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Archaeological evidence and the text of the Strategikon show that it was only in the late sixth century AD that the Roman-Byzantine military adopted the stirrup. It is now widely argued that the Avars, who settled in the Carpathian basin in the sixth century, played a key role in introducing iron stirrups to the Roman-Byzantine world. However, the evidence to support this assertion is limited. Although hundreds of stirrups have been found in Avar graves in the Carpathian basin, very few stirrups of sixth- or seventh-century date are known from the Roman-Byzantine empire - no more than seven - and only two of these are of definitively Avar type. The text of the Strategikon, sometimes argued to support this Avar source, can be interpreted differently, as indeed can the archaeological evidence. While the debate about the Roman-Byzantine adoption of the stirrup has focused mostly on finds from the Balkans, two early stirrups are known from Asia Minor, from Pergamon and Sardis. This paper presents a third, previously unpublished stirrup, from a seventh-century deposit at Aphrodisias in Caria; this is the first stirrup found in Asia Minor from a datable context. Here we present this find and its context, and use it to reconsider the model of solely Avar stirrup transmission that has dominated scholarship to date. So varied are the early stirrups that multiple sources of influence, Avar and other, and even a degree of experimentation, seem more likely to underpin the Roman-Byzantine adoption of this technology.

Written and archaeological evidence from Ostrogothic Italy offers the opportunity to investigate how a late antique society coped with hydraulic problems. Although stretching across a few decades (from the establishment of Theoderic’s power over Italy in AD 493 and the end of the Gothic war in AD 555), the Ostrogothic period is marked by social, economic, political and cultural transformations which affected the management of water. Ostrogothic authorities held control over aqueducts and the water supply following earlier administrative and legal tradition. Though there is evidence for private misappropriation of part of public aqueducts’ water, the main function of aqueducts - to make ample supplies of water available to entire communities - was generally achieved. At the same time, it is undeniable that they had to cope with irreversible trends, whose impact was magnified by major historical events such as the Gothic war.

To evaluate a model of the travel-route selection process for upper Ohio Valley Paleoindian foragers (13,500–11,400 cal BP), this study investigates archaeological data through the theoretical framework of landscape learning and risk-sensitive analysis. Following initial trail placement adjacent to a highly visible escarpment landform, Paleoindians adopted a risk-averse strategy to minimize travel outcome variability when wayfaring between Sandy Springs, a significant Ohio River Paleoindian site, and Upper Mercer–Vanport chert quarries of east-central Ohio. Although a least-cost analysis indicates an optimal route through the lower Scioto Valley, archaeological evidence for this path is lacking. Geomorphic and archaeological data further suggest that site absence in the lower Scioto Valley is not entirely due to sampling bias. Instead, evidence indicates that Paleoindians preferred travel within the Ohio Brush Creek–Baker's Fork valley despite its longer path distance through more rugged, constricted terrain. Potential travel through the lower Scioto Valley hypothesizes high outcome variability due to the stochastic nature of the late Pleistocene hydroregime. In this case, perceived outcome variability appears more influential in determining travel-route decisions among Paleoindians than direct efforts to reduce energy and time allocation.

The result of this study is intended to prove that the Banjarese have the right attitude of tolerance, supported by archaeological evidences. In this regard, the research question is, how the tolerance implemented by the Banjar community, recorded in archaeological data, and how local people inherit and implement it in their life nowadays? This research used a descriptive method with inductive reasoning. The data were described as well as being placed in the historical timeline of the Banjar Sovereignty. Tolerance data are indicated by the group diversity (at least two groups) existed in the same time and locus, and both have a relationship. Furthermore, tolerance is evidenced by the attitude of the ruler who was willing to tolerate, not suppress, and give proper rights. This study’s results indicate that archaeological evidence had been supported by historical literature, which showed that the Banjar people have strong historical roots of tolerance. The people of South Kalimantan can continue the implementation of that tolerance in a life of diversity presently. It can be concluded that the history of tolerance that has been practiced since our ancestors must be maintained by continuously dialogued so that it can be implemented in an appropriate space and time context.

Archaeological evidence of the existence of the sultans of Samudera Pasai Kingdom is marked by the remains of gravestones that mention their name, title and year of death. From these data we can arrange the order of the sultan’s name, title, name of his parents and the year of his death. And, not only that, this archaeological evidence can also map the morphology (form) of tomb and the type of material. As for the study of the morphology of the gravestones of the sultans of Samudera Pasai Kingdom, until now no one has done it. Therefore, this paper becomes a kind of introduction for those interested in the study of the ancient tombstone of Samudera Pasai Kingdom. The method of writing this work uses a historiographic approach in examining the time sequence of the gravestones. This paper then succeeded in recording the morphology of the gravestones and the types of materials according to the tombstone sequences of the sultans of Samudera Pasai Kingdom, starting from the first sultan to the last sultan.

Heavy rains and subsequent bank erosion in 1973 exposed the skeletal remains of 10 men and boys on Walnut Creek in Barton County, Kansas. The site (14BT301) has not been fully reported, and this ef...

Across the eastern Mediterranean, the personnel of late antique pilgrimage sites distributed terracotta tokens stamped with depictions of saints, scenes from the life of Christ, and related imagery. Using primarily hagiographical sources, scholars associate tokens with healing practices, the veneration of icons, and the worship of relics. Certainly, hagiographies offer valuable representations of ritual processes, but they also make claims on the proper distribution, meaning, and use of tokens amidst a diversity of intercessory activities. How, in practice, was a token produced and distributed? How did pilgrims use tokens at and away from pilgrimage complexes beyond the assertions made by hagiographers? This article answers these questions by tracing the “cultural biography” of a token. It analyzes the archaeological contexts of tokens in order to clarify select statuses that a token might occupy during its lifetime, including commodity, gift, domestic object, funerary object, relic, rubbish, and art object. This approach lays the foundation for examining hagiographical claims regarding the use of tokens as one among many assertions in the contested process of harnessing the power of saints. It illustrates the capacity of devotees to exhibit diverse practices as well as the efforts of personnel at pilgrimage sites to shape those practices.

The church burials of Room-94 and Church-79 as well as the Tower 35-Tomb were excavated within the ancient Byzantine settlement in Khirbet es-Samrā, North Jordan. They were initially dated between the 7th and 9th centuries AD. The report provides the results of macroscopic analyses of the obtained human skeletal remains. These include demographic, anthropometric, epigenetic, and pathologic features. The available biological and archaeological evidence tend to suggest that the five adults and child buried in Room-94 tomb were related males, possibly of one local and highly positioned family that was associated with the adjacent Church 95. The six were successively buried in the “private” tomb in Room-94 of Church-95 and not in the “public” cemetery just outside the settlement. The two probable cases of brucellar lesions on the cervical vertebrae of two adults could be indicative of an animal breeding family and that dairy products were part of the local diet. The report also suggests a possible relatedness between Room-94 tomb burials and the 7th century AD senile female burial in Church-79, which was previously assumed to be a male church-functionary burial. Despite being marked by a cross-engraved stone and a probably lethal arrow injury, the available evidence lead to conclude that the male Tower burial, previously identified as of the 9th century AD, was in fact a medieval burial and that it is neither related to the ancient settlement nor to its ancient population. Also presented are some rarely reported biological features, e.g. the “en bloc” manifestation of the transverse foramen division on the cervical vertebrae C5 to C7. Keywords: Jordan - Byzantine Period - Church Burial – Anthropometry - Epigenetics- Paleopathology.

EnglishThis paper addresses the notion of sensory nuisance in relation to commercial hospitality in the Western Roman world, which was associated with the occupation of the caupo, the Roman innkeeper. This sector, and more specifically one of its branches, the restaurant industry, triggered many complaints among ancient authors aimed at the various inconveniences these commercial establishments caused to the senses: smoke that impaired smell and sight, noises displeasing to the ears, and so forth. Nevertheless, it is difficult to distinguish, in literature, between common cultural tropes, sociological bias, and descriptions drawn from experience. This analysis is based on a letter of Sidonius Apollinaris, who at the end the 5th century produced a vivid description summing up the various sensory nuisances connected to inns and popinae (restaurants) in the Roman cultural context. It follows the development of these themes throughout Latin literature, testing them, when possible, against available archaeological evidence. francaisCet article convoque la notion de nuisance sensorielle au sujet d’un secteur professionnel de l’Occident romain : l’accueil mercantile, associe au metier du caupo, de l’aubergiste. Ce secteur professionnel, et surtout une de ses branches, la restauration commerciale, ont engendre, chez les auteurs anciens, de nombreuses plaintes contre les desagrements qu’ils auraient occasionnes aux sens : fumees blessant l’odorat et la vue, bruits heurtant les oreilles, etc. Dans les sources litteraires qui s’en font l’echo, la difficulte est de faire la part entre le lieu commun, le biais sociologique et la realite quotidienne de ces etablissements. A partir d’une lettre de Sidoine Apollinaire, qui, a la fin du Ve siecle, produit un condense descriptif des nuisances sensorielles associees a l’auberge et a la popina dans le contexte culturel romain, on analyse les motifs parcourant la litterature latine, en les confrontant autant que possible aux realites observables dans les vestiges archeologiques.

Rečima Tima Ingolda, lovci-sakupljači zauzimaju posebno mesto u strukturi moderne misli, u tolikoj meri da sve i da nisu postojali, morali bi biti izmišljeni (što velikim delom i jesu). Kako nas u svojoj novoj knjizi „The Dawn of Everything“ podsećaju Dejvid Greber i Dejvid Vengro, još od vremena Žan-Žaka Rusoa lovci-sakupljači konstruisani su kao prvobitno, „prirodno“ stanje čovečanstva; kao zamišljeni reper egalitarnosti u odnosu na koji se posmatra društveno raslojavanje. Upravo stoga, ali i zbog prirode arheološke evidencije, tema nejednakosti nije ozbiljnije figurirala u arheologiji praistorijskih lovaca-sakupljača. Arheolozi usmereni na periode paleolita i mezolita veoma retko uključuju koncepte poput društvenog statusa, elita i subalterna, centra i periferije u svoj vokabular i svoja istraživanja. U ovom radu, nastojaću da otvorim pitanje u kolikoj su meri ovakvi koncepti adekvatni u proučavanju praistorije, tj. da li se uobičajeni kriterijumi za „detekciju“ društvene nejednakosti (razlike u ishrani i pristupu dobrima, načinu sahranjivanja, arhitekturi) mogu primeniti na svaki kulturni kontekst. Istovremeno, rad polazi od toga da nedostatak ovakvih materijalnih dokaza ne podrazumeva uniformnost ljudskog iskustva, već upravo navodi na promišljanje veze između arheološke evidencije, uvreženih stavova i različitih istraživačkih tema (Šta se „čita“ iz arheološkog zapisa?). Na kraju, osvrnuću se na „nejednakost“ u tretmanu lovačko-sakupljačkih i stočarsko-zemljoradničkih zajednica u arheološkoj i antropološkoj misli. Lovci-sakupljači prešli su dug put od „primitivnih zajednica“ čija se ljudskost dovodi u pitanje, idealizovanih „plemenitih divljaka koji žive u skladu s prirodom“, do ključnih aktera za podizanje ekološke svesti i razumevanje dugotrajne održivosti. Nasuprot tome, prvobitni stočari-zemljoradnici istovremeno figuriraju kao prve zajednice koje su „ovladale prirodom“, veliki inovatori, ili pak kao „najveća greška u ljudskoj istoriji“ i začetnici Antropocena. U tom smislu, dihotomija Priroda i Kultura – prisutna u pomenutim narativima – može poslužiti kao okvir za promišljanje fundamentalnih nejednakosti između aktera koji se pozicioniraju ili bivaju pozicionirani na različitim stranama ovog jaza., The author acknowledges financial support of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia (Grant No. 451-03-9/2021-14/200358)

An analysis of a group of the administrative texts from the Persepolis Fortification Archive gives the impression that the Fahliyān region in northwestern Fārs was probably the heart of the territory in which the Patischorian tribe and Gobryas family were centered in the Achaemenid period. This article attempts to examine hypothetically the connection between archaeological remains discovered in the Fahliyān region with the Patischorian tribe. Above all, the monumental building excavated in Jenjān and the well-known rockcut tomb of Dā-u Dokhtar might have been a tribal seat and a tomb of Gobryas respectively. An argument on the possible connection between the seals used on the so-called Gobryas texts and the Gobryas family is also of especial significance with the interesting result that the stamp was a favorable type-seal for this family. Both of this evidence seems to suggest the Elamite and Greek personal trends of Gobryas, a fact inherited in his role in the political events of the age.

A late 13th-century survey of Berwick-upon-Tweed includes an entry entitled ‘la Roundele’. It has not previously been interpreted satisfactorily but this paper shows it to have been a large circular site, in a secondary use by the time of the survey, at the head of the town’s early beachside marketplace. It is argued that the site’s shape, size and ability to survive in the changing townscape means that it originated in a substantial earlier structure – such as a broch or similar complex Atlantic roundhouse. The proposition accords with what is known of the early history of the Tweed estuary and southern brochs in general. Archaeological evidence for the structure may survive beneath later buildings. Canmore ID 25990

Objectives Cuncaicha, a rockshelter site in the southern Peruvian Andes, has yielded archaeological evidence for human occupation at high elevation (4,480 masl) during the Terminal Pleistocene (12,500-11,200 cal BP), Early Holocene (9,500-9,000 cal BP), and later periods. One of the excavated human burials (Feature 15-06), corresponding to a middle-aged female dated to ~8,500 cal BP, exhibits skeletal osteoarthritic lesions previously proposed to reflect habitual loading and specialized crafting labor. Three small tools found in association with this burial are hypothesized to be associated with precise manual dexterity. Materials and methods Here, we tested this functional hypothesis through the application of a novel multivariate methodology for the three-dimensional analysis of muscle attachment surfaces (entheses). This original approach has been recently validated on both lifelong-documented anthropological samples as well as experimental studies in nonhuman laboratory samples. Additionally, we analyzed the three-dimensional entheseal shape and resulting moment arms for muscle opponens pollicis. Results Results show that Cuncaicha individual 15-06 shows a distinctive entheseal pattern associated with habitual precision grasping via thumb-index finger coordination, which is shared exclusively with documented long-term precision workers from recent historical collections. The separate geometric morphometric analysis revealed that the individual's opponens pollicis enthesis presents a highly projecting morphology, which was found to strongly correlate with long joint moment arms (a fundamental component of force-producing capacity), closely resembling the form of Paleolithic hunter-gatherers from diverse geo-chronological contexts of Eurasia and North Africa. Discussion Overall, our findings provide the first biocultural evidence to confirm that the lifestyle of some of the earliest Andean inhabitants relied on habitual and forceful precision grasping tasks.

This paper presents the archaeological evidence regarding the path of the Via Nova Traiana between Petra and al-Khirbet al-Samra from a fieldwork project in 2011 and 2014. It discusses the traceabl...

El vareo es una de las fases de la recolección de bellotas, frutos usados como alimento básico o como complemento de la dieta humana desde época prehistórica. Consiste en sacudir las ramas de la encina, u otras especies del género Quercus, sirviéndose de una vara de madera larga y flexible. De esta herramienta no existen hasta el momento evidencias en el registro arqueológico debido a los materiales perecederos utilizados en su fabricación. Esta ausencia puede ser suplida con la información derivada tanto del estudio de la iconografía prehistórica e histórica como del registro etnográfico actual. En este artículo se analizan diversos ejemplos que van desde el Neolítico hasta la actualidad, que demuestran la pervivencia de esta milenaria práctica usada por las sociedades rurales de la Europa mediterránea. The knocking down is one of the stages of acorn harvesting, used as a supplement to human diet from prehistoric times. It consists in shaking tree branches with the help of a long and flexible wooden pole. Due to both the use of perishable materials, there is no evidence for this tool in the archaeological record. The lack of archaeological evidence for this practice can be compensated for with information derived both from the study of certain prehistoric art scenes and from the ethnographic record. Thus, the article analyses various examples, from Neolithic to current times, which show the endurance of this millenary practice, typical of agricultural societies in Mediterranean Europe.&nbsp

Enset (Ensete ventricosum) is an indigenous Ethiopian domesticate growing in what is known as the “enset zone” of southwestern Ethiopia. Few archaeological sites have been excavated in this region, and only one site has yielded remains of enset. However, the abundant megalithic and rock art sites in the region compensate for the paucity of the archaeological record. This review article provides an interpretative analysis of the existing body of work to shed new light on the beginning of agriculture in the “enset zone.” It integrates the region’s archaeological evidence, recovered through excavations, with the information from megalithic and unique rock art sites. The archaeological evidence of this zone indicates a late introduction of domestic stock and pottery. The unique megalithic and rock art traditions in this region are considered to be part of the distinct cultural adaptations related to the later phases of food production.

New evidence allows us to demonstrate that a regional trade connected North Syria with both central Anatolia and Babylonia well into the 17th-Centurybc. Archaeological evidence indicates that a specific type of vessel, the globular flask, was produced at Zincirli Höyük in the mid-17thcentury for the purpose of storing and transporting wine. The simultaneous appearance of these vessels as far afield as Kültepe and Sippar-Amnānum lines up with Late Old Babylonian attestations ofalluḫarum-pots in 17th-c. texts from Sippar, Babylon, and Dūr-Abiešuḫ. These, we argue, must refer to the same vessels calledaluārumin earlier Old Assyrian texts from Kültepe from the 19thcentury. Taken together, this evidence points towards the existence of a previously unsuspected trade network centered on the ancient Syrian state of Mamma that thrived in the decades between the collapse of the Old Assyrian Trade Network and the accession of Hattušili I. Through a dialogue between textual and archaeological materials, we are not only able to reveal the persistence of long-distance exchange for a century previously believed to lack it, but provide more context for the political transformations taking place at the end of the Middle Bronze Age.

Archaeological remains of viticulture in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem (AD 1099–1291) are quite rare, and those that are present are incomplete. In contrast, textual sources show extensive evidence of grape cultivation, wine production and wine consumption. Based on integration of archaeological and historical data, the focus of this article is on characteristics of Frankish grape cultivation and wine production in the East. By doing so, its goal is to offer new interpretation and identify new questions. Coming from the Christian West, the Latins brought with them a wine culture which differed from that in the area under Muslim rule. This new attitude towards wine expressed itself in the demand for large quantities of wine for nutritional, religious and therapeutic purposes, and consequently influenced vine growing and wine making in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Through the topic of viticulture, we aim to explore the extent to which Frankish society—as a migrant society—assimilated with, borrowed from, rejected and/or influenced its new environment.

The Canary Islands are an archipelago that lies about 100 km west of North Africa. Barley (Hordeum vulgare) has been continuously cultivated since the colonization of the islands. To investigate the agricultural history of the islands, the DNA from multiple individuals of six extant landraces of barley was sequenced, and the resulting data were analyzed with ABC modeling. Estimates of separation times of barley populations on the different islands and the mainland were congruent with archaeological dating of the earliest settlements on the islands. The results of the genetic analyses were consistent with the continuous cultivation of barley on Lanzarote island since it was first colonized, but suggested cultivation was carried out at a smaller scale than on Gran Canaria and Tenerife. Contrary to archaeological evidence and early written historical sources, the genetic analyses suggest that barley was cultivated on a larger scale on Tenerife than on Gran Canaria. The genetic analysis of contemporary barley added support to the dating of the colonization of the islands and pointed to the need for more archaeological data concerning barley cultivation on Tenerife. Funding Agencies|Linkoping University; Royal Swedish Academy of Letters; Erik Philip-Sorensen Foundation; Ministry of Economy and Innovation of Spain [HAR2017-83205-P]; FEDER fundsEuropean Union (EU) [HAR2017-83205-P]; La Caixa and CajaCanarias Foundation [2018 PATRI25]; Spanish Ministry of Economy and Innovation of Spain [RYC-201518072]; ERC Starting Grant IsoCAN [851733]

El antiguo molino harinero localizado en el Municipio de Payogasta (Salta, Argentina) se ubica en la margen derecha del río Calchaquí. Se trata de un conjunto de estructuras de adobe (seis habitaciones relevadas hasta el momento), la mayoría de las cuales aún conservan los techos. La maquinaria de molienda se encuentra en una de ellas, que destaca por su buena preservación. En este trabajo nos proponemos abordar la cronología de funcionamiento del molino, desde un enfoque transdisciplinar que ponga en diálogo diferentes registros de información: relatos orales, evidencia arqueológica y documentos históricos. Las primeras conclusiones sugieren que la estructura de molienda habría funcionado de manera ininterrumpida desde mediados del siglo XIX hasta avanzado el siglo XX., The ancient hydraulic flour mill of Payogasta (Salta, Argentina), settled on the right bank of the Calchaquí river is a set of adobe structures (six rooms have been examined so far), most of which still retain the ceilings. The grinding machinery is located in one of the best-preserved rooms. In this paper, we intend to address the chronology of the mill, particularly the chronology of its operation, from a transdisciplinary approach that puts into dialogue different records of information: oral accounts, archaeological evidence and historical documents. The first conclusion we can make is that the grinding structure has been functioning uninterruptedly since the mid-19th century to the late 20th century., Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo

Este artigo faz algumas considerações relativos à história da cidade romana de Bracara Augusta, com a pretensão de debater acerca da memória esquecida de uma opulenta urbs, importante no noroeste da Hispânia. Também, será debatido como as evidências arqueológicas foram um importante instrumento fundamental na (re)descoberta da cidade desde 1976, mostrando nuances antes fragmentadas e olvidadas por sobreposições de períodos. Portanto, ambiciona neste artigo fazer algumas ponderações acerca do protagonismo da cidade perante a região e o processo de integração da população no mundo Romano.

Numerous theoretical designs based on the geometrical shape of ad quadratum, sequences of squares or/and octagons have been used to speculate for the existence of archetype patterns in architecture. However, up to now no archaeological evidence of the existence of any such pattern has been documented. The present work examines whether a diagram incised on stone found in the Octagon in Thessaloniki could be a first evidence of a conceptual design in architecture. Two statistically validated models are presented, one to explain the geometrical patterns on the Octagon diagram and another to describe the Octagon’s ground plan. The results are anticipated to contribute not only to the discussion concerning the function of the Octagon monument, but also to the debate concerning the role of type in architecture and the origin of form in central-plan and octagonal buildings.

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is indigenous to the New World with domesticated types characterized by a single stem with a large seed head. Archeological evidence has indicted that domestication occurred in the Eastern United States. However, images of domesticated sunflower are found in a pre-Hispanic Aztec stone sculpture, various 16th century images from New Spain (present day Mexico), and 16th century European herbals based on imported seed. Iconographic, linguistic, and archaeological evidence confirm that the domesticated types were known by the Aztec previous to the conquest of Cortés in 1522. This evidence suggests either an independent domestication of sunflower in Mexico or a pre-Hispanic migration from North America.

This article examines literary, epigraphic and archaeological evidence for the Christian reidentification of statuary and reliefs as biblical scenes and protagonists, saints and angels. It argues that Christian identifications were promulgated, amongst others by local bishops, to make sense of imagery of which the original identity had been lost and/or was no longer meaningful. Three conditions for a new identification are discussed: the absence of an epigraphic label, geographical and/or chronological distance separating the statue from its original context of display, and the presence of a specific attribute or characteristic that could become the prompt for reidentification. In their manipulation and modernization of older statuary, Christians showed a much greater appreciation of the statuary medium than generally assumed.

Water-risk management is one of the most challenging issues in the conservation of earthen sites, because of the inherent weakness of earth to moisture, and also the severe damage after rainfall as a result of a combination of many factors in the deterioration processes. In Tchogha Zanbil World Heritage Site (WHS) in Iran, this problem causes more damage due to the heavy rains that impact the site in a short period of time. The property encompasses a vast area, which makes regular maintenance more difficult. Also, there are insufficient strategies for controlling water runoff on the structures. Archaeological studies have revealed an ancient system for managing surface water at this site which could be compatible and adaptable for further development of the current management system. This study aims to present sustainable approaches in managing water-risk in the Tchogha Zanbil WHS, by identifying the authenticity values, investigating the problems and challenges in the current water-management system, and more importantly, assessing ancient strategies for controlling water, based on archaeological evidence.

Reversals and plateaus in the radiocarbon (14C) calibration curve lead to similar 14C ages applying to a wide range of calendar dates, creating imprecision, ambiguity, and challenges for archaeological dating. Even with Bayesian chronological modeling, such periods remain a problem when no known order—e.g., a stratigraphic sequence—exists, and especially if site durations are relatively short. Using the reversal/plateau AD 1480–1630 and the archaeology of northeastern North America as our example, we consider possible strategies to improve chronological resolution across such reversal/plateau periods in the absence of stratigraphic sequences, including uses of wood-charcoal TPQs from even very short wiggle-matches, and site phase duration constraints based on ethnohistoric and archaeological evidence.

Within the Phoenix Basin in southern Arizona, disk beads have long been highly valued. Remarkably, the Akimel O’Odham (i.e., Pima) and Pee Posh (i.e., Maricopa) still place great importance on them...

Interventions by creative practitioners play an increasingly important part within museum education. This produces a series of questions and tensions around the relationship between creativity and authenticity in terms of the role and limits of evidence, where room for creativity lies, and what it looks like. We explore these questions in the context of prehistoric archaeology by reflecting on the challenges and opportunities of working with creative practitioners during the process of developing a performance-based live game in the Creative Europe project, Journey to the Beginnings.

This paper draws upon documentary, visual and archaeological evidence to chart the development of the sacristy of Westminster Abbey from its construction as one of the earliest parts of the abbey’s thirteenth-century rebuilding to its demolition in the mid-eighteenth century − a story that reflects wider changes of religious and political history.

The Tiber river as a frontier between Umbria and Etruria: some reflections on the case study. This paper analyses the importance of the Tiber River as a frontier between Southern Umbria and the Etruscan territory, paying particular attention to the importance for the Tiber as a commercial route between two cultures along an area included between the ancient territories of Volsinii and Todi, corresponding today to the municipal territories of Baschi and Montecchio in the province of Terni. The research area corresponds to a sector of the Middle Tiber Valley between the Umbrian settlements of Todi and Amelia, where the infiltration of the Etruscan culture originated one of the most important archaeological evidence of it, such as the necropolis of Vallone San Lorenzo. In this context the site of Copio represents the main settlement related to the necropolis. Here the last field-walking survey demonstrated a longue duree of this settlement and his importance as a possible commercial intermediary between the two banks of the river.

Scholarly interpretations of the descent and description of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21–22 have tended to evaluate the city against biblical and extra-canonical descriptions of the Jerusalem Temple, apocalyptic accounts of heaven and ancient utopian literature in general. While some have noted the ways in which the New Jerusalem parallels the description of Babylon elsewhere in the Apocalypse, no one has yet considered the ways in which the New Jerusalem mimics, mirrors and adapts the excesses of elite Roman architecture and decor. The argument of this article is that when viewed against the backdrop of literary and archaeological evidence for upper-class living space, the luxury of the New Jerusalem is domesticated and functions to democratise access to wealth in the coming epoch. The ways in which Revelation's New Jerusalem rehearses the conventions of morally problematic displays of luxury can partially explain later patristic discomfort with literalist readings of this passage.

The arrival of Modern Humans (MHs) in Europe between 50 ka and 36 ka coincides with significant changes in human behaviour, regarding the production of tools, the exploitation of resources and the systematic use of ornaments and colouring substances. The emergence of the so-called modern behaviours is usually associated with MHs, although in these last decades findings relating to symbolic thinking of pre-Sapiens groups have been claimed. In this paper we present a synthesis of the Italian evidence concerning bone manufacturing and the use of ornaments and pigments in the time span encompassing the demise of Neandertals and their replacement by MHs. Current data show that Mousterian bone tools are mostly obtained from bone fragments used as is. Conversely an organized production of fine shaped bone tools is characteristic of the Uluzzian and the Protoaurignacian, when the complexity inherent in the manufacturing processes suggests that bone artefacts are not to be considered as expedient resources. Some traces of symbolic activities are associated to Neandertals in Northern Italy. Ornaments (mostly tusk shells) and pigments used for decorative purposes are well recorded during the Uluzzian. Their features and distribution witness to an intriguing cultural homogeneity within this technocomplex. The Protoaurignacian is characterized by a wider archaeological evidence, consisting of personal ornaments (mostly pierced gastropods), pigments and artistic items.

Following the fortuitous 2015 discovery of a substantial assemblage of mid-16th-century Spanish ceramics in a residential neighborhood overlooking the Emanuel Point shipwrecks in Pensacola Bay, the University of West Florida Archaeology Institute worked with more than 120 landowners to conduct extensive archaeological testing across a broad area in order to determine the boundaries of and to explore the site. This article compares documentary and archaeological evidence to confirm the identification of the roughly 13–15 ha site as Tristan de Luna y Arellano’s 1559–1561 settlement, making it the largest mid-16th-century Spanish colonial site in the Southeast and the earliest multiyear European settlement in the entire United States.

In place of the traditional view that raids and invasion from the north introduced new weapons and chariots to the Shang (c. 1200 BC), we argue that archaeological evidence illustrates the presence of several regional groups at or near the late Shang centre, Anyang. Here we review burial practices at Anyang dating to the late second millennium BC, and describe a substantial group of prone burials that reflect a ritual practice contrasting with that of the predominant Shang elite. Such burials occur at all social levels, from victims of sacrifice to death attendants, and include members of lower and higher elites. Particularly conspicuous are chariot drivers in some chariot pits. An elite-level link with chariots is confirmed by the burial of a military leader in tomb M54 at Huayuanzhuang at Anyang, with tools that match exactly those of chariot drivers. Given that prone burial is known to the north, in the Mongolian region that provided chariots and horses to the Shang, a route can be traced eastwards and southwards, down the Yellow River, and then through mountain basins to Anyang. Our inference is that a group originally from outside the Central Plains can be identified in these distinctive burials. This marks a first step towards understanding the heterogeneity in the central population of the late Shang.

In this paper we explore ancient DNA (aDNA) as a powerful new technique for archaeologists. We argue that for aDNA to reach its full potential we need to carefully consider its theoretical underpinnings. We suggest that at present much aDNA research rests upon two problematic theoretical assumptions: first, that nature and culture exist in binary opposition and that DNA is a part of nature; second, that cultures form distinct and bounded identities. The nature–culture binary, which underpins much aDNA research, not only is a misunderstanding of our world but also results in placing archaeology and material culture in a secondary and subservient position to science and aDNA. Viewing cultures as distinct and bounded creates exclusionary, simplistic and singular identities for past populations. This stands in contrast to the work of social scientists, which has revealed identity to be complex, multiple, changing and contradictory. We offer a new way forward drawing upon assemblage thinking and post-humanism. This allows us to consider the messy and complex nature of our world and of human identities, and demands that we expect equally messy and complex results to emerge when we bring aDNA into conversation with other forms of archaeological evidence.

A critical examination of the relationships between food and identity is explored among early British and American Loyalist settlers in Upper Canada (southern Ontario) from the late 18th to the late 19th centuries. This research synthesizes zooarchaeological data from the region and interprets these alongside historical texts to address how meat was incorporated into early immigrant diets. Previous scholarship generally agreed that pork played a dominant role in Upper Canadian cuisine and that residents first settling in the area were particularly reliant on wild meat resources. Archaeological evidence suggests this was not the case. Results and discussions highlight the influence of British working-class traditions on Upper Canadian identities and the development of regional cuisines in southern Ontario. Parallels are drawn to anthropological and sociological studies of migrant foodways, encouraging archaeologists to consider the importance of maintaining food traditions when examining early immigrant assemblages.Se examinan críticamente las relaciones entre la comida y la identidad entre los primeros colonos lealistas británicos y estadounidenses en el Alto Canadá (sur de Ontario) desde finales del siglo 18 hasta finales del 19. Esta investigación sintetiza datos zooarqueológicos de la región y los interpreta junto con textos históricos para abordar las formas en que la carne se incorporó a las primeras dietas de los inmigrantes. Los estudios anteriores generalmente coincidieron en que la carne de cerdo desempeñaba un papel dominante en la cocina del Alto Canadá y que los residentes que se establecieron por primera vez en el área dependían particularmente de los recursos de carne silvestre. La evidencia arqueológica sugiere que este no fue el caso. Los resultados y las discusiones resaltan la influencia de las tradiciones de la clase trabajadora británica en las identidades del Alto Canadá y el desarrollo de las cocinas regionales en el sur de Ontario. Se trazan aspectos paralelos con los estudios antropológicos y sociológicos de las vías alimentarias de los migrantes, alentando a los arqueólogos a considerar la importancia del mantenimiento de las tradiciones alimentarias en el examen de los primeros grupos de inmigrantes.Les relations entre les aliments et l'identité parmi les premiers pionniers loyalistes britanniques et américains dans le Haut-Canada (Ontario du Sud) à compter de la fin du 18ème siècle jusqu'à la fin du 19ème siècle font l'objet d'un examen critique. Cette recherche effectue une synthèse de données zooarchéologiques collectées dans la région pour ensuite les interpréter conjointement à des textes historiques afin d'étudier les voies par lesquelles la viande a été introduite dans les régimes alimentaires des premiers immigrants. La recherche antérieure s'accordait généralement sur le fait que le porc jouait un rôle dominant dans la cuisine du Haut-Canada, et que les résidents qui se sont initialement installés dans la région s'appuyaient particulièrement sur des ressources de gibier. Les preuves archéologiques suggèrent que tel n'était pas le cas. Les résultats et les discussions mettent en lumière l'influence des traditions de la classe ouvrière britannique sur les identités du Haut-Canada et le développement des cuisines régionales dans l'Ontario du Sud. Des parallèles sont établis avec les études anthropologiques et sociologiques des régimes alimentaires, incitant les archéologues à prendre en compte l'importance de la préservation des traditions culinaires dans l'étude des assemblages des premiers immigrants.

In 1566, Pedro Menendez de Aviles arrived at the capital of the Calusa kingdom. During that same year Menendez issued the order to construct Fort San Anton de Carlos, which was occupied until 1569. This fort was also the location of one of the first Jesuit missions (1567) in what is now the United States. We now can confirm what archaeologists and historians have long suspected: the location of the fort and the capital of the Calusa was Mound Key (8LL2), located in Estero Bay in southwestern Florida. In this article, we present the first archaeological evidence of structures and fortifications associated with the 16th-century Spanish fort and mission of San Anton de Carlos. We conducted this work, which includes both remote sensing and excavation, in an effort to better document the history of the Calusa capital up to and including the colonial period.

Archaeological evidence plays a key role in longitudinal studies of humans and climate. Climate proxy data from Peruvian archaeological sites provide a case study through insight into the history of the “flavors” or varieties of El Niño (EN) events after ∼11 ka: eastern Pacific EN, La Niña, coastal EN (COA), and central Pacific or Modoki EN (CP). Archaeological proxies are important to the coastal Peruvian case because more commonly used paleoclimate proxies are unavailable or equivocal. Previously, multiproxy evidence from the Peruvian coast and elsewhere suggested that EN frequency varied over the Holocene: 1) present in the Early Holocene; 2) absent or very low frequency during the Middle Holocene (∼9 to 6 ka); 3) low after ∼6 ka; and 4) rapidly increasing frequency after 3 ka. Despite skepticism about the reliability of archaeological proxies, nonarchaeological proxies seemed to confirm this archaeological EN reconstruction. Although there is consensus that EN frequency varied over this period, some nonarchaeological and archaeological proxies call parts of this reconstruction into question. Here we review Holocene EN frequency reconstructions for the Peruvian coast, point to complexities introduced by apparent contradictions in a range of proxy records, consider the impact of CP and COA phenomena, and assess the merits of archaeological proxies in EN reconstructions. Reconciling Peruvian coastal paleoclimate data is critical for testing models of future EN behavior under climate variability.

In many cases, material culture acts as a mediator between the living and the dead (Hallam and Hockey 2001). Items used by the living can leave their mark osteologically, can follow an individual into a burial context, or can become part of an individual. Each of these actions leaves archaeological evidence of cultural communication. This paper examines the dialectical relationships between artifacts and osteology through an integrative analysis of the multilayered relationships between osteological data, artifact analysis, and historic documents. Three examples from the Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery demonstrate the materialized relationships between institutions, archaeologists, and the poor and unclaimed of Milwaukee County in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These include: pipe stem grooves and the recovery of pipes, the contemporary categorization of dentures, and dental work (bridges, implants, etc.) as signifiers of institutional relationships (Hodder 2012). Within these relationships, the manifestation of institutional facts juxtaposed with lived experience can be revealed (Renfrew 2004: 26).

This paper discusses archaeological evidence of sound- and music-related artefacts from the southern African archaeological record, from Later Stone Age, Iron Age and historic contexts. The artefac...

Red Bird was a Cherokee murdered at the Red Bird River Petroglyph site (15Cy51) and buried at the Red Bird River Rockshelter (15Cy52) during the late eighteenth century, where he left an important record of traditional petroglyphs. His legacy is key to understanding the origins of Sequoyah's Cherokee Syllabary and its relationship to rock art. Personal testimonies of Red Bird's descendants are supported by primary documents and archaeological evidence, including the letters of Sequoyah's maternal uncle, John Watts, and prototypes of Cherokee Syllabary characters engraved at 15Cy52 in 1808, when members of Sequoyah's matrilineal family resided nearby.

Archaeological evidence has been used to assess pre-contact occupation and use of land since the first modern Aboriginal title claim in Canada. Archaeology’s ability to alternately challenge, support, and add substantive spatial and temporal dimensions to oral histories and documentary histories makes it a crucial tool in the resolution of Aboriginal rights and title. This article assesses how archaeological evidence has been considered in Aboriginal rights and title litigation in Canada, both over time and in different types of cases. The examination indicates that archaeological data have been judged to be sufficient evidence of pre-contact occupation and use. However, some limitations inherent in archaeological data, especially challenges in archaeology’s capacities to demonstrate continuous occupation and exclude possibilities for co-occupation, mean that it is best used in conjunction with ethnographies, oral histories, and historical documents. So long as courts affirm that it is the sole material evidence of pre-contact occupation, archaeological data will continue to be considered in future litigation.

This article outlines the findings of interdisciplinary studies at the three largest medieval fortified settlements (9th-13th centuries AD) on the middle Cheptsa River, northern Udmurtia: Soldyr I Idnakar, Kushman Uchkakar, and Gordino I Guryakar To assess the general trends and characteristic features of their structure and planning, a geophysical survey was carried out, using electrical and magnetic prospecting methods. By correlating geophysical anomalies with excavation findings, two interrelated tasks were completed: reconstructing past events on the basis of archaeological evidence, and assessing the reliability of the geophysical findings. Previously unknown defense lines were revealed at all the sites. Inner layout was virtually linear. Settlement areas (residential, household, and production) were identified. Despite external similarity, the three sites show significant differences in structural and developmental trends. Specifically, at Idnakar and Guryakar, the “annexed” territory protected by a new line of fortifications was used as a household and production periphery. At Uchkakar, this territory was used mainly for residential and household activities, whereas the household and production zone was outside the enclosure. Another distinction of Uchkakar is that the promontory did not reveal the residential, household, or production development zone traditional for Cheptsa settlements. At Guryakar, in contrast to two other sites, an in-depth fortification system was revealed, but no annexed areas.