Mummy studies and parasite infections in Brazil

2005 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adauto Araújo ◽  
Karl Reinhard ◽  
Alexandre Fernandes ◽  
Luciana Sianto ◽  
Marcelo Luiz Carvalho Gonçalves ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
South American ◽  
Rain Forests ◽  
Humid Climate ◽  
Tropical Countries ◽  
Tropical Environments ◽  
Parasite Infections ◽  
Organic Remains

Mummified bodies are unexpected finds in archaeological sites of tropical countries. Rain forests and humid climate provide poor environmental conditions to preserve organic remains. However, South American tropical environments also include dry savanna, such as the caatinga and the cerrado Brazilian biomes, as well as cold Highlands, where naturally mummified human bodies have been found in archaeological sites. [...]

Loom weights in Archaic South Italy and Sicily: Fice case studies

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 123-155
Author(s):  
Hedvig Landenius Enegren
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Experimental Archaeology ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Site Specificity ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
South Italy ◽  
Local Traditions ◽  
Tool Technology

Textiles are perishables in the archaeological record unless specific environmental conditions are met. Fortunately, the textile tools used in their manufacture can provide a wealth of information and via experimental archaeology make visible to an extent what has been lost. The article presents and discusses the results obtained in a research project focused on textile tool technologies and identities in the context of settler and indigenous peoples, at select archaeological sites in South Italy and Sicily in the Archaic and Early Classical periods, with an emphasis on loom weights. Despite a common functional tool technology, the examined loom weights reveal an intriguing inter-site specificity, which, it is argued, is the result of hybrid expressions embedded in local traditions. Experimental archaeology testing is applied in the interpretation of the functional qualities of this common artefact.

scholarly journals A New Radiocarbon Pretreatment Method for Molluscan Shell Using Density Fractionation of Carbonates in Bromoform

Radiocarbon ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 1301-1311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher M Russo ◽  
Jennifer A Tripp ◽  
Katerina Douka ◽  
Thomas F G Higham
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Separation Technique ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Density Fractionation ◽  
Pretreatment Method ◽  
Density Separation ◽  
Molluscan Shell ◽  
Archaeological Artifacts ◽  
Organic Remains

Coastal archaeological sites that lack organic remains for radiocarbon dating are often abundant sources of molluscan shells. As a substitute for materials such as bone and charcoal, shells can be analyzed with 14C dating to determine a site's age. Despite their being convenient, non-mobile archaeological artifacts, molluscan shells are plagued by several issues, including carbonate remodeling, in which aragonite in shells is converted to calcite as predicted by thermodynamics. We present here a carbonate density separation technique that addresses the issue of carbonate remodeling. Using a density fractionation with bromoform, aragonite concentrations are enriched in shells that have undergone significant remodeling. The technique has been applied to archaeological shells and has returned dates that are younger than those previously determined for the same shells.

scholarly journals Lessons from Star Carr on the vulnerability of organic archaeological remains to environmental change

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (46) ◽  
pp. 12957-12962 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsty High ◽  
Nicky Milner ◽  
Ian Panter ◽  
Beatrice Demarchi ◽  
Kirsty E. H. Penkman
Keyword(s):  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Archaeological Remains ◽  
Rapid Loss ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Archaeological Material ◽  
Exceptional Preservation ◽  
Environmental Materials ◽  
The Last Glacial ◽  
Organic Remains

Examples of wetland deposits can be found across the globe and are known for preserving organic archaeological and environmental remains that are vitally important to our understanding of past human–environment interactions. The Mesolithic site of Star Carr (Yorkshire, United Kingdom) represents one of the most influential archives of human response to the changing climate at the end of the last glacial in Northern Europe. A hallmark of the site since its discovery in 1948 has been the exceptional preservation of its organic remains. Disturbingly, recent excavations have suggested that the geochemistry of the site is no longer conducive to such remarkable survival of organic archaeological and environmental materials. Microcosm (laboratory-based) burial experiments have been undertaken, alongside analysis of artifacts excavated from the site, to assess the effect of these geochemical changes on the remaining archaeological material. By applying a suite of macroscopic and molecular analyses, we demonstrate that the geochemical changes at Star Carr are contributing to the inexorable and rapid loss of valuable archaeological and paleoenvironmental information. Our findings have global implications for other wetland sites, particularly archaeological sites preserved in situ.

Fleas From Pharaonic Amarna

Antiquity ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 75 (289) ◽  
pp. 499-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Panagiotakopulu
Keyword(s):  
New World ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
South American ◽  
Primary Host ◽  
Nest Sites ◽  
Pulex Irritans ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Animal Hosts ◽  
Egyptian Desert ◽  
Large Groups

The preservation of ectoparasites in archaeological sites is normally problematic, but the dry environment of the Egyptian desert keeps even the very fragile remains of fleas intact.Fleas, Siphonaptera, can be divided in three large groups: the sedentary fleas that live in the nest of their hosts, the mobile fleas that still require a nest but can also live on the host, and the stick-tight fleas that attach themselves on the host. The human flea, Pulex irritans L. is one of the mobile fleas, nowadays cosmopolitan, and has been found on a wide range of hosts (Hopla 1980; Cooper 2001). Man evolved in the Old World and although the human flea is closely associated with him, it probably has a New World origin (Hopla 1980: 201; Traub 1985: 408; Buckland & Sadler 1989), as all its congeners are found in the Americas. Donkin (1985) thought that the original host for P. irritans was the peccary (family Tayassuidae). However peccaries do not have relatively permanent nest sites, and Buckland & Sadler (19891, after examining the profiles of different animal hosts, have suggested Cavia porcellus L., the guinea pig (cavy) as the primary host for the flea. C. porcellus was domesticated during the pre-Colombian period for its meat, but its contribution to the South American agricultural economy has always been on a local scale. Recent archaeological finds of Pulex sp. on a pre-Columbian C. porcellus from Peru (Dittmar 2000) support the above hypothesis.

Solar Refrigerator With Efficient Adsorbent

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Trujeque Bolio
Keyword(s):  
Hydrogen Bonds ◽  
Adsorption Capacity ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Natural Zeolites ◽  
Composite Sorbent ◽  
Humid Climate ◽  
Gaseous State ◽  
Cooling Technology ◽  
Desorption Mechanism ◽  
Efficient Adsorbent

The design a solar-sorption refrigerator to be used in the warm and humid climate of Mexico, the most critical environmental conditions and most demanding climatic zone for cooling technology, requires that the adsorption capacity of the composite sorbent to be characterize. It must be verified that the composite sorbent such as silica gel, calcium chloride and various natural zeolites, with different substances in a gaseous state as sorbate, (water, methanol and ethanol), has hydrogen bonds that can be united and broken easily, measuring the amount of energy required by the sorption-desorption mechanism.

scholarly journals Ancient DNA reveals the lost domestication history of South American camelids in Northern Chile and across the Andes

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paloma Diaz-Maroto ◽  
Alba Rey-Iglesia ◽  
Isabel Cartajena ◽  
Lautaro Núñez ◽  
Michael V Westbury ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Formative Period ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
South American ◽  
Northern Chile ◽  
Spanish Conquest ◽  
Domestic Species ◽  
South American Camelids ◽  
History Of ◽  
Early Formative

The study of South American camelids and their domestication is a highly debated topic in zooarchaeology. Identifying the domestic species (alpaca and llama) in archaeological sites based solely on morphological data is challenging due to their similarity with respect to their wild ancestors. Using genetic methods also presents challenges due to the hybridization history of the domestic species, which are thought to have extensively hybridized following the Spanish conquest of South America that resulted in camelids slaughtered en masse. In this study, we generated mitochondrial genomes for 61 ancient South American camelids dated between 3,500 and 2,400 years before the present (Early Formative period) from two archaeological sites in Northern Chile (Tulán-54 and Tulán-85), as well as 66 modern camelid mitogenomes and 815 modern mitochondrial control region sequences from across South America. In addition, we performed osteometric analyses to differentiate big and small body size camelids. A comparative analysis of these data suggests that a substantial proportion of the ancient vicuña genetic variation has been lost since the Early Formative period, as it is not present in modern specimens. Moreover, we propose a domestication hypothesis that includes an ancient guanaco population that no longer exists. Finally, we find evidence that interbreeding practices were widespread during the domestication process by the early camelid herders in the Atacama during the Early Formative period and predating the Spanish conquest.

scholarly journals OSL Chronology of the Siling Co Paleolithic Site in Central Tibetan Plateau

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lan Luo ◽  
Zhongping Lai ◽  
Wenhao Zheng ◽  
Yantian Xu ◽  
Lupeng Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Ground Surface ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Stratigraphic Correlation ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Paleolithic Site ◽  
Humid Climate ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Central Tibetan Plateau

When and how was the Tibetan Plateau (TP), one of the least habitable regions on Earth, occupied by humans are important questions in the research of human evolution. Among tens of Paleolithic archaeological sites discovered over the past decades, only five are considered coeval with or older than the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, ∼27–19 ka). As one of them, the Siling Co site in the central TP was previously announced to be ∼40–30 ka based on radiocarbon dating and stratigraphic correlation. Given the loose chronological constraint in previous studies, we here re-examined the chronology of the Siling Co site with the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating technique. Four sections from the paleo-shoreline at an elevation of ∼4,600 m in southeastern Siling Co were investigated, with stone artifacts found from the ground surface. Dating results of nine samples delineated the age of ∼4,600 m paleo-shoreline to be ∼10–7 ka (∼8.54 ± 0.21 ka in average). This age indicates that the Siling Co site is not earlier than the early Holocene, much younger than the former age. The revised age of the Siling Co site is consistent with the wet and humid climate conditions on the TP during the early Holocene.

scholarly journals Seasonal pelage color change: news based on a South American Rodent

2006 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina R. Camargo ◽  
Elton Colares ◽  
Ana Maria L. Castrucci
Keyword(s):  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Color Change ◽  
South American ◽  
Circannual Rhythm ◽  
Adaptive Function ◽  
Pelage Color ◽  
Orange Color ◽  
Brown Color ◽  
Calomys Laucha

Mammalian seasonalmolting and color change are known to be influencedby photoperiod changes. Calomys laucha, a South American rodent, exhibits seasonal pelage color change; however, unlike Northern hemisphere rodents, which present a gray or brown color during summer and a whitish color during winter, C. laucha pelage changes from an orange color during summer to a dark gray color during winter. Animals maintained for over a year in stationary photoperiod (LD 12:12h, 22ºC) presented orange pelage color during the summer corresponding month (January), and gray color during the winter corresponding month (July). Same age animals were evaluated during summer or winter months, and also showed different colors. Animals exposed for 12 weeks to summer or winter artificial conditions displayed color change, not according to the environmental conditions, as expected, but similar to that of animals maintained in stationary photoperiod. These results suggest that pelage color change in C. laucha is controlled by an endogenous circannual rhythm. The adaptive function of C. laucha color change is discussed.

scholarly journals Post - Harvest Conservation of Food

1981 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent Labeyrie
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Soil Degradation ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Harvest Time ◽  
Tropical Countries ◽  
Post Harvest ◽  
Adequate Knowledge ◽  
Stored Grains ◽  
The Tropics

The shortage of proteins in tropical countries cannot be overcome by the development of the breeding of animals originating outside the tropics, as they are ill adapted to the environmental conditions and yield a low output. Edible pulses, domesticated in these regions, can alleviate this shortage without causing soil degradation, because of their ecological properties, the rapidity of their growth, and the storability of their grains. But agricultural research ignores most of these species, and, although they are no less important than maize, their production is not even mentioned in world statistics. The protection of the stored grains is essential. The fight against weevils (Bruchidae), which often destroy more than half of the harvest, has been unsuccessful because it has not been based on an adequate knowledge of these beetles, and in particular of how they infest crops at harvest time; they are wrongly believed to attack only stored grains.

Environment and Culture during the Pre-Qin Period in the Chaohu Lake Basin, Anhui Province, East China

2012 ◽  
Vol 253-255 ◽  
pp. 829-834
Author(s):  
Li Wu ◽  
Feng Li ◽  
Xin Yuan Wang ◽  
Su Yuan Li ◽  
Cheng Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Culture ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Chaohu Lake ◽  
Lake Basin ◽  
Humid Climate ◽  
The North ◽  
Chaohu Lake Basin ◽  
Important Position ◽  
The Chaohu Lake Basin

The Chaohu Lake Basin is one of the human influenced regions of the Pre-Qin Period in China, and more than 100 archaeological sites of Pre-Qin Period were found in this area. There are good relationships between temporal-spatial distribution of archaeological sites and environmental changes, especially with the changes of lakeshore of Chaohu Lake caused by the regional climatic oscillation. The relatively warm and humid climate of the Pre-Qin Period, the important position of ancient Chinese culture exchanges between the north and south, the developed water network, and rich biological resources, all of these factors had been the important environmental foundation for the originating and development of the Pre-Qin culture in the basin.

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