A Sołtysiak
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 96224 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | A Sołtysiak |
| NOMBRES | A |
| APELLIDO | Sołtysiak |
| FIRMA | SOŁTYSIAK A |
| AFILIACIONES | University of Warsaw |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9040-5022 |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 54 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 140 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 54 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 1999 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 7 |
The burial of a woman at metsamor
A Possible Case of Child Abuse at the Early Urban Centre of Tell Brak, NE Syria
Child abuse is rarely identified in skeletal remains from archaeological contexts, as its diagnosis remains a significant challenge. Due to that, case studies of child abuse are rare in the literature. Here, we discuss a 6–9‐month‐old infant from Late Chalcolithic (c. 4200–3900 bce ) Tell Brak, Syria, who exhibited several signs consistent with child abuse, such as rib fractures, active ectocranial porosity, and mechanical stress in the lower lim…
Seasonality and water source strategies in the Neolithic Near East (ca. 8,000–5,000 BCE)
Previous studies have demonstrated that enamel oxygen isotope values (δ 18 O) reflect rainfall variability experienced by wild primates and ancient humans, providing insights into local climatic conditions. However, it remains less clear whether seasonal patterns can be consistently detected in premodern human communities experiencing different local water dynamics, or how these patterns may vary regionally. Here we present 1958 ion microprobe δ …
Isotopic Insight Into the Human Diet at Qareh Tepe, Iran, During the Iron Age (c. 1200–750 bce )
The period preceding early state formation in Iran (i.e., Early Iron Age) is frequently associated with the prevalence of mobile pastoralists. The analysis of stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of human and animal collagen from Qareh Tepe (c. 1200–750 cal. bc ) in Qazvin Plain was performed to understand local subsistence strategy and especially to distinguish between mobile herding and stationary farming, which is crucial in understanding…
Isolation and Identity in a 5th/6th century Ostrogothic Rural Community in Frascaro, Italy
This study investigates the mobility and integration of a rural Ostrogothic community in Frascaro in Northern Italy (~490–550 CE) through the combination of strontium isotope analysis (87Sr/86Sr) and archaeological context. While there are written sources about the Ostrogothic presence in Italy, direct evidence of Ostrogothic communities in Northern Italy remains limited, particularly outside strategic or military contexts. This study represents …
Human Mobility at Qareh Tepe, Iran, During the Iron Age ( c . 1200–750 BCE)
We investigate patterns of human mobility in the Qazvin Plain, NW Iran, in the transitional period of the Iron Age ( c . 1200–750 bce ), preceding the emergence of the Median confederacy. Radiogenic strontium isotope analysis ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) was conducted on dental enamel from 60 individuals, including 25 males and 11 females, excavated at the Iron Age cemetery of Qareh Tepe. Furthermore, the samples of 13 plants were collected in order to assess…
Human remains from Berenike, Egypt, 2021–2024
Human remains from ‘Marea’/Philoxenite, Egypt, 2021–2022
Human remains from Tell Rad Shaqrah, Syria, 1994–1995 (updated)
Human remains from Malhamdar, Iran, 2016
Human remains from ‘Marea’/Philoxenite, Egypt, 2023
The principal burial ground of 'Marea'/Philoxenite was located to the south-east of the main urban core of the town.The burial area, serving as a type of 'necropolis hill' on the account of its elevated position on a natural rock hill, is located little over 50m to the south-east of the public baths.Burials were already noted there by el-Fakharani (1983:176-178) though his account includes just a short description, without plans or photographs.Mo…
Human remains from 25th Zolfaqar Street, Kashan, Iran, 2017
The archaeological site of Tepe Sialk, one of the most significant prehistoric sites in Iran and the most important in the Central Iranian Plateau, was excavated by Roman Ghirshman on behalf of the Louvre Museum in 1933, 1934, and 1937(Ghirshman 1938, 1939).The site includes four principal components used in different periods: the northern mound (c.6000-4800 BCE), the southern mound (c.4300-2900 BCE), Cemetery A (c. 1500-1000 BCE), and Cemetery B…
Settled farmers or mobile herders? Patterns of mobility at Shahr-i Qumis, a late antiquity site in northern Iran, investigated using strontium isotope values
Temporal pattern of dental caries at the western flank of the Central Plateau of Iran, c. 2700 BCE – 1600 CE
Human Mobility in NW Iran During the Early Iron Age (c. 1250–850 bce )
The transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age is one of the most discussed topics in the archaeology of Iran. This includes the processes that led to the formation of the Mannaean Kingdom in the northwestern part of the country, which is considered a forerunner of the famous Median Empire. Here, we investigate the pattern of migration during the four centuries preceding the establishment of the Mannaean Kingdom. The 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values were …
Revisiting Neolithic Ali Kosh
In western Asia, the Zagros foothills played a fundamental role in the formulation of early explanatory hypotheses on the origins of agriculture. The excavations at the emblematic Neolithic site of Ali Kosh, Deh Luran, led to the development of the so-called “marginal zone hypothesis.” However, some chronological inconsistencies remained until a new stratigraphic excavation was carried out in 2017 to revise the findings. According to the new eval…
Bioarchaeological evidence of violence in ancient Mesopotamia
The paper reviews available evidence of violence-related traumatic injuries observed in archaeological human skeletons from Mesopotamia, confronting them with available textual and iconographic evidence.Scatters of human remains were found in destruction layers of a few sites dated to several chronological periods, such as Tuttul (Old Babylonian period), Nineveh, Aur (Neo-Assyrian period) and Dura Europos (Roman/Sasanian period).There were also e…
Violence trends in the ancient Middle East between 12,000 and 400 bce
Isotopic evidence of an environmental shift at the fall of the Kushite kingdom of Meroë, Sudan
Between c. 300 BC and AD 350, the Meroitic kingdom dominated the Middle Nile Valley; following its breakdown, it was replaced by a series of smaller successor polities. Explanation for this change centres on socio-political and economic instability. Here, the authors investigate the role of climate and environment using stable carbon and oxygen isotope analyses of human and faunal dental enamel from 13 cemeteries. The results show increasing δ18O…
The lifestyles of Bronze Age Zagros highlanders at Deh Dumen, Iran
Late Bronze Age multiple human burials from Deh Dumen, Iran, were uncovered in the Zagros Mountains. Using cross‐sectional geometry and histology, a sample ( n = 23) of fragmented femora from these burials was examined to test for possible adaptation to transhumant pastoralism. Midshaft femur remodelling and modelling characteristics examined across males, females and age‐at‐death groups partly indicated sex‐specific pastoralist behaviours and po…
Societal segmentation and early urbanism in Mesopotamia
The urbanization of Mesopotamia in the 4th millennium BCE led to unprecedented social, economic, and political changes. Tell Brak, located in the Syrian Khabur basin, is one of the best-known early urban sites from this period. Surveys suggest that urban growth at Tell Brak resulted from peripheral expansion driven by the migration of several distinct groups; however, it is not known whether these groups remained recognizably distinct within the …
Towards a historical bioarchaeology
Much ado about nothing
The effects of the 4.2 kya climatic event on northern Mesopotamia have been the subject of significant scholarly debate, with the notion of a megadrought that forced local populations to migrate attracting particular attention. Here, the authors analyse stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopes in human tooth and bone samples to assess trends in subsistence practice at three sites in Syria before, during and after the presumed megadrought…
Identifying food provenience using Sr/Ca ratio in human enamel
The strontium (Sr) concentration in bioapatite of human bone and teeth reflects the Sr concentration in food that is differentiated by two major factors: an abundance of Sr in local soils and the biopurification effect along the trophic levels. Eastern Syria is an area with a relatively high concentration of Sr within the Euphrates valley and a low concentration of Sr beyond the valley. For this reason, the strontium/calcium (Sr/Ca) ratio in huma…
Reconstructing breastfeeding and weaning practices in the Bronze Age Near East using stable nitrogen isotopes
OBJECTIVES: Breastfeeding and childhood diet have significant impact on morbidity and mortality within a population, and in the ancient Near East, it is possible to compare bioarchaeological reconstruction of breastfeeding and weaning practices with the scant textual evidence. MATERIALS AND METHODS: N) are analyzed here for dietary reconstruction in skeletal collections from five Bronze Age (ca. 2,800-1,200 BCE) sites in modern Lebanon and Syria.…
Late Chalcolithic mass graves at Tell Brak, Syria, and violent conflict during the growth of early city-states
Excavations and surveys carried out from the mid-1990s through 2009 at Tell Brak, northeast Syria, have focused on reconstructing the socioeconomic complexity and physical growth of one of northern Mesopotamia's earliest urban settlements. The recent discovery of several mass graves on the edge of the city, created at an important threshold in its physical expansion (ca. 3800–3600 B.C.), adds to a longstanding debate about the connection between …
Patterns of camelid management in Wari Empire reconstructed using multiple stable isotope analysis
Camelid management was a major part of the Wari Empire's (ca. ad 600-1050) economy; however, it is uncertain whether camelid husbandry was centrally regulated or locally managed. To address this problem, we applied combined isotope ratio analyses (δ13C, δ15N, δ18O, 87Sr/86Sr, and 20nPb/204Pb) to camelid remains from Castillo de Huarmey, a Wari administrative center along the northern Peruvian coast. Results support a mostly local herding scenario…
Plant microfossils in human dental calculus from Nemrik 9, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic site in Northern Iraq
Samples of dental calculus were taken from 11 human individuals buried at Nemrik 9, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic site in Northern Iraq. All of them represented the time span of ca. 9100–8600 bp. In total, 95 microfossils were retrieved from these samples, including 70 phytoliths, 9 starch granules or clusters of starch, 3 pollens, and 1 xylem fragment. Most microfossils could be attributed to C3 cool season cereals, most likely wheat and barley, which…
Reconstructing breastfeeding and weaning practices in the Bronze Age Near East using stable nitrogen isotopes
OBJECTIVES: Breastfeeding and childhood diet have significant impact on morbidity and mortality within a population, and in the ancient Near East, it is possible to compare bioarchaeological reconstruction of breastfeeding and weaning practices with the scant textual evidence. MATERIALS AND METHODS: N) are analyzed here for dietary reconstruction in skeletal collections from five Bronze Age (ca. 2,800-1,200 BCE) sites in modern Lebanon and Syria.…
Continuity and change in subsistence at Tell Barri, NE Syria
The history of the Fertile Crescent is well documented through archaeology and epigraphy. However, contrary to adjacent regions in the Mediterranean and Middle East, the reconstruction of diet and food ways through isotope analysis is limited for Mesopotamia and, consequently, matters of subsistence change are not well understood. To address this, collagen carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios of human (N = 84) and animal (N = 8) samples from Tell …
Human remains from Nemrik, Iraq. An insight into living conditions and burial customs in a Pre-Pottery Neolithic village
Nemrik 9/ 10 is a Pre-Pottery Neolithic site in Northern Iraq that was excavated in 1985-1989 by S. K. Kozłowski. The remains of at least 96 individuals were found in the excavated strata, most of which were dated to ca 9100– 8600 BP. The bones were in poor condition, but several observations of taphonomic effects and indicators of diet, stress, physical activity, trauma and diseases were possible. First, a major change in burial practices occurr…
Stable isotopic evidence for land use patterns in the Middle Euphrates Valley, Syria
Objectives Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios (δ 13 C and δ 15 N) were used to reconstruct the history of subsistence strategies in the middle Euphrates valley, NE Syria, in six temporal subsets dating from the Early Bronze Age (c. 2300 BCE) to the Modern period (19th/20th century CE). The study aims to demonstrate that changes in political and social organization over time, for which the archaeological record suggests different goals of l…
Cereal grinding technology in ancient Mesopotamia
Equids and an acrobat
Deposits of human and animal bodies in a monumental Akkadian building at Tell Brak (ancient Nagar) superficially suggest random killing and disposal. But here the authors produce evidence that these represent the deliberate sacrifice of valued creatures. Among the human remains were those argued to represent a specialist acrobat, while the donkey remains reflect the association of the building with the breeding of the much-debated onager-donkey h…
Strontium and nitrogen isotopic evidence of food import to Tell Ashara-Terqa, a Bronze Age city on the Euphrates, Syria
Strontium stable isotope values (87Sr/86Sr) have been measured in tooth enamel samples representing 11 Bronze Age individuals buried at Tell Ashara-Terqa, a major archaeological site in the middle Euphrates valley, eastern Syria. For all analysed individuals, δ15N and δ13C values for dentin collagen were also available. No 87Sr/86Sr value exceeds the local environmental range, so there is no evidence of long-distance migration. Observed statistic…
Societal segmentation and early urbanism in Mesopotamia
The urbanization of Mesopotamia in the 4th millennium BCE led to unprecedented social, economic, and political changes. Tell Brak, located in the Syrian Khabur basin, is one of the best-known early urban sites from this period. Surveys suggest that urban growth at Tell Brak resulted from peripheral expansion driven by the migration of several distinct groups; however, it is not known whether these groups remained recognizably distinct within the …
Human enamel 87Sr/86Sr evidence of migration and land use patterns at Tell Brak, a Late Chalcolithic urban centre in NE Syria
During the Late Chalcolithic 3/4 (c. 3900-3200 BCE), Tell Brak in NE Syria became a large urban centre with central administration, craft specialization and a settlement size of at least 130 ha. 87Sr/86Sr values in enamel of 34 human individuals from Tell Brak representing four temporal subsets were measured and compared against the local background to understand the pattern of migrations and origin of food consumed by inhabitants of the city. Th…
Much ado about nothing
The effects of the 4.2 kya climatic event on northern Mesopotamia have been the subject of significant scholarly debate, with the notion of a megadrought that forced local populations to migrate attracting particular attention. Here, the authors analyse stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopes in human tooth and bone samples to assess trends in subsistence practice at three sites in Syria before, during and after the presumed megadrought…
Antemortem Cranial Trauma in Ancient Mesopotamia
As a result of a review of the available literature and some unpublished sources, data on ante mortem cranial trauma have been gathered for 25 archaeological sites from Mesopotamia, dated from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic to the modern period. In total, 31 healed cranial lesions have been noted in 28 out of 1278 individuals, and the general frequency of this condition was 2.2%. Both men and women were affected, with no clear preference noted, and sh…
The Osteological Paradox, Selective Mortality, and Stress Markers Revisited
Violence trends in the ancient Middle East between 12,000 and 400 bce
Isotopic evidence of an environmental shift at the fall of the Kushite kingdom of Meroë, Sudan
Between c. 300 BC and AD 350, the Meroitic kingdom dominated the Middle Nile Valley; following its breakdown, it was replaced by a series of smaller successor polities. Explanation for this change centres on socio-political and economic instability. Here, the authors investigate the role of climate and environment using stable carbon and oxygen isotope analyses of human and faunal dental enamel from 13 cemeteries. The results show increasing δ18O…
Isotopic Insight Into the Human Diet at Qareh Tepe, Iran, During the Iron Age (c. 1200–750 bce )
The period preceding early state formation in Iran (i.e., Early Iron Age) is frequently associated with the prevalence of mobile pastoralists. The analysis of stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of human and animal collagen from Qareh Tepe (c. 1200–750 cal. bc ) in Qazvin Plain was performed to understand local subsistence strategy and especially to distinguish between mobile herding and stationary farming, which is crucial in understanding…
Human Mobility in NW Iran During the Early Iron Age (c. 1250–850 bce )
The transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age is one of the most discussed topics in the archaeology of Iran. This includes the processes that led to the formation of the Mannaean Kingdom in the northwestern part of the country, which is considered a forerunner of the famous Median Empire. Here, we investigate the pattern of migration during the four centuries preceding the establishment of the Mannaean Kingdom. The 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values were …
Revisiting Neolithic Ali Kosh
In western Asia, the Zagros foothills played a fundamental role in the formulation of early explanatory hypotheses on the origins of agriculture. The excavations at the emblematic Neolithic site of Ali Kosh, Deh Luran, led to the development of the so-called “marginal zone hypothesis.” However, some chronological inconsistencies remained until a new stratigraphic excavation was carried out in 2017 to revise the findings. According to the new eval…
The lifestyles of Bronze Age Zagros highlanders at Deh Dumen, Iran
Late Bronze Age multiple human burials from Deh Dumen, Iran, were uncovered in the Zagros Mountains. Using cross‐sectional geometry and histology, a sample ( n = 23) of fragmented femora from these burials was examined to test for possible adaptation to transhumant pastoralism. Midshaft femur remodelling and modelling characteristics examined across males, females and age‐at‐death groups partly indicated sex‐specific pastoralist behaviours and po…
Bread and Class in Medieval Society
Bread was a basic food staple as well as a marker of status in medieval societies. A study of Byzantine and Islamic textual sources combined with an archaeological scientific study of teeth remains from four excavated sites in modern Turkey demonstrates that literary stereotypes about access to high-quality bread may have held in densely populated urban settlements but not in society on a wider scale. Peasants, the lowest social group, also had a…
Continuity and change in cereal grinding technology at Kültepe, Turkey
Change in Mediterranean grinding technology during the Hellenistic/Roman period affected the pattern of dental microwear since external grit particles were finer when flour was prepared using large rotary querns. Therefore, it is possible to detect the technological change through the analysis of human dentition. Here, the sample of teeth from Kültepe (ancient Kanesh), Turkey, is investigated to determine if the grinding technology changed at thi…
A palimpsest grave at the Iron Age cemetery in Estark-Joshaqan, Iran
At the onset of the Iron Age, after c. 1200 BC, Iran was a place of major social transformation. After the collapse of the Bronze Age urban civilisations, the land was inhabited mainly by groups of mobile pastoralists that gradually transitioned from tribal organisation into loose federations, before finally developing into the Median and Persian early states (Potts 2014). This transition is still poorly recognised, as settlement sites from this …
Worked Human Femur from Gohar Tepe, Iran
A simple tool made from a gracile human femoral shaft was retrieved from a small animal bone assemblage found in a Late Bronze Age stratum at Gohar Tepe, Iran. The specimen has been identified as a chisel or gouge for which no analogous examples are known in the Near East. Studies examining similar tools from other regions suggest that such a tool may have been used for wood processing or pottery smoothing. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Analysis of biological difference between prehistoric populations using a non-hierarchic method of data clustering
Presented in this paper non-hierarchic method of cluster analysis allows studying of morphological variability in big populations on the basis of individual characteristic of specimens. Test taken by the authors have confirmed correct results of the proposed algorithm and showed the role of proper preparation of data, choice of appropriate distance measure and importance of the process of interpretation the results of clustering
Excavations at Tell Brak 2006–2007
Excavations at Tell Brak in 2006–7 explored two key episodes in Mesopotamian political and social history, developing early social complexity in the fifth to fourth millennia BC and the shift from territorial state to early empire in the second millennium BC. Late Chalcolithic complexity is represented in Area TW on the main mound and at the outlying sub-mound of Tell Majnuna, while investigation of the Old Babylonian to Mitanni state-to-empire t…
Equids and an acrobat
Deposits of human and animal bodies in a monumental Akkadian building at Tell Brak (ancient Nagar) superficially suggest random killing and disposal. But here the authors produce evidence that these represent the deliberate sacrifice of valued creatures. Among the human remains were those argued to represent a specialist acrobat, while the donkey remains reflect the association of the building with the breeding of the much-debated onager-donkey h…
Cereal grinding technology in ancient Mesopotamia
Late Chalcolithic mass graves at Tell Brak, Syria, and violent conflict during the growth of early city-states
Excavations and surveys carried out from the mid-1990s through 2009 at Tell Brak, northeast Syria, have focused on reconstructing the socioeconomic complexity and physical growth of one of northern Mesopotamia's earliest urban settlements. The recent discovery of several mass graves on the edge of the city, created at an important threshold in its physical expansion (ca. 3800–3600 B.C.), adds to a longstanding debate about the connection between …
Neandertal diet, voracious bacteria and the hunger for knowledge
Population history of the middle Euphrates valley
Sequencing ancient calcified dental plaque shows changes in oral microbiota with dietary shifts of the Neolithic and Industrial revolutions
Technical note
Age‐at‐death profiles obtained using the minimum number of individuals (MNI) for mass deposits of commingled human remains may be biased by over‐representation of subadult individuals. A computer simulation designed in the R environment has shown that this effect may lead to misinterpretation of such samples even in cases where the completeness rate is relatively high. The simulation demonstrates that the use of the Most Likely Number of Individu…
Comment on the Analysis of Two Skeletons from Terqa, Syria
Recently, a report on two human skeletons from an Early Bronze Age tomb excavated at Tell Ashara, Syria has been published in International Journal of Osteoarchaeology . One individual was identified as a warrior following these criteria: (i) size and robustness of bones, (ii) cut marks on the humerus, (iii) reduction of the ulnar styloid process, both interpreted as healed weapon‐related trauma, (iv) well‐developed muscle insertions, and (v) deg…
Early urbanization and mobility at Tell Brak, NE Syria
Continuity and change in subsistence at Tell Barri, NE Syria
The history of the Fertile Crescent is well documented through archaeology and epigraphy. However, contrary to adjacent regions in the Mediterranean and Middle East, the reconstruction of diet and food ways through isotope analysis is limited for Mesopotamia and, consequently, matters of subsistence change are not well understood. To address this, collagen carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios of human (N = 84) and animal (N = 8) samples from Tell …
Human remains from Nemrik, Iraq. An insight into living conditions and burial customs in a Pre-Pottery Neolithic village
Nemrik 9/ 10 is a Pre-Pottery Neolithic site in Northern Iraq that was excavated in 1985-1989 by S. K. Kozłowski. The remains of at least 96 individuals were found in the excavated strata, most of which were dated to ca 9100– 8600 BP. The bones were in poor condition, but several observations of taphonomic effects and indicators of diet, stress, physical activity, trauma and diseases were possible. First, a major change in burial practices occurr…
Worked Human Femur from Gohar Tepe, Iran
A simple tool made from a gracile human femoral shaft was retrieved from a small animal bone assemblage found in a Late Bronze Age stratum at Gohar Tepe, Iran. The specimen has been identified as a chisel or gouge for which no analogous examples are known in the Near East. Studies examining similar tools from other regions suggest that such a tool may have been used for wood processing or pottery smoothing. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Vascular Grooves on Human Femora and Tibiae as a Potential Activity-related Trait
The presence of vascular grooves on the shafts of femora and tibiae was scored for a sample of human remains from a mass burial at Tell Majnuna, Syria, dated to the early fourth millennium bce. In the sample of 140 femora and 64 tibiae, many of which were damaged or fragmented, the grooves were most common on the femoral midshaft (31/108 = 28.7%) and on the proximal and middle shaft of the tibia (10/45 = 22.2 and 14/54 = 26.0%, respectively). For…
The Osteological Paradox, Selective Mortality, and Stress Markers Revisited
Plant microfossils in human dental calculus from Nemrik 9, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic site in Northern Iraq
Samples of dental calculus were taken from 11 human individuals buried at Nemrik 9, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic site in Northern Iraq. All of them represented the time span of ca. 9100–8600 bp. In total, 95 microfossils were retrieved from these samples, including 70 phytoliths, 9 starch granules or clusters of starch, 3 pollens, and 1 xylem fragment. Most microfossils could be attributed to C3 cool season cereals, most likely wheat and barley, which…
Isotope evidence for agricultural extensification reveals how the world's first cities were fed
Neanderthal behaviour, diet, and disease inferred from ancient DNA in dental calculus
Bread and Class in Medieval Society
Bread was a basic food staple as well as a marker of status in medieval societies. A study of Byzantine and Islamic textual sources combined with an archaeological scientific study of teeth remains from four excavated sites in modern Turkey demonstrates that literary stereotypes about access to high-quality bread may have held in densely populated urban settlements but not in society on a wider scale. Peasants, the lowest social group, also had a…
Continuity and change in cereal grinding technology at Kültepe, Turkey
Change in Mediterranean grinding technology during the Hellenistic/Roman period affected the pattern of dental microwear since external grit particles were finer when flour was prepared using large rotary querns. Therefore, it is possible to detect the technological change through the analysis of human dentition. Here, the sample of teeth from Kültepe (ancient Kanesh), Turkey, is investigated to determine if the grinding technology changed at thi…
A possible "grinder" from Tell Arbid, Syria
Cereal grinding has been practiced in Mesopotamia since the Upper Palaeolithic. While evidence of cereal grinding is clear from the archaeological and textual records, what remains unclear is whether the activity leaves signs on the skeleton in the form of markers of occupational stress (MOS). A particular constellation of MOS (e.g., osteoarthritis, traumatic injuries, and accessory articular facets) has previously been used to infer the habitual…
Antemortem Cranial Trauma in Ancient Mesopotamia
As a result of a review of the available literature and some unpublished sources, data on ante mortem cranial trauma have been gathered for 25 archaeological sites from Mesopotamia, dated from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic to the modern period. In total, 31 healed cranial lesions have been noted in 28 out of 1278 individuals, and the general frequency of this condition was 2.2%. Both men and women were affected, with no clear preference noted, and sh…
A palimpsest grave at the Iron Age cemetery in Estark-Joshaqan, Iran
At the onset of the Iron Age, after c. 1200 BC, Iran was a place of major social transformation. After the collapse of the Bronze Age urban civilisations, the land was inhabited mainly by groups of mobile pastoralists that gradually transitioned from tribal organisation into loose federations, before finally developing into the Median and Persian early states (Potts 2014). This transition is still poorly recognised, as settlement sites from this …
Stable isotopic evidence for land use patterns in the Middle Euphrates Valley, Syria
Objectives Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios (δ 13 C and δ 15 N) were used to reconstruct the history of subsistence strategies in the middle Euphrates valley, NE Syria, in six temporal subsets dating from the Early Bronze Age (c. 2300 BCE) to the Modern period (19th/20th century CE). The study aims to demonstrate that changes in political and social organization over time, for which the archaeological record suggests different goals of l…
Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (35 obras) · Archaeology (34 obras) · Geography (32 obras) · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies (31 obras) · History (23 obras) · Ancient history (20 obras) · Bronze Age (19 obras) · Biology (15 obras) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (14 obras) · Demography (13 obras)