Robin Brigand

With this paper, we present the first exemplary results of the Topoi A-6-6 Project The economic landscape of the Hellenistic, Roman and Late Antique Bithynia. Iznik intensive survey project (2013–2 016), focusing on the hinterland of Nikaia/Nicaea/Iznik during the Hellenistic, Roman and Late Antique periods. For this study we used a body of integrated landscape archaeological methods including remote sensing techniques, archaeomorphological analysis, and extensive and intensive fieldwork in test areas, as well as GIS-based mapping and spatial analysis.

BRIGAND R., WELLER O., TENCARIU F., ALEXIANU M. & ASANDULESEI A. 2018. Ovine pastoralism and mobility systems in Romania: an ethnoarchaeology approach. In : E. Costello & E. Svensson (eds.), Historical Archaeologies of Transhumance across Europe, EAA Monograph Series, Themes in Contemporary Archaeology, 6, London : Routledge, p. 245-263.

A B S T R A C T Romanian Moldavia is the focus of a study, initiated in 2005, on Neolithic-Eneolithic (6000–3500 BCE) settlement dynamics and salt exploitation. The underlying hypothesis is that exploitation of salt, along with that of copper and gold, contributed to the emergence of developed Eneolithic societies from the beginning of the 5th millennium BC. By approaching this process through its geographical dimension, from the beginning of the 6th millennium BC, one can measure the simultaneity of certain facts, be they social (the affirmation of elites), territorial (the appearance of controlling sites), or technical (first copper metallurgy, intensification of salt exploitation). The sub-Carpathian region of eastern Romania is particularly interesting, as the density of salt springs is much higher than elsewhere, salt exploitation dating to the Early Neolithic (Criș) and the region subsequently develops into an Eneolithic cultural centre (Precucuteni and Cucuteni) of unequalled wealth and importance. After a decade of research on the nature and use of the salt resources, together with the creation of an archaeological database covering the period from 6000 BCE to 3500 BCE, we can now undertake a preliminary assessment of the territorial strategies implemented by these societies in the eastern Carpathian region. Archaeological approaches are enhanced by use of powerful tools such as GIS and the application of spatial analysis methods thus enabling us to model settlement patterns and dynamics. Following on from these analyses, several results emerge. A coherent settlement model is observed for the Early Neolithic: the sites, which are often grouped together and currently inter-visible, are located in valley zones and on modest terraces close to minor water courses. With the appearance of the Linearbandkeramik (LBK) culture, this situation evolves: now much more dispersed, the settlements are established in more open landscape. In the first half of the 5th millennium, we witness a radical change in preferred topographical contexts: high-and mid-altitude terraces are favoured, a trend which is reflected in the establishment of settlements on open promontories which provide particularly commanding views over the wider area. Following a marked diversification in the forms of land use in the second half of the 5th millennium, the beginning of the 4th millennium is characterised by a densification of population centres and a strengthening of territorial control. Analyses of the accessibility of salt springs allow these observations to be further developed. Firstly, we note a significant increase in sites located close to salt springs in the period spanning the second half of the 5th millennium and the first half of the 4th millennium. It is precisely during these two phases that the exploitation of salt appears to increase. Secondly, the numbers of important fortified sites and prestige goods (copper axes) occurring close to salt springs illustrates the polarising role of salt resources.

The data presented in this article are related to the research article entitled “Neo-Eneolithic settlement pattern and salt exploitation in Romanian Moldavia” (R. Brigand, O. Weller, 2018, JAS Report) . Kernel density estimation (KDE) is used in order to move beyond the discrete distribution of sites and to enable us to work on a continuous surface that reflects the intensity of the occupation in the space. Maps of density per period – Neolithic I (Cris), Neolithic II (LBK), Eneolithic I (Precucuteni), Eneolithic II (Cucuteni A), Eneolithic III-IV (Cucuteni A-B and B) – are used to create maps of density difference (Fig. 1-4) in order to analyse the dynamic (either non-existent, negative or positive) between two chronological sequences.

Keywords :
Eastern Carpathians; Prehistoric settlements; Salt resources; GIS; Spatial modelling

Romanian Moldavia is the focus of a study, initiated in 2005, on Neolithic-Eneolithic (6000–3500 BCE) settlement dynamics and salt exploitation. The underlying hypothesis is that exploitation of salt, along with that of copper and gold, contributed to the emergence of developed Eneolithic societies from the beginning of the 5th millennium BC. By approaching this process through its geographical dimension, from the beginning of the 6th millennium BC, one can measure the simultaneity of certain facts, be they social (the affirmation of elites), territorial (the appearance of controlling sites), or technical (first copper metallurgy, intensification of salt exploitation). The sub-Carpathian region of eastern Romania is particularly interesting, as the density of salt springs is much higher than elsewhere, salt exploitation dating to the Early Neolithic (Criș) and the region subsequently develops into an Eneolithic cultural centre (Precucuteni and Cucuteni) of unequalled wealth and importance. After a decade of research on the nature and use of the salt resources, together with the creation of an archaeological database covering the period from 6000 BCE to 3500 BCE, we can now undertake a preliminary assessment of the territorial strategies implemented by these societies in the eastern Carpathian region. Archaeological approaches are enhanced by use of powerful tools such as GIS and the application of spatial analysis methods thus enabling us to model settlement patterns and dynamics. Following on from these analyses, several results emerge. A coherent settlement model is observed for the Early Neolithic: the sites, which are often grouped together and currently inter-visible, are located in valley zones and on modest terraces close to minor water courses. With the appearance of the Linearbandkeramik (LBK) culture, this situation evolves: now much more dispersed, the settlements are established in more open landscape. In the first half of the 5th millennium, we witness a radical change in preferred topographical contexts: high-and mid-altitude terraces are favoured, a trend which is reflected in the establishment of settlements on open promontories which provide particularly commanding views over the wider area. Following a marked diversification in the forms of land use in the second half of the 5th millennium, the beginning of the 4th millennium is characterised by a densification of population centres and a strengthening of territorial control. Analyses of the accessibility of salt springs allow these observations to be further developed. Firstly, we note a significant increase in sites located close to salt springs in the period spanning the second half of the 5th millennium and the first half of the 4th millennium. It is precisely during these two phases that the exploitation of salt appears to increase. Secondly, the numbers of important fortified sites and prestige goods (copper axes) occurring close to salt springs illustrates the polarising role of salt resources.

La Roumanie et plus particulièrement la Moldavie, fait l’objet d’une étude initiée en 2005 sur la dynamique du peuplement néo-énéolithique (6000-3500 BC) et de l’exploitation du sel. Cette recherche est mise au service d’une hypothèse forte: la manipulation du sel participe, avec celle du cuivre et de l’or, à l’émergence des sociétés développées de l’énéolithique, soit dès le début du 5e millénaire avant notre ère. Aborder ce processus à travers sa dimension géographique offre l’opportunité de mesurer, dès la fin du 6e millénaire, la simultanéité de certains faits sociaux (l’affirmation des élites), territoriaux (apparition des sites de contrôle) et techniques (premières manipulations du cuivre, intensification de l’exploitation du sel).
La région subcarpatique de Roumanie orientale (Moldavie) est particulièrement intéressante puisqu’elle présente une densité de sources d’eau salée inconnue ailleurs, les premières formes d’exploitation du sel inscrites dans le Néolithique plus ancien (Criș) et de là, le développement d’un foyer culturel énéolithique (Precucuteni et Cucuteni) d’une richesse et d’une importance inégalées. Une décennie de recherche portant autant sur la nature que sur les usages de la ressource en sel ainsi que la constitution d’une base de données archéologiques courant de 6000 BC à 3500 BC nous permet de dresser un premier bilan des stratégies territoriales mises en oeuvre par ces sociétés dans les régions est-carpatiques.
Un outil majeur comme le Système d’Information Géographique (GIS) complète les approches archéologique et ethnographique autour des ressources en sel par une modélisation des formes et dynamiques d’occupation du sol. Il s’agit ainsi d’enrichir les questions d’organisation des territoires et de gestion des ressources, devenues au centre d’une réflexion émergente à propos de plusieurs objets forts de l’archéologie préhistorique: approvisionnement, accessibilité et disponibilité des ressources minérales, lithiques ou agronomiques, diffusion des matières premières, relations inter-sites, délimitations territoriales et construction des territoires. Les travaux présentés ici participent de cette dynamique puisqu’ils cherchent à améliorer notre vision des relations et interactions entre société et milieu dans la durée.

... Archaeology and Anthropology of salt: a diachronic approach, Iasi : Roumanie (2008). Spatialanalysis of prehistoric salt exploitation in Eastern Carpathians (Romania). Olivier Weller ( Auteur correspondant. ) 1 , Robin Brigand 2 , Laure Nuninger 2, 3 , Gheorghe Dumitroaia 4. ...

Recent surveys conducted from 2009 to 2011 in the Vrancea County (Romania) have allowed to get more information on the original practices concerning the exploitation of rock salt outcrops. This contribution focuses on the extraction sites situated in the Coza Valley and on the way to prepare salt lick blocks for animal nutrition.

For ten years, Franco-Romanian research on salt exploitation in the Eastern Carpathians (Moldova) has allowed us to multiply approaches (archaeology, ethnology, history, geography, palaeoenvironment, chemistry...) to the study of salt resources (saline springs, rock salt) and their exploitation, beginning with the first Neolithic and still in progress. From two key areas that possess remarkable archaeological potential and which reveal a chronological framework covering the whole of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods (6000-3500 BC), from our knowledge of settlement patterns around salt exploitation, and from their highly informative palaeoenvironmental potential, it is possible to propose several models of human settlement and exploitation. Within these models, salt resources do not have the same function in both time and space.

This paper examines the importance of the oldest chronological layer of the intangible heritage concerning the exploitation of salt springs, which is fortuitously still recoverable in Romania at the beginning of the twenty-first century. This layer, which comprises the first half of the twentieth century, has been investigated systematically through ethnological inquiries only since 2007, as part of two projects on the ethnoarchaeology of salt. Solely on the basis of this old layer, it was possible to study the complex relationships established between the salt springs and the various types of settlements supplied with natural brine, with ignigenous salt or even with naturally recrystallized salt. Additionally, the paper uses those elements of the intangible heritage that highlight the economic and symbolic dimensions that complete the purely archaeological approaches of the issue of salt springs.

This paper presents the first results of the spatial analysis concerning the dynamics and interaction between settlement patterns from the Neolithic to Chalcolithic times (6000-3500 BC) and a particular mineral resource
exploited since the Early Neolithic, the salt springs in the Oriental Carpathian Mountains. Using kernel densities and viewsheds, we propose some natural and anthropological factors which structure this regional territory.

The sub-Carpathian area of Moldavia (Romania) represents the ideal framework to perform extensive ethno-archaeological research as the area harbours over 200 salt springs near which are found remarkable archaeological deposits related to salt exploitation, in particular from Neolithic and Chalcolithic times (6000-3500 BC).
Nowadays, these mineral springs are still exploited at an unexpected degree of intensity
by members of rural as well as of urban communities. The main research focuses on the identification of all salt springs in sub-Carpathian Moldavia and on the completion of complex ethno-archaeological research (exploitation, uses, distribution networks, trade, social contexts, symbolism, etc.) in order to propose new and more varied models for explaining prehistoric situations.

Les recherches ethnoarchéologiques centrées sur l’exploitation des sources salées dans la zone de la Moldavie précarpatique ont mené à une nouvelle classification des habitats par rapport à cette ressource naturelle indispensable pour la vie des communautés préhistoriques, y compris celles appartenant au «Bronze Thrace» ou à «La Tène géto-dace».

This study presents the first results of the ethnoarchaeological investigations in the microzone of the salt outcrops from Alghianu using original questionnaires, as part of a Romanian project (cf. ethnosalro.uaic.ro). Since animal (cattle, ovicaprid, swine, caballin) husbandry is the main occupation of the inhabitants of this microzone with a quasi-autarchic economy, this allowed us to study in detail the multiple aspects concerning the role played by rock-salt boulders particularly in animal feeding and human alimentation, as well as in food preservation. In this context, it became possible to elaborate spatial models of supplying of rock salt from Alghianu within local and pendulatory pastoralism.

Salt is an invisible object for research in archaeology. However, ancient writings, ethnographic studies and the evidence of archaeological exploitation highlight it as
an essential reference for humanity. Both an edible product and a crucial element for food preservation, it has been used
by the first human settlements as soon as food storage appeared (Neolithic).
As far as the history of food habits (both nutrition and preservation) is concerned, the identification and the use of
that resource certainly proves a revolution as meaningful as the domestication of plants and wild animals. On a global
scale, the development of new economic forms based on the management of food surplus went along an increased use of
saline resources through a specific technical knowledge, aimed at the extraction of salt from its natural supports.
Considering the variety of former practices observed until now, a pluralist approach based on human as well as environmental sciences is required. It allows a better knowledge of the historical interactions between our societies and this “white gold”, which are well-known from the Middle-Ages, but more hypothetical for earlier times.
This publication intends to present the most recent progresses in the field of salt archaeology in Europe and beyond; it also exposes various approaches allowing a thorough understanding of this complex and many-faceted subject. The complementary themes dealt with in this
book, the broad chronological and geographical focus, as well as the relevance of the results presented, make this contribution a key synthesis of the most recent research on this universal topic.

The 1970s and 1980s discovery in Romania’s East-Carpathian area of the oldest traces of salt production in Europe, and probably in the entire world, has led to unprecedented advances of scientific research in the field and across the entire extra-Carpathian region. This volume features, in the first part, three major projects—one French and two others Romanian with French participation—focusing on salt archaeology and ethnoarchaeology in the East-Carpathian area. The second part of this volume includes a collection of papers previously published in various journals and volumes. Assembled within this volume, these three projects highlight the significant international relevance of Romania to the research of an essential mineral and its importance, despite its lack of archaeological visibility, for the development of prehistoric communities.

Common salt (sodium chloride) is an invisible object for archaeological research, but the ancient texts, the history, the ethnography and our everyday life confirm that both Man and Animal cannot live without it. Salt is a primordial reference for humanity. This “fifth element” is universal in a double sense, diachronically and diatopically. How can archaeology and related disciplines or sciences approximate this soluble good, this “white gold”, this invisible past?

From the diatopic and diachronic perspective, common salt—with all its natural or artificial metamorphoses—has influenced humanity in the most diverse aspects. This is why, within a brief enumeration, the salt-related research themes are intriguingly various: explorations (hunting for salt), exploitation techniques, techniques to obtain different products, exploitation and use tools, transport and storage containers, human and animal feeding, conservation (meat, bacon, cheese, vegetables, green goods, fruits). The themes also include manufacture-related uses (including the construction of salt houses), mythology, religion, cult, rituals, beliefs, superstitions, mentalities, secret societies, magic, vows, curses, prohibitions, popular medicine, sexuality, economy, hide working, population, alchemical procedures, scientific and cultural representations, treatment of the deceased, barter, commerce, contraband, robbery.

On the other hand, the themes also include human and animal mobility, the attraction exerted on savage beasts, symbolic uses, folk literature (stories, tales, and proverbs) and cult literature, the control of salt resources, conflicts, strategic value, geographic perceptions, professions related to salt exploitation and uses, economic, legal and administrative regulations, vocabulary, toponymy, anthroponomy and the list can go on.

All these themes already constitute a study object for an impressive number of sciences, disciplines, or sub-disciplines, such as archaeology, heritage studies, history, ethnography, ethnoarchaeology, economic anthropology, food sciences, statistics, sociology, geology, mineralogy, geography, hydrology, botany, chemistry, medicine, pharmacology, ethology, theology, agronomy, symbology, linguistics, folklore studies, cultural studies, literary studies, hermeneutics, legal sciences, etc. Obviously, some themes must be approached only in an interdisciplinary vision.

Call for Papers

THIRD INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF SALT
12–15 September 2018, Salinas de Añana, Basque Country, Spain

vallesalado.com/congressalt


Dear colleagues,

We are glad to invite you the attend the “Third International Congress on the Anthropology of Salt”, organized between the 12th and 15th of  September 2018, in Salinas de Añana, Basque Country, Spain — vallesalado.com/congressalt

Please print and share this call with anyone who might be interested in attending, and this includes not only anthropologists and archaeologists, but also historians, geographers, linguists, and specialists from any domain researching common salt.

You can find more information on the event on its dedicated webpage:  vallesalado.com/congressalt [ENG] / vallesalado.com/congresosal [ESP]


The Scientific Committee

Dear colleagues,

We are glad to invite you the attend the “Second International Congress on the Anthropology of Salt”, organized between the 12th and 16th of October 2017 in Los Cabos, Mexico — http://saluniversalis.com

Themes — http://saluniversalis.com/themes
Presentations are invited on any of the following open themes: Salt and Gastronomy, Salt and Medicine, Shamanism, magic, esoterism and witchcraft, Art and salt, Tourism and salt, Religion Rituals and salt, Ecotourism and salt, Salt and science, Salt, astronomy and NASA, Economy and salt, History and salt, Prehistory and salt, Lexicon and vocabulary of salt, Toponymy, Literature and salt, Salt inheritance, Archaeology and salt, Salt, Art rock and petroglyphs, Sal and technology, Health and medicine, Salt and industry, Salt and ancient costumes, Salt and indigenous culture, Salt and university education, Salt palaeontology, Salt and artcraft, Salt and environment, Microbial carpets and salt, Salt and biology, Salt and geology, Salt, beauty, cosmetics and make up, Cinema, music and arts of salt, Photography and salt, Salt and tanning leather, The Encyclopedia of Salt, etc.

Key dates — http://saluniversalis.com/important-dates
– session/workshops proposals submission: 1 January–31 March 2017
– session/workshops proposals: notification of acceptance: 1–16 April 2017
– individual contribution: submission: 17 April–31 July 2017
– individual contribution: notification of acceptance: 1–10 July 2017

Please print and share this call with anyone who might be interested in attending, and this includes not only anthropologists and archaeologists, but also historians, geographers, linguists, etc. You can find more information on the event on its dedicated webpage: http://saluniversalis.com


The Organizing Committee

With this paper, we present the first exemplary results of the Topoi A-6-6 Project The economic landscape of the Hellenistic, Roman and Late Antique Bithynia. Iznik intensive survey project (2013–2016), focusing on the hinterland of Nikaia/Nicaea/Iznik during the Hellenistic, Roman and Late Antique periods. For this study we used a body of integrated
landscape archaeological methods including remote sensing techniques, archaeomorphological analysis, and extensive and intensive fieldwork in test areas, as well as GIS-based mapping and spatial analysis.