Carnivores as zoonotic parasite reservoirs in ancient times: the case of the Epullán Chica archaeological cave (Late Holocene,northwestern Patagonia,Argentina)

Zoonoses are currently considered as one of the most important threats for Public Health worldwide. Numerous zoonoses known today have occurred since antiquity. Carnivores act as definitive hosts for many intestinal parasites; some of them are responsible for several zoonotic diseases. The aim of this work was to study the parasite remains found in coprolites assigned to carnivores from the archaeological site Epullán Chica (ECh) and to discuss the results from a zoonotic point of view. ECh is located in northwestern Patagonia, Argentina and was occupied since the end of the Late Holocene (～2200 years B.P.). Nine coprolites were examined for parasites. Samples were processed by rehydration in a 0.5 % water solution of trissodium phosphate, followed by homogenization, filtered and processed by spontaneous sedimentation. The macroscopic remains were separated and dried at room temperature and were examined for diet analysis. Six out of 9 coprolites examined were positive for parasites. Representatives of at least 10 parasite taxa were registered. Results are in line with the reconstruction of the scenario of zoonoses in the past and the diseases that the human populations and animals from Patagonia could be exposed. The present study provides the first palaeoparasitological report of carnivore coprolites recovered from the archaeological site Ech and reflects contamination of the cave used by hunter-gatherers with different parasites causative of zoonotic diseases.     

Diverse lifestyles and populations in the Xiaohe culture of the Lop Nur region,Xinjiang, China

The archaeological culture found in Xiaohe Cemetery (1980–1450 BC) is one of the early Bronze Age cultures in Xinjiang, northwestern China. The material assemblages from Xiaohe culture display features with both eastern and western influences. These east-west cultural and dietary interactions may be observed via the diet of the Xiaohe population. This paper examined the stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes of human and animal bones and human hairs from the Xiaohe Cemetery and compared with those of human bones from the Gumugou Cemetery, another Xiaohe culture site. The results indicate that the diets of the peoples from the Xiaohe culture varied significantly over different periods. The unified diets of the earlier periods reflect that an admixed population first settled in the Lop Nur region and primarily engaged in animal husbandry. In the later periods, the transformations in the human diets in this region reflect that new immigrants constantly relocated here and promoted population complexity over time. Moreover, this population occasionally produced small quantities of domesticated wheat and millet. The complex population and diversified economy of the Xiaohe culture were due to the expansion of the coeval cultures in the Eurasian steppe and eastern immigrants. Additionally, the millet cereal was probably mainly used for ritual practices rather than for staple food in the later periods.     

Archaeological Explorations of Cultural Identity and Rural Economy in the North of Ireland: Goodland,County Antrim

Renewed examination of an enigmatic settlement site perched atop a cliff above Murlough Bay in Goodland Townland, County Antrim, Northern Ireland calls into question long held ideas about Gaelic rural economy on the eve of the Ulster Plantation by reintroducing the complex cultural and political relationships between the north of Ireland and the Scottish isles. Long interpreted as temporary post-medieval booley huts associated with seasonal transhumance, recent re-evaluation of the site suggests instead that Goodland represents a permanent seventeenth-century Highland Scottish village. Although the medieval linkages between the north of Ireland and the Scottish isles have long been acknowledged, twentieth-century sectarianism has subjugated awareness of the Highland (Roman Catholic) Scots focusing upon the legacy of the in-migration of Protestant Lowland Scots during the Ulster Plantation. Material evidence at Goodland re-introduces the Highland Scot to the contested landscape of contemporary Ulster identity, while also facilitating analysis of continuity, change, and cultural complexity in the rural economy of early modern Ireland.     

Wild Cattle: Red Deer in the Religious Texts,Iconography, and Archaeology of Early Medieval Ireland

Humans use animals as a means of creating and manipulating relationships with other human beings. This process occurs both through the use of animals for food or raw materials and through the use of animals as literary and artistic symbols. Cervus elaphus is Irelands only indigenous deer species. It is also unique in being the only native Irish, wild animal to appear frequently in medieval texts, iconography, and archaeological deposits. This paper brings together diversesources of information to illuminate how early medieval monasteries used reddeer to establish an identity for themselves and to conceptualize socioeconomic relationships with others.     

DOES AGGLOMERATION MATTER EVERYWHERE?: NEW FIRM LOCATION DECISIONS IN RURAL AND URBAN MARKETS*

We test whether commonly used measures of agglomeration economies encourage new firm entry in both urban and rural markets. Using new firm location decisions in Iowa and North Carolina, we find that measured agglomeration economies increase the probability of new firm entry in both urban and rural areas. Firms are more likely to locate in markets with an existing cluster of firms in the same industry, with greater concentrations of upstream suppliers or downstream customers, and with a larger proportion of college‐educated workers in the local labor supply. Firms are less likely to enter markets with no incumbent firms in the sector or where production is concentrated in relatively few sectors. The same factors encourage both stand‐alone start‐ups and establishments built by multiplant firms. Commuting decisions exhibit the same pattern as new firm entry with workers commuting from low to high agglomeration markets. Because agglomeration economies are important for rural firm entry also, policies encouraging new firm entry should focus on relatively few job centers rather than encouraging new firm entry in every small town.     

清代泉州晋江沿海商人的乡族特征

Along with the promotion of Taiwan’s economic status in the mid-Qing Dynasty and the expansion of trade with the mainland, the merchants of Jinjiang County of Quanzhou Prefecture in the Qing Dynasty developed a business model focused on the growing cross-strait trade and coastal shipping in Southeast China. The success of these coastal traders in business was closely related to their full use of family and lineage. However, the links of family and lineage, at the same time, were problematical for these businessmen when exploiting economic opportunities. These complex family and lineage ties could either promote or obstruct the development of commercial capital depending on specific situations. Thus, the traditional argument that the family and lineage system hindered socio-economic development should be re-examined.     

Alternative Zuliefersysteme im Brauereisektor – Regionalmodelle des Braugerstenbezugs in Bayern

Standort - Seit Jahrzehnten wird Bier größtenteils in standardisierten Wertschöpfungsketten produziert, wobei die Kontexte der Rohstofferzeugung kaum mehr nachvollziehbar erscheinen....