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Publication date: October 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 74 Author(s): Matt GrovePrompted by the results of a series of recently published simulation models, there is an increasing tendency for archaeologists to invoke demographic variables as explanations for changes in the sophistication or complexity of material culture. Whilst these models are undoubtedly valuable, this paper draws attention to persistent failings in the interpretation and application of these models by archaeologists. Despite having quite different effects, variables such as population size and population density are often used interchangeably; and whilst increasing mobility has an effect broadly equivalent to that of increasing population density, it is rarely given sufficient weight in archaeological explanations of cultural change. The analyses reported here develop a series of new simulations based on the ideal gas model, allowing for an explicit prediction of the encounter rate – the variable for which population density and mobility are proxies, and which ultimately governs the rate of cultural transmission. This model supports the predictions of earlier studies on the effects of population density and mobility, but suggests that population size will have no effect on rates of cultural transmission. These simulations are coupled with analyses that demonstrate a reciprocal correlation between population density and mobility in a large hunter-gatherer dataset. Given this correlation, it is argued that archaeological inferences about cultural transmission based on just one of these variables are unlikely to be valid. These findings are discussed in the context of previous research, and it is suggested that future studies would gain greater explanatory power by focusing explicitly on the social network structures likely to have characterised a particular archaeological population.

Publication date: October 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 74 Author(s): Marianne Mödlinger, Benjamin SabatiniThis study revaluates reported cases of prehistoric As-Cu objects with ‘silvery surfaces’, which are usually interpreted as the result of inverse segregation. Further possible explanations for such surfaces, such as an arsenic-rich α-solid solution, cementation, or post-depositional precipitation, are discussed. The segregation of arsenic was studied in As-Cu ingots produced in chill cast moulds at several compositions, which underwent surface treatment with an NaCl solution. The microstructure and surfaces of the As-Cu alloys were analysed using optical microscopy and SEM-EDXS. Special note of out-of-equilibrium As-Cu phases are discussed, as well as a comparison of inverse segregation to all other means of achieving surface silvering.

Publication date: October 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 74 Author(s): Marianne Mödlinger, Benjamin SabatiniThis study revaluates reported cases of prehistoric As-Cu objects with ‘silvery surfaces’, which are usually interpreted as the result of inverse segregation. Further possible explanations for such surfaces, such as an arsenic-rich α-solid solution, cementation, or post-depositional precipitation, are discussed. The segregation of arsenic was studied in As-Cu ingots produced in chill cast moulds at several compositions, which underwent surface treatment with an NaCl solution. The microstructure and surfaces of the As-Cu alloys were analysed using optical microscopy and SEM-EDXS. Special note of out-of-equilibrium As-Cu phases are discussed, as well as a comparison of inverse segregation to all other means of achieving surface silvering.

Publication date: October 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 74 Author(s): Morgan C.F. Disspain, Sean Ulm, Christopher Izzo, Bronwyn M. GillandersThe morphological and chemical properties of fish calcified structures provide excellent environmental and anthropogenic proxies; however, pre-depositional handling may alter these properties, confounding interpretations. This study examines the effects of some traditional processing and cooking methods on the morphological and chemical properties of modern fish otoliths (ear bones), vertebrae, and scales using an experimental approach. Whole mulloway (Argyrosomus japonicus) were treated using a range of techniques, including boiled in freshwater and saltwater; roasted directly on a fire and wrapped in clay; salted; and completely burnt. Samples were also obtained from untreated fish as controls for comparison. Otoliths, vertebrae and scales from the samples were subjected to morphological, trace element (7Li, 23Na, 24Mg, 55Mn, 86Sr, 138Ba, 208Pb, and 65Zn all ratioed to 43Ca) and stable isotope analyses (otoliths and vertebrae – inorganic δ13C and δ18O; scales – organic δ13C and δ15N). Results reveal disparities in the chemistry and morphology of otoliths and vertebrae processed in different ways. The otolith and vertebrae carbonate δ18O values were lower in samples that experienced heating; burnt samples differed significantly from the control samples. Otolith and vertebrae trace elements were largely unaffected by the treatments relative to the controls; however, some individual elements within the burning and salting groups varied significantly. The impacts observed in the fish scales were less substantial. Results provide a basis for evaluating the suitability of archaeological samples for analysis. We recommend avoiding the use of heated samples. Findings highlight the need to conduct palaeoenvironmental reconstructions based on chemistry and stable isotope data of archaeological remains with caution.

Publication date: October 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 74 Author(s): Morgan C.F. Disspain, Sean Ulm, Christopher Izzo, Bronwyn M. GillandersThe morphological and chemical properties of fish calcified structures provide excellent environmental and anthropogenic proxies; however, pre-depositional handling may alter these properties, confounding interpretations. This study examines the effects of some traditional processing and cooking methods on the morphological and chemical properties of modern fish otoliths (ear bones), vertebrae, and scales using an experimental approach. Whole mulloway (Argyrosomus japonicus) were treated using a range of techniques, including boiled in freshwater and saltwater; roasted directly on a fire and wrapped in clay; salted; and completely burnt. Samples were also obtained from untreated fish as controls for comparison. Otoliths, vertebrae and scales from the samples were subjected to morphological, trace element (7Li, 23Na, 24Mg, 55Mn, 86Sr, 138Ba, 208Pb, and 65Zn all ratioed to 43Ca) and stable isotope analyses (otoliths and vertebrae – inorganic δ13C and δ18O; scales – organic δ13C and δ15N). Results reveal disparities in the chemistry and morphology of otoliths and vertebrae processed in different ways. The otolith and vertebrae carbonate δ18O values were lower in samples that experienced heating; burnt samples differed significantly from the control samples. Otolith and vertebrae trace elements were largely unaffected by the treatments relative to the controls; however, some individual elements within the burning and salting groups varied significantly. The impacts observed in the fish scales were less substantial. Results provide a basis for evaluating the suitability of archaeological samples for analysis. We recommend avoiding the use of heated samples. Findings highlight the need to conduct palaeoenvironmental reconstructions based on chemistry and stable isotope data of archaeological remains with caution.

Publication date: Available online 4 September 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science Author(s): Thomas J. Booth, Rebecca C. Redfern, Rebecca L. GowlandMost histological analyses of bone diagenesis are destructive and limited to the inspection of a cross-section that may not be representative of the whole. X-ray microtomography (Micro-CT) may provide a non-destructive means of investigating taphonomically-significant diagenetic alterations throughout whole bone samples, but this method has not been tested systematically (Dal Sasso et al., 2014). Bacterial bioerosion is the most common form of diagenesis found in archaeological bones, yet a recent large-scale study of European archaeological human bones found that an unusually high proportion of young infant (<1 month old) samples were free from bacterial attack (Booth, 2016). This result is best explained by the remains of stillborn or short-lived infants who had died before their osteolytic gut bacteria had developed. The ability to differentiate between stillborn and short-lived infants would profoundly impact on the study of past human life courses and the study of infanticide in both archaeological and forensic contexts.In this study we investigate the efficacy of micro-CT in studying bone diagenesis by scanning three archaeological human femoral samples where levels of diagenesis are known and varied, before scanning a novel sample set of ten Romano-British young infant/perinatal femora to test the dichotomous appearance of bioerosion. We find that micro-CT is a viable non-destructive method of investigating bone bioerosion, but is less useful for characterising diagenetic staining and inclusions. Half of the infant samples studied here were free from bacterial bioerosion, further suggesting that histological analysis can be used to identify archaeological remains of stillborn and short-lived infants.

Publication date: Available online 4 September 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science Author(s): Thomas J. Booth, Rebecca C. Redfern, Rebecca L. GowlandMost histological analyses of bone diagenesis are destructive and limited to the inspection of a cross-section that may not be representative of the whole. X-ray microtomography (Micro-CT) may provide a non-destructive means of investigating taphonomically-significant diagenetic alterations throughout whole bone samples, but this method has not been tested systematically (Dal Sasso et al., 2014). Bacterial bioerosion is the most common form of diagenesis found in archaeological bones, yet a recent large-scale study of European archaeological human bones found that an unusually high proportion of young infant (<1 month old) samples were free from bacterial attack (Booth, 2016). This result is best explained by the remains of stillborn or short-lived infants who had died before their osteolytic gut bacteria had developed. The ability to differentiate between stillborn and short-lived infants would profoundly impact on the study of past human life courses and the study of infanticide in both archaeological and forensic contexts.In this study we investigate the efficacy of micro-CT in studying bone diagenesis by scanning three archaeological human femoral samples where levels of diagenesis are known and varied, before scanning a novel sample set of ten Romano-British young infant/perinatal femora to test the dichotomous appearance of bioerosion. We find that micro-CT is a viable non-destructive method of investigating bone bioerosion, but is less useful for characterising diagenetic staining and inclusions. Half of the infant samples studied here were free from bacterial bioerosion, further suggesting that histological analysis can be used to identify archaeological remains of stillborn and short-lived infants.

Publication date: October 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 74 Author(s): Katherine Brunson, Xin Zhao, Nu He, Xiangming Dai, Antonia Rodrigues, Dongya YangDomestic taurine cattle (Bos taurus) were introduced to China from Central Asia between 3600 and 2000 cal BCE. Most of the earliest domestic cattle remains in China come from sacrificial or ritual contexts, especially in the form of oracle bones used in divination rituals. These oracle bones became closely tied to royal authority and are the source of the earliest written inscriptions in ancient China. In this article, we use ancient DNA to identify uninscribed bovine oracle bones from the Longshan period archaeological sites of Taosi and Zhoujiazhuang (late third millennium BCE). We found that in addition to making oracle bones out of domestic cattle scapulae, people also used aurochs (wild cattle: Bos primigenius) scapulae for oracle bone divination. Wild water buffalo (Bubalus mephistopheles) were also exploited at Zhoujiazhuang, but we did not identify water buffalo oracle bones in our analysis. We propose some morphological criteria that may be useful for distinguishing between these animals, but conclude that it is not always possible to identify bovine scapulae based on morphology alone. Our results indicate that wild and domestic bovines were sometimes present at the same sites and their bones were used in similar ways to make oracle bones. This raises the possibility that these species interbred and that people in ancient China may have experimented with managing indigenous Chinese wild bovines.

Publication date: October 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 74 Author(s): Katherine Brunson, Xin Zhao, Nu He, Xiangming Dai, Antonia Rodrigues, Dongya YangDomestic taurine cattle (Bos taurus) were introduced to China from Central Asia between 3600 and 2000 cal BCE. Most of the earliest domestic cattle remains in China come from sacrificial or ritual contexts, especially in the form of oracle bones used in divination rituals. These oracle bones became closely tied to royal authority and are the source of the earliest written inscriptions in ancient China. In this article, we use ancient DNA to identify uninscribed bovine oracle bones from the Longshan period archaeological sites of Taosi and Zhoujiazhuang (late third millennium BCE). We found that in addition to making oracle bones out of domestic cattle scapulae, people also used aurochs (wild cattle: Bos primigenius) scapulae for oracle bone divination. Wild water buffalo (Bubalus mephistopheles) were also exploited at Zhoujiazhuang, but we did not identify water buffalo oracle bones in our analysis. We propose some morphological criteria that may be useful for distinguishing between these animals, but conclude that it is not always possible to identify bovine scapulae based on morphology alone. Our results indicate that wild and domestic bovines were sometimes present at the same sites and their bones were used in similar ways to make oracle bones. This raises the possibility that these species interbred and that people in ancient China may have experimented with managing indigenous Chinese wild bovines.

Publication date: October 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 74 Author(s): Adrián Arroyo, Ignacio de la TorreThis study explores the function of quartzite pounding tools from Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania) using microscopic and use wear spatial distribution analysis. A selection of pounding tools from several Bed I and II assemblages excavated by Mary Leakey (1971) were studied under low magnification (<100×), and the microscopic traces developed on their surfaces are described. Experimental data and results obtained from analysis of the archaeological material are compared in order to assess activities in which pounding tools could have been involved. Results show that experimental anvils used for meat processing, nut cracking and/or bone breaking have similar wear patterns as those observed on archaeological percussive artefacts. This is the first time that a microscopic analysis is applied to Early Stone Age pounding artefacts from Olduvai Beds I and II, and this paper highlights the importance that percussive activities played during the Early Pleistocene, suggesting a wider range of activities in addition to knapping and butchering.