Stone Arrangements Research Articles

Deliberate selection of rocks in the construction of the Gummingurru Stone Arrangement Site Complex, Darling Downs, Queensland

This paper uses statistical analyses to examine the hypothesis that the creators of the Gummingurru Stone Arrangement Site Complex, southeast Queensland, deliberately selected rocks, based on size and shape, for the production of motifs at the site. As Gummingurru is an Aboriginal site, the literature that frames the research concerns Aboriginal cultural Law and worldviews. However, because the data are archaeological measurements, quantitative statistical methods are also employed. These quantitative results demonstrate deliberate selection of rocks occurred in the construction of four of the motifs at Gummingurru. We conclude that there are archaeological signatures of human behaviour in response to the requirements of cultural Laws with respect to the choice of raw materials, at least in stone arrangement sites.

EXTENDED MULTISCALE IMAGE SEGMENTATION FOR CASTELLATED WALL MANAGEMENT

Abstract. Castellated walls are positioned as tangible cultural heritage, which require regular maintenance to preserve their original state. For the demolition and repair work of the castellated wall, it is necessary to identify the individual stones constituting the wall. However, conventional approaches using laser scanning or integrated circuits (IC) tags were very time-consuming and cumbersome. Therefore, we herein propose an efficient approach for castellated wall management based on an extended multiscale image segmentation technique. In this approach, individual stone polygons are extracted from the castellated wall image and are associated with a stone management database. First, to improve the performance of the extraction of individual stone polygons having a convex shape, we developed a new shape criterion named convex hull fitness in the image segmentation process and confirmed its effectiveness. Next, we discussed the stone management database and its beneficial utilization in the repair work of castellated walls. Subsequently, we proposed irregular-shape indexes that are helpful for evaluating the stone shape and the stability of the stone arrangement state in castellated walls. Finally, we demonstrated an application of the proposed method for a typical castellated wall in Japan. Consequently, we confirmed that the stone polygons can be extracted with an acceptable level. Further, the condition of the shapes and the layout of the stones could be visually judged with the proposed irregular-shape indexes.

Stylistic analysis of stone arrangements supports regional cultural interactions along the northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland

Stone arrangements are frequently encountered on the Australian mainland and islands. They have high significance values to Indigenous Australians and are usually associated with the material expression and emplacement of socio-religious beliefs and associated ceremonial/ritual activities. Despite their ubiquity, stone arrangements are an understudied site type with their distribution and morphological variability remaining poorly documented and their functional variability poorly understood. Although in most parts of Australia the authorship of stone arrangements is unambiguously Aboriginal, for far north Queensland this is less clear for places where Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders, and more recently South Sea Islanders, all with documented traditions of stone arrangement construction and use, are known to have operated. A comparative stylistic analysis of stone arrangements constructed by Aboriginal people, Torres Strait Islanders and Island Melanesians of the southwest Pacific reveals that although Lizard Island Group stone arrangements are predominately of Aboriginal authorship, some arrangements exhibit cultural influences from neighbouring areas. In this respect, Lizard Island Group stone arrangements appear to be a further material expression of the Torres Strait Cultural Complex and Coral Sea Cultural Interaction Sphere.

Counter-mapping theory and its application to a constantly changing Aboriginal stone arrangement site

In pre-contact times, the Gummingurru Aboriginal stone arrangement site on Queensland’s Darling Downs was a complex locale of motif creation and constant maintenance, social alliance formation, male initiation and cultural education. Since European settlement, the arrangements have undergone a raft of changes, yet the site remains a place of constant narration based around regular recreation of motifs, alliance-making and sharing of cultural experiences. As a consequence, the site was and is constantly changing. How do we, as archaeologists, represent such a site, ensuring the rigour required of archaeological place characterisation and yet avoid the ‘fixity’ that comes with conventional archaeological place recording? In this paper, we demonstrate some of the opportunities available to archaeologists to document both the tangible and the intangible elements of an ever-changing, constantly evolving site like Gummingurru. We evaluate different counter-mapping strategies, and technologies ranging from computer-based maps and programs, to 2D and 3D animations. The aim is to explore the relevance of these approaches for archaeology and heritage place representation.

Calibration of a visual method for the analysis of the mechanical properties of historic masonry

The conservation and preservation of historic buildings affords many challenges to those who aim to retain our building heritage. In this area, the knowledge of the mechanical characteristics of the masonry material is fundamental. However, mechanical destructive testing is always expensive and time-consuming, especially when applied to masonry historic structures. In order to overcome such kind of problems, the authors of this article, proposed in 2014 a visual method for the estimation of some critical mechanical parameters of the masonry material. Based on the fact that the mechanical behavior of masonry material depends on many factors, such as compressive or shear strength of components (mortar and masonry units), unit shape, volumetric ratio between components and stone arrangement, that is the result of applying a series of construction solutions which form the “rule of art”. Taking into account the complexity of the problem due to the great number of variables, and being on-site testing a not-always viable solution, a visual estimate of the mechanical parameters of the walls can be made on the basis of a qualitative criteria evaluation. A revision of this visual method is proposed in this paper. The draft version of new Italian Building Code have been used to re-calibrate this visual method and more tests results have been also considered for a better estimation of the mechanical properties of masonry.

RNA Interference Mediated Silencing of Tissue Factor in Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells

Objective: To construct to silence tissue factor (TF) expression in Human Um-bilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs) for providing evidence of the gene therapy and prevention of coagulation dysfunction in placental abruption (PA) neonates. Methods: Cultured HUVECs in vitro were divided into control group and PA group, each including non-prevention, scramble siRNA and TF-siRNA subgroups. pENTRTM/U6-shRNA/TF vector expressing TF were constructed and transfected into HUVECs. The mRNA expression of TF was tested with RT-PCR, and TF protein expression was detected with immunofluorescence staining. Results: Monolayer HUVECs with short-rod and short spindle shaped were adherent to the bottom, forming paving stone arrangement. The TF mRNA expression was significantly different between control group and PA group (P < 0.01) and among different subgroups (P < 0.01). In non-prevention subgroups, significant difference was observed in TF mRNA expression between control group and PA group (P < 0.05). Significant difference in TF mRNA expression was found in false-prevention subgroups (P < 0.05). The TF mRNA expression was markedly different among different subgroups in control (P < 0.01), and the similar result among different PA subgroups (P < 0.01). In both control and PA groups, the TF mRNA expression was the lowest after TF silencing. Immunofluorescence staining showed high TF expression in HUVECs in false-prevention subgroups. In scramble siRNA group, the TF protein expression reduced as compared to non-prevention group and reduced dramatically after TF silencing as compared to control. Conclusion: pENTRTM/U6-TF-shRNA is able to significantly inhibit the TF mRNA and protein expression in HUVECs from healthy neonates and PA neonates.

Vėlyvojo žalvario ir ankstyvojo geležies amžiaus laidosena ir visuomenė Šiaurės vakarų Lietuvoje

This article investigates the burial customs of the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages in the territory of northwest Lithuania, focusing on barrow mounds and individual grave settings and grave goods. More than a century of excavations yielded 19 burial sites, in which 182 graves are known (169 cremations and 13 inhumations). The gathered data regarding burial customs consist of grave settings, burial locations within the mounds and grave goods, and these are used to interpret some features of how the communities were socially organized. During the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages, the dead were buried in different types of graves: barrow mounds and flat graves; individual graves had different stone arrangements in both of mentioned types. This work presents a hypothesis that different types of graves and stone arrangements associated with burials were not just a result of time-related burial customs changes, but it could be an indicator of the social identity of the deceased. It is one of the possible indicators that hierarchic societies existed during the period in question.&#x0D; Keywords: Late Bronze Age, Early Iron Age, barrow mounds, cremation burials, inhumation burials, society, northwest Lithuania

Digital Terrain Analysis Reveals New Insights into the Topographic Context of Australian Aboriginal Stone Arrangements

AbstractSatellite‐derived surface elevation models are an important resource for landscape archaeological studies. Digital elevation data is useful for classifying land features, characterizing terrain morphology, and discriminating the geomorphic context of archaeological phenomena. This paper shows how remotely sensed elevation data obtained from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Advanced Land Observing Satellite was integrated with local land system spatial data to digitally classify the topographic slope position of seven broad land classes. The motivation of our research was to employ an objective method that would allow researchers to geomorphometrically discriminate the topographic context of Aboriginal stone arrangements, an important archaeological site type in the Pilbara region of northwest Australia. The resulting digital terrain model demonstrates that stone arrangement sites are strongly correlated with upper topographic land features, a finding that contradicts previous site recordings and fundamentally changes our understanding of where stone arrangement sites are likely to have been constructed. The outcome of this research provides investigators with a stronger foundation for testing hypotheses and developing archaeological models. To some degree, our results also hint at the possible functions of stone arrangements, which have largely remained enigmatic to researchers. © 2017 The Authors. Archaeological Prospection Published by John Wiley &amp; Sons Ltd.

The Mine Island Aboriginal stone arrangements: spiritual responses to late Holocene change on the central Queensland coast

The Mine Island stone arrangement complex is a large ceremonial complex on the central Queensland coast. The arrangements are in excess of 2 km of looping and U-shaped aligned stones. A series of middens, directly adjacent to the stone arrangements, was recently excavated, providing potential chronological insights into the construction and ceremonial use of the stone arrangement. We posit that these stone arrangements represent a shared spirituality linking coastal peoples for over 300 km of coastline, the inception of which was possibly linked to a range of broader changes impacting coastal hunter-gatherers on the central Queensland coast after around 500 BP.

First chronometric results for ‘works of the old men’: late prehistoric ‘wheels’ near Wisad Pools, Black Desert, Jordan

Abstract

Rock of Eternity: The Megalith of Pallikonda

The south Indian megalithic age exhibits a wonderful range of sepulchral and non sepulchral stone monuments erected possibly within 1100 BC–300 AD. However, building megalithic graves fell into disuse post-1000 AD for yet unknown reasons. The state of Tamil Nadu, southern India, hosts a large number of such megalithic sites and one monument, in particular, erected in the small panchayat town of Pallikonda, demands special attention. The site harbors a large, non-sepulchral stone arrangement comprising a large capstone balanced on three boulders. The entire structure lies at the foot of the large Pallikonda hill and overlooks the fertile basin of the Palar river. The capstone is oriented in the north-south axis, with a double projection that points towards north-west. Spatial analysis of the site reveals several unique features of the megalith. The structure is positioned strategically, so that a straight line drawn from the tip of the hill and passing through the north-west projection of the cap stone points towards the confluence of rivers Palar and Koundanyanadi, and on further extrapolation, to the summer solstice sunset. It is positioned at a point separating the arable from the non-arable lands. The capstone of the structure is dotted with cupules, some of which form distinct sightlines. Most of the sightlines match with the Iron age rising and setting azimuths of the stars Vega, Capella, Cassiopeia and Deneb. The study concludes that unique characteristics of the Pallikonda megalith mark it as a geographical, territorial and most possibly, as an astronomical marker.

Ankstyviausi žirgų palaikai laidojimo objektuose Lietuvoje

Straipsnyje nagrinėjama žirgo laidojimo papročio formavimosi ankstyvuoju metalų laikotarpiu dabartinėje Lietuvos teritorijoje pradžia. Pristatomi surinkti duomenys apie ankstyviausius žirgų palaikus žmonių laidojimo vietose. Šių gyvūnų kaulų iki šiol rasta tik vakarinėje Lietuvos dalyje – Kurmaičių, Kvecių ir Ėgliškių pilkapynuose, įrengtuose nedidelėje teritorijoje Akmenos, Tenžės ir Danės upių pakrantėse. Pilkapiuose, kuriuose vyrauja degintiniai žmonių kapai, aptikta atskirų, nedegintų žirgų kūno dalių. Šie laidojimo objektai datuojami vėlyvojo žalvario amžiaus pabaiga–ankstyvuoju geležies amžiumi. Toks laidosenos pokytis siejamas su išskirtinės žirgo padėties formavimosi pradžia Baltijos regione II ir I tūkstm. pr. Kr.

Contemporary Indigenous Relationships to Archaeological Features: Agency, Affect, and the Social Significance of Rock Art

One of the major challenges facing archaeologists and cultural heritage/resource managers is how to better approach and understand concepts of significance and value of archaeological features (e.g. stone tools, rock art sites, pottery, stone arrangements, shell middens) in contemporary Indigenous settings. In this article, I focus on exploring contemporary Indigenous engagement and interaction with one specific type of archaeological feature—rock art—to develop a better understanding of how significance and value are attributed to sites and motifs. Through the lens of affectual, relational, and cultural understandings of rock art in northern Australia and the American Southwest I examine the complex nature of encounters and responses (e.g. verbal and gestural) to sites and motifs to illustrate how concerns with significance go beyond the archaeological realm. Using Gell's (1992 The Technology of Enchantment and the Enchantment of Technology. In Anthropology, Art, and Aesthetics, edited by Jeremy Coote and Anthony Shelton, pp. 40–67. Clarendon Press, Oxford) ideas of agency and affect as a starting point, and then unpacking the responses that are elicited from visiting or viewing rock art, I focus on investigating the structure of the relationship between people and the contemporary social significance of archaeological features. A key outcome from this research is the realization that contemporary engagement with rock art is diverse and can be shaped by a variety of factors including ontological and epistemological understandings, emotional experiences (e.g. fear), social memory, and the health and well-being of individuals and communities.

Mineralogical transformations in sandstone: a fingerprint for prehistorical heating of Palaeolithic hearth stones

At the prehistoric site of Rosalinde in Ruien (Belgium) sandstone blocks of local origin have been found in a configuration that was tentatively interpreted by the archaeologists as a hearth. These sandstones are identified as ferruginous sandstone and glauconiferous sandstone, and each block shows a discoloured rim which is not typically observed on these lithotypes. In order to confirm their use as hearth stones, the mineralogy in the discoloured rim was studied and compared to the bulk mineralogical composition by means of optical petrography, X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dithionite-citrate bicarbonate extraction (DCB). In the ferruginous sandstone, XRD and DSC illustrate the transformation of amorphous iron oxides and goethite into hematite. In the glauconiferous sandstone, however, the amount of iron oxide phases is too low for detection with XRD and DSC. In this case, the dark brown discolouration of the glauconite grains, together with the higher free iron oxide content in the rim than in the bulk as indicated by DCB analysis, are most suggestive of a mineralogical transformation due to heating. The heating temperature is estimated between 300 and 600°C. Despite the absence of charcoal, the combined evidence obtained on the two lithotypes suggests the use of this specific stone arrangement as a hearth at the prehistoric site of Ruien.

Last days on Pabaju: A stone arrangement on Albany Island Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia

This paper describes a stone arrangement on Pabaju (Albany Island) near the tip of Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia. The island is part of the traditional lands of the Gudang Aboriginal people. The site ‘Tarrungi’ is one of a number of stone arrangements in this area, which we interpret as the tangible evidence of ritual exchange within a regional cosmo-political landscape. The site on Pabaju is important as it has not suffered the same degree of disturbance from tourists as similar sites on the nearby Australian mainland. The presence of buttons, flaked glass and other artefacts on the site are suggestive of rituals enacted just after European settlement. This was at a time of significant social and political upheaval for the Gudang people who bore the brunt of the impact of European settlement in the region as the settlement of Somerset was located in the heartland of their traditional lands a mere 3 km south south-east of Tarrungi. In this paper we explore the relationship between ritual, cosmological re-working of contested landscapes and colonial settlement through the lens of an archaeological site on one of Australia's most northerly islands.

Analytical Surveys of Stonehenge and its Environs, 2009–2013: Part 2 – the Stones

Non-invasive survey in the Stonehenge ‘Triangle’, Amesbury, Wiltshire, has highlighted a number of features that have a significant bearing on the interpretation of the site. Geophysical anomalies may signal the position of buried stones adding to the possibility of former stone arrangements, while laser scanning has provided detail on the manner in which the stones have been dressed; some subsequently carved with axe and dagger symbols. The probability that a lintelled bluestone trilithon formed an entrance in the north-east is signposted. This work has added detail that allows discussion on the question of whether the sarsen circle was a completed structure, although it is by no means conclusive in this respect. Instead, it is suggested that it was built as a façade, with other parts of the circuit added and with an entrance in the south.

동궐도(東闕圖)에 나타난 괴석(怪石)의 배치특성에 관한 연구

동궐도(東闕圖)에 나타난 괴석(怪石)의 배치특성에 관한 연구

Patrimonio arqueológico, preservación y turismo. El caso de las Sierras de Curicó (Sistema de Tandilia, Región Pampeana, Argentina)

El propósito de este artículo es discutir los efectos positivos y negativos del uso de la localidad arqueológica Sierras de Curicó (partido de Olavarría, provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina) en el marco de potenciales emprendimientos turísticos. El atractivo natural de este paisaje arqueológico conformado por pinturas rupestres, estructuras de piedra, un montículo rocoso y un alero, en las serranías bajas de Tandilia, ha concitado desde hace algunos años un uso recreativo espontáneo en un área no planificada para su uso turístico. En efecto, al impacto natural creciente se suma la acción antrópica cada vez más frecuente, poniendo a la localidad arqueológica en situación de vulnerabilidad y riesgo de conservación. Esto se acentúa particularmente en el caso de las representaciones rupestres, que constituyen sectores de visibilidad regular y altamente sensibles a la atención del visitante. En este contexto, es primordial evaluar la preservación del paisaje arqueológico como un todo antes de considerar su inclusión en proyectos de desarrollo sustentable que incluyan actividades turísticas. Previo diagnóstico, se analizan las estrategias mas adecuadas para poner en valor las Sierras de Curicó como alternativas a un uso turístico convencional en el contexto de escasas o nulas posibilidades de regular medidas efectivas de protección del patrimonio local. Por último, se recomienda un plan de manejo y la no apertura del sitio al público.

Laboratory study of gravel‐bed cluster formation and disintegration

AbstractIncreased knowledge of clusters is essential for the understanding of sediment transport behavior and the monitoring and protection of aquatic life. A physical study using graded river gravels is conducted in a laboratory environment. Using photogrammetry and painted gravels, a cluster identification tool (CIT) is developed based on image subtraction between subsequent frames, allowing identification of any stable areas and groups of particles on the bed. This is combined with digital particle tracking (DPT) to present a novel approach for monitoring the formation and disintegration of clusters. Clusters from graded gravels are formed successfully during the experimental stage, allowing investigation into the complex dynamic behavior of cluster formation and disintegration in a simulated natural environment. Various anchor stone arrangements are used in the experiments. However, only about one fifth of the potential anchor stones on the bed surface enable cluster formation. In general, clusters classified as “typical” and “heap” are most common. Inspection of temporal cluster coverage of the test‐bed surface shows that the proportion of clusters present on the surface tends to grow with time. Maximum cluster surface coverage of between 5% and 34% is observed. In addition, particles entering and departing from clusters are monitored. Most commonly, particles enter from directly upstream of the cluster, however &gt;20% of particles approach from a direction &gt;20 deg from the streamwise direction. Approximately 35% of all particles directly upstream of a cluster bypass the cluster.

Image-Based Delineation and Classification of Built Heritage Masonry

Fundación Zain is developing new built heritage assessment protocols. The goal is to objectivize and standardize the analysis and decision process that leads to determining the degree of protection of built heritage in the Basque Country. The ultimate step in this objectivization and standardization effort will be the development of an information and communication technology (ICT) tool for the assessment of built heritage. This paper presents the ground work carried out to make this tool possible: the automatic, image-based delineation of stone masonry. This is a necessary first step in the development of the tool, as the built heritage that will be assessed consists of stone masonry construction, and many of the features analyzed can be characterized according to the geometry and arrangement of the stones. Much of the assessment is carried out through visual inspection. Thus, this process will be automated by applying image processing on digital images of the elements under inspection. The principal contribution of this paper is the automatic delineation the framework proposed. The other contribution is the performance evaluation of this delineation as the input to a classifier for a geometrically characterized feature of a built heritage object. The element chosen to perform this evaluation is the stone arrangement of masonry walls. The validity of the proposed framework is assessed on real images of masonry walls.