Our recent LA-ICP-MS analyses of glass ingots from the Uluburun shipwreck along with additional samples from Egyptian sites, primarily Amarna, encourage us to question how and where the ingots were produced. Because almost all the approximately 200 glass ingots are either greenish blue, colored by copper, or purplish blue, colored by cobalt, we focus here on these colorants and their attendant trace

The archaeological investigations carried out in the last twenty years in the Lower Valley of the River Güeña (Asturias, central part of northern Spain) have documented different prehistoric sites, particularly with Middle and Upper Palaeolithic occupations. This paper presents the first results of the archaeological excavation carried out in the cave of La Cuevona de Avín. From the systematic study

Recent lidar, survey, and excavation have facilitated the mapping of the Lomas Entierros archaeological site in Central Pacific Costa Rica, with a main occupation and construction dating from 800–1200 CE. The data document the architectural pattern of the site, which differs from other monumental sites known in the region in terms of the distribution of architectural features. The proposed regional

Palaeoenvironmental and historical approaches have often been used separately to investigate past land-use change, but they are still rarely combined, especially in places where the most suitable archives are sediment sequences. Here we used a transdisciplinary approach combining a multiproxy palaeoenvironmental study of two pedosedimentological sequences around a medieval Benedictine abbey at Samos

Digital technologies are an increasingly pervasive medium for zooarchaeological scholarship, providing a means to document and preserve fragile zooarchaeological specimens, share primary data, address methodological questions, and spread the information to the wider public. During the last decade, a broad array of digital technologies has been widely applied for the creation of three-dimensional images

The article presents an analysis of four canid skeletons recovered at the El Olivar archaeological site (Semi-arid North of Chile). The aims of the study were to determine their taxonomy and chronology, characterise their morphotypes and investigate their social status and possible functions. Osteological and dental features allowed us to identify them as dogs (Canis lupus familiaris). Three radiocarbon

A petrographic characterization has been used here, for the first time, in the study of lithic raw materials exploited in prehistoric Sicily. Our research interests one of the oldest archaeological sites with evidence of the early human peopling of the island (∼15kyr ago): San Teodoro Cave, in northeastern Sicily. Two geological Formations, Numidian and Monte Soro Flysch gave origin to well-rounded

This paper examines vessel morphology and degrees of standardization of ceramic vessels using Gaussian mixture model cluster analysis (GMMC). GMMC is an unsupervised data mining technique that identifies natural groups in a dataset. This project first tests whether GMMC can classify certain shape categories correctly according to human assigned Furumark Shape (FS) pot types using basic vessel dimensions

Middle part of the Samica Valley in Western Poland, also known as the Bruszczewo microregion, witnessed several occupational phases during the prehistoric times. The archive geoarchaeological research documented presence of the lake in the past which had demise around 250 BCE and it was overgrown by peat deposits. During the LIDAR elevation model analysis a ridge in the central part of the basin was

Cobatillas la Vieja is one of the main settlements for understanding the beginning of the Late Bronze Age (14th-13th centuries cal. BC) in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. After the macroscopic study of their ceramic assemblage, 30 representative samples were analysed by thin-section petrography, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and binocular microscopy to address

The pedagogical potential of archaeology is widely acknowledged and has led to a multitude of formal and informal resources, either promoting or exploiting this role. Science subjects are an essential part of school curricula. Despite this, archaeological science has not received equal attention, even though it is among the most interdisciplinary fields of archaeology with immense educational potential

Ancient Egyptian bird mummies manufactured in huge numbers present a unique and intriguing body of material with great archaeological and zooarchaeological significance. Research into this ancient practice is gaining momentum; however, one area that lacks clarity, but that is vital for the accurate interpretation of mummies as objects of ritual significance, is our ability to proffer accurate identifications

The region of South Asia, located between the prepared core-based technologies in the west and simple core technologies in the east, is crucial in the modern human dispersal routes. The nature and chronology of initial modern human presence in the region and associated lithic technologies – microlithic vs the Middle Palaeolithic prepared core technology – are debated between the coastal and continental

Anthropogenic engravings were made within more than 2000 small natural cavities found in the sandstone boulder fields of the central Paris Basin, in an area of 1800 km2 to west of the town of Fontainebleau. These engravings consist mainly of clustered rectilinear grooves arranged in vertical parallel series or organized in grids. These dominant classes of motifs form a unique type of rock art attributed

The Great Basin underwent considerable environmental change during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, such as lower precipitation, increased temperatures, and the diminishment of lakes and wetlands. Archaeologists have long hypothesized that people responded by altering their settlement-subsistence strategies. Models outlining these responses feature predictions that generally fall into two categories:

Osteochondroma or osteocartilaginous exostosis is one of the most common benign tumors of the bone. Causes for the disease are yet unknown, but there are indications that they may be linked to abnormality in the growth plate and possibly mutation in EXT1, EXT2 and EXT3 genes. Cases of reported osteochondromas range from prehistoric to contemporary examples, are not limited geographically, and no evidence

Bordes’ typology has been in use for many years and is widely applied in studies of Early and Middle Palaeolithic stone tools, especially in vocabulary and typological classification in shaping artefacts (mainly flake tools and handaxes). However, over the years, this method has received different critiques, especially regarding the arbitrariness and subjectivism in the definition and classification

The sign value of the first potter's wheels used in the southern Levant (second half of the 5th mill. BC) is explored through the production modalities of V-shaped bowls, the main category of vessels shaped on the wheel at that time. To this end, a morphometric approach is applied to V-shaped bowls from four sites through numerical methods available in a Pottery 3-D software used to extract shape parameters

A large odontometric reference database is essential for a clear and reliable differentiation between the teeth of dogs and wolves found in archaeological contexts. However, the data compilation of skeletal material is a slow process because access to dog remains may be difficult. The expansion of a dental database could benefit from computed tomography (CT) scans performed on live dogs during medical

Current data on human groups from the Lower Palaeolithic periods in Western Europe show a variability in material production, represented by the disconcerting diversity of lithic technocomplexes. Since the birth of the prehistoric discipline, fluvial and alluvial environments have been considered the witnesses of prehistoric occupations during the long Quaternary period. In this article, therefore

In this paper we present the analysis of faunal ecofacts retrieved from well-secured features during recent excavation work carried out in 2019 and 2020 by the German-Israeli Tell Iẓṭabba Excavation Project in the Seleucid-founded town of Nysa-Scythopolis. Founded under Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175–164 BCE) and destroyed by the Hasmonaeans in the later years of John Hyrcanus (in 107 BCE). The site offers

In this paper we investigate the presence of the Roman army in the countryside of northeastern Iberia through the case study of Can Rubió, an archaeological site dated to the 1st c. BC-1st c. AD1. The contextualisation of the archaeozoological information obtained from the study of 1,495 faunal remains, together with the structures and other finds from the site (pottery, metal and bone objects), allows

A Neolithic stone circle at Waun Mawn, in the Mynydd Preseli, west Wales, has been proposed as the original location of some dolerite megaliths at Stonehenge, including one known as Stone 62. To investigate this hypothesis, in-situ analyses, using a portable XRF, have been obtained for four extant non-spotted doleritic monoliths at Waun Mawn, along with two weathered doleritic fragments from a stonehole

Skeletons of ten articulated goats and additional numerous caprine remains were found in an architectural complex that was destroyed by an earthquake, dating to the 8th century CE in Tel Beth Shemesh, Israel. As this assemblage represents a unique event, of a living herd “frozen in time”, we studied it in comparison to the general “consumed assemblage” of caprinae from the rest of the site. Reconstructing

Medieval settlements in Iceland and Greenland were vulnerable to changes in spring (April-June) snow cover duration and depth. These would have adversely affected the viability of their pastoral farming systems, but the impact would have been spatially variable. We use a physical-based model of snow distribution and melt to model spring snow cover and depth at a scale relevant to human activities across

For centuries, glass money beads (udoud) have played a critical role in cultural and economic exchanges in the Palauan archipelago (western Micronesia) since their first appearance ca. AD 600–950 from East Java and mainland Southeast Asia. Later, as part of their stone money (rai) quarrying activities, visiting Yapese islanders negotiated access to quarry sites and purchased provisions using glass

Formby Point, England is a well-documented exposure site in which marine erosion has regularly exposed Neolithic human trackways along the coastline since the 1980s. We report here the discovery of an additional 17 trackways and 61 isolated tracks (181 human footprints in total) discovered during four field seasons of natural site exposure at four localities in the Formby Point region, recorded in

Abstract not available

Our goal is to study the spatio-temporal changes in human demographic density in Northwest Patagonia and central Chile throughout the Late Pleistocene-Holocene using geo-referenced absolute dates. Given the heterogeneous environmental and cultural characteristics of this region, differences in the demographic dynamics across geographic areas are expected. Using 1,284 absolute dates we explored different

A group of 533 nummi from to the Tomares hoard, found in Seville in 2016, has been studied to characterize their metallic composition. The coins selected were struck in the mint of Carthage between AD 297 and 307. The statistical analysis of the non-destructive XRF data increase our understanding of a mint which has been paid less attention that others to date, in both material and historical terms

In order to obtain the first absolute chronology data, a detailed rock-magnetic, archaeomagnetic and radiocarbon investigation was performed on some in situ features of the El Cerrito pyramid. Archaeomagnetic sampling was carried out on two rectangular fire pits and one burned soil located at the piedmont of the pyramid. Marked irreversibility between heating and cooling cycles and consequently thermal

This paper presents the results of the multidisciplinary study carried out at the Damirgaya rock art site located in Georgia, southern Caucasus. The research has aimed to conduct archaeological excavation and obtain contextual data based on multidisciplinary investigations including geology, photogrammetry, digital image enhancement, archaeological survey of the surrounding landscape, etc. Archaeological

Burning characteristics of bone are dependent on taxa, bone condition, and heating method. Until now, heating characteristics of Australia’s unique fauna were undocumented. Here we present heating experiments of Australian taxa using a laboratory kiln, hearth fires and earth ovens, and apply the results to faunal assemblages from Boodie Cave, northwest Australia. Results indicate comparable burning

This paper presents evidence for some of the highest-altitude Middle Palaeolithic land-use in southwest Asia identified through field surveys in the Miankouh region of the Bakhtiari highlands within the Zagros Mountains of Iran. Through identification of two vertically connected but distinct ecozones, patterned distribution of stone tool production and use suggests more complex seasonal mobility and

The relationship between hunter-gatherer group mobility and lithic raw material procurement strategies is central to the study of Neanderthal productive behaviours. In this framework, determination of flint procurement sources through lithological analysis is key to infer Neanderthal group mobility patterns. El Salt rockshelter (Alcoi, Alacant, eastern Iberia) features different nearby flint sources

Mote is a traditional Andean recipe that can be traced back to pre-Hispanic kitchens. This culinary practice consists of boiling maize grains that were previously dried and peeled with lime or plant ashes. This dish has been part of the dietary staple of people through time. This paper aims to identify vegetal macro and micro remains and the culinary equipment used during mote preparation, to generate

The publication of data relevant to prehistoric socio-economies in southern Central Asia is growing, and it intersects with long-standing questions about how mixed farming-herding subsistence economies were organized on local and regional scales. We present new faunal data from the campsite of Ojakly in south-central Turkmenistan, dated to the Late Bronze Age (1900–1500 BCE). We situate the zooarchaeological

The intention of the Roman administration to develop the Lower Germanic limes region into a military zone must have been a catalyst for (long-distance) human and faunal mobility in the course of the 1st century CE. A triple isotope approach (Sr-O-C) has been used on a total of 21 cremations (bone and pars petrosa) and 21 inhumations (dental elements) from the Dutch Lower Germanic limes borderscape

The area of North-East Poland was in prehistory, and still is today, an area with easy access to amber as a raw material, as is evidenced in part by numerous Late Neolithic (3rd millennium) amber workshops located in the Gulf of Gdańsk and Żuławy Wiślane (Vistula Fens). Given this fact, it is surprising that only a few finished amber products have been recovered from this area. Among them are unique

In order to better understand the construction techniques used in archaeological chinampas excavated at San Gregorio Atlapulco, Xochimilco (located in the southern Basin of Mexico), modified standard techniques for the extraction of palynomorphs were applied. The palynological assemblage recovered from the archaeological chinampa and adjacent canal profiles suggests that the local and regional vegetation

The Sosnovaya Maza hoard was discovered by chance in the Saratov region in the Lower Volga in 1901 without any archaeological context. Based on the sickle form and the metal composition–copper with an elevated level of iron–so called Sosnovaya Maza type of sickles was singled out. The comparative analysis of the production technology and the alloying and lead isotope composition of the Sosnovaya Maza

The site of Castro S. João das Arribas is placed on the edge of a cliff over the Douro river (Miranda do Douro, Northeast of Portugal). Archaeological interventions in its highest area uncovered a main occupation from Late Antiquity. On its western part a functional space was recorded, which included two small above-ground structures and abundant charred carpological remains. These were found inside

Within Neolithic settlements in Central Europe most sediments have been preserved in pits and trenches. Wells as deep pits provide a large set of information about their construction, usage and backfill history. Seven wells were discovered close to a Linear Pottery Culture (german: Linienbandkeramik = LBK) settlement 15 km south of the city of Leipzig (Germany). For the excavation of a rather small

Sheep, and to a lesser extent goat, pastoralism was a central component of the economy of medieval Sicily. Unlike the Byzantine period (6th- early 9th c. AD), when sheep/goat were mainly raised for their wool, husbandry strategies were much more generalised during the Arab occupation (9th-11th c. AD). In this latter period, caprines were equally exploited for meat, dairy products and wool. Biometrical

Large mammal remains from Middle Stone Age sites in southern Africa, just like in many other parts of Africa, show variability in prey selection. While smaller game are often considered less profitable in terms of meat returns, their abundance and fast reproduction meant that they were often favoured over larger prey species. The Game Index measures the ratio between smaller and larger prey in faunal

The early modern period is mainly characterised by High Lime-Low Alkali (HLLA) glass, a lime-rich glass made from plant or tree ashes, originating from 14th-century Germany and later used all over Europe. Attempts to link HLLA chemical subgroups to a particular point in time have failed so far. Driven by a request from the archaeological community, our research group has been exploring the feasibility

This article aims to improve the study of archaeological sites in the territory of Milena, a town located in Sicily (Italy). Between the 80 s and 90 s different excavation campaigns had documented numerous prehistoric sites. However, most of the ancient settlements have yet to be discovered and studied. The search operations are made difficult by the large size of the territory and its geomophorological

Abstract not available

Hellenistic Berenike, a major harbour founded on the Red Sea coast of Egypt in the mid-3rd century BCE, was from the beginning dependent in part on the exploitation of its marine ecosystem to ensure a proper supply of food for the soldiers manning the fort as well as the population servicing the commercial harbour. The archaeomalacological assemblage from recent excavations (2009–2020) has provided

The doleritic bluestone monoliths at Stonehenge have long been known to have been sourced from the Mynydd Preseli area in west Wales, some 225 km away. On geochemical grounds, based on a range of major and trace elements determined by laboratory-based X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, they have been divided into three groups (Groups 1–3). Subsequently, rare earth element data obtained by solution nebulization

Since a pair of seminal studies in the mid-1990́s, obsidian provenience research in Ecuador has shown limited advancement with regard to analysis of archaeological materials. Investigations of the relevant sources have been the primary focus. While these are important, especially given the complex nature of the major Ecuadorian sources, more investigation is required to analyze how prehispanic populations

X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) has a significant role as investigation tool not only in medical and industrial applications, but also in cultural heritage studies. One of the main reasons for such broad adoption of this method is its non-destructive capability to investigate the inner structure of precious and unique artefacts that would instead be damaged by traditional sampling procedures. Ordinary

The Amu-Darya Delta (ancient Khwarazm, modern Uzbekistan) was a borderland between northern steppe-based Andronovo-Srubnaya groups and southern oasis cultures in the Late Bronze Age. The local sites are known as the Tazabag'yab culture, of which Kokcha 3 is the largest excavated burial site. As such, Kokcha 3 provides the largest representative record of the local burial customs for this era. Scholars

We explore breastfeeding practices among low-income families in the late 18th to early 19th-century town of Rauma in Southwestern Finland. The breastfeeding practices in the area of the current nation of Finland (at the time belonging to first Sweden and then Russia) had been under debate. While in certain regions artificial infant feeding was common and was linked to high infant mortality, breastfeeding

This study reports the first dietary stable isotope data from Iron Age in Latvia. Archaeological, osteological, genetic, and stable isotope data from the Lejasbitēni cemetery were used to study gendered differences in childhood diet expressed in stable isotope ratios with social status expressed in grave goods, in this population from the 7th – 10th centuries CE. Carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis

Wooden vessels or queros (also keru) are ceremonial artifacts imbued with political and utilitarian value, since they were part of the decision-making spaces of the elites, and reflected concepts and logics of representation characteristic of the indigenous world, both for native societies of the 15th century and during the later Colonial Andean period. Celebrations were accompanied by toasts and meals

The timing of infant weaning in the past is important for its implications for birth-spacing and infant survival, and hence for population maintenance or growth under different socio-economic regimes. Prior to the adoption of agriculture, breastfeeding is believed to have been more prolonged amongst hunter-gatherers due, at least partly, to the lack of suitable weaning foods that are available to agriculturalists