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Poorly defined occupation surfaces restrict the ability to interpret the use of space in archaeological structures and settlements around the world. Integrated geoarchaeological methods, such as soil chemistry and micromorphology, can provide information about site preservation and characterise the use of archaeological space when stratigraphy is lacking but have rarely been applied in such contexts. This paper presents a comparative study of multiple geoarchaeological methods that were used to study ephemeral occupation surfaces in a 7th to 9th century AD turf longhouse in the upland settlement of Lair in Glen Shee, Perthshire, Scotland. When subjected to principal component analysis (PCA) and k-means clustering, the combined data were successful in identifying activity areas and relating this to maintenance practices, the organisation of space, and post-depositional processes. Most significantly, the integrated multi-method approach demonstrated that ephemeral occupation surfaces retain surviving characteristics of the use of space, even if floors are not preserved well enough to be clearly defined in the field or in thin-section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aboriginal people have lived in Australia, continuously, for tens of thousands of years. Over that time, they developed complex knowledge systems that were committed to memory and passed to successive generations through oral tradition. The length of time oral traditions can be passed down while maintaining vitality is a topic of ongoing debate in the social sciences. In recent years, scientists have weighed into the debate by studying traditions that describe natural events, such as volcanic eruptions and meteorite impacts, which can be dated using scientific techniques. Here, we bring together a trans-disciplinary team of scholars to apply this approach to Tasmanian Aboriginal (palawa) oral traditions that were recorded in the early nineteenth century. These traditions describe the flooding of the Bassian Land Bridge connecting Tasmania to mainland Australia and the presence of a culturally significant "Great South Star", identified as Canopus (α Carinae). Utilising bathymetric and topographic data of the land and sea floor in the Bass Strait, we estimate the Bassian Land Bridge was finally submerged approximately 12,000 years ago. We then calculate the declination of the star Canopus over the last precessional cycle (26,000 years) to show that it was at a far southerly declination (δ < −75°) between 16,300 and 11,800 years ago, reaching its minimum declination approximately 14,000 years ago. These lines of evidence provide a terminus ante quem of the Tasmanian traditions to the end of the Late Pleistocene. This paper supports arguments that the longevity of orality can exceed ten millennia, providing critical information essential to the further development of theoretical frameworks regarding the archaeology of orality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: As the field of use-wear analysis has developed, the number of different methodologies that address tool function has increased. Multiple new methods have been published in recent years, both in qualitative and quantitative approaches. This paper focuses on a recent development in quantitative microscopy, specifically focus variation microscopy. This microscope characterizes surface features and has the ability to generate measurements of surface roughness, particularly useful for lithic use-wear studies. This paper presents the results of some preliminary measurements taken on experimental tools, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of this new method and how it can contribute to the growing field of use-wear quantification. Finally, it presents some of the new challenges facing archaeologists interested in the quantification of use-wear and future directions of research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper introduces a special issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science that considers the current state and future directions in lithic microwear analysis. There is considerable potential for lithic microwear analysis to reconstruct past human behaviour as it can provide direct insight into past activities. Consequently, it is a technique worthy of significant additional investment and continued development. To further the cause of methodological maturation within microwear analysis and to promote standardization, calibration, and innovation, the following collection of papers present various approaches and perspectives on how greater methodological refinement and increased reliability of results can and should be achieved. Many of these papers were part of a session held at the 2011 Society for American Archaeology Meeting (SAA) in Sacramento, California, while others were selected from the 2012 International Conference on Use-Wear Analysis in Faro, Portugal. The purpose of the SAA session and this special themed issue is essentially two-fold. The first is to promote awareness of the need for methodological standardization, calibration, and continuing innovation. The second is to open a serious dialogue about how these aims could be pursued and achieved. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The water supply and distribution systems of Nabataean Petra (300 BCE–300 CE) possibly incorporate traces of hydraulic engineering knowledge gathered through interaction with cities of the ancient Mediterranean and the Orient. While the degree of utilization of available knowledge is not known, the rough mountainous terrain interlaced with many deep wadis, distant spring water sources and low seasonal rainfall availability (Laureano, 2005) presented water supply problems requiring unique innovations from Nabataean engineers to maintain year-round water supply for Petra's population. From water transport solutions developed over centuries as well as technology possible borrowings from outside sources, successful hydraulic design choices were made by Nabataean engineers to optimize water transport to the city's urban core. This paper explores a number of design choices available to Nabataean engineers for the design and construction of the Wadi Mataha pipeline system prior to its construction. Given that the final design choice had sophisticated features indicative of advanced hydraulic knowledge, there is indication of a well-developed knowledge base supporting the final design choice. To explore aspects of several design options and provide insight into the Nabataean use of hydraulic design principles, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods are used to model several pipeline design options to visualize hydraulic phenomena occurring for different pipeline system design options. CFD refers to finite-difference, numerical solutions of the governing fluid mechanics equations applied to water flow within pipeline networks. The CFD results demonstrate fluid mechanics phenomena, presumably known to Nabataean engineers through prior observation or borrowed knowledge, supporting their final design choice. CFD results then provides insight into the civil engineering knowledge available to their engineers. Given that the Wadi Mataha pipeline design is close to a design obtained using western technology developed 2000 years later, observation of water flow patterns and flow rates under different pipeline slope conditions must have been a vital part of their engineering knowledge base given its importance to the life of the city. Given the limited survival rate of documents related to ancient water technology, the present paper provides an alternate path of discovery of the decision process behind ancient Nabataean engineering decision making and adds a chapter to the history of hydraulic science. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The issue of resource exploitation, both plants and animals, by Neolithic communities has always attracted vast interest. In particular, resource exploitation at mountain cave sites is still being widely discussed. This paper explores the use of grass resources at the archaeological site of Els Trocs (Aragón, Spain), a Neolithic mountain site in the Pyrenees. The analysis of phytolith samples suggests that grasses growing in the surrounding of the site were widely used. The morphological assemblages identified, and their spatial distribution, indicate that wild grasses were probably used as floor spread. The integrated approach used in this study, combining phytolith, spherulite and micromorphological analyses, confirms this hypothesis. Furthermore, the analysis of phytolith assemblages and micromorphological traits indicate the seasonal occupation of the site, placing human frequentation at this location during late spring/early summer. Several studies have highlighted the presence of charred seeds of domesticated cereals in the archaeological record of mountain cave sites however, in many instances, whether these crops were cultivated near the sites or whether the grains were transported to the cave from the valley bottom remains under debate. This paper also contributes to this debate by showing that no crop-processing activities were taking place at the site. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines the usefulness of bootstrapping in Correspondence Analysis when applied to archaeological data. By simulating and displaying possible variation within the data sets, bootstrapping provides us with a means to assess the stability of our CA maps and influences the interpretations we can place upon them. Five real data sets are examined and the results discussed. The paper concludes that bootstrapping is a useful and powerful way of examining the results of CA and should be employed on a regular basis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents the results of the taphonomic analysis of the burials from Tell Halula (Middle Euphrates Valley, Syria). The numerous burials recovered from this Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) settlement, in addition to the large volume of field documentation, have provided an opportunity to study burials in more depth than is usually allowed. This data set is important because of the unique mode of deposition, the exceptional preservation of the related assemblages (including fabrics, mats, and basketry) and the highly standardized nature of the funerary practices. Although the burials were found in various stages of preservation and articulation, we will show that they all represented the same type of funerary deposit, namely seated burials, often encased in bottle-shaped funerary bundles, and that the variability found during excavation can be attributed to post-depositional taphonomic effects. We provide a study of the different forms that result from these taphonomic influences and highlight the importance of doing this type of analysis. We hope that this paper will be a valuable contribution to the growing body of literature surrounding both seated burials and the taphonomy of burials. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Investigations into the development of weapon systems are increasingly important in archaeological debates about human evolution and behavioural variability. ‘Diagnostic’ impact fractures are key, but controversial, lines of evidence commonly used in such investigations. In 2009 a series of experiments was initiated to investigate the processes associated with macrofracture formation specifically focussing on the taphonomic factors affecting the formation of ‘diagnostic’ impact fractures (DIFs). This paper adds to that experimental data set with macrofracture results from recent knapping experiments investigating rock type variability and DIF formation. These results show that rock type variation plays less of a role in DIF formation than variables related to use and lithic taphonomy. The collective results of this experimental series show that the location, co-occurrence, type and proximity to retouch on a tool are all important means of distinguishing between weapon and non-weapon related DIFs. Collectively these macrofracture patterns are more important in diagnosing weapon components than any one ‘diagnostic’ impact fracture is alone. Overall, these experimental studies are showing that background ‘noise’ in the form of non-hunting related impact fractures, exists in many macrofracture results and that much work remains in securing the analytical robusticity of the method. The paper concludes that the macrofracture method is not a stand-alone method, but when used with caution and in conjunction with other lines of evidence it is a useful, time-efficient, tool for generating assemblage-level use-trace data. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The identification of human butchery-signatures on fauna from Lower Palaeolithic sites is well documented and readily identifiable. Such bone surface modifications have the potential to provide not only information about past hominin meat-procurement behaviour but address the wider issue of competition for resources with other carnivore species. To understand and discuss these broader issues both hominin and natural bone surface modifications must be understood and contextualised within a site-specific spatial and temporal framework. This paper presents new results from faunal analysis at two key British Lower Palaeolithic localities: Boxgrove and Swanscombe. It illustrates that different depositional environments and excavation histories have resulted in different scales and resolutions of available data and hence in varying interpretive potentials. At Swanscombe the archaeological record has been disturbed by both fluvial activity and excavation history providing a coarser-grained record of anthropogenic behaviour than previously acknowledged. Conversely, at Boxgrove, a finer-grained, higher resolution record of human behaviours has been preserved; this, combined with both an extensive and intensive excavation strategy, has allowed for a broader discussion of hominin landscape use, resource competition and meat-procurement behaviour. This paper highlights that assessing the specific depositional environment at each site is crucial to understanding Palaeolithic faunal assemblage formation and, consequently, the available data-resolution and behavioural interpretation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This introduction presents the background to the present research project at Diepkloof Rock Shelter, initiated in 1998. It is followed by a series of original papers that were presented in November 2010 at the join 13th PAA Congress (Panafrican Association of Prehistory and Associated Disciplines) and 20th conference of SAfA (Society of Africanist Archaeologists) at the University Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar (Senegal). These papers were presented in a “Symposium on the MSA sequence of Diepkloof Rock Shelter: a view on the cultural evolution of southern African modern humans” organized by Pierre-Jean Texier, Guillaume Porraz, John Parkington and Jean-Philippe Rigaud. This series of papers is a first attempt at a multidisciplinary reconstruction of the way Middle Stone Age people inhabited the site of Diepkloof and the way they interacted with their environment. The resultant narrative outlines artifactual change through the sequence and discusses the factors that might underlie it. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we present a model of prehistoric southwestern Colorado maize productivity. The model is based on a tree-ring reconstruction of water-year precipitation for Mesa Verde for the period A.D. 480 to 2011. Correlation of historic Mesa Verde precipitation with historic precipitation at 11 other weather stations enabled the construction of an elevation-dependent precipitation function. Prehistoric water-year precipitation values for Mesa Verde together with the elevation-dependent precipitation function allowed construction of the elevation of southwest Colorado precipitation contours for each year since A.D. 480, including the 30-cm contour, which represents the minimum amount of precipitation necessary for the production of maize and the 50-cm contour, which represents the optimum amount of precipitation necessary for the production of maize. In this paper, calculations of prehistoric maize productivity and field life for any specific elevation are also demonstrated. These calculations were performed using organic nitrogen measurements made on seven southwestern Colorado soil groups together with values of reconstructed water-year precipitation and estimations of the organic nitrogen mineralization rate. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A recently published paper proposing a “strict solar alignment” of figurative rock carvings in southern Sweden requires some critical and cautionary remarks. Using the paper “Strict solar alignment of Bronze Age rock carvings in SE Sweden” by N.-A. Mörner as a case study, various pitfalls and challenges in archaeoastronomical investigations are highlighted. Substantiating the idea of a relationship between the orientation of archaeological features such as rock carvings and astronomical events such as sunrise at winter solstice requires accurate and precise determination of (i) the orientation of the archaeological features and (ii) the azimuth of the astronomical event at the time of creation of the rock carvings, taking into account all influencing factors such as changes in Earth orbit parameters, surrounding topography and vegetation. Furthermore, possible motivations or intentions of Bronze Age rock carvers have to be considered. When trying to support a causal link between the orientation of archaeological features and astronomical events, it is indispensable to discuss and exclude possible alternative explanations, related to, for example, rock carving practice and visibility. Taking into account the above issues, there is no evidence for a solar alignment of the Järrestad rock carvings. The issues discussed using the Järrestad rock carvings as a case study are relevant to archaeoastronomical investigations in general. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: During excavations in the huge ditched enclosure of Valencina de la Concepción (Seville, Spain), the main centre from the first hierarchical framework-settlement in the Guadalquivir Valley, a pit with remains of a context for producing ivory artefacts, dating from the first half of the 3rd millennium BC, was discovered in the large metallurgical nucleate workshops. Scientific (Optical Microscopy, FIRT and Raman Spectroscopy, C/N Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry) analyses revealed that the ivory belonged to Asian elephants and the archaeological study, which was made in a specialized workshop context. In this paper we present the archaeological context, the study of the ivory artefacts and the state of research on ivory in the Lower Guadalquivir Basin during the 3rd millennium BC. In a parallel way, this paper discusses the significance of this workshop context in the configuration and function of the long distance circulation of raw material and the specialized craft areas in the first political centres. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper seeks to assist in defining a role for a suite of adapted techniques of analysis and interpretation that are drawn primarily from the methods of contemporary forensic fire investigation. In so doing, the paper identifies a general paucity of literature providing detailed discussions of structural fires preserved in the archaeological record. In addition the paper provides a generalised account of the manner in which structural fires (most especially compartment fires, defined later) will tend to burn and which tools can assist in the interpretation of fire dynamics, the identification of points of origin of fire within buildings, and the response of building materials to burning. Ultimately, such an approach can improve understanding of past structures, and also provide an interpretative avenue for understanding human response to fire and the risk of structural fire in the past. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Recent refinements in radiocarbon sampling procedures have enabled a more robust absolute chronology for the Mesolithic in the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt area of northwest Europe. These refinements have allowed for a new chronological sub-division of the Early and Middle Mesolithic periods. Results of this research have indicated that the Middle Mesolithic period was bound by two Early Holocene cooling events, one at 9300 cal. BP and the other at 8200 cal. BP. These results enable a critical evaluation of the role of chronological precision in the investigation of contemporaneity between abrupt climate change and hunter–gatherer sociocultural change. In this paper we focus on the variable chronological resolution of the Early to Middle and Middle to Late Mesolithic transitions in the RMS area, and the role of this variable resolution in our ability to investigate the contemporaneity of these two transitions with different Early Holocene abrupt cooling events. This paper highlights two central challenges facing archaeological investigations of the relationships between climate and culture change: first, the requirement of tight chronological overlap between climate and culture change events and consideration of leads and lags in ecosystem and subsequent human responses to climate change; second, the equifinality problem and the separation of the impact of gradual from punctuated environmental change on human societies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper we present an experimental study of bone modifications caused by human chewing during consumption. Traditionally, tooth marks have been attributed to non-human actors. However, ethnoarchaeological as well as previous experimental work has shown that humans can make many modifications during chewing. Our results suggest that the range of damage is as extensive as that most likely to be produced by carnivores. This damage includes furrowing, scooping-out, crenulated and saw-toothed edges, longitudinal cracking, crushing, peeling and tooth marks. In this paper we present a description of the types of damage observed in the experimental sample. Some of this damage shows parallels between the experimental modifications and archaeological assemblages from Pleistocene and Holocene deposits at the Sierra de Atapuerca sites (Burgos, Spain). The repetition of morphologies allowed us to attribute some of the damage to tooth marks made by human chewing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Percussive activities are highly relevant in the economy of modern hunter-gatherer societies and other primates, and are likely to have been equally important during the Palaeolithic. Despite the potential relevance of percussive activities in the Early Stone Age, attempts to study battered artefacts are still rare. In order to establish protocols of analysis of battered tools, this paper pursues an interdisciplinary approach combining techno-typological, refit, use-wear and GIS studies of experimental anvils from Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania). The main aim is to classify types of damage on battered artefacts according to the percussive task performed, and hence identify patterns that can be used to interpret the Oldowan and Acheulean evidence. Our results indicate that abrasion marks on anvil surfaces are typical of nut cracking, while bone breaking leaves characteristic scars and abrasion marks on the edges of anvils. Pounding of soft materials such as meat and plants also causes battering of anvils, producing morphological and spatial patterns that can be discerned from the heavy breakage of anvils during bipolar flaking. By integrating macroscopic, microscopic and spatial analyses of experimental stone tools, this paper contributes to create a referential framework in which Early Stone Age battered artefacts can be interpreted. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Australia contains some of the world''s richest and apparently longest traditions of rock pictographs. Dating this art, however, has been problematic, with few ‘direct’ and reliable dates of Pleistocene or early Holocene age having been obtained from visible, representational imagery. This paper critically reviews the evidence for the antiquity of pigment rock art in Australia by examining the various dating techniques employed. The accurate and reliable dating of rock art worldwide is crucial to understanding the evolution of modern human symbolism and whether cognitive modernism came about after, rather than with, the first signs of full biological modernism; understanding the pitfalls and devising proper methods are crucial prerequisites. Towards these ends, this paper reviews the results and techniques that have been employed to date the apparently earliest known pictographs in Australia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper establishes a chronological framework for selected pieces of Caribbean (Taíno/Lucayan) wooden sculpture, enabling previously ahistoric artefacts to fit back into the wider corpus of pre-colonial material culture. Seventy-two 14C AMS determinations from 56 artefacts held in museum collections are reported, including 32 ceremonial duhos, or seats. Far from being constrained to the last few centuries prior to contact, the dates for these objects extend back to ca. AD 250, and include the artistic legacies of various cultures. Duhos in both low and high back styles are present from about AD 600, if not earlier, in a distribution that spans the Antillean island chain from Trinidad to Cuba. Complex, drug-related paraphernalia and elaborate ancestral reliquaries are in evidence by AD 1000, as are some distinctive regional styles – such as the unique iconography from the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos islands. This paper explores relevant methodological issues – from the challenges of working with museum pieces (e.g., uncertain provenance, discrete sampling techniques, impact of previous conservation treatments on dating results), to dealing with potential ‘in-built’ age in tropical hardwoods. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Aerial photography has made the single most important contribution to our improved appreciation of the density, diversity and distribution of archaeological sites in Britain since World War Two. This is particularly the case for areas of intensive lowland agriculture where ploughed-out sites are known mainly from marks in the crops growing above them. However, reconnaissance for such cropmarks is not equally effective throughout the lowlands, because of the particular conditions of drier weather, well-drained soils and arable agriculture required before they become visible, and is highly unpredictable. Given that the appearance of cropmarks is linked to moisture stress in growing plants, they are potentially detectable at bandwidths outside the visible spectrum and before they become apparent therein. This paper focuses on the application of two spectral enhancement techniques: Principal component analysis and Tasselled cap transformation. Comparing a range of imagery (CASI-2, ATM and digital vertical photographic data) from two case study areas in Lowland Scotland, each with very different environmental, agricultural and archaeological backgrounds to facilitate further comparisons, the paper demonstrates that multi-spectral/hyperspectral imagery can enhance the identification of otherwise invisible archaeological sites, particularly in the near-infrared part of the spectrum. However, the lower spatial resolution of such imagery, compared to photography, can make the often diffuse and incomplete cropmark traces more difficult to determine with confidence. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The western Lake Titicaca basin is marked by above-ground funerary towers, known as chullpas, located in a variety of geographical contexts and dating to the Late Intermediate Period, or LIP (AD 1100–1450), and Late Horizon (AD 1450–1532). Over the years, interpretations of these tombs have concentrated upon their roles as loci for ancestral veneration and their abilities to perpetuate memory, delineate social ties and territories, and demarcate access to resources. These views share the implicit or explicit assumption that these mortuary structures were intended to be highly visible. Yet this assumption has never been formally tested. By using GIS-based geospatial tools and statistical analysis, this paper investigates the extent to which chullpas surveyed in the western Lake Titicaca basin visually dominated the landscape. These tombs were not positioned in random locations; they exhibit a high degree of clustering and were built in highly visible areas that could be seen from sites of occupation and regions of economic importance such as Lake Umayo. This paper suggests that this landscape of death was deliberately constructed to have an enduring social impact. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper describes the camel bones discovered in two Late Roman contexts from Arlon (Belgium). The morphological and metrical analyses identify the animal as a dromedary. The goal of this paper is also to provide an inventory of all camel finds published for the northern provinces of the Roman Empire. Based on a review of twenty-two archaeological sites with camel bones, it is shown that both the dromedary and Bactrian camel were imported to the northern Roman provinces and that the camels were present throughout the whole Roman period. This study also demonstrates that the camel discoveries cannot be linked exclusively with military contexts, as traditionally postulated. Indeed, several finds derive from civilian settlements (villas and cities). All sites with camel remains are located close to roads and are widespread throughout the Roman road network. It is suggested that the camels imported to the northern provinces might have been originally pack animals linked with both military and civilian traffic. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper creates and applies a computational model of irrigation agriculture in order to study the effects of salinization in Mesopotamia, with the model developed applicable to cases beyond that studied here. Scholars have long suspected that central and southern Mesopotamia present environments which limited agricultural production over the long-term. In regions such as central Mesopotamia, where salinization likely affected settlement and agriculture in different periods but was more manageable than in more southern regions, fallowing regimes, natural and engineered leaching, and decisions made on when to crop were strategies applied in order to limit the effects of salinization. In this paper, we assess the effectiveness of these coping strategies by incorporating projected climate, soil, and landscape conditions with agricultural practices. The simulation results not only demonstrate the effectiveness and limitations of inhibiting progressive salinization, but they can be compared with the archaeological record in order to determine if the results could reasonably be matched with past events and help to interpret settlement history. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents the results obtained for red pigments used on ceramics from the Neolithic period, excavated at three Vinča culture archaeological sites on the territory of present day Serbia. Emphasis was put on cinnabar, a characteristic red pigment, in order to define its possible origin and usage. Several spectroscopic techniques (EDXRF, PIXE, X-ray powder diffraction) were applied to identify the pigments. According to the results presented in this paper, the known record regarding the first cinnabar use in the Balkans can be extended to the end of the sixth millennium BC. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper investigates how to gain quantitative comparability of macroscopic plant remains by estimating sample sizes representative to each population. First, this study reviews taphonomic pathways of plant remains to clarify how far we can draw cultural implications from the retrieved remains. The target population is defined here as the deposited assemblage, that is, plants that were deposited into the soil matrix. Through time, the deposited assemblage becomes reduced to the fossil assemblage, which is subject to being sampled (sampled population). The relation between the sampled population and samples is a statistical issue. A systematic recovery and a well-designed sampling strategy can help maintaining the same degree of representativeness of samples to the sampled population. The paper thus focuses on a statistical measure that estimates the sample sizes, based on a relative error and a confidence level of a small number of pilot samples. Data for the test is the plant remains recovered from the Nam River sites in south-central Korea, dating to the Early and Middle Mumun periods (3400–2400 BP). This measure ensures that quantitative differences between the plant remains in the two samples were due to real differences between the populations from which they were drawn rather than due only to variation within a single population. Thus this method strengthens cultural interpretations on quantitative differences in plant remains. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Using archaeological data, this paper investigates past population trends in Ireland as a response to recent genomic studies that have identified admixture signals in the genomes of Irish people caused by historically-recorded migration events. Among these was Norse settlement in the 9th-10th Centuries CE, which has a greater than expected signal in the contemporary population of the island. Here, we contextualise these discoveries using a large database of recently discovered archaeological sites with radiocarbon dates that we have analysed using Kernel Density Estimation techniques. We argue that the Viking migrations occurred following a 300-year period of population decrease in Ireland. This new, data-driven synthesis of the archaeological record contrasts with previous accounts of early medieval Ireland as a period of ever-growing expansion and progression. However, this new interpretation is also aligned to evidence for economic and environmental change, including recent discoveries concerning the soil nitrogen cycle and agricultural intensification. We compare historical evidence for Viking migrations to later episodes of migration between Britain and Ireland, where more details are known about the size of the incoming groups, ultimately wishing to confront the opinion that past population sizes cannot be fathomed for cultures without documentary records. Through comparison with historic analyses and census records, we make broad estimates of absolute population size in Ireland since prehistoric times, including during these demographic events, and argue that much value is added to genomic evidence for migration when these points in time are contextualised in terms of evolving population trends. • A database containing over 8000 radiocarbon dates of human activity in Ireland has been assembled. • Contextualizing the data for the period 400 to 1200 CE reveals a pronounced oscillation in activity throughout the landscape. • A long-term population model has been developed for Ireland using these radiocarbon data and historical records. • We suggest haplotype admixture in Ireland took place in the context of long term population decline. • These results mirror recent palaeoisotope studies of intensification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The archaeology of fire is a developing field. One challenge centers on equifinality: distinguishing the affects of wildfire versus anthropogenic fire. Especially where evidence for control of fire by humans in the early Pleistocene remains debated, there is little consensus regarding what constitutes clear evidence of human-control. Another concern is preservation bias, which reduces clearly identifiable archaeological signatures of fire. In this paper we argue that a peculiar lithic angular fragment—termed thermal curved-fragment (TCF)—exhibits statistically distinct, quantitative evidence of the confluence of human-knapped stone tools and exposure to a high-energy, long-duration, ground-level fire (i.e., campfires). Experimental TCFs are described and compared to unfired knapping debitage, natural exfoliations and suspected archaeological TCFs. The provenance of these archaeological specimens has previously been argued to infer hominin-controlled fire at 1.5–1.6 Ma at the Koobi Fora Formation. We also present data from experiments exposing stone flakes (arranged as "scatters") of similar raw materials to those found in the Koobi Fora Formation to USDA prescribed burns in a variety of conditions approximating landscape fires. Results indicate that TCFs are formed specifically where (previously) knapped stone is exposed to high-energy ground level fires, similar to those seen in ethnographic campfires. Our analysis indicates that TCFs can be used in conjunction with other lines of evidence indicating the presence of anthropogenic fire in the archaeological record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to geologically classify stone artefact materials is crucial because it is the first step in provenance allocation and geochemical grouping that inform archaeological models used for understanding exchange systems within prehistoric social networks. Geochemical analyses have revolutionised exchange studies by making it possible to match stone artefacts back to quarry sources, sometimes hundreds or thousands of kilometres away. Most archaeological basalt characterisation and provenance studies have relied on destructive sampling techniques to obtain the major trace elements NaO 2 , K 2 O and SiO 2 (wt%) to identify volcanic rock types on the Total Alkali Silica (TAS) diagram. To overcome this limitation, this paper presents an alternative method, the Pearce W-F diagram, that determines volcanic rock type and alkalinity using elements TiO 2 , Zr, Y and Nb that are accurately detected by non-destructive portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF). This new method is proven to be effective in a comparison with recent XRF archaeological basalt studies in the Pacific. The power to classify volcanic rock types non-destructively with pXRF significantly increases the number of artefacts and museum objects available for inclusion in archaeological exchange studies. • The Pearce W-F diagram determines volcanic rock type and alkalinity with non-destructive pXRF. • Pearce W-F diagram is preferred with pXRF instead of Total Alkali Silica (TAS) diagram. • Pearce W-F diagram is a proxy to the TAS diagram used for official volcanic rock type classifications. • A review of pervious archaeological basalt studies in the Pacific tests Pearce W-F diagram. • pXRF and Pearce W-F diagram increases the number of objects available for exchange studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I explore multiple methods of ceramic seriation, including correspondence analysis and frequency seriation, to revise the regional ceramic sequence for the Mississippian period of northern Georgia in the Southeastern United States, a period defined by the emergence of complex sociopolitical organization and marked socioeconomic inequality. I present a Bayesian radiocarbon framework for interpreting these seriations and situating them in absolute time. As the acquisition of new data and new analyses continuously demand reevaluations of any ceramic chronology, the analytical framework outlined here offers an avenue for future ceramic and radiocarbon datasets to be formally integrated with extant datasets to quantitatively reevaluate archaeological sequences. Because changes to materials and material attributes continue to be employed to construct culture-historical narratives and timelines across the world, especially for the purpose of highlighting and defining critical social, political, economic, and cultural transitions, the methodological approach presented here provides opportunities to formally explore, assess, and re-evaluate temporalities of cultural change. • Regional ceramic seriations are used to build a Bayesian chronological model. • Ninety-six radiocarbon dates are interpreted within a Bayesian framework. • The ceramic chronology for northern Georgia, USA is substantially revised. • Comparison to extant chronologies implies major revisions to sociopolitical timelines. • Models are baselines for interpretation of new data and chronological refinement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practice of intentional cranial modification was known in Eurasia since the Bronze Age. It intensified during the Migration Period (4th – 7th c AD) coinciding with the arrival of Huns in the Carpathian basin. The resurgence in the practice has been attributed to the Huns even in regions removed from the Huns in geography and time. As a highly visual symbol, cranial modification clearly played an important role in negotiating social identity. The purpose of this paper is to compare styles of modification in regions across Eurasia to determine the role of cranial modification in conveying different identities. Three-dimensional landmark coordinates were used in a geometric morphometric analysis to compare the shape of 14 non-modified recent crania, 23 modified crania from The Republic of Georgia, 17 from Hungary, 13 from Germany, two from The Czech Republic, one from Austria and one from Crimea. A Generalized Procrustes Analysis was used to standardize size differences and reveal shape differences. Results from principal components and discriminant analysis reveal significant differences in the style and shape of cranial modification among the recent non-modified crania and modified crania from Georgia, Hungary and Germany. A review of the tomb types, burial assemblages and historical records brings up a complex pattern of multiple social groups involved in the practice of cranial modification in each region. In Hungary the style of modification was homogeneous and the practice was local in origin. In Georgia and Germany individuals with modified crania were migrant and did not perpetuate the practice in their new homeland. We suggest that the practice was re-popularized by the Huns during the Migration Period as a means to maintain central control using a visual form of social identity. This was emulated by other nomadic groups acknowledging the importance of the practice for conveying social identity at boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Visibility analysis has become extremely popular in landscape-oriented archaeology in recent decades and has become even more widespread with the popularization of GIS tools, which have multiplied the ways in which visual perception can be analysed and digitally modelled. Visibility has been used as a proxy for different archaeological approaches, from the analysis of subjective perception to the assessment of strategic control. While interest has most often been focused on how objects, features and sites are perceived, there has also been an interest in how visual control is exerted from archaeological sites or other places in the landscape. Within the latter approaches, the distances at which visual control can be exercised have usually been determined in a more or less arbitrary manner, without a clear and empirically informed reference on how things and, especially, people can be observed and recognized differently at a distance. In this paper, we present the results of a field experiment carried out to measure the distances at which individuals can be spotted, recognized and identified with the naked eye in favourable conditions. Based on these results, we introduce the concept of Individual Distance Viewshed (IDV) as a GIS-based representation of visual control. This will serve as a reference to better qualify potential visibility in landscape analysis. Finally, we illustrate the applicability of this approach with a case study which explores the relationship between visual control and mobility during the Iron Age in the NW of the Iberian Peninsula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The study of size and shape of ceramic fragments is a common approach used for unraveling the depositional and post-depositional history of archaeological assemblages. Similar to sediment particles, the size and shape of a potsherd are altered under conditions of abrasion, breakage, or weathering, occurring during or after deposition, which can be the product of both human and non-human agents. Thus, the analysis of dimensional and morphological changes of fragments not only points towards specific (post)depositional processes, but can also shed light on the nature of human interaction with broken pottery. By coupling a traditional sedimentological framework for shape description and a computational approach to 2D morphometrics, in this paper we present a quick, reproducible and accurate method for studying the alteration of shape and size of potsherds. Three main shape descriptors, i.e. sphericity, roundness, and convexity, were tested on a combination of experimental and Early Neolithic potsherds in Northwest Romania from contexts where the conditions of fragment alteration were known or could be safely inferred. In addition, potsherds from an Early Neolithic pit discovered at Călineşti-Oaş-Dâmbul Sfintei Mării (Satu Mare County, Romania) were analysed for determining the pit infilling process and understanding the extent of the interaction between humans and broken pots. Results from morphometric tests show the reliability of the computational technique and shape descriptors for identifying different conditions of alteration of potsherds. The analysis of the Romanian assemblages provide insight into (post)depositional processes, showing downslope movement as the main mechanism behind the infilling of the pit at Călineşti-Oaş-Dâmbul Sfintei Mării. In addition, the potsherds possessed a high level of erosion and fragmentation, highlighting a long span of human interaction with broken materials at this site during Early Neolithic times. Highlights • Sphericity, Roundness and Convexity are effective proxies for (post)depositional processes on potsherds. • Signatures of downslope movement identified in an Early Neolithic pit. • Evidence of a long span of interaction between Early Neolithic populations and broken pottery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper evaluates the use of portable x-ray fluorescence (pXRF) on glazes and pastes for sourcing Chinese porcelains from the 12th-13th century Java Sea Shipwreck (JSW) collection at the Field Museum. Three types of qingbai (bluish-white) wares from the JSW collection were chosen for pXRF analysis. Samples from four kiln complexes in China—Jingdezhen, Dehua, Huajiashan, and Minqing, hypothesized to be potential sources of the shipwreck's qingbai ceramics based on visual inspection—were also analyzed to establish reference groups. Results from kiln samples show that different kiln complexes can be clearly differentiated by pXRF analysis of glazes. Based on pXRF analysis of ceramic samples from the JSW , there appear to be four compositional groups, and each group closely matches one of the four kiln reference groups. These findings support the use of pXRF on glazes, especially when pastes are difficult to access, as a method for identifying the potential sources for overseas cargos found distant from production contexts for Chinese porcelains. Highlights • pXRF can discriminate qingbai porcelains from different kiln complexes in China. • pXRF on glazes is effective to source Chinese porcelains. • Java Sea Shipwreckqingbai porcelains came from four different kiln complexes in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The organisation and use of space in domestic contexts remain challenging areas of investigation for archaeology due to the complexity and range of site formation and post-depositional processes. In tropical environments, soil processes speed up the degradation of archaeological and environmental records, and relatively ephemeral structures built of mud or clay degrade quickly after abandonment, leaving almost no traces of human activities behind. This paper presents the results of bulk soil and chemical analyses, artefact distribution, and phytolith analysis from the excavation of a daub house at the early medieval site of Unguja Ukuu (c. 7th–14th c. AD), Zanzibar. High-resolution, systematic sampling for microscopic and elemental analyses proved effective in detecting spatial variability in relatively small areas. However, soil chemical enrichment (e.g. Ca, Mg, Mn, P) usually linked to anthropogenic impact on archaeological deposits appears hardly visible in the Unguja Ukuu house deposits. Instead, measurements of a wider range of elements, including trace and rare earth elements (REEs) proved to be important for detecting elemental signatures related to human activities. Contextual sampling of artefacts and phytoliths were crucial to identify sources of chemical enrichment and, thus, build a picture of spatial organisation within the house. The combined multi-scalar sampling strategy with a multi-proxy analytical approach enabled us to define the layout of the daub structure, indoor/outdoor spaces and activity hot-spots. Although macroscopic traces of past activities were almost completely obliterated, archaeological remains of earthen architecture and the use of space can be detected even in such complex tropical settings. Highlights • Multi-context analyses (geochemistry, phytoliths, artefacts) revealed the layout and use of a medieval daub-house, Zanzibar. • Multi-element and cluster-based approach enabled mapping of indoor/outdoor activities in domestic contexts. • Archaeo-chemical enrichments in tropical soils are not directly comparable to signals found other climate zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The middle Huai River valley, located in the climatic, cultural and agricultural transitional zone in the central-eastern China during the Neolithic, occupies an important position in the study of the origins, development and spread of rice and millet farming in China. Previous studies indicate that rice agriculture has extended to the middle Huai River valley since 8.5 ka BP, and rice domestication was in the early stage between 8.5 and 7.5 ka BP, while the earliest evidence of millet remains discovered in this region was as late as ca. 5.0 ka BP. However, the process of rice domestication after 7.5 ka BP in this region, and when and where foxtail millet and broomcorn millet first extended respectively into this valley and interplayed with rice during the Neolithic period are still unknown. In this study, phytolith analysis of the soil samples from the Shuangdun site during the archaeological excavation, which is a representative site of the Shuangdun Culture in the middle Huai River valley dating back to 7.3–6.8 ka BP, reveals evidence of crops in the middle Huai River valley, China. Our results show that rice with japonica characteristics was the dominant crop at the Shuangdun site, which had a higher domestication rate than that at the Shunshanji site during 8.5–7.5 ka BP in terms of the morphological and morphometric analyses of rice bulliform and double-peaked glume cells, while broomcorn millet only occupied a small proportion of the total amount based on analysis of the quantity and ubiquity of phytoliths. Our data extend the record of broomcorn millet use in the middle Huai River valley by nearly 2000 years. The analysis in this paper not only provides significant evidence for illustrating the transformation of crop structure and the domestication process of rice in the middle Huai River valley, but also brings some clues for mapping the spatiotemporal route for the spread of rice and millets in central-eastern China during the Neolithic. Highlights • Both rice and broomcorn millet were present at the middle Neolithic site of Shuangdun site. • Rice was the dominant crop, while broomcorn millet occupied a small proportion of the crop structure at the site. • Rice was cultivated locally, while broomcorn millet was likely an imported cereal crop. • Rice domestication rate between 7.3 kaBP and 6.8 ka BP was higher than that at the site. • Rice at the Shuangdun site was japonica type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The manufacture of composite projectile technology requires the production and assemblage of tightly fitted parts designed to fulfill a number of distinct functions. Each part combines a number of techno-functional units, and various processes may be responsible for the shape variability of these units. In order to investigate the relative contribution of each process to the overall variability of a projectile implement, one must identify the point of demarcation between its techno-functional units. In the present paper, the concept of shape modularity is introduced to precisely identify this locus. The application of geometric morphometrics and shape modularity to the study of two Aurignacian osseous projectile point types, i.e., split- and massive-based points, reveals interesting patterns. On both types, the maximum width delimits the distal and proximal techno-functional units of these objects. When focusing on the morphometric variability and the geographic distribution of the implements' proximal unit, the eight shapes identified for split-based points are found over vast regions of Europe. On the other hand, the two proximal shapes defined for massive-based points show a pattern of local, or regional, aggregation. These proximal shapes were likely considered fit for hafting and hunting by the prehistoric populations who reproduced them, and they are interpreted as a proxy for the socially shared rules of production that guided the manufacture of these tool types. They could therefore be used in future studies that aim to identify group membership amongst the Aurignacian metapopulation and the extent of their interactions. Highlights • A geometric morphometric method is described to analyze tools with simple outlines. • Shape modularity test is used to identify techno-functional components of an object. • For split-based points, eight distinct proximal shapes are found over vast regions. • The two proximal shapes identified for massive-based points are locally aggregated. • The proximal shapes represent a proxy for the socially shared rules of production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In the last decade, archaeological fieldwork has seen the increasing use of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs, also: drones) and photogrammetrical techniques as tools for mapping archaeological traces in two and three dimensions. Drones allow for great control over the collection of imagery and in combination with photogrammetry put airborne 3D data capture at the disposal of archaeologists, whether they are dealing with excavations, monuments, or complete landscapes. The success of applying any new tool must however be judged in the end by a careful assessment of its tangible improvements of the primary data collection process considering expended project resources. In this context, it is important to point out that the added value of producing, often still laborious, 3D models for the primary process of data collection in field archaeology is not yet completely self-evident. Although 3D recording may be a useful additional layer of documentation for those who can afford it, the question remains to what degree the time, equipment and personnel investment actually improves our capabilities of doing archaeology. In this paper, I propose a new, well-defined, transparent and standardized mapping approach based on the combination of a budget UAS and straightforward photogrammetrical techniques, fully embedded in the workflow of knowledge production in archaeological excavation. I will reflect on the future potential of this approach, as well as engage with the ongoing discussion about developments in the processes of documentation and interpretation. Highlights • Budget drone photogrammetry can result in suitable 3D data for excavations. • 3D models can add significantly to the primary archaeological process of knowledge production. • 3D models of excavations must be demonstrated to be of reasonable accuracy for its purpose. • Implementation of new technology is successful if carefully implemented in existing workflows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract For decades, the origin of the bronzes with distinct highly radiogenic lead isotopic ratios in Shang period China has been a puzzle. This paper presents new lead isotope data for bronze objects from the Hanzhong region, one of the key regional bronze cultures during Shang period China. On the basis of a synthetical investigation of the typological, chemical and lead isotopic features of Hanzhong bronzes and their relations to other regional bronze cultures, we propose the Qinling area as a potential region of origin for the metals containing highly radiogenic lead used by several contemporaneous but culturally/politically distinct entities across a vast territory. Taking into account both archaeological and geological evidence, this working hypothesis draws attention not merely to the geological provenance of metal resources, but also to the mechanisms of metal production and circulation as well as broader social-economic dynamics. Highlights • New lead isotope results from a key regional bronze culture of Shang period China. • The Qinling region is proposed as a source of the mysterious highly radiogenic lead in Shang period bronzes. • Regional specialisation and a multiple-direction interregional exchange are shown in Bronze Age China. • A new understanding of ancient metallurgy in broader social-economic contexts is offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper presents an integrated approach to the identification of complex re-processing operations of ancient ferrous artefacts from the multi-period site of Saruq al-Hadid, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Spatial and morphological studies and a range of archaeometric analyses – optical microscopy, X-Ray diffraction, Micro-Raman spectroscopy, neutron tomography – are used to identify various processing markers preserved in these heavily corroded objects and to distinguish two groups of differently processed fragments. The main analytical focus is the investigation of corrosion layers preserving traces of hot oxidation and forging of metallic iron, along with re-heating of previously formed rust layers. The collected evidence suggests that the numerous iron artefacts ritually deposited of at the site in the early Iron Age were subsequently retrieved and re-forged into semi-products as a part of larger scheme of recycling operations, in which Saruq al-Hadid was a first node. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Investigation of ancient corroded iron artefacts from the desert near modern Dubai. • We present morphological and microstructural analyses of 90 ferrous objects. • Artefacts preserve traces of hot oxidation, forging and re-heating of initial rust. • Large-scale re-processing of artefacts was undertaken long after their original ritual deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Archaeologists now routinely use summed radiocarbon dates as a measure of past population size, yet few have coupled these measures to theoretical expectations about social organization. To help move the 'dates as data' approach from description to explanation, this paper proposes a new integrative theory and method for quantitative analyses of radiocarbon summed probability distributions (SPDs) in space. We present this new approach to 'SPDs in space' with a case study of 3571 geo-referenced radiocarbon dates from Wyoming, USA. We develop a SPD for the Holocene in Wyoming, then analyze the spatial distribution of the SPD as a function of time using a standard nearest-neighbor statistic. We compare population growth and decline throughout the Holocene with expectations for different Ideal Distribution Models from population ecology that predict the relationship between habitat quality and population density. Results suggest that populations in Wyoming were initially clustered and then became increasingly dispersed through the course of the Holocene. These results suggest that Allee-like benefits to aggregation, rather than ideal free-driven dispersion patterns, explain settlement decisions in response to growing populations. Our approach is a first step in constructing a method and theory for describing relationships between social organization and population growth trends derived from archaeological radiocarbon time-series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Dental morphological differences in the first two mandibular molars of domestic equids have been claimed to possess unique species characteristics and are commonly used to identify archaeological equids to a species level. However, the intraspecific and intra-teeth variability of this morphological trait seems to be largely underestimated and the effects of inter-observer variations are rarely discussed. Therefore, the reliability of such morphological trait is poorly understood. Geometric morphometric (GM) methods can be used to evaluate the level of diversity between different dental morphology and, thus, is a more quantitative and objective approach than visual qualitative observation. This paper aims to examine the intraspecific and intra-teeth variability of lower molar morphology by applying GM analysis on molars from archaeological horses and purported mules as well as modern specimens of known species. The results suggest that other than possible inter-observer variations, the large intraspecific variability deems the dental morphology in lower molars to be unreliable for species identification. Highlights • Question the validity of morphological criteria based on qualitative determination. • A novel geometric morphometric approach for evaluating the identification of domestic equids is presented. • Report large intraspecific variability existed in the dental morphology of lower equid molars. • The use of dental morphology for the species identification of domestic equids should be reconsidered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The study of morphological variation in the hominin fossil record has been transformed in recent years by the advent of high resolution 3D imaging combined with improved geometric morphometric (GM) toolkits. In parallel, increasing numbers of studies have applied finite elements analysis (FEA) to the study of skeletal mechanics in fossil and extant hominoid material. While FEA studies of fossils are becoming ever more popular they are constrained by the difficulties of reconstruction and by the uncertainty that inevitably attaches to the estimation of forces and material properties. Adding to these modelling difficulties it is still unclear how FEA analyses should best deal with species variation. Comparative studies of skeletal form and function can be further advanced by applying tools from the GM toolkit to the inputs and outputs of FEA studies. First they facilitate virtual reconstruction of damaged material and can be used to rapidly create 3D models of skeletal structures. Second, GM methods allow variation to be accounted for in FEA by warping models to represent mean and extreme forms of interest. Third, GM methods can be applied to compare FEA outputs – the ways in which skeletal elements deform when loaded. Model comparisons are hampered by differences in material properties, forces and size among models but how deformations from FEA are impacted by these parameters is increasingly well understood, allowing them to be taken into account in comparing FEA outputs. In this paper we review recent advances in the application of GM in relation to FEA studies of craniofacial form in hominins, providing examples from our recent work and a critical appraisal of the state of the art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper reports new data on qocha ponds from the Rio Pucara–Azángaro interfluvial zone, northern Lake Titicaca Basin, Peru. Qocha are a little known form of Andean agriculture that developed around 800–500 B.C. and remain in use today. Prior estimates suggested that in the study area, there were more than 25,000 qocha. While most Andean sunken beds are excavated to reach groundwater, qocha are rain-fed ponds. How these rain-fed ponds functioned has been an open question, but one that is answered in part by research presented in this paper. We suggest that a thick impermeable stratum of clay that was possibly deposited by paleolake “Minchin” created a perched water table that makes rain-fed qocha reservoir agriculture possible. Field geology shows that within the study area, this stratum only exists under Terrace E. Based on this model, we hypothesized that persistently used qocha should only be found on Terrace E. To test this hypothesis we used remotely sensed data to inventory qocha and to determine their distribution by each terrace present. We identified 11,737 qocha. By area 93.77% and by count 94.33% of the qocha are located on Terrace E. These results strongly supported our hypothesis. This case study illustrates that the long term viability of this form of agriculture is made possible by a physical context that is beyond human control. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The site of Nogara (province of Verona, Italy) provides valuable insights into the complexities of the glass industry in mid-Medieval times, due to its timing, which ranges mainly between the 10th and 11th centuries AD, and to the great quantity of glass findings, mainly tableware. In the present paper, the combination of archaeological, chemical and textural data allows us to identify production technologies in a time-interval perceived to be a period of technological transition for glass. In particular, the frequent occurrence of recycled natron glass and only a few glass samples made with soda plant ash indicate that recycling of earlier glass was common in inland Northern Italy in the 10th–11th centuries AD. In addition, blue and reticello decorations were obtained by recycling earlier glass mosaic tesserae, as shown by much Co, Cu, Sn, Sb and Pb and the presence of crystallised calcium antimonates. A few glass samples with chemical compositions intermediate between natron and soda plant ash glass were also identified, suggesting a gradual change in glass composition from natron-based towards soda ash-based production technology, which prevailed in the 13th-14th centuries. In conclusion, the difficulty in describing mid-Medieval glass as a well-defined entity, due to the great propensity for recycling earlier glass samples which causes variability in chemical compositions, particularly those of trace elements, is clearly documented here. In any case, this paper contributes to a new type of chrono-typological scanning and to more detailed knowledge of glass production technology during mid-Medieval times in Northern Italy, little found in the literature until now. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: As modern humans grapple with the repercussions of their extensive environmental impacts, archaeologists are increasingly looking toward the past to understand the nature and extent of prehistoric human impact on the environment. Many researchers rely heavily on archaeological correlates of resource intensification as a proxy measures of resource depletion, a profound and often catastrophic human impact. However, the traditional conceptualization of the archaeological correlates of shellfish intensification disregards a large amount of species-specific variation. This paper presents archaeomalacological data from Santa Cruz Island, California. The shell midden deposits CA-SCRI-480 contain a high density of Tivela stultorum (Pismo clam). Statistical analysis of the shellfish assemblage reveals significant variation in both the size and quantity of Pismo clam that people collected through time. This paper investigates this unique patterning with due consideration of the natural ecology and life history of the species and illustrates species-specific deviation from the traditional archaeological correlates of shellfish intensification. Increased collaboration with ecologists and biologists can help refine models of intensification when necessary in order create more sophisticated understanding of prehistoric human–resource interactions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In recent papers, Coltrain et al. (Sealing, whaling and caribou: the skeletal isotope chemistry of eastern Arctic foragers, Journal of Archaeological Science 31, 39–57) and Coltrain (Sealing, whaling and caribou revisited: additional insights from the skeletal isotope chemistry of eastern Arctic foragers, Journal of Archaeological Science 36, 764–775) propose that four previously excavated human skeletons from Native Point, Southampton Island, Nunavut, Canada, are Dorset Paleoeskimo and European. The suggested reclassification of one burial as Dorset is based upon a single radiocarbon assay and interpretation of isotopic values. The authors’ conclusion that three other individuals, found together inside an aboriginal dwelling, were European rests on an isotopic signature indicative of a terrestrial diet, as well as radiocarbon date ranges. This paper assesses the information used by and to reach these conclusions and, in contrast to those authors, determines that the data is equivocal at best and does not support revision of the individuals’ biocultural affinity. The paper stresses the necessarily critical role that must be given to archaeological context in any interpretation, or reinterpretation, of human remains. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper introduces GIS-based statistical methods for the study of settlement patterning in an archaeological context. The main aspect is an improvement over suboptimal stepwise statistical model selection procedures, with the introduction of a Deletion/Substitution/Addition (DSA) algorithm, a systematic model selection algorithm that provides an optimal model choice. The paper also introduces the combined use of Receiving Operator Characteristic (ROC) curves, and variable ranking as key tools aimed at an understanding of settlement patterning causation. An illustrative case study is provided whereby both a purely environmental and a mixed environmental/historical model (based on settlement hierarchy considerations) are investigated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The valley of the River Tjonger, situated in the Province of Friesland (the Netherlands), is rich in prehistoric organic remains. The fill of the valley, consisting of waterlogged sediments (peat, gyttja and sands), presents favourable conditions for the preservation of bone, antler and botanical remains. Numerous bones with chop and cut marks, in majority of aurochs (Bos primigenius), are known from several locations in the valley. The Late Mesolithic (ca. 8000–5500 BP) is especially well represented. In this paper we present a recently discovered small hunting and butchering wetland site dating to the Late Mesolithic. The site, named Balkweg, represents a single hunting and primary butchering event pertaining to a small female aurochs with a height at the withers of 134 cm. The morphology of the vertebrae and the phalanges as well as the Late Mesolithic date confirm the identification as an aurochs cow. Single event sites are underrepresented in the archaeological record due to their small size and poor visibility. The importance of aurochs hunting during the Mesolithic is discussed in this paper as well. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract Studies relating to pottery primary forming techniques are relatively scarce in the field of ceramic studies. This is, in part, due to the difficulty in obtaining information about the inner structures of pots in a non-destructive way. Methodologies which have been applied previously (mainly macroscopic observation and X-ray radiography) are subject to limitations which restrict their scope and accuracy. Recent developments in industrial X-ray micro-CT, however, pave a new direction for the study of ceramic technology. Micro-CT is a non-destructive methodology, which allows the precise visual and computable detection of clay fabric microstructures. More precisely, this method allows direct visual detection and measurement of coils, slabs, and other construction units; the recording of the orientation of voids and inclusions; and the documentation of specific forming technicalities. These features can be highly indicative of specific techniques, and they can, thus, help to identify even individualised craft behaviours. In this paper, we present the results of the micro-CT scanning of a Middle Neolithic pottery assemblage from Sesklo (Thessaly, Greece). The study proposes a concrete methodology for the recognition and classification of specific macro- and micro-features. These features are indicative of distinctive vessel shaping processes, and, on the basis of these data, we suggest a revised model for the correlation between the orientation of voids and inclusion within specific formation techniques. The results show clearly the invaluable potential of micro-CT in the study of pottery forming techniques. In particular, they indicate a significant technological pluralism within the pottery assemblage from Sesklo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]