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The additional rescue archaeological excavations of the AN 5 Petrijevci - Karaševo 1 site, on the route of D34 state road bypassing Petrijevci, uncovered the remains of archaeological structures located on the northern slopes of a gentle elevation next to a place where a small stream used to run. The central part of the excavated area contained post-holes and narrow ditches, but also fragments of La Tène and medieval pottery, indicating that the excavations comprised the northern edge of the prehistoric and medieval settlement standing to the south of today's Petrijevci and the route of the future bypass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The additional rescue archaeological excavations of the AN 3 Petrijevci - Španice site, on the route of the D34 state road bypassing Petrijevci, uncovered a prehistoric settlement standing on a gentle elevation near the former course of the River Karašica. The western part of the site contained pits and post-holes with Urnfield culture ceramic fragments; in fact, the excavations comprised the south-western edge of the settlement. Numerous ditches were recorded along the entire length of the excavated area, probably reflecting the land divisions of the time, and a part was dug for the railway in the early 20th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the recent results of the archaeological research that aims to approach to the occupational dynamics of Moreta settlement (Jujuy Puna, Argentina), including the uses of space and productive practices carried out during the long temporary lapse in which it was inhabited. According to these results, this site was occupied at least since the second half of the first millennium A.D. until colonial times. This long occupation, including an important chicha presence and Inka dominion, along with the evidence indicating the development of agriculture, pastoral and metallurgical activities, show the relevance Moreta has to the understanding of the human occupation of this sector of Argentinean Northwest and its related practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While single pollen records are widely used in reconstructing the environment for nearby prehistoric settlements, they are less helpful when addressing large‐scale issues of variation in human settlement patterns. In order to assess the impact of vegetation change on regional prehistoric settlement and subsistence patterns in an ecotone sensitive area, we inferred the general change in main vegetation types based on palaeobotanical investigations from across northernmost Fennoscandia. Tundra vegetation was predominant during the Lateglacial and earliest parts of the Holocene. Maritime birch forests rich in ferns started to expand c. 11 000 cal. a BP and became dominant from 10 000 cal. a BP. Pine expanded from the NE of the investigation area and pine‐birch forest dominated in the inland around 8000 cal. a BP. A gradual degeneration of forest towards more open birch woodland started c. 6000 cal. a BP with the most marked change around 3500 cal. a BP. Along the northern outer coast, this eventually led to open heathland. Comparison with the archaeological setting suggests a general correlation between low forest cover and extensive mobility patterns, while widespread and varied forest cover appear to have led to a more sedentary way of life. The background for this is arguably that the forested landscapes hosted a larger diversity of resources within a shorter foraging distance, while areas and periods with low forest cover required longer travels to obtain the desired prey and materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Revista Mundo de Antes is the property of Revista Mundo de Antes and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Documenta Praehistorica is the property of Documenta Praehistorica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abundant clay burnt plaster remains and a few flaked tools, including an obsidian artefact, found on the ground surface not far from Trieste (north-eastern Italy) provide rare evidence of a possible prehistoric open-air occupation in the area. To confirm and detail their ancient origin, a plaster sample has been dated between 4000 and 2000 B.C. via thermoluminescence. Outer and inner structure of selected plaster samples has been characterized using several techniques, i.e. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray computed micro-tomography, obtaining information about their production technology. The last technique has allowed to image and virtually extract vegetal remains and imprints. Their 3D morphological study has contributed to collect information about the ancient environment and has provided clues to define the plaster production season. The provenance of the obsidian artefact from Lipari Island, revealed by prompt gamma activation analysis, suggests that the finding site was part of long-distance connection systems and probably worked as intermediate point between the north-eastern Adriatic coastal areas and the inner Karst plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present article we explore the possibilities of reconstructing social behaviour through a detailed analysis of the so-called 'ashmounds' of the Late Bronze Age in Eastern Europe, starting from new research at a settlement of the Noua culture, Rotbav in south-eastern Transylvania. For the first time, the excavations comprised not only the 'ashmound' but also its vicinity, revealing the existence of structures like houses and pits. Furthermore, the analysis and comparison of the finds revealed significant differences between the 'ashmound' and the rest of the domestic spaces. This leads us to a new interpretation of the 'ashmounds' as special places, linked with feasting activities and collective leatherworking. This new interpretation is supported not only by the examination of the finds but also by new archaeozoological and chemical analyses, which are usually missing in Eastern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the interactions between hominin settlements and the palaeoecological contexts of the Early/Middle Pleistocene, in the central European lowlands and highlands. The palaeoenvironmental data from twenty-one natural sites with pollen, vertebrate and/or mollusc records (e.g. Voigstedt, Dethlingen, Ossówka) are compared and discussed in regard to seventeen localities with clear hominin occurrence (e.g. Kärlich, Stránská skála, Bilzingsleben, Vértesszölös, Schöningen). This contribution provides the first attempt of a large scale qualitative compilation of palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic data from key, multidisciplinary investigated late Early Pleistocene and Middle Pleistocene archaeological and non-archaeological sequences in Central Europe, mostly from MIS 22 to MIS 9. As such, this work is key for our understanding of the potential impact of climate-environment conditions upon hominin settlement dynamics vs. sites preservation in the region. Lower Palaeolithic hominin in Central Europe occupied a variety of environments, and despite the fragmentary nature of the record, warm and humid climate and partly forested landscapes appear as the most favourable conditions for hominin settlements. Prior to 0.5 Ma the record is however limited and the earliest hominin settlements of Central Europe appear largely unexplored in comparison to other European regions. During MIS 11-9, the increase of both natural and anthropogenic records seems to highlight the better sedimentary record from that time period in comparison to the previous ones, and lessens the assumption of an intensification of hominin settlement and increase of population during MIS 11-9 in Central Europe, such as proposed in Western Europe. Highlights • Repeated hominin presence is documented in the Central European Highlands. • An increase in both natural and archaeological sites starts from MIS 11. • Open forest and forest-steppe were more favourable to hominin settlements. • Lowlands were suitable to hominin settlements but access to the records is difficult. • Hominin occupations appear related to local resources availability not temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Oak disks from pile dwellings of the prehistoric site of Gran Carro (lake Bolsena, Italy) were analysed in order to estimate wood degradation. Micro-morphological observations showed that the microbial decay could be mainly attributed to erosion bacteria. The most important physical properties, i.e. Maximum Water Content (MWC), Residual basal Density (RDb), and the calculation of the Lost Wood Substance (LWS) highlighted that heartwood (HW) was moderately preserved, with MWC values slightly higher or comparable to that of recent oak, whereas sapwood (SW) was very degraded. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was tested as an alternative method for the chemical characterisation of archaeological wood. The TGA profiles were critically discussed taking into account the results of the physical and micro-morphological analyses. Potentialities and drawbacks of TGA were underlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental investigation was conducted to reconstruct the Holocene history of coastal landscape change in the lower Posada coastal plain of eastern Sardinia. In the Mediterranean region, coastal modifications during the Holocene have been driven by a complex interplay between climate, geomorphological processes and human activity. In this paper, millennial-scale human-sea level-environment interactions are investigated near Posada, one of the largest coastal plains in eastern Sardinia. Biostratigraphic and palynological approaches were used to interpret the chrono-stratigraphy exhibited by a series of new cores taken from the coastal plain. This new study elucidates the main paleoecological changes, phases of shoreline migration and relative sea-level change during the last 8000 years. These results indicate the major role of sea-level stabilization and high sediment supply in driving major landscape changes, especially during the Neolithic period (6 th –4 th millennia BC), and the long-term settlement history of this coastal valley area. It is concluded that human occupation of the coastal plain, from prehistoric to historical times, was most likely constrained by the rapid and constant evolution of this coastal landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a series of new radiocarbon dates we examine the vertical mobility of cattle in the Alps by means of strontium isotope analysis on samples from the prehistoric settlement of Ramosch-Mottata (Canton of Grisons, Switzerland). By identifying variations in the strontium isotope ratios of high-crowned cattle molars, we investigate the seasonal use of alpine pastures (vertical transhumance) and changes in cattle husbandry practices between the early and later stages of the site's occupation. Combined with the evidence of multiple high-altitude sites, indications of dairying and ethno-archeological observations, we see an economic shift and a reorganization of domestic animal exploitation from the early to the late Bronze/early Iron Age in the Alps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detailed compositional and technological analysis of a large assemblage of prehistoric ceramics from numerous sites situated within the Peak District National Park has been used to explore the settlement patterns, societal structure, mobility and interaction of the populations that inhabited this area during the Early Bronze Age to Early Iron Age. A surprising pattern emerges of the widespread dominance of a single, geographically restricted temper type, which appears to have been transported and mixed with locally procured clay and used to produce pottery at numerous different sites. The distribution of this and several other compositional groups are defined via thin‐section petrography and compared to raw material field samples. The resulting patterns are used to assess the validity of previous theories about prehistoric life in this region during the third to first millennia bc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complementary use of various archaeological prospection data sets offers a series of new possibilities for the investigation of prehistoric settlements. In addition to the separate interpretations of the single methods, the implementation of image fusion provides an additional tool to obtain an even higher degree of data integration during the interpretation process. To investigate some possibilities and risks of image fusion, a procedure frequently used in the medical field but rarely applied in archaeology, various algorithms inside a dedicated MATLAB toolbox TAIFU (Toolbox for Archaeological Image FUsion) were tested on the geophysical prospection data from an Iron Age settlement near Vesterager in West Jutland, Denmark. The Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology had conducted large-scale, high-resolution ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and magnetometry surveys at the site in 2014, based on its discovery by the Ringkøbing Museum through aerial photos and the results of a follow-up excavation in 2009. The aim was to determine if, and to what extent, geophysical prospection together with a novel integrative interpretational approach was able to add more detailed information to an already known prehistoric settlement. Results yielded a variety of deeper insights into the separate farms (dated to around AD 400), including the discovery of several new structures and more information about the construction of the longhouses, as well as a first suggestion on how to implement image fusion into the process of analysis and archaeological interpretation of geophysical data sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeological land use results in the modification of natural environments according to cultural templates and strategies. Deeply entrenched environmental legacies can result from such “niche construction,” influencing subsequent cultures and continuing to resonate in modern ecological function. These changes can be better understood through archaeological remote sensing.Here, I describe spectral responses of densely vegetated sugarcane fields in the Chicama Valley (north coast of Peru) to archaeological features and associated anthropogenic soils (anthrosols). Ongoing satellite remote sensing documents approximately 440 previously unrecorded major archaeological monuments and smaller features within a 310 km2 sample of the Chicama Valley The majority of these date to the Moche-Chimu periods (ca. AD 300-1400), with others dating to the Cupisnique-Colonial periods. The newly recorded features are significant for accurately reconstructing the socio-ecological history of anthropogenic environmental change in the region.In addition to advancing analyses of archaeological settlement, these results reveal how prehispanic land use legacies result in persistent anthropogenic niches that can affect modern agricultural potentials. The relationships between anthropogenic features and sugarcane development can be directly evaluated through vegetation indices and physically based image transforms. Phenological response is linked to long-term alterations in soil texture, organic-matter content, and moisture capacity. Past land use thus has a significant impact upon contemporary ecological function, resulting in anthropogenic microenvironments. As sugarcane increasingly is an important industrial crop, these results have the potential to be widely applied to archaeological and agronomic problems, including reconstructions of archaeological landscapes, understanding persistent anthropogenic environments, and mitigating heritage loss while potentially improving precision agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a study of the visual properties of natural and Amerindian cultural landscapes in late pre-colonial East-Guadeloupe and of how these visual properties affected social interactions. Through a review of descriptive and formal visibility studies in Caribbean archaeology, it reveals that the ability of visual properties to affect past human behaviour is frequently evoked but the more complex of these hypotheses are rarely studied formally. To explore such complex hypotheses, the current study applies a range of techniques: total viewsheds, cumulative viewsheds, visual neighbourhood configurations and visibility networks. Experiments were performed to explore the control of seascapes, the functioning of hypothetical smoke signalling networks, the correlation of these visual properties with stylistic similarities of material culture found at sites and the change of visual properties over time. The results of these experiments suggest that only few sites in Eastern Guadeloupe are located in areas that are particularly suitable to visually control possible sea routes for short- and long-distance exchange; that visual control over sea areas was not a factor of importance for the existence of micro-style areas; that during the early phase of the Late Ceramic Age networks per landmass are connected and dense and that they incorporate all sites, a structure that would allow hypothetical smoke signalling networks; and that the visual properties of locations of the late sites Morne Souffleur and Morne Cybèle-1 were not ideal for defensive purposes. These results led us to propose a multi-scalar hypothesis for how lines of sight between settlements in the Lesser Antilles could have structured past human behaviour: short-distance visibility networks represent the structuring of navigation and communication within landmasses, whereas the landmasses themselves served as focal points for regional navigation and interaction. We conclude by emphasising that since our archaeological theories about visual properties usually take a multi-scalar landscape perspective, there is a need for this perspective to be reflected in our formal visibility methods as is made possible by the methods used in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of a solar-power-array on Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, prompted the archaeological investigation of one of the most completely excavated Archaic period sites in the Sonoran Desert. Beginning with the Middle Archaic period and continuing to the early Historic period, people visited this location to gather and process wild plants, particularly mesquite. Despite the long occupational history, the plant-processing tools and techniques changed little over time. This paper focuses on the settlement location and history of Falcon Landing, a multicomponent site in the western Phoenix Basin. The excavation of Falcon Landing uncovered over 3,000 features representing over 5,000 years of intermittent human occupation. The results of this project offer a unique and intriguing look into Archaic period subsistence and settlement in a lower bajada landscape, and how this subsistence and settlement strategy persisted for millennia and became an integral part of human adaptation to the Sonoran Desert. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The archaeological site of Biskupin (Poland) is a prehistoric settlement dating to the 8th century BC, situated on a marshy island. Excavations started in 1934 and a considerable number of wooden artifacts were found in the lake water. Unfortunately, during many years of archaeological excavations, wooden remains deposited in the trenches were exposed to degradation and underwent considerable decomposition. Among the main causes of wood degradation, fungi and bacteria were the most destructive ones. The chemical effects induced by fungi and bacteria on wood are not well-known or studied. Here we present the investigation of a set of pine wood samples ( Pinus sylvestris ) buried in the Biskupin site, with the aim of reproducing the burial conditions of the original archaeological wood. Two monitoring stations (wet peat and lake water) were chosen and the samples were then removed from these burial environments after four and ten years. After removal, the samples were exposed to laboratory-controlled attack by the brown rot fungus Coniophora puteana . The final aim was to evaluate the effects of fungal activity on the wood substrates with different degrees of natural degradation. The study is part of an experiment designed to evaluate the short-term effects of the in situ preservation strategy adopted for the Biskupin archaeological woods. Various techniques were used to assess the physical and chemical degradation of the wood. The morphological changes induced by the exposure to the burial environment and by the action of the fungi were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The chemical state of the wood was evaluated by using infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), analytical pyrolysis coupled with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) and XRD spectroscopy. Fungal action caused the depletion of polysaccharides resulting in mass loss and the FTIR spectra of the wood samples highlighted that cellulose was more degraded with respect to hemicelluloses. This trend correlated with an increase in the relative abundance of furans, which are among the main pyrolysis products of polysaccharides. Fungal attack also induced oxidation of lignin and an increase in the crystallinity index of cellulose, which points towards a preferential metabolisation of amorphous cellulose. The overall results highlighted that the burial in these wet environments caused changes mostly in the hemicelluloses, whereas the fungal attack was mainly directed to cellulose degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Măgura 'Buduiasca' (‘Boldul lui Moş Ivănuş’) settlement has an important place among the Prehistoric settlements from the Balkans. It is characterized by continuous habitation from the Early Neolithic through to the Early Chalcolithic allowing an understanding of the development of utilitarian objects and personal adornments in respect of the raw materials used and their processing patterns. One group consists of local bivalves ( Unio sp.) which were exploited in an opportunistic manner: first as an important source of food and second as a source material for producing artefacts after recovery from domestic waste. The local gastropods shells ( Lithoglyphus sp., Theodoxus danubialis, Esperiana sp., Ansius/Planorbis sp.) are without any nutritional value and used only as a source of raw materials. They could be collected during specialized expeditions organized for this purpose at certain times of the year. Imported elements are a third category which most likely arrived at Măgura ‘Buduiasca’ as finished objects. They provide evidence for complex exchange networks at this period in prehistory. Species like Mytilus or Cardium most likely come from the Black Sea, while Spondylus or Glycymeris may have their origins in the Mediterranean Sea. The presence of these raw materials demonstrates different transformation methods with their origin influencing the processing procedure: allogene valves for adornments, while Unio sp. are especially transformed into utilitarian tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diverse island societies of East Polynesia are well-suited as models for comparative evolutionary analysis. Settled ca. 750 BP by a common ancestral population, colonists of the remote corners of the Pacific shared a pool of cultural traits that included commensal species, language, technology, and other cultural practices. Following colonization however, island populations diverged in language, subsistence practices, degree of territoriality, settlement patterns, investment and forms of monumental architecture, and social organization. Driven by historical circumstances and varied environmental conditions, this divergence presents evolutionary case studies of alternative paths of cultural change. One explanatory approach to this evolutionary divergence involves isolating the critical ecological parameters that likely constrained and shaped the diverse history of island populations. Here, we offer a comparative evolutionary analysis that explores the divergent histories of two marginal East Polynesian islands: Rapa Nui and Rapa Iti. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeologists of Goethe Universität Frankfurt and Harvard University investigated the Roman settlement of Decem Pagi (Tarquimpol, Moselle, France), known mainly from Ammianus Marcellinus and the Itineraria, and its late antique fortification. They uncovered a sequence of flourishing settlement, apparent abandonment, and surprising refoundation in Late Antiquity. Occupation antedated the Roman conquest (ceramic, coin, 14C dating). Fourteen sounding trenches and geomagnetic, aerial, GPR, and walking surveys identified impressive early imperial monuments (colonnaded portico, large fanum); they offer a context for the theater observed in 1981, and earlier finds. Decem Pagi now emerges as the religious center of the Saulnois, Metz's salt-producing hinterland, down to its destruction dated by ceramic around the mid-third century. Most surprising was the settlement's late antique refoundation after apparent abandonment. At the Roman crossroads, the settlement's highest point was fortified by a massive late antique clay and stone spolia-faced wall faced and preceded by a double V ditch. A dark earth layer shows at least two phases from ca. 350 to some-time before ca. 450, dated by Argonne and other ceramic, coins, and 14C. It displays craft production and postholes from structures whose regular spatial layout suggests a street plan. Excepting Merovingian-era sarcophagi excavated in the Romanesque parish church in the nineteenth c. there are almost no signs of early medieval occupation, notwithstanding substantial Merovingian activities at neighboring sites along the Seille River. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Les recherches initiales dans le Parc national du Niokolo-Koba furent engagées à partir de 1969, et conduites par le laboratoire d'archéologie de l'IFAN, alors dirigé par Cyr Descamps, et le laboratoire de géographie, avec Christian Barbey, après le ramassage d'une pierre à cupule par le directeur du Parc (A. Dupuy) et le signalement en 1968, par un préhistorien amateur, le Dr. Gaillard, de la présence d'éclats taillés dans les alluvions de Bafoulabé. Ces premières collections d'outils préhistoriques, taillés essentiellement sur du jaspe et de la silexite à faciès jaspoïde, ont été recueillies dans les niveaux remaniés des graviers sous berge (dernier et plus bas niveau alluvial), dans le lit mineur de la Gambie (Gué de Bafoulabé) et du Niokolo-Koba (au Passage du Koba et dans un ravin, face au campement du Niokolo). Les prospections et les fouilles entre 1982 et 2003 dans le delta de la Falémé ont permis de confirmer l'identité du schéma géomorphologique et stratigraphique de la basse vallée de la Falémé et de la Moyenne Gambie à la traversée du Parc national du Niokolo-Koba. Ces recherches ont aussi permis d'observer de nombreux sites préhistoriques nouveaux, qui confirment les données antérieures tout en montrant l'existence d'industries dans des positions stratigraphiques et géomorphologiques corrélables avec celles relevées dans la vallée de la Falémé. Une dernière visite dans le parc en 2003 a servi à préciser les coordonnées GPS des anciennes localisations cartographiées à la main entre 1982 et 1986. Trois phases du Stone Age ont été identifiées, rapportables à l'Acheuléen évolué, au Middle Stone Age anciennement appelé « moustéroïde » et au Later Stone Age , anciennement appelé Paléolithique évolué. Le présent travail reprend les données antérieures présentées dans des rapports de missions ou des mémoires de Maîtrise afin de replacer le Parc national de Niokolo-Koba dans les grandes questions des peuplements préhistoriques ouest-africains. First investigations in the Niokolo-Koba National Park were undertaken in 1969 and conducted by the IFAN Archaeology laboratory (directed by Cyr Descamps) and the Geography laboratory with Christian Barbey, after the collection of a cupule stone by the director of the Park (A. Dupuy). The amateur prehistorian Dr. Gaillard also reported the presence of flakes in the Bafoulabé alluvium. These first collections of prehistoric tools, knapped mainly on jasper and jasper facies chert, were collected in the reworked levels of gravel under the bank (last and lowest alluvial level), in the minor bed of the Gambia (Gué de Bafoulabé) and Niokolo-Koba (at Passage du Koba and in a ravine, opposite the Niokolo camp). The surveys conducted between 1983 and 1984, and the excavation between 1982 and 2003 in the Falémé valley confirmed the identity of the geomorphological and stratigraphic scheme of the lower valley of the Falémé and the Middle Gambia at the crossing of the National Park of Niokolo-Koba. This research also allowed the observation of numerous new prehistoric sites, which confirm the previous data while showing the existence of industries in stratigraphic and geomorphological positions similar to those found in the Falémé valley. A final visit inside the Park in 2003 allowed to precise the GPS coordinates of the former manual locations (between 1982 and 1986). Three Stone Age periods were identified: the Acheulean, the Middle Stone Age, formerly known as the Mousteroid, and the Later Stone Age, formerly known as the Advanced/Final Palaeolithic. The present work takes up previous data presented in mission reports or master's theses in order to place Niokolo-Koba National Park in the major issues of West African prehistoric settlements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information about the Late Paleo or Early Archaic blade artifacts from the author's collection from Pike Country, Illinois, United States, and examines its use-wear patterns. It discusses how the science of archaeology explores the answers to human cultures lived and adapted to various environments.

The summed probability distribution of 162 radiocarbon dates from Gotland was analysed with reference to archaeological and environmental data in order to evaluate possible variations in settlement intensity on the island. The data indicated variations in demographic development on the island, with probably several different colonization events and external influences; the pioneer settlement reached the island around 9200 cal. BP. After the initial colonization, the radiocarbon dates were rather evenly distributed until around 7700–7600 cal. BP, then there was a drop in the number of dates between 8300 and 8000 cal. BP that may be associated with the 8200 cold event. A marked decline in the number of dates between 7600 and 6000 cal. BP may be associated initially with the Littorina I transgression, but this transgression cannot explain why the Late Mesolithic period is not well represented on Gotland: the climatic development was favourable but did not result in increased human activity. The number of radiocarbon dates indicated that the population size remained low until around 6000 cal. BP, after which there was a gradual increase that reached a first ‘threshold’ after 5600 cal. BP and a second ‘threshold’ after 4500 cal. BP. The first apparent population increase was associated with the appearance of the Funnel Beaker Culture (FBC) and the second with Pitted Ware Culture (PWC) complexes. A decline in the number of dates occurred after 4300 cal. BP, i.e. towards the Late Neolithic. There was an association between the frequency distributions of the radiocarbon dates and the number of stray finds from different time periods but any correlation was not straightforward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A geoarchaeological investigation that included soil-stratigraphic and paleoecological analyses was conducted at Richard Beene, a deeply stratified open-air site associated with an alluvial terrace of the Medina River in south-central Texas. The sequence of cultural and alluvial deposits at the site is one of the most complete records of Holocene human occupation and sedimentation documented in North America, and is very important to the interpretation of the cultural history of the Inner Gulf Coastal Plain and adjacent areas of the Southern Plains. The most salient ecological characteristics of the site are its riparian setting and location in the ecotone between North America's western grasslands and eastern woodlands. The cultural record spans the past 10,000 years and is buried in 14 m of fine-grained flood deposits with multiple buried paleosols. Excavations totaling 730 m 2 sampled 20 stratigraphically distinct archaeological components in valley fill beneath the Applewhite terrace, yielding more than 80,000 artifacts, including flakes, tools, bones, mussel shells, and fire-cracked rocks left by Archaic and Late Pre-Columbian hunter-gatherers. Seven primary stratigraphic units and five laterally traceable buried paleosols were identified at the site. The oldest stratigraphic unit consists of coarse-grained channel deposits that accumulated soon before 33,000 14 C yr B.P. Most of the units, however, consist of fine-grained alluvium that accumulated between ca. 10,000 and 1000 14 C yr B.P. The δ 13 C values of organic matter from the site's soil-stratigraphic sequence indicate increased C 4 production during the Younger Dryas (11,000–10,000 14 C yr B.P.), and C 4 productivity generally increased throughout the Holocene, culminating in peak warm intervals at ca. 5000 and 2000 14 C yr B.P. Although during relatively dry periods grasses expanded at the expense of trees, a mosaic of trees and grasses (i.e., a savannah) typical of a grassland-forest ecotone prevailed at the site throughout the Holocene. Such a food-rich environment characterized by an abundance of deer and geophytes, as well as mussels from the Medina River accounts for repetitive human occupation spanning at least 10,000 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prehistoric human settlement activities in northern Hungary have been well studied for several decades. Recent studies from the Great Hungarian Plain provide evidence of human impact starting as early as in the Neolithic (c. 8200 cal BP). Archaeological records suggest that with establishment of the Baden culture (c. 5500 cal BP), settlements were moved from Tisza River towards the northern mountainous area. Although Quaternary landscape development of the Bükk Mountains is well studied, Holocene human environment interactions in particular, have not been focused on so far. Here, we present Holocene landscape history around Bogács in the southern Bükk mountain foreland. Sediment records were sampled from fans of secondary tributaries in the middle course of the Hór valley. Morphology of the tributary valleys suggests different incision phases with older forms and less human impact in the northern part of the studied valley section (type 1) and younger forms and stronger human impact in the southern part (type 2). However, 14 C dates from the fan of a type 2 valley in the southern part suggest initial incision between 9000 and 8000 cal BP, whereas human activity is not reflected in the sediments. In the fan sediments of a type 1 tributary in the northern part of the studied valley section, daub was found in the context of deposits dated to 3000 cal BP. Here, thickness of Holocene sediments suggest significant soil erosion. It can be summarised that post-Pleistocene valley incision was restricted to short periods of extreme climate conditions during the Early-to Mid Holocene. Human activities did not contribute to initial valley incision. Nevertheless, human activities seem to have enhanced soil erosion in the catchments of type 1 tributaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article, which is based on the Author's field notes, and on the analysis of the Early Historic/Historic ceramic data from Barikot, Swat, focuses on the nature and archaeological significance of pottery deposits at the site. The article includes a short note on a rare vessel type whose function has been often misinterpreted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study has two objectives. The first is to assess allocation of tooth size across the permanent dentition of Khow females and males. The second is to investigate Khow biological origins in light of three models offered for the population history of Greater Dardistan. Mesiodistal and buccolingual dimensions of the permanent teeth were measured among 209 Khow volunteers. Principal component analysis was used to assess variation in the patterning of tooth size among Khow females and males. Discriminant function analysis was used to determine the accuracy of identifying Khows odontometrically by sex. Khows were compared to members of six living peninsular Indian ethnic groups and 12 sex-pooled prehistoric samples. Group centroids from canonical variates were plotted in three dimensions to assess similarities among samples. Principal components analysis identifies tooth size allocation differences between Khow females and males. Discriminant functions identify sex correctly in 74-83% of Khows. Canonical variates identify Khows as possessing closer affinities to prehistoric Central Asians than to prehistoric inhabitants of the Indus Valley or living peninsular Indian ethnic groups. Tooth size allocation analysis identifies systemic differences among females and males of living South Asian ethnic groups. Khows possess tooth size allocation patterns most similar to Central Asians, but not to BMAC samples. Hence, the Aryan Invasion model is not supported. Affinities between Khows and Namazga III inhabitants of Geoksyur provide weak support for the Indo-Iranian model, but long-standing residence within Greater Dardistan, expected under the Indigenous model, is also supported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excavations at Park Prewett, Basingstoke, were undertaken in advance of a residential development. Three areas were opened, measuring a combined area of 1.6 ha, based on the results of a previous site evaluation. Limited later prehistoric finds suggest background activity of various periods, possibly relating to settlements outside of the excavated area. At the south-west of the site, a series of parallel linear ditches representing a field boundary and trackway dating to the Roman period were discovered. These are part of a wider agricultural landscape known through various excavations around the north of Basingstoke. A medieval field boundary ditch, with associated fence line and potential hedgerow were also identified towards the east of the excavation. A number of features were also uncovered that relate to Park Prewett Hospital, built in the early 20th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeological Fieldwork in Estonia 2018, 9-38 Archaeological fieldwork in 2018 Erki Russow Tallinna Ülikool, humanitaarteaduste instituut, ajaloo, arheoloogia ja kunstiajaloo keskus (Tallinn University, School of Humanities, Institute of History, Archaeology and Art History), Uus-Sadama 5, 10120 Tallinn, Estonia; erki.russow@tlu.ee Ulla Kadakas Muinsuskaitseamet (National Heritage Board), Pikk 2, 10123 Tallinn, Estonia Arvi Haak Tartu Linnamuuseum (Tartu City Museum), Narva mnt 23, 51009 Tartu, Estonia Riina Rammo Tartu Ülikool, ajaloo ja arheoloogia instituut (Institute of History and Archaeology, University of Tartu), Jakobi 2, 51005 Tartu, Estonia INTRODUCTION In 2018, altogether 232 instances of archaeological fieldwork took place (Fig. The reconstruction and widening of the Tallinn-Tartu road led to the discovery of a village cemetery at Saarnakõrve (Table 1: 67; Fig. The small-scale earthwork on Toompea Hill, former upper town of Tallinn, at Toomkooli St. 19 green area, called "The Bishop's Garden", turned out to be one of the highlights of the year for the archaeology of Tallinn (M. Reppo, OÜ Agu EMS, Table 1: 50). Rescue excavations at the rural cemetery of Saarnakõrve, necessitated by the reconstruction of Tallinn-Tartu road. Erki Russow, Ulla Kadakas, Arvi Haak and Riina Rammo 23 The present volume has been published with the financial help of the National Heritage Board, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Estonian National Culture Foundation, Institute of History, Archaeology and Art History, Tallinn University, and Department of Archaeology at the University of Tartu. [Extracted from the article]

The settlement site of Kunda Lammasmägi and its surroundings have been studied extensively since the 19th century. Nevertheless, a number of questions on the nature of the settlement and its surrounding environment remain unanswered. In this paper, we will present paleolandscape reconstructions based on geology, palynology, micro- and macrofossil analysis and radiocarbon datings published by various researchers. We will also include recent LiDAR data, results of the fieldwork carried out by the authors at Kunda Lammasmägi and along the paleolake shoreline, as well as the results of the analysis of archaeological material accumulated from 1933 to 2016 with an emphasis on lithic finds and pottery. Recent fieldwork, digital elevation modelling and typo-chronological review of the finds have clarified issues, such as the extent of stratigraphical mixing, association between the settlement stages and the paleolake development, and the human activity in other parts of the paleolake depression. Three distinct phases can be observed in the development of environmental conditions of the Kunda depression: 1) until the beginning of the Atlantic pollen assemblage zone, Lammasmägi existed as an island in the southern part of a postglacial lake; 2) during the first half of the Atlantic, the water level dropped, a remnant lake was left in the northern part, and Lammasmägi existed as a seasonal island or higher place in the marsh; 3) by the beginning of the second half of the Atlantic, the remnant lake was partly overgrown and Lammasmägi was surrounded by dry land. The analysis of archaeological material enabled the differentiation of four settlement phases: 1) in the Early Mesolithic I and II; 2) in the Late Mesolithic I; 3) in the Late Mesolithic II; and 4) in the Neolithic until the beginning of the Bronze Age. The first two settlement stages can be associated with the paleolake, while the subsequent two are associated with the present-day Kunda River and other streams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on the Early Mesolithic of Troms County, northern Norway, following recent excavations and research. Compared to neighbouring Finnmark County, relatively little was until recently known about this period within the region. However, several research and rescue excavations have taken place over the past decade and significantly augmented our database and insights so the time is now ripe for taking stock of our knowledge. Drawing in particular from the spatially extensive rescue excavations on the sites Tønsnes, Bergli, and Stangnes Syd, as well as from the most recent literature, the state of knowledge regarding the key issues of chronology, raw material management, dwellings, intra-site organization, and settlement will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wild boar and roe deer samples from an excavation in Dispilio, Greece, were subjected to collagen extraction protocols to reconstruct the paleoecological regime. Radiocarbon (14C) analysis suggested the Middle/Late Neolithic period and the database was updated with collagen samples. The 14C model concluded to a possible local deforestation effect in the settlement subbasin confirmed by sediment δ13C and δ15N values. Carbon isotope values in collagen samples concluded in C3 plant type. Both carbon and nitrogen isotopes indicated the differences in dietary habits and/or metabolic system between the two Late Neolithic I species. Roe deer samples were classified as purely herbivorous. δ15N values of wild boar collagen samples from Dispilio reflected a diet mainly characterized by terrestrial protein. Compared to literature data, wild boar samples from the Dispilio excavation concluded that the animals might have lived close to the settlement where their diet could be supplemented by a consistent animal protein fraction. Finally, it is concluded that rainfall is an important factor that affects plant, and consequently animal, δ15N values. Therefore, the rainfall regime should always be considered in paleodietary studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lajia Ruins in the Guanting Basin, NW China, are a product of the prehistoric Qijia Culture. Like Pompeii, they are a rare example of an archaeological site preserved by a natural disaster and are therefore important in archaeology, anthropology and geology. However, the nature of the disaster(s) responsible for the destruction of the site remains controversial. Most studies have focused on an earthquake and a red clay layer directly overlying the site and a detailed stratigraphic study of the mid-Holocene sedimentary strata combined with other intervals of red clay deposition (hence possible disasters) is lacking. We identified a mid-Holocene paleosol sequence (the Shanglajia section) at the site which contains two layers of red clay, dated to 3950 a BP and 3500 a BP, intercalated within the mid-Holocene paleosol (S 0 ). Subsequent multi-proxy analysis indicated that the characteristics of the two red clay layers resemble those of typical Tertiary red clay deposits and the modern gully deposit at the foot of the Great Red Hills, but are distinctly different from those of the slackwater deposits of the Yellow River and the mid-Holocene paleosol. Our results suggest that, at 3950 a BP and 3500 a BP, two large-scale rainstorm-induced mudflow events, originating from the gullies to the north, flooded the Lajia area on the second terrace of the Yellow River, devastating and burying the human settlements. We infer that the intensified erosion and mass wasting were caused by human activity; in addition, natural factors such as rainstorms and earthquakes, may also have played an important role in triggering catastrophic mudflow events in the Tertiary Red Clay deposits. Overall, our results provide further insights into prehistoric man-land relationships in this environmentally sensitive region which may have implications for modern land use in this region of China and elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates Late Bronze Age mobile pastoralism in Northeast China. Analysis of the use-wear patterns provides direct evidence speaking to the subsistence economies during the Bronze Age. The patterns of use-wear are compared to the settlement patterning and environmental contexts to test proposed theories about whether and how subsistence change takes place. The results indicate continuity in mixed animal and plant based economies in both the Early and Late Bronze Age despite changes in climate and population. The relative intensity of economic practice is guided by the environmental context, but this is detected only at the sub-regional level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fossil remains and the technological complexes recorded in archaeological sites suggest that the human presence in Europe late in the early and middle Pleistocene was discontinuous. Moreover, competition for meat with other secondary consumers could have delayed the human dispersal through Europe. However, evaluation of the extent competition intensity among secondary consumers suggests this influenced the discontinuity of the human settlement of Europe between 1.1 and 0.2 Ma. Using a mathematical model, we estimate the amount of biomass available in a community for secondary consumers. The amount of available biomass is subsequently distributed among the guild of secondary consumers according to their requirements and prey preferences. Indexes that quantify the competition intensity among secondary consumers to compare the conditions in different paleoecosystems show that the competition intensity late in the early Pleistocene, early in the middle Pleistocene, and late in the middle Pleistocene does not support the view that an increase in competition intensity constrained the expansion of human populations early in the middle Pleistocene. Somewhat paradoxically, the lowest competition intensity is estimated to have occurred early in the middle Pleistocene, most likely because of an increase in the number of large herbivore species and a decrease in the number of secondary consumers. The early Pleistocene paleoecosystems supported higher competition intensity than the middle Pleistocene ecosystems, likely because of the different configuration in the food webs of these two periods (the early and middle Pleistocene). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the Cairn Burials of Jebel Qurma, Northeastern Jordan in east of Amman. It is stated that with steep-sided, basalt-covered prominences and rocky dissected plateaus, this area is an extensive and rugged low basalt massif with extensive gravel plains extend beyond the forbidding, basaltic uplands and alternating with mud flats. It is also noted that except for the occasional small and dispersed Bedouin groups, the landscape remains difficult to inhabit.

Los Naranjos is one of the most important pre-Columbian human settlements of Honduras related to the south-easternmost border of the Mayan civilization. Although the archaeological site mostly spans from 850 BC to 1250 AD, the present obsidian study was only focused on the Preclassic and Early Classic periods (Jaral, 800-400 BC and Edén, 400 BC-550 AD) where undamaged blades and/or retouched obsidian flakes are rare. In this way, the INAA analyses of 17 obsidian samples, compared with major-trace elements data of Honduran and Guatemalan obsidian sources, are mostly representative of waste flakes. Lithic artifacts of Los Naranjos such as sandstones, basalts, and quartzites come from local geological outcrops; whereas, obsidian provenance has to be searched from sources which are located within a radius up to 300 km far away. San Luis, La Esperanza, and Güinope obsidian sources are located in Honduras while the three most exploited Highland Guatemalan obsidian outcrops, which have been dominating long-distance trade in the Maya area mostly for the Classic-Postclassic periods, are San Martin de Jilotepeque, El Chayal, and Ixtepeque. An Ixtepeque provenance, for all the investigated obsidian samples of Preclassic and Early Classic periods found in the Los Naranjos Archaeological Park, was established, thus emphasizing a long-distance source (180 km). This also confirms that Ixtepeque represents the most important provenance of the obsidian artifacts found in archaeological sites of Western and Central-Western Honduras. The possible role played by some of the most important rivers of Guatemala and Honduras as waterway networks of transport was finally pointed out. New INAA chemical data from the Honduran obsidian source of La Esperanza ('Los Hoyos', 4 samples) are also reported in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeological surveys have progressed from a secondary discipline to a solid and consistent working method which is evolving in tune with the goals of prehistoric research. Almost 60 years have passed since New Archaeology began to point out the importance of archaeological surveys for the study of prehistoric settlement patterns, and this issue has been discussed in many meetings and correspondence. Nowadays, it is not only individual sites that matter. In order to understand the lives of human groups, we have become aware that we also have to study their interactions with other sites and the environment in which they operated, i.e., their territory. Within this context, we began a survey aimed at documenting all the prehistoric settlements found in Sierra de Atapuerca, as well as the environments that had been preserved. A full-coverage and high intensity archaeological survey was conducted in a 314 km2 area. The results thus obtained are the ones presented in this work, which are compared against those results that would have been obtained if a sampling had been performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares levels IV and VIII of Abrigo de la Quebrada. The study includes knapping technique, raw material, fauna, and the spatial distribution of lithic and bone remains. Although both levels correspond to cumulative palimpsests, patterns of resource management and use of space that suggest changes in the rhythm of occupation and the functionality of the settlements can be discerned. A change in mobility patterns probably underpins the differences between these two levels of Quebrada, but assessing this hypothesis is made difficult by the lack of comparable documentation for other sites in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Song Toyapakeh is a submerged cave located on Nusa Penida Island, Bali, at a depth of 16 m below sea level. The cave is believed to have been inhabited by human during the late Pleistocene period, as evidenced by the large numbers of bones from Cervidae and Elephantoid families, as well as turtles, that are scattered throughout the cave. The presence of these bones raises questions about the past use of Song Toyapakeh by humans and the transformation of the island's landscape into a submerged cave. The objective of this study is to address the function of Song Toyapakeh during the late Pleistocene period, based on the animal bones found within. To accomplish this, data were collected using scuba method to record the morphology of the cave and to take samples of the animal bones that were likely used by human in the past. Macroscopic and microscopic observations were then conducted on the cut marks and burn marks present on the bones to identify evidence of human use. In addition, paleogeographical and paleoclimatological data were examined to understand the landscape transformation of the cave. The analysis of the bones revealed traces of trimming and burn marks, indicating that the bones were used as tools and as food source by humans. Changes in the landscape caused by fluctuations in the sea level due to climate change during the Pleistocene period are believed to be responsible for the transformation of the cave from an area located above sea level to one that is now submerged. The evidence of human activity on the faunal remains found in Song Toyapakeh provides strong evidence of the use of the cave as human occupation during the late Pleistocene period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]