Cut Mark Cluster Geometry and Equifinality in Replicated Early Stone Age Butchery

Early Stone Age cut marks created during tool‐assisted carnivory potentially offer inferences into hominin butchery behaviour and access to complete or defleshed carcasses. Actualistic butchery trials of 16 goat and cow half‐carcasses were completed by an experienced butcher with replicated Oldowan tools to investigate how the geometric organisation of cut mark clusters reflects flake versus core tool use and bulk muscle versus scrap defleshing. A cluster of cut marks is defined as a series of adjacent cut mark striations that occur at an anatomical location and are bounded by unmarked cortical surface. Tool type and butchery action were predicted to differentially mark certain long bone portions and influence cluster attributes. Moulds of 613 cut mark clusters were photographed and measured using ImageJ software (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA) for cluster area, cut mark count, median cut mark length and standard deviation of cut mark length and angle. Analysis suggests the following results: (i) cluster attributes are correlated;(ii) changes in cluster geometry are related to increasing cut mark count and length but not tool type or defleshed muscle amount; (iii) large clusters occur on large animals; and (iv) long bone midshaft portions are cut‐marked during both bulk and scrap muscle defleshing. Analysis of 179 cut mark clusters on long bone shafts of sizes 1–4 mammals from three Okote member assemblages at Koobi Fora, Kenya, shows that archaeological clusters have a similar number of marks when compared with experimental clusters but are significantly smaller, have shorter median marks and include less deviation in mark length and angle. Archaeological clusters corroborate that increasing area is positively correlated with cut mark count, median mark length and standard deviation of mark length and angle. A quantitative inferential model that links cut mark cluster geometry to tool type or the amount of muscle defleshed is not supported by these data. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On elections,voting and participation:

To summarise, there were five interesting features of the election: (i) the size of the first preference movement from the major parties to the Australian Democrats; (ii) the unexpected lack of any significant swing to Labor in the two‐party preferred vote; (iii) the notable uniformity of the results from state to state; (iv) such swing to Labor as did occur was mainly in seats already held by Labor and in urban areas; and (v) the results demonstrate that the electoral boundaries still contain a bias against Labor.     

Identifying sword marks on bone: criteria for distinguishing between cut marks made by different classes of bladed weapons

Swords have been one of the major weapons used in violent conflicts for much of human history. Certain archaeological situations, especially those dealing with the recovery and analysis of battle casualties, may raise questions about what type(s) of bladed weapon was used in a particular conflict (e.g., the battle of Kamakura, Japan, AD 1333; the battle of Wisby, Sweden, AD 1361; the battle of Towton, England, AD 1461). Little work has been done, however, on developing criteria to differentiate sword cut marks from other types of cut marks, or to distinguish between marks created by different sword types. To develop such criteria, bovine tibiae (n = 7) were struck using six different types of bladed weapon and the resulting marks (n = 92) were analyzed. Eight traits describing the morphology of the cut mark – such as shape, the presence and unilateral/bilateral state of flaking and feathering, the presence of bone shards, associated breaks, etc. – are defined and related to blade type used. Sword marks were found to be easily distinguishable from knife marks. The variation in marks made by different sword types is significantly correlated with differences in blade weight (p < 0.0001), grip (p < 0.0113), and sharpness (p ≤ 0.0179). The criteria and analyses developed and implemented in this study will be of use to researchers in forensics and osteoarchaeology who want to infer bladed weapon type from marks on bones.     

Factors affecting Early Stone Age cut mark cross-sectional size: implications from actualistic butchery trials

Early Stone Age cut marks are byproducts of hominins' tool-assisted animal carcass consumption and provide a potential avenue of inference into the paleoecology of hominin carnivory. If diagnostic cut mark characteristics can be linked to flake and core tool use or the completion of distinct butchery actions, it may be possible to infer ancient tool preferences, reconstruct the consumption of specific muscular tissues, and illuminate landscape-scale stone resource use. Recently, diagnostic morphological criteria including cut mark width and depth have been used to identify marks made by different classes of experimental and archaeological stone tools (Bello, S.M., Parfitt, S.A., Stringer, C., 2009. Quantitative micromorphological analyses of cut marks produced by ancient and modern handaxes. Journal of Archaeological Science 36: 1869–1880; de Juana, S., Galan, A.B., Dominguez-Rodrigo, M., 2010. Taphonomic identification of cut marks made with lithic handaxes: an experimental study. Journal of Archaeological Science 37: 1841–1850; Dominguez-Rodrigo, M., de Juana, S., Galan, A. B., Rodriguez, M., 2009. A new protocol to differentiate trampling marks from butchery cut marks. Journal of Archaeological Science 36: 2643–2654). The work presented here adds to this experimental butchery database by using measurements of cut mark cross-section taken from bone surface molds to investigate how stone tool characteristics including flake versus core tool type, edge angle, and tool weight, influence cut mark width and depth, ultimately testing whether cut mark size is a useful indicator of tool identity. Additionally, these experiments investigate the influence of contextual factors, including butchery action, carcass size, and bone density on cut mark size. An experienced butcher used replicated Oldowan flakes and bifacial core tools in experimental trials that isolated skinning, bulk and scrap muscle defleshing, and element disarticulation cut marks on goat and cow skeletons. This sample explores cut mark traces generated under realistic butchery scenarios and suggests the following results: 1) Core and flake tools were equally efficient at completing all butchery tasks in size 1 and 3 bovid carcasses. 2) Samples of cut mark width and depth produced by core and flake tools were similar and cut marks could not be accurately classified to a known tool type. 3) Skinning and disarticulation activities produced significantly wider and deeper marks than defleshing activities. 4) Cut marks on cows tended to be wider and deeper than those on goats. 5) Cut mark width is negatively correlated with bone density when carcass size and bone portion are taken into consideration. These results suggest that a general quantitative model for inferring tool type or edge characteristics from archaeological cut mark size is not warranted.     

The Firing Temperature of Pottery from Ancient Mesopotamia,Turkey, Using Luminescence Methods: A Case Study for Different Grain‐Size Fractions

The assessment of the firing temperature of a prehistoric pottery sample collected from ancient Mesopotamia, Turkey was studied using luminescence techniques. The methods for this estimation involved the observation of the thermal and pre‐dose sensitization with various re‐firing temperatures for both TL and the OSL signals. In the former case, the 110°C TL peak and the rest of the glow curve were used as proxies in this study. In the framework of a first attempt to investigate the impact of grain‐size dependence on the sensitization of the luminescence signals, the aforementioned study was performed with four different pottery grain‐size fractions: (i) less than 60 μm, (ii) 60–90 μm, (iii) 90–180 μm and (iv) 180–250 μm. The results clearly demonstrated the firing temperature mark of ～500°C in for the grain size of 90–180 μm, while—as in the case of the lower grain‐size fraction—a third proxy, the ratio of the pre‐dosed to the thermal sensitization, was seen to indicate the firing temperature. The remaining two grain‐size fractions failed to provide any meaningful results with regard to the firing temperature estimation. The dependence of the TL characteristics on the grain size was explained in the framework of the mixed mineralogy.     

THE VIRTUALIZATION OF URBAN YOUNG PEOPLE'S MOBILITY PRACTICES: A TIME‐GEOGRAPHIC TYPOLOGY

A time‐geographic approach, including time–space diaries and in‐depth interviews, is used to investigate the daily use and implications of information and communication technologies (ICTs) among a group of Swedish urban youth. We identify individual variations and nuances in ICT‐based practices in our respondents' social and spatial contexts. Using individual cases and detailed time‐geographic trajectories, we demonstrate how daily communicative actions – physical and virtual – are combined and integrated. From this we identify four ideal types of mobility practices: (i) home‐oriented, heavy Internet users; (ii) physically mobile, heavy mobile phone users; (iii) physically mobile, heavy Internet and mobile phone users; and (iv) home‐oriented, rarely mobile people (virtually and physically).     

Bioarchaeological Analysis of Iron Age Human Skeletons from Zambia

The Ingombe Ilede and Isamu Pati Iron Age sites in Zambia provide 47 human burials for analyses. Our new study provides demographic information (sex and age), evidence of trauma, infectious diseases as well as physiological and mechanical indicators of stress. We found a high mortality rate for infants and children. Most of the sample (65%) lacked indications of stress or infectious diseases, but a few had cribra orbitalia, osteoarthritis, osteophytosis and various dental pathologies. These conditions are known to be caused by diet, food processing, nutritional intake and cultural systems. In addition, there were low levels of degenerative joint disease and no evidence of trauma. The stature and body mass estimates show that these Iron Age people were similar in size and shape compared with contemporary South Africans. These data indicate a relatively healthy population with a well‐balanced diet and low afflictions of infectious and parasitic diseases. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reliability of the Assessment of Periodontal Disease in Historical Populations

Periodontal disease is the destruction of all portions of periodontium. However, only periodontitis, based on whether attachment loss has occurred, can be detected in archaeological material. Therefore, several methods have been used to assess the frequency of periodontitis in past populations. The main scope of this study is to determine whether diagnoses of periodontitis through various methods are consistent with diagnoses obtained using the radiographic method. The samples (35 individuals, 576 teeth) were selected from Radom Cemetery's collection (in use between 1790 and 1811). For each individual, a periodontal status assessment was made using the following parameters: (i) measuring the distance between the cement–enamel junction (CEJ) and the crest of the alveolar bone (AC); (ii) the degree of root exposure; (iii) presence of the inter‐dental septum; (iv) dental calculus; (v) scoring system on the texture of the alveolar bone (Kerr's method) and (vi) radiography. In the studies, a correlation was found between the radiographic images and Kerr's method (r = 0.92) and root furcation (r = 0.96). Increasing degree of change on the alveolar bone is connected with increases in the CEJ–AC distance. A relationship between the frequency of the prevalence of dental calculus and changes on the alveolar bone was found. It means that the radiographic method, which is not always possible to use in archaeological collections, can be replaced by the presented macroscopic methods. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Age at death estimates for the protohistoric Arikara using molar attrition rates: A new quantification method

Dental attrition is positively related to ageing and has often been used to determine age at death of animals and prehistoric/historic humans. A newly designed molar-attrition-scoring standard was applied to a protohistoric skeletal sample, the Arikara (N = 143) from the North American Plains. Several criteria are used in producing a molar tooth crown wear (MTCW) score. These include: (i) the size of enamel wear facets, (ii) the amount of dentine and secondary dentine exposure, (iii) the height of the tooth, (iv) the enamel rim thickness, and (v) the amount of pulp-cavity exposure in the advanced stages. Age-at-death estimates were generated from ordinary least-squares (OLS) analysis, with estimated age regressed independently on the total molar attrition score (TMAS), mean molar-1 tooth crown wear (ȲM1TCW), mean molar-2 tooth crown wear (ȲM2TCW), and mean molar-3 tooth crown wear (ȲM3TCW). In all analyses (with the exception of the third molar), the coefficient of determination (r²) revealed a strong relationship between molar attrition and age. Multiple-regression analysis revealed a significant sex difference in molar-attrition rates. Besides intercept and slope differences, the female scatter showed greater molar attrition variation than the male scatter. There was no statistical difference between mean upper molar attrition score (UMAS) and lower molar attrition score (LMAS). There was no significant difference in molar attrition rates by side, and side by molar tooth.     

Our GIS is too small

GIScience and GISystems have been successful in tackling many geographical problems over the last 30 years. But technologies and associated theory can become limiting if they end up defining how we see the world and what we believe are worthy and tractable research problems. This paper explores some of the limitations currently impacting GISystems and GIScience from the perspective of technology and community, contrasting GIScience with other informatics communities and their practices. It explores several themes: (i) GIScience and the informatics revolution; (ii) the lack of a community‐owned innovation platform for GIScience research; (iii) the computational limitations imposed by desktop computing and the inability to scale up analysis; (iv) the continued failure to support the temporal dimension, and especially dynamic processes and models with feedbacks; (v) the challenge of embracing a wider and more heterogeneous view of geographical representation and analysis; and (vi) the urgent need to foster an active software development community to redress some of these shortcomings. A brief discussion then summarizes the issues and suggests that GIScience needs to work harder as a community to become more relevant to the broader geographic field and meet a bigger set of representation, analysis, and modelling needs.     

A review of rock art dating in the Kimberley, Western Australia

This paper critically reviews the various approaches used to estimate the age of the rock art in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. They include: (i) the relative superimposition of styles; (ii) the use of diagnostic subject matter (depictions of extinct animals, stone tool technology, introduced European and Asian objects and animals); (iii) the recovery of a ‘painted’ slab from a dated archaeological unit; (iv) radiocarbon dating of beeswax figures, charcoal pigments, organic matter in overlying mineral deposits and ‘accreted paint layers’ (oxalate rich crusts and amorphous silica skin), pollen grains from an overlaying mud-wasp nest; and (v) optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of quartz grains from overlying mud-wasp nests. Future directions for rock art dating in the Kimberley include uranium-series dating of overlying and underlying mineral deposits.     

Flint and Quartzite: Distinguishing Raw Material Through Bone Cut Marks

Since the 1980s, several experimental analyses have been able to differentiate some lithic tool types and some of their raw materials according to the morphology of cut marks imprinted by such tools when used for butchering activities. Thus, metal tool use has been differentiated in contexts with an abundance of lithic tools, or even the use of hand axes has been documented in carcass processing, in contrast with simple unretouched or retouched flakes. As important as this information is, there are still other important aspects to be analysed. Can cut marks produced with different lithic raw material types be differentiated? Can cut marks made with different types of the same raw material type be characterized and differentiated? The objective of this study is to evaluate if cut marks resulting from the use of different flints and different quartzites are distinguishable from each other. In the present work, an experimental analysis of hundreds of cut marks produced by five types of flint and five varieties of quartzite was carried out. Microphotogrammetry and geometric–morphometric techniques were applied to analyse these cut marks. The results show that flint cut marks and quartzite cut marks can be characterized at the assemblage level. Different types of flint produced cut marks that were not significantly different from each other. Cut marks made with Olduvai Gorge quartzite were significantly different from those produced with a set comprising several other types of quartzites. Crystal size, which is larger in Olduvai Gorge quartzites (0.5 mm) than Spanish quartzites (177–250 μm), is discussed as being the main reason for these statistically significant differences. This documented intra‐sample and inter‐sample variance does not hinder the resolution of the approach to differentiate between these two generic raw material types and opens the door for the application of this method in archaeological contexts.     

Diagenesis and elemental geochemistry under varying reservoir oil saturation in the Junggar Basin of NW China: implication for differentiating hydrocarbon‐bearing horizons

In this paper, we attempt to differentiate hydrocarbon‐bearing reservoir horizons of the Junggar Basin of NW China based on the characteristics of diagenesis and associated elemental geochemistry. Reservoirs at this site have varying levels of oil saturation that correlate with the degree of dissolution in minerals (e.g., calcite and feldspar). Four different horizons with varying diagenetic mineral assemblages were observed, including (i) kaolinite‐rich, oil‐dominated horizons, (ii) kaolinite–pyrite–hematite‐rich, oil–water‐dominated horizons, (iii) siderite–chlorite‐rich, water‐dominated horizons, and (iv) chlorite‐rich horizons with negligible hydrocarbon production. The mean MnO content of the representative diagenetic mineral (e.g., calcite) in each of the above horizons is >2.5, 2.0–2.5, 1.5–2.0, and <1.0 wt%, respectively. We propose that the above methodology can be used for the identification of reservoir hydrocarbon‐bearing horizons. We argue that the indicators presented here can be applied in oil exploration across the Junggar Basin.     

IS THE GHOSH MODEL INTERESTING?*

ABSTRACT The overall value of the Ghosh model is appraised. Its treatment of quantities and prices is scrutinized by examining the variant with data in quantities and prices, and the variant with data in value and price indexes. The methodology involves returning to the accounting equations and shows that: (i) the Ghosh model offers solutions of limited interest, being incapable of providing prices or price indexes separately from quantities; (ii) what is taken to be the equation of Ghosh's value model is actually that of Ghosh's physical model; (iii) the Ghosh model may serve for cost‐push exercises, but the dual of the Leontief model performs the same task in a much simpler and more natural way; and (iv) Cronin's mixed models do not actually mix Leontief and Ghosh hypotheses.     

A quota for the outsourcing of television programmes: an economic analysis of its effectiveness

A European Directive stipulates that at least 10% of programmes broadcast by each European broadcaster must be produced by an independent producer. By stimulating independent productions the European Union and the Dutch government aim to improve the quality of television programmes. In 1997, the Netherlands increased this requirement to 25%. This paper evaluates the policy, using a unique Dutch dataset that includes all independent productions appearing on public television from 1996 until 2000. We show that: (i) the producers are highly specialised; (ii) programming is volatile; (iii) entry of new firms is substantially reducing average rates of turnover; (iv) the producers who lobbied for the higher quota were losing market share and were relatively well‐organised. Therefore, the outsourcing requirement does not lead to the desired levels of stable production by individual producers and it is unlikely to be an effective instrument.     

Possible effects of solar variability on the middle atmosphere

This paper discusses the possible effects on the middle atmosphere of

• 1.(i) solar variability in emission in the u.v. and far u.v.,
• 2.(ii) solar proton events,
• 3.(iii) relativistic electron precipitation events,
• 4.(iv) corpuscular heating in auroras,
• 5.(v) joule heating by the auroral electrojet,
• 6.(vi) auroral NO production and
• 7.(vii) gravity wave emission by the auroral electrojet. It is important to establish the maximum depth in the atmosphere to which these effects go, in order to be able to determine whether the reflection of planetary scale waves from the troposphere is substantially altered by them.

     

Taphonomic identification of cut marks made with lithic handaxes: an experimental study

Recent experimental studies have developed new diagnostic criteria to differentiate between trampling and cut marks. Within cut marks, these diagnostic criteria have been useful to differentiate between marks made with simple and retouched flakes. The present study expands the application of these criteria using a multivariate analysis to discriminate marks created with handaxes from those made with stone tool flakes. A discriminant analysis resulted in a selection of specific variables, which can successfully differentiate cut marks made with handaxes from those created with retouched flakes in more than 80% of occasions. The utility of this analogical taphonomic signature created by handaxes is discussed in the light of their potential value as butchering tools.     

Principal features of impact-generated hydrothermal circulation systems: mineralogical and geochemical evidence

Any hypervelocity impact generates a hydrothermal circulation system in resulting craters. Common characteristics of hydrothermal fluids mobilized within impact structures are considered, based on mineralogical and geochemical investigations, to date. There is similarity between the hydrothermal mineral associations in the majority of terrestrial craters; an assemblage of clay minerals–zeolites–calcite–pyrite is predominant. Combining mineralogical, geochemical, fluid inclusion, and stable isotope data, the distinctive characteristics of impact‐generated hydrothermal fluids can be distinguished as follows: (i) superficial, meteoric and ground water and, possibly, products of dehydration and degassing of minerals under shock are the sources of hot water solutions; (ii) shocked target rocks are sources of the mineral components of the solutions; (iii) flow of fluids occurs mainly in the liquid state; (iv) high rates of flow are likely (10^?4 to 10^?3 m s^?1); (v) fluids are predominantly aqueous and of low salinity; (vi) fluids are weakly alkaline to near‐neutral (pH 6–8) and are supersaturated in silica during the entire hydrothermal process because of the strong predominance of shock‐disordered aluminosilicates and fusion glasses in the host rocks; and (vii) variations in the properties of the circulating solutions, as well as the spatial distribution of secondary mineral assemblages are controlled by temperature gradients within the circulation cell and by a progressive cooling of the impact crater. Products of impact‐generated hydrothermal processes are similar to the hydrothermal mineralization in volcanic areas, as well as in modern geothermal systems, but impacts are always characterized by a retrograde sequence of alteration minerals.     

Cities in a pandemic: Evidence from China

This paper studies the impact of urban density, city government efficiency, and medical resources on COVID-19 infection and death outcomes in China. We adopt a simultaneous spatial dynamic panel data model to account for (i) the simultaneity of infection and death outcomes, (ii) the spatial pattern of the transmission, (iii) the intertemporal dynamics of the disease, and (iv) the unobserved city-specific and time-specific effects. We find that, while population density increases the level of infections, government efficiency significantly mitigates the negative impact of urban density. We also find that the availability of medical resources improves public health outcomes conditional on lagged infections. Moreover, there exists significant heterogeneity at different phases of the epidemiological cycle.     

Joint controlled fluid flow patterns and iron mass transfer in Jurassic Navajo Sandstone,Southern Utah,USA

The Jurassic Navajo Sandstone of Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument (GSENM), Utah, exhibits a broad range of iron oxide/oxyhydroxide concretionary geometries that record a complex paragenetic history of the reservoir. The concretionary geometries are as follows: (i) common macroconcretions (>5 mm in diameter), (ii) ubiquitous microconcretions (<5 mm in diameter), (iii) localized iron oxide/oxyhydroxide‐lined northeast‐striking joints, and (iv) loopy asymmetrical mineralization and banded precipitation patterns (Liesegang bands) associated with the joints. Spheroidal concretion geometries typically indicate diffusive mass transfer, whereas asymmetrical mineralization represents advective directional flow. Liesegang bands parallel to asymmetrical mineralization denote a diffusive mass transfer component perpendicular to the principal flow direction. Careful study of concretionary geometries and their cross‐cutting relationships establishes a relative timing of precipitation and mobilization events. Macroconcretions formed post‐Laramide (<55 Ma), prior to and independent of the Miocene joints. The joints provided conduits for later oxidizing fluids that precipitated iron oxide/oxyhydroxide lining on the joint faces. Advective mass transfer overprinted the area with preferentially cemented flow lines (asymmetrical mineralization) less than 10 Ma, coincident with development of a hydraulic low to the southeast of the region (Colorado River downcutting). Certain trace elements are genetically tied to concretion formation, and evaluation of trace elements establishes precursor mineral phases. Enriched uranium concentrations in concretions (relative to the host rock) and low/undetectable sulfur concentrations in both host rock and concretions suggest that iron oxyhydroxide was a primary precipitate rather than a reduced iron mineral (i.e., pyrite or siderite) that later oxidized. Enrichment of Ni and As in concretions functions as fingerprints for diagenetic concretion formation when determining genesis of ambiguous iron oxide/oxyhydroxide spherules such as the remotely sensed ‘blueberries’ on Mars. Similarities between Mars and Utah spherules such as geometry, in situ spacing and volumetric density suggest that Mars spherules precipitated via a geochemically self‐organized nucleation pattern in diffusive chemical reaction fronts.