Archives

Publication date: June 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 94 Author(s): Elena Salinas, Trinitat PradellThe earliest glazed ware in al-Andalus is dated to the Emiral period (c. 850–875 CE) and is not until the Caliphate of Córdoba (929–1031 CE) that a distinctive polychrome tin glaze started being produced. A short transition period (c. 875–925 CE) in which elaborate monochrome and bichrome transparent glazes wares coexist with polychrome transparent and tin opaque glazed wares has been identified. The existence of a polychrome lead transparent glaze production in al-Andalus wares is demonstrated; it has distinctive composition and methods of production from monochrome and bichrome wares, and shares a distinctive absence of foot and overglaze application of the decorations with the tin-opacified wares. With regard to the possible routes of the introduction of the polychrome lead and tin glazes into the western Mediterranean the Tunisian connection seems completely discarded. Moreover, and although some similarities between the Cordoba and the Abbasid productions such as similar tin glaze recipe and decorative patterns and use of lead glazes, can be traced, the dissimilarities, such as, the use of overglaze decorations, absence of alkali transparent glazes, variances in the tableware shapes and absence of foot, are still more important, and do not support a clear link between them.

Publication date: May 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 93 Author(s): A.J. White, Lora R. Stevens, Varenka Lorenzi, Samuel E. Munoz, Carl P. Lipo, Sissel SchroederFecal stanols deposited in sediment provide evidence of trace human waste products and have been proposed as a proxy for measuring population change. Despite its potential to contribute to paleodemographic studies, the method has not been evaluated against conventional archaeological population reconstructions to determine its fidelity in identifying changes in ancient populations nor has it been applied in an environmental setting outside of the Arctic, where low temperatures enhance stanol preservation. We studied sediment cores recovered from a lake adjacent to Cahokia, the largest and most well-studied prehistoric mound center in North America. We found fecal stanol data closely track independently established population reconstructions from multiple sources, confirming the utility of the method and demonstrating its viability in temperate climates.