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Aegeus Society For Aegean Prehistory

ARTICLES | 2026

The use of SEM-EDS, PIXE and EDXRF for obsidian provenance studies in the Near East: a case study from Neolithic Çatalhöyük (central Anatolia)

Gérard Poupeau, François-Xavier Le Bourdonnec, Tristan Carter, Sarah Delerue, M. Steven Shackley, Jean-Alix Barrat, Stéphan Dubernet, Philippe Moretto, Thomas Calligaro, Marina Milić, Katsuji Kobayashi Journal of Archaeological Science 37.11 (November 2010): 2705-2720.

In this paper we evaluate the relative analytical capabilities of SEM-EDS, PIXE and EDXRF for characterizing archaeologically significant Anatolian obsidians on the basis of their elemental compositions. The study involves 54 geological samples from various sources, together with an archaeological case study involving 100 artifacts from Neolithic Çatalhöyük (central Anatolia).

Archaeobotanical inference of Bronze Age land use and land cover in the eastern Mediterranean

JoAnna Klinge & Patricia Fall Journal of Archaeological Science 37.10 (October 2010): 2622-2629.

Charcoal and charred seeds at five Bronze Age archaeological sites discern ancient land use in the eastern Mediterranean. Seed frequencies of orchard crops, annual cereals and pulses, and wild or weedy plants are used to characterize plant utilization at different archaeological sites on the island of Cyprus, in the Rift Valley of Jordan, and in the Jabbul Plain and along the upper Euphrates River valley in Syria.

Lead pigments and related tools at Akrotiri, Thera, Greece. Provenance and application techniques

S. Sotiropoulou, V. Perdikatsis, Ch. Apostolaki, A.G. Karydas, A. Devetzi & K. Birtacha Journal of Archaeological Science 37.8 (August 2010): 1830-1840.

This paper refers to an investigation of finds that are associated with the raw materials and tools for the preparation or use of lead pigments at Akrotiri on Thera, Greece, during the Early, Middle and Late Cycladic Bronze Age (c. 3000–1600 BC). For the detection and the preliminary characterisation of remains of pigments that were found on stone tools, the in situ application of X-Ray Fluorescence spectroscopy proved to be invaluable.

Tell formation processes as indicated from geoarchaeological and geochemical investigations at Xeropolis, Euboea, Greece

Donald A. Davidson, Clare A. Wilson, Irene S. Lemos & S.P. Theocharopoulos Journal of Archaeological Science 37.7 (July 2010): 1564-1571.

Xeropolis is a tell site on the island of Euboea, Greece just to the east of the village of Lefkandi, and was occupied from the Early Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age. Excavations in recent years have provided an opportunity to investigate site formation processes using geoarchaeological and geochemical techniques.

Arsenic accumulation on the bones in the Early Bronze Age İkiztepe population, Turkey

Kameray Özdemir, Yılmaz Selim Erdal & Şahinde Demirci Journal of Archaeological Science 37.5 (May 2010): 1033-1041.

In this study, arsenic, copper and lead content of a group of human and animal bones recovered from the Early Bronze Age İkiztepe site have been analyzed using ICP-MS method. Average arsenic value of 90 femur bones of a human was found to be 15.0 ± 5.79 ppm which was varied among age and sex groups, and among species. Origin of arsenic accumulation in bones was diagenetic because overall the groups were highly variable.

Strofilas (Andros Island, Greece): New evidence for the Cycladic Final Neolithic period through novel dating methods using luminescence and obsidian hydration

Ioannis Liritzis Journal of Archaeological Science 37.6 (June 2010): 1367-1377.

The recently excavated coastal prehistoric settlement of Strofilas on Andros Island (Cyclades, Greece) in the Aegean sheds new light on the transitional phase from the Final Neolithic to Early Cycladic period regarding masonry, fortification, and richly engraved rock art. The fortification possesses early evidence of preserved defensive architecture, as evidenced from the plethora of scattered finds from within and around the settlement. Important features are carvings on rock walls which mainly depict ships, animals, and fish.

Keeping an eye on your pots: the provenance of Neolithic ceramics from the Cave of the Cyclops, Youra, Greece

Patrick Quinn, Peter Day, Vassilis Kilikoglou, Edward Faber, Stella Katsarou-Tzeveleki & Adamantios Sampson Journal of Archaeological Science 37.5 (May 2010): 1042-1052.

Combined petrographic and chemical analysis of MN and LN ceramics from the Cave of the Cyclops on the island of Youra, Greece, has revealed a compositionally diverse assemblage with a range of different local and off-island sources. Ceramics deposited in Neolithic times on this barren, rocky outpost of the Sporades chain may have originated from a surprising number of possible origins, including from the Plain of Thessaly, Euboea and the volcanic northeast Aegean islands.

Palaeogeographical reconstructions of Lake Maliq (Korça Basin, Albania) between 14,000 BP and 2000 BP

Eric Fouache, Stéphane Desruelles, Michel Magny, Amandine Bordon, Cécile Oberweiler, Céline Coussot, Gilles Touchais, Petrika Lera, Anne-Marie Lézine, Lionel Fadin & Rébecca Roger Journal of Archaeological Science 37.3 (March 2010): 525-535.

Since the early 1990s, excavations of a protohistoric lakeside settlement in the Korça basin carried out by a French–Albanian archaeological team have induced geomorphological and palynological studies about the sedimentary records of Lake Maliq. These studies allow us to distinguish a series of centennial-scale high and low lake level events between 4200 and 4000 cal BP (2899–2637 BC/2843–2416 BC) and 2600 cal BP (822–671 BC), probably due to large-scale climate changes (in the Mediterranean basin). In addition, the sediment sequence also gives evidence of a millennial-scale trend of lake level rise. It appears to be an interplay between lake level rises and falls against tectonic subsidence of the basin allowing accommodation space for sediment deposition.

How reliable are our published archaeometric analyses? Effects of analytical techniques through time on the elemental analysis of obsidians

R.G.V. Hancock & Tristan Carter Journal of Archaeological Science 37.2 (February 2010): 243-250.

To assess the analytical accuracies and precisions of archaeometric elemental analyses by different techniques, a relatively homogeneous material such as obsidian must be studied. An assessment of published elemental concentration data from two Anatolian obsidian sources shows that while in most cases analytical accuracy is as high as is commonly expected, in some cases it is not.

Άνδρος. Ιερά της γεωμετρικής και αρχαϊκής εποχής (Andros. Sanctuaries of the Geometric and Archaic period)

Χριστίνα Α. Τελεβάντου In D.Ι. Kyrtatas, L. Palaiokrassa-Kopitsa & M. Tiverios (eds), Εύανδρος, τόμος εις μνήμην Δημητρίου Ι. Πολέμη (Andros 2009): 51-111.

The article presents the sanctuaries on the island of Andros (Cyclades) during the Geometric and the Archaic times. Thus far, four sanctuaries have been found: at Zagora (Geometric times), at Ypsili (Geometric-Archaic times), at Palaiopoli and at Stavropeda (Archaic times).

Heinrich Schliemanns Ausgrabungen in Troia nach osmanischen Quellen

Rüstem Aslan, Reyhan Körpe & Ali Sönmez Studia Troica 18 (2009): 237-248.

Much has already been written about Heinrich Schliemann's excavations in Troia since 1870. Two main themes are apparent: biographical accounts in commentaries and memoirs of Schliemann's work and an overwhelming dossier of Schliemann's own publications, diaries, and letters.

Zur Herkunft der Obsidianartefakte vom Çukuriçi Höyük

Max Bergner, Barbara Horejs & Ernst Pernicka Studia Troica 18 (2009): 249-272.

64 obsidian artefacts from the prehistoric settlement Çukuriçi Höyük near Ephesos were analyzed with neutron activation. The finds date from the Chalcolithic to the Early Bronze Age. Based on their trace element concentrations it could be shown that the overwhelming majority of the raw material derives from the Cycladic island of Melos.

The Early Bronze Age Lithic Industry in Yenibademli Höyük (Gökçeada / Imbros)

Halime Hüryilmaz, Ivan Gatsov & Petranka Nedelcheva Studia Troica 18 (2009): 229-236.

In this paper the first results of the analyses of chipped stone artefacts from Yenibademli Höyük, Gökçeada / Imbros are presented. The settlement dates to the Early Bronze Age II period. The lithic data include more than 1000 stone artefacts, which belong to the categories of cores, cortical specimen, crested specimen, debris, flakes, blades and retouched tools. All raw material varieties were undergone pethrographical analyses. This way 5 raw material varieties have been distinguished, which were used in stone production.

Yesiltepe, eine Siedlung der Frühbronzezeit am Oberlauf des Skamander

Gebhard Bieg, Stephan W. E. Blum, Reyhan Körpe, Nurten Sevinç & Rüstem Aslan Studia Troica 18 (2009): 199-228.

In 2001 a previously unknown settlement mound west of Karaköy on the Upper Karamenderes (Scamander) was largely damaged by looters. The material found on the site demonstrates that it was occupied mainly during the Troia I period. The Early Bronze Age village was destroyed in a major conflagration.

Kesik plain and Alacaligöl mound an assessment of the Paleogeography around Troia

Ilhan Kayan Studia Troica 18 (2009): 105-128.

The Kesik plain is situated about 4 km west of troia. It is an indentation extending towards Yeniköy ridge from the Karamenderes delta-flood plain, and it covers an area of about 1 km2. Some investigators have supposed this low-lying area to be a convenient harbor location for Troia. A canal connecting the west side of the plain to the Aegean sea has been considered a waterway. Our investigations in the years of 1990 revealed that intruding sea into Karamenderes (Scamander) valley during the holocene transgression covered also Kesik plain and formed a small inlet.