Subterranean transport and deposition of quartz by ants in sandy sites relevant to age overestimation in optical luminescence dating

An artificial layered sandy site was created using a combination of native sand and colored sand (3 parts native uncolored quartz, 1 part colored quartz) in Apalachicola National Forest near Tallahassee, Florida. Twelve layers of sand, each 1 by 1 m in horizontal extent by 10 cm in thickness were emplaced to a depth of 2 m followed by implantation at the surface of a Florida harvester ant (Pogonomymrex badius) colony (the lower two layers were 50 cm thick). The colony excavated a nest, and after 7 months, the sand layers were excavated to the base to test the hypothesis that sand grains were moved upward within the ant nest without reaching the surface. The ants penetrated 11 of the 12 colored layers reaching a depth of 130 cm. Thirty nine sticky-acetate peels of ant chamber floors were collected and colored sand grains were counted under a microscope. More than 16,000 grains were identified in layers that did not originally host them. Of these, more than 80% were unambiguously moved upward. This means that possibly as many as 54,000 upwardly mobile grains were present (ratio of 3:1 uncolored to colored). In relation to optical luminescence (OSL) dating, this means that grains that would not have been optically zeroed by transport to the surface (defined here as subterranean-transported) were present in abundance, and that if the site was ancient, there would have been found many grains that were older than the layers they presently reside in, even if only one colony of harvester ants had disturbed the layers. This is in addition to the fact that backfilling of chambers and tunnels may contribute even more significantly to the presence of a subterranean-transported component of an OSL sample. We conclude that ants can significantly affect the age distributions in sandy archaeological sites. Multiple examples of such disturbances have been documented in the literature. Most relevant to our results are recent studies of the OSL chronology of Pre-Clovis-age and Palaeoindian age archaeological sites in sandy environments in North America that may have been compromised by ant bioturbation of quartz sand grains. Here we have examined in detail the potential effects of one episode of ant nest-building on the age overestimation of affected sediments. From this we found that as few as 12 episodes of bioturbation involving backfilling of chambers in the same volume of sand could lead to the presence of 1 contaminant grain per 50 grains of sample.     

The consequences of Wari contact in the Nasca region during the Middle Horizon: archaeological,skeletal, and isotopic evidence

During the Middle Horizon (AD 650–1000), the Wari polity expanded its sphere of control in various regions of the Andes, including Nasca on the south coast of Peru. The nature of the interaction between Wari and local communities varied. This study explores the consequences of Wari contact in the Nasca region at the site of La Tiza, which includes individuals dated to the Early Intermediate, Middle Horizon, and Late Intermediate periods. Using evidence for burial ritual along with demographic, paleopathological and isotopic data, population composition, mobility, diet, and health are investigated. δ¹³C data indicate a relatively stable diet through time at La Tiza with evidence for continued maize consumption, and paleopathological results indicate health problems associated with this type of diet. δ¹⁸O and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr data suggest that most of the individuals buried at La Tiza were local to the area. However, two female adults from the Middle Horizon burials are characterized as nonlocal based on δ¹⁸O and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values and several individuals overlap with the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr local range for the Wari heartland. In conjunction with the use of new tomb types during this period these results highlight the ideological and populational changes occurring with Wari contact at La Tiza.     

Struggles of recognition: adverse effects of China’s living human treasures program

ABSTRACT

Heritagization processes have resulted in struggles of recognition across the globe. Scholarly work has demonstrated that determining what and whose cultural architecture, objects and practices are to be considered ‘heritage’ results in inclusion and exclusion effects which deprive some individuals, communities or ethnic groups of recognition. Many of these studies build on Western theories of recognition as developed by Axel Honneth or Nancy Fraser. However, due to the Western origin of these theories and – in most cases – application to democratic nation-states, the question arises whether Western theories of recognition can in fact be applied to non-Western authoritarian states. Taking the Chinese LHT system, the so-called ‘representative ICH Inheritor program,’ as a case study, I explore to what extent Western theories of recognition explain struggles of recognition in PR China. I argue that while these theories are useful in explaining the effects and purposes underlying struggles of recognition, authoritarian regimes like China may exacerbate struggles of recognition since their ‘institutional patterns of value recognition’ can more openly and forcefully use recognition and misrecognition as a tool to foster political and economic objectives. However, citizens respond by resigning, contesting or circumventing official decision-making processes.     

Isotopic anthropology of rural German medieval diet: intra- and inter-population variability

This study investigates the diet of an eleventh century CE parish community located in northwestern Germany. We assessed the isotopic compositions of human (n = 24) and faunal (n = 17) bone collagen (δ ¹³C_col, δ ¹⁵N_col) and human structural carbonate (δ ¹³C_sc) using skeletal material recovered from the Dalheim cemetery. Traditional interpretation of the isotopic data indicates that Dalheim residents likely relied on a C₃ plant-based diet and consumed some terrestrial animal products without evidence of marine resource input in the diet. Bivariate and multivariate models used as an additional means to assess diet indicate minor consumption of C₄ plant foods in this community. The multivariate-isotope model identified regional similarities and differences in C₄ plant/marine food consumption and in dietary protein sources by comparing data from Dalheim with those of other medieval sites from the published literature. We did not observe sex differences in this population but differences in δ ¹⁵N_col suggest that juveniles consumed the lowest trophic level protein.     

ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE SEARCH FOR HOMERIC ITHACA: THE CASE OF MYCENAEAN KEPHALONIA

This short article on a large subject is presented as a tribute to Klavs Randsborg, because of his involvement in the 1990s with the archaeology of Kephalonia at the time of the resurgence of the debate over the identification of the island with Homeric Ithaca, to which he himself contributed some thoughts. It briefly traces the history of the controversy about the Homeric geography and topography from its origins and discusses the evidence that has made Kephalonia a contender for the homeland of Odysseus. The intention is not to offer yet another hypothesis about the location of Homeric Ithaca, but to consider and question the role of archaeology in the debate, in view of the high expectations of Homeric realists.     

Cosmic negotiations: Cahokian religion and Ramey Incised pottery in the northern hinterland

Cahokia’s cultural influence altered patterns of social organization throughout the Midwest, and this complex historical process warrants further interregional research. Ramey Incised jars were cosmograms through which Cahokians attempted to frame relationships among different social groups and the broader cosmos. The exchange, and subsequent emulation, of these ritually charged vessels provided opportunities for hinterland groups to do the same. But did hinterland Mississippian peoples adopt a Cahokian understanding of the cosmos wholesale or reinterpret it based on local understandings and histories? To address this question, this paper examines variation in Ramey Incised iconographic motifs and design fields from the Lower Illinois River valley, Central Illinois River valley, Apple River valley, and the Aztalan site (47JE1). The data are then statistically compared with Emerson’s typology from the American Bottom, highlighting ground-level patterns of material variation which can be used to interpret the ways in which local peoples negotiated the spread of dominant ideologies and religious practices. Analysis of these patterns suggests regional differences in the perceived composition and structure of the cosmos and reveals the power of local worldviews in culture contact scenarios.