Characterization of the Obsidian Used in the Chipped Stone Industry in Kendale Hecala

Kendale Hecala is located on the Ambar River in the Upper Tigris Basin, province of Diyarbakır in Southeast Anatolia. Various raw materials, including obsidian, radiolarite, chert, jasper, chalcedony, and quartzite, were used in the lithic industry. Obsidian artefacts constitute an average of 64% of the chipped stone assemblage. Technological analysis reveals that obsidian was brought to the settlement as nodules and chipped into various tools at the settlement. Understanding the operational sequence of the lithic industry, chaîne opératoire, including the distribution of raw material from source to site, is important to demonstrate the socio-cultural organization of the settlement in Southeastern Anatolia during the Ubaid period. In order to identify source varieties, the obsidian artefacts uncovered from Ubaid layers of Kendale Hecala were analyzed by macro-observations, and the characterization of archaeological samples was performed using a handheld XRF. Multivariate analysis of the data indicates the use of obsidian from different resources at the settlement, including Nemrut Dağ, Bingöl B, and Group 3d.

Silicon Carbide Epitaxial Structures for Beta-Voltaic Converters

A physical and technological analysis of silicon carbide epitaxial structures, as the basic components of beta-voltaic converters (BVC), has been carried out. The main factors limiting the efficiency of SiC-BVC are determined. It is shown that in order to provide the required level of electric power of a virtually non-depleting energy source, it is necessary to use series-parallel hybrid circuits of large-area beta-voltaic multichip converters.

The Ceramics Production of the Cis-Ural Srubnaya Culture: A Case Study of the Kurgan Cemetery I Near Tverdilovo Village

The article analyzes the ceramics of the Timber culture, recovered from a kurgan cemetery near the village of Tverdilovo (excavated in 2017 in the Western Orenburg region). Under embankment of kurgan 1, 30 vessels were found in 21 burials, made in a narrow chronological interval. When considering these vessels according to one methodological system, which includes morphological and technical and technological analysis, the peculiarities of the production of pottery were highlighted both for a single group of the population and for the region as a whole. The analysis of the technological traditions of ceramics production from the Tverditovo kurgan cemetery shows that the population that left these ceramics was not homogeneous. There are two different traditions even at the stage of selection of plastic soft raw materials: one of them used silty clay for making dishes, the other applied natural clay. So, it is difficult to explain an isolated case of using sludge and low-grade ferrum clay. Using comparative analysis we can assume that the nearest burial monument according to its ceramics products is the Bogolubovskiy kurgan cemetery where we also can find silty and natural clay and the receipt of molding mass as “clay+ chamotte+ organic materials”. Pottery traditions of the population that left the presented vessels were heterogeneous, which is recorded both in terms of morphological and technological characteristics. A similar picture is typical for other settlement and burial sites in the Orenburg Cis-Urals. The monument was dominated by the pottery traditions of the Timber culture with a slight influence of the Alakul elements.

Middle Stone Age Bifacial Technology and Pressure Flaking at the MIS 3 Site of Toumboura III, Eastern Senegal

Over the past decade, the increasing wealth of new archaeological data on the Middle Stone Age (MSA) in Senegal and Mali has broadened our understanding of West Africa’s contributions to cultural developments. Within the West African sequence, the phase of Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3, ca. 59-24 ka) yielded so far the best known and extensive archaeological information. The site of Toumboura III encompasses an occupation dated by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) to between 40 ± 3 ka and 30 ± 3 ka. It provides the largest, well-dated, and stratified lithic assemblage in West Africa for the MSA and sheds light on an unprecedented cultural expression for this period, adding to the notable diversity of the late MSA in this region. We conducted a technological analysis of the lithic components following the chaîne opératoire approach. The lithic assemblage features a prevalence of bifacial technology and the exploitation of flakes as blanks for tool production. The craftspeople manufactured distinct types of bifacial tools, including small bifacial points shaped by pressure technique. The new data from Toumboura III demonstrate behavioral patterns that are entirely new in the region. By revealing behavioral innovations and technological particularities, these results on the techno-cultural dynamics during the MIS 3 phase of the MSA enhance our understanding of the complex Pleistocene population history in this part of Africa.

TYPOLOGICAL, TECHNICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EARLY VOLOSOVO CERAMICS IN THE MARI VOLGA REGION

В статье представлены новые результаты изучения керамики волосовской культуры территории Среднего Поволжья. В ходе обобщающего исследования было выявлено, что в ранней волосовской керамике преобладают прямые и утолщенные венчики. Преимущественно прямая профилировка сосудов. Высок процент орнаментированной посуды, общая схема орнаментации горизонтальная и вертикальная. В качестве элемента орнамента превалируют оттиски гребенчатого штампа. При подсчете коэффициента сходства 9 рассмотренных в работе памятников, относящихся к ранней волосовской культуре, было выявлено, что наиболее высокие коэффициенты сходства получены при подсчете по формам венчиков и элементам орнамента. По результатам технико-технологического анализа также выражена стандартизация рассматриваемых материалов. The paper presents new results of study of ceramics from the Volosovo culture sites located in the Middle Volga region which is important for research of the Volosovo culture. This synthesis-oriented research has found that straight and thick rims predominate among the early Volosovo ceramics. Vessel profiling is predominantly straight. The ornamented vessels account for a large percentage share of the found vessels, the decoration pattern is organized horizontally and vertically. The comb stamp imprints predominate as a decorative element. The calculations of the similarity coefficient for nine sites attributed to the Early Volosovo culture demonstrate that the highest similarity coefficients have been obtained for rim shapes and decorative pattern elements. The results of the technical and technological analysis also demonstrate standardization of the analyzed materials.

INITIAL DESCRIPTION OF CERAMIC INDUSTRY AT THE SEREGINSKOYE SETTLEMENT

Керамика является важнейшим компонентом майкопской культуры и уникальным источником информации о ее производителях и пользователях. Целью нашего исследования является описание технологических систем, в рамках которых была произведена керамика Серегинского поселения. В статье представлены результаты технологического анализа керамического ансамбля, включающего в себя исследование методов конструирования, обработки поверхностей и обжига, а также анализ материалов, использованных для производства керамики и местного потенциального сырья для керамического производства. Жители Серегинского поселения пользовались керамикой, произведенной в рамках 2 индустрий, характеризуемых специфическими техниками, формовочными массами и принципами организации труда. Индустрии, описанные в статье, можно связать с двумя традициями, действующими в соответствии с разными технологическими принципами. Pottery is a key component of the Maykop cultural phenomenon and a unique source of information on its producers and users. The aim of this study is to describe technological systems used to produce ceramics at the Sereginskoye settlement. The article presents the results of the technological analysis of the pottery assemblage. The systematic analysis includes the investigation of vessel shaping, surface treatment and firing, as well as the study of raw materials used to produce ceramics and local potential resources for ceramic production. The Sereginskoye inhabitants used pottery produced by three industries characterized by specific techniques, clay fabrics and principles of production organization. The industries described in the article can be associated with two traditions based on different technological principles.

Hunting Equipment of Russians Living near Tara on the Irtysh in the 17th and 18th Centuries

This article describes Russian hunting tools unearthed from several sites near the town of Tara on the Irtysh: Ananyino I, Izyuk I, Tara, and Fort Bergamak. The functions of tools are assessed on the basis of archaeological parallels from the Baraba forest-steppe, ethnographic examples relating to the culture of the Irtysh natives, materials from Fort Albazin and Fort Sayansk, and much earlier burials dating to the Xianbei-Rouran time in the Altai Mountains. The variety of 17th–18th century hunting tools is best represented at Mangazeya, Fort Alazeya, and Fort Stadukhin. Apart from typological comparisons, technological analysis was carried out for several wooden and metal artifacts. Results are helpful for revealing continuities between the 17th–18th century Russian hunting tradition at Tara and that practiced in Old Rus and in the 15th–17th century Russian state, as well as for comparing it with the Siberian native traditions.