Types of Arrowheads of the Advanced Bronze Age from the Sopka-2/4A Archaeological Site (the Odino Culture)

The recovery of inaperturate pollen from functionally female flowers in archaeological layers opens the question of a possible pollen-based discrimination between wild and domesticated Vitis vinifera in prehistoric times. Pollen analysis applied to archaeology has not routinely considered the existence of pollen dimorphism in Vitis, a well-known trait in the field of agrarian studies. Therefore, the inaperturate shape of grapevine pollen is ignored by studies on the archaeobotanical history of viticulture. In this paper we investigate pollen morphology of the domesticated and wild subspecies of V. vinifera, and report the first evidence of inaperturate Vitis pollen from an archaeological site. We studied exemplar cases of plants with hermaphroditic flowers, belonging to the subspecies vinifera with fully developed male and female organs, cases of dioecious plants with male or female flowers, belonging to the wild subspecies sylvestris and cases of V. vinifera subsp. vinifera with morphologically hermaphroditic but functionally female flowers. The pollen produced by hermaphroditic and male flowers is usually trizonocolporate; the pollen produced by female flowers is inaperturate. This paper reports on the inaperturate pollen of Vitis found in an archeological site of the Po Plain, Northern Italy. The site dated to the Bronze Age, which is known to have been a critical age for the use of this plant with a transition from wild to domesticated Vitis in central Mediterranean. Can the inaperturate Vitis pollen be a marker of wild Vitis vinifera in prehistoric times? Palynology suggests a possible new investigation strategy on the ancient history of the wild and cultivated grapevine. The pollen dimorphism also implies a different production and dispersal of pollen of the wild and the domesticated subspecies. Grapevine plants are palynologically different from the other Mediterranean “cultural trees”. In fact, Olea, Juglans and Castanea, which are included in the OJC index, have the same pollen morphology and the same pollen dispersal, in wild and domesticated plants. In contrast, the signal of Vitis pollen in past records may be different depending on the hermaphroditic or dioecious subspecies.

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Volcanic ash, victims, and tsunami debris from the Late Bronze Age Thera eruption discovered at Çeşme-Bağlararası (Turkey)

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.2114213118 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 119 (1) ◽

pp. e2114213118

Author(s):

Vasıf Şahoğlu ◽

Johannes H. Sterba ◽

Timor Katz ◽

Ümit Çayır ◽

Ümit Gündoğan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Volcanic Ash ◽

Thick Layer ◽

Archaeological Site ◽

Tsunami Deposit ◽

Late Bronze Age ◽

Mediterranean Studies ◽

Ash Layer ◽

Time Capsule ◽

Thera Eruption

The Late Bronze Age Thera eruption was one of the largest natural disasters witnessed in human history. Its impact, consequences, and timing have dominated the discourse of ancient Mediterranean studies for nearly a century. Despite the eruption’s high intensity (Volcanic Explosivity Index 7; Dense Rock Equivalent of 78 to 86 km) [T. H. Druitt, F. W. McCoy, G. E. Vougioukalakis, Elements 15, 185–190 (2019)] and tsunami-generating capabilities [K. Minoura et al., Geology 28, 59–62 (2000)], few tsunami deposits are reported. In contrast, descriptions of pumice, ash, and tephra deposits are widely published. This mismatch may be an artifact of interpretive capabilities, given how rapidly tsunami sedimentology has advanced in recent years. A well-preserved volcanic ash layer and chaotic destruction horizon were identified in stratified deposits at Çeşme-Bağlararası, a western Anatolian/Aegean coastal archaeological site. To interpret these deposits, archaeological and sedimentological analysis (X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy instrumental neutron activation analysis, granulometry, micropaleontology, and radiocarbon dating) were performed. According to the results, the archaeological site was hit by a series of strong tsunamis that caused damage and erosion, leaving behind a thick layer of debris, distinguishable by its physical, biological, and chemical signature. An articulated human and dog skeleton discovered within the tsunami debris are in situ victims related to the Late Bronze Age Thera eruption event. Calibrated radiocarbon ages from well-constrained, short-lived organics from within the tsunami deposit constrain the event to no earlier than 1612 BCE. The deposit provides a time capsule that demonstrates the nature, enormity, and expansive geographic extent of this catastrophic event.

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Changes in regional settlement patterns in Cappadocia (central Turkey) since the Neolithic: a combined site survey perspective

Anatolian Studies ◽

10.1017/s0066154614000040 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 64 ◽

pp. 33-57 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Samantha Lee Allcock ◽

Neil Roberts

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Iron Age ◽

Settlement Patterns ◽

Archaeological Site ◽

Raw Material ◽

Central Anatolia ◽

Archaeological Survey ◽

The Republic ◽

Regional Settlement ◽

Central Turkey

AbstractMore than 50 years of archaeological survey work carried out in Cappadocia in central Turkey has produced a number of important contributions to the understanding of long-term settlement histories. This article synthesises and critically evaluates the results of three field surveys conducted in Cappadocia which recorded material remains dating from the Early Holocene through to the establishment of the Republic of Turkey. Results from the combined Cappadocia surveys reveal temporal patterns over the longue durée that include a lack of detectable pre-Neolithic occupation and important exploitation of obsidian as a raw material during the Neolithic. There was growth and expansion of settlement during the later Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, a steady continuation of settlement during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, followed by rupture in settlement at the end of the Bronze Age. A new phase of settlement expansion began during the Iron Age and continued through Hellenistic and Roman times. This in turn was disrupted during the Byzantine period, which is associated with increased numbers of fortified sites. The succeeding long cycle of settlement began in Seljuk times and continued through to the end of the Ottoman period. Comparison with systematic archaeological site surveys in the adjacent regions of Paphlagonia and Konya shows some differences in settlement patterns, but overall broad sim¬ilarities indicate a coherent trajectory of settlement across central Anatolia over the last ten millennia.

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Arsenical copper and bronze metallurgy during Late Bronze Age of north-eastern Iran: evidences from Shahrak-e Firouzeh archaeological site

Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences ◽

10.1007/s12520-020-01182-3 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (10) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Omid Oudbashi ◽

Mathias Mehofer ◽

Hassan Basafa ◽

Javad Tayyari ◽

Sepehr Bahadori

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Archaeological Site ◽

Late Bronze Age ◽

Eastern Iran ◽

North Eastern ◽

Arsenical Copper

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Long-term trends of land use and demography in Greece: A comparative study

The Holocene ◽

10.1177/0959683619826641 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 29 (5) ◽

pp. 742-760 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Erika Weiberg ◽

Andrew Bevan ◽

Katerina Kouli ◽

Markos Katsianis ◽

Jessie Woodbridge ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Cover ◽

Comparative Study ◽

Bronze Age ◽

Climatic Variability ◽

Agricultural Practices ◽

Archaeological Site ◽

Demographic Development ◽

Radiocarbon Dates ◽

The Impact

This paper offers a comparative study of land use and demographic development in northern and southern Greece from the Neolithic to the Byzantine period. Results from summed probability densities (SPD) of archaeological radiocarbon dates and settlement numbers derived from archaeological site surveys are combined with results from cluster-based analysis of published pollen core assemblages to offer an integrated view of human pressure on the Greek landscape through time. We demonstrate that SPDs offer a useful approach to outline differences between regions and a useful complement to archaeological site surveys, evaluated here especially for the onset of the Neolithic and for the Final Neolithic (FN)/Early Bronze Age (EBA) transition. Pollen analysis highlight differences in vegetation between the two sub-regions, but also several parallel changes. The comparison of land cover dynamics between two sub-regions of Greece further demonstrates the significance of the bioclimatic conditions of core locations and that apparent oppositions between regions may in fact be two sides of the same coin in terms of socio-ecological trajectories. We also assess the balance between anthropogenic and climate-related impacts on vegetation and suggest that climatic variability was as an important factor for vegetation regrowth. Finally, our evidence suggests that the impact of humans on land cover is amplified from the Late Bronze Age (LBA) onwards as more extensive herding and agricultural practices are introduced.

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Dating Persistent Short-Term Human Activity in a Complex Depositional Environment: Late Prehistoric Occupation at Saruq al-Hadid, Dubai

Radiocarbon ◽

10.1017/rdc.2019.39 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 61 (4) ◽

pp. 1041-1075 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Lloyd Weeks ◽

Charlotte M Cable ◽

Steven Karacic ◽

Kristina A Franke ◽

David M Price ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

United Arab Emirates ◽

Human Activity ◽

Large Scale ◽

Archaeological Site ◽

Late Prehistoric ◽

Human Occupation ◽

Absolute Dating ◽

Northern Edge ◽

Natural Dune

ABSTRACTThe archaeological site of Saruq al-Hadid, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, presents a long sequence of persistent temporary human occupation on the northern edge of the Rub’ al-Khali desert. The site is located in active dune fields, and evidence for human activity is stratified within a deep sequence of natural dune deposits that reflect complex taphonomic processes of deposition, erosion and reworking. This study presents the results of a program of radiocarbon (14C) and thermoluminescence dating on deposits from Saruq al-Hadid, allied with studies of material remains, which are amalgamated with the results of earlier absolute dating studies provide a robust chronology for the use of the site from the Bronze Age to the Islamic period. The results of the dating program allow the various expressions of human activity at the site—ranging from subsistence activities such as hunting and herding, to multi-community ritual activities and large scale metallurgical extraction—to be better situated chronologically, and thus in relation to current debates regarding the development of late prehistoric and early historic societies in southeastern Arabia.

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Matching Data: Analyzing the Chronological Use Sequence in the Iron Age Necropolis of the Staggered Turriform of Son Ferrer (Balearic Islands, Spain)

Radiocarbon ◽

10.1017/s0033822200049432 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 56 (02) ◽

pp. 361-374

Author(s):

Manuel Calvo Trias ◽

Jaume García Rosselló ◽

David Javaloyas Molina ◽

Daniel Albero Santacreu ◽

Mark Van Strydonck

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Iron Age ◽

Management Practices ◽

Archaeological Site ◽

Research Strategies ◽

Radiocarbon Dates ◽

Space Management ◽

Archaeological Material ◽

Management Processes ◽

Excavation Process

The Son Ferrer archaeological site presents a series of successive occupations spanning a long period of time. At the beginning of the Iron Age (∼850 BC), a staggered turriform structure was built for a ritual purpose over an artificial hypogeum that had already been used as a collective necropolis during the Early Bronze Age (∼1800–1500 BC). Later, in the post-Talayotic phase (Second Iron Age, 550–123 BC), the hypogeum was again reused as a collective burial place. The present work is focused on the chronological and functional analysis of this last phase, which began ∼500 BC and ended ∼180 BC with the saturation and sealing of the hypogeum. The excavation process revealed that significant removal of archaeological material has occurred as a result of complex funerary space management practices, which generated a secondary archaeological context. Given this situation, and in order to establish the different use phases of the post-Talayotic necropolis, a dual strategy of excavation and research was implemented. First, an extensive series of radiocarbon dates on human remains (18 dates) was obtained, which were later analyzed following Bayesian strategies. Second, a detailed spatial analysis was carried out, georeferencing the location of all the archaeological finds. This strategy allowed the reconstruction of the space management processes and movement patterns that took place in the burial space. Despite some initial difficulties, the combination of these research strategies embedded in a contextual analysis provided both material and chronological references that have contributed to define the various use phases of the hypogeum.

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Intestinal parasites at the Late Bronze Age settlement of Must Farm, in the fens of East Anglia, UK (9th century B.C.E.)

Parasitology ◽

10.1017/s0031182019001021 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 146 (12) ◽

pp. 1583-1594 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Marissa L. Ledger ◽

Elisabeth Grimshaw ◽

Madison Fairey ◽

Helen L. Whelton ◽

Ian D. Bull ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Intestinal Parasites ◽

Archaeological Site ◽

Late Bronze Age ◽

Timber Structures ◽

East Anglia ◽

Infected People ◽

Slow Moving ◽

Raw Fish ◽

Diphyllobothrium Latum

AbstractLittle is known about the types of intestinal parasites that infected people living in prehistoric Britain. The Late Bronze Age archaeological site of Must Farm was a pile-dwelling settlement located in a wetland, consisting of stilted timber structures constructed over a slow-moving freshwater channel. At excavation, sediment samples were collected from occupation deposits around the timber structures. Fifteen coprolites were also hand-recovered from the occupation deposits; four were identified as human and seven as canine, using fecal lipid biomarkers. Digital light microscopy was used to identify preserved helminth eggs in the sediment and coprolites. Eggs of fish tapeworm (Diphyllobothrium latum and Diphyllobothrium dendriticum), Echinostoma sp., giant kidney worm (Dioctophyma renale), probable pig whipworm (Trichuris suis) and Capillaria sp. were found. This is the earliest evidence for fish tapeworm, Echinostoma worm, Capillaria worm and the giant kidney worm so far identified in Britain. It appears that the wetland environment of the settlement contributed to establishing parasite diversity and put the inhabitants at risk of infection by helminth species spread by eating raw fish, frogs or molluscs that flourish in freshwater aquatic environments, conversely the wetland may also have protected them from infection by certain geohelminths.

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Piecing Together Sha Po

10.5790/hongkong/9789888208982.001.0001 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Mick Atha ◽

Kennis Yip

Keyword(s):

Hong Kong ◽

Bronze Age ◽

Archaeological Site ◽

Archaeological Sites ◽

Human Beings ◽

Six Dynasties ◽

Social Landscape ◽

Salt Industry ◽

A Site ◽

Historical Periods

Hong Kong boasts a number of rich archaeological sites behind sandy bays. Among these backbeaches is Sha Po on Lamma Island, a site which has long captured the attention of archaeologists. However, until now no comprehensive study of the area has ever been published. Piecing Together Sha Po presents the first sustained analysis, framed in terms of a multi-period social landscape, of the varieties of human activity in Sha Po spanning more than 6,000 years. Synthesising decades of earlier fieldwork together with Atha and Yip’s own extensive excavations conducted in 2008-2010, the discoveries collectively enabled the authors to reconstruct the society in Sha Po in different historical periods. The artefacts unearthed from the site—some of them unique to the region—reveal a vibrant past which saw the inhabitants of Sha Po interacting with the environment in diverse ways. Evidence showing the mastery of quartz ornament manufacture and metallurgy in the Bronze Age suggests increasing craft specialisation and the rise of a more complex, competitive society. Later on, during the Six Dynasties-Tang period, Sha Po turned into a centre in the region’s imperially controlled kiln-based salt industry. Closer to our time, in the nineteenth century the farming and fishing communities in Sha Po became important suppliers of food and fuel to urban Hong Kong. Ultimately, this ground-breaking work tells a compelling story about human beings’ ceaseless reinvention of their lives through the lens of one special archaeological site.

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Preservation of ancient DNA in human bones from the eneolithic and Bronze Age kurgan cemeteres in Yampil region, Ukraine

Baltic-Pontic Studies ◽

10.1515/bps-2017-0021 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 54-63

Author(s):

Maciej Chyleński ◽

Anna Juras ◽

Danuta Żurkiewicz ◽

Michał Jankowski ◽

Piotr Włodarczak

Keyword(s):

Environmental Factors ◽

Bronze Age ◽

Ancient Dna ◽

Archaeological Site ◽

Strongly Correlated ◽

Dna Molecules ◽

Genetic Analyses ◽

Human Dna ◽

Human Bones ◽

Southern Ukraine

Abstract Ancient DNA was analyzed in altogether 28 Late Eneolithic and Bronze Age human skeletons form 4 sites in southern Ukraine. More than 0,3% of human DNA was preserved only in 13 skeletons. The results of our analyses provide evidence that recovery of DNA molecules suitable for genetic analyses is more dependent on the specificity of the archaeological site and is not strongly correlated with particular environmental factors.

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