A rallying point for different predators: the avian record from a Late Pleistocene sequence of Grotte des Barasses II (Balazuc,Ardèche,France)

The presence of processed birds in the archeological faunal record is considered key to assessing human dietary evolution. Taphonomic studies on birds from sites older than Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2 have become relevant in the last few years, leading to the proposal of more complex scenarios of human subsistence. Several works have demonstrated direct evidence of bird consumption by Homo prior to anatomically modern humans in Europe; however, others support the hypothesis of non-anthropogenic bird accumulations. This has led to the necessity of determining what elements or factors cause the human exploitation of birds in some archeological sites before the end of the Pleistocene. The Grotte des Barasses II site is located within this framework. Short-term human occupations have been attested by the presence of lithic tools and processed macrofaunal remains. Additionally, a small assemblage of bird bones has also been recovered. Here, we present a detailed taphonomic study with the aim of exploring possible relationships between these avian taxa and human occupations. Despite the fact that Neanderthals inhabited the cave, avian specimens show damage pointing to different causative agents. Direct evidence (digestion, gnawing) indicates that mammalian carnivores and nocturnal raptors were mainly involved in the accumulation of bird bones. We propose some factors that might determine whether or not small game was exploited in this specific locality and emphasize the importance of such analytical approaches in the general interpretations of the Pleistocene sites.     

A Ticking Clock? Preservation and Management of Greenland’s Archaeological Heritage in the Twenty-First Century

ABSTRACT

Evaluating the rate of deterioration at archaeological sites in the Arctic presents several challenges. In West Greenland, for example, increasing soil temperatures, perennial thaws, coastal erosion, storm surges, changing microbial communities, and pioneer plant species are observed as increasingly detrimental to the survival of organic archaeological deposits found scattered along the country’s littoral zones and extensive inner fjord systems. This article discusses recent efforts by the REMAINS of Greenland project for developing a standardised protocol that defines the archaeological state of preservation, the preservation conditions, and asset value of organic deposits. Special emphasis is given to the degradation of materials such as bone and wood that are historically observed to be well-preserved in Greenland but now currently at risk. The protocol provides a baseline for monitoring future changes and will assist archaeologists in Greenland with a procedure for documenting and predicting areas of increasing vulnerability due to a warming climate.     

TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY OF PUBLIC DECISION MAKING UNITS

A methodology for determining the relative technical efficiency of public decision making units is described. The methodology allows the identification of those units which are most efficient at converting physical inputs to physical outputs, and the calculation of the relative efficiency of less efficient units based on the results obtained by the most efficient. An illustration of the methodology is supplied using data from 469 municipal police agencies. Some policy suggestions based on the illustration are offered.     

Book reviews

Tham Seong Chee. Social science research in Malaysia, vii, 151pp. Singapore: Graham Brash, 1981.

Anthony Whitten. The gibbons of Siberut. xiii, 207pp., 8 plates. London, etc: J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd., 1982. £9.50.

Katrien Polman. The north Moluccas: an annotated bibliography, xx, 192pp. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1981. (Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal‐, Land‐ en Volkenkunde. Bibliographical . Series, 11.) Guilders 30.

J. H. M. C. Boelaars. Head‐hunters about themselves: an ethnographic report from Irian Jaya₃ Indonesia, xv, 296pp., 15 plates, 5 maps. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1981. (Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal‐, Land‐ en Volkenkunde, 92.) Guilders 90.     

Food markets and shops in Manchester 1770–1870

It is one of the minor oddities of the recent “boom” in urban history that we know so little about so central an activity as how the people living in nineteenth-century towns bought their food. Of course, there are always a great number of subjects that we would like to know that little bit more about, but after all, the purchase of food did represent a half to two-thirds of working-class budgets for much of the nineteenth century. And we are a nation of shopkeepers! Yet until recently, the subject of food distribution within nineteenth-century industrial towns was a long way down the agenda of research topics. ^[2] We would like to think that this was not through lack of interest but was due to the authoritative nature of one major work on the subject, J. B. Jeffery's Retail trading in Britain, 1850–1950.