Diet and seasonality in the Lower Pecos: evaluating coprolite data sets with cluster analysis

This article presents an analysis of three previous coprolite studies from Hinds Cave (41VV456), Val Verde County, Texas (Edwards, 1990; Stock, 1983; Williams-Dean, 1978). Patterns of dietary consumption related to season, microhabitat exploitation and diet breadth are explored with the statistical techniques of the cluster analysis and Canonical Discriminant Function Analysis (CDA). Shafer (1988) has proposed a model of seasonal mobility for the Lower Pecos that suggests that Hinds Cave would be predominantly occupied in the late summer/early fall. The results of the current analysis support the view that the site was also occupied intermittently during the rest of the seasonal cycle, suggesting a flexible mobility strategy that responded to annual and seasonal fluctuations in resource availability.     

Finding the message in intricacy: The association of lithics and fauna on Lower Paleolithic Multiple Carcass Sites

This paper examines alternative models for the interpretation of Lower Paleolithic Multiple Carcass Sites based on analysis of the site of Holon, Israel. The nature of the lithic and faunal assemblages found at Holon are most consistent with a palimpsest site that represents repeated occupations of a marsh edge location by both hominids and carnivores, the remains of which have been moderated by natural agencies. It is argued that ambush hunting by hominids was likely to have been one of the activities involved in the accumulation of lithic and faunal remains on the site. A comparison of the lithic assemblage found at Holon with the lithic assemblages from Lower Paleolithic Single Carcass Sites suggest differences between the activities that took place on these sites and the type of activities that took place at Holon.     

The Lower Palaeolithic on the northern plateau of the Iberian Peninsula (Sierra de Atapuerca,Ambrona and La Maya I): a technological analysis of the cutting edge and weight of artefacts. Developing an hypothetical model

This article analyses the relationship between the weight and cutting edge of lithic artefacts from the main Lower Palaeolithic sites on the northern plateau (Meseta) of the Iberian Peninsula. The weight and cutting edge of a tool determine its cutting ability and the amount of force it is capable of, making them extremely important aspects of study to further our understanding of the potential capacity for human intervention in the environment. However, the analysis of these features has not received much attention in the ongoing debate on the Palaeolithic era in Europe. This study argues that the quantitative and qualitative technological analysis of these two aspects is of fundamental importance in determining the potential of lithic assemblages.     

Interpreting pachyderm single carcass sites in the African Lower and Early Middle Pleistocene record: A multidisciplinary approach to the site of Nadung’a 4 (Kenya)

Nadung’a 4 is one of the single carcass pachyderm sites recorded in East Africa during the Lower and Early Middle Pleistocene. The site has yielded an abundant lithic assemblage in close association with the partial carcass of an elephant. Conjoined pedological, geoarchaeological, spatial, technological, and taphonomical analyses have been carried out to address the relationship between hominids and elephant. The resulting data are consistent with a non-fortuitous association between both categories of remains. The lithic artefacts do not match a classical Acheulean tool-kit, as would be expected for the time period ascribed to the site, and the functional patterns inferred from their analysis make this site radically different from other purported butchery sites. The implications of these original features are discussed.     

乡村口述史的理论与实践——以笔者在农村的访谈为例

乡村口述史是围绕农村、农民而进行的口述史学研究。乡村口述史料的发掘不仅可以弥补县及县以下政府部门所藏文献资料的不足,还可以揭示出某些文献资料所不能记录的历史真相,使我们进一步了解历史的多维面相。但是乡村口述史的搜集、整理又是一项非常艰苦的工作,研究者必须具有克服困难的勇气、耐力与技巧。     

建国初期突发事件的应对机制——以1949年察北专区鼠疫防控为例

1949年10月,察哈尔省察北专区鼠疫的流行和蔓延是新中国成立后面临的一次重大的突发事件,我国政府沉着冷静,从容应对,首先摸清情况、认清形势,其次正确评估、科学论证,最后采取果断措施,建立了政治动员机制、组织决策机制和信息沟通机制,为后来新中国成功处理类似事件提供了借鉴,也为后来新中国的卫生防疫事业和社会进步事业打下了牢固基础。