Stable isotope studies on humans and animals from Tell Tweini, Syria (2600-550 BC)

Tell Tweini is a coastal Syrian site with settlement remains of diverse periods between the Early Bronze Age and the Iron Age (2600-550 BC). Inside urban contexts in Field A at the site, eleven burials have been unearthed. Most date to the Middle Bronze Age (2000-1600 BC), including one collective grave. Stable isotope ratio analysis (δ13C and δ15N) was carried out on human remains from these Middle Bronze Age graves in order to reconstruct human dietary practices. In addition, a large sample of faunal remains from the major periods of occupation at Tell Tweini, Early Bronze Age (2600-2000 BC), Middle Bronze Age (2000-1600 BC), Late Bronze Age (1600-1200 BC) and Iron Age (1200-550 BC) have been subjected to stable isotope ratio analysis. The large dataset on animals is the first of its kind for the period and region. The results add to a reconstruction of the human diet. More importantly, they allow us to make diachronic inferences on livestock management practices and the natural environment. The results will be discussed in the context of data on the faunal composition through time at Tell Tweini as well as that of the palaeo-environmental data which points to an abrupt climatic change at the transition between the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age

Wild Food:Plants, Fish and Small Animals on the Menu for Early Holocene Populations at al-Khiday, Central Sudan

Al Khiday, located on the bank of the White Nile in Sudan, offers an exceptionally preserved stratigraphic sequence, providing a unique opportunity to use organic residue analysis to investigate diet and subsistence over the full course of the Khartoum Mesolithic together with possible continuity or change into the Early Neolithic, a period of nearly 3000 years (8900-6000 cal BP). Whilst the vast and diverse Mesolithic fish assemblage indicates a strong reliance on products from aquatic habitats, floodplains, vegetated marshes and open water, results from the lipid residue analysis suggest that the fish were not cooked in the pots, likely being consumed in other ways. Rather, pots were more specialised in processing plants, wild grasses, leafy plants and sedges, confirmed by experimental analysis, and for the first time, providing direct chemical evidence for plant exploitation in the Khartoum Mesolithic. Non-ruminant fauna, such as warthog and low lipid-yielding reptiles such as Adanson’s mud turtle and Nile monitor lizard, which were found in significant numbers at al-Khiday, were also cooked in pots. There is little evidence for the processing of wild ruminants in the pots, suggesting either that ruminant species were not routinely hunted, or, that large wild fauna may have been cooked in different ways, possibly grilled over fires. These data suggest sophisticated economic strategies by sedentary people likely exploiting their ecological niche to the fullest. Pottery use changes considerably in the Early Neolithic, with ruminant products being more routinely processed in pots, and while the exploitation of domesticates cannot be confirmed by a small faunal assemblage, some dairying does take place. In summary, our results provide valuable information on Early and Middle Holocene lifeways in central Sudan

New Archaeozoological Data from the Fayum “Neolithic” with a Critical Assessment of the Evidence for Early Stock Keeping in Egypt

Faunal evidence from the Fayum Neolithic is often cited in the framework of early stock keeping in Egypt. However, the data suffer from a number of problems. In the present paper, large faunal datasets from new excavations at Kom K and Kom W (4850-4250 BC) are presented. They clearly show that, despite the presence of domesticates, fish predominate in the animal bone assemblages. In this sense, there is continuity with the earlier Holocene occupation from the Fayum, starting ca. 7350 BC. Domesticated plants and animals appear first from approximately 5400 BC. The earliest possible evidence for domesticates in Egypt are the very controversial domesticated cattle from the 9th/8th millennium BC in the Nabta Playa-Bir Kiseiba area. The earliest domesticates found elsewhere in Egypt date to the 6th millennium BC. The numbers of bones are generally extremely low at this point in time and only caprines are present. From the 5th millennium BC, the numbers of sites with domesticates dramatically increase, more species are also involved and they are usually represented by significant quantities of bones. The data from the Fayum reflect this two phase development, with very limited evidence for domesticates in the 6th millennium BC and more abundant and clearer indications in the 5th millennium BC. Any modelling of early food production in Egypt suffers from poor amounts of data, bias due to differential preservation and visibility of sites and archaeological remains, and a lack of direct dates for domesticates. In general, however, the evidence for early stock keeping and accompanying archaeological features shows large regional variation and seems to be mainly dependent on local environmental conditions. The large numbers of fish at Kom K and Kom W reflect the proximity of Lake Qarun

Isotopic and microbotanical insights into Iron Age agricultural reliance in the Central African rainforest

The emergence of agriculture in Central Africa has previously been associated with the migration of Bantu-speaking populations during an anthropogenic or climate-driven ‘opening’ of the rainforest. However, such models are based on assumptions of environmental requirements of key crops (e.g. Pennisetum glaucum) and direct insights into human dietary reliance remain absent. Here, we utilise stable isotope analysis (δ13C, δ15N, δ18O) of human and animal remains and charred food remains, as well as plant microparticles from dental calculus, to assess the importance of incoming crops in the Congo Basin. Our data, spanning the early Iron Age to recent history, reveals variation in the adoption of cereals, with a persistent focus on forest and freshwater resources in some areas. These data provide new dietary evidence and document the longevity of mosaic subsistence strategies in the region

Cowries in the archaeology of West Africa: the present picture

Despite the perceived importance of cowrie shells as indicators of long-distance connections in the West African past, their distribution and consumption patterns in archaeological contexts remain surprisingly underexplored, a gap that is only partly explicable by the sparse distribution of archaeological sites within the sub-continent. General writings on the timeline of importation of cowries into West Africa often fail to take into account the latest archaeological evidence and rely instead on accounts drawn from historical or ethnographic documents. This paper is based on a first-hand assessment of over 4500 shells from 78 sites across West Africa, examining chronology, shell species and processes of modification to assess what distribution patterns can tell us about the history of importation and usage of cowries. These first-hand analyses are paralleled by a consideration of published materials. We re-examine the default assumption that two distinct routes of entry existed — one overland from North Africa before the fifteenth century, another coming into use from the time sea links were established with the East African coast and becoming predominant by the middle of the nineteenth century. We focus on the eastern part of West Africa, where the importance of imported cowries to local communities in relatively recent periods is well known and from where we have a good archaeological sample. The conclusion is that on suitably large assemblages shell size can be an indication of provenance and that, while the present archaeological picture seems largely to confirm historical sources, much of this may be due to the discrepancy in archaeological data available from the Sahara/Sahel zone compared to the more forested regions of the sub-continent. Future archaeological work will clarify this matter

Moving forwards? Palynology and the human dimension

For the greater part of the last century, anthropogenic palynology has made a sustained contribution to archaeology and to Quaternary science in general, and pollen-analytical papers have appeared in Journal of Archaeological Science since its inception. The present paper focuses selectively upon three areas of anthropogenic palynology, enabling some assessment as to whether the field is advancing: land-use studies, archaeological site study, and modelling. The Discussion also highlights related areas including palynomorph identification and associated proxies. There is little doubt that anthropogenic palynology has contributed to the vitality of pollen analysis in general, and although published research can be replicative or incremental, site- and landscape-based studies offer fresh data for further analysis and modelling. The latter allows the testing of both palynological concepts and inferences and can inform archaeological discovery and imagination. Archaeological site studies are often difficult, but palynology can still offer much to the understanding of occupation sites and the discernment of human behaviour patterns within sites

The exploitation of aquatic resources in Holocene West Africa

status: publishe