Biomolecular and isotopic characterisation of lipid residues absorbed in Impressed Wares from the Early Neolithic village of Skorba, Malta

Organic residue analysis (ORA) was used to characterise the lipid content of Impressed Ware vessels recovered from the Early Neolithic village of Skorba, Malta. ORA utilises both chromatographic and isotopic analytical techniques, and provides direct evidence for the function of ceramic vessels analysed. Lipid residues were interpreted against authentic reference fats of Mediterranean origin, and in light of the archaeological data available. The results showed that lipid yields were generally low, however direct evidence for the processing of an admixture comprising ruminant fat and marine oil was obtained in a vessel dated to the Early Neolithic period. This investigation also tests the feasibility of carrying out ORA on ceramic vessels recovered from Maltese archaeological contexts.peer-reviewe

Integrated novel applications for dietary reconstructions in Prehistory

A broad range of biogeochemical techniques encompassing a wide array of disciplines is successfully being used to address key questions in archaeological research, including chronology, migration, trade, palaeopathology and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. The aim of the session was to focus particularly on the developments in palaeodietary studies, which inform about population dynamics and socio-cultural characteristics of different communities over space and time. Biogeochemical techniques in particular have shown a remarkable adeptness at acquiring data from a variety of archaeological substrates, such as ceramics, lithics, textiles, sediments, plant remains, and human and animal tissues, including dental calculus. These techniques allow an intensive exploitation of archaeological material, especially organics, which are often preserved in small quantities and would otherwise not have been considered viable for analysis. The success of this approach is attested by the wide range of publications detailing the development and application of novel techniques, targeted towards answering fundamental archaeological questions. This was also reflected in the broad range of analytical methodologies presented during the session, which comprised bulk light and heavy stable isotope analysis that allows a better understanding of the composition of ancient diets, characterization of foodstuffs absorbed within ceramic vessels using lipid residue analysis, identification of protein sequences informing on dietary deficiencies, studies on microbial communities associated with the production of specific food types, and microscopic techniques used on teeth and dental calculus to recover palaeodietary information

Phoenician maritime pioneering and Punic expansion : reconstructing trade and dietary patterns

Perhaps the most significant legacy attributed to the Phoenicians was their mastery of the seas, which led them to establish the first grand commercial Mediterranean network, expanding from Lebanon to beyond the Pillars of Hercules between the 8th and 6th centuries BC. The Punic culture, which flourished in the central and western Mediterranean from Phoenician colonies, maintained the exceptional navigation skills of the Phoenicians, but developed into more settled and structured territories that allowed the communities to intensify their exploitation of Mediterranean resources. Their rise to prominence can be measured by the threat they posed to the Roman Republic, while the salvage of the agronomic treatises by Mago after the sacking of Carthage attests to their renowned agrarian competence. The paucity of Phoenician and Punic written sources essentially means that material culture provides the data with which to model community lifeways, including daily dietary patterns, and trade more generally. The aim of this session was to bring together research focused on diet and trade in the Phoenician and Punic world, building on the work that has been done on foodways to model community interaction (Mata Parreño et al. 2010; Delgado and Ferrer 2011a and 2011b). The session comprised five oral contributions and a poster presentation. The focus was on central and western Mediterranean mainland regions and island territories. Findings from more recent archaeological excavations were described and discussed, and scientific applications to archaeological material were outlined and interpretations put forward and discussed.peer-reviewe

Unlocking the female potential : research report

The item forms part of the research report project: ESF 3.47 Unlocking the Female Potential ProjectAcknowledgement: The University of Malta would like to acknowledge its gratitude to the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality for their permission to upload this work on OAR@UoM. Further reuse of this document can be made, provided the source is acknowledged.The objectives of the ESF 3.47 Unlocking the Female Potential Project, of which this research forms part, is to address a two-fold overall objective, namely: • To increase the overall female employment rate by providing indirect incentives to work. • To provide policy makers with vital information through the research on the current situation of which this research forms part, of women in Malta and Gozo. These objectives were, in turn, broken down into four specific objectives, namely: • To understand the jobs/skills match and the inactive population in order to ensure employability; • To create a need for businesses to become ‘certified equal opportunities employers’, to have a family-friendly environment at the work place; • To incentivise the inactive to the labour market through better work arrangements available; • To further promote the need for a work/life balance both for men and women.peer-reviewe

Molecular and isotopic investigations of pottery and “charred remains” from Sannai Maruyama and Sannai Maruyama No. 9, Aomori Prefecture.

This paper presents a preliminary study of the analysis of organic residues of Early and Middle Jomon pottery and ‘charred remains.’ Samples are taken from the Sannai Maruyama site and the Sannai Maruyama No. 9 site in Aomori City, Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan. The following questions are addressed in this study: (i) Do organic residues survive in association with pottery vessels and charred remains? (ii) Can the residues be identified based on molecular and isotopic criteria applied in other investigations? (iii) Are the residues associated with the charred remains common to the residues associated with the pottery vessels? (iv) How do these residues contribute to our understanding of food processing and consumption? Results of our analysis indicate that the lipid composition of the pottery extracts is remarkably similar although some of the sherds exhibited better preservation and a wider range of molecules were detected albeit in lower abundance. There is a marked contrast with the composition of the lipid extracts of the ‘charred remains.’ The lipid compositions of sample sets from Sannai Maruyama and Sannai Maruyama No. 9 suggest aquatic resources in the pottery but with a plant contribution. The ‘charred remains’ from Sannai Maruyama contain plant tissues most likely with a high starch composition such as nuts. Lipids were recovered from the majority of the samples

CPR performance in lay people with telephone assisted CPR instructions : a prospective manikin-based observational study

Background: It is reported that Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in Europe, annually encounter about 275,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) whilst in the United States (US) this number rises to 420,000. The chance of survival from an OHCA is dependent on recognition of cardiac arrest by Emergency Medical Dispatchers’ (EMDs), early bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and early defibrillation. Telephone assisted CPR (TCPR) by EMDs (also known as dispatcher assisted CPR – DA-CPR) has been shown to double the frequency of bystander CPR so much so that it has now obtained a key position in the 2015 European Resuscitation Council guidelines. --- Method: This was a prospective, manikin-based observational study conducted in Malta between July 2018 and July 2019. The aim of this study was to test a set of TCPR instructions in Maltese on lay people with no previous knowledge of CPR. The primary endpoint was to check for understanding and correct execution of such instructions vis-à-vis hand positioning during chest compression, compressions depth and rate. Participants were recruited from 10 localities around Malta. Data was collected using Laerdal’s Resus Annie® QCPR manikin and SkillReporterTM (PC) software. --- Results: One hundred fifty-five participants were included in the study. Approximately 7 out of 10 participants performed compressions with correct hand position. Approximately 6 out of 10 participants performed a compression rate between 100 – 120/min and 2 out of 10 rescuers achieved the recommended 50-60mm compression depth. --- Conclusion: In our study we found that in Malta, laypeople with no previous CPR training can understand and execute our proposed chest compression only TCPR instructions in Maltese. The introduction of a standard operating procedure and training of EMDs on policy, expectations and performance is vital if we need to improve bystander CPR and survival rates locally. Training coupled with quality improvement projects such as call collection for review, analysis and feedback is the way forward.peer-reviewe

Regional asynchronicity in dairy production and processing in early farming communities of the northern Mediterranean

In the absence of any direct evidence, the relative importance of meat and dairy productions to Neolithic prehistoric Mediterranean communities has been extensively debated. Here, we combine lipid residue analysis of ceramic vessels with osteo-archaeological age-at-death analysis from 82 northern Mediterranean and Near Eastern sites dating from the seventh to fifth millennia BC to address this question. The findings show variable intensities in dairy and nondairy activities in the Mediterranean region with the slaughter profiles of domesticated ruminants mirroring the results of the organic residue analyses. The finding of milk residues in very early Neolithic pottery (seventh millennium BC) from both the east and west of the region contrasts with much lower intensities in sites of northern Greece, where pig bones are present in higher frequencies compared with other locations. In this region, the slaughter profiles of all domesticated ruminants suggest meat production predominated. Overall, it appears that milk or the by-products of milk was an important foodstuff, which may have contributed significantly to the spread of these cultural groups by providing a nourishing and sustainable product for early farming communities

Earliest evidence of dental caries manipulation in the Late Upper Palaeolithic

Prehistoric dental treatments were extremely rare, and the few documented cases are known from the Neolithic, when the adoption of early farming culture caused an increase of carious lesions. Here we report the earliest evidence of dental caries intervention on a Late Upper Palaeolithic modern human specimen (Villabruna) from a burial in Northern Italy. Using Scanning Electron Microscopy we show the presence of striations deriving from the manipulation of a large occlusal carious cavity of the lower right third molar. The striations have a “V”-shaped transverse section and several parallel micro-scratches at their base, as typically displayed by cutmarks on teeth. Based on in vitro experimental replication and a complete functional reconstruction of the Villabruna dental arches, we confirm that the identified striations and the associated extensive enamel chipping on the mesial wall of the cavity were produced ante-mortem by pointed flint tools during scratching and levering activities. The Villabruna specimen is therefore the oldest known evidence of dental caries intervention, suggesting at least some knowledge of disease treatment well before the Neolithic. This study suggests that primitive forms of carious treatment in human evolution entail an adaptation of the well-known toothpicking for levering and scratching rather than drilling practices

Archaeological implications of the digestion of starches by soil bacteria: Interaction among starches leads to differential preservation

Soil bacteria damage and destroy starch granules in archaeological contexts, but most studies of this kind of damage report on pairings of a single bacterial species with starches from a single plant species. Here we report the results of experiments in which starch granules from multiple plants were digested by a community of soil bacteria. The damage patterns of this bacterial community generally match those for single bacterial strains, and vary among plant species. However, when the bacteria are exposed to a mixture of starches from different taxa, certain plants are digested in favor of others. This variation in digestion could lead to a bias in the starches represented in the archaeological record. The types of damage observed in this experiment are further compared against that observed on archaeological starches recovered from dental calculus and stone tools