The Rasikajy civilization in northeast Madagascar: a pre-European Chinese community?

Archaeological excavations in northern Madagascar during the first half of the 20th century have revealed the presence of a former prosperous civilisation known as the Rasikajy civilisation. Little is known about the origin of this civilisation and how and when they first arrived in Madagascar. The most striking evidence for the Rasikajy civilisation comes from excavations at a necropolis in Vohemar located along the northeast coast, where more than 600 tombs containing spectacular objects were unearthed in the 1940s (Vernier & Millot 1971). The findings in the tombs included, amongst others, Chinese ceramics, silver and gold jewellery, iron weapons, glassware, bronze mirrors and chlorite-schist objects (ibid.). The latter objects were produced from chlorite schist mined at quarries in northern and eastern Madagascar and there is evidence that jewellery and iron objects were also produced by the Rasikajy from locally available raw material. Chlorite-schist objects have not only been found in coastal sites in Madagascar, but also in the Comores and eastern Africa suggesting an active engagement of the Rasikajy in western Indian Ocean trade. Our re-evaluation of published literature on archaeological sites in northern Madagascar indicates that the majority of Chinese ceramics found in the tombs at Vohemar dates from the 15th and first half of the 16th century with some dating back to the 14th century or earlier. Our comparative analysis of burial objects at Vohemar shows that locally produced chlorite-schist tripod vessels exhibit remarkable resemblances to ancient Chinese bronze ritual tripod vessels. The objects encountered in the tombs and their positions with respect to the body indicate that the Rasikajy practiced burial rites similar to those practised in the past in China. Our re-evaluation of the literature suggests that communities with Chinese roots were present in northeastern Madagascar prior to the arrival of the first Europeans in 1500 and participated in the Indian Ocean trade network. The demise of the Rasikajy civilisation seems to have occurred in the second half of the 16th century when production of chlorite-schist objects ceased. It is still unclear why this occurred.

Bacterial GDGTs in Holocene sediments and catchment soils of a high Alpine lake: application of the MBT/CBT-paleothermometer

A novel proxy for continental mean annual air temperature (MAAT) and soil pH, the MBT/CBT-paleothermometer, is based on the temperature (T) and pH-dependent distribution of specific bacterial membrane lipids (branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers – GDGTs) in soil organic matter. Here, we tested the applicability of the MBT/CBT-paleothermometer to sediments from Lake Cadagno, a high Alpine lake in southern Switzerland with a small catchment of 2.4 km2. We analysed the distribution of bacterial GDGTs in catchment soils and in a radiocarbon-dated sediment core from the centre of the lake, covering the past 11 000 yr. The distribution of bacterial GDGTs in the catchment soils is very similar to that in the lake's surface sediments, indicating a common origin of the lipids. Consequently, their transfer from the soils into the sediment record seems undisturbed, probably without any significant alteration of their distribution through in situ production in the lake itself or early diagenesis of branched GDGTs. The MBT/CBT-inferred MAAT estimates from soils and surface sediments are in good agreement with instrumental values for the Lake Cadagno region (~0.5 °C). Moreover, downcore MBT/CBT-derived MAAT estimates match in timing and magnitude other proxy-based T reconstructions from nearby locations for the last two millennia. Major climate anomalies recorded by the MBT/CBT-paleothermometer are, for instance, the Little Ice Age (~14th to 19th century) and the Medieval Warm Period (MWP, ~9th to 14th century). Together, our observations indicate the quantitative applicability of the MBT/CBT-paleothermometer to Lake Cadagno sediments. In addition to the MWP, our lacustrine paleo T record indicates Holocene warm phases at about 3, 5, 7 and 11 kyr before present, which agrees in timing with other records from both the Alps and the sub-polar North-East Atlantic Ocean. The good temporal match of the warm periods determined for the central Alpine region with north-west European winter precipitation strength implies a strong and far-reaching influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation on continental European T variations during the Holocene.

Filling the Eastern European gap in millennium-long temperature reconstructions

Tree ring–based temperature reconstructions form the scientific backbone of the current global change debate. Although some European records extend into medieval times, high-resolution, long-term, regional-scale paleoclimatic evidence is missing for the eastern part of the continent. Here we compile 545 samples of living trees and historical timbers from the greater Tatra region to reconstruct interannual to centennial-long variations in Eastern European May–June temperature back to 1040 AD. Recent anthropogenic warming exceeds the range of past natural climate variability. Increased plague outbreaks and political conflicts, as well as decreased settlement activities, coincided with temperature depressions. The Black Death in the mid-14th century, the Thirty Years War in the early 17th century, and the French Invasion of Russia in the early 19th century all occurred during the coldest episodes of the last millennium. A comparison with summer temperature reconstructions from Scandinavia, the Alps, and the Pyrenees emphasizes the seasonal and spatial specificity of our results, questioning those large-scale reconstructions that simply average individual sites.

ПРОСТОРНО-УРБАНИ РАЗВОЈ ТЕМЕРИНА

Temerin is settlements in the municipality of the same name, and њhose is center. This settlement by its characteristics is a very specific for area of Bačke and Vojvodina. One of its main characteristic is a specific spatial and urban development. Although the site of the present Temerin revealed several archaeological sites that attest to the presence of humans in prehistoric times, today’s settlement, under this name, is mentioned first time in the early 14th century. Over the centuries the Temerin developed and expanded in phases, forming elements of the composition of settlements with a number of specific features. Especially in this regard emphasize shape, structure and physiognomy of the settlement. The main characteristic of the physiognomy of the settlement is a large elongated north to south axis of Temerin, which is the main street, and also the longest street in the whole of Serbia (13 km). Along the major axis, and in some places there are strains in relation to linear the square in the form of parts as a result of subsequent colonization and phase expansion of Temerin. This paper aims to study the expansion and urban development Temerin throughout history.

Possible earthquake trigger for 6th century mass wasting deposit at Lake Ohrid (Macedonia/Albania)

Abstract. Lake Ohrid shared by the Republics of Albania and Macedonia is formed by a tectonically active graben within the south Balkans and suggested to be the oldest lake in Europe. Several studies have shown that the lake provides a valuable record of climatic and environmental changes and a distal tephrostratigraphic record of volcanic eruptions from Italy. Fault structures identified in seismic data demonstrate that sediments have also the potential to record tectonic activity in the region. Here, we provide an example of linking seismic and sedimentological information with tectonic activity and historical documents. Historical documents indicate that a major earthquake destroyed the city of Lychnidus (today: city of Ohrid) in the early 6th century AD. Multichannel seismic profiles, parametric sediment echosounder profiles, and a 10.08m long sediment record from the western part of the lake indicate a 2m thick mass wasting deposit, which is tentatively correlated with this earthquake. The mass wasting deposit is chronologically well constrained, as it directly overlays the AD472/AD 512 tephra. Moreover, radiocarbon dates and cross correlation with other sediment sequences with similar geochemical characteristics of the Holocene indicate that the mass wasting event took place prior to the onset of the Medieval Warm Period, and is attributed it to one of the known earthquakes in the region in the early 6th century AD.