Amelogenesis imperfecta in an early 20th century population from central Portugal

This paper details the differential diagnosis of an unusual tooth morphology observed in two adult males from the identified osteological collections held at the Museum of Anthropology of the University of Coimbra, Portugal. The differential diagnosis is based on the morphological and radiographic analysis of the teeth of these individuals, and gives rise to several possible pathological conditions, namely: regurgitation erosion, mottled enamel due to fluorosis, dentinogenesis imperfecta, amelogenesis imperfecta, and osteogenesis imperfecta. Of these, amelogenesis imperfecta remains the most probable cause for one individual, and although dentinogenesis imperfecta was considered for the other based on the morphological features, the final diagnosis was changed to the former based on accurate radiological evidence. Since there are only a few reported cases of these conditions in the osteoarchaeological literature, we find it to be interesting and important to report these two cases. The scarcity of reports in the palaeopathological literature, compared with the prevalence of these tooth structure anomalies in living populations, lead us to consider amelogenesis imperfecta and dentinogenesis imperfecta to be probably misdiagnosed, and hence under‐reported. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Soviet rule,nation and film: the Kyrgyz ‘Wonder’ years

ABSTRACT. What happens if a community is encouraged to imagine itself visually when its political vessel is a modernising nation‐state within a multinational communist federation? Cinematic works, in their distillation of time and space, contribute to the kinds of imaginings that sustain nation‐states. How this cultural technology reflected and promoted nation‐building in the Soviet era is the subject of this article. It explores how the tensions within the diktat ‘national in form, socialist in content’ played out in practice in the Soviet cultural landscape of 1960s Kyrgyz film, dubbed by Soviet critics as a ‘wonder’.     

Migration of Mn-rich fluids through normal faults and fine-grained terrigenous sediments during early development of the Neogene Vallès-Penedès half-graben (NE Spain)

The Miocene siliciclastic sediments infilling the Vallès‐Penedès half‐graben are affected by two sets of structures developed during the extensional tectonics that created the basin. The first set, represented by extension fractures infilled with mud and sands, is attributed to seismically induced liquefaction. The second set, represented by normal faults, corresponds to a high‐permeability horsetail extensional fracture mesh developed near the surface in the hanging walls of normal faults. The incremental character of the vein‐fills indicates episodic changes in the tectonic stress state and fault zone permeability. Two episodes of fluid migration are recorded. The first episode occurred prior to consolidation and lithification when shallow burial conditions allowed oxidizing meteoric waters to flow horizontally through the more porous and permeable sandy layers. Development of clastic dikes allowed local upward flow and dewatering of the sandy beds. Liquefaction and expulsion of fluids were probably driven by seismic shaking. During the first episode of fluid migration there was no cementation of the sandstone or within the fractures, probably because little fluid was mobilized by the predominantly compaction‐driven flow regime. The second episode of fluid migration occurred synchronously with normal fault development, during which time the faults acted as fluid conduits. Fluids enriched in manganese, probably leached from local manganese oxyhydroxides soon after sedimentation, moved laterally and produced cementation in the sandstone layers, eventually arriving at the more porous and permeable fault pathways that connected compartments of different porosities and permeabilities. Carbonate probably precipitated in fractures saturated with meteoric water near the ground surface at a transitional redox potential. Once the faults became occluded by calcite cement, shortly after fault development, they became barriers to both vertical and horizontal fluid flow.     

CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF STUCCOS FROM A MEXICAN COLONIAL BUILDING: EL MUSEO DEL CALENDARIO OF QUERETARO*

Restoration requires the use of appropriate characterization methods and suitable new material preparation processes permit the reproduction of the original material to be as similar as possible in order to be an appropriate application method. The combination of these factors will facilitate a good restoration process. Different stuccos were taken from El Museo del Calendario, a building located in Querétaro, Mexico which was built in the 16th century. All the stucco samples were studied using the characterization process which is proposed in this article. The characterization method consisted of the use of analytical techniques, such as X‐ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared and scanning electron microscopy. This characterization method made reproduction of the original material possible. The new material combined with new application techniques developed in situ will result in a high‐quality restoration process.     

IS THE MACROSCOPIC CLASSIFICATION OF FLINT USEFUL? A PETROARCHAEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF FLINT RAW MATERIALS FROM THE IBERIAN NEOLITHIC MINE OF CASA MONTERO*

Casa Montero is a mining complex located outside Madrid (Spain), dated from the Early Neolithic (c. 5400–5000 cal bc ). An area of some 4 ha has been investigated and some 4000 shafts recorded, of which 324 have been excavated. The characterization of its raw flint materials and the establishment of its diagnostic features are indispensable in the reconstruction of the distribution of the mine's products beyond the immediate site. This work reports the geological study of the mine's Miocene flint layers and their petrological characterization. Archaeological samples from the mine's shafts were classified according to macroscopic features and petrological characteristics.     

Frontier Journeys. Fore Experiences on the Kuru Patrols.

ABSTRACT This paper explores the narratives of a group of Fore men recruited as youngsters to assist a succession of scientists to investigate kuru. Against a backdrop of European intrusion, the narrators recall their motivations to assist the scientists and describe their experiences on patrol. Reflecting on the hazards, challenges and adventures faced, these narratives draw attention to the extent to which the kuru scientists depended on their Fore assistants. However, while identifying many of their experiences as highlights of their youth, the narratives also uncover a negative undercurrent of disappointment and bitterness over unrealised youthful aspirations.     

The Palaeolithic of the Middle Son valley, north-central India: Changes in hominin lithic technology and behaviour during the Upper Pleistocene

The Middle Son valley in north-central India preserves extensive Quaternary alluvial deposits. A long history of archaeological and geological research in the valley has resulted in the discovery of lithic assemblages ranging from Lower Palaeolithic to microlithic, a rich corpus of fossilised faunal remains, and ash deposits from the 74,000 year-old Toba supereruption. This paper reviews the chronology and stratigraphy of the valley’s Quaternary sediments, and presents a model that hypothesizes the temporal sequence of important lithic assemblages from excavated and surface contexts. Artefacts in these assemblages are analysed and changes in lithic technology through time are described; this evidence is used to propose shifts in hominin behaviour and demographic structure in this region during the Upper Pleistocene. Recognising gaps in our understanding of the Middle Son record, future avenues of research are recommended that will build upon previous research and address questions of palaeoanthropological significance. The Middle Son valley preserves a long and rich record of hominin occupation from all periods of the Palaeolithic that is rarely paralleled by other sites in India.