scholarly journals The Earliest Maya Farmers of Peten: New Evidence from Buenavista-Nuevo San José, Central Peten Lakes Region, Guatemala

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanette E. Castellanos ◽  
Antonia E. Foias
Keyword(s):  
Strong Interactions ◽  
San Jose ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Early Settlement ◽  
Early Farming ◽  
Early Farmers ◽  
New Evidence

The origins and cultural affiliations of the first sedentary agricultural and pottery-producing communities in the southern Maya lowlands remain hotly debated. Here, we describe the discovery of a new early farming settlement at the small site of Buenavista-Nuevo San José on Lake Peten Itza in northern Guatemala. Evidence for a pre-Mamom occupation (1000–700 BC) at this site was found in the deepest fill layers overlying bedrock, including pottery diagnostic of this time period and the remains of a post-in-bedrock dwelling. Because the evidence for this early settlement is from secondary contexts and because four radiocarbon dates cover a broad chronological range, the best evidence for the pre-Mamom occupation consists of the ceramics recovered in the excavations. The closest links of the pre-Mamom pottery at Buenavista-Nuevo San José are with the Eb complex at Tikal and the Cunil complex of Cahal Pech, Belize, suggesting strong interactions between these early groups. The discovery of pre-Mamom pottery at Buenavista also suggests that the early farmers were more widespread than previously suggested. Furthermore, the presence of Olmecoid symbols incised on the pre-Mamom pottery at Buenavista-Nuevo San José indicates that these early communities were immersed in broad pan-Mesoamerican spheres of interaction.

Can natural or anthropogenic explanations of late-Holocene CO2 and CH4 increases be falsified?

The Holocene ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 865-8879 ◽  
Author(s):  
W.F. Ruddiman ◽  
J.E. Kutzbach ◽  
S.J. Vavrus
Keyword(s):  
Late Holocene ◽  
Anthropogenic Sources ◽  
Carbon Burial ◽  
Peat Deposits ◽  
New Synthesis ◽  
Rice Irrigation ◽  
German Philosopher ◽  
Early Farming ◽  
Early Farmers ◽  
New Evidence

Concentrations of CO2 and CH4 in the atmosphere rose slowly during the millennia prior to the industrial era. Opposing explanations for these increases have invoked natural and anthropogenic sources. Here we revisit this argument using new evidence to see whether either explanation can be falsified (disproven, in the sense proposed by German philosopher Karl Popper). Two lines of evidence suggest that natural explanations for the CH4 increase are falsified: (1) the absence of any sustained methane increase early in seven interglaciations prior to the Holocene; and (2) weakening emissions during the last 5000 years from the two largest global sources of CH4 – north tropical and boreal wetlands. Consistent with this interpretation, a new synthesis of archeological data from southern Asia reported in this issue indicates an exponential increase in CH4 emissions from expanding rice irrigation during the last 5000 years. Neither the anthropogenic nor the natural explanations for the CO2 increase can at this point be falsified. Previous studies that rejected the early anthropogenic hypothesis based on the small size of early farming populations ignored a rich array of archeological and historical evidence showing that early farmers used much more land per capita than those in the centuries just before the industrial era. Previous interpretations of very small terrestrial (anthropogenic and other) carbon emissions during the last 7000 years based on the δ13CO2 record failed to incorporate credible estimates of very large carbon burial in boreal peat lands during the late Holocene. Allowance for larger burial in peat deposits requires much greater emissions of anthropogenic carbon to balance the δ13CO2 budget. The prevalence of downward CO2 trends during equivalent intervals early in previous interglaciations poses a major problem for natural explanations of the late-Holocene CO2 increase.

scholarly journals Regional diversity in subsistence among early farmers in Southeast Europe revealed by archaeological organic residues

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1894) ◽  
pp. 20182347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy J. E. Cramp ◽  
Jonathan Ethier ◽  
Dushka Urem-Kotsou ◽  
Clive Bonsall ◽  
Dušan Borić ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Residues ◽  
Southeast Europe ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Economic Practices ◽  
Early Farming ◽  
Transformative Process ◽  
Climatic Range ◽  
Early Farmers ◽  
Early Pottery ◽  
Neolithic Pottery

The spread of early farming across Europe from its origins in Southwest Asia was a culturally transformative process which took place over millennia. Within regions, the pace of the transition was probably related to the particular climatic and environmental conditions encountered, as well as the nature of localized hunter–gatherer and farmer interactions. The establishment of farming in the interior of the Balkans represents the first movement of Southwest Asian livestock beyond their natural climatic range, and widespread evidence now exists for early pottery being used extensively for dairying. However, pottery lipid residues from sites in the Iron Gates region of the Danube in the northern Balkans show that here, Neolithic pottery was being used predominantly for processing aquatic resources. This stands out not only within the surrounding region but also contrasts markedly with Neolithic pottery use across wider Europe. These findings provide evidence for the strategic diversity within the wider cultural and economic practices during the Neolithic, with this exceptional environmental and cultural setting offering alternative opportunities despite the dominance of farming in the wider region.

In the light of new data: The population of the first farming communities in the eastern Marmara region

2020 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-77
Author(s):  
M. Songül Alpaslan-Roodenberg ◽  
Jacob Roodenberg
Keyword(s):  
Demographic Data ◽  
Mortuary Practices ◽  
Marmara Region ◽  
Sea Of Marmara ◽  
Degenerative Arthritis ◽  
Farming Communities ◽  
High Infant Mortality ◽  
Early Farming ◽  
Attitude Toward Death ◽  
Early Farmers

AbstractFollowing on from a few decades of osteological analysis this study presents an assessment of the data retrieved from human population samples provided by four early farming sites, namely Ilıpınar, Menteşe, Barcın and Aktopraklık, located in the lake basins southeast of the Sea of Marmara. It highlights various aspects of that population such as demographic data, health, trauma, and ancient people’s attitude toward death. The research aims to identify and discuss similarities and dissimilarities between the studied Neolithic settlements in this region, especially with regard to paleo-demographic data and the use of violence. With exception of a small group of burials at Aktopraklık that contrasted with regular inhumations, it seems that mortuary practices barely differed from one community to another, and transcended across regional boundaries. The use of wooden planks covering the bottom of grave pits, which were first discovered at Ilıpınar, may serve as an example. Early farmers of the eastern Marmara region suffered mostly from joint diseases and degenerative arthritis. Their life expectancy was similar for adults of both sexes, at between 25–40 years, while two of the four communities showed high infant mortality.

scholarly journals Honey-collecting in prehistoric West Africa from 3500 years ago

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Dunne ◽  
Alexa Höhn ◽  
Gabriele Franke ◽  
Katharina Neumann ◽  
Peter Breunig ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Residue Analysis ◽  
Fatty Acyl ◽  
Prehistoric Pottery ◽  
Alkanoic Acids ◽  
Complex Lipid ◽  
Ceramic Vessels ◽  
Early Farming ◽  
Early Farmers ◽  
Chemical Evidence

AbstractHoney and other bee products were likely a sought-after foodstuff for much of human history, with direct chemical evidence for beeswax identified in prehistoric ceramic vessels from Europe, the Near East and Mediterranean North Africa, from the 7th millennium BC. Historical and ethnographic literature from across Africa suggests bee products, honey and larvae, had considerable importance both as a food source and in the making of honey-based drinks. Here, to investigate this, we carry out lipid residue analysis of 458 prehistoric pottery vessels from the Nok culture, Nigeria, West Africa, an area where early farmers and foragers co-existed. We report complex lipid distributions, comprising n-alkanes, n-alkanoic acids and fatty acyl wax esters, which provide direct chemical evidence of bee product exploitation and processing, likely including honey-collecting, in over one third of lipid-yielding Nok ceramic vessels. These findings highlight the probable importance of honey collecting in an early farming context, around 3500 years ago, in West Africa.

Introduction

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Kathryn Brown ◽  
George J. Bey
Keyword(s):  
Social Complexity ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Classic Maya ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Time Period ◽  
New Information ◽  
Preclassic Maya ◽  
Middle Preclassic ◽  
First Time

This introduction to the edited volume by Brown and Bey summarizes past research on the Preclassic Maya and discusses an explosion of new information from the last fifteen years pushing back the origins of social complexity into the Middle Preclassic. This chapter highlights the fact that this volume brings together important archaeology and research considering the Middle and Late Preclassic periods from both the southern and northern Maya lowlands for the first time. The Late Preclassic was long thought to be the time period by which archaeologists could explain the rise and nature of Classic Maya culture. However, as the fifteen chapters in this volume argue, any discussion of the development of social complexity must be focused on the Middle Preclassic (1000-300 B.C.).

scholarly journals New evidence for an early settlement of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico: The Chan Hol 3 woman and her meaning for the Peopling of the Americas

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. e0227984 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Stinnesbeck ◽  
Samuel R. Rennie ◽  
Jerónimo Avilés Olguín ◽  
Sarah R. Stinnesbeck ◽  
Silvia Gonzalez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Yucatan Peninsula ◽  
Yucatán Peninsula ◽  
Peopling Of The Americas ◽  
Early Settlement ◽  
New Evidence

scholarly journals Radiocarbon Dates from Jar and Coffin Burials of the Cardamom Mountains Reveal a Unique Mortuary Ritual in Cambodia's Late- to Post-Angkor Period (15th–17th Centuries AD)

Radiocarbon ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 54 (01) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Beavan ◽  
Sian Halcrow ◽  
Bruce McFadgen ◽  
Derek Hamilton ◽  
Brendan Buckley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phnom Penh ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Mortuary Ritual ◽  
Island Southeast Asia ◽  
Calendar Date ◽  
Exposed Rock ◽  
15Th Century ◽  
Funerary Rituals ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Burial Rituals

We present the first radiocarbon dates from previously unrecorded, secondary burials in the Cardamom Mountains, Cambodia. The mortuary ritual incorporates nautical tradeware ceramic jars and log coffins fashioned from locally harvested trees as burial containers, which were set out on exposed rock ledges at 10 sites in the eastern Cardamom Massif. The suite of 2814C ages from 4 of these sites (Khnorng Sroal, Phnom Pel, Damnak Samdech, and Khnang Tathan) provides the first estimation of the overall time depth of the practice. The most reliable calendar date ranges from the 4 sites reveals a highland burial ritual unrelated to lowland Khmer culture that was practiced from cal AD 1395 to 1650. The time period is concurrent with the 15th century decline of Angkor as the capital of the Khmer kingdom and its demise about AD 1432, and the subsequent shift of power to new Mekong trade ports such as Phnom Penh, Udong, and Lovek. We discuss the Cardamom ritual relative to known funerary rituals of the pre- to post-Angkorian periods, and to similar exposed jar and coffin burial rituals in Mainland and Island Southeast Asia.

scholarly journals New Evidence from the East Polynesian Gateway: Substantive and Methodological Results from Aitutaki, Southern Cook Islands

Radiocarbon ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 1163-1179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melinda S Allen ◽  
Rod Wallace
Keyword(s):  
New Age ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
Human Settlements ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Cook Islands ◽  
Island Colonization ◽  
Settlement Period ◽  
Biological Evidence ◽  
New Evidence

East Polynesia was the geographic terminus of prehistoric human expansion across the globe and the southern Cook Islands, the first archipelago west of Samoa, a gateway to this region. Fourteen new radiocarbon dates from one of the oldest human settlements in this archipelago, the Ureia site (AIT-10) on Aitutaki Island, now indicate occupation from cal AD 1225–1430 (1σ), nearly 300 yr later than previously suggested. Although now among the most securely dated central East Polynesian sites, the new age estimate for Ureia places it outside the settlement period of either the long or short chronology models. The new dates have, however, led to a comfortable fit with the Ureia biological evidence, which suggests not a virgin landscape, but a highly a modified fauna and flora. The results also provide the first systematic demonstration of inbuilt age in tropical Pacific trees, a finding that may explain widely divergent 14C results from several early East Polynesian sites and has implications for the dating of both island colonization and subsequent intra-island dispersals.

Social identities and the expansion of stone bead-making in Neolithic Western Asia: new evidence from Jordan

Antiquity ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 77 (296) ◽  
pp. 267-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Wright ◽  
Andrew Garrard
Keyword(s):  
Social Role ◽  
Social Identities ◽  
Western Asia ◽  
Large Expansion ◽  
Early Farming ◽  
New Evidence

From their research in Jordan, the authors show that the appearance of early farming and herding communities in western Asia coincided with a large expansion in stone bead production. This reflects a new social role for personal ornament.

scholarly journals The Interpretation of Mesolithic Structures in Britain: New Evidence from Criet Dubh, Isle of Mull, & Alternative Approaches to Chronological Analysis for Inferring Occupation Tempos & Settlement Patterns

2018 ◽  
Vol 84 ◽  
pp. 77-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Mithen ◽  
Karen Wicks ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Bayesian Analysis ◽  
Settlement Patterns ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Alternative Approaches ◽  
New Evidence

The number of Mesolithic structures known in Britain has significantly increased since 2000, providing new opportunities for economic and social interpretations of this period. We describe a further structure, represented by features from the Mesolithic site of Criet Dubh, Isle of Mull. We compare the inferred Criet Dubh structure to other Mesolithic structures from Britain, notably those described as ‘pit-houses’. We then consider the implications of the radiocarbon dates from such structures for the tempo of occupation and past settlement patterns. While the use of Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates has encouraged interpretations of prolonged occupation and sedentism, we propose alternative interpretations with patterns of intermittent occupation for Criet Dubh and the pit-houses, involving their re-use after extended periods of abandonment within a sparsely populated landscape. The ability to debate such interpretations reflects the transformation in Mesolithic research made possible by the discovery of such structures, the use of multiple radiocarbon determinations, the application of Bayesian analysis, and the exploration of associations between cultural and environmental change. These developments have made the Mesolithic a particularly innovative period of study.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document