“But some were more equal than others:” Exploring inequality at Neolithic Çatalhöyük

We explore the ways in which residents of Neolithic Çatalhöyük in Anatolia differentiated themselves as well as the ways in which they did not. We integrate numerous data sets in order to assess patterns of inequality (A) across buildings with contemporaneous occupations, (B) between buildings that did or did not burn at abandonment, and (C) through time. We use Gini coefficients so as to maximize comparability with other studies of inequality in the ancient and modern worlds, discussing the underlying data and our results to clarify and enhance the value of the quantitative analyses. We evaluate whether or not trajectories of inequality align across data sets in order to determine how far success in one realm correlated with success in another. Our results indicate no unified trajectory of inequality through time. We perceive broadly similar access to staple foods, but not to goods less directly related to survival; relatively elevated income inequality during the middle portion of the site’s occupation, plausibly deliberately tamped down; and no evidence for institutionalized or lasting economic or social inequality. These findings shed light on Neolithic social dynamics and also contribute to broader discussions of inequality and the social ramifications of early agropastoralism

Chapter 16.: The colour of things. Pigments and colours in Neolithic Çatalhöyük

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Chapter 14.: Disentangling Neolithic cuisine: archaeological evidence for 9,000-year-old food preparation practices and cooking techniques at Çatalhöyük East

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Chapter 9.: The complexity of open spaces at Çatalhöyük

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Abrasive and impact wear of stone used to manufacture axes in Neolithic Greece

Excavations at the Neolithic settlement at Makriyalos in Northern Greece brought to light a large number of stone axe heads, the majority of which were manufactured from serpentinite and igneous rocks. Detailed study of the manufacturing traces on the archaeological implements identified that both percussive (pecking) and abrasive techniques (sawing and grinding/polishing) were employed for the production of the axes. There is limited evidence, however, of how these processes may have been undertaken. The aim of this work was to build on previous research investigating sawing and polishing methods and the materials that may have been used in these tasks. Modern samples of two types of serpentinite and a dolerite were collected from the environs of the archaeological site. These were tested for strength and porosity. Through archaeological research the materials available to Neolithic people were established and some testing was carried out to establish sliding speeds and loads and percussive impact velocities achievable by a human to feed into the tribological test design. Pin-on-disc wear tests were carried out using quartz, chalcedony and sandstone as the pin material in wet and dry conditions to study sawing and polishing behaviour. Reciprocating tests were carried out using leather and combinations of lubricant (animal fat and water) and abrasive medium (sand) to study effects on polishing. Percussive impact tests were also carried out. The tests indicated that with certain combinations of materials and test conditions, both sawing and polishing could be achieved. A series of stages for the polishing were identified which are in line with observations made by archaeologists. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Aesthetic, Social, and Material Networks: A Perspective from the Flint Daggers at Çatalhöyük, Turkey

Seventh Framework Programme (FP7)Artefact studie

Influence of grinding on the preservation of starch grains from rice

China is a major centre for rice domestication, where starch grain analysis has been widely applied to archaeological grinding tools to gain information about plant use by ancient Chinese societies. However, few rice starch grains have been identified to date. To understand this apparent scarcity of starch grains from rice, dry- and wet-grinding experiments with stone tools were carried out on four types of cereals: rice (Oryza sativa L.), foxtail millet (Setaria italica), Job's tears (Coix lacryma-jobi L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). The results reveal that dry-grinding produces significant damage to starches to the point where they may be undetected in archaeological samples, while wet-grinding causes only slight morphological changes to the starch grains. Moreover, rice starch grains have the most substantial alterations from dry-grinding, possibly impeding their identification. These findings provide a possible means to explain the relative scarcity of rice starch grains recovered from archaeological grinding tools, which it is suggested was caused by the use of the dry-grinding technique. Therefore, it is suggested that rice starch grains have been likely underrepresented in the archaeological record, and previous interpretations of starch analyses need to be reconsidered.Material Culture Studie

Plant Foods and Different Uses of Grinding Tools at the Neolithic Site of Tanghu in Central China

In the central plain of China, grinding tools are a common category of artefacts at sites attributed to the Peiligang Culture (c. 9000-7000 BP). This paper focuses on the grinding tool assemblage from the site of Tanghu, the largest Peiligang Culture settlement yet discovered. The results from the microwear and residue analyses both suggest that cereals were the primary plant material processed with the grinding tools. Other plants, including acorns and underground storage organs, were also processed, but probably to a smaller extent. Furthermore, microwear analysis suggests that the dry-grinding technique was adopted for cereal processing, and a piece of hide or animal skin was placed underneath the grinding slabs to gather the processed plant material. Apart from plant food processing, one of the grinding tools was also involved in processing bone. These data put more insights into the Neolithic culinary practices and different uses of grinding tools in this region.Archaeological sciencesMaterial Culture Studies and Computer Science