The potential of paleoethnobotanical evidence for the study of Teotihuacan foodways

Macro- and microscopic plant remains recovered from excavations at Teotihuacan over several decades contribute to an understanding of the subsistence resources available to the city’s inhabitants. However, associated contextual evidence may be inconclusive regarding the specific uses of the plants in question and, particularly, whether their presence or relative abundance indicates processing and consumption or the consequence of depositional processes. While the analysis of archeological plant remains is necessarily an interdisciplinary endeavor, involving aspects of botany, ecology, ethnography and history among other disciplines, contextual archeological evidence provides the matrix for interpretation. In this paper, we explore direct archeological evidence for plant use, considering the significance of appropriate contextual evidence (e.g., activity areas, associated ceramics, lithics, etc.) and the potential complementary role of analytical techniques such as residue analyses, and carbon isotope signatures in faunal and human osteological remains as well as stratigraphic sediments.     

Interpreting abundance indices: some zooarchaeological implications of Martu foraging

Indices of taxonomic abundance are commonly used by zooarchaeologists to examine resource intensification, overexploitation and gender-divisions in foraging labor. The original formulation of abundance indices developed a clear interpretive framework by linking the measure with foraging models from behavioral ecology. However, using the same basic tenets of behavioral ecology, archaeologists disagree about how to interpret variability in abundance index values: some suggest that high proportions of large prey remains represent higher overall foraging efficiency, while others argue the opposite. To help solve this problem, we use quantitative observational data with Martu hunters in Australia’s Western Desert to examine how foraging decisions and outcomes best predict variation in the abundance index values that result. We show that variation in the proportional remains of large to small game is best predicted by hunting bout success with larger prey and the time spent foraging for smaller prey. A declining abundance index results from decreasing hunting success with larger prey, increasing time invested in hunting smaller prey, or both; any of which result in a lower overall return rate than if large prey were acquired reliably. We also demonstrate that where large prey acquisition is stochastic, high index values are correlated positively with men’s proportional caloric contribution of large unreliable game, while low index values are correlated with women’s proportional foraging time for small reliable game. We discuss these results with reference to evidence of resource intensification and gender-specific foraging.     

Water Separation and Flotation Processes

Abstract

The water separator, a mechanical flotation device which is finding increasing usage among Mediterranean archaeologists, is compared with “tub” flotation which is widely practiced by North American archaeologists. The water separator was found to be two to three times more efficient than tub flotation. A redesigned separator is presented which should further improve this figure.

The problem of sample size and the attendant aspects of representativeness are evaluated by a comparison of items of various classes recovered in a 100% separator sample compared to the much smaller tub flotation sample.

Finally, the specific biasing effects of various recovery techniques with particular emphasis on fish remains is discussed.     

Salt Water Application of the Flotation Technique

Abstract

This paper reports on a successful experimentation with salt water flotation in conjunction with pre-Columbian research on the northwestern Pacific coast of Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. Mechanical results are indicated, and the application of the technique by archaeologists faced with limitations of fresh water, but abundance of salt water, is encouraged.     

Number estimation in vertebrate samples

Methods of quantifying bone samples are discussed and the minimum numbers approach criticized. A technique based upon number estimation of game populations is put forward, and some of the practical difficulties of this method are examined. Consideration is given to the underlying statistical assumptions involved in quantified analysis of bone samples, and a method of calculating confidence limits for death population numbers proposed.     

The Hand-Pump Flotation System: A New Method for Archaeobotanical Recovery

Abstract

At the sites of Acquachiara in Italy, el-Hemmeh in Jordan, and Beisamoun in Israel, archaeobotanical recovery was accomplished using flotation systems powered by hand-pumps, as opposed to non-circulating systems or systems powered by electricity or gasoline. These flotation tanks were simple and inexpensive to construct, easily operated by a single individual, highly durable, and easily transported. The speed of water flow was both ample and could be controlled without difficulty. These systems had the capacity to process samples at a rate sufficient to keep pace with large-scale sampling programs at all three sites. In three case studies, we describe two tanks that recycle water and one that does not, list the parts and procedures necessary to construct a hand-pump system, and detail the results of a recovery test that demonstrates the efficacy of this technique. The type of flotation tank described would be appropriate for a range of research projects with various resource constraints, enabling substantial paleoethnobotanical data collection with only a minimal initial investment of time and money.     

丝织品在老化过程中及老化后在水、乙醇、丙酮中的失重行为

本工作对丝织品在老化过程中及老化后在水、乙醇、丙酮中的失重行为进行了研究,目的是了解丝织品的老化机理并为丝织品清洗溶剂的选择提供参考。研究结果表明丝在光、热老化过程中均有失重,热老化丝织品在水中的失重相对于光老化小得多。所有失重均随老化程度及在溶剂中浸泡时间的增加而增加。乙醇、丙酮对老化丝的影响比水小得多。因此有机溶剂相对于水来说更适合用于丝的清洗配方中。     

模拟青铜器样品在典型电解质溶液中的电化学行为研究

为了具体探讨青铜器不同相组织的腐蚀状况,采用电化学测量技术研究模拟青铜器样品在五种典型电解质和模拟土壤溶液中的腐蚀行为。实验结果表明,在氯化钠、硫酸钠、磷酸钠、氢氧化钠、碳酸氢钠以及模拟的土壤溶液中,青铜器组织中的α相比δ相及(α δ)共析体组织更容易发生腐蚀。介质的pH值以及不同离子对青铜器不同相组织的腐蚀行为影响很大。     

Milieux innovateurs: Determinants and policy implications

National and regional differences are more and more frequently explained by differences in milieux. This type of explanation raises three questions: Can we identify milieux? What are the determinants of milieux? Are there differences between industries in the matter of determinants of milieux? Most studies on milieux innovateurs are based on case studies and qualitative data. This paper is quantitative and comparative in nature. It attempts to identify milieux and their determinants by using data from the 1999 Statistics Canada Innovation Survey. Based on two synthetic indicators of interactions (weak/strong) and learning (weak/strong), four categories of milieux innovateurs are differentiated which become the dependent variables. In order to see what the determinants of the various milieux innovateurs are and to see in what ways the most favorable milieux innovateurs compare to the others, binomial logit models have been estimated for four industries using the following independent variables: competitive pressures, barriers to knowledge exchange, use of government support, number of employees, collaborative arrangements, R&D activities, regions.     

Identification of tarsal coalition and frequency estimates from skeletal samples

Tarsal coalition is a congenital defect that results when adjacent tarsals fail to separate properly during embryonic development. Anatomically, coalitions present as non‐osseous bridges of cartilage or fibrocartilage – and occasionally as osseous bridges – between two neighboring bones. In skeletons, non‐osseous tarsal coalitions are recognizable as matching lesions between two bones at predictable locations. These coalitions are of interest because they are known to be heritable and are therefore useful for tracing genetic relatives in archaeological cemeteries, because they can be misinterpreted in skeletons as trauma or joint disease, and because they can result in associated pathology. However, despite a considerable literature on tarsal coalition, estimates of coalition frequencies disagree considerably, perhaps due to biases inherent in clinical sampling. In order to gain a better estimate of tarsal coalition frequencies in human populations, data were gathered on 342 European‐Americans from the Terry Collection (Smithsonian Institution), 536 South Africans from the Dart Collection (University of Witwatersrand, South Africa), and 756 medieval Danish skeletons (Anthropological Database, Odense University). The Danish skeletons are archaeological, with sample sizes by coalition type ranging from 366–507 individuals. Examples of eight different types of intertarsal coalition were identified among the 1634 skeletons examined. Overall frequency estimates for tarsal coalition ranged from 2.1%–3.5%. South Africans exhibited significantly higher frequencies in the midfoot, with naviculocuneiform I coalition (1.0%) the most common type. Conversely, no coalitions of the midfoot were found among the Euro‐Americans or medieval Danes. Instead, these groups exhibited calcaneonavicular coalition as the most common type in the hindfoot (2.0% and 2.1% respectively), while calcaneonavicular coalition was among the least common in the South Africans (0.2%). Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tree-rings and archaeology: some problems explained

Some uncertainty amongst archaeologists about dendrochronology has prompted an explanation of some of the points which cause most concern. These include the probability of obtaining a date for a wood sample and the reliability and accuracy of that date. Uses of tree-ring analysis, other than for dating, are also mentioned.