Olbian Perirantheria

From Olbia’s excavations comes a series of ceramic and stone, mostly marble, large open vessels in the shape of shallow bowls, which were installed on high pedestals. On ceramic vessels the stamped decor on the outside of the edge; it usually consisted of several relief belts – Ionic cymatium (ovolos), one or two pearl cords; in the case of marble vessels, only profiling was marked on the outer side of the edge. Such vessels in the modern literature are interpreted as perirantheria. According to the conditions of the finds and the style of the ornament, the earliest of the known vessels belong to the late Archaic period. The peak of their usage falls on the 5th century BCE. In Olbia, perirantheria have been found in two cult sites, the Western and Southern temenoi, the botroses, and the cultural strata. Their belonging to the cult inventory is unconditional. A wide range of analogies, known from the monuments of the Mediterranean, indicate that the perirantheria were intended for sacred water, which was used for ritual ablutions before and after the sacrifices. Traces of burning on a ceramic vessel originating from the Western Temenos suggest that at some stage of its operation it could be used as an altar for burning offerings. In the late Classical and Hellenistic periods, louteria became a part of everyday life – identical in shape water vessels, also made of ceramics and stone, mostly marble, but smaller in size. These vessels stood on high pedestals, often designed as fluted columns. The context of such finds is mainly related to residential buildings in both the Mediterranean and Olbia, which suggests a change in their functional usage. In addition, the study of the Olbian collection of ritual vessels opens another unknown page in the nomenclature of goods brought to Olbia.

Chapter Six: The Arcuate Polygonal-Block Wall at Eleon

The dominant archaeological feature visible at Eleon is a Late Archaic polygonal- block wall that extends 85 m southward from the excavated site along the eastern edge of the plateau, constructed from finely fitted panels of local grey limestone averaging 2 tons in weight. The wall is arcuate for most of its length and finished on each end with an angular bastion. Every part has lost at least one course, and the wall is completely leveled or buried for most of its length, but was originally at least four courses high, standing 4.5 m above its base. The north end of the wall underwent a low-quality ancient reconstruction. The techniques used to shape and shift the stone are considered, and the wall is compared with other stonework at the site. Further study will allow more thorough analysis of the wall’s archaeological context and its relationship with other Archaic and Classical constructions.

ἄριστον μέν ὕδωρ: An Examination of the Public Waterworks in Athens in the Early 5thC BCE

This article examines the design and social impact of waterways in Athens in the early 5thC BCE. While the Athenian political landscape transitioned from a series of tyrannies to democracy at the end of the Archaic period (ca. 650-480 BCE), the archaeological record also shows widespread innovation in the development of public water systems, particularly in sanitation and water supply. A movement away from buildings constructed by the Athenian tyrants facilitated the development of the Classical Agora and the creation of new public-use spaces and structures, like the Southeast Fountain House and the Great Drain in the Agora. The fountain has long been identified with the famous Peisistratid Enneakrounos (“Nine Spouts”) fountain, but through investigation into the arguments of J.M. Camp and Jessica Paga, I propose that a later date ca. 500 BCE is more suitable for the historical and archaeological context of the fountain. I investigate several Athenian waterworks built/maintained during the late Archaic period to the Classical period (~500-323 BCE): the Great Drain in the Agora, the Southeast Fountain House, the Klepsydra fountain, and the Asklepieion on the Akropolis. The works of Hippocrates, Thucydides, and—to a lesser extent—Pausanias, inform my examination of the implications of the construction of these waterworks and the development of democracy in the 5th century. These waterways show a dedicated shift from the private use of water and tyrannical building works, to a new, fully public and communal mode of engagement with the city and its resources.

Ecosystem impacts by the Ancestral Puebloans of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, USA

The Ancestral Puebloans occupied Chaco Canyon, in what is now the southwestern USA, for more than a millennium and harvested useful timber and fuel from the trees of distant forests as well as local woodlands, especially juniper and pinyon pine. These pinyon juniper woodland products were an essential part of the resource base from Late Archaic times (3000–100 BC) to the Bonito phase (AD 800–1140) during the great florescence of Chacoan culture. During this vast expanse of time, the availability of portions of the woodland declined. We posit, based on pollen and macrobotanical remains, that the Chaco Canyon woodlands were substantially impacted during Late Archaic to Basketmaker II times (100 BC–AD 500) when agriculture became a major means of food production and the manufacture of pottery was introduced into the canyon. By the time of the Bonito phase, the local woodlands, especially the juniper component, had been decimated by centuries of continuous extraction of a slow-growing resource. The destabilizing impact resulting from recurrent woodland harvesting likely contributed to the environmental unpredictability and difficulty in procuring essential resources suffered by the Ancestral Puebloans prior to their ultimate departure from Chaco Canyon.

A Multi-proxy assessment of the impact of climate change on Late Holocene (ca 4500-3800 BP) Native American villages of the Georgia coast

Circular shell rings along the Atlantic Coast of southeastern North America are the remnants of some of the earliest villages that emerged during the Late Archaic Period (5000 – 3000 BP). Many of these villages, however, were abandoned during the Terminal Late Archaic Period (ca 3800 – 3000 BP). Here, we combine Bayesian chronological modeling with multiple environmental proxies to understand the nature and timing of environmental change associated with the emergence and abandonment of shell ring villages on Sapleo Island, Georgia. Our Bayesian models indicate that Native Americans occupied the three Sapelo shell rings at varying times with some generational overlap. By the end of the complex’s occupation, only Ring III was occupied before abandonment ca. 3845 BP. Ring III also consists of statistically smaller oysters ( Crassostrea virginica ) that people harvested from less saline estuaries compared to earlier occupations. These data, when integrated with recent tree ring analyses, show a clear pattern of environmental instability throughout the period in which the rings were occupied. We argue that as the climate became unstable around 4300 BP, aggregation at shell ring villages provided a way to effectively manage fisheries that are highly sensitive to environmental change. However, with the eventual collapse of oyster fisheries and subsequent rebound in environmental conditions ca. 3800 BP, people dispersed from shell rings, and shifted to non-marine subsistence economies and other types of settlements. This study provides the most comprehensive evidence correlations between large-scale environmental change and societal transformations on the Georgia coast during the Late Archaic period.

Possible vertebral brucellosis infection in a Neanderthal

The La Chapelle-aux-Saints 1 skeleton of an old (>60-year-old) male Neanderthal is renowned for the advanced osteoarthritis of its spinal column and hip joint, and their implications for posture and lifestyle in these Mid- to Late Pleistocene humans. Reassessment of the pathologic lesions reveals erosions at multiple non-contiguous vertebrae and reactive bone formation extending far beyond the left hip joint, which suggests the additional diagnosis of brucellosis. This implies the earliest secure evidence of this zoonotic disease in hominin evolution. Brucellosis might have been transmitted via butchering or eating raw meat and is well compatible with the range of prey animals documented for Neanderthals. The associated infertility could have represented an important aspect of health in these late archaic humans.

Ritual ambiental Vichama Raymi de Paramonga, abundancia en la agricultura del maíz, el tacú tacú alimentos y guacas, impulsor de la civilización andina en el arcaico tardío y no “comercio ni pesca”

Objetivo: Analizar el conocimiento en materia de investigación arqueológica en el Norte Chico del Perú con respecto al ritual religioso del Vichama Raymi de Paramonga. Métodos: Análisis de investigaciones publicadas en revistas científicas especializadas en la temática. Se centró el análisis y desarrollo, en el conocimiento en los últimos años, en materia de investigación arqueológica en el Norte Chico del Perú, cruce de información con datos antropológicos, ritos contemporáneos y fuentes de la cultura viva. Resultados: Descubrimiento definitivo sobre el cultivo y consumo masivo de maíz, camote, pepinos, guayabas y cientos de plantas domesticadas en el Arcaico Tardío de cinco mil años en Caballete y Huaricanga del Valle Fortaleza de Paramonga define que la sociedad de los inicios de la civilización andina fue agraria y no pesquera. Conclusiones: La forma del poder del Ritual ambientalista para el manejo social se expresó en las fiesta-festines de rituales del poder ambiental conocidos como los Vichama Raymis, las fiestas del origen de la abundancia de la agricultura, los alimentos y sanaciones de la Civilización Milenaria de Paramonga en donde el manejo de guerras psicosociales positivo a través del discurso de los sacerdotes o chamanes utilizó el tacú tacú o mistura de la pachamanca como dieta masiva-religiosa para estimular el intercambio la fuerza de trabajo colaborativo. Objective: To analyze the knowledge in archaeological research in the Norte Chico of Peru with respect to the religious ritual of the Vichama Raymi de Paramonga. Methods: Analysis of research published in specialized scientific journals on the subject. The analysis and development focused on the knowledge in recent years, in the field of archaeological research in the Norte Chico of Peru, crossing of information with anthropological data, contemporary rites and sources of living culture. Results: Definitive discovery about the cultivation and mass consumption of corn, sweet potato, cucumbers, guavas and hundreds of domesticated plants in the Late Archaic of five thousand years in Caballete and Huaricanga del Valle Fortaleza de Paramonga defines that the society of the beginnings of civilization Andean was agrarian and not fishing. Conclusions: The form of the power of the environmentalist Ritual for social management was expressed in the festivals-festivals of rituals of environmental power known as the Vichama Raymis, the festivals of the origin of the abundance of agriculture, food and healings of the Millennial Civilization of Paramonga where the positive management of psychosocial wars through the discourse of the priests or shamans used the tacú tacú or mixture of the pachamanca as a mass-religious diet to stimulate the exchange of the collaborative workforce.