Matrilineal affinities and prehistoric Siberian mortuary practices: a case study from Neolithic Lake Baikal

The ‘Lokomotiv’ cemetery in the Lake Baikal region of Siberia is considered to be the largest Neolithic cemetery in North Asia. A large degree of mortuary variability has been documented at Lokomotiv including striking differences in grave architecture, body treatment and grave good assemblages. The purpose of this study is to understand whether observed mortuary variability at Lokomotiv was used to indicate differential biological affinity for those buried in this cemetery. To answer this, we compared the distribution of matrilineally-inherited mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) markers retrieved from Lokomotiv skeletal remains against various lines of archaeological evidence. Using a combined strategy of coding-region SNP and HVI sequence detection, we were able to produce mtDNA profiles for 31 of 37 Lokomotiv individuals. Our results to date suggest that while matrilineal affinities did not overtly shape the spatial organisation of Lokomotiv, they may have influenced the type of grave one was interred in and in certain cases, the type of mortuary treatment given to an individual. The most compelling differences in matrilineal affinity were found between group grave and single grave burials in one cluster of the cemetery and evoke a notion of intra-community power structure shaped by matrilineally-ascribed group membership. The findings from this study will be further explored with future enhancements to the archaeological and biological datasets for Lokomotiv as well as a contemporaneous Baikal region cemetery known as Shamanka II. In doing so, we hope to further illuminate the social complexities governing these prehistoric Siberian communities.     

Population affinities of Parsis in the Indian subcontinent

The present study was an attempt to document changes in frequencies of dental morphology traits and understand phenetic affinities of Parsis, who migrated to the Indian subcontinent around the 8th century. Despite successfully integrating themselves into the Indian society, they have retained their ethnicity and distinct cultural practices. This study was conceived as a result of an excavation at the site of Sanjan, Gujarat which, as per historical records, is believed to be the first town in the Indian subcontinent with a large Parsi settlement thereby facilitating a diachronic comparison between the ancestral and extant Parsi groups. We compared and analysed dental traits between the two groups expecting a very close relationship between them owing to their ancestor–descendent relationship. Eleven discrete dental traits were selected and scored using the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System (ASUDAS). Frequency changes were assessed by comparing trait frequencies; whereas phenetic affinity between Parsis was assessed by statistically comparing them with 13 populations using Smith's mean measure of divergence (MMD) statistic. Comparison of dental trait frequencies between Sanjan and extant Parsi samples show significant differences in incisor morphology, Carabelli cusp and Hypocone development. Trait frequencies, MMD values and 2D multidimensional scaling (MDS) plot indicate that extant Parsis and Sanjan samples are distantly separated from each other. Extant Parsis show closer affinity to low caste Mahars and tribal Madia Gonds than South and Central Asian groups. Sanjan is distant from all other groups including extant Parsis. It is likely that genetic drift accentuated by their small numbers and strict endogamy has resulted in divergence of Parsi groups. Similarly, their convergence with Maharashtran groups indicates admixture of Parsis with local groups, which supports earlier conducted mtDNA studies. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Diaphyseal remodelling in leprosy: A radiological and palaeopathological study

Diaphyseal remodelling is a pathological process of the proximal phalanges, metatarsals and metacarpals in all established types of clinical leprosy. It is suggested that the changes are the result of sympathetic neuropathy and alteration of peripheral vascular bed dynamics selectively stimulating extracortical osteoclastic and endosteal osteoblastic activity. There is an overall loss of diaphyseal cortical diameter, either in concentric or knife-edge pattern. There is extracortical absorption of bone and coincident endosteal bone deposition. Ultimately, there is diaphyseal pathological fracture, and subsequent resorption of the distal and proximal remnants due to combined continued diaphyseal remodelling and achroosteolysis.     

Rethinking ethnography: A study in public anthropology

This editorial calls for an alternative approach to writing ethnographies. Instead of treating a group as a cultural whole to make writing about it easier, the author emphasizes the importance of understanding the intracultural diversity that exists within that group. In addition, he asks ethnographers to step away from a framework which places them as the primary interpreters of a group. Instead, he calls for more dialogic, multicentric narratives, that allow the people they study (as well as their readers) to compose their own empowering narratives about the group. Intracultural diversity ensures there is not one true account, but many.     

Behavioural archaeology and refuse patterns: A case study

This paper examines the association and distribution of different classes of refuse around a late Iron Age and Roman settlement in Essex, England. It is shown, for instance, that bone and pottery refuse from the eating of meals was distributed differently from that deriving from food preparation. Some conclusions are then drawn about activity variation within the settlement. Clearly, this approach can extract a great wealth of information from extensively excavated settlements, but it is also argued that similar studies are both feasible and necessary for small‐scale, rescue excavations.     

Ptolemy's map of denmark: A study in conflicting evidence

EUROPE

Europa: Bilder seiner Landschaft und Kultur. Edited by Martin Hürlimann. Introduction by Carl J. Burckhardt. 12×8 1/2. Pp. xix+279. Zürich: Atlantis Verlag AG. Second edition, 1947. 28 fr.

Scotland's Changing Population. Edited by A. M. Struthers, Secretary, The Scottish Council of Social Service. Foreword by Sir Hector Hetherington. 9 3/4 × 7 1/4. Pp. 52. 13 diagrams. 7 plates. London: The National Council of Social Service, N.D. 3s 6d.

The Scottish Railway Network: A Project for Reconstructing the Scottish Railways according to certain New Railway Network Principles. By J. F. Pownall. 10×6. Map. Pp. 72. 5 figs. Birmingham: Cotterell and Co., 1946. 8s 6d.

Edinburgh. Photographs by S. W. Colyer. Foreword by Sir John I. Falconer, LL.D., W.S. 11 1/2 × 9 1/2. 33 reproductions in gravure, each with a commentary. London and Melbourne: Ward, Lock and Co. Ltd., 1947. 7s 6d.

English Country Crafts: A Survey of their Development from Early Times to Present Day. By Norman Wymer. 8 1/2 × 5 1/2. Pp. xi+116. 149 illustrations from photographs and drawings. London: B. T. Batsford Ltd., 1946. 12s 6d.

Epping Forest: Its Literary and Historical Associations. By William Addison. 8 1/2 × 5 1/2. Pp. xii+240. 32 illustrations. 2 maps. London: J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd., 1946. 12s 6d.

Sussex. By Reginald Turnor. 9×7. Pp. 48. Drawings by Michael Rothenstein. 53 photographs. 2 maps. London: Paul Elek (Publishers) Ltd., 1947. 9s 6d.

Severn Tide. By Brian Waters. 8 1/2 × 5 1/2. Pp. vii+183. 16 illustrations. Map. London: J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd., 1947. 15s.

Devon and Cornwall: A Preliminary Survey. By The Survey Committee of the University College of the South West, Exeter. Foreword by John Murray. 9 1/2 × 7. Pp. iv+318. 38 figs. 13 maps. 7 charts of industrial employment. Exeter: A. Wheaton and Co. Ltd., 1947. 31s 6d.

Rathlin Island. By Hugh Alexander Boyd. Foreword by Professor E. Estyn Evans, M.A., D.Sc. 7 1/2 × 5. Pp. 72. (The Birds of Rathlin Island, County Antrim. By Robert Patterson, M.B.O.U. Pp. 62–72.) 5 photographs. Map. Ballycastle, N.I.: J. S. Scarlett and Son, 1947. 3s.

Directory of Iceland for the Year 1948. Editor: Hilmar Foss. 8 × 5 1/2. Pp. 655. Reykjavik: Arbók Islands H.F. Twenty‐fifth edition, 1947.

Swedish Life and Landscape. By Edric A. Hille. 8 1/2 × 5 1/2. Pp. 151. 91 illustrations. London: Paul Elek (Publishers) Ltd., 1947. 12s 6d.

On Rock and Ice: Mountaineering in Photographs. By André Roch. Foreword by Frank S. Smythe. 9 3/4 × 8 1/4. Pp. xv. 81 photographs. London: Adam and Charles Black Ltd., 1947. 21s.

Switzerland: The Traveller's Illustrated Guide. 7 × 4 3/4. Pp. 259. 192 photographs. 24 five‐colour maps. 16 panoramas. Sketch maps and town plans. London: Faber and Faber Ltd. Second English edition, 1947. 18s.

A History of Portugal. By H. V. Livermore. 9×6. Pp. xvi+502. 13 plates. 7 maps. Cambridge: University Press, 1947. 36s.

Dust Upon the Sea. By W. E. Benyon‐Tinker. 8 3/4 × 5 5/8. Pp.216. 56 illustrations. 2 sketch maps. London: Hodder and Stoughton Ltd., 1947. 15s.

Moscow: Sketches on the Russian Capital. Translated from the Russian by Peggy Cochrane. 8 1/2 × 5 1/2. Pp. 126. London: Hutchinson and Co. (Publishers) Ltd., N.D. 15s.

ASIA

The Island of Cyprus: An Illustrated Guide and Handbook. Compiled and edited by L. and H. A. Mangoian. Foreword by A. H. S. Megaw. 8 1/4 × 5 1/2. Pp. xii +246. 205 illustrations. 9 sketch maps. Nicosia: Mangoian Brothers, 1947. 12s 6d.

The Cruel Way. By Ella K. Maillart. 8 1/2 × 5 1/2. Pp.217. 74 illustrations. Endpaper sketch maps. London and Toronto: William Heinemann Ltd., 1947. 18s.

Man‐Eaters of Kumaon. By Jim Corbett. Foreword by Lord Linlithgow. 8×5. Pp. xvii+212. 4 illustrations. End‐paper sketch maps. London: Oxford University Press, 1946. 10s 6d.

Persian Pictures. By Gertrude Bell. Preface by Professor A. J. Arberry. 8 1/2 × 5 1/2. Pp. 157. London: Ernest Benn Ltd. Third edition, 1947. 10s 6d.

AFRICA

The Romance of Rhodesia. By Ardaser Sorabjee N. Wadia, M.A. 9 3/4 × 7 1/2. Pp. xiv+146. 16 photographs. Sketch map. London: J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd., 1947. 21s.

Swartland and Sandveld: A Survey of Land Utilization and Soil Erosion in the Western Lowland of the Cape Province. By W. J. Talbot. Preface by H. J. van Eck, Chairman of the Social and Economic Planning Council. 9 1/2 × 7 1/4. Pp. xii+79. 59 figs. 7 plates. 2 maps. Cape Town: Geoffrey Cumberlege, Oxford University Press, 1947. 10s 6d.

Canada: A Study of Cool Continental Environments and their Effect on British and French Settlement. By Griffith Taylor, D.SC, B.E., B.A. 8 1/2 × 5 1/2. Pp. xv+524. 161 figs. 8 photographs. End‐paper map. London: Methuen and Co. Ltd., 1947. 25s.

Canada Moves North. By Richard Finnie. 8 1/2 × 5 1/2. Pp. 192. 65 illustrations. End‐paper maps. London: Hurst and Blackett Ltd., 1947. 21s.

Link to the North. By G. J. Tranter. 8×5 1/2. Pp.256. Frontispiece. End‐paper sketch map. London: Hodder and Stoughton Ltd., 1946. 12s 6d.

Britain and the West Indies. By Agnes M. Whitson, M.A., and Lucy Frances Horsfall, Ph.d. 7 1/4 V 5. Pp.87. 17 illustrations. End‐paper sketch maps. Pamphlets on the British Commonwealth, Second Series, No. 5. London: Longmans, Green and Co. Ltd., 1948. 1s 6d.

The Rise of the Spanish American Empire. By Salvador de Madariaga. 8 1/2 × 5 1/2. Pp. xx+408. 20 illustrations. End‐paper maps. London: Hollis and Carter Ltd., 1947. 21s.

BIOGEOGRAPHY

The Geography of the Flowering Plants. By Ronald Good, M.A. 10×6. Pp. 403. 71 figs. 16 photogravure plates. 9 maps. 295 references. London: Longmans, Green and Co. Ltd., 1947. 30s.

The Grasslands of North America: Prolegomena to its History. By James C. Malin. 8 1/2 × 5 1/2. Pp. vii+398. Bibliography: pp. 336–397. Lithoprinted. Lawrence, Kansas: James C. Malin, 1947. $3.00.

EDUCATIONAL

Industrial and Commercial Geography. By J. Russell Smith and M. Ogden Phillips. 9 1/2 × 6. Pp. xv+978. Graphs, maps, and diagrams. 50 tables. New York: Henry Holt and Co. London: Constable and Co. Ltd. Third edition, 1947. 30s.

Meteorology for All. By Irving Kohn. 8×5. Pp. vi+162. 68 figs. 8 photographs. New York: Barnes and Noble Inc., 1946. $2.00.

Prelude to Geology. By H. H. Kent, M.A. 7 1/4 × 4 3/4. Pp. 120. 12 figs. London: Ernest Benn Ltd., 1947. 6s.

Forestry. By H. L. Edlin, B.Sc. 8 1/2 × 5 1/2. Pp.48. 34 illustrations. Young Farmers’ Club Booklet No. 20. London: Pilot Press Ltd., n.d. 1s.

The New Oxford Geographies. Book IV, Part 2. The British Isles. By Jasper H. Stembridge. 7 1/2 × 5. Pp. viii+192. 82 figs. 12 plates. Four extracts from Ordnance Survey maps. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1947. 4s 6d.

The Story of Gibraltar. By H. W. Howes, M.A., M.Sc, Ph.d. Foreword by Lt.‐General Sir Thomas Ralph Eastwood, K.C.B., D.S.O., M.C. 7 1/2 × 5. Pp. 94. 16 plates. 2 sketch maps. London: Philip and Tacey Ltd., 1946. 4s.

Soviet Land: The Country, its People, and their Work. By G. D. B. Gray. 8×6. Pp. viii+324. 141 figs. 85 photographs. London: Adam and Charles Black Ltd., 1947. 12s 6d.

North America. By E. G. Ashton, m.a. 8×5. Pp. 394. 63 figs. 43 photographs. London: George G. Harrap and Co. Ltd. Revised and enlarged edition, 1947. 10s 6d.

The Pacific Basin: A Human and Economic Geography. By Gordon L. Wood, M.A., Litt.D., and Patricia Ross McBride, M.A. 7 1/2 × 5. Pp. xx+393. Frontispiece. 184 figs. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. Second edition, revised and enlarged, 1946. 12s 6d.

The Use of Aerial Survey in Forestry and Agriculture. By J. W. B. Sisam. 9 3/4 × 7 1/2. Pp. 59. 67 photographs. Imperial Agricultural Bureaux Joint Publication, No. 9. Oxford: Imperial Forestry Bureau; Aberystwyth: Imperial Bureau of Pastures and Field Crops. Aberystwyth: Imperial Agricultural Bureaux, Central Sales Branch, 1947. 7s 6d.