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Fan (or tabular) scrapers are a diagnostic tool type in Chalcolithic Ghassulian and Early Bronze Age lithic assemblages from the southern Levant. To date, only small numbers of fan scrapers have been reported from the Late Pottery Neolithic Wadi Rabah culture. In this paper we present a techno-typological analysis of a fair sample of fan scrapers and fan scrapers spalls from Wadi Rabah and Early Bronze Age layers at Ein Zippori, Lower Galilee, Israel. Techno-typological similarities and differences of Wadi Rabah, Chalcolithic Ghassulian and Early Bronze Age fan scrapers from Ein Zippori and other sites in the region are presented, trends of change along time are noted, and an updated definition is proposed. Our results indicate that fan scrapers are highly efficient tools for accurate and prolonged animal butchering and hide working. The main advantage of fan scrapers is their mostly flat, thin morphology and large size that permits the creation of several relatively long working edges, various retouched angles (from sharp to abrupt), extensive resharpening, and a comfortable grasp. While fan scrapers were products of a local trajectory in Late Pottery Neolithic Wadi Rabah lithic industries at Ein Zippori, a standardized, off-site manufacturing of fan scrapers is evident during the Early Bronze Age.

Archaeological excavations at the Hall Shelter site in southeastern Kentucky yielded approximately 450,000 items of natural and cultural debris. Subsequent analysis of the recovered cultural items and recognition of numerous diagnostic lithic and ceramic artifacts indicate human occupation at the locus occurred since the Late Archaic. Also recovered from the main excavation units were 517 identifiable gastropod shell specimens representing twenty-five taxa. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of the gastropod assemblages indicate that minor environmental changes took place during the site's history. In addition, several major trends and shifts in human activity are inferred on the basis of gastropod responses to human occupation.

The Adriatic Sea and Balkan Peninsula were an important corridor for the spread of agriculture northwards and westwards from the Near East into Europe. Therefore, the pace and nature of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition along the Adriatic coastline has important implications for the movement of new peoples and/or ideas during one of the most eventful periods in European prehistory. We present new Early Neolithic radiocarbon and stable isotope evidence from humans and animals from the Zemunica cave site in Dalmatia, Croatia. The results show that these humans date to the earliest Neolithic in the region, and they have completely terrestrial diets, where the main protein source was most likely to have come from domesticated animals. Data are then compared to previous isotope and archaeological evidence to explore models for the spread of agriculture along the eastern Adriatic coast.

ABSTRACTThe most recent work at Vindolanda has produced some startling results which both support and challenge our standing interpretations of some aspects of the frontier zone in Roman Britain. These include the timeline for the development of forts on the frontier, the foundation of extramural settlements and the relationship between fort and extramural settlement. The work raises questions not only about Vindolanda but more generally about the formation of the frontier itself and the interpretation of the archaeology of other sites.

Abstract Recent LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) survey in Tonga has documented a dense and complex archaeological landscape, particularly on the principal island of Tongatapu. Among the features revealed by the LiDAR are a profusion of earthen mounds, most of which are associated with residence, sporting, or burial in the period 1000–1850 CE. For identification and mapping of the mounds we use and evaluate two automated feature extraction (AFE) techniques, object-based image analysis and an inverted pit-filling algorithm (“iMound”). Accuracy of these methods was measured using an F1-score (harmonic mean of precision and recall). Variable AFE results indicate that continual and iterative fine-tuning is required. Successful mapping of some 10,000 mounds on Tongatapu reveals a distinct spatial structure that relates to traditional land division and tenure.

This article refutes official and scholarly accounts of the history of relationships between Inuit and the Canadian state that suggest that the state neglected its Arctic citizens in the period prior to 1950. Instead, the article argues that the early decades of contact between state representatives and the Inuit witnessed the construction and deployment of a distinctive form of colonial rule. Materially, such rule involved the articulation of subsistence and mercantile modes of production, meaning that Inuit livelihoods came to depend upon blending quasi-traditional hunting and fishing practices with the trapping and trading of fox furs. Symbolically, such rule assigned Canadian state representatives the noble task of protecting the Inuit – first, from the incursion of civilization and, later, from their own putative deficiencies. Grounded in archival research focused on the area now known as the Kitikmeot, this article narrates three phases in the early evolution of colonialism, phases that can be summarized as protecting Inuit, disciplining Inuit, and defending colonial rule. Through critically re-interpreting archival documents, this article presents a robust critique of official discourses regarding early Inuit–state relationships, thereby constructing a stronger foundation for postcolonial research that gives prominence to Inuit experiences of, and responses to, those relationships.

Ces dernières années, l’État québécois s’est adonné à un « utilitarisme migratoire » que la rhétorique de la diversité ne fait que proroger. Ses lois et politiques semblent sous-entendre que les qualifications élevées des migrants les préserveront de la discrimination et du racisme et leur permettront de contribuer pleinement à l’essor économique du Québec. À partir d’une recherche réalisée auprès de quarante migrants marocains qualifiés installés au Québec ou retournés au Maroc, cet article expose d’abord les signes sur lesquels s’érigent les attributions identitaires et les formes de racisme vécues au quotidien. Il montre ensuite comment les migrants classent et hiérarchisent leurs expériences du racisme. L’article conclut sur le caractère dynamique et continu de l’épreuve raciste et s’intéresse à la contribution éventuelle de la rhétorique de la diversité à l’entretien d’un racisme « ordinaire ».

Abstract Marine fouling changes the flow regime around sub-sea structures, such as Vortex-Induced Vibration Aquatic Clean Energy (VIVACE) converters. The present experimental study investigates the effects of marine fouling on mechanical power harvesting performance from the Vortex-Induced Vibration (VIV) of single circular cylinders. The towing tank VIV tests are conducted on elastically mounted rigid cylinders. Hard artificial marine fouling with aggregated spatial distribution is considered. Effects of coverage ratio and spatial distributions are investigated. The test results show that, on the whole, marine fouling suppresses the VIV oscillations. Over the upper branch, lower branch and the de-synchronization zone of the VIV response, energy transfer ratio (η) with the biofouled cylinders stay around 15–36% below that from the corresponding clean cylinder. It is also found that the coverage percentage of the fouling and the fouling irregularity negatively affect the VIV hydro energy transfer ratio. The fouling irregularity effects, however, are less significant than those from the coverage percentage. The results of the study suggest that biofouling growth may considerably degrade the long-term energy extraction performance of a VIVACE device.

The medieval pavement found in its original state and place at the Breton castle of Suscinio is an interesting case study for answering questions about the origin of the tin-glazed earthenware technique in France. Twenty-eight decorated tiles (with transparent and tin-opacified glazes) and eight clayey raw materials were examined using chemical and microstructural approaches involving petrographic, SEM–EDS and XRD analyses. By combining the results of provenance and technological studies with historical and archaeological data, it was possible to conclude that the pavement was a local product, made with imported technological skills, rather than an imported product or the result of local experimentation.

The Gulf Coastal Plain of Texas was populated by hunter-gatherers from the Early Archaic (ca. 7000 B.P.) through to the Late Prehistoric period (ca. A.D. 700-1400). In order to characterize past dietary adaptations along the coast and further inland, stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen were analyzed in preserved bone from 198 individuals from mortuary sites. In addition, 140 samples of faunal bone were analyzed to elucidate the stable isotope ecology for each region. The results indicate long-term stability in dietary adaptations with regional variation among coastal, riverine, and inland groups, including an early and, substantial, use of freshwater and marine resources. There is also evidence for constrained mobility and increasing use of plant resources within regions as populations increased in size and density.