In three field seasons, between 2010 and 2012, the Brown University Petra Archaeological Project (BUPAP) conducted a diachronic archaeological survey of the nor...

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) offers many advantages for assessing archaeological potential in frozen and partially frozen contexts in high latitude and alpine regions. These settings pose several challenges for GPR, including extreme velocity changes at the interface of frozen and active layers, cryogenic patterns resulting in anomalies that can easily be mistaken for cultural features, and the difficulty in accessing sites and deploying equipment in remote settings. In this study we discuss some of these challenges while highlighting the potential for this method by describing recent successful investigations with GPR in the region. We draw on cases from Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Kobuk Valley National Park, and Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve. The sites required small aircraft accessibility with light equipment loads and minimal personnel. The substrates we investigate include coastal saturated active layer over permafrost, interior well-drained active layer over permafrost, a frozen thermo-karst lake, and an alpine ice patch. These examples demonstrate that GPR is effective at mapping semi-subterranean house remains in several contexts, including houses with no surface manifestation. GPR is also shown to be effective at mapping anomalies from the skeletal remains of a late Pleistocene mammoth frozen in ice. The potential for using GPR in ice and snow patch archaeology, an area of increasing interest with global environmental change exposing new material each year, is also demonstrated.

Footprint evidence of human-megafauna interactions remains extremely rare in the archaeological and palaeontological records. Recent work suggests ancient playa environments may hold such evidence, though the prints may not be visible. These so-called “ghost tracks” comprise a rich archive of biomechanical and behavioral data that remains mostly unexplored. Here we present evidence for the successful detection and 3-D imaging of such footprints via ground-penetrating radar (GPR), including co-associated mammoth and human prints. Using GPR we have found that track density and faunal diversity may be much greater than realized by the unaided human eye. Our data further suggests that detectable subsurface consolidation below mammoth tracks correlates with typical plantar pressure patterns from extant elephants. This opens future potential for more sophisticated biomechanical studies on the footprints of other extinct land vertebrates. Our approach allows rapid detection and documentation of footprints while enhancing the data available from these fossil archives.

The Cypriot Late Bronze Age (referred to as Late Cypriot and LBA, 1680/1650–1100 b.c.e.) has attracted particular attention due to textual and material evidence that suggests engagement with the international maritime trade networks of the eastern Mediterranean. A longstanding scholarly preoccupation with interregional trade has encouraged the development of theoretical models that aim to reconstruct the economy of the island and generally view Late Cypriot coastal sites as gateway communities channeling copper to the eastern Mediterranean. Studies have also highlighted the local and regional significance of these communities and have shed light on their complex economic networks. In this paper, we use data from coastal Tochni-Lakkia, an actively eroding site located near two major Late Bronze Age centers (Kalavasos-Ayios Dhimitrios and the Maroni Complex) to add nuance to smaller-scale regional interaction networks along the south-central coast of the island. To do that, we engage evidence from trial excavations and archaeological and geophysical surveys at Tochni-Lakkia in the form of a preliminary report with theoretical approaches that highlight the potential for and role of regional maritime networks and the concept of coastscape.

A large-scale geophysical survey conducted recently in Alaska has confirmed the location of a fort associated with a pivotal battle between Tlingit people and Russian colonising forces. The find is preceded by a century of attempts to locate the fort, which the authors have now identified from its unusual shape.

In the southern Levant, fundamental changes in economic organization, mortuary practices, and settlement patterns took place during the 5th to early 4th millennium b.c.e., or the Chalcolithic period (ca. 4500-3700/3600 b.c.e.). Our best evidence derives from sites in the Negev, and to a lesser degree, the Jordan Valley and Golan Heights, and the mortuary sites along the coast. The goal of the Galilee Prehistory Project is to examine this period based on information from a different environmental region, by undertaking survey and excavation in the Galilee, a region with virtually no radiocarbon dates or plans derived from Chalcolithic sites. The multi-faceted investigation of the Wadi el-Ashert included unpiloted aerial vehicle fly-overs during different seasons, geophysical and pedestrian survey, and methodical sub-surface test sampling. The comprehensive approach to this prehistoric landscape resulted in a more nuanced understanding of the site.