Changes in Architecture and Land Use Strategies in the American Southwest: Upland Mogollon Pithouse Dwellers,A.C. 200–1000

Abstract

This study combines functional theories of architectural design with concepts from engineering to devise a method for ranking the effort invested in house construction. Investment in construction is in turn linked with the intensity of site use. Analyses show that from A.C. 200 through A.C. 1000, Upland Mogollon pithouse dwellers invested ever greater effort in building long-lasting, maintainable houses. The implications for models of land use and agricultural dependence are discussed. It is suggested that the architectural trends are consistent with models that characterize Upland Mogollon pithouse dwellers as increasingly sedentary and increasingly dependent on agriculture after A.C. 550.     

Is the evaluation of millennial changes in stature reliable? A study in southern Europe from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages

Analyses of stature variation in prehistoric and historical populations encounter considerable problems of reliability of the comparisons. To properly compare the results of different studies, it is necessary to conduct a systematic review of the chronological and cultural context of the skeletal series used and identify the most appropriate method to calculate stature values, since stature reconstruction formulae are specific for certain times and places. Stature variations in the population of Sardinia (a Mediterranean island now part of the Italian Republic but considered separately given its unique genetic structure) from the Neolithic to the Modern Period were studied to evaluate the intensity of millennial changes. The results were then compared with the values of coeval skeletal series reported in the literature for other Southern European countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal). We used Sardinian skeletal series with radiocarbon dates or from culturally well-defined archeological contexts. The osteometric measurements were taken on femora of adults who had completed growth and who did not present evident pathological conditions. The data we collected and analyzed indicate that the conditions are lacking to reliably identify a common trend in millennial changes among the considered populations of southern Europe.     

A neglected chapter in Italy's transition from Fascism to the Republic: The Kingdom of the South (1943–1944)

Gallerano's paper examines the reasons why Italian historians have paid little attention to the political events that followed the liberation of the Italian Mezzogiorno and the brief life of the government established under the auspices of the monarchy during the period of what was termed the Kingdom of the South. He argues that this neglect derives in part from the brevity of the period of civil government in the south, but mainly from the fact that historians have been attracted above all by the history of the Resistance which has led them to consider events in the south to be of secondary importance. Gallerano argues that such a view is quite unjustified and shows how some historians ‐ from Chabod in the early 1950s ‐ have understood that events in the south bore very directly on the broader transition from Fascism to the Republic. Challenging Renzo De Felice's recent claims that Italy's defeat on 8 September 1943 marked the beginning of a crisis of national identity, Gallerano argues that the circumstances that obtained in the months that followed made the south an exceptionally rich terrain for exploring the very contradictory feelings and expectations that were aroused in Italy by the experience of military defeat and political reconstruction.     

Multiregional Perspectives on the Archaeology of the Andes During the Late Intermediate Period (c. A.D. 1000–1400)

During the Late Intermediate period (LIP, c. A.D. 1000–1400), the central Andes experienced the decline of the Wari and Tiwanaku states, as well as processes of state formation, regional population growth, and competition culminating in the imperial expansion of the Chimú and Inka polities. The LIP holds the potential to link the archaeological features of early Andean states with the material signatures of the later ones, providing a critical means of contextualizing the intergenerational continuities and breaks in state structures and imperial strategies. The recent proliferation of LIP research and the completion of a number of regional studies permit the overview of six LIP regions and the comparison of highland and lowland patterns of political and economic organization, social complexity, and group identity.     

Settlement Pattern Change in the Morea (Peloponnisos), c.A.D. 1700–1830

Abstract

The historiography of the Ottoman period (Tourkokratia) in what is now the state of Greece contains many untested propositions about both the nature and the consequences of Turkish rule (Hatzidimitriou 1982). Amongst these is the notion that during the Ottoman occupation the Christian population – or at least a sizeable proportion of it – was driven into the mountains. Our paper sets out to test the hypothesis – for such it is – using readily available published information on the settlements of the Morea (Peloponnisos) dating from c.1700 and c.1830. First, though, we specify the hypothesis and indicate the types of evidence which appear to give it support.     

Selective woodland exploitation for charcoal production. A detailed analysis of charcoal kiln remains (ca. 1300–1900 AD) from Zoersel (northern Belgium)

A detailed study of charcoal burning activities has been made for the Zoersel forest (Northern Belgium) based on an inventory of charcoal kiln remains, the analyses of wood charcoal and other charred botanical macroremains and radiocarbon dating of 10 of these kilns. Age determination of the youngest kilns was refined by dendrochronological analysis of trees growing on top of these kiln sites. The results show that, although many kilns were found, charcoal was produced in Zoersel only at certain moments during late and post-medieval times suggesting that charcoal burning was not a part of the regular management practice of these forests. The wood used for the production of charcoal mainly consists of taxa of alluvial (alder) forests while the kilns are situated on sites that currently are rather dry, with an oak dominated vegetation. For the older kilns, this contrast could be explained by an important change in local soil conditions. The younger kilns may be related to the conversion of alder woodland to grassland in the lower parts of the domain, with the kilns being constructed in the nearby dryer woodland areas.     

Lime Powder Production in the Maya Puuc Region (A.D. 600–950): An Experimental Pit-Kiln

Powdered lime was one of the most significant materials in the daily lives of the Prehispanic Maya, yet archaeologists have uncovered relatively little evidence of production methods or locales prior to the Spanish conquest. The recent identification of a series of pit-kilns dating to the Late and Terminal Classic periods (ca. a.d. 650–950) in and around the site of Kiuic in the Puuc region of the northern lowlands of the Yucatán Peninsula provides the opportunity to investigate a sub-regional Prehispanic lime production technology. Here we present the preliminary excavation results of nine pit-kilns and then describe the experimental reconstruction and firing of a lime pit-kiln. The results indicate that the pit-kilns are more fuel-efficient than the aboveground pyres used during the post-conquest period. This in turn suggests that Prehispanic inhabitants of the Puuc managed their consumption of natural resources for producing lime during a period of sociopolitical, demographic, and environmental stresses.     

‘A wonderful city of palms and dates’: Salamis-Constantia in transition from Late Antiquity to the early Middle Ages (ca. 600–ca. 800 CE)

The article focuses on Salamis-Constantia, the political and ecclesiastical capital of the island of Cyprus, from the 360s to the tenth century, marking the passage from Late Antiquity to the early Middle Ages. The aim here is to debunk the historiographical model proposed for interpreting the declining fortunes of Cypriot urban sites, while at the same time applying the category of transition in order to explain the changes experienced in the local economic life, material culture and socio-political structures.     

North American–Asian aquatic bird dispersal in the Miocene: evidence from a new species of diving duck (Anseriformes: Anatidae) from North America (Nevada) with affinities to Mongolian taxa

Stidham, T.A. & Zelenkov, N.V., September 2016. North American–Asian aquatic bird dispersal in the Miocene: evidence from a new species of diving duck (Anseriformes: Anatidae) from North America (Nevada) with affinities to Mongolian taxa. Alcheringa 41, XXX–XXX. ISSN 0311-5518.

Prehistoric intercontinental dispersals are often used to explain the modern geographic distributions of various organisms, including birds. The extant Holarctic avifauna formed largely in the Neogene, and thus dispersals of various taxa during the Miocene likely have had a strong long-lasting effect upon the geographical pattern of the extant avian communities. However, the uneven fossil record of Neogene birds prevents accurate reconstruction of the biogeographic history of many bird clades, and the present evidence on dispersal of birds in the Neogene among continents is very limited. Past dispersals are most likely to be documented by taxa that are well represented in the fossil record, including diving ducks. Although these birds have a rather substantial fossil record in Europe and Asia, they remain very poorly known from the Neogene of North America. Here we document a new species of Miocene diving duck represented by a proximal humerus and a distal tibiotarsus from the Esmeralda Formation in Nevada (USA) and describe it as a new species of the primitive diving duck genus Protomelanitta Zelenkov (Protomelanitta bakeri sp. nov.), previously known only from the middle Miocene of Mongolia. Both species (from Mongolia and Nevada) are from the ca 11–12 Ma age range during the warm (though cooling) middle Miocene after the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum and Middle Miocene Climate Transition. Given their proposed close relationship, it appears that Protomelanitta dispersed between Asia and North America, and this instance is the first clear indication of an aquatic bird dispersal between North America and Eurasia in the middle Miocene. This palaeobiogeographical event predates the famous immigration of Hipparion horses to the Old World and the late Miocene dispersals between continental Eurasian and North American faunas in general, but likely reflects one prolonged faunal interchange related to global climatic conditions and its effects.

Thomas A. Stidham* [presbyornis@gmail.com], Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China; Nikita V. Zelenkov [nzelen@paleo.ru], Cabinet of Paleornithology, Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya 123, Moscow 117997, Russia.     

Lithic Production and Consumption Patterns from the Great Platform at Late Postclassic (A.D. 1350–1525) Tzintzuntzan,Mexico

Late Postclassic period (a.d. 1350–1525) Tarascan economic activities often included higher degrees of political involvement and territorial control compared with other ancient Mesoamerican societies. Here I examine Tarascan obsidian economies through an analysis of lithic production and consumption patterns from structures excavated on and near the Great Platform at the imperial capital of Tzintzuntzan. Four spatially distinct patterns are evident. Great Platform residents used high-quality obsidian blades as ceremonial items or burial offerings and scrapers for craft production. Lower elite residents of Structure F, outside the Great Platform, produced their own blade tools and consumed a higher percentage of green obsidian than residents of the Great Platform. Excavations at Yacata 3 recovered bifacial arrowheads and obsidian bloodletters associated with disturbed offerings. The spatial distributions of lapidary preforms and highly polished fragments combined with accounts from the Relación de Michoacán (a.d. 1541) suggest that lower elites produced obsidian jewelry near the Great Platform.     

Open-area excavations at the Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village,South Dakota (A.D. 1000–1150): New interpretations of site function from interdwelling areas

Abstract

Excavations at the Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village (A.D. 1000–1150), an Initial Middle Missouri period Plains earthen lodge village site in eastern South Dakota, revealed new data regarding the lifeways and cultural systems of its prehistoric inhabitants. While extensive excavations had been conducted at the site and at a large number of other Middle Missouri sites prior to the present project, our open-area approach revealed new and significantly different information. New features in the areas between the dwellings were uncovered, features that are rarely studied in the context of the Middle Missouri cultural tradition. Other finds included Mississippian-influenced ceramics, Avonlea projectile points, and ceremonial goods that indicate long-distance cultural interaction. The discovery of large, complex features in the interdwelling areas of the site changes our understanding of Middle Missouri lifeways and settlement structure.     

Some Napoleonic-style army camps from the period of the Dutch-Belgian separation (1830–1839) in the Southern Netherlands

This paper focuses on the period of the political separation of the Netherlands and Belgium (1830–1839). Both countries were in a state of war for almost a decade, which resulted in massive troop deployments along their borders and the militarisation of the landscape. The principal objects of study are the Dutch army camps at Rijen and Oirschot near the Belgian border, which to date have barely received any scholarly attention. Both camps were almost 2 km across and offered accommodation to up to 12,000 infantry soldiers. They will be studied from an archaeological-historical perspective, focusing on the spatial and social dimensions of the camps and their place in the wider landscape. The camps are representative of the final stage of pre-industrial warfare in Europe, which is characterised by a continuation of many eighteenth century and Napoleonic traditions.     

A Russian Version of Christian Realism: Spiritual Wisdom and Politics in the Thought of S. L. Frank (1877–1950)

Christian realism is a concept normally associated with the US theologian and ethicist Reinhold Niebuhr. However, Niebuhr was not alone in warning Christians of the dangers of utopianism and trying to promote a religiously inspired political realism; thinkers from a number of countries had similar aspirations. In this context, the Russian philosopher Semyon Liudvigovich Frank (1877–1950) deserves particular attention. A Marxist in his youth, Frank became disillusioned with revolutionary ideas before and after the 1905 revolution, and was drawn away from politics to philosophy. However, he remained interested in political questions, both while he was in Russia and after he was forced into exile in 1922. This found expression in the 1940s in a form of Christian realism. Frank rejected the doctrine ‘the end justifies the means.’ But he was a gradualist in his approach to social change, believing that politicians needed to have a pragmatic attitude of mind. A distinctive feature of Frank's approach was the connection he made between spiritual inwardness on the one hand and effective decision-making on the other, although he also saw spirituality as arising in a social context. Ultimately, there was a mystical dimension to Frank's Christian realism that was absent in Niebuhr's doctrine.     

Stature and frailty during the Black Death: the effect of stature on risks of epidemic mortality in London,A.D. 1348–1350

Recent research has shown that preexisting health condition affected an individual's risk of dying during the 14th-century Black Death. However, a previous study of the effect of adult stature on risk of mortality during the epidemic failed to find a relationship between the two; this result is perhaps surprising given the well-documented inverse association between stature and mortality in human populations. We suggest that the previous study used an analytical approach that was more complex than was necessary for an assessment of the effect of adult stature on risk of mortality. This study presents a reanalysis of data on adult stature and age-at-death during the Black Death in London, 1348–1350 AD. The results indicate that short stature increased risks of mortality during the medieval epidemic, consistent with previous work that revealed a negative effect of poor health on risk of mortality during the Black Death. However, the results from a normal, non-epidemic mortality comparison sample do not show an association between stature and risks of mortality among adults under conditions of normal mortality. Fisher's exact tests, used to determine whether individuals who were growing during the Great Famine of 1315–1322 were more likely to be of short stature than those who did not endure the famine, revealed no differences between the two groups, suggesting that the famine was not a source of variation in stature among those who died during the Black Death.