Old Controversies
More Error than Minority: Gendered Burial Practices Align with Peptide-based Sex Identification in Early Bronze Age Burials in Central Europe
Katharina Rebay-Salisbury et al.
Cambridge Archaeological Journal, forthcoming
Abstract:
The Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age (c. 2900-1600 BC) of Central Europe are characterized by burial practices that strongly differentiate between men and women through body placement and orientation in the grave, as well as through grave goods. The osteological sex estimation of the individuals from the cemeteries of Franzhausen I and Gemeinlebarn F corresponds to the gender expressed in the funerary practice in 98 per cent of cases. In this study, we investigate the remaining minority by applying ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS) to identify sex-specific peptides in the dental enamel of 34 individuals, for which the published osteological sex estimation did not fit the gendered burial practice. The results reveal sex estimation and transcription errors, demonstrating that the chromosomal sex of the individuals usually aligns with the gendered burial treatment. We found burials with internally inconsistent gendered patterns ('mixed-message burials'), but there is no evidence to suggest that a biologically male individual was deliberately buried as a woman or a biologically female individual was buried as a man.
The politics of early Neolithic connectivity: Relations between Britain and Ireland
Alasdair Whittle
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, forthcoming
Abstract:
While recent aDNA and other scientific analysis has served to underline the recurrent role of migration in the process of Neolithisation right across Europe, there remains plenty of scope for better integration of archaeogenetic and archaeological interpretations and for detailed narratives of local and regional trajectories. This paper focuses on relations between Britain and Ireland in the early Neolithic, in the first part of the 4th millennium cal BC. I argue that direct connections between Britain and Ireland have been overlooked and underplayed -- hidden in plain sight -- in the search for perceived common sources in continental Europe. I advance four propositions for debate: that the first Neolithic people in Ireland came mainly from Britain, perhaps from several parts of western Britain; that subsequent connections, long described but curiously not much further interpreted, constitute an intense set of interactions; that such links were probably spread over time through the early Neolithic, coming thick and fast near the beginning and perhaps even intensifying with time; and that such relations were maintained and intensified because of the concentrated circumstances of beginnings. The latter arguably contrast with those of the relationship between the Continent and southern Britain. The maintenance of connections was political, because a remembered past was actively used; lineage founders, concentrated lineages and other emergent social groupings may have developed through time as part of such a process.
Tracing the emergence of domesticated grapevine in Italy
Mariano Ucchesu et al.
PLoS ONE, April 2025
Abstract:
This study presents an extensive analysis of 1,768 well-preserved waterlogged archaeological grape pips covering approximately 7000 years of history. These samples originate from 25 Italian archaeological sites spanning from the Early Neolithic (6th millemmium BC) to the Medieval period (8th-14th centuries AD). Employing geometric morphometrics and linear discriminant analyses, we compared these archaeological grape pips with modern reference collections to differentiate between wild and domestic grape types. Additionally, we analysed phenotypic changes in grape pip length and shape over the studied period to the present day to highlight traits associated with domestication syndrome. During the Early Neolithic, no evidence of morphologically domesticated grapes was observed. Data from Early Bronze Age sites (ca. 2050-1850 BC) display the same trend observed for the Early Neolithic period. The Middle Bronze Age sites (ca. 1600-1300 BC) continue to exhibit a predominance of wild grape pips. However, a notable transition occurs at the end of the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1300-1100 BC), with the majority of grape pips classified as domestic, indicating the definitive establishment of cultivation practices and selection of domestic grape by these communities. In the Iron Age, grape pips from Etruscan sites dating to the 4th century BC are predominantly domestic, suggesting an advanced viticulture for this period. During the Roman period (1st-6th centuries AD), some sites exhibited a high presence of domestic grape pips and intermediate forms between wild and domestic morphotypes, suggesting introgression between local wild and domestic grape allowing the formation of new varieties. Finally, the Medieval period (8th-14th centuries AD) sites demonstrate a widespread prevalence of domestic grape pips across archaeological sites, indicating a reduction of intermediate forms between wild and domestic morphotypes and displaying morphometric characteristics entirely similar to modern domestic grape references. Overall, our study provides valuable insights into the evolution of grapevine cultivation in Italy, highlighting the gradual transition from wild to domesticated types over millennia.
Heavenly metal for the commoners: Meteoritic irons from the Early Iron Age cemeteries in Częstochowa (Poland)
Albert Jambon et al.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, April 2025
Abstract:
The Częstochowa-Raków and Częstochowa-Mirów cemeteries in S Poland (Hallstatt C period) yielded several dozen iron objects, very few of which have been analyzed so far. The p-XRF analysis of 26 specimens and SEM/EDS analyses of 3, reveal that three bracelets, an ankle ring and a pin contain meteoritic iron, all the other objects being made of smelted iron. This modest number of specimens nevertheless forms one of the biggest collection of meteoritic iron products at one archaeological site worldwide. The presence in the same context of both meteoritic and smelted irons enables us to discuss the role of slag incorporation vs. contamination. The composition of the specimens containing meteoritic iron is quite variable even for a single specimen, which can be explained by an association with smelted iron. Extensive examinations suggest that a single meteorite was used, possibly a contemporary fall which would not be an import. This confirms that the inhabitants knew the working of iron and that meteoritic iron no longer had the considerable symbolic value it had in the Bronze Age before the discovery of iron smelting. It was simply used as an iron ore. We suggest that meteoritic iron was deliberately used to produce a specific pattern on iron jewelry a millennium before the supposed invention of wootz and Damascus steel.
Geoarchaeological evidence of a buried navigable Roman canal in the Rhône delta (France): The Marius canal hypothesis
Joé Juncker et al.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, April 2025
Abstract:
The Marius Canal is considered the first significant Roman hydraulic infrastructure in Gaul. This navigable canal, constructed at the end of the 2nd century BCE, was located in the Rhône Delta in southern France, connecting the Rhône River to the Mediterranean Sea. In the period following the construction of the canal, the large port known as Fossae Marianae was built on the coast. Despite numerous references in ancient sources, the precise location of the canal has remained unknown for the last two millennia. However, recent geophysical surveys in the eastern Rhône Delta have revealed a linear anomaly, alongside the discovery of Roman artefacts, which may indicate the presence of a Roman canal. The objective of this study is to examine morphological, sedimentary and chronological attributes of this structure, postulated to be the Canal of Marius. Sedimentary cores extracted from the supposed canal and the banks are studied on a high-resolution scale using a detailed multi-proxy methodology (grain-size, carbonate content, organic matter, magnetic susceptibility) combined with twenty-one 14C dates. The morphological analyses and palaeoenvironmental data are consistent with the hypothesis of a navigable canal operable during the Roman period, built in a complex area where an ancient lagoon was partly eroded by a palaeochannel of the Rhône dated to the 1st millennium BCE. However, further archaeological research is needed to definitely confirm that this is the canal known as the Marius Canal.
Bronze Age cymbals from Dahwa: Indus musical traditions in Oman
Khaled Douglas et al.
Antiquity, April 2025, Pages 375-391
Abstract:
Understanding the development and use of musical instruments in prehistory is often hampered by poor preservation of perishable materials and the relative rarity of durable examples. Here, the authors present a pair of third-millennium BC copper cymbals, excavated at Dahwa, Oman. Although they are the only well-contextualised examples from Arabia, the Dahwa cymbals are paralleled by contemporaneous examples from the Indus Valley and images in Mesopotamian iconography. Not only do the cymbals add to the body of evidence interpreted in terms of Indus migrants in Early Bronze Age Oman, they also suggest shared musical and potentially ritual practices around the Arabian Gulf at that time.