Regional Archaeological Project Research Articles

La Corona: un acercamiento a las políticas del reino Kaan desde un centro secundario del noroeste del Petén

El Proyecto Regional Arqueológico La Corona estudia la región del noroeste de Petén, Guatemala, donde se localiza la antigua ciudad maya de La Corona, que recientemente fue identificada como el Sitio Q. La investigación ha incluido las excavaciones de arquitectura monumental, asentamientos, la elaboración de mapas, el uso de sensores remotos y la realización de estudios paleoclimatológicos y ecológicos. Desde el punto de vista de los modelos de la organización política, las investigaciones en La Corona presentan una oportunidad para estudiar la naturaleza y las relaciones políticas de los sitios secundarios. Los datos epigráficos relatan una afiliación directa entre La Corona y la dinastía gobernante en Calakmul, por lo que el primer centro seguramente fungió como punto clave para las estrategias de expansión de Calakmul por las Tierras Bajas Mayas durante los siglos VI y VII d.C. Aquí se presentan algunos resultados obtenidos en las investigaciones llevadas al cabo entre 2005 y 2009.

Early Copper Age Settlements in the Körös Region of the Great Hungarian Plain

This article discusses research carried out by the Körös Regional Archaeological Project from 2000 to 2006 at Early Copper Age Tiszapolgár Culture sites on the Great Hungarian Plain. To build a model of social organization for the period, we incorporated information from regional geomorphological studies, soil chemistry analysis, archaeological surface surveys, remote sensing, and systematic excavations at Early Copper Age sites in the Körös Valley of southeastern Hungary. Previous models characterized the transition from the Neolithic period to the Copper Age as an abrupt shift from a tell-based, sedentary, agricultural lifeway to one based on mobile cattle herding. By studying the transition between these periods on multiple geographic and temporal scales, we have identified a more gradual process with widespread regional variation in cultural patterns. Similar social processes characterize the transition between chronological periods and cultural phases in other parts of the world, and we suggest that a multiscalar approach is effective for building comparative archaeological models of long-term social change.

Pylos Regional Archaeological Project, Part VIII: Lithics and Landscapes: A Messenian Perspective

Pylos Regional Archaeological Project, Part VIII: Lithics and Landscapes: A Messenian Perspective

Early Prehistoric Landscape and Landuse in the Fier Region of Albania

Little was known until recently about regional patterns of early prehistoric occupation in Albania, making it difficult to situate the Albanian record within existing, general models of early prehistoric landuse. An intensive regional survey, the Mallakastra Regional Archaeological Project (MRAP), carried out in the Fier region of central Albania from 1998-2003, gathered widespread evidence for human occupation during the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods, from the Myzeqe Plain to the Mallakastra hills. The Pleistocene and early Holocene landscape of Fier differed considerably from the present landscape, and at times the Adriatic shoreline was much farther inland than it is now. As a consequence, Palaeolithic and Mesolithic foragers were able to exploit coastal-wetland and estuarine environments that have been buried only recently by alluvial sediment as a result of river avulsion and soil erosion. The landscape studied by MRAP is only a fragment of the total landscape once exploited by early humans in this part of the Balkans, whose home range may have included much of soutwest Albania and parts of northwest Greece. Our reconstruction of early prehistoric landuse in central Albania, based on collection and mapping of the locations of 1593 lithic artifacts from a 35 sq km area, indicates patterns of logistical foraging that span the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic and match those modeled in other Mediterranean countries, such as Greece.

Sinop Landscapes: Towards an Archaeology of Community in the Hinterland of a Black Sea Port

AbstractThis paper discusses the evidence for economic and community integration on the Sinop promontory from the early first millennium BC through the middle of the first millennium AD based on the results of the Sinop Regional Archaeological Project. Results suggest that settlement and economy on the Sinop promontory were strongly affected by the broader condition of the Black Sea economy. Contrary to the sudden appearance of colonial sites dispersed over a relatively extensive territory seen in other important Pontic colonies (e.g. Olbia), evidence from Sinop suggests several centuries of disengagement followed by a progressive engagement between Greek and non-Greek communities following the extension of Persian influence in the eastern Pontus in the early fourth century. Infrastructural improvements under early Roman administration may not have been followed immediately by economic expansion, which seems to have taken off after the establishment of Constantinople.

Piedras Negras and Yaxchilan: Divergent Political Trajectories in Adjacent Maya Polities

In this article we present a synthetic overview and preliminary analysis of the data collected by members of the Sierra del Lacandón Regional Archaeology Project (SLRAP) during four field seasons of research from 2003 to 2007. We examine the growth, development, and transformation of the Classic Maya polities of Piedras Negras, Guatemala, and Yaxchilan, Mexico, located in the Middle Usumacinta Basin. This analysis uses a conjunctive approach, incorporating analyses of iconography, epigraphy, settlement patterns, ceramics, mortuary patterns, and architectural styles. During the Late Preclassic period (c. 250 B.C.-A.D. 350) settlement was scattered widely across the study region and Piedras Negras and Yaxchilan were only two of a number of other equally powerful Preclassic communities. In the Early Classic period (c. A.D. 350-600) royal dynasties were established at both Piedras Negras and Yaxchilan and the population of the region became concentrated at these two sites. During the Late Classic period (c. A.D. 600-810) the political frontier between Piedras Negras and Yaxchilan was repopulated and transformed into a contested border zone surrounding a political boundary. This territorial expansion culminated in endemic warfare by the eighth century A.D., which may have ultimately led to the demise of these two Maya polities.

Interdisciplinary survey in Messenia, Southwest Peloponnese, Greece

AbstractThe survey of Messenia by the University of Minnesota Messenia Expedition (UMME) was recently followed by the Pylos Regional Archaeological Project (PRAP). Despite improvements in survey methodology, problems remain, particularly with the interpretation of field data and with extrapolation, especially when this is made based on survey results alone, without excavation. In addition, the work of the archaeologists has not yet been fully integrated with that of the earth scientists. Some examples are given of the difficulties encountered in this survey, especially concerning retrodictions (predictions about the past) of ancient settlement patterns and numbers. Suggestions are made here for further survey and selective excavation, especially in eastern Messenia, where fieldwork has been far less extensive than in western Messenia. More fieldwork is needed to determine the pattern of geomorphic changes in the region, especially in relation to the varying degrees of visibility and/or preservation of the ancient sites. Meanwhile, increased recent human activity is rapidly destroying or endangering those remains that have hitherto survived, so that survey is often de facto of a rescue nature. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Pylos Regional Archaeological Project, Part VII: Historical Messenia, Geometric through Late Roman

Pylos Regional Archaeological Project, Part VII: Historical Messenia, Geometric through Late Roman

Pylos Regional Archaeological Project, Part VII: Historical Messenia, Geometric through Late Roman

Abstract In this article, the authors explore patterns in regional activity in Messenia, the southwest corner of the Greek Peloponnese, from the Geometric to the end of the Late Roman period (ca. eighth century B.C. to seventh cen-tury A.D.). The analysis is based on extant historical evidence, the campaigns of the Minnesota Messenia Expedition, and—above all—the results of the Pylos Regional Archaeological Project. These three data sets have been integrated, as far as possible, in order to trace long-term changes in the region and to provide a foundation for further work in this still underexplored portion of Greece's historical landscape.

Geophysical prospection and soil chemistry at the Early Copper Age settlement of Vésztó-Bikeri, Southeastern Hungary

Geophysical prospection and soil chemical analyses were conducted at the Early Copper Age (ECA, ca. 4500–3900 cal BC [Antiquity 76 (2002) 619, Journal of Field Archaeology (2004) in press] site of Vésztó-Bikeri as part of the Koros Regional Archaeological Project investigations of the Neolithic–Copper Age transition on the Great Hungarian Plain. The goal of these investigations was to locate and map subsurface features and activity areas at the settlement. Vertical magnetic gradient measurements defined the extent and layout of the structures and features across the settlement and revealed that previously unidentified concentric ditches enclosed the site. Excavations confirmed the locations of most of the wall trenches, postholes, ditches, and pits detected in the geophysical survey. The soil chemical survey recorded high concentrations of phosphate around the perimeter of the site, some of which were associated with a midden. With the geophysical survey, details of the plan and organization of the Early Copper Age settlement were revealed that could not be discerned from surface artifact distribution patterns and test excavations. The soil chemistry survey results showed a contrast between the “cleaner” center of the site (near the structures) and the ring of debris at the edge of the site (near the circular enclosures). The continuation of such nondestructive investigations at other ECA sites will help improve models of settlement organization during the Neolithic–Copper Age transition.

Pylos Regional Archaeological Project, Part VI: Administration and Settlement in Venetian Navarino

Documentary sources dating from the Venetian occupation of the Peloponnese (1688-1715) confirm a pattern, established by the late 17th century, of Ottoman estates dominating the lowland plain while the majority of Greeks lived in inland villages. The Venetians encouraged migration to the cities in an attempt to create an urban society that would support their administration. They failed to achieve this aim, as this study of Venetian Navarino shows, not only for lack of an urban tradition, but also because their policies for land distribution and taxation did not provide political or economic incentives for moving to the city. As a result, the settlement pattern in the Peloponnese remained remarkably stable throughout the Venetian occupation.

Pylos Regional Archaeological Project, Part V: Deriziotis Aloni: A Small Bronze Age Site in Messenia

In 1958 Lord William Taylour excavated the badly eroded remains of a small late Early Helladic III site at Deriziotis Aloni on the Englianos Ridge not far from the Palace of Nestor. This paper constitutes a detailed presentation of Taylour's results. Two apsidal buildings from the site are among the earliest apsidal structures known from Messenia, and the ceramics and small finds are indicative of a stage of prehistory poorly represented in the southwestern Peloponnese. Deriziotis Aloni may have been one of several similar sites that coalesced in the Middle Helladic period to form the larger community that ultimately gave rise to the Palace of Nestor.

Pylos Regional Archaeological Project, Part V: Deriziotis Aloni: A Small Bronze Age Site in Messenia

Pylos Regional Archaeological Project, Part V: Deriziotis Aloni: A Small Bronze Age Site in Messenia

The Durrës Regional Archaeological Project: Archaeological Survey in the Territory of Epidamnus/Dyrrachium in Albania

The Durrës Regional Archaeological Project: Archaeological Survey in the Territory of Epidamnus/Dyrrachium in Albania

The Durrës Regional Archaeological Project: Archaeological Survey in the Territory of Epidamnus/Dyrrachium in Albania

In the spring of 2001 the hilly uplands immediately northwest of the modern city of Durres were for the first time investigated using the techniques of intensive surface survey. In total, an area of six square kilometers was explored and twenty-nine sites were defined, most of them new. Remains of Greek antiquity were plentiful and include unpublished inscriptions and graves. One site may be the location of a previously unknown Archaic temple. Included in this article are descriptions of the areas investigated, a list of sites, and a catalogue of the most diagnostic artifacts recovered. Patterns of settlement and land use are discussed and compared to those recorded by other surveys in Albania.

Pylos Regional Archaeological Project, Part IV: Change and the Human Landscape in a Modern Greek Village in Messenia

Pylos Regional Archaeological Project, Part IV: Change and the Human Landscape in a Modern Greek Village in Messenia

Pylos Regional Archaeological Project, Part III: Sir William Gell's Itinerary in the Pylia and Regional Landscapes in the Morea in the Second Ottoman Period

This article previews the study of the Second Ottoman period (1715-1821) by members of the Pylos Regional Archaeological Project. By closely comparing Sir William Gell's apparently dispassionate descriptions of the Navarino Bay area with other documentary and archaeological data, we suggest that reconstruction of settlement and land use relying solely on Gell's descriptions can result in misrepresentation. This conclusion has implications for modern Greek social and economic history, since the image that Gell sketches appears to support a commonly held belief that settlement during Ottoman occupation was concentrated in more mountainous areas, while the lowlands were largely devoid of permanent habitation.

The Jabal Hamrat Fidan Project: Excavations at the Wadi Fidan 40 Cemetery, Jordan (1997)

This report describes the excavation and preliminary analysis of the Wadi Fidan 40 cemetery by the Wadi Fidan Regional Archaeological Project during 1997. The cemetery is a large, enigmatic funerary complex. Previous work suggested a link to the nearby Early Bronze Age site of Wadi Fidan 4. During the 1997 season 62 grave features were excavated and human remains of 87 individuals recovered. The aceramic nature of the cemetery and other finds suggests the possibility of a semi-nomadic population. A short life radiocarbon determination for the cemetery indicates an Iron Age date in the tenth/ninth centuries BG. The implications of this date and the potential significance of this population are discussed in terms of recent findings in southern Jordan.

The Pylos Regional Archaeological Project: Part II: Landscape Evolution and Site Preservation

The Pylos Regional Archaeological Project: Part II: Landscape Evolution and Site Preservation

Speleothem breakage, movement, removal, and caching: An aspect of ancient Maya cave modification

Recent investigations have documented extensive human breakage, movement, resetting, removal, and caching of speleothems which reflects an unreported aspect of ancient Maya cave utilization. The movement, resetting, and caching of speleothems make it clear that much of the breakage was purposeful. Speleothems appear in excavation contexts at surface sites, and the Petexbatun Regional Archaeological Project demonstrates that reported examples represent only a small portion of formations actually present. Many of the contexts at surface sites indicate that speleothems had a sacred or special meaning, and ethnographic sources indicate that the meaning is associated with rain, fertility, healing, and power. Preliminary results of neutron activation analysis indicate that it may be possible to determine the cave of origin of speleothems found in cultural contexts. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.