Browsing by Author "Betts, AVG"

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    A carved ivory cylinder from Akchakhan-kala, Uzbekistan: problems of dating and provenance
    (Elsevier B.V., 2016-02-01) Betts, AVG; Dodson, JR; Garbe, U; Bertuch, F; Thorogood, GJ
    Excavations at Akchakhan-kala in Uzbekistan, a region known in antiquity as Chorasmia, recovered a large, elaborately carved and heavily burned cylinder of some very solid material. Its poor condition made identification of the raw material difficult. Here we used neutron tomography to examine the internal structure in a non-destructive way, and X-ray Diffraction to determine the main chemical composition of the material which confirmed it as ivory. This was followed by preparation for stable isotope and radiocarbon analysis. The stable isotope analysis suggests a tropical or subtropical grassland source for the ivory, which is unlikely to be from Uzbekistan. The dating shows the ivory to be much earlier than the context in which it was found. Whatever its origin, the ivory travelled far to reach Chorasmia, perhaps in its raw state, and perhaps also for some time in its carved form. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd.
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    The nature of fluctuating lakes in the southern Amu-dar'ya delta
    (Elsevier, 2015-11-01) Dodson, JR; Betts, AVG; Amirov, SS; Yagodin, VN
    The delta region of the Amu-dar'ya has a complex history of shifting river channels that has impacted extensively on the Aral Sea and on the areas of the delta that saw human settlement from prehistoric times onwards. This paper explores evidence drawn from archaeological, historical and environmental data relating to lakes that formed in the south of the delta on the east bank of the river and their impact on settlement patterns in this area, in particular the potential impact of variable flooding on the major fortified site of Akchakhan-kala. Testing of the area around the sites showed that the site had not been flooded but was founded on riverine or lacustrine clays. Shortly after the initial abandonment of the site, the immediate environment was covered by dune fields. © 2015, Elsevier B.V.
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    The origins of wheat in China and potential pathways for its introduction: a review
    (Elsevier, 2014-10-20) Betts, AVG; Jia, PW; Dodson, JR
    Today in China, hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum – common wheat or bread wheat) is one of the major staple food crops. The other key cereal staples – rice, foxtail millet and broomcorn millet – are widely accepted as Chinese domesticates, but the origins of wheat cultivation in China are the subject of debate. There has long been a belief among Chinese scholars that China was an independent centre of wheat domestication, but recent scholarship suggests that cultivated wheat was introduced to China from its original site of domestication in the Near East. The precise path of entry is unknown. It is argued here that it is most likely to have been introduced at some time around the late 6th to early 5th millennium BP. Two hypotheses are presented. One hypothesis, supported primarily by the paleobotanical evidence, postulates that T. aestivum came in from the west, through northern Xinjiang, probably from Afghanistan or the Central Asian oases rather than the Eurasian steppes. The second, supported by the available archaeological evidence, proposes that the route of entry might have been from the north-west, from Eurasia, through southern Siberia and Mongolia.© 2014, Elsevier Ltd.