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1. Late pre-Hispanic fog oasis settlements and long-term human occupation on the Peruvian central coast from satellite imagery

   https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2023.179  

   Marcone, Giancarlo; Huertas, Geraldine; Zimmer-Dauphinee, James; Van_Valkenburgh, Parker; Moat, Justin; Wernke, Steven A (February 2024, Antiquity)

   Fog oases (lomas) present pockets of verdant vegetation within the arid coastal desert of Andean South America and archaeological excavation within some of the oases has revealed a long history of human exploitation of these landscapes. Yet lomas settlements are under-represented in archaeological datasets due to their tendency to be located in remote inter-valley areas. Here, the authors employ satellite imagery survey to map the locations of anthropogenic surface features along the central Peruvian coast. They observe two categories of archaeological features, large corrals and clustered structures, and document a concentration of settlement features within lomas landscapes that suggests a pre-Hispanic preference for both short- and long-term occupation of these verdant oases. 

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2. Petrographic and geochemical analyses of pottery from Wadi Tanuf, Oman: Approaching pottery production in south‐eastern Arabia during the second and first millennia BCE

   https://doi.org/10.1111/arcm.12974  

   Miki, Takehiro; Kuronuma, Taichi; MacDonald, Brandi L.; Glascock, Michael D.; Kondo, Yasuhisa (May 2024, Archaeometry)

   Abstract This study describes the petrographic and geochemical characteristics of pottery collected from Mugharat al‐Kahf and WTN02 in Wadi Tanuf, north‐central Oman, to clarify interregional similarities and differences in pottery production techniques and examine the existence of interregional trade in pottery with respect to changes in mobile communities. Potsherds from these sites were characterised using thin‐section petrography and instrumental neutron activation analysis. Results revealed that several clay fabrics and tempers were used during the Wadi Suq period (2000–1600 BCE). A region‐wide similarity exists in pottery‐making techniques in terms of the tempering of specific minerals (Oman ophiolite) used in the Early Iron Age (1300–300 BCE). Geochemical results indicate differences in clay sources between the Wadi Suq period and the Early Iron Age in Wadi Tanuf and the unlikelihood of the interregional trade of domestic pottery. 

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3. TEMPO AND TRAJECTORY OF THE BUILT LANDSCAPE ON TA‘Ū ISLAND, MANU‘A GROUP, AMERICAN SĀMOA: INTEGRATING EXTENSIVE RADIOCARBON DATING WITH JOINT POSTERIOR MODELING

   https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2020.60  

   Quintus, Seth; Huebert, Jennifer; Day, Stephanie; Lincoln, Noa; Yoo, Kyungsoo; Lee, Tiffany; Filimoehala, Darby; Autufuga, Dolly (July 2020, Radiocarbon)

   ABSTRACT Stone and earthen architecture is nearly ubiquitous in the archaeological record of Pacific islands. The construction of this architecture is tied to a range of socio-political processes, and the temporal patterning of these features is useful for understanding the rate at which populations grew, innovation occurred, and social inequality emerged. Unfortunately, this temporal patterning is poorly understood for many areas of the region, including the Sāmoan archipelago. Here, we describe a project directed toward establishing a robust chronology for the construction of these earthen and stone terraces and linear mounds on Ta‘ū Island. Using recent methodological improvements, we highlight the tempo at which different architectural types were constructed on the island and the implications for understanding demographic expansion and changing land tenure practices in the last 1500 years. This research suggests the construction of architecture was largely confined to the 2nd millennium AD with a small number of terraces plausibly built in the 1st millennium AD. This temporal patterning suggests that a reconfiguration of settlement patterns occurred within West Polynesia as people there moved into other regions of Oceania. 

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4. PREHISTORIC BRONZE AGE RADIOCARBON CHRONOLOGY AT POLITIKO- TROULLIA , CYPRUS

   https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2022.99  

   Falconer, Steven E; Ridder, Elizabeth; Pilaar Birch, Suzanne E; Fall, Patricia L (February 2023, Radiocarbon)

   ABSTRACT Politiko- Troullia has generated the largest radiocarbon ( 14 C) dataset from a Prehistoric Bronze Age settlement on Cyprus. We present Bayesian modeling of 25 calibrated AMS ages, which contributes to an emerging multi-site 14 C chronology for Cyprus covering most of the Prehistoric Bronze Age. Our analysis places the six stratified phases of occupation at Troullia between about 2050 and 1850 cal BCE, in contrast to a longer estimated occupation inferred from pottery analysis. We provide a rare 14 C determination for the transition from Prehistoric Bronze Age 1 to 2 just after 2000 cal BCE, associated with a major architectural dislocation at Politiko- Troullia in response to local landscape erosion, possibly due to increased regional precipitation. We present a regional 14 C model for Prehistoric Bronze Age Cyprus combining the chronology for Politiko- Troullia with modeled 14 C ages from Sotira Kaminoudhia and Marki Alonia , which is bolstered by individual ages from five other settlements on Cyprus. Through the Prehistoric Bronze Age, agrarian villages on Cyprus developed the foundations for the emergence of urbanized settlement and society during the ensuing Protohistoric Bronze Age. Politiko- Troullia , in conjunction with other key settlements on Cyprus, provides a significant independent contribution to increasingly robust Bronze Age 14 C chronologies in the Eastern Mediterranean. 

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5. The Upper‐Mantle Structure Beneath Alaska Imaged by Teleseismic S‐Wave Reverberations

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JB026667  

   Hao, Shangqin; Shearer, Peter; Liu, Tianze (June 2023, Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth)

   Abstract Alaska is a tectonically active region with a long history of subduction and terrane accretion, but knowledge of its deep seismic structure is limited by a relatively sparse station distribution. By combining data from the EarthScope Transportable Array and other regional seismic networks, we obtain a high‐resolution state‐wide map of the Moho and upper‐mantle discontinuities beneath Alaska using teleseismic SH‐wave reverberations. Crustal thickness is generally correlated with elevation and the deepest Moho is in the region with basal accretion of the subducted Yakutat plate, consistent with its higher density due to a more mafic composition. The crustal thickness in the Brooks Range agrees with the prediction based on Airy isostasy and the weak free‐air gravity anomaly, suggesting that this region probably does not have significant density anomalies. We also resolve the 410, 520, and 660 discontinuities in most regions, with a thickened mantle transition zone (MTZ) and a normal depth difference between the 520 and 660 discontinuities (d660‐d520) under central Alaska, indicating the presence of the subducted Pacific slab in the upper MTZ. A near‐normal MTZ and a significantly smaller d660‐d520 are resolved under southeastern Alaska, suggesting potential mantle upwelling in the lower MTZ. Beneath the Alaska Peninsula, the thinned MTZ implies that the Pacific slab may not have reached the MTZ in this region, which is also consistent with recent tomography models. Overall, the results demonstrate a bent or segmented Pacific slab with varying depths under central Alaska and the Alaska Peninsula. 

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