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1. Sourcing Obsidian from Late Neolithic Sites on the Great Hungarian Plain: Preliminary p-XRF Compositional Results and the Socio-Cultural Implications

   https://doi.org/10.24916/iansa.2019.2.1  

   Riebe, Danielle J. (November 2019, Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica)

   Significant archaeological research has been conducted on chipped stone tools recovered from prehistoric sites throughout Eastern Europe and the Balkans. The limited number of obsidian geological sources throughout the region, combined with the relatively homogeneous nature of obsidian and the increased use of new techniques for conducting compositional analysis in the field, has facilitated in accurately sourcing obsidian artifacts from sites in the region. This article presents the compositional results of 203 obsidian artifacts recovered from seven Late Neolithic (5,000 – 4,500 BCE) sites from the Great Hungarian Plain. Compositional results of the archaeological specimens obtained with a Bruker portable X-ray fluorescence device (p-XRF) were compared with obsidian geological compositional data to determine artifact provenience. By sourcing the obsidian chipped stone tools, it is possible to reconstruct prehistoric patterns of exploitation/exchange and to note how these patterns vary throughout the Plain. The results illustrate that a majority of the studied artifacts originated from the Carpathian 1 source, however, a limited number of samples came from the Carpathian 2E and Carpathian 2T sources. Based on this preliminary study, the variation in geological source exploitation may be linked to socio-cultural practices that differentiated the Tisza and Herpály archaeological units during the Late Neolithic. 

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2. A Layered Approach for the Discovery and Mapping of Prehistoric Sites Beneath Lake Huron

   https://doi.org/10.4031/MTSJ.54.3.4  

   O'Shea, John M.; Lemke, Ashley K. (May 2020, Marine Technology Society Journal)

   Abstract For much of modern human history (roughly the last 200,000 years), global sea levels have been lower than present. As such, it is hardly surprising that archaeologists increasingly are looking to submarine environments to address some of their most pressing questions. While underwater archaeology is most commonly associated with shipwrecks, the search for submerged prehistoric sites presents an entirely different set of challenges, even though many of the same technologies are used. For Great Lakes archaeologists, the problem is how best to adapt the range of available seafloor mapping and testing techniques to the problem of identifying prehistoric sites, while operating with smaller vessels and the limited budgets available to “normal” archaeology. In this paper, we briefly describe the approach we have developed at the University of Michigan for identifying 9,000-year-old caribou hunting sites beneath Lake Huron. The research employs a layered research design integrating sonars, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), and scuba divers at progressively finer scales to discover and investigate these important new archaeological sites. 

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3. An archaeological strontium isoscape for the prehistoric Andes: Understanding population mobility through a geostatistical meta-analysis of archaeological 87Sr/86Sr values from humans, animals, and artifacts

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2020.105121  

   Scaffidi, Beth; Knudson, Kelly (January 2020, Journal of archaeological science)

   Biogeographical studies of migration and mobility in archaeology and bioarchaeology rely on accurately characterizing local 87Sr/86Sr ranges, either through baseline studies or by statistically parsing archaeological results at a given site. However, when baseline materials are difficult to obtain or suspected to deviate from prehistoric isotopic catchments, archaeological data may provide an accurate characterization of local ranges. Through a spatial meta-analysis of 87Sr/86Sr values from archaeological human, faunal, and artifact samples (n = 1658) from 45 publications, this study aims to quantify and compare variation in bioavailable strontium and create the first predictive isotope model (or isoscape) for 87Sr/86Sr values in the prehistoric Andes. Descriptive statistics, including the coefficient of variation, are compared between sites from different temporal categories, and between coastal, yungas, and highland sites. Regional differences in the 87Sr/86Sr values of male and female biological sex categories are compared for human enamel and bone samples, and between sequentially-forming enamel and bone samples. The study finds that the archaeological dataset trimmed of outliers provides a reliable model of local ranges. However, we caution that when migration and trade networks being investigated are within homogeneous isoscape regions, or between contiguous neighbors, multiple isotopic signatures should be incorporated into provenience estimations. 

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4. Scale of time-averaging in archaeological shell middens from the Canary Islands

   https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683619883020  

   Parker, Wesley_G; Yanes, Yurena; Mesa_Hernández, Eduardo; Hernández_Marrero, Juan_Carlos; Pais, Jorge; Surge, Donna (November 2019, The Holocene)

   Characterizing the degree of disturbance in archaeological deposits is critically important for archaeologists assessing foraging strategies, environmental conditions, or behavior patterns of ancient human groups. Qualitative techniques (e.g. micromorphology analysis) have previously been applied to assess the degree of disturbance (age-mixing) in archaeological sites; however, quantitative dating of material in the sites provides a more robust assessment of potential age-mixing. Unfortunately, because of budget constraints, archaeologists are frequently forced to rely on few quantitative age dates for an assemblage, thus obfuscating the signal of age-mixing of the deposit. The development of an affordable and rapid carbonate-target accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon (¹⁴C) dating method provides a cost-effective way to retrieve more quantitative dates from carbonate material in archaeological assemblages to assess the degree of age-mixing in the deposit. This study tests this new technique and dates numerous harvested marine limpet shells from archaeological sites in the Canary Islands to determine whether there is multidecadal to multicentennial age-mixing. A total of 58 shells retrieved from six sites and three islands yielded uncalibrated radiocarbon ages ranging from 2265 ± 40 to 765 ± 35 BP, coinciding with the time of prehistoric human occupation in these islands. While most shells from the same stratum showed statistically equivalent ages, in some cases we detected age ranges that exceeded the imprecisions from analytical errors. This investigation is one of the first to quantitatively illustrate that shells retrieved from depth intervals without evident stratigraphic disturbance do not always contain contemporaneous remains and, therefore, dating each specimen is valuable for developing further paleoclimatic and paleoanthropological inferences. This study presents the first report of carbonate-target¹⁴C ages from archaeological shell middens, and suggests that this novel radiocarbon methodology can be applied to these sites, thus allowing the generation of a more comprehensive chronology. 

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5. New insights into the Mesolithic and Neolithic layers of the Darkveti rock shelter in the Imereti Region, Western Georgia

   https://doi.org/10.4312/dp.52.2  

   Chkhatarashvili, Guram; Tskvitinidze, Nikoloz; Tsikaridze, Nikoloz; Davenport, James A; Glascock, Michael D (January 2025, Documenta Praehistorica)

   The Darkveti multi-layered site in the Imereti region of Georgia offers valuable insights into prehistoric human activity. Despite extensive research conducted in the 1960s and 1970s by Lamara Nebieridze, certain aspects of the site's chronology and inhabitants' mobility remained unclear. This study aims to address these gaps through collaborative, interdisciplinary research involving Georgian and foreign scientists. The primary objective is to precisely date the cultural layers belonging to the Mesolithic and Neolithic epochs using absolute dating methods. By combining archaeological evidence with palaeontological, geoarchaeological, and palaeobotanical data, this study aims to reconstruct the palaeoenvironment and subsistence strategies of the Darkveti inhabitants. Additionally, the analysis of stone tools and lithic raw materials will shed light on technological developments and possible connections with neighbouring regions. The findings will contribute to a better understanding of the cultural dynamics, mobility patterns, and adaptations of prehistoric communities in the Imereti region and the wider Caucasus. 

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