Viking Age garden plants from southern Scandinavia: diversity, taphonomy and cultural aspects

Plant finds recovered from archaeological sites in southern Scandinavia dated to the Viking Age reflect the diversity of useful plants that were cultivated and collected. This review presents the results of 14 investigations of deposits that are dated between AD 775 and 1050. The site types are categorized as agrarian, urban, military and burials. Garden plants are unevenly distributed, as the greatest diversity is recorded in features from urban contexts. We argue that taphonomic processes played an important role in the picture displayed. Archaeobotanical research results from neighbouring regions suggest that Viking Age horticulture has its roots in older traditions, and that the spectrum of garden plants is influenced by central and north-western European horticultural customs, which were to a great extent shaped by Roman occupation

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

Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution of the Southern Peninsular Ranges Batholith, Baja California, Mexico: Long-Lived History of a Collisional Segment in the Mesozoic Cordilleran Arc

The Mesozoic Peninsular Ranges batholith, part of a long-lived Cordilleran subduction orogen, is located at a critical juncture at the southwest corner of cratonal North America. The batholith is divided into northern and southern segments that differ in their evolution. In this paper, we focus on the more poorly understood southern Peninsular Ranges batholith, south of the Agua Blanca fault at ~31.5°N latitude, and we compare its evolution with the better-known northern Peninsular Ranges batholith. Adding our new insights to previous work, our present understanding of the geologic history of the Peninsular Ranges consists of the following: (1) stronger connections between the Paleozoic passive-margin rocks in the eastern Peninsular Ranges batholith and similar assemblages in Sonora, Mexico, to the east and the Sierra Nevada batholith to the north that were originally proposed by earlier workers; (2) continuity of the Triassic–Jurassic accretionary prism and forearc basin assemblage from the northern Peninsular Ranges batholith through the southern Peninsular Ranges batholith; (3) possible synchronous subduction of an ocean ridge or ridge transform along the Peninsular Ranges batholith in late Middle Jurassic time; (4) continuity of the Early Cretaceous Santiago Peak continental arc from the northern Peninsular Ranges batholith along the entire margin, including the southern Peninsular Ranges batholith; (5) development of the Alisitos oceanic arc in Jurassic and possibly Triassic time, much earlier than originally thought; and (6) removal of part of the Santiago Peak assemblage in the southern Peninsular Ranges batholith during collision of the Alisitos terrane in latest Early Cretaceous time

Complex Deformation During Arc–Continent Collision: Quantifying Finite Strain in the Accreted Alisitos Arc, Peninsular Ranges Batholith, Baja California

The Early Cretaceous Alisitos island arc, located in the western part of the Peninsular Ranges batholith, Baja California, accreted to North America during the mid-Cretaceous. A syn- to post-collisional fold-thrust belt dominated by sinistral transpression and orthogonal convergence developed along the northern and eastern edges of the arc, respectively. Field observations across the fold-thrust belt show a deformation gradient with stronger planar and linear fabrics, fold tightening, and greater finite strain towards the arc–continent suture. Flattening strains dominate and finite strain intensity ranges from 0.08 to 2.71 and generally increases towards the suture. In detail, the fold-thrust belt narrows southward from ∼12 km to ∼3 km. Furthermore, finite strain is heterogeneous reflecting a heterogeneous fold-thrust belt characterized by local high strain zones near faults, folds, and igneous intrusions. Finite strain data and field observations allow several conclusions: (1) the colliding arc deformed significantly as a result of collision; (2) strain contributes to bulk shortening and crustal thickening in the collision zone; (3) geometry, composition, and tectonic setting of the continental margin prior to collision control along-strike variations in the fold-thrust belt; and (4) narrowing of the fold-thrust belt southward is offset by increased deformation in continental margin units

Length asymmetry of the bovine digits

The lengths of the digital bones of the fore- and hind-limbs obtained post mortem from 40 cattle of different ages were measured using digital radiographs. The lengths of the individual digital bones and the overall length of the digit were determined using computer software. The lateral metacarpal/metatarsal condyle, and lateral P1 and P2 were significantly longer than their medial counterparts, whereas P3 of the medial digit was longer than its lateral partner. Measured from the cannon bone epiphysis to the tip of the pedal bone, the mean increased length of the lateral digit was 0.8 mm in the fore- and 1.5 mm in the hind-limb. When the lengths of the digital bones were summed, the mean length of the lateral digit was 1.8 mm longer in the fore-limb and 2.1 mm longer in the hindlimb. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that the lengths of the paired digits differ in cattle. The majority of cattle have longer lateral digits in the fore- and hind-limbs. This asymmetry might explain why the lateral hind-limb claws are predisposed to sole ulcers on hard surfaces. In the hind-limbs, the impact is transferred from the pelvis directly to the longer lateral digit. In the fore-limb claws, the tenomuscular attachment to the trunk may be involved in a more even weight distribution and in a shift of weight to the medial claw