New Archeology Papers (Titles and Abstracts Only, Please)

[Orentil]

Between Raetia Secunda and the dutchy of Bavaria: Exploring patterns of human movement and diet

Maren Velte, Andrea Czermak, Andrea Grigat, Brigitte Haas-Gebhard, Anja Gairhos, Anita Toncala, Bernd Trautmann, Jochen Haberstroh, Bernd Päffgen, Kristin von Heyking, Sandra Lösch, Joachim Burger, Michaela Harbeck

Abstract
During the transition from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages, the Roman Empire dissolved in the West and medieval empires were founded. There has been much discussion about the role that migration played in this transition. This is especially true for the formation of the Baiuvariian tribe and the founding of this tribal dukedom, which took place from the 5th to the 6th century in what is now Southern Bavaria (Germany). In this study, we aimed to determine the extent of immigration during the beginning of this transformation and to shed further light on its character. To achieve this goal, we analyzed stable isotope values of strontium, carbon, and nitrogen from the teeth and bones of over 150 human remains from Southern Germany, dating from around 500 AD. This group of individuals included women with cranial modifications (ACD) which can be found sporadically in the burial grounds of this period.
Our results showed an above-average migration rate for both men and women in the second half of the 5th century. They also indicate that a foreign background may also be assumed for the women with ACD. The demonstrably different origins of the immigrants from isotopically diverse regions, and the identification of local differences in detectable migration rate, as well as indication for different timing of residential changes, highlight the complexity of immigration processes and the need for more studies at the regional level.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/articl...ne.0283243

[dilettante layman]

Beaver exploitation, 400,000 years ago, testifies to prey choice diversity of Middle Pleistocene hominins

Abstract
Data regarding the subsistence base of early hominins are heavily biased in favor of the animal component of their diets, in particular the remains of large mammals, which are generally much better preserved at archaeological sites than the bones of smaller animals, let alone the remains of plant food. Exploitation of smaller game is very rarely documented before the latest phases of the Pleistocene, which is often taken to imply narrow diets of archaic Homo and interpreted as a striking economic difference between Late Pleistocene and earlier hominins. We present new data that contradict this view of Middle Pleistocene Lower Palaeolithic hominins: cut mark evidence demonstrating systematic exploitation of beavers, identified in the large faunal assemblage from the c. 400,000 years old hominin site Bilzingsleben, in central Germany. In combination with a prime-age dominated mortality profile, this cut mark record shows that the rich beaver assemblage resulted from repetitive human hunting activities, with a focus on young adult individuals. The Bilzingsleben beaver exploitation evidence demonstrates a greater diversity of prey choice by Middle Pleistocene hominins than commonly acknowledged, and a much deeper history of broad-spectrum subsistence than commonly assumed, already visible in prey choices 400,000 years ago.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-46956-6

[dilettante layman]

Widespread evidence for elephant exploitation by Last Interglacial Neanderthals on the North European plain

Significance
We have recently learned that around 125,000 years ago, hunting of straight-tusked elephants, the largest terrestrial mammals of the Pleistocene, was part of the Neanderthal behavioral repertoire, for several dozens of generations. This knowledge is based on data from one lake-side location in northern Europe only, and hence possibly of limited value for our knowledge of the Neanderthal niche. This new study presents data from two other, contemporaneous sites on the North European plain, demonstrating that elephant exploitation was a widespread phenomenon there. The sheer quantities of food generated by the butchering activities, aimed at extensive exploitation of the carcasses, suggest that Neanderthals had some form of food preservation and/or at least temporarily operated in larger groups than commonly acknowledged.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2309427120

[Orentil]

Understanding climate resilience in Scandinavia during the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age

Magdalena Maria Elisabeth Bunbury, Knut Ivar Austvoll, Erlend Kirkeng Jørgensen, Svein Vatsvåg Nielsen, Jutta Kneisel, Mara Weinelt

Abstract:

Mid and late-Holocene climate shifts are considered to have profoundly shaped demographic developments and adaptive responses of communities globally. Yet their onset, duration, and impact on Neolithic and Early Nordic Bronze Age communities in the high-latitude ranges of southern and north-western Scandinavia remain a major research gap. Here, we built on an emerging body of archaeological and paleoclimate data, encompassing 20,908 anthropogenic 14C dates and 49 climate records from the Holocene. Additionally, we gathered and correlated a new archaeological dataset of 3649 houses from southern Scandinavia and southern Norway. In this study, we utilised 6268 reliable 14C dates and 2519 dwellings to generate time series and socio-economic trends from ∼4100 to 1100 BCE.

Our study revealed three key findings: (1) A distinct lateral zonation, with variations in the duration and timing of the Holocene Thermal Maximum (∼7050–2050 BCE). In Southern Scandinavia, a warmer climate may have facilitated the spread of crop cultivation (3820–3790 BCE), coinciding with significant population growth. Neolithic communities settled in permanent two-aisled houses 90–160 years later (3700–3660 BCE). (2) The 2250 BCE (4.2 ka BP) cooling trend marked the beginning of a climate regime shift with varying duration and timing (∼3450–1450 BCE). This period coincided with demographic growth, migration, crop cultivation diversity, and the development of houses with crop storage facilities (2290–2215 BCE). (3) Severe abrupt cooling periods (∼1850–1450 BCE) corresponded to short-term demographic decline including disruptions in trade networks with continental Europe. However, repopulation and redistribution of wealth (∼1450 BCE), along with the development of stable three-aisled houses (1475–1450 BCE), underscore the resilience of food-producing economies in mitigating environmental disturbances.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...via%3Dihub

[Orentil]

Gold-foil figures and human skulls in the royal hall at Aska, Hagebyhöga, Östergötland

Martin Rundkvist, Axel Löfving, Rudolf Gustavsson, Jens Heimdahl and Andreas Viberg

Abstract:

During the mid-first millennium AD, centres of royal power with large halls emerged across southern Scandinavia. No evidence for such sites, however, was known from Östergötland in south-east Sweden. Here, the authors present results from fieldwork at Aska near Vadstena, identifying the principal manor of a petty royal lineage occupied between c. AD 650 and 1000. Excavations have revealed a 50m-long hall raised on a 3.5m-high platform and the largest known assemblage of small gold-foil figures from the first-millennium kingdom of Östergötland. Aska represents a ‘second-generation ruler’ site, similar in form and date to Old Uppsala, Borre, Old Lejre and Tissø, revealing Östergötland as an integral part of the political geography of early medieval Scandinavia.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/...B3FCD7C05A

[SeriesOfExtraordinaryEvents]

The world's oldest-known promontory fort: Amnya and the acceleration of hunter-gatherer diversity in Siberia 8000 years ago

Archaeological narratives have traditionally associated the rise of social and political ‘complexity’ with the emergence of agricultural societies. However, this framework neglects the innovations of the hunter-gatherer populations occupying the Siberian taiga 8000 years ago, including the construction of some of the oldest-known fortified sites in the world. Here, the authors present results from the fortified site of Amnya in western Siberia, reporting new radiocarbon dates as the basis for a re-evaluation of the chronology and settlement organisation. Assessed within the context of the changing social and environmental landscape of the taiga, Amnya and similar fortified sites can be understood as one facet of a broader adaptive strategy.

Link

[Ioas]

Settlement and land-use patterns in the surroundings of the Iron Age cemeteries at Sâncrai-Darvas (Alba County). Apulum 60, 1, 2023, 157-192

Abstract
The systematic survey of the surroundings of the Iron Age cemeteries at Sâncrai-Darvas, on the middle Mureş valley, stems from the research objectives of two complementary archaeological projects that are developed by a team of the Institute of Archaeology and Art History of the Romanian Academy Cluj Branch and its collaborators. The much larger Lived Lands Project aims to investigate the ways in which different communities from the middle Mureş valley interacted with the environment, creating, using and manipulating specific landscapes from the Iron Age to the Roman period. Their means and actions were shaped by highly localized social, economic, cultural and ecological factors, which have to be identified and compared across time and space using a multidisciplinary approach in order to assess the land-use patterns and the evolution of local social dynamics from the landscape perspective. In this context, the archaeological site at Sâncrai-Darvas and its surroundings represent a key micro-region. The second project, Iron Age Cemeteries at Sâncrai-Darvas , is developed by the same team in collaboration with the National Museum of Unification Alba Iulia and aims to understand not only the funerary practices of different Iron Age communities that used the same burial ground, but also the emergence and transformation of the local ritual landscape and its connections with the local settlements and their land-use patterns.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication...23_157-192

[SeriesOfExtraordinaryEvents]

Settlements of the Amnya Cultural Type in the Context of the Early Neolithic of North-Western Siberia

Purpose. The Stone Age settlement of Amnya I in North-Western Siberia represents the northernmost hunter-gatherer-fisher fort in Eurasia. Dating back to the beginning of the 6th millennium BC, this unique site enables the study of key innovations of the Neolithization process in the taiga zone, such as defensive structures, early pottery, and an increase in polished tools including arrowheads. Results. The Amnya cultural type also includes the nearby Kirip-Vis-Yugan-2 settlement, which shows close similarities with Amnya I in material culture however lacks fortifications. To follow up open questions, work on Amnya type sites was resumed in 2019. Plans of the sites, their layout and stratigraphy were clarified, and first palaeo-environmental data was received. Radiocarbon dating of stratified contexts at Amnya I confirmed its Early Neolithic age. The settlement of Amnya II located just 50 m east of the fortifications was also dated. Originally attributed to later, Eneolithic times, the two new AMS dates date back to the beginning of the 6th millennium BC, indicating that Amnya I and II existed broadly contemporaneously. Palaeoenvironmental studies based on drillings in the adjacent peat bog show that at the time of settlement at Amnya I and II open water existed on the south of the hill fort, and the Amnya River was flowing on the north side. Thus, this place was comfortable for living and provided good conditions for fishing. Botanical macro-remains from cultural layers at Amnya I show that during the existence of the settlement, along with pine, deciduous trees – birch and alder, have grown in the area of the site, indicating a warmer climate, compared to current conditions. Conclusion. The studied archaeological settlements show the case of Neolithic innovations which testify to formation of special social structures and, most likely, appearance of the new population in the taiga zone of Western Siberia at the turn of 7th – 6th millennium BC.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication...rn_Siberia 

Paper only available per request

[JMcB]

An Early Iron Age Moat in Jerusalem between the Ophel and the Southeastern Ridge/City of David

Yuval Gadot, Efrat Bocher, Liora FreudORCID Icon & Yifta Shalev


Abstract:

Excavations on Jerusalem’s Southeastern Ridge, in the GivꜤati Parking Lot excavations, have exposed a man-made ditch, some 30 m wide and at least 6 m in depth, close to the hill’s summit. This paper presents the technical features of the ditch, including the rock scarps that delineate it from the north and south, as well as an enigmatic installation composed of a series of intertwined channels. Through comparison with data from previous excavations farther east, it is clear that this ditch traversed the entire width of the ridge, creating a disconnect between the Southeastern Ridge and the Ophel. Although the initial cutting of the ditch cannot be determined, it is clear that by the Late Iron IIA, the ditch served as a moat between the acropolis—possibly including the Temple Mount—and the city. This continued until the Late Hellenistic period, when construction activities backfilled the ditch, leading to its disappearance from the cityscape.


https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....23.2246811

[G-Man]

Human and animal skin identified by palaeoproteomics in Scythian leather objects from Ukraine

Leather was one of the most important materials of nomadic Scythians, used for clothing, shoes, and quivers, amongst other objects. However, our knowledge regarding the specific animal species used in Scythian leather production remains limited. In this first systematic study, we used palaeoproteomics methods to analyse the species in 45 samples of leather and two fur objects recovered from 18 burials excavated at 14 different Scythian sites in southern Ukraine. Our results demonstrate that Scythians primarily used domesticated species such as sheep, goat, cattle, and horse for the production of leather, while the furs were made of wild animals such as fox, squirrel and feline species. The surprise discovery is the presence of two human skin samples, which for the first time provide direct evidence of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus’ claim that Scythians used the skin of their dead enemies to manufacture leather trophy items, such as quiver covers. We argue that leather manufacture is not incompatible with a nomadic lifestyle and that Scythians possessed sophisticated leather production technologies that ensured stable supply of this essential material.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0294129

[JMcB]

Tel Aviv
Journal of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University

TEL AVIV Vol. 50, 2023, 216–230


A Seal Impression of ‘Shema Servant of Jeroboam’

Shmuel Aḥituv, Avner Ayalon, Mira Bar-Matthews, Yuval Goren, Michael
Magen, Eliezer D. Oren & Orit Shamir


Abstract:

The article deals with a small bulla of unknown provenance that was purchased some forty years ago in the Bedouin market of Be’er Sheva. The bulla was stamped with a seal depicting a roaring lion, above which the letters (LSM[c]) were straightforwardly identified; it closely resembles the famous ‘Shema servant of Jeroboam’ seal from Megiddo. Significantly, this unique bulla represents, to date, the first example of an ancient bulla stamped with a scaled-down authentic seal of a known master-seal of the Iron Age in Israel. The authenticity of the bulla was confirmed by meticulous laboratory tests, verifying both that it is genuine and that its date coincides with that of the Shema seal from Megiddo.


Link:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....ccess=true

[Rufus191]

BBC - DNA sleuths crack 2,000 year-old migrant mystery

How did a young man born 2,000 years ago near what is now southern Russia, end up in the English countryside?
DNA sleuths have retraced his steps while shedding light on a key episode in the history of Roman Britain.
Research shows that the skeleton found in Cambridgeshire is of a man from a nomadic group known as Sarmatians.
It is the first biological proof that these people came to Britain from the furthest reaches of the Roman empire and that some lived in the countryside.

https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/dna...r-AA1lK4eR

An individual with Sarmatian-related ancestry in Roman Britain
Marina Silva, Thomas Booth, Joanna Moore, David Bowsher, Janet Montgomery, Pontus Skoglund
Open Access Published: December 19, 2023

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/ful...all%3Dtrue

[Alain]

Human and animal skin identified by palaeoproteomics in Scythian leather objects from Ukraine

Abstract
Leather was one of the most important materials of nomadic Scythians, used for clothing, shoes, and quivers, amongst other objects. However, our knowledge regarding the specific animal species used in Scythian leather production remains limited. In this first systematic study, we used palaeoproteomics methods to analyse the species in 45 samples of leather and two fur objects recovered from 18 burials excavated at 14 different Scythian sites in southern Ukraine. Our results demonstrate that Scythians primarily used domesticated species such as sheep, goat, cattle, and horse for the production of leather, while the furs were made of wild animals such as fox, squirrel and feline species. The surprise discovery is the presence of two human skin samples, which for the first time provide direct evidence of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus’ claim that Scythians used the skin of their dead enemies to manufacture leather trophy items, such as quiver covers. We argue that leather manufacture is not incompatible with a nomadic lifestyle and that Scythians possessed sophisticated leather production technologies that ensured stable supply of this essential material.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/articl...ne.0294129

[Alain]

Detection of chromosomal aneuploidy in ancient genomes

Download PDF
Article
Open access
Published: 11 January 2024
Detection of chromosomal aneuploidy in ancient genomes

Kyriaki Anastasiadou, Marina Silva, …Pontus Skoglund Show authors
Communications Biology volume 7, Article number: 14 (2024) Cite this article


Abstract
Ancient DNA is a valuable tool for investigating genetic and evolutionary history that can also provide detailed profiles of the lives of ancient individuals. In this study, we develop a generalised computational approach to detect aneuploidies (atypical autosomal and sex chromosome karyotypes) in the ancient genetic record and distinguish such karyotypes from contamination. We confirm that aneuploidies can be detected even in low-coverage genomes ( ~ 0.0001-fold), common in ancient DNA. We apply this method to ancient skeletal remains from Britain to document the first instance of mosaic Turner syndrome (45,X0/46,XX) in the ancient genetic record in an Iron Age individual sequenced to average 9-fold coverage, the earliest known incidence of an individual with a 47,XYY karyotype from the Early Medieval period, as well as individuals with Klinefelter (47,XXY) and Down syndrome (47,XY, + 21). Overall, our approach provides an accessible and automated framework allowing for the detection of individuals with aneuploidies, which extends previous binary approaches. This tool can facilitate the interpretation of burial context and living conditions, as well as elucidate past perceptions of biological sex and people with diverse biological traits.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-023-05642-z

[JMcB]

An archaeomagnetic study of the Ishtar Gate, Babylon

Anita Di Chiara, Lisa Tauxe, Helen Gries, Barbara Helwing, Matthew D. Howland, E. Ben-Yosef

Published: January 17, 2024


Abstract

Data from the marriage of paleomagnetism and archaeology (archaeomagnetism) are the backbone of attempts to create geomagnetic field models for ancient times. Paleointensity experimental design has been the focus of intensive efforts and the requirements and shortcomings are increasingly well understood. Some archaeological materials have excellent age control from inscriptions, which can be tied to a given decade or even a specific year in some cases. In this study, we analyzed fired mud bricks used for the construction of the Ishtar Gate, the entrance complex to the ancient city of Babylon in Southern Mesopotamia. We were able to extract reliable intensity data from all three phases of the gate, the earliest of which includes bricks inscribed with the name of King Nebuchadnezzar II (605 to 562 BCE). These results (1) add high quality intensity data to a region relatively unexplored so far (Southern Mesopotamia), (2) contribute to a better understanding of paleosecular variation in this region, and the development of an archaeomagnetic dating reference for one of the key regions in the history of human civilizations; (3) demonstrate the potential of inscribed bricks (glazed and unglazed), a common material in ancient Mesopotamia, to archaeomagnetic studies; and (4) suggest that the gate complex was constructed some time after the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem, and that there were no substantial chronological gaps in the construction of each consecutive phase. The best fit of our data (averaging 136±2.1 ZAm2) with those of the reference curve (the Levantine Archaeomagnetic Curve) is 569 BCE.




Fig 2.
a) Ishtar Gate as reconstructed in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Germany. b) Brick (VA 17504) with blue glaze on the left hand side. Blue glaze was on the top of the brick. c) Back side of brick. Small fragments (0.1 gm) were taken from the brick and placed in specimen tubes like that shown in the inset. Photos, with permission, from: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Vorderasiatisches Museum / Olaf M. Teßmer.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0293014.g002



https://journals.plos.org/plosone/articl...ne.0293014