New ontogenetic information on Duyunaspis duyunensis Zhang & Qian in Zhou et al., 1977 (Trilobita,Corynexochida) from the Cambrian and its possible sexual dimorphism

Lei, Q.P., September .2015. New ontogenetic information on Duyunaspis duyunensis Zhang & Qian in Zhou et al., 1977 (Trilobita, Corynexochida) from the Cambrian and its possible sexual dimorphism. Alcheringa 40, XXX–XXX. ISSN 0311-5518.

The hypostomal condition and the complete ontogenetic development of Duyunaspis duyunensis Zhang & Qian in Zhou et al., 1977 are restudied on the basis of abundant specimens from the Balang Formation (Cambrian, Qiandongian) in Zila Village, Paiwu Township, Huayuan County, Hunan Province. The relatively complete ontogenetic series (degree 0 to 9) provides new evidence that the holaspis of this species has nine rather than seven thoracic segments as proposed by McNamara et al. (2006). Comparisons between Duyunaspis duyunensis and two associated species, Arthricocephalus chauveaui and Changaspis elongata, support its placement in the Subfamily Oryctocarinae. Moreover, based on observations of a large number of specimens, the presence of an anterior indentation on the pygidial end is possibly representative of sexual dimorphism.

Qianping Lei [cicelyapple@126.com], Natural Department, Changzhou Museum, Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, 213022, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, PR China.     

Metapodial asymmetry in draft cattle

Traction work by oxen has been well documented in various pictorial and written sources throughout human history. Analysis of metapodial dimensions has been carried out with the aim of quantifying asymmetry related to sexual dimorphism, body size and possibly heavy duty traction work. A modern reference sample of 103 animals from Hungary and Rumania has been used for this purpose. Bone measurements were correlated with bone density and morphological characteristics in order to make the results applicable for the identification of remains from draft cattle in archaeozoological assemblages. Asymmetry is more pronounced in the thoracic extremity and metacarpals of older or heavier animals, sometimes showing excessive widening of the third, medial ray within the fused bone. Relative broadening is also intensive in the distal end of medial metatarsals of cows and oxen. The bone mineral content of the medial carpal region attains mature density first. The weight of phalanges increases for a longer time in the laterally located toes.     

Analyses of measurements taken from adult femurs of a British population

The femur remains an important bone in palaeoanthropology and this paper reports various analyses of measurements taken from long-cassette radiographs of adult femurs of a reference population from the south of England (n=81, males 33, females 48). Discriminant analysis confirmed that the male femur is usually larger than the female femur, and that a femur may be sexed with some confidence. Discriminant scores have been derived to permit estimates to be made, from the whole or a part of a femur, of the probability of the male gender. Outcomes from a principal component analysis suggest: that the female proximal femur is a morphological unit; that neck length and shaft length are dissociated and there is no common factor representing linearity; and that the male bicondylar width is anomalous, a finding that is confirmed by other analyses. An estimate of the robusticity of the complete female, but not male, bone may sometimes be made from a proximal fragment. The robusticity of the complete bone may be made confidently from the shaft for both genders. The two width variables relating to a distal fragment cannot be used to predict the robusticity of the complete bone for either gender. A method of defining the position of the waist in terms of displacement in deciles down the shaft is described. The position of the waist seems to have a bimodal distribution. The positive association between age and distal displacement may be due to remoulding of the shaft with age or to a cohort (generational) effect. There is a weak correlation between a small neck–shaft angle and the distal displacement of the waist, two archaic phenotypic traits. Ten statements in the literature relating to the femur have been examined and tested; six are confirmed and four are unconfirmed, and it is suggested that there is a need for further studies relating to the morphology of the femur.     

Sexual citizenship in ‘the New Tasmania’

The state of Tasmania, the smallest in the Commonwealth of Australia, has recently reformed its law relating to relationships by amending over 100 pieces of legislation to include a range of relationships, including lesbian and gay partnerships, among those given recognition and legal entitlement. This government-sponsored legislation is represented as central to the program of economic revival, social reform and branding described as ‘the New Tasmania’. This article locates the relationship reform in this discourse of Tasmania's newness and in the context of neo-liberal approaches to globalisation. It argues that sexual citizenship takes a multitude of forms and its value, like the value of relationship reform legislation, cannot be easily determined. Indeed, it asks whether sexual citizenship as a form of belonging can ever be disentangled from the various contexts where it is performed. It concludes by privileging the desires and performances of sexual citizenship over the constitution of sexual citizenship in rights or recognition.     

Morphological changes in the shape of the non‐pathological bony knee joint with age: a morphometric analysis of the distal femur and proximal tibia in three populations of known age at death

This study examines possible morphological variation in the knee joint of Homo sapiens with increasing age in ostensively healthy and non‐pathological distal femora and proximal tibiae. Throughout the lifetime of each individual, the hard tissue of the knee undergoes considerable remodelling as a response to biomechanical stresses, changes in bone microarchitecture and reduction of bone mineral content as a concomitant of ageing. The knee is also subject to greater levels of degenerative joint disease than any other joint. If death occurs whilst such diseases are in the earliest stages, initial bone changes may not be visually obvious in museum specimens. If such specimens are used for comparative analyses, it is hypothesised that changes might render it problematic if all ages are conglomerated into discrete samples. This study therefore investigates the degree to which the distal femur and proximal tibia change shape during ageing and, if changes are present, whether they are expressed similarly in males and females. It also examines whether changes are of greater magnitude than those morphological differences which might exist between populations. In an example population of African‐Americans, results indicate that there is a statistically significant difference in shape between age groups and those differences become progressively greater between the youngest and oldest adults. Results also show that although morphological variation caused by ageing is apparent, those shape differences attributable to sexual dimorphism are more powerful. When two additional populations are analysed jointly with the African‐Americans (Caucasian Americans and the European Spitalfields sample), results indicate that inter‐population shape differences are considerably greater than differences caused by increasing age. Results imply that it is justifiable to combine specimens of all ages into discrete samples for comparative purposes. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social change and sexual mores: a comparison between pre‐20th‐century Norway and 20th‐century Botswana

This article compares pre‐20th‐century Norway and 20th‐century Botswana—two settings separated by time and space but sharing a sharp rise in non‐nuptial births. The comparison seeks to create a synergetic analytical effect by combining firsthand, experience‐near field data from Botswana with solid historical analyses of bastardy in Europe. This radical comparison provides a perspective that highlights the importance of treating “culture” not as a residual category, but as an integral part of everything social. This implies that there is a need not only for a proper sociocultural contextualization of localities, but also for an analysis of extra‐local power structures as fundamentally cultural, reflecting not only bureaucratic and political concerns but also values and existential perspectives.     

Studies on Amerindian dogs, 2: Variation in early peruvian dogs

Remains of dogs have been discovered in Peru for over a hundred years, but relatively little information is available on them. Dating evidence, especially by the radiocarbon method, suggests that the skulls of dogs considered in detail here range from 1030 BC to 1324 AD, with the majority belonging to the past two millennia. Craniometric information is presented on a series of early Peruvian specimens now preserved in Lima and London, representing the majority of material as yet unpublished, and the largest sample so far studied. Additional Peruvian data were also collected from the literature, as well as comparable information on some other Amerindian dog series. It has been possible to indicate that two distinct forms are represented in the Peruvian material.     

Craniofacial morphology,diet and incisor use in three native American populations

It has been difficult to infer behaviours related to anterior tooth use in fossil hominids owing to a lack of broad‐based comparative studies of the relationships between front tooth use and craniodental features in modern humans. In this study, we seek to establish such a neontological baseline by exploring aspects of craniodental form among populations of recent humans that are inferred to have differed in habitual levels of ingestive and paramasticatory processing using the incisors. Morphometric data are compared among samples from three human populations: Aleutian Islanders (n=25); Arikara from the Mobridge Site, SD (n=19); and a late Woodland Bluff group from Jersey County, IL (n=24). Data for various biomechanically relevant dimensions were collected using standard callipers, while three‐dimensional (3D) coordinate data for 28 cranial landmarks were recorded using a video‐based image analysis system. These data indicate that several aspects of cranial form thought to influence the efficiency of force production on the incisors differ among the examined groups, including the positions and size of the primary masticatory muscles and the position of the dentition. For most dimensions, the Aleut sample exhibits the most mechanically advantageous configuration, the Illinois Bluff group the least advantageous configuration, while the Arikara are intermediate in form. This pattern corresponds to differences in the intensity of incisor loading among these groups, as inferred from both ethnographic reports and incisor microwear data. These results, therefore, suggest that cranial form in humans varies with subsistence‐related differences in masticatory force production and that quantitative studies of masticatory system configuration may provide useful information for studies of hominid palaeobiology. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fear,feminist geopolitics and the hot and banal

In this paper we bring together Billig’s notion of banal nationalism and recent feminist geopolitical examinations of fear in order to analyze two cases studies of fear among U.S. college students and U.S. soldiers experiencing sexual violence. Putting banal nationalism and feminist geopolitics into conversation, we argue, reveals both their compatibilities and important pathways for political geography and critical geopolitics to build on Billig’s work. In this regard, the paper makes three key contributions. First, we demonstrate how the insights and imperatives of banal nationalism intertwine in critical ways with the work of feminist geographers, as the banal is often rendered feminine and apolitical and as gender itself is often treated as banal despite its role in the reproduction of the nation. Second, we argue that the multi-scalar analytic of feminist geopolitics offers a valuable intervention into banal nationalism, as relational feminist approaches to binaries like intimate/global provide a useful model to account for hot and banal nationalism as a single, intertwining complex. Finally, through an analysis of fear in relation to sexual violence, the paper illustrates both the inseparability of banal and hot nationalism and how they are deeply gendered, as certain forms of deeply hot violence and fear are depoliticized through their banalization (e.g. sexual assault on college campuses), and as violence that is recognized as hot (e.g. war) is maintained through processes that are deemed banal (e.g. gender).     

Diameter of the human internal acoustic meatus and sex determination

We report the results of testing the diameter of the internal opening of the acoustic canal in the petrous part of the temporal bone for sex determination of skeletal remains. The method involves measuring the diameter using a suite of ordinary drills. The method is very simple and has the great advantage of utilising one of the sturdiest bone elements of the human skeleton. The method may be especially useful for the analyses of very fragmented skeletal remains or cremated bones, where the petrous bone may still be readily recognisable. The method was tested using a forensic sample of 113 left petrous bones with known sex. Intra‐ and inter‐observer testing was also performed. We found a statistically significant difference in diameter between males and females (means: males: 3.7 mm; females: 3.4 mm; P < 0.009). However, the low predictive value (70%) for correct sexing using two sectioning points ( < 3.0 mm = female; >3.5 mm = male) was disappointing. No additional accuracy was gained by employing both left and right petrous bones (a bilateral sample of 60 petrous bones was also tested), although left and right side diameter is highly correlated (R = 0.778; P = 0.0001). Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.