Die Gesellschaft Naturforschender Freunde zu Berlin ‐ Bestand und Wandel einer gelehrten Gesellschaft Ein Überblick

The article deals with the foundation and development of the society Gesellschaft Naturforschender Freunde zu Berlin in the 18th and 19th centuries, its position as a privat society for natural history in Berlin, and its relation to Freemasonry. The paper shows the change of meaning of these society, especially after the foundation of the Berlin university in 1810.     

Digital cementum luminance analysis (DCLA): a tool for the analysis of climatic and seasonal signals in dental cementum

Cementum banding patterns have been used by archaeozoologists and wildlife managers for a number of decades to assess the season and age at death of mammalian populations. However, the observation and measurement of the nature of cementum banding, especially that of the final band, has proved to be difficult except under conditions of excellent preservation and advanced microscopy. The research presented here details a method for extracting luminance data from the banding patterns of cementum in order to quantify the optical properties of cementum tissue. By doing so, analysis of the relationship between cementum deposition and environmental variables is achieved. We present the results of a digital cementum luminance analysis (DCLA) on a sample of first molars from two species, Ovis aries, Soay and Capra ibex. The results indicate that significant relationships occur between seasonal temperature changes and cementum histology. Furthermore, we show that luminance values can be used to assess the geographical range of genetically similar populations. Our results demonstrate that the study of luminance is a vital tool for the quantitative study of dental cementum for both archaeological and ecological studies. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.