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Creating World Views: Work-Expenditure Calculations for Funnel Beaker Megalithic Graves and Flint Axe Head Depositions in Northern Germany Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2024-03-14 Maria Wunderlich, Michael Müller, Anja Behrens
The creation, maintenance, and modification of prehistoric built spaces and structural landscapes required communities that engaged and interacted collectively. Starting from the appearance of early monumentality and depositional behaviour in Funnel Beaker communities, we trace the variation in this phenomenon among three study areas in what is now northern Germany. In doing so, we build on a specific
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Female Microhistorical Archaeology Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2024-03-11 Tânia Manuel Casimiro
Microhistory is a part of historical research that focuses on the behaviours, practices, and perceptions of individuals and small communities, locating them in social, economic, and cultural frameworks. Although archaeology has already focused on similar attempts, microarchaeology seldom takes a female perspective. This article aims to discuss how microhistory can be used in historical archaeology
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Contribution of the Microhistorical Approach to Landscape and Settlement Archaeology: Some French Examples Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2024-03-07 Nicolas Poirier
In this article, we study the contributions of the microhistorical approach to landscape and settlement archaeology in the French context. First, we outline the reception of microhistorical concepts in France. The micro-analytical scale allows a renewal of the questionings, of the approaches, and therefore of the vision of the studied societies. In the particular case of archaeological research on
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Social Organization, Intersections, and Interactions in Bronze Age Sardinia. Reading Settlement Patterns in the Area of Sarrala with the Contribution of Applied Sciences Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2024-03-07 Luca Lai, Stefano Crispu
Bronze Age sites in the coastal area of Sarrala, in Eastern Sardinia, have been subjected to survey and excavation over the last half-century. The study area, whose social and economic evolution and changing scales of interactions are traced through settlement patterns and building analysis, is interpreted in light of more general trends suggested by stable isotopes, archaeogenetics, and paleoclimatology
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Unveiling Local Power Through Microhistory: A Multidisciplinary Analysis of Early Modern Husbandry Practices in Casaio and Lardeira (Ourense, Spain) Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2024-02-12 Carlos Tejerizo-García
Following the proposal for the special issue, the aim of this study is to reflect on the potentialities and setbacks of a micro-historical approach to the archaeological record. This will be done by analysing the local organization of Early Modern husbandry in a territory in northwestern Iberia, where investigations have been carried out since 2017. I will apply the theoretical background of microhistory
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On Traces, Clues, and Fiction: Carlo Ginzburg and the Practice of Archaeology Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2024-02-09 Artur Ribeiro
In recent years, archaeological research has relied on large datasets, both temporally and geographically, with some archaeologists discussing that there should be a shift towards a more scientific form of conducting archaeological research called “macroarchaeology.” Ironically, and contradictorily, this shift towards large-scale research has involved the use of inductive approaches, which means that
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Microhistory, Conjectural Reasoning, and Prehistory: The Treasure of Aliseda (Spain) Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2024-02-09 Antonio Blanco-González
This contribution delves into the ways of archaeological reasoning based on material remains, tackled as minute physical traces or signs capable of shedding light on underlying and otherwise unapproachable past phenomena. This is indeed the basis of Microhistory or the conjectural paradigm in History. This article identifies key characteristics regarding this way of inductive or “bottom-up” inference
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Urbanity, Decline, and Regeneration in Later Medieval England: Towards a Posthuman Household Microhistory Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2024-02-09 Ben Jervis
It is proposed that combining a microhistorical approach with the frameworks offered by household archaeology and posthumanism provides a way of rethinking what urbanity means in archaeological (specifically later medieval) contexts. This approach is deployed to challenge generalising approaches which obscure the complexity, vibrancy, and generative capacity of past urbanities. Focussing on the question
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Identification of Ceramic Traditions on the Prehistoric Mines of Gavà (Barcelona, Spain) Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2024-01-05 Silvia Calvo Peña
In recent years, studies focused on Chaîne Opératoire reconstruction of pottery vessels have shown important developments and provided new data related to vessel production and the complexities acquired by prehistoric societies. This research focuses on the pottery vessels discovered at the Mines Prehistóriques de Gavà (Barcelona, Spain), which constitute the earliest evidence of a mining center for
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Arab Migration During Early Islam: The Seventh to Eighth Century AD from an Archaeological Perspective Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-12-29 Hagit Nol
The topic of Arab migration during the medieval period has occupied many modern historians. The evidence for migration in chronicles and geographies, however, is quite thin. This article looks at these texts as well as at contemporary “archaeological texts” (inscriptions and papyri documents) and archaeology. Each of these sources provides different information under different limitations which sometimes
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Earthen Architecture in Nordic Countries: Future Directions Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-12-29 Marta Lorenzon, Moritz Kinzel, Guðný Zoëga, Marwa Dabaieh
Throughout prehistory, earthen architecture has played a pivotal role in establishing a sustainable and easily maintainable built environment, showcasing humanity's capacity to design and construct intricate structures using eco-friendly and cost-effective materials. This special issue underscores the enduring significance of earthen architecture in our historical and contemporary understanding of
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The Site Groß Fredenwalde, NE-Germany, and the Early Cemeteries of Northern Europe Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-12-29 Andreas Kotula, Thomas Terberger, Bettina Jungklaus, Henny Piezonka, Thomas Schenk, Franz Schopper
The Mesolithic burial site Groß Fredenwalde, NE-Germany, discovered in 1962, had remained a poorly understood part of the Mesolithic burial record for decades. Since 2012, the site has been under re-investigation. New discoveries confirm the presence of several single and multiple inhumation graves. Groß Fredenwalde stands out as the largest and one of the oldest Mesolithic cemeteries in North-central
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Landscapes of Movement Along the (Pre)Historical Libyan Sea: Keys for a Socio-Ecological History Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-12-28 David Laguna-Palma, Pablo Barruezo-Vaquero
This study examines the influence of Human Ecodynamics and Historical Ecology to understand the complexities of historical mobility. Based on Landscape Archaeology, this study considers some of these theoretical principles for studying and reconstructing the movements of past human populations. This discussion is grounded on the example of a research project focused on modelling movement and interaction
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Synopsis of a Treasure. A Transdisciplinary Study of Medieval Gold Workings Biographies Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-12-25 Stefania Martiniello, Antonella Capitanio, Claudia Sciuto, Stefano Legnaioli, Simona Raneri
The article aims to show how a transdisciplinary approach can contribute to a better understanding of the composite biography of a precious object. The study focuses on the Cintola del Duomo (Museum of the Opera del Duomo, Pisa), one of the most famous objects in the history of goldsmithing, both for its exceptional manufacturing quality and for its devotional value. For a long time, the Cintola was
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Presenting Archaeoacoustics Results Using Multimedia and VR Technologies Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-12-22 Rupert Till
Music and sound cannot be experienced through writing and numbers. Writing freezes time onto paper; as a time-based medium, sound cannot be heard without temporal motion, and acoustic metrics are silent data. For a complete experience of sound, it needs to engage our bodies. Digital multimedia technologies offer powerful approaches to understanding the acoustics of the past, and this work will explore
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Pressure Flakers of Late Neolithic Forest Hunter-Gatherer-Fishers of Eastern Europe and Their Remote Counterparts Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-12-21 Ekaterina Kashina, Anton Simonenko, Mikhail Zhilin
The remarkable group of tools was detected among the hunter-gatherer-fishers’ archaeological materials of the East European Plain central part dated around 3500–2700 BC. The so-called “crooked items” were initially interpreted as ritual phallic depictions, but now after conducting a more detailed analysis of their morphology, technology, and use-wear, it became clear that we deal with pressure flakers
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Transport, Interaction, and Connectivity Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-12-20 Oliver Nakoinz
Transport research is a multidisciplinary field that extends beyond technical aspects. As such, it can provide significant insights into societies, economies, and cultures. In this study, we take a broader perspective that encompasses transport, interaction, and connectivity. These three terms are interconnected, with transport and interaction being interdependent sub-systems. Transport research encompasses
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The Ugly Duckling: Understanding the Making of an Early Copper Age Atypical Ceramic Vessel from the Great Hungarian Plain Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-12-20 Eszter Solnay, Attila Kreiter, Márton Szilágyi
The present study focuses on an Early Copper Age (4500–4000/3900 cal BC) atypical ceramic bowl from Tiszagyenda-Vágott-halom (Eastern Hungary). At first glance, the bowl was strikingly different from the other well-executed, often richly decorated bowls known from the site. Although such vessels can be found sporadically in other Early Copper Age sites, they have never been studied to see exactly how
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An Invention Shading Light to the Socio-History of Bonneuil Quarry Basin: The Roadheaders with Rotating Drill Bits Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-12-16 Anaïs Lamesa, Jean-Pierre Gély, Guy Launay
The Bonneuil quarry basin is located in the North-East of Paris; it played a role in the well-known stone trade for Paris and its surroundings in the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries. Stonecutters of this area mainly used the extraction with the lance, a long iron spin bear by a scaffolding. This tool helped the quarrymen speed up their work allowing them to be competitive in
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Making Vessels for the Dead: Pottery-Making Practices, Chaîne Opératoire and the Use of Grog (Crushed Sherds) as a Technological and Cultural Choice during Late and Inca Periods in the Northwestern Argentine Region (Southern Andes) Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-12-14 Guillermo A. De La Fuente, Sergio D. Vera
Pottery-making practices have been approached by the use and application of the concept of chaîne opératoire in different parts of the world. This concept has allowed researchers to re-evaluate the social dimensions of technological studies as well as to explore aspects related to technical and social identity of ancient and modern artisans. In this article, we examine the use of grog (crushed sherds)
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The Chaîne Opératoire Approach for Interpreting Personal Ornament Production: Marble Beads in Copper Age Tuscany (Italy) Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-12-14 Alice Vassanelli, Cristiana Petrinelli Pannocchia, Elisabetta Starnini
This article discusses the chaîne opératoire concept in prehistoric archaeology, traditionally employed for the study of lithic industries and ceramic production, and focuses on personal ornament manufacture. This category of non-functional objects has been analysed with the operational sequence approach in the framework of a research project aimed at the techno-functional study of prehistoric marble
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Materiality of Plaster Vessels: The Problem of Southwest Asian Neolithic White Ware Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-12-14 Bonnie Nilhamn
The study of plaster vessels, white ware, from the Late Neolithic Southwest Asia (7000–5000 cal BC) is an untapped source that can provide us with valuable insights into the earliest development of pyrotechnology and Neolithic society. This plaster material is not well known and has not been involved in many studies. Using a symmetrical approach for the case study of plaster ware at Tell Sabi Abyad
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Seriality and Individualization: Carving the Fluted Sarcophagi from Hierapolis of Phrygia Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-12-14 Anna Anguissola
Several marble sarcophagi, including both plain or fluted coffins and chests decorated with garlands, friezes, and elaborate compositions framed by columns and covered with roof-shaped or kline lids, are attested in the Roman burial grounds at Hierapolis in Phrygia (Turkey). Because of their repetitive, standardized pattern, fluted sarcophagi have been dismissed by scholars as the formulaic, more affordable
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Reconsidering the Chaîne Opératoire: At the Crossroad Between People and Materials Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-12-13 Marie-Elise Porqueddu, Claudia Sciuto, Anaïs Lamesa
This article is an introductory contribution to our Special Issue Reconsidering the Chaîne Opératoire: Towards a Multifaceted Approach to the Archaeology of Techniques. The chaîne opératoire is a central and fundamental concept for archaeological studies that has been fully appropriated and repurposed by several generations of researchers. In this paper, we would like to present some of the points
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Turf Building in Iceland – Past, Present, and Future Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-12-13 Guðný Zoëga, Sigríður Sigurðardóttir, Bryndís Zoëga
For a millennium, turf was the primary building material in Iceland. It was used for dwellings, outhouses, boundary walls, raised roads, and other man-made structures. Turf is known as an earthen building material in many countries, especially in northern latitudes, but the knowledge of how to build using it has mostly disappeared. As turf was used well into the twentieth century in Iceland, the skilled
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Listening in Sacred Spaces: The Sanctuary of Poseidonia and Selinunte’s Main Urban Sanctuary Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-12-12 Angela Bellia
The aim of this work is to analyse recent studies which have raised new hypotheses concerning aural architecture as an emerging trend in humanities research, with a particular focus on the intersection of sacred space, rituals, and sound in the past. These studies have highlighted how sacred buildings not only defined a sacred place as a physical and symbolic expression of a specific form of worship
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Undecorated Roman-Period Roof Tiles – An Old Material Providing New Results Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-12-01 Pirjo Hamari
Undecorated ceramic roof tiles and their fragments are one of the most enduring and numerous remains of the earthen architecture of the Roman period to survive to us from many parts of the Roman world, especially from the Mediterranean region. Despite this, we have huge gaps in our knowledge regarding this material due to the sparsity in specialist studies and published excavation or survey records
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Mesolithic Occupations During the Boreal Climatic Fluctuations at La Baume de Monthiver (Var, France) Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-11-30 Giulia Ricci, Benjamin Audiard, Antonin Tomasso, Leïla Hoareau, Marie-Anne Julien, Carlo Mologni, Louise Purdue, Guillaume Porraz
The Mesolithic technology in Western Europe depicts the last cultural expressions and adaptations of hunter-gatherers before the adoption of Neolithic agro-pastoral practices. Many questions arise when investigating the timing, nature, and historical significance of the Mesolithic. The development of the Mesolithic culture is usually associated with the onset of milder environmental conditions at the
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The Building Blocks of Circular Economies: Rethinking Prehistoric Turf Architecture Through Archaeological and Architectural Analysis Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-11-27 Tanja Romankiewicz
Research into prehistoric buildings in northwest Europe has identified the ubiquitous use of turf. The study first introduces direct and proxy evidence for the material’s detection in the field, then analyses individual case studies to demonstrate how this locally available and renewable material shaped buildings and building practices. Turf, grown and sourced on or near a site, ties buildings to their
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Music and Storytelling at Rock Art Sites? The Archaeoacoustics of the Urkosh Area (Russian Altai) Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-11-25 Margarita Díaz-Andreu, Andrzej Rozwadowski, Raquel Jiménez Pasalodos, Neemias Santos da Rosa, Daniel Benítez-Aragón, Lidia Alvarez-Morales
In this article, the potential of archaeoacoustics for understanding past communities is discussed by looking at a range of acoustic parameters. Our case study is the Urkosh rock art area in the Ongudai district, Republic of Altai (Russia). The rock art of this area dates possibly from the Upper Palaeolithic and definitely from the Early Bronze Age (second half of the third millennium BCE). There are
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Ringing Tone and Drumming Sages in the Crevice Cave of Pirunkirkko, Koli, Finland Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-11-25 Riitta Rainio, Elina Hytönen-Ng
Pirunkirkko (“Devil’s Church”) is one of the famous caves in Finland. Tradition says that this crevice leading into the mountain was a meeting place for sages, who typically used sound to contact the spirit world. Today, the place is visited by practitioners of shamanism, who organise drumming sessions at the back of the cave. This article examines Pirunkirkko and the related traditions from the perspective
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The Thule Migration: A Culture in a Hurry? Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-11-22 Robert W. Park
The process by which the Thule Inuit migrated from the region around Bering Strait into Arctic Canada and Greenland, which is notable for its logistical complexities, the varied and difficult regions traversed and then populated, and for the enormous distance covered, is almost invariably described in terms emphasizing the pace at which it took place. The most common description is “rapid,” and some
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One, Two, Three! Can Everybody Hear Me? Acoustics of Roman Contiones. Case Studies of the Capitoline Hill and the Temple of Bellona in Rome Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-11-08 Kamil Kopij, Adam Pilch, Monika Drab, Szymon Popławski
Rhetoric was one of the cornerstones of Roman education and public speaking, the essence of being a Roman politician. The speakers attempted to captivate the audience with their style and convince them of their arguments. Studying the audience is therefore just as important as investigating the speakers and their speeches. The aim of this article is to estimate the number of people who could intelligibly
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Roof Tiles and Bricks of the Etruscan Domus dei Dolia (Vetulonia, Italy): An Archaeological and Archaeometric Study of Construction Materials Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-11-07 Massimo Beltrame, Simona Rafanelli, Costanza Quaratesi, José Mirão, Ginevra Coradeschi
In this article, the archaeological and archaeometrical study of several roof tiles and bricks retrieved at the Etruscan Domus dei Dolia is presented. The Domus is located in Etrusco-Roman neighbourhood (Hellenistic – Late Republican periods, third–first centuries BC) of the ancient city of Vetulonia (central Italy), in the area of Poggiarello Renzetti. The main goals were to establish the characteristics
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Employing Psychoacoustics in Sensory Archaeology: Developments at the Ancient Sanctuary of Zeus on Mount Lykaion Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-11-07 Pamela Jordan
Psychoacoustics offers a promising, subject-centred approach in unlocking the sonic experience of past built spaces. Its tools and metrics offer tempting responses to an essential challenge of sensory archaeology practice: the rendition of individual experience as data. How can one person’s experiences be compared with another’s towards generalized observations? Moreover, what can be said about past
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Human Mobility and the Spread of Innovations – Case Studies from Neolithic Central and Southeast Europe Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-10-27 Silviane Scharl
The spread of innovations is an important driver for transformation processes in human societies. It is carried by two crucial conditions – the flow of information and the adoption/appropriation of the innovation. While the latter is a social and cultural process, the first is among others carried by mobility. Mobility in this context can take on different forms and range from migration events up to
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From the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and Back: Sardinia, Iberia, and the Transfer of Knowledge in Late Bronze Age Networks Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-10-26 Ralph Araque Gonzalez
Sardinia was a hub of sea routes in the Final Bronze Age, c. 1200–850 BC, connecting the Aegean and the Levant in the East with the Iberian Atlantic façade in the West at its latitudinal extremes. Although situated some 1,200 nautical miles apart, bronze working techniques on the island, specific decorations, and implement typologies were clearly related to those in western Iberia, which was a pivotal
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Paradise Found or Common Sense Lost? Göbekli Tepe’s Last Decade as a Pre-Farming Cult Centre Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-10-13 Edward B. Banning
The spectacular finds at Turkey’s Göbekli Tepe have fired the imaginations of archaeologists and the general public alike. Reflecting on developments at and about the site since the 2011 publication of a critique of the site’s dominant interpretation as a hunter-gatherer cult centre, this article shows that some elements of that critique, including assertions about roofing and a residential population
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Approaching Interaction in Iron Age Sardinia: Multi-Scalar Survey Evidence from the Sinis Archaeological Project and the Progetto S’Urachi Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-10-13 Linda R. Gosner, Jessica Nowlin
Using west-central Sardinia as a case study, this article explores how multi-scalar survey archaeology can be used to address questions of the intensity, nature, and scale of interaction in the Iron Age central Mediterranean. This large island played an important role in Mediterranean trade networks and was frequented and settled by Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and Romans, among others over the course
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Water, Communication, Sight, and the Location of Fortifications on the Strata Diocletiana (Syria) in Late Antiquity Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-10-12 Jørgen Christian Meyer, Eivind Heldaas Seland
The Strata Diocletiana was a military road in Late Roman Period Syria. It ran from Damascus to the Euphrates by way of Palmyra. The road was fortified and received its name during the reign of Diocletian (284–305 CE), following the Roman sack and subsequent garrisoning of Palmyra after the city’s failed revolt 272–273 CE. The Strata Diocletiana is only one of several attested routes between Palmyra
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Archaeology of the Late Local Landscapes of the Hualfín Valley (Catamarca, Argentina): A Political Perspective from Cerro Colorado of La Ciénaga de Abajo Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-10-12 Federico Wynveldt, María Emilia Iucci, Juan Manuel Sallés, Juana Fuertes
As seen in many examples of imperial expansions throughout history, the Inkas applied a whole range of policies strategically adapted for the different local organizations, in every corner of their empire, and local groups, in turn, were reconfigured based on the new conditions. Starting from the investigation of a group of late local landscapes of the Hualfín Valley (Department of Belén, Catamarca)
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Studying the Use of Earth in Early Architecture of Southwest and Central Asia Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-10-11 Melis Uzdurum, Julia Schönicke, Moritz Kinzel, Marek Z. Barański
Using case studies from Aşıklı Höyük, Çatalhöyük, Boncuklu Tarla, Göbekli Tepe (all Turkey), and Monjukli Depe (southern Turkmenistan), this study presents a framework for in-depth research on prehistoric earthen architecture in southwestern and central Asia. It demonstrates the challenges and potential for innovative and comparative studies based on interdisciplinary approaches and the use of architectural
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Earthen Architecture and Craft Practices of Early Iron Age Ramparts: Geoarchaeological Analysis of Villares de la Encarnación, South-Eastern Iberia Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-10-09 Benjamín Cutillas-Victoria, Marta Lorenzon, Francisco Brotons Yagüe
The use of mudbricks in Early Iron Age ramparts is an uneven feature of defensive architecture on the Iberian Peninsula. The use of mudbricks as a building material has been linked to the arrival of Levantine building traditions with the Phoenicians, and its appearance among local societies varies between the eighth and sixth centuries BC according to the public or domestic nature of the structures
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Earthen Architecture in Southern Algeria: An Assessment of Social Values and the Impact of Industrial Building Practices Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-10-09 Haroune Ben Charif, Azeddine Belakehal, Sami Zerari
Earthen architecture constitutes a significant component of cultural heritage worldwide. However, this heritage is under threat due to a multitude of factors, including social, environmental, and economic changes. In South Algeria, earthen architecture is intimately linked to the identity of historic urban landscapes, particularly in Timimoun, the chief town of the gourara region. However, the shift
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On Class and Elitism in Archaeology Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-09-12 Artur Ribeiro, Christos Giamakis
While archaeology is certainly a politically conscious discipline, with various members involved in political and activist movements, especially focusing on gender and race issues, little has been said, discussed, or done with regards to class and elitism. In fact, it seems that since the advent of postmodernity in the 1970s, class and elitism have become moot topics. The aim of this article is to
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Middle Bronze Age Settlement in Czeladź Wielka – The Next Step Toward Determining the Habitation Model, Chronology, and Pottery of the Silesian-Greater Poland Tumulus Culture Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-09-01 Jan Romaniszyn, Robert Staniuk, Patrycja Silska, Weronika Skrzyniecka, Małgorzata Talarczyk-Andrałojć
The article presents the results of research on the habitation model, chronology, and pottery production of the Silesian-Greater Poland Tumulus Culture at Czeladź Wielka settlement (Góra county). The site of the Czeladź Wielka is the first published settlement of the Tumulus culture from the area, providing the first evidence for developing a model of habitation change between the Early and Late Bronze
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An Example of Geographic Network Analysis: The Case Study of the Fortore Valley (Molise and Apulia, Italy) Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-08-31 Claudio Sossio De Simone
Today, the Fortore River is the geographic and administrative boundary between the regions of Molise and Apulia. In the past decade, scholars have debated Fortore’s role during the pre-Roman and Roman periods, specifically focusing on how this physical boundary may have influenced the interaction and connectivity between Samnium (modern-day Molise) and Daunia (modern-day northern Apulia). Both ancient
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Tracing Mobility Patterns of Buried Species of the Late Iron Age Funerary Staggered Turriform of Son Ferrer (Calvià, Spain) Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-08-31 Lua Valenzuela-Suau, Sílvia Valenzuela-Lamas, Jaume García-Rosselló, Paloma Salvador, Jordi Nadal, Marta Díaz-Zorita Bonilla, Leopoldo D. Pena, Antonio Delgado, Manuel Calvo
This is the first mobility 87Sr/86Sr analysis in human remains made on the Balearic Islands. Eight human individuals buried at the same Late Iron Age funerary chamber of Son Ferrer site (Calvià, Mallorca) have been sampled for strontium and oxygen isotopic analysis (87Sr/86Sr and δ 18O). The study includes strontium and oxygen isotopic analysis of domestic mammals buried in the same Funerary Area (FA1)
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Leadership in the Emergent Baekje State: State Formation in Central-Western Korea (ca. 200–400 CE) Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-08-24 Minkoo Kim
The process of state formation is a social phenomenon closely connected with a polity’s external relationships. During peer–polity interactions, polities undergo social reorganization as they mutually influence each other. This study examines this process and argues that in central-western Korea, around 200–400 CE, hostile interactions among multiple polities weakened the power of ingroup members to
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A Review of Malta’s Pre-Temple Neolithic Pottery Wares Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-08-17 Emma Richard-Trémeau, Catriona Brogan, John C. Betts, Maxine Anastasi, Nicholas C. Vella
Sites from the earliest known phases of Maltese prehistory often consist of scatters of sherds for the Għar Dalam and Skorba phases (6000–4800 BCE), and tomb contexts for the Żebbuġ phase (3800–3600 BCE). Neolithic studies are, therefore, heavily reliant on the study of pottery. Although traditional typological and seriation-based analyses of the pottery record have substantially enhanced our knowledge
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How Linguistic Data Can Inform Archaeological Investigations: An Australian Pilot Study Around Combustion Features Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-08-17 Ingrid Ward, Maïa Ponsonnet, Luisa Miceli, Emilie Dotte-Sarout, Jason Rustandi
We present an interdisciplinary collaboration whereby linguistic data are explored with the aim of gaining new insights on archaeological features to enrich investigations of the past. Archaeology on its own relies on a very discontinuous record and here we argue that a fuller use of linguistic resources can offer more nuanced insights of the cultural context, and thus a more comprehensive reconstruction
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New Insights Into the Water Management System at Tetzcotzinco, Mexico Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-08-10 Daniel Prusaczyk, Karolina Juszczyk, Araceli Rojas Martínez Gracida
This work presents the results of new archaeological research carried out in Tetzcotzinco, Mexico, with a special focus on its water management. Survey documentation at the site, with the use of 3D photogrammetry, offered new images and maps of water control features, namely, canals, reservoirs, and aqueducts. The integration of these data into a GIS database, as well as the complementation of information
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Circular Economy in the Roman Period and the Early Middle Ages – Methods of Analysis for a Future Agenda Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-08-05 Irene Bavuso, Guido Furlan, Emanuele E. Intagliata, Julia Steding
In recent years, studies on reuse practices in premodern societies have multiplied. Nonetheless, a linear model (production – usage – discard) is still widely employed for describing past economic systems. Integrating it with a circular model, instead of assuming that products were discarded after their usage, would greatly benefit our knowledge of ancient and medieval economies. In this work, we present
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Iconographic Trends in Roman Imperial Coinage in the Context of Societal Changes in the Second and Third Centuries CE: A Small-Scale Test of the Affluence Hypothesis Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-07-25 Tomáš Glomb, Vojtěch Kaše, Viktor Zavřel
This article presents a quantitative analysis of iconographic trends in the depiction of deities in the coinage of the Roman Empire throughout the second and third centuries CE to explore temporal shifts in Roman imperial propaganda in the context of developments and pressures in affluence, prosperity, and political stability. Next to providing deeper insight into the topic of Roman imperial ideology
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The Story of the Architectural Documentation of Hagia Sophia’s Hypogeum Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-07-21 Hasan Fırat Diker
Hagia Sophia’s hypogeum is a group of subterranean Roman tomb structures located in the area between the northeastern side of the structure and the imaret (“soup kitchen”) of Hagia Sophia. Consisting of three chambers connected by a passage, the hypogeum is dated to the fourth century and older than the current Hagia Sophia. The story of the architectural documentation of the hypogeum is also interesting
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Stylistic Study of the Late Mesolithic Industries in Western France: Combined Principal Coordinate Analysis and Use-Wear Analysis Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-07-20 Lola Hauguel-Bleuven, Jorge Calvo-Gómez, Gregor Marchand
The notion of style has been the subject of much research and theoretical development in prehistoric archaeology. This vast concept touches several fields, including the morphology of artefacts, technical gestures and their function. The lithic typology of arrowhead armatures was widely developed in the twentieth century for the study of the French Mesolithic and includes some of these aspects. The
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Environment and Plant Use at La Tourasse (South-West France) at the Late Glacial–Holocene Transition Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-07-19 Aurélie Liard, Carmen María Martínez Varea, François Orange, Jean-Paul Huot, Benjamin Marquebielle, Auréade Henry
The aim of this study is to present new data on vegetation dynamics and plant collecting practices during the Late Glacial and the Early Holocene in southwestern France. La Tourasse cave is located in the Pyrenean piedmont plain, where the Azilian cultural complex was initially defined. The last excavations of the site took place in the 1980s and 1990s and the recovered materials are currently being
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First Archaeological Record of the Torture and Mutilation of Indigenous Mapuche During the “War of Arauco,” Sixteenth Century Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-07-19 Juan Francisco Reyes Sánchez, Alberto Enrique Pérez
Newen Antug is a multicomponent (residential and funerary) archaeological site located in the Lácar basin south of Neuquén, Argentina, in the east Andean section of the binational basin of the Valdivia River. Two human skeletons were discovered during the excavation of the site. Based on radiocarbon dating and associated material contexts, the burials can be associated with the period of first contact
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Motorways of Prehistory? Boats, Rivers and Moving in Mesolithic Ireland Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-07-15 Martin Moucheron
This article presents a critical review of the way inland navigation is constructed in the archaeological literature as an essential component of mobility in Mesolithic Ireland, with a particular focus on boats and rivers. Against a scarce background of direct archaeological and environmental evidence, a content analysis of the academic discourse highlights a dominant processual approach structured
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Terminal Ballistics of Stone-Tipped Atlatl Darts and Arrows: Results From Exploratory Naturalistic Experiments Open Archaeology Pub Date : 2023-07-15 Devin B. Pettigrew, Justin Garnett, Caden Ryals-Luneberg, Eric A. Vance
This study describes an effective protocol for naturalistic archaeological weapons experiments that improves cross-validation with controlled experiments and allows testing of multiple hypotheses. Stone-tipped atlatl darts and arrows were launched by skilled users against fresh carcasses, with high-speed cameras and radar guns capturing details of ballistic performance, impacts to bone and stone armatures