Brief communication: diachronic investigation of linear enamel hypoplasia in prehistoric skeletal samples from Trentino,Italy

Linear enamel hypoplasia was scored on Neolithic, Copper Age, and Early Bronze Age samples from the Trentino region, Italy, in order to compare the extent of growth disruption in different biocultural subsistence systems (foragers with little agriculture, to agriculturists and agropastoralists). The Early Bronze Age sample shows a higher frequency of enamel defects and an earlier chronological onset than the early Neolithic sample. The higher frequency of defects in the Bronze Age sample could be linked to less diversified nutrition and, because of increased sedentism, a higher risk of disease.     

Middle/Late Bronze Age plant communities and their exploitation in the Cávado Basin (NW Portugal) as shown by charcoal analysis: the significance and co-occurrence of Quercus (deciduous) – Fabaceae

Plant communities and their possible exploitation during Late Prehistory are studied based on charcoal data from four archaeological sites. Settlement location in the area appears to have been chosen on the basis of easy access to rivers and good arable land. Quercus (deciduous) and Fabaceae appear to have been the main source of wood; this is in agreement with previous data from north-western Portugal. The abundance of Fabaceae, which thrive in open well-lit areas, is seen as a direct consequence of woodland clearance. The co-occurrence of Quercus (deciduous) and Fabaceae appears as a distinctive feature in north-western Portugal during Late Prehistory and Protohistory. Fabaceae have remained a familiar component of the vegetation cover ever since. Pinus pinaster is present as isolated individuals, in contrast to its present-day abundance.     

安徽何郢青铜时代遗址人骨铅含量分析

夏商周三代是中国青铜文明的时代;然而,大量含铅青铜容器和工具的使用势必造成严重的铅污染,甚至铅中毒;本文利用原子荧光光度计等对何郢遗址人骨进行了铅含量的测试,并与同一遗址出土的兽骨、土壤、青铜器残片及不同时代人骨的含铅量进行对比分析,探讨了骨铅含量变化状况及相关的社会问题等。     

黑龙江齐齐哈尔洪河遗址出土的骨器

骨器研究是近年来动物考古学研究的重要课题之一,自1930年梁思永发现昂昂溪遗址的骨质工具以来,骨器正在成为学界研究嫩江流域史前经济形态的重要依据。2013、2014、2015和2017年黑龙江省文物考古研究所对洪河遗址进行了全面发掘,主要遗存归属于新石器时代晚期和青铜时代,除陶器、石制品和青铜器等,还出土了大量骨器,器类丰富,更有多种以往未曾见过的器类。本文通过对该遗址四个年度出土的343件骨制品进行全面介绍和梳理,分析该遗址骨器制作的工艺水平和生产变化,为进一步探讨该遗址乃至嫩江流域史前的生业模式提供重要线索。     

新疆鄯善洋海青铜时代居民眶顶板筛孔样病变的调查

本文对新疆鄯善洋海出土的61例(成年个体45例,未成年个体16例)遗骸进行了眶顶板筛孔样病变的观察。在被调查的成年个体中眶顶板筛孔样病变的患病率为44.4%,未成年个体的患病率为75%,且成年个体眶顶板筛孔样病变的患病率性别差异显著。这种病变的高频率现象,很可能与当时单一的饮食结构、低营养水平及不良卫生状况等因素所诱发的缺铁性贫血有关。为深入研究我国新疆地区古代居民眶顶板筛孔样病变的患病率及其发病原因提供了一组基础数据。     

Plant Resources from the Bronze Age and the first Iron Age in the northwestern arc of the Mediterranean Basin

This paper updates the question of plant resources during the Bronze Age and First Iron Age in the northwestern Mediterranean Basin. Among the cereals, six-row hulled barley is dominant throughout the territory, whereas naked and hulled wheats take on greater or lesser roles from region to region. Millet cultivation developed during the Bronze Age and became widespread in the First Iron Age. Apart from cereals, pulses, oil species and fruit appear to be secondary. Results from the study of archaeobotanical remains on wetland sites, however, lead us to question this finding, as oil plants and fruits are much better represented in waterlogged conditions. The cultivation of vine began in the First Iron Age. In spite of a number of characteristics common to plants throughout the study area, regional differences, evident in the Bronze Age, seem to dissipate in the First Iron Age.     

Les faunes des sites du Pléistocène supérieur du Caucase méridional : Grotte de Saka?hia, Grotte d’Ortvala et Grotte du Bronze (République de Géorgie)

The paleontological analysis of the fauna from three Late Pleistocene localities in Southern Caucasus (Saka?hia, Ortvala, and Bronze cave) confirmed the presence of Ursus spelaeus, Canis lupus, Equus ferus, Rhinocerotidae, Cervus elaphus, Capreolus capreolus, Alces alces, Bison priscus, Capra caucasica, Ovis ammon and Sus scrofa. The study also permitted the identification of new taxa for these localities. There may be the presence of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) at Saka?hia, however it has not yet been confirmed. Moreover, remains of aurochs (Bos primigenius) were identified, in particular at Bronze cave where its abundance is exceptional. Indeed, Bos and Bison are generally very rare in Southern Caucasus. The analysis of the proportion of the different species in each locality revealed the two types of occupations of the caves, one dominated by hominids and the other by carnivores. At Saka?hia, where fauna is dominated by the presence of cave bear, the cave was seasonally occupied by Neanderthal groups. On the other hand, Bronze cave corresponds to a habitat of hunters, which occupied the site for longer periods.