The Importance of Radiocarbon Dating To Archaeology

- Kelly Long, Associate State Archaeologist

Several timescale problems arise when it comes to dating archaeological samples. For example, Christian time counts the birth of Christ as the beginning, AD 1 (Anno Domini); everything that occurred before Christ is counted backwards from AD as BC (Before Christ). The Greeks consider the first Olympic Games as the beginning or 776 BC. The Muslims count the Prophet’s departure from Mecca, or the Hegira, as their beginning at AD 662. The Mayan calendar used 3114 BC as their reference. More recently is the radiocarbon date of 1950 AD or before present, BP.

There are two techniques for dating in archaeological sites: relative and absolute dating.

Relative dating stems from the idea that something is younger or older relative to something else. In a stratigraphical context objects closer to the surface are more recent in time relative to items deeper in the ground. Although relative dating can work well in certain areas, several problems arise. Rodents, for example, can create havoc in a site by moving items from one context to another. Natural disasters like floods can sweep away top layers of sites to other locations. Absolute dating represents the absolute age of the sample before the present. Historical documents and calendars can be used to find such absolute dates; however, when working in a site without such documents, it is hard for absolute dates to be determined.

As long as there is organic material present, radiocarbon dating is a universal dating technique that can be applied anywhere in the world. It is good for dating for the last 50,000 years to about 400 years ago and can create chronologies for areas that previously lacked calendars. In 1949, American chemist Willard Libby, who worked on the development of the atomic bomb, published the first set of radiocarbon dates. His radiocarbon dating technique is the most important development in absolute dating in archaeology and remains the main tool for dating the past 50,000 years.



How It Works:

Carbon has 3 isotopic forms: Carbon-12, Carbon-13, and Carbon-14. The numbers refer to the atomic weight, so Carbon-12 has 6 protons and 6 neutrons, Carbon-13 has 6 protons and 7 neutrons, and Carbon-14 has 6 protons and 8 neutrons. The extra neutrons in Carbon-14’s case make it radioactive (thus the term, radiocarbon).

Radiocarbon is produced in the upper atmosphere after Nitrogen-14 isotopes have been impacted by cosmic radiation. Radiocarbon is then taken in by plants through photosynthesis, and these plants in turn are consumed by all the organisms on the planet.

So every living thing has a certain amount of radiocarbon within them. After an organism dies, the radiocarbon decreases through a regular pattern of decay. This is called the half-life of the isotope. The time taken for half of the atoms of a radioactive isotope to decay in Carbon-14’s case is about 5730 years.

Half-lives vary according to the isotope, for example, Uranium-238 has a half-life of 4500 million years where as Nitrogen-17 has a half-life of 4.173 seconds! Looking at the graph, 100% of radiocarbon in a sample will be reduced to 50% after 5730 years. In 11,460 years, half of the 50% will remain, or 25%, and so on.



Limitations and calibration:

When Libby was first determining radiocarbon dates, he found that before 1000 BC his dates were earlier than calendar dates. He had assumed that amounts of Carbon-14 in the atmosphere had remained constant through time. In fact, levels of Carbon-14 have varied in the atmosphere through time. One good example would be the elevated levels of Carbon-14 in our atmosphere since WWII as a result of atomic bombs testing. Therefore, radiocarbon dates need to be calibrated with other dating techniques to ensure accuracy.

Plants are not the only organism that can process Carbon-14 from the air. Plankton absorbs, Carbon-14 from the ocean much like terrestrial plants absorb Carbon-14 from the air. Since plankton is the foundation of the marine food chain, Carbon-14 is spread throughout aquatic life. Shellfish remains are common in coastal and estuarine archaeological sites, but dating these samples require a correction for the “reservoir effect” a process whereby "old carbon" is recycled and incorporated into marine life especially shellfish inflating their actual age in some cases several centuries. In recognition of this problem archaeologists have developed regional reservoir correction rates based on ocean bottom topography, water temperature, coastline shape and paired samples of terrestrial and marine objects found together in an archaeological feature such as a hearth.

Long tree-ring sequences have been developed throughout the world and can be used to check and calibrate radiocarbon dates. An extensive tree-ring sequence from the present to 6700 BC was developed in Arizona using California bristlecone pine (Pinus aristata), some of which are 4900 years old, making them the oldest living things on earth. Additional sequences have been developed for oak species in Ireland and Germany, ice core samples, and coral reefs from Caribbean islands. These sequences have helped to calibrate radiocarbon dates to calendar years, thus making them more accurate. Normally after 12,500 BP, the coral dating is used.

Example of calibration: 3700 ± 100 BP (P - 685). The first number corresponds to the years before present. The second number is the standard deviation or error for the date. It creates a date range of 3600 - 3800 years before present that the sample can fall under. The letter in parenthesis is the lab the sample was shipped to, in this case Philadelphia, followed by the lab analysis number.

Bibliography:

Greene, Kevin
1983 Archaeology: An Introduction, 3rd edition, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Pp. 114-123.

Refew, Colin, and Paul Bahn
1996 Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice, 2nd edition. London: Thames and Hudson. Pp. 111-162.

Thomas, David Hurst
1998 Archaeology, 3rd edition. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers. Pp. 186-194.
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Dating the Past

1. BACKGROUND

It is difficult for prehistorians working in the twenty-first century to conceptualise the problems experienced by their predecessors, and approaches to interpretation before the 1960s are consistently criticised. Culture history and diffusionism may - with hindsight - seem excessively preoccupied with classification and social evolution, and to have applied unsophisticated historical interpretations instead of asking fundamental questions about human behaviour.

2. TYPOLOGY AND CROSS-DATING

It must be made clear at the outset that typology is not, strictly speaking, a dating method, but a means of placing artefacts into some kind of order. Classification divides things up for the purposes of description, whereas typology seeks to identify and analyse changes that will allow artefacts to be placed into sequences.

* TYPOLOGY IN TEXAS ARCHEOLOGY 'The type is the basic unit of classification in archeology. In order to establish order and to facilitate analysis, the archeologist divides his data into typological categories.' (Ellen Sue Turner and Thomas R. Hester: Texas State Historical Association

* LITHICS-Net Point Type Information: Projectile Point Data Indexed By Morphology (Shape). Guide for the identification of North American stone tools (Art Gumbus)

* Stronsay flints: 'The discovery of two tiny flint arrowheads in Stronsay could represent the earliest evidence of human activity found in Orkney – if not Scotland - to date. ... Flint experts Caroline Wickham-Jones and Torbin Ballin subsequently identified them as very early forms of prehistoric arrowheads – a type derived from a classification known as Ahrensburgian, found across the plains of north western Europe.' (Orkneyjar)

2.1. Sequence dating and seriation

These techniques both place assemblages of artefacts into relative order. Petrie used sequence dating to work back from the earliest historical phases of Egypt into pre-dynastic Neolithic times, using groups of contemporary artefacts deposited together at a single time in graves. Seriation was developed in the USA to place in order finds from strata or other kinds of assemblages such as potsherds collected from the surface of sites.

* William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853-1942) 'He developed a method for establishing the historical chronology of a site based on identifying different styles of pottery. Petrie was known and respected for his belief in the importance of evidence like pot sherds for informing the archaeologist about life in the past.' (Petrie Museum, University College London)

* AN EXERCISE IN SERIATION DATING (PDF file) 'This method of assigning dates to sites ... is based on the fact that a cultural trait, like the type of jeans worn by teens, experiences popularity peaks, in other words, an artifact's popularity rises to a high point and then trails off, sometimes even to extinction.' (George Brauer)

* SERIATION APPLET 'The purpose of this Java program is to allow you to try your hand at determining the proper chronological order the sites should be in according to their seriation.' (MSU EMuseum)

3. HISTORICAL DATING

Prehistorians sometimes overestimate the accuracy and detail of frameworks based on historical evidence; in practice, early written sources may provide little more information than a scatter of radiocarbon dates. The extent of documentation varied considerably in 'historical' cultures and the information that survives is determined by a variety of factors.

* CAVSENNAE / CAVSENNIS Romano-British Town A range of inscriptions and documentary sources brought to bear on dating a small town at Ancaster in Lincolnshire; minor settlements of this kind rarely if ever featured in historical documents (WWW.Roman-Britain.ORG)

* The Thera (Santorini) Volcanic Eruption and the Absolute Chronology of the Aegean Bronze Age A PDF file about Sturt W. Manning's book A test of time: the volcano of Thera and the chronology and history of the Aegean and east Mediterranean in the mid second millennium BC (Oxford: Oxbow Books, 1999), which focuses on the difficulty of reconciling scientific and historical dates.

3.1. Applying historical dates to sites

If a context containing burnt debris and broken artefacts is excavated on a site from a historical period, it is tempting to search the local historical framework for references to warfare or a disaster in the region, and to date the excavated context accordingly.

* In Vesuvius' Shadow New excavation at the most famous ancient site and dated by a historically attested destruction in AD 79: 'Although the Anglo-American Project is interested in the conditions of city life in A.D. 79, the year Vesuvius erupted, we are investigating below the destruction level to understand the whole history of activity and development in VI,1--from its fourth-century B.C. huts to its burial in the late first century A.D.' (Archaeology Magazine).

* Head Street Excavations Excavation in Colchester, England, where traces of destruction dated by the Roman historian Tacitus have been revealed: 'Whenever a Roman house is discovered in Colchester dating to the AD 50s, it almost invariably turns out to have been destroyed by fire. And so it proved at Head Street, where the latest excavation revealed yet another Roman house which was destroyed during the Boudican revolt. The pattern is so consistent that it seems that when Boudica and her followers put the Roman town to the torch during the famous British revolt of AD 60 or 61, the destruction must have been total - every building was burnt.' (Colchester Archaeological Trust).

4.4. SCIENTIFIC DATING TECHNIQUES

The transformation of archaeological dating that began around 1950 continues, but archaeologists may overlook the revolution in scientific dating that had already taken place in geology during the first half of the twentieth century; from this wider perspective, the emergence of radiocarbon dating may seem slightly less dramatic

* Dating rock art Superb introduction to traditional and scientific dating methods and their application. 'The major methodological limitation in rock art studies is that art assemblages can be difficult to date. However, chronological data is crucial to many types of analysis in which rock art evidence is integrated with other archaeological and environmental information. This section will briefly survey the range of dating techniques used in contemporary rock art studies. These fall into two broad categories:

a) Relative dating methods such as degree of weathering, superimposition analysis, stylistic analysis and inter-site patterning.

b) Absolute dating methods such as analysis on the basis of subjects depicted, consistent association with datable deposits, the dating of stratified deposits associated with rock art and the direct dating of the art itself.' ( School of Human and Environmental Sciences, University of New England, Australia)

* Archaeometry and Stonehenge An example of the application of modern scientific dating to a major prehistoric site (English Heritage)

* Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art 'The department is dedicated to the development and application of scientific methods to the study of the past.' Lots of informative links (Oxford University)

4.1. Geological time-scales

Accurate knowledge of the age of the Earth was of little direct help to archaeologists, but it emphasised the potential of scientific dating techniques. The first half of the twentieth century witnessed similar progress that began with the dating of recent geological periods in which early hominids lived, and ended with the introduction of radiocarbon dating.

* Tour of geologic time 'Here you can journey through the history of the Earth, with stops at particular points in time to examine the fossil record and stratigraphy.' (University of California Museum of Paleontology)

* RADIOMETRIC TIME SCALE 'The discovery of the natural radioactive decay of uranium in 1896 by Henry Becquerel, the French physicist, opened new vistas in science. In 1905, the British physicist Lord Rutherford--after defining the structure of the atom-- made the first clear suggestion for using radioactivity as a tool for measuring geologic time directly...' (U.S. Geological Survey)

4.2. Climatostratigraphy

While some geologists concentrated on the age of the Earth, others studied distinctive surface traces left behind by changes in the extent of polar ice during the most recent (Quaternary) geological period. They identified a succession of Ice Ages alternating with temperate conditions (glacials and interglacials) which - if they could be dated - would reveal much about the evolution of early humans in the context of changing environmental conditions.

----- Seabed deposits

Cores extracted from ocean floor deposits reveal variations in oxygen isotopes in the shells and skeletal material of dead marine creatures, which reflect fluctuations in global temperature and the volume of the ocean.

* Temperatures from Fossil Shells 'An example of the ingenious technical work and hard-fought debates underlying the main story is the use of fossil shells to find the temperature of oceans in the distant past.' (American Institute of Physics)

----- Ice cores

A datable record of climatic change in relatively recent periods has been recovered from cores, up to 3 km long, extracted from the ice sheets of Greenland and elsewhere.

* Holocene Variability from ARCSS/GISP2 compared to other Paleo-Proxy Records (Greenland Ice Sheet Project, University of New Hampshire)

* Mount St. Helens volcano A typical volcano that has a long history of eruptions that can influence short-term episodes of climate change detectable in ice-core records (Volcano World)

4.3. Varves

Sections cut through lake beds in glacial regions reveal a regular annual pattern of coarse and fine layers, known as varves. Variations in climate produced observable differences in the thickness of sediments, and, like the patterns of variation in tree rings, this allows matches to be made between deposits in separate lake beds.

* VARVES: annually-deposited sediment '1912 Gerard DeGeer developed the Swedish Varve Chronology, the first accurate dating of the late-glacial and Holocene.' (Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona)

Tephrochronology

Deposits of volcanic ash encountered in stratified contexts on archaeological sites offer opportunities for dating.

* Tephrochronology Group 'The correlation and geochemical analysis of volcanic ash deposits (tephra) allows the identification and dating of isochronous marker horizons within sediment sequences. Tephrochronology thus provides a precise and well-established dating tool, already widely used in the study of Quaternary environmental stratigraphies.' (Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, Oxford University)
* More on Kostenki: How Old is that Tephra? Discussion about dating of a prehistoric site in Russia where volcanic deposits originating in an eruption in Italy were encountered (K. Kris Hirst's Archaeology Blog)

4.4. Pollen (NB: pollen analysis has been superceded as a DATING method by radiocarbon since the 1950s)

Microscopic wind-blown pollen grains survive well in many soil conditions, and pollen that has accumulated in deep deposits - such as peat-bogs - can provide a long-term record of changes in vegetation; suitable samples may be collected from soils exposed by excavation, or from cores extracted from bogs.

* Pollen analysis 'Each sample can be analyzed for pollen grain and spore content, with each grain or spore being identified as the prepared slide is traversed on a mechanical stage under the high-power microscope. Then a pollen diagram, graphical expression of pollen analysis, can be constructed with consideration of sampling error.' (MSU EMuseum)

4.5. Dendrochronology

It has been recognised since at least the fifteenth century that trees produce annual growth rings - their physiology was understood by the eighteenth century - and that they could be counted to calculate the age of a tree when it was felled. Because the thickness of these rings is affected by annual climatic factors, distinctive sequences of rings may be recognised in different samples of timber and used to establish their contemporaneity.

* Wiener Laboratory for Aegean and Near Eastern Dendrochronology This site includes explanations of dendrochronology and links to research projects (Cornell University)

* Ultimate Tree-Ring Web Pages 'My goal is to make available as much information about dendrochronology as I can possibly find on the Internet, from the basics of tree-ring dating, to reference and bibliographic information, to products and supplies, to books, and more!' (Henri D. Grissino-Mayer, University of Tennessee)

* Sheffield Dendrochronology Laboratory '...has existed for over 25 years. The range of sites and types of material examined has enabled its personnel to develop high standards of expertise and professionalism, and to gain international recognition.' Informative links to methods and research projects (University of Sheffield)

* Laboratoire Romand de Dendrochronologie Beautifully illustrated Swiss site (in French) with explanatory photographs that speak for themselves.

----- The application of tree-ring dating

Unfortunately there are many problems in the direct application of dendrochronological dating. Not all tree species are sufficiently sensitive to display distinctive variations in their ring characteristics, particularly when growing in temperate climates. Wood only survives under exceptionally wet or dry conditions, and large timbers must be recovered to provide sufficient rings for valid comparisons because they rely on patterns that accumulated over several decades.

* Crossdating Tree Rings 'You will be able to interact with this presentation, including trying skeleton plotting for yourself!' (Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona)

* Dendrochronology (Tree-Ring Dating) of Panel Paintings 'Many European paintings are painted on solid wooden panels or boards, typically oak for Netherlandish paintings. The wood is usually split radially so that, in ideal circumstances, a sequence of annual growth-rings from pith to sapwood is present. These sequences are then matched one against another by the dendrochronologist and compared with growth sequences whose dates are known from living trees. Absolute dates can thus be assigned to specific annual rings. Sometimes the geographic origin of a board can be determined as well.' (detailed illustrated explanation by Peter Ian Kuniholm)

5. ABSOLUTE TECHNIQUES

5.1. Radioactive decay

The successful development in the early twentieth century of radiometric methods relying upon radioactive decay for dating geological periods offered hope that a similar technique might be found to give absolute dates for prehistoric archaeology.

* What is radioactive dating? Part of a clear introduction to geological dating methods from Australian Museum, Sydney

* PRIME Lab Purdue Rare Isotope Measurement Laboratory: explanations of the principles of Accelerator mass spectrometry, and a wider look at the uses of radioacive isotopes.

5.2. Radiocarbon dating

Radiocarbon dating was one peaceful by-product of accelerated wartime research into atomic physics and radioactivity in the 1940s. The rate of decay of 14C, which has a half-life of 5730 (±40) years, is long enough to allow samples of carbon as old as 70,000 years to contain detectable levels of radioactive emissions, but short enough for samples from periods since the late Stone Age to be measured with reasonable precision.

* Radiocarbon This is the principal periodical for C14 dating - follow the links to further information and individual laboratories.

* Oxford University RLAHA Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit

* Beta Analytic 'World's Largest Radiocarbon Dating Service; AMS, Mass Spectrometry, C14, and more...' Lots of informative links from the homepage of this commercial radiocarbon dating service.

* Radiocarbon WEB-info Detailed explanations of the technique from University of Waikato radiocarbon lab, New Zealand

5.3. Presenting and interpreting a radiocarbon date

Because interpretation is so complex, all radiocarbon dates included in an archaeological publication must be presented in a standard format.

* CALIB Radiocarbon Calibration 'CALIB makes the conversion from radiocarbon age to calibrated calendar years by calculating the probability distribution of the sample's true age. Graphics and a variety of options are available through the program's menus.' (Minze Stuiver and Paula Reimer)

* Why radiocarbon measurements are not true calendar ages How radiocarbon calibration works (from Radiocarbon Web-Info)

* Der Tod startet die Stoppuhr Death starts the stop-watch: 'Everytime a living being dies a stop-watch starts ticking. Science can read this watch and thus determine the age of a find.' A dated but well illustrated description of radiocarbon dating (WebMuseen, Germany)

----- Radiocarbon samples

Most organic materials are suitable for dating; the lower the carbon content, the larger the sample needs to be.

* The Prehistory of Lums Pond: The Formation of an Archaeological Site in Delaware - Vol. II: X. RADIOCARBON ANALYSIS 'Methods: Collection and Processing: Radiocarbon samples were recovered from a variety of proveniences across the site. These included charcoal from concentrations within features; dispersed charcoal from arbitrary levels within features; dispersed charcoal from arbitrary stratigraphic levels not associated with features; and bulk soil samples from stratigraphic levels.' (Delaware Department of Transportation Archaeology Series No. 155)

----- The impact of radiocarbon dating

Radiocarbon dating has grown exponentially, and many problems and inaccuracies have been isolated and examined, some leading to major adjustments of the results. Without doubt, it has made the greatest single contribution to the development of archaeology since geologists and prehistorians escaped from the constraints of historical chronology in the nineteenth century.

* THE CONTRIBUTION OF RADIOCARBON DATING TO NEW WORLD ARCHAEOLOGY PDF file of article by R E Taylor from RADIOCARBON, Vol 42, Nr 1, 2000, p 1–21: 'The application of the 14C method to archaeological materials is generally considered to be a watershed event in the history of archaeology and, in particular, in prehistoric studies... Perhaps the most forceful statement was the view of the late Glyn Daniel that the development of the 14C method in the 20th century should be equated with the 19th century change in the Western world view that accompanied the revelation of the great antiquity of the human species...' (Delaware Department of Transportation Archaeology Series No. 155)

5.4. Potassium-argon (40K/40Ar) and argon-argon dating (40Ar/39Ar)

Potassium-argon is ideal for dating early hominid fossils in East Africa, for they occur in an area that was volcanically active when the fossils were deposited between one and five million years ago; pioneering results in the 1950s doubled previous estimates of their age.

* Chronological Methods 9 - Potassium-Argon Dating 'The Potassium-Argon dating method is an invaluable tool for those archaeologists and paleoanthropologists studying the earliest evidence for human evolution.' Clear introduction from course materials produced by Brian M. Fagan (University of California Santa Barbara)

5.5. Uranium series dating

The dating of rocks back to the Pre-Cambrian by measuring the proportions of uranium to lead or uranium to helium was possible because isotopes of uranium remain radioactive for such a long period.

* Open University Uranium-Series Facility Information on archaeological projects (Department of Earth Sciences, The Open University)

5.6. Fission-track dating

This method involves counting microscopic tracks caused by fragments derived from fission of uranium-238 in glassy minerals, whether geological or of human manufacture. In practice the most useful samples come from zircon or obsidian, which was used extensively for making tools.

* Forschungsstelle Archaeometrie Follow link to Fission-track dating (Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Heidelberg)

5.7. Luminescence dating

The physical phenomenon of luminescence may be used to date artefacts that were made from (or include) crystalline minerals which have been subjected to strong heating. The first successful application was to clay fired to make pottery, but it is commonly used now for dating flint tools that have been burnt, for example by being dropped accidentally into a fire.

* Forschungsstelle Archaeometrie Follow link to Luminescence (Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Heidelberg)

* Dating and Research Projects 'The laboratory has extensive experience of dating archaeological ceramics and burnt stones from sites in Scotland and overseas. The value of TL dating of such materials frequently lies in the association between the event being dated and an archaeologically important event in the development of the site. For example the last heating of a hearth stone dates the abandonment of a prehistoric settlement. More recently there has been a marked increase in interest in optical dating of sediments, with many groups within the Scottish Universities having application interests.' (Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre, Luminescence Facilities)

* Luminescence dating 'Luminescence dating is a relatively new alternative approach to Quaternary chronological problems. Both quartz and feldspar rich sediments, which are otherwise undateable by conventional radiocarbon methods, can be absolutely dated within a range of 10 to 300,000+ years.' (Sheffield Centre for International Drylands Research)

* Palaeolithic tools from the surface of optically stimulated luminescence dated alluvial fan deposits of Pinjaur Dun in NW sub-Himalayas PDF file of a case-study: 'We therefore need to search for new evidence that may be available for working out a true chronology of the Sohan type tools and their sites, particularly in the absence of absolutely datable material. If in some cases, the absolute age of the surface on which some stone tools are found is known, it will certainly provide us with a lower limit to the date of fabrication/use of these tools.' (ANUJOT SINGH SONI, VIDWAN SINGH SONI, CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 88, NO. 6, 25 MARCH 2005)

5.8. Electron spin resonance (ESR)

Like thermoluminescence, ESR is a 'trapped charge' dating method, but it is applied to different kinds of samples, and the method of measurement is also different. ESR does not release trapped electrons, but subjects them to electromagnetic radiation in a magnetic field, which causes electrons to resonate and absorb electromagnetic power. The strength of resonance reflects the number of electrons that have become trapped since the crystals were formed.

* Forschungsstelle Archaeometrie Follow link to ESR (Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Heidelberg)

* Professor Rainer Grün: abstracts Insights into the application of ESR dating in archaeology can be gained from these summaries of works by a leading exponent; PDF files of some are available from his list of publications. (Research School of Earth Sciences at the Australian National University)

6. DERIVATIVE TECHNIQUES

Derivative methods may only be used for dating if their results can be related to a time-scale or reference curve that has been established by absolute dating methods. If it is not affected in any way by its environment the result can be described as absolute. In contrast, dating the change of one form of amino acid to another is derivative because the rate of alteration varies, and is heavily dependent on the temperature and humidity of the context where the sample has been buried.

6.1. Protein and amino acid diagenesis dating

Bones, teeth and shells contain proteins that break down after death, and the most commonly investigated products of decomposition are amino acids. Amino acid racemization dating (AAR) measures changes between these amino acids' L- and D-forms; their ratio is an indication of age.

* Amino Acid Racemization Dating in New Zealand: An Overview Large PDF file. AAR '...is used to determine relative dates of biological materials such as bone, shell and teeth and has been used in an archaeological context for over 30 years. During this time a number of significant results have been generated but many have been questioned and the technique remains controversial. In spite of this the possibility of reliable AAR dating is attractive. The technique potentially serves as an independent method for dating faunal material, which is useful in the context of providing support for chronometric information produced by other methods.' (Judith Robins, Martin Jones and Elizabeth Matisoo-Smith, Auckland University)

6.2. Obsidian hydration dating

Obsidian - a natural volcanic glass - was a popular alternative to flint for making flaked tools in many parts of the world. As soon as a fresh surface of obsidian is exposed, for example during the process of making it into a tool, a microscopically thin hydration rim begins to form as a result of the absorption of water.

* Introduction to Obsidian Hydration Studies 'Once a hydration layer has been measured, it can be used to determine the relative ages of items or, in some circumstances, can be converted into an estimated absolute age. In order to transform the hydration rim value to a calendar age, the rate of the diffusion of water into the glass must be determined or estimated. The hydration rate is typically established empirically through the calibration of measured samples recovered in association with materials whose cultural age is known or whose age can be radiometrically determined, usually through radiocarbon dating methods...' (Northwest Research Obsidian Studies Laboratory, Oregon; a number of lab reports and articles are available to download as PDF files)

6.3. Archaeomagnetic dating

The Earth's magnetic field undergoes continuous change. The position of magnetic North wanders around the North Pole, and even reverses completely to the South Pole for extended periods on a geological time-scale. From any reference point its position is measurable in terms of two components: movement up or down (inclination or 'dip') and from side to side (declination).

* Archaeomagnetism 'Archaeological materials that contain magnetic particles are kilns, pots, hearths and most sediments. Heating and cooling such materials (or depositing in air or water in the case of sediments) causes the geomagnetic field to be recorded by the magnetic particles present. This recorded magnetisation can be measured many years later and so give a date that is directly related to anthropogenic activity. The technique can be applied in the last 3000 years in the UK, however, it is not an independent method of dating and requires a reference curve to convert the magnetic direction measured into a date.' (Archaeomagnetic Dating Laboratory, Department of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford)

* Archaeomagnetic Analysis of a Roman(?) Kiln/Drying Oven, F159, Nosterfield Report on the application of this technique to an excavated structure in Yorkshire, England: ''A total of 13 samples of fired stone and 1 of fired clay were removed from F159 for the purpose of archaeomagnetic analysis and dating. Specimens were oriented in situ using the button method, combined with spirit levels and a sun compass. Demagnetisation tests showed that the magnetisation in the material is highly stable. The mean archaeomagnetic vector in the samples was compared with the UK Master Curve to suggest that last firing occurred in the date range 100-170A.D.' (© Archaeological Planning Consultancy Ltd)

7. THE AUTHENTICITY OF ARTEFACTS

When major museums buy items for their collections they become involved in expensive commercial dealings in the fine art market. The profits to be made encourage not only illicit plundering of ancient sites but skilful forgeries. Scientific dating techniques can provide reassurance; when what is needed is confirmation that an object is not a modern fake, rather than a precise date, full control of all the variables that affect accuracy is not necessary.

* Labor Ralf Kotalla 'Worldwide oldest private Laboratory for genuine Analyses': Thermoluminescence analysis for ceramics and cores of cast metalwork - especially to detect forgeries. Follow links to 'Analysis' and 'Articles'.

* Spectroscopic Dating and Classification of Wood PDF file: 'It is important to be able to detect the use of old wood for recently-made fakes. ... The surface layer of any wooden artefact has undergone chemical changes due to UV light and other environmental agents. Since spectroscopy is a chemical analysis, it can detect these differences. ... If an object is made of wood that is already old, both curves are nearly identical.' (Gottfried Matthaes, Wooden Artifacts Group).
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Archaeological Discoveries and Recent Rock Art in East Kalimantan, Indonesia

by Jean-Michel Chazine
CNRS-CREDO/MAP, Yogyakarta Conference 24-29 September 2005

Since 1992 a large amount of archaeological discoveries has been later gained. Being eventually and mostly involved into the survey of caves and rock shelters of East Kalimantan, a Franco-Indonesian team, has since regularly let merge some parts of the deep past of that archaeological blank area. Altogether more than 100 caves have been visited and checked, within which more than 30 contain totally unexpected and determinant Rock Art paintings.

During the last decade and more precisely, last 3 years, French and Indonesian archaeologists, assisted by cavers, have surveyed two main karstic areas, located, one North of Sangkulirang, the second Northwest of Sangatta.

These two large areas roughly spread over a 40 by 20 kms space each, appeared to be especially well enough geologically structured and rich concerning archaeological remains of all kinds. These large conic karsts, uplifted from tectonic pressure movements after the Myocene, some 60 millions years ago, have developed three geomorphological networks of cavities and galleries.

These superposed strata, located differently in the uplifted outcrops have proved to be dwelled and used differently along the time. At a broad level of description (see Chazine, 2005, for a more precise insight), the lower one has been usually used as common or daily dwelling places since oldest periods, i.e. before 10.000 years ago, at least, before the end of Pleistocene. It contains all the classical occupation remains: food remains (bones and shells), stone tools workshops with their waste piles, charcoals and fireplaces. Ceramics are often present from surface to the upper or latest levels (surface to minus 40 to 60cm), corresponding to post-Austronesian occupation phases. Within many of the adjacent cracks or crevices, funerary ceramics associated with human bones are neighbouring some late "Dayak" or similar cultural communities who have settled around in the vicinity and left their wooden mortuary coffin burials and displayed personal items.

An intermediate net of cavities, located between 50 to 150 m higher in the cliffs, has had various or composite uses. In a few cases, a punctual dwelling has happened, presenting the same occupation clues than the lower level. Nevertheless, the main use of these intermediate caves, cracks or dry rock shelters has been devoted towards succeeding funerary purposes.

There, a very large amount of earthen funerary urns presenting a large set of differenciated decorations had been regularly observed during 2001 to 2003 field sessions. During 2004' field session, while extending a new test pit in Keboboh caves complex, our colleagues Jatmiko and Udin have also unexpectedly unearthed two burials (Jatmiko et al., 2004). Once unveiled from surrounding deposits, they appeared to be in a flexed position, a feature which would correspond to a pre-Austronesian inhumation process.

The third level of cavities, practically located up to 300 m high, has not provided until now, any if almost no occupation remains but paintings. Some of these caves contain a totally specific Rock Art expression, which induces to interpret these places as having had a very specific function. We will see later in this paper, what kind of activities the particular isolation, remoteness and emptiness of these caves and rock shelters would have had in the pasts.

This natural stratigraphy which has been selectively exploited for cultural and precise goals, is one of the specificities observed in East Kalimantan's (inasmuch as Palawan's) karstic outcrops. The regularity of that distribution (29 positive cases upon a total of 32) makes it a noticeable landmark which local communities have themselves emphasied.

Amongst all dwelling and occupations remains largely found in the lowest, and -less frequently- in the median levels, comprising all kinds of lithic and bone remains (to be more precisely presented later in this paper), the earthen wares are bearing a large amount of directly readable data. As it is limited to the "Austronesian techno-culture" phase, starting around 3,500 years ago, it is too early to consider it as a general objective "leading fossil" or "chronological marker". Nevertheless, at least for East-Borneo prehistory, its main characteristics may be used for discriminating styles, periods, inasmuch as local firing processes.

Since our cooperative Franco-Indonesian program has started last 2003, implying excavations conducted in selected caves and rock shelters, findings of different kinds of earthen wares ceramics both on surface and within stratigraphied dwelling places layers, have enabled us to separate common and/or funerary items.

Broadly speaking, the display of motives and shapes of pots which have yet been sorted are very similar to those which had previously been excavated or collected in Sarawak, Sabah and even Palawan island and the North-Western part of South East island Asia. Some of them being directly similar to the basis reference "Sa Huynh-Kalanay style" analysed and proposed long ago by Pr. Solheim II (Solheim II 1964).

They show eventually not much difference with many of those which have been studied long time ago in Sarawak’, Brunei’ or Sabah’ sectors, by numerous and well known archaeologists (Harrisson, Solheim, Bellwood…,etc). In East Kalimantan, styles vary from the oldest periods (around 3,500 BP) to the most recent surviving influences (Iban or so-called communities), not older than 200 to 100 BP. Decorations vary from paddle and anvil technology using different cord, square carved, mat and granulated motives, to all the possible numerous incised decorations. Some cases
present also geometric excised designs or motives. Stamped features (including linear " grain rice-like" impressions) may also be combined within variable incised schemes. The incised motives comprise geometric, curvilinear and/or stenciled/stamped impressions. The use of specific tools, producing sinuous designs obtained from bivalves shells (cardium-like) which has been yet found only once in Sarawak (Solheim II & Tweedie, 1959), has been now also collected within two caves (Gua Tengkorak and Gua Keboboh) along the Marang river. Macro-observations show that the prints differ one from the other, indicating at least two different shells/tools and probably makers.

One amongst other cardium decorated sherds from G. Tangkorak and belonging obviously to the same pot, would be a part of a handle or prehension tag, in the shape of an animal figurine. They show a strong analogy with figurines which have been found in Lubang Angin (Datan, 1993).

Another zoomorphic figurine has just been found during our last fieldsession, a tiny and remote crack-roomy place named Gua Unak. It presents a composite feature: large horizontal ears-like protuberances and side wings or stumps. The remaining part shows that the figurine had a vertical axis of symmetry. The presence of a hole in the lower middle part, associated to the bent edge, would induce to interpret it as a probable lid handle. They should have been thus two or four located in opposite position.

A complementary screening of the small cavity using a 2-4mm mesh, has not provided any complementary part. Considering that the firing of the clay, being very poor and limited to the minimum rending the whole thus very breakable and damageable, it should have normally totally disappeared. Their extreme fragility would explain why these figurines seem to be very seldom yet in SEA (Cameron, 2005).

Within an increasing number of funerary jars checked along our previous and actual surveys, one very specific was discovered in a small adjacent crevice of Gua Kairim. Considering its huge size first, around 1 meter high and 50 cm for the lip diameter, added to the unusual large geometric curvilinear incised motives, it appears to be totally different from all others. Not only in Kaltim’s set, but even in the whole Borneo Island. It displays numerous variations of alternative indented surfaces yet totally unusual in the surveyed area. Its resemblance with Lapita style ceramic was surprising enough to induce to check it with specialised colleagues. Preliminary and first glance identification confirmed a characteristic late Lapita style expression (comm. pers. Noury, in 2004’ report).

Stressing later that possible clue, a double first "lapita-like" sherd, decorated with stamped dentate motives, came to be found in Gua Batu-Aji. Unfortunately located in sub-surface of midden deposits, it could not be dated nor included in any determining process. During the 2005' Liang Jon excavations, another sherd has been found, well embeded in a regular stratigraphy. Laying at minus 40cm within a stabilized occupation layer, that dentate decorated small sherd shows the characteristic stigma of the dentate tool. In that precise case, it is totally similar to some Fijian and New Caledonian samples (Lapita Conf., 2005). It would correspond to the same period as other early earthenware witnesses, and would be thus also synchronic. According to Noury, it would correspond also to the late Lapita
period/influence, around 2800 BP (comm. pers. May 2005). For R. Green (comm. pers. Aug. 2005), it would correspond to a retroverse effect, similar to the Bukit Tangkorak data found in Sabah, by Bellwood (1989), which happened 3200-3100 years ago.

2005 excavations in Liang Jon, based upon previous researches from 2003 and their promising results, have been centred mainly upon two enlarged test pits 1,5m x 1,5m, located on one row, between the two previous surveyed areas. One (A) has been dug until a depth of 3 m, without reaching yet the terminal rock basement, while the second (B) having encountered a burial, has been stopped after a 60 cm depth.
Both of them have provided a very large set of archaeological remains including stone tools and general middens comprising various faunal bone remains and shells of different sources. More interesting, they are also apparent in distinctly separated levels, some almost complete kits related to the preparation and use of red ochre. That late group of artefacts may be related not only to specific or funerary rituals, but possibly to the ornate caves located in the direct vicinity (200 to 500m). Sophisticated physical methods of comparison should thus be employed to compare the different coloured stuffs.

Once excavated, mainly under GH. Ferrie’s supervision, the skeleton, which appeared around 60cm depth, is lying in a straight elongated position, most of its bones being in apparent connexion. The left hand is applied upon the belly. The right one, although apparent on the right side of the ribs, seems, from the position of the elbow and the missing fore-arm, to have been somehow twisted backwards. But the most strange fact, is that there is no head but a stone in place. The upper part of that stone came to sight only after a circular line of stones containing charcoals and confirming the presence of a fire structure at the previous level, had been removed. The clearing of the skeleton, which was in process, let suppose that the head would have been bent backwards and covered by that late stone. Once removed, it became clear that the corpse had been beheaded. During the extension of the scraping of the layer, some parts of skull appeared, some 60 cm away, just at the foot of the cliff wall. The clearing of that conglomerate of skull pieces has shown that they were corresponding to at least two individuals, (and possibly three). Preliminary observation of the cervical vertebra and the occipital hole(s), has not shown any blow or cutting action tracks. It would thus indicate that the splitting of the head from the body has been done after death, once the decomposition of the corpse was already enough advanced.

The similarity of formal situation is particularly striking with the recent discoveries made in Vanuatu, by Spriggs and his team (Spriggs & al. 2005). There, they unearthed some 20 burials typically belonging to the Lapita period. Some of the skeletons had been beheaded –without provoking stroke wears- and moreover, their head having also been replaced by a stone. More interestingly, some bones have been deliberately taken away, and particularly some fore-arms… From the bio-anthropologists having studied the bones assemblages, they estimate that after one year, it becomes possible, without breaking the bones remaining connexion (pers. comm. Valentin, Lapita Conf. 2005). It implies nevertheless that the body having been buried after death, the head alone had to be unearthed, using then forcibly a location marker. The position of the feet assemblage, inasmuch as the arms and hands would indicate that the body had been toughly and completely wrapped in a mat or
at least with ties (ropes, bark or tapa stripes). Hardness and consistence of the ground has been observed during the excavation process, it appeared that the body had been buried in digging a hole not much larger than the corpse in the ground and later refilled, due to the difference of flat regularity in the deposits. The coincidence of the level from which the burial has been dug and the level of the occurrence of the "lapita-like" postsherd has to be noted. Although it would not constitute yet
a real acceptable proof, it is nevertheless a clue, which has to be kept in mind.

While awaiting C14 datation results for the Liang Jon excavations, that particuliarly significant occurence, should be added to the similarity with the large Lapita inspired funerary urn from Liang Kairim. That convergence would at first and primary approach, confirms, if definitively established, that circulation of cultural items related with the Lapita periods or influence phases, has been even larger than estimated previously. Limited until now to the NE part of Borneo, mainly thanks to Sabah's investigations (see Bellwood 1989), that influence would have extended also Southwards to East Kalimantan. The exchange and circulation process including cultural items, would they be physical : like obsidian from Talasea in New Britain (see Specht 1985), transported and found in NE Sabah, or symbolic like designs or myths, would probably include also some specific decorated ceramics. Wether only
lapita-like pots or their technology, has circulated, missing until now enough identified data, remains a yet unsolved question.

As a matter of fact, birth origins of "Lapita cultural complex" inspiration is still a question debated between scholars (see the numerous Lapita and IPPA Symposia held since the past decades). It broadly varies from Eastern to Western sides of New Guinea, and our late discovery is more precisely trending towards the Western origin or clustering area. Other sites from insular SEA have also provided somehow lapita-like ceramics, although not using the very specific dentate stamped technique.
Some of the most well known originate from Kalumpang area (Sulawesi) and Talaud islands, or even in and around Taiwan, have already been described by Bellwood (1997). The appearance of such ceramics in East Kalimantan, corresponding simply to the extension westwards of its possible influence, is just enlarging the probabilities area and does not present any contradiction with already established hypothesis.

The other important findings from 2005’ excavations (Gua Tebok and Liang Jon) are the numerous artefacts related to ochre uses, excavated between the upper levels and the lowest ones (2,5m deep). They comprise the complete set, from the large raw core (15cm in diameter), to the red wearings pestle, including core flakes, used pencils with wearing marks and flat to hollowed red surfaced anvils. Most of these late anvils are from calcitic-sandstone, whose provenance may be located precisely. They would come from the eastern side of the Gunung Marang itself, where sandstone
dots emerge from pure calcite deposits. It appears quite visibly intermixed in the cave named Gua "tanah lihat" (cave "where earth is visible"), at the bottom of the main cliff (see 2003' report). This complete assemblage of ochre implements, shows how its importance was noticeable. Although Gua Tebok and Liang Jon 2005’ excavations have both provided a remarkable set of ochre, Gua Tebok is presenting the advantage to contain some hand stencils (one of them right in the midle of the huge ceiling, 8m high). They may thus be with high probability directly related to them. That important use has had a lasting activity during a long lap of time because it appears in the different succeeding occupation layers. These late are still awaiting
datations sampling.

Although almost all kind of stone tools and their industry, including raw materials inasmuch as refuses, from upper until lower levels (minus 3m), no real significative change could yet be observed in lithic technology. Surface inasmuch as first 50 to 60 cm layers, which contain ceramics corresponding thus to the "Austronesian" techno-cultural phase, do not present other signature than medium to small flakes industry. Only one broken part of the cutting edge of a polished adze has yet been found during the 3 campaigns, indicating that the introduction and adoption of that new techno-cultural practice, carried by Austronesians, did not spread regularly inside all areas of Borneo. At a broad level of consideration, there is no main noticeable change in the stone tools assemblage. They are mostly flakes, whose statistical distributions appear to vary slightly. As already stressed by Julien Espagne (see 2003’ and 2004’ reports), the frequency of Kutai flakes remains
proportionally high, and lasts from buried ancient levels (yet radiocarbon undated) to sub-surface locations. Nevertheless, the main impression is confirmed that the “Pleistocene knapping technology” has lasted until very recent periods although ceramic technology was spread all over Kalimantan. It shows some seemingly contradiction concerning the acceptation or borrowing of foreign technics, by prehistoric hunter-gatherers. They have clearly conserved or adopted only what was corresponding to their needs and culturally agreeable.

A more precise description of lithic technology by J. Espagne, will appear besides, based upon his study yet in progress. The study of animal bones by HG. Ferrie being still at its beginning and in progress, only a first general draft of his preliminary interpretations is provided hereafter.

Primary and general observations concerning bone study
conducted by Jean-George Ferrié

Within the general frame of archaeological researches conducted in East Kalimantan, we have undertaken the study of faunic bones remains which have been discovered within some sites of the Marang river area.

That study has two main goals. First, it will allow to collect data concerning the different animal species, which were present in the surveyed area during different chronological phases, and to follow their evolution. Being accepted that the absence of one species in the archaeological frame would not mean its general lack in the natural environment: human communities being able to manage many choices within their accessible possibilities.

Second, as a main task, we should be able to bring out original data upon daily life of communities who have settled in this area. Thanks to a detailed taphonomic and
archaeological analyse of bone remains, it should be possible to reconstruct exploitation strategies of the natural environment managed by these populations. Once established for each site, synchronic and diachronic comparisons, for inter- and intra-locations will be performed, with the intention to search possible differences and evolutions in the managing of local animal resources.

A set of test-pits has been dug during the 2005' field session, on Gua Tebok, Liang Unak and Liang Jon sites. They have provided an important quantity of bone remains. The total weight overpasses practically 30 kg. Only Liang Jon and Gua Tebok have yet been submitted to a preliminary sorting and study. Most of the bones are highly fragmented, and depending of test-pits and layers, a large proportion of them is burnt. Within identified taxons, suidae, followed by turtles (mostly shell parts), then cervidae, constitute the main core. Some bones of primates and carnivores have also been identified in a lesser proportion in the different assemblages.

In the Test-pit B in Liang Jon, levels 24, 25 and 26 would differ from others, because of the majority proportion of cervidae. The proportion of suidae and turtles within these layers would be thus lower than cervidae, indicating an important change in the diet or food practices. These primary observations should be confirmed later with more precise observations.

The first sorting of bones has already let appear an important proportion of burnt bones. In Liang Jon, 36% of the total determined remains and 68% of undetermined fragments are burnt. These proportions are respectively 36% and 7 3% in Gua Tebok. If animals constitute an important diet resource, they are also providing an important raw material subside (long hard bones and deer antlers, inasmuch as skin and tendons). In Gua Tebok and Liang Jon, uses for non-dietary purposes have been identified thanks to the discovery of different bone points or needles.

A more detailed analyse is clearly necessary in the intention of establishing the taphonomic history of each assemblage and then in precising the acquisition and exploitation process for each species. These data will be tied and cris-crossed with those of other disciplines, the only procedure permitting to precisely describe the past way of life of the communities who have previously settled in this area. Equally important by their number inasmuch as by their contents are the ornate caves which have been discovered since 11 years in that area. Being established by now that the oldest representations are older than the end of Pleistocene (10.000 years BP), they constitute a determining core of the South East Asian prehistory.

Mainly characterized by a high number of negative hand prints, it shows also different manners of using not only combinations but also overpainted hand stencils. That late characteristic let it differs from all surrounding cultural expressions, and even of all worldwide examples. Its origins are not yet clearly established but analyses have proved to be dated from more than late Pleistocene (10.000 BP). Being unique in that part of the world, and presenting more links with its far neighbours from Australia, than with the closest islands (Sulawesi, Moluccas and Western New Guinea, mainly described by Kosasih, Setiawan, O’Connor, Delanghe & Arifin) this would induce to consider differently the settlement and cultural diffusion of Rock
Art in that large area. One new hypothesis would be that before the end of Pleistocene (10.000 years ago) and during its move towards Australia, a group would have settled –or escaped- in that remote area of East Kalimantan and locally kept that painting tradition and its former usages. The fact is that there is no apparent aesthetic, neither figurative link, between the rock art painted in these caves and any ethnographic "Dayak" style figurations.

Although the presumption of a specific "austronesian" origin has been proposed and would for many cases fit there with the local "prehistory of history", mainly in East Nusantara, by some scholars (Balard, 1992), that explanation does not match observations for East Kalimantan. The presence of a few general figures in some caves, presents some analogies, with some common symbolic "ideograms", in frequent use in South East Asia. For instance, the arborescent feature found in Gua Tewet linking a minimum of 7 differenciated negative hand prints, may evoke possibly the "tree of life" scheme. Another hypothesis is prefering the "visual language" approach and its logical interpretations, is supported by P. Setiawan, our everlasting global partner since 1995.

Apart that possible reference with some "Dayak" cultural expression, it would possibly also be perceptible in what seems to represent the large bees hive and the "honey tree" painted in Kerim cave. It is known from ethnography (Van Geddes, 1959, Hopes, 1997) that much respect was paid to any honey tree and a specific dance used to be performed by communities, after or against bad or difficult events or periods. Would these representations ("tree of life/honey tree") and customs (honey tree dance) pre-exist before the arrival of Austronesians, followed themselves later by generic Dayak cultures, is still a possible hypothesis. This late one, is forming the bulk of possible eventually consequences of the contacts between Pleistocene populations, long time settled in South East Asia. Samples from Niah or Tabon, show that peoples -Homo sapiens sapienswere already living there since 40 to 50.000 years, compared to newcomers like Austronesians, some 5.000 years ago only. What kind of exchanges or inter-influences have thus and then happened, and in which directions, is still a puzzling question, breeding discussions between specialists.
The investigations conducted in Gunung Marang cluster have began to nourish the gap of knowledge still remaining in that large area. Completing –or confronting- other data gathered not only in Eastern Kalimantan, but also the complete Eastern side of Island Borneo, archaeological results converging from all disciplines would provide a determining clue for interpreting the role that this precisely “in the between” location, would have played in the past.

Concerns towards its proper study but also its efficient protection should therefore be strongly linked for future generations. Note on the economico-cultural environment of the Gunung Marang Reserve situation (JM. Chazine/Kalimanthrope) The state of protection of that huge and determinant patrimony is eventually almost null. The burial sites and the painted caves, had remained until recent decades under a traditional and implicit protection. Local communities, mainly Dayak and their more slightly episodic Punan contacts were the only ones to settle within that area. Some caves had thus been devoted to keep funerary remains, jars for older times, and wooden coffins for more recent, like in Gua Lungun or Gua Tengkorak. The dramatic 1997’ hazes, have left nothing but charcoals from these wooden items. The whole area had anyway already been abandoned some decades ago, under common pressure of the Government and the logging companies attractive salaries. Only bird nest collectors, ancient residents or newcomers from the Transmigrasi process, were rovering from caves to caves. Pressure was not that much important, based upon a low and temporary mean human presence. Conditions and incomes produced by some caves has strongly increased and time length during which a new population remains on the spots has totally changed also. Being reduced from 45 days of minimal maturation, it has dropped down to 42 if not 40, decreasing dramatically the natural stock for reproduction. Bands of 6 to 10 men stay all the time near the caves to collect and protect the “goldmine” and consequently predate everything still living around. Large areas are now under a huge and almost wild threaten from free scavengers and logging gangs. Protection and information actions have now to be organised and coordinated, in accordance with the local authorities demands and intentions. Discoveries and findings already gained in that specific area are important enough to help settle local showroom and exhibitions actions for enhancing cultural awareness.

At another level, the groups exploiting the natural resources of these remote and desertified areas do not belong to the new created local culture, i.e. the " Kutai". A neologism which has the advantage to integrate as many people as needed, as long as they have been resident since enough time or generations. It permits also to include in a new generic, common and neutral term, Dayaks or assimilated communities and overpass the cultural complex of inferiority which has been and still is prevalent. A rather little number of "real new Kutai" are permanently involved in logging or forestry industries, inasmuch as bird nest collecting. They use to come there to get a harsh but speed, amount of money and behave just like simple or other predators. They do not feel any cultural, historical neither emotional link with those who have left the archaeological remains that archaeologists excavate and exhume from the ground and the caves. They have in no case their ancestors buried there and will never have. Thus cultural links between previous inhabitants and local authorities do not yet exist at all. Understanding and protection measures are totally foreign constraints for these new scavengers, inasmuch as there is no support for the Administration on the spot. That gap is not the smallest problem which has to be managed and solved to attempt to protect and maybe enhance the cultural consciousness of a morally and geographically distancied population.

Bibliography (quoted in the text only):

Balard, 1992: "Painted Rock Art sites in Western Melanesia: locational evidence for an "Austronesian" tradition", in J. McDonald & L.P. Haskovecs (eds.), Occas. AURA
papers 4, p.94-105.

Bellwood, 1988: "Archaeological research in South-Eastern Sabah". Sabah Mus. Monogr. 2.

Bellwood, 1997 (revised ed.): "Prehistory of Indo-Malaysian Archipelago". Univ. of Hawaii Press.

Burley, (ed) : " Lapita Conference in Tonga". Pre-proceedings papers abstract, Aug.
2005.

Cameron, 2005: "Pottery figurines in the archaeological record of South China, South
East Asia and the Pacific". Lapita Conf. Tonga, Aug. 2005.

Chazine, 2000: " Découvertess de peintures rupestres à Bornéo", in " L'Anthropologie", 104, p.459-471.

Chazine, 2002: "Rock Art and ceramics in East Borneo: logical discovery or new cornerstone?", in "Pacific archaeology: Assessments and prospects", Sand (ed.), Noumea, p.43-52.

Chazine, 2005: "Rock Art, burials and habitations: caves in East Kalimantan", in Asian Perspectives, 44:2, p.219-230.

Chazine, 2005: "Ceramics from East Kalimantan and the Lapita connexion". Lapita Conf.
Tonga, Aug. 2005.

Chazine, Fage & Setiawan, 2002: "The Rock Art of Kalimantan in Indonesian Borneo", in
" Ligabue Magazine", Anno XXI, n°41, p.146-166.

Datan, 1993: "Excavations from G. Sireh and L. Angin". Sarawak Mus. Journal Vol XLV
n°66.

Delanghe & Arifin, 2004: Rock Art in West Papua, Paris, UNESCO.

Geddes, 1973: "Nine Dayak nights". Oxford University Press, New York.

Hopes, 1997: "Ilmu, magic and divination amongst the Benuaq and Tunjung Dayak", Puspa Swara & Rio Tinto Foundation, Jakarta.

Jatmiko, Nazruddin & Bambang, 2004: "Explorasi situs gua dan hunian Prasejarah di pegunungan Marang kabupaten Kutai Timur, Kalimantan Timur", Laporan Penilitian Arkeologi, Puslit Arkenas, Jakarta.

Kosasih, E.A, (1991) "Rock Art in Indonesia", in Bahn, P & Rosenfeld, A (eds), Rock Art and Prehistory:papers presented to Symposium G of the AURA Congress, Darwin,
1988, Oxbow Books, Monograph 10.

O'Connor, S (2003) "Nine new painted Rock Art sites from East Timor in the context of
the Western Pacific Region", in AP Vol.34, No 1, 2003.

Setiawan, 2003: " Alih pengetatuhan pada nelayan tradisional Pelabuhan Ratu (Thesis).
Progr Pasca Sarjana Antropologi, FISIP, UI, Depok.

Setiawan, 2004: "kawasan Kars Sangkulirang.:Antropologi dan Arkeologi. Research
Report of "The Nature Conservancy", Samarinda, Kaltim.

Solheim II, 1965: "The prehistoric earthenware of Tanjung Kubor, Santubong", in
Sarawak Museum Journal 12 (25-26), p.1-62.

Spriggs & alii, 2005: " Lapita pots and the people: results of two field seasons at the

Teouma site, central Vanuatu". Lapita Conf. Tonga, Aug. 2005.

Valentin, 2005: "Teouma human remains: first descriptions of metric and non-metric
features". Lapita Conf. Tonga, Aug. 2005.
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Cultural Landscape Heritage Management in Indonesia: An Archaeological Perspective

by Daud Aris Tanudirjo
Jurusan Arkeologi, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya
Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta

Landscape has always been considered as an important aspect in giving meaning to an artefact or a site. It provides a condition by which archaeologists can contextualized their findings. Even in the end of 19th Century, a pioneer of field archaeology, General Pitt Rivers, has prompted the role of natural settings in archaeological explanation in the history of Archaeology (Thomas, 2001). Nevertheless, strange enough, in cultural resource management such a natural context is often neglected. This is partly because in the past archaeologists were concerned more on cultural remains. Though the natural setting of the cultural remains were admittedly important, it is still considered as natural rather than cultural. Hence, it was treated as different and separate entity.

It was not until a few decades ago that archaeologists realized that even the natural setting of an artifact or site is in fact a cultural remain. This has promoted a perspective which sees a landscape as a palimpsest of material traces from the past
or it is considered as "an assemblage of real world features – natural, seminatural,
and wholly artificial – which is available to us in the present" (see Thomas, 2001).
It is this new perspective that gives rise to landscape archaeology which is aimed at
recovering "the history of things that have been done to the land" (Thomas, 2001). Following this, archaeology is now moving from artefact - and site- oriented analysis to area - or region-oriented ones and the term "cultural landscape" is becoming more popular in this field of study.

Such a new archaeological understanding of landscape is well expressed in UNESCO’s formulation of a cultural landscape as follow (UNESCO, 2005) "Cultural landscapes are cultural properties and represent the combined works of nature and of man. They are illustrative of the evolution of human society and settlement over time, under the influence of the physical constraints and/or opportunities presented by their natural environment and of successive social, economic and cultural forces, both external and internal".

The development of cultural resource management in Indonesia seems to follow the above-mentioned general trend. Disseminated in a colonial millieu, Indonesian archaeology began with the private interest in antiques and ancient monuments. Therefore, their interest was in artefact, building, and sites. The first regulation on the management of heritage in Indonesia (then the Netherlands Indie), Monumenten Ordonnantie stbl 1931 demonstrates this view. It stated that the term heritage referred to man-made as well as natural remains and site. Such a formulation has been reproduced in the new legislation issued in 1992, Undang-Undang Republik Indonesia no. 5 tahun 1992 tentang Benda Cagar Budaya (The Law of the Republic of Indonesia No. 5 in the year 1992 on Cultural Property).

Though in those two legislation, it is stated that the surrounding area of the site should be protected, but such a statement was not underlaid by awareness of the cultural relation between the artefact or site and its environment. Rather, it was only for the sake of the safety of the cultural remains.

This shows that until the last decade, Indonesia still adopted an old stance in putting a landscape in the heritage management. Fortunately, recently there has been a paradigm shift in the heritage management in Indonesia which put pressure on the government to revise UU no. 5/1992 on Cultural Property. The declaration of Indonesian Charter on Heritage Conservation in 2003 should be appreciated as an important movement to speed up the revision. It is also in this charter that cultural
landscape was firstly and clearly declared as a significant heritage in Indonesia. The revised legislation on Cultural Property which is being processed in the Parliament asserts the protection of a region (kawasan) with culturally interrelated sites. It should be mentioned here, there has been another legislation that could be
used as a basis for cultural landscape heritage management : Undang-Undang Republik Indonesia Nomor 24 Tahun 1992 Tentang Penataan Ruang (Law of the Republic Indonesia no. 24 in the year 1992 on Spatial Arrangement) and also its implementation in Peraturan Pemerintah Republik Indonesia Nomor 47 Tahun 1997 (Government Regulation no. 47 in the year 1997). These legislations clearly stated that the government may proclaim a region with significant heritage as a protection area (kawasan lindung).

Regarding the cultural landscape of Borobudur, it is obvious that the surrounding areas of the World Heritage Monument were, and still are, an integral part of the monument. The landscape is an important aspect in understanding and appreciating the heritage. The new and convincing evidence on the occurrence of ancient lake in the vicinity of Borobudur strongly support this notion. Although it is not exactly like Nieuwenkamp’s imagination that Borobudur was a lotus in the centre of a pond, but it is quite obvious that the monument was built intentionally in lacustrine (lake) environment encircled by volcanoes and mountaineous region.

Actually, the need to protect the cultural landscape of Borobudur has been advised by leading Indonesian archaeologist, Prof. Dr. R. Soekmono, who also in charge of the restoration of the monument. Just before the official completion of Borobudur restoration in 1983, he suggested that Borobudur should remain in its authentic settings. He was afraid that many activities attracted by the monument would transform Borobudur area from rural into urban environment. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a proper plan for Borobudur landscape (Soekmono, 1983).

This idea was partly accomodated in JICA masterplan in which Borobudur area was divided into 5 zones as follows (see Winarni, 2007).

Zone I Zone for protection and prevention of destruction of the physical environment of the archaeological monuments.

Zone II Zone for provision of park facilities for the convenience of visitors and preservation of historical environment.

Zone III Zone for regulation of land use around the parks and preservation of the environment while controlling development in areas surrounding the parks.

Zone IV Zone for maintenance of historical scenery and prevention of destruction of the scenery.

Zone V Zone for undertaking archaeological surveys over a wide area and prevention of destruction of undiscovered archaeological monuments.

However, it is clear from what has happened so far, such a masterplan has never been properly followed up. Many of regulations stipulated in the masterplan have never been put in place. Law enforcement is very weak. This condition has triggered a prolonged conflict between the authrorities, private sectors, local communities, and even among local communities. As Soekmono predicted, Borobudur area is bccoming urban rather than rural. Surely, this situation will destroy the cultural landscape of Borobudur in the long run, if nothing is done to stop this on-going deteriorating process.

What should be done?

It is now timely to reconsider the policy in managing the Borobudur World Heritage. A new management strategy should be put in place and a proper management plan should be established. In doing so, we have to make use of momentous paradigm shift in heritage management in Indonesia.

Firstly, the management of Borobudur should be founded on the concept of Borobudur Cultural Landscape in which the main focus of the management is not the monument, Chandi Borobudur, but the whole surrounding area of Borobudur including the local communities and their culture. Following this, the management of this area should be an integral part of those of the larger region of surrounding regencies, such as Magelang, Sleman, Purworejo, and Kulon Progo. Without cooperative efforts from the government and local communities in those regencies, the cultural landscape of Borobudur which covers a very vast area of Kedu Basin could not be conserved.

Secondly, the management of Borobudur area shouldnot be based on the "archaeology in the service of the state" paradigm in which the government plays a central role in the management of heritage. Rather, it should follow the "public archaeology" paradigm. In the latter paradigm, heritage management is aimed at giving greater benefit to public at large. It means "Heritage for all".

Local authorities and communities should be given opportunities to take part in the planning of and carrying out the management of Borobudur, while the Central Government plays as the facilitator. This is commonly referred as partnership management (Taylor, 1994).

Thirdly, such a partisipatory management should provide choices for the local communities in response to the managament plan. These choices include participation with voluntarily principle, compensation, and insentive. The management should consist not only development plan but also development control Through those efforts, hopefully the cultural landscape of Borobudur could be conserved integrally : the built heritage, the local communities, the culture, and the environment.

References

Thomas, J. 2001. Archaeologies of Places and Landscapes, in I. Hodder (ed.), Archaeological Theory Today. Polity Press, Cambridge. Pp. 175-186

UNESCO. 2005. Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention.

Soekmono, R. 1983. Usaha Demi Usaha Menyelamatkan Candi Borobudur, in Menyingkap Tabir Misteri Borobudur. PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur dan Prambanan. Hlm. 6-17. This article was originally published in Sinar Harapan 17-02-1983)

Winarni. 2006. Kajian Perubahan Ruang Kawasan World Cultural Heritage Candi Borobudur. Thesis S2 pada Program Studi Magister Perencanaan Kota dan Daerah Jurusan Ilmu-ilmu Teknik Sekolah Pasca Sarjana Universitas Gadjah Mada Yogyakarta.

Taylor, G. 1994. Conservation techniques: nature conservation and countryside management, dalam R. Harrison (ed.), Manual of Heritage Management.
Butterford-Heinneman. Pp.191-201
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Archaeology of the Flores Man Site: Liang Bua Cave, Indonesia

By K. Kris Hirst

Liang Bua is located in the Wae Racang Valley on the western end of the tiny island of Flores in Indonesia. Liang Bua is the name of the karst limestone cave from which Flores Man (a.k.a. the Hobbit) was found. The stratified site deposits are 12 meters in depth, and within the deposits have been found both modern humans and the hominin remains somewhat controversially called "Homo floresiensis".

Liang Bua Cave Formation

The cave was created by karst action nearly 400,000 years ago, but evidence suggests that it was invisible from the surface until about 190,000 years ago. Homo erectus appears on Flores Island beginning 840,000 years ago. Homo sapiens first appeared in the region circa 55,000-35,000 years ago.

Liang Bua's Hominin Remains

Hominin remains recovered from the site include LB1 (the original Flores Man, dated ca 18,000 years old), and elements from eight other individuals (dated between 12,000 years and 95,000 years ago. Modern human skeletal remains recovered from Liang Bua are all within Holocene levels (i.e., within the past 11-12,000 years or so). None of the bones recovered from Pleistocene deposits in Liang Bua cave appear to be modern H. sapiens.

Artifact Assemblages at Liang Bua

The artifact assemblages from Liang Bua include a fairly sophisticated suite of stone tools attributed to H. floresiensis, particularly within a level dated to ca. 74,000 years ago (+14/-12 ka) that contains stone artifacts with evidence of hard-hammer stone tool production. Raw material for the stone tools was mostly volcanic glass, with some marine limestone. The reconstructed stone tool manufacturing process is similar to sites of the same age found throughout Southeast Asia: a combination of off-site production of large stone blanks and on-site blank reduction. These methods were used by all hominids in southeast Asia around at the time: H. erectus, H. sapiens, and (assuming Flores is a separate species) H. floresiensis.

Sources

Argue, Debbie, Denise Donlon, Colin Groves, and Richard Wright. 2007. Homo floresiensis: Microcephalic, pygmoid, Australopithecus, or Homo? Journal of Human Evolution 51(4):360-374.
Brown, Peter, T. Sutikna, M. J. Morwood, R. P. Soejono, Jatmiko, E. Wayhu Saptomo & Rokus Awe Due. 2004 A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia. Nature 431:1056–1061
Morwood, Michael J. et el. 2004. Archaeology and age of a new hominin from Flores in eastern Indonesia. Nature 431:1087–1091
Morwood, Michael J., et al. 2005. Further evidence for small-bodied hominins from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia. Nature 437:1012-1017.
Westaway, K.E., M.J. Morwood, R.G. Roberts, J.-x. Zhao, T. Sutikna, E.W. Saptomo and W.J. Rink. 2007. Establishing the time of initial human occupation of Liang Bua, western Flores, Indonesia. Quaternary Geochronology: in press
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Fossil Finds of Flores Man, Indonesia

By K. Kris Hirst

The scientific world was rocked by reports of the discovery of the preserved skeleton of a previously unknown hominin species in 2004. Tentatively named Homo floresiensis, or Flores Man, the hominin became known to the world press as the Little Lady of Flores or the Hobbit. Most of a female individual of Flores Man was discovered by a joint international research team led by R.P Soejono from the Indonesia Centre for Archaeology and Michael Morwood from the University of New England Armidale. The research team discovered Flores Man six meters deep within the deposits of the Liang Bua site, a limestone cave on the island of Flores in Indonesia. The hominin was very small in stature, no more than a meter in height and as small as those of the shortest human beings ever known, but the brain capacity of the creature was much smaller than in modern humans. Further, the form of the skull and lower skeleton suggested to Soejono, Morwood and colleagues that the Little Lady was a form of Homo erectus, and not Homo sapiens. Flores Man caused quite a stir, not the least because she appeared to have survived as recently as 18,000 years ago, far later than any other Homo erectus known on the planet.


H. floresiensis skull, Liang Bua Cave, Indonesia. (by Peter Brown)

The resultant furor over the original Flores Man findings brought a competing theory, not yet published, that the skeleton is of a microcephalic (diseased) modern human pygmy. Further problems developed when the skeletal material was damaged during analysis by another researcher.

Morwood and colleagues continued excavations in Liang Bua cave through 2004, and discovered partial remains of eight additional individuals, one a subadult. These new finds were reported in the journal Nature on October 13, 2005. The recovery of so many examples has allowed for a more complete consideration of the form of H. floresiensis as a group, rather than the single individual. All of the specimens (with the exception of the child) appear to have been about 1 meter in height. In general, the skull shape and body form are most similar to Homo erectus, but H. floresiensis has longer arms and a smaller brain capacity than H. erectus normally has, in fact closer to Australopithecus or gorilla than H. erectus. Recent investigations of the Dmanisi H. erectus fossils in Georgia and those at Olduvai in Kenya suggest that there was more diversity in H. erectus than has been previously identified, a fact surely epitomized here.


Comparison of mandibles from Laetoli Australopithecus afarensis LH4 and Homo floresiensis LB6. (by Nature)

Further information was also found about the behavior of the little hominin: butchered pygmy Stegodon (a primitive type of elephant) and Komodo dragon have been found at Liang Bua, as have clusters of fire-cracked rock and charred bone in levels containing H. floresiensis skeletal materials, suggesting the hominin knew how to control fire. Stone tools recovered from the site evidence a sophisticated grasp of lithic knapping.


Homo floresiensis (Liang Bua Cave, Indonesia) and a modern human skull. (by Peter Brown)

The late date of the appearance of H. floresiensis is also confirmed. Using thermo-luminescence dating of the strata in which the skeletons lie, the oldest appear to have been dated to about 94,000 years ago, and the most recent 12,000 years ago. None of these materials are fossilized, and DNA testing and radiocarbon dating of the hominid skeletons themselves does not seem to be possible, given the condition of the material. Morwood hopes that additional skeletal materials may allow these forms of testing.

Whatever species the little hominin is, Homo erectus or something quite different, they are certainly not human. The appearance of a different hominin species dated to 12,000 years ago is quite remarkable, given that the last known Homo erectus found to have been living on planet earth died out about 120,000 years ago; and the most recent Neanderthal form of Homo sapiens was gone by 28,000 years ago.

Sources and Furthern information

Read the latest information about the Flores individual: Is Flores a Deformed Homo sapiens?
Lieberman, Daniel E. 2005 Further fossil finds from Flores. Nature 437(October 13, 2005):957-958.
Morwood, M. J., et al. 2004 Archaeology and age of a new hominin from Flores in eastern Indonesia. Nature 431:1087-1091.
Morwood, Michael J., et al. 2005 Further evidence for small-bodied hominins from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia. Nature 437(13 October 2005):1012-1017.
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The Italian Archaeological Expedition in the Sudan 2007 (by Torino University)

Since 1970 the Italian archaeological activities in the Sudan have been sponsored by Rome University "La Sapienza", since this institution was at the time the only university in Italy to have a chair of Egyptology and to be interested in fieldwork in the Sudan. A few years ago, however, the Faculty which hosted the chair of Egyptology, along with other remarkable subjects engaged in Africa and the Near East, diversified its objectives. Eventually the chair of Egyptology was suspended, after the Director of its expedition in the Sudan, Prof. Alessandro Roccati, was appointed to a newly created chair of Egyptology at the University of Torino, thus allowing him to resume and maintain the fieldwork in the Sudan on behalf of the Centro ricerche archeologiche e scavi di Torino (CRAST) and to continue the research in the archaeological area of Jebel Barkal and to ensure the continuation of the team's activities. Otherwise a long period of experience and training would have been lost. This ensures that the present mission is the legitimate offspring of the preceding one and rooted in the same place – as it was already announced at the recent Warsaw Conference. On the one hand it was at Rome that the Tenth International Conference of the Society of Nubian Studies was held in 2002, and on the other hand it was at Torino that the International Exhibition of Nubian archaeology was displayed in 1999: both of them for the first time in Italy, and both of them under the responsibility of Prof. Alessandro Roccati. Furthermore we need not underline the importance borne for the study of ancient Egypt by the research on the Nile civilisations farther South.



Funds for the mission were granted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Centro Scavi of Torino. The team was composed of some already familiar participants: Prof. Alessandro Roccati (Torino University, head of the mission), Dr. Roberto Gozzoli (Torino University, historian), Dr. Grazyna Bakowska (Rzeszow University, Poland, archaeologist): and three newcomers to the Sudan, all of them trainees from the School of specialisation in Oriental Archaeology of Rome University "La Sapienza": Dr. Claudia Micari, Dr. Massimiliano Nuzzolo and Dr. Roberta Petrilli. They ensured the necessary backing for survey and documentation. The official appointed by the NCAM was Mr. Murtada Bushara Mohammed.



It must be stressed that the objective of our university mission is not only the acquisition of new results but also the training of young people. Teaching is as much as part of fieldwork as the exploration of an ancient site.



Actually the present campaign is the sequel of the fieldwork carried out between 26th November and 23rd December 2006 on account of our Mission, by a team of geologists led by Prof. Giorgio Martinotti of Torino University, who executed a surveying in the archaeological area of the Mission's excavations at Jebel Barkal. They were assisted by Dr. Grazyna Bakowska (Rzeszow University, Poland) and Dr. Maria Novella Sordi (trainee in the School of specialisation in Oriental Archaeology of Rome University "La Sapienza"), who also tried out the study of ceramics.



Our stay lasted from 12th February till 2nd March 2007, and our activity concentrated in the building labelled B2400 lying near the (ancient) road, while further exploration of the palace B1500 was reserved as a spare activity. In fact, although the main road has meanwhile been moved across the desert and it is no longer a threat to the archaeological area, we wanted to achieve the knowledge of a rather interesting structure we came across during a protective operation of the monuments. Owing to a thin layer of rubble covering the floor, and the reduced surface of B2400, we aimed at getting a general layout of its structures within the limited time span at our disposal.



This building arose on a square platform, but it had become completely invisible on the ground, so to be traversed twice in recent years by the enclosure wall around the antiquities area built by the NCAM (which one day should be removed). Its special interest was awakened by some remains of a Greek architecture standing on it (more pieces were found this year), which may provide a terminus post quem for its dating. However, it was already overlaid in the antiquity by a well paved road in North-South direction, which points to a rather early destruction. Its lack of particular decorations (the walls were not plastered nor painted), its coarse entrance (the only one hitherto clearly detected is from the West) plead for an earlier date with reference to B1500 (the so called "Natakamani's palace"). However some typical potsherds and vessels show that the area was in use during the Meroitic period. A small fragment of pottery carved with some Meroitic signs found this year provides even inscriptional evidence.



One main achievement of this year's digging has been the discovery of a rather well preserved access from the North, in line with what was interpreted as a central court followed by a peristyle court. The much decayed condition of what was expected to be an eastern entrance has now been related to the creation of the paved road, which would have rendered such a passage devoid of use. This observation raises the question of a possible contemporariness of this paved road with the building of a Greek architecture – behind which, to the South, no passageway existed according to a careful search made in a previous campaign.



If these conclusions could be maintained, in view of the basic destruction of everything over the platform, we should consider the possibility that the platform was conceived for an earlier building. That building was later completely dismantled, so as to leave barely the platform in order to host some peculiar architecture, such as a Greek edifice. Nevertheless this older building can only belong to the (early) Meroitic period, due to its construction features, with outer walls lined with red bricks. A new mapping of the area by means of a satellite photograph points out also a parallel location with B100, another building likewise from the (early?) Meroitic period, which was excavated by Reisner in 1916. We owe the copies of Reisner's journal to the kindness of Prof. Timothy Kendall, who has already cooperated with our Mission on more than one occasion.



The new access, which was cleared to the North of B2400 is smaller than the one found on the western side, and it shows a (smaller) terrace abutting the middle of that side, ending in a short ramp perpendicular to the palace's wall, at the end of which a stone threshold lay. These features imply that this entrance was also roofed.



Although some of these features – three entrances of different size in the middle of every side of the platform - are shared by the more recent B1500 (Natakamani's palace), currently dated to the middle of the first century A.D., the latter stands out for its central and imposing position in the front of the sacred mountain. This building was much more elaborated and had equal access staircases instead of ramps. The staircase on its western side, however, was not visible from the plain and was not perpendicular to the palace's wall: it descended next to the wall in direction of B500 (Amun temple).


In B2400 the apparent parallelism between its access from the North and the close by paved road is to be stressed. At any rate, the main access - already of the former building - seems to have been the one to the West, namely the one looking towards the Palace of Natakamani. We expect to reach some better understanding of the entire layout through the tracing of (foundation) walls, which were duly recorded. Some soundings showed that the original floor next to the palace's outer wall looked like a pebbly ground.



The excavations were accompanied by the careful choice and documentation of ceramics uncovered in the different sites where the Italian Mission has been operating at Jebel Barkal. The material has been collected for several years, and at present we are organising a team for its encoding by means of informatisation. Sound results will require a longer time of study and comparison. However a provisional evaluation of forms and painted patterns refers to a period from the second century B.C. to the first century A.D. and possibly later, at least with reference to corresponding evidence from Meroe. Two reversed jars, still with their original contents of bones and some burnt material, were buried in the ground beside the eastern red brick wall closing the middle court and a mud brick wall bordering the paved road. Their location was next to each extremity, i.e. respectively South and North, of the wall.

When we arrived, we found that some heavy storms of last year had broadly damaged many restorations carried out in the excavated buildings, and these needed a number of repairs. These were operated as a by-work of the Mission also thanks to the kind collaboration of the appointed Official, Mr. Murtada. Some workmen of ours gave also a hand to cut the bushes invading the archaeological area in front of the Museum.

Finally we must assess that the friendly mood affecting the relations with the Sudanese Authorities as well as with the local people, either workmen or neighbours, has much contributed to ensure a good result of a difficult enterprise in a rather short time. May they all receive the heartily felt thanks of our entire team.

LA MISSIONE ARCHEOLOGICA IN SUDAN

Appendix: report on pottery examined

The pottery examined was found during the 2004-2007 seasons, during which two structures were being uncovered – named as B2400 and B2200.

B2200
Within the B2200 building there were mostly wheel-made ceramic pieces, some fragments of handmade ceramics were also found. About 6-7% of all finds were decorated sherds, mostly painted; less frequently they were some incised and stamped. The majority of the sherds were dated between 2nd century BC and 1st century AD.

Forms:
Fragments of cups, bowls, plates, saucers, stoppers, lids, beer jars, globular jars, pots, vases, bottles, amphorae, oil lamp, bread moulds and burners.

Motifs:
Offering-table, Hathor's emblem, rosette, ankh-sing, lotus-flower, upright leaves, connected circles, palm-branch, vine wreath, trefoil, twisted cord guilloche, stars, triangular geometric motifs, striped style.

B2400
Pottery sherds found enclosed in the building walls and floors, and other fragments spread throughout the surroundings of the building itself could be dated to the Meroitic Period (some ceramics can be dated between 2nd and 1st century BC, while other pottery in this case out of context could be dated between 1st and 3rd century AD). Moreover, some forms seem to go back to the Napatan Period.

There were wheel made and handmade ceramics pieces. In comparison with the B2200 structure there were very few painted ceramics, while incised and impressed pottery was predominant.

Forms:
Fragments of cups, bowls, dishes/plate, saucers, stoppers, lids, storage jars, globular jars, pots, basins, vases, amphorae, bread mould, klepsydrai.

Motifs:
Human figure, Lion (Apedemak), bird, ankh-sign, vine wreath, rosette, criss-cross.
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