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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.

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.

Publication date: October 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 74 Author(s): Rebecca C. Redfern, Darren R. Gröcke, Andrew R. Millard, Victoria Ridgeway, Lucie Johnson, Joseph T. HefnerThis study investigated the ancestry, childhood residency and diet of 22 individuals buried at an A.D. 2nd and 4th century cemetery at Lant Street, in the southern burial area of Roman London. The possible presence of migrants was investigated using macromorphoscopics to assess ancestry, carbon and nitrogen isotopes to study diet, and oxygen isotopes to examine migration. Diets were found to be primarily C3-based with limited input of aquatic resources, in contrast to some other populations in Roman Britain and proximity to the River Thames. The skeletal morphology showed the likely African ancestry of four individuals, and Asian ancestry of two individuals, with oxygen isotopes indicating a circum-Mediterranean origin for five individuals. Our data suggests that the population of the southern suburb had an ongoing connection with immigrants, especially those from the southern Mediterranean.

Publication date: September 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 73

Publication date: October 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 74 Author(s): Jacqueline Pitt, Phillipa K. Gillingham, Mark Maltby, John R. StewartIntroduced into Europe during the Bronze- and Iron Ages as an exotic, non-native species, very little is currently understood about the origins and spread of early domestic fowl, Gallus gallus domesticus. Ecological niche modelling of extant Red Junglefowl, Gallus gallus, presents a unique opportunity to examine historical ecological implications associated with its descendant, the chicken, in early stages of domestication. We model the environmental conditions associated with Red Junglefowl populations both in south-east Asia, where the bird originates, and populations transported further afield as a consequence of human interaction. This allows us to establish the full extent of the ecological tolerance of the ancestor bird. We show that potential for suitable sets of environmental conditions for Red Junglefowl in Europe ranges from poor to limited, based on both current climate and when projecting to mid-Holocene (ca. 4000BCE) climate simulations. This suggests that human intervention played a vital contribution during early domestication to ensure the future widespread success of the chicken. These conclusions offer new insights into the archaeological evidence. We identify areas in the native range as the probable location of first domestication, and not China as has been suggested. We suggest that a dispersal route into Europe via the Mediterranean offers the best ecological potential to aid survival for a recently domesticated version of this species. Identifying the environmental tolerances of Red Junglefowl may also aid future conservation of this species, now highly endangered in its true wild form.

Publication date: October 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 74 Author(s): Jacqueline Pitt, Phillipa K. Gillingham, Mark Maltby, John R. StewartIntroduced into Europe during the Bronze- and Iron Ages as an exotic, non-native species, very little is currently understood about the origins and spread of early domestic fowl, Gallus gallus domesticus. Ecological niche modelling of extant Red Junglefowl, Gallus gallus, presents a unique opportunity to examine historical ecological implications associated with its descendant, the chicken, in early stages of domestication. We model the environmental conditions associated with Red Junglefowl populations both in south-east Asia, where the bird originates, and populations transported further afield as a consequence of human interaction. This allows us to establish the full extent of the ecological tolerance of the ancestor bird. We show that potential for suitable sets of environmental conditions for Red Junglefowl in Europe ranges from poor to limited, based on both current climate and when projecting to mid-Holocene (ca. 4000BCE) climate simulations. This suggests that human intervention played a vital contribution during early domestication to ensure the future widespread success of the chicken. These conclusions offer new insights into the archaeological evidence. We identify areas in the native range as the probable location of first domestication, and not China as has been suggested. We suggest that a dispersal route into Europe via the Mediterranean offers the best ecological potential to aid survival for a recently domesticated version of this species. Identifying the environmental tolerances of Red Junglefowl may also aid future conservation of this species, now highly endangered in its true wild form.