Stable isotope analyses of mammal skeletal remains of Holocene age from European Russia: A way to trace dietary and environmental changes

Fifty-five samples of human and animal fossil skeletal remains (sheep, cattle, horse and deer) collected at six different sites in European Russia were measured for the oxygen isotopic composition of bone phosphate (δ¹⁸Op) and for the carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotopic composition of bone collagen. The age of these samples ranges from 10 500 to 200 BP covering a time period of about 10 000 years. The samples come from the steppe area of southern European Russia, from the northern Black Sea coast and from an area near Moscow. From the results obtained it can be suggested that the steppe tribes were nomads, at least after 4000 BP, and that they probably moved from east to west and vice-versa (i.e. from the Volga area to the Black Sea coast). C₄ plants were present in the steppe area since 5000 BP. On the contrary, in the area near Moscow and on the Black Sea coast no C₄ species are documented at least until 5000 and 6000 BP respectively. Arid environmental conditions dominate the steppe area even though the N isotope values suggest a climatic improvement-taking place from 5000 BP towards present in terms of more humid conditions. As regards diet, it seems that the subsistence of the steppe populations was based mainly on terrestrial food and in particular on sheep with a minor contribution of fish. The populations from the Moscow area probably had a permanent economy mainly based on fishing.     

Stature estimation in ancient Egyptians: a new technique based on anatomical reconstruction of stature

Trotter and Gleser's (Trotter and Gleser: Am J Phys Anthropol 10 (1952) 469-514; Trotter and Gleser: Am J Phys Anthropol 16 (1958) 79-123) long bone formulae for US Blacks or derivations thereof (Robins and Shute: Hum Evol 1 (1986) 313-324) have been previously used to estimate the stature of ancient Egyptians. However, limb length to stature proportions differ between human populations; consequently, the most accurate mathematical stature estimates will be obtained when the population being examined is as similar as possible in proportions to the population used to create the equations. The purpose of this study was to create new stature regression formulae based on direct reconstructions of stature in ancient Egyptians and assess their accuracy in comparison to other stature estimation methods. We also compare Egyptian body proportions to those of modern American Blacks and Whites. Living stature estimates were derived using a revised Fully anatomical method (Raxter et al.: Am J Phys Anthropol 130 (2006) 374-384). Long bone stature regression equations were then derived for each sex. Our results confirm that, although ancient Egyptians are closer in body proportion to modern American Blacks than they are to American Whites, proportions in Blacks and Egyptians are not identical. The newly generated Egyptian-based stature regression formulae have standard errors of estimate of 1.9-4.2 cm. All mean directional differences are less than 0.4% compared to anatomically estimated stature, while results using previous formulae are more variable, with mean directional biases varying between 0.2% and 1.1%, tibial and radial estimates being the most biased. There is no evidence for significant variation in proportions among temporal or social groupings; thus, the new formulae may be broadly applicable to ancient Egyptian remains.     

Brief communication: diachronic investigation of linear enamel hypoplasia in prehistoric skeletal samples from Trentino,Italy

Linear enamel hypoplasia was scored on Neolithic, Copper Age, and Early Bronze Age samples from the Trentino region, Italy, in order to compare the extent of growth disruption in different biocultural subsistence systems (foragers with little agriculture, to agriculturists and agropastoralists). The Early Bronze Age sample shows a higher frequency of enamel defects and an earlier chronological onset than the early Neolithic sample. The higher frequency of defects in the Bronze Age sample could be linked to less diversified nutrition and, because of increased sedentism, a higher risk of disease.     

Towards alien plant prioritization in Italy: methodological issues and first results

In recent decades, multiple actions have been taken to counteract the relentless expansion of invasive alien species as well as to gain a better understanding of their effects on ecosystems. Here, we describe the approach designed by the Italian Botanical Society that is aimed at selecting a list of candidate alien plants to be subjected to a prioritization procedure. We selected a total of 96 species on the basis of data related to their occurrence on both a national and regional scale, their invasiveness and their potential to invade plant communities and/or habitats of community concern. This list represents the first result obtained by applying this standardized workflow and is a first step towards the identification of those alien species that should be included in the national list according to Regulation (EU) n. 1143/2014.     

Stature and body mass estimation from skeletal remains in the European Holocene

Techniques that are currently available for estimating stature and body mass from European skeletal remains are all subject to various limitations. Here, we develop new prediction equations based on large skeletal samples representing much of the continent and temporal periods ranging from the Mesolithic to the 20th century. Anatomical reconstruction of stature is carried out for 501 individuals, and body mass is calculated from estimated stature and biiliac breadth in 1,145 individuals. These data are used to derive stature estimation formulae based on long bone lengths and body mass estimation formulae based on femoral head breadth. Prediction accuracy is superior to that of previously available methods. No systematic geographic or temporal variation in prediction errors is apparent, except in tibial estimation of stature, where northern and southern European formulae are necessary because of the presence of relatively longer tibiae in southern samples. Thus, these equations should bebroadly applicable to European Holocene skeletal samples.     

Temporal craniometric changes from the Jomon to the Modern period in western Japan

Temporal changes in morphometric features of human cranial remains from the late Jomon period (1500 B.C.–300 B.C.) to the Modern period (1900–1950 A.D.) in western Japan are examined. The results of univariate and multivariate analysis indicate that the Yayoi people (300 B.C.–300 A.D.), characterized by high faces and tall stature, show morphological discontinuity with the earlier Jomon people, who exhibit lower faces and shorter stature. This discontinuity contrasts with the relatively continuous changes among populations after the Yayoi. Comparing these changes with those documented in the Kanto region of eastern Japan indicates there are significant regional differences in the degree and rate of transformation in certain cranial features, especially facial height, between the two regions. Differences in cranial shape between the two regions become apparent during the Yayoi period and these differences tend to diminish thereafter. The most plausible explanation for these observed changes is the introduction of new genes, coinciding with the arrival of new immigrants from the Asian continent in the northern Kyushu-Yamaguchi region at the beginning of the Yayoi period. Further testing of this hypothesis will be necessary before definitive conclusions can be reached regarding the appearance of modern Japanese. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Imaging emotional brain functions: Conceptual and methodological issues

This article reviews the psychophysiological and brain imaging literature on emotional brain function from a methodological point of view. The difficulties in defining, operationalising and measuring emotional activation and, in particular, aversive learning will be considered. Emotion is a response of the organism during an episode of major significance and involves physiological activation, motivational, perceptual, evaluative and learning processes, motor expression, action tendencies and monitoring/subjective feelings. Despite the advances in assessing the physiological correlates of emotional perception and learning processes, a critical appraisal shows that functional neuroimaging approaches encounter methodological difficulties regarding measurement precision (e.g., response scaling and reproducibility) and validity (e.g., response specificity, generalisation to other paradigms, subjects or settings). Since emotional processes are not only the result of localised but also of widely distributed activation, a more representative model of assessment is needed that systematically relates the hierarchy of high- and low-level emotion constructs with the corresponding patterns of activity and functional connectivity of the brain.     

Floristic composition and spatial distribution assessment of montane mesophilous grasslands in the central Apennines,Italy: A multi-scale and diachronic approach

Abstract

Evaluation of past land use offers valuable information in seeking to understand the distribution patterns of plant communities, insofar as such activity may have altered soil features, causing anthropogenic soil patchiness and marked plant diversity both locally and regionally. This study sought to provide a general overview of the relationships between the different syntaxonomical units and the soil features in a sub-Mediterranean grassland landscape, starting from assessment of soil parameters. In addition, we wanted to verify whether soil features and hierarchical landscape assessments of grasslands under homogeneous grazing disturbance are sufficient to explain the floristic differentiation of the plant communities, and whether study of land use history helps explain the distribution patterns of these plant communities. A clear understanding of the relationships between environmental factors and the floristic composition of plant communities is a strong basis for future inquiries into how disturbance variations (grazing, mowing, manuring, etc.) and past land use variations have affected grassland structures. This study examined nine syntaxa that develop on semi-flat slopes or those with northern exposure.     

Recognition of leukemia in skeletal remains: Report and comparison of two cases

Recognition of disease in the archeologic record is facilitated by characterization of the skeletal impact of documented (in life) disease. The present study describes the osteological manifestations of leukemia as identified in the skeletons of two individuals diagnosed during life: a 3-year-old black girl with acute lymphocytic leukemia and a 60-year-old white male with acute myelogenous leukemia in the Hamann-Todd collection. Contrasting with the lack of specificity of radiologic findings, macroscopic skeletal changes appear sufficiently specific to allow distinguishing leukemia from other forms of cancer. While leukemia appears confidently diagnosable, distinguishing among the varieties (e.g., myelogenous and lymphocytic) does not appear possible at this time. Skeletal findings in leukemia are presented in tabular form to facilitate their application to future diagnosis of the disease in the archaelogical record. Am J Phys Anthropol 102:481–496, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Paleodemography of a medieval population in Japan: analysis of human skeletal remains from the Yuigahama-minami site

The purpose of this study is to obtain demographic data regarding the medieval population buried at the Yuigahama-minami site in Kamakura, Japan, and to detect a secular trend in the life expectancy of Japanese population over the last several thousand years. The Yuigahama-minami skeletal sample consists of 260 individuals, including 98 subadults (under 20 years old) and 162 adults. A Yuigahama-minami abridged life-table analysis yielded a life expectancy at birth (e0) of 24.0 years for both sexes, a life expectancy at age 15 years (e15) of 15.8 years for males, and an e15 of 18.0 years for females. The reliability of the estimated e0 was confirmed by analysis of the juvenility index. Demographic profiles comparing the Yuigahama-minami series with other skeletal series indicated that both the survivorship curve and life expectancy of the Yuigahama-minami sample are similar to those of the Mesolithic-Neolithic Jomon population, but are far lower than those of the early modern Edo population. These comparisons strongly suggest that life expectancy changed little over the thousands of years between the Mesolithic-Neolithic Jomon and medieval periods, but then improved remarkably during the few hundred years between the medieval period and early modern Edo period. The short-lived tendency of the Yuigahama-minami sample does not contradict the archaeological hypothesis of unsanitary living conditions in medieval Kamakura. This is the first investigation to address the demographic features of a medieval population in Japan, and will help refine our understanding of long-term trends in the demographic profiles of inhabitants of Japan.     

Stature variation in the British American Colonies: French and Indian War records, 1755-1763

Personnel records kept by military units of American colonials during the French and Indian War (1755-1763) are analyzed for relationships between environmental factors and stature. A robust American economy and direct access to high-quality food were apparently critical to tallness of this white American male sample. American-born men were taller at all ages than those who had migrated from Europe. January temperatures, rural versus urban birth, and ethnicity also showed stature relationships within the American-born group; thermal effects were by far the strongest of the non-nutritional factors.     

Temporal and spatial changes in a mountainous area of central Italy

Abstract. In this paper we present an application of aerial remote sensing to the analysis of spatial information in a mountainous area of central Italy by applying texture measures and landscape indices. Land cover data acquired in different time periods are used to calculate measures of landscape pattern and structure at pixel level (tone and texture variables) and patch‐level (landscape indices). Images of the patches from the 1950s, 1980s and 1990s have been derived from the tone‐texture classification of scanned black‐and‐white photographs. Multitemporal analysis of landscape indices has been performed to detect changes of landscape elements and related effects on vegetation dynamics due to the reduction of human impact.     

Continuity or discontinuity of the life-style in central Italy during the Roman Imperial Age-Early Middle Ages transition: diet, health, and behavior

Dento-alveolar pathologies and alterations (dental wear, caries, abscesses, ante mortem tooth loss (AMTL), calculus, hypoplastic defects, and chipping) and skeletal markers of health (cribra orbitalia and periostitis) were analyzed in two skeletal samples from the necropolises of Quadrella (I-IV c. AD) and Vicenne-Campochiaro (VII c. AD) in the Molise region of central Italy. The aim was to determine if the Roman Imperial Age-Early Middle Ages transition characterized by political, socioeconomic, and cultural transformations affected the biology of these populations, particularly their alimentation and health status. The frequencies of caries and AMTL, similar in the two samples, suggest a high consumption of carbohydrates. The higher levels of heavy wear, calculus, and interproximal chipping in the Vicenne population indicate a greater use of fibrous foods (both meat and others), in line with the dietary model of Germanic peoples. Health conditions do not appear to have been good in either period, as shown by the high frequencies of linear hypoplasia and the presence of cribra orbitalia and periostitis. The diet of the individuals buried with horses of the Vicenne population did not differ from that of the rest of the population, whereas there were evident differences in the use of the teeth for nonmasticatory activities among these individuals. Therefore, from the point of view of alimentation and health status, the profound socioeconomic and cultural transformations during the Late Antiquity-Early Middle Ages transition do not seem to have been translated into a true discontinuity of the two Molisan populations.     

Impact of industrialization: comparative study of child health in four sites from medieval and postmedieval England (A.D. 850-1859)

The morbidity and mortality profiles of 831 non-adult skeletons from four contrasting sites in medieval and postmedieval England were compared to assess whether urbanization and later industrialization, had a detrimental effect on the health of the inhabitants. Failure in the population's ability to adapt to these environments should be evident in the higher rates of mortality, retarded growth, higher levels of stress, and a greater prevalence of metabolic and infectious disease in the urban groups. Non-adult skeletons were examined from Raunds Furnells in Northamptonshire, from St. Helen-on-the-Walls and Wharram Percy in Yorkshire, and from Christ Church Spitalfields in London. Results showed that a greater number of older children were being buried at the later medieval sites and that the skeletal growth profiles of the medieval urban and rural children did not differ significantly. A comparison of the growth profiles of St. Helen-on-the-Walls (urban) and Spitalfields (industrial) showed that the Spitalfields children were up to 3 cm shorter than their later medieval counterparts. At Spitalfields, cribra orbitalia and enamel hypoplasias occurred during the first 6 months of life, and 54% of the non-adults had evidence of metabolic disease. It is argued that differences in the morbidity and mortality of non-adults from urban and rural environments did exist in the past, but that it was industrialization that had the greatest impact on child health. Environmental conditions, urban employment, socioeconomic status, and changes in weaning ages and infant feeding practices contributed to differences in health in rural, urban, and industrial environments.     

Incidence of caries and abscesses in archeological Eskimo skeletal samples from point hope and Kodiak Island,Alaska

The incidence of caries and abscesses in 246 archeologically derived skeletal specimens from the Ipiutak and Tigara levels at Point Hope, Alaska, and 79 specimens excavated from Jones Point, Kodiak Island, Alaska were investigated. All three collections span long periods of time. Only pre-white contact specimens were used. Each specimens was sexed and aged in five year groupings, using standard techniques. Caries and abscesses were recorded by type and degree of severity and correlated with age, sex, and site of origin. All samples displayed very low caries rates and few abscesses per tooth and per individual (both observed frequencies, and frequencies corrected for postmortem loss of teeth). DMF scores were tabulated using both observed and corrected frequencies. Very heavy occlusal wear in all three samples could account for the majority of abscesses and pulp exposures, while the low caries rates are attributable to traditional diets totally devoid of refined sugars, starches, and food additives.     

Learning from mistakes: challenges in finding holobiont factors from environmental samples and the importance of methodological consistency

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Mitochondrial substrate specificity in beetle flight muscle: assessing respiratory oxygen flux in small samples from Dermestes maculatus and Tenebrio molitor

In the present study, the permeabilized fibre approach is adapted to investigate substrate utilization patterns in the flight muscle mitochondria of Dermestes maculatus (Coleoptera: Dermestidae; a carrion scavenger beetle) and Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae; a phytophagous scavenger beetle). Respiration in saponin‐permeabilized fibres is measured during titration of palmitoyl‐carnitine (Palm‐C), pyruvate (Pyr) or l ‐glycerol 3‐phosphate (G3‐P). Michaelis–Menten‐type enzyme kinetics for oxygen consumption are observed as a function of substrate concentration in Pyr and G3‐P, from which substrate‐specific apparent K_m (sensitivity) and V_max (capacity) are determined. Compared with D. maculatus, the apparent K_m in T. molitor is lower (P < 0.001) for Pyr, and V_max is greater for G3‐P (P < 0.001). In D. maculatus, the apparent K_m for G3‐P is greater (P < 0.001), and respiratory V_max is lower (P < 0.001), than kinetics for Pyr. Robust respiration with l ‐proline (Pro) is also observed in both beetle species tested; however, it is over 2.5‐fold greater in D. maculatus than T. molitor (P < 0.05). These results demonstrate that respiration in beetle flight muscle mitochondria can be assessed in small samples (i.e. at the individual beetle level) using the approach adapted for the present study. The results of the present study also highlight the substrate oxidative capacity patterns in both D. maculatus and T. molitor, which rank Palm‐C < G3‐P < Pyr < Pro.