Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Apr 1, 2004
Ochre samples excavated from the neolithic site at Catalhöyük, Turkey have been compared with &am... more Ochre samples excavated from the neolithic site at Catalhöyük, Turkey have been compared with "native" ochres from Clearwell Caves, UK using infrared spectroscopy backed up by Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (with energy-dispersive X-rays (EDX) analysis), powder X-ray diffraction, diffuse reflection UV-Vis and atomic absorption spectroscopies. For the Clearwell Caves ochres, which range in colour from yellow-orange to red-brown, it is shown that the colour is related to the nature of the chromophore present and not to any differences in particle size. The darker red ochres contain predominantly haematite while the yellow ochre contains only goethite. The ochres from Catalhöyük contain only about one-twentieth of the levels of iron found in the Clearwell Caves ochres. The iron oxide pigment (haematite in all cases studied here) has been mixed with a soft lime plaster which also contains calcite and silicate (clay) minerals.
ABSTRACTThe scarcity of high‐resolution palaeoclimate records from the interior of West Asia has ... more ABSTRACTThe scarcity of high‐resolution palaeoclimate records from the interior of West Asia has limited our understanding of the mechanisms of past climate change and their potential impacts on early human societies of the Eastern Fertile Crescent. Here, we present a multiproxy sedimentological, geochemical and palynological record from the Hashilan Wetland in the central Zagros Mountains, spanning the time interval from 22 to 2.2 kcal bp. Our results indicate a cold, dry climate for the last deglaciation (22 to 10 kcal bp) with amplified aridity during the Last Glacial Maximum, Heinrich Stadial 1, the Younger Dryas and the 8.2 and 3.2 ka events. The Early Holocene (11.6 to 7.8 kcal bp) is characterised by prolonged dry summers, frequent spring/summer dust storms and restricted oak woodlands that gradually expanded as summers shortened toward the second half of the Holocene (<6 kcal bp). We show an out‐of‐phase Holocene moisture variation between the interior of West Asia and the Indian Summer Monsoon domain and conclude that summer insolation‐driven latitudinal shifts of the Hadley cell played a key role in seasonality changes in the interior of West Asia by modulating the strength and pathway of the subtropical high‐pressure cells. Finally, we explore possible impacts of these changes on regional prehistoric human communities.
Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, 2005
Three ochre samples (A (orange-red in colour), B (red) and C (purple)) from Clearwell Caves, (Glo... more Three ochre samples (A (orange-red in colour), B (red) and C (purple)) from Clearwell Caves, (Gloucestershire, UK) have been examined using an integrated analytical methodology based on the techniques of IR and diffuse reflectance UV-visible-NIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis by ICP-AES and particle size analysis. It is shown that the chromophore in each case is haematite. The differences in colour may be accounted for by (i) different mineralogical and chemical composition in the case of the orange ochre, where higher levels of dolomite and copper are seen and (ii) an unusual particle size distribution in the case of the purple ochre. When the purple ochre was ground to give the same particle size distribution as the red ochre then the colours of the two samples became indistinguishable. An analysis has now been completed of a range of ochre samples with colours from yellow to purple from the important site of Clearwell Caves.
We present the first ancient DNA data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Mesopotamia (Southeastern... more We present the first ancient DNA data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Mesopotamia (Southeastern Turkey and Northern Iraq), Cyprus, and the Northwestern Zagros, along with the first data from Neolithic Armenia. We show that these and neighboring populations were formed through admixture of pre-Neolithic sources related to Anatolian, Caucasus, and Levantine hunter-gatherers, forming a Neolithic continuum of ancestry mirroring the geography of West Asia. By analyzing Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic populations of Anatolia, we show that the former were derived from admixture between Mesopotamian-related and local Epipaleolithic-related sources, but the latter experienced additional Levantine-related gene flow, thus documenting at least two pulses of migration from the Fertile Crescent heartland to the early farmers of Anatolia.
History of investigation Geoarchaeological research on tells began during a period of increasing ... more History of investigation Geoarchaeological research on tells began during a period of increasing scientific inquiry and analyses in A.S. Gilbert (ed.
The current study explored whether ethnicity influences young adults' evaluations of two differen... more The current study explored whether ethnicity influences young adults' evaluations of two different sets of comforting messages: those in which concepts such as God, prayer, religion, and faith are woven into low, moderate, and high person-centered strategies (called ''religious strategies'') and those in which such concepts are not embedded (called ''non-religious strategies'') into the messages. One hundred ninety-seven college students (63% African-American; 37% Caucasian) rated the sensitivity and effectiveness of religious and non-religious comforting messages. Several significant differences were observed between Caucasians and African-Americans in their evaluations of these strategies. Findings are discussed in terms of their practical implications for ''real world'' comforting efforts as well as the theoretical significance they hold for the concept of person-centeredness.
This paper examines the contribution of microscopic multi-proxy approaches to the study of early ... more This paper examines the contribution of microscopic multi-proxy approaches to the study of early husbandry practices and animal diet by integrated micromorphological, phytolith, and calcitic dung spherulite analyses of midden deposits at the three neighbouring Neolithic sites of Boncuklu (9th-8th millennium cal BC), Pınarbaşı (7th millennium cal BC) and Çatalhöyük (8th-6th millennium cal BC) in the Konya Plain, Central Turkey. The results reveal considerable chronological and contextual variation in human-animal interrelations in open areas between different communities and sites. At Boncuklu, middens display well-defined areas where phytoliths and substantial accumulations of omnivore faecal matter low in spherulite content have been identified. By contrast, open spaces at the Late Neolithic campsite of Pınarbaşı comprise large concentrations of herbivore dung material associated with neonatal ovicaprine remains from spring birthing. Here, the deposits represent repeated dungburning events, and include high concentrations of dung spherulites and phytoliths from wild grasses, and leaves and culms of reeds that, we suggest here, derive from fodder and fuel sources. Late middens at Çatalhöyük are characterised by thick sequences derived from multiple fuel burning events and rich in ashes, charred plants, articulated phytolithsmainly from the husk of cereals, as well as the leaves and stems of reeds and sedgesand omnivore/ruminant coprolites, the abundance of the latter declining markedly in the latest levels of occupation. The application of this integrated microscopic approach to open areas has contributed to unravelling the complexity of formation processes at these sites, providing new insights into herding practices, diet, and the ecological diversity of Neolithic communities in Central Anatolia.
The urban heat island (UHI) and urban moisture island (UMI) effect can be significant in Hong Kon... more The urban heat island (UHI) and urban moisture island (UMI) effect can be significant in Hong Kong due to its high-density land utilization, and this can strongly affect building energy performance. While the UHI' energy impact has been rather intensively studied recently, the UMI effect on latent energy is still underexplored, especially for humid subtropical climate like Hong Kong. This study investigated the intensity of UHI and UMI in Hong Kong, and its impacts on the sensible and latent cooling demand of residential buildings in summer. Firstly, a ten-year weather dataset from 2004 to 2013 for the six stations selected based on the local climate zone (LCZ) scheme was analysed. The results show that the urban area of Hong Kong appears as both a heat and moisture island during summer nights but as cooling and dry islands during daytime, and the nocturnal UHI and UMI intensity vary significantly with different LCZs. Furthermore, the energy performance of a typical residential building in Hong Kong was simulated with measured weather data for the selected stations as an input. The urban building shows a higher sensible cooling demand, approximately twice that of the comparative rural one, and the latent cooling demand could be up to 96% higher. Both sensible and latent cooling energy demand decrease with increasing LCZ grades. Our study highlights that both UHI and UMI effect should be considered in the estimation of building energy in Hong Kong due to their significant impacts on the cooling energy demand.
Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Apr 1, 2004
Ochre samples excavated from the neolithic site at Catalhöyük, Turkey have been compared with &am... more Ochre samples excavated from the neolithic site at Catalhöyük, Turkey have been compared with "native" ochres from Clearwell Caves, UK using infrared spectroscopy backed up by Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (with energy-dispersive X-rays (EDX) analysis), powder X-ray diffraction, diffuse reflection UV-Vis and atomic absorption spectroscopies. For the Clearwell Caves ochres, which range in colour from yellow-orange to red-brown, it is shown that the colour is related to the nature of the chromophore present and not to any differences in particle size. The darker red ochres contain predominantly haematite while the yellow ochre contains only goethite. The ochres from Catalhöyük contain only about one-twentieth of the levels of iron found in the Clearwell Caves ochres. The iron oxide pigment (haematite in all cases studied here) has been mixed with a soft lime plaster which also contains calcite and silicate (clay) minerals.
ABSTRACTThe scarcity of high‐resolution palaeoclimate records from the interior of West Asia has ... more ABSTRACTThe scarcity of high‐resolution palaeoclimate records from the interior of West Asia has limited our understanding of the mechanisms of past climate change and their potential impacts on early human societies of the Eastern Fertile Crescent. Here, we present a multiproxy sedimentological, geochemical and palynological record from the Hashilan Wetland in the central Zagros Mountains, spanning the time interval from 22 to 2.2 kcal bp. Our results indicate a cold, dry climate for the last deglaciation (22 to 10 kcal bp) with amplified aridity during the Last Glacial Maximum, Heinrich Stadial 1, the Younger Dryas and the 8.2 and 3.2 ka events. The Early Holocene (11.6 to 7.8 kcal bp) is characterised by prolonged dry summers, frequent spring/summer dust storms and restricted oak woodlands that gradually expanded as summers shortened toward the second half of the Holocene (<6 kcal bp). We show an out‐of‐phase Holocene moisture variation between the interior of West Asia and the Indian Summer Monsoon domain and conclude that summer insolation‐driven latitudinal shifts of the Hadley cell played a key role in seasonality changes in the interior of West Asia by modulating the strength and pathway of the subtropical high‐pressure cells. Finally, we explore possible impacts of these changes on regional prehistoric human communities.
Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, 2005
Three ochre samples (A (orange-red in colour), B (red) and C (purple)) from Clearwell Caves, (Glo... more Three ochre samples (A (orange-red in colour), B (red) and C (purple)) from Clearwell Caves, (Gloucestershire, UK) have been examined using an integrated analytical methodology based on the techniques of IR and diffuse reflectance UV-visible-NIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis by ICP-AES and particle size analysis. It is shown that the chromophore in each case is haematite. The differences in colour may be accounted for by (i) different mineralogical and chemical composition in the case of the orange ochre, where higher levels of dolomite and copper are seen and (ii) an unusual particle size distribution in the case of the purple ochre. When the purple ochre was ground to give the same particle size distribution as the red ochre then the colours of the two samples became indistinguishable. An analysis has now been completed of a range of ochre samples with colours from yellow to purple from the important site of Clearwell Caves.
We present the first ancient DNA data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Mesopotamia (Southeastern... more We present the first ancient DNA data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Mesopotamia (Southeastern Turkey and Northern Iraq), Cyprus, and the Northwestern Zagros, along with the first data from Neolithic Armenia. We show that these and neighboring populations were formed through admixture of pre-Neolithic sources related to Anatolian, Caucasus, and Levantine hunter-gatherers, forming a Neolithic continuum of ancestry mirroring the geography of West Asia. By analyzing Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic populations of Anatolia, we show that the former were derived from admixture between Mesopotamian-related and local Epipaleolithic-related sources, but the latter experienced additional Levantine-related gene flow, thus documenting at least two pulses of migration from the Fertile Crescent heartland to the early farmers of Anatolia.
History of investigation Geoarchaeological research on tells began during a period of increasing ... more History of investigation Geoarchaeological research on tells began during a period of increasing scientific inquiry and analyses in A.S. Gilbert (ed.
The current study explored whether ethnicity influences young adults' evaluations of two differen... more The current study explored whether ethnicity influences young adults' evaluations of two different sets of comforting messages: those in which concepts such as God, prayer, religion, and faith are woven into low, moderate, and high person-centered strategies (called ''religious strategies'') and those in which such concepts are not embedded (called ''non-religious strategies'') into the messages. One hundred ninety-seven college students (63% African-American; 37% Caucasian) rated the sensitivity and effectiveness of religious and non-religious comforting messages. Several significant differences were observed between Caucasians and African-Americans in their evaluations of these strategies. Findings are discussed in terms of their practical implications for ''real world'' comforting efforts as well as the theoretical significance they hold for the concept of person-centeredness.
This paper examines the contribution of microscopic multi-proxy approaches to the study of early ... more This paper examines the contribution of microscopic multi-proxy approaches to the study of early husbandry practices and animal diet by integrated micromorphological, phytolith, and calcitic dung spherulite analyses of midden deposits at the three neighbouring Neolithic sites of Boncuklu (9th-8th millennium cal BC), Pınarbaşı (7th millennium cal BC) and Çatalhöyük (8th-6th millennium cal BC) in the Konya Plain, Central Turkey. The results reveal considerable chronological and contextual variation in human-animal interrelations in open areas between different communities and sites. At Boncuklu, middens display well-defined areas where phytoliths and substantial accumulations of omnivore faecal matter low in spherulite content have been identified. By contrast, open spaces at the Late Neolithic campsite of Pınarbaşı comprise large concentrations of herbivore dung material associated with neonatal ovicaprine remains from spring birthing. Here, the deposits represent repeated dungburning events, and include high concentrations of dung spherulites and phytoliths from wild grasses, and leaves and culms of reeds that, we suggest here, derive from fodder and fuel sources. Late middens at Çatalhöyük are characterised by thick sequences derived from multiple fuel burning events and rich in ashes, charred plants, articulated phytolithsmainly from the husk of cereals, as well as the leaves and stems of reeds and sedgesand omnivore/ruminant coprolites, the abundance of the latter declining markedly in the latest levels of occupation. The application of this integrated microscopic approach to open areas has contributed to unravelling the complexity of formation processes at these sites, providing new insights into herding practices, diet, and the ecological diversity of Neolithic communities in Central Anatolia.
The urban heat island (UHI) and urban moisture island (UMI) effect can be significant in Hong Kon... more The urban heat island (UHI) and urban moisture island (UMI) effect can be significant in Hong Kong due to its high-density land utilization, and this can strongly affect building energy performance. While the UHI' energy impact has been rather intensively studied recently, the UMI effect on latent energy is still underexplored, especially for humid subtropical climate like Hong Kong. This study investigated the intensity of UHI and UMI in Hong Kong, and its impacts on the sensible and latent cooling demand of residential buildings in summer. Firstly, a ten-year weather dataset from 2004 to 2013 for the six stations selected based on the local climate zone (LCZ) scheme was analysed. The results show that the urban area of Hong Kong appears as both a heat and moisture island during summer nights but as cooling and dry islands during daytime, and the nocturnal UHI and UMI intensity vary significantly with different LCZs. Furthermore, the energy performance of a typical residential building in Hong Kong was simulated with measured weather data for the selected stations as an input. The urban building shows a higher sensible cooling demand, approximately twice that of the comparative rural one, and the latent cooling demand could be up to 96% higher. Both sensible and latent cooling energy demand decrease with increasing LCZ grades. Our study highlights that both UHI and UMI effect should be considered in the estimation of building energy in Hong Kong due to their significant impacts on the cooling energy demand.
Effects of climate on societies are a much discussed topic in archaeology, and especially relevan... more Effects of climate on societies are a much discussed topic in archaeology, and especially relevant for semi-arid regions such as the Near East. The potentially most pronounced cold-arid climatic episode of the Holocene occurred at around 8200 years ago (‘8.2 ka event’). A similar event, albeit of a smaller magnitude, took place at around 9200 years ago. Due to the abrupt nature of these climatic changes (onset in less than a decade), a severe impact on societies is expected. The effects of especially the 8.2 ka event have been much discussed, and scenarios for the Near East vary from widespread site abandonment and migration to continuity of occupation. The aim of our study is to further this debate by a comprehensive re-assessment of chronologies, to assess the synchronicity of social and climatic changes. We re-assessed all available radiocarbon evidence for the relevant time period (9500-7500 cal BP), strictly quality-checking dates and where possible using Bayesian models, and combining dating evidence with archaeological information. Our results show that no systematic, large-scale site abandonment or migration took place at the time of either the 9.2., or the 8.2 ka event. At some sites, change occurs, which represent climate adaptations, but a large variability is present. We conclude that early farming communities were resilient in the face of climatic and environmental deterioration.
HE EARLY NEOLITHIC OF THE EASTERN FERTILE CRESCENT: EXCAVATIONS AT BESTANSUR AND SHIMSHARA, IRAQI KURDISTAN, 2020
The Eastern Fertile Crescent region of western Iran and eastern Iraq hosted major developments in... more The Eastern Fertile Crescent region of western Iran and eastern Iraq hosted major developments in the transition from hunter-forager to farmer-herder lifestyles through the Early Neolithic period, 10,000-7000 BC. Within the scope of the Central Zagros Archaeological Project, excavations have been conducted since 2012 at two Early Neolithic sites in the Kurdistan region of Iraq: Bestansur and Shimshara. Bestansur represents an early stage in the transition to sedentary, farming life, where the inhabitants pursued a mixed strategy of hunting, foraging, herding and cultivating, maximising the new opportunities afforded by the warmer, wetter climate of the Early Holocene. They also constructed substantial buildings of mudbrick, including a major building with a minimum of 65 human individuals, mainly infants, buried under its floor in association with hundreds of beads. These human remains provide new insights into mortuary practices, demography, diet and disease during the early stages of sedentarisation. The material culture of Bestansur and Shimshara is rich in imported items such as obsidian, carnelian and sea-shells, indicating the extent to which Early Neolithic communities were networked across the Eastern Fertile Crescent and beyond. This volume includes final reports by a large-scale interdisciplinary team on all aspects of the results from excavations at Bestansur and Shimshara, through application of state-of-the-art scientific techniques, methods and analyses. The net result is to re-emphasise the enormous significance of the Eastern Fertile Crescent in one of the most important episodes in human history: the Neolithic transition.
The Early Neolithic of the Eastern Fertile Crescent. Excavations at Bestansur and Shimshara, Iraqi Kurdistan., 2020
The Eastern Fertile Crescent region of western Iran and eastern Iraq hosted major developments in... more The Eastern Fertile Crescent region of western Iran and eastern Iraq hosted major developments in the transition from hunter-forager to farmer-herder lifestyles through the Early Neolithic period, 10,000-7000 BC. Within the scope of the Central Zagros Archaeological Project, excavations have been conducted since 2012 at two Early Neolithic sites in the Kurdistan region of Iraq: Bestansur and Shimshara. Bestansur represents an early stage in the transition to sedentary, farming life, where the inhabitants pursued a mixed strategy of hunting, foraging, herding and cultivating, maximising the new opportunities afforded by the warmer, wetter climate of the Early Holocene. They also constructed substantial buildings of mudbrick, including a major building with a minimum of 78 human individuals, mainly infants, buried under its floor in association with hundreds of beads. These human remains provide new insights into mortuary practices, demography, diet and disease during the early stages of sedentarisation. The material culture of Bestansur and Shimshara is rich in imported items such as obsidian, carnelian and sea-shells, indicating the extent to which Early Neolithic communities were networked across the Eastern Fertile Crescent and beyond. This volume includes final reports by a large-scale interdisciplinary team on all aspects of the results from excavations at Bestansur and Shimshara, through application of state-of-the-art scientific techniques, methods and analyses. The net result is to re-emphasise the enormous significance of the Eastern Fertile Crescent in one of the most important episodes in human history: the Neolithic transition.
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Papers by Wendy Matthews
We re-assessed all available radiocarbon evidence for the relevant time period (9500-7500 cal BP), strictly quality-checking dates and where possible using Bayesian models, and combining dating evidence with archaeological information. Our results show that no systematic, large-scale site abandonment or migration took place at the time of either the 9.2., or the 8.2 ka event. At some sites, change occurs, which represent climate adaptations, but a large variability is present. We conclude that early farming communities were resilient in the face of climatic and environmental deterioration.
transition from hunter-forager to farmer-herder lifestyles through the Early Neolithic period, 10,000-7000
BC. Within the scope of the Central Zagros Archaeological Project, excavations have been conducted
since 2012 at two Early Neolithic sites in the Kurdistan region of Iraq: Bestansur and Shimshara. Bestansur
represents an early stage in the transition to sedentary, farming life, where the inhabitants pursued a mixed
strategy of hunting, foraging, herding and cultivating, maximising the new opportunities afforded by the
warmer, wetter climate of the Early Holocene. They also constructed substantial buildings of mudbrick,
including a major building with a minimum of 65 human individuals, mainly infants, buried under its
floor in association with hundreds of beads. These human remains provide new insights into mortuary
practices, demography, diet and disease during the early stages of sedentarisation. The material culture of
Bestansur and Shimshara is rich in imported items such as obsidian, carnelian and sea-shells, indicating
the extent to which Early Neolithic communities were networked across the Eastern Fertile Crescent and
beyond. This volume includes final reports by a large-scale interdisciplinary team on all aspects of the results
from excavations at Bestansur and Shimshara, through application of state-of-the-art scientific techniques,
methods and analyses. The net result is to re-emphasise the enormous significance of the Eastern Fertile
Crescent in one of the most important episodes in human history: the Neolithic transition.