Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences

This paper presents the chemical and isotopic analyses of glass from the first century CE excavated in Dibba (United Arab Emirates). The elemental composition was determined using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and micro-X-ray fluorescence (μXRF), as well as the isotopic composition using laser ablation-multi collector-ICP-mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICP-MS) for Sr and solution MC-ICP-MS for Nd. This study revealed the unique elemental and isotopic composition of this material, matching the local geology and providing a strong argument for a previously unknown production site, possibly local, for this material. Two glass hues are observed in the assemblage (green and amber); both have the same chemical composition. The colour difference is due to differences in the oxidation state of the chromophores whether or not purposefully is unclear. The production of blown glass vessels shows a technology, not yet evidenced before, for this period in this region.

Originally domesticated in southwestern Asia, bread wheat represents an exotic element that eventually broadened the subsistence strategies in more than one area of China. Notwithstanding a growing body of data, its timing, pace, and pathway of dispersal as well as social impact in China continue to be debated. Here, we present one more line of direct evidence for early occurrence of bread wheat at the coastal site of Sujiacun in the Rizhao area of southeastern Shandong Province, China. Our results by direct dating of a mixed crop cohort consistently show that bread wheat was first introduced into the eastern Chinese coast about 2460–2210 BC. The directly dated wheat grain at Sujiacun is coeval with those found at the Zhaojiazhuang site. Our finding implies that there may have been more than one possible route for wheat transmission to China, including the Eurasian Steppe route. Given the coastal location of the two Shandong sites yielding early wheat remains, however, a trans-Asian dispersal including ocean travel cannot be excluded. Comparison with existing data suggests that, upon arrival on the coast of eastern Shandong, bread wheat quickly dispersed inland and arrived in the Central China Plain and North China Plain by about 2000 BC. It appears that bread wheat was not cultivated extensively in Shandong until hundreds of years later, perhaps due to limitations of climatic, technological, and/or social factors.

The making of ritual shrunken heads, or tsantsas, was a common practice among the Jivaro-Shuar tribes of Ecuador and Peru during the post-Columbian period. The raising interest in the tsantsas in the late nineteenth through the twentieth century caused an increase in manufacturing of forged shrunken heads for profit. In the current study, we examined the authenticity and possible cultural provenance of the shrunken head displayed at the “Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv” using macro- and microscopic criteria together with DNA analyses. DNA analyses have revealed that the shrunken head represents a human male individual with a genetic profile compatible with an African ancestry and resembling that of modern South American populations.

Strontium isotope ratios in human teeth from the three Swedish prehistoric Stone Age hunter-fisher-gathering societies Norje Sunnansund (Maglemose), Skateholm (Ertebølle) and Västerbjers (Pitted Ware Culture) were analysed with laser ablation to produce data on both individual movement patterns and societal mobility trends. The analyses of teeth from both Skateholm and Västerbjers displayed homogeneous ratios and corresponding mobility patterns, while the data from Norje Sunnansund showed larger variances with heterogenous strontium ratios and varied inter-individual mobility patterns. Correlation with the bioavailable baseline suggests that the size of the geographical areas, where human strontium ratios could have originated, was roughly comparable for all three sites. The teeth measurements were reflected within a 50-km radius of the surrounding landscape and the 25–75% data quartile matched with distances between 3 and 30 km from the sites, suggesting limited mobility ranges among aquatically dependent foragers from southernmost Sweden. By applying ethnographic analogies and site-specific contextual inferences, the results suggest that mobility ranges at Norje Sunnansund were likely not delimited by neighbouring group territories. This changed over time and an increasing territorialisation of the landscape may have influenced movement patterns and caused restrictions to the foraging activities at both Skateholm and Västerbjers.

Ancient teak log coffins found in Namjang (NJ) Cave, Pang Ma Pha district of Mae Hong Son province in Northwestern (NW) Thailand, were dated using a combination of C-14 dating and cross-dating techniques. The longest tree-ring width chronology (i.e., the CoffinNJ index) in Thailand covered a 477-year period from 106 BC to AD 371. The ages of the NJ log coffins fell within the log coffin culture epoch in NW Thailand. The NJ coffins are considered to belong to the second component of the log coffin culture period in NW Thailand, which began from approximately 2100 BP to 1200 BP. Spectral analysis of the CoffinNJ index displayed a decadal periodicity of 11.2 years, similar to the well-known 11-year periodic change in the sunspot cycle. A positive relationship (r = 0.31, p < 0.035) was observed between the CoffinNJ index and sunspot number for the entire period from 110 BC to AD 370, particularly during the period of AD 191–370 (r = 0.48, p < 0.045). Comparisons with speleothem proxies sensitive to changes in solar activity showed relationships between the CoffinNJ index and speleothem parameters (layer thickness: r = − 0.50, p < 0.001 and δ18O: r = 0.40, p < 0.001). The results confirmed that the ancient teak trees in this study might have responded, at least partly, to solar variation. The ring widths of the teak log coffins proved to be a promising proxy for studying the evolution of coffin culture and past climate change in this area.

This study examines the relationship between facial morphology and socioeconomic status within an Early Mediaeval population from the Mikulčice settlement. The agglomeration was the centre of the Great Moravian Empire in Central Europe and had a hierarchically structured society. The settlement can be divided on the basis of two criteria that possibly reflect socioeconomic classes: grave location (castle and sub-castle area) and grave goods (individuals with or without luxury grave goods). As study material, we utilized CT images of adult skulls. We divided the facial skeleton into two morphological regions: the upper face (49 males and 45 females) and the mandible (47 males and 41 females), which were investigated by landmark-based methods of geometric morphometrics. The results suggest that the population was highly stratified and that both of the criteria could reflect different genetic backgrounds, lifestyles or environmental conditions. Significant differences in upper face morphology were found between individuals with or without luxury grave goods, and significant differences in mandibular morphology between individuals buried in the castle and sub-castle areas. Although the morphology of the facial skeleton has a multi-etiological nature and all its parts are influenced by a complex of internal and external factors, upper face morphology based on grave goods may be more influenced by genetic variability between the study groups in the context of patrilocality and patrilineality, which were conventional practices in Early Mediaeval societies. On the other hand, mandibular morphology may be more influenced by external conditions (probably by a different diet).

Excavations at Limenaria in southwestern Thasos brought to light a significant amount of finds associated with metallurgical activities of the Final Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. The recovered evidence includes copper alloy artifacts, one silver pin, copper slags, a crucible fragment, pieces of shallow bowl lead silicates and litharge-resembling cupels, and numerous fragments of hematite/limonite lumps, some containing secondary cupriferous minerals, mainly malachite and azurite. With the exception of the complete artifacts, a representative sample of the finds (approx. 40) was studied by applying instrumental analytical methods. The analytical results strongly suggest that the metalworkers utilized exclusively the local mineral resources for copper and silver production. They demonstrated significant skill and succeeded in extracting metallic copper from the locally available polymetallic (and poor in cupriferous secondary ores) mineral resources, and expanded their practice in crucible working (for copper alloying with arsenic). The technological traits so far recognized appear to be closer to the Aegean pyro-metallurgical practices rather than their northern counterparts in the Balkans.