Temporal changes in diet: a stable isotope analysis of late Iron Age and Roman Dorset,Britain

This study investigates the relationship between diet and cultural change in late Iron Age and Romano-British populations from Dorset, England (1st century BC to the early 5th century AD). Dorset was the only region in Britain to exhibit continuity in inhumation burial rites through these periods and a wide array of environmental, archaeological and material culture evidence is available there. A sample of N = 77 human adult and N = 17 faunal rib samples were utilized for carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis to test the hypothesis that Romanization of the diet would result in greater dietary variation.     

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.     

Caught in the Middle: The State, NGOs, and the Limits to Grassroots Organizing Along the US–Mexico Border

NGOs across the world work on a daily basis to assist marginalized and working poor communities to meet their most basic needs. As NGOs take on the provision of many services that previously existed in the domain of the state, they enter into a contradictory relationship. As they work to improve these communities abandoned by the state, they can become the conduit whereby neoliberal state policy enters marginalized communities. Growing numbers of NGOs find that their primary sources of income come from donors and state agencies that share a propensity for neoliberal forms of governance. In the colonias, working poor Mexican communities, of the US Southwest, the triumvirate relationship among the state, NGOs, and grassroots leaders can create a disabling situation. I examine these cases, in which the neoliberal preference for self‐help projects and a focus on the fulfilment of individual needs can overshadow more collective forms of social change.     

Analysis of possible paleofecal samples from Pellejo Chico Alto,Peru: results and lessons

The analysis of four presumed paleofecal samples (coprolites) recovered from the Pellejo Chico Alto site in Peru is reported herein. The samples were processed using standard methods for paleofecal specimens but were discovered to be large pieces of intact tissue, rather than coprolites. While the results provided information regarding diet and cuisine at Pellejo Chico Alto, it also serves as an instructive lesson in the identification and analysis of paleofecal samples.     

First results on thermally induced porosity in chlorite cooking vessels from Merv (Turkmenistan) and implications for the formation and preservation of archaeological lipid residues

Excavations at the ancient city of Merv in Turkmenistan have yielded a significant assemblage of ceramic and stone vessel fragments from contexts dating to the Sasanian and medieval periods (5th–13th centuries AD). Many of the vessel fragments are encrusted with apparent food residue deposits offering scope for organic residue analysis and the potential to compare the use of these two very different vessel types. To enable meaningful comparison we sought to establish whether the vessel stone (a talc-chlorite schist) can absorb and preserve organic residues indicative of past use. This paper reports the first investigation to address this question using standard methods for archaeological residue analysis coupled with study of the properties of the schist fabric and basic absorption experiments. The results demonstrate that heating during cooking, even at relatively low temperatures, modifies the stone microstructure by increasing its porosity. These pores enhance the absorption capacity of the schist fabric such that chlorite cooking pots can absorb and preserve sufficient organic residue to reflect the original processing of foodstuffs, as has been previously demonstrated for ceramic fabrics. Comparison of pore capacity, archaeological residue yield and experimental absorption indicates the significance of pore-size distribution for the relative retention and preservation of organic residues in these fabrics. The results of this study indicate that a wider range of archaeological material may be suitable for absorbed residue analysis than has previously been recognised. The findings also challenge previous assumptions concerning the relationship between the properties of chlorite vessels and their mode of use in Central Asia and Near East in antiquity.