THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EGYPT AND PALESTINE IN THE EARLY BRONZE AGE(ca.3400-2000 BCE)

The relationship between Egypt and Palestine can be traced back to theChalcolithic Age thanks to the evidence of current excavations in the Nile Deltaand Sinal.Palestinian pottery and cast metal objects from the Delta sites of Maadi,Minshat Abu Omar,and elsewhere have proved contacts with Palestine inProtodynastic(Nagada Ⅱ-Ⅲ)times.The Egyptian Protodynastic Period andDynasty 1 were contemporary with the Palestinian EB Ⅰ and EB Ⅲ,and

Astronomy and Sun Cult in the Swedish Bronze Age

The Scandinavian Bronze Age started quite rapidly at around 1750 BC, and is marked by three simultaneous events: 1) importation of bronze from the east Mediterranean region, 2) export of amber from southeast Sweden to the east Mediterranean region, and 3) the carving of pictures of big ships on bedrock and boulders in southern Scandinavia. We take this as evidence of travel and trading by people coming from the east Mediterranean region on big ships via Gibraltar and the North Sea to Scandinavia. At the same time, the Sun cult flourished in southern Sweden and Denmark, as evidenced by monuments perfectly oriented with respect to the Sun’s daily and annual motions over the sky (e.g. Ales Stones), rock carvings of solar symbols and in solar alignment, and a number of ritual objects related to the Sun Cult (e.g. The Golden Sky Dome). In this paper, we summarize and update available data, especially the data from Southern Sweden.

THE ANIMAL BONES FROM A FURTHER GROUP OF EARLY BRONZE AGE PITS AT OSTIANO, S. SALVATORE (Cremona)

The faunal remains from a group of pits excavated at Ostiano, S. Salvatore (Cremona- Northern Italy) are represented by bones of cattle, sheep/goat, pig and hare. Together with the archaeo-botanical and archaeological data, they reveal a well balanced, mixed subsistence strategy, combiningcereal agriculture and stock raising, adapted to the geographical and environmental location of this EarlyBronze Age settlement. I resti faunistici di un altro gruppo di pozzetti del sito del Bronzo antico di Ostiano,S. Salvatore (Cremona). I reperti faunistici di Ostiano, S. Salvatore sono rappresentati da resti di bovini,capra/pecora, maiale e lepre. Unitamente ai reperti archeobotanici ed archeologici, questi docmnentanouna strategia di sussistenza ben bilanciata fra allevamento ed agricoltura che concorda con la localizza-zione geografico-ambientale del sito dell’età del Bronzo antica.

Every Cloud has a Silver Lining: Using Silver Concentration to Identify the Number of Sources of Lead used in Shang Dynasty Bronzes

The use of lead, some of which is characterized by a highly radiogenic signature, sharply distinguishes Bronze Age China from the rest of Eurasia. Scholars have long hypothesized that silver can offer an independent proxy to characterize lead minerals. The summary of silver distribution associated with Shang and Western Zhou bronzes in this paper reveals an important difference between the south(Sanxingdui, Hanzhong, Jinsha, Panlongcheng, Xin’gan) and the Central Plains. Correlating silver with lead content as well as with the isotopic signature indicates that south China and the Central Plains had different lead sources during the late Shang period, and also that the highly radiogenic and common lead used at Anyang come from geochemical environments which cannot be distinguished by the level of silver.

Climate Change, Geopolitics, and Human Settlements in the Hexi Corridor over the Last 5,000 Years

Social responses to climate change over human history have been widely discussed in academia over the last two decades. However, the transformation of the human–environment nexus crossing prehistoric and historic periods and the processes associated with it are not yet clearly understood. In this study, based on published works on radiocarbon dating, archaeobotany, zooarchaeology, and archaeological sites, together with a synthesis of historical documents and highresolution paleoclimatic records, we trace the extent to which human settlement patterns in the Hexi Corridor in northwestern China evolved in conjunction with climate change over the last 5,000 years. A total of 129 Neolithic, 126 Bronze Age, and 1,378 historical sites in the Hexi Corridor(n=1,633) were surveyed. Our results show that, in the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age periods(~2800–100 BC), climate change contributed to the transformation of subsistence strategies and the subsequent changes in human settlement patterns in the Hexi Corridor. The warm-humid climate in ~2800–2000 BC promoted millet agriculture and helped the Majiayao, Banshan, and Machang Cultures to flourish. The cold-dry climate in ~2000–100 BC resulted in the divergence and transformation of subsistence strategies in the Xichengyi–Qijia–Siba and Shajing–Shanma Cultures and in a shift in their settlement patterns. However, in the historical period(121 BC–AD 1911), human settlement patterns were primarily determined by geopolitics related to the alternating rule of regimes and frequent wars, especially in the Sui–Tang dynasties. We also find that trans-Eurasian cultural exchange since ~2000 BC improved social resilience to climate change in the Hexi Corridor, mediating the human–environment nexus there. Our findings may provide insights into how human societies reacted to climate change in arid and semi-arid environments over the long term.

A Mega-Tsunami in the Baltic Sea 1171 BC: Geological Records with Special Reference to the Lake Mälaren Area in Sweden

At about 3000 C14-year BP or 1200 cal. yrs BC, the Baltic Sea experienced a mega-tsunami with a wave-height of 10 m or more, and a run-up height of up to 16.5 m. This event had significant geological and archaeological effects. We explore the records from the Lake M?laren area in Sweden. The tsunami event is linked to seismic ground shaking and methane venting tectonics at several sites. The triggering factor is proposed to be the Kaali meteor impact in Estonia of the same age. The documentation of a mega-tsunami in the middle of the Bronze Age has wide implications both in geology and in archaeology. The archaeological key sites at Annelund and Apalle are reinterpreted in terms of tsunami wave actions remodelling stratigraphy. By extensive coring, we are able to trace the tsunami effects in both off-shore and on-shore environment. At the time of the event, sea level was at +15 m (due to isostatic uplift). The tsunami wave erosion is traced 13.5 m below sea level. The tsunami run-up over land is traced to +29.5 m to +31.5 m (occasionally even higher), implying a run-up of 14.5 - 16.5 m. In ?ngermanland, the tsunami event was absolutely dated at 1171 varve years BC. Archaeologically, the tsunami event coincides well with the transition between Periods II and III of the South Scandinavian Bronze Age. Period III has traditionally been difficult to identify in the cultural materials of the Lake M?laren region.

The Kaali Impact as Trigger of a Mega-Tsunami Event and Violent Seismotectonics in Sweden

A meteorite impacted the ground in Estonia forming the Kaali Crater dated at 1183 - 1162 BC. It set up a Baltic-wide mega-tsunami dated at 1171 absolute varve years BC. It also triggered violent seismotectonic effect in Sweden. Ancient legends testify of direct observations of the sky phenomena and personal experiences of the ground shaking and tsunami flooding, which makes the Kaali Crater the oldest impact event documented by humans. The Ragnarök apocalypse is likely to lead its origin from the violent geodynamic activity along the Swedish east coast.

An M>6 Earthquake~750 BC in SE Sweden

At about 780-750 BC, a major earthquake struck southeast Sweden. At Brantetrask, the bedrock of quartzite was heavily fractured into big, flat blocks. Local people turned the site into a quarry for flat blocks to be placed around the Late Bronze Age graves at Brantevik, the big flat blocks of the sarcophagus, and two 5 tons monoliths transported 30 km to the SSW and erected as the bow and stern stones in the huge ship monument of Ales Stones. Rock carvings from the Bronze Age at Jarrestad became traversed by numerous fractures. Similar rock carving fracturing was observed at six other sites within a radius of 5 km from Brantetrask. In the shore cliff at Ales Stones a seismite was recorded and dated at 780-750 BC. At Glimme hallar, 4 km WSW of Brantevik, the bedrock shows signs of young tectonization. At Lillehem, 40 km to the NNW of Brantetrask, seismically disturbed beds were recorded and dated at the Late Holocene. The seismic event is concluded to have occurred around 780-750 cal.yrs BC and to have had a magnitude in the order of 6.3 to 6.8 and an intensity of about IX on the IES scale.

Exploring the history of cultural exchange in prehistoric Eurasia from the perspectives of crop diffusion and consumption

The history of cultural exchange in prehistoric Eurasia(CEPE) has been widely investigated. Based on archaeological evidence, this process is thought to date back to at least the early Bronze Age, although details about timings and routes remain unclear. It is likely that CEPE promoted the spread and exchange of crops that originated in different parts of Eurasia; since these remains can be definitely identified and directly dated, they provide ideal research materials to explore the history of CEPE. In this paper, we review the available archaeobotanical evidence and direct radiocarbon dates for crop remains, alongside carbon isotopic data from human bones unearthed from prehistoric sites in Eurasia, in order to investigate the history of the spread of millet crops, and wheat and barley, that were first domesticated in the eastern and western parts of Eurasia during prehistoric times.In combination with other archaeological evidences, we discuss the history of CEPE. Our results suggest that wheat and barley were domesticated in western Asia around 10500 a BP, spread into Europe and western Central Asia before 8000 a BP, and reaching eastern Central Asia and northwestern China between 4500 and 4000 a BP. Data show that both broomcorn and foxtail millet were domesticated in eastern Asia before 7700 a BP, spread into eastern Central Asia between 4500 and 4000 a BP, and into western Asia and Europe prior to 3500 a BP. Wheat, barley, and millet crops were first utilized together in eastern Kazakhstan within Central Asia around 4400 a BP, the region where earliest CEPE is likely to have taken place. These crops were mixedly used mainly in eastern central Asia and northwest China between 4500 and 3500 a BP, and then across the Eurasia before 2200 a BP. The results of this study suggest that transcontinental CEPE might have been initiated during the fifth millennium, before intensifying during the Bronze Age to lay the foundations for the creation of the ancient Silk Road during the Han Dynasty(between 202 BC and 220AD).

Prehistoric agriculture development in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, southwest China： Archaeobotanical evidence

The origin, development and expansion of prehistoric agriculture in East Asia have been widely investigated over the past two decades using archaeobotanical analysis from excavated Neolithic and Bronze Age sites. Research on prehistoric agriculture has predominantly focused in the valleys of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. Agricultural development during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau of southwest China, an important passageway for human migration into Southeast Asia, still remains unclear. In this paper, based on macrofossil and microfossil analysis and radiocarbon dating at the Shilinggang site, we investigate plant subsistence strategies in the Nujiang River valley during the Bronze Age period. Combined with previous archaeobotanical studies in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, we explore agricultural development processes in this area during the Neolithic and Bronze Age. Our results indicate that rice and foxtail millet were cultivated in Shilinggang around 2500 cal a BP. Three phases of prehistoric agricultural development in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau can be identified: rice cultivation from 4800–3900 cal a BP, mixed rice and millet crop(foxtail millet and broomcorn millet) cultivation from 3900–3400 cal a BP, and mixed rice, millet crop and wheat cultivation from 3400–2300 cal a BP. The development of agriculture in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods was primarily promoted by prehistoric agriculture expansion across Eurasia, agricultural expansion which was also affected by the topographic and hydrological characteristics of the area.

Exceptional terrestrial warmth around 4200-2800 years ago in Northwest China

One of the Holocene abrupt events around 4200 years ago,lasting for~200 years,is thought to have caused cultural disruptions,yet terrestrial climatic status right after the cold/dry event remains poorly defined and is often presumed that a generally cool condition prevailed during the Bronze Age(~4000-2200 years ago).Here we report an alkenone-based summer temperature record over the past~12,000 years,in addition to two updated alkenone records,from Northwest China,providing new insights into the climatic status right after the event.Our results indicate that exceptional terrestrial warmth,up to~6°C,occurred around 4200-2800 years ago during the Bronze Age,superimposed on the long-term Holocene cooling trend.The exceptional warmth in Northwest China,together with other climate anomalies elsewhere,suggests an unusual large-scale climatic reorganization at 4200-2800 years ago when solar activity remained high,with important implications to the climate background for cultural developments during the Bronze Age.