Auditory Exostoses in Pre‐Hispanic Populations of the Lower Paraná Wetlands,Argentina

Auditory exostosis (AE) has been characterised from the medical and anthropological perspectives as an adaptive biological response to repeated immersion in cold water as well as exposure to cold environmental temperatures and wind chill. At the archaeological level, the highest prevalence has been found in societies living in coastal environments in areas located at 30–45° north or south latitude with a subsistence pattern based on fishing and mollusc gathering. The region of the lower Paraná River wetlands in Argentina is an area dissected by multiple rivers, streams, and lakes, especially in the Paraná delta near Buenos Aires where these features create a landscape composed of many islands. A variety of archaeological analyses performed on faunal remains, stone tools, bone, and ceramic artefacts are consistent with the interpretation that towards the end of the late Holocene (2000–700 BP), this region was inhabited by hunter–gatherer populations with a subsistence pattern based mainly on fishing and hunting along with the gathering of molluscs. In this work, we present an analysis of 176 crania of individuals recovered from 21 archaeological sites in the region. Results indicate the presence of AE in 6.25% of the cases, with all of these corresponding to adult male individuals. This moderate prevalence coincides with the expected levels for populations where contact with water is frequent in regions located at 30–45° latitude. The absence of female individuals showing evidence of AE allows us to suggest a possible sex‐based division of labour. We hope that this work can contribute to ongoing discussion of the economic and social aspects that characterised pre‐Hispanic life in the study area, while also expanding the available information on AE at the worldwide level. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new Palaeolithic discovery: tar-hafted stone tools in a European Mid-Pleistocene bone-bearing bed

Two stone flakes partly covered in birch-bark-tar and a third without tar on it were discovered in fluvial gravel and clay in central Italy, in association with the bones of a young adult female Elephas (Palaeoloxondon) antiquus and several micromammals. The probable chronology of the stone flakes is compatible with the late Middle Pleistocene suggested by the site's small mammals and geological context. The fauna indicates a cool stadial episode before isotope stage 6. That age means the flakes are the oldest ever found hafted with tar and indicate a greater capacity for late Middle Pleistocene hominins to utilize raw materials available during cold phases.     

Semitella,an Italian Bell-Beaker (Final Copper Age) animal burial ground

The Italian Bell-Beaker (Final Copper Age) has been widely studied, yet little is known about its archaeofaunas. Reported are the results of the analysis of the archaeofauna from Semitella, which is one of the largest and most important Bell-Beaker sites in Italy. The site yielded an intentionally buried bovine skeleton and contained many pits, scattered throughout the excavated area. These pits may have originally contained the corpses of the animals whose bones are represented in the sample. The hypothesis is that Semitella was a sort of cemetery for animal carcasses, or a dumping ground where carcass discards and animal cadavers were thrown or buried. A careful taphonomic and zooarchaeological analyses were therefore mandatory. The study confirmed the hypothesis. It in fact revealed a poorly diversified, selected fauna, dominated by domestic taxa, matched to a strikingly low incidence of bone surface modifications, which is the expected state of bones that have been rapidly subtracted to biostratinomic agents. The accumulated evidence indicates that Semitella was a dumping and/or a burial ground for animal corpses in the surroundings of a nearby settlement. The assemblage's final arrangement is the result of floodings that removed the disarticulated skeletal parts scattering them downstream. What remains unresolved is whether, or not, the burials were connected with ritual practices.     

Nonlinear Response of RC Framed Buildings with Isolation and Supplemental Damping at the Base Subjected to Near-Fault Earthquakes

The nonlinear seismic response of base-isolated framed buildings subjected to near-fault earthquakes is studied to analyze the effects of supplemental damping at the level of the isolation system, commonly adopted to avoid overly large isolators. A numerical investigation is carried out with reference to two- and multi-degree-of-freedom systems, representing medium-rise base-isolated framed buildings. Typical five-story reinforced concrete (RC) plane frames with full isolation are designed according to Eurocode 8 assuming ground types A (i.e., rock) and D (i.e., moderately soft soil) in a high-risk seismic region. The overall isolation system, made of in-parallel high-damping-laminated-rubber bearings (HDLRBs) and supplemental viscous dampers, is modeled by an equivalent viscoelastic linear model. A bilinear model idealizes the behavior of the frame members. Pulse-type artificial motions, artificially generated accelerograms (matching EC8 response spectrum for subsoil classes A or D) and real accelerograms (recorded on rock- and soil-site at near-fault zones) are considered. A supplemental viscous damping at the base is appropriate for controlling the isolator displacement, so avoiding overly large isolators; but it does not guarantee a better performance of the superstructure in all cases, in terms of structural and non structural damage, depending on the frequency content of the seismic input. Precautions should be taken with regard to near-fault earthquakes, particularly for base-isolated structures located on soil-site.     

Mortality analysis of the Late Pleistocene bears from Grotta Lattaia,central Italy

Reported here are the results of a mortality analysis of an Ursus spelaeus death assemblage from Grotta Lattaia, southern Tuscany (central Italy), excavated in 1939. The Grotta Lattaia cave bears are among the latest representatives of the species. The large amount of cave bear remains indicates that the cavern was a lair for hibernating bears which repeatedly, but not necessarily yearly, occupied it. The mortality evidence indicates that deaths occurred primarily during hibernation from violent predation, and, therefore, that the bears had direct interaction with other carnivores. However, no sign of interrelation with humans could be found, even though Middle Paleolithic human remains and tools had been recovered associated with the bear material. Grotta Lattaia can be thus considered an example of cumulative, non-human-caused violent deaths in a hibernation context.     

Multivariable analysis of an Italian Late Neolithic archaeofauna

Reported are the results of a multivariate analysis, here called multivariable analysis, of an Italian Late Neolithic archaeofauna. The technique adopted is that proposed by Behrensmeyer (1991), adapted to the needs of zooarchaeology. It is tested on an inter-hut bone accumulation from the target site of Offida, near Ascoli Piceno, Marche region, in central eastern Italy, which is characterized by vertebrate remains, invertebrates, stone implements, and ceramics. The typology of the ceramics date the site from 3800 to 3100 B.C. Offida's subset was chosen not only for its rich and varied information, but also for its containing both domestic and wild mammalian remains. The multivariable method is tested on these two faunal components both separately and jointly, with the addition of the undetermined specimens. The results are then compared with those obtained plotting the variables of the bone accumulations of two open-air Neolithic settlements, a small, temporary one in Italy, Mulino Sant'Antonio, and a large one in Israel, Hefzibah 7–18. The first is an Italian Neolithic site typologically and dimensionally similar to Offida; the second is outside Italy and much larger than Offida. Offida's domestic assemblage results more fragmented than its wild animal component. It shows evidence of intense elaboration by the villagers, low richness and a relatively higher amount of sheep/goats and cattle, no bone articulation or sorting, as well as the effects of moderate exposure and prolonged trampling. The wild animal component, in contrast, shows rather high equitability and a lower overall body size. The analysis proves that wildlife already was a minor resource for the Late Neolithic people in this part of Italy. The multivariable approach also shows that a backyard or pathway assemblage such as Offida's is more similar to the overall bone accumulation of a small-sized, temporary settlement than to that of a larger site, and that this particular kind of assemblage is characterized both by a patchy distribution of the bone fragments and by a relatively high incidence of trampling.     

The specific domains of planning

An understanding of socio‐spatial processes is the source and the content of planners literacy, and may be considered a core of the planning education programme, but it is not sure that planners’ professional profiles may arise as specializations from that core. There are too many forms of planning to identify one specific planning domain. Moreover, in different contexts we experience different planning practices of a single form of planning, e.g. land‐use planning. Then, to identify a possible specific domain of land‐use planning, we should understand and reveal its technical commonalities within different planning contexts. This basic technical knowledge could be considered the best key for planners to enter the worlds of meanings and values and to participate in the polity debate.