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This paper explores the relationship between wetland ecosystems and prehistoric lakeshore settlements within the Lake Ohrid basin (a biodiversity hotspot) by considering plant food systems at Ploča Mičov Grad, North Macedonia. The mid‐fifth millennium (c.4555–4373 to 4437–4241 cal BCE) waterlogged assemblage contained a diverse spectrum of crops and ‘wild’ resources, providing resilience against crop failure. Comparisons to earlier (c.5787–5722 to 5753–5715 cal BCE) and later (c.1878–1688 cal BCE) phases show recurrent patterns of plant use alongside shifts in preferred crops. The range of taxa and intraspecies diversity attests to the ecosystemic and population diversity of the prehistoric landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prehistoric settlement patterns on the Tibetan Plateau, particularly in the Qaidam Basin, have drawn significant scholarly interest. Yet, limited data have hindered a comprehensive understanding the Bronze Age chronology and landscape exploitation in this region. This paper presents 24 newly obtained radiocarbon dates from eight archaeological sites within the Qaidam Basin on the Tibetan Plateau. Integrated with existing 14 C data and spatial analysis, these findings reveal an overall continuous occupation of the basin from ca. 3600–2500 calBP, with a gradual shift from expansive lowland settlements to smaller, ephemeral high-altitude structures, identified around 3350 calBP. This change is consistent with demonstrated periods of climate degradation which likely drove strategic adaptations in landscape management and subsistence methods. Overall, this research not only establishes a more robust chronology for the Qaidam Basin's Bronze Age, but also advances the discussion on human-environment interactions in high-altitude areas during late prehistory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous archaeological investigations of the northern coast of the Persian Gulf have assumed that it had an unstable landscape due to successive fluctuations and sea-level changes in the mid-Holocene, and no prehistoric settlements were expected there. This impression has also been reinforced by the lack of a systematic strategy for carrying out detailed archaeological surveys on the northern shores of the Persian Gulf, which contrasts to the systematic approaches use in the inter-montane valleys of the Zagros Mountain and the lowland plains of Khuzestan. Geoarchaeological studies have partially reconstructed landscape evolution of the Persian Gulf's northern coasts, and prehistoric sites are now being found in this region. One prominent recent find is Tahmachi, a fifth millennium BCE settlement in the Liravi (Deylam) plain, which is less than 5 km north of the current shoreline. The two remaining mounds situated alongside the Zendarun stream attest to the presence of a permanent settlement with at least 10 m of cultural deposits in a dynamic and resource-rich landscape. Based on material culture and surface finds, the prehistoric population here had access to diverse resources from both sea and land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the historical and contemporary significance of visibility in human interactions with their environments, particularly in the context of archaeology and the application of geographic information systems (GIS) for visibility analysis. The study highlights the role of visibility analysis in investigating not only the physical visibility of features in landscapes but also the cultural significance associated with seeing or not seeing them. It draws from the 'visibility relates' principle, which argues that individuals tend to establish connections with visible entities. The focus is on comparing nineteenth-century urban settlements (Kaditshwene, Molokwane, and Marothodi) in the Magaliesberg region of South Africa, particularly examining the strategic positioning of kraals within these Sotho-Tswana farming communities. These settlements are some of the more popular Late Farming Communities (AD 1300–1840) in South Africa; hence, they have archaeological background and are among the few, if not the only ones, that have LiDAR data coverage. The findings reveal distinctions in visibility at both settlement and household scalar levels, with Kaditshwene standing out as different from Marothodi and Molokwane. This suggests that kraals were strategically located to be more or less visible based on specific settlement circumstances, such as attracting people from other communities and concerns about cattle theft. This study contributes to GIS approaches to archaeological sites and landscapes in Africa and calls for more extensive use of geospatial statistics in African archaeology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spread of pottery-producing communities into the Congo rainforest is commonly linked to demic diffusion, driven by the so-called "Bantu Expansion." It is considered the primary linguistic, cultural, and demographic process in Holocene sub-Saharan Africa. A key region in the reconstruction of this process is the western Congo Basin. This paper presents, for the first time, a coherent picture of the archaeological settlement history in the western and northern Congo Basin, uncovered by fieldwork of the late 1980s along the rivers Ngoko, Sangha, Likwala-aux-Herbes, Ubangi, and Lua. Archaeological research of the River Reconnaissance Project, directed by Manfred K. H. Eggert from 1977 to 1987, produced a pottery sequence for the region. Archaeological features and findings uncovered during the project's field campaigns in the northern and western Congo Basin have only recently been studied in detail. The present analysis provides the only reliable source for a reconstruction of the cultural dynamics within the region due to the lack of subsequent archaeological fieldwork. Archaeological data and the sequence of pottery styles within the western Congo Basin, along the Sangha river, cannot support the claim that this region, due to a climate-induced extension of savannas, played a unique role as a "corridor" within the expansion of putatively "Bantu" speaking groups during the latter half of the 1st millennium BCE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Jishishan Ms 6.2 earthquake occurred at 23:59 on December 18, 2023 in Gansu Province, China. We conducted a field survey to assess the hazards and damages caused by the earthquake and its associated geo-activities. Subsequently, we organized a seminar to discuss the possible causes of the destruction of a prehistoric site—Lajia Settlement—dated back to four thousand years B.P. and located only several kilometers away from the epicenter of the Jishishan earthquake. The Jishishan earthquake was unique for its hazard and disaster process, which featured ground shaking and a series of complex geological and geomorphological activities: sediment and soil spray piles, liquefaction, collapse, landslide, and mudflow along water channels. We define this phenomenon as the Jishishan earthquake ripple hazard (JERH). The most recent evidence from the JERH suggests that a prehistoric earthquake similar to the JERH, instead of riverine floods or earthquake-induced landslide dam outburst flood, as previously hypothesized, destroyed the Lajia Settlement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lofoten and Vesterålen archipelagos are located off the outer coast of northern Norway far from the center of the former Fennoscandian Ice Sheet and near the continental shelf edge. Existing relative sea‐level (RSL) data indicate a pronounced mid‐Holocene transgression and interesting connections with the region's prehistoric human settlement history. Here we present seven new sea‐level index points from isolation basins and five terrestrial limiting points from a coastal sedimentary sequence to refine the region's RSL history. Ingression and isolation contacts in isolation basin sediment cores are identified using sedimentary geochemical data, scanning X‐ray fluorescence profiles and phytoplankton analysis. The ages of these contacts are determined using radiocarbon‐based age models. Our index points range from 11.2 to 1.5k cal a bp and are combined with previously published data to predict the spatiotemporal evolution of sea level in this region using an ensemble of spatiotemporal empirical hierarchical models (STEHME). The new RSL curve constrains the timing of the mid‐Holocene transgression, which occurred from c. 9 to 6k cal a bp when sea level increased from −4 to 7 m above present day. From c. 6 to 5k cal a bp, RSL rapidly fell to c. 4 m above present values, and more gradually declined at an average rate of c. 0.8 m ka−1 over the last 5k cal a bp. Isobase maps derived using the STEHME show a decrease in the regional shoreline gradients since the transgression maximum from 0.25 to 0.07 m km−1. Our data also better define how RSL variations influenced the location and preservation of coastal settlement locations and harbors from the early Stone Age through historic intervals, improving understanding of regional human–environment interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of woodland was influenced by different management since some thousands of years. During prehistoric times settlements were founded and given up after some decades. In connection with this, a secondary succession of woodland took place. The spread of beech in Central Europe was favoured and some other tree species expanded in other parts of Europe. This is documented by pollen diagrams. During historic times woodland exploitation was intensified. Some tree species became rarer by more intensive management such as beech. So human impact did not have generally the same effect on the development of woodlands. As management influenced the development of woodland more than climatic changes it is likely that this will also happen in the future. Pollen diagrams are not historic sources but can be well paralleled with historic sources. It is an advantage of pollen diagrams that they encompass a total development of vegetation and do not only reflect a single event at special points of time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of the continental shelf has accelerated significantly as nations around the world seek to harness offshore renewable energy. Many areas marked for development align with submerged palaeolandscapes. Poorly understood and difficult to protect, these vulnerable, prehistoric landscapes provide specific challenges for heritage management. Indeed, there now appears to be a schism between what underwater cultural heritage policy intends and what it is achieving in practice. Shortcomings in international and national legislature ensures that large parts of the continental shelf, including areas under development, may have little or no legal protection. Increasingly impacted by extensive development, these unique cultural landscapes are ever more at risk. However, heritage challenges posed by such development also create opportunities. An immense amount of data is being generated by development, and there is an opportunity to establish broader cooperative relationships involving industrial stakeholders, national curators, government bodies, and heritage professionals. As a matter of urgency, the archaeological community must better engage with the offshore sector and development process. If achieved, we may revolutionise our knowledge of submerged prehistoric settlement and land use. Otherwise, our capacity to reconstruct prehistoric settlement patterns, learn from past climate change, or simply manage what are among the best-preserved postglacial landscapes globally may be irreparably undermined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our image of the Roman landscape of Istria is characterised by large‐scale centuriation and architectural remains of Roman villae. Detection and mapping of other, less dramatic landscape features require systematic large‐scale prospection, but this faces significant difficulties in the Mediterranean environment. However, the developments in the field of airborne laser scanning offer the possibility to create archaeologically usable digital terrain models under water and under very dense and low maquis vegetation. This paper reports on the use of terrain models created using a green laser and a sophisticated archaeologically driven ground point filtering strategy. Combined with archaeological aerial photo interpretation, this provides the means for landscape mapping and interpretation that has revealed a wealth of archaeological structures hinting at Roman agricultural practices and landscape. Our case study is based on a laser scan of about 24 km2 of land and underwater terrain in Medulin Bay. Processed, visualised and interpreted for archaeological purposes, the data reveal not only features ranging from prehistoric hilltop settlements to modern military installations but also features a complex picture of the Roman land use. Of particular interest is the large number of planting pits, which extend over a total length of 4 km. They were laid on a regular grid of approximately 35 × 35 m, sometimes combined in contiguous parcels. They can be interpreted as remains of orchards or tree nurseries of Roman date, and the paper examines also the question of whether they can be linked to the associated Roman estates. The case study area presented here shows that the potential of remote sensing methods goes far beyond the mere finding of traditional sites but can open up new landscape‐scale perspectives on regions that have been archaeologically little explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both modern and historical data show that lake systems are undergoing profound changes because of human impacts from local to global scales. Research on this topic shows that human pressure on water systems can take various forms and is highly variable in time and space. This article presents the results of Ostracoda fauna research as an indicator of anthropogenic changes covering the time span from 7000 BP to the Mediaeval Period. The palaeoecological information (abundance and habitat preferences of Ostracoda assemblages) obtained in studies of fossil Ostracoda fauna communities amplified by palynological and archaeological data allowed to answer the following questions: (1) to what extent the impact of successive archaeological settlement cultures caused ecological changes in the lake catchment areas without directly affecting the lakes themselves, and when anthropogenic pressure caused transformations in the functioning of lake ecosystems and (2) whether the neolithization, as the first clearly legible stage of anthropopression, had a decisive influence on the functioning of lake ecosystems. Results of Ostracoda fauna studies have been compared with archaeological data available in the literature and multiproxy paleoenvironmental data previously published in a study of lake sediments in the Chełm Hills in South-Eastern Poland. Presented results of study of Ostracoda in lake sediments as a bioindicators of anthropogenic impact suggest that the pressure of prehistoric settlement in older phases (up to the early Middle Ages) was most clearly reflected in the landscape, while the functioning of lake ecosystems was disturbed only by the periodic increase in lake trophic status. A substantial change resulting from the analysis of the subfossil Ostracoda in all the studied lake ecosystems occurred in the phase of settlement related to the Early Middle Ages, which was reflected in the permanently changed species composition of the fauna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indus Delta plays an important role in the archaeology of the northern coast of the Arabian Sea. Little was known of this region until a few decades ago. The first surveys were carried out in the 1970s and were resumed by the present author in the 2010s. They have shown the great potential of the area for the interpretation of sea-level rise and its related human settlement between the beginning of the Holocene and the Hellenistic period. In this territory, several limestone terraces rise from the alluvial plain of the River Indus, which were islands in prehistoric and early historic times. Many archaeological artefacts, along with marine and mangrove shells, have been recovered from their surface and radiocarbon dated. These discoveries help us to follow the events that took place in the region in well-defined periods and interpret some aspects of the prehistoric coastal settlement in relation to the advance of the Indus Fan and the retreat of the Arabian Sea. The following questions are addressed in this paper: who settled these islands, when and why? During which prehistoric periods were mangrove and marine environments exploited? And what were the cultural characteristics of the communities that seasonally or permanently settled some of the present 'rocky outcrops'? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The archaeological site at Hare Street Road in Buntingford, Hertfordshire, reveals a farmstead that evolved from the middle Iron Age to the early Roman period. The pottery assemblage includes various vessel types, with a predominance of sandy fabrics in the middle Iron Age pottery. The site shows a transition from cattle-based farming to more intensive butchery practices and possible dairying activities, indicating a period of rapid growth in the late Iron Age. The site was likely abandoned by the early 2nd century AD, possibly due to the establishment of a nearby Roman villa, reflecting wider changes in the region during this time. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses archaeological investigations at Chadwell Springs, Ware, revealing evidence of human activity spanning over four thousand years, from the late Neolithic/early Bronze Age to the post-medieval era. The site shows intermittent use during different periods, with features like shaft pits, quarry pits, and boundary alignments. The study highlights the diversity of human activity and technological practices at the site, shedding light on past societies and their interactions with the landscape. The excavated section of Ermine Street revealed a possible spur road constructed of gravel and silty sand, located 140m east of the main road, suggesting further Romano-British activity. [Extracted from the article]

Eighty one well-preserved wooden pillars were found as a result of underwater archaeological excavations of a submerged prehistoric settlement in the estuary of Ropotamo River, Black Sea. That provokes a scientific interest to identify wood materials. The longest tree-ring chronologies have been used to build floating dendrochronology series. Anatomical features of xylem showed that 34 out of the 81 studied wooden pillars belong to genus Quercus. The remaining 47 pillars belong to a species of the genera Fraxinus, Acer, Ulmus and Platanus. It has been found that 8 out of 34 oak pillars have a length of tree-ring series over 30 years. This was the reason to select them for dendrochronological studies. The length of the built floating master chronology for the oaks is 84 years. The lack of strong coherent signal between 34 single oak dendrochronological series can be explained with three different types of oak forest ecosystems, in the area of the Ropotamo River estuary. These forest ecosystems are as follows: oak high stand forests in Strandzha Mountain, oak coppice forests on the Black Sea coast plains and riparian 'Longoz' forests of Ropotamo River. The tree-ring series of these forest types have different tree-ring signatures. Based on the tree-ring analysis it can be assumed that the timber of the above-mentioned three types of oak ecosystems was used in the construction of the prehistoric settlement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The essay "Early agricultural settlement of the periphery of the loess uplands and its paleoecological context - a case study of the Iłża Piedmont (southern Poland)" examines the relationship between the settlement of prehistoric agricultural societies and the occurrence of local loess deposits in Central Europe. The results show that there was already a close connection between the settlement of these areas and the fertile soils, favorable geomorphological, and hydrological conditions in the early Neolithic period. The research findings indicate the flexibility and adaptability of early farmers, which allowed them to settle even less fertile areas outside the loess uplands. [Extracted from the article]

The paper "Late Tripolye Culture Settlement Spatial Patterning: Case study from the Gordineşti II-Stînca goală site, Northern Moldova" deals with the archaeological excavations at the Gordineşti II-Stînca goală site in Northern Moldova. The authors present the results of investigations into the structural patterning of residential structures, ground-penetrating radar surveys, and desk-based kernel density estimation (KDE) analyses in order to gain a better understanding of the spatial organization of the settlement. The results indicate the high archaeological potential of the site, with likely multiple systematically and functionally arranged residential structures. The paper emphasizes the importance of studying the spatial organization of settlements for understanding prehistoric societies. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society is the property of Cambridge University Press 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.)

The study of the suitability of prehistoric human settlements (SPHE) can help us reproduce the process and characteristics of prehistoric human settlements, and is an important entry point for exploring the relationship between prehistoric humans and land. In this study, we discuss the definition, compositional structure, evolutionary mechanism, and spatiotemporal representation of the suitability of prehistoric human settlements, and propose its main research lines and possible research contents. We believe that the suitability of prehistoric human settlement environments refers to the ability and process of natural and social environmental conditions to meet the needs of human survival within a certain spatial range centered on the settlement of prehistoric humans. Additionally, with the temporal and spatial evolution of humans, society, and nature, it shows local consistency and global gradual and continuous change characteristics, and the human settlement environment has a suitability hierarchy of natural original, livelihood, and living spaces nested step by step. We believe that we can adopt the main research line of prehistoric human settlement suitability system construction to conduct extensive experiments and demonstrations on the theoretical construction, the evolution of the environment and living process, the relationship and evaluation of prehistoric human needs, the transformation of the living environment, living adaptation theories and models, and value and limitation verification. Thus, a complete research system can be formed to explore the evolution of the prehistoric human–land relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prehistoric human settlement of the Lakshadweep islands remains a mystery for various reasons. Uncertainty about the existence of indigenous tribes in these islands and the lack of folklore records present major obstacles to the reconstruction of Lakshadweep ancestry. However, with extant population data, we seek to understand the maternal ancestry of the Kavaratti islanders. Mitochondrial control region variation analysis of 80 individuals from this island shows maternal links with the populations in the northwestern region of the South Asian mainland. The founder clade R30b2, observed in the Kavaratti islanders, is so far present only in the Scheduled Castes from the Punjab region, Jat Sikhs and Nairs. All other mainland populations carry basal R30 or R30a subclades. The presence of a specific Uralic U4 lineage in our samples, in addition to the Indo-European affinity observed in the phylogeny tree, substantiates a northwestern maternal ancestry of the Kavaratti islanders and implies an ancestral admixture with early humans in the Near East at the time of the last glacial maximum (LGM). Based on our Bayesian analysis, we furthermore propose that a group bearing mostly R30b2 during the LGM recovery, moved eastward and southward, where they received Indian-specific M haplogroups. Hence, the maternal ancestry of the Kavaratti islanders is evidently a consequence of the demographic changes in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent caused by the Last Glacial Maximum. The haplogroup distribution pattern and nucleotide sequence data produced in this study will enrich the forensic database of the Lakshadweep islands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document summarizes archaeological excavations conducted in various locations in the Midlands region of England. The findings include Iron Age and Roman enclosures and settlements in Bedfordshire, a Roman farmstead and field system in Buckinghamshire, late Iron Age and early Roman ditches and enclosures in Cambridgeshire, and the tracing of a Roman road in Hertfordshire using LiDAR imagery. In Leicestershire, late Roman activity and enclosure boundaries were discovered, as well as a Roman cellar beneath Leicester Cathedral. The document also highlights other archaeological evaluations and excavations in different locations in the UK, revealing a reception room in Northamptonshire, late Iron Age/Roman activity in Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, a Roman villa complex in Rutland with a mosaic depicting scenes from the Trojan War, and evidence of prehistoric and Roman settlements in Warwickshire. These findings provide valuable insights into the history and cultural practices of these regions. [Extracted from the article]

In the last twenty years the Archaeological Service of Florina has conducted extensive surface surveys and large-scale excavations in the Prefecture of Florina, situated in Northwestern Greece. This research has identified the establishment of a great number of prehistoric settlements in the area of the four lakes (Lake Chimaditis, Lake Zazari, Lake Vegoritida and Lake Petron) that date back from the Greek Early Neolithic (6700/6500-5800/5600 BC) to the Greek Late Bronze Age (1700/1500-1100 BC). One of the extended settlements of the region is the former lakeside settlement Anarghiri IXb which was situated on the north-eastern shore of Lake Chimaditis and was inhabited almost uninterruptedly from the middle of the 6th millennium BC to the end of the 5th millennium BC. Extensive investigation so far yielded thousands of wooden piles, thousands of figurines, chipped stone tools as well as antler and osseous artifacts. The bone tool assemblage from the Neolithic layers of the settlement forms one of the numerous assemblages in Greece and the Balkans. The present study of the material seeks to assess the raw material preferences, the typology and the technology of the osseous tools which seem to have played a significant role in the everyday activities inside and outside of the settlement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cuadernos de Prehistoria y Arqueologia is the property of Cuadernos de Prehistoria y Arqueologia 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.)

The spatiotemporal distribution of settlements and their environmental context since the Neolithic is one of the vital components for exploring past changes in human-land relations. However, little attention has been paid to the relationship between the evolution of the social organization, settlement patterns, and the corresponding environmental settings. In this study, the spatiotemporal distribution and rank-size of settlements revealed crucial aspects of the hydrogeomorphic conditions, cultural inheritance, and social evolution in northern Shandong Province based on the GIS analytical methods. The prehistoric settlements were primarily distributed in the pre-mountain plains and low mountain hills due to the change of water volume of big rivers and sea level fluctuations until the expansion to the northern plains during the Longshan period. Determined cultural sequences were demonstrated to be accompanied by different settlement development patterns. Most settlements in an older period were abandoned in the subsequently younger period except the Shang-Zhou period, indicating poor inheritance. The emergence of a middle and high-rank regional settlement system in the Dawenkou-Longshan period suggests a fundamental change in social organization, reflecting the transition from complex chiefdoms to early city-state kingdoms. Such a regional social stratification was intensified during the Shang-Zhou periods when a four-tier settlement system emerged. In addition, the solid cultural importation from the Dawenkou-Longshan period to the central and southern regions brought about the exchange and advancement of production technologies, which once established a solid position in agriculture. However, this was broken by drought and cold climatic events, and the complexity of the Yueshi cultural settlement system that subsequently emerged was substantially weakened. As an important area of Haidai culture, the natural driving force and social organization of ancient culture development from the Neolithic Age to the Bronze Age are of great significance for understanding the interrelationship between the origin and process of Chinese civilization and environmental evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines three sites of the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age Lausitz culture in northeastern Poland, as well as the interaction between humans and the environment. The circular structures of these sites have a uniform location and structure, consisting of a protective area with ditches and ramparts, as well as a central area with a flat space. It is believed that these structures were possibly used as enclosures for livestock grazing and indicate intensive agricultural use of the surrounding area. It is assumed that a stable socio-administrative-religious center for the population of the Lausitz culture developed here. The study was conducted in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. The study examines the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age in the Podlasie region. Through the use of laser scanning, 27 settlement structures were discovered, mainly located in the valleys of the Biebrza and Narew rivers. These structures have similarities in terms of location, shape, and size. They consist of a protective and a central area and can be divided into three types with one, two, or three ditches. Archaeological and geoarchaeological investigations were carried out to analyze the environmental contexts, construction, and function of selected settlement sites. The results indicate a dating to the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age. The article describes archaeological investigations at the sites of Jatwieź Duża, Kościuki, and Filipy in Podlasie, Poland. The sites show circular structures with diameters of up to 100 meters. The investigations revealed that the structures likely date from the 7th to late 5th century BC and belong to the local Lusatian culture. The sites are of great importance for the study of settlement patterns and interactions between humans and the environment in the region. Bronze Age settlements have also been discovered near the sites. The study examines the settlement patterns of the Lausitz culture in Podlasie and their interaction with the environment. Two zones with different characteristics are identified: the outer space, consisting of depressions and raised areas, and the flat center, where no settlement traces were found. The function of these sites is difficult to determine, but it is believed that they may have been used as grazing areas for livestock. Anthropogenic deforestation was limited, but locally it may have led to soil erosion and peat sedimentation. The study concludes that the Lausitz culture in Podlasie developed a stable settlement system and utilized the natural environment through the introduction of a production economy. The text contains a list of references to various scientific works and publications dealing with topics such as geomorphology, climate and environmental changes, and prehistoric settlement in Poland. The mentioned authors and works provide information on various aspects of geographical and geological development in the region. Archaeological excavations and geophysical investigations are also mentioned, contributing to the study of landscape history. [Extracted from the article]

This paper presents palynological data obtained from a trench excavated at the Neolithic pile-dwelling archaeological site of Palù di Livenza (northeastern Italy). The site is in a wetland located in a tectonic basin at the foot of the Cansiglio plateau, crossed by the Livenza river. Environmental conditions have made this wetland a suitable area for settlements since prehistoric times. Thanks to the peaty sediments that characterise the area, archaeological materials and botanical remains have been exceptionally well preserved. Their study has shed light on a Neolithic pile-dwelling settlement that developed in various phases between c. 6350 and 5600 cal BP (c. 4400 and 3650 BC), and has also allowed for a detailed environmental reconstruction of the surrounding environment. A vertical sequence of 20 samples was analysed to study pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs and microcharcoals. An age-depth model was performed based on three radiocarbon dates. The palynological analysis provided insight into the response of vegetation to environmental changes caused by both climatic fluctuations and human pressure. In this sense, it was possible to highlight differences in vegetation cover, some fires, the use of woody resources, the spread of cereal fields, as well as the presence of other cultivated plants and plant processing by the people within the village. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geostatistics has become a powerful method for investigating complex spatial variations of prehistoric settlements in floodplains and other geomorphological settings. A geoarchaeological drilling program that covers most of the Sha‐Ying River Basin provides a rare opportunity with unusually detailed environmental data to contest and develop the geostatistics method, which proves to be essential, in combination with archaeological data, to understand long‐term (9000–2500 B.P.) patterns of human inhabitation and adaption to volatile floodplain environments in eastern Central China. We analysed the variography and multivariate ordination of the borehole data and explored the complexities of landform evolution, with reference to sedimentation processes and soil development in the floodplain of the Sha‐Ying River. The recurrent impact of river floods on regional landforms is manifested by spatial‐autocorrelated properties over distances up to 10 km, sometimes with directional trends. We then developed a model of landform evolution through kriging and compared the model with detailed reconstruction of archaeological settlement patterns. Our results illustrate long‐term socio‐environmental dynamics by which human communities first populated and then adapted in diverse ways to the changing floodplain environments from the early to middle Holocene. This improved method will have far‐reaching implications for future studies on similar geomorphological settings across vast floodplains of Central China and other global regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reconstructing the evolution of fluvial landscapes is vital to our understanding of how and why early settlements used or abandoned locations in dynamic alluvial settings, especially places such as China's Central Plains where alluvial landforms have dominated since at least the late Pleistocene era. The Wangchenggang (WCG) site on the upper reaches of the Ying River is considered to be the legendary capital of the Great Yu who, according to historical documents, heroically tamed the big floods and founded the first dynasty of Xia. However, evolution of the alluvial landscape of the Holocene Ying River and its influence on the long‐term settlement change at the WCG site remains unclear. We present a detailed reconstruction of long‐term landscape evolution and settlement change at the site, based on the results of our geoarchaeological investigation, and published paleoclimate and archaeobotanical data. The results show that the region experienced an episode of extensive alluvial accretion in the late Pleistocene. From the end of the late Pleistocene to the early Holocene, the Ying River began to incise the alluvial plain, leading to the formation of the oldest terrace (T3). The middle and late Holocene in the Ying River valleys saw two episodes of alluvial aggradation between 7.7–5.4 ka B.P. (before present) and 4.5–3.8 ka B.P., respectively. Each of these events was followed by an alluvial incision, resulting in the formation of new alluvial terraces. During the historical periods, the youngest terrace T1 was formed. These cyclic changes in the regional fluvial landscape profoundly impacted the location and expansion of prehistoric settlements. During the Peiligang period (9.0–7.0 ka B.P.), the early stages of alluvial aggregation resulted in wide and shallow channels along the rivers. Early humans who relied on gathering and hunting for food chose to establish small settlements along such riverine environments. As alluvial aggradation continued in the Yangshao period (7.0–5.0 ka B.P.), they moved to a higher place, away from the rivers in the southwest, and flourished on high alluvial grounds. When a secondary terrace formed after the Longshan period (5.0–4.0 ka B.P.), people moved eastward again to build an early city on the T2 terraces and T3 terraces of the Ying River. When the water levels rose toward the terrace surfaces, they began to build moats and practiced mixed millet–rice farming. During the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770–4256 B.C.), when the river started to down cut on a large scale, humans responded by building settlements on the lower and flat plains in the east. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present results from a systematic interdisciplinary study on (pre‐)historic rural settlement and landscape development in an upland region of northern Bavaria, Germany. The archaeological and geoarchaeological investigations—supported by radiocarbon dating, optically stimulated luminescence dating, and palaeoecological analysis—were performed to (i) identify so far unknown prehistoric rural settlement sites, (ii) determine site‐specific soil erosion from colluvial deposits, and (iii) assess the composition of woodland from on‐ and offsite charcoal finds. The earliest indicators of human activities from the Younger Neolithic (late 5th to early 4th millennium B.C.E.) come from colluvial deposits. Our investigations, for the first time, show Middle to Late Bronze Age (ca. 1400–800 B.C.E.), permanent rural settlement in a German central upland region, with a peak in the Late Bronze Age. Due to the varying thicknesses of Bronze Age colluvial deposits, we assume land use practices to have triggered soil erosion. From the spectrum of wood species, Maloideae, ash, and birch are regarded as successional indicators after fire clearance in that period. Settlement continued until the 5th century B.C.E. After a hiatus of 500 years, it re‐flourished in the Late Roman and Migration periods (mid‐3rd–5th century C.E.) and went on in the Medieval period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The evolution of vegetation during the Holocene period was reconstructed in Central China. • The reduction of trees by human activity during the middle to late Holocene has been revealed in Central China. • The regional evolution of prehistoric houses closely corresponded to the decline in the tree population. The interaction between climate, hydrological environment, and human activities in prehistoric times has consistently attracted significant interest. However, the process and mechanism of this interaction remain unclear due to a lack of detailed materials that provide information on both human activity and environmental evolution. Here we present a comprehensive dataset of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating and pollen analysis derived from lacustrine facies deposits in the vicinity of the Dongzhao Site in Central China, which is a key region for the origin and development of Chinese civilization. These data have revealed the existence of multiple cycles of environment-human interaction during prehistoric periods. The gradual improvement in the climate and minor fluctuations facilitated the settlement of prehistoric populations in the region, fostering uninterrupted cultural development for millennia since the early Holocene. The increase in population and intensification of human activities significantly affected regional vegetation, resulting in a decrease in the number of trees around 4.0 ka BP. Environmental changes influenced the prehistoric architectural style, resulting in a decrease in houses with "wood bone and mud walls" that were prevalent during the Yangshao periods (7.0–5.0 ka BP) due to a lack of trees. Our research once again highlights the perpetual cycle of interdependence and interaction between natural environments and human activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on ethnoarchaeological field research conducted in Romania's Outer Carpathian region between 2007 and 2015, an ethnographic radial model for the supply of brine, recrystallized salt, and rock salt was developed. This paper aims to apply this model to prehistoric contexts, specifically the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Bronze Age periods, in relation to the brine sources at Cacica. The selection of this area is grounded in several factors: the presence of multiple brine sources, the use of the briquetage technique (a method for producing salt cakes in ceramic containers) during a specific phase of the Chalcolithic, extensive documentation from ethnographic and ethnohistorical studies, and a rich database on prehistoric settlement patterns. At Cacica, two distinct methods of brine exploitation were identified: the production of salt cakes and the direct use of brine without human intervention, primarily for human and animal consumption. The authors utilized the Radial Model of Salt Supply to analyse these two methods of exploitation and suggest that this dual model could offer valuable insights into the understanding of inland briquetage sites across worldwide. • This paper applies, for the first time, the ethnographic radial model of brine supply to the European prehistory. • The direct use of brine in human nutrition and halotherapy, widely documented, must also be accepted for prehistory. • Our approach is a ground-breaking contribution to reducing the archaeological invisibility specific to brine supply. • Our research disprove archaeological prejudice that the exploitation of brine cannot be admitted without material evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of past environmental change and prehistoric settlement dynamics in the Sahel east of the Nile is limited due to the scarcity of suitable sedimentary archives and archaeological sites. Here we present tufa-based paleoenvironmental records from the area of NW Butana (central Sudan, ∼55 km southeast of the Nile River) which show that increased rainfall and spring activity occurred in several discrete intervals during the last ∼30,000 years. Lithostratigraphic data combined with phytolith, malacological, paleopedological, and stable carbon isotope records revealed humidity peaks during late MIS3 and the early and middle Holocene. Gaps in lithological records correlated with dry periods of the Last Glacial Maximum and Younger Dryas. Minor wet pulses coinciding with Late Glacial interstadials indicate an early intensification of the African monsoon, which implies that a sharp climatic boundary existed between the Sahel and the Sahara during this period. These new paleoenvironmental records, together with archaeological evidence from Butana, provide a unique opportunity for understanding human ecology in the eastern Sahel. The peoples who inhabited this dryland area 30+ km from the Nile Valley could not rely on its relatively predictable resources of riverine, floodplain and lake habitats. New models of subsistence and settlement, and strategies of adaptations to seasonal and interannual environmental variability are needed. • A robust chronology of monsoon rainfall intensifications in the eastern Sahel. • Wet periods correspond to the late MIS3, Late Glacial, and early-middle Holocene. • Dry periods correlate with the LGM and Younger Dryas. • Sharp climatic boundary existed between the Sahel and the Sahara during the LG. • Springs provided resources for people who inhabited hinterlands during the AHP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have described the diversity of Austronesian-speaking Taiwanese people to shed more light on their origin and their connection with the "Out of Taiwan" migrations. However, the genetic relationship between the non-Austronesian-speaking groups of Taiwan and the populations of continental Asia is still unclear. Here, we studied the diversity of mtDNA in 767 non-Austronesian speakers from 16 locations in Taiwan using partial sequencing obtained from the hypervariable segment I (HVS-I) and coding regions 8,001-9,000 and 9.801–10,900 and 85 complete mtDNA genome sequences. Bayesian analysis of population structure was used to examine their relationship with over 3662 individuals representing indigenous groups of Taiwan, continental East Asia, Japan, and Island Southeast Asia. The whole analysis identified 278 haplotypes. Complete genomes revealed 62 novel subhaplogroups, of which 31 were exclusive to Taiwan. Estimates of coalescence times of all subhaplogroups showed peaks of diversification greater than 5.0 kya, likely characterizing gene flow from continental East Asian groups but not excluding in situ Taiwanese ancestry. Furthermore, a significant number of clades exclusive to non-Austronesian speakers of Taiwan (NAN_Tw) showed coalescence peaks between 1.0 and 2.6 kya, suggesting possible late Neolithic to early metal age settlements of NAN_Tw and local expansion in Taiwan. Population genetics: Mitochondrial DNA reveals ancestry of non-Austronesian-speaking Taiwanese The first comprehensive analysis of mitochondrial DNA in non-Austronesian-speaking people from Taiwan points to an early settlement of the island by Mainland Southeast Asians in the late Neolithic period, followed by periods of isolation and genetic expansion. Marie Lin and Jean Trejaut from Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, characterized mitochondrial DNA segments from 672 speakers of Sinitic or so-called 'Chinese languages' living in Taiwanese cities and lowland rural regions. The researchers also fully sequenced the entire mitochondrial genomes of 85 of these individuals. They identified numerous different genetic lineages, including many unique to Taiwan, that dated back millennia, perhaps as far as around 5000 years ago. The results point to prehistoric settlements and periods of local expansion among the ancestors of today's non-Austronesian speakers long before groups arrived from China in modern times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of increasing settlement systems in recent years have brought an important perspective to archaeology in the evaluation of prehistoric settlements with their environments. In fact the geography and archaeology disciplines' both theoretical and methodological interaction, ensures a strong establishment of relationship between social and physical sciences. While geography reflects the diversity of the earth, its resources and the efforts of human beings to survive, on the other hand archaeolgy reflects the surviving human in all aspects. In this context, this paper primarily aims to refer to Eskişehir Middle Porsuk Basin and other similar regional studies, while focusing on how and to what extent the landscapes and climate models contribute to the archaelogical knowledge. There is also historical and ethnoarchaeological information supporting paleoclimate studies that climatic and environmental conditions may have been effective in the concentration of EBA settlements on the hillsides, ridges and hills in the Middle Porsuk Basin. For this reason, Demircihöyük will be tried to be examined in the context of the reflection of environmental adaptation practices on architecture, including floods, together with the results of archaeobotanical and archaeozoological studies. Finally, thanks to the similar results from Küllüoba, it is aimed to develop a well-rounded interpretation of the region's EBA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ban Chiang is a prehistoric settlement located in the northeast Khorat Plateau in Thailand. Excavations in 1974–1975 identified a cultural sequence that spanned the arrival of the first rice farmers in ca. 1500 BC until the end of the Iron Age two millennia later. The large faunal sample includes the remains of mammals, fish, birds, and shellfish that illuminate aspects of the economy and environment. Domestic cattle, water buffaloes, pigs, and dogs, all domesticated in southern China, were introduced and maintained in an economy that incorporated hunting, fishing and collecting shellfish. The jungle fowl, Gallus gallus, was probably locally domesticated. When considered in its broader context, the faunal remains from Neolithic coastal Vietnamese and Thai sites present a very different picture. In the coastal sites, pigs and dogs dominate, but domestic cattle and chickens are virtually absent. The incoming farmers placed much reliance on marine hunting and fishing. Recent multidisciplinary research has identified an agricultural revolution involving animal traction and plowing in irrigated rice fields that occurred as the monsoon rains faltered from ca. AD 200. This took place in the relatively dry Mun River Valley in the southern part of the Khorat Plateau and rapidly led to the foundation of early states. Ban Chiang, however, enjoys higher natural rainfall and evidence for the agricultural revolution there appears muted or absent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The archaeological site of Ribnica near Brežice has been known to the general public since the mid-1950s as the location of the Roman roadside station Romula. Between 2001 and 2004, extensive archaeological excavations took place on the site because of the planned construction of the Ljubljana – Obrežje highway; among other things, it proved that this location was att ractive not only to the Romans, but also to sett lers in prehistory, the Middle Ages, and modern times. The earliest archaeological remains at Ribnica date to the Eneolithic period, followed by the Bronze Age sett lement and a few pits from the La Tène period. Among the prehistoric fi nds, those from the Bronze Age are the most numerous, while those from the Eneolithic and the La Tène period appear only sporadically. Although two decades have passed since the excavations at Ribnica, the research results have not been published yet. In this paper, we provide an overview of the prehistoric remains discovered in Ribnica near Brežice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeological sites undoubtedly destroyed by a meteorite impact had not been identified so far. For such a proof, both a meteorite impact and its definite effects on an archaeological site would have to be evidenced. This review article reports on geoarchaeological investigations, involving mineralogy, petrography, and geophysics, which established evidence that two prehistoric human settlements have been affected by the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age (ca. 900-600 BC) Chiemgau meteorite impact in southeastern Germany. One site, the Mühlbach area, was affected by the ejecta from the 600 m Ø-Tüttensee crater, one of the largest craters in a crater strewn field measuring about 60 x 30 km. At the other site, Stöttham close to Lake Chiemsee, the catastrophic layer of the impact was found embedded in the archaeological stratigraphy of a settlement, which had been repeatedly occupated from the Neolithic to the Roman era. At both sites, artifacts have become components of impact rocks, establishing a hitherto unknown form of an impact rock, an artifact-in-impactite. The immediate coexistence of rocks, which exhibit impact-diagnostic shock metamorphism, with relicts of metallic artifacts, as encountered in finds from Stöttham, are unprecedented evidence of human experience of a meteorite impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses archaeological fieldwork conducted in the historical village of Kudruküla in Ida-Viru County, Estonia. The research shifted focus to the historical village in 2023, with small-scale fieldwork revealing significant findings. Discoveries include pottery sherds, clay pipe fragments, and flint chunks, shedding light on the settlement's history from the Iron Age to the Modern Period. The comparison of archaeological surveys with historical maps highlights the importance of preserving the cultural layer of the village as a national archaeological monument. [Extracted from the article]

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Valley infills are essential for understanding changes in hydrology and landscape. Anthropogenic activities are proven by prehistoric settlement remains, which mark distinct sediments and soils as usable land during certain time periods. In 2009 and 2018/19, excavations by the Saxonian Archaeological Heritage Office were conducted in the Elbe valley between Meißen and Dresden, preceding the construction of two natural gas pipelines. As a result, two important multicultural prehistoric sites were discovered on the Lower Weichselian Terrace (LWT) in different sediments and on varying stratigraphic levels. During this study sediments and soils at the excavation sites and throughout the pipe trench have been documented. Micromorphological, sedimentological and geochemical investigations and analyses of archaeobotanical and archaeological finds, complemented by 14 C and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, enabled deciphering the structure of sediments and soils. Two major sites were the focus. At the Clieben site, an early Neolithic settlement and former topsoil, developed in a Weichselian valley loam above gravels and sands, are covered by younger overbank fines. At the Brockwitz site, shallow incision channels in the LWT were filled with clayey overbank fines during the Preboreal. An overprinting humic soil horizon was later anthropogenically overprinted during the early and middle Neolithic period. An omnipresent layer of Subboreal or younger overbank fines, covering the majority of the LWT in combination with the spatially confined Preboreal overbank fines, mirrors the ever-growing risk of flooding in a formerly attractive settlement area. Kurzfassung: Talsedimente erlauben wichtige Einblicke in Veränderungen der Landschaft und der Hydrologie. Prähistorische anthropogene Aktivitäten hinterlassen Spuren in Sediment und Boden, die für bestimmte Phasen die Nutzbarkeit belegen. In den Jahren 2009 und 2018/19 führte der Bau von zwei Erdgasleitungen zu Ausgrabungen des Landesamtes für Archäologie Sachsen im Elbetal zwischen Meißen und Dresden. Zwei mehrphasige Siedlungsplätze wurden auf der Tieferen Niederterrasse (Lower Weichselian Terrace, LWT) entdeckt. Die Funde lagen in unterschiedlichen Sedimenten auf verschiedenen stratigraphischen Niveaus. Im Rahmen der Arbeiten wurden Sedimente und Böden im Bereich der Ausgrabungsplätze und im Bereich des Rohrgrabens aufgenommen. Mikromorphologische, sedimentologische, geochemische Untersuchungen, archäobotanische und archäologische Funde sowie 14 C- und OSL-Datierungen ermöglichen die zeitliche Einordnung der Sedimente und Böden. Dabei stehen zwei größere Areale im Fokus. Im Cliebener Untersuchungsareal liegen frühneolithische Siedlungsreste im Bereich eines begrabenen Bodens aus weichselzeitlichem Tallehm über Kiesen und Sanden, die von jüngeren Auenlehmen überdeckt werden. Im Brockwitzer Untersuchungsareal befinden sich flach eingeschnittene Rinnen in der LWT, die bereits im Präboreal mit tonigem Lehm verfüllt wurden. Ein in diesen Sedimenten entstandener humoser Oberbodenhorizont wurde durch anthropogene Aktivitäten während des Früh- und Mittelneolithikums überprägt. Nahezu die gesamte LWT wird von jüngeren Auenlehmen überdeckt, die seit dem Subboreal abgelagert wurden. Dies belegt die zunehmende Gefahr von Überschwemmungen auf einer ehemals siedlungsgünstigen Terrassenfläche. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the course of 2012/2015 Martin Baják carried out occasional field survey, and he gathered a larger quantity of predominantly lithic tools from thus far unknown Neolithic finding place at Jehnice (Brno-City District). The collection is interesting from the raw material point of view. This newly found locality complements a hitherto blank space in the generally densely settled Brno basin and its northern margin in the period of the Lengyel culture. This paper brings the first evidence on prehistoric settlement in the cadastral area of Brno-Jehnice being presented to the specialist and lay public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows the results of the archaeological survey (incl. metal detector prospection) of newly discovered hillside settlements in Dlhá nad Oravou, site Banský (district of Dolný Kubín) and in Komjatná, site Hlavačka (district of Ružomberok). In both sites, we have documented a cultural layer with ceramic finds and we have discovered several metal objects. The Dlhá site was quite probably continuously used from the Late Bronze Age (or end of the Younger Bronze Age) up to the final stage of the Hallstatt period (or the beginning of the La Téne period). Consequently, we have unequivocally confirmed the settlement in the period of the Púchov culture in LTC2-LTD. The Hlavačka site in Komjatná was inhabited only in the period of the Púchov culture (in its La Téne phase). The description of both sites complements the knowledge about the Orava prehistoric and protohistoric settlement. The Dlhá nad Oravou site is the first archaeological location in the concerned cadastre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]