Peer Reviewed Papers by Ioana A . Dumitru
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2023
With a case study of a direct detection model (DDM) designed for Fort Irwin, in southern Californ... more With a case study of a direct detection model (DDM) designed for Fort Irwin, in southern California, we compare models that are identical except for the sampling methods that draw the data used to train and test them. We find that models trained and tested with a random cell sampling strategy perform better than do models that implement a kind of leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV) that focuses on discrete sites and non-site areas. We argue that this difference in measured predictive performance is due to spatial autocorrelation, and that it underscores the importance of clarity and specificity in describing the sampling methods used in archaeological predictive modeling and site detection. Different sampling methods are not necessarily superior or inferior, but they generate models that may be more or less appropriate for different tasks. Different sampling methods can also yield calculations of predictive ability that over-or understate a model's performance at the task for which it was designed.
Journal of Archaeological Research, 2022
Settlement pattern analysis offers a range of insights about social, economic, and political rela... more Settlement pattern analysis offers a range of insights about social, economic, and political relationships of Aksumite civilization. Two common approaches involve analyzing site size distributions and the spatial distribution of sites to evaluate possible clustering. We review the history of archaeological survey and settlement pattern analyses for Pre-Aksumite, Aksumite, and Post-Aksumite periods. We focus on data from two areas of northern Ethiopia collected by the Eastern Tigray Archaeological Project and the Southern Red Sea Archaeological Histories Project. We conduct Ripley's-K multi-distance spatial cluster analysis to evaluate spatial clustering/ dispersion, and Gaussian mixture model/Bayesian information criterion analysis to evaluate possible site size hierarchies. Results show similar patterns in the two areas, including site clustering predominantly during the Pre-Aksumite period, an increase in the number of sites and decrease in average site size from the Pre-Aksumite to Aksumite periods, and no definitive evidence that site size hierarchies are an indicator of political changes over time. Overall, results indicate locally aggregated political organization during the Pre-Aksumite period, locally decentralized organization, infilling, and population growth during the Aksumite period, and a subsequent decline in population and political centralization during the Post-Aksumite period.
Journal of Oman Stuies, 2021
The Archaeological Water Histories of Oman (ArWHO) Project began in 2011 with a focus on the role... more The Archaeological Water Histories of Oman (ArWHO) Project began in 2011 with a focus on the role of water availability in the long-term trajectories of ancient civilizations. From 2011 to 2018, the project surveyed Wilayat Yanqul and adjacent areas. This included wide-area reconnaissance survey as well as systematic sampling of a 100 km2 area northeast of the town of Yanqul. This paper reports basic results of the survey, including numbers of archaeological sites documented, and baseline analysis of associations with water resources. Important results include Paleolithic finds, discovery of new Neolithic sites, insights about Bronze Age monuments, new understanding of Iron Age trade, and broader understanding of small Islamic era settlements in mountainous hinterlands.
Antiquity, 2019
The Empire of Aksum was one of Africa’s most influential ancient civilisations. Traditionally, mos... more The Empire of Aksum was one of Africa’s most influential ancient civilisations. Traditionally, most archaeological fieldwork has focused on the capital city of Aksum, but recent research at the site of Beta Samati has investigated a contemporaneous trade and religious centre located between Aksum and the Red Sea.The authors outline the discovery of the site and present important finds from the initial excavations, including an early basilica, inscriptions and a gold intaglio ring. From daily life and ritual praxis to international trade, this work illuminates the role of Beta Samati as an administrative centre and its significance within thewider Aksumite world.
Geosciences, 2018
Subsurface imaging in arid regions is a well-known application of satellite Synthetic Aperture Ra... more Subsurface imaging in arid regions is a well-known application of satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). Archaeological prospection has often focused on L-band SAR sensors, given the ability of longer wavelengths to penetrate more deeply into sand. In contrast, this study demonstrates capabilities of shorter-wavelength, but higher spatial resolution, C-band and X-band SAR sensors in archaeological subsurface imaging at the site of 'Uqdat al-Bakrah (Safah), Oman. Despite having varying parameters and acquisitions, both the X-band and C-band images analyzed were able to identify a subsurface paleo-channel that is not visible on the ground surface. This feature was first identified through Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey, then recognized in the SAR imagery and further verified by test excavations. Both the GPR and the excavations reveal the base of the paleo-channel at a depth of 0.6 m–0.7 m. Hence, both X-band and C-band wavelengths are appropriate for subsurface archaeological prospection in suitable (dry silt and sand) conditions with specific acquisition parameters. Moreover, these results offer important new insights into the paleo-environmental context of ancient metal-working at 'Uqdat al-Bakrah and demonstrate surface water flow roughly contemporary with the site's occupation.
Soft-stone vessels are a prominent feature of ancient culture throughout south-east Arabia and th... more Soft-stone vessels are a prominent feature of ancient culture throughout south-east Arabia and the Gulf. Chlorite and steatite occur naturally in the al-Hajar Mountains of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman; but until now, apart from the discovery of a few unfinished pieces, ancient production of soft-stone vessels had yet to be documented in Arabia. This paper reports the discovery and preliminary analysis of softstone vessel production at the site of Aqir al-Shamoos. At this small and secluded mountain village, a range of soft-stone vessels that are well known in the south-east Arabian Iron Age were produced on a scale far beyond what was needed for local consumption.
Soft‐stone vessels (made of the rock chloritite, which is comprised of the mineral chlorite) are ... more Soft‐stone vessels (made of the rock chloritite, which is comprised of the mineral chlorite) are an important component of the material culture record of ancient southeast Arabia. Given the prevalence of soft‐stone vessels in domestic and funerary contexts , and the natural geological occurrence of chloritite in the region, archaeologists have long suspected that soft‐stone vessels could have been produced in United Arab Emirates (UAE) or Oman. However, over many decades of research very few pieces of worked raw material or unfinished vessel fragments have been recovered in Arabia. This changed dramatically in 2015 with the discovery of the Iron Age village of Aqir al‐Shamoos where thousands of raw, worked, and unfinished pieces attest to soft‐ stone vessel manufacture. Aqir al‐Shamoos continues to yield new insights regarding soft‐stone vessel production, but the source of raw material used to craft these objects initially remained unknown as no natural chloritite deposits had been found in the immediate vicinity of the site. We present results of hyperspectral satellite imagery target detection used to search for natural surface occurrences of chloritite near Aqir al‐Shamoos. Despite limitations in carbonate and phyllosilicate mineral discrimination , field survey of the satellite detection results revealed chloritite outcrops in the ophiolite formation mountains 1.4 km northwest of Aqir al‐Shamoos near the newly discovered archaeological site of 'Waby al‐Zady. Reflectance spectroscopy (0.35–2.5 μm) of material from multiple chloritite sources indicates that chloritite from 'Waby al‐Zady is spectrally very similar to material at Aqir al‐Shamoos but quite different in comparison with material from other locations. These findings indicate that: (1) hyperspectral satellite imagery target detection can be useful for chloritite prospection, (2) 'Waby al‐Zady (or somewhere very nearby) was probably the source of chloritite used at Aqir al‐Shamoos, and (3) chloritite reflection spectra may be useful for distinguishing chloritite from different sources.
Papers by Ioana A . Dumitru
Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 2024
The early Islamic period was marked by a resurgence in large-scale copper production in southeast... more The early Islamic period was marked by a resurgence in large-scale copper production in southeast Arabia. This is in contrast to the preceding era (early first millennium BCE to the mid-first millennium CE) and its notable lack of evidence of copper production. Various external and internal factors, including a flourishing Indian Ocean trade and environmental limitations, have been suggested as factors in this renewal and in its subsequent decline. However, the socio-political and economic factors that formed the framework for industrial growth during this transformative period are rarely considered. This paper delves deeper into the socio-political background of the early Islamic period in relation to industrial growth in southeast Arabia. To bridge the gap between historical and archaeological evidence, we also present new data from surveys and excavations conducted at early Islamic industrial sites in Wadī al-Rākī, Oman. These findings offer new insights into the history of large-scale copper processing in the region.
Soft-stone vessels are a prominent feature of ancient culture throughout southeast Arabia and the... more Soft-stone vessels are a prominent feature of ancient culture throughout southeast Arabia and the Gulf. Chlorite and steatite occur naturally in the al-Hajar Mountains of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman; but until now, apart from the discovery of a few unfinished pieces, ancient production of soft-stone vessels had yet to be documented in Arabia. This paper reports the discovery and preliminary analysis of soft-stone vessel production at the site of Aqir al-Shamoos. At this small and secluded mountain village, a range of soft-stone vessels that are well known in the southeast Arabian Iron Age were produced on a scale far beyond what was needed for local consumption.
Remote Sensing, 2019
An airborne LiDAR survey of the Nan Madol World Heritage Site and adjacent Temwen Island revealed... more An airborne LiDAR survey of the Nan Madol World Heritage Site and adjacent Temwen Island revealed a complex, irrigated cultivation system, the first found in the Central and Eastern Caroline Islands. This informs the goals of the sustainable conservation project, funded by the U.S. Department of State Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, that inspired the survey, and expands understanding of Nan Madol and its place in the network of Pacific island interaction and trade. Fieldwork verified the presence, across Temwen, of low, wet, cultivable areas, many of which are connected by water channels or separated by earthen berms. The berms themselves may also have been cultivated. In complexity, labor investment, and organization, the system is comparable to Nan Madol itself, the largest archaeological site in Micronesia, with structures on about 100 artificial islets built of stone and coral on a reef flat. Constructed over a millennium, Nan Madol was the seat of the Saudeleur Dynasty, which persisted from about 1200 to 1600 CE. The cultivation system appears to have been able to provide ample food for consumption, feasting, and redistribution or trade. If the landscape alteration described here proves to date to the time of the Saudeleur Dynasty, it will offer many avenues of research into the economic basis of Nan Madol's regional dominance.
Remote Sensing, 2019
This study presents a new approach for detection and mapping of ancient slag heaps using 16-band ... more This study presents a new approach for detection and mapping of ancient slag heaps using 16-band multispectral satellite imagery. Understanding the distribution of slag (a byproduct of metal production) is of great importance for understanding how metallurgy shaped long-term economic and political change across the ancient Near East. This study presents results of slag mapping in Oman using WorldView-3 (WV3) satellite imagery. A semi-automated target detection routine using a mixed tuned matched filtering (MTMF) algorithm with scene-derived spectral signatures was applied to 16-band WV3 imagery. Associated field mapping at two copper production sites indicates that WorldView-3 satellite data can differentiate slag and background materials with a relatively high (>90%) overall accuracy. Although this method shows promise for future initiatives to discover and map slag deposits, difficulties in dark object spectral differentiation and underestimation of total slag coverage substantially limit its use. Resulting lower estimations of combined user's (61%) and producer's (45%) accuracies contextualize these limitations for slag specific classification. Accordingly, we describe potential approaches to address these challenges in future studies. As sites of ancient metallurgy in Oman are often located in areas of modern exploration and mining, detection and mapping of ancient slag heaps via satellite imagery can be helpful for discovery and monitoring of vulnerable cultural heritage sites.
Remote Sensing, 2019
An airborne LiDAR survey of the Nan Madol World Heritage Site and adjacent Temwen Island revealed... more An airborne LiDAR survey of the Nan Madol World Heritage Site and adjacent Temwen Island revealed a complex, irrigated cultivation system, the first found in the Central and Eastern Caroline Islands. This informs the goals of the sustainable conservation project, funded by the U.S. Department of State Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, that inspired the survey, and expands understanding of Nan Madol and its place in the network of Pacific island interaction and trade. Fieldwork verified the presence, across Temwen, of low, wet, cultivable areas, many of which are connected by water channels or separated by earthen berms. The berms themselves may also have been cultivated. In complexity, labor investment, and organization, the system is comparable to Nan Madol itself, the largest archaeological site in Micronesia, with structures on about 100 artificial islets built of stone and coral on a reef flat. Constructed over a millennium, Nan Madol was the seat of the Saudeleur Dynasty, which persisted from about 1200 to 1600 CE. The cultivation system appears to have been able to provide ample food for consumption, feasting, and redistribution or trade. If the landscape alteration described here proves to date to the time of the Saudeleur Dynasty, it will offer many avenues of research into the economic basis of Nan Madol's regional dominance.
Remote Sensing, 2019
An airborne LiDAR survey of the Nan Madol World Heritage Site and adjacent Temwen Island revealed... more An airborne LiDAR survey of the Nan Madol World Heritage Site and adjacent Temwen Island revealed a complex, irrigated cultivation system, the first found in the Central and Eastern Caroline Islands. This informs the goals of the sustainable conservation project, funded by the U.S. Department of State Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, that inspired the survey, and expands understanding of Nan Madol and its place in the network of Pacific island interaction and trade. Fieldwork verified the presence, across Temwen, of low, wet, cultivable areas, many of which are connected by water channels or separated by earthen berms. The berms themselves may also have been cultivated. In complexity, labor investment, and organization, the system is comparable to Nan Madol itself, the largest archaeological site in Micronesia, with structures on about 100 artificial islets built of stone and coral on a reef flat. Constructed over a millennium, Nan Madol was the seat of the Saudeleur Dynasty, which persisted from about 1200 to 1600 CE. The cultivation system appears to have been able to provide ample food for consumption, feasting, and redistribution or trade. If the landscape alteration described here proves to date to the time of the Saudeleur Dynasty, it will offer many avenues of research into the economic basis of Nan Madol's regional dominance.
Remote Sensing, 2019
An airborne LiDAR survey of the Nan Madol World Heritage Site and adjacent Temwen Island revealed... more An airborne LiDAR survey of the Nan Madol World Heritage Site and adjacent Temwen Island revealed a complex, irrigated cultivation system, the first found in the Central and Eastern Caroline Islands. This informs the goals of the sustainable conservation project, funded by the U.S. Department of State Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, that inspired the survey, and expands understanding of Nan Madol and its place in the network of Pacific island interaction and trade. Fieldwork verified the presence, across Temwen, of low, wet, cultivable areas, many of which are connected by water channels or separated by earthen berms. The berms themselves may also have been cultivated. In complexity, labor investment, and organization, the system is comparable to NanMadol itself, the largest archaeological site in Micronesia, with structures on about 100 artificial islets built of stone and coral on a reef flat. Constructed over a millennium, Nan Madol was the seat of the Saudeleur Dynasty, which persisted from about 1200 to 1600 CE. The cultivation system appears to have been able to provide ample food for consumption, feasting, and redistribution or trade. If the landscape alteration described here proves to date to the time of the Saudeleur Dynasty, it will offer many avenues of research into the economic basis of Nan Madol’s regional dominance.
Archaeological Prospection, 2018
Soft-stone vessels (made of the rock chloritite, which is comprised of the mineral chlorite) are ... more Soft-stone vessels (made of the rock chloritite, which is comprised of the mineral chlorite) are an important component of the material culture record of ancient southeast Arabia. Given the prevalence of soft-stone vessels in domestic and funerary contexts , and the natural geological occurrence of chloritite in the region, archaeologists have long suspected that soft-stone vessels could have been produced in United Arab Emirates (UAE) or Oman. However, over many decades of research very few pieces of worked raw material or unfinished vessel fragments have been recovered in Arabia. This changed dramatically in 2015 with the discovery of the Iron Age village of Aqir al-Shamoos where thousands of raw, worked, and unfinished pieces attest to soft-stone vessel manufacture. Aqir al-Shamoos continues to yield new insights regarding soft-stone vessel production, but the source of raw material used to craft these objects initially remained unknown as no natural chloritite deposits had been found in the immediate vicinity of the site. We present results of hyperspectral satellite imagery target detection used to search for natural surface occurrences of chloritite near Aqir al-Shamoos. Despite limitations in carbonate and phyllosilicate mineral discrimination , field survey of the satellite detection results revealed chloritite outcrops in the ophiolite formation mountains 1.4 km northwest of Aqir al-Shamoos near the newly discovered archaeological site of 'Waby al-Zady. Reflectance spectroscopy (0.35-2.5 μm) of material from multiple chloritite sources indicates that chloritite from 'Waby al-Zady is spectrally very similar to material at Aqir al-Shamoos but quite different in comparison with material from other locations. These findings indicate that: (1) hyperspectral satellite imagery target detection can be useful for chloritite prospection, (2) 'Waby al-Zady (or somewhere very nearby) was probably the source of chloritite used at Aqir al-Shamoos, and (3) chloritite reflection spectra may be useful for distinguishing chloritite from different sources.
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Peer Reviewed Papers by Ioana A . Dumitru
Papers by Ioana A . Dumitru
Project is an international, interdisciplinary effort supported by The Sultanate of Oman Ministry of Heritage and Culture that is examining the role of water in long-term histories through archaeological survey and satellite imagery analysis. The ArWHO project’s current NASA funded fieldwork concentrates on the Al-Dhahirah Governorate of Oman, including an area of particular focus surrounding the town of Yanqul. The brief summary below highlights some of our key activities and methodologies, including archaeological survey, mapping water, ancient copper exploitation, soft-stone vessel production, ethnoarchaeology, and 3D modelling.
"Globalization in Prehistory challenges traditional historical and archaeological discourse about the drivers of social and cultural connectivity in the ancient world. It presents archaeological case studies of emerging globalization from around the word, from the Mesolithic period, through the Bronze and Iron Ages, to more recent historical times. The volume focuses on those societies and communities that history has bypassed - nomads, pastoralists, fishers, foragers, pirates and traders, among others. It aims for a more complex understanding of the webs of connectivity that shaped communities living outside and beyond the urban, agrarian states that are the mainstay of books and courses on ancient civilizations and trade. Written by a team of international experts, the rich and variable case studies demonstrate the important role played by societies that were mobile and dispersed in the making of a more connected world long before the modern era."
See: https://www.cambridge.org/US/academic/subjects/archaeology/prehistory/globalization-prehistory-contact-exchange-and-people-without-history?format=AR#contentsTabAnchor