ABSTRACT This paper interprets the first archaeobotanical data to emerge from the island of Ustica (north-western Sicily, Italy). The excavation of the Neolithic site of Piano dei Cardoni (4600-4200 cal BC) and the Middle Bronze Age site of Faraglioni Village (1500-1250 cal BC), has made it possible to analyse plant macro-remains and compare them with data on local vegetation obtained from both historical

ABSTRACT The protracted domestication of Asian rice is usually defined by the fixation of the domestication syndrome consisting of six main phenotypic traits having all an agronomic importance: seed retention, reduction of seed dispersal aids, increase in seed size, reduction of seed dormancy, a more compact growth habit, and synchronised flowering and ripening. However, during this initial domestication

ABSTRACT Shell middens are common finds recorded at Polish archaeological sites dating from the Neolithic to Iron Age; however, very little is known about the acquisition and exploitation of mussels by prehistoric communities. An archaeological feature discovered recently at Kiekrz (western Poland) has provided us with a rare opportunity to conduct complex research on a representative and large sample

ABSTRACT Archaeological evidence for penned animals is increasingly used to indicate managed livestock. Advances in techniques allowing the identification of dung and urine-derived components in sediments have enabled the expansion of this line of enquiry. Corralling animals into settlements protected them from predators at night and provided more control over their breeding. Deposits associated with

ABSTRACT Human migration in response to past climate change has been recorded globally. The pastoralist Todas are believed to have colonised the higher elevations (>2000 m asl) of the Nilgiris, Western Ghats, India, after ∼2000 cal. yr BP. During the late Quaternary, climate-induced vegetation shifts in tropical montane forest-grassland mosaic of the Nilgiris have been well-documented using stable

ABSTRACT The lower Yangtze Valley is a fruitful area to examine the interplay between the origins and intensification of agriculture and socio-political complexity. Most archaeological research on the emergence and decline of the complex society in this region has focused on large late Neolithic centres, such as the Liangzhu ancient city. Many small- to medium-size sites were also involved in dynamic

ABSTRACT Palaeoecological studies from across Iceland, in tandem with historical and archaeological examinations, have helped improve our understanding of patterns and processes involved in the initial settlement of Iceland. Here, we present a new high resolution reconstruction of vegetation and landscape dynamics for the farm Kagaðarhóll, a lowland site in Austur-Húnavatnssýsla, Northwest Iceland

ABSTRACT This article juxtaposes the recently excavated archeological remains of St. Clement’s church in medieval Niðaróss (five wooden churches on top of each other with a material connection to a sixth older church) to the way the church is described in Snorri Sturluson’s Heimskringla, the long saga about Óláfr Tryggvason, and the Icelandic Laxdæla saga. The main aim of this article is to investigate

ABSTRACT Polish archaeological studies of the last century concerning the development of the settlement network and economic changes in the Lusatian culture (1350–450 BC) in areas of southern Poland prompted the theory that in the initial phase of this culture in Lesser Poland, the economic strategies were the same as in the Upper Silesia, the area from which the settlers came. The cultivation of the

ABSTRACT The collection of papers in this special issue arose from the 2018 and 2019 workshops in Integrated Microscopy Approaches in Archaeobotany (henceforth IMAA), hosted by the University of Reading, UK. The IMAA has an interdisciplinary ethos and not only brings together students and specialists to facilitate cross-sector exchanges of a broad variety of skills, but also the discussions that take

ABSTRACT Coeval changes in the reconstructed bog surface wetness and the pollen record of a peat sequence extracted from an ombrothropic bog (Calul de Piatră, 1630 m, Apuseni Mountains) allowed the natural and anthropogenic environmental changes over the past 1500 years to be assessed. The assessment of the social and economic context was also possible due to the exceptionally detailed documentary

ABSTRACT During the excavations carried out in the Castle of Santa Severa between 2003 and 2010, the remains of an early Christian church were identified. Investigations inside the church exposed the skeleton of an adult dog (Canis familiaris) buried close to the tombs of two adult men. The radiocarbon dating of one of the human skeletons indicates that the burials occurred between 1380 and 1450. The

ABSTRACT In this paper I discuss urban planning and water management, primarily the development of drainage systems, based on the results of recent excavations in the Vågsbunnen area. The abundance of water from rainfall, rivers and streams was certainly a very important resource for the development of the early urban Bergen. It necessitated interventions of regulation and drainage that contributed

ABSTRACT We discuss a previously undescribed shell morphology in unionid mussels from three archaeological sites in western Mississippi. Similar shell features are observed across multiple genera, indicating a possible phenotypic response to an as-of-yet unidentified environmental factor. Targeted research of this phenomenon may lead to applications in paleohydrology and environmental archaeology.

ABSTRACT The spread of agriculture is a major driver of social and environmental change throughout the Holocene, yet experimental and ethnographic data indicate that farming is less profitable than foraging, so why would individuals choose to adopt agriculture leading to its expansion? Ideal distribution models offer one framework to answer this question: Individuals should adopt less profitable subsistence

ABSTRACT Pollen records and macrobotanical remains indicate maize was grown minimally during the Middle Woodland (200 BCE - CE 500) in eastern North America. However, previous isotopic studies have found limited evidence of its consumption by people in archaeobotanical assemblages. Hypothetically, if deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimmermann) were feeding on maize (Zea mays L.) in gardens prior to its

ABSTRACT The archaeological record shows the presence of medium-sized dogs with mesocephalic skulls in Southeast South America, from at least the end of the third millennium BP to historical times, along 700 km from southern Brazil to the wetlands of the Paraná River in Argentina. These dogs, associated with complex hunter-gatherers, do not appear to have been the product of exchange with Andean societies

ABSTRACT The Middle and Late Bronze Ages of western Anatolia (modern Turkey) remains poorly understood in comparison with its Mycenaean and Hittite neighbours, especially in agricultural economies and land use. Kaymakçı is the largest Middle and Late Bronze Age citadel excavated to date in western Anatolia and new archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological data from the site presented here shed new light

ABSTRACT The site of Anse Trabaud on Martinique in the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles has yielded valuable information about human occupation from deep beneath its surface. The site is located in the southeastern part of the island, an area vulnerable to extreme wave events. The archaeological deposits are dated to 1290–780 cal BP (2σ). The earliest horizon is buried under thick layers of

ABSTRACT This article raises the question of how natural conditions and social practices interacted and provided groundbreaking premises for the development of the medieval urban physical environment. The main hypothesis is twofold: (a) that social practices in medieval urban communities are entangled with natural processes, (b) that mentality, knowledge and experience as elements in social practices

ABSTRACT This study presents the 87Sr/86Sr ratios from the tooth enamel of 57 sheep and goat specimens, in order to explore animal mobility in the Middle and Late Bronze Age society of the Balearic Islands (Naviform period). Seven archaeological sites from Mallorca and Menorca located in different biotopes and with different functionalities were selected. The results provide some of the first data

ABSTRACT A consistent theme in British prehistoric studies is a perceived lack of evidence for settlement and agriculture in the Neolithic (c.4000 cal BC – 2500 cal BC), which then increases in prevalence during the Bronze Age. This lack of evidence for Neolithic settlement and farming has been linked to a collapse of agriculture associated with population decline and climatic deterioration from c

ABSTRACT The objective of this work is to reconstruct production sequences and use of woody raw materials among Patagonian hunter-gatherer groups. To this end, we studied small fragments of non-carbonized wood, pieces of wood with distinct types of technological features and formatized artefacts and/or wooden tools from two archaeological sites in south-central Argentine Patagonia. The taxonomic results

ABSTRACT Within the project ‘Harvesting Memories: Ecology and Archaeology of Monti Sicani Landscapes’, this paper aims to reconstruct human–environment interactions in the inland areas of Western Sicily during the Early Middle Ages through a comparative analysis of environmental archaeological data. We analyse carpological and anthracological finds and faunal remains originating from different layers

ABSTRACT The scapula bone is bestowed with a particular prominence among the various traditional Siberian tribes. Besides its rich symbolic importance, the shoulder blade is connected with shamanistic rituals and in particular, fortunetelling. Scapulimancy (telling fortunes from the scapula) is a tradition with its roots in ancient China. Historical chronicles and ethnographic research on scapulimancy

ABSTRACT The article presents the results of the identification of 1051 bird remains from the ancient layers of the 12 settlements from the Northern Black Sea coast. Zooarchaeological finds described in the work date to the sixth century BC through the fourth century AD. The data allowed researchers to specify features of bird exploitation by the inhabitants of the region. In particular, we established

ABSTRACT In this paper we stress the importance of a chronological approach to bioarchaeological and palaeopathological research, illustrating the key value of correct dating in the reconstruction of the history of diseases and civilisations. With this aim in mind, we present five case studies (from prehistoric times to the late Middle Ages) in which either archaeological or radiocarbon dating proved

(2021). Birds in the Bronze Age: a North European perspective. Environmental Archaeology. Ahead of Print.

ABSTRACT Pathological conditions in skeletal remains, such as cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis, can be caused by etiologically different forms of anemia: hereditary hemolytic anemias, iron deficiency anemias, megaloblastic anemias, etc. Though not always simple to apply, differential diagnosis of cases of anemia found in the archaeological record is essential to correlate the pathology with

ABSTRACT Although the amount of data on the Italian Copper Age has increased significantly in the last decades, little is known about the relationship between humans and the environment. Material culture suggests the occurrence of significant social interactions throughout the Italian Peninsula, while the funerary practices indicate that Copper Age groups were strongly rooted in their territories.

ABSTRACT This paper presents the results of a multi-proxy, palaeolimnological investigation of Lough Inchiquin, a large lake located immediately south of the Burren, a distinctive karst landscape in Co Clare, western Ireland which has been exploited since the Neolithic period. Chironomid sub-fossil analysis and lake sediment geochemistry provides an opportunity to infer lake response to prehistoric

ABSTRACT Medieval city walls, bridges, and harbours stood at the interface between the worlds of man and nature. Wind, ice, rainwater, scour, tidal flows, littoral drift, erosion, silting, micro-organisms, and the growth of vegetation compromised the integrity of structural fabrics and choked up ditches, rivers, and harbour basins. These ‘slow disasters’ of incremental degradation were periodically

ABSTRACT Sclerochronological data from archaeological shell middens provides crucial information about past environments and subsistence practices of coastal human populations. These studies rely on a strong knowledge of species-specific growth patterns, as it is the main driver of the quantity and quality of information recorded in biogenic carbonates. The limpet Patella vulgata is highly represented

ABSTRACT At the 23rd Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) in August to September 2017 in Maastricht, NL, two sessions explored how archaeobotanical analysis can be used to explore plant use beyond arable agriculture. Session 203 (The Archaeobotany of Non-Food Plant Exploitation) focused on the non-food uses of plants, while Session 346 (Within the Woodlands: Exploitation

ABSTRACT Recovery methods and techniques for archaeological sampling can yield major differences in abundance and anatomo-taxonomical representation of animals, affecting past social and ecological reconstruction. Despite being a common organic material in archaeological sites, faunal remains typically exhibit differential preservation of species and skeletal elements due to pre- and post-depositional

ABSTRACT The study of a set of marine arthropod shells from an archaeological excavation carried out in 1991–1992 in the tholos of La Pastora (Cooper Age Mega-site of Valencina-Castilleja, S Spain), has highlighted the environmental implications and ornamental use as beads not cited so far for this purpose. It is the barnacle species Chthamalus montagui Southward, 1976 Southward, A. J. 1976. “On the

ABSTRACT About 210 spring tunnels were developed in Israel, most of them within its central mountain range and especially in the Jerusalem Hills. This phenomenon probably first appeared in Israel during Iron Age II, around the 8th century BCE. Spring tunnels are associated with the development of irrigated agricultural systems, landscape design and the establishment of rural settlements. This study

ABSTRACT Reconstructing the origins of plant cultivation in southwest Asia is crucial for understanding associated processes such as the emergence of sedentary communities and domesticated crops. Among the criteria archaeobotanists developed for identifying the earliest plant cultivation, the presence of potential arable weeds found in association with wild cereal and legume remains has been used as

ABSTRACT Multi-proxy investigations at 2 Pier Road, North Woolwich, London, UK, have revealed deposits spanning the Middle-Late Holocene from the late Mesolithic (c. 4360 cal BC) onwards. Pollen data show an Elm Decline at c. 4210–3950 cal BC followed by landnám clearances at c. 4210–3910 cal BC and c. 3710–3030 cal BC and the first appearance of cereal at c. 3540–3030 cal BC. These events are potentially

ABSTRACT The concept of more-than-human agency maintains that objects, animals and plants can act as agents with various effects on people and that trees specifically may play a role in shaping and changing spaces (hence constituting a ‘planty agency’). Also, trees usually outlive several human generations and can therefore be termed ‘historical trees.’ Although this issue is especially relevant for

ABSTRACT Dere Street is the Roman road which ran north from Eboracum (York), crossing the Stanegate at Corbridge and continuing into what is now Scotland. The road served a military and economic purpose facilitating the transport of troops and trade north and south across the frontier zone. Here we present a well resolved palaeoenvironmental record within the Hadrianic-Antonine frontier zone that is

ABSTRACT New stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope values of charred plant and bone collagen remains from 6th mill. BCE Halai, central Greece, together with datasets from 6th mill. BCE Kouphovouno, southern Greece, and later 6th/early 5th mill. BCE Makriyalos, northern Greece, demonstrate how early farming communities in mainland Greece adapted mixed farming strategies to distinct local

ABSTRACT The study of plant and animal remains from archaeological sites provides important evidence about past human diets and habits: this includes species selection, food preparation, consumption and disposal practices. Furthermore, such information may also provide inferences about social status. Data from refuse disposal features identified in some elite contexts in central Italy – a high-status

ABSTRACT Amphorae are key materials in the investigation of the production and transport of goods in ancient times. For the Roman period, many typologies of amphorae are standardised and there are hypotheses concerning their uses and contents mainly based on the shape, provenance, tituli picti and, when preserved, the solid contents. However, there are still many amphora types that have to be investigated

ABSTRACT Pb contents (13-53 mg kg−1) and pathological changes in almost complete cow skeletons discovered in graves adjacent to Pb and Ag smelting furnaces active in the Silesian-Cracovian region, in the mid-12th century are reported in the article. In addition to Pb, elements such as Zn, Cd, Fe, Mn, Cd, and Ba characteristic of Zn-Pb-Ag ores in the region were identified. Bone fragments and the soil

(2020). Iconography and wetsite archaeology of Florida’s watery realms. Environmental Archaeology. Ahead of Print.

ABSTRACT Archaeobotanical remains from the Phoenician – Punic site of Motya, set in the Marsala Lagoon in Western Sicily (Italy), were collected through flotation and sieving during the excavation campaigns of 2017–2019. Analyses focused on a sacrificial favissa, on the SW side of the Temple of Cappiddazzu, dedicated to Melqart/Herakles, where the buried remains of seven bovines were also found. Plant

Archaeobotanical remains from the Phoenician – Punic site of Motya, set in the Marsala Lagoon in Western Sicily (Italy), were collected through flotation and sieving during the excavation campaigns...

Widespread ethnographic evidence exists for the addition of animal dung to clay during the process of ceramic production. However, conclusive evidence of dung tempering in archaeological ceramics i...

The cooling associated with the Little Ice Age (LIA) had differential severity across the globe. Within the American Midwest, the local impacts of this cooling have not been established. Our purpos...

The Pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus) is an endangered ungulate from South American. The following paper presents the first investigation on the isotopic ecology (δ13Ccollagen; δ15Ncollagen) of ...

Medieval historical sources suggest that cetacean exploitation was, for large parts of Europe, restricted to the social elite. This appears to have also been the case for the Netherlands and Flande...

The eastern Maghreb is a key area for understanding environmental and cultural dynamics during the early and middle Holocene. Capsian populations from around 10000–7500 cal BP were among the last f...

This research presents for the first time a comprehensive study of charcoal directly related to the multiple burials interred in Tomb 2 of El Cano (Cocle province, Panama). This funerary context, w...

This paper aims to provide the isotopic characterization of the diet consumed by people buried in a graveyard of the Imperial Rome Suburbium (1st–3rd centuries CE), where numerous children were bur...

ABSTRACT Decayed wood occurs relatively frequently in charcoal assemblages from Iron Age sites in northwest Iberia, and the presence of fungal hyphae and wood-borer galleries has been identified in charred wood remains from different kinds of archaeological contexts. This study analysed the evidence of decayed wood, as a result of fungal and insect attack, including the affected taxa and other dendrological

The spatial heterogeneity at archaeological sites associated with human arrangements has mostly been evidenced by the analyses of artefact assemblages and constructions. Here we test the potentials...

(2020). Correction. Environmental Archaeology: Vol. 25, Special Issue: Past Andean Pastoralism: A Reconsidered Diversity. Edited by Elise Dufour and Nicolas Goepfert, pp. 365-366.

Spatio-temporal modelling of land use allows an analysis of change considering socio-economic, ecological and biophysical factors. We developed a ‘spatially explicit’ model to simulate land use/cover change in the Calakmul realm during the Late Classic period, taking into account the relationship between population density, agriculture strategies and erosion and drought. Different scenarios were simulated

Spatio-temporal modelling of land use allows an analysis of change considering socio-economic, ecological and biophysical factors. We developed a ‘spatially explicit’ model to simulate land use/cov...