Begash (Phase 1b)
Basic information
Sample name: Begash (Phase 1b)
Reference: M. Frachetti and N. Benecke. 2009. From sheep to (some) horses: 4500 years of herd structure at the pastoralist settlement of Begash (south-eastern Kazakhstan). Antiquity 83(322):1023-1037 [ER 3760]
Geography
Country: Kazakhstan
Coordinate: 44° 54' N, 78° 30' E
Coordinate basis: stated in text
Time interval: Holocene
Section: 3760
Unit number: 2
Unit order: below to above
Max Ma: 0.00354
Min Ma: 0.00346
Age basis: radiocarbon (uncalibrated)
Geography comments: "The settlement at Begash is located in eastern Kazakhstan (Semirech'ye) in the piedmont zone of the Dzhungar Mountains (950m asl). The site nestles on a flat ravine terrace enclosed by steep canyon walls on the north, west and south, and is situated along a spring-fed stream".
Radiocarbon dates for Phase 1b range from 3540 ± 140 to 3460 ± 35 BP (1950-1690 cal. BC)
Radiocarbon dates for Phase 1b range from 3540 ± 140 to 3460 ± 35 BP (1950-1690 cal. BC)
Environment
Lithology: not described
Taphonomic context: human accumulation,settlement
Archaeology: ceramics,hearths,stone tools,other structures
Habitat comments: "The geography of the site indicates that Begash was a seasonally occupied winter time settlement for regionally mobile pastoralists".
"Phase 1b reflects little change in terms of the site's architecture, and is primarily documented by another carbon-rich habitation level, distinguished from the lower surface levels of Phase la by a thin sandy fill layer approximately 10 cm thick. Ceramic forms from Phase 1b are predominately open at the neck, with small lips at the rims. A lack of chert lithics and fewer stone tools may mark a technological shift in this period".
"Phase 1b reflects little change in terms of the site's architecture, and is primarily documented by another carbon-rich habitation level, distinguished from the lower surface levels of Phase la by a thin sandy fill layer approximately 10 cm thick. Ceramic forms from Phase 1b are predominately open at the neck, with small lips at the rims. A lack of chert lithics and fewer stone tools may mark a technological shift in this period".
Methods
Life forms: carnivores,ungulates
Sampling methods: quarry,screenwash
Sample size: 170 specimens
Years: 2005 - 2006
Sampling comments: "Begash was excavated in 2005 and 2006. During the excavation, faunal remains were carefully collected by hand in all trenches of the site and screening of 50 per cent of the excavated soil was performed through a 10 mm screen. We also wet sieved and floated representative hearth and midden samples from nearly all stratigraphic contexts. While overall bone preservation is good, the remains are characterised by a high degree of fragmentation with only very few bones being complete".
Metadata
Sample number: 4015
Contributor: Benjamin Carter
Enterer: Benjamin Carter
Created: 2022-10-17 16:16:30
Modified: 2023-05-30 02:20:29
Abundance distribution
10 species
3 singletons
total count 170
geometric series index: 16.7
Fisher's α: 2.322
geometric series k: 0.5944
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.5621
Shannon's H: 1.2765
Good's u: 0.9824
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
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