Showing papers in "Journal of Archaeological Science in 2014"

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors presented a new method that used summed probability distributions (SPD) of radiocarbon dates as a proxy for population levels, and Monte-Carlo simulation to test the significance of the observed fluctuations in the context of uncertainty in the calibration curve and archaeological sampling.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors introduce a method of generating a random sample of simulated 14C determinations, from a specified distribution, with variable data densities and measurement errors, and compare the resulting proxy population curve to the known population distribution from which it was generated, to see whether known population fluctuations are unambiguously visible on a proxy curve derived from 14C data sets.

TL;DR: This work addresses the many difficulties involved in reliably identifying projectiles and suggests how these should preferably be dealt with.

TL;DR: The results suggest that image-based 3D modeling can be an excellent and suitable method for the recording, documentation and visualization of the excavated archaeological heritage and can cause a(n) (r)evolution in archaeological excavation practice.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors presented a hearth at Qesem Cave (Israel) that was repeatedly used and was the focus of hearth-centered human activities, as early as three-hundred-thousand years ago.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluated the interchangeability of the three FTIR techniques by analyzing 452 prehistoric and modern bioapatite samples and found that the attenuated total reflection (ATR) and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) produced more reliable results and were comparable to transmission FTIR.

TL;DR: It is argued that a concerted approach is required to create and disseminate simple and reliable workflows to ensure that the highly automated workflows adopted by archaeologists in contract-led contexts are robust and reliable and underpinned by guidance and knowledge exchange.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compare two methods of isolating bone collagen for stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis, and find no statistically significant differences between the sets of δ13C and δ15N values from the two laboratories.

TL;DR: In this paper, a detailed interpretation of lead isotope and chemical data with the aim to identify the ore sources from which these metals originated is presented. But the interpretation of these analytical data is limited to the Nordic Bronze Age.

TL;DR: Results demonstrate the technologically efficacious use of platform preparation among the Boxgrove toolmakers similar to 500 thousand years ago, providing the first direct evidence of this technique in the Ache-tile-an.

TL;DR: The earliest farmers in Ireland, like farmers elsewhere across NW Europe, were not engaged in shifting cultivation, but practised longer-term fixed-plot agriculture as mentioned in this paper, but there are hints of earlier Neolithic presence at a number of sites.

TL;DR: This paper addresses the use of open source, structure from motion methods for creating 3d pointclouds from photographs and compares these with alternative workflows in other software, and relative accuracy compared to other 3D modelling methods.

TL;DR: The development of a Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) method of collagen fingerprinting, for efficient and low cost discrimination of a wide range of marine mammal species including cetaceans and pinnipeds is reported.

TL;DR: The Klipdrift Complex as mentioned in this paper is a cave complex comprising two locations, namely, Klip drifts Cave and Klippdrift Shelter, which is consistent with the Howiesons Poort, recorded at a number of archaeological sites in southern Africa.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors compare the extent to which these two independent sources show common trends and timing in terms of demographic and environmental change across Britain during the millennia prior to and after the appearance of the first farming communities.

TL;DR: In this paper, the FTIR data treatment methodology is recommended so as to limit errors on the evaluation of carbonate contents in apatite substrates, and the analysis of the ν3(CO3) and ν1ν3(PO4) modes was found to be directly correlated to the carbonate content of the samples.

TL;DR: This collaborative study has allowed us to identify and reduce the risk of contamination and to develop better internal authenticity criteria for future ancient starch studies conducted in the authors' laboratories.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors conducted a replication experiment to determine whether handaxe morphology was influenced by raw materials of demonstrably different internal and external properties: flint, basalt, and obsidian.

TL;DR: The discovery of the mortal remains of King Richard III provide an opportunity to learn more about his lifestyle, including his origins and movements and his dietary history; particularly focussing on the changes that Kingship brought.

TL;DR: Cheese making has been inferred at several sites in northern Europe as early as the 6th millennium BC and was common in Egypt and Mesopotamia in 3rd millennium BC.

TL;DR: Recently, light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data has been made publicly available for the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island in New England, a geographic region in the northeastern United States.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the first study that combines the use of ancient crop and animal stable isotopes (carbon and nitrogen) and Zooarchaeology Mass Spectrometry species identification (ZooMS) for reconstructing early farming practices at Kouphovouno, a Middle-Late Neolithic village in southern Greece (c. 5950-4500 cal.

TL;DR: In this article, it is hypothesized that there is a widespread type or types of occupation where the terraces were domestic areas (houses or yards) surrounded by refuse disposal areas in middens which built up into mounds over time, forming large deposits of terra preta and creating what could be called a ‘middenscape’.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors show that the transition towards an agrarian way of life probably happened during a complex and continuous process of migration, integration and gradual assimilation between pioneering farmers and local hunter-gatherers.

TL;DR: This paper carried out standardized laboratory compression tests on 302 samples issued from 10 taxa, charred at three different temperatures, in order to characterize the mechanical properties of common species in temperate and Mediterranean Europe and shows that significant fragmentation differences exist between taxa.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors use computational modeling as an experimental environment to examine processes that form the archaeological record of lithic assemblages, and provide valuable new, quantitative insights into the information about past human social, ecological, and technological practices embedded in lithic objects.

TL;DR: In this paper, the morphology of stemmed bifacial projectile points excavated from Garivaldino Rodrigues rockshelter (RS-TQ-58), Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil was studied.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a study of 11 purported archaeological cooking installations from three different Bronze and Iron Age sites in Israel in which they deployed a variety of microarchaeological techniques.

TL;DR: This chapter outlines the current methodological framework for use-wear analysis, with an emphasis on the importance of multiple scales of magnification, beginning with the un-aided eye.

TL;DR: The analysis of cores revealed a stratigraphic sequence, which they interpret as the filling of a harbour basin this article. But the analysis of the cores revealed only a small fraction of the sedimentary contents of the basin.