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Publication date: Available online 13 June 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science Author(s): Damian EvansEarly Khmer societies developed extensive settlement complexes that were largely made of non-durable materials. These fragile urban areas perished many centuries ago, and thus a century and a half of scholarly research has focussed on the more durable components of Khmer culture, in particular the famous temples and the texts and works of art that are normally found within them. In recent years however there has been a considerable effort to broaden the perspective beyond conventional approaches to Khmer history and archaeology. Remarkable advances have been made in the domain of remote sensing and archaeological mapping, including the application of advanced geospatial techniques such as airborne laser scanning within studies of heritage landscapes at Angkor and beyond. This article describes the most recent applications of the technology in Cambodia, including the results of a newly-completed campaign of airborne laser scanning in 2015—the most extensive acquisition ever undertaken by an archaeological project—and underscores the importance of using these methods as part of a problem-oriented research program that speaks to broader issues within history and archaeology.

Publication date: July 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 71

Publication date: June 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 70 Author(s): Francesco d’Errico, Laure Dayet Bouillot, Marcos García-Diez, Africa Pitarch Martí, Daniel Garrido Pimentel, João ZilhãoThe red disks from El Castillo Cave are among the earliest known cave paintings. Here, we combine the morphometric and technological study of red disks from two areas located at the end of the cave with the microscopic, elemental, and mineralogical analysis of the pigment and compare the results obtained with observations derived from experimental replication. Ergonomic constraints imply that a number of disks were made by adults, and the differences in pigment texture and composition suggest that they correspond to an accumulation through time of panels made by different persons who shared neither the same technical know-how nor, very possibly, the same symbolic system.

Publication date: August 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 72 Author(s): Daniel Weidele, Mereke van Garderen, Mark Golitko, Gary M. Feinman, Ulrik BrandesIts focus on dependencies and patterns in relational data makes network science a promising addition to the analytic toolbox in archaeology. Despite its tradition in a number of other fields, however, the methodology of network science is only in development and its scope and proper usage are subject to debate. We argue that the historical linkage with graph theory and limitations in commonly available software form an obstacle to leveraging the full potential of network methods. This is illustrated via replication of a study of Maya obsidian (Golitko et al. Antiquity, 2012), in which it seemed necessary to discard detailed information in order to represent data in networks suitable for further processing. We propose means to avoid such information loss by using methods capable of handling valued rather than binarized data. The resulting representations corroborate previous conclusions but are more reliable and thus justify a more detailed interpretation of shifting supply routes as an underlying process contributing to the collapse of Maya urban centers. Some general conclusions for the use of network science in archaeology are offered.

Publication date: September 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 73 Author(s): A. Nowell, C. Walker, C.E. Cordova, C.J.H. Ames, J.T. Pokines, D. Stueber, R. DeWitt, A.S.A. al-SoulimanExcavations at Shishan Marsh, a former desert oasis in Azraq, northeast Jordan, reveal a unique ecosystem and provide direct family-specific protein residue evidence of hominin adaptations in an increasingly arid environment approximately 250,000 years ago. Based on lithic, faunal, paleoenvironmental and protein residue data, we conclude that Late Pleistocene hominins were able to subsist in extreme arid environments through a reliance on surprisingly human-like adaptations including a broadened subsistence base, modified tool kit and strategies for predator avoidance and carcass protection.

Publication date: June 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 70 Author(s): M. Willmes, L. Kinsley, M.-H. Moncel, R.A. Armstrong, M. Aubert, S. Eggins, R. GrünStrontium isotope ratios measured in fossil human teeth are a powerful tool to investigate past mobility patterns. In order to apply this method, the sample needs to be investigated for possible diagenetic alteration and a least destructive analytical technique needs to be employed for the isotopic analysis. We tested the useability of U, Th, and Zn distribution maps to identify zones of diagenetic overprint in human teeth. Areas with elevated U concentrations in enamel were directly associated with diagenetic alterations in the Sr isotopic composition. Once suitable domains within the tooth are identified, strontium isotope ratios can be determined either with micro-drilling followed by TIMS analysis or in situ LA-MC-ICP-MS. Obtaining accurate 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratios from LA-MC-ICP-MS is complicated by the potential occurrence of a significant direct interference on mass 87 from a polyatomic compound. We found that this polyatomic compound is present in our analytical setup but is Ar rather than Ca based, as was previously suggested. The effect of this interference can be significantly reduced by tuning the instrument for reduced oxide levels. We applied this improved analytical protocol to a range of human and animal teeth and compared the results with micro-drilling strontium isotopic analysis using TIMS. Tuning for reduced oxide levels allowed the measurement of accurate strontium isotope ratios from human and animal tooth enamel and dentine, even at low Sr concentrations. The average offset between laser ablation and solution analysis using the improved analytical protocol is 38 ± 394 ppm (n = 21, 2σ). LA-MC-ICP-MS thus provides a powerful alternative to micro-drilling TIMS for the analysis of fossil human teeth. This method can be used to untangle diagenetic overprint from the intra-tooth isotopic variability, which results from genuine changes in 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratios related to changes in food source, and by extension mobility.

Publication date: August 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 72 Author(s): Anna E. Spinek, Wiesław Lorkiewicz, Joanna Mietlińska, Ewa Sewerynek, Arkadiusz Kłys, David Caramelli, Elżbieta Żądzińska

Publication date: Available online 29 June 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science Author(s): Mike W. Morley, Paul Goldberg, Thomas Sutikna, Matthew W. Tocheri, Linda C. Prinsloo, Jatmiko, E. Wahyu Saptomo, Sri Wasisto, Richard G. RobertsLiang Bua, a karstic cave located on the island of Flores in eastern Indonesia, is best known for yielding the holotype of the diminutive hominin Homo floresiensis from Late Pleistocene sediments. Modern human remains have also been recovered from the Holocene deposits, and abundant archaeological and faunal remains occur throughout the sequence. The cave, the catchment in which it is located and the gross aggradational phases of the sediment sequence have all been subject to a great deal of scientific scrutiny since the discovery of the holotype of H. floresiensis in 2003. A recent program of geoarchaeological research has extended analyses of the site’s deposits to the microstratigraphic (micromorphological) level. The stratigraphic sequence in the cave is well defined but complex, comprising interstratified sediments of diverse lithologies and polygenetic origins, including volcanic tephras, fine-grained colluvium, coarse autogenic limestone gravels, speleothems and anthropogenic sediments, such as combustion features. The sedimentological and chemical heterogeneity suggest that processes of site formation and diagenesis varied markedly through time, both laterally and vertically. We present initial results from samples collected in 2014 from an excavation area near the rear of the cave, which yielded radiocarbon ages from charcoal that fill an important temporal gap in the chrono-stratigraphic sequence of previously excavated areas of the site. The results indicate marked changes in site environment and hominin activity during the Late Pleistocene, relating primarily to the degree to which the cave was connected to the hydrogeological system and to the varying intensities of use of the cave by hominins. Importantly, we identify anthropogenic signs of fire-use at the site between 41 and 24 thousand years ago, most likely related to the presence of modern humans.

Publication date: August 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 72 Author(s): Benjamin S. Arbuckle, Max D. Price, Hitomi Hongo, Banu ÖksüzIn this paper we address the timing of and mechanisms for the appearance of domestic cattle in the Eastern Fertile Crescent (EFC) region of SW Asia through the analysis of new and previously published species abundance and biometric data from 86 archaeofaunal assemblages. We find that Bos exploitation was a minor component of animal economies in the EFC in the late Pleistocene and early Holocene but increased dramatically in the sixth millennium BC. Moreover, biometric data indicate that small-sized Bos, likely representing domesticates, appear suddenly in the region without any transitional forms in the early to mid sixth millennium BC. This suggests that domestic cattle were imported into the EFC, possibly associated with the spread of the Halaf archaeological culture, several millennia after they first appear in the neighboring northern Levant.

Publication date: June 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 70 Author(s): Elena Karpova, Vladimir Vasiliev, Victor Mamatyuk, Natalia Polosmak, Lyudmila KundoThe collection of textiles from Xiongnu burial was obtained in the recent years as a result of research of the Russian-Mongolian expedition led by N. Polosmak. This collection is a unique source of the different types of information. Xiongnu throughout their long history controlled the Central Asia regions of the Silk Road, by which many and varied products, including textiles and wool, were brought to China from the west. The woolen fabrics and textiles of high quality were found in the Xiongnu noble burials located in the mountains of Mongolia. An analysis of their dyes composition by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) showed that the woolen fabrics were dyed with plant and insect dyestuffs. Each sample analyzed was dyed with a set of dyestuffs that indicates that dyers had not only the necessary and various dyes, but possessed highly developed craftsmanship of dyeing. Based on the results of this research it can be proposed that the dyeing of the woolen textiles found in the graves of the Xiongnu nobility was carried out in the manufactories of the Mediterranean, known for their fabrics dyeing culture. Numerous Chinese-made silk fabrics were dyed with traditional Han epoch plant dyes – indigo and Indian madder. Dyes composition of the silk textile fundamentally differs from dyes of the woolen fabrics by the absence of dyestuffs of insect origin.