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.     

Dealing with Sustainability Trade-Offs of the Compact City in Peri-Urban Planning Across European City Regions

The compact city has become a leading concept in the planning of peri-urban areas. The compact city concept is often advocated as “sustainable” because of claims that include lower emissions and conservation of the countryside. The literature shows, however, that there are certain trade-offs in striving for compaction, especially between environmental and social aspects of sustainability. In this article, we describe expressions of the compact city concept in the planning practice of several European urban sample regions, as well as policies and developments that contradict the compact city. We look at examples of positive and negative impacts of the compact city that were observed in the sample regions. Further, we discuss attempts by planners to deal with sustainability trade-offs. Being aware that developments in the peri-urban areas are closely connected to those in the inner city, we compare the sample regions in order to learn how the compact city concept has been used in planning peri-urban areas across different contexts in Europe: in Western, Central and Mediterranean Europe, and with growing, stable or declining populations. We conclude with recommendations with respect to balance in applying the compact city concept.