scholarly journals Quantitative analysis of micromorphological images in edaphosedimentary sequences of the archaeological sites of Tequendama and Aguazuque, Sabana de Bogotá, Colombia

2020 ◽  
pp. 107-122
Author(s):  
Angélica Viviana Triana Vega ◽  
Santiago Vélez Bedoya ◽  
Sergey Sedov ◽  
Elizabeth Solleiro Rebolledo ◽  
Jaime Díaz
Keyword(s):  
Late Holocene ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Arid Conditions ◽  
Environmental Interactions ◽  
Archaeological Materials ◽  
Paleoenvironmental Interpretation ◽  
Ways Of Life ◽  
Important Site

The Bogotá savanna is a very important site for Colombian archeology. At this site, researchers have identified the settlements of hunter-gatherers and agricultural farmers who inhabited the territory from the late Pleistocene to the late Holocene. These archaeological studies have established the ways of life, social dynamics and environmental interactions of these groups. To clarify settlement processes, this article presents a detailed micromorphological and micromorphometric analysis of sediments collected in archeological excavations conducted at the Tequendama and Aguazuque sites in the municipality of Soacha, Cundinamarca. This analysis quantifies the contents of archaeological materials, such as bone and coal, as well as carbonate remains, which are associated with various activities. The results show differences in the abundance of bones and charcoal between settlement levels. Level 7A (dated 6,897-7,001 BP) of the Tequendama site shows the highest density of occupation and activities of all levels analyzed in this study. Furthermore, based on paleoenvironmental interpretation, the presence of secondary carbonates indicates arid conditions in the Bogotá savanna matching the regional climatic records.

Field-Based Decisions on the Collection of Archaeological Materials: Monitoring and Ethics

Collections ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 155019062095154
Author(s):  
Ellen Brennan
Keyword(s):  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Cultural Resource ◽  
Resource Managers ◽  
Archaeological Materials ◽  
Park Service ◽  
Archaeological Artifacts ◽  
Ways Of Life ◽  
Monitoring Information

Cultural resource managers are faced with increasing challenges regarding decisions to collect archaeological artifacts from site contexts. Increased visitation, information sharing through social media, and recreation contribute to challenges to preserving archaeological sites and the undisturbed artifacts they contain. Many National Park Service cultural resource managers and staff are directed to manage archaeological resources in-situ. To our tribal colleagues, archaeological sites and artifacts represent links to their oral histories and their ancestors. To others, artifacts provide insights to past ways of life and add an intangible and irreplaceable quality to archaeological sites. Under normal circumstances materials gathered during data recovery projects are curated as they should be. Grab-samples and artifacts from unexcavated archaeological contexts, that is surface collection, must be carefully evaluated prior to gathering archaeological materials, otherwise we run the risk of storing artifacts for decades that are not analyzed, curated, or used to further our knowledge about the past. This article presents a case study of how monitoring information and field-based decision-making guided the collection, but not the accession, of an archaeological artifact from an in-situ context.

Miniatures as Ritual Objects: Exploring the Role of Small-Sized Vessels among the Complex Late Holocene Hunter-Gatherers from the Paraná River Lowlands in South America

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-450
Author(s):  
Flavia Ottalagano
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Systematic Approach ◽  
Paraná River ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Parana River ◽  
Data Errors ◽  
Northeastern Argentina

This study is the first systematic approach to ceramic miniatures from the lowlands of the Paraná River (northeastern Argentina), which have received marginal attention from regional archaeology. This paper presents an analysis of 24 pottery miniatures recovered from archaeological sites generated by complex Late Holocene hunter-gatherers, dating from between 460±50 and 1056±47 years bp. Morphological and decorative data, errors of manufacture, traces of use and the context of the pieces’ deposition are recorded in order to explore aspects of their variability and functionality. The miniatures correspond to bowls, basins, cups and ‘bell’ artefacts, all of which are commonly found in the regional record. The data obtained suggest that at least some of the sample were used in the symbolic sphere, such as burial offerings.

The Archaeological Record

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manjil Hazarika
Keyword(s):  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Northeast India ◽  
Site Formation ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Site Formation Processes ◽  
Formation Processes ◽  
Site Structure ◽  
Reserve Forest ◽  
Ethnographic Data ◽  
Ways Of Life

This chapter elaborates the data and results of the explorations conducted in the Garbhanga Reserve Forest. The area has been intensively surveyed for the location of potential archaeological sites and the collection of ethnographic data in order to draw direct historical analogies. An ‘area-approach’ study has been conducted in order to formulate a general model for archaeological site structure, locations, geomorphic situations, and site formation processes that can be used for archaeological study in the hilly landscape of Northeast India. Present-day agricultural implements have been analysed and compared with Neolithic implements in order to reconstruct ancient farming culture by way of undertaking systematic study of modern peasant ways of life in the study area. The ideological significance of stone artefacts as ‘thunderstone’ in Northeast India and among the Karbis has also been discussed.

scholarly journals Predicting wildfire impacts on the prehistoric archaeological record of the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico, USA

Fire Ecology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan M. Friggens ◽  
Rachel A. Loehman ◽  
Connie I. Constan ◽  
Rebekah R. Kneifel
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Fire Effects ◽  
Burn Severity ◽  
Fire Season ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Jemez Mountains ◽  
Archaeological Materials

Abstract Background Wildfires of uncharacteristic severity, a consequence of climate changes and accumulated fuels, can cause amplified or novel impacts to archaeological resources. The archaeological record includes physical features associated with human activity; these exist within ecological landscapes and provide a unique long-term perspective on human–environment interactions. The potential for fire-caused damage to archaeological materials is of major concern because these resources are irreplaceable and non-renewable, have social or religious significance for living peoples, and are protected by an extensive body of legislation. Although previous studies have modeled ecological burn severity as a function of environmental setting and climate, the fidelity of these variables as predictors of archaeological fire effects has not been evaluated. This study, focused on prehistoric archaeological sites in a fire-prone and archaeologically rich landscape in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico, USA, identified the environmental and climate variables that best predict observed fire severity and fire effects to archaeological features and artifacts. Results Machine learning models (Random Forest) indicate that topography and variables related to pre-fire weather and fuel condition are important predictors of fire effects and severity at archaeological sites. Fire effects were more likely to be present when fire-season weather was warmer and drier than average and within sites located in sloped, treed settings. Topographic predictors were highly important for distinguishing unburned, moderate, and high site burn severity as classified in post-fire archaeological assessments. High-severity impacts were more likely at archaeological sites with southern orientation or on warmer, steeper, slopes with less accumulated surface moisture, likely associated with lower fuel moistures and high potential for spreading fire. Conclusions Models for predicting where and when fires may negatively affect the archaeological record can be used to prioritize fuel treatments, inform fire management plans, and guide post-fire rehabilitation efforts, thus aiding in cultural resource preservation.

Power, security, and exchange: Impacts of a Late Holocene volcanic eruption in Subarctic North America

2021 ◽  
pp. 019769312098682
Author(s):  
Todd J Kristensen ◽  
John W Ives ◽  
Kisha Supernant
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Volcanic Eruption ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
River Basins ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
Major Event ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Bow And Arrow

We synthesize environmental and cultural change following a volcanic eruption at A.D. 846–848 in Subarctic North America to demonstrate how social relationships shaped responses to natural disasters. Ethnohistoric accounts and archaeometric studies reveal differences in human adaptations in the Yukon and Mackenzie river basins that relate to exertions of power over contested resources versus affordances of security to intercept dispersed migrating animals. The ways that pre-contact hunter-gatherers maintained or redressed ecological imbalances influenced respective trajectories of resilience to a major event. Adaptive responses to a volcanic eruption affected the movement of bow and arrow technology and the proliferation of copper use in northwest North America.

Stable isotope studies in the Salitroso Lake Basin (southern Patagonia, Argentina): assessing diet of Late Holocene hunter-gatherers

2009 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Tessone ◽  
A. F. Zangrando ◽  
G. Barrientos ◽  
R. Goñi ◽  
H. Panarello ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Lake Basin ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Southern Patagonia ◽  
Isotope Studies

Late Holocene Sea Temperatures along the Central California Coast

1999 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry L. Jones ◽  
Douglas J. Kennett
Keyword(s):  
Late Holocene ◽  
Fish Bone ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Central California ◽  
The Past ◽  
Past 2000 Years ◽  
Terrestrial Productivity ◽  
Continued Use ◽  
Mussel Shells ◽  
Marine Productivity

AbstractMussel shells from central California coastal archaeological sites record changes in sea surface temperatures in the past 2000 years. Water temperatures, inferred from oxygen isotopes in the shells, were about 1°C cooler than present and stable between 2000 and 700 yr ago. Between about 700 and 500 yr ago, seasonal variation was greater than present, with extremes above and below historic levels. Water temperatures were 2–3°C cooler than today 500–300 yr ago. The interval of variable sea temperatures 700–500 yr ago partially coincided with an interval of drought throughout central California. A coincident disruption in human settlement along the coast suggests movements of people related to declining water sources. Quantities of fish bone in central coast middens dating to this same period are high relative to other periods, and the remains of northern anchovies, a species sensitive to changing oceanographic conditions, are also abundant. The continued use of local fisheries suggests that changes in settlement and diet were influenced more by drought than by a decrease in marine productivity, as fish provided a staple during an interval of low terrestrial productivity.

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