170,381 research outputs found
Dating burial practices and architecture at Lepenski Vir
No full textPrevious attempts to establish a chronology for Lepenski Vir using three different methods (stratigraphy, radiometric 14C dating of bulk charcoal samples, and AMS 14C dating of human bone collagen) produced inconsistent results. Discrepancies between the human bone and charcoal ages were found to result from a reservoir effect in the bones of people who ate significant quantities of Danube fish. When a reservoir ‘correction’ is applied, the human bone 14C dates are consistent with the charcoal dates, and this raises questions about the excavator’s relative and absolute chronology based on stratigraphy and inter-site comparisons. Single-entity dating of surviving archaeological materials offers the best hope of constructing a reliable chronological framework for Lepenski Vir. This paper presents the results of a further programme of AMS 14C dating of human remains. Direct dating of 24 burials confirms that different burial practices characterized the Final Mesolithic and Early Neolithic. Previous attempts to assign burials to Mesolithic or Neolithic phases, based on stratigraphic observations, are shown to be broadly correct but not always accurate in detail. The evidence from radiocarbon dating and stratigraphy is used to calculate ‘minimum’ and/or ‘maximum’ ages for certain of the trapezoidal buildings, which suggest that this architectural form was in use during the Final Mesolithic and Early Neolithic. The implications of the human bone 14C dates and associated stable isotope measurements for the timing of the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition in the Iron Gates are also discussed
Sturgeon fishing in the Middle and Lower Danube region
No full textMigrating sturgeons were the largest fish in the middle and lower Danube region. Most of these species, however, have been brought to the brink of extinction by habitat loss and overfishing. This review is a synthesis of sporadic archaeological evidence, zoological and environmental data as well as ethnohistorical information in two regions: the Iron Gates at the southeast edge of the Carpathian Basin and the Hungarian section of the Danube within the basin. In addition to ichthyological and taphonomic questions, fishing techniques as well as the varying perceptions of these large fish are summarized in an attempt to draft a multidisciplinary interpretive framework for the archaeological evaluation of future finds
The application of sedimentological analysis and luminescence dating to waterlain deposits from archaeological sites
No full textThe thesis follows an interdisciplinary approach combining sediment analysis and luminescence dating of sediments from selected archaeological sites. The work aims to assess the role of sediment analysis for luminescence dating, and the potential of TL and IRSL for dating waterlain material of Holocene age. A comparative chronology based on radiocarbon, stratigraphic and archaeological grounds is important. However, the viability of comparing different dating techniques is considered in the light of the dating results. The novel IRSL and established TL techniques were shown to successful for dating waterlain sediments, provided that a suitable light source is used for laboratory bleaching. Age comparisons between the luminescence techniques was excellent. Disparities between luminescence and C-14 ages is largely explained on a sedimentological basis. The role of sediment analysis is shown to be of great importance for luminescence dating. Certain sedimentological and luminescence characteristics are shown to be closely linked. The relationship between undated sediments affected by instability or low intensity of signals, and weathering in the strata from which the samples were taken is tested by experiment. This demonstrates that weathering of feldspars in the stratum severely affects the luminescence signals and therefore the potential for dating these samples. This represents a step towards the recognition of problematic samples in the field. In conclusion, it is shown that luminescence is suitable as an absolute dating technique for a wide variety of inorganic sedimentary material between 0-200 000 years old. This exceeds the C-14 technique both in range of material and in age limits. The main source of error is associated with variations in water content, which with the recognition of the significance of weathering, demonstrates the importance of sediment analysis in support of luminescence dating studies
Investigating the submerged prehistory of the eastern Adriatic:progress and prospects
No full textIn this paper we assess the potential for the survival and investigation of submerged prehistoric sites and cultural landscapes in the eastern Adriatic. We review previous underwater prehistoric finds from the region and evaluate their significance. Most of these finds were made in shallow water close inshore and likely date to the Neolithic–Early Bronze Age. We discuss the reasons for this pattern and for the concentration of finds along the Istrian and Dalmatian coasts. The prospects for finding submerged sites belonging to earlier periods of prehistory are discussed, with emphasis on the crucial period between 7000 and 5500 cal BC during which farming and herding supplanted hunting, fishing, and gathering as the dominant modes of subsistence. Against this background, we present a research design for a multidisciplinary study of submerged landscapes around one of the larger islands of the Zadar archipelago. It is suggested that some important questions of the processes and timing of the transition to farming around the Adriatic Basin may only be answered through the investigation of the continental shelf, and that such research can also contribute to a better understanding of Holocene sea-level and coastal change
The Mesolithic–Neolithic transition in the Iron Gates, Southeast Europe:Calibration and dietary issues
No full textThis paper discusses an aquatic reservoir effect present in Mesolithic human bone samples from the Iron Gates section of the River Danube. Its magnitude has been calculated from a comparison of the 14C ages of human bones and terrestrial mammal bones from Schela Cladovei, equivalent to 545±70 years for a 100% aquatic diet. From this, using the δ15N value of human bone collagen to estimate the proportion of aquatic food in diet, a correction factor can be applied to the human bone 14C ages. Reservoir correction makes the resultant 14C age less precise but more accurate. The reservoir effect is derived from the inclusion of aquatic resources from the River Danube in the diets of the Mesolithic inhabitants. On the basis that the Black Sea became marine around 7400 cal BC, the possibility that part of the reservoir effect derives from anadromous fish species cannot be discounted. Human remains are abundant in the Iron Gates sites and therefore potentially important for construction of archaeological chronologies. Our ability to correct for the aquatic reservoir affect has important implications for establishing accurate chronologies, especially at the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition, which was marked by a significant change in diet and subsistence
A database of Mesolithic Sites based on Wymer JJ and CJ Bonsall, 1977
No full textData derived from the Gazetteer of Mesolithic sites in England and Wales (Wymer and Bonsall, 1977), issued as a Council for British Archaeology Research Report, for all the Mesolithic sites in England and Wales. It includes a list of mistakes noted in the original paper document, and the digitised (PDF) version of the report
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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