Decifrando hieróglifos: o capital mercantil no centro da América do Sul (1718-1750) Deciphering hieroglyphs: the trade capital in the center of South America (1718-1750)

Este artigo analisa características da reprodução econômica colonial em uma área de fronteira e de intensa exploração aurífera, buscando perceber como as diversas atividades econômicas expressavam manifestações do capital mercantil. Nosso recorte espacial compreende as minas do Cuiabá e as minas do Mato Grosso, territórios localizados no centro da América do Sul, e que na primeira metade do século XVIII integravam o termo da Vila Real do Senhor Bom Jesus do Cuiabá, submetidas administrativamente à capitania de São Paulo, no extremo oeste do Estado do Brasil.<br>This article examines characteristics of colonial economic reproduced in an area of intense gold exploration, seeking to rebuild links between the various economic activities and trade capital. The spatial area of our study covers the mines of Cuiaba and the mines of Mato Grosso, territories located in the heart of South America, and that in the first half of the eighteenth century were part of the Vila Real do Senhor Bom Jesus do Cuiabá, subject to administrative captaincy of São Paulo, in the extreme west of the State of Brazil

NEOTROPICAL ALIEN MAMMALS: a data set of occurrence and abundance of alien mammals in the Neotropics

Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown. In this data set, we make available occurrence and abundance data on mammal species that (1) transposed a geographical barrier and (2) were voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into the Neotropics. Our data set is composed of 73,738 historical and current georeferenced records on alien mammal species of which around 96% correspond to occurrence data on 77 species belonging to eight orders and 26 families. Data cover 26 continental countries in the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico and its frontier regions (southern Florida and coastal-central Florida in the southeast United States) to Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay, and the 13 countries of Caribbean islands. Our data set also includes neotropical species (e.g., Callithrix sp., Myocastor coypus, Nasua nasua) considered alien in particular areas of Neotropics. The most numerous species in terms of records are from Bos sp. (n = 37,782), Sus scrofa (n = 6,730), and Canis familiaris (n = 10,084); 17 species were represented by only one record (e.g., Syncerus caffer, Cervus timorensis, Cervus unicolor, Canis latrans). Primates have the highest number of species in the data set (n = 20 species), partly because of uncertainties regarding taxonomic identification of the genera Callithrix, which includes the species Callithrix aurita, Callithrix flaviceps, Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Callithrix kuhlii, Callithrix penicillata, and their hybrids. This unique data set will be a valuable source of information on invasion risk assessments, biodiversity redistribution and conservation-related research. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using the data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us on how they are using the data

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved