The Turk Burial Site, 48WA301

Abstract

This fissure burial in the southern mountains contained four adults and one child. Its age is estimated to be between 100 and 300 years, and the anthropometric evidence is consistent with a Shoshonean affiliation. Though considerably disturbed prior to investigation, the site yielded important information about the burial mode and artifacts of a fairly recent people.     

A Late Archaic Burial From Southwestern Texas

Abstract

A unique rockshelter burial in southwestern Texas contained a 35 year old male placed in asitting position in a pit lined with matting. Remains of a woven stick and grass structure were over the burial pit. Affiliation is late Archaic and dates ca. 200 B.C.-A.D. 200.     

A Collection of Historic Material from the Ft. Collins City Museum,Ft. Collins,Colorado

Abstract

In the late 1930’s, near Morton, Wyoming, a burial was found which included an interesting collection of artifacts. An attempt is made to answer questions regarding the date of burial, tribal origin, and sex of the individual by an analysis of the material. This material is now on exhibit at the Ft. Collins City Museum.     

Lake eutrophication and its implications for organic carbon sequestration in Europe

The eutrophication of lowland lakes in Europe by excess nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) is severe because of the long history of land‐cover change and agricultural intensification. The ecological and socio‐economic effects of eutrophication are well understood but its effect on organic carbon (OC) sequestration by lakes and its change overtime has not been determined. Here, we compile data from ~90 culturally impacted European lakes [~60% are eutrophic, Total P (TP) >30 μg P l^?1] and determine the extent to which OC burial rates have increased over the past 100–150 years. The average focussing corrected, OC accumulation rate (C AR_FC) for the period 1950–1990 was ~60 g C m^?2 yr^?1, and for lakes with >100 μg TP l^?1 the average was ~100 g C m^?2 yr^?1. The ratio of post‐1950 to 1900–1950 C AR is low (~1.5) indicating that C accumulation rates have been high throughout the 20th century. Compared to background estimates of OC burial (~5–10 g C m^?2 yr^?1), contemporary rates have increased by at least four to fivefold. The statistical relationship between C AR_FC and TP derived from this study (r² = 0.5) can be used to estimate OC burial at sites lacking estimates of sediment C‐burial. The implications of eutrophication, diagenesis, lake morphometry and sediment focussing as controls of OC burial rates are considered. A conservative interpretation of the results of the this study suggests that lowland European meso‐ to eutrophic lakes with >30 μg TP l^?1 had OC burial rates in excess of 50 g C m^?2 yr^?1 over the past century, indicating that previous estimates of regional lake OC burial have seriously underestimated their contribution to European carbon sequestration. Enhanced OC burial by lakes is one positive side‐effect of the otherwise negative impact of the anthropogenic disruption of nutrient cycles.     

A Woodland Burial from Boney Spring,Missouri

Abstract

A secondary burial from a peat layer adjoining the spring feeder at Boney Spring, Benton County, southwestern Missouri, is identified as a young adult male, interred about A.D. 50. The burial, associated with Early Woodland materials in the peat bed, was less than one meter from the edge of the spring feeder in deposits once saturated with water - suggesting that the burial (and associated Woodland features) was made at a time of reduced spring discharge and, perhaps, during a period of reduced precipitation. The burial is well within the limits of characteristics recorded for eastern Archaic groups, lending support to the hypothesis of continuity between the Archaic and Early Woodland peoples in the American Midwest.     

An Isolated Human Burial of Probable Woodland Association from Golden Gate Canyon,Colorado

Abstract

In late 1975 a human burial was discovered under rather fortuitous circumstances during quarrying operations for gravel in Golden Gate Canyon, just north of Golden, Colorado. The skeletal matenal, recognized as being prehistoric by authorities, was subsequently turned over to the University of Colorado at Denver for analysis. The burial is analyzed in terms of its metric, nonmetric and pathological features. The archaeological sequence in the immediate area of the discovery indicates a probable Woodland period age for the burial, although no cultural materials were recovered and all contextual relationships were destroyed prior to examination by archaeologists.     

The De Winton Burial:A Tragedy Across The Years

Abstract

A human burial was discovered during housebuilding operations in the community of De Winton, a few miles south of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The fragmentary remains consist of an immature aborigine of uncertain chronological and cultural assignment.The remains are described and forensically evaluated. Floral and faunal remains in presumed association\with the burial are also described and evaluated. All materials are then interpreted with relevance to some anthropological literature and to each other.     

The Olson Mound (39BF223) in Buffalo County,South Dakota

Abstract

A low, dome-shaped, earthern tumulus was excavated during the summer of 1957. The mound contained poorly preserved remains of a secondary burial in a shallow, sub-mound pit. Three individuals were represented in the burial.

Artifactual associations were sparse.They consisted of one simplestamped body sherd, 2 end scrapers,4 knives; 1 drill and 3 mealing stone fragments.

Similarities between this mound and other sites in the vicinity are discussed. An appendix contains the analysis of the identifiable skeletal material.     

Burned Rock Midden Sites on the Southwestern Edge of the Edwards Plateau,Texas

Abstract

Data from two groups of burned rock midden sites are presented. Occupation of the sites seems to have been heaviest during Archaic times, with some Late Prehistoric and possible Paleo-Indian components also recognized. A burial is described from one site. Problems pertaining to burned rock midden sites are briefly discussed.     

Anaerobic mineralization of marine sediment organic matter: Rates and the role of anaerobic processes in the oceanic carbon economy

Abstract

This paper addresses three related questions: (1) What factors control the efficiency of carbon burial in sediments? (2) Are rates of anaerobic organic matter degradation intrinsically lower than aerobic rates? (3) How important are anaerobic processes in the global marine sediment carbon economy?

Carbon burial efficiency (the ratio of the carbon burial rate and the carbon flux to the sediment surface) was estimated from literature data for a range of environments and was shown to be a function of sedimentation rate. No difference independent of sedimentation rate was found between aerobic and anaerobic sediments.

A review of recent microcosm and laboratory studies shows that anaerobic rates are not intrinsically lower than aerobic rates; fresh organic matter degrades at similar rates under oxic and anoxic conditions. Aerobic decomposition rates near the sediment surface are typically greater than anaerobic rates at depth because the most labile carbon is consumed before it can be buried in the anoxic zone.

A model approach was taken in estimating the importance of anaerobic processes in the global marine sediment economy, instead of extrapolating measured rates as done previously. The result, 150 Tg C yr^?1, is two to nine times lower than previous estimates. This rate is about 9% of the global aerobic carbon oxidation rate and is about equal to the rate of long‐term carbon burial. The importance of anaerobic processes in marine sediments lies in their role in determining the amount of carbon preserved, not in the amount of carbon remineralized overall.     

Intracemetery Morphological Variation in Arikara Crania From The Sully Site (39SL4), Sully County,South Dakota

Abstract

Canonical analysis is used to examine intracemetery variation in cranial morphology in the Sully site Arikara skeletal collection. The site included four spatially distinct burial areas. lnterarea morphological differences in the crania are shown to relate to the multicomponent nature of the associated village. The proposed temporal relationships based on archaeological data are supported by the cranial evidence.     

Complexity in Arikara Mortuary Practice

Abstract

Traditionally, Arikara mortuary practice has been described as direct interment soon after death in wood-covered pits. This interpretation explains most of the ethnohistorical and archeological data, but not all. Some ethnohistorical, archeological, and entomological evidence suggests scaffolding prior to burial.     

A Late Prehistoric Bundle Burial From Southern Wyomingc

Abstract

A Late Prehistoric bundle burial from the Stone Fence Site in south-central Wyoming produced partial skeletal remains of a middle-aged male of Shoshonean biological affinities.A total of 19 bone beads were found in the grave. Both osteological and cultural interpretations were possible from the previously undisturbed grave and its contents.     

High throughput, multiplexed pathogen detection authenticates plague waves in medieval Venice, Italy

Background

Historical records suggest that multiple burial sites from the 14th–16^th centuries in Venice, Italy, were used during the Black Death and subsequent plague epidemics.

Methodology/Principal Findings

High throughput, multiplexed real-time PCR detected DNA of seven highly transmissible pathogens in 173 dental pulp specimens collected from 46 graves. Bartonella quintana DNA was identified in five (2.9%) samples, including three from the 16th century and two from the 15th century, and Yersinia pestis DNA was detected in three (1.7%) samples, including two from the 14th century and one from the 16th century. Partial glpD gene sequencing indicated that the detected Y. pestis was the Orientalis biotype.

Conclusions

These data document for the first time successive plague epidemics in the medieval European city where quarantine was first instituted in the 14th century.     

The Eureka and Comstock Mounds,Southwestern Missouri

Abstract

Two rock and earth mounds in the Stockton Reservoir area provide data on two separate burial complexes previously unknownin thewestern Ozark Highlands. The Eureka Mound contained primary inhwnations with associations similar to those innearby Woodland and Mississippian mounds, but is unique in yielding a Caddoan water bottle of the Spiro Engraved type, and is dated about A. D. 1000-1450. This trade vessel, and Caddoan sherds from other sites in southwestern Missouri, provides leads to Caddoan contacts with groups in the Ozark Highlands. The Comstock Mound contained a single primary burial in a central pit associated with White trade goods which date around A.D. 1800. The mound may be of Osage Indian origin, but this identification is open to question because of transient Indian groups pas sing through the area about A. D. 1800.     

Archeological Investigations at the Spawn Mound, 39LK201, Lake County,South Dakota

Abstract

The Spawn Mound, 39LK201, overlooking Brant Lake in eastern South Dakota, appears to be a Plains Woodland burial mound later used by historic Dakota for secondary interments. The 1966 excavations revealed two burial pits believed to be contemporaneous with the erection of the mound, which were assigned to the Plains Woodland component, and a third pit at the center of the mound which has been assigned to the historic Dakota. Each of the Woodland burial pits contained at least three individuals buried in the flexed position. The intrusive pit contained the remains of at least two individuals, apparently “bundle” burials. These intrusive burials were accompanied by European trade items.

On the basis of the limited ceramic material from the mound, including one rim sherd of the Ellis Cord Impressed type, as well as various lithic materials recovered in the mound fill, the Plains Woodland component has been tentatively assigned to the Loseke Focus. The historic burials would appear to date between A. D. 1800-1850.     

The Glendo Skeleton And Its Meaning In Light Of Post-Contact Racial Dynamics In The Great Plains

Abstract

A protohistoric burial from the Glendo Site in eastern Wyoming produced a nearly complete human skeleton of a young adult female. Osteological analysis of the specimen reveals predominantly Caucasoid physical characteristics. A skeleton exhibiting such an anatomical pattern, and coming from a grave clearly exhibiting Plains.lndian cultural affinities, raises interesting but somewhat difficult questions for interpretation.     

Archaic Skeletal Remains from the Central Plains: Demography and Burial Practices

Abstract

Recently a number of reports on Plains Archaic skeletal material have been published which quadruple the number of burials described and analyzed in the literature. Although the total number of burials is still relatively small, it is large enough to allow research to begin in paieodemographic aspects of the central part of thePlains and the suggestion of burial patterns for these materials. By combining all Archaic burials from the Plains a demographic profile has been developed. It is compared with other Archaic populations from the eastern United States, and with a Plains population dating after A.O. 1000. The results of the analysis show that with few exceptions burial patterns and the demographic picture of the Plains are quite stable over time, although differences are found in metric and non-metric variations in both the time and space continua. The analysis further shows that certain anomalous conditions in the skeleton appear to be much more prevalent inArchaic material than in recent material from the same area. The results finally suggest that Archaic people in the demographic and burial practice continua are quite similar to later populations, at least through Middle Mississippian populationsin the Plains.