Vinča-Belo Brdo, a late neolithic site in Serbia consideration of the macro-botanical remains as indicators of dietary habits

The analysis of macro-botanical remains from the late Neolithic site of Vinča-Belo Brdo has provided first information on the range of crops and wild plants present at the site, and revealed their potential role as foodstuffs. The abundance and distribution of certain plant taxa across different archaeological deposits suggests to what extent they were used within the settlement. The analyzed plant remains also offer insight into the types of food consumed by Vinča residents and serve as a basis for inferring the seasonality and method of food provision/production and activities related to plant use. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177012: Society, spiritual and material culture and communications in prehistory and early history of the Balkans

ArheoPackPro! – programski sistem za unos, obradu i interpretaciju digitalne arheološke dokumentacije

U ovom radu prikazan je programski paket ArheoPackPro!, sistem koji je nastao tokom arheoloških iskopavanja na praistorijskom nalazištu Vinča, koji arheloškim ekipama omogućava kompletan unos i obradu podataka prikupljenih na terenu. Do sada je postojala velika praznina između novih kompjuterskih tehnologija i zastarelih metoda čuvanja i obrade materijala s arheoloških lokaliteta. Dobijeni podaci bili su kombinacija raznovrsnih elemenata, od slike i crteza, preko velike količine specifičnih numeričkih vrednosti i tekstuelnih opisa. S mogućnostima koje pružaju današnji kompjuterski sistemi, ArheoPackPro! bi trebalo da zameni proces unosa i obrade ovakve dokumentacije, a samim tim ubrza rad na terenu, proširi i poveća kvalitet dobijene dokumentacije, kao i da uvede do sada nedostupne metode za obradu ovako unetog terenskog materijala. ArheoPackPro! je programski paket baziran na modularnom sistemu i pristupu. Ovo znači da svaki element sistema komunicira i razmenjuje podatke s ostalim elementima, ali je u isto vreme i nezavisan. Ovakav pristup ostavlja mogućnost za stalno dodavanja novih opcija, kao i za proširivanje i doradu već postojećih u okviru ArheoPackPro! sistema

Application of Hybrid Boundary Element Method on Modelling of Hemispherical Ground Inhomogeneity

The procedure for modelling ground inhomogeneity influence on grounding system based on socalled hybrid boundary element method (HBEM) is given in this paper. The HBEM is a recently proposed numerical method for stationary or quasi-stationary EM field analysis. The obtained results are compared with those based on using the Green’s function for the point source inside a semispherical inhomogeneity

Widespread exploitation of the honeybee by early neolithic farmers

The pressures on honeybee (Apis mellifera) populations, resulting from threats by modern pesticides, parasites, predators and diseases, have raised awareness of the economic importance and critical role this insect plays in agricultural societies across the globe. However, the association of humans with A. mellifera predates post-industrial-revolution agriculture, as evidenced by the widespread presence of ancient Egyptian bee iconography dating to the Old Kingdom (approximately 2400 BC)(1). There are also indications of Stone Age people harvesting bee products; for example, honey hunting is interpreted from rock art(2) in a prehistoric Holocene context and a beeswax find in a pre-agriculturalist site(3). However, when and where the regular association of A. mellifera with agriculturalists emerged is unknown(4). One of the major products of A. mellifera is beeswax, which is composed of a complex suite of lipids including n-alkanes, n-alkanoic acids and fatty acyl wax esters. The composition is highly constant as it is determined genetically through the insect's biochemistry. Thus, the chemical 'fingerprint' of beeswax provides a reliable basis for detecting this commodity in organic residues preserved at archaeological sites, which we now use to trace the exploitation by humans of A. mellifera temporally and spatially. Here we present secure identifications of beeswax in lipid residues preserved in pottery vessels of Neolithic Old World farmers. The geographical range of bee product exploitation is traced in Neolithic Europe, the Near East and North Africa, providing the palaeoecological range of honeybees during prehistory. Temporally, we demonstrate that bee products were exploited continuously, and probably extensively in some regions, at least from the seventh millennium cal BC, likely fulfilling a variety of technological and cultural functions. The close association of A. mellifera with Neolithic farming communities dates to the early onset of agriculture and may provide evidence for the beginnings of a domestication process