Harvesting tools and the spread of the Neolithic into the Central-Western Mediterranean area

This paper discusses the current state of research on harvesting technologies of the first farming communities of the central and western Mediterranean area between ca. 6000–5900 cal BC and 4800–4700 cal BC. New data obtained from the analysis of almost 40 sites from the Italian Peninsula is compared with data previously collected from the Iberian Peninsula and southern France. Results indicate the existence of at least two different harvesting traditions, one characterized by curved sickles used for harvesting at a low or middle height; the other characterized by reaping knives with parallel hafted blades, probably mainly used for ear harvesting. Processes of innovation and change have been highlighted, suggesting that harvesting techniques changed and evolved through time. Besides, the mechanism and pace of diffusion of curved sickles have been explored, too

Harvest time: Crop-reaping technologies and the Neolithisation of the Central Mediterranean

Neolithic societies were defined by the development of agricultural economies not only because part of their diet was obtained from cultivated plants, but also because crophusbandry practices strongly affected people’s lifestyles in a variety of ways. It is therefore unsurprising that the development and diffusion of agriculture can be studied from diverse perspectives and with different approaches, by analysing, for example, the macro- and micro-botanical remains of fruits and grains for morphometric and taxonomic variation (Colledge & Conolly 2007) and genetic history (Mascher et al. 2016). Conversely, agriculture can be indirectly assessed through its impact on the environment and subsequent landscape modifications (Zanchetta et al. 2013; Mercuri 2014). Yet another approach explores crop-husbandry practices as reflected in changing technology. New agricultural tasks required the adaptation of existing technologies and the adoption of new tools and practices, including querns, millstones and other grain-grinding equipment, as well as artefacts and structures for grain storage, cooking and processing. The most evident innovation in flaked stone technology associated with the Neolithisation phenomenon concerns the so-called ‘glossy blades’. Early experimental and use-wear studies of these blades fed debate about the mechanisms responsible for polish formation (Anderson 1982; Unger-Hamilton 1984). More recently, however, renewed attention towards these tools and their technological, functional and geographic variability (Ibáñez et al. 2008; Maeda et al. 2016) has considered their significance in relation to economic organisation, cultural boundaries and processes of technological innovation

The solutrean points: from typology to use-wear analysis

Este trabajo pretende ofrecer una imagen global de los estudios que se han realizado sobre un soporte tan particular y definitorio cronológica y territorialmente del Paleolítico superior como son las puntas solutrenses. Iniciaremos nuestro trabajo explicando los distintos tipos de puntas solutrenses que se han definido hasta el momento para posteriormente mostrar la información obtenida desde los estudios funcionales de las puntas arqueológicos y la surgida desde las réplicas experimentales. Ambas perspectivas complementarias serán el medio con el que hablar del grado de efectividad de las distintas puntas, los modos de enmangue, las fracturas que se producen como consecuencia de factores tanto funcionales y tecnológicos, así como aquellos generados como resultado de alteraciones mecánicas diversas. En todo caso, pretendemos aportar en qué punto estamos en esta temática más allá de la simple descripción morfológicaThis paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the research on a particular category of tools that covers an important role as geographical and chronological marker: the Upper Paleolithic Solutrean points. Through a techno-functional approach we discuss the different typologies of Solutrean points in terms of degree of effectiveness, hafting modes, types of fractures produced by technological and functional factors, as well the use-wears traces caused by mechanical alterations. Our observations are based both on archaeological and experimental data. The objective of this article is to revise the state of art on this topic, presenting new technological and functional data that allow us to overcome a purely morphological approac

Learning Interpretable Rules for Multi-label Classification

Multi-label classification (MLC) is a supervised learning problem in which, contrary to standard multiclass classification, an instance can be associated with several class labels simultaneously. In this chapter, we advocate a rule-based approach to multi-label classification. Rule learning algorithms are often employed when one is not only interested in accurate predictions, but also requires an interpretable theory that can be understood, analyzed, and qualitatively evaluated by domain experts. Ideally, by revealing patterns and regularities contained in the data, a rule-based theory yields new insights in the application domain. Recently, several authors have started to investigate how rule-based models can be used for modeling multi-label data. Discussing this task in detail, we highlight some of the problems that make rule learning considerably more challenging for MLC than for conventional classification. While mainly focusing on our own previous work, we also provide a short overview of related work in this area.Comment: Preprint version. To appear in: Explainable and Interpretable Models in Computer Vision and Machine Learning. The Springer Series on Challenges in Machine Learning. Springer (2018). See http://www.ke.tu-darmstadt.de/bibtex/publications/show/3077 for further informatio

The neolithic necropolis of Feixa del Moro (Juberri, Andorra): review and new data

[EN] The data presented in this paper resume all the available information on the Feixa del Moro site, correcting old mistakes and bias, updating the 1980s archaeological registers and presenting new analyses as well. Our aim is to ensure that Feixa del Moro remains a reference site for the Pyrenean and Western Mediterranean Neolithic. At the same time, we wish to encourage other researchers to undertake new analyses and to embrace new perspectives in order to improve our understanding of Neolithic societies.[FR] Le travail que nous présentons ici rassemble toutes les données disponibles sur la Feixa del Moro jusqu’à aujourd’hui, expose les confusions détectées dans les sources, actualise les registres archéologiques obtenus dans les années 1980 et présente les résultats des nouvelles analyses effectuées. Grâce à cette démarche nous souhaitons que ce site continue d’être une référence pour le Néolithique dans les Pyrénées et la Méditerranée occidentale. Nous souhaitons également attirer l’attention d’autres chercheurs afin qu’ils continuent d’analyser et d’apporter de nouveaux éléments et de nouvelles approches pour mieux comprendre les sociétés néolithiques.Peer Reviewe

Multiproxy study of 7500-year-old wooden sickles from the Lakeshore Village of La Marmotta, Italy

[EN] The lakeshore site of La Marmotta is one of the most important Early Neolithic sites of Mediterranean Europe. The site is famous for the exceptional preservation of organic materials, including numerous wooden artefacts related to navigation, agriculture, textile production, and basketry. This article presents interdisciplinary research on three of the most complete and well‑preserved sickles recovered from the site, yet unpublished. All the components of the tools are analysed: the stone inserts, the wooden haft and the adhesive substances used to fix the stones inside the haft. Our innovative methodology combines use‑wear and microtexture analysis of stone tools through confocal microscopy, taxonomical and technological analysis of wood, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis of the adhesive substances, and pollen, non‑pollen palynomorphs, and phytolith analysis of the remains incorporated within the adhesive. This multiproxy approach provides a significant insight into the life of these tools, from their production to their use and abandonment, providing evidence of the species of harvested plants and the conditions of the field during the harvesting

Puberty in the Bronze Age: First application of a puberty estimation method to a prehistoric population

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Doe, Danielle M., et al. "Puberty in the Bronze Age: First application of a puberty estimation method to a prehistoric population". International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 29.6 (2019): 1091-1099, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.2822. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived VersionsPuberty and adolescence represent a significant period of physical growth and maturation and a critical life stage in which children transition into adults within their societies. Numerous studies have observed a secular trend and have determined that puberty is now occurring earlier than in the past. This investigation represents the first application of a methodology for assessing the pubertal status of osteological remains to a prehistoric skeletal sample. Six Bronze Age adolescent skeletons from the Cerro de La Encantada archaeological site (Ciudad Real, Spain) were analysed. Prepubescence was observed at age 9 and the transition phase of the pubertal growth spurt at 15 years of age. These results were similar to those obtained from medieval, Industrial Revolution, and modern populations, both within and outside of the Iberian Peninsula. The similarity in the development of the Bronze Age adolescents to that of other past and contemporary populations suggests that the pubertal process has remained essentially unchanged across millennia until recent times. However, other interpretations, including the influence of a subpar developmental environment and potential methodological artefacts, are possible. Nevertheless, studies of this type provide important information about a crucial transitory period in human developmentThe Laboratorio de Poblaciones del Pasado (LAPP) has been supported by Projects HAR2016‐78036‐P, HAR2016‐74846‐P, HAR2017‐82755‐P, and HAR2017‐83004‐P (Spanish Government) and a grant (Ref. 38360) from the Leakey Foundatio

El papel de los estudios bioarqueológicos en las interpretaciones sobre las comunidades neolíticas del noreste peninsular

Resumen del trabajo presentado al VI Congreso del Neolítico en la Península Ibérica: "Los cambios económicos y sus implicaciones sociales durante el Neolítico de la Península Ibérica", celebrado en Granada del 22 al 26 de junio de 2016.-- et al.El marco del proyecto I+D: “Aproximación a las primeras comunidades neolíticas del NE peninsular a través de sus prácticas funerarias” (2011-2015), y su continuidad para los próximos cuatro años al haber sido renovado, tiene por objetivo conocer cada día más y mejor las comunidades de agricultores y pastores que entre finales del V e inicios del IV milenio cal BC ocuparon y enterraron a sus muertos en el noreste de la Península Ibérica. El contexto de estudio es excepcional, puesto que aquellas comunidades inhumaron sistemáticamente a sus congéneres en tumbas habitualmente individuales y ocasionalmente junto a otro individuo. En esta presentación no sólo queremos mostrar los nuevos análisis y metodologías que estamos aplicando al estudio de los restos humanos, sino también el modelo de trabajo que hemos seguido. A este respecto, tres aspectos son fundamentales: 1) las dataciones absolutas son el eje que vertebra los posteriores análisis; 2) la colaboración con los distintos investigadores/as y laboratorios debe ser estrecha (no es cuestión de solicitar los resultados de un análisis a un laboratorio sino trabajar con las personas que manipulan las muestras y conocen los pros y contras de cada una de las técnicas empleadas) y 3) los estudios y análisis a realizar confluyen para responder a las hipótesis planteadas. A este respecto, en el proyecto hemos tenido la fortuna de poder colaborar con numerosos investigadores/as cuya especialidad versa alrededor de los restos funerarios y que firman la presente comunicación: análisis isotópicos, Adn, tafonomía funeraria, estudios de stress muscular y análisis de morfología dental.Peer Reviewe

A matter of life and death: the Middle Neolithic population from Bom Santo Cave (Lisbon, Portugal)

The study of the Bom Santo Cave (central Portugal), a Neolithic cemetery, indicated a complex social, palaeoeconomic and population scenario. With isotope, aDNA and provenience analyses of raw materials coupled with stylistic variability of material culture items and palaeogeographical data light is shed on the territory and social organization of a population dated to 3800–3400 cal BC, i.e. the middle phase of the period. Results indicate an itinerant farming, segmentary society, where exogamic practices were the norm and patrilocality probably predominated. Its lifeway may be that of the earliest megalithic builders of the region, but further research is needed to correctly evaluate the degree of participation in such phenomenon