Form and Function of Early Neolithic Bifacial Stone Tools Reflects Changes in Land Use Practices during the Neolithization Process in the Levant

Land-use change models are useful tools for assessing and comparing the environmental impact of alternative policy scenarios. Their increasing popularity as spatial planning instruments also poses new scientific challenges, such as correctly calibrating the model. The challenge in model calibration is twofold: obtaining a reliable and consistent time series of land-use information and finding suitable measures to compare model output to reality. Both of these issues are addressed in this paper. The authors propose a model calibration framework that is supported by information on urban form and function derived from medium-resolution remote sensing data through newly developed spatial metrics. The remote sensing derived maps are compared to model output of the same date for two model scenarios using well-known spatial metrics. Results demonstrate a good resemblance between the simulation output and the remote sensing derived maps.

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The role of the house in early Neolithic Ireland

European Journal of Archaeology ◽

10.1177/1461957107086125 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 9 (2-3) ◽

pp. 229-257 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Jessica Smyth

Keyword(s):

Early Neolithic ◽

Form And Function ◽

Interesting Part ◽

The Creation ◽

And Function ◽

Neolithic Ireland

The focus of this article is the use and abandonment of the rectangular timber buildings of the Irish early Neolithic, a period that corresponds roughly with the first half of the fourth millennium cal BC. While they do not represent the only remains of occupation at this time, the fact that they display a striking degree of homogeneity of size, shape and materials makes them an especially interesting part of settlement activity on the island. One particular feature of this patterning is the frequency with which early Neolithic timber buildings have been substantially or completely destroyed by fire. It will be argued below that this burning was deliberate and played an important role in the lifecycle – the creation, maintenance and destruction – of these buildings. To provide a context for this discussion, a more in-depth look will be taken at these distinctive buildings and at their form and function.

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Historical land use as a driver of alternative states for stream form and function in forested mountain watersheds of the Southern Rocky Mountains

Earth Surface Processes and Landforms ◽

10.1002/esp.4275 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 43 (3) ◽

pp. 669-684 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Bridget Livers ◽

Ellen Wohl ◽

Karen J. Jackson ◽

Nicholas A. Sutfin

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Rocky Mountains ◽

Alternative States ◽

Form And Function ◽

Southern Rocky Mountains ◽

Mountain Watersheds ◽

Historical Land Use ◽

And Function

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From Big Houses to Cult Houses: Early Neolithic Timber Halls in Scotland

Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society ◽

10.1017/s0079497x00000062 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 73 ◽

pp. 75-96 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Kenneth Brophy

Keyword(s):

Small Group ◽

Social Memory ◽

Early Neolithic ◽

Form And Function ◽

The Past ◽

And Function ◽

Architectural Traits ◽

Neolithic Monuments

This paper addresses a small group of Neolithic monuments recorded as cropmarks in eastern lowland Scotland that have been termed timber halls, the best known example being the large rectangular building, Balbridie. Three such sites have now been excavated, and all have been shown to date to the early centuries of the Neolithic and to have been largely similar structures; further possible examples in the cropmark record will be assessed, through looking at the use of the term ‘timber hall’ in Scottish archaeology over the past 40 years. The paper will also address a number of sites, mostly known as cropmarks, which have similar dimensions and architectural traits to these timber halls. Excavations, however, have shown them to have a very different form (for instance, probably unroofed), and to date to the latter half of the 4th millennium cal BC, several centuries later than the first timber halls. Drawing on excavation results, cropmarks, and evidence from outwith Scotland, this paper will discuss the changing form and function of the Neolithic ‘timber hall’ tradition in Scotland, arguing that roofed ‘big houses’ were later replaced by ceremonial and mortuary ‘cult houses’, drawing on social memory and tradition.

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Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) of DNA and RNA

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100152148 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 47 ◽

pp. 34-35

Author(s):

Patricia G. Arscott ◽

Gil Lee ◽

Victor A. Bloomfield ◽

D. Fennell Evans

Keyword(s):

Molecular Structures ◽

Inorganic Materials ◽

Resolving Power ◽

Scanning Tunneling ◽

Tunneling Microscopy ◽

Form And Function ◽

Dna And Rna ◽

Calf Thymus ◽

And Function ◽

The Relationship

STM is one of the most promising techniques available for visualizing the fine details of biomolecular structure. It has been used to map the surface topography of inorganic materials in atomic dimensions, and thus has the resolving power not only to determine the conformation of small molecules but to distinguish site-specific features within a molecule. That level of detail is of critical importance in understanding the relationship between form and function in biological systems. The size, shape, and accessibility of molecular structures can be determined much more accurately by STM than by electron microscopy since no staining, shadowing or labeling with heavy metals is required, and there is no exposure to damaging radiation by electrons. Crystallography and most other physical techniques do not give information about individual molecules.We have obtained striking images of DNA and RNA, using calf thymus DNA and two synthetic polynucleotides, poly(dG-me5dC)·poly(dG-me5dC) and poly(rA)·poly(rU).

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