Source : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-77224-w
The extraordinary preservation of Cueva de Los Murciélagos (Albuñol, Spain) provides a unique opportunity to identify the materials and the techniques involved in archery during the Early Neolithic period. Arrows with preserved feathers, tied fibres, adhesive substance, and two probable bowstrings have been studied trough an unprecedented multi-proxy investigation, including microscopy and biomolecular methods, to unravel archery techniques. The study has identified the oldest known sinew bowstrings, the first evidence for the use of olive tree (Olea europaea) and reed (Phragmites sp.) to produce arrow shafts in prehistoric European archery, and the identification of birch bark tar as a coating on the shafts. The results of this study provide insights into ancient craft, technological solutions, and adaptations to local resources in the production of these reed-shafted hardwood tipped arrows and bowstrings. Their deposition in a burial cave sheds new light on the role of these artefacts in a Neolithic farming community.
Source : https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1837-2024
Understanding past and present hydrosystem feedbacks to global ocean–atmospheric interactions represents one of the main challenges to preventing droughts, extreme events, and related human catastrophes in the face of global warming, especially in arid and semiarid environments. In eastern Africa, the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) was identified as one of the primary drivers of precipitation variability affecting water availability. However, the northern East African Rift System (EARS) still suffers from the underrepresentation of predictive and ENSO teleconnection models because of the scarcity of local to regional historical or palaeo-data. In this paper, we provide a 50-year seasonal flood and drought chronicle of the Awash River catchment from the study of laminated sediment from Gemeri and Afambo lakes (central Afar region, Ethiopia) with the aim of reconstructing the magnitude of regional hydroclimatic events. Pluricentimetric micro-laminated lithogenic facies alternating with plurimillimetric carbonate-enriched facies are investigated in both lakes. We couple dating methods including radiocarbon, short-lived radionuclides, palaeomagnetic field variations, and varve counting on both lake deposits to build a high-resolution age model and to discuss the regional hydrosedimentary dynamics of the Awash River over the last 700 years with a focus on the last 50 years. Using a multiproxy approach, we observe that following a multicentennial enhanced hydrological period, the two lakes have experienced a gradual decrease in river load inflow since 1979 CE, attaining extreme drought and high evaporative conditions between 1991 and 1997 CE. In 2014, the construction of a dam and increased agricultural water management iin the lower Awash River plain impacted the erodibility of local soils and the hydrosedimentary balance of the lake basins, as evidenced by a disproportionate sediment accumulation rate.
Comparison of our quantitative reconstruction with (i) lake water surface evolution, (ii) the interannual Awash River flow rates, and (iii) the El Niño 3.4 model highlights the intermittent connections between ENSO sea surface temperature anomalies, regional droughts, and hydrological conditions in the northern EARS.
Source : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.109065
Bifacial tools discovered at about a hundred Lower Palaeolithic sites in the Bose Basin, southern China, have been previously dated to around 800,000 years ago. This age was obtained by dating four tektites directly associated with the tools at the Nalai site using the 40Ar/39Ar method (Michel et al., 2021). Similar ages on tektites from the Bogu and Yangwu sites had been previously published, albeit with limited analytical details, by Hou et al. (2000). In this study, a total of eight tektites, discovered alongside abundant lithic artefacts including bifacial tools, were dated with the 40Ar/39Ar technique, using an incremental temperature increase approach. Six of these tektites are from two Lower Palaeolithic sites in the Bose Basin; three from Xiaomei and three others from Fengshudao (China). The remaining two tektites come from two sites in Vietnam, one from Go Da and the other from Roc-Tung 1. With the exception of the site of Go Da, the tektites were buried in lateritic sediments associated with the stone tools. At the Go Da site, the tektites were found in a layer overlying the deposit containing bifacial tools. The tektites display no signs of fluvial abrasion or reworking, making them potentially strong chronological markers. Chemical analyses of major elements and rare earth elements indicate that the tektites belong to the Australasian tektite group. This is further confirmed by new 40Ar/39Ar analyses with a weighted mean age of 787.2 ± 8.2 ka (2σ) (MSWD = 0.96, P = 0.45). Therefore, when combined with the available results on Australasian tektites, this suggests a highly precise age of 788.0 ± 2.6 ka (2σ; P = 0.84) for these tektites and consequently, for the bifacial tools in this part of Southeast Asia, located east of the Movius Line. The presence of bifacial tools attests to either a diffusion of the Acheulean from Africa or a local emergence from previous occupations and traditions in Asia.
Source : https://presses-universitaires.univ-amu.fr/fouilles-a-marseille-0
Cet ouvrage s’inscrit dans la série de publication des « Fouilles à Marseille » dont deux volumes ont déjà paru (en 2011 et 2014) traitant de la ville, puis des mobiliers médiévaux et modernes. Ce troisième volume s’intéresse à la ville antique, entre le VIe siècle avant J.-C. et la fin du VIIe siècle. Marseille, cité grecque, se revendique la « plus ancienne ville de France » et son histoire est déjà longue de plusieurs siècles lorsqu’elle intègre l’Empire romain en 49 avant J.-C. À partir des grandes fouilles urbaines de l’Alcazar et du quartier de la Major menées à l’aube des années 2000 et dont les données archéologiques sont présentées de façon détaillée, plusieurs thèmes sont abordés et traités de façon synthétique. Ainsi, l’urbanisme, le réseau des rues, les zones de nécropoles ou encore l’organisation des zones suburbaines et du territoire massaliètes sont revisités à travers les données les plus récentes de l’archéologie préventive. D’autres fouilles de moindre envergure, situées dans le quartier du Panier ou sur la butte Saint-Laurent, c’est-à-dire au cœur de la ville antique, complètent le corpus des sites étudiés. L’équipe éditoriale de cet ouvrage regroupe les principaux acteurs de l’archéologie marseillaise, qui sont issus de l’Inrap, du service archéologique municipal et du CNRS (CCJ et CEREGE). Ils ont mis en commun leurs recherches les plus récentes pour proposer cette synthèse renouvelée de Marseille durant l’Antiquité grecque et romaine.
Source : https://classiques-garnier.com/new/AudMS01?lang=fr_FR
Marguerite de Provence, épouse de saint Louis est une reine peu connue. Elle fut pourtant l’une des quatre filles du comte Raymond Bérenger V, toutes épouses de rois. S’intéresser de plus près à son existence, c’est étudier la politique des relations inter-dynastiques du point de vue féminin.
Relatively little is known about Margaret of Provence, Queen of France and the wife of King Louis IX. She was one of four daughters of Count Ramon Berenguer V, all of whom were married off to kings. In order to gain a better understanding of her life, we must study the politics of inter-dynastic relations from a female perspective.
Table des matières : AudMS01_tabmat-1
Source : http://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.1215
The Aven de la Boucle (Corconne, Gard, southern France) is a karst shaft used as a collective burial between 3600 and 2800 cal BCE. The site encompasses the skeletal remains of approximately 75 individuals comprising a large majority of adult individuals, represented by scattered and commingled remains. To date, few studies have explored the potential of ancient DNA to tackle the documentation of Neolithic collective burials, and the funerary selection rules within such structures remain largely debated. In this study, we combine genomic analysis of 37 individuals with archaeo-anthropological data and Bayesian modelling of radiocarbon dates. Through this multidisciplinary approach, we aim to characterize the identity of the deceased and their relationships, as well as untangle the genetic diversity and funerary dynamics of this community. Genomic results identify 76% of male Neolithic individuals, suggesting a marked sex-biased selection. Available data emphasize the importance of biological relatedness and a male-mediated transmission of social status, as the affiliation to a specific male-lineage appears as a preponderant selection factor. The genomic results argue in favour of ‘continuous’ deposits between 3600 and 2800 BCE, carried out by the same community, despite cultural changes reflected by the ceramic material.
Source : https://doi.org/10.1163/27723194-bja10033
Plant resources have been widely relied upon by past hunter-gatherer societies; their remains uncovered at archaeological sites can serve as precious archives of the lives of past humans. However, while faunal remains are generally well preserved, botanical materials are usually charred, and less commonly preserved under conditions of desiccation, imbibition or freezing. Bonneville Estates Rockshelter (BER), Nevada, was intermittently occupied by humans from the end of the Pleistocene to recent times and has yielded a rich archaeobotanical corpus consisting of both charred and dessicated remains that have been only partially studied. The present work is an analysis of about 2500 wood charcoal fragments recovered from the PaleoIndigenous (ca. 13 000–10 500 cal. BP) and Early Archaic (ca. 8200–4800 cal. BP) strata of the site. We present the plants selected for firewood during different occupations, question whether this selection is related to cultural and/or environmental factors and compare our results with data on current firewood use by the native populations of the arid American West.
source : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50536-1
Brucella melitensis, un important pathogène pour le bétail et une zoonose qui cause des maladies et des avortements chez les petits ruminants et les humains, constitue aujourd’hui un fardeau économique considérable. L’analyse génomique d’un mouton vieux de 8000 ans provenant du site archéologique de Menteşe Höyük en Turquie (province de Bursa, nord-ouest), montre que B. melitensis circulait déjà parmi le bétail néolithique. Ce génome basal permet de dater la spéciation de B. melitensis à environ 9800 ans avant le présent par rapport à l’espèce B. abortus qui cible plus particulièrement les bovins, ce qui correspond au développement des premières économies pastorales. Cette étude suggère que l’élevage concomitant de plusieurs espèces a favorisé l’évolution et l’adaptation de ce pathogène.
Source : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2024.108104
Over 1000 years of irrigation agriculture by the Hohokam (450–1450 CE) left an indelible mark on soils of the lower Salt River Valley in Arizona. Defining the nature, extent, and formation of these anthropogenic soils, named Salt River Adobe during the valley’s first soil survey, is important for understanding human impacts to the environment and agricultural history of arid lands. Towards that objective, we describe an undisturbed, buried example of the Salt River Adobe from the Salt River floodplain and present evidence for its anthrogenesis based on archaeological context, age, physicochemical properties, micromorphology, and pollen content. We determined that the Salt River Adobe at this location represents approximately 500 years of irrigation sedimentation and pedogenesis resulting in a 70+ cm thick cumulic soil. Cessation of irrigation within the project area occurred in the 1200s CE at a time of peak Hohokam population. Our evidence suggests fairly continuous multi-century irrigation farming by the Hohokam at one location with soil productivity maintained by irrigation sedimentation and possible fertilization. We hypothesize that cessation of farming at this location during a time of high food-demand was due in part to gradually reduced soil permeability and tilth. More research is needed to better understand the geographic extent and genesis of Salt River Adobe and the role it played in Hohokam farming and cultural history.
Because they hold information about cultural identity, foodways have been the focus of a variety of disciplines in archaeology. However, each approach documents different stages of culinary preparation and is constrained by the preservation specificities of each type of artefact and ecofact. Difficulties in achieving an interdisciplinary approach may explain the scarcity of such studies. In this paper, we propose a methodology that combines archaeozoological, carpological and microbotanical analysis of ecofacts retrieved in the sediment, with use-alteration, organic residue and microbotanical analysis carried out on pottery vessels, recovered during the excavation of a XXth century archaeological dump site in Lower Casamance (Senegal). The results demonstrate the strength of this multiproxy approach in reconstructing past foodways by characterising the importance of aquatic, terrestrial animals and plant products in the Diola Kassa diet. In addition, this study questions the modalities of food transformation by assessing the preparation techniques of animal and vegetal products (cutting marks, heating processes etc.) and the function of pottery vessels (transport, storage, cooking etc.). Aquatic products and rice were a significant part of the diet of the users of the dump (from archaeozoology, carpology, phytoliths and organic residue analysis) and wet cooking (boiling?), salty and acidic foods seem to have been particularly prevalent (from use-alteration). The absence of specific animal and plant parts in the archaeological record, as well as some pottery function, is also questioned. Beyond gathering the results of each approach, this study focuses on the interweaving of different research methods to depict past foodscape.
Article en open access : https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0295794
Projet : Foodways in West Africa (Sinergia)
