Southern Mesopotamia boasts an extensive corpus of written records dating back to the fourth millennium BCE, illustrating the region's early use of writing for resource management. After a presentation of the investigation tools of Assyriologists, the present contribution offers three case studies on the management of animal exploitation, plant cultivation, and hydraulic infrastructures, respectively, integrating zooarchaeological, archaeobotanical, and environmental models to enhance our understanding of Babylonian management of resources.
New archaeobotanical and isotopic analyses from the lower Gypsades hill, Knossos provide a detailed snapshot of agricultural practices associated with a modest household during the Late Bronze Age, a few hundred metres to the south of the palace. The discovery of in situ charred concentrations of five pulse crops in a storage room enabled archaeobotanical and stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic investigations of the household's agricultural practices at the time of the fire that destroyed the building. This event took place around the time of or soon after the destruction(s) of the palace. In conjunction with previous archaeobotanical and isotopic investigations at Knossos, particularly those of the Final Palatial Minoan Unexplored Mansion, the archaeobotany and isotope ecology of the Gypsades household illustrate its strategies of resilience under shifting political circumstances and climatic conditions.
During the transition from the Medieval Climate Anomaly to the Little Ice Age (14th-15th centuries CE), Mainland Southeast Asia underwent climatic shifts that, from one historical perspective, culminated in the Angkor megadroughts and the subsequent fall of Angkor. This study examines whether such changes also altered the monsoonal wind regime enough to affect maritime connectivity between the Mekong River mouth and Quanzhou, China. Using the Digital Navigator, a sequential least-cost sailing model, together with the Last Millennium Ensemble (LME) paleoclimate dataset, we simulated weekly voyages in both directions from 1300 to 1499 CE and compared the results with LME-derived climate metrics. Within optimal sailing windows, voyage durations remained stable, showing no long-term trends and closely matching simulations based on modern wind data - even during the LME-identified megadrought. Variations appear driven by normal monsoonal dynamics: voyage durations from Quanzhou to the Mekong moderately correlate with the Oceanic Ni & ntilde;o Index. Outside the sailing windows, there are other moderate correlations with the aforementioned index and monsoon onset; however, these are periods when long-distance sailing was unlikely to be attempted. This study also illustrates the value of paleoclimate datasets for sailing simulations in archaeologically recent periods.
Economic utility indices are a methodological tool widely used in zooarchaeology to assess transport and consumption through the analysis of anatomical frequencies. In this work, we derived a meat utility index (MUI) for Ozotoceros bezoarticus and Subulo gouazoubira. Data were compared between both species, along with available data for S. gouazoubira, Hippocamelus bisulcus, Odocoileus virginianus, Rangifer tarandus, and Capreolus capreolus. Three modes of anatomical grouping were analysed to reduce the variability caused by applying different division criteria. The axial region is the highest-ranking portion in the standardised MUI, followed by the hind limbs, then the front limbs, and finally the head. Correlation values greater than 0.86 were obtained among all species for the three analysed modes, indicating a high similarity in their relative anatomical returns across the family. Multivariate analyses cluster closely related species, with one group containing pampas deer, guazubir & aacute;, and huemul (all from South America), and another group comprising species from the Northern Hemisphere. This work provides a MUI for pampas deer, and a new MUI and weight data for gray brocket deer; also proposes a standardised anatomical segmentation that aids to cross-species comparability; and lastly, discusses the intercambiability of MUI across cervids in archaeological datasets.
Zooarchaeological assemblages provide critical, diachronic data reflecting long-term subsistence trends influenced by changing technologies, environments, human activities and species introductions. Such data are imperative in regions such as the Caribbean where island ecosystems are facing rapid declines in biodiversity and increased habitat loss. While the Caribbean has received increased zooarchaeological attention in recent years, the southern islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Cura & ccedil;ao (the ABC islands) remain understudied, with much of the existing data scattered throughout the published and grey literature. Here we combine faunal data from 26 archaeological sites dating from ca. 4000 BC to the late nineteenth century to provide the first synthesis of zooarchaeological data for the ABC islands. Our results identify spatial and regional trends in the available faunal assemblage data and reveal current knowledge gaps that prevent meaningful integration of zooarchaeological data into environmental and heritage conservation planning. We recommend that future research focused on (1) increasing taxonomic resolution; (2) clarifying the arrival and legacy effects of introduced fauna; (3) improving chronological resolution; and (4) increasing data availability and comparability can bridge these gaps, enhancing the applied value of zooarchaeological data for ongoing conservation and heritage management in the Southern Caribbean.
This introduction to the Special Issue contextualises a selection of papers presented at Session 253 of the 26th European Association of Archaeologists Meeting (26th-30th August 2020) on the transition from the Roman period to the Early Middle Ages. Drawing on an interdisciplinary framework that integrates zooarchaeology, archaeobotany, geoarchaeology, and historical sources, the contributions explore how rural communities adapted to the demise of Roman politico-economic structures and the formation of early medieval societies. The volume's broad geographical coverage, together with the use of spatial, diachronic, and site-type comparative analyses, reveals shared trends as well as regional divergences in this transitional period.
Understanding past practices of plant resource gathering is central to the interpretation of human-environment interactions in archaeological contexts. This study examines the selection and use of wild plant resources - particularly woody taxa - by past societies that inhabited central Argentina, focusing on the Austral Pampean Hills. The analysis is based on a comprehensive review of archaeological and archaeobotanical research conducted over recent decades. Although archaeobotany in the region has developed well-established research lines, such as anthracology, microremain studies, and carpology, significant gaps persist in our understanding of gathering and selection practices across both hunter-gatherer and more sedentary societies, particularly during the Early and Middle Holocene. Ethnobotanical and ethnoarchaeological evidence from the Chaco forest phytogeographic region is integrated to highlight the diversity of uses and meanings attributed to woody species, demonstrating that individual taxa may fulfil multiple social, economic, and symbolic roles. This perspective provides a framework for developing new research questions, especially when considered alongside taphonomic processes and preservation biases in different archaeological contexts. Additionally, we examine the structural and floristic variability of Chaco forest vegetation associated with archaeological sites as an initial approach to reconstructing past plant communities and forested landscapes. While acknowledging the need for further paleoenvironmental research, this study offers a baseline for future regional-scale models of human occupation, mobility, and plant resource selection that explicitly incorporate vegetation dynamics.
This paper examines the role of pigs in Mesopotamian cultures from the Uruk to Old Babylonian periods through a synthesis of zooarchaeological, textual and iconographic data. Pigs constituted a major component of Mesopotamian foodways, particularly in cities, and this paper synthesises the different and complementary lines of evidence for suid-human relations written in bones, clay tablets and artistic representations. It summarises regional and temporal variations in pig husbandry, including potentially different husbandry practices in northern and southern Mesopotamia. I also examine a seemingly paradoxical situation: despite their dietary significance, pigs were underrepresented in administrative texts and iconography, suggesting they held a different symbolic value than other livestock. Indeed, across time and space, pigs held little significance to institutional economies recorded in administrative documents. Pigs therefore reveal important differences between the subsistence and political economies of ancient Mesopotamia.
In this paper we present a small assemblage recovered in the older part of the city of Coimbra (Portugal), under the National Museum Machado de Castro, where human occupation was identified since the Iron Age. Animal remains were present from the Roman until the modern period. The study of discarded food refuse over time provides a perspective into the evolution of local animal use and management. Sheep and goat were the most exploited species throughout; cattle, the second most represented group, gain increasing importance in later periods, especially the modern one. Malacological finds indicate mainly the presence of estuarine species, suggesting the consistent use of this nearby ecotone in the various periods of occupation. Birds were also part of the assemblage, including galliformes, anatids and a few wild species. Some samples from later modern contexts seem to show the exploitation of marine resources, although most of the remains come from mammals. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of medieval faunal remains reveal dietary variability among domestic species, reflecting diverse animal management practices, especially for chickens. Overall, this work contributes novel insights into diet and human-animal relationships in Coimbra down the centuries.
The Nordic Bronze Age (1700-500 BCE) was a period of profound socio-cultural transformation, evidenced by the interment of elites in mortuary monuments and by novel participation in wider European exchange networks. Emmer, spelt and naked barley were staple crops cultivated throughout the Bronze Age, with other cultivars added to the agricultural repetoire and permanent fielding systems installed by the mid-first millennium BCE. However, little is known about how these crops were managed through manuring and watering. Here, we investigate agricultural development at the multi-period Bronze Age site of Bjerre through stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of charred emmer/spelt, naked barley and free-threshing wheat grains combined with functional weed ecology analysis. Cultivation strategies at Bjerre minimally disturbed soils and involved limited manuring, suggesting low labour inputs and an extensive agricultural regime. By the Late Bronze Age, agricultural investment at Bjerre intensified somewhat, a development that was accompanied by a shift to more permanent fields. Notably, manuring intensity did not change over the course of the Bronze Age for any crop species. Furthermore, low carbon and nitrogen isotopic variation visible in free-threshing wheat compared to emmer/spelt and naked barley may indicate that cultivation of free-threshing wheat took place on a more limited scale. Overall, these agricultural practices were largely sustained over the Bronze Age, suggesting strong transmission of agricultural knowledge passed along generations.
Ferrazo (Vilagarc & iacute;a de Arousa, Pontevedra, Spain) - in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula - is a complex Roman site originally located on the seashore including a cetaria (fish-salting factory). The extremely good preservation of this site offered the possibility of enlarging our current knowledge about fish-salting production in northwest Iberia, where these productive sites dedicated to marine resource exploitation were frequently established along the coastal areas during the Roman Period. We present the archaeological excavation record and the results of a multidisciplinary analysis after systematic sampling of a salting vat content. Our multidisciplinary approach combines ichthyofaunal studies, scanning electron microscopy Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), conventional analytical pyrolysis (Py-GC-MS), thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation (THM-GC-MS), archaeobotanical analysis, and AMS radiocarbon dating. Sardina pilchardus is the almost exclusive fish species preserved within the vat involved in fish-salting, which were processed entirely, in accordance with ichthyofaunal remains and chemical markers. The presence of fragments of charred wood might be related to the addition of wood ash during the production process.
Dutch wetlands hold key evidence for the onset of farming, yet plant proxies from levee records outside excavated settlements have been largely underused. This study applies a comparative framework to plant macroremains, pollen, phytoliths and charred herbaceous plant tissues (CHPT) from a levee core to assess wetland suitability for early agriculture. Proxies were sampled from identical horizons, converted to relative depth-wise densities and regrouped into shared ecological and anatomical-taxonomic categories. This scale allows direct comparison by horizon, clarifies taphonomic and depositional influence on the assemblage, and reduces proxy-specific interpretative bias. The core sequence distinguishes four phases: a peat-forming bog/wet heath with little evidence of human activity; rapid clay sedimentation with sparse local plant input; a well-drained upper clay with peaks in cereal-type phytoliths and CHPT indicating managed, repeatedly burned grasslands; an overlying peat/detritus recording drowning and continued burning on emergent patches. High phytolith densities in levels with low macroremains reveal taphonomic loss rather than vegetation absence, refining the timing and character of an agricultural suitability window. Overall, the integrative multi-proxy approach points to an interval in the later fifth to middle fourth millennium BCE during which parts of the levee were periodically suitable for agriculture and subject to human management.
Megafauna in South America became extinct by the end of the Late Pleistocene and the relative role of human influence, climate, and other indirect factors in driving these population declines is still a matter of debate. The Campo Laborde archeological site (Pampas, Argentina) offers an exceptional opportunity to understand the complex interactions between climate, ecosystems, and human populations during that time. This study integrates biological proxies (pollen, diatoms, chrysophytes, silicophytoliths) within a stratigraphic framework (sedimentological and geochemical analyses) to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental conditions that prevailed before, during, and after the megamammal hunting and processing event. The results indicate a gradual environmental shift from a stable aquatic environment characterised by greater water availability to a more unstable, shallow and periodically desiccated aquatic environment. Particularly, during the human occupation of the site (similar to 12,600 cal years BP), the shallow and flooded areas acted as attractive zones due to the availability of vital resources such as water, vegetation, and fauna. This environmental evolution was primarily driven by local factors (e.g. topographic setting and hydrological dynamics) and secondarily by regional processes (seasonal precipitation). These results emphasise the importance of paleoecological studies to reconstruct detailed environmental histories at both local and regional scales.
The challenging conditions for human and animal survival in the late Pleistocene due to climatic fluctuations during the Last Glacial Period have been of great interest, but more discoveries are needed to scientifically understand the changes in human/animal lifestyles during this period. In this study, we analysed new stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic data from 13 species of herbivores and omnivores (n = 37) skeletal remains found at the Laoya Cave (Laoyadong) site on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau to explore the variations in foraging strategies of these different animal species under climate changes during the Last Glacial Period. We found that the herbivores and omnivores in the vicinity of Laoya Cave may have experienced two different modes of foraging adaptation in the context of an environment that became dry and cold from the marine isotope stage 3 (MIS3) phase to the marine isotope stage 2 (MIS2). The foraging patterns of herbivores were more variable, while those of omnivores were less variable. This study contributes to our better understanding of the environmental adaptations of animals during the Last Glacial Period in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau region, Southwestern China.
Mollusc shells, commonly preserved in archaeological records worldwide, capture high-resolution, sub-annual environmental information at local scales through the incorporation of chemical elements during their formation. These geochemical signals can be used to infer the season of shellfish collection by past human populations. This study presents new seasonal data derived from magnesium-to-calcium (Mg/Ca) ratios in Patella caerulea Linnaeus, 1758 from the archaeological site of Haua Fteah in northern Cyrenaica (Libya, North Africa). Our data were obtained through elemental mapping using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), which enables the visualisation of intra-shell geochemical variation at high spatial resolution. The results provide detailed reconstructions of shellfish collection seasonality from the Capsian to the Neolithic periods, covering a similar to 5,000 year span from the latest Pleistocene through the Early-Mid Holocene. We demonstrate that mollusc gathering occurred throughout the year, with a higher frequency in the autumn and winter seasons, suggesting that marine resource use was more consistent than previously assumed. We compare our data with previous seasonality studies of different mollusc species to demonstrate that seasonal collection patterns varied between mollusc species, suggesting differences in marine exploitation subsistence strategies, probably related to the availability of other food resources, energetic return and mollusc processing techniques.
This study presents the first paleoparasitological investigation of rodent coprolites from the Argentine Puna, a high-altitude arid region of the Central Andes. Sixty-six coprolites recovered from the Alero Ca & iacute;do 1 archaeological site (Jujuy Province, Argentina) were morphologically described and microscopically examined. The coprolites were recovered from six stratigraphic levels (Levels 1-6), corresponding to Holocene occupations of the site. Three coprolite morphotypes were identified. Fifteen samples (23%) were positive to parasitic remains. The parasite taxa found were: Trichuris sp., Paraspidodera sp., Helminthoxys sp., Monoecocestus sp., Viscachataenia quadrata, and Strongylus-type eggs. Morphological and parasitological evidence suggest that the coprolites originated from different rodent taxa: myomorph rodents (Cricetidae) for Morphotype 1, and caviomorph rodents (Caviomorpha), particularly the mountain viscacha (Lagidium viscacia) and likely Octodontidae species, for Morphotypes 2 and 3. These findings extend the known geographic distribution of ancient parasites in South America and provide novel insights into rodent diversity, host-parasite relationships, and paleoecological conditions in high-altitude Andean environments. The results highlight the potential of rodent coprolites as paleoecological archives for reconstructing faunal communities, biocultural interactions, and environmental dynamics in prehistoric Andean landscapes.
Archaeomalacological evidence offers important insights into dietary habits, shell use, human-environment dynamics, climate variability, and broader aspects of cultural behaviour. In this study, an extensive collection of molluscan remains from Muweilah, an Iron Age II (1000-600BC) site in the United Arab Emirates, were examined with respect to their taxonomy, taphonomy, and environment of origin. The analysis includes a total of 40,668 individuals from 54 taxa, which are dominated by the gastropods Terebralia palustris and Hexaplex kuesterianus and the bivalves Marcia cordata and Ostreoidea sp. Most specimens originate from mangrove and littoral environments and show a high degree of taphonomic alterations including fragmentation, ablation, superficial cracks, surface abrasion and different states of preservation with respect to colouration and shininess. These taphonomic features are consistent with the dominant taxa being used for sustenance, possibly supplemented by bivalves such as Anadara and Pinctada. The variation in taphonomic patterns likely reflects differences in processing as well as a species-specific cooking methods. Further remains, including Cypraea sp., Conus sp., and Strombidae sp., were likely collected for use as ornaments or utensils. Some specimens appear to have served as flooring material, while others, gathered as by-catch or through beach collection, may have been repurposed as tools.
The future of food systems depends upon diversifying crops. Archaeobotany offers insights into the past use of different plant foods, including minor or underutilised crops. Bitter vetch (Vicia ervilia (L.) Willd.) is an ancient crop once widespread in parts of southern Europe and southwest Asia, and beyond. Routine consumption of this pulse by prehistoric communities has been questioned due to its mild toxicity and current limited use as fodder or famine food. Processing of bitter vetch, such as seed coat removal (dehulling), can reduce the toxin concentration, enhancing human edibility of the crop. Here, we present rarely preserved evidence for the dehulling of bitter vetch seeds from the mid-5th millennium cal BCE lakeshore settlement of Plo & ccaron;a Mi & ccaron;ov Grad, Lake Ohrid, North Macedonia. We suggest that the community routinely consume bitter vetch following its transformation from a toxic plant to a safe and nourishing crop. Due to its drought tolerance and low soil fertility requirements, this underutilised crop is the focus of renewed interest. The prehistoric value placed on this climate-resilient pulse addresses calls for further scientific research into and public awareness of this underutilised crop for conservation and cultivation in efforts to diversify food systems.
