Search

The past decade has witnessed an intensification of research into the use of pottery by hunter-gatherers. Long viewed by Western scholars as a marginal practice among these groups, pottery production is now known to have been widespread among prehistoric hunter-gatherers, many of whom practised no other activities associated with agriculture. In emphasising the centrality of ceramics to these communities, however, we risk marginalising those who did not adopt pottery. Here, the authors critically examine a series of different models proposed for hunter-gatherer pottery innovation and adoption within the context of the aceramic communities who inhabited Britain and Ireland during the fifth millennium cal BC.

The Neolithization of Northern Eurasia is marked by the emergence of pottery among hunter-gatherer societies. The driving forces behind the adoption of ceramic cooking vessels among non-agricultural societies remain unclear, although previous research, mainly in North East Asia (e.g. Japan, Korea and the Russian Far East), suggests that it was adopted as a specialist technology for processing aquatic resources, linked to the intensification of fishing activities and a move to sedentism. The stratified site of Zamostje 2 in the forest zone of the Volga-Oka region includes both aceramic Mesolithic and two early ceramic horizons dating to Early Neolithic (EN) and Middle Neolithic (MN). This provides a unique opportunity to look at the impacts of the adoption of pottery on the wider economy and determine whether pottery function changes over time. This was achieved through the analysis of lipids from 166 potsherds dating from the earliest phases (mid-6th millennium cal BC) to the MN (5th millennium cal BC). Contrary to our expectations, the pottery from the EN phase was used to process a broad range of foodstuffs including terrestrial resources, such as forest fruits, in addition to freshwater fish. In contrast, pottery from the MN phase was used exclusively for processing aquatic resources. The results show that in this case, pottery was adopted as a more general-purpose cooking container, at least in the earliest phases of use, and that a specialist function only emerged later.

The Eastern European steppe and forest-steppe is a key region for understanding the emergence of pottery in Europe. The vast region encompasses the basins of two major waterways, the Don and the Volga rivers, and was occupied by hunter-gatherer-fisher communities attracted to highly productive forest/aquatic ecotones. The precise dates for the inception of pottery production in this region and the function of pottery is unknown, but such information is vital for charting the pan-Eurasian dispersal of pottery technology and whether there were common motivations for its adoption. To investigate, we conducted AMS dating, including a re-evaluation of legacy radiocarbon dates together with organic residue analysis and microscopy. The dating programme was able to clarify the sequence and show that hunter-gatherer pottery production was unlikely in this region before the 6th millennium BC. Regarding use, stable isotope and molecular analysis of 160 pottery samples from 35 sites across the region shows that terrestrial animal carcass fats were preferentially processed in pots at Middle Volga sites whereas aquatic resources dominate the residues in pottery from the Middle and Upper Don basin. This is supported by fragments of fish, legumes and grasses in the available charred deposits adhering to the inside of pottery from the Don basin. Since the sites from both river basins had similar environmental settings and were broadly contemporaneous, it is posited that pottery use was under strong cultural control, recognisable as separate sub-regional culinary traditions. The ‘aquatic hypothesis’, previously suggested to explain the emergence of Eurasian pottery, cannot be substantiated in this context.

The emergence of pottery in Europe is associated with two distinct traditions: hunter-gatherers in the east of the continent during the early 6th millennium BC and early agricultural communities in the south-west in the late 7th millennium BC. Here we investigate the function of pottery from the site of Rakushechny Yar, located at the Southern fringe of Eastern Europe, in this putative contact zone between these two economic ‘worlds’. To investigate, organic residue analysis was conducted on 120 samples from the Early Neolithic phase (ca. mid-6th millennium BC) along with microscopic and SEM analysis of associated foodcrusts. The results showed that the earliest phase of pottery use was predominantly used to process riverine resources. Many of the vessels have molecular and isotopic characteristics consistent with migratory fish, such as sturgeon, confirmed by the identification of sturgeon bony structures embedded in the charred surface deposits. There was no evidence of dairy products in any of the vessels, despite the fact these have been routinely identified in coeval sites to the south. Further analysis of some of the mammalian bones using ZooMS failed to demonstrate that domesticated animals were present in the Early Neolithic. Nevertheless, we argue that intensive exploitation of seasonally migratory fish, accompanied by large-scale pottery production, created storable surpluses that led to similar socio-economic outcomes as documented in early agricultural societies. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12520-021-01412-2.

This paper focuses on the functional analysis of Swifterbant pottery (c. 5000–3800 cal BC) in the Lower Rhine-Meuse area (the Netherlands). It examines pottery use across the transition to agriculture and aims to assess temporal changes in human-animal relations during the 5th millennium BC in the Lower Rhine-Meuse area through lipid residue analysis. We conducted lipid residue analysis of 49 samples from four Swifterbant sites: Hardinxveld-Giessendam Polderweg, Hardinxveld-Giessendam De Bruin, Brandwijk-het Kerkhof, and Hazendonk. A combined approach using both GC-MS and GC-C-IRMS of residues absorbed into the ceramic was employed to identify their context. Their context was then compared to published faunal datasets to present the relative abundance of taxa detected in the lipid residues. Evidence of processing freshwater fish was found in all sites, presenting that it was a continuous and primary function of Swifterbant pottery in the Lower Rhine-Meuse area starting from its first appearance at c. 5000 cal BC till the end of 5th millennium BC regardless of vessel form, size, decoration or temper. The results of our analysis also present temporal changes in the exploitation of food resources from the early to the late 5th millennium BC. From the mid 5th millennium BC onwards, vessels were also used to process different ranges of foodstuffs such as terrestrial resources and dairy products. The identification of dairy residue is the first direct evidence so far from Swifterbant pottery. We tentatively explain these results as an indication of presence of different culinary practices that had developed through the 5th millennium in the Lower Rhine-Meuse area and that the use of Swifterbant pottery is a direct reflection of changing cultural preferences on food preparation and consumption.

With the arrival of the Early Neolithic Globular Amphora and Corded Ware cultures into the southeastern Baltic, ca. 2900/2800–2400 cal BC, a new type of economy was introduced, animal husbandry. However, the degree to which this transformed the subsistence economy is unknown. Here, we conducted organic residue analyses of 64 ceramic vessels to identify their contents. The vessels were sampled from 10 Lithuanian archaeological sites dating across the Subneolithic-Neolithic transition to the Early Bronze Age (ca. 2900/2800–1300 cal BC). Our results demonstrate that regardless of location or vessel type, many ceramics were used to process aquatic resources. Against our expectations, this association continued even after marked economic change concurrent with the migration of pastoralists from central and southeastern Europe, as evidenced by recent ancient DNA analysis of human remains. Moreover, we observed dairy fats in pottery from all cultures of the Early Neolithic (i.e. Rzucewo, Globular Amphora and Corded Ware) but unlike other regions of Europe, it seems that these were incorporated into indigenous culinary practices. Furthermore, some vessels were used to process plant foods, and others may have been used for the production and/or storage of birch bark tar. However, evidence for domesticated plant processing, for example millet, was absent. We show that organic residue analysis of pottery provides a different picture of past consumption patterns compared to the stable isotope analysis of human remains from isolated burials where a clear dietary shift is evident. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s12520-019-00804-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Organic residue analysis of ancient ceramic vessels enables the investigation of natural resources that were used in daily cooking practices in different part of the world. Despite many methodological advances, the utilization of plants in pottery has been difficult to demonstrate chemically, hindering the study of their role in ancient society, a topic that is especially important to understanding early agricultural practices at the start of the Neolithic period. Here, we present the first lipid residue study on the Chinese Neolithic pottery dated to 5.0 k - 4.7 k cal BC from the Tianluoshan site, Zhejiang province, a key site with early evidence for rice domestication. Through the identification of novel molecular biomarkers and extensive stable isotope analysis, we suggest that the pottery in Tianluoshan were largely used for processing starchy plant foods. These results not only highlight the significance of starchy plants in Neolithic southern China but also show a clear difference with other contemporary sites in northern Eurasia, where pottery is clearly orientated to aquatic resource exploitation. These differences may be linked with the early development of rice agriculture in China compared to its much later adoption in adjacent northerly regions.

The combined use of microscopy and organic residue analysis on stone tools from the Early Mesolithic site of Star Carr, England, has tentatively identified residues consistent with pine (Pinaceae family) tree compounds. Microscopic residues from nine stone tools, originating from several locations and dated between ca 9300–8500 cal BC, were found to contain traces of diterpene compounds, consistent with dehydroabietic acid (DHA), 7-oxo-dehydroabietic acid (7-oxo-DHA), and dehydro-7-dehydroabietic acid (dehydro-7-DHA) through analysis by GC–MS. Sediment samples taken directly underneath each tool did not contain any of the above compounds associated with Pinaceae. The results suggest the use of Pinaceae resin by Early Mesolithic hunter-gatherers in this region.

International audience; The early phases of Neolithic expansion in the Central and Western Mediterranean are relatively poorly understood with regards to the diversity in the subsistence economy and the degree of interaction with indigenous hunter-gatherers. Recent analysis of pottery manufacturing techniques also points to a surprisingly diverse range of practices across the region. Here, we explore the use of pottery during the early phases of the Neolithic in the Northwestern Mediterranean, through analysis of organic residues absorbed in the pots of the Pendimoun rock-shelter (Impresso-Cardial complex) in Southeastern France. Using molecular and single-compounds stable carbon isotopes analyses, our study reveals that the majority of pots were used for processing wild or domesticated ruminant carcase fats, although lipids derived from cereals and wild non-ruminant fats, such as hares, cannot be excluded. In addition, a few of the earlier Impressa vessels showed the presence of beeswax and porcine fats. Correlations between the contents of the vessels and their volume were found, suggesting that vessels were manufactured for specific uses. Only one vessel from the Cardial phase showed evidence of dairy fats strengthening the notion that milk was not heavily or systematically exploited by the earliest Neolithic populations of the Mediterranean. Overall, however, our study calls for more detailed regional investigations to fully understand the transition to farming according to the local landscape and environmental context.

The Siwa archaeological culture (ca. 3350 and 2650 cal yr BP) has often been associated with the tribes referenced in textual sources as Qiang and Rong: prized captives commonly sacrificed by the Shang and marauding hordes who toppled the Western Zhou dynasty. In early Chinese writings, food plays a key role in accentuating the ‘sino-barbarian’ dichotomy believed to have taken root over 3000 years ago, with the Qiang and Rong described as nomadic pastoralists who consumed more meat than grain and knew little of proper dining etiquette. To date, however, little direct archaeological evidence has allowed us to reconstruct the diet and foodways of the groups who occupied the Loess Plateau during this pivotal period. Here we present the results of the first ceramic use-wear study performed on the Siwama’anjars from the site of Zhanqi, combined with the molecular and isotopic characterization of lipid residues from foodcrusts, and evidence from experimental cooking. We report molecular data indicating the preparation of meals composed of millet and ruminant dairy among the Siwa community of Zhanqi. Use-wear analysis shows that Zhanqi community members were sophisticated creators of ceramic equipment, thema’ancooking pot, which allowed them to prepare a wide number of dishes with limited fuel. These findings support recent isotope studies at Zhanqi as well as nuance the centrality of meat in the Siwa period diet.

During the Late Glacial, hunter-gatherers began using ceramic cooking containers in three separate geographic regions of East Asia: China, Japan and in the Russian Far East. While recent research has clarified the use of early pottery in Japan, very little is known about what led to the emergence of pottery in the other two areas, including the likely environmental, economic or cultural drivers. In this paper we focus on a series of key sites along the Amur River in the Russian Far East, where early pottery has been recovered from securely-dated contexts that span ca. 16,200 to 10,200 years ago (cal BP). Interpreting how these ceramic vessels were used has been difficult because the region’s acidic soils make palaeo-economic reconstructions challenging. To address this gap in knowledge we undertook lipid residue analysis of 28 pot sherds from the sites of Khummi, Gasya, and Goncharka 1 on the Lower Amur River, and the Gromatukha site on the Middle Amur. Our results indicate that pottery was employed to process aquatic oils at sites on the Lower Amur, a pattern of use that aligns closely with studies conducted in Japan, and suggests that fishing – probably of salmonids and freshwater fish – was becoming increasingly important during this period. In contrast, the results from the Middle Amur show a significant contribution of lipids from ruminant animals, indicating that these vessels were being used in different ways. Interestingly, these regional differences in pottery use also map onto contrasting manufacturing techniques, with vessels from the Middle and from the Lower Amur forming distinct pottery-making traditions. These combined insights appear to indicate a greater degree of variability in the development and use of early pottery in East Asia than has hitherto been indicated.

The introduction of farming had far-reaching impacts on health, social structure and demography. Although the spread of domesticated plants and animals has been extensively tracked, it is unclear how these nascent economies developed within different environmental and cultural settings. Using molecular and isotopic analysis of lipids from pottery, here we investigate the foods prepared by the earliest farming communities of the European Atlantic seaboard. Surprisingly, we find an absence of aquatic foods, including in ceramics from coastal sites, except in the Western Baltic where this tradition continued from indigenous ceramic using hunter-gatherer-fishers. The frequency of dairy products in pottery increased as farming was progressively introduced along a northerly latitudinal gradient. This finding implies that early farming communities needed time to adapt their economic practices before expanding into more northerly areas. Latitudinal differences in the scale of dairy production might also have influenced the evolution of adult lactase persistence across Europe., The transition to agriculture brought major changes to human populations in Europe during the Neolithic period. Here, Cubas and colleagues analyse lipid residues from Neolithic pottery from along the Atlantic coast of Europe to trace the spread of dairy production and shifts in diet.

Lipids preserved within the walls of ancient pottery vessels are routinely analysed to reveal their original contents. The provenience of aquatic lipids in pottery is generally connected to vessel function (e.g., for cooking or storing fish, shellfish and aquatic mammals). However, ethnographic reports from early historic Alaska mention the use of aquatic oils for waterproofing low-fired pottery. Results of lipid residue studies on Alaskan pottery reflect an exclusive function of pottery to process aquatic resources. However, can one be sure these residues are the product of vessel function and not a remnant of the manufacturing process? The study presents the results of an experiment where the preservation of aquatic lipids during the firing process at different temperatures was measured. It was found that nearly all lipids were removed at firing temperatures of ≥ 400°C. Petrographic analysis of Alaskan pottery samples indicates that firing temperatures were generally > 550°C but < 800°C. The contribution of pre-firing manufacture-derived lipids to samples fired at these temperatures may be regarded as negligible. While the possible presence of aquatic lipids from post-firing surface treatments cannot be excluded, such treatments appear unnecessary for well-fired pottery.

The invention of pottery was a fundamental technological advancement with far-reaching economic and cultural consequences. Pottery containers first emerged in East Asia during the Late Pleistocene in a wide range of environmental settings, but became particularly prominent and much more widely dispersed after climatic warming at the start of the Holocene. Some archaeologists argue that this increasing usage was driven by environmental factors, as warmer climates would have generated a wider range of terrestrial plant and animal resources that required processing in pottery. However, this hypothesis has never been directly tested. Here, in one of the largest studies of its kind, we conducted organic residue analysis of >800 pottery vessels selected from 46 Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene sites located across the Japanese archipelago to identify their contents. Our results demonstrate that pottery had a strong association with the processing of aquatic resources, irrespective of the ecological setting. Contrary to expectations, this association remained stable even after the onset of Holocene warming, including in more southerly areas, where expanding forests provided new opportunities for hunting and gathering. Nevertheless, the results indicate that a broader array of aquatic resources was processed in pottery after the start of the Holocene. We suggest this marks a significant change in the role of pottery of hunter-gatherers, corresponding to an increased volume of production, greater variation in forms and sizes, the rise of intensified fishing, the onset of shellfish exploitation, and reduced residential mobility.

Biomolecular and isotopic characterisation of absorbed organic residues have been performed on eight dentate-stamped and two plain Lapita potsherds from the site of Teouma, in Vanuatu. Lipid profiles associated with decorated pots are homogenous, suggesting that similar food types or mixtures of food types were placed in these vessels. This suggests a high degree of consistency in the use of Lapita decorated pots, irrespective of the morphological and stylistic variation of these vessels. Data obtained from single-compound isotope analysis are also not consistent with marine resources as potential food sources for Lapita vessels. The absence of such commonly consumed, ubiquitous and easily accessible resources in Lapita vessels suggests that these pots were not manufactured to be used for ordinary occasions and day-to-day food consumption. This is the first time tangible data related to the use of these vessels are provided to support this claim in addition to contextual inferences.

The earliest pottery on the Korean peninsula dates to the early Holocene, notably later than other regions of East Asia, such as Japan, the Russian Far East and Southern China. To shed light on the function of such early Korean pottery and to understand the motivations for its adoption, organic residue analysis was conducted on pottery sherds and adhered surface deposit on the wall of pottery vessels (foodcrusts) excavated from the Sejuk shell midden (7.7–6.8ka calBP) on the southeastern coast and the Jukbyeon-ri site (7.9–6.9ka calBP) on the eastern coast of the Korean peninsula, that represents the earliest pottery assemblages with reliable radiocarbon dates. Through chemical and isotopic residue analysis, we conclude that the use of pottery at these sites was oriented towards marine resources, supported by lipid biomarkers typical of aquatic organisms and stable carbon isotope values that matched authentic marine reference fats. The findings contrast with other archaeological evidence, which shows that a wider range of available food resources were exploited. Therefore, we conclude pottery was used selectively for processing aquatic organisms perhaps including the rendering of aquatic oils for storage. Early pottery use in Korea is broadly similar to other prehistoric temperate hunter-gatherers, such as in Japan, northern Europe and northern America. However, it is also notable that elaborately decorated red burnished pottery excavated from isolated location at the Jukbyeon-ri site had a different usage pattern, which indicates that division of pottery use by vessel form was established even at this early stage.

Pottery was adopted by hunter-gatherers in the Eastern Baltic at the end of the 6th millennium cal BC. To examine the motivations for this cultural and technological shift, here we report the organic residue analysis of ceramic vessels from the earliest pottery horizon (Narva) in this region. A combined approach using GC-MS, GC-C-IRMS and bulk IRMS of residues absorbed into the ceramic and charred surface deposits was employed. The results show that despite variable preservation, Narva ceramic vessels were preferentially used for processing aquatic products. We argue that pottery was part of a new Late Mesolithic subsistence strategy which included more intensive exploitation of aquatic foods and may have had important implications, such as increased sedentism and population growth.

The earliest durable cooking technologies found in Alaska are stone bowls and griddle stones recovered from the Aleutian Islands. This article aims to identify the function of these artefacts. Molecular and chemical analyses of carbonised residues found on their surfaces confirm that these artefacts were used to process marine resources. Both artefacts have high lipid content and C:N ratios, suggesting they were used to process oily substances. Stable isotope results of individual lipids suggest that they were used to process different sets of resources within the aquatic spectrum as griddle stones have slightly more 13C-depleted lipids than stone bowls, possibly indicating more variable use. Integration of these results with archaeological and ethnographic data leads us to infer that griddle stones were used for cooking a diversity of aquatic resources, possibly with the addition of plant foods, whereas stone bowls were specifically used to render marine mammal fats. We further hypothesize that a sudden peak in stone bowl frequencies at 4000–3000 cal yr BP was connected to a Neoglacial cold spell bringing sea ice conditions to the Aleutian Islands. This may have led to new subsistence strategies in which the rendering of marine mammal fats played a central role.

The discovery of a partially preserved vessel in the course of the excavations carried out in Cova Eirós brings forth new data on the material culture of the regional Neolithic.The pot, both in its bottle-like shape and decoration (shell impressed), recalls strongly the cardial ware, so characteristic of the archaeological record in the Early Neolithic groups of South Iberia.We discuss the circumstances of the finding and the closest parallels to be found among the pottery collections from South Portugal.As a result, we suggest that the vessel found at Cova Eirós would date back to the end of the 6th Millennium BC., El hallazgo de un vaso cerámico parcialmente conservado en el curso de las excavaciones llevadas a cabo en Cova Eirós permite aportar nuevos datos sobre la cultura material del Neolítico regional. El recipiente, tanto por su forma de botella como por su decoración (impresión de concha), recuerda claramente a la cerámica cardial, tan característica del registro arqueológico entre los primeros grupos neolíticos del sur de la península ibérica. Se abordan las circunstancias del hallazgo y los paralelos más cercanos, que se encuentran entre las colecciones cerámicas del sur de Portugal. A modo de conclusión, sugerimos que la pieza analizada se remonta probablemente al final del VI milenio a. C.

Around 2900–2300 cal BCE, mobile stockbreeders introduced the Neolithic Corded Ware culture (CWC) into the Eastern Baltic. Here, a Central or Northern European Neolithic economy and ideology took hold despite differences in burial practices. Although around 90 CWC graves are known in the region their contents have not been intensively studied. Here, we present new AMS radiocarbon (14C) measurements and carbon and nitrogen stable isotope data obtained on human bone collagen, molecular and isotopic data obtained from ceramic beakers, and user-wear data of flint and bone tools from several CWC graves, Benaiciai, Biržai, Krasnasieĺski, Dakudava 5, and Drazdy 12, in Lithuania and Western Belarus. The bone collagen δ13C and δ15N stable isotope data are rather homogenous and demonstrate that the majority of consumed protein was derived from terrestrial resources. Organic residue analysis of two CWC beakers yielded lipids consistent with ruminant carcass and dairy fats, whilst use-wear analyses indicates that bone pins, flint blades and axes were used as grinders, functional tools or had been carefully renewed before deposition respectively.

In the early Holocene, Mesolithic hunter-gatherer communities inhabiting the Cis-Baikal region of Eastern Siberia were participating in a series of important cultural changes. These included the establishment of large cemeteries in the Angara Valley and on the Southwest shores of Lake Baikal, culminating in the formation of the distinctive Early Neolithic Kitoi cultural pattern ca. 7560 cal. BP. Around the same time, the appearance of clay pots in a few Kitoi graves and at some contemporary habitation sites marks the formal transition to the Early Neolithic, which is defined in Russian archaeology by the emergence of pottery (and not the transition to farming). Little is known about how this early pottery was used, and why it was first adopted into the region. This pilot-study presents lipid-residue analysis of a selection of sherds from the oldest and relatively well-dated pottery assemblage in the Cis-Baikal region, which was recovered from the Gorelyi Les habitation site. The results indicate that the pots had been used to process a broad spectrum of food resources, including ruminants,fish and plants, and possibly resin and other by-products derived from pine trees, suggesting that the vesselswere being used as general-purpose cooking containers. We conclude that there is scope for a much larger-scaleinvestigation of diversity and change in prehistoric pottery use in Cis-Baikal, and that this research would improvecurrent understandings of the diet, health and subsistence strategies of the Kitoi and other prehistoricpopulations.

The goal of this contribution is to stimulate a wider reflection on the role of food consumption practices throughout prehistory. We focussed on the Jōmon communities of Hokkaidō Island in Northern Japan since these mobile foragers underwent a process of economic diversification and intensification, eventually leading to higher levels of sedentism across the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. Moreover, dynamic social settings and expansion of the subsistence base at the start of the Holocene would have provided rich opportunities for novelfood combinations, and potentially, the rise of diverse regional cuisines. We investigated tool kits and resource landscapes, and sampled pottery from a range of sites, phases and regions. We then applied organic residueanalysis to confirm the actual spatiotemporal patterning in cuisine. Although we predicted that ruminants and nuts would have played a major role in local cuisine, especially in inland areas, our results indicate that aquaticresources were central to pottery-based cuisines across the island, and that other food groups had probably been processed in other ways. While organic residue analysis enabled us to reconstruct some major patterns in Jōmoncuisine, we conclude that archaeologists will need to look “beyond the cooking pot” to fully appreciate the full diversity of local foodways.

Phytanic acid diastereomers, 3S,7R,11R,15-phytanic acid (SRR) and 3R,7R,11R,15-phytanic acid (RRR), were determined by GC MS in extracts of archaeological ceramic. The SRR% was higher in pottery from coastal sites corresponding with C-13 enriched n-alkanoic acid corroborating a predominantly marine origin for the food residues. Conversely, low SRR% and C-13 depleted n-alkanoic acid were found at inland sites, which are most likely derived from ruminant products. These observations are explained by differences in the bacterial transformation of phytol to phytanic acid between ruminant and aquatic organisms and allow these products to be easily distinguished in archaeological contexts. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Pottery technology, originating in Northeast Asia, appeared in Alaska some 2800 years ago. It spread swiftly along Alaska's coastline but was not adopted on Kodiak Island until around 500 cal BP, as part of the Koniag tradition. While in the southeast pottery was used extensively, people on the northern half of the island did not adopt the technology. What drove these patterns of adoption and non-adoption on Kodiak Island? To better understand the role of ceramic technology in the Koniag tradition we used organic residue analysis to investigate pottery function. Results indicate that pottery was used to process aquatic resources, including anadromous fish, but especially marine species. Based on archaeological and ethnographic data, and spatial analysis of pottery distributions and function, we hypothesize that Koniag pottery was a tool inherent to the rendering of whale oil on the southeast coast of Kodiak Island, supporting previous suggestions by Knecht (1995) and Fitzhugh (2002). When viewed in the broader historical context of major technological and social transformations, we conclude that social identity and cultural boundaries may also have played a role in the delayed and partial adoption of pottery on Kodiak Island.

The Neolithic expansion in the Iberian Peninsula is marked by the introduction of livestock and domesticated crops which modified subsistence strategies in an unprecedented manner. Bulk collagen stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis has been essential to track these changes, which have largely been discussed in relation to particular geographic areas or single case studies. This paper reviews the available isotope literature to provide a regional, long-term synthesis of dietary changes associated with the expansion of the Neolithic and the establishment of farming economy in the Iberian Peninsula. Bulk collagen stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values of 763 human individuals and 283 faunal remains from the Mesolithic to the Late Neolithic period in Iberia (ca. 8000–3000 cal BC) were collated and analysed using a Bayesian mixing model. The results show that Mesolithic diets were isotopically diverse in both the Atlantic and Mediterranean regions of the Iberian Peninsula, and that a significant decrease in variability happened with the Neolithisation, culminating with the establishment of farming economies and reliance on terrestrial resources in the Late Neolithic. Cite this article as: Cubas, M., Peyroteo-Stjerna, R., Fontanals-Coll, M. et al. Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-018-0752-1

Stable isotope analysis has been utilized in archaeology since the 1970s, yet standardized protocols for terminology, sampling, pretreatment evaluation, calibration, quality assurance and control, data presentation, and graphical or statistical treatment still remain lacking in archaeological applications. Here, we present recommendations and requirements for each of these in the archaeological context of: bulk stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of organics; bulk stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis of carbonates; single compound stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis on amino acids in collagen and keratin; and single compound stable carbon and hydrogen isotope analysis on fatty acids. The protocols are based on recommendations from the Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) as well as an expanding geochemical and archaeological science experimental literature. We hope that this will provide a useful future reference for authors and reviewers engaging with the growing number of stable isotope applications and datasets in archaeology.

The Neolithic in north-east Asia is defined by the presence of ceramic containers, rather than agriculture, among hunter-gatherer communities. The role of pottery in such groups has, however, hitherto been unclear. This article presents the results of organic residue analysis of Neolithic pottery from Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East. Results indicate that early pottery on Sakhalin was used for the processing of aquatic species, and that its adoption formed part of a wider Neolithic transition involving the reorientation of local lifeways towards the exploitation of marine resources.

This paper gives a systematized overview of different Narva stage sites in Estonia, describing their artefactual and archaeozoological material, and environmental conditions. We demonstrate the diversity of Narva stage settlement types (sites on coastal river estuaries, coast, coastal lagoons, inland river banks and shores of inland lakes) and economy (marine, terrestrial/inland aquatic and mixed subsistence) in the region. A further site-based description of Narva pottery is also provided in order to exemplify the similarities and differences of this earliest pottery type in the eastern Baltic. We also present a comprehensive list of all currently available Narva stage radiocarbon dates from Estonia and Ingermanland (north-western Russia) according to which the Narva-type pottery in the northern part of its distribution area dates to the period c. 5200-3900 cal BC. Additionally, the issues of dating food crust, especially the high risk of reservoir effect offsets, are emphasized. We carried out a comparative study dating contemporaneous food crusts and plant remains and conducting lipid residue analysis employing combined methods of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS, EA-IRMS). The results demonstrate the implications and importance of characterizing lipid residues so that samples with reservoir correction can at least be identified. Introduction The beginning of pottery use is a substantial and important innovation in the history of humankind. It must have brought along a new concept not only for storage and cooking, but also changes in technology and production skills, transport and trading. The earliest pottery known to date is from eastern Asia (China, Japan and Russian Far East and eastern Siberia) and goes back to the end of the Pleistocene (e.g. Nakamura et al. 2001; Kuzmin 2006; Boaretto et al. 2009; Shevkomud & Yanshina 2012, 53). In the Baltic Sea region pottery first appears, depending on traditions of archaeological periodization, in the Early Neolithic (Finland, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus) or Late Mesolithic period (Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Estonia) (e.g. Loze & Lijva 1989; Girininkas 2005, 105 f.; Kriiska 2009, fig. 5; Piezonka 2012, 24). Earlier in Estonia the introduction of pottery was assigned to the Neolithic period, as with other Baltic States (e.g. Jaanits et al. 1982, 61; Lang & Kriiska 2001, 89). Since the adoption of pottery generated no significant change in the local settlement pattern, subsistence economy nor, presumably, in social organization, the new periodization of the Stone Age in Estonia proceeds from the process of the introduction of domesticates. The latter occurred more than a thousand years after the adoption of pottery and resulted in major shifts in the society, settlement and economy in both Estonia and neighbouring areas (Kriiska 2009, 167; Nordqvist et al. 2015, 143). Two major pottery traditions, divided into many sub-variants, can be distinguished in the Baltic Sea region. One of the traditions embraces pottery types that comprise large pointed- or rounded-bottomed pots and, in places, also small and shallow saucer-shaped vessels (see e.g. Hallgren 2004, fig. 1). The know-how of making such vessels spread from the late 6th millennium through the early 5th millennium cal BC (e.g. Loze 1988, 101; Hallgren 2004, 136 f.; Piezonka 2008, 76; 2012, 42; Girininkas 2009, 127; Kriiska 2009, 161; Jennbert 2011, 99; Pesonen et al. 2012). Five types of early pottery are traditionally distinguished in the Baltic Sea region: (1) Ertebolle in southern Scandinavia, northern Germany and northern Poland (e.g. Hallgren 2004, 135; Jennbert 2011); (2) Early comb ware (or Sperrings) in southern Finland and north-western Russia (e.g. Luho 1957; German 2002); (3) Saraisniemi 1 in northern Finland and in Karelia, the Kola Peninsula in Russia and northern Sweden (e.g. Torvinen 2000; Haggren et al. …

Analysis of organic residues in pottery vessels has been successful in detecting a range of animal and plant products as indicators of food preparation and consumption in the past. However, the identification of plant remains, especially grain crops in pottery, has proved elusive. Extending the spectrum is highly desirable, not only to strengthen our understanding of the dispersal of crops from centres of domestication but also to determine modes of food processing, artefact function and the culinary significance of the crop. Here, we propose a new approach to identify millet in pottery vessels, a crop that spread throughout much of Eurasia during prehistory following its domestication, most likely in northern China. We report the successful identification of miliacin (olean-18-en-3β-ol methyl ether), a pentacyclic triterpene methyl ether that is enriched in grains of common/broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum), in Bronze Age pottery vessels from the Korean Peninsula and northern Europe. The presence of millet is supported by enriched carbon stable isotope values of bulk charred organic matter sampled from pottery vessel surfaces and extracted n-alkanoic acids, consistent with a C4 plant origin. These data represent the first identification of millet in archaeological ceramic vessels, providing a means to track the introduction, spread and consumption of this important crop.

The European high Alps are internationally renowned for their dairy produce, which are of huge cultural and economic significance to the region. Although the recent history of alpine dairying has been well studied, virtually nothing is known regarding the origins of this practice. This is due to poor preservation of high altitude archaeological sites and the ephemeral nature of transhumance economic practices. Archaeologists have suggested that stone structures that appear around 3,000 years ago are associated with more intense seasonal occupation of the high Alps and perhaps the establishment of new economic strategies. Here, we report on organic residue analysis of small fragments of pottery sherds that are occasionally preserved both at these sites and earlier prehistoric rock-shelters. Based mainly on isotopic criteria, dairy lipids could only be identified on ceramics from the stone structures, which date to the Iron Age (ca. 3,000 - 2,500 BP), providing the earliest evidence of this practice in the high Alps. Dairy production in such a marginal environment implies a high degree of risk even by today’s standards. We postulate that this practice was driven by population increase and climate deterioration that put pressure on lowland agropastoral systems and the establishment of more extensive trade networks, leading to greater demand for highly nutritious and transportable dairy products.

The earliest pots in the world are from East Asia and date to the Late Pleistocene. However, ceramic vessels were only produced in large numbers during the warmer and more stable climatic conditions of the Holocene. It has long been assumed that the expansion of pottery was linked with increased sedentism and exploitation of new resources that became available with the ameliorated climate, but this hypothesis has never been tested. Through chemical analysis of their contents, we herein investigate the use of pottery across an exceptionally long 9,000-y sequence from the Jomon site of Torihama in western Japan, intermittently occupied from the Late Pleistocene to the mid-Holocene. Molecular and isotopic analyses of lipids from 143 vessels provides clear evidence that pottery across this sequence was predominantly used for cooking marine and freshwater resources, with evidence for diversification in the range of aquatic products processed during the Holocene. Conversely, there is little indication that ruminant animals or plants were processed in pottery, although it is evident from the faunal and macrobotanical remains that these foods were heavily exploited. Supported by other residue analysis data from Japan, our results show that the link between pottery and fishing was established in the Late Paleolithic and lasted well into the Holocene, despite environmental and socio-economic change. Cooking aquatic products in pottery represents an enduring social aspect of East Asian hunter-gatherers, a tradition based on a dependable technology for exploiting a sustainable resource in an uncertain and changing world.

International audience; The west European Neolithic is famed for its funerary and ceremonial monuments, but the evidence for houses is sparse. Can this be explained by the materials of which they were built? On the northern coast of Brittany, the site of Lillemer rises from the surrounding marshes and presents abundant evidence of Middle Neolithic occupation, contemporary with the passage graves of the region. Surprisingly, their evidence includes the remains of collapsed earthen-walled structures, providing the northernmost example of this type of architecture in a Neolithic context and a possible explanation for the invisibility of much Neolithic domestic architecture

In the last decades, organic residue analysis of ceramic artifacts has advanced our understanding of culinary practices and economies in the past. Current approaches, deploying lipid residue analysis, have allowed a wide range of prehistoric commodities processed in pottery to be identified (1, 2). Recently, organic residues analysis has allowed us to gain a new perspective on the emergence and adoption of pottery by prehistoric hunter-gatherers. These data have shown a strong reliance on the exploitation of aquatic resources (e.g., refs. 3, 4). However, this approach is limited by the fact that not all hunter-gatherer societies used pottery and that use of pots seems specialized in comparison to the existing broader spectrum economies (4). Thus, looking at organic residues contained in fire structure remains would provide an extended testimony of diet and cooking practices complementary to the study of vegetal and faunal remains. Although organic residue analysis of prehistoric hearths began in the late 1980s (5⇓–7), such analyses are …

A Pincevent, les ultimes traces du passage des Magdaleniens ont ete decouvertes sur le niveau IV0. Ce niveau est situe au sommet de la sequence des limons d’inondation sur lesquels les Magdaleniens sont revenus etablir leurs campements plus d’une quinzaine de fois, sans doute au cours du Dryas II. Bien que seulement distantes d’une vingtaine de metres, les deux unites d’occupation du niveau IV0 n'entretiennent aucune relation explicite et elles different totalement par l’extension des sols d’occupation et la densite des vestiges. Elles ont toutefois en commun d'avoir livre des restes de cheval. L’unite Y127 n’a livre qu’une carcasse partielle de cheval a proximite d’un foyer entoure seulement de quelques temoins d’activites, alors que l’unite T125, qui s’etend sur plus de 200 m2, revele une intense occupation de l’espace autour d’un abri circulaire centre sur le foyer T125, selon une organisation sans equivalent dans les autres niveaux de Pincevent. La masse considerable de pierres chauffees et de silex ainsi que l’abondance des objets de parure sont egalement exceptionnelles. Enfin, par rapport aux occupations precedentes liees a la chasse aux rennes au cours de la migration du debut de l’automne, l’originalite la plus frappante concerne le choix du gibier et la saison de chasse. En effet, on a retrouve dans l’unite T125 les restes de 9 chevaux et 10 rennes, certains abattus pendant l’hiver. Cet article evalue donc les parts de continuite et de changement dans les traditions et le comportement des chasseurs magdaleniens de Pincevent. On se demande alors si les specificites du niveau IV0 correspondent a une adaptation circonstancielle ou si elles temoignent d’une evolution irreversible due a des modifications climatiques entrainant eventuellement le retrait des rennes vers des contrees plus septentrionales.

The shell-midden site of Riņņukalns in northern Latvia offers a rare opportunity to study long-term trends in ceramic production and function at a European hunter-fisher-gatherer site. Riņņukalns was occupied from the sixth millennium BC, with the midden developing from the later fourth millennium. Here, the authors discuss the chaîne opératoire and function of the Riņņukalns material, showing that pottery was used in both the pre-midden and midden phases primarily to cook aquatic and porcine resources. The technology used to produce these cooking vessels, however, changed over time, with new firing techniques associated with a shift to the use of shell temper. The results have implications for understanding prehistoric technology and subsistence in other parts of the world.