Micro-photogrammetric and morphometric differentiation of cut marks on bones using metal knives,quartzite, and flint flakes

In a previous article, we presented an innovative method to analyze cut marks produced with metal tools on animal bones from a metrical and tridimensional perspective (Maté-González et al. 2015). Such analysis developed a low-cost alternative technique to traditional microscopic methods for the tridimensional reconstruction of marks, using their measurements and sections. This article presents the results of an experimental study to test this photogrammetric and morphometric method for differentiating cut marks generated with metal, flint, and quartzite flakes. The results indicate statistically significant differences among cut marks produced by these three types of raw material. These results encourage the application of this method to archeological assemblages in order to establish a link between carcass processing and lithic reduction sequences on different raw materials and also to define the kind of tools used during butchery.     

Kukulkanus,a new genus of buxtoniin brachiopod from the Artinskian–Kungurian (Early Permian) of Mexico

Torres-Martínez, M.A., Sour-Tovar, F. & Barragán, R., November 2017. Kukulkanus, a new genus of buxtoniin brachiopod from the Artinskian–Kungurian (Early Permian) of Mexico. Alcheringa 42, 268–276. ISSN 0311–5518.

Kukulkanus is the first genus of the tribe Buxtoniini recorded from rocks of the late Cisuralian (Artinskian–Kungurian). The Early Permian (Cisuralian) outcrops of the Santa Rosa Group, from southeastern Chiapas, are one of the most important marine Palaeozoic successions of Mexico. The Artinskian–Kungurian Paso Hondo Formation is the youngest unit in the succession and is dominated by massive limestone. Different marine invertebrates deposited in massive calcareous rocks characterize this formation. The buxtoniin Kukulkanus spinosus gen. et sp. nov. is reported from a single bed within the unit. The outcrops are located in southeastern Chiapas, very near the Guatemala–Mexico border. The lithological features and the preservation of fossils indicate that the fossil-bearing rocks were deposited in a low-energy open-waters paleoenvironment over the continental platform. Fusulinids, cephalopods and brachiopods previously described for the Paso Hondo Formation have been correlated with faunas of different coeval localities from Texas, New Mexico, Coahuila, Chiapas and Venezuela, regions that form part of the biotic Grandian Palaeo-Province.

Miguel A. Torres-Martínez [miguelatm@geologia.unam.mx] Departamento de Paleontología, Instituto de Geología, Circuito de la Investigación Científica, Avenida Universidad No. 3000. Colonia Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Delegación Coyoacán, Cd. Mx. C.P. 04510, Mexico. Francisco Sour-Tovar [fcosour@ciencias.unam.mx] Museo de Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Av. Universidad No. 3000, Colonia Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Delegación Coyoacán, Cd. Mx. C.P. 04510, Mexico. Ricardo Barragán [ricardor@geologia.unam.mx] Departamento de Paleontología, Instituto de Geología, Circuito de la Investigación Científica, Avenida Universidad No. 3000. Colonia Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Delegación Coyoacán, Cd. Mx. C.P. 04510, Mexico.     

A Critical Review of European and American Provisions for the Seismic Assessment of Existing Steel Moment-Resisting Frame Buildings

The publication of Part 3 of Eurocode 8 (EC8-3), dedicated to the seismic assessment of existing buildings, took place a decade ago. However, its application in engineering practice has been limited. Moreover, no studies have been conducted regarding the application of EC8-3 to steel structures. In this paper, a critical review and practical application of EC8-3 and ASCE41-13 are carried out. Issues related to the definition of the performance requirements, compliance criteria, and the consistency of the analysis procedures proposed by both standards are identified. Conceptual differences between both documents are highlighted, and several inconsistencies in EC8-3 are discussed.     

Agricultural Settlement and Ecological Crisis in the Ecuadorian Amazon Frontier

This article discusses several structural factors in the policy environment of Ecuador thought to determine the process of occupation by agricultural colonists of the country's segment of Amazonia and the emerging land settlement patterns in the region. These factors are fundamentally concerned with (a) national sovereignty interests over remote, peripheral territories characterized by low population density and ill-defined land ownership, (b) the reduction of demographic and social pressures in other regions of the country, and (c) the extension of the agricultural frontier. For economic and geopolitical reasons, the Ecuadorian state is likely to maintain a moderate and rather ineffectual set of incentives supporfted by the current legislation to allow the occupation of the Amazon region. Consequently, as migrants continue to flow into the easily degradable areas of the Amazon, and without increased population carrying capacity outrside the Amazon, some conversion of the rainforest environment of eastern Ecuador to other uses is certain to continue. A more detailed microlevel understanding of the interrelationship among factors influencing land-use decisions by settler farmers is needed to find policy-entry points.     

A Preliminary Scheme for the Economic Regionalization of Cuba

The authors propose a scheme of economic regionalization for Cuba, based on Soviet Marxist principles. These include the idea of objective existence of a region, independently of man's will; the need for considering future developmental prospects; energy supply; the prerequisites for integrated development of the regional economy; the presence of a regional specialization; maximum promotion of a geographical division of labor, and the factor of the country's defense capability. The resulting system of six regions in described.     

Smelting and recycling evidences from the Late Bronze Age habitat site of Baiões (Viseu,Portugal)

Many aspects of bronze production during Late Bronze Age in Western Europe are so far unknown. In the present study selected artefact fragments and metallurgical debris, which include a slag fragment, from the emblematic Late Bronze Age habitat site of Castro da Senhora da Guia de Baiões (Viseu, Portugal) have been studied by optical microscopy, micro-EDXRF, SEM–EDS and XRD. Evidences were found for bronze production involving smelting and recycling. Compositional analysis showed that the artefacts are made of a bronze with 13 ± 3 wt.% Sn (average and one standard deviation) and a low impurity pattern, namely <0.1 wt.% Pb, being comparable with the composition of other bronzes from the same region (the Central Portuguese Beiras). This alloy is generally different from elsewhere Atlantic and Mediterranean bronzes, which show frequently slightly lower Sn contents and higher impurity patterns, namely Pb which is often present as an alloying element. The present study gives further support to early proposals suggesting the exploration of the Western Iberian tin resources during Late Bronze Age, and besides that, it indicates that metalworking and smelting could have been a commonplace activity requiring no specific facilities, being bronze produced at a domestic scale in this Western extreme of Europe.     

Designated Public Festivals of Interest to Tourists

Event tourism is part of the appeal of a destination and an important contributor to the well-being of communities. This paper examines the festivals classified of interest to tourists by the Spanish Tourist Board. The declaration of Festivals of Interest to Tourists (FITs) is granted to those festivals which demonstrate cultural values and popular traditions, with special consideration to their ethnological characteristics and to their particular importance as a tourist attraction. These festivals provide new opportunities to attract visitors to the places where they are held. Local and regional policies can take advantage of the FITs in order to increase the appeal of a tourist destination. This paper details an exploratory analysis of FITs in Spanish provinces. This study aims to group the provinces according to the characteristics of their FITs. To this end, a cluster analysis is performed and the validity is established using the unbiased estimator out-of-bag.     

Tourism Planning in Sub-regional Destinations: Heterogeneity of the Tourist Experience on the Andalusian Coastal Municipalities

The present paper analyses tourist experience, studying the existing differences among geographical zones within a broader tourist destination with provincial character. Planning and management of tourist destinations must pay special attention to the maintenance and conservation of natural and artificial resources in tourist supply, attempting to improve their competitive position. Hence, this study compares several Andalusian coastal municipalities through different components of tourist supply. Among other obtained results, findings indicate the existence of significant differences in urban environments among the municipalities of Almeria, in beach quality among the municipalities of Cadiz and in accommodation among the municipalities of Malaga.     

Small preys and plant exploitation by late pleistocene hunter–gatherers. A case study from the Northeast of the Iberian Peninsula

The aim of this paper is to explain the subsistence strategies of late hunter–gatherers from the Northeast of the Iberian Peninsula on the basis of zooarchaeological and archaeobotanical records. The study is based on the Molí del Salt archaeological site which has yielded an Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sequence. Each of the disciplines shows us a various type of assemblage to approach the same problem. Archaeobotanical materials, including charcoal and seeds provide data on the strategies related to firewood gathering and vegetal food supply, which was a basic subsistence resource for these groups. The archaeobotanical assemblage is mainly formed by conifers, but other species related to edible plants are also important. Bone assemblage, mainly formed by Oryctolagus cuniculus, show how hunting and meat processing is highly related. The environmental constraints as well as mobility are discussed in order to achieve an ampler knowledge on human activities.