31 research outputs found
New AMS 14C dates track the arrival and spread of broomcorn millet cultivation and agricultural change in prehistoric Europe
Broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) is not one of the founder crops domesticated in Southwest Asia in the early Holocene, but was domesticated in northeast China by 6000 bc. In Europe, millet was reported in Early Neolithic contexts formed by 6000 bc, but recent radiocarbon dating of a dozen 'early' grains cast doubt on these claims. Archaeobotanical evidence reveals that millet was common in Europe from the 2nd millennium bc, when major societal and economic transformations took place in the Bronze Age. We conducted an extensive programme of AMS-dating of charred broomcorn millet grains from 75 prehistoric sites in Europe. Our Bayesian model reveals that millet cultivation began in Europe at the earliest during the sixteenth century bc, and spread rapidly during the fifteenth/fourteenth centuries bc. Broomcorn millet succeeds in exceptionally wide range of growing conditions and completes its lifecycle in less than three summer months. Offering an additional harvest and thus surplus food/fodder, it likely was a transformative innovation in European prehistoric agriculture previously based mainly on (winter) cropping of wheat and barley. We provide a new, high-resolution chronological framework for this key agricultural development that likely contributed to far-reaching changes in lifestyle in late 2nd millennium bc Europe
Supplementary Material for: Impact of Long-Term Antithrombotic and Statin Therapy on the Clinical Outcome in Patients with Cavernous Malformations of the Central Nervous System: A Single-Center Case Series of 428 Patients
Introduction: Literature regarding the safety and efficacy of antithrombotic (antiplatelet or anticoagulant) therapy and statins in patients with cavernous malformations (CMs) of the central nervous system is sparse, resulting in uncertainty about its use in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of antithrombotic therapy and statins on the risk of hemorrhage and focal neurological deficit in patients with CMs. Methods: The authorsâ institutional database was screened for all patients with CMs of the central nervous system treated at their institution between 2006 and 2018. Patients with radiological and/or histological diagnosis of CMs, clinical baseline characteristics, available patientâs medication history, and follow-up data were included in this study. Time-to-event probability (hemorrhage or focal neurological deficit) as well as the number of events (hemorrhage or focal neurological deficit) during follow-up were assessed in patients who were categorized according to their medical treatment (antithrombotic therapy, statins, combined therapy, or no treatment). Results: Four hundred twenty-eight patients with CMs were eligible and included in the final analysis. Sixty-nine (16.1%) patients were on long-term antithrombotic therapy and 46 (10.6%) on long-term statins, of whom 31 patients were on a combination of both. The probability of experiencing first hemorrhage or focal neurological deficit was less likely in patients on antiplatelet therapy (HR 0.09, 95% CI 0.021â0.39, p = 0.001), anticoagulant therapy (HR 0.12, 95% CI 0.016â0.85, p = 0.034), or the combination thereof (HR 0.12, 95% CI 0.016â0.93, p = 0.043) compared to patients with no antithrombotic treatment. The number of hemorrhages and focal neurological deficits were significantly lower in patients on antithrombotic therapy compared to patients on no treatment during follow-up. In patients on statins alone, the time-to-event probability was comparable to that of patients on no treatment (HR 0.91, 95% CI 0.438â1.91, p = 0.812), and the number of events was similar to patients on no treatment. Conclusion: The results of our study provide further evidence that antithrombotic therapy alone or in combination with statins in patients with CMs of the central nervous system does not increase the risk of hemorrhage or focal neurological deficit but, on the contrary, may have some benefit
Plant economies and village life in Neolithic lake dwellings at the time of the Alpine Iceman
This paper gives an overview of domesticated and wild plants used during the 2nd half of the 4th millennium B.C. (cal.) in a region within a semicircle of ca. 100 km radius around the find spot of the Iceman. The landscape considered lies north of the main alpine chain and includes Central to Eastern Switzerland and SW-Germany (mainly sites at the lakes Zug, ZĂŒrich, Constance, Upper Swabia (the Federsee region) and western Bavaria). From this part of Central Europe the plant remains of many well preserved Lake dwelling sites were investigated during the last decades and much is known about the daily life in these villages. Probably contemporaneous with the Iceman’s lifetime is one of the best investigated settlements, Arbon Bleiche 3 at the southern shore of Lake Constance. A comparison of the IcemanÂŽs artefacts and plant macro remains with the findings in the considered lake dwellings shows striking similarities, but also differences. Based on domestic plants found with the Iceman his southern provenience can be corroborated. He used domestic as well as wild plants, very similar as the contemporaries of the lakeside villages. The detailed knowledge of the manifold activities in the lakeshore village of Arbon Bleiche 3 allows us to show a rather realistic picture about the daily life circumstances at the time of the Iceman
On-site data cast doubts on the hypothesis of shifting cultivation in the late Neolithic (c. 4300-2400 cal. BC): Landscape management as an alternative paradigm
This article brings together in a comprehensive way, and for the first time, on- and off-site palaeoenvironmental data from the area of the Central European lake dwellings (a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site since 2011). The types of data considered are as follows: high-resolution off-site pollen cores, including micro-charcoal counts, and on-site data, including botanical macro- and micro-remains, hand-collected animal bones, remains of microfauna, and data on woodland management (dendrotypology). The period considered is the late Neolithic (c. 4300â2400 cal. BC). For this period, especially for its earlier phases, discussions of land-use patterns are contradictory. Based on off-site data, slash-and-burn â as known from tropical regions â is thought to be the only possible way to cultivate the land. On-site data however show a completely different picture: all indications point to the permanent cultivation of cereals (Triticum spp., Hordeum vulgare), pea (Pisum sativum), flax (Linum usitatissimum) and opium-poppy (Papaver somniferum). Cycles of landscape use are traceable, including coppicing and moving around the landscape with animal herds. Archaeobiological studies further indicate also that hunting and gathering were an important component and that the landscape was manipulated accordingly. Late Neolithic land-use systems also included the use of fire as a tool for opening up the landscape. Here we argue that bringing together all the types of palaeoenvironmental proxies in an integrative way allows us to draw a more comprehensive and reliable picture of the land-use systems in the late Neolithic than had been reconstructed previously largely on the basis of off-site data
How to detect fodder and litter? A case study from the Roman site âLe Marais de Dourges,â France
Origin and seasonality of subfossil caprine dung from the discovery site of the Iceman (Eastern Alps)
Effect of process variables on Mg-Si particles and extrudability of 6xxx series aluminum extrusions
The Mg-Si particles are one of the major constituents in the microstructure of 6xxx series aluminum alloys. The size, distribution, and morphology of the Mg-Si particle have significant impact on extrudability in terms of mechanical properties and surface quality of aluminum extrusions. The characteristics of the Mg-Si particles are influenced by various process parameters in the production of extrusions. This paper reviews the effects of the major process variables on the Mg-Si particle characteristics and extrudability of aluminum extrusions