This paper deals with the findings of Hospital Viejo site of Logroño (La Rioja, Spain), which yielded the largest evidence of local pottery production, comprising three kilns and a potters’ dump (13th–15th centuries). The study of pottery production in inland Iberia provides valuable information on the material conditions in which the Iberian medieval and post-medieval society occurred. Yet, the territory

Beginning by at least the Andean Middle Horizon (AD 600–1000), sites located more than 60 km inland from the Pacific coast in far southern Peru contain the remains of jack mackerel (Trachurus murphyi). The coastal region near the modern Peruvian city of Ilo was the habitat where people procured fish and transported them to sites in the Moquegua Valley. Abundant neurocranial fragments indicate that

This study presents results from the analytical investigation of the polymetallic, non-ferrous metallurgical cycle at early Viking Age Ribe, Denmark, in the 8th and 9th centuries CE. We combine extensive surface analyses of crucibles and moulds (handheld XRF) with targeted micro-destructive examination (micro XRF, electron microprobe spectroscopy—EPMA) of crucibles, moulds, ingots, blanks, and finished

This study details the non-destructive chemical analysis of composite silver objects (ewers, situlas, amphora and casket) from one of the most significant late Roman finds, the Seuso Treasure. The Seuso Treasure consists of fourteen large silver vessels that were made in the fourth–early fifth centuries AD and used for dining during festive banquets and for washing and beautification. The measurements

Puente de Santa Bárbara (Huércal-Overa, Almería) is a fortified settlement (1.5 ha) dating from the Middle and Late Copper Age. It is near Cerro Minado, a copper mine known for its high arsenic content according to chemical results obtained by XRF analyses. Excavations at Puente de Santa Bárbara unearthed a great amount of evidence of metallurgical activity suggesting the site’s specialisation in the

Ivory anatomical figurines are thought to have been carved in Germany in the seventeenth or eighteenth century. While it is speculated that these figurines were used for the study of medical education, little is known about their origins. A precise understanding of the composition of these figurines may further provide knowledge about their purpose and exact age. Our institution holds the largest North

In this paper, we studied building materials from the Niğde-Kınık Höyük archaeological site (Southern Cappadocia, Turkey) with the support of historical, architectural, and geological research. The samples were collected within the framework of the Kınık Höyük Archaeological Project, which began excavations at the site in 2011 in a bid to conserve the ancient buildings that would be discovered there

The archaeological study of ingots has gained in importance in recent years due to their links with metallurgical production, pre-monetary exchange and the emergence of weighing systems. However, in the northwestern Iberian Peninsula, which has one of the most outstanding protohistoric precious metalworking traditions in Western Europe, little attention has been paid to this method of accumulating

Two radioisotopic dating methods are applied to Quaternary fluviolacustrine detritus deposits in the commune of Morsott in northeastern Algeria. The studied profile shows an open and contaminated environment. In the case of the shells of molluscs, the choice of identical samples for both the dating methods is wise. Obtained results are different; thus, positioning the chronology of the Quaternary sequence

What was driving the migrations of the first farmers across Europe? How were demography, society, and environment interconnected to give rise to the macroregional expansion pattern that archaeology is revealing? We simulate the demography and spatial behavior of the first farming communities in the Central Balkans in order to infer the parameters and mechanisms of the Neolithic expansion in this part

The identification of an unknown person by facial reconstruction, gender, and age determination is one of the duties of the forensic sciences. In some cases, the skull and mandible cannot be obtained together. In this case, facial reconstruction of the skull without a mandible becomes a serious problem. The aim of our study was to design the mandible suitable for the anatomic structure of the skull

The estimation of biological sex is a primary source of information regarding unidentified skeletal individuals in bioarcheological and forensic contexts. This study aims to propose new metric standards for the estimation of sex using variables of the calcaneus and talus. An ancillary goal encompasses the creation of a web-based decision support system for the assessment of sex. Six measurements from

During the past 30 years, molecular analyses have provided an important corpus of evidence for the exploitation of Apis mellifera products, honey and beeswax, since the Neolithic. In this paper, we report the earliest, to our knowledge, evidence of bee product exploitation in Cyprus dated to the Ceramic Neolithic (5th millennium BC) and the Chalcolithic periods (4th–mid 3rd millennia BC). Systematic

Pike (Esox lucius) is a large freshwater species with a wide distribution in Eurasia and North America that has been exploited since prehistoric times as is shown by the skeletal remains found on numerous archaeological sites. The role the species played in the subsistence of inland human settlements can be documented by its proportion within the spectrum of exploited fish and by reconstructing the

In the transition from carbon to iron-gall inks, the two documents from the Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection in Berlin with shelfmarks P 13500 and P 13501 discussed in this work present an important case. Their inks appear brownish, although they date back to the fourth and third century BCE, when carbon inks are believed to have been commonly if not exclusively used. Using imaging micro-X-ray

The aim of this study is to explore the trade dynamics involved in the large-scale distribution of olive oil produced in Baetica province (currently Andalusia). Baetica became an important production and distribution centre during the Roman Empire and its goods have been found in thousands of sites, but it is still unclear how exactly this large-scale production was organised. We explore here connections

Despite a long history of hunter-gatherer occupation in the Pampas region starting at the end of the Pleistocene, the known archaeological record is still sparse for some periods, such as the Middle Holocene. Here, we present new archaeological data from Las Toscas shallow lake, located in the inland plains of the southern Pampas, where systematic fieldwork revealed an abundant and diverse archaeological

Findings from the archaeological site of Shahr-i Sokhta in eastern Iran include a wide range of undecorated, monochrome, and polychrome ceramics with gray, red, and buff-colored bodies that date back to a period spanning from 3200 to 1800 B.C.E. Given the large number and variety of ceramics unearthed from Shahr-i Sokhta, the provenance of these wares has remained a subject of controversy. Based on

The archaeological site of La Magdalena, located in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid), has a large necropolis area related to different chronological phases. This study was based on the bone remains found in three Roman tombs that date back to the second and third century AD and a votive offering. The three tombs were located in different places far from one another and have special features on their structure

Even after a century of research, the nature of the transition from the Lower-to-Middle Paleolithic in the Levant remains elusive. Responding to the sharp discontinuity in material culture, Jelinek argued that Unit X of Tabun Cave, Israel, can offer the bridgehead necessary to traverse the divide. His proposal was based on (1) the unit’s stratigraphic position and on (2) the unique combination of traits

The TD6 unit of the Gran Dolina contains an assemblage of the Early Pleistocene, interpreted firstly as a home base. More recently has been proposed a transported origin of the remains according to the sedimentology. Following this model, the remains should be dragged or lagged in a predictable pattern related to their weight, density, shape, and size. Conversely, the debris generated in an undisturbed

In this paper, we investigate population dynamics in the Scandinavian Neolithic and Early Bronze Age in southwestern Sweden. Human mobility patterns in Falbygden were studied by applying strontium isotope analysis combined with archaeological and bioarchaeological data, including mtDNA and sex assessment on a large dataset encompassing 141 individuals from 21 megalithic graves. In combination with

This paper discusses an archaeology of ceramic craft and artisans in the sixteenth–seventeenth centuries Belgrade and problematises its relation to historical models of urban production in the Ottoman Empire. The study focuses on five common wares, representative of the Middle Danube region, found in well-defined consumption contexts of Belgrade’s intra and extra muros settlements. The production technology

Historical sources describe irrigation and intensive agriculture being practiced in lowland Yunnan from at least the first century AD, but so far archaeobotanical remains allowing investigation of this issue have been scarce. Here, we present new archaeobotanical evidence, including macro-botanical and phytoliths results, from the Dian settlement site of Dayingzhuang, with direct AMS radiocarbon dates

The transformation from hunting-gathering to the intensive cultivation of cereals, fruits, and nuts has long been discussed. This study combines archaeobotanical evidence from seeds/stones and wood charcoal with historic texts to record the changing role of fruits and nuts in ancient diet on the Chinese Loess Plateau. At the early stage of millet domestication, extensive collection of wild fruits and

While narratives of the spread of agriculture are central to interpretation of African history, hard evidence of past crops and cultivation practices are still few. This research aims at filling this gap and better understanding the evolution of agriculture and foodways in West Africa. It reports evidence from systematic flotation samples taken at the settlement mounds of Sadia (Mali), dating from

This research focuses on the Neolithic populations of Western Switzerland (5500–2200 BCE) and on establishing their paleopathological profile. This chronological period presents varying burial practices, and the aim was to be able to synthesise all information regarding the pathologies these populations exhibited, in such a way that statistical tests could be performed to determine whether geographical

This pilot study examines the provisioning of domestic sheep and goats as it pertains to pilgrimage at the archeological site of Tel Dan (Tell el-Qadi), Israel, an Iron Age IIA–B (ca. 10th/9th–7th c. BCE) religious center in the southern Levant traditionally associated with Israelite Yahwistic worship. The question of how far animals were transported for sacrifice is addressed through isotopic analyses

This article presents the results of the zooarchaeological analysis of an assemblage dating to the second quarter of the 16th century that was discovered on the current university campus of Cartuja, on the outskirts of Granada (Andalusia, Spain). During the Middle Ages, this area was largely used for agricultural purposes, including as estates owned by high officials of the Nasrid dynasty, the last

The Fu Hao Tomb is one of the most representative Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BC) royal tombs, and the handle-shaped artefact unearthed from this tomb is a special jade object manufactured during the Three Dynasties Period (the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, c. 2000–200 BC). For a long time, the manufacturing technology and the function of handle-shaped object remain an unsolved problem in academic research

‘Anthropologies of the Body’ often view the human form as a sort of text, onto which meanings and experiences are inscribed during people’s lives, rendering the body effectively as an artefact of material culture. Such ‘inscription’ is generally metaphorical; however, in the case of tattooing, aspects of the way people wish to be perceived are quite literally inscribed upon the body. The current article

Differences in pottery technology and style between the Cardial and Epicardial periods have been used to study the social dynamics behind the spread of agriculture and pastoralism in the northwestern Mediterranean. This paper presents new data regarding pottery use from Early Neolithic settlements in the Barcelona plain in the sixth and fifth millennia cal BC. The recovery of organic residues from

In this paper, we characterized for the first time the painting materials in rock art panels of the Patagonian archaeological locality La Angostura using a methodological approach that combined micro-Raman spectroscopy, attenuated total reflection Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. In this way, we obtained detailed information on the red, green, and black

This study examines the relationship between facial morphology and socioeconomic status within an Early Mediaeval population from the Mikulčice settlement. The agglomeration was the centre of the Great Moravian Empire in Central Europe and had a hierarchically structured society. The settlement can be divided on the basis of two criteria that possibly reflect socioeconomic classes: grave location (castle

The Achaea and Corinth regions of the northern Peloponnese are renowned for their rich archaeological record. Achaea is part of mainland Greece in the North-Western Peloponnese, whereas Corinth is in the North-Eastern Peloponnese. Since ancient times, ceramic production has played an important role in the local and regional social and economic evolution in both regions. Our aim is to identify and evaluate

This article presents a new anthracological sequence from the archeological site of Niğde-Kınık Höyük, in southern Cappadocia (Turkey), spanning from the Late Bronze Age to the Ottoman Period, which provides important insights into the vegetation history of Cappadocia and its change through time. The local woody vegetation was composed of deciduous oaks, with an important contribution, especially in

Over the past years, archaeobotanical studies have clarified much of the process of dispersal and adaptation of crops across Asia. However, the development of farming systems that could function in the high-altitude environments of Tibet requires more in-depth consideration. In this article, we present the results of the systematic archaeobotanical investigation at Karuo, a third millennium BC site

Food is often one of the most distinctive expressions of social, religious, cultural or ethnic groups. However, the archaeological identification of specific religious dietary practices, including the Jewish tradition of keeping kosher, associated with ritual food practices and taboos, is very rare. This is arguably one of the oldest known diets across the world and, for an observant Jew, maintaining

The Ming Great Wall distributed in Qinghai Province is a significant part of the Great Wall, which is the most world-renowned heritage site in China. However, compared to the Great Wall sections in other provinces, this section has not been systematically researched due to the later complete investigation and not enough attention paid from the public. It is of importance to study the Ming Great Wall

Level 4.1 from the Abri du Maras (Ardèche, France) is chronologically attributed to the beginning of MIS 3 and is one example of late Neanderthal occupations in the southeast of France. Previous work on the faunal and lithic remains suggests that this level records short-term hunting episodes of reindeer associated with fragmented lithic reduction sequences. During fieldwork, the high density of the

Over the past decades, the disciplinary boundaries between Roman history and archaeology have begun to fade, as archaeological proxy data started playing an important role in studying socioeconomic processes and phenomena. This is especially true for several key debates such as those on Roman economic performance, diet and nutrition, and migration and mobility. More recently, archaeological sciences

The prevailing view of pastoral nomadic peoples is one in which their lifeway is perceived as a low technology and low investment solution to living in some of the world’s most marginal environments. Given this dominant stereotype, the discovery of a unique and sophisticated iron-making technology indigenous to Inner Asian herding communities would not be expected. Most anthropological and historical

Analyses of high-resolution pollen data, coprophilous fungal spores, microscopic charcoal and sedimentology, combined with radiocarbon dating, allow the assessment of the impact of Sami and Nordic land use in the region surrounding the winter market town of Lycksele in northern Sweden. Such winter markets were established by the Crown during the seventeenth century AD to control the semi-nomadic movements

In this work, elemental composition of 18 metallic objects belonging to the Bronze Age found at the Kalate Shoori site in Neyshabur, northeastern Iran, is investigated using micro-PIXE technique. The aim of the analysis is to identify the type of alloys employed in the fabrication of the investigated objects based on their elemental composition and to measure their contents of trace elements. The results

Biodistance analysis can elucidate various aspects of past population structure. The most commonly adopted measure of divergence when estimating biodistances is the mean measure of divergence (MMD). The MMD is an unbiased estimator of population divergence but this property is lost when the dataset includes variables with very high or low frequency. In the present paper, we examine new measures of

Diagenetic modifications in human bones from the early-medieval cemetery discovered in the garden of Vratislavs’ Palace, in the central Malá Strana district of Prague, have been investigated combining histological analysis and instrumental analysis with X-ray diffraction, infrared, and 31P NMR spectroscopy. A total of 15 ribs samples were collected for the study. One sample belonged to a child, whereas

Lachish (Tell ed-Duweir) is located in the southern part of the Judean foothills, known as the Shephelah, and is one of the larger and most extensively excavated multi-period sites in the southern Levant. We present the faunal results of the first three seasons of the most recent excavations, the Austrian-Israeli Expedition to Tel Lachish. The expedition focusses on two areas of the tell encompassing

Shell disc beads are important archeological indicators of social communication and exchange networks. There has been substantial research on ostrich eggshell (OES) beads, but little is known about the manufacture or chronology of similar beads from land snail shells (LSS). LSS beads are associated with Holocene hunter-gatherers in Africa, though direct dates are limited to the Iron Age, and there

This paper challenges the conventional characterisation of glazed ware productions in the eastern Mediterranean, especially the ones which did not feature the use of opaque or tin-glazed technology, as technologically stagnant and unsusceptible to broader socio-economic developments from the late medieval period onwards. Focusing on the Cypriot example, we devise a new approach that combines scientific

Cattle were the most common domestic livestock animal throughout much of the Neolithic period in the area now occupied by modern day Switzerland, home to a significant number of sites dating to between approximately 4400 and 2500 cal BC. Many of these sites were located in wetland locations, resulting in very well-preserved large faunal assemblages which can be dated using dendrochronology with rare

Asian rice (Oryza sativa L.) was identified, among other plant remains, from several contexts in a fortified elite residence at the site of Mleiha (United Arab Emirates) that was partially destroyed by fire in the third century AD. These remains, present both as isolated grains and as clusters of rice, constitute the earliest example of the species in the Arabian Peninsula and raise numerous questions

The Bukhara oasis, with its unique geographic location, played an important role during the medieval period when it led the region’s political development as part of the Islamic world adjacent to the pastoralists in the northern steppe. Such a distinctive geopolitical environment likely left a visible trace in the shaping of material culture, which we tested by focusing on numerous copper-based metal

The balance of power (that is the dominance on the predation arena between carnivore competitors and hominins) remains controversial. One reflection of this is the carnivore modification of hominin bones. During human evolution, hominins were first prey and then predators of other animals, including carnivores. Modifications reported on some hominin bones could result from primary predators feeding

Bronze vessels are the hallmark of the Chinese Bronze Age, and the formation of the Western Zhou’s (1046–772 BC) extensive metallurgical network has been the subject of much scholarly interest. However, what remains unclear is the dynamic circulation of metal within the Zhou realm and its connections with neighbouring regions. Here, the authors utilise published lead isotope data from artefacts and

In the southern cone of South America, inhabit a large diversity of Neotropical carnivores. Carnivore coprolites are a valuable source of paleoecological and paleoparasitological information. The rock shelter Gruta del Indio (GI) is an emblematic archeological and paleontological site located from Mendoza, Argentina. Several studies were conducted at this site, which provided a stratified sequence

In Paleolithic archaeology, there are two dichotomous perspectives on so-called splintered pieces, or pieces esquillées, in which, depending upon archaeological context and the availability and quality of lithic of raw material, such pieces are considered bipolar cores or tools for processing organic materials. Here, we discuss for the first time functionality, reduction models, and modes of using

The medieval period in the region near the Aral Sea must have been the era of significant sociopolitical changes and notable transitions in material culture. This prediction was tested with a metal assemblage consisting of numerous bronze and brass objects, mostly small items for personal use, excavated from the medieval (ca. 800–1000 AD) site near the Aral Sea in Kazakhstan. A technological transition

The study of thalassaemia syndromes in archeological human remains is of growing interest in the field of paleopathology. However, a definitive diagnosis of the disease in skeletonized individuals remains difficult. Several non-specific bone lesions have been suggested as the most likely evidence of β-thalassaemia syndrome. In particular, skull lesions have been considered by several scholars as the

Throughout the Western provinces of the Roman Empire, greater economic and political connectivity had a major impact on agricultural production, which grew in scale and specialisation after integration with the Roman state. However, uniquely in Western Europe, farming strategies in Italy began to evolve centuries before the Roman conquest, and many ‘Roman’ patterns associated with livestock size and