This study presents a synthesis of published survey data together with fresh evidence for iron metallurgy from the site of Lungi Tepa in the Kugitangtau and Baysuntau mountain ranges and their piedmonts in southern Uzbekistan. To date, a total of 34 sites associated with mining and/or metal processing have been identified by various researchers in the region. The majority of these sites are associated with iron production and are broadly dated to the Medieval period. However, these interpretations are generally not supported by robust archaeological evidence, and the published descriptions of the phenomenon are characterised by inconsistencies in both terminology and interpretation. Recent excavations at Lungi Tepa yielded an assemblage of 24 iron smelting and smithing slags, together with an iron semi-product. Macroscopic examination, metallographic analysis, and portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) analysis indicate iron production using shaft furnaces equipped for slag tapping. The stratigraphic distribution of the slag assemblage, supported by radiocarbon dating, indicates that its deposition at the site can be securely dated to the 9th–10th centuries CE, implying local iron smelting activity in the vicinity of the settlement during the High Medieval period. A possible earlier onset of this activity in the Early Medieval period cannot be excluded, but this hypothesis requires further confirmation. The evidence from Lungi Tepa is critically compared with previously published research in order to assess which interpretations are supported by robust archaeological evidence. Overall, the study highlights the Kugitangtau and Baysuntau mountain ranges and their piedmonts as a Medieval metallurgical landscape characterised by iron production.
This study discusses the application of an integrated geo-ethnoarchaeological methodology developed within the framework of the study of Anthropic Activity Markers (AAMs) to examine chemical spatial patterns in agro-pastoral settlements and circumvent the overarching issues of ancient pastoral open-air settlements. The framework of AAMs is particularly useful in these types of settlements because, though few material remains may be present and stratigraphy may consist only of thin deposits, sediments and the residues fixed within them from human activity are enduring. The methodological approach to identify chemical AAMs by means of portable X-Ray Fluorescence (pXRF) is applied within one inhabited and one abandoned ethnographic context characterized as agro-pastoral settlements of Maitengwe, Botswana. The results show that ash/combustion features, prepared floors, and animal enclosures produced the most distinctive multi-element signatures, whereas other activity areas, such as granaries, displayed greater variability. Comparison between an inhabited (E3) and an abandoned (A1) settlement demonstrates that some geochemical signatures remain detectable after abandonment, while others appear to be modified by post-depositional processes, cleaning practices, and/or the intensity of occupation. These results contribute to a repository of chemical AAMs of agro-pastoral contexts that can later be compared to geochemical datasets from archaeological sites.
This study presents and discusses the first results of an analysis of charcoal remains recovered from the rural tell site of Zeytinli Bahçe (southeastern Türkiye), in the middle part of the valley of the Euphrates River. The anthracological record from the site provides valuable insights into resource acquisition and vegetation dynamics from the Chalcolithic to the Bronze Age, and this paper is the first to include Late Chalcolithic vegetation data from the middle Euphrates region. The results indicate that the exploitation of oak woodland characterizes the Chalcolithic phases, whereas predominant exploitation of the floodplain vegetation characterizes the Bronze Age phases. At first glance, these findings appear to be in contradiction with the superregional trend toward drier conditions in the Fertile Crescent. However, a comparison with other tell sites in southeastern Türkiye and northern Syria suggests that the data reflect a shift in wood acquisition strategies rather than a change in vegetation in the surroundings of the site. Although changes in vegetation cannot be excluded, clear indications of vegetation change are lacking in the anthracological data. The incorporation of faunal remains into the interpretation helps elucidate the documented change in woodland exploitation strategies: The archaeozoological data from Zeytinli Bahçe and other sites of the same time period in the middle Euphrates indicate a growing exploitation of pig despite a decreasing exploitation of oak woodland, supporting our conclusion that this decrease resulted from cultural choice rather than environmental change.
