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Publication date: September 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 73 Author(s): Sophy Charlton, Michelle Alexander, Matthew Collins, Nicky Milner, Paul Mellars, Tamsin C. O’Connell, Rhiannon E. Stevens, Oliver E. CraigIn the last decade, our knowledge of the transition from foraging, fishing, and hunting to agricultural food production has been transformed through the molecular analysis of human remains. In Britain, however, the lack of Late Mesolithic human remains has limited our understanding of this dietary transition. Here, we report the use of a novel strategy to analyse otherwise overlooked material to identify additional human remains from this period. ZooMS, a method which uses bone collagen sequences to determine species, was applied to unidentifiable bone fragments from 5th millennium deposits from the Late Mesolithic site of Cnoc Coig (Oronsay, Inner Hebrides) using an innovative new methodology. All samples bar one produced ZooMS results, with 14/20 bone fragments identified as human, and the remainder a mixture of pig and seal. 70% of bone fragments had sufficient collagen for stable isotope analyses, however none of three human bone fragments analysed had sufficient endogenous DNA. By conducting AMS dating and stable isotope analysis on this identified collagen, we provide new data that supports the view that the exploitation of marine resources partially overlapped with the earliest agricultural communities in Britain, and thus argues against the idea that forager lifeways in Britain were immediately replaced by agriculture c.4000 cal. BC. Unfortunately, we were unable to explore the genetic relationship between contemporaneous farmers and foragers. However, the more persistent bone protein could be used to identify species, determine date, and assess diet. This novel approach is widely applicable to other early prehistoric sites with fragmentary skeletal material.

Publication date: June 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 70 Author(s): Kerstin Schillinger, Alex Mesoudi, Stephen J. LycettSpatio-temporal patterns of artifactual variation are increasingly being studied via the explicit application of cultural evolutionary theory and methods. Such broad-scale (macroevolutionary) patterns are mediated, however, by a series of small-scale (microevolutionary) processes that occur at the level of individual artifacts, and individual artifact users and producers. Within experimental biology, “model organisms” have played a crucial role in understanding the role of fundamental microevolutionary processes, such as mutation and the inheritance of variation, in respect to macroevolutionary patterns. There has, however, been little equivalent laboratory work to better understand how microevolutionary processes influence macroevolutionary patterns in artifacts and their analysis. Here, we adopt a “model artifact” approach to experimentally study the issues of copy error (mutation) and resultant phylogenetic signal in artifact traditions. We used morphometric procedures to examine shape copying error rates in our “model artifacts.” We first established experimentally that statistically different rates of copying error (mutation) could be induced when participants used two different types of shaping tool to produce copies of foam “artifacts.” Using this as a baseline, we then tested whether these differing mutation rates led to differing phylogenetic signal and accuracy in two separate experimental transmission chains (lineages), involving participants copying the previous participant’s artifact. The analysis demonstrated that phylogenetic reconstruction is more accurate in artifactual lineages where copying error is demonstrably lower. Such results demonstrate how fidelity of transmission impacts directly on the evolution of technological traditions and their empirical analysis. In particular, these results highlight that differing contexts of cultural transmission relating to fidelity might lead to differing patterns of resolution within reconstructed evolutionary sequences. Overall, these analyses demonstrate the importance of a “model artifact” approach in discussions of cultural evolution, equivalent in importance to the use of model organisms in evolutionary biology in order to better understand fundamental microevolutionary processes of direct relevance to macroevolutionary archaeological patterns.

Publication date: September 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 73 Author(s): Mélie Le Roy, Maïté Rivollat, Fanny Mendisco, Marie-Hélène Pemonge, Clément Coutelier, Christine Couture, Anne-marie Tillier, Stéphane Rottier, Marie-France DeguillouxThe French Paris Basin is well known as a complex cultural area of the Early/Middle Neolithic, particularly with respect to funerary practices. Gurgy “Les Noisats”, which is an important necropolis in the southern Paris basin, is a burial site (N = 128) associated with the first Neolithic groups established in that area. The understanding of the necropolis composition and organization is complicated given the substantial homogeneity of the site’s spatial organization in relation to a great diversity of characterized funerary traits. The unprecedented quantity of genetic (mitochondrial DNA), osteological (sex, age), and archaeological (funerary) data obtained for the Gurgy necropolis facilitates the search for potential correlations between cultural and biological (i.e. genetic and osteological) diversity at the site level. Despite the application of the powerful geographic information system, no correlation could be detected (i) between individual maternal lineages and specific bioarchaeological profiles (ii) or between maternal lineages and spatially identified bio-archaeological clusters. Therefore, analyses were performed to test for a correlation between the maternal ancestries of the individuals (i.e., hunter-gatherer/Central European farmer and Southern European farmer ancestries) and specific funerary traits. Again, the homogeneity of the funerary treatment of all of the individuals regardless of their potential maternal ancestries is striking. Taken together, our results regarding the way in which the Gurgy necropolis functioned provide strong evidence for the acculturation of all maternal ancestries groups, at least in terms of funerary practice. In addition, the demonstration of a recurrent association of adult men and immature individuals suggests a patrilocal system, which could be consistent with the detected acculturation of women who present a hunter-gatherer ancestry.

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

Publication date: September 2016Source:Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 73 Author(s): Jaroslav Pavelka, Ladislav Smejda, Radovan Hynek, Stepanka Hrdlickova KuckovaOur understanding of human diet in different periods of history can be enhanced by investigating direct evidence represented by accidentally preserved food remains found on pottery. So far, this task has been accomplished by the application of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, often in combination with stable isotope analysis. These methods require specialised laboratories and their cost prevents wider penetration into the daily practice of archaeology and related disciplines. We have tested commercially available immunochromatographic kits for this task, which are designed to detect contaminants and allergens in the modern food industry. Unlike the previously published studies on archaeological material, we focus specifically on the identification of damaged and denatured proteins, which correspond better to the state of preservation of proteins in desiccated and carbonised organic residues that have survived from antiquity. We report the first successful qualitative detection of bird eggs, animal meat, milk (and species of origin), and to some extent also the presence of plant food, especially cereals and hazelnuts. The immunoassay is a methodology that is well suited for use in the field and resource-poor environments, so it is ideal for most archaeological excavations and museums. With necessary caution, the results can be used as a proxy for human diet in the past and reconstructions of anthropogenically modified environments.

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.

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: 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.