Reports the findings of a scientific archaeology investigation of Māori kūmara lore and opportunities in Murihiku, the southern part of the South Island. Contributes a credible Murihiku kūmara datum ...identifying the southernmost record of pre-Columbian sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) use in Oceania. Correlates Southern Māori kūmara lore with archaeological I. batatas evidence in a novel example of ‘western’ science meeting Indigenous knowledge within a narrative mode of analysis. Source: National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, licensed by the Department of Internal Affairs for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand Licence.
One of the largest isotopic datasets of the ancient Eastern Mediterranean region is evaluated, based on plants (n = 410), animals (n = 210) and humans (n = 16) from Tell Tweini (Syria). Diachronic ...analysis of plant and faunal specimens from four main periods of occupation: Early Bronze Age (2600-2000 BC), Middle Bronze Age (2000-1600 BC), Late Bronze Age (1600-1200 BC) and Iron Age (1200-333 BC) were investigated. Mean DELTA.sup.13 C results from seven plant species reveal emmer and free threshing wheat, olives, bitter vetch, rye grass and barley were adequately or well-watered during all periods of occupation. The grape DELTA.sup.13 C results suggest excellent growing conditions and particular care for its cultivation. The delta.sup.15 N results indicate that especially the emmer and free threshing wheats received some manure inputs throughout the occupation sequence, while these were likely further increased during the Iron Age, encompassing also the olive groves and grape vineyards. Generally, domestic animals (cattle, sheep, goats) had C.sub.3 terrestrial diets and were kept together in similar environments. However, some animals consumed significant amounts of marine or C.sub.4 plants, possibly from disturbed habitats due to land use pressure or salt tolerant grasses and shrubs from wetland environments, which were recorded in the direct vicinity of the site. Middle Bronze Age humans consumed a C.sub.3 terrestrial diet with no measurable input from C.sub.4, freshwater or marine protein sources. Interestingly, the human diet was relatively low in animal protein and appears comparable to what is considered today a typical Mediterranean diet consisting of bread (wheat/barley), olives, grapes, pulses, dairy products and small amounts of meat. The combined isotopic analysis of plants, animals and humans from Tell Tweini represents unbroken links in the food chain which create unparalleled opportunities to enhance our current understanding of environmental conditions, climate change and lifeways in past populations from the Eastern Mediterranean.
Çatalhöyük is a renowned archaeological site in central Anatolia, best known for its Neolithic occupation dated from 7100 to 6000 cal BC. The site received worldwide attention early on for its large ...size, well-preserved mudbrick architecture, and elaborate wall paintings. Excavations at the site over almost three decades have unearthed rich archaeobotanical remains and a diverse ground stone assemblage produced by what once was a vibrant farming community. The study presented here adds to our understanding of crops and plant processing at Çatalhöyük by integrating phytoliths and starch analyses on grinding implements found at three domestic contexts attributed to the Middle (6700-6500 cal BC) and Late (6500-6300 cal BC) period of occupation. Our results reveal a rich microbotanical assemblage that testifies the use of a wide range of geophytes and wild seasonal resources previously unknown at the site. Moreover, by comparing results from the microbotanical proxies and microscopic wear patterns on artefacts, we are also able to discern various plant processing practices the analysed artefacts were employed for. In sum, this work further expands our understanding of plants and crop processing activities performed by the inhabitants of Neolithic Çatalhöyük.
•This paper analyses a new retrofitting method based on the use of stainless steel strips.•The chemical stability and the compatibility with masonry make stainless steel suitable for unprotected ...applications.•Strips have been used to reinforce and repair the masonry members.•Reinforced structures presented enhanced behavior and increased mechanical properties.
Earthquakes can cause serious damage to historic masonry structures. Masonry reinforcement has been widely studied by proposing different retrofitting methods. However it is sometimes difficult to combine the need for effective retrofitting, with high reversibility and low impact. The use of compatible-to-masonry, chemically stable and durable reinforcement materials in another difficult task. In this area, the use of stainless steel strips, as a method for reinforcing existing masonry by increasing its tensile strength and ductility, is proposed in this paper. With the aim at reproducing the in-plane seismic loading, 10 wall panels were tested in one-sense cyclic shear in the laboratory. Stainless steel strips were mechanically attached on both panel’s sides using metal anchor bolts to the masonry substrate along the stretched diagonal and panel’s structural response was recorded and studied. The reinforcement installation procedures, the panel’s structural behavior in terms of stiffness, ductility and strength were described in detail in the paper. It is demonstrated that this retrofitting technique can enhance the mechanical behavior of the wall panels. Finally, an analysis of the features of the proposed technique indicates that it is likely to offer some advantages over some commonly-used retrofitting methods. A design procedure is also proposed and discussed in the paper.
•Timber panel to masonry pier screw connection for shear wall strengthening.•64 specimens in 16 configurations tested under in-plane shear loading conditions.•Monotonic, semi-cyclic, cyclic loading ...protocols for seismic behaviour assessment.•Examined parameters: masonry type, timber panel, screw anchor, load-to-grain angle.•Log-normal distribution data-fitting for maximum load and slip modulus.
The mechanical coupling of timber products to the masonry walls of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings is generating considerable interest in terms of seismic vulnerability mitigation. An extensive experimental investigation on timber panel to masonry wall connections realised with screw anchor fasteners is presented. A total of 64 shear tests under monotonic, cyclic and semi-cyclic loading conditions were performed on site in a historic URM building. The examined parameters were: masonry type, timber panel product and material, load-to-grain direction, fastener geometry and steel grade. The outcomes of the campaign are then reported and discussed focusing on the strength and stiffness properties and on the dissipation capacity and residual strength of the connection under cyclic load. Moreover, a log-normal distribution fitting is proposed for the maximum load and slip modulus measurements of all the cyclic test configurations analysed. Finally, the principal experimental observations are listed along with recommendations for future work or use in practice.
•Destructive and non-destructive testing were carried out on an historical building.•Rebound Hammer, ultrasonic pulse velocity and combined method (SonReb) were employed.•These methods supplement the ...destructive method, containing the costs.•Their combination allows to obtain a higher level of knowledge and accuracy.
When a study of the seismic damageability assessment of reinforced concrete (RC) structures is conducted, the characterization of the concrete used during the construction is of fundamental importance. According to the most recent seismic codes, the evaluation of concrete compressive strength is a fundamental step in the assessment of existing RC buildings. In fact in the assessment of seismic vulnerability of structures or in the evaluation of their seismic damage, we cannot ignore the correct evaluation of the materials’ mechanical properties. Recent innovations in codes provide clear rules for assessing the safety and conduct of static strengthening on existing buildings. The type and number of in situ tests depend on the level of knowledge: Limited, Normal and Full. The knowledge level defines adoptable methods of analysis as well as the values of the Partial Safety Factors.
A series of destructive and non-destructive tests were carried out on an important historic building in Reggio Calabria: the National Museum of “Magna Grecia”. This paper outlines the structure which was tested and the principal results of the testing campaign. The results show the variation of the mechanical properties of the in-situ concrete, the reliability of the combined methods, the need to calibrate the strength obtained by non-destructive methods with the strength of cylindrical specimens (cores) which were extracted from the same structural elements in the proximity of the non-destructive test.
The Late Holocene Dry Period (LHDP) was a one-plus millennial megadrought (3100–1800 cal BP) that delivered challenges and windfalls to Indigenous communities of the central Great Basin (United ...States). New pollen and sedimentation rate studies, combined with existing tree-ring data, submerged stump ages, and lake-level evidence, demonstrate that the LHDP was the driest Great Basin climate within the last 6,000 years—more extreme than the well-known Medieval Climatic Anomaly. New evidence reported here documents that most Great Basin archaeological sites south of 40° N latitude were abandoned during the long dry phase of the LHDP (3100–2200 cal BP), sometimes reoccupied during a wet interval (2200–2000 cal BP), and abandoned again during the most extreme drought (2000–1800 cal BP). Even in the face of epic drought, this is a story of remarkable survivance by some people who adjusted to their drought-stricken landscape where they had lived for millennia. Some moved on, but other resilient foragers refused to abandon their homeland, taking advantage of glacier-fed mountain springs with cooler alpine temperatures and greater moisture retention at high altitude, a result of early Neoglaciation conditions across many Great Basin ranges, despite epic drought conditions in the lowlands.
Excavations at Saruq al-Hadid, Dubai, UAE, discovered a stone tool technology with backed microliths dating to the Wadi Suq period and Late Bronze Age (ca. 1750–1300 BCE). The stone technology is a ...contemporary with metal production in the region, and the assemblage was recovered from a thick bone midden deposit at this multi-period site on the edge of the Rub’ al-Khali Desert. Small cobbles of chert were imported to the site and were reduced into flakes by hard-hammer percussion. Cores were frequently rotated during knapping and the reduction strategy was ad hoc, lacking hierarchical reduction stages. Flake tools were used as-is or modified by retouching. Some flakes were selected for backing into geometric microliths, and backing techniques often reflected high levels of stoneworking skill to produce stylised scalene shapes. A review of contemporary archaeological evidence, and the context of the Saruq al-Hadid assemblage, suggest that microliths may have been made as stone armatures for arrows despite the contemporary use of copper-based arrowheads.
Abstract Zooarchaeologists investigate past interactions between animals, humans, and their environments by analyzing the remains of archaeological fauna. Age-at-death distributions are fundamental ...to faunal analysis and are often estimated by comparing exposed dentine patterns to standardized tooth wear stages that have been associated with relative age classes. We present Bubona, an international dataset of dental wear patterns and associated broad age classes in archaeological cattle mandibles. Our open-access dataset of 1460 data entries from nine counties is being used to create tooth-type specific reference tables of probable age class attribution for cattle mandibles lacking complete dentition. Bubona is a valuable resource for the innovation of new systems of age estimation for cattle and it is the creators hope that researchers will continue to both help expand the dataset by contributing their own data, as well as utilize the data to refine and innovate age-at-death estimation methods.
The main purpose of the HeLLo project is to contribute to data available on the literature on the real hygrothermal behavior of historic walls and the suitability of insulation technologies. ...Furthermore, it also aims at minimizing the energy simulation errors at the design phase and at improving their conservation features. In this framework, one of the preliminary activities of the study is the creation of a real in situ hot box to measure and analyze different insulation technologies applied to a real historic wall, to quantify the hygrothermal performance of a masonry building. Inside this box, ‘traditional’ experiments can be carried out: recording heat flux, surface temperature, and air temperatures, as well as relative humidity values through the use of a new sensing system (composed of thermocouples and temperature/relative humidity combined sensors). Within this paper, the process of development, construction, and validation of this new metering box is exhibited. The new hot box, specifically studied for historic case studies, when compared to other boxes, presents other advantages compared to previous examples, widely exemplified.
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