time.

Preserving Archaeological Remains In Situ: Three Case Studies in Trentino, Italy

The paper presents the results of the restoration and conservation work which has been carried out in three archaeological areas in the Autonomous Province of Trento. The areas, which have been opened to the public for more than ten years, are the open-air archaeological site of Monte S. Martino, Roman Tridentum (an underground site under the historical city centre of Trento), and Fiavé (a pile dwelling site in a peat bog). These areas present very different environmental characteristics and have therefore required different interventions according to their specific situation.In order to reduce maintenance and extraordinary costs, appropriate conservation of the archaeological remains is required. This consists of methodologies of conservation according to the characteristics of the environment; continuous monitoring systems and indirect preventive intervention; and annual maintenance planning.

Icelandic volcanic ash from the Late-glacial open-air archaeological site of Ahrenshöft LA 58 D, North Germany

Cryptotephra of Icelandic origin from the open-air archaeological site of Ahrenshöft LA 58 D (Kr. Nordfriesland, Schleswig-Holstein), northern Germany overlies a Late-glacial Havelte lithic assemblage, hitherto dated by 14C and biostratigraphy to the earliest part of the Late-glacial interstadial (GI-1e to GI-1c3). Peaks in ash shards are observed in two profiles. Major and minor element geochemistry indicates volcanic ash originating in the Katla system. Precise correlation to previously described tephra is uncertain due to overlapping chemical characteristics. The Ahrenshöft 14C determinations, litho- and bio-stratigraphy encompass a broad age-span for the cryptotephra bearing sediments, from the end of the Allerød to the Preboreal. The most plausible volcanic eruption correlates are the Vedde Ash (∼Younger Dryas), already known from the European mainland, tephra AF555 (late Younger Dryas) and the Suduroy tephra (∼Preboreal/Boreal), hitherto recorded only in the North Atlantic region. These three ash horizons have been dated to, respectively, 12,171 ± 57 yr b2k in the NGRIP ice-core, c.11,500 cal BP, in Scotland and c.8000 cal BP, by radiocarbon from the Faroe Isles. Ongoing research on deposits from the type sites for the tephra layers may in the future differentiate these markers leading to better discrimination of the chemistries and a resolution of this question.

Neotaphonomic measures of carnivore serial predation at Ngamo Pan as an analog for interpreting open-air faunal assemblages

Here I present a neotaphonomic account of natural bone accumulations that have resulted from carnivore serial predation at Ngamo Pan, a vast complex of seasonal water holes located in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. Reconstructing the taphonomic histories of faunal assemblages from open-air archaeological sites is burdened with a host of interpretive complications, and this study is offered as a referential means for evaluating instances where stone tools and bone accumulations are associated in apparent archaeological contexts. While the presence of stone tools implies some involvement on the part of humans, open-air sites near water would also have served as prime locations for serial predation by large carnivores to ambush prey—a situation that, over time, can mimic archaeological bone accumulations. The taphonomic and zooarchaeological signatures of carnivore serial predation at Ngamo Pan show marked similarities with the open-air faunal accumulation from Kalkbank, a late Pleistocene site in Limpopo Province, South Africa, located along the margins of a relict pan. Many potential archaeological sites within the interior of southern Africa dating to the Middle Stone Age are known from open-air settings near permanent or ephemeral bodies of water, and the ability to decipher between hominin and non-hominin carnivore involvement with bone accumulations is paramount in determining the hunting and scavenging behaviors of our early ancestors. As much of our understanding of hominin subsistence during the Middle Stone Age is drawn from coastal cave locations, this study is intended to encourage a broadening of our perspective on the taphonomic histories of faunal accumulations dating to the Middle Stone Age by incorporating supplementary evidence provided by these open-air sites.

Boxing trauma in ancient games

Cause of this enquiry is the research and the analysis of sport injuries during the conduction of boxing games in ancient Greece. The methodology of the study was included the use of systematic review of the writings in the Greek and the world literature. We visited museums, sports clubs, libraries and open-air archaeological sites. Furthermore, we conducted a systematic examination of the items, which are preserved in the creations of antiquity (sculpture, art angiography and angioplasty). According to the main findings of the study in boxing game, various sports injuries were recognised, such as scratches, lacerations, bleeding under the conjunctiva, skin oedema, ‘cauliflower ear’, nose bleeding and fractures of the nasal bones. After the fight, the athletes had deformities of the face, nose bleeding, fractures of the nose, ripped ears and swollen eyes. We concluded that the cases where the boxing athletes were wounded were usual in this era.

Variation in the radiocarbon age of different fractions of peat: A case study from Ahrenshöft, northern Germany

Peat is notoriously difficult to radiocarbon date as it is composed of a heterogeneous mix of organic materials of different radiocarbon ages and at different stages of humification. Different chemical fractions (most frequently humin and humic acid) have been observed to yield significantly different radiocarbon ages from some peat deposits. Here we present humin and humic acid dates on a range of grain-size fractions of peat from the open-air archaeological site of Ahrenshöft LA 58 D, northern Germany, which were measured to confirm the identity of the source of cryptotephra found at the site. Both the humin and humic acid ages increased with increasing grain size, and for all but one sample the humic acid fraction was younger than the corresponding humin date. When calibrated the 6 dates from the horizon containing the cryptotephra spanned a time period of up to 1500 years, and are insufficiently conclusive to definitively resolve which eruption is responsible for the observed ash horizon.

Looking for a Long-Term Record in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem: The 2010 Field Season at The Stinking Springs Rockshelter, Teton County, Wyoming.

The mountainous environment of northwestern Wyoming is not known for the preservation of organic remains, specifically that of vertebrate species. The paucity of vertebrate remains has hampered the ability of researchers to understand the evolution of the Quaternary mammalian community, which is in sharp contrast to the detailed understanding of the region’s geologic, climatic, and vegetation history. The few sites that have produced vertebrate remains have been largely confined to dry caves and rockshelters in the surrounding region and a few open air archaeological sites. In southern Teton County we have located a large rockshelter at the mouth of Hoback Canyon that presents a unique opportunity to recover a long-term mammalian record documenting Quaternary paleoecological change. Hand augering in 2006 revealed evidence of intact, datable strata likely to yield a robust mammalian faunal record. A radiocarbon age of 4210 ± 50 yrs BP was obtained from Ponderosa pine charcoal at a depth of 90 cm below surface, suggesting a record extending at least to the mid-Holocene. In 2010, the Utah State University Field School conducted limited controlled excavations in two 1m2 units. Excavations produced additional evidence of stratified deposits to a depth of 1.9 m. Remains recovered include lithic debitage, hearth features, faunal remains, and a possible large mammal processing area. Two specimens, one on Pinus charcoal from a depth of 1.9 m and a portion of a bighorn sheep mandible from 1.0 m, were submitted for radiocarbon assay. The ages are 4350 ± 25 yrs BP and 3360 ± 25 yrs BP, respectively. The size, geology, and setting above the Hoback River in a natural bottleneck between ungulate winter and summer ranges make the Stinking Springs rockshelter an excellent candidate for archaeological and paleoecological investigation. Proposed future investigations are designed to assess the rockshelter for the presence of preserved vertebrate remains and the deposit’s potential to address a number of key issues of how the mammalian community developed during the Quaternary in relation to large-scale (e.g., glaciation) and small-scale climatic (e.g., post-glacial maximum warmth, Little Ice Age) shifts. The anticipated record will not only provide information on the mammalian community structure, but will also provide a paleoecological model for understanding the economies of precontact Native American groups who lived in the region, and will also provide key information that can be applied to future management of threatened species and their habitat (e.g., pronghorn antelope).

Late Holocene Neoglacial conditions from the Lesotho highlands, southern Africa: phytolith and stable carbon isotope evidence from the archaeological site of Likoaeng

The late Holocene environmental history of the Lesotho highlands, southern Africa, is poorly understood with few detailed studies to date. At Likoaeng, Senqu Valley, Lesotho, a 3 m stratified sedimentary sequence from an open-air archaeological site records vegetation development for the period 3400–1070 cal. BP. Phytolith analyses and bulk sediment organic matter δ 13C indicate that C 4 grassland dominated the lower part of the sequence until approximately 2960 cal. BP when there was a switch to C 3 Pooid grassland (2960–2160 cal. BP). Also noted was a change from hunting mainly bovids to a dominance of fishing at the site. The change in grassland type and archaeological subsistence strategies corresponds with an episode of neoglacial cooling and the expansion of Alpine sourgrasses into lower altitudes. From 2160 to 1600 cal. BP grassland became a mix of C 3 and C 4 types and by 1600–1070 cal. BP there was a return to C 4 dominated grassland. During this latter phase there was a reversal from fishing to hunting again (and eventually some keeping of domestic livestock) at the site. These data outline the vegetation response to latitudinal shifts of frontal systems, and relatively strong atmospheric circulation variability, perhaps underpinned by variations of polar water into the Benguela Current during the late Holocene.

The Mendieta site (Sopelana, Biscay province, northern Spain): Palaeoenvironment and formation processes of a Lower Palaeolithic open-air archaeological deposit

A rescue archaeological excavation on the Mendieta area (Sopelana, Biscay province) has shown the presence of lithic industry within an original stratigraphic context of possible Lower Palaeolithic age. The materials containing the lithic industry exhibit stratigraphic and sedimentary features derived from fluvio-alluvial and pedogenic processes. The formation procedures of this open-air site took place under warm and humid palaeoenvironmental climatic conditions, as has been partially confirmed by palynological data. This geoarchaeological characterization supplies important information in order to understand the genesis and location of the scarce open-air archaeological sites of the Lower Palaeolithic age present in the Cantabrian region.

Challenges for a cross-disciplinary geoarchaeology: The intersection between environmental history and geomorphology

Geoarchaeology is a growing subfield of cross-disciplinary research at the intersection between geomorphology, environmental history, and archaeology. This prospective essay does not aim to analyze the nature or evolution of geoarachaeology, or to review available techniques and methods. Instead it addresses challenges. Exciting challenges confront geoarchaeology in the form of persistent problems that demand satisfactory solutions, despite improving skills and innovative technologies. Drawing from the full record of human history, a number of practical issues can be highlighted to explicate these challenges: (1) Open-air archaeological sites are the main object of study for the Early to Mid-Pleistocene, even though they represent open systems that raise fundamental questions about archaeo-taphonomic integrity. How were sites buried and then modified by selective preservation, horizontal or vertical disturbance, and the role of carnivores? Is it possible to determine the degree to which such sites accurately record prehistoric human behavior, prior to the Late Pleistocene when hearths and living structures lend better definition to occupation surfaces? Can non-primary open-air sites also shed light on human activities and environmental history? (2) Cave sites have long been favored by archaeologists because of the impression that they represent relatively complete and undisturbed archaeostratigraphic sequences. But serious problems also exist here in regard to the nature of accumulation and the sources of mineral and biogenic sediments in what were open systems, liable to disturbance, despite comparatively low-energy processes. (3) Less familiar are urban and other architectural sites, where processes of formation and degradation mimic natural sedimentation and erosion. Such a geoarchaeology can be highly informative for urban processes, demographic cycles, or the intersection between sites and their surrounding landscapes. (4) Spatial components of geoarchaeological research need more systematic consideration, for locational strategies and with an appreciation that site presence or absence allows a more dynamic modeling of settlement and procurement strategies. (5) Regional settlement expansion and contraction may also inform on mosaic evolution or Pleistocene dispersals, including the Out of Africa hypothesis. (5) Finally, multiple themes connected with environmental degradation during Holocene times may open new windows to examine specific problems by objective criteria, so contributing to a wider academic discourse about long-term trends, the interfingering of climatic and land-use factors in cause-and-effect dilemmas, or the construction of future scenarios in an era of accelerating planetary change. The focus of archaeology is shifting to later ranges of prehistory so that geoarchaeologists now have a mandate to engage more directly with urban, spatial, and degradation issues. This should be met with a broader and more inclusive agenda, one that optimizes on expertise with historical geomorphology and environmental history, but in collaboration with archaeologists and other social scientists. That would sustain a more prominent role for geoarchaeology in the university curriculum.

14C Dating of the Upper Paleolithic Site at Krems-Hundssteig in Lower Austria

The open-air archaeological site at Krems-Hundssteig is a well-known Upper Paleolithic site located in Lower Austria. The site was discovered in the late 19th/early 20th centuries when a large number of archaeological remains were collected during the course of loess quarrying. Although no systematic excavation has ever been performed, Krems-Hundssteig has been described since its discovery as typical of the Aurignacian period in this region based on the numerous archaeological finds; accordingly, the culture has been namedKremsienby some authors. Surprisingly, the artifacts found in a recent excavation adjacent to this location showed solely Gravettian features, calling into question the original assignment to the Aurignacian. Although the earlier assignment was supported by a radiocarbon date of ∼35 kyr BP (Hahn 1977), new accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS)14C dates proved that the recently excavated cultural layer originates from the Gravettian period. Older paleosols were also detected by sondage drillings at some depth below it.The new results indicate that a large Aurignacian level and a substantial complex of Gravettian layers are present in this area. Therefore, it must be assumed that more than 1 cultural level was affected and destroyed by the historic loess quarrying, and that the assemblage of Krems-Hundssteig artifacts, traditionally ascribed to the Aurignacian, might be interspersed with Gravettian pieces.

Approaches to understanding formation of archaeological sites in Israel: Materials and processes

AbStRAct Shahack-Gross, R. 2007. Approaches to understanding formation of archaeologi-cal sites in Israel: Materials and processes. Isr. J. Earth Sci. 56: 73–86. The study of the mechanisms involved in the formation of archaeological sites is now recognized as a sub-discipline of archaeological research. It involves processes of anthropogenic and natural accumulation, abandonment, and degradation. In order for archaeologists to be able to reconstruct past human lifeways and activities, it is important to identify the processes that affected the formation of any excavated site. The study of site formation processes in Israel started in the late 1960s with a strong sedimentary geology and geomorphology approach, pioneered by Paul Goldberg, and followed by Arlene Rosen in the late 1980s. These early studies focused on decipher-ing the sediment sources in cave and open-air archaeological sites, and in identify-ing the relationship between sediments in archaeological sites and climatic factors. Goldberg introduced the technique of micromorphology during the 1970s, which had a local as well as international influence on the field. A greater emphasis on the microscopic record, combined with a materials science approach, was the focus of the many studies conducted in Israel by Steve Weiner, who introduced on-site techniques and developed quantitative methods to study the archaeological record. Systematic studies of a large variety of materials were conducted, with an emphasis on material degradation through experimentation with modern equivalents. A major contribution is the detailed understanding now available regarding dissolution and re-precipita-tion processes in cave sites. Insights from all the studies of site formation processes conducted to date in Israel bear many implications for archaeology in Israel as well as worldwide. Further research should focus on systematic studies of more materials (such as ceramics and mud bricks), widen the use of ethnoarchaeology, and focus on formation processes in urban tell sites.