The taphonomy and preservation of wood and dung ashes found in archaeological cooking installations: case studies from Iron Age Israel
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.
About: This article is published in Journal of Archaeological Science.The article was published on 2014-06-01. It has received 89 citations till now.
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28 Feb 2018TL;DR: Macphail and Goldberg as discussed by the authors provide the most up-to-date information on soil science and its applications in archaeology, based on more than three decades of investigations and experiments, demonstrating how description protocols and complementary methods (SEM/EDS, microprobe, micro-FTIR, bulk soil chemistry, micro-, and macrofossils).
Abstract: © Richard I. Macphail and Paul Goldberg 2018. Applied Soils and Micromorphology in Archaeology provides the most up-to-date information on soil science and its applications in archaeology. Based on more than three decades of investigations and experiments, the volume demonstrates how description protocols and complementary methods (SEM/EDS, microprobe, micro-FTIR, bulk soil chemistry, micro-, and macrofossils) are used in interpretations. It also focuses on key topics, such as palaeosols, cultivation, and occupation surfaces, and introduces a range of current issues, such as site inundation, climate change, settlement morphology, herding, trackways, industrial processes, funerary features, and site transformation. Structured around important case studies, Applied Soils and Micromorphology in Archaeology is thoroughly illustrated, with color plates and additional fi gures available at www.cambridge.org/9781107648685. Chapter appendices can be accessed separately by visiting www.geoarchaeology.info/asma. Th is book will serve as an essential volume for all archaeological inquiry about soil.
73 citations
TL;DR: Advances in areas of archaeological science with a strong geological, sedimentological or pedological component have significantly furthered the understanding of formation processes, improved interpretations and helped develop site preservation over the last twenty years as discussed by the authors.
69 citations
TL;DR: This review highlights not only what one can find in ideal preservation conditions but also what type of indirect alteration proxies can be expected to survive in the archaeological record.
Abstract: The uses and functions of fire in early human adaptations are commonly debated and at times very controversial topics. It is important to recognize under what circumstances and conditions specific fire-related traces can be produced and preserved in the archaeological record. Currently, a growing body of data is emerging on the application of experimental research to the study of archaeological hearths and their residues. In this review, I draw together aspects of such available experimental data, particularly those pertaining to the sedimentary expression and components produced during simple campfires. I highlight not only what one can find in ideal preservation conditions but also what type of indirect alteration proxies can be expected to survive in the archaeological record. I then discuss the implications of such data for analyzing anthropic fire features, their timing, and their meaning in terms of behavioral complexity in the use and manufacture of fire during the Paleolithic.
59 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the results of the continuation study based on the comparison between archaeological results (a selection of cooking installations, six hearths and two mud ovens) and those obtained from the ethnographic study of dung fuel materials from the site area were presented.
50 citations
Cites background or methods from "The taphonomy and preservation of w..."
...The data obtained from ash pseudomorph and spherulite absolute numbers were then used to calculate ratio values, following the quantitative models developed by Gur-Arieh et al. (2013, 2014)....
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...…obtained from modern fuel samples, El Souidat, June 2014: d) dung spherulites, e) multicellular structure of dendritic long cells with papillae from the husks of Hordeum sp., f) melted multicelled phytoliths from grasses. between wood and dung-dominated ashes (Gur-Arieh et al., 2013, 2014)....
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...Thus, following the recently developed methods of Gur-Arieh et al. (2013, 2014), based on the calculation of the ratio of ash pseudomorphs to dung spherulites, we intend to discriminate between wood versus dungdominated ashes....
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...…the mineralogical signatures of heating associated to the installations, and taking into account formation and degradation processes that are critical for interpreting the archaeological record (Albert et al., 2000, 2003; Albert and Cabanes, 2007; Berna et al., 2007; Gur-Arieh et al., 2012, 2014)....
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...The calculation of the pseudomorphs/spherulites ratios showed distinctive low values (around 0, Table 2), which in conjunction with large phytolith concentrations are characteristic of rich-dung ashes, according to quantitative models proposed by Gur-Arieh et al. (2013, 2014)....
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TL;DR: In this article, the pyrogenic aragonite was found to form at ambient temperatures and pressures upon carbonation of calcium oxide and calcium hydroxide together with calcite and its nucleation and growth are influenced by environmental parameters, such as carbon dioxide partial pressure, relative humidity and temperature.
50 citations
References
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TL;DR: Les tissus du cerveau sont une extension metabollique, mais il n'existe pas de correlation significative entre le taux metabolique relatif de base and the taille relative du taille chez les humains et autres mammiferes a encephale.
Abstract: Les tissus du cerveau sont une extension metabollique, mais il n'existe pas de correlation significative entre le taux metabolique relatif de base et la taille relative du taille chez les humains et autres mammiferes a encephale. L'apport en graisses animales dans la nourriture est essentiel dans l'evolution du cerveau humain
1,894 citations
Book•
01 Jan 2003
TL;DR: In this paper, a multilingual translation of the terminology of Bullock et al. was proposed, with the help of colleagues of different countries, and for alteration patterns, a translation was proposed by Stoops et al., with the assistance of colleagues from different countries.
Abstract: For communication on observations it is very important that a clear, unambiguous terminology is used. This is especially true if one wants to compare observations made by different authors, and certainly when the construction of data bases is considered. Having this in mind, the international group that authored the “Handbook of Soil Thin Section Description” (Bullock et al., 1985), proposed a series of precisely defined concepts with associated terms, as was done before also by Brewer (1964). The advantage of a uniform terminology can easily be lost when the English terms get various translations in another language, e.g. by different authors. In order to overcome this problem G. Stoops published in1986, with the help of colleagues of different countries, a multilingual translation of the terminology of Bullock et al. (1985). For alteration patterns, a translation was proposed by Stoops et al. (1979).
1,134 citations
TL;DR: This paper presents the first International Code for Phytolith Nomenclature (ICPN), proposing an easy to follow, internationally accepted protocol to describe and name phytoliths.
723 citations
Book•
01 Sep 2009
TL;DR: In a groundbreaking theory of the authors' origins, primatologist Richard Wrangham shows that the shift from raw to cooked foods was the key factor in human evolution.
Abstract: Ever since Darwin and The Descent of Man, the existence of humans has been attributed to our intelligence and adaptability. But in Catching Fire, renowned primatologist Richard Wrangham presents a startling alternative: our evolutionary success is the result of cooking. In a groundbreaking theory of our origins, Wrangham shows that the shift from raw to cooked foods was the key factor in human evolution. When our ancestors adapted to using fire, humanity began. Once our hominid ancestors began cooking their food, the human digestive tract shrank and the brain grew. Time once spent chewing tough raw food could be sued instead to hunt and to tend camp. Cooking became the basis for pair bonding and marriage, created the household, and even led to a sexual division of labor. Tracing the contemporary implications of our ancestors' diets, Catching Fire sheds new light on how we came to be the social, intelligent, and sexual species we are today. A pathbreaking new theory of human evolution, Catching Fire will provoke controversy and fascinate anyone interested in our ancient origins-or in our modern eating habits.
579 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors apply a multinomial logit formulation of the energy ladder to household energy-use data from Zimbabwe and show that although households do move away from wood to kerosene and electricity as their economic status improves, a large number of other factors are important in determining household fuel choice.
442 citations