Exponentially decreasing tooth growth rate in horse teeth: implications for isotopic analyses

A range of archaeological and palaeoclimatic studies use isotopic analyses of ungulate hypsodont tooth enamel. Such studies commonly assume a constant growth rate, though this has not been fully tested. Here, we use stable isotope analyses of sequential enamel samples to study horse tooth growth. We fit the data using models corresponding to constant and exponentially decreasing rates of growth, and compare the results to metrical data showing the geometry and timing of apposition. The results indicate enamel apposition and maturation advances at an exponentially decreasing rate. An understanding of this variable growth rate is crucial for interpreting isotopic data from equid teeth.     

Immensity and Miniaturism: The Interplay of Scale and Sensory Experience in the Late Neolithic of the Maltese Islands

At first glance, the Late Neolithic (3600–2500 BC) of the Maltese Island archipelago in the central Mediterranean is a landscape of immensity dominated by megalithic stone structures. To the modern viewer, the Neolithic is materialized as magnitude across time and space. Archaeologically, it is denoted as the Temple Period, after the numerous megalithic structures found across the islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino. Although these structures elicit notions of dominance, they also obscure multiple scales of materiality within and between their assemblages, particularly the not insignificant corpus of figurines and models. This paper looks at the two extreme ends of scale, immensity and miniaturism, and their role in shaping sensory experience and social relations.     

Tracking Hunter-Gatherer Impact on Vegetation in Last Interglacial and Holocene Europe: Proxies and Challenges

Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory - We review palaeoenvironmental proxies and combinations of these relevant for understanding hunter-gatherer niche construction activities in...