Prehistoric dietary adaptations among hunter-fisher-gatherers from the Little Sea of Lake Baikal,Siberia, Russian Federation

Dietary adaptations of prehistoric hunter-gatherers from Neolithic and Early Bronze Age cemeteries in the Little Sea region of Cis-Baikal (the region to the west and north of Lake Baikal) are explored using stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen. Stable isotope data, including stable carbon isotopes from bone carbonate, are presented for 22 individuals from the site of Kurma XI, dated to approximately 6500 B.P. to 4000 B.P. Data are compared to previously analyzed individuals from the larger Early Bronze Age cemetery, Khuzhir-Nuge XIV (Katzenberg et al., 2009 JAS) and to smaller sites located along the shore of the Little Sea, including sites on Olkhon Island. An extensive collection of fauna, both prehistoric and modern, from the Little Sea and neighboring regions is also analyzed for stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen. Clear distinctions are found in modern fish recovered from the Little Sea, in contrast to those from the open waters of the lake and from the neighboring Angara and Lena rivers. Considerable variation is seen in stable carbon isotope ratios from fish while stable nitrogen isotope ratios are not as variable, regardless of habitat. Isotope source modeling is used to assist in reconstructing past dietary adaptations. While there is ample evidence from other studies for cultural change over this temporal span, diet appears to have been relatively stable.     

Hunter–gatherer migrations,mobility and social relations: A case study from the Early Bronze Age Baikal region,Siberia

A large data set of geochemical data (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, ¹⁴C, δ¹³C, and δ¹⁵N) was obtained for a middle Holocene Early Bronze Age Khuzhir-Nuge XIV cemetery (∼4650–3950 cal. BP) in the Baikal region of Siberia. This material is analyzed at the individual level and in the context of demographic data and spatial arrangements within the cemetery revealing a number of new insights about hunter–gatherer adaptive strategies in the region. During the Early Bronze Age, the Little Sea area of the Baikal region witnessed entire hunter–gatherer families migrating there from other parts of the Cis-Baikal, such as the Angara and upper Lena valleys. While all larger spatial units discernible at Khuzhir-Nuge XIV, such as the East, Centre, and West Sectors, scattered graves, and rows of graves, included individuals of local and non-local birth, it is evident that the area of origin was an important cultural variable well marked in the various smaller spatial arrangements such as the rows, sub-sectors, and groups of graves. The two different diets identified among the analyzed group of people (Game-Fish-Seal and Game-Fish) show interesting spatial distribution patterns. While both diets are present in the East and Centre Sectors, the West Sector is composed only of individuals characterized by the GFS diet. All locals subsisted on the GFS diet, while the non-locals featured a mix of individuals with either GFS or GF diet. It appears that status was not linked to the area of origin, for individuals of both local (GFS) and non-local diet (GF) were buried within the “rich” East Sector, however, in spatially separate arrangements suggesting further that the area of origin was an important social distinction among these high status individuals. The similarity in diet catchment patterns and diets for individuals interred in the same graves and row, and the differences between some rows, suggest existence of distinct foraging ranges used by separate social units, such as families.     

Psalm 1 als Tor zur Tora JHWHs. Wie Ps 1 (und Ps 2) den Psalter an den Pentateuch anschliesst

Wahrend Bezugnahmen von Ps 1 auf Passagen aus dem Korpus der “Nebiim” allgemein anerkannt sind, gilt dies nicht in demselben Masse im Blick auf die “Tora” (Pentateuch). Dass dem aber so ist, will dieser Essay nachweisen. Die Analyse der Eroffnungsverse zeigt, dass der Tora-Bezug namentlich uber Anspielungen an Passagen aus dem Deuteronomium hergestellt wird. Ein besonderer Stellenwert kommt dabei Dtn 6,4-9 (v.a. V. 7) zu—ein Text, der wie kaum ein anderer im Fruhjudentum bekannt war und damit als Verstehenshintergrund von Ps 1,1-2 entsprechend wiedererkannt werden konnte. Affinitaten ergeben sich ferner zu Dtn 17,14-20 und Dtn 33,29, die noch verstarkt werden, wenn die Verklammerung (Makarismus- Inclusio) des weisheitlichen Ps 1 mit dem koniglichen Ps 2 mitbedacht wird. Mit Ps 1(-2) als bewusst gesetzter “Bucheroffnung” wird nicht nur eine Lesesteuerung in den Psalter hinein (Innenraum), sondern zugleich eine Anbindung an bereits vorliegende autoritative Schriftgestalten bezweckt (“Aussenraum”). Insofern kann in kanontheologischer Perspektive hinsichtlich Ps 1 vom “Tor zur Tora JHWHs” gesprochen werden, da er nicht nur die Funfbucher Davids (Psalter) einleitet, sondern diese zugleich an die Funfbucher Moses (Pentateuch) zuruckbindet.     

A Review of: “Michael Hagner,Geniale Gehirne. Zur Geschichte der Elitegehirnforschung”

Charcot and Pasteur were scientific contemporaries, but their relationship has not been extensively studied. We analyzed available source documents from the Charcot Library, Bibliothèque Nationale, Institute Pasteur, and Pasteur Library. These documents demonstrate that in spite of geographical proximity, international and local recognition, Charcot and Pasteur largely pursued their careers independent of one another. Although the Paris scientific climate was one of active debate, Pasteur's and Charcot's interactions remained distanced but mutually respectful and did not descend into rivalry or contention. With different primary interests and different etiological views, side by side, they exemplified two models of French medicine at the close of the nineteenth century: medical scientist and scientific physician.     

A comprehensive numerical chronology for the pre-Columbian cultures of the Palpa valleys,south coast of Peru

Before the arrival of the Spaniards in Peru in 1532, many different societies flourished in the coastal desert of southern Peru. Of these, one of the best known is the Nasca culture (living in the area between about 260 cal BC and 640 cal BC.), which created the famous geoglyphs on the desert floor. In this paper we present a numerical chronology for the cultural development in the valleys of Palpa, in the northern part of the Nazca region, which spans the time from the Archaic Period (starting there around 3760 cal BC) to the Late Intermediate Period (terminating with the arrival of the Spaniards in 1532 AD). The chronology is based on more than 150 ¹⁴C samples collected by our project from well-documented archaeological excavations of 17 different sites in and around Palpa. Thanks to the advanced AMS-¹⁴C dating technique, demanding only few milligrams of organic material, we could focus on samples of plants, like beans, corn, or reed, representing single years of growth or use, and also on delicate materials like straw from clay bricks (adobe) and textiles. All single ¹⁴C dates were combined to cultural phases using a Bayesian statistical model, implementing the a priori information of the archaeological contexts, and adopting the relative ceramic chronologies available for this area.     

At the nexus of academia and activism: bordermonitoring.eu

Abstract

This paper discusses the question of militant research from a perspective of critical knowledge production. In reference to our work on Dublin II and the European border regime, we discuss controversial issues, pitfalls and challenges we have encountered during out research and campaign activities. Among these are the strategic use of courts and a human rights language, differing modes of knowledge production between activism and academia and the issue of wage. The paper includes a discussion of the current place Asylum holds in the European border and migration regime from a historical and governmental perspective.     

Salomon Henschen's short-lived project of an "Academia Neurologica Internationalis" (1929) for the revival of the International Brain Commission: documents from the Cecile and Oskar Vogt archives

In 1929, at the age of 82, the Swedish neurologist Salomon Henschen (1847-1930) planned an Academia Neurologica Internationalis. The exchanged letters with Cecile and Oskar Vogt suggest that there was a great number of neuroscientists internationally who approved of the project. However, during three months of preparation, the initial skepticism increased and, although the invitation to the conference had already been printed, it had to be revoked. The endeavors to revive the Brain Commission failed. Two other projects nonetheless did take shape: the founding of one of the largest and most modern brain research institutes in 1931 by the Vogts and the first International Neurological Congress in Berne that same year. For decades, the Brain Commission remained without successors until the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) was founded in 1961.     

La DéontoLogie Ethnographique À l’Épreuve du Documentaire

This article offers a comparison of the legal suits filed by the interviewees against the director of the documentary être et avoir (to have and to be) with the rights of interviewees in ethnographic investigations, focusing particularly on image copyrights and labor law. To say that interviewees contribute to such investigations in anonymity does not solve the main problem - they are crucial to the investigation, marginal to the analysis, and then are assigned no publication credits. While information about the interviewees should remain confidential, this article argues, that contribution and role in the making of a publication should not be ignored.