Prehistoric Bronze Age Research Articles

PREHISTORIC BRONZE AGE RADIOCARBON CHRONOLOGY AT POLITIKO-TROULLIA, CYPRUS

ABSTRACTPolitiko-Troullia has generated the largest radiocarbon (14C) dataset from a Prehistoric Bronze Age settlement on Cyprus. We present Bayesian modeling of 25 calibrated AMS ages, which contributes to an emerging multi-site 14C chronology for Cyprus covering most of the Prehistoric Bronze Age. Our analysis places the six stratified phases of occupation at Troullia between about 2050 and 1850 cal BCE, in contrast to a longer estimated occupation inferred from pottery analysis. We provide a rare 14C determination for the transition from Prehistoric Bronze Age 1 to 2 just after 2000 cal BCE, associated with a major architectural dislocation at Politiko-Troullia in response to local landscape erosion, possibly due to increased regional precipitation. We present a regional 14C model for Prehistoric Bronze Age Cyprus combining the chronology for Politiko-Troullia with modeled 14C ages from Sotira Kaminoudhia and Marki Alonia, which is bolstered by individual ages from five other settlements on Cyprus. Through the Prehistoric Bronze Age, agrarian villages on Cyprus developed the foundations for the emergence of urbanized settlement and society during the ensuing Protohistoric Bronze Age. Politiko-Troullia, in conjunction with other key settlements on Cyprus, provides a significant independent contribution to increasingly robust Bronze Age 14C chronologies in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Cultivating Corpses: A Comparative Approach to Disembodied Mortuary Remains

Disembodied remains of corpses are often found in the archaeological record but seldom interpreted and understood. This mortuary practice challenges our traditional understanding of funerals and what constitutcs a "grave". Through a comparative analysis of prehistoric Bronze Age and Iron Age mortuary remai ns and contemporary funeral practices in Nepal, it is argued that the disembodiment is a cosmogonic act whereby the corpse is an intrinsic part of the agricultural and hydrological cycle. An explicit combination of the past and present for interpretations of the past is a premise for understanding and knowledge production in archaeology, and this theoretical stance is developed and explored.

Archaeological Research in the Ili Region: A Review

Archaeological research conducted in the Ili River Valley over the last century has revealed that the region was a crossroads in an early system of exchange throughout Eurasia. Relationships have been shown between findings in the area with the Andronovo (ca. 1900–1200 b.c.) and Saka (ca. first millennium b.c.) cultures from the prehistoric Bronze Age (ca. 1500–1000 b.c.) and Early Iron Age (ca. 1000–300 b.c.), respectively. The region has been intensively excavated by Chinese archaeologists in recent decades and an increasing number of cultural and spatial-temporal frameworks have been put forward to organize the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age finds since the late 1970s. A growing body of research has also addressed cultural change and contact. These studies and related debates are almost unknown to international scholars and need to be evaluated in greater detail. This article surveys the archaeological evidence and critically reviews the main data from Chinese research. In discussing the development of archaeology in the Ili region, the article provides a deeper understanding of the current state of research in Northwest China and a solid backdrop against which further studies can be conducted. Pointing out some of the main unsolved questions and obscure areas yet to be addressed, the article suggests future directions for research.

An Analog from the Prehistoric Bronze Age Site of Alambra Mouttes (Cyprus) for Adornments on the Enigmatic “Vounous Bowl”

The “Vounous Bowl” (ca. 2025–1850 b.c.e.) is a prehistoric Bronze Age vessel from the cemetery at Bellapais Vounous on the northern coast of Cyprus, modeled to depict what is commonly interpreted as people engaged in ritual activities in front of a shrine. The vessel has long intrigued archaeologists working in Cyprus, partly because unambiguous evidence for religious structures and paraphernalia has eluded them in the archaeological record. However, excavations at the Early–Middle Bronze Age site of Alambra in central Cyprus have yielded an artifact that closely resembles the finials placed atop the “throne” depicted in the Vounous Bowl. Its find context—in a room within a domestic structure that also contained a human burial—supports those interpretations of the Vounous Bowl that emphasize its sacred dimensions and its possible connections with the mortuary domain.

Cart-ruts in Lanzarote (Canary Islands, Spain) and Malta: first evidence of dating supported by dated ceramics

Cart-ruts were first described throughout Malta Archipelago; they were defined as abundant prehistoric Bronze Age Man constructions carved in rock although more recently built cart-ruts may be possible. They consist of deep ruts, rails, tracks, grooves and channels that rarely are strictly parallel. Some of them are convergent or perpendicular to others and also they may abruptly change to curved lines. They are placed either in plains or hill slopes with a variable and high inclination, Cart-ruts purpose is not known, as there were no written images, myth or verbal record about what they were used for. A conjoint multiauthor European Union Project on cart-ruts has found no new conclusion except stressing where they had been found: Malta and Turkey (Bronze Age) and also in Africa (Tunisia, Libya and Egypt) and Spain, Italy, France, Switzerland, Greece, Portugal, England and Azerbaijan. Other authors have described them also in Azores Islands and in Lanzarote (Canary Islands, Spain). In the present paper, we show evidence that cart-ruts are found all over Lanzarote Island, mostly placed on hills (volcanoes) tops or slopes. This fact together with their limited length discards their use for transport vehicles. On the other hand, some Malta and Gozo Islands (Malta) pottery decoration dated on 5th-4th millennium BC has been found that may represent cart-ruts. This is the first objective and independent evidence indicating that cart-ruts may be dated by other prehistoric information. Also, cart-ruts social, ritual and religious importance is discussed, as they could be used for space and time measurements, including astronomical calculations.Keywords: Malta, Gozo, Cart-ruts, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, "Quesera"/Cheeseboard, Lunisolar calendar, Iberian writing, Guanche writing, Zonzamas, Canary Islands, Guanches, Majos, Archaeoastronomy, Goddess, Achano, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, Azores, Azerbaijan, Ceramics.

Cart-ruts in Lanzarote (Canary Islands, Spain) and Malta: first evidence of dating supported by dated ceramics

Cart-ruts were first described throughout Malta Archipelago; they were defined as abundant prehistoric Bronze Age Man constructions carved in rock although more recently built cart-ruts may be possible. They consist of deep ruts, rails, tracks, grooves and channels that rarely are strictly parallel. Some of them are convergent or perpendicular to others and also they may abruptly change to curved lines. They are placed either in plains or hill slopes with a variable and high inclination, Cart-ruts purpose is not known, as there were no written images, myth or verbal record about what they were used for. A conjoint multiauthor European Union Project on cart-ruts has found no new conclusion except stressing where they had been found: Malta and Turkey (Bronze Age) and also in Africa (Tunisia, Libya and Egypt) and Spain, Italy, France, Switzerland, Greece, Portugal, England and Azerbaijan. Other authors have described them also in Azores Islands and in Lanzarote (Canary Islands, Spain). In the present paper, we show evidence that cart-ruts are found all over Lanzarote Island, mostly placed on hills (volcanoes) tops or slopes. This fact together with their limited length discards their use for transport vehicles. On the other hand, some Malta and Gozo Islands (Malta) pottery decoration dated on 5th-4th millennium BC has been found that may represent cart-ruts. This is the first objective and independent evidence indicating that cart-ruts may be dated by other prehistoric information. Also, cart-ruts social, ritual and religious importance is discussed, as they could be used for space and time measurements, including astronomical calculations. Keywords : Malta, Gozo, Cart-ruts, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Quesera/Cheeseboard, Lunisolar calendar, Iberian writing, Guanche writing, Zonzamas, Canary Islands, Guanches, Majos, Archaeoastronomy, Goddess, Achano, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, Azores, Azerbaijan, Ceramics.

Shifting Centres: Site Location and Resource Procurement on the North Coast of Cyprus over the Longue Durée of the Prehistoric Bronze Age

This paper examines the relationship between site location, resource procurement, and political economy in the context of three localised centres of settlement—Vasilia, Vounous, and Lapithos—which succeeded each other in the narrow, naturally bounded north coastal strip of Cyprus during the approximately 750 years of the Early and Middle Bronze Age (ca. 2450–1700 BC). Cyprus is home to abundant copper sulphide ores and was linked to the international metal trade in the first phase of the Early Bronze Age and again in the Middle Bronze Age. In both cases, this was conducted largely, if not exclusively, via outlets on the north coast which lie close to the southern coast of Anatolia and contemporary shipping lanes but some 35–40 km distant from the nearest ore bodies in the foothills of the Troodos Mountains. Mechanisms which allowed north coast sites to overcome internal distance deterrents in order to exploit geostrategic advantages in relation to external trade include a favourable natural environment (rainfall, soils, and harbours), technological advantage, probably coercion (physical and ideological), and an ability to achieve high levels of centrality within communication and transport networks with fluctuating levels of integration and hierarchy.

Archaeological geophysical survey of a Prehistoric Bronze Age site in Cyprus (Alambra Mouttes)—applications and limitations

The University of Queensland Alambra Archaeological Mission (UQAAM) conducted a program of geophysical survey and archaeological excavation over four seasons from 2012 to 2016. This program has allowed this study to compile a large array of geophysical data, which has been tested against actual excavation results. By integrating the two forms of archaeological investigation, the UQAAM has been able to identify geophysical ‘signatures’ diagnostic and indicative of internal architectural features relating to the Cypriot Prehistoric Bronze Age (c2400–1750BC). This is the first time internal features have been identified using these techniques on a Middle Bronze Age site in Cyprus. The program has also identified two, and possibly four, areas of domestic settlement. This has yielded results that are of considerable value to cultural heritage managers of the site, which is experiencing development pressures. While identifying several constraints with the geophysical survey for the Prehistoric Bronze Age in Cyprus, the program has demonstrated the efficacy of a combined geophysical survey and excavation approach to sites of the Early-Middle Bronze Age period.

Food processing, pottery use, and the role of intensive agriculture in the Early Bronze Age, midwest part of the Korean Peninsula

선사시대의 생업 활동을 고찰함에 있어 가장 중요한 것은, 해당 지역의 고고자료를 면밀히 연구하여 당시의 식생활이 어떠했는지를 정확하게 파악하는 것이다. 일반적으로 한반도의 청동기시대는, 농경이 확산되고 벼를 위시한 다양한 작물들의 재배가 성행하여 농작물이 당시사람들의 주식으로 자리 잡은 때라고 알려져 있다. 지금까지 청동기시대의 식생활을 복원해보려는 노력은 주로 작물 유존체의 분석을 통해 이루어져 왔다. 본고에서는 한반도 중서부 지역의 청동기시대 주거유적인 평택 소사동과 김포 양촌, 그리고 송국리의 유적에서 출토된 토기에서 추출한 유기물에 대한 안정동위원소분석의 결과를 활용하여 당시의 식생활에 대한 새로운 정보를 도출해 내고자 하였다. 본 연구 결과, 청동기시대 한반도 중서부지역 거주민들이 수렵활동을 통해 사슴이나 멧돼지와 같은 야생 육상동물들을 주기적으로 섭취하였음을 알 수 있었다. 한반도의 청동기시대 농경민들은 송국리형 문화 단계에 집약적 도작농경이 확립된 이후에도 생업활동을 하는 데에 있어 작물재배와 함께 다양한 전략을 보조적으로 활용하였던 것으로 추측되며, 농경 도입 이전부터 인류의 가장 대표적인 생업 활동의 하나였던 수렵도 그중의 하나였을 것이라고 판단된다. 비록 농경에 의한 작물의 재배가 청동기시대 생업활동의 한 축을 담당하고 있었고, 벼를 위시한 재배작물이 사람들의 식생활에서 차지하는 비중이 이전 시기보다 높았다고 볼 수 있지만, 당시 농경민들은 보다 넓은 범위에서 유기적인 전략을 가지고 생계를 유지해 나갔을 가능성이 있다.This study attempts to understand ancient human subsistence and pottery use in the midwest part of the Korean peninsula through the lipid analysis of potsherds from two major prehistoric settlement sites. One of the main topics of Korean archaeology has been the process of transition to farming. In the midwest part of the Korean peninsula, the period that has been tightly linked with this change was the Bronze Age. However, due to the high acidity of sediments that does not allow long-term preservation of organic remains, we still lack critical information related to the subsistence of the Bronze Age people. Ceramic vessels contain well-preserved lipids originated from culinary practices. Reconstructing food processing episodes through the analysis of ancient lipids extracted from pottery matrix can contribute to understand the true nature of the subsistence during the Bronze Age. The potsherd samples for the analyses in this paper were collected from the three prehistoric Bronze Age (c.a. 3000-2300 BP) settlement sites located in the midwest part of the Korean peninsula: Kimpo-Yangchon, Sosa- Dong, and Songguk-ri site. The result shows that terrestrial animals are presented in the organic residues, suggesting that there was utilization of a wider range of animal resources along with harvested crops among ancient farmers in the midwest part of the Korean peninsula.

Economic and social activities on ancient Cypriot terraced landscapes

We investigate ancient agricultural terraces and their associated social and economic activities across the site complex consisting of the village at Politiko-Troullia and its more extensive associated taskscape. Surface artifact distributions mapped over 12 ha are integrated with evidence excavated from this Bronze Age settlement in central Cyprus. Contrary to expectations, artifact densities do not diminish with distance from the village architecture. In particular, concentrations of Prehistoric Bronze Age ceramics and ground stone artifacts are most pronounced on nearby terraced hillsides. These terraces were not utilized for domestic structures, but for extensive processing of agricultural crops and copper ore. Bronze Age excavated plant remains indicate cultivation of olives, grapes and figs, with wood resources dominated by olive and pine. Larger, non-portable ground stones and gaming stones are associated with communal social and economic activities in open courtyard settings in Politiko-Troullia. This category of ground stone also is particularly common on the terraced hillsides around Troullia, suggesting that similar behaviors occurred beyond village structures. The terraced landscape of Politiko-Troullia exemplifies a multi-faceted taskscape with a range of agricultural, metallurgical and social activities.

Revisiting Alambra Mouttes

Alambra Mouttes is the site of a Prehistoric Bronze Age settlement in Cyprus. Excavation and survey in the 1970s and 1980s resulted in a reconstruction of the approximate boundaries and layout of the ancient settlement. Since 2012 geophysical survey and excavation have located a number of previously unidentified habitation areas while significantly increasing our knowledge of the site’s spatial configuration. Armed with these new data it is possible to present some hypotheses about the social processes underlying the development pattern of this prehistoric community

Landscape development and soils around the Bronze Age settlement Kamennyi Ambar, southern Trans-Urals, Russia

Landscape and soils around the prehistoric Bronze Age site of Kamennyi Ambar, southern Trans-Urals, have been studied. The topography of the Trans-Ural peneplain was formed by denudation during Mesozoic and Tertiary. The resulting gently undulating plain was subsequently dissected during Pleistocene under periglacial climatic conditions, and wide valleys with gentle slopes were formed. The saprolized pre-quaternary rocks are covered by thin layers of quaternary sediments, which are sometimes loess-containing. Deposits of in-situ loess are almost absent. Most probably, deluviation under periglacial conditions played the dominant role and prevented the formation of loess deposits. Thin loess deposits are preserved only in some flat watershed positions. The Quaternary layers sometimes contain strongly weathered coarse bedrock components indicating a solifluidal genesis of the cover beds on the slopes. The degree of weathering of the autochthonous components increases towards the water divide where the cover beds consist almost completely of pre-Quaternary saprolite. The slopes of the Karagaily Ajat valley are structured by numerous smaller tributary valleys which usually have a yellow-brown loam fill and show in their lower parts gully-like linear erosion features. Decalcified Haplic Chernozems are prevalent soils in the fills of the tributary valleys, at the lower slopes of the Karagaily Ajat-valley, and in the loams of the Lower Terrace. When clay cutans and coatings were observed in the subsoil the soils were identified as Luvic Chernozems. On the gentle slopes, Mollic Leptosols or Leptic Regosols (Mollic) are developed in thin cover beds. Up the slope, the depth of the humus horizons decreases. When examining the layer succession of the near surface underground and the associated soils along transects across the tributary valleys, it was found that the thickness of the cover beds on the slopes increases towards the valley floor. In the soils of the Lower Terrace varying salt contents can be found. Mollic Solonetz were identified therein. Within the excavation area in Kamennyi Ambar, Anthrosols and Solonetz were found in the compacted layers of the older Sintashta culture, while Haplic Chernozems (colluvic) with similar features like the virgin soils have developed in the fillings of younger pit houses.

The archaeology of Cyprus: from earliest prehistory through the Bronze Age

Preface and acknowledgements 1. Introduction 2. Chronology, current research and interpretative context 3. Early prehistoric Cyprus i: Palaeolithic - Early Aceramic Neolithic 4. Early prehistoric Cyprus ii: Late Aceramic Neolithic (LAN) and Ceramic Neolithic 5. Later prehistoric Cyprus: Chalcolithic - Late Chalcolithic 6. Prehistoric Bronze Age Cyprus (PreBA) 7. Protohistoric Bronze Age Cyprus (ProBA) 8. Conclusions: insularity, connectivity and identity on prehistoric and protohistoric Cyprus.

Long-term agrarian landscapes in the Troodos foothills, Cyprus

We investigate the temporal and environmental relationships between the terraced hill slopes of Politiko-Koloiokremmos and the adjacent Bronze Age settlement of Politiko-Troullia in foothills of the Troodos Mountains, central Cyprus. Mapping of 102 stone walls on Koloiokremmos is compared with 66 walls farther afield on Cyprus to create a six-part terrace typology. Sherd counts from 174 2-m radius collection circles over approximately 20 ha on Troullia and Koloiokremmos were used to create interpolated sherd density surfaces revealing distinctly different patterns of land use for four major archaeological eras between the Cypriot Bronze Age and Medieval Period. We compared sherd density patterns according to terrace types, length, slope and vegetation cover determined by SAVI (Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index) from Ikonos and Quickbird satellite imagery.The most robust sherd patterning indicates Prehistoric Bronze Age settlement at Troullia, as confirmed by soil resistivity and excavation, and multi-period land use on Koloiokremmos immediately upslope of the village that may be associated with agricultural terracing. Scattered sherd concentrations indicate later use of this landscape as an agricultural hinterland for the Iron Age city of Tamassos. Sherds and a down slope spread of roof tiles from the Roman through Medieval periods suggest an isolated structure near the crest of Koloiokremmos. Longer terraces correlate with greater vegetation cover and are interpreted as agricultural, while shorter terraces, apparently for erosion control and arboriculture, are significantly related to Prehistoric Bronze Age sherd patterns. Our results suggest that coordinated analysis of archaeological, geographical and remotely sensed environmental data associated with terraced landscapes can be used to infer long-term patterns of agricultural land use.

Pottery production and distribution in prehistoric Bronze Age Cyprus. An application of pXRF analysis

Portable X-ray Fluorescence (pXRF) analysis of over 400 samples of Early and Middle Bronze Age Cypriot pottery from four widely separated sites identifies both local and non-local products at each. A series of analyses of sub-sets of the data highlights differences in the clays used at each site and for some distinctive types and wares. When assessed in the context of general typological, technological and stylistic factors these variations provide the basis for considering patterns of local production and inter-regional relationships across the island. Although the great majority of pots were locally made, particular wares and shapes were brought in from elsewhere. For some sites finer, more highly decorated vessels are mostly imports, but at others both simpler and more complex vessels were made of the same local clays. While small juglets or flasks may have been containers for transporting small quantities of rare substances, larger vessels are likely to have held less precious material. Open vessels, especially small bowls – some of which are plain, utilitarian items – represent another aspect of social behaviour and inter-regional relationships.

Death, Prestige, and Copper in Bronze Age Cyprus

From the mid third through the second millennium B.C., Bronze Age communities in Cyprus underwent important social transformations in conjunction with migration, changes in subsistence and technology, the development of a major copper industry, and the emergence of town-centered polities engaged in metallurgical production and long-distance trade. This paper examines mortuary evidence from the formative Early-Middle Cypriot Bronze periods (or the prehistoric Bronze Age) in order to explicate the ways in which social changes were expressed in ritual practices and, reflexively, the ways in which economic and sociopolitical developments were influenced by the dynamics of ritual performances. It is demonstrated that an elaborate suite of funerary rites involving multiple phases of mortuary treatment, collective burial, and costly prestige displays developed during these periods. It is argued that because these rites came to involve both extravagant and escalating levels of copper consumption in some communities, the social and ideological concerns enacted in mortuary practice created an important internal stimulus for the intensification of copper production and the development of local copper exchange networks. This, in turn, helped promote the development of a provisional infrastructure for the rise of elite-dominated, urban copper emporia during the Late Cypriot Bronze Age. Concurrently, the growing importance of exotic valuables within the prevailing prestige system served as an incentive for emergent elites to establish coastal centers in order to control the trade in copper and imported goods.

The Cemeteries at Marki: Using a Looted Landscape to Investigate Prehistoric Bronze Age Cyprus. Andrew C. Sneddon.

Previous articleNext article No AccessBook ReviewsThe Cemeteries at Marki: Using a Looted Landscape to Investigate Prehistoric Bronze Age Cyprus. Andrew C. Sneddon.Louise SteelLouise Steel Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Bulletin of the American Society of Overseas Research Volume 331August 2003 A journal of the American Schools of Oriental Research Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/1357763 Views: 9Total views on this site Journal History This article was published in the Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research (1921-2021), which is continued by the Bulletin of the American Schools of Overseas Research (2022-present). Copyright 2003 The American Schools of Oriental ResearchPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Cutting Graminae Tools and “Sickle Gloss” Formation

ABSTRACTThe SEM EDS method was applied to the working surfaces of prehistoric and experimental reaping tools in order to help solve the problem of the origins and development of their characteristic polish, called “sickle gloss.” Experiments with contemporary steel scythes, as well as replicas of flint blade tools, were conducted and were compared with prehistoric Neolithic and Early Bronze Age reaping implements. The most important result of the study was the recognition, on the working surfaces of both steel and flint experimental tools, of the presence of an additional layer, termed here a “crust.” This thin layer consists of calcium, carbon, oxygen, chlorium, phosphorus, aluminum, silica, potassium, and sometimes sulphur. The proportion of silica in this crust (0.8 -1.5% on average in both groups of experimental tools) was considerably smaller than the proportion of silica in the crust of prehistoric tools (5. 4 -11.6%). The most probable explanation for these results is selective chemical weathering. Prehistoric tool users discarded artifacts in silica-rich Holocene soil deposits in which easily dissolved calcium, aluminum and phosphorus oxides were replaced by less easily dissolved silica (SiO2).

Reading the Sites: Prehistoric Bronze Age Settlements on Cyprus

Reading the Sites: Prehistoric Bronze Age Settlements on Cyprus

Lithic technology and discard at Marki, Cyprus: consumer behaviour and site formation in the prehistoric Bronze Age

Lithic studies all too often ignore the material of later prehistory. Here an exploration of ideas of curation and expediency offers a new insight into material from Bronze Age Cyprus.