scholarly journals Bones of Contention: Reflections on Osteoarchaeology and the Baltic Region

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 11-26
Author(s):  
László Bartosiewicz

 During the last decade, some of the most significant archaeological interpretations included the integrated use of scientific methods, including osteoarchaeology. The identification, analysis and interpretation of human and animal remains from archaeological sites has been developing along increasingly different trajectories, due to the different aspects of daily life the bones of animals and humans illustrate. This paper is a review of the position osteoarchaeological research has achieved since the 1960s, through the example of its beginnings in the mid-20th century in Sweden. Similarities and differences between the histories, contents of and directions in human and animal osteoarchaeology are reviewed, revealing some controversies in the ways the results of the discipline have been embraced by the broader archaeological community. Similarly to archaeological research, increasingly complex analytical methods help refining results obtained by traditional morphometric methods applied to bones. This trend will continue in the foreseeable future: scientific methods will keep on contributing to valuable insights into past societies. Special sections in the paper are devoted to the possibilities of disseminating the results of osteoarchaeology through formal and informal networks such as publications, teaching and conferences within the context of the Baltic region through the example of archaeozoological research.

Author(s):  
Valter Lang

This chapter examines Iron Age funerary and domestic archaeological sites, and economic and cultural developments from c.500 BC–AD 550/600, in the east Baltic region (present day Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania). While the early pre-Roman Iron Age was to some extent a continuation of the late Bronze Age in material culture terms, many changes took place in the late pre-Roman Iron Age. At the change of era, new cultural trends spread over the east Baltic region, from the south-eastern shore of the Baltic to south-west Finland, which produced a remarkable unification of material culture over this entire region up to the Migration period. Differences in burial practices and ceramics, however, indicate the existence of two distinct ethnic groups, Proto-Finnic in the northern part of the region and Proto-Baltic to the south. Subsistence was based principally on agriculture and stock rearing, with minor variations in the economic orientation of different areas.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 132-141
Author(s):  
Lembi Lõugas ◽  
Eve Rannamäe

In Estonia, faunal remains have been an important part of archaeological material since the 19th century. During the 20th century, the interest in faunal history was rather volatile, but gained some stability during the 1990s. Since then, zooarchaeology in Estonia has developed substantially, focusing on a variety of topics. Together with methods from traditional zooarchaeology, interdisciplinary methods like the studies of ancient DNA and stable isotopes are increasingly used. However, despite the growing understanding of the importance of faunal remains in archaeological and historical research, there are still problems with collecting animal remains during the fieldwork and documenting and organising them. On the other hand, interest in scientific methods and destructive sampling of the osseous remains have become increasingly popular in science projects and international collaboration. In order to use osteological collections reasonably and ethically, proper systemisation is essential.In Estonia, there are two research centres for zooarchaeology, where scientific collections are administered – Tallinn University and the University of Tartu. Tallinn collections comprise material mostly from the northern part of the country, plus an extensive reference collection for fish has been developed there. In Tartu, mostly material from southern Estonia is managed, together with continuously expanding reference collection of mammals and birds. To improve the gathering and management of the osteological material in Estonia and reduce the shortage for storage space, a new central repository for osteological collections (both human and animal) was established in 2019. Concurrently, a new central database for the osteological data was created.In this paper, we introduce the zooarchaeological collections and some of the latest research topics in Estonia with an aim to broaden the understanding and potential of zooarchaeology in the Baltic region.


Author(s):  
Jessica C. Thompson

Faunal analysis (or zooarchaeology) in African archaeology is the identification, analysis, and interpretation of the remains of animal bones recovered from archaeological sites in Africa. Its methods and theoretical underpinnings derive from archaeology, paleontology, biology, and geochemistry, and they extend across all faunal categories. Much of the work in African faunal analysis concerns large-bodied mammalian taxa, but the approach encompasses analysis of fish, shellfish, birds, reptiles, and indeed all animal remains found in association with archaeological sites. The diversity of research encompassed within faunal analysis is also especially high in Africa, where the earliest reported archaeological site is far older than the earliest archaeological site outside of Africa. The extra time depth affords the African archaeological record a wide arena of research questions that are answerable using faunal data. Major themes in African faunal analysis include the origins of unique components of human diet and hunting ability, reconstruction of the transition from hunting and gathering to food production, and analysis of the historical use of animals in trade, exchange, and social status.


2003 ◽  
pp. 50-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. A. Smagin ◽  
M. G. Napreenko

The paper characterizes the 3 associations comprising plant communities with Sphagnum rubellum in the south-eastern part of the Baltic region. The new syntaxa differ from each other both in their floristic characters and the pronounced affinity to definite regional mire types and particular habitats. The ass. Drosero-Sphagnetum rubelli is typical of the relatively most thorough ranges. It is observed from the Kaliningrad region to the Karelian Isthmus and, according to the published reference, occurs even throughout the whole area around the Baltic Sea. Its most typical habitat is that of margins of mire lakes and pools. The ass. Eriophoro-Sphagnetum rubelli occurs in central plateaus of convex plateau-like bogs, typical of the areas adjacent to the Baltic Sea coast. It occupies extended flat mire ecotopes with the water level 0.2–0.25 m deep. The ass. Empetro-Sphagnetum rubelli is characteristic of the retrogressive complex in the convex bogs of the East-Baltic Province. It is mostly observed along the coast of the Gulf of Finland. Its stands are rather dynamic and unstable in both space and time. The presence of communities comprised by these 3 associations is an important vegetation character of the series of regional mire types. Assuming an association level of the respective syntaxa seems rational for the purposes of adequate reflection of plant cover diversity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (26) ◽  
pp. 122-130
Author(s):  
A. A. Dobrovolskaya ◽  

The article deals with statistics on the development of Bicycle roads in Russia and in the world, as well as design methods for a specific section of the connection of Bicycle routes in St. Petersburg. The article discusses the experience of using and entering bike paths based on the experience of Finland, as well as the types of bike paths and infrastructure features for metropolises. A model for creating a bike path by partially narrowing the roadway, graphical functions, and analytical information are provided. Practical examples of changing the infrastructure for bike paths are given. Keywords: bike path, traffic volume, design the roadway, lane width.


2003 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Connah ◽  
S.G.H. Daniels

New archaeological research in Borno by the Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, has included the analysis of pottery excavated from several sites during the 1990s. This important investigation made us search through our old files for a statistical analysis of pottery from the same region, which although completed in 1981 was never published. The material came from approximately one hundred surface collections and seven excavated sites, spread over a wide area, and resulted from fieldwork in the 1960s and 1970s. Although old, the analysis remains relevant because it provides a broad geographical context for the more recent work, as well as a large body of independent data with which the new findings can be compared. It also indicates variations in both time and space that have implications for the human history of the area, hinting at the ongoing potential of broadscale pottery analysis in this part of West Africa and having wider implications of relevance to the study of archaeological pottery elsewhere.


2005 ◽  
Vol 36 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 423-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Jakobson ◽  
H. Ohvril ◽  
O. Okulov ◽  
N. Laulainen

The total mass of columnar water vapour (precipitable water, W) is an important parameter of atmospheric thermodynamic and radiative models. In this work more than 60 000 radiosonde observations from 17 aerological stations in the Baltic region over 14 years, 1989–2002, were used to examine the variability of precipitable water. A table of monthly and annual means of W for the stations is given. Seasonal means of W are expressed as linear functions of the geographical latitude degree. A linear formula is also derived for parametrisation of precipitable water as a function of two parameters – geographical latitude and surface water vapour pressure.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Loza ◽  
A. Irmejs ◽  
Z. Daneberga ◽  
E. Miklasevics ◽  
E. Berga-Svitina ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Several recent studies in the Baltic region have found extended spectrum of pathogenic variants (PV) of the BRCA1/2 genes. The aim of current study is to analyze the spectrum of the BRCA1/2 PV in population of Latvia and to compare common PV between populations of the Baltic region. Methods We present a cohort of 9543 unrelated individuals including ones with cancer and unaffected individuals from population of Latvia, who were tested for three most common BRCA1 founder PV. In second line testing, 164 founder negative high-risk individuals were tested for PV of the BRCA1/2 using next generation sequencing (NGS). Local spectrum of the BRCA1/2 PV was compared with the Baltic region by performing a literature review. Results Founder PV c.5266dupC, c.4035delA or c.181 T > G was detected in 369/9543 (3.9%) cases. Other BRCA1/2 PV were found in 44/164 (26.8%) of NGS cases. Four recurrent BRCA1 variants c.5117G > A (p.Gly1706Glu), c.4675G > A (p.Glu1559Lys), c.5503C > T (p.Arg1835*) and c.1961delA (p.Lys654fs) were detected in 18/44 (41.0%), 5/44 (11.4%), 2/44 (4.5%) and 2/44 (4.5%) cases respectively. Additionally, 11 BRCA1 PV and six BRCA2 PV were each found in single family. Conclusions By combining three studies by our group of the same cohort in Latvia, frequency of the BRCA1/2 PV for unselected breast and ovarian cancer cases is 241/5060 (4.8%) and 162/1067 (15.2%) respectively. The frequency of three “historical” founder PV is up to 87.0% (369/424). Other non-founder PV contribute to at least 13.0% (55/424) and this proportion probably will rise by increasing numbers of the BRCA1/2 sequencing. In relative numbers, c.5117G > A is currently the third most frequent PV of the BRCA1 in population of Latvia, overcoming previously known third most common founder variant c.181 T > G. In addition to three BRCA1 founder PV, a total of five recurrent BRCA1 and two recurrent BRCA2 PV have been reported in population of Latvia so far. Many of the BRCA1/2 PV reported in Latvia are shared among other populations of the Baltic region.


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