Transition From Wild to Domesticated Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum) Revealed in Ceramic Temper at Three Middle Holocene Sites in Northern Mali

Imprints of domesticated pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) spikelets, observed as temper in ceramics dating to the third millennium BC, provide the earliest evidence for the cultivation and domestication process of this crop in northern Mali. Additional sherds from the same region dating to the fifth and fourth millennium BC were examined and found to have pearl millet chaff with wild morphologies. In addition to studying sherds by stereomicroscopy and subjecting surface casts to scanning electron microscopy (SEM), we also deployed X-ray microcomputed tomography (microCT) on eleven sherds. This significantly augmented the total dataset of archaeological pearl millet chaff remains from which to document the use of the wild pearl millet as ceramic temper and the evolution of its morphology over time. Grain sizes were also estimated from spikelets preserved in the ceramics. Altogether, we are now able to chart the evolution of domesticated pearl millet in western Africa using three characteristics: the evolution of nonshattering stalked involucres; the appearance of multiple spikelet involucres, usually paired spikelets; and the increase in grain size. By the fourth millennium BC, average grain breadth had increased by 28%, although spikelet features otherwise resemble the wild type. In the third millennium BC, the average width of seeds is 38% greater than that of wild seeds, while other qualitative features of domestication are indicated by the presence of paired spikelets and the appearance of nondehiscent, stalked involucres. Nonshattering spikelets had probably become fixed by around 2000 BC, while increases in average grain size continued into the second millennium BC. These data now provide a robust sequence for the morphological evolution of domesticated pearl millet, the first indigenous crop domesticated in western Africa.

     

Early Islamic pigments at Nishapur,north-eastern Iran: studies on the painted fragments preserved at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pigments appearing on ninth–twelfth-century AD-carved stucco, wall painting, and terracotta friezes excavated at Nishapur in north-eastern Iran were investigated by optical reflectance spectroscopy, micro X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (μ-XRF), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), micro-Raman spectroscopy (μ-Raman), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Many of the pigments identified including vermilion, red lead, hematite, limonite, carbon black, atacamite, calcite, and gypsum have been identified in previous studies of pigments used in later Islamic periods. However, a series of unusual pigments such as wulfenite, pyromorphite, phoenicochroite, and jarosite were also found in the present study. The association of kaolinite and alunite with limonite and other Fe-bearing yellow pigments points to a local provenance for these pigments. In addition, the presence of orpiment in the vermilion may be indicative that the vermilion was artificially manufactured. These findings suggest that pigment use and manufacturing during the ninth to eleventh centuries in Nishapur was still in a trial-and-error stage and the palette known from the twelfth century onwards had not yet been systematized.     

Scurvy as a factor in the loss of the 1845 Franklin expedition to the Arctic: a reconsideration

In 1845, an expedition, commanded by Sir John Franklin, set out to discover the Northwest Passage. The ships entered the Canadian Arctic, and from September 1846 were beset in ice off King William Island. A note left by the expedition in May 1847 reported all was well, but by April 1848, 24 of the 129 men had died. The ice‐locked ships were deserted in April 1848, but the 105 survivors were so weakened that all perished before they could reach safety. The causes of the morbidity and mortality aboard the ships have long been debated, and many commentators have argued that scurvy was an important factor. This study evaluates the historical evidence for the likely effectiveness of anti‐scorbutic precautions taken on polar voyages at that time, and investigates whether the skeletal remains associated with the expedition provide evidence for scurvy. Skeletal remains available for study were carefully examined for pathological changes, and lesions potentially consistent with scurvy were subject to histological analysis. Where remains were no longer accessible, use was made of published osteological work. It is argued that the anti‐scorbutic measures customarily taken on mid 19^th century British naval polar voyages were such that there is no a priori reason to suppose that scurvy should have been a problem prior to the desertion of the ships. The analysis of the skeletal evidence provided little in the way of bony lesions consistent with the disease, and cannot therefore be used to support the presence of scurvy. Factors other than scurvy may been the main causes of morbidity and mortality in the 11 months prior to the desertion of the ships. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Study of interactions between polyethylene glycol and archaeological wood components by C high-resolution solid-state CP-MAS NMR

While use of polyethylene glycols, PEG, polymers for archaeological wood conservation has been well established, there is almost no study of such composite materials with carbon thirteen high-resolution solid-sate NMR. We demonstrate that NMR is an useful analytical tool to characterize rapidly samples of conserved wooden objects. By choosing an appropriate value of the contact time (from 3 to 5 ms) for which the PEG component gives only a small residual NMR signal in the CP-MAS experiment, it is possible to edit selectively the spectra of the wood components. It allows one to visualize the degradation extent of the archaeological wood even when the conservation processes have been already applied. Moreover, by studying the kinetics of CP-MAS experiments, the time constants, T_1ρH and T_CH values for PEG moiety were computed. From these data, it is shown that either in the crude commercial product or in incorporated in archaeological woods, two components are present and they are the signatures of crystalline (or ordered) and amorphous (or disordered) molecular domains. Moreover, it was shown in the archaeological woods that almost 30% of PEG was in close molecular interactions with lignins. This study is the first evidence that the PEG in conserved wood can interact at a molecular level with wood components. It also demonstrates that the PEG diffuses inside the residual cell walls of archaeological wood. This data are important for scientists in charge of process development for the conservation of wooden artifacts.     

Hallux Valgus among an 18th Century Population of the Canary Islands

Hallux valgus is defined as the lateral deviation of the great toe. It is considered a disease mainly related to the use of boots or shoes that constrict the foot. This process usually ensues along many years and is accompanied by changes at the metatarsophalangeal joint, which serve to make the diagnosis on bare bones. Diagnostic criteria include lateral deviation of the metatarsophalangeal joint (1), lateral subluxation of the first phalanx, degenerative changes of the sesamoid articular facets, and exostosis or remodelling of the medial tuberosity. Following other authors, we have defined hallux valgus as the presence of (1) and any of the other three criteria. In a series of the 18th century burials from the church La Concepción, in Tenerife, Canary Islands, we found 35 cases of hallux valgus out of the 117 cases for which necessary data for the diagnosis could be recorded (29.91%). A significant association was found between changes in the left toe and burial site near the altar, where priests and other people of the high social status were interred. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Paper 1: The Coudenberg Archaeological Site in Brussels: The Stakeholders Involved in the Renovation Process

Abstract

The last material evidence of the former Palace of Brussels, the Coudenberg archaeological site, is situated at the heart of the city, constitutes a remarkable part of its heritage, and has been listed as a legally protected monument. Following the redevelopment of the Royal Quarter in the eighteenth century, the successive archaeological discoveries of the last twenty-five years, and the progressive growth of the areas accessible to the public, the various components of the site have not all been preserved in the same condition. The work involved in developing such a complex has already necessitated considerable resources, and still requires more today. The owners, the City of Brussels and the Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the site’s managers, the not-for-profit association ‘Palais de Charles Quint’, are continuing their programme of developing, promoting, and preserving the remains in order to hand down this important historical evidence to future generations.