Human Palaeoecological Interactions and Owl Roosting at Tron Bon Lei,Alor Island,Eastern Indonesia

We report on tetrapod (Reptilia, Amphibia, Mammalia, Aves) vertebrates recovered during excavations at Tron Bon Lei rockshelter on the south coast of Alor Island, eastern Indonesia. These include both archaeological specimens recovered from a 1 m² test pit dating from ～21 kya cal BP to the late Holocene, and a modern eastern barn owl deposit recovered nearby. To discern between the depositional processes that accumulated the small numbers of micro- and macrovertebrate remains from the archaeological deposits, the taphonomic signature of the natural assemblage was quantified and compared to the archaeological record. The taphonomic data indicates that the tetrapod archaeofaunal remains are a combination of barn owl predation of microfauna and human predation of larger fauna. This approach provides new information on human-tetrapod interactions on Alor in Wallacea during the late Quaternary, including an apparent increase in cave site use and hunting intensity during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, sea turtle butchery and probable transport, and extinctions of previously unknown giant to large rat species.     

A Hierarchical Flow Capturing Location Problem with Demand Attraction Based on Facility Size,and Its Lagrangian Relaxation Solution Method

This article presents a hierarchical flow capturing location problem (HFCLP) and proposes an effective Lagrangian heuristic solution method. The original flow capturing location problem (FCLP) aims to locate a given number of facilities on a network to maximize the total flow that can be serviced at facilities along their preplanned routes, such as daily commute to work. We extend the original model to allow a decision maker to select the size of facilities among m different size alternatives. Larger facilities are assumed to be more attractive and, therefore, can attract more customers, but they cost more to construct than smaller ones. Customers deviate from their preplanned routes to access a facility's service when the size of the facility is sufficiently large. The degree of deviation from the original path is measured by the additional distance customers have to go to access facilities, and the acceptable deviation distance becomes larger as the size of a facility increases. This article presents a new problem in which the number of facilities of each size and their locations are simultaneously determined so as to capture as much flow as possible within the total budget available for locating all facilities. We present an integer programming formulation of the problem and devise a Lagrangian relaxation solution method. The proposed algorithm is tested using road networks with 300 and 500 nodes. The results show that the method produces high‐quality solutions in a fairly short time. Este artículo presenta un problema de localización de captura de flujo jerárquico (hierarchical flow capturing location problem‐HFCLP) y propone un método heurístico eficiente de tipo Lagrange (lagrangian). En su formulación original el HFLCP tiene como objetivo localizar un número determinado de instalaciones en una red con el fin de maximizar el flujo total que puede ser atendido por las instalaciones existentes a lo largo de rutas preestablecidas, como en el caso por ejemplo, de los desplazamientos diarios del lugar de residencia al de trabajo. Los autores amplían el modelo original para permitir que el tomador de decisiones seleccione el tamaño de las instalaciones entre “m” alternativas. Se asume que las instalaciones más grandes son más atractivas que las más pequeñas y, por lo tanto, pueden atraer a más clientes, pero a la vez, son también más costosas de construir. Los clientes se desvían de su ruta preestablecida para acceder al servicio de una instalación cuando el tamaño de la instalación es lo suficientemente grande. El grado de desviación de las rutas se mide por la distancia adicional que los clientes viajan para acceder a las instalaciones. La distancia de desviación aceptable se hace más grande en relación al tamaño de la instalación. En este artículo se presenta un nuevo modelo para el HFLCP en el que el número de las instalaciones de cada tamaño y su ubicación son determinadas simultáneamente con el fin de capturar la mayor cantidad de flujo dentro del presupuesto total disponible para la localización de todas las instalaciones. Los autores presentan una formulación de programación entera (integer programming) del HFCLP e implementan un método que relaja la solución lagrangiana. El algoritmo propuesto es evaluado utilizando redes viales con 300 y 500 nodos. Los resultados muestran que el nuevo método produce soluciones de alta calidad y en tiempos de computación relativamente cortos. 本文介绍了一种分层的截流选址问题 (HFCLP),提出了一个有效的拉格朗日启发式解决方法。最初的截流选址问题(FCLP)目标是在网络上布局给定数量的设施使总流量最大,使按预定路线的行进流可以获得最大的服务,如每日的工作通勤。本文对原始模型进行扩展,让决策者可在不同的设施规模选择方案中进行规模选择。假设更大规模设施具有更大的吸引力,因此也能够吸引更多的客户,但同时也需要更多的建造成本。当设施规模足够大时,消费者会选择偏离预定路径而进入该设施的服务范围。对原始路径的偏离程度可通过用户进入该设施所增加的额外距离度量。可接受的偏差距离随着设施规模增大而增大。本文提出了在总预算确定条件下,同步确定不同规模设施数量及其位置以实现截取最大流量的新问题,并给出了该问题的整数规划方法,设计了拉格朗日松弛解法。通过300和500个节点的网络测试,结果显示该算法可在相当短时间内获得高质量的解决方案。     

Reaping ‘rewards’ in sickle use-wear analysis

Recently in their research Goodale et al. (2010) as well as that of Vardi et al. (2010) independently tackled issues of effectively measuring attrition/gloss rates on sickle blade tools from Southwest Asia. Interestingly, while applying new methodology to analyzing sickle tools from different cultural and temporal contexts, these two papers arrived at a similar conclusion: sickle tools were likely very expensive to make, and thus, considerations were made during their production to ensure long use-lives to benefit the people who made and used them in prehistory. Stemp et al. (in this issue) provide a methodological critique of both studies. In addressing their critique we make several points. First it is important to note that Stemp et al. provide no new experimental analysis to justify their assertions, and their critique is ultimately, at best, guesswork. Second, the minimal reanalysis of the data Stemp et al. do conduct arguably lead to the same preliminary conclusion at which we originally arrived: the prehistoric sickle blades we examined were used longer than those we replicated. As stated in our original paper, lithic use-wear studies often do not address issue of reliable and reproducible methods. We believe that our original study helps fill this missing component, and that measuring edge thickness is much less subjective than conventional features on stone tools traditionally identified microscopically. From our perspective, Stemp et al. present largely unsupported critical commentary, lacking substantial reanalysis or experiments to complement or justify their commentary. In the end Stemp et al. provide little more than interesting ideas and conjecture.     

An Ethnographic and Space Syntax Analysis of Benin Kingdom Nobility Architecture

The Benin kingdom is noted for its sophisticated brass art, large earthwork system, and complex political hierarchy. The kingdom style of nobility architecture has endured for hundreds of years, and a few structures may still date to ca. ad 900–1200. The complex floor plans of these large compounds appear to be based upon traditional kingdom social organization that is fast changing, however. Since most structures are still residences, some renovated, a study utilizing both ethnographic fieldwork and the technique of space syntax analysis proved useful to examine historical room meanings and functions and room access. This paper discusses a particular World Heritage site, Ogiamien’s Palace, and other Benin kingdom chieftaincy sites. It describes the symbolic and ritual meanings of residential room use and room plans that on observation show seemingly wide layout variation. The results of the cultural analysis are then compared against the permeability plans and the quantitative formulas of space syntax analysis, to confirm the traditional social nature of spatial use in chieftaincy palaces of the former kingdom and suggest an adherence to an underlying ideological paradigm. This paper takes the additional step of employing the software GraphPad Prism to determine real correlations among calculated values; the results indicate a strong cognitive consistency of design and use for the structures over time in spite of visible layout variability.     

Sex ratios and life tables: Historical demography of the age at which women outnumber men in seven countries, 1850–2016

Abstract

The male/female sex ratio (SR) and its age-specific patterns vary considerably across time and place. The SR generally begins male-biased at birth and becomes female-biased later in life, but this relationship should respond to historical trends and events. Temporal trends in SRs remain largely unstudied and formal demographic relationships are not well defined. We (1) define SRs in a life table framework, (2) estimate the age at which the number of males and females achieves parity—the sex ratio crossover (SRX)—using basic life table methods, and (3) explore historical and international patterns in these trends. Using publicly-available data from the Human Mortality Database, we construct SR and SRX measures from period and cohort life tables. Analyses explore temporal patterns for seven countries in different global regions since 1850. Overall temporal trends show the SRX advancing to older ages. The SRX also appears to respond to historical events such as wars and epidemics. The measure is simple to construct from life table data, and provides additional insight into the historical context of gender dynamics.