Not just cattle: Cranial perforations revisited

The phenomenon of perforated cattle skulls is well known to archaeozoologists. It is a condition that has not only been reported during routine faunal analyses but, unusually for animal palaeopathological studies, it has also been the subject of dedicated research papers. A revolutionary moment in the understanding of this anomaly came with its detection in the skull of a European bison. As a result of this discovery, a developmental disorder of genetic origin is now accepted as the most probable cause. In this paper, it is suggested that the perforations are caused by a developmental disorder that is expressed during the pneumatisation of the frontal, parietal and occipital bones in animals with a large sinus frontalis. The first published example of this condition in pig supports this hypothesis. It is argued that the anomaly is a hereditary trait caused by a recessive gene, the phenotypic expression of which only appears in homozygous recessive individuals. Higher incidences of this condition in past cattle and pig populations in certain places at times, may therefore testify to the occurrence of population bottlenecks and/or inbreeding practices. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

旅游者饮食舒适度构成要素及影响机制研究

旅游者饮食舒适度对旅游消费体验具有重要影响。文章基于访谈资料,运用扎根理论方法,探索识别饮食舒适度的构成要素及其影响机制。结论表明：①旅游者饮食舒适度是旅游者在饮食活动中,对宏观环境、微观氛围和美食产生心理、生理相互协调的综合评价,包含9个主范畴、26个次范畴和60个概念。②旅游者饮食舒适度由环境基础、氛围营造、感知实体和感知主体4个要素构成,环境基础、氛围营造和感知实体由感知主体进行主客观串联。③旅游者饮食舒适度存在舒适唤起、舒适实现和舒适评价三个阶段,不同阶段的影响因素存在差异,并综合影响旅游者饮食舒适体验。文章丰富了旅游饮食消费和舒适度的研究领域,为促进地方餐饮发展和提升旅游者饮食满意度提供理论借鉴。     

Dental evidence of biological affinity and environmental conditions in prehistoric Trentino (Italy) samples from the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age

The use of teeth in anthropological analyses has always provided valuable information on the subsistence patterns of human communities, as well as the biological relationships among them. The present study analyses the permanent dentition of several diachronically continuing samples from the Trentino alpine region of Italy from the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age. The study of both metric and non‐metric dental traits show a strong level of homogeneity from the earlier to the later samples, indicating little external biological influence from surrounding areas. However, the evidence of oral pathology and linear enamel hypoplasia highlights a trend of increase in defects, particularly between the Neolithic and the Copper Age. This has been ascribed to a shift towards more intense agricultural activities and pastoralism, that led to a change in diet and to an increased sedentism. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Weaning patterns are reflected in strontium-calcium ratios of juvenile skeletons

As human milk is exceptionally low in strontium-calcium ($\text{Sr}\text{Ca}$) ratios, but solid foods are relatively high, it should be possible to examine the pattern of dietary supplementation and the age of weaning in prehistoric groups by reference to the $\text{Sr}\text{Ca}$ ratios of juvenile skeletons. The data are presented that support this rationale, along with an investigation of the Sr/Ca values of juvenile and adult skeletons from a medieval Arab graveyard. The $\text{Sr}\text{Ca}$ data from these skeletons are shown to coincide with the age-curves expected in theory, suggesting that new palaeodemographic information is indeed obtainable from $\text{Sr}\text{Ca}$ studies. However, until further research is conducted, the technique provides a functional estimate of weaning patterns that is only suitable for comparative purposes. Additional research should clarify the relationship of functional to actual estimates of dietary supplementation and weaning.     

A Multi-Isotope Investigation of Human and Dog Mobility and Diet in the Pre-Colonial Antilles

ABSTRACT

The complex relationships between humans and dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) have a very deep and unique history. Dogs have accompanied humans as they colonised much of the world, and were introduced via human agency into the insular Caribbean where they became widespread throughout the Ceramic Age. It is likely that the dynamic interactions between humans, dogs, and their environments in the Caribbean were spatially, chronologically, and socially variable. However, almost no research has specifically addressed the nature, or potential variability, of human/dog interactions in this region. This study presents isotopic (strontium and carbon) evidence bearing on human and dog paleomobility and paleodietary patterns in the pre-colonial Caribbean. The isotope results illustrate a generally high degree of correspondence between human and dog dietary practices at all analysed sites but also slight differences in the relative importance of different dietary inputs. Striking parallels are also observed between the human and dog mobility patterns and shed light on broader networks of social interaction and exchange. Lastly, the paper addresses the possible utility and relevance of canine isotope data as proxies for inferring past human behaviours.     

Wild Birds of the Italian Middle Ages: Diet,Environment and Society

ABSTRACT

Wild birds are intrinsically associated with our perception of the Middle Ages. They often feature in heraldic designs, paintings, and books of hours; few human activities typify the medieval period better than falconry. Prominent in medieval iconography, wild birds feature less frequently in written sources (as they were rarely the subject of trade transactions or legal documents) but they can be abundant in archaeological sites. In this paper we highlight the nature of wild bird exploitation in Italian medieval societies, ranging from their role as food items to their status and symbolic importance. A survey of 13 Italian medieval sites corresponding to 19 ‘period sites’, dated from the fifth to the fifteenth centuries, reveals the occurrence of more than 100 species (certainly an under-estimate of the actual number). Anseriformes and Columbiformes played a prominent role in the mid- and late medieval Italian diet, though Passeriformes and wild Galliformes were also important. In the late Middle Ages, there is an increase in species diversity and in the role of hunting as an important marker of social status.     

Occlusal microwear texture analysis and the diets of historical/prehistoric hunter‐gatherers

With the exception of few studies, occlusal microwear of pre‐agricultural modern humans has not been documented. In this study, microwear fabrics of samples from seven historic/prehistoric hunter‐gatherer populations with known and diverse dietary habits, representing mostly meat‐eaters from different environments, arctic/tundra (Tigara from Point Hope), cold‐steppe (Fuegians) and Mediterranean (Chumash), and mixed‐diet hunter‐gatherers from tropical climates (Andamanese and Khoe‐San from Matjes River, Riet River, and Oakhurst Shelter), were analysed to better understand how dietary differences affect microwear in these groups and to establish a reasonable comparative database for interpreting fossil hominins microwear. Significant microwear differences, related to diet and food preparation techniques, between the meat‐eaters and mixed‐diet hunter‐gatherers were detected. Finer scale differences within each of these dietary categories were also observed. Ethnographic accounts indicate that the Tigara and Andamanese ingested hard particles attached to their food as a result of their food preparation techniques; their microwear fabrics also reflect highly abrasive diets. On the other hand, as expected, the microwear signatures of the Chumash and Fuegians indicate a diet low in abrasives, reflecting their almost exclusive reliance on marine meat for subsistence and the low amounts of extraneous particles attached to this meat. The mixed‐diet Khoe‐San occupy an intermediate position between the Tigara and Andamanese on the one hand, and the Chumash and Fuegians on the other, with regard to the level of abrasives ingested. The Khoe‐San ate large amounts of hard plants, most likely responsible for abrading their enamel surface. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.