Ancient DNA insights from the Middle Neolithic in Germany

Genetic studies of Neolithic groups in central Europe have provided insights into the demographic processes that have occurred during the initial transition to agriculture as well as in later Neolithic contexts. While distinct genetic patterns between indigenous hunter-gatherers and Neolithic farmers in Europe have been observed, it is still under discussion how the genetic diversity changed during the 5,000-year span of the Neolithic period. In order to investigate genetic patterns after the earliest farming communities, we carried out an ancient mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis of 34 individuals from Wittmar, Germany representing three different Neolithic farming groups (ca. 5,200–4,300 cal bc) including Rössen societies. Ancient DNA analysis was successful for six individuals associated with the Middle Neolithic Rössen and observed haplotypes were assigned to mtDNA haplogroups H5, HV0, U5, and K. Our results offer perspectives on the genetic composition of individuals associated with the Rössen culture at Wittmar and permit insights into genetic landscapes in central Europe at a time when regional groups first emerged during the Middle Neolithic.     

The influence of screen mesh size,and size and shape of rodent teeth on recovery

It is suggested with increasing frequency that rather than the industry standard of 1/4 inch mesh, zooarchaeologists use 1/8 inch or even 1/16 inch mesh to insure more complete recovery. These suggestions are based on the implicit assumption that the body size of a taxon and the probability that the remains of that taxon will be recovered are positively correlated. Size of skeletal specimens provides a more direct measure of recovery probability and accounts for the fact that not all skeletal elements in a body are the same size. Frequencies of eight kinds of rodent teeth representing three genera recovered from the Marmes archaeological site in southeastern Washington State, USA, correlate strongly with tooth size despite the use of 1/25 inch mesh screens. Shape of tooth types measured is insufficiently varied to reveal more than a general relationship between shape and recovery frequency. Choice of an appropriate screen mesh should consider the nature of a deposit, research goals, and cost efficiency.     

Assessing the Diversity of Mission Populations through the Comparison of Native American Residences at Mission Santa Clara de Asís

Mission establishments in Alta California and elsewhere were home to complex, pluralistic communities in which native peoples actively but differentially negotiated aspects of colonialism through daily practice and the reinterpretation of identity. To explore these issues, we compare the archaeological evidence from two different indigenous dwellings at California’s Mission Santa Clara de Asís: an adobe barracks and a native-style thatched house. In particular, we consider possible differences between the dwellings’ inhabitants in terms of relative status, ethnolinguistic affiliation, and re-articulation of indigenous traditions.     

The Unthinkable and the Unseen: Community Archaeology and Decolonizing Social Imagination at Okeeheepkee,or the Lake Jackson Site

Recent decolonizing scholarship examines how Indigenous ways of knowing can transform archaeology. This article discusses community-based research undertaken with a Muskogee tribal town in North Florida, focusing on the archaeology of the Lake Jackson site (1100–1500 A.D.). Centering on the historical narratives circulated in this community illuminates gaps in the dominant archaeological discourse, or what Trouillot (Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History, 1995) calls the silences of history. Examples such as iconographic representations of “genderless” moths and possibilities of “invisible” mound structures render the limits of colonial imagination visible. Archaeology can move beyond these constraints by bridging the center and margins of archaeological production.     

Soil-Structure Interaction on a Shallow Rigid Circular Foundation: SH Wave Source from Near-Field Excitations

A closed-form wave function analytic solution is presented in this article regarding the two-dimensional scattering and diffraction of a flexible wall sitting on a rigid shallow circular foundation embedded in an elastic half-space that is activated by a nearby anti-plane line source such as a blast caused by underground construction or mineral exploration or a near-field fault rupture, using similar methodology as the other paper in a series [Lee and Luo, 2013]. These wave propagation influences, although often treated as a transient process, may be simulated as linear combinations of steady-simple harmonic responses as studied in this article. Ground surface displacements spectra for wide-band of incident wave frequencies are calculated. Based on the spectra obtained, the dependence of near-field ground displacements are shown with respect to the rise-to-span ratio of foundation profile, frequency of incident waves, distance of source from the foundation, and mass ratios of various media (foundation-structure-soil). The screening effect of rigid foundation upon ground motions behind grazing incident waves is also presented.     

Human mummified brain from a medieval tomb with lime‐soil mixture barrier of the Joseon Dynasty,Korea

Although all of the Korean medieval mummies found up to the present time have shown relatively well‐preserved brains, relevant biomedical information has been difficult to acquire owing to the obstacles to obtaining permission to conduct invasive investigations. However, recently we were able to secure permission to investigate, through various forms of examination including dissection, a well‐preserved brain found in a lime‐soil mixture barrier (LSMB) tomb in Yongin, Korea, because the remains found within the tomb were mostly skeletal. As in the cases of mummified brains from tombs found in other countries, the current Yongin case showed well‐preserved grey and white matter within well demarcated brain lobes, on which sulci and gyri could be identified. On histological examination, we found that the remaining brain tissue was composed mainly of lipids, which seems to correspond to the preserved myelin sheath. The present paper is the first report on the general preservation status of a mummified brain found in Korea. Moreover, because mummified brains are found quite frequently in LSMB medieval tombs, this study could provide a good basis upon which further such palaeo‐neuropathological studies can be progressed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.