Hasil untuk "Archaeology"

C. Gosden, Yvonne Marshall

P. Wiessner

M. Madella, A. Alexandre, Terry B. Ball

P. Rice

James Laidlaw

C. Henshilwood, C. Marean

M. Purugganan, D. Fuller

A. Frebel, J. Norris

The oldest, most metal-poor stars in the Galactic halo and satellite dwarf galaxies present an opportunity to explore the chemical and physical conditions of the earliest star-forming environments in the Universe. We review the fields of stellar archaeology and dwarf galaxy archaeology by examining the chemical abundance measurements of various elements in extremely metal-poor stars. Focus on the carbon-rich and carbon-normal halo star populations illustrates how these provide insight into the Population III star progenitors responsible for the first metal enrichment events. We extend the discussion to near-field cosmology, which is concerned with the formation of the first stars and galaxies, and how metal-poor stars can be used to constrain these processes. Complementary abundance measurements in high-redshift gas clouds further help establish the early chemical evolution of the Universe. The data appear consistent with the existence of two distinct channels of star formation at the earliest times.

Riccardo Montanari, Philippe Colomban, Maria Francesca Alberghina et al.

There has been long-standing debate as to whether <i>Kami Fumi-e</i> (paper images to be trampled on) had actually been used in image trampling sessions as part of the 250-year persecution of Christianity enforced by the Tokugawa Shogunate. Sacred images of Christianity officially recorded to have been trampled on are housed in the permanent collection of the Tokyo National Museum and are almost uniquely made of metal alloy. The controversy regarding paper images, apart from the medium being considered unsuitable for such extreme use, was fueled by the appearance of a significant number of them in museum collections and institutions worldwide in the 20th century. Most of the prints bear dates from different eras of the Edo period, sometimes hundreds of years apart; therefore, long-standing arguments regarding their authenticity marked the last century. In order to distinguish later copies from potentially original pieces, if ever existed, XRF, Raman, and FTIR analytical techniques were used to study the materials characterizing them. In addition, detailed observation of the main visual features (overall design composition, inscriptions, paper support, etc.) was carried out to highlight potential discrepancies that could pair with scientific evidence and lead to a definitive conclusion.

Reuven Yeshurun, Gideon Hartman, Hila May et al.

Abstract While archaeologically challenging, determining whether hominins practised mass hunting before ca. 50,000 years ago is crucial for demonstrating intergroup communication and cooperation. The premise is that killing and processing several herd animals in a single event implicates planning, food sharing, and aggregation at a scale greater than most other Palaeolithic activities. Here, we focus on Unit III in the deep Middle Palaeolithic deposits of the Nesher Ramla karst depression (~ 120,000 years ago) in Israel, an early contact area of archaic and modern humans. Numerous aurochs (Bos primigenius) remains were found in this thin, temporally constrained stratigraphic unit, featuring signs of human butchery and consumption. An aurochs tibia displayed an embedded flint chip enveloped by bone remodelling, consisting unique evidence of recapture. We apply ageing, sexing, tooth wear and isotopic techniques to test the hypothesis that this assemblage represents mass hunting events but conclude that the evidence agrees better with multiple isolated, planned, and selective hunting and processing episodes. Thus, our results lend support to the commonly accepted view that Middle Palaeolithic archaic humans lived in small, dispersed, and disconnected groups, which might have been a disadvantage when faced with the sympatric modern humans.

C. M. I. B. Arton, 2020-present. Courses Adaptive Systems, Alessa et al.

B. Gross, Zhijun Zhao

J. Benjamin, A. Rovere, A. Fontana et al.

Abstract This article reviews key data and debates focused on relative sea-level changes since the Last Interglacial (approximately the last 132,000 years) in the Mediterranean Basin, and their implications for past human populations. Geological and geomorphological landscape studies are critical to archaeology. Coastal regions provide a wide range of resources to the populations that inhabit them. Coastal landscapes are increasingly the focus of scholarly discussions from the earliest exploitation of littoral resources and early hominin cognition, to the inundation of the earliest permanently settled fishing villages and eventually, formative centres of urbanisation. In the Mediterranean, these would become hubs of maritime transportation that gave rise to the roots of modern seaborne trade. As such, this article represents an original review of both the geo-scientific and archaeological data that specifically relate to sea-level changes and resulting impacts on both physical and cultural landscapes from the Palaeolithic until the emergence of the Classical periods. Our review highlights that the interdisciplinary links between coastal archaeology, geomorphology and sea-level changes are important to explain environmental impacts on coastal human societies and human migration. We review geological indicators of sea level and outline how archaeological features are commonly used as proxies for measuring past sea levels, both gradual changes and catastrophic events. We argue that coastal archaeologists should, as a part of their analyses, incorporate important sea-level concepts, such as indicative meaning. The interpretation of the indicative meaning of Roman fishtanks, for example, plays a critical role in reconstructions of late Holocene Mediterranean sea levels. We identify avenues for future work, which include the consideration of glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) in addition to coastal tectonics to explain vertical movements of coastlines, more research on Palaeolithic island colonisation, broadening of Palaeolithic studies to include materials from the entire coastal landscape and not just coastal resources, a focus on rescue of archaeological sites under threat by coastal change, and expansion of underwater archaeological explorations in combination with submarine geomorphology. This article presents a collaborative synthesis of data, some of which have been collected and analysed by the authors, as the MEDFLOOD (MEDiterranean sea-level change and projection for future FLOODing) community, and highlights key sites, data, concepts and ongoing debates.

Zhijun Zhao

Ignacio Clemente-Conte, Ermengol Gassiot Ballbè, Javier Rey Lanaspa et al.

Con este trabajo queremos llamar la atención sobre el proceso de excavación y análisis de materiales líticos provenientes de contextos calizos, como son los correspondientes a la vertiente sur de los Pirineos. La experiencia adquirida durante la excavación de Coro Trasito (Tella-Sin, Huesca) nos ha permitido distinguir entre los clastos y los fragmentos naturales de la propia cueva, una serie de lascas y fragmentos de caliza que presentan rastros de haber sido utilizados como instrumentos de trabajo. Este conjunto supone el 33,3% de los restos líticos recuperados en el sitio, porcentaje similar al del sílex (un 33,1%). En este conteo no se contemplan los cantos en caliza, que sí se han registrado en otros sitios del Neolítico antiguo del Pirineo central. La ausencia de este registro en otros yacimientos no permite realizar comparaciones en cuanto al desarrollo tecnológico de los grupos neolíticos que habitaron ese territorio.

B. Marwick

The use of computers and complex software is pervasive in archaeology, yet their role in the analytical pipeline is rarely exposed for other researchers to inspect or reuse. This limits the progress of archaeology because researchers cannot easily reproduce each other’s work to verify or extend it. Four general principles of reproducible research that have emerged in other fields are presented. An archaeological case study is described that shows how each principle can be implemented using freely available software. The costs and benefits of implementing reproducible research are assessed. The primary benefit, of sharing data in particular, is increased impact via an increased number of citations. The primary cost is the additional time required to enhance reproducibility, although the exact amount is difficult to quantify.

B. Alberti

Nurit Oliszewski, Jorge G. Martínez, Guillermo Arreguez et al.

Cueva de Los Corrales 1 se ubica en la quebrada de Los Corrales (El Infiernillo, Tucumán). Es un sitio arqueológico complejo tanto en su espacialidad como en su temporalidad ya que presenta tres sectores de uso ‒dos en el interior (cueva propiamente dicha y morteros fijos) y uno en el exterior (alero)‒ en varios momentos de ocupación entre ca. 3000 y 600 años AP. Se presenta una síntesis de la información generada que incluye el examen de distintas materialidades, dataciones radiocarbónicas y análisis desde diferentes líneas de investigación, los cuales, en conjunto, han permitido establecer al menos cuatro eventos ocupacionales. Se evalúan los posibles usos que tuvo CC1 en los distintos momentos en que estuvo habitado y su rol en el devenir de las ocupaciones humanas de la quebrada de Los Corrales y de la región del sur de cumbres Calchaquíes-norte del sistema del Aconquija en tiempos prehispánicos.

Die Redaktion

Denis Solène, Burnez-Lanotte Laurence, Trampota František

Technological analysis of variations in blade production and the flow of siliceous raw materials revealed new understandings of different types of socio-economic functioning on a supra-regional scale. In this article, we are focusing on supra-regional relationships between technical groups and the social dynamics involved in early Neolithic mobility within the communities of East Belgium. A detailed technological analysis was done to highlight discrete characteristics that permit the identification of distinct technical groups within the village of Vaux-et-Borset. Four technical groups have been identified in the Blicquy/Villeneuve-Saint-Germain village, whereas two technical groups have been highlighted for the previous Linear Pottery culture (LPC) occupation. The search for the origin of the different technical groups was to understand the micro-processes of Neolithization in East Belgium. A central area with a high-density population during the pioneer LPC colonization, Hesbaye became a peripheral occupation area of the Blicquy/Villeneuve-Saint-Germain culture. This fringe territory seemed to attract neighbouring communities in different ways. Multidirectional dynamics seems to characterize this small territory leading to the coexistence of a high diversity of technical groups.