Open-air Site Research Articles

Evaluating Systematic Use of Ground Penetrating Radar and Auger Surveys to Determine Activity Areas at Three Open Air Sites in Central Alaska

ABSTRACT This study explores various testing techniques’ ability to identify activity areas across deeply stratified, open air archaeological sites. To determine the efficacy of different site testing techniques, a systematic ground penetrating radar and auger survey was completed at three sites in central Alaska: Swan Point, Bachner, and Niidhaayh Na’. The results show that both ground penetrating radar and auger survey can indicate subsurface geology, important for sites without exposed vertical deposits. Additionally, systematic auger surveys can be used to identify activity areas at large sites and in components up to 4 m below surface prior to full-scale excavation. This can help archaeologists identify earlier archaeological components and target specific areas that are directly related to their research questions while preserving the rest of the site for future investigations. Compared to traditional shovel testing, auger surveys provide a consistent, efficient, and rigorous method for assessing buried cultural remains.

Heat Treatment of Chert in the Early Mesolithic at Rottenburg-Siebenlinden (Southwest Germany)

ABSTRACT Unambiguous evidence for heat treatment in the Early Mesolithic of Southwestern Germany is thus far restricted to one type of raw material and to cave sites of the Swabian Jura region. At the open-air site Rottenburg-Siebenlinden, heat treatment of an additional raw material was proposed. In this paper, we reexamine the lithic assemblage of horizon III, using the best available criterion for recognizing heat treatment: gloss contrast. Through technological analysis of these diagnostic artefacts, we investigate the timing of heat treatment within the reduction sequence. Visual identifications were substantiated by analyzing surface roughness of gloss contrast artefacts. Our results show that heat treatment was regularly applied to a wider range of raw materials than previously thought, during blank production. These findings highlight that the last Central European hunter-gatherers were flexible in terms of material choices and that heat treatment was a more widespread phenomenon than previously thought.

Survey and Explorations of the Prehistoric Sites in the Highlands of Southwest Angola

The area of the escarpment of Angola between Namib and Huíla Province, about 150 km from the Atlantic coast, yields abundant evidence for human activity throughout the Stone Age. There is a high concentration of open-air sites with stone tools classified as Early (ESA) and Middle Stone Age (MSA) by past explorers. At the top of the plateau, the Chela group rocks and particularly the Leba dolomites yield a series of caves and fissures infilled with deposits ranging from the Early Pleistocene to recent times. Considering, the background information, a new project was developed to establish new proxies, we set out to revise this cultural landscape and set the stage for archaeological testing of Stone Age sites. In 2018–2019, our survey documented 45 sites including caves, rock shelters, and open-air locations with evidence of fossil and cultural deposits, including Middle and Later Stone Age (LSA) stone artifacts, faunal remains, pottery, and human burials. A complete map of distribution of caves and their underground topography is presented. Active and fossil speleothems, important for paleoclimatic reconstructions and absolute dating, were found at the caves of Malola and Tchivinguiro. Fossil occurrences were relocated at Tchíua and Cangalongue. Our study shows there is intense recent activity, historical remains, and the use of at least of three caves as burial sites of past herding populations living at the Humpata plateau. Our field assessment shows there is potential to pursue several lines of evidence to reconstruct past human lifeways and environments in this region.

Bone weathering in an Atlantic environment: preliminary results of the Global Weathering Project in Spain

Weathering constitutes one of the most investigated taphonomic processes for understanding the formation of archaeological and palaeontological assemblages. Despite being studied for decades through numerous monitoring experiments, no homogeneous methodology exists to compare the results obtained in different regions and climates. Here, we present the protocols and the preliminary results of an experimental research started four years ago in a coastal and inland location within the Cantabrian Region (northern Spain) to assess the influence of the weathering process in an Atlantic climate. This experiment allows evaluation of the preservation of faunal assemblages in regional open-air sites throughout the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic. We conduct this experiment within the Global Weathering Project of the International Council for Archaeozoologists (ICAZ), an international network of archaeozoologists and taphonomists who coordinates the same experiment worldwide. The experiment planned to last 18 years consists on recording the weathering stages suffered on the cow ribs disposed on the surface of a fenced enclosure under the protection of a cage, separated from the soil by a neutral inorganic substrate and close to a weather station where the temperature, humidity, rainfall, wind and sun exposure values are daily recorded.

WITHDRAWN: Geoarchaeological research at Paleolithic open-air sites in the Levant: A review

WITHDRAWN: Geoarchaeological research at Paleolithic open-air sites in the Levant: A review

A conceptual model of multi-scale formation processes of open-air Middle Paleolithic sites in the arid Negev desert, Israel

AbstractOpen-air surface accumulations and scatters of material cultural remains often are perceived as less-reliable archaeological archives, where it is difficult to distinguish anthropogenic versus geogenic formation processes or to assess their specific effects on the integrity of archaeological records. Here we analyze the depositional histories of three Middle Paleolithic open-air sites in the Negev desert of Israel, combining archaeological and geomorphological methods to create a conceptual model of multi-scale effects on the archaeological remains. Relying on the long research history in archaeology and geomorphology in the Negev, we show that integration of archaeological and geomorphological methodologies provides nuanced insights to our understanding of the archaeological record. The links established between regional and local geomorphic processes and lithic taphonomy by applying such a multi-scale analysis further allow back-tracking environmental processes from flint taphonomic attributes. Placing each site within the range of regional and local processes of exposure and burial by using informed and critically evaluated data helps to create a robust regional archaeological data base. We suggest that our approach is useful in other arid zone contexts and may have implications for understanding Pleistocene population movements across such regions.

Can we reliably detect adaptive responses of hunter-gatherers to past climate change? Examining the impact of Mid-Holocene drought on Archaic settlement in the Basin-Plateau Region of North America

Climatic change appears to influence major patterns in human history. However, confirming the association between climatic events and adaptive human responses is not straightforward given the potential for spurious correlations and uncertainty in the timing of events. Here we leverage theory from behavioral and population ecology to generate predictions about causal relationships between climate and settlement decisions. We then test those predictions using statistical methods designed to evaluate associations under uncertainty. This allows us to evaluate a comprehensive record of radiocarbon dated archaeological sites in the Basin-Plateau region of North America relative to a record of effective precipitation reconstructed using Macrophysical Climate Models. Consistent with theory, the results show that regional populations declined in the mid-Holocene during a prolonged period of reduced precipitation, leading to the abandonment of many major rockshelter sites. Remaining populations concentrated at open-air sites around well-watered sand dune localities where they constructed pithouses and adopted more intensive subsistence practices. These findings illustrate an adaptive response of hunter-gatherer populations to past climate change that supports theoretical predictions and is unlikely to result from spurious correlations or uncertainties in the timing of events.

Unraveling Early Holocene occupation patterns at El Arenal de la Virgen (Alicante, Spain) open-air site: an integrated palimpsest analysis

Palimpsests are ubiquitous in the open-air archaeological record. Yet, integrated intra-site research strategies of palimpsest dissection to infer occupational histories, spatial behavioural patterns and site formation processes remain scarce in the postglacial archaeology. In this work, we apply an integrated protocol of palimpsest analysis to the Mesolithic Unit IV of El Arenal de la Virgen site, radiocarbon dated in two different occupation phases (9.3–9.1 k and 8.6–8.3 k cal BP). While the archaeostratigraphic analysis identified the absence of sterile layers between both phases, the lithic refits confirmed the good preservation of the spatial properties of the assemblage. Using different point pattern analysis and geostatistical techniques, we further investigate the overall distribution pattern, the spatial correlation between lithic remains and occupation features according to different artefact categories, and the variability of spatial autocorrelation in the frequency of burnt microdebris. Our results suggest a behavioural pattern of different, and spatially recurrent, short-term camp occupation episodes. Built on explicit quantitative and reproducible standards, our research approach can be applied to other open-air sites to conduct comparative studies on open-air occupation patterns. This study underscores the importance of considering the palimpsest as an analytical unit and the need for assessing assemblage integrity and site formation processes through multidisciplinary approaches, to better characterise site occupation dynamics.

Living in an ecotone: Late Middle Palaeolithic occupations in the lower Besor Basin, north-western Negev Desert, Israel

The north-western Negev is an under-researched ecotonal region. We excavated two late Middle Palaeolithic open-air sites and recovered rich lithic industries that could be refitted, as well as remains of fauna, and charcoal. Palaeoenvironmental information and dates indicate interesting inter-site differences.

Mesolithic hearth-pits and formation processes: a geoarchaeological investigation of sediments from El Arenal de la Virgen site (SE Iberia)

Hearth-pits are some of the most common archaeological features documented in open-air Mesolithic sites, especially in coversand areas of NW Europe. However, very few geoarchaeological studies have addressed their formation, function and relationship with occupation surfaces. This work introduces new interdisciplinary investigations on the sediments of the Mesolithic open-air site of El Arenal de la Virgen (SE Iberia). A selection of five hearth-pits from two different occupation phases (Phase 1: 9.3–9.1 cal ka BP and Phase 2: 8.6–8.3 cal ka BP) has been analysed using stratigraphy, texture, soil chemistry, micromorphology, petrography and OSL and TL analyses. Combustion traits of the carbonate rock assemblages preserved in the sediments of the hearth-pits have also been investigated and compared to reference and experimental data from local geogenic materials. Our results allowed us to discuss the anthropogenic origin and taphonomy of the hearth-pits studied and approach their function. The structures from Phase 1 are interpreted as a possible oven and a dumping feature linked to single/occasional use events. In contrast, for hearth-pits from Phase 2, we propose they were related to combustion and dwelling areas subject to recurrent occupation episodes and disturbance. Finally, our sedimentary and soil data revealed existing favourable paleoenvironmental conditions during the Mesolithic occupation of the site characterized by increased moisture, temperature and vegetation cover, in contrast to the Pleistocene and Middle Holocene periods pre- and post-dating the human settlement. This work highlights the potential of integrating geoarchaeological and contextual evidence to clarify the factors involved in the formation of hearth-pits and infer intra-site occupation patterns.

Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician Industry and South Moravian Sites: a Homo sapiens Late Initial Upper Paleolithic with Bohunician Industrial Generic Roots in Europe.

This article re-examines the Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician (LRJ) industry, a well-known Early Upper Paleolithic complex in northern Europe. It is widely thought that the LRJ was produced by late Neanderthals and that its industrial roots are in late Middle Paleolithic industries with bifacial leaf points in north-western Europe. On the basis of evidence from four recently excavated open-air sites in southern Moravia (Czech Republic) (Líšeň/Podolí I, Želešice III/Želešice-Hoynerhügel, Líšeň I/Líšeň-Čtvrtě, and Tvarožná X/Tvarožná, "Za školou"), combined with findings from two cave sites in Bohemia (Nad Kačákem Cave) and southern Moravia (Pekárna Cave) and critical re-examination of the LRJ sites and materials from other areas, we propose that the LRJ should actually be considered a late Initial Upper Paleolithic industry. Its initial dates are just before Heinrich Event 4 (HE-4) and the Campanian Ignimbrite (CI) super-eruption, c. 42-40kacal BP. We further propose that LRJ assemblages were produced by Homo sapiens, and that its roots are in the Bohunician industry. The LRJ originated as a result of a gradual technological transition, centering on the development of Levallois points into Jerzmanowice-type blade-points. It is also suggested that the LRJ industry first appeared in Moravia, in central Europe, and spread along with its makers (Homo sapiens) across the northern latitudes of central and western Europe. Accordingly, the IUP "Bohunician package" did not disappear in Europe but gave rise to another IUP industry successfully adapted for the then steppe-tundra belts in northern Europe.

Guomo open-air site (15–12 ka) in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, southern China: A new cobble-based industry for rethinking the definition of “Hoabinhian”

The Hoabinhian technocomplex is one of the most discussed topics in the Paleolithic research of Southeast Asia because it is the most representative phenomenon in terms of cobble tools. Recent discoveries of Hoabinhian sites in Yunnan Province, southwest China largely expanded its tempo-spatial presence in this part of the world. Whether Hoabinhian sites are present in other parts of southern China has remained elusive. Located close to northern Vietnam, where more than 150 Hoabinhian sites were reported to have been discovered since the 1920s, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China is a strategic area for exploring the issues concerning Hoabinhian phenomenon in this Chinese territory. This article presents a novel cobble-based industry of a recently discovered site—the Guomo open-air site, situated in the China-Vietnam border area. The lithic assemblages from layers 3 and 4 were dated to around 15–12 ka by the OSL dating method, and they manifest consistent and identical typo-technological characteristics. Four reduction sequences were defined for this lithic production, including 1) partial unifacial knapping on cobbles to produce various types of cutting tools; 2) cobble-split débitage via bipolar-on-anvil technique to produce semi-cobbles, and then they are unifacially shaped into unifaces; 3) cobble-throwing débitage by the throwing technique to obtain flat cortical flake blanks and tools; 4) recurrent unidirectional flaking on single-platform cores without preparation. Considering limited similarities and remarkable difference between “Hoabinhian” lithic industries of South China and of Southeast Asia, we suggest that Guomo site is an important case to raise the question of the definition of “Hoabinhian” and to study the variability of cobble-tool industries in this vast region.

Neolithic livestock practices in high mountain areas: A multi-proxy study of pastoral enclosures of Molleres II (Eastern Pyrenees)

This paper presents the results of the archaeological and palaeoenvironmental investigation carried out at Molleres II site located at 2.425 m a.s.l. in the area of Puigpedrós-Malniu (Meranges, La Cerdanya, Eastern Pyrenees). A high-resolution multi-proxy research is proposed combining landscape archaeology, soil micromorphology, anthracology, biomolecular analysis, and radiocarbon dating. This work allowed us to characterize the site's functionality, providing new insight into the occupation dynamics of high mountain spaces starting from the Neolithic onwards. Based on this research Molleres II has been interpreted as a complex and wide open-air site built up by the end of the Middle Neolithic (3636–2701 cal. BC) and consisting of large enclosures entirely dedicated to seasonal animal husbandry and located at an exceptionally high altitude. These unique settings make the site a primer for this period and in the Eastern Pyrenees, revealing the considerable intensity of the animal presence since the Prehistory in these uplands.Following the Neolithic, a second phase of more intense occupation likely occurred during Middle Ages (1179–1434 cal. AD). However, the animal presence in this mountain sector had never been exhausted, even in other historical periods. Palaeoenvironmental data also suggest that such intense and long-term animal presence and possibly fire use could be at the origin of stable grassland-dominated environments and open landscapes maintained almost continuously until nowadays.

Effects of charring on squash (Cucurbita L) seed morphology and compression strength: Implications for paleoethnobotany

The primary crops of Indigenous agricultural systems in North America in the centuries prior to and following European colonization were maize (Zea mays ssp. mays), bean (Phaseolus spp.), and squash (Cucurbta spp.). Of these, charred maize is the best represented in macrobotanical assemblages from open-air sites in northeastern North America; macrobotanical assemblages in this region consist primarily of charred plant remains. Charred bean seeds generally occur in much lower quantities and charred squash seeds in lower quantities than charred bean seeds. Heating taphonomy experiments have been performed on maize kernels and bean seeds to determine the most likely temperature range for preservation in the archaeological record. Such studies have been lacking for squash seeds. A series of heating experiments with seeds harvested from fruits of three squash species indicate that unlike maize kernels and bean seeds, charring does not enhance squash seed preservation. The recovery of one or a few charred squash seeds from a site likely represents a high degree of use.

To den or not to den. Contributions to the taphonomic history of the Early Pleistocene site of Venta Micena 4 (Orce, Guadix-Baza Basin)

Venta Micena (Orce, Guadix-Baza Basin, Spain) is an Early Pleistocene locality renowned for the richness and quality of its palaeontological record. VM is spread over an area of 2.5 km2, where several exposed fossil outcrops are visible amidst its gorges and ravines. The best known of these sites, VM3, has been interpreted as a hyaena den. In addition, a new site, named VM4, has recently been the focus of fieldwork and taphonomic studies. The publication by Luzón et al. (2021) pointed out that VM4 presents a more complex history than VM3. First, two different sub-levels were identified: VM4-I and VM4-II. Secondly, the preliminary taphonomic analysis showed conspicuous differences with regard to VM3. Nevertheless, such interpretation has been challenged by Palmqvist et al. (2022) who proposed that VM3 and VM4 are both the result of a single depositional process, entailing the selective transport of skeletal parts by the giant extinct hyaena Pachycrocuta brevirostris back to its den. Using well-preserved faunal elements whose depositional context and provenance are reliable, in this paper we show that: 1) there are two clearly defined sub-levels in VM4 with some shared taphonomic characteristics as well as some notable differences; 2) VM3 and VM4 exhibit enough divergence to support differences in site formation processes; 3) The interpretation of both VM4-I and VM4-II is more consistent with their characterisation as open-air sites in which multiple agents and depositional processes contributed to its formation, rather than with hyaena dens. Nevertheless, excavations are still in progress at VM4 and therefore any results and interpretations ought to be considered as provisional.

Early evidence for bear exploitation during MIS 9 from the site of Schöningen 12 (Germany).

A cutmarked bear metatarsal and phalanx from the German open-air sites of Schöningen 12 II-1 and 12B, respectively, correlated with the interglacial optimum of MIS 9 (ca. 320ka), provide early evidence for the exploitation of bear skins. Archaeological sites with evidence of bear exploitation from the Lower Paleolithic are rare, with only Boxgrove (United Kingdom) and Bilzingsleben (Germany) yielding cutmarked bear bones indicating skinning. We interpret these finds as evidence for bear hunting and primary access since bear skins are best extracted shortly after the animal's death. The very thin cutmarks found on the Schöningen specimens indicate delicate butchering and show similarities in butchery patterns to bears from other Paleolithic sites. The Eurasian Lower Paleolithic record does not show any evidence for the exploitation of bear meat; only Middle Paleolithic sites, such as Biache-Saint-Vaast (France; ca. 175ka) and Taubach (Germany; ca. 120ka), yield evidence for the exploitation of both skin and meat from bear carcasses. Bear skins have high insulating properties and might have played a role in the adaptations of Middle Pleistocene hominins to the cold and harsh winter conditions of Northwestern Europe.

Land use and systematic survey in the study of hunter-gatherers from northwestern Patagonia, Argentina

In this paper, we focus on the results of the archaeological research in the Diamante Valley, the southernmost limit of the expansion of agriculture, sedentary societies, and the Inka empire (Fig. 1). We conducted the first fieldwork in this area involving random surface sampling, followed by test pits in open-air sites. Our analyses show changes in the settlement pattern of hunter-gatherer societies. During the first part of the Late Holocene (3000–1500 years BP), hunter-gatherers used the highlands and the piedmont seasonally. The archaeological evidence suggests a context of resource abundance and frequent movements from one patch of resources to the other in both biogeographic units. During the last part of the Late Holocene (post-1500 BP period), the increased demography made hunter-gatherers stay longer in each patch. In this later period, we observe a settlement pattern that combines, on the one hand, short-term particular tasks camps with shallow anthropogenic deposits, low artifactual density, richness, and diversity, and on the other hand, larger residential base camps with deep deposits, high artifactual density, richness, and diversity. We also find differences in how hunter-gatherers use the two biogeographic units. We find short-term non-residential camps and larger residential camps in the piedmont. Here we found versatile toolkits with abundant cores and cortex. Even though basalts are abundant in the highlands, there is a more significant amount of non-local raw materials, such as obsidians. Projectile points and scrapers dominate the assemblages, which might lead to task-specific activities such as hunting and processing guanacos. From these results, we can affirm that Late Holocene hunter-gatherer groups from Diamante Valley had an excellent knowledge of the landscape and took advantage of the different altitudinal gradients' different resources with an organized settlement pattern.

Bothersome burrowers: Tracking the impact of Botta’s pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae) bioturbation on a late-Holocene site

Archaeological and paleontological research relies on the contextualization of artifacts and skeletal remains, but stratigraphic disturbances such as bioturbation can complicate temporal associations. More specifically, the mixing of fossil and subfossil material by pocket gophers (Thomomys spp.) may increase time-averaging, obscuring or even erasing stratification in terrestrial, open-air sites. Not only can bones be transported vertically by displacement of dirt by pocket gophers, but also the gophers themselves may die in their burrows, adding young skeletal remains to older deposits. Using a late-Holocene archaeological site in California as a case study, we establish the degree of bias introduced by native pocket gophers, Thomomys bottae, by radiocarbon-dating incisors of T. bottae and non-gopher small mammals from the same stratigraphic units. The ages of T. bottae incisors are younger overall, and span a wider age range, than the ages of other small mammals from the same sediment layers. Our data shows that a significant number of pocket gopher remains were introduced after the site’s deposition, and we conclude that this is a consequence of T. bottae burrowing. These results shed light on a common taphonomic process and may prompt reevaluation of faunal community reconstructions from fossil deposits impacted by pocket gophers and other fossorial mammals around the world.

Проблемы верхнего палеолита предгорий Северного Тянь-Шаня: новейшие открытия и дальнейшие перспективы

Introduction. This work is devoted to the assessment of the Upper Paleolithic sites of the Northern Tien Shan. Materials and methods. Plains and foothills of Kazakhstan occupies a large western part of Central Asia and stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to the Altai Mountains in the east. There are many Paleolithic sites, the vast majority of which are open-air (surface) sites. Recently several multilayer Upper Paleolithic sites have been discovered in the Northern Tien Shan. Among them are the sites of Maibulak, Rakhat, Uzynagash 1–3, Saryzhazyk and some others. The sites have been studied intermittently since 2004. A new research phase began in 2018. Results and discussion. The sites are located in similar geomorphological conditions. The cultural layers of the sites are nested in loess-like loams covering the northern foothills of the Zailiysky Alatau Range. Most of the cultural layers are interpreted as habitation levels with preserved hearths, burn spots, charcoal spots, and storage pits. Accumulations of lithic artefacts and sometimes animal bone remains are tightly linked with those features of cultural layers. This is an interdisciplinary research. Conclusion. The chronology of these sites covers the Early Upper Paleolithic, the Middle Upper Palaeolithic and the beginning of the Late Upper Paleolithic. The development of the Northern Tien Shan Upper Paleolithic took place within the framework of a single cultural vector, characteristic for the western part of Eurasia. There are cultural horizons with Aurignation-like, Gravettian-like lithic industries, as well as a culture with geometric microliths (scalene triangles). At the same time, lithic industries show considerable originality. Further work is aimed at studying the classification, typology of lithic collections and their correlation with each other.

Butchering knives and hafting at the Late Middle Paleolithic open-air site of Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet (NMO), Israel

Much of what is known about human behavior and subsistence strategies in the Levantine Middle Paleolithic comes from long sequences from caves and rock shelters. In this context, studies of stone tool function have traditionally focused on determining the use of Levallois points and triangular elements, either as projectiles or, more rarely, multipurpose knives. Little is known about such tool use and hafting in Middle Paleolithic open-air sites in the Levant through the systematic application of micro-wear analysis. Here we report the results of a low and high-power study performed on the lithic assemblage of the Late Middle Paleolithic open-air site of Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet (NMO, Israel). Most pointed items, including Levallois and non-Levallois points, were used as butchering knives, many of them while hafted; to a much lesser extent they were also used for hide, bone, and wood/plant processing activities. Blades and flakes were mostly handheld and used as butchering knives, with hide, bone, antler, and wood/plant-processing tasks being rare. Hafted artifacts include morphologies and activities for which hafting is not required, indicating that NMO inhabitants possessed varied hafting expertise. Wood/plant processing tools, some of which were hafted, attest that manufacture and maintenance tasks were planned well in advance of game procurement at the site. These results attest to early evidence of hafted butchering knives and hafted plant processing tools for a Late Middle Paleolithic open-air site in the Levant, and support previous interpretations of NMO as a short-term task-specific location focused on animal processing activities, mostly butchery.