Bone damage patterns found in the avian prey remains of crested caracara Caracara plancus (Aves,Falconiformes)

The following paper presents the results of the analysis of the avian prey bones found in uneaten remains of crested caracara (Caracara plancus, Aves, Falconiformes) from La Pampa province, Argentina. Anatomical parts representation and taphonomic modifications were evaluated and compared to results of the evaluation of bone remains recovered from crested caracara’s pellets and to previous studies of other diurnal birds of prey. The results suggest a preferential consumption of some body parts of avian prey, as evidenced in the high frequency of wing elements in the uneaten prey remains. This analysis helps to support interpretative data concerning the origins of avian remains in the zooarchaeological and paleontological record, and contributes to the knowledge of a common predator found throughout diverse environments in South America.     

The extinct large cranes of the North-West palaearctic

Bones of a large crane, comparable in size with the Sarus Crane, Grus antigone, have been found in the Late Pleistocene of Britain and France, neolithic of Germany, and Bronze and Iron Age sites in Britain. They occur together with bones of the Common Crane, G. grus. On zoogeographical grounds these are unlikely to be referable to G. antigone, and the name G. primigenia Milne-Edwards 1896 is available for the species.G. melitensis, a crane of similar large size from the Eemian interglacial of Malta differs in having a narrower tendinal bridge on the distal tibiotarsus, and a small slender coracoid that suggests that the powers of flight may have been reduced. On present evidence it has no link with the previous species other than that of size.     

Pre‐Columbian Tuberculosis in Northwest Argentina: Skeletal Evidence from Rincón Chico 21 Cemetery

Systematic excavation of collective burial sites makes possible the recovery of skeletal series which may show bony evidence of infectious pathological conditions. This paper presents the first evidence of the existence of tuberculosis in prehistoric populations of NW Argentina with a subsistence economy based on agriculture and pastoralism. The study was carried out on individuals from Rincón Chico 21 cemetery, a burial site located in the Santa María Valley, Catamarca, used between the Late Ceramic Period and the onset of the Inca empire expansion (AD 1000–1400). Six individuals out of the 70 so far excavated showed destructive lesions in the vertebral bodies and periosteal reactions in other bones. The morphology and distribution of bone lesions led us to rule out several diseases from a broad spectrum of possible diseases that could have affected the skeletal system. Thus, the lesions were interpreted as caused by mycobacterial infections (Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex). Considering previous studies on the dynamics of biocultural interactions which take into account information related from contextual associations and chronology, we can conclude that a tuberculosis‐like disease was present in prehistoric populations from NW Argentina. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bronze Age Textiles from the North Caucasus: New Evidence of Fourth Millennium BC Fibres and Fabrics

Summary.   Textiles from the North Caucasus Majkop culture (3700–3200 cal BC) site of Novosvobodnaya were selected for a programme of examination. Wool, flax and cotton-like plant-fibre threads were identified. This is the oldest example of wool so far identified in the archaeological record. Weaving techniques employed in making the textiles included the use of tablets or discs, and a simple frame. In addition, two dyeing techniques using tannin dyes have been determined.     

Inscribed landscapes in the Black Desert: Petroglyphs and kites at Wisad Pools,Jordan

Petroglyphs are well known in the Negev, eastern and southern Jordan, and the Arabian Peninsula. Intensive documentation of hundreds of petroglyphs at the site of Wisad Pools in the Black Desert of eastern Jordan records animals, humans, hunting traps and geometric designs, connecting people and places to the larger landscape. These were recorded at the landscape scale with drones and photogrammetry, and the local scale through the construction of a database combined with GPS recording and terrestrial photogrammetry. Petroglyphs of animals and hunting traps are significant because the site is located within a landscape that includes enormous and enigmatic hunting traps (desert kites). Mapping these depictions highlights typological distribution, association of types, and relation to landscape features as well as the topography of the basalt boulders on which they were pecked. The depictions of animals and hunting traps provide clues about the use of desert kites, the social role of hunting, communal gatherings, and feasting in the region.