scholarly journals Benefits and weaknesses of radiocarbon dating of plant material as reflected by Neolithic archaeological sites from Poland, Slovakia and Hungary

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 188-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marek Nowak ◽  
Magdalena Moskal-Del Hoyo ◽  
Aldona Mueller-Bieniek ◽  
Maria Lityńska-Zając ◽  
Krzysztof Kotynia
Keyword(s):  
Plant Material ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Plant Materials ◽  
Hulled Wheats ◽  
Neolithic Age ◽  
Plant Remains ◽  
History Of ◽  
Cultivated Species

Abstract Radiocarbon dating of the plant material is important for chronology of archaeological sites. Therefore, a selection of suitable plant samples is an important task. The contribution emphasizes the necessity of taxonomical identification prior to radiocarbon dating as a crucial element of such selection. The benefits and weaknesses of dating of taxonomically undetermined and identified samples will be analysed based on several case studies referring to Neolithic sites from Hungary, Slovakia and Poland. These examples better illustrate the significance of the taxonomical identification since plant materials of the Neolithic age include only a limited number of cultivated species (e.g. hulled wheats) and typically do not contain remains of late arrived plants (e.g. Carpinus betulus and Fagus sylvatica). For more accurate dating results cereal grains, fruits and seeds, which reflect a single vegetative season, are preferred. Among charred wood, fragments of twigs, branches and external rings should mainly be taken into account, while those of trunks belonging to long-lived trees should be avoided. Besides the absolute chronology of archaeological features and artefacts, radiocarbon dating of identified plant remains might significantly contribute to the history of local vegetation and food production systems.

scholarly journals Age Discrepancies with the Radiocarbon Dating of Sagebrush (Artemisia Tridentata Nutt.)

Radiocarbon ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phil R Geib
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Artemisia Tridentata ◽  
Ground Surface ◽  
Wood Charcoal ◽  
Western United States ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Fuel Wood ◽  
Tree Wood ◽  
Plant Remains ◽  
Age Discrepancy

When ancient hearths at open archaeological sites do not yield carbonized annual plant remains or other high-quality samples, wood charcoal is commonly used for radiocarbon dating. Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.), a shrub frequently used for fuel across much of the western United States, seems a potentially better candidate for 14C dating than tree wood since the possibility for significant age discrepancy might be less. A comparison of multiple assays from single features reveals that sagebrush can overestimate age more than even tree wood charcoal. A plausible cause of this appears to be persistence of the shrub on the ground surface for an extended interval after death, such that use as fuel almost invariably occurs hundreds of years after fixation of carbon. The potential for age discrepancy may decrease as population density increases because the demand for fuel wood would have resulted in a more rapid turnover of the fuel biomass. This is not true for Archaic period foragers of western North America when population levels were likely quite low and residential mobility quite high.

A late-Holocene pollen record from the western Qilian Mountains and its implications for climate change and human activity along the Silk Road, Northwestern China

The Holocene ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 1141-1150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Zhang ◽  
Xiaozhong Huang ◽  
Zongli Wang ◽  
Tianlong Yan ◽  
En’yuan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Late Holocene ◽  
Qilian Mountains ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Pollen Record ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Plant Remains ◽  
Tree Ring Data ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Silk Road

The sparsity of long-term reliable climatic records hampers our understanding of human–environment interactions in the semi-arid Hexi Corridor, NW China. Here, we present a late-Holocene pollen record from a small alpine lake, Tian’E, in the western Qilian Mountains. The chronology is provided by nine accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dates from terrestrial plant remains. The ratios of Artemisia and Amaranthaceae (A/C) are used to reconstruct the history of regional humidity: An unstable climate occurred during 1530–1270 BC; there were three relatively wet periods, at 1270 BC–AD 400, AD 1200–1350, and AD 1600–present; and there were two dry periods, from AD 400 to 1200 and from AD 1350 to 1600. Comparison with tree-ring data indicates that continuous droughts were responsible for the abandonment of several archaeological sites and ancient cities in the region, including the major city of Dunhuang, which was abandoned in AD 1372 and AD 1524 for nearly 200 years.

scholarly journals A Critical Appraisal of Ancient Agricultural Genesis in China Emphasis on Rice, Millet and Mixed Farming: An Archaeobotanical Endeavor

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Muhammad Azam Sameer
Keyword(s):  
North China ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Foxtail Millet ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Mixed Farming ◽  
Ancient Agriculture ◽  
Neolithic Age ◽  
Broomcorn Millet ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Neolithic Age

China has been noted as one of the three sovereign hubs of the origin of ancient agriculture. Specifically, millets like foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) and rice (Oryza sativa), were and are imperative crops for the ancient as well as present Chinese people. In this regard, rice and millets are valuable crops in the history of China. It is also a fact that rice and millets belong to the important river such as Yellow River (North China) and Yangtze River (South China) which are the ancient centers of Chinese civilization as well. It is also unanimously accepted that rice and millets were domesticated at the same time within a solitary expanse in China but in different regions. The available archaeobotanical record also suggests the emergence and development of the mixed farming of millets and rice in different regions in China during the Neolithic age. This paper illustrates the archaeobotanical perspectives and retrospectives of the important crops such as foxtail millet, broomcorn millet, and rice. With this, the imperative archaeological sites, ancient agricultural activities, agricultural philosophy, crop dispersal, and further archaeobotanical scenarios since Pre-historic age in China are also the chief themes of this manuscript. 

BIOEFFICACY OF PLANT EXTRACTS AGAINST MUSTARD APHID AND THEIR NATURAL ENEMIES

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
NARENDRA SINGH ◽  
N. S. BHADAURIA ◽  
PRADYUMN SINGH
Keyword(s):  
Plant Extracts ◽  
Natural Enemies ◽  
Untreated Control ◽  
Plant Material ◽  
Aphid Population ◽  
College Of Agriculture ◽  
Mustard Aphid ◽  
Plant Materials

The Bio-efficacy of eleven plant extracts namely viz.Neem Kernel; Rhizome of Ginger; Leaves of Datura, Gajarghas, Harsingar, Oak and Latjeera; Bulb of Garlic and Onion; Flowers of Chrysenthemum and Fruits of Chilli in the concentration of 5 percent and imidacloprid @ 40 g ai/ha was tested against mustard aphid, Lipaphiserysimi and their effect on D. rapae and Coccinellid beetle were tested in the Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, Gwalior (M.P.). All the tested plant materials and imidacloprid @ 40 g ai/ha were effective significanty in reducing the aphid population over control.The aphid population in treated plots ranged from 7.2 to 40.0 as against 85.4 aphid/twig in untreated control. Among the plant material, three sprays of Neem Kernel were found most effective followed by three sprays of chilli fruits.All the plant extracts were found significantly safer to D. rapae and coccinellid bettle in comparision to insecticide (imidacloprid).

Gendered Places and Depositional Histories: Reconstructing a Menstrual Lodge in the Interior Northwest

2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 400-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly Carney ◽  
Jade d'Alpoim Guedes ◽  
Kevin J. Lyons ◽  
Melissa Goodman Elgar
Keyword(s):  
Low Temperature ◽  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Thin Section ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Columbia Plateau ◽  
The North ◽  
Plant Remains ◽  
History Of ◽  
Experimental Firing ◽  
River Inundation

This project considered the deposition history of a burned structure located on the Kalispel Tribe of Indians ancestral lands at the Flying Goose site in northeastern Washington. Excavation of the structure revealed stratified deposits that do not conform to established Columbia Plateau architectural types. The small size, location, and absence of artifacts lead us to hypothesize that this site was once a non-domestic structure. We tested this hypothesis with paleoethnobotanical, bulk geoarchaeological, thin section, and experimental firing data to deduce the structural remains and the post-occupation sequence. The structure burned at a relatively low temperature, was buried soon afterward with imported rubified sediment, and was exposed to seasonal river inundation. Subsequently, a second fire consumed a unique assemblage of plant remains. Drawing on recent approaches to structured deposition and historic processes, we incorporate ethnography to argue that this structure was a menstrual lodge. These structures are common in ethnographic descriptions, although no menstrual lodges have been positively identified in the archaeological record of the North American Pacific Northwest. This interpretation is important to understanding the development and time depth of gendered practices of Interior Northwest groups.

scholarly journals Multitemporal–Multispectral UAS Surveys for Archaeological Research: The Case Study of San Vincenzo Al Volturno (Molise, Italy)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 2719
Author(s):  
Nicodemo Abate ◽  
Alessia Frisetti ◽  
Federico Marazzi ◽  
Nicola Masini ◽  
Rosa Lasaponara
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Medieval Art ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
History Of ◽  
Close Range ◽  
Low Altitude

Unmanned aerial vehicles are currently the most used solution for cultural heritage in the field of close range and low altitude acquisitions. This work shows data acquired by multitemporal and multispectral aerial surveys in the archaeological site of San Vincenzo al Volturno (Molise, Italy). The site is one of the most important medieval archaeological sites in the world. It is a monastic settlement that was particularly rich during the early Middle Ages, and is famous for its two full-frescoed crypts which represent a milestone in the history of medieval art. Thanks to the use of multispectral aerial photography at different times of the year, an area not accessible to archaeological excavation has been investigated. To avoid redundancy of information and reduce the number of data to be analysed, a method based on spectral and radiometric enhancement techniques combined with a selective principal component analysis was used for the identification of useful information. The combination of already published archaeological data and new remote sensing discoveries, has allowed to better define the situation of the abbey during the building phases of the 8th/9th century and 11th century, confirming and adding new data to the assumptions made by archaeologists.

scholarly journals A New Radiocarbon Pretreatment Method for Molluscan Shell Using Density Fractionation of Carbonates in Bromoform

Radiocarbon ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 1301-1311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher M Russo ◽  
Jennifer A Tripp ◽  
Katerina Douka ◽  
Thomas F G Higham
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Separation Technique ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Density Fractionation ◽  
Pretreatment Method ◽  
Density Separation ◽  
Molluscan Shell ◽  
Archaeological Artifacts ◽  
Organic Remains

Coastal archaeological sites that lack organic remains for radiocarbon dating are often abundant sources of molluscan shells. As a substitute for materials such as bone and charcoal, shells can be analyzed with 14C dating to determine a site's age. Despite their being convenient, non-mobile archaeological artifacts, molluscan shells are plagued by several issues, including carbonate remodeling, in which aragonite in shells is converted to calcite as predicted by thermodynamics. We present here a carbonate density separation technique that addresses the issue of carbonate remodeling. Using a density fractionation with bromoform, aragonite concentrations are enriched in shells that have undergone significant remodeling. The technique has been applied to archaeological shells and has returned dates that are younger than those previously determined for the same shells.

The contribution of archaeological plant remains in tracing the cultural history of Mediterranean trees: The example of the Roman harbour ofNeapolis

The Holocene ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 603-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilia Allevato ◽  
Antonio Saracino ◽  
Silvio Fici ◽  
Gaetano Di Pasquale
Keyword(s):  
Cultural History ◽  
Plant Remains ◽  
History Of

Fyodor Fyodorovich Martens (1845–1909) a humanist of modern times

1996 ◽  
Vol 36 (312) ◽  
pp. 300-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir Pustogarov
Keyword(s):  
Oral Tradition ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Mutual Aid ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ancient Record ◽  
Peace And War ◽  
The Ideal

In the history of humankind, no matter how far back we look into the past, peaceful relations between people and nations have always been the ideal, and yet this history abounds in wars and bloodshed. The documentary evidence, oral tradition and the mute testimony of archaeological sites tell an incontrovertible tale of man's cruelty and violence against his fellow man. Nevertheless, manifestations of compassion, mercy and mutual aid have a no less ancient record. Peace and war, goodneighbourly attitudes and aggression, brutality and humanity exist side by side in the contemporary world as well.

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