The Economy of Supply: Modeling Obsidian Procurement and Craft Provisioning at a Central Mexican Urban Center

2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 435-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth G. Hirth

This article examines the way that obsidian craftsmen at Xochicalco, Mexico obtained the raw material needed to produce prismatic blades at the site between A.D. 650 and 900. The paper models seven different forms of direct, indirect, and institutional procurement that craftsmen could have used to obtain this obsidian. These seven procurement models are evaluated using two types of information collected from four domestic workshops: (1) source analysis (NAA, PIXE) to identify where obsidian came from, and (2) technological analysis to determine the form in which obsidian entered workshops. The results indicate that Xochicalco craftsmen most likely were provisioned through itinerant craftsmen who periodically visited Xochicalco. Pressure cores nearing exhaustion were sold to Xochicalco craftsmen who rejuvenated them to produce additional prismatic blades using a hand-held blade removal technology. The results indicate that: (1) different forms of craft provisioning can be differentiated when multiple forms of data are incorporated into the distributional approach, (2) independent domestic craft specialists were the foundation for Mesoamerican economy and were individually responsible for the procurement of raw materials and the distribution of finished products, and (3) neither state institutions, nor the elite who directed them, were involved in the procurement of obsidian for craft specialists who produced valued tools.

1998 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Mosquera Martinez

This article reviews the evidence for planning behaviour in Middle Pleistocene hominids. It documents the way in which raw material procurement and tool production were structured during the Middle Pleistocene occupations of the Spanish sites of Sierra de Atapuerca, Torralba, Ambrona and Aridos. Differences in the use of raw materials for different kinds of tool or end-product allow inferences to be drawn about pre-Neanderthal intentionality and cognitive ability. The overall pattern of technological behaviour demonstrated by this study is far removed from the purely ‘opportunistic’ and can reasonably be described as involving both forethought and planning. The work is presented from a techno-economic perspective based on the differential use of raw material types present in the lithic assemblages of these sites, and the proximity of sources of these raw materials in the surrounding landscape.


Author(s):  
Joana Belmiro ◽  
João Cascalheira ◽  
Célia Gonçalves

This study presents preliminary results from a technological analysis of lithic artefacts from the Mesolithic shellmidden of Cabeço da Amoreira (Muge, Portugal). The main goal was to understand the technological and raw material variability within the two main excavation areas of the site, in order to characterize the different occupation moments. A typological and attribute approach was used in the analysis. The results suggest a clear distinction of the lithic assemblages, associated with the sedimentary differences identified in the composition of the several layers. This separation can be found mostly in the frequencies of raw materials, cores and retouched tools.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Cánovas Calle ◽  
María Dolores Simón Vallejo ◽  
Lydia Calle Román ◽  
Victoria Aranda Sanchez ◽  
Rubén Parrilla Giraldez ◽  
...  

This work presents the first results about the use of siliceous raw materials by the hunter-gatherer societies during the Late Glacial in the level 5 of El Pirulejo. El Pirulejo is located within the municipality of Priego de Córdoba (Córdoba, Spain).The archaeological level P/5 is classified as a Solutrean, according to the technological analysis of the lithic assemblage. The methodology used about the raw material is divided into four phases. During this first phase, we carried out a sampling analysis of local primary and secondary outcrops in the proximity of the site, over an area of 20 km from the site. We also performed a macroscopic and petrographic analysis of selected samples. In these phase, we describe the Veleta Formation, wich represents the main siliceous outcrop closest to the site. Once the local flint was characterized, it was compared to the lithic industry assemblage of level P/5, with the intention of observing the management and exploitation of local flint associated to knapping activities. As a result of the assemblage analysed so far, we have ruled out local operations on these chert samples and propose an area of exploitation of lithic resources that will exceed 20 kilometres around the site. We ruled out that the Veleta Formation provided a source of lithic supply for the hunter-gatherer societies. 


Quaternary ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Üftade Muşkara ◽  
Ayşin Konak

Kendale Hecala is located on the Ambar River in the Upper Tigris Basin, province of Diyarbakır in Southeast Anatolia. Various raw materials, including obsidian, radiolarite, chert, jasper, chalcedony, and quartzite, were used in the lithic industry. Obsidian artefacts constitute an average of 64% of the chipped stone assemblage. Technological analysis reveals that obsidian was brought to the settlement as nodules and chipped into various tools at the settlement. Understanding the operational sequence of the lithic industry, chaîne opératoire, including the distribution of raw material from source to site, is important to demonstrate the socio-cultural organization of the settlement in Southeastern Anatolia during the Ubaid period. In order to identify source varieties, the obsidian artefacts uncovered from Ubaid layers of Kendale Hecala were analyzed by macro-observations, and the characterization of archaeological samples was performed using a handheld XRF. Multivariate analysis of the data indicates the use of obsidian from different resources at the settlement, including Nemrut Dağ, Bingöl B, and Group 3d.


2020 ◽  
pp. 87-94
Author(s):  
Rafał Kamprowski

This article examines the issue of ensuring raw material security as seen in the contemporary national security strategies of Poland. The temporal framework identified as “contemporary” indicates that the analysis embraced documents from the period 2003–2020, which mark a significant qualitative change in terms of defining and understanding security as an area which is not dominated by its hard, military aspect. The study aims to identify, discuss and compare various concepts of ensuring raw material security to Poland on the basis of the four strategies of Poland’s national security. The following research problems were formulated to achieve the research objectives defined in this way: to what extent is the issue of Poland’s raw material security present in the documents analyzed? What tools have the authors of the strategies employed to ensure security in Poland in terms of raw materials? What are the main difficulties in ensuring raw material security to Poland highlighted by the analyzed national security strategies? Are there any convergences in the visions of ensuring Poland’s raw material security presented in the analyzed strategies? The research questions formulated in this way served as the basis for the following research hypothesis: given an increase in non-military threats, the raw material-related dimension of security is increasingly emphasized in national security strategies. The research methods used in this article include the comparative method and source analysis. The technique of analysis was also used.


1998 ◽  
Vol 61 (11) ◽  
pp. 1446-1453 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARTYN H. BROWN ◽  
KENNETH W. DAVIES ◽  
CHRISTELLE M.-P. BILLON ◽  
CAROL ADAIR ◽  
PETER J. McCLURE

Ensuring microbiological safety requires identification of realistic hazards and the means of controlling them. The risk assessment framework proposed by Codex Alimentarius allows the impact of raw materials and processes to be appreciated, and the output can be used for risk management and communication. Mathematical models allow numerical information to be processed by a Computer and interpreted to give quantitative or comparative risk assessments. In this example, models have been put together according to the Codex Alimentarius principles, providing a quantitative risk assessment (QRA) of salmonellosis from frozen poultry products. This model-based QRA takes into account three types of information: occurrence and distribution of the agent, sensitivity of populations to infection (e.g., normal or susceptible), and the effect of cooking (in the factory or home) on concentration of the agent and hence risks of infection after product consumption. It only demonstrates the impact of a single-process step (heating) and the effect of changes in population sensitivity, raw material quality, and cooking regime on the final risk. The effects of growth and recontamination are not considered. To aid risk communication, the models have been visualized by means of displays and slider Controls on a Computer screen because effective communication is essential to encourage manufacturers and their product designers to assess the effect of changes in processing or materials on risk.


Somatechnics ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 250-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oron Catts ◽  
Ionat Zurr

The paper discusses and critiques the concept of the single engineering paradigm. This concepts allude to a future in which the control of matter and life, and life as matter, will be achieved by applying engineering principles; through nanotechnology, synthetic biology and, as some suggest, geo-engineering, cognitive engineering and neuro-engineering. We outline some issues in the short history of the field labelled as Synthetic Biology. Furthermore; we examine the way engineers, scientists, designers and artists are positioned and articulating the use of the tools of Synthetic Biology to expose some of the philosophical, ethical and political forces and considerations of today as well as some future scenarios. We suggest that one way to enable the possibilities of alternative frames of thought is to open up the know-how and the access to these technologies to other disciplines, including artistic.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 334-351
Author(s):  
A. S. Mavlyanov ◽  
E. K. Sardarbekova

Introduction. The objective of the research is to study the effect of the complex activation of the alumina raw material on the rheological properties of the ceramic mass. In addition, the authors investigate solutions for the application of optimal coagulation structures based on loams and ash together with plastic certificates.Materials and methods. The authors used the local forest like reserves of clay loams at the BashKarasu, ash fields of the Bishkek Central Heating Centre (BTEC) and plasticizer (sodium naphthenate obtained from alkaline chemical production wastes) as fibrous materials. Moreover, the authors defined technological properties of raw materials within standard laboratory methodology in accordance with current GOSTs.Results. The researchers tested plastic durability on variously prepared masses for the choice of optimal structures. The paper demonstrated the plastic durability of complexly activated compounds comparing with non-activated and mechanically activated compounds. The sensitivity coefficient increased the amount of clay loams by mechanically and complexly activated, which predetermined the possibility of intensifying the process of drying samples based on complexly activated masses.Discussion and conclusions. However, mechanical activation of clay material reduces the period of relaxation and increases the elasticity coefficient of ceramic masses by 1.8–3.4 times, meanwhile decreases elasticity, viscosity and the conventional power during molding, which generally worsens the molding properties of the masses. Сomplex activation of ash-clay material decreases the period of relaxation and provides an increase in elasticity, plasticity of ceramic masses by 46–47%, reduction in viscosity by 1.5–2 times, conventional power on molding by 37–122% in comparison with MA clay loams. Ceramic masses based on spacecraft alumina raw materials belong to the SMT with improved rheological properties; products based on them pass through the mouthpiece for 5–7 seconds.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Firman L. Sahwan

Organic materials that are generally used as raw material for organic fertilizer granules (POG) is a natural organic material that has been degrade, smooth and dry. One of the main raw materials are always used with a very high percentage of usage, is manure. Manure potential in Indonesia is very high, amounting to 113.6 million tons per year, or 64.7 million tons per year to the island of Java. From this amount, it will be generated numbers POG production potential of 17.5 million tons per year (total Indonesia) or 9.9 million tons per year for the island of Java. While the realistic POG production predictions figures made from raw manure is 2.5 million tons annually, a figure that has been unable to meet the number requirement of POG greater than 4 million tons per year. Therefore, in producing POG, it should be to maximize the using of the potential of other organic materials so that the use of manure can be saved. With the use of a small amount of manure (maximum 30% for cow manure), it would be useful also to avoid the production of POG with high Fe content.keywods: organic material, manure, granule organic fertilizer


Food Industry ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-70
Author(s):  
Oliya Fazullina ◽  
Stanislav Smirnov

Health indicators of the population depend significantly on the food quality and nutritional value. Simple carbohydrates excess of and lack of protein, dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other physiologically active substances increase the risk of socially significant disease progress. The development and production of mass-consumed products with high nutritional and biological value, including affordable non-traditional raw materials use, are promising areas of the food industry development aimed at improving the nutritional status of the population. The article presents the research results on the developed Noodle products recipes from non-traditional raw materials that meet modern healthy nutrition requirements, intended for dietary treatment and dietary prevention of people with overweight / obesity. The research aimed at expanding the range of macaroni products with these characteristics. As the main raw material, a man selected whole-wheat flour – new spelt flour, and as additional raw materials – buckwheat flour, broccoli and celery powders. The researchers found that the introduction of macaroni products from buckwheat spelt, broccoli and celery powders into the recipe had a multidirectional effect, reducing or increasing various indicators of its nutritional value. The changes range did not affect the overall characteristics. The satisfaction degree of the average daily need for food substances and energy when consuming a portion of 100 g for each sample of developed Noodle products allows them to be classified as functional products that are protein and dietary fiber sources, according to the requirements of the TR CU 022/2011.


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