Island Biocultural Assemblages — The Case of Kinmen Island

ABSTRACT A growing mass of research contributes to our understanding of how biological and cultural diversity are related in complex and important ways. This paper presents an assembling process of biodiversity and cultural diversity on an island, Kin‐men (Quemoy), based on 1600 years of its environmental history. The study shows that the island's biocultural assemblages are a result both of external relations with the island's surrounding environment and internal relations within the island's changing human ecology. Distant political powers and economic forces are the two major external influences that have affected the flow of natural and cultural elements to and from the island, while ‘screening effects’ and ‘isolation effects’ are two factors that explain internal interactions. The island's biocultural assembling processes reveal that the openness of the island facilitates increase in the diversity of biocultural elements, while its less disturbed isolated condition fosters natural succession and co‐evolution. The study suggests that biocultural assemblages and the associated processes of co‐evolution and nature–society interactions are accomplished through the intermittent opportunities purposively provided by or inadvertently found in the openings and closures of boundaries, setting the scene for both boundary crossings and bounded shelter, by intent or chance.     

Gastrointestinal parasites in ancient South American camelid feces from the Atacama Desert (Pampa del Tamarugal,Tarapacá, northern Chile)

Faunal remains from archeological sites worldwide, especially feces and regurgitated pellets, are usually subjected to paleoparasitological examination, allowing the identification of past animal parasites. In this study, we analyzed 10 samples of South American camelid dung, which played an important role for the ancient human groups in the South-Central Andes, dated between 341 and 1635 calCE, from the Iluga Túmulos site (Pampa del Tamarugal, Tarapacá region, Atacama Desert, Chile). Microscopy examination revealed parasite remains in seven samples, in which oocysts of Eimeria macusaniensis and eggs of Lamanema chavezi/Nematodirus lamae, Trichuris sp., Moniezia sp., capillariids, strongylids, and unidentified nematodes were found. Although some of these species pose a potential health risk to camelids, most are not considered to be of major zoonotic importance, which could explain the absence of these parasites on human coprolites from this site analyzed previously. This first paleoparasitological study on camelid fecal remains from northern Chile sheds light on the occurrence of gastrointestinal parasites and its relationship with Andean ancient human populations and the environment.     

Epipaleolithic/early Neolithic settlements at Qinghai Lake,western China

Transitions from terminal Pleistocene Upper Paleolithic foraging to Holocene Neolithic farming and pastoralist economic orientations in the northern Tibetan Plateau are examined from the perspective of Epipaleolithic sites located near Qinghai Lake, Qinghai Province, western China. Jiangxigou 2 is an artifact-rich, multicomponent midden site with the main period of occupation dating ca. 9000–5000 cal yr BP, containing abundant flaked stone artifacts including a substantial proportion of microlithic tools, abundant faunal remains including gazelle, deer, and sheep, and a small number of ceramics, including the oldest known on the Tibetan Plateau. Heimahe 3, on the other hand, is a brief hunter's camp dating ca. 8450 cal yr BP, with evident affinities to late Upper Paleolithic camps in the same region that date several thousand years older. The two distinctively different sites are probably nodes within a single Epipaleolithic foraging system that developed on the margins of the high Tibetan Plateau during the early Holocene, and that served as a basis for colonization of the high-altitude Plateau at that time. Jiangxigou 2 appears to be connected to early Neolithic agricultural settlements along the upper Yellow River (Huang He) drainage during the middle Holocene, and may provide insights into forager–agriculturalist interactions that lead to the development of pastoralist systems in the region.     

Environmental context of a Neolithic site at Beifudi,north-west Hebei Province,China

The earliest evidence of prehistoric religious practice in China found so far comes from excavations at Beifudi, about 120 km south of Beijing, in the form of votive offerings and porcelain sorcery masks dated to the period 8000–7000 yr BP. These finds are part of a rich Neolithic site located on the second river terrace on the north shore of the Yi River. This paper presents results of pollen analysis of part of a sediment profile from a depression at the edge of first terrace towards second terrace, a few hundred metres away from the main archaeological finds. A sequence of marked changes in environment occurred between 9000 cal yr BP and 6000 cal yr BP, and dating evidence suggests strong associations with the ebb and flow of human activity in the area. The first phase of activity on the site begins at around 8000 cal yr BP, towards the end of a period of relatively dry, cold environmental conditions. Between 7800 cal yr BP and 7400 cal yr BP, the first clear evidence of cereal cultivation appears in the pollen record. Rich archaeological finds occur during the same time period, suggesting local prosperity. This first phase of the Beifudi culture ends at 7300 cal yr BP, when warmer and wetter conditions are inferred and wetland areas expand, reducing the area available for crop cultivation near the site. A return to drier and cooler conditions from 6900 cal yr BP corresponds with the second phase of apparent prosperity in the archaeological record from Beifudi. This phase ends at around 6500 cal yr BP, at the start of another shift towards wetter conditions in the flood plain environment. The pollen record suggests that environmental conditions in the flood plain were a major determinant of human activity at Beifudi in the early-mid Holocene.     

Changes in chemical composition caused by water–rock interactions across a strike‐slip fault zone: case study of the Atera Fault,Central Japan

In some cases, water–rock interactions in fault zones can affect radionuclide migration. Here, we analyzed the chemical compositions of well‐exposed fault rocks from the strike‐slip Atera Fault, Central Japan, in order to understand the variability and behavior of major and selected trace elements. The fault zone has a 1.2‐m‐wide, smectite‐rich fault core and paired damage zones that developed within welded tuff on one side of the core and within granite on the other side. The 30‐cm‐wide, kaolinite‐rich fault gouge is developed in granite cataclasite, and it shows indications of the latest fault activity, while the 1.2‐m‐wide fault core appears to be older. Hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios in the clay‐rich fault gouges, and carbon and oxygen isotope ratios in carbonates indicate that the two major clay‐rich zones formed in bedrock near the surface, consistent with observed deformation structures. Based on chemical analyses, we identified (1) a slight depletion in SiO₂, Na₂O, K₂O, and light rare earth elements at the edges of the 1.2‐m‐wide fault core, (2) a clear depletion in SiO₂, Na₂O, K₂O, and all rare earth elements except Eu in the 30‐cm‐wide fault gouge, and (3) an increase in CaO, MnO, and heavy rare earth elements across the entire 1.2‐m‐wide fault core. Findings (1) and (2) reflect water–rock interactions in the 1.2‐m‐wide fault core and in the 30‐cm‐wide fault gouge that resulted in the formation of smectite and kaolinite. Finding (3) reflects carbonate precipitation caused by the addition of basalt fragments from a nearby site to the 1.2‐m‐wide fault core during faulting, and subsequent sorption reactions of heavy rare earth elements via processes such as complexation with the carbonates.     

Daily urban systems explained from the household perspective: an exploratory research on how the spatial interactions of the individual households shape the structure of daily urban systems

The concept of the Daily Urban System (DUS) has gained relevance over the past decades as the entity to examine and explain the functionality of the urban landscape. Daily Urban Systems are usually defined and measured by the strength of commuter or shopper flows between the nodes of the system. It is important to realize that these Daily Urban Systems are the accumulated pattern of individuals making frequent, recurring trips to other localities than their own. Understanding the microeconomic decisions behind these spatial interactions will help in assessing the functional and spatial structure of DUS. In this paper is explored how, based on Dutch empirical data, the individual household’s spatial interactions shape the daily urban system and how the destination of these interactions correlates with personal and spatial variables and motives for interaction. The results show that the occurrence of non-local spatial interactions can be explained by the size-based Christallerian hierarchy of the localities of residence, but that it is the regional population – or market potential – that explains and moderates the sorting of households and the intensity and direction of their spatial interactions in the DUS, matching agglomeration theory.     

Ojakly: A Late Bronze Age mobile pastoralist site in the Murghab Region,Turkmenistan

Abstract

Excavations at Ojakly (site 1744) in the Murghab alluvial fan in Turkmenistan mark the first systematic collection of archaeological materials related to Bronze Age mobile pastoralists in the region, and the earliest evidence to date of their occupation patterns, subsistence practices, and ceramic production activities. Because the appearance of mobile pastoral groups in the Murghab during the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1950–1500 b.c.) is traditionally associated with significant changes in regional sociopolitical structures, these data are important for establishing local strategies of and the relationship between sedentary agricultural and mobile pastoral populations. Here, we present ceramic, faunal, archaeobotanical, and lithic data that force us to reconsider the traditional sedentary-mobile dichotomy. Specifically, we find that while the subsistence economies are distinct at urban and non-urban sites, the ceramic production and trade interactions are significantly intertwined and more complex than previously acknowledged for this time period. Additionally, the presence of a ceramic kiln at Ojakly (Turkmen for “place with kiln”) containing unfired ceramics of a type typically associated with sedentary farmers in the Bronze Age Murghab suggests the transfer of technical knowledge between groups who nevertheless maintained distinct material cultural identities. Ojakly provides important new data about coexisting economies in the Late Bronze Age Murghab that can productively unsettle traditional notions of dominance, control, and polarization in sedentary-mobile interactions.     

Insect and clitellate annelid traces in mesofossil assemblages from the Cretaceous of Australasia

Mesofossil assemblages from several Cretaceous and Cenozoic units across Australia and New Zealand provide new evidence of insect and annelid behaviour. The earliest scale insects (Diaspididae, Coccoidea) from Australasia are described and represented by three scale morphotypes. The mesofossil assemblages also reveal clitellate annelid cocoon morphotypes, three morphotypes of arthropod coprolites and several insect piercement structures on gymnosperm leaf or stem fragments, possibly related to feeding or more likely oviposition. This research offers a new avenue for detecting cryptic terrestrial invertebrate groups and their interactions, particularly with plants, in the fossil record. The fossils demonstrate that insect/invertebrate activity can be preserved and identified in mesofossil suites, that such traces and exoskeleton fragments are relatively common in acid-extracted mesofossil suites, and that recognizable categories occur on multiple landmasses and at various ages.     

Geochemistry of the Bagnères-de-Bigorre thermal waters from the North Pyrenean Zone (France)

Thermal springs are poorly known in the sedimentary sites of the Pyrenees. In this paper, we describe the ‘Bagnères‐de‐Bigorre’ springs which occur in a remarkably active seismotectonic context. A chemical and isotopic study of 15 spring waters (both cold and thermal, ranging in temperature from 7.0 to 49.9°C), and continuous monitoring of a single spring allow us to characterise water–rock interactions, fluids paths and mixing processes. Three groups of waters are distinguished: (I) SO₄²⁺–Ca²⁺–Cl^– thermal waters (II) SO₄²⁺–Cl^––Ca²⁺ thermal waters and (III) HCO₃^––Ca²⁺ cold shallow waters. Their characteristics suggest interactions with Mesozoic evaporite and carbonate formations. O and D isotopes from thermal waters indicate a local meteoric origin of Atlantic signature and a recharge elevation of 800 to 1000 m, which corresponds to a single feeding area. Their δ¹³C values (?2.8 to ?9.6‰) are consistent with carbonate dissolution, slight fractionation and a surficial organic input leading to δ¹³C depletion. Sr isotopes (0.70751 to 0.70777), Na⁺/Cl^– and (Ca²⁺ + Mg²⁺)/SO₄^2– ratios as well as thermodynamic calculations show that the dissolution of anhydrite and halite‐bearing Triassic layers control the chemical composition of group‐I and ‐II waters. The contrasting trends of cation/Cl^– ratios and TDS of waters from groups I and II suggest the existence of two different circulation paths at depth as well as dilution with surficial waters similar to group III. Calculated mixing proportions show that three waters from group I are diluted from 17 to 66%, whereas all waters from group II are mixed. The aquifer temperature is estimated to be in the range 55–64°C using the retrograde and prograde solubilities of anhydrite and chalcedony, respectively. Accordingly, the mean depth of the reservoir is around 1.7 km, which allows us to constrain the depth of the Triassic layer.