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Publication date: July 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 71 Author(s): Brett Kaufman, Roald Docter, Christian Fischer, Fethi Chelbi, Boutheina Maraoui TelminiExcavations of the Phoenician and Punic layers at the site of Bir Massouda in Carthage have provided evidence for ferrous metallurgical activity spanning several centuries. Archaeometallurgical analyses of slagged tuyères, slag, and alloys using optical microscopy, portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (pXRF), and variable pressure scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (VPSEM-EDS) show that Carthaginian smiths were conducting primary smithing and forging of wrought iron and steel. Although the majority of slag specimens are remnant from ferrous production, a few select finds are from bronze recycling. The corpus represents the earliest known ferrous metallurgy in North Africa. As a Phoenician colony then later as an independent imperial metropolis, Carthage specialized in centrally organized ferrous technology at the fringes of the settlement in areas such as Bir Massouda and the Byrsa Hill from before 700 to 146 BC.

Publication date: September 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 73 Author(s): Scott G. Ortman, Kaitlyn E. Davis, José Lobo, Michael E. Smith, Luis M.A. Bettencourt, Aaron TrumboThere is a longstanding debate in anthropology and history regarding the extent to which the determinants of past economic change are similar in any specific ways to those that operate today. In this paper, we examine the extent to which increasing returns to settlement scale in material outputs, which are apparent in contemporary urban systems, also operated in the Late Pre-Hispanic Tarma and Mantaro drainages of the Peruvian Central Andes. Proxy measures for material outputs across settlements and households show that this region experienced a marked economic expansion following its incorporation into the Inka Empire ca. 1450 CE. We argue that these changes in living standards are consistent with expectations of an emerging framework known as settlement scaling theory that specifies relationships between human aggregation, social connectivity and material outputs. Our results suggest that intensification of human social connectivity and material flows—as measured through settlement size distributions—can be sufficient to raise living standards even in the absence of markets.

Publication date: Available online 30 June 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science Author(s): Lori D’Ortenzio, Isabelle Ribot, Emeline Raguin, Annabelle Schattmann, Benoit Bertrand, Bonnie Kahlon, Megan BrickleyDiagnosing previous episodes of vitamin D deficiency is particularly challenging due to the subtle changes retained in the skeleton. This study investigates whether abnormal mineralisation in tooth dentin can be observed in archaeological individuals with past vitamin D deficiency. Methods taken from the clinical literature were used, where defects in tooth dentin of those with deficiency have been identified. SEM and histological analysis of tooth dentin were utilized to diagnose vitamin D deficiency in adult and juvenile skeletal remains in individuals who recovered from a period of deficiency. Archaeological skeletons were from St. Matthew and St. Marie, Quebec (1771–1860), and St. Jacques, France (1225–1798). The objective was to determine if interglobular dentin could be observed in individuals with skeletal evidence of vitamin D deficiency. A differential diagnosis revealed that the only conditions that cause mineralisation defects are those that disrupt vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorous pathways, with nutritional rickets being the most common cause. Results found that all of the archaeological individuals (6/6) who showed skeletal evidence of past deficiency displayed the formation of interglobular dentin (spaces) due to unfused calcospherites, whereas interglobular dentin was absent in modern healthy controls (n = 3). We propose that a temporary inhibition of dentin growth leads to modification of calcospherite shape and size, resulting in characteristic interglobular spaces in individuals with deficiency. Although further research is needed, we conclude that systemic mineralisation problems of individuals with deficiency may cause dentin mineralisation to stop or falter, preventing further dentin growth and fusion. Dentin has the potential to enable past episodes of vitamin D deficiency to be recognized in cases where skeletal indicators are not clear.

Publication date: June 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 70 Author(s): Murilo Q.R. Bastos, Ricardo V. Santos, Sheila M.F. M. de Souza, Claudia Rodrigues-Carvalho, Robert H. Tykot, Della C. Cook, Roberto V. SantosBrazil was the main destination of enslaved Africans during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in the New World. We have analyzed isotopes of carbon, nitrogen and strontium in the enamel and dentin of teeth derived from remains of 41 enslaved Africans excavated in Pretos Novos cemetery (Rio de Janeiro) and Sé de Salvador cathedral (Salvador) in order to investigate aspects related to the geographical origins and dietary habits in Africa in these two groups with differing histories.Strontium isotope results indicate a wide range of geographical origin for the analyzed individuals of both cemeteries, being significantly wider in Pretos Novos. Carbon and nitrogen isotopes results suggest that the diet of most individuals was based on plants. Only 26% probably had access to a significant amount of animal protein. The results also show that while some individuals were consuming C3 plants such as yams and manioc, others had a diet based more on C4 plants such as sorghum, millet and maize.Interpreted in conjunction with archaeological and historical evidence, the findings of this study, including the high variability of 87Sr/86Sr, δ13C and δ15N values, contribute to the process of reconstructing the dramatic history of slavery in Brazil and in the Americas.

Publication date: Available online 17 June 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science Author(s): Richard I. Macphail, Elizabeth Graham, John Crowther, Simon TurnerMarco Gonzalez, on the south-west end of the island of Ambergris Caye, Belize, has well-preserved Maya archaeological stratigraphy dating from Preclassic times (ca. 300 B.C.) to the Late Classic period (ca. A.D. 550/600 to 700/760). Although later occupations are recorded by house platforms and inhumations (Terminal Classic to Early Postclassic), and use of the site continued until the 16th century A.D., intact stratigraphy is rare in these cases owing to a greater degree of disturbance. Nonetheless, understanding site formation entails accounting for all processes, including disturbance. The site’s depositional sequence—as revealed through soil micromorphology and chemistry and detailed here—has yielded critical information in two spheres of research. As regards archaeology and the elucidation of Maya activities on the caye over time, soil micromorphology has contributed beyond measure to what we have been able to distinguish as material remains of cultural activity. Detailed descriptions of the nature of the material remains has in turn helped us to clarify or alter interpretations based on artefacts that have been identified or sediments characterised according to traditional recovery techniques. The other major sphere in which soil micromorphology and chemistry play a critical role is in assessment of the environmental impact of human activity, which enables us to construct and test hypotheses concerning how the site formed over time; what materials and elements contributed to the character of the sediments, especially in the formation of a specific Maya Dark Earth type that is developed from carbonate rich deposits; and how the modern surface soils acquired the appearance of a Dark Earth, but essentially differ from them. In terms of agricultural soil sustainability, the Marco Gonzalez surface soil is neo-formed by a woodland vegetation drawing upon the nutrients and constituents present in both the Dark Earth and underlying better preserved stratified deposits.

Publication date: August 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 72 Author(s): E. Ben-Yosef, A. Gidding, L. Tauxe, U. Davidovich, M. Najjar, T.E. LevyThis paper presents results of an archaeomagnetic study of slag from four Early Bronze (EB) Age copper production sites in the Faynan Copper Ore District and the northern Arabah Valley (modern Israel and Jordan). The results provide age constraints for metallurgical activities at these sites. Together with previously published data, they indicate copper production around ca. 2900 cal. BCE (EB II-III transition) and between ca. 2600-1950 cal. BCE, spanning the later part of the EB III and the entire EB IV period. These data strongly suggest a direct link between Faynan and the Old Kingdom of Egypt, which is reflected in the most significant phase of copper production and trade in the northern Arabah prior to the Iron Age, and in a settlement wave in the Negev Highlands. In addition, the results indicate that during the late EB II copper was smelted up to 40 km away from the mines. This is evident at the unique cultic site of Ashalim, located on the main road between Faynan, southeast of the Dead Sea, and the settled areas in the core of Canaan.

Publication date: September 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 73 Author(s): Eelco J. RohlingQuantitative estimates of climate variability are increasingly important in interpretations of archaeological turnovers in arid regions. Variations in lake levels or lake-water oxygen isotope ratios (δ18O) are often used to infer droughts or humid periods, along with speleothem δ18O, pollen, and windblown dust records. Key examples are the centennial-scale Holocene events associated with the end of the Bronze Age (∼1200 BCE), the end of the Copper Age (∼4000 BCE), and the onset of Neolithic expansion (∼6200 BCE). Whether explicitly stated or only implied, causality between archaeological turnovers and inferred droughts is often ascribed to a disturbance to food resources, which means a disturbance to the agricultural potential of the study region. In the present study, a simple framework of equations is presented for evaluation of this causality. It quantitatively reveals significant complications. In one example, substantially improved crop-growing potential is found to coincide with dropping lake levels, which reflect significant net drought. The complications mainly arise from: (1) control of annually averaged climate conditions on lake changes versus control of seasonal conditions on the yield potential of fields; and (2) changes in the ratios between the overall catchment area of a lake or field, and the surface area of the lake or field itself. The results demonstrate that lake records per se do not satisfactorily reflect agricultural potential, but also that this gap may be bridged with targeted information collection about the regional setting. In particular, improved results may be obtained from detailed assessments of change in the catchment ratios of the lake(s) and field(s) that are being studied (e.g., using digital elevation models), along with expert opinions on field irrigation potential. The scenarios presented here then allow initial field-based assessments and hypothesis formulation to prompt more sophisticated modelling.

Publication date: September 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 73 Author(s): F. Pagliaro, F. Nardecchia, F. Gugliermetti, F. BisegnaThe indoor microclimate of ancient storage buildings has been widely investigated since they could reach optimal conditions for goods preservation only through passive systems. However it is difficult to fully understand the real behaviour of these systems since they are often not existing anymore nowadays: this is the case of the warehouses of Portus, an archaeological site originally composed of about 300 storage-rooms. A significant amount of important information, like the one related to shape and structure, are not available for the archaeologists who investigate the site. A detailed analysis of these buildings has been carried out in order to assess the optimal indoor microclimate for wheat storage. Different hypotheses focusing on the presence of openings have been developed, even if the archaeologists suppose that the rooms were completely closed. The combination of numerical tools and historical research allowed to formulate, test and validate a hypothesis regarding the architecture and the operation of these ancient buildings. In the present paper, conjugated heat transfer in different configurations of the warehouses of Portus has been numerically studied, taking into account the models subjected to different transient temperatures as a consequence of the summer outdoor microclimate. This work aims to propose and validate archaeological and structural hypotheses regarding the functioning of storage-rooms in Ancient Rome, through an improved and optimized definition of the reconstruction of one of the warehouses of Portus.

Publication date: Available online 20 June 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science Author(s): Federica Sulas, Jeffrey Fleisher, Stephanie Wynne-JonesPast urban settlements in tropical island environments offer particularly challenging sites for mainstream archaeology. Often associated with shallow stratigraphic sequences, archaeological sediments and soils in these sites are strongly influenced by local geology and seawater. This study discusses the advantages and challenges of developing an integrated geoarchaeological programme to examine the use of space at the Swahili stonetown of Songo Mnara Island, Tanzania. This exceptionally well preserved site, occupied for less than two centuries (C14th–16th AD), comprises a complex urban layout with stone-built houses, wattle-and-daub structures, funerary complexes, activity areas such as wells, and open areas. The programme has combined geoarchaeological (soil macro- and micromorphology, ICP-AES, pH, EC), geophysical (magnetic susceptibility) and archaeological (large excavations, test trenches, artefact distribution mapping) techniques to investigate the use of space across different contexts. Initial geoarchaeological prospection and opportunistic soil sampling have allowed framing of the island’s environmental settings and archaeological deposits as well as outlining open spaces in between buildings. Subsequent research applied a systematic sampling strategy to map geochemical and artefact distributions in conjunction with context-specific soil micromorphology. The results provide a means to map out the impact of occupation across the site as well as to differentiate between open, roofed and unroofed spaces. ICP-AES results, for example, demonstrate that measurements of Ca, Mg, P, S and Sr levels can help discriminate occupation/activity areas in tropical island environments. They also indicate that the depletion of certain elements (e.g. Na, K, and Ni) should be considered as a means of differentiating between roofed and unroofed spaces. The combination of different methodologies demonstrates the importance of addressing discrepancies as well as correlations between multiple datasets for deciphering features within urban spaces in tropical environments and interpreting ancient activities that occurred within them.

Publication date: Available online 8 June 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science Author(s): H. Kory Cooper, Owen K. Mason, Victor Mair, John F. Hoffecker, Robert J. SpeakmanSix metal and composite metal artifacts were excavated from a late prehistoric archaeological context at Cape Espenberg on the northern coast of the Seward Peninsula in Alaska. X-ray fluorescence identified two of these artifacts as smelted industrial alloys with large proportions of tin and lead. The presence of smelted alloys in a prehistoric Inuit context in northwest Alaska is demonstrated here for the first time and indicates the movement of Eurasian metal across the Bering Strait into North America before sustained contact with Europeans.