Pofatu, a curated and open-access database for geochemical sourcing of archaeological materials

Compositional analyses have long been used to determine the geological sources of artefacts.Geochemical “fingerprinting” of artefacts and sources is the most effective way to reconstruct strategies of raw material and artefact procurement, exchange or interaction systems, and mobility patterns during prehistory. The efficacy and popularity of geochemical sourcing has led to many projects using various analytical techniques to produce independent datasets. In order to facilitate access to this growing body of data and to promote comparability and reproducibility in provenance studies, we designed Pofatu, the first online and open-access database to present geochemical compositions and contextual information for archaeological sources and artefacts in a form that can be readily accessed by the scientific community. This relational database currently contains 7759 individual samples from archaeological sites and geological sources across the Pacific Islands. Each sample is comprehensively documented and includes elemental and isotopic compositions, detailed archaeological provenance, and supporting analytical metadata, such as sampling processes, analytical procedures, and quality control

Caractérisation archéométrique et archéologique de la production briquetière de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale entre le xive siècle et le troisième quart du xviiie siècle (Belgique)

peer reviewedBrick samples from different archaeological sites represent mostly houses in Brussels (Belgium) built between the end of the Middle ages (end of 13th-beginning 14th centuries) and the end of the Modern Period (18th century). The study gives a mineralogical–petrographical–chemical characterization of the brick samples made in the Brussels-Region and sources the raw silty material, the moulding sand and the lime-mortar. Optical microscopy, X-ray powder diffractometry, Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry, magnetic susceptibility and scanning electron microscopic with an energy dispersive X-ray attachment were applied both to fired clay bricks and regional clayey materials. Bricks were moulded with a silica rich, non-calcareous loam gathered locally in the alluvial plain of the Senne valley. Material from gleysols and fluvisols were mined separately to shape two types of bricks. A strong chemical resemblance with the thick loessic deposits of the Belgian plateaus results from erosion and river transport and sedimentation in the wide alluvial plain of Brussels. Petrography and geochemistry show minor participation of marine Lower Palaeozoic, Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks from the alimentation area of the Senne. Although clayey tertiary layers outcrop in the Brussels Region and are cut by the numerous tributaries of the Senne valley, they were never exploited for brick making in the Brussels Capital Region. Mineralogical composition and petrography suggest the absence of mixing with river sand or local marine tertiary sands. Local sediments extracted in the valley sides as Eocene fossiliferous fine sand were used as moulding sandLes briques étudiées proviennent majoritairement d’habitations construites à Bruxelles (Belgique) entre la fin du Moyen Âge (fin xiiie-début xive siècle) et la fin des temps Modernes (xviiie siècle). L’étude fournit une caractérisation minéralogique, pétrographique et chimique des briques faites dans la Région de Bruxelles Capitale et discute des sources des matières premières silteuses, les sables de moulage et les mortiers de chaux. La microscopie optique, la diffraction des rayons X, l’ablation laser associée à la spectrométrie de masse à couplage inductif, la susceptibilité magnétique et la microscopie électronique à balayage couplée aux analyses par analyse dispersive en énergie, furent utilisées pour caractériser les briques et différentes ressources argileuses régionales. Les briques ont été moulées avec une matière première silteuse, riche en silice, non calcareuse et récoltée localement dans la plaine alluviale de la vallée de la Senne. Des gleys et des fluvisols ont été extraits séparément pour la préparation de deux types de briques. La forte ressemblance chimiqueavec les épais dépôts loessiques de plateaux résulte de l’érosion de ces derniers et de leur transport par la rivière suivi de la sédimentation dans la large plaine alluviale de Bruxelles. La pétrographie et la géochimie montrent une participation mineure de roches sédimentaires du Paléozoïque inférieur, du Crétacé et du Tertiaire issues du bassin d’alimentation de la Senne. Bien que les couches de sédiments meubles argileux du Tertiaire affleurant en Région Bruxelloise soient recoupées par les nombreux affluents de la Senne, elles n’ont jamais été utilisées pour la production de briques dans la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale. La composition minéralogique et la pétrographie suggèrent l’absence d’ajout de sables de rivières ou de sables marins tertiaires locaux. Des sables fossilifères fins d’âge Eocène sont utilisés comme sable de moulage

Routine Inpatient HIV Testing System Increases Access to Pediatric HIV Care in sub-Saharan Africa

Routine HIV testing, called provider-initiated opt-out HIV testing and counseling (PITC), is recommended in African countries with high HIV prevalence. However, it is unknown whether PITC increases access to pediatric HIV care. In 2008 the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative implemented PITC (BIPAI-PITC) at a Malawian hospital. We sought to evaluate the influence of BIPAI-PITC, compared to non-routine HIV testing (NRT), on pediatric HIV care access

Editorial for Special Issue “Archaeological Ceramic Diagenesis”

In their seminal publication on neutron activation analysis of archaeological ceramics, Sayre, Dodson, and Burr Thompson [...

Warfare and alliance building during the Belgian early Neolithic, late sixth millennium, BC.

Warfare and alliance building during the Belgian early Neolithic, late sixth millennium, BC

Une phase pionnière à l'origine du peuplement rubané de la Hesbaye liégeoise <br />(Belgique)

avec le collaboration de Valérie BEUGNIER, Fanchon DELIGNE, Ivan JADIN, Fanny MARTIN et Russell QUICKNational audienceLe présent article concerne la dynamique de peuplement de la Hesbaye (province de Liège, Belgique) durant le Néolithique ancien. Il s'appuie sur les résultats d'analyses en cours sur les sites de Remicourt, Fexhe-le-Haut- Clocher, Waremme et Darion, et plus particulièrement sur l'étude de maisons excentrées présentes sur ces sites. Des résultats ont été dernièrement acquis en anthracologie et dans l'identification des sources d'approvisionnement en argile à poterie, complétant les résultats préliminaires de l'étude de la céramique et de l'analyse techno-fonctionnelle de l'industrie lithique. Les données présentées démontrent l'ancienneté de ces maisons par rapport au reste du village, permettant de les associer à une phase pionnière du peuplement régional. D'autres questions, relatives à l'économie et, plus globalement, à l'organisation de la société au Néolithique ancien sont également soulevées et proposées comme axes des recherches futures

Discerning geological and geographical sources of Belgian Upper Paleolithic fluorites by rare earth elements and Sr-isotopic geochemistry

Fragments of fluorite (CaF2) have been found at five Belgian Upper Paleolithic sites (Spy, Chaleux, Trou Magritte, Trou du Frontal and Verlaine caves), primarily of Magdalenian age. These sites are located in a large geographical area. The aim of this study is to isolate one or more primary sources where the mineral could have been quarried prehistorically, and hence try to deduce if time and effort were put into obtaining it, or if it was simply a useful nearby raw material. In order to achieve this objective, isotopic 87Sr/86Sr and REE ratios are used. A total of four archaeological samples from the Chaleux, Spy and Trou Magritte sites along with geological samples were analyzed (new results and data from the literature), obtained from two distinct stratigraphical units in Belgium: the Givetian limestones (mainly from the Calestian Band), and the Dinantian limestones. Results show a single geological and geographical origin for the archaeological material: the silicified Givetian limestones of the Calestian Band near Givet (France). When looking at the 440 g of fluorite recovered at Chaleux cave, Chaleux could perhaps have had a central role in the distribution of fluorite in the region. Chaleux and Givet are both situated on the banks of the Meuse river, relatively proximal to one another, while the Spy cave is more distant from Givet and do not share the same river trajectory.We propose as possible that fluorite was quarried at Givet and taken to Chaleux via the Meuse river to be further distributed from there. The second scenario assumes that fluorite is transported directly from Givet to all the other studied sites.status: publishe

Archaeometric and archaeological characterization of the fired clay brick production in the Brussels-Capital Region between the XIV and the third quarter of the XVIII centuries (Belgium)

Brick samples from different archaeological sites represent mostly houses in Brussels (Belgium) built between the end of the Middle ages (end of 13th-beginning 14th centuries) and the end of the Modern Period (18th century). The study gives a mineralogical–petrographical–chemical characterization of the brick samples made in the Brussels-Region and sources the raw silty material, the moulding sand and the lime-mortar. Optical microscopy, X-ray powder diffractometry, Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry, magnetic susceptibility and scanning electron microscopic with an energy dispersive X-ray attachment were applied both to fired clay bricks and regional clayey materials. Bricks were moulded with a silica rich, non-calcareous loam gathered locally in the alluvial plain of the Senne valley. Material from gleysols and fluvisols were mined separately to shape two types of bricks. A strong chemical resemblance with the thick loessic deposits of the Belgian plateaus results from erosion and river transport and sedimentation in the wide alluvial plain of Brussels. Petrography and geochemistry show minor participation of marine Lower Palaeozoic, Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks from the alimentation area of the Senne. Although clayey tertiary layers outcrop in the Brussels Region and are cut by the numerous tributaries of the Senne valley, they were never exploited for brick making in the Brussels Capital Region. Mineralogical composition and petrography suggest the absence of mixing with river sand or local marine tertiary sands. Local sediments extracted in the valley sides as Eocene fossiliferous fine sand were used as moulding sand.Les briques étudiées proviennent majoritairement d’habitations construites à Bruxelles (Belgique) entre la fin du Moyen-Âge (fin xiiie-début xive siècle) et la fin des temps Modernes (xviiie siècle). L’étude fournit une caractérisation minéralogique, pétrographique et chimique des briques faites dans la Région de Bruxelles Capitale et discute des sources des matières premières silteuses, les sables de moulage et les mortiers de chaux. La microscopie optique, la diffraction des rayons X, l’ablation laser associée à la spectrométrie de masse à couplage inductif, la susceptibilité magnétique et la microscopie électronique à balayage couplée aux analyses par analyse dispersive en énergie, furent utilisées pour caractériser les briques et différentes ressources argileuses régionales. Les briques ont été moulées avec une matière première silteuse, riche en silice, non calcareuse et récoltée localement dans la plaine alluviale de la vallée de la Senne. Des gleys et des fluvisols ont été extraits séparément pour la préparation de deux types de briques. La forte ressemblance chimique avec les épais dépôts lœssiques de plateaux résulte de l’érosion de ces derniers et de leur transport par la rivière suivi de la sédimentation dans la large plaine alluviale de Bruxelles. La pétrographie et la géochimie montrent une participation mineure de roches sédimentaires du Paléozoïque inférieur, du Crétacé et du Tertiaire issues du bassin d’alimentation de la Senne. Bien que les couches de sédiments meubles argileux du Tertiaire affleurant en Région Bruxelloise soient recoupées par les nombreux affluents de la Senne, elles n’ont jamais été utilisées pour la production de briques dans la Région de Bruxelles Capitale. La composition minéralogique et la pétrographie suggèrent l’absence d’ajout de sables de rivières ou de sables marins tertiaires locaux. Des sables fossilifères fins d’âge Eocène sont utilisés comme sable de moulage

Addressing the issue of the Early Neolithic pottery exchange through a combined petrographic and geochemical approach: a case study on LBK ware from Dzielnica (Upper Silesia, southern Poland)

The article presents the results of petrographic and geochemical analyses on Linear Band Pottery culture (LBK) ceramicmaterials from the Dzielnica site (Upper Silesia, southern Poland). The study area, situated in the northern foreland of the Moravian Gate, can be considered a melting pot for various cultural influences. This peculiar location resulted in multidirectional entanglements of the Early Neolithic inhabitants of the site. The aim of the present study is to elucidate the importance of pottery exchange in these foreign connections. The sherds ornamented in Alföld styles prove to be consistent with local geochemical and petrographic signature and, therefore, may be regarded as a result of implementation of exogenous decorative patterns. On the other hand, at least some of the vessels decorated in Šárka style should be considered to have been produced elsewhere. The archaeometric results indicate that the long-distance exchange of pottery was probably largely confined to occasional importation of vessels from the adjacent areas of Lower Silesia and northern Moravia. In addition, it may be tentatively suggested that some mundane, stylistically inconspicuous ceramics could have been passed through intra-regional circulation within the Upper Odra River basin

Archaeological and palaeoenviromental investigations near Aitape, northern Papua New Guinea, 2014

The mid-Holocene period (ca.7000-3000 BP) in the southwestern Pacific witnessed the activation of wide-ranging networks connecting the north coast of New Guinea and off-shore islands, possibly driven by rising population density as favourable coastal environments developed after the mid-Holocene marine highstand. Yet finding actual evidence for human occupation dating to this period in New Guinea has proven extremely challenging. We report on the results of recent fieldwork carried out to examine areas of potential mid-Holocene settlement near the modern town of Aitape. Our survey and excavations provide minor evidence for mid-Holocene settlement, but we find no evidence for obsidian or other long distance imports suggesting connection to other parts of the Pacific during this time. It remains uncertain whether this absence reflects prehistoric reality or the difficulties inherent in finding archaeology of mid-Holocene age on a coastline impacted by significant morphological change during the intervening millennia