World Neolithic

dal 21 Giugno al 21 Luglio - Una mostra dedicata a due quadri di civiltà, il Neolitico e la prima Età dei Metalli, presentati attraverso una ricca selezione  di materiali e reperti provenienti da vari  siti archeologici della Puglia settentrionale,...

36 sépultures du Néolithique mises au jour dans le Puy-de-Dôme

31e Colloque Internéo 2013 17, 18 et 19 octobre 2013 - Châlons-en-Champagne (51) Occupations et exploitations néolithiques : et si l’on parlait des plateaux ?

The shift from foraging to farming is a defining moment in human history. Unsurprisingly, it is also one of the most scrutinised archaeological processes, from Childe's 'Neolithic revolution' to the recent contribution of genetics. In the European case, most of the literature revolves around evaluation of the respective role of local foragers and of incoming Neolithic farmers. Despite several theoretical and empirical limitations, the debate remains mostly set in these terms. Alternatively, approaches that consider what is spread, and how, are starting to cast fresh light on this transition.

Large curvilinear enclosures are now established as a principal instrument of human activity in Central Europe from the Neolithic into the Bronze Age (Antiquity, passim). Here the authors introduce us to examples from southern Iberia and make the case that they should be regarded as part of the same continent-wide phenomenon.

Intriguing wooden objects, excavated (mostly unstratigraphically) from peat bogs in the Trans-Urals region of Russia, are here dated by AMS and found to belong to the Aeneolithic and Bronze Age. In spite of a long sojourn in museums, and conservation with various chemicals, the dates obtained were consistent and reliable.

The oldest and most widespread collection of prehistoric cave and rock art in the United States has been found in and around Tennessee, according to a new paper in the journal Antiquity that documents the art.

Modern Europeans will hear again the music and the instruments of their distant ancestors – from dwellers in caves to audiences at Greek and Roman amphitheatres – thanks to a £3.5 million project in which a University of Huddersfield lecturer plays a key role.

Dr Rupert Till – who is already renowned for projects such as a recreation of the acoustics of Stonehenge – is one of a team of researchers throughout Europe who have devised the European Music Archaeology Project (EMAP).  Its aim is to seek a common European musical heritage rooted in antiquity.  Dr Till himself will oversee the creation of a special record label, which will feature the project’s findings.

El Museo Municipal de El Puerto expone desde ayer miércoles una pieza que se ha convertido en uno de los descubrimientos arqueológicos más importantes de los últimos tiempos. Se trata de una estela que podría formar parte de un conjunto funerario de hace «entre 5.000 y 6.000 años».

I write in the strongest possible terms of concern from both archaeological and environmental perspectives regarding the proposed solar and wind farm developments by Peterborough City Council at America Farm, Newborough and Morris Fens.

Twenty years have passed since the excavations led by Ian Hodder at the Konya plain site. These past two decades archaeologists never stopped investigating the 34-acre site of the Neolithic settlement in Çatalhöyük, which has became internationally famous due to its large size and dense occupation. Soon, the 21st archaeological excavation will begin in Çatalhöyük, which was added on the UNESCO list last year.

SEOUL, June 16 (Yonhap) -- The government said Sunday it will build a dike-like movable dam in front of a set of prehistoric engravings in the southeastern city of Ulsan to preserve them from being eroded by flood water.

Le maïs était largement consommé au Pérou pendant la Période Archaïque.

Construit au début du IVe millénaire avant J.-C., mille ans avant les pyramides d’Egypte, le cairn de l’île de Gavrinis, face à Larmor-Baden dans...

The paper describes the background and some preliminary results of the author’s project of the same name, funded by the European Research Council. It outlines the different elements of the cultural evolution research programme, from theory-building to understanding the past, and explains why demography is central to both the programme and the project. The specific objectives of the project are then described, revolving around the reconstruction of regional demographic patterns in the European Neolithic and assessing the extent to which cultural, social and economic changes are related to them as causes or consequences. Demographic patterns in the British and southern Scandinavian Neolithic show evidence of major fluctuations that seem to be related to changes in other domains, such as monument building.
Background

The fertile plains of central and western Macedonia are of key importance for early Greek prehistory, and Nea Nikomedeia, dated to the end of the seventh millennium BC, has long been considered one of the earliest farming settlements in Europe. In recent years, surveys carried out along the periodically exposed shores of the artificial lake of Polyphitos, and rescue excavations imposed by large-scale public works in the region, have revealed over 30 Early Neolithic sites. They offer a welcome opportunity to examine the material remains, cultural preferences and origins of early farming groups moving from the south-east into Europe

Understanding the prehistoric narrative of a region requires good dating, and in recent years good dating has moved increasingly from models drawn from types of artefacts to a framework provided by radiocarbon sequences. This in turn is bringing a change in the way events are described: from broad cultural histories to a network of local sequences. In this case study, the authors apply this rethinking to the Copper Age in a key region of Europe, the Great Hungarian Plain in the Carpathian Basin. They replace the traditional Early and Middle Copper Age, defined by pottery types, with an 800-year sequence in which six cemetery and settlement sites experience different trajectories of use, and the pottery types make intermittent and often contemporary appearances. In this new chronology based on radiocarbon, the variations in pottery use must have some other explanation.

Systematic field exploration in Tennessee has located a wealth of new rock art—some deep in caves, some in the open air. The authors show that these have a different repertoire and use of colour, and a different distribution in the landscape—the open sites up high and the caves down low. The landscape has been reorganised on cosmological terms by the pre-Columbian societies. This research offers an exemplary rationale for reading rock art beyond the image and the site.

The Ubaid period in south-west Asia constitutes a key period of social and political change anticipating the emergence of complex societies in the following millennium. Well-preserved archaeobotanical assemblages have enormous potential to document these changes at both the site and individual household levels. The conflagration that consumed Structure 4 at the Ubaid settlement of Kenan Tepe in south-eastern Turkey provides a case study through the analysis of almost 70 000 charred macrobotanical remains. The results suggest that labour may have been pooled between households to process emmer wheat to spikelet stage after harvesting. Final processing was conducted on the roof of the house by members of the individual household as need arose. The pooling of resources may reflect the intensification of production and the emergence of elites during the Ubaid period in this region.

After decoding the Iceman's genetic make-up, a research team has now made another major breakthrough in mummy research: Using just a pinhead-sized sample of brain tissue from the world-famous glacier corpse, the team was able to extract and analyze...

The world-famous mummy gets a new exam showing head trauma caused his death. Continue reading →

A controversial theory holds invaders from Iberia may have massacred much of Ireland’s male population

The shores of the Sea of Galilee, located in the North of Israel, are home to a number of significant archaeological sites. Now researchers from Tel Aviv University have found an ancient structure deep beneath the waves as well