At the dawn of history: From Iron Age aggrandisers to Zhenla kings

2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 418-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles F.W. Higham
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Cultural Development ◽  
Fifth Century ◽  
Archaeological Excavation ◽  
Irrigated Rice ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Agricultural Revolution ◽  
Social Elites ◽  
Two Phases ◽  
Exchange Network

The transition from Late Iron Age to early state societies in the riverine lowlands of the Mun Valley and northern Cambodia took place rapidly in the fifth and sixth centuries CE. Defining the former involves archaeological excavation, whereas the latter is best known from surviving temple structures and inscriptions in addition to the results of archaeological fieldwork. Several common threads link the two phases of cultural development. From the late fifth century BCE, Iron Age communities participated in the growing maritime exchange network linking Southeast Asia with China and India, bringing exotic ideas and goods into the hinterland. Iron itself had a major impact on agriculture and warfare. Salt, a vital commodity that is abundantly available in the Mun Valley, was exploited on an industrial scale. By the fifth century CE, an agricultural revolution involving permanent, probably irrigated, rice fields and ploughing underwrote a rapid rise of social elites. These leaders in society, named in the early historic inscriptions, maintained and elaborated prehistoric innovations.

Environmental and Social Change in Northeast Thailand during the Iron Age

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 549-569
Author(s):  
C.F.W. Higham ◽  
B.F.J. Manly ◽  
R. Thosarat ◽  
H.R. Buckley ◽  
N. Chang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Fifth Century ◽  
Agricultural Revolution ◽  
Maritime Silk Road ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Elites ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Impact

The Iron Age of Mainland Southeast Asia began in the fifth centurybcand lasted for about a millennium. In coastal regions, the development of trade along the Maritime Silk Road led to the growth of port cities. In the interior, a fall in monsoon rains particularly affected the Mun River valley. This coincided with the construction of moats/reservoirs round Iron Age settlements from which water was channelled into wet rice fields, the production of iron ploughshares and sickles, population growth, burgeoning exchange and increased conflict. We explore the social impact of this agricultural revolution through applying statistical analyses to mortuary samples dating before and after the development of wet rice farming. These suggest that there was a swift formation of social elites represented by the wealth of mortuary offerings, followed by a decline. Two associated changes are identified. The first involved burying the dead in residential houses; the second considers the impact of an increasingly aquatic environment on health by examining demographic trends involving a doubling of infant mortality that concentrated on neonates. A comparison between this sequence and that seen in coastal ports suggests two interconnected instances of rapid pathways to social change responding to different social and environmental stressors.

Excavation of a prehistoric enclosure at Mar Hall, Bishopton, Renfrewshire

2012 ◽  
Vol 34-35 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graeme Cavers ◽  
Victoria Clements ◽  
Sarah Lynchehaun
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Archaeological Excavation ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Two Phases

Remains of a multi-palisaded and ditched enclosure were identified during an archaeological watching brief and evaluation carried out in July 2007. In accordance with planning conditions an archaeological excavation was subsequently undertaken between August and December 2007, on behalf of Mar Estates Ltd. The excavation identified two phases of construction at the enclosure, the multiple palisades and entrance dating to the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age and a large ditch dating to the Middle-Late Iron Age. A Bronze Age burnt mound was found nearby.

The Pershore Hoards and Votive Deposition in the Iron Age

2013 ◽  
Vol 79 ◽  
pp. 297-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek Hurst ◽  
Ian Leins
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Roman Period ◽  
Geophysical Survey ◽  
Landscape Position ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Archaeological Excavation ◽  
Extensive Area ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Votive Deposition ◽  
Twisted Wire

A large hoard of Iron Age coins was discovered by metal-detecting at Pershore, Worcestershire, in 1993. During small-scale archaeological excavation further Iron Age coins were recovered, including a likely second hoard. Further fieldwork in the same vicinity as the hoard(s) produced more Iron Age finds, including more coins, and a possible fragment of a twisted wire gold torc. In total 1494 Iron Age gold and silver coins were recovered. Geophysical survey indicated that the hoard(s) lay at the southern end of an extensive area of settlement which, based on the fieldwalking evidence, was mainly of Iron Age and Roman date. This covered an overall area ofc.10 ha, within which several areas of more intensive activity were defined, including enclosures and possible round-houses. It is suggested that the coin hoard(s) indicate the location of a Late Iron Age religious space in an elevated landscape position situated on the edge of a settlement which continued into the Roman period. As part of the archaeological strategy, specialist deep-search metal-detecting was undertaken in order to establish that the site has now been completely cleared of metalwork caches

New Evidence of Human Activities During the Holocene in the Lowland Forests of the Northern Congo Basin

Radiocarbon ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 209-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Morin-Rivat ◽  
Adeline Fayolle ◽  
Jean-François Gillet ◽  
Nils Bourland ◽  
Sylvie Gourlet-Fleury ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Intermediate Phase ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Bimodal Distribution ◽  
Congo Basin ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Two Phases ◽  
Botanical Remains

In the last decade, the myth of the pristine tropical forest has been seriously challenged. In central Africa, there is a growing body of evidence for past human settlements along the Atlantic forests, but very little information is available about human activities further inland. Therefore, this study aimed at determining the temporal and spatial patterns of human activities in an archaeologically unexplored area of 110,000 km2 located in the northern Congo Basin and currently covered by dense forest. Fieldwork involving archaeology as well as archaeobotany was undertaken in 36 sites located in southeastern Cameroon and in the northern Republic of Congo. Evidence of past human activities through either artifacts or charred botanical remains was observed in all excavated test pits across the study area. The set of 43 radiocarbon dates extending from 15,000 BP to the present time showed a bimodal distribution in the Late Holocene, which was interpreted as two phases of human expansion with an intermediate phase of depopulation. The 2300–1300 BP phase is correlated with the migrations of supposed farming populations from northwestern Cameroon. Between 1300 and 670 BP, less material could be dated. This is in agreement with the population collapse already reported for central Africa. Following this, the 670–20 BP phase corresponds to a new period of human expansion known as the Late Iron Age. These results bring new and extensive evidence of human activities in the northern Congo Basin and support the established chronology for human history in central Africa.

scholarly journals Excavations at Ma'layba and Sabir, Republic of Yemen: Radiocarbon Datings in the Period 1900 to 800 cal BC

Radiocarbon ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 1353-1361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jochen Görsdorf ◽  
Burkhardt Vogt
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Cultural Development ◽  
Archaeological Excavation ◽  
Architectural Development ◽  
Excavation Site ◽  
Radiocarbon Datings

The Bronze and Iron Age cultures in Yemen have no parallels to the well dated cultures in the Syro-Palestinian region. Radiocarbon datings are therefore exceptionally important for the Yemenite archaeological excavation sites of Ma'layba and Sabir, the latter being the largest excavation site of the Sabir culture. Dating series were done in order to determine the architectural development of the sites and find time marks for the ceramic development. Sample materials were dated from the 2nd and 1st millennium before Christ. The 14C dating results allow statements about the cultural development in Ma'layba and Sabir as well as a comparison with the development of other regions in the surrounding, independent of only sparse available archaeological parallels.

Britain, Gaul, and Germany

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Moore
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Fifth Century ◽  
First Century ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Burial Rites ◽  
Cultural Interactions

Britain’s place in the Roman Empire cannot be seen in isolation. The province’s close links to Gaul and Germany stemmed from earlier interaction in the late Iron Age, and these connections have been seen as highly significant in explaining the changes in burial, dress, and settlement that took place in Britain from the first century BC to the fifth century AD. Exploring evidence from changes in diet, architecture, and burial rites, this chapter will assess the nature and extent of cultural interactions between these provinces. In particular, it will examine whether these links can be used to argue for a ‘Gallicization’ of Britain, rather than a ‘Romanization’. It will question whether such terms are helpful in reconceptualizing the processes of cultural change before and after the Roman Conquest or whether they present their own set of problems for understanding cultural interactions and social change.

Farming, social change, and state formation in Southeast Asia

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles F. W. Higham
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Water Buffalo ◽  
Domestic Animals ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Early States ◽  
Agricultural Revolution ◽  
Social Elites ◽  
Rapid Formation

Farming in Southeast Asia is dominated two major crops, rice and millet, and domestic pigs, cattle, water buffalo, chickens, and dogs. The domestication of these species took place in China, and the first farmers began to settle Southeast Asia in the early second millennium bc. They integrated with the indigenous hunter-gatherers, and were heavily reliant not only on their crops and domestic animals, but also on hunting, gathering, and fishing. An agricultural revolution took place during the Iron Age, involving plough agriculture in permanent fields. Ownership of improved land would have stimulated the rise of social elites and dependent craft specialists, factors underlying the rapid formation of early states.

Commentaria archaeologica et historica (III). Chronology of the Dacian Silver Hoards

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 11-38
Author(s):  
Aurel Rustoiu
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Archaeological Evidence ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
La Tène ◽  
Danube Region ◽  
Two Phases ◽  
La Tene

These comments stem from the recent publication of a number of studies regarding the silver artefacts of pre-Roman Dacia, with important implications for the relative and absolute chronology of the late La Tène period in the region in question, and also for some cultural and historical transformations that happened in the same area. Some of the conclusions presented in these studies are insufficiently supported by arguments. Their publication requires a detailed analysis, which is meant to clarify a number of controversial aspects. For example, D. Spânu has recently divided the evolution of the Dacian silver hoards into two phases dated to the La Tène D2a and D2b (the period between ca. 75 – 65 BC and the Augustan age). To support this chronology, he chose to ignore a series of hoards, or only certain artefacts from other hoards, which did not fit into the suggested model. These efforts to push the chronology of the Dacian silver hoards within a particular time frame stem from his aim to use these discoveries as arguments for a series of a priori historical interpretations for which archaeological evidence is scant. This includes the idea that the local silver ornaments were all made exclusively of melted Mediterranean coins which supposedly reached pre-Roman Dacia massively only after the defeating of Mithridates VI Eupator and the fall of the Kingdom of Pontus. However, the analysis of the silver jewellery from pre-Roman Dacia is demonstrating that the artefacts in question were made using both locally-sourced silver and melted Mediterranean coins. Chronologically, these hoards can be divided into three phases: first group dated to the La Tène D1, 150/125 – 75/50 BC; second group belongs to the La Tène D2, 75/50 – 30/25 BC; third group dated to the Augustan – Tiberian period, 30/25 BC – AD 25/30. It can be therefore concluded that the scenario proposed by D. Spânu for the chronology of the end of the Late Iron Age in the lower Danube region and Transylvania, based on an erroneous dating of the silver hoards, is not credible. This kind of analysis requires the incorporation of different categories of archaeological evidence belonging to the last three centuries before the Roman conquest. Their contextual interpretation could provide a more reliable and detailed chronology of the evolution of the communities from each of the two territories in question. Lastly, this evolution was not uniformly equal across wide areas, as suggested by the typo-chronological tables and schemes drawn in the office by some researchers, since each community had its own history and evolution governed by a multitude of different social, economic, demographic or ecological factors.

An integrated geoarchaeological approach to late Iron Age settlement at Haštelina hillfort (Lopar, Island of Rab, Croatia) using Amplitude Data Comparison (ADC) method and trial excavation

2020 ◽  
pp. 447-468
Author(s):  
Paula Androić Gračanin ◽  
Fabian Welc ◽  
Ana Konestra ◽  
Bartosz Nowacki
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Multidisciplinary Approach ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Building Structures ◽  
Archaeological Excavation ◽  
Data Comparison ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Amplitude Data ◽  
Ground Penetrating ◽  
Geophysical Prospection

Geophysical prospection and small-scale archaeological excavation were undertaken on the site of Kaštelina, Late Iron Age hillfort settlement located on a small coastal promontory of Stolac in the east part of the Rab island (Kvarner gulf, Croatia). Carried out by a Polish – Croatian team within the “Archaeological topography of the island of Rab” programme, the aim of this research was to obtain preliminary information relevant to determining the periods of occupation, degree of preservation, nature of the selected site features and potential of this site for further investigation. Multidisciplinary methods of research included ground penetrating radar and magnetometer together with the implementation using Amplitude Data Comparison (ADC) method which resulted in detecting remains of Late Iron Age building structures distributed over the northwest side of the Stolac promontory. Archaeological excavations that followed the geophysical survey resulted in unearthing remains of a dwelling together with its associated outdoor facilities. Benefits of multidisciplinary approach on the site of Kaštelina will be preliminary presented, stressing out the importance of gathered data for the general understanding of Late Iron Age settlements and their internal organisation in a wider context.

Le Yaudet, Ploulec'h, Côtes d'Armor, Brittany. An Interim Report on the Excavations of 1991–4

1995 ◽  
Vol 75 ◽  
pp. 43-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry Cunliffe ◽  
Patrick Galliou
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Eleventh Century ◽  
Third Century ◽  
North Coast ◽  
Agricultural Activity ◽  
Early Medieval Period ◽  
The North ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Two Phases

The promontory site of Le Yaudet, on the north coast of Brittany, was occupied from the Bronze Age to the present day, at various stages during this period sharing in maritime exchange systems linking Brittany to Britain. In the Late Iron Age the site, of some 6ha, was surrounded by stone and rubble defences the main cross-promontory defence being of murus gallicus type. The defences are of at least two phases, the later probably dating to the time of Caesar. Occupation continued and in the late third century AD a new wall was built around the defensive circuit at a time when similar coastal sites on both sides of the Channel were being defended. On one site, agricultural activity of the early medieval period was followed by village development in the eleventh century. The present village is a shrunken remnant of the earlier, more extensive settlement.

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