Search results for "history"
showing 10 items of 18523 documents
Climbing into the past—first Himalayan mummies discovered in Nepal
2003
In a cave system in Mebrak (Mustang District, Western Nepal), a team of archaeologists investigating extensive abandoned settlements in the high Himalayas made an extraordinary discovery in 1995. One of the caves had been used as a community burial chamber from ca. 400 BC to 50 AD. Inside, approximately 30 naturally mummified bodies rested in bed-like wooden coffins exhibiting ornamental carving and elaborate painting. The dead had been furnished with a rich store of grave goods consisting of both personal ornaments and objects of daily life as well as the remains of domestic animals. Due to the favourable climatic conditions, all of the artefacts, which also include fur and textile garment…
The first archaeometric characterization of obsidian artifacts from the archaeological site of Samshvilde (South Georgia, Caucasus)
2019
This paper presents the first results about the provenance of obsidian fragments recovered in the archaeological site of Samshvilde (South Georgia, Caucasus) with the aim to obtain knowledge related to the network distribution and procurement of obsidian in Georgia. The geochemical characterization of thirty archaeological finds was obtained by the LA-ICP-MS method, an almost non-destructive technique capable of chemically characterizing the volcanic glass. A comparison of geochemical results obtained on both archaeological artefacts and geological samples collected from Chikiani outcrop in Georgia, together with literature data of southern Caucasus and eastern Turkey, allowed us to define …
Revisiting the Epipalaeolithic-Neolithic Transition in the Extreme NW of Africa : The Latest Results of the Chronological Sequence of the Cave of Kaf…
2021
[EN] This study focuses on the chronostratigraphic sequence of the Cave of Kaf Taht el-Ghar (Dar Ben Karrich, Tétouan, Morocco) excavated in 2012 in the framework of the AGRIWESTMED research project. The broad sequence reveals a series of occupations ranging from the Pleistocene (Moroccan Aterian) to recent historical times. Our research identifies a rich Early Neolithic phase (sixth millennium cal BC) containing the earliest pottery and domesticated animal and plant remains in the western Maghreb. However, this Early Neolithic level is not an immediate successor of the last traces of the Epipalaeolithic hunter-gatherer occupation, which started at the end of the Younger Dryas (10,900–9700 …
Analysis of stratigraphical sequences at Cocina Cave (Spain) using rare earth elements geochemistry
2021
This study investigates the stratigraphical sequence of Cocina Cave (Spain) employing and testing for the first time the capability of rare earth elements as markers of human activities in caves. Located in Dos Aguas (Valencian Community, Spain), Cocina Cave is characterized by the presence of several Holocene archaeological deposits from the final Mesolithic to the present day and is a pivotal site for understanding the socio‐ecological dynamics of the last hunter‐gatherer inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula and the transition to pastoral and agricultural economies in the Western Mediterranean. However, the identification of strata from particular time‐periods in the cave is often difficu…
The Anthropogenic Use of Firewood During the European Middle Pleistocene: Charcoal Evidence from Levels XIII and XI of Bolomor Cave, Eastern Iberia (…
2017
Human control of fire is a widely debated issue in the field of Palaeolithic archaeology, since it involved significant technological innovations for human subsistence. Although fire evidence has been the subject of intense debate regarding its natural or anthropogenic nature, most authors agree that combustion structures represent the most direct evidence of human control of fire. Wood charcoal fragments from these contexts represent the fuel remains that result from humans' collection of firewood, which means they can reveal significant behavioural and palaeoenvironmental information relevant to our understanding of Middle Palaeolithic societies. In this work, we present anthracological d…
AMS DATING OF HUMAN BONE FROM COVA DE LA PASTORA: NEW EVIDENCE OF RITUAL CONTINUITY IN THE PREHISTORY OF EASTERN SPAIN
2010
We present the results of 10 AMS radiocarbon dates for Cova de la Pastora (Alcoi, Alicante), a burial cave attributed to the Late Neolithic/Chalcolithic in eastern Spain. The direct dating of 10 human mandibles from Cova de la Pastora indicates that the cave was used as a burial place from the Late Neolithic/Chalcolithic to the Bronze Age. These dates reveal a continuity of ritual use not previously identified at the site. This case also serves to highlight the utility of revisiting historic excavations and museum collections with modern techniques to shed new light on the prehistoric human record.
Through diachronic discontinuities and regionalization: The contribution of the analysis of the lithic industries from Grotta della Serratura (Strata…
2019
Abstract Within the evolutionary dynamics of post-Gravettian techno-complexes, one can observe an intense regionalization phenomenon, both on a European scale, with the creation of two main provinces, and within the Italian peninsula. To date, typological studies have led to the recognition of several Italian Epigravettian facies, identifying trends, similarities, and differences in the lithic complexes. An important contribution was made by the technological method which in recent years has allowed us to identify the evolutionary processes of the lithic industries in numerous deposits of northern Italy. It is the intent of this reporting to add information which contributes to the debate o…
Micro-lithic production at Abric Romaní levels L and Ob: Exploring economic and evolutionary implications for Neanderthal societies
2020
Abstract The phenomenon of microlithism continues to be one of the most interesting topics in the prehistoric archaeology of the Middle Palaeolithic period because it is key to understanding the technology and cultural and economic organisation of Neanderthal societies. The aim of this research is to characterise small-flake industries based on two archaeological levels from the Abric Romani which present different occupation patterns. Level L is characterised by a shorter and more opportunistic occupational pattern, while the occupations found at archaeolevel Ob were longer and more complex, indicating a greater degree of planning involved in subsistence activities. The analysis was conduc…
Lead in the Bones of Cows from a Medieval Pb-Ag Metallurgical Settlement: Bone Mineralization by Metalliferous Minerals
2021
Pb contents (13-53 mg kg−1) and pathological changes in almost complete cow skeletonsdiscovered in graves adjacent to Pb and Ag smelting furnaces active in the Silesian-Cracovian region, in the mid-12th century are reported in the article. In addition to Pb,elements such as Zn, Cd, Fe, Mn, Cd, and Ba characteristic of Zn-Pb-Ag ores in the regionwere identified. Bone fragments and the soil in which they had lain for almost 800 yearswere examined by SEM, EDS. XRD was used to identify minerals present in soils. Theenrichment of the bones with Zn, Pb, Fe, Mn, and Cd is associated with the remobilisationof elements from soil contaminated with primary and synthetic phase-rich metals. In bioticmat…
Prehistoric palaeodemographics and regional land cover change in eastern Iberia
2019
Much attention has been placed on the drivers of vegetation change on the Iberian Peninsula. While climate plays a key role in determining the species pools within different regions and exerts a strong influence on broad vegetation patterning, the role of humans, particularly during prehistory, is less clear. The aim of this paper is to assess the influence of prehistoric population change on shaping vegetation patterns in eastern Iberia and the Balearic Islands between the start of the Neolithic and the late Bronze Age. In all, 3385 radiocarbon dates have been compiled across the study area to provide a palaeodemographic proxy (radiocarbon summed probability distributions (SPDs)). Modelled…