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Abstract Time has consistently been regarded as the missing dimension from our renderings of space, having a significant impact on how we interpret and represent past interaction. Nowhere is this more keenly felt than in discussion of maritime mobility. This paper outlines an innovative approach to mapping maritime spaces by taking into account the performance of Bronze Age sailing ships in different weather conditions and the subsequent time of sailing journeys. The use of cartograms is demonstrated to be invaluable for reconceptualisation of maritime space and rethinking maritime connectivity in the past. This marks a step-change in approach, which has implications for regions beyond the case study area (eastern Mediterranean). The results presented in this paper foreground meaningful differences in maritime connectivity between Egypt and the Levant during the earlier Bronze Age than are easily realised through traditional static representations. This demonstrates the significance of developing alternative representations of space/time for archaeology. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Mediation with mapping for maritime spaces. • Modelling the maritime space-time of ancient sailing by accounting for environmental rhythms and vessel performance. • Distorting space according to time with linear cartograms. • Rethinking maritime connectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zooarchaeological research has begun to expose the long and complex history of the pig in the southern Levant. In this paper, we present the first large-scale synthesis of biometrical data from pigs and wild boar in the southern Levant from sites dating from the Paleolithic through the Islamic period. We show broad morphological change over this multi-millennium period. We find the first evidence of morphological change associated with domestication in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic C (c. 7000-6400 cal. BC), at the site of Motza. This date is contemporaneous with the first evidence from kill-off patterns and relative abundance data indicating management of morphologically wild boar. Taken together, we argue for a process of local pig domestication. We also present tentative evidence for increased body size correlating with the genetic replacement in the Iron Age, when European-derived mitochondrial haplogroups replaced those of local origin. Finally, the data indicate variability in tooth size in the Roman period (c. 63 BCE – 330 CE), suggesting the exploitation of different populations of pigs. The data suggest sophisticated management techniques underwrote the upsurge in pig husbandry in the Levant in the Classical period. • We present a large biometrical database of pig remains from the southern Levant from Paleolithic to Islamic period. • Earliest morphologically domestic pigs from Tel Motza in Pre-Pottery Neolithic C (c. 7000-6400 cal. BC). • Tentative evidence for increased body size in pigs correlating with the genetic replacement in 1st millennium BC. • High variability of pig biometrics in Roman period indicating multiple populations exploited in this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current evidence supports the idea that animal domestication occurred in multiple loci and at different time periods throughout the Near East rather than according to a single origin. In this scenario, the southern Levant is being increasingly considered as another presumed primary centre of goat domestication, alongside eastern Anatolia and the Zagros. Assessing the status (i.e. wild or domestic) of this animal in this region, however, is hampered by the difficulty of morphologically distinguishing domestic goats from their wild relatives. Diet reconstruction is a powerful approach to address this issue since the feeding of managed animals is partially controlled by their owners, unlike free-ranging wild populations. For the first time, we propose to contribute to this question through dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) using confocal microscopy. Characterising how the dietary behaviour of extant wild and domestic goats is reflected in DMTA is critical. For this purpose, we constructed a reference collection composed of three wild goat species (19 Capra pyrenaica from the southern Iberian Peninsula , 12 Capra ibex from the Alps and 12 Capra nubiana from the Near East) and 15 domestic goats (Capra hircus) reared in an extensive system in Mediterranean scrubland areas. The preliminary results indicate that DMTA allows discrimination of the groups of extant goats. The results obtained were used to characterise the palaeodiet of 16 goats (Capra format aegagrus) from two key Early and Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B sites in the southern Levant: Kharaysin (Zarqa, Jordan, ca. 8800-7500 cal BC) and Qarassa (As-Suweyda, Syria, 8700-8200 cal BCE). The higher variability in archaeological goats could be an indicator of controlled feedings. It could also support the hypothesis about diverse and experimental management systems at the first steps of animal domestication. This paper shows the potential of this tool to address the process of early animal domestication. Following this initial work, the reference collection will include a broader spectrum of livestock management strategies and the archaeological corpus will be expanded through new samples during upcoming excavations and the integration of additional sites. • The southern Levant could have been another primary centre of goat domestication. • The morphological distinction between wild and domestic goats of Pre-Pottery Neolithic is not a straightforward task. • Palaeodiet reconstruction using dental microwear texture can shed new light since diet of managed goats was controlled by their owners. • Dental microwear texture differs between extant domestic and wild goats. • Microwear variability of goats from archaeological sites is higher than that of extant goats, which could indicate controlled feedings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we address the timing of and mechanisms for the appearance of domestic cattle in the Eastern Fertile Crescent (EFC) region of SW Asia through the analysis of new and previously published species abundance and biometric data from 86 archaeofaunal assemblages. We find that Bos exploitation was a minor component of animal economies in the EFC in the late Pleistocene and early Holocene but increased dramatically in the sixth millennium BC. Moreover, biometric data indicate that small-sized Bos , likely representing domesticates, appear suddenly in the region without any transitional forms in the early to mid sixth millennium BC. This suggests that domestic cattle were imported into the EFC, possibly associated with the spread of the Halaf archaeological culture, several millennia after they first appear in the neighboring northern Levant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an algorithm for automated detection and classification of multi-cell phytoliths, one of the major components of many archaeological and paleoenvironmental deposits. This identification, based on phytolith wave pattern, is made using a pretrained VGG19 deep learning model. This approach has been tested in three key phytolith genera for the study of agricultural origins in Near East archaeology: Avena , Hordeum and Triticum. Also, this classification has been validated at species-level using Triticum boeoticum and dicoccoides images. Due to the diversity of microscopes, cameras and chemical treatments that can influence images of phytolith slides, three types of data augmentation techniques have been implemented: rotation of the images at 45-degree angles, random colour and brightness jittering, and random blur/sharpen. The implemented workflow has resulted in an overall accuracy of 93.68% for phytolith genera, improving previous attempts. The algorithm has also demonstrated its potential to automatize the classification of phytoliths species with an overall accuracy of 100%. The open code and platforms employed to develop the algorithm assure the method's accessibility, reproducibility and reusability. • Deep learning automates identification and classification of multi-cell phytoliths. • Can be applied to digitalised slides and integrated into digital microscopes. • Can differentiate between phytolith genera but also species. • Presents an overall accuracy of 93% and analyses the whole slide. • Provides complementary metrics with new relevant information on phytoliths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper summarises typological and technological research on a small assemblage of pottery containers recovered at Kfar HaHoresh (KHH), a Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site in the Southern Levant. The majority of the sherds belong to a distinguishable fabric, composed of local marl matrix tempered with vegetal material originating from herbivore manure. Based on the scarcity and properties of the sherds, we propose that the pottery containers at KHH were rare vessels possibly produced for personal use or for use by distinctive individuals for very limited purposes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Recently in their research as well as that of independently tackled issues of effectively measuring attrition/gloss rates on sickle blade tools from Southwest Asia. Interestingly, while applying new methodology to analyzing sickle tools from different cultural and temporal contexts, these two papers arrived at a similar conclusion: sickle tools were likely very expensive to make, and thus, considerations were made during their production to ensure long use-lives to benefit the people who made and used them in prehistory. Stemp et al. (in this issue) provide a methodological critique of both studies. In addressing their critique we make several points. First it is important to note that Stemp et al. provide no new experimental analysis to justify their assertions, and their critique is ultimately, at best, guesswork. Second, the minimal reanalysis of the data Stemp et al. do conduct arguably lead to the same preliminary conclusion at which we originally arrived: the prehistoric sickle blades we examined were used longer than those we replicated. As stated in our original paper, lithic use-wear studies often do not address issue of reliable and reproducible methods. We believe that our original study helps fill this missing component, and that measuring edge thickness is much less subjective than conventional features on stone tools traditionally identified microscopically. From our perspective, Stemp et al. present largely unsupported critical commentary, lacking substantial reanalysis or experiments to complement or justify their commentary. In the end Stemp et al. provide little more than interesting ideas and conjecture. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Food lumps are becoming an increasingly important part of the 'foodways' turn in archaeobotanical analysis. These amalgams of plant materials allow insights into more than the taxa lists of plants used or even just present on a site; they represent how people engaged with and created food items out of plants, in turn shining a light on notions of food processing, preparation and cooking techniques and culinary traditions. Food lump analysis has traditionally been focused on the Near East and Europe, where large grained cereals have dominated the archaeobotanical discussion. This paper instead represents an analysis of more complex food practices, that of the Southern India Iron Age, where millets and pulse foods were an important part of the culinary tradition. Through a preliminary analysis of lumps from Feature 40, an Iron Age pit, at the site of Kadebakele in southern Deccan, we demonstrate that people were using both millets and pulses to make food items through a variety of culinary techniques and technologies, from dry doughs to wet batters. This preliminary analysis highlights the complexity of food lump analysis in regions outside the Near East and Europe and asks us to think about the longevity of culinary practices in South India. • First study of charred food lumps in Asia. • Millet and pulse were used to make a variety of doughs and batters. • Millet flatbread is suggested, but may have been part of a multi-seeded dough. • Pulse batter is also indicated in some lumps. • It also suggests that a diversity of cooking/preparatory methods for food were being used by South Indian Iron Age peoples. • Highlights role of food lump analysis in future research globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeobotanical and genetic analysis of modern plant materials are drawing a complex scenario for the origins of cereal agriculture in the Levant. This paper presents an improved method for the study of early farming harvesting systems based on the texture analysis of gloss observed on sickle blades through confocal microscopy. Using this method, we identify different plant harvesting activities (unripe, semi-ripe and ripe cereal reaping and reed and other grass cutting) quantitatively and evaluate their change during the time when plant cultivation activities started and domesticated crops appeared in the Levant (12 800–7000 cal BC). The state of maturity of cereals when harvested shifted over time from unripe, to semi-ripe and finally to ripe. Most of these changes in harvesting techniques are explained by the modification of crops during the transition to agriculture. The shift in plant harvesting strategies was neither chronologically linear nor geographically homogeneous. Fully mature cereal harvesting becomes dominant around 8500 cal BC in the Southern Levant and one millennium later in the Middle Euphrates, which accords with the appearance of domestic varieties in the archaeobotanical record. The change in plant harvesting method fits better with the gradualist model of explanation of cereal agriculture than with the punctual one. • Confocal microscopy and texture analysis are used to analyze sickle gloss in experimental and archaeological tools. • Sickle gloss from harvesting different types of plants are discriminated. • Sickles from archaeological sites in the Levant dated from 12.000 to 7.000 cal BC are analyzed. • The long-term change in plant harvesting during the transition to agriculture in these regions is elucidated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seals and sealings were widely used in Neopalatial Crete, primarily in community-wide administrative systems to manage the movement and storage of goods, but also to secure or control channels of intra-site communication using parchment documents. The main principle of this monitoring process was the use of the seal impression as an 'indexical' sign, that is, as a means of identifying a seal-user who was acting in an authorising or securing role. Given the fact that seal-users could be acting on their own behalf or, alternatively, as representatives of an institution, there is uncertainty in the literature still over whether the seal impression stood for a single identifiable individual or not. In this paper, we present a new computational methodology for identifying and quantifying similarity within sets of multiple seal impressions made by the same seal. Using a combination of visualisations derived from computational analysis of 3-D scans, experimental work to make seal impressions, and scrutiny of the relevant sealing casts within the Corpus of Minoan and Mycenaean Seals, Heidelberg, we are able to identify groups of sealings impressed in significantly similar ways. We consider it probable that seal impressions with a high degree of similarity were made by the same individual or by two or more people trained to work in a very specific way. This computational methodology is transferable and would prove valuable for other collections of material with identifiable repeated visual elements, such as coins. The implications of our research and the nuance it adds to reconstructions of Neopalatial sealing practices are of broader relevance for sphragistic studies, and provide a point of comparison with the contemporary sealing material of the Ancient Near East. • 3D scanning and computational analysis identify significant differences in repeated impressions. • Visually similar impressions suggest training for careful maintenance of practice. • A seal was probably not always used by the same person in Neopalatial Crete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The recent articles by Vardi et al., “Tracing sickle blade levels of wear and discard patterns: a new sickle gloss quantification method” (Journal of Archaeological Science 37 (2010) 1716–1724), and Goodale et al., “Sickle blade life-history and the transition to agriculture: an early Neolithic case study from Southwest Asia” (Journal of Archaeological Science 37 (2010) 1192–1201), are two papers that seek to address interesting archaeological questions through the development of new approaches to measuring the duration of stone tool use. Here comment is made on the fashion in which research design and analytic procedures contribute to limit the capabilities of each of the techniques presented. Whilst the authors support the investigation of novel techniques, in order for the results of any use-wear analysis to be accepted as reliable the methods employed must be demonstrably sound. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The eastern Mediterranean, with its long archaeological and historical records, provides a unique opportunity to study human responses to climate variability. We review paleoclimate data and reconstructions from the region with a focus on the last 6000 years. We aim to provide an up-to-date source of information on climate variability and to outline present limitations and future opportunities. The review work is threefold: (1) literature review, (2) spatial and temporal analysis of proxy records, and (3) statistical estimation of uncertainties in present paleoclimate reconstructions (temperature, °C). On a regional scale the review reveals a wetter situation from 6000 to 5400 yrs BP (note: all ages in this paper are in calibrated years before present (i.e. before 1950), abbreviated yrs BP, unless otherwise stated). This is followed by a less wet period leading up to one of fully-developed aridity from c. 4600 yrs BP. There is a need for more high-resolution paleoclimate records, in order to (i) better understand regional patterns and trends versus local climate variability and to (ii) fill the gap of data from some regions, such as the Near East, Greece and Egypt. Further, we evaluate the regional occurrence of a proposed widespread climate event at 4200 yrs BP. This proposed climate anomaly has been used to explain profound changes in human societies at different locations in the region around this time. We suggest that although aridity was widespread around 4200 yrs BP in the eastern Mediterranean region, there is not enough evidence to support the notion of a climate event with rapidly drying conditions in this region. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper constitutes a synthesis of a technological investigation on copper base alloy weapons from Byblos. Most of the weapons are typical of the Middle Bronze Age in the Levant. Methods such as metallographic examination and chemical analyses by EDS were used to identify the different stages of the chaîne opératoire used in the making of these weapons. The results reveal precise information regarding the production of several types of weapons such as the type and performance of the moulds used for casting and the deformation process. Furthermore, these results highlight the contribution of economic and cultural factors in the choice of components in a copper base alloy recipe. Finally, the use of silver–copper brazes for joining copper base alloy objects is recorded for the first time for the period and region concerned. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper we evaluate the relative analytical capabilities of SEM-EDS, PIXE and EDXRF for characterizing archaeologically significant Anatolian obsidians on the basis of their elemental compositions. The study involves 54 geological samples from various sources, together with an archaeological case study involving 100 artifacts from Neolithic Çatalhöyük (central Anatolia). With each technique the artifacts formed two compositional groups that correlated with the East Göllü Dağ and Nenezi Dağ sources. The non-destructive capabilities of these methods are emphasized (albeit with certain analytical limitations in the case of SEM-EDS), suggesting important new techniques for Near Eastern obsidian provenance studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In Southwest Asia, sickle blades first appear early in the sequence of the transition to agriculture. In the past, detailed qualitative research on silica bearing blade stone tools focus on the characterization of use-wear traces such as polish types and accrual rates. In this paper we approach the study of sickle blades slightly different, choosing to examine tool life-history by developing a method to quantitatively estimate harvesting intensity. The method centers on an experiment of cutting cereal stalks and measuring stone blade edge thickness under a scanning electron microscope as a proxy for cutting time. We end with regressing the experimental results to provide an estimation of how intensively archaeological sickle blades recovered from the site of Dhra’, Jordan were used for harvesting. The results, while preliminary, enable an initial interpretation of sickle blades as important tools with long use-life histories during the early Neolithic in the Southern Levant. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper refines current methods for aging mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella), one of the most common species hunted by prehistoric humans in the southern Levant. Most importantly, we present a new tooth wear scheme for aging the lower deciduous fourth premolar (dP4), the lower permanent molars (M1, M2, M3) and the lower fourth premolar (P4) of the gazelle. Broader wear stages for complete mandibles and individual teeth and bone fusion stages are also provided. Finally, a comparison of the tooth wear and bone fusion data indicates that the two methods can be linked at the important transition when a gazelle reaches adulthood (ca. 18 months of age). The completion of the fusion of the gazelle skeleton corresponds directly to the replacement of the dP4 by the P4 and the beginning of wear of the M3. The coincidence of these aging indicators allows for direct comparison of gazelle bone fusion and tooth wear data. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We present results from an archaeointensity investigation based on a relatively unexploited recording medium, copper slag deposits. Together with a recently improved experimental design for the archaeointensity experiment, we demonstrate the applicability of this medium, as well as other archaeometallurgical artifacts, for the study of the ancient geomagnetic field intensity. In addition to archaeointensity data from well-dated archaeological contexts, we obtained reliable archaeointensity results from poorly dated or contentious archaeometallurgical sites in the Southern Levant. These results shed new light on the dating of these sites, among them the copper smelting installation of Timna 39b – a site that has important implications for the beginning of metallurgy during the fifth millennium BCE. The paper also aims to introduce archaeointensity research to the archaeologist scholar, and to encourage further collaboration between the disciplines in future research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In the Bronze Age (c. 2300–800 BC), European communities gave up their economic independence and became entangled in a continental trade network. In this paper, we will test the hypothesis that the adoption of a 'Pan-European' currency has favoured the development of such a network. We define a methodology to test the money-hypothesis in pre-literate economies, based on analogies with the material characters of metallic money in the Ancient Near East. The statistical properties of metals from European hoards are compared with those of balance weights, in order to test the following expectation: if they were used as money, complete objects and fragments are expected to comply with standard weight systems. The results meet the expectation, and indicate that bronze fragments possess the same statistical properties as hack-silver money in the Ancient Near East. The sample includes approximately 3000 metal objects, collected from two test-areas: Italy and Central Europe. The sample of balance weights includes all the items known to date for pre-literate Bronze Age Europe, collected within the framework of the ERC Project 'Weight and Value.' [Display omitted] • Metal trade in Europe increases in the course of the Bronze Age. • Systematic fragmentation of metal objects increases in the course of the Bronze Age. • The spread of weighing technology is correlated to the spread of fragmentation. • Cosine Quantogram Analysis and Monte Carlo simulations show that metal fragments comply with weight systems. • Metal fragments were likely used as money. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]