Tophets are Phoenician and Punic sanctuaries where cremated infants and children were buried. Man... more Tophets are Phoenician and Punic sanctuaries where cremated infants and children were buried. Many studies focus on the potentially sacrificial nature of these sites, but this article takes a different approach. Combining osteological analysis with a consideration of the archaeological and wider cultural context, the authors explore the short life-courses and mortuary treatments of 12 individuals in the tophet at the Neo-Punic site of Zita, Tunisia. While osteological evidence suggests life at Zita was hard, and systemic health problems may have contributed to the deaths of these individuals, their mortuary rites were attended to with care and without concrete indication of sacrifice.
Tophets are Phoenician and Punic sanctuaries where cremated infants and children were buried. Man... more Tophets are Phoenician and Punic sanctuaries where cremated infants and children were buried. Many studies focus on the potentially sacrificial nature of these sites, but this article takes a different approach. Combining osteological analysis with a consideration of the archaeological and wider cultural context, the authors explore the short life-courses and mortuary treatments of 12 individuals in the tophet at the Neo-Punic site of Zita, Tunisia. While osteological evidence suggests life at Zita was hard, and systemic health problems may have contributed to the deaths of these individuals, their mortuary rites were attended to with care and without concrete indication of sacrifice.
In India, the organization of the ancient glass industries that produced, starting around the mid... more In India, the organization of the ancient glass industries that produced, starting around the mid-1st millennium BCE, huge quantities of small drawn beads that were traded both locally and all over the Indian Ocean and beyond, is poorly known. Elemental compositions conducted on glass beads found in India and on Indian beads found elsewhere show a great variability that could be linked in some cases to different production regions (Northern, Southern, and Western India). However, a more precise provenance attribution and the identification of regionally distinct production centers was not possible without additional research. Ethno-historical references show that glass was often produced from one single ingredient, called reh. We collected raw material samples from selected regions within the subcontinent. This paper reports on both the elemental compositions of these raw material samples obtained using laser ablation—inductively coupled plasma—mass spectrometry and their isotopic compositions including Pb, Sr, and Nd. The results were compared to elemental and isotopic data available for known Indian glass artifacts recovered from sites within and outside India. Our results show that some regions within India are more likely than others to have been the loci of glass production in ancient times.
Using data from several well-preserved pyres, which are rarely found well preserved in the southw... more Using data from several well-preserved pyres, which are rarely found well preserved in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, we examine cremation customs and their associated pyrotechnologies at the site of Cerro de Trincheras in northern Sonora, Mexico, from AD 1300 to 1450/1500. We explore variations in pyre construction and use, thermal alterations of the deceased, the deceased individuals’ biological profiles, the performance of mortuary rituals, and the sensorial experiences of both the mourners and the wider Cerro de Trincheras community. The residents of the site were masters of the pyrotechnologies associated with cremations, making efficient pyres for the deceased and maximizing their resources. The group also created transformative funeral rituals that may have facilitated and mediated a wide range of emotional responses toward their deceased.
In India, the organization of the ancient glass industries that produced, starting around the mid... more In India, the organization of the ancient glass industries that produced, starting around the mid-1st millennium BCE, huge quantities of small drawn beads that were traded both locally and all over the Indian Ocean and beyond, is poorly known. Elemental compositions conducted on glass beads found in India and on Indian beads found elsewhere show a great variability that could be linked in some cases to different production regions (Northern, Southern, and Western India). However, a more precise provenance attribution and the identification of regionally distinct production centers was not possible without additional research. Ethno-historical references show that glass was often produced from one single ingredient, called reh. We collected raw material samples from selected regions within the subcontinent. This paper reports on both the elemental compositions of these raw material samples obtained using laser ablation—inductively coupled plasma—mass spectrometry and their isotopic compositions including Pb, Sr, and Nd. The results were compared to elemental and isotopic data available for known Indian glass artifacts recovered from sites within and outside India. Our results show that some regions within India are more likely than others to have been the loci of glass production in ancient times.
Using data from several well-preserved pyres, which are rarely found well preserved in the southw... more Using data from several well-preserved pyres, which are rarely found well preserved in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, we examine cremation customs and their associated pyrotechnologies at the site of Cerro de Trincheras in northern Sonora, Mexico, from AD 1300 to 1450/1500. We explore variations in pyre construction and use, thermal alterations of the deceased, the deceased individuals’ biological profiles, the performance of mortuary rituals, and the sensorial experiences of both the mourners and the wider Cerro de Trincheras community. The residents of the site were masters of the pyrotechnologies associated with cremations, making efficient pyres for the deceased and maximizing their resources. The group also created transformative funeral rituals that may have facilitated and mediated a wide range of emotional responses toward their deceased.
Proceedings of the ICTeSSH 2021 Conference. , 2021
This paper explores how information related to ancient archaeological objects can be visualized a... more This paper explores how information related to ancient archaeological objects can be visualized and shared using the technique of 3D photogrammetry, a process in which 2D photographs are converted into 3D digital models. It presents a case study utilizing ancient metallurgical objects, from Niger, West Africa, to examine the applicability of this technique in creating and documenting 3D models, archiving culturally important data, and sharing research materials digitally. This work is important not only to those who aim to create visualizations of objects relevant to their research, but also to citizen science initiatives that aim to share these data in accessible ways.
Cultural ecological theory is applied to a spatially and temporally bounded archaeological data s... more Cultural ecological theory is applied to a spatially and temporally bounded archaeological data set to document long-term paleoecological processes and associated sociopolitical behaviors. Volumetric excavations, treating the material culture of an archaeological matrix similar to an ecological core, can yield quantifiable frequencies of surplus goods that provide a multiproxy empirical lens into incremental changes in land use practices, natural resource consumption, and, in this case, likely overexploitation. Archaeological methods are employed to quantify cultural ecological processes of natural resource exploitation, industrial intensification, sustainability and scarcity, and settlement collapse during the colonial transition between Carthaginian and Roman North Africa. The data indicate that overexploitation of olive timber for metallurgical fuel taxed the ecological metabolism of the Zita resource base, likely contributing to a collapse of the entire local economic system.
The Search for Takrur: Archaeological Excavations and Reconnaissance along the Middle Senegal Valley, edited by Roderick J. McIntosh, Susan Keech McIntosh, and Hamady Bocoum, pp. 281-298. Yale University Publication in Anthropology, no. 93., 2016
The chemical compositions of the copper alloy artifacts from the Middle Senegal Valley were of pa... more The chemical compositions of the copper alloy artifacts from the Middle Senegal Valley were of paramount interest in the overall examination of these specimens. Determining whether these objects were of brass (copper and zinc alloy), bronze (copper and tin alloy), or some other copper-based alloy could suggest whether they originated from trans-Saharan commerce or from some nonlocal source. Alternatively, if the artifacts were of pure or arsenical copper, we could explore their connections to local or regional sub-Saharan sources. Following introductory and methodological sections, and presentation of the chemical analysis results, our discussion will include a synthesis of the Middle Senegal Valley data as well as a comparison with other applicable chemical composition data from the region. Finally, we conclude with interpretations of data and presented information.
ABSTRACT This study presents the chemical analysis of an amorphous organic residue extracted from... more ABSTRACT This study presents the chemical analysis of an amorphous organic residue extracted from a 7th– early 8th century CE brass artefact from the trading port of Unguja Ukuu, Zanzibar, Tanzania, hypothesised to be an incense burner. The artefact is a very rare and highly significant find in East Africa, with only one other example being found previously (also at the same site), and likely represents early contact between coastal East Africa and the Indian Ocean world. Chemical analysis of the residue adhering to this artefact was undertaken to confirm its use to burn incense, and to determine whether the resin used was local or exotic to East Africa and thus likely acquired through long-distance trade. The residue extract was analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) and identified as Zanzibar copal (Hymenaea verrucosa Gaertn.), a local species that rose to major importance in colonial period trade. The results obtained from this study provide the first direct archaeological evidence for the ancient use of this East African species as an aromatic, suggesting that it might have had a much earlier role in long-distance incense trade than previously demonstrated. This finding also provides insights into local East African engagement with the material culture of the Indian Ocean world.
Along with Ghana, Gawgaw (Gao) was an important regional trading polity mentioned by Arab chronic... more Along with Ghana, Gawgaw (Gao) was an important regional trading polity mentioned by Arab chroniclers in the later first millennium CE. In the later tenth century, al-Muhallabi wrote of the dual towns of Gawgaw, one the residence of the king and the other a market and trading town called Sarneh. The large settlement mound of Gao Saney, located seven kilometers east of Gao, has long been thought to be the site of Sarneh. Excavations in 2001–2 and 2009 were the first sustained archaeological explorations of the main, 32-hectare mound, providing new information on function, subsistence economy, material culture, and chronology, and expanding considerably on earlier investigations by T. Insoll and R. Mauny. This article presents a broad overview of the recent excavations, focusing particularly on the evidence for spatial differentiation (domestic and workshop areas), chronology (both radiocarbon and ceramic) and involvement in trade networks.
Tophets are Phoenician and Punic sanctuaries where cremated infants and children were buried. Man... more Tophets are Phoenician and Punic sanctuaries where cremated infants and children were buried. Many studies focus on the potentially sacrificial nature of these sites, but this article takes a different approach. Combining osteological analysis with a consideration of the archaeological and wider cultural context, the authors explore the short life-courses and mortuary treatments of 12 individuals in the tophet at the Neo-Punic site of Zita, Tunisia. While osteological evidence suggests life at Zita was hard, and systemic health problems may have contributed to the deaths of these individuals, their mortuary rites were attended to with care and without concrete indication of sacrifice.
Tophets are Phoenician and Punic sanctuaries where cremated infants and children were buried. Man... more Tophets are Phoenician and Punic sanctuaries where cremated infants and children were buried. Many studies focus on the potentially sacrificial nature of these sites, but this article takes a different approach. Combining osteological analysis with a consideration of the archaeological and wider cultural context, the authors explore the short life-courses and mortuary treatments of 12 individuals in the tophet at the Neo-Punic site of Zita, Tunisia. While osteological evidence suggests life at Zita was hard, and systemic health problems may have contributed to the deaths of these individuals, their mortuary rites were attended to with care and without concrete indication of sacrifice.
In India, the organization of the ancient glass industries that produced, starting around the mid... more In India, the organization of the ancient glass industries that produced, starting around the mid-1st millennium BCE, huge quantities of small drawn beads that were traded both locally and all over the Indian Ocean and beyond, is poorly known. Elemental compositions conducted on glass beads found in India and on Indian beads found elsewhere show a great variability that could be linked in some cases to different production regions (Northern, Southern, and Western India). However, a more precise provenance attribution and the identification of regionally distinct production centers was not possible without additional research. Ethno-historical references show that glass was often produced from one single ingredient, called reh. We collected raw material samples from selected regions within the subcontinent. This paper reports on both the elemental compositions of these raw material samples obtained using laser ablation—inductively coupled plasma—mass spectrometry and their isotopic compositions including Pb, Sr, and Nd. The results were compared to elemental and isotopic data available for known Indian glass artifacts recovered from sites within and outside India. Our results show that some regions within India are more likely than others to have been the loci of glass production in ancient times.
Using data from several well-preserved pyres, which are rarely found well preserved in the southw... more Using data from several well-preserved pyres, which are rarely found well preserved in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, we examine cremation customs and their associated pyrotechnologies at the site of Cerro de Trincheras in northern Sonora, Mexico, from AD 1300 to 1450/1500. We explore variations in pyre construction and use, thermal alterations of the deceased, the deceased individuals’ biological profiles, the performance of mortuary rituals, and the sensorial experiences of both the mourners and the wider Cerro de Trincheras community. The residents of the site were masters of the pyrotechnologies associated with cremations, making efficient pyres for the deceased and maximizing their resources. The group also created transformative funeral rituals that may have facilitated and mediated a wide range of emotional responses toward their deceased.
In India, the organization of the ancient glass industries that produced, starting around the mid... more In India, the organization of the ancient glass industries that produced, starting around the mid-1st millennium BCE, huge quantities of small drawn beads that were traded both locally and all over the Indian Ocean and beyond, is poorly known. Elemental compositions conducted on glass beads found in India and on Indian beads found elsewhere show a great variability that could be linked in some cases to different production regions (Northern, Southern, and Western India). However, a more precise provenance attribution and the identification of regionally distinct production centers was not possible without additional research. Ethno-historical references show that glass was often produced from one single ingredient, called reh. We collected raw material samples from selected regions within the subcontinent. This paper reports on both the elemental compositions of these raw material samples obtained using laser ablation—inductively coupled plasma—mass spectrometry and their isotopic compositions including Pb, Sr, and Nd. The results were compared to elemental and isotopic data available for known Indian glass artifacts recovered from sites within and outside India. Our results show that some regions within India are more likely than others to have been the loci of glass production in ancient times.
Using data from several well-preserved pyres, which are rarely found well preserved in the southw... more Using data from several well-preserved pyres, which are rarely found well preserved in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, we examine cremation customs and their associated pyrotechnologies at the site of Cerro de Trincheras in northern Sonora, Mexico, from AD 1300 to 1450/1500. We explore variations in pyre construction and use, thermal alterations of the deceased, the deceased individuals’ biological profiles, the performance of mortuary rituals, and the sensorial experiences of both the mourners and the wider Cerro de Trincheras community. The residents of the site were masters of the pyrotechnologies associated with cremations, making efficient pyres for the deceased and maximizing their resources. The group also created transformative funeral rituals that may have facilitated and mediated a wide range of emotional responses toward their deceased.
Proceedings of the ICTeSSH 2021 Conference. , 2021
This paper explores how information related to ancient archaeological objects can be visualized a... more This paper explores how information related to ancient archaeological objects can be visualized and shared using the technique of 3D photogrammetry, a process in which 2D photographs are converted into 3D digital models. It presents a case study utilizing ancient metallurgical objects, from Niger, West Africa, to examine the applicability of this technique in creating and documenting 3D models, archiving culturally important data, and sharing research materials digitally. This work is important not only to those who aim to create visualizations of objects relevant to their research, but also to citizen science initiatives that aim to share these data in accessible ways.
Cultural ecological theory is applied to a spatially and temporally bounded archaeological data s... more Cultural ecological theory is applied to a spatially and temporally bounded archaeological data set to document long-term paleoecological processes and associated sociopolitical behaviors. Volumetric excavations, treating the material culture of an archaeological matrix similar to an ecological core, can yield quantifiable frequencies of surplus goods that provide a multiproxy empirical lens into incremental changes in land use practices, natural resource consumption, and, in this case, likely overexploitation. Archaeological methods are employed to quantify cultural ecological processes of natural resource exploitation, industrial intensification, sustainability and scarcity, and settlement collapse during the colonial transition between Carthaginian and Roman North Africa. The data indicate that overexploitation of olive timber for metallurgical fuel taxed the ecological metabolism of the Zita resource base, likely contributing to a collapse of the entire local economic system.
The Search for Takrur: Archaeological Excavations and Reconnaissance along the Middle Senegal Valley, edited by Roderick J. McIntosh, Susan Keech McIntosh, and Hamady Bocoum, pp. 281-298. Yale University Publication in Anthropology, no. 93., 2016
The chemical compositions of the copper alloy artifacts from the Middle Senegal Valley were of pa... more The chemical compositions of the copper alloy artifacts from the Middle Senegal Valley were of paramount interest in the overall examination of these specimens. Determining whether these objects were of brass (copper and zinc alloy), bronze (copper and tin alloy), or some other copper-based alloy could suggest whether they originated from trans-Saharan commerce or from some nonlocal source. Alternatively, if the artifacts were of pure or arsenical copper, we could explore their connections to local or regional sub-Saharan sources. Following introductory and methodological sections, and presentation of the chemical analysis results, our discussion will include a synthesis of the Middle Senegal Valley data as well as a comparison with other applicable chemical composition data from the region. Finally, we conclude with interpretations of data and presented information.
ABSTRACT This study presents the chemical analysis of an amorphous organic residue extracted from... more ABSTRACT This study presents the chemical analysis of an amorphous organic residue extracted from a 7th– early 8th century CE brass artefact from the trading port of Unguja Ukuu, Zanzibar, Tanzania, hypothesised to be an incense burner. The artefact is a very rare and highly significant find in East Africa, with only one other example being found previously (also at the same site), and likely represents early contact between coastal East Africa and the Indian Ocean world. Chemical analysis of the residue adhering to this artefact was undertaken to confirm its use to burn incense, and to determine whether the resin used was local or exotic to East Africa and thus likely acquired through long-distance trade. The residue extract was analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) and identified as Zanzibar copal (Hymenaea verrucosa Gaertn.), a local species that rose to major importance in colonial period trade. The results obtained from this study provide the first direct archaeological evidence for the ancient use of this East African species as an aromatic, suggesting that it might have had a much earlier role in long-distance incense trade than previously demonstrated. This finding also provides insights into local East African engagement with the material culture of the Indian Ocean world.
Along with Ghana, Gawgaw (Gao) was an important regional trading polity mentioned by Arab chronic... more Along with Ghana, Gawgaw (Gao) was an important regional trading polity mentioned by Arab chroniclers in the later first millennium CE. In the later tenth century, al-Muhallabi wrote of the dual towns of Gawgaw, one the residence of the king and the other a market and trading town called Sarneh. The large settlement mound of Gao Saney, located seven kilometers east of Gao, has long been thought to be the site of Sarneh. Excavations in 2001–2 and 2009 were the first sustained archaeological explorations of the main, 32-hectare mound, providing new information on function, subsistence economy, material culture, and chronology, and expanding considerably on earlier investigations by T. Insoll and R. Mauny. This article presents a broad overview of the recent excavations, focusing particularly on the evidence for spatial differentiation (domestic and workshop areas), chronology (both radiocarbon and ceramic) and involvement in trade networks.
This paper explores how information related to ancient artifacts can be visualized and shared usi... more This paper explores how information related to ancient artifacts can be visualized and shared using the technique of 3D photogrammetry. It presents a case study involving metallurgical objects from Africa to examine the applicability of this technique in creating and documenting 3D models, archiving cultural data, and sharing research materials digitally. This work is important not only to those who aim to create visualizations of objects relevant to their research, but also to citizen science initiatives that aim to share this data in accessible ways. The case study in question involves metal smelting crucibles and ingot molds from Marandet, Niger which date back to 600-800 AD. These objects are crucial to archaeological and economic research related to ancient trade systems in West and Central Africa. However, due to the fragility of these objects, the range of research related to them is restricted in its quantity and scope. 3D photogrammetry provides a solution to this problem b...
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Papers by Thomas R Fenn
Neo-Punic site of Zita, Tunisia. While osteological evidence suggests life at Zita was hard, and systemic health problems may have contributed to the deaths of these individuals, their mortuary rites were attended to with care and without concrete indication of sacrifice.
Neo-Punic site of Zita, Tunisia. While osteological evidence suggests life at Zita was hard, and systemic health problems may have contributed to the deaths of these individuals, their mortuary rites were attended to with care and without concrete indication of sacrifice.