Archives

Landmark of the past in the Antequera megalithic landscape: A multi-disciplinary approach to the Matacabras rock art shelter

Posted on May 27, 2018 by ARCAS

Publication date: July 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 95 Author(s): Miguel Ángel Rogerio-Candelera, Primitiva Bueno Ramírez, Rodrigo de Balbín-Behrmann, M. Isabel Dias, Leonardo García Sanjuán, Mathilda Larsson Coutinho, José Antonio Lozano Rodríguez, Ana Z. Miller, Alistair W. Pike, Christopher D. Standish, M. Isabel Prudêncio, Ana Luísa Rodrigues, José María De la Rosa Arranz, Diego GasparThe background of this paper is the biographical relationship between the Menga dolmen and La Peña de los Enamorados mountain (a conspicuous and highly-recognisable natural formation), both part of the Antequera megalithic landscape. Our main aim is to provide a high-resolution characterisation of the Matacabras rock art shelter, located on the northern side of La Peña de los Enamorados. This is achieved through a photogrammetric topographic survey, a detailed assessment of the graphic motifs identified through the use of digital image processing and various types of physical and chemical analysis, a geo-chemical characterisation of pottery found on its surface, and a comparative stylistic analysis of its motifs. Our study suggests that Matacabras (and the site of Piedras Blancas I, located just below it), played an important role in the genesis of Menga, which perhaps makes it the most important rock art location of Spanish Late Prehistory.

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Raman spectroscopy of lipid micro-residues on Middle Palaeolithic stone tools from Denisova Cave, Siberia

Posted on May 27, 2018 by ARCAS

Publication date: July 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 95 Author(s): Luc Bordes, Richard Fullagar, Linda C. Prinsloo, Elspeth Hayes, Maxim B. Kozlikin, Michael V. Shunkov, Anatoly P. Derevianko, Richard G. RobertsRaman spectroscopy is a powerful method for detecting micro-residues on stone tools. To further develop techniques for determining stone tool function, we devised a methodology using Raman microscopy to analyse in situ micro-residues before conventional usewear study. We analysed 18 stone artefacts collected in situ from Denisova Cave in Siberia, where excellent organic residue preservation is expected. We report here details of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids identified on eight stone tools from the Middle Palaeolithic levels. The spatial distribution of smeared fatty acids shows strong correlation with spatial distributions of usewear (particularly use-polish, but also striations, edge rounding and scarring) on each tool, demonstrating that these micro-residues are likely associated with prehistoric tool contact with animal tissue. We compared Raman spectra and the types, abundance and distribution of micro-residues on the Denisova Cave artefacts with those on modern experimental stone tools (with known function). The results provide further support for Middle Palaeolithic processing of animal tissue and probable skin scraping at Denisova Cave.

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Introducing visual neighbourhood configurations for total viewsheds

Posted on May 27, 2018 by ARCAS

Publication date: August 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 96 Author(s): Tom Brughmans, Mereke van Garderen, Mark GillingsThe Visual Neighbourhood Configurations (VNCs) approach is presented: a new approach for exploring complex theories of visual phenomena in landscapes by processing total viewsheds. Such theories most commonly concern the configuration of visual properties of areas around locations rather than solely the visual properties of the locations themselves. The typical approach to interpreting total viewshed results by classifying cell values is therefore problematic because it does not take cells’ local areas into account. VNC overcomes this issue by enabling one to formally describe area-related aspects of the visibility theory, because it formally incorporates the area around a given viewpoint: the shape and size of neighbourhoods as well as, where relevant, the structure and expectation of visual property values within the neighbourhood. Following a brief review that serves to place the notion of the VNC in context, the method to derive visual neighbourhood configurations is explained as well as the VNC analysis tool software created to implement it. The use of the method is then illustrated through a case-study of seclusion, hiding and hunting locales afforded by the standing stone settings of Exmoor (United Kingdom).

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An experimental study of the patterned nature of anthropogenic bone breakage and its impact on bone surface modification frequencies

Posted on May 25, 2018 by ARCAS

Publication date: August 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 96 Author(s): Abel Moclán, Manuel Domínguez-RodrigoThe analysis of bone breakage is one of the most relevant issues of current taphonomic studies. Available experimental analogies aim at differentiating agencies in the production of fractured bones. Possible equifinality presented by different agents can hinder the characterisation of bone breakage at archaeological sites. Equally important is the potential distortion that bone-breaking processes introduce in bone surface modification (BSM) frequencies. This study presents an experimental approach to the problem of identifying signatures for anthropogenic bone breaking as a product of direct hammerstone percussion. This study also contributes to improving the existing analogical framework on processes related to bone breakage of medium-sized animals (80–200 kg), since most previous experimentation has focused on smaller (10–80 kg) and larger (200–800 kg) carcasses. It has been possible to verify the existence of non-random and non-intentional breakage patterns on long bones due to their shape and structural properties. Thus, this introduces the possibility of correctly identifying anthropogenic fracture patterns in the archaeological record. Additionally, it also opens up the possibility of finding different cultural patterns. It has frequently been argued that the frequency of bone surface modifications correlates with fragmentation intensity. However, this assertion remained untested until now. Here, we test the frequency and occurrence of percussion and cut marks in faunal assemblages according to the intensity of green bone fragmentation. The results also improve the current referential framework in reference to interpretation of notches produced by dynamic loading.

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Timber resources, transport and woodworking techniques in post-medieval Andalusia (Spain): Insights from dendroarchaeological research on historic roof structures

Posted on May 23, 2018 by ARCAS

Publication date: July 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 95 Author(s): Marta Domínguez-Delmás, Sjoerd van Daalen, Reyes Alejano-Monge, Tomasz WaznyWe present the results of dendroarchaeological investigations carried out on roof structures from two historic buildings in the Andalusian region (south of Spain). The Jaen cathedral, and the Colegial del Salvador church in Seville were both built on the sites of medieval mosques after centuries of using the Islamic buildings for Christian worship. Jaen cathedral contains roof structures dating from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, whereas those of the Colegial del Salvador were completed between 1703 CE and 1709. Historical sources report that wood from the Cazorla and Segura Mountains, located in the east of the region, was used in the construction of both buildings. Therefore they represent excellent case studies to investigate the supply of timber for construction purposes in post-medieval times, including aspects such as the transport of timber and the evolution of woodworking techniques throughout the centuries.During the inspection of the roof structures, we found different assembly marks in the 16th century roof of Jaen cathedral, and distinct tool marks in all researched structures. Furthermore, at the Colegial del Salvador church we found reused timbers and material evidence for historical rafting of timbers in the Guadalquivir river. We discuss these finds and compare them with parallels of other Spanish and European regions. The research also resulted in the successful dating of all construction phases of Jaen cathedral, confirming the historical information and the dating potential of chronologies of black pine from the Cazorla and Segura Mountains. At the Colegial del Salvador church only two timbers could be dated, demonstrating the complexity of the organization of timber supply for this building at the turn of the 18th century, and highlighting the need to continue developing reference chronologies at different elevations throughout the region.

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Gravettian weaponry: 23,500-year-old evidence of a composite barbed point from Les Prés de Laure (France)

Posted on May 21, 2018 by ARCAS

Publication date: Available online 21 May 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science Author(s): Tomasso Antonin, Rots Veerle, Purdue Louise, Beyries Sylvie, Buckley Mike, Cheval Carole, Cnuts Dries, Coppe Justin, Julien Marie-Anne, Grenet Michel, Lepers Christian, M’hamdi Mondher, Simon Patrick, Sorin Sabine, Porraz GuillaumeUnderstanding hunting technology is pivotal in the study of adaptive and innovative forces that influenced the evolution of prehistoric societies. The manufacture, design and use of hunting weapons involve technical processes such as those of tool miniaturization, blank standardization and projection modes, but also influence broader demographic structures such as human subsistence strategies, territorial organization and socio-economic structures. Here we present a unique discovery from a newly discovered site at Les Prés de Laure (Var, France). Excavations revealed a multi-stratified open-air site with archaeological units that were rapidly buried by the alluvium of the Jabron River. In a Gravettian layer dated between 25 and 23.5 ka cal BP, within an area apparently dedicated to horse carcasses processing and consumption, 11 backed points were discovered in direct association with altered bone remains. Wear and residue analysis of the lithic backed points in combination with complementary experimental data converge to indicate that the find represents a bone point armed with lithic barbs and used as hunting weapon. This discovery provides new evidence for the manufacture and use of hunting weaponry in a Gravettian context and stimulates discussion on Paleolithic weapon function and design, offering a unique window into the characterization of prehistoric hunting strategies.

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Editorial Board

Posted on May 17, 2018 by ARCAS

Publication date: June 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 94

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Middle Bronze Age societies and barrow line chronology. A case study from the Bukivna ‘necropolis’, Upper Dniester Basin, Ukraine

Posted on May 12, 2018 by ARCAS

Publication date: July 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 95 Author(s): Przemysław Makarowicz, Tomasz Goslar, Jakub Niebieszczański, Mateusz Cwaliński, Igor T. Kochkin, Jan Romaniszyn, Sergiy D. Lysenko, Tomasz WażnyThe area of the Upper Dniester Basin in Western Ukraine comprises one of the largest concentrations of barrows with the exception of the steppe zone. This article concerns the absolute chronology of one mound group in Bukivna, built in the Middle Bronze Age by the people of the Komarów culture. It also focuses on reconstructing the spatial arrangement of barrows and explaining the creation of their specific linear alignment. A Bayesian statistical analysis of radiocarbon AMS dates collected from five excavated tumuli revealed the chronological and spatial organization of the Bukivna barrows. Moreover, a seriation and correspondence analysis was performed on pottery from the barrows to expose the chronology of specific ornamentation groups. This research allowed for the scenario of the emergence of mounds in the first half of the 2nd millennium BC to be reconstructed. In light of the presented data, it is theorized that barrows were arranged in linear alignments along selected hill zones, although they did not necessarily proceed in a continuous or defined direction. Structuring of the funerary space resulted from the extension of mound groups, which probably represent family sub-necropolises. Linear arrangements of mounds were derived by merging the particular groups; barrows were erected in areas apart from the ‘planned’ structure, usually during different periods (but sometimes simultaneously). It was only after some time that the final alignment formation was accomplished, thus ending the process of structuring particular fragments of the barrow landscape.

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Zooarchaeology in the era of big data: Contending with interanalyst variation and best practices for contextualizing data for informed reuse

Posted on May 11, 2018 by ARCAS

Publication date: July 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 95 Author(s): Hannah Lau, Sarah Whitcher KansaNew digital publication technologies facilitate the publication of primary data and increase the ease with which archaeologists are able to share, combine, and synthesize large datasets. The research prospects that these technologies make possible are exciting, but they raise the issue of how comparable the original datasets really are. In this study we demonstrate an issue associated with many archaeological datasets: interanalyst variation. We conduct two independent analyses of one zooarchaeological assemblage and compare data. We consider the implications of the challenge interanalyst variation poses within projects and across projects. We then make recommendations for zooarchaeologists specifically, and for archaeologists more broadly, who are interested in publishing primary datasets in order to improve future understanding of these data and facilitate their reuse. These recommendations include specific guidance of what information needs to be published along with primary datasets to facilitate their responsible reuse in other projects, recommendations for incorporating interanalyst variation studies into research programs, and suggestions about what to do should analysts discover systematic biases in their analyses stemming from interanalyst variation.

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Identifying natural and anthropogenic drivers of prehistoric fire regimes through simulated charcoal records

Posted on May 10, 2018 by ARCAS

Publication date: July 2018Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 95 Author(s): Grant SnitkerArchaeological and paleoecological studies demonstrate that human-caused fires have long-term influences on terrestrial and atmospheric systems, including the transformation of “wild” landscapes into managed, agricultural landscapes. Sedimentary charcoal accumulations alone provide only limited information about the influence of human-caused fires on long-term fire regimes. Computational modeling offers a new approach to anthropogenic fire that links social and biophysical processes in a “virtual laboratory” where long-term scenarios can be simulated and compared with empirical charcoal data. This paper presents CharRec, a computational model of landscape fire, charcoal dispersion, and deposition that simulates charcoal records formed by multiple natural and anthropogenic fire regimes. CharRec is applied to a case study in the Canal de Navarrés region in eastern Spain to reveal the role of human-driven fire regimes during the early and middle Holocene. A statistical comparison of simulated charcoal records and empirical charcoal data from the Canal de Navarrés indicates that anthropogenic burning, following the Neolithic transition to agro-pastoral subsistence, was a primary driver of fire activity during the middle Holocene.

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