Recent
Discoveries and Results
2009
- Patterning in the archaeobiological remains from Gordion, Turkey, provides evidence of a
continuum in agropastoral practice. At one end, high ratios of seeds of wild
plants vs. cultivated cereal grains (calculated as count/weight) and high proportions of the
bones of sheep, goat, and deer are signatures of a subsistence economy focussed on pastoral
production. At the other, low wild:cereal ratios along with high proportions of the bones of
cattle, pig, and hare indicate an economy more focused on agriculture. The highpoint of
agricultural intensification occurs in the Middle Phrygian period, a time of great wealth, but
the norm for the region shows shows that the most sustainable land use around
the ancient settlement emphasized pastoral production. The signatures for agricultural or
pastoral emphasis is remarkably similar to that seen on sites along the Euphrates, as
reported in MRPS 1997. (See "From Food and
Fuel to Farms and
Flocks," by
N.F. Miller, M.A. Zeder, and S.R. Arter, Current
Anthropology 50: 915-924.)
2008
- Emotional news for lovers of a dry white wine. The blissful Hippocrene
was composed from wild grapes from the sixth millennium BC in the lands
of its natural habitat. But, as the author shows, the cultivation,
domestication and selective breeding of the grape following
in the Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age was aimed primarily at the
enjoyment of its sweetness.
Sweeter than Wine? The Use of the Grape in Early Western Asia.
Antiquity 82:937-946.
2006
- The serendipitous discovery that the default shape of a mudball is
biconical inspired research into spindle whorls. It turned out that all
things being equal, center-weighted spindle whorls are most suited fibers
that need more twist; linen fibers need a lot of twist, and the crimped,
scaly fibers of sheep wool need relatively little twist. Early west Asian
ceramic spindle whorls are normally biconical. It may be no
coincidence, therefore, that our first evidence for spindle whorls
roughly coincides with our first evidence for spun fibers, i.e., flax!
("Serendipity: Secrets of the Mudballs," by Naomi F. Miller, Kimberly E.
Leaman, and Julie Unruh.
Expedition
48(3):40-41. Don't miss Mudball: The Movie!
- Plant remains from three sites in the Kur River Basin spanning the
late seventh to mid fifth millennium B.C. suggest that the
post-Pleistocene advance of the oak forest had not yet reached that area.
("Some Plant Remains from the 2004 Excavations of Tall-e Mushki, Tall-e
Jari A and B, an Tall-e Bakun A and B," by Naomi F. Miller and Masoumeh
Kimiaie, in The Origins of State Organizations in Prehistoric Highland Fars,
?outhern Iran. Excavations at Tall-e Bakun) [pdf on-line]
2004
- Human impact on the vegetation of west Asia can be traced with the
earliest archaeobotanical records to those of the Iron Age. Local
deforestation is reflected in changes in proportions of dominant tree
taxa as well as increasing seed:charcoal raios (reflecting increases in
dung fuel use relative to wood). Although long- and short-term climate
fluctuations undoubtedly occurred, their impact on vegetation
was negligible compared to human impact. ("Long-Term Vegetation Changes in
the Near
East." In The Archaeology of Global Change. The Impact of Humans on
Their Environment, eds. C.L. Redman, S.R. James, P.R. Fish, and
J.D. Rogers, pp. 130-140. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C.
[Download pdf])
Home -
Publications list -
Archive of 'Recent Discoveries'