PALYNOLOGICAL STUDIES OF ARTIFACTS FROM CATACOMBS No. 97 AND No. 98 FROM THE DARGAVS CEMETERY: ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Даргавский могильник является одним из уникальных памятников на юге России. где сохранились немногочисленные. но информативные находки из органики. В 2019 г. в ходе раскопок Терским отрядом ИА РАН катакомб № 97 (IX в.) и 98 (втор. пол. VIII - перв. пол. IX в.) для палинологического анализа отобрано три образца: № 1 - содержимое кожаного мешочка (катакомба № 97). № 2 - бусина из помета (катакомба № 97) и № 3 - грунт из стеклянного стакана (катакомба № 98). По данным палинологического анализа установлено содержимое кожаного мешочка (мука или зерно) и стеклянного стакана (напиток. содержащий культурные злаки. или хлебное изделие. накрывающее стакан). принадлежность бусины. изготовленной из помета мелкого рогатого скота, определен сезон погребения в катакомбе № 97 (два первых летних месяца). Наличие хелицер клещей в мешочке и телиоспор головни в стакане может свидетельствовать о зараженности запасов вредителями и патогенными грибами. Результаты определения шерсти из катакомбы № 97 позволяют предположить, что на погребенной была верхняя одежда из овечьей шкуры. Изученные находки тесно связаны с дохристианскими представлениями оставившего могильник раннесредневекового населения о непосредственной связи мира мертвых с плодородием и урожаем. The Dargavs cemetery is one of the unique sites in the South of Russia that has preserved few but informative organic residue. In 2019 during the excavations of catacombs No. 97 (9 century) and No. 98 (second half of the 8 - first half of the 9 century the Terskiy team of the Institute of Archaeology, RAS, selected three samples for palynological analysis. Sample No. 1 is contents of a small leather bag (Catacomb No. 97); Sample No. 2 is a bead from animal droppings (catacomb No. 97) and Sample No. 3 - soil from a glass tumbler (catacomb No. 98). The palynological analysis established the contents of the leather bag (flour or grains) and the glass tumbler (a drink containing cultivated gramineous plants or some bread stuff placed over the glass tumbler), the origin of the bead made from droppings of goats or sheep. The season of the burial in catacomb No. 97 was determined as the first two summer months. Presence of the chelicerae of ticks in the bag and teliospores of blight in the tumbler suggests that the stored food was contaminated with pests and pathogenic fungi. The determination of wool in catacomb No. 97 suggests that the buried person wore an outer coat made from sheep skin. The examined finds are closely related with pre-Christian beliefs of the early medieval population that has left this cemetery concerning direct links between the world of the dead and fertility and harvest.

AND SETTLEMENTS AT THE UPPER PALEOLITHIC RAKHAT SITE (LAYER 2) IN SOUTHEASTERN KAZAKHSTAN

История изучения верхнего палеолита Казахстана начинается с 1940-х гг. К сегодняшнему моменту открыты единицы стоянок с погребенными культурными останками. На некоторых из них в разное время фиксировались уровни обитания с остатками поселений, содержавших углубленные очаги, кострища, прокалы и т. д. Но подробные публикации этих материалов отсутствуют. Неудовлетворительная сохранность органических останков и продуктов горения в лессовидных суглинках мешали полноценному изучению и уверенной интерпретации различного рода объектов. В 2019 г. на стоянке Рахат удалось обнаружить культурные слои (слои 1-3) с каменными находками и археологическими объектами в виде ям различной функциональной принадлежности. В статье делается попытка обследовать и структурировать объекты с выделением жилой площадки в наиболее информативном культурном слое 2. В совокупном единстве каменный инвентарь из слоев 1-3 стоянки Рахат находит аналогии среди памятников начала эпипалеолита Ближнего Востока и Средней Азии (кебаран, ранний зарзиан, ~20-18 тыс. л. н.). The history of studies related to the Upper Paleolithic in Kazakhstan began in the 1940s. Very few sites with buried human remains have been discovered so far. Some sites reveal occupation layers with remains of settlements and traces of sunken hearths, fire pits, calcined fragments, etc., dating to different periods. However, there are no relevant publications of these materials. Poor preservation conditions of organic residue and combustion products in loess-like loams prevent scholars from studies of all aspects of various objects and offer their interpretation with confidence. Excavations conducted at Rakhat in 2019 revealed occupation layers (layers 1-3) with stone finds and archaeological objects such as pits of various functions. The paper attempts to explore and present these objects in a structured mode in order to identify a dwelling site in occupation layer 2, which is the most informative. Stone tools coming from Rakhat layers 1-3 find analogies among the sites dating from the early stage of the Epipaleolithic of Near East and Central Asia (Kebaran, early Zarzian, ca. 20 000-18 000 years ago).

Bee products in the prehistoric southern levant: evidence from the lipid organic record

Beehive products have a rich global history. In the wider Levantine region, bees had a significant role in Egypt and Mesopotamia, and intensive beekeeping was noted in Israel during the Biblical period when apiaries were first identified. This study investigates the origins of this extensive beekeeping through organic residue analysis of pottery from prehistoric sites in the southern Levant. The results suggest that beehive products from likely wild bees were used during the Chalcolithic period as a vessel surface treatment and/or as part of the diet. These functions are reinforced by comparison to the wider archaeological record. While the true frequency of beeswax use may be debated, alternatives to beehive products were seemingly preferred as wild resources contrasted with the socio-economic system centred on domesticated resources, controlled production and standardization. Bee products only became an important part of the economic canon in the southern Levant several millennia later.

The Potential of Tufa as a Tool for Paleoenvironmental Research—A Study of Tufa from the Zrmanja River Canyon, Croatia

Tufa is a fresh-water surface calcium carbonate deposit precipitated at or near ambient temperature, and commonly contains the remains of macro- and microphytes. Many Holocene tufas are found along the Zrmanja River, Dalmatian karst, Croatia. In this work we present radiocarbon dating results of older tufa that was found for the first time at the Zrmanja River near the Village of Sanaderi. Tufa outcrops were observed at different levels, between the river bed and up to 26 m above its present level. Radiocarbon dating of the carbonate fraction revealed ages from modern, at the river bed, up to 40 kBP ~20 m above its present level. These ages fit well with the hypothesis that the Zrmanja River had a previous surface connection with the Krka River, and changed its flow direction toward the Novigrad Sea approximately 40 kBP (Marine Isotope Stage 3). Radiocarbon AMS dating of tufa organic residue yielded a maximum conventional age of 17 kBP for the highest outcrop position indicating probable penetration of younger organic material to hollow tufa structures, as confirmed by radiocarbon analyses of humin extracted from the samples. Stable carbon isotope composition (δ13C) of the carbonate fraction of (−10.4 ± 0.6)‰ and (−9.7 ± 0.8)‰ for the Holocene and the older samples, respectively, indicate the autochthonous origin of the carbonate. The δ13C values of (−30.5 ± 0.3)‰ and (−29.6 ± 0.6)‰ for organic residue, having ages <500 BP and >5000 BP, respectively, suggest a unique carbon source for photosynthesis, mainly atmospheric CO2, with an indication of the Suess effect in δ13C during last centuries. The oxygen isotopic composition (δ18O) agrees well with deposition of tufa samples in two stages, the Holocene (−8.02 ± 0.72‰) and “old” (mainly MIS 3 and the beginning of MIS 2) (−6.89 ± 0.34‰), suggesting a ~4 °C lower temperature in MIS 3 compared to the current one.

Development and Characterization of Integrated Nano-Sensors for Organic Residues and pH Field Detection

Meeting global water quality standards is a real challenge to ensure that food crops and livestock are fit for consumption, as well as for human health in general. A major hurdle affecting the detection of pollutants in water reservoirs is the lapse of time between the sampling moment and the availability of the laboratory-based results. Here, we report the preparation, characterization, and performance assessment of an innovative sensor for the rapid detection of organic residue levels and pH in water samples. The sensor is based on carbonaceous nanomaterials (CNMs) coated with an intrinsically conductive polymer, polyaniline (PANI). Inverse emulsion polymerizations of aniline in the presence of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) or graphene were prepared and confirmed by thermogravimetric analysis and high-resolution scanning electron microscopy. Aminophenol and phenol were used as proxies for organic residue detection. The PANI/CNM nanocomposites were used to fabricate thin-film sensors. Of all the CNMs, the smallest limit of detection (LOD) was achieved for multi-walled CNT (MWCNT) with a LOD of 9.6 ppb for aminophenol and a very high linearity of 0.997, with an average sensitivity of 2.3 kΩ/pH at an acid pH. This high sensor performance can be attributed to the high homogeneity of the PANI coating on the MWCNT surface.

Production Matters

Recent absorbed residue studies have confirmed that ceramic and shell containers were used for consuming Datura in precolumbian times. Until now, no one has identified what tools precolumbian people used to produce a concentrated hallucinogenic concoction. In this study, we used mass spectrometry to identify Datura residues (a flowering plant with hallucinogenic properties) in two late precolumbian composite bottles from the Central Arkansas River valley. Unlike the construction of most Mississippian bottles, the bottles in this study are unique because ceramic disks with a series of concentric perforations were incorporated in the bottles at the juncture of the bottle neck with the globular portion of the body. The organic residue analysis revealed Datura residues in both bottles. We argue that the internal clay disks served as strainers that allowed Datura producers to separate the hallucinogenic alkaloids from the Datura flower to produce a powerful liquid beverage.