Archaeology at the micro-scale: Micromorphology and phytoliths at a Swahili stonetown

Geoarchaeological and archaeobotanical techniques are increasingly applied to the study of urban and domestic space. However, they are seldom performed as part of an integrative approach, where the soil and botanical micro-records are used together. This paper presents the preliminary results of ongoing research at Songo Mnara in Tanzania that combines customised intra-site soil macro- and micromorphological analyses, chemical analysis and the study of phytoliths. The research is part of a multidisciplinary project on the use of urban space in Swahili stonetowns. By eliciting multiple datasets from Songo Mnara, this paper illustrates the potential of integrating geoarchaeology and archaeobotany to investigate the use of space in urban contexts. The approach is a novelty within the context of Swahili archaeology and an emerging one in Africa.Peer reviewe

8000 years of coastal changes on a western Mediterranean Island: A multi proxy approach from the Posada plain of Sardinia

A multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental investigation was conducted to reconstruct the Holocene history of coastal landscape change in the lower Posada coastal plain of eastern Sardinia. In this paper, millennial-scale human-sea level-environment interactions are investigated near Posada. Biostratigraphic and palynological approaches were used to interpret the chromo-stratigraphy exhibited by a series of new clothes taken from the coastal plain. This new study elucidates the main palaeoecologiocal changes, phases of shoreline migration and relative sea-level change during the lat 8000 years. The results indicate the major role of sea-level stabilisation and high sediment supply in driving major landscape changes, especially during the Neolithic period (6-4th millennia BC), and the long-term settlement history of this coastal area. It is concluded that human occupation of the coastal plain, from prehistoric to historical times, was most likely constrained by the rapid evolution if this coastal landscape.LR/7 2010 Regione Sardegn

8000 years of coastal changes on a western Mediterranean Island: A multi proxy approach from the Posada plain of Sardinia

A multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental investigation was conducted to reconstruct the Holocene history of coastal landscape change in the lower Posada coastal plain of eastern Sardinia. In this paper, millennial-scale human-sea level-environment interactions are investigated near Posada. Biostratigraphic and palynological approaches were used to interpret the chromo-stratigraphy exhibited by a series of new clothes taken from the coastal plain. This new study elucidates the main palaeoecologiocal changes, phases of shoreline migration and relative sea-level change during the lat 8000 years. The results indicate the major role of sea-level stabilisation and high sediment supply in driving major landscape changes, especially during the Neolithic period (6-4th millennia BC), and the long-term settlement history of this coastal area. It is concluded that human occupation of the coastal plain, from prehistoric to historical times, was most likely constrained by the rapid evolution if this coastal landscape.LR/7 2010 Regione Sardegn

Soil geochemistry, phytoliths and artefacts from an early Swahili daub house, Unguja Ukuu, Zanzibar

The organisation and use of space in domestic contexts remain challenging areas of investigation for archaeology due to the complexity and range of site formation and post-depositional processes. In tropical environments, soil processes speed up the degradation of archaeological and environmental records, and relatively ephemeral structures built of mud or clay degrade quickly after abandonment, leaving almost no traces of human activities behind. This paper presents the results of bulk soil and chemical analyses, artefact distribution, and phytolith analysis from the excavation of a daub house at the early medieval site of Unguja Ukuu (c. 7th–14th c. AD), Zanzibar. High-resolution, systematic sampling for microscopic and elemental analyses proved effective in detecting spatial variability in relatively small areas. However, soil chemical enrichment (e.g. Ca, Mg, Mn, P) usually linked to anthropogenic impact on archaeological deposits appears hardly visible in the Unguja Ukuu house deposits. Instead, measurements of a wider range of elements, including trace and rare earth elements (REEs) proved to be important for detecting elemental signatures related to human activities. Contextual sampling of artefacts and phytoliths were crucial to identify sources of chemical enrichment and, thus, build a picture of spatial organisation within the house. The combined multi-scalar sampling strategy with a multi-proxy analytical approach enabled us to define the layout of the daub structure, indoor/outdoor spaces and activity hot-spots. Although macroscopic traces of past activities were almost completely obliterated, archaeological remains of earthen architecture and the use of space can be detected even in such complex tropical settings.Danish National Research Foundation DNRF119 - Centre of Excellence for Urban Network Evolutions (UrbNet), Aarhus Universit

Crowfunding Engineering Basiru Software Using Php Programming And Codeigniter Framework: Crowfunding Engineering Basiru Software Using Php Programming And Codeigniter Framework

The basiru tradition is a reflection of the collective life of the Sumbawa people, which holds the principle of mutual help. One of the activities that reflect the principle of gotong royong is the collection or crowdfunding of funds from the community to support certain activities that are donations/charities. Crowdfunding is a method of raising funds. Crowdfunding referred to in this study is a form of funding that uses a website-based application as a fundraising intermediary. While the crowdfunding model that will be used is Donation Based Crowdfunding. The data collection method used in this research is using qualitative methods and in its design using the Unified Modeling Language (UML) and the development method used is the Spiral method as a software development method. Basiru Crowfunding System Development Using PHP and Codeigniter Freamwork was built using the PHP programming language, Visual Studio Code and MySQL database as a Database Management System (DBMS) so that it is more efficient. The software testing method used is the black box software testing method, namely testing the device in terms of functionality

Integrating spatial and legacy data to understand archaeological sites in their landscape. A case study from Unguja Ukuu, Zanzibar

Spatial analysis is paramount for understanding, monitoring, and conserving ancient settlements and cultural landscapes. Advancing remote sensing and prospection techniques are expanding the methodological frame of archaeological settlement analysis by enabling remote, landscape‐scale approaches to mapping and investigation. Whilst particularly effective in arid lands and areas with sparse or open ground cover, such as vegetation and buildings, these approaches remain peripheral in tropical environments because of technical and contextual challenges. In tropical Eastern Africa, for example, scales, resolution and visibility are often compromised by thick vegetation cover, inadequate access to, if not lack of, imagery resources and technologies, and the availability of comparative archaeological data for interpretation. This paper presents the initial results of spatial analysis, using historic landscape characterisation, remote sensing, published and legacy data, and a pilot ground survey to examine the earliest settlement of Zanzibar, Unguja Ukuu. Comparing multiple strands of evidence in a Geographic Information System (GIS), we use each as a test on the others to draw out the strengths and weaknesses of each technique in the context of tropical and coastal Eastern Africa. Drone photogrammetry, geophysical prospection, and ground survey were compared with legacy remote sensing resources and the results of a coring survey conducted across the site during the 1990s into a GIS platform to produce multi‐phase hypothetical maps of the archaeological site in the context of its potential resource landscape. These were then tested against the results of recent excavations. The discussion highlights the challenges and potential of combining these techniques in the context of Eastern Africa and provides some suggested methods for doing so. We show that remote sensing techniques give an insight into current landscapes but are less useful in understanding or modelling how sites would have fitted into their surroundings in the past, when conditions were potentially very different

Combined effects of microenvironment and land use on C fluxes in a Mediterranean agro-silvopastoral system

none7noAppropriate agroforestry practices might contribute to carbon sequestration and cope with climate change by modulating ecosystem services. It is known that land use change might affect soil-atmosphere carbon dioxide (CO2) effluxes of agro-silvopastoral systems. However, little information is available at single microenvironment level. Across four years, fortnightly measurements of soil respiration were carried out at different microenvironment (beneath tree cover vs open areas) and land use (native understorey vs its conversion into improved pasture) within a high-density evergreen cork oak forest of Sardinia (Italy). We also monitored aboveground dry matter yields and soil carbon stocks. Measurements revealed that the two investigated microenvironments widely differed for the amounts of photosynthetically active radiation and microclimatic traits such as soil water content, air humidity, soil and air temperature. High seasonal and inter-annual variability in soil respiration rates was recorded (range 0.3–12.6 CO2 μmol m−2 s-1) and the peak values were reached in the summer of the third year in the improved pasture beneath tree cover. The conversion of the native understorey into improved pasture beneath cork oak increased significantly the annual cumulative soil respiration for three consecutive years, reaching values of about 71, 36 and 100 t CO2 ha−1 yr−1, which were from 38 to 88 % higher than the remaining treatments. On average, heterotrophic component represented from 68–76% of soil respiration. An extreme drought event, which was emblematic of a climate change context, was experienced in the second year. It countered the increase in the heterotrophic component of soil respiration and minimized up to 20-fold the forage on offer from pasture swards. Based on measured CO2 effluxes, the study demonstrated that the effects of the land use change at the microenvironment beneath tree cover were substantially unbalanced in terms of soil organic carbon stocks. Therefore, results suggest avoiding the soil mechanical disturbance beneath cork oak in the investigated ecosystem to reduce anthropogenic carbon fluxes to the atmosphere.mixedSanna F.; Campesi G.; Deligios P.; Ledda L.; Piluzza G.; Sulas L.; Re G.A.Sanna, F.; Campesi, G.; Deligios, P.; Ledda, L.; Piluzza, G.; Sulas, L.; Re, G. A

Expanding space and time at Igbo-Ukwu : insights from recent fieldwork

We present the results of fieldwork conducted at Igbo-Ukwu in 2019 and 2021 aimed at expanding the temporal and spatial record of the ancient settlement. Local participation and public engagement are central to the project, which has yielded a new dataset that enhances our understanding of the archaeological and landscape contexts of Thurstan Shaw's pioneering investigations. Extending southward by 2 km from the sites of Igbo Richard, Igbo Isaiah, and Igbo Jonah, a large ceramic assemblage of Igbo-Ukwu ware was recovered in four of our five areas of investigation. For the two areas discussed in this article, substantial quantities of cultural materials came from stratified contexts. From these, three radiocarbon dates fall between the end of the ninth and the second half of the thirteenth centuries CE. This article introduces various pilot studies conducted on samples collected from recent excavations. Soil analyses (pH and particle size distribution) indicate the presence of mostly acidic soils and differential preservation potential. Multi-method analysis of pottery from excavated trenches, including multivariate analysis and elemental (pXRF) measurements, recorded similar fabrics but with varying color and chemical compositions. Archaeobotanical analysis on samples from the new excavations reveals the presence of wood charcoal and, for the first time, remains of Vitex sp. and the palm oil tree associated with Igbo-Ukwu cultural deposits. This project has garnered new data on material culture, spatial distribution, subsistence, and environment. Thus, the research has demonstrated that a multi-scaler approach that combines various recovery and analytic methods may provide valuable insights into aspects of Igbo-Ukwu's past

The IUO/BU Archaeological Expedition at Bieta Giyorgis (Aksum) 2002 field season: A Preliminary Report

The results of the 2002 field season of the Italian-American at Bieta Giyorgis, near Aksum (Tigrai, Ethiopia) are outlined in this paper

Lotus ornithopodioides L. a potential annual pasture legume species for Mediterranean dryland farming systems

Twenty-three populations of Lotus ornithopodioides L., collected from different regions of the Mediterranean basin, were investigated for their ecological and agronomic traits in Western Australia. Great variability was found between and within populations for flowering time, forage and seed yield. Flowering time ranged between 75 and 120 days, dry matter production from 2.8 to 4.3 t ha−1 and seed yield from 284 to 684 kg ha−1. Other important traits such as non-shattering pods and hard seed were taken into account during the selection to assure an easy seed harvesting and legume persistence in the targeted environments. The high level of hard seed recorded in early winter, associated to the low seedling regeneration, indicates that L. ornithopodioides is best suited to ley cropping systems. Elite lines of L. ornithopodioides characterized by early flowering time, high seed yield and non-shattering pods were selected. Two of them, LOR02.1 and LOR03.2, showed dry matter higher than 4.0 t ha−1 and seed yield around 700 kg ha−1 resulting the lines with most potential for Mediterranean farming systems. The results encourage the exploitation of L. ornithopodioides germplasm to develop a new annual self-reseeding legume resource for Mediterranean farming systems for both forage production and crop rotation uses