Search

The introduction of agricultural practices fostered the development of specific technologies for the new subsistence practices and the production of new artefacts. Pyrotechnological structures such as ovens are part of the Neolithic equipment and accompanied the spread of agriculture from the Near East across Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. Ovens located within settlements – mainly domed, above-ground structures – have been traditionally linked to cooking and baking. The function is usually deduced from techno-morphological traits, although experimental approaches or ethnoarchaeological observations have often been used. This article aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of the multidisciplinary approach to understand the function of fire structures. An integrated methodology that combines archaeological analysis, archaeometry, and experimental archaeology has been applied to study the underground ovens of the Early Neolithic site of Portonovo (Marche, Italy) dated to the sixth millennium BCE. Samples of hardened sediment of archaeological ovens’ inner surface and selected pottery fragments were analysed through X-ray powder diffraction to estimate the temperature reached. A life-size replica of an underground oven was then created to perform firing experiments, including pottery firing. Samples of the oven’s walls and experimental vessels were analysed with the same method, and the values were compared. Our results indicate that the Portonovo ovens are potentially multifunctional structures, built for about 700 years, always with the same technique exploiting the natural soil’s insulating properties.

During the late Quaternary, Iraqi Kurdistan was the scenario of several fundamental human-relatedevents including the dispersion of Homo in Asia and Europe, the origin of agriculture, the beginningof urbanization, and the formation of the first state entities. We present the initial results of ageoarchaeological investigation in this area, which aims to reconstruct a detailed framework of therelationship between climatic changes, landscape responses, human adaptation, and settlementdistribution during the Late Quaternary. Paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic data were collectedfrom two key areas: the territory of the Navkur and Faideh plains, in northern Kurdistan, and a portionof the Erbil plain, in southern Kurdistan. In the two regions, the Land of Niniveh and MAIPEarchaeological missions are operating. Remote sensing, GIS analyses, and geomorphological surveyare the tools used for the geomorphological reconstruction of ancient hydrology (fluvial pattern) andthe evolution of distinct landforms. Geochemical and geochronological analyses on speleothems fromthe Zagros piedmont caves of same region provide information on Holocene climatic variability inthe area. Whereas environmental settings and human land use are investigated on the basis ofsedimentological, palynological, micropaleontological, and geochemical analyses of a fluvio-lacustrine sequences preliminary dated between 40 and 9 ka BP. The lacustrine sequence is composedby clayey and silt-sandy sediments alternating calcareous and organic matter-rich layers.Environmental and geomorphological data have been compared with archaeological information(mostly the chronological distribution of the archaeological sites) to interpret exploitation of naturalresources, the settlement dynamics and shift in land use.

The huge potential of 3D digital acquisition techniques for the documentation of archaeological sites, as well as the related findings, is almost well established. In spite of the variety of available techniques, a sole documentation pipeline cannot be defined a priori because of the diversity of archaeological settings. Stratigraphic archaeological excavations, for example, require a systematic, quick and low cost 3D single-surface documentation because the nature of stratigraphic archaeology compels providing documentary evidence of any excavation phase. Only within a destructive process each single excavation cannot be identified, documented and interpreted and this implies the necessity of a re- examination of the work on field. In this context, this paper describes the methodology, carried out during the last years, to 3D document the Early Neolithic site of Portonovo (Ancona, Italy) and, in particular, its latest step consisting in a photogrammetric aerial survey by means of UAV platform. It completes the previous research delivered in the same site by means of terrestrial laser scanning and close range techniques and sets out different options for further reflection in terms of site coverage, resolution and campaign cost. With the support of a topographic network and a unique reference system, the full documentation of the site is managed in order to detail each excavation phase; besides, the final output proves how the 3D digital methodology can be completely integrated with reasonable costs during the excavation and used to interpret the archaeological context. Further contribution of this work is the comparison between several acquisition techniques (i.e. terrestrial and aerial), which could be useful as decision support system for different archaeological scenarios. The main objectives of the comparison are: i) the evaluation of 3D mapping accuracy from different data sources, ii) the definition of a standard pipeline for different archaeological needs and iii) the provision of different level of detail according to the user needs.

Stable isotope analysis of human remains has been used to address long-standing debates regarding the speed and degree to which the introduction of farming transformed diet. In Europe, this debate has centered on northern and Atlantic regions with much less attention devoted to the arrival of farming across the Mediterranean. This study presents carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses of collagen from 19 human and 37 faunal remains from eight sites in the Apulia and Marche regions of south- eastern and central Italy, dating to the early phases of agricultural adoption during the first half of the 6th Millennium BC. Where collagen preservation permit- ted, sulfur stable isotope analysis was also performed. Overall, there was significant isotopic variation between the different geographic regions, although there was also considerable uncertainty in interpreting these data, especially given heterogeneous isotope val- ues for fauna from site to site. By considering isotope data from each region separately, it was noticeable that the degree of carbon isotope enrichment in humans compared to fauna was higher for individuals buried near the coast, consistent with increased ma- rine consumption. Coastal individuals also had higher sulfur isotope values. Nitrogen isotope values were very variable between individuals and regions and, in some cases, were consistent with very high plant food consumption. Overall, early ''farmers'' in south-east and central Italy consumed a wide range of foods, including marine, and had much more variable stable isotope values than those observed in central and northern Europe during this period, perhaps indicating a different mode for agricultural adoption. Am J Phys Anthropol 149:380-390, 2012. V C

Climate, environment and man interactions in the Holocene evolution of the Tiber delta: palaeobotanical and archaeological data.The integration of palaeobotanical and archaeological data from recent studies carried out in the Tiber delta allows reconstructing the Holocene landscape evolution of the coastal area near Rome, revealing a long history of climate, environment and man interactions (Manfredini, 2002; D'Ambrogi et alii, 2009; Di Rita et alii, 2010; Bellotti et alii, 2011).The geomorphological, sedimentological, palaeobotanical and archaeological data from sites located in the northern and southern sides of the Tiber delta clearly document major environmental changes, including eustatic sea-level variations, geomorphologic processes, groundwater fluctuations, desiccation events and micro-climatic processes, which have produced dramatic and repeated landscape transformations, with inevitable repercussions on the local plant biodiversity and human communities.Human activity, documented in the area since the Neolithic and characterized by significant Eneolithic and Bronze Age settlements, appears to have had a marginal role in the landscape evolution. Only the Etruscan and Roman exploitation of the area for salt extraction produced an important impact on the landscape, becoming a major factor for environmental instability.When considered within the last thousands of years, the modern environmental situation appears a snap-shot, destined to new, abrupt and dramatic future changes.