Production and function of Neolithic black-painted pottery from Schela Cladovei (Iron Gates, Romania)

This paper presents for the first time the results of a combination of petrographic, geochemical and organic residue analyses of early Neolithic ceramics from the Iron Gates region of the Danube basin. Eleven early Neolithic potsherds from Schela Cladovei (Romania) were analysed in detail. The results of the petrographic analysis show that the ceramics were made with the same recipe that was used by Starčevo-Körös-Criș potters elsewhere in southeastern Europe. The SEM-EDX analysis shows one of the earliest uses of Mn-rich black pigments to decorate Neolithic European ceramics. Organic residue analyses detected dairy, non-ruminant and ruminant adipose fats. No evidence of aquatic resources was detected. In summary, the early Neolithic potters at the Iron Gates, although able to make coarse and more sophisticated painted ceramics, did not make specific vessels for a specific use

The ‘Hidden Foods’ project: new research into the role of plant foods in Palaeolithic and Mesolithic societies of South-east Europe and Italy

The ‘Hidden Foods’ project is a new research programme aimed at reconstructing the importance of plant foods in prehistoric forager subsistence in Southern Europe, with a particular focus on Italy and the Balkans. The role of plant foods in pre-agrarian societies remains one of the major issues of world prehistory. Popular narratives still envisage ancient foragers as primarily ‘meat-eaters’, mainly as a consequence of the poor preservation of plant remains in early prehistoric contexts, and due to the employment of methods particularly focused on the contribution of animal protein to human diet (e.g. isotope analysis) (e.g. Bocherens 2009; Jones 2009; Richards 2009). Recently, new methods applied to archaeological evidence have provided a different understanding of hunter-gatherer dietary preference and interaction with the environment. Harvesting and processing might not have been the sole prerogative of agricultural societies, and plant foods seem to have played an important role amongst hunter-gatherers (e.g. Revedin et al. 2010

Unravelling the complexity of domestication:A case study using morphometrics and ancient DNA analyses of archaeological pigs from Romania

Funding statement. This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (NE/F003382/1) and the Leverhulme Trust (F/00 128/AX) Acknowledgements. Archaeozoological analyses conducted by A. Ba˘la˘s¸escu were supported by three grants from the Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research, CNCS UEFISCDI (PN-II-RU-TE-20113-0146, PN-II-ID-PCE-2011-3-0982 and PN-IIID-PCE-2011-3-1015). We thank the archeologists Ca˘ta˘lin Bem, Alexandru Dragoman, Valentin Dumitras¸cu, Laura Dietrich, Raluca Koga˘lniceanu, Cristian Micu, Sta˘nica Pandrea, Valentin Parnic, George Trohani, Valentina Voinea for the material they generously provided. We thank the many institutions and individuals that provided sample material and access to collections, especially the curators of the Museum fu¨r Naturkunde, Berlin; Muse´um National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris; Muse´um d’Histoire Naturelle, Gene`ve; Museum fu¨r Haustierkunde, Halle; National Museum of Natural History, Washington; The Field Museum, Chicago and The American Museum of Natural History, New York; The Naturhistorisches Museum, BernPeer reviewedPublisher PD

Ancient pigs reveal a near-complete genomic turnover following their introduction to Europe

Archaeological evidence indicates that pig domestication had begun by ~10,500 y before the present (BP) in the Near East, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) suggests that pigs arrived in Europe alongside farmers ~8,500 y BP. A few thousand years after the introduction of Near Eastern pigs into Europe, however, their characteristic mtDNA signature disappeared and was replaced by haplotypes associated with European wild boars. This turnover could be accounted for by substantial gene flow from local Euro-pean wild boars, although it is also possible that European wild boars were domesticated independently without any genetic con-tribution from the Near East. To test these hypotheses, we obtained mtDNA sequences from 2,099 modern and ancient pig samples and 63 nuclear ancient genomes from Near Eastern and European pigs. Our analyses revealed that European domestic pigs dating from 7,100 to 6,000 y BP possessed both Near Eastern and European nuclear ancestry, while later pigs possessed no more than 4% Near Eastern ancestry, indicating that gene flow from European wild boars resulted in a near-complete disappearance of Near East ancestry. In addition, we demonstrate that a variant at a locus encoding black coat color likely originated in the Near East and persisted in European pigs. Altogether, our results indicate that while pigs were not independently domesticated in Europe, the vast majority of human-mediated selection over the past 5,000 y focused on the genomic fraction derived from the European wild boars, and not on the fraction that was selected by early Neolithic farmers over the first 2,500 y of the domestication process

Mihai Gligor, Aşezarea neolitică şi eneolitică de la Alba Iulia – Lumea Nouă în lumina noilor cercetări, Editura Mega, Cluj-Napoca, 2009, 264 p., 217 pl.

Boroneanţ Adina. Mihai Gligor, Aşezarea neolitică şi eneolitică de la Alba Iulia – Lumea Nouă în lumina noilor cercetări, Editura Mega, Cluj-Napoca, 2009, 264 p., 217 pl.. In: Materiale şi cercetãri arheologice (Serie nouã), N°8 2012. p. 210

Restitutio – Situl arheologic de la Pescari-Alibeg, jud. Caraş-Severin

The present paper aims to complete the archaeological information regarding the site of Alibeg, excavated in 1971, part of rescue excavations taking place while the Iron Gates I power-plant was constructed. New data on both the Mesolithic and the Early Neolithic occupations, found in the field notes of V. Boroneanţ, as well as plans and photographs are presented for the first time after 40 years. A brief pottery study offers an idea of what the local Early Neolithic was like. The paper is the first one of a series focusing in the problems of the Mesolithic-Early Neolithic transition in the Iron Gates, in an attempt to offer a clearer image of the two types of communities and the possible interactions between them.Lucrarea de faţă îşi propune să completeze informaţiile arheologice referitoare la situl arheologic de la Alibeg, cercetat în 1971, parte a săpăturilor de salvare ce au avut loc cu ocazia construcţiei hidrocentralei Porţile de Fier I. Sunt prezentate date noi regăsite în carnetele şi notele de săpătură ale lui V. Boroneanţ, dar şi planuri şi fotografii inedite, referitoare atât la locuirea mezolitică, cât şi la cea neolitică timpurie. Studiul materialului ceramic, deşi nu extrem de numeros, oferă o bună imagine asupra nivelului neolitic timpuriu descoperit la Alibeg. Articolul se doreşte primul dintr-o serie care va relua problematica tranziţiei de la mezolitic la neoliticul timpuriu în siturile cercetate în zona Porţile de Fier cu ocazia construcţiei celor două hidrocentrale, într-o încercare de a oferi o imagine mai clară asupra celor două tipuri de comunităţi (mezolitică şi neolitică timpurie) şi a posibilelor interacţiuni dintre ele.Boroneanţ Adina. Restitutio – Situl arheologic de la Pescari-Alibeg, jud. Caraş-Severin. In: Materiale şi cercetãri arheologice (Serie nouã), N°7 2011. pp. 5-23

Mihai Gligor, Aşezarea neolitică şi eneolitică de la Alba Iulia – Lumea Nouă în lumina noilor cercetări, Editura Mega, Cluj-Napoca, 2009, 264 p., 217 pl.

Boroneanţ Adina. Mihai Gligor, Aşezarea neolitică şi eneolitică de la Alba Iulia – Lumea Nouă în lumina noilor cercetări, Editura Mega, Cluj-Napoca, 2009, 264 p., 217 pl.. In: Materiale şi cercetãri arheologice (Serie nouã), N°8 2012. p. 210

Michela Spataro, Starčevo ceramic technology: the first potters of the Middle Danube Basin, Universitätsforschungen zur prähistorischen Archäologie, Band 341, Verlag Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, Bonn, 2019

Boroneanţ Adina. Michela Spataro, Starčevo ceramic technology: the first potters of the Middle Danube Basin, Universitätsforschungen zur prähistorischen Archäologie, Band 341, Verlag Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, Bonn, 2019. In: Materiale şi cercetãri arheologice (Serie nouã), N°16 2020. pp. 279-280

Industria materiilor dure animale din situl mezolitic de la Alibeg (jud. Caraș-Severin) / The bone, antler and tusk assemblage from the Mesolithic site at Alibeg (Caraș-Severin County)

The Mesolithic settlements in the Iron Gates have yielded rich assemblages of antler, bone and Sus scrofa canines, exemplified here by the site of Alibeg (Romania). These raw materials represent for the Iron Gates region, a hallmark of local Mesolithic. The typological categories identified are bevelled tools, scrapers, preforms and blanks. Debitage remains are also present, indicating on- site raw material processing. All three categories of raw materials were readily available from the animals that were killed, and analysis of the faunal remains identified a Cervus elaphus and Sus scrofa bones within the mammalian assemblage. Our study aimed to identify the transformation pattern of antler, bone and tusk and the functional marks, which could offer clues to the way in which the pieces were used. Ethnographical studies suggest wood and hide processing as the main activities performed with such tools.Siturile mezolitice din zona Porțile de Fier au produs colecții foarte bogate din piese de corn, os și colț de mistreț exemplificate în articolul de față prin cea de la Alibeg (România). Aceste tipuri de materii prime sunt elemente definitorii pentru mezoliticul local. Categoriile tipologice identificate sunt dălți, racloare, preforme și suporturi. Au fost identificate și resturi de debitaj, indicând prelucrarea in situ. Toate cele trei tipuri de materii prime puteau fi obținute de la animalele vânate, iar analiza faunistică a indicat prezența speciilor Cervus elaphus și Sus scrofa în materialul faunistic. Studiul nostru urmărește să identifice atât pattern- urile transformaționale ale cornului, osului și colțului de mistreț, cât și stigmatele funcționale care pot oferi indicii asupra modului în care au fost utilizate aceste unelte. Studiile etnografice au sugerat pentru aceste tipuri de piese utilizarea lor în prelucrarea lemnului și a pieilor de animale.Mărgărit Monica, Boroneanţ Adina. Industria materiilor dure animale din situl mezolitic de la Alibeg (jud. Caraș-Severin) / The bone, antler and tusk assemblage from the Mesolithic site at Alibeg (Caraș-Severin County). In: Materiale şi cercetãri arheologice (Serie nouã), N°13 2017. pp. 15-30