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])