Associated bone groups; beyond the Iron Age

As zooarchaeologists move away from the purely economic towards ‘social zooarchaeological’ interpretations, the consideration of articulated/associated faunal remains has become more common-place. This paper presents results from a research project which investigated the nature of these associated bone groups (ABGs). The majority of current work on these deposits has utilised Iron Age material, with ABGs becoming synonymous with certain Iron Age sites, particularly Danebury. This paper moves beyond the Iron Age and discusses their presence on sites from the Neolithic to the Medieval period. It utilises the results of a survey of published sources from southern England and Yorkshire and shows that ABGs are commonly recovered from other periods. Their composition is shown to differ between time periods and regions. Finally in light of the data presented it questions how we should view these deposits

The relationship of dementia prevalence in older adults with intellectual disability (ID) to age and severity of ID

Background: Previous research has shown that adults with intellectual disability (ID) may be more at risk of developing dementia in old age than expected. However, the effect of age and ID severity on dementia prevalence rates has never been reported. We investigated the predictions that older adults with ID should have high prevalence rates of dementia that differ between ID severity groups and that the age-associated risk should be shifted to a younger age relative to the general population. Method: A two-staged epidemiological survey of 281 adults with ID without Down syndrome (DS) aged >60 years; participants who screened positive with a memory task, informant-reported change in function or with the Dementia Questionnaire for Persons with Mental Retardation (DMR) underwent a detailed assessment. Diagnoses were made by psychiatrists according to international criteria. Prevalence rates were compared with UK prevalence and European consensus rates using standardized morbidity ratios (SMRs). Results: Dementia was more common in this population (prevalence of 18.3%, SMR 2.77 in those aged >65 years). Prevalence rates did not differ between mild, moderate and severe ID groups. Age was a strong risk factor and was not influenced by sex or ID severity. As predicted, SMRs were higher for younger age groups compared to older age groups, indicating a relative shift in age-associated risk. Conclusions: Criteria-defined dementia is 2–3 times more common in the ID population, with a shift in risk to younger age groups compared to the general population

On the age heterogeneity of the Pleiades, Hyades and Sirius moving groups

We investigate the nature of the classical low-velocity structures in the local velocity field, i.e. the Pleiades, Hyades and Sirius moving groups. After using a wavelet transform to locate them in velocity space, we study their relation with the open clusters kinematically associated with them. By directly comparing the location of moving group stars in parallax space to the isochrones of the embedded clusters, we check whether, within the observational errors on the parallax, all moving group stars could originate from the on-going evaporation of the associated cluster. We conclude that, in each moving group, the fraction of stars making up the velocity-space overdensity superimposed on the background is higher than the fraction of stars compatible with the isochrone of the associated cluster. These observations thus favour a dynamical (resonant) origin for the Pleiades, Hyades and Sirius moving groups.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Internal Migration of Ethnic Groups in England and Wales by Age and District Type

This paper examines how internal migration propensities vary by age and ethnic group using data from level 1 (district) scale in England and Wales extracted from the 2001 Census Special Migration Statistics and from tables specially commissioned from the Office of National Statistics. The paper identifies age-specific variation in migration propensities by ethnic group at national level before examining the spatial patterns of age-specific inter-district migration using the family and class groupings defined in a recent area classification, demonstrating how minority ethnic group propensities and patterns compare with those of white migrants