Reappraisal of ‘chronospecies’ and the use of Arvicola (Rodentia,Mammalia) for biochronology

The water vole, genus Arvicola, is characterised by a broad geographic distribution throughout Europe and is widespread during the late Middle and Upper Pleistocene. This genus is used as a major biostratigraphic tool within the Quaternary. Specific determinations using the Schmelzband-Differenzierung-Quotient or SDQ have identified many chronospecies within the fossil species Arvicola cantiana (Hinton, 1910). As SDQ calculation remains limited, this study reappraises the Arvicola genus in terms of morphodiversity and morphospace using outline analysis which takes into account the tooth as a whole. Outline analysis suggests that one single species of Arvicola, A. cantiana, was present during the Pleistocene. This species shows great variability with no trends or patterns in morphospace. Thus, these results call into question the reliability of SDQ for specific determinations and throw doubt on the biochronological framework based on Arvicola.     

Possible evidence of mammoth hunting during the Epigravettian at Yudinovo, Russian Plain

Whether or not mammoth hunting was practised during the Late Palaeolithic has been a controversial issue ever since large accumulations of woolly mammoth bones associated with prehistoric artefacts were discovered more than 100 years ago. Detailed taphonomic and palaeobiological analyses of the mammoth bone complexes from the Epigravettian Yudinovo site in the Russian Plain were carried out. The combination of the homogeneous weathering rate of the mammoth bones, the isolated state of most of the skeletal elements, the restricted spatial range of the carnivore gnawing traces, the breakage pattern of the skulls and long bones, the sex ratio, the small body size of the adult mammoths, the age profile (with an important frequency of prime-aged cows), and the large number of individuals, suggest that the bone complexes at Yudinovo were constructed from body parts and bones that were extracted from freshly killed mammoths and that mammoth hunting was practised at this site during the Epigravettian.     

京瓷企业发展的宏观经济环境分析

京瓷企业发展与日本乃至世界经济环境息息相关,特别是日本经济高速增长,稳定增长,泡沫经济形成与破灭,不仅对京瓷,而且对整个日本企业界都产生了巨大的影响,但同样的宏观经济大环境,对各个企业的影响并不相同,在这正反两方面的双重影响下,有的企业发展壮大,有的企业衰微败落,京瓷属于前者,其成功在于始终不渝坚持稻盛和夫经营哲学,应不同时期经济环境,以光明正大的经营苦炼内功,构筑了京瓷企业健康,坚实的体制。     

An investigation of soil phosphorus distribution within occupation deposits from a Romano-British hut group

A simple scheme for soil sampling and subsequent analysis for total soil phosphorus using perchloric acid digestion is described and its application illustrated by samples from the native farmstead of the Roman period at Cefn Graeanog in North Wales. The floor deposits of three distinctive buildings were analysed, and the data obtained enhanced by Trend Surface Analysis to produce generalized maps of the phosphorus distribution, together with levels of significance of such distribution patterns. These were then used to clarify the details of the interpretation of the usage of the various types of building. Data for soil phosphorus concentration clearly reveal the pattern of erosion of constructed floors, the presence of features such as hearths and drains, and can be used to reveal patterns not otherwise discernible by excavation techniques.     

Phosphatic mineralization of seeds from archaeological sites

Recent investigations of botanical material from archaeological sites have provided seeds and plant remains exhibiting a crystalline or semi-crystalline appearance. X-ray diffraction and partial chemical analysis have revealed that the particular plant materials had been replaced by calcium phosphate. Using systematic sampling and retrieval techniques a significant body of data has been accumulated. Most mineralized botanical evidence has been recovered from faecal deposits, in particular cess pits and garderobes, and has provided an important source of information about aspects of diet of past populations.     

The application of numerical techniques to insect assemblages from the site of Stóraborg,Iceland

The problems of interpretation of many overlapping species lists of fossil assemblages are discussed using the example of insect faunas from a late medieval farm site in southern Iceland. Numerical techniques were employed, principally those available within the CLUSTAN package, and it was concluded that a considerable refinement in interpretation was achieved. Such quantitative procedures are suitable for groups other than fossil insects but their employment cannot be regarded as a substitute for, rather than an adjunct to, a sound ecological approach.     

Molluscan calendars: The use of growth-line analysis to establish seasonality of shellfish collection at the Mesolithic site of Morton,Fife

The technique of growth-line analysis is used to examine seasonal growth patterns in modern specimens of the edible cockle, Cerastoderma edule L. The modern control work provides a basis for the interpretation of seasonal collection in archaeological cockles, and is applied to shells from the Mesolithic site of Morton, Fife. The seasonal use of the site is shown to be clearly related to site function.     

Black-on-red ware in the levant: A neutron activation analysis study

Black-on-red ware was widely used throughout the Eastern Mediterranean between about the 11th and 8th centuries BC. Its origins have been much discussed: its ubiquitous appearance throughout the region could be a result of either several manufacturing regions or a single place of manufacture associated with considerable trading in the ware.In the present study, neutron activation analysis has been carried out for 15 chemical elements in 58 specimens of black-on-red ware from Cyprus (11), Syria (26) and Palestine (21). The analytical results clearly separate the ware into three major groups, corresponding to origins in Palestine, Syria and Cyprus. The hypothesis of a single source of the ware is therefore not tenable. All 14 of the Syrian finds of the single-handled neck ridge juglet are closely grouped with the Cyprus samples, indicating extensive trade in this vessel from Cyprus to Syria. The Palestine samples clearly separate into two sub-groups. Arguments are presented suggesting that this indicates the ware from the two sub-groups was made at different times. The Cyprus group provides tentative evidence of several sites of manufacture on the island.     

基于腾讯迁徙数据的中国“春运”城市间人口流动空间格局

“腾讯迁徙”大数据基于位置服务，实时、动态、完整、系统地描述了用户日常出行活动的轨迹。通过采集“腾讯迁徙”数据平台中2018年春运期间中国346个地级及以上城市之间的逐日人口流动数据，分“节前、节中、节后”3个时间段，利用复杂网络分析方法，从人口流动的集散层级、集散体系分层集聚特征、人口流动空间格局、网络空间特征等角度分析各时间段城市间的人口流动特征与空间格局。结果表明，腾讯迁徙大数据直观地揭示了春运期间中国城市间人口流动空间格局，3个时段人口的净流入均呈现十字形骨架支撑的菱形分布，人流集散中心主要集中在京津冀、长三角、珠三角和成渝4大城市群，与城市等级有较强的一致性。人口流动集散体系呈明显的分层集聚，城市行政级别的高低与人口流动影响力存在一定的正相关关系，大部分城市人口流动处于“相对平衡”状态。人口流动网络呈现东密西疏的分布特征和东部并联、西部串联的网络关联特征。人口流动网络局部具有较明显的“社区”结构特征，聚为3个大区级、5个跨区域级和1个地区级社区。     

Fragments from many pasts: layering the toponymic tapestry of Milan

In the recent literature on the cultural politics of naming, toponyms and street names are increasingly read within the wider social–historical context upon which naming is contingent. In this perspective, naming is often seen as an act of power and a way to inscribe an ideological discourse into the landscape. In this article, we analyze the street names currently inscribed in the historical center of the Italian city of Milan, Italy as a reflection of its long and contested social and political history. Fragments of all the different toponymic regimes and hegemonic discourses that took over one after the other over time have remained inscribed in Milan’s street network, originating a complex tapestry in which different pasts revive and conflicting ideologies co-exist. In this context, we examine the role Geographical Information Science (GIScience) methods and technologies play in quantifying, revealing, and visualizing the spatial patterns of downtown Milan’s toponymic texture at the urban scale and at the scale of the six historical neighborhoods.