Rock art, trade routes, and languages in prehistoric Amazonia: Exploring correlations through GIS

The aim of this paper is to investigate how Geographical Information System (GIS) mapping of materialized aspects of human culture in pre-conquest Amazonia can increase our understanding of the distribution of indigenous languages and ethno-linguistic entities. The main objective of the project is to build a GIS database for correlating geography, linguistics, material culture (e.g., ceramic styles, rock art styles, horticultural systems, etc.), trade routes, and political projects over time, in order to gain further understanding of the forces behind the extraordinary linguistic diversity in Amazonia. This presentation will exemplify this methodology, focusing on the relationship between symbolism (as expressed in the frog motive in rock art and green stone amulets), trade routes, and language families. By correlating the distribution of symbolic expressions, such as the frog motive, with known trade routes and the distribution of language families at the time of contact, it is possible to test or at least illuminate various hypotheses on the emergence and history of specific ethno-linguistic groups. One such hypothesis, offered here as an example, is that the wide distribution of Arawakan languages in greater Amazonia (from the Antilles to Bolivia) is the imprint not so much of ancient migrations as of a network of trade routes spanning much of the continent several centuries before European contact

Kultur och ekologi i Amazonas: GIS-bearbetning av historiska data om indianfolkens utbredning

This study deals with some contested issues regarding prehistoric cultural development in Amazonia and the colonial impact on the native inhabitants of the area. It focuses on the relation between groups belonging the language families of Tupí and Gê, on one hand, and the different ecological zones that they inhabit, on the other. GIS mapping is used to visualise the distribution and movements of these groups in relation to ecology and the impact of European colonization. GIS is shown to be a useful methodology for analysing historical data derived from written sources and maps. The results of these analyses are discussed in the light of different theoretical perspectives. The study amounts to a critical review of earlier anthropological research in the Amazon, which traditionally has been strongly biased toward the Cultural Ecology of Julian Steward and Betty Meggers. Methodologically, the study shows how GIS analyses of spatial data on culture and ecology can be used in a trans-disciplinary framework to understand the relationship between ethnicity, ecology and subsistence

Gastro-enteritis outbreak among Nordic patients with psoriasis in a health centre in Gran Canaria, Spain: a cohort study

BACKGROUND: Between November 2 and 10, 2002 several patients with psoriasis and personnel staying in the health centre in Gran Canaria, Spain fell ill with diarrhoea, vomiting or both. Patient original came from Norway, Sweden and Finland. The patient group was scheduled to stay until 8 November. A new group of patients were due to arrive from 7 November. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted to assess the extent of the outbreak, to identify the source and mode of transmission and to prevent similar problems in the following group. RESULTS: Altogether 41% (48/116) of persons staying at the centre fell ill. Norovirus infection was suspected based on clinical presentations and the fact that no bacteria were identified. Kaplan criteria were met. Five persons in this outbreak were hospitalised and the mean duration of diarrhoea was 3 days. The consequences of the illness were more severe compared to many other norovirus outbreaks, possibly because many of the cases suffered from chronic diseases and were treated with drugs reported to affect the immunity (methotrexate or steroids). During the two first days of the outbreak, the attack rate was higher in residents who had consumed dried fruit (adjusted RR = 3.1; 95% CI: 1.4–7.1) and strawberry jam (adjusted RR = 1.9; 95% CI: 0.9–4.1) than those who did not. In the following days, no association was found. The investigation suggests two modes of transmission: a common source for those who fell ill during the two first days of the outbreak and thereafter mainly person to person transmission. This is supported by a lower risk associated with the two food items at the end of the outbreak. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that the food items were contaminated by foodhandlers who reported sick before the outbreak started. Control measures were successfully implemented; food buffets were banned, strict hygiene measures were implemented and sick personnel stayed at home >48 hours after last symptoms

Dispatch from the field: ecology of ground-web-building spiders with description of a new species (Araneae, Symphytognathidae).

Crassignathadanaugirangensis sp. n. (Araneae: Symphytognathidae) was discovered during a tropical ecology field course held at the Danau Girang Field Centre in Sabah, Malaysia. A taxonomic description and accompanying ecological study were completed as course activities. To assess the ecology of this species, which belongs to the ground-web-building spider community, three habitat types were surveyed: riparian forest, recently inundated riverine forest, and oil palm plantation. Crassignathadanaugirangensis sp. n. is the most abundant ground-web-building spider species in riparian forest; it is rare or absent from the recently inundated forest and was not found in a nearby oil palm plantation. The availability of this taxonomic description may help facilitate the accumulation of data about this species and the role of inundated riverine forest in shaping invertebrate communities

Review of methods used by chiropractors to determine the site for applying manipulation

Background: With the development of increasing evidence for the use of manipulation in the management of musculoskeletal conditions, there is growing interest in identifying the appropriate indications for care. Recently, attempts have been made to develop clinical prediction rules, however the validity of these clinical prediction rules remains unclear and their impact on care delivery has yet to be established. The current study was designed to evaluate the literature on the validity and reliability of the more common methods used by doctors of chiropractic to inform the choice of the site at which to apply spinal manipulation. Methods: Structured searches were conducted in Medline, PubMed, CINAHL and ICL, supported by hand searches of archives, to identify studies of the diagnostic reliability and validity of common methods used to identify the site of treatment application. To be included, studies were to present original data from studies of human subjects and be designed to address the region or location of care delivery. Only English language manuscripts from peer-reviewed journals were included. The quality of evidence was ranked using QUADAS for validity and QAREL for reliability, as appropriate. Data were extracted and synthesized, and were evaluated in terms of strength of evidence and the degree to which the evidence was favourable for clinical use of the method under investigation. Results: A total of 2594 titles were screened from which 201 articles met all inclusion criteria. The spectrum of manuscript quality was quite broad, as was the degree to which the evidence favoured clinical application of the diagnostic methods reviewed. The most convincing favourable evidence was for methods which confirmed or provoked pain at a specific spinal segmental level or region. There was also high quality evidence supporting the use, with limitations, of static and motion palpation, and measures of leg length inequality. Evidence of mixed quality supported the use, with limitations, of postural evaluation. The evidence was unclear on the applicability of measures of stiffness and the use of spinal x-rays. The evidence was of mixed quality, but unfavourable for the use of manual muscle testing, skin conductance, surface electromyography and skin temperature measurement. Conclusions: A considerable range of methods is in use for determining where in the spine to administer spinal manipulation. The currently published evidence falls across a spectrum ranging from strongly favourable to strongly unfavourable in regard to using these methods. In general, the stronger and more favourable evidence is for those procedures which take a direct measure of the presumptive site of care– methods involving pain provocation upon palpation or localized tissue examination. Procedures which involve some indirect assessment for identifying the manipulable lesion of the spine–such as skin conductance or thermography–tend not to be supported by the available evidence.https://doi.org/10.1186/2045-709X-21-3

Nature and Culture in Prehistoric Amazonia : Using G.I.S. to reconstruct ancient ethnogenetic processes from archaeology, linguistics, geography, and ethnohistory

This thesis investigates the socio-cultural and linguistic development of pre-Columbian Amazonia, with a particular focus on the period between 500 BC and AD 1500. In assembling and analyzing data from archaeology, linguistics, ethnohistory, ethnography, and geography in a Geographical Information System (G.I.S.), it synthesizes large amounts of empirical data from several fields to facilitate long-term, macro-scale reconstructions of pre-Columbian socio-cultural processes in the region. These reconstructions focus on identifying the socio-economic and socio-cultural mechanisms underlying processes of cultural and linguistic expansion and subsequent patterns of ethno-linguistic diversity. The thesis thus addresses long-standing debates on the role of migration, ecology, subsistence strategies, trade, language, and ethnicity in such processes, and offers new explanations of the distribution of language families and ethno-linguistic groups in Amazonia. The thesis focuses on one of the major linguistic expansions in pre-Columbian South America, that of the Arawak language family. It identifies some of the cultural mechanisms in the interaction between Arawak- and non-Arawak-speaking societies, emphasizing the role of regional integration through long-distance travel and trade. The ambition is to transcend notions of bounded and essentialized ethnic identities that have characterized earlier attempts to account for the spatial distribution of indigenous languages and varieties of material culture. Emphasis is rather on the various factors that have conditioned active processes of ethnic identity construction, and on the methodological possibilities of identifying such conditions and processes at specific points in time and space

Cultural Development, Language Distribution, and Ecology in Pre-Columbian Amazonia

The thesis aims at creating a large-scale GIS database covering Amazonian prehistory between 2000 BC and AD 1700 in order to be able to test the hypothesis of ethnic circumscription described above. This database will be compiled of geographically positioned material from archaeology (datings, ceramic styles, tempering materials, rock art, anthropogenic soils, and other visual aspects of material culture); historical linguistics (linguistic distribution maps); ethnography (historical material culture with analogies to prehistory, trade routes, and the spatial extent of indigenous groups); and geography and ecology (mapping of soil types, vegetation zones, climate changes, and water flows)

Det antropogena landskapets uppgång och fall i Amazonområdet: Arawakkulturens ekologiska aspekter

Mänskliga samhällen har i alla tider utövat inflytande på sin omgivande miljö genom sitt sätt att söka föda, bosätta sig, resa och handla, samt genom att utvinna de resurser hennes samhällsskick kräver. Människan är, i biologisk mening, en generalist: genom socioekonomiska, kulturella och i viss mån genetiska anpassningar har hon koloniserat samtliga naturtyper på jorden. Hon bosätter sig i de torraste öknar, i myllrande regnskogar, på kala bergsplatåer, vid flodslätter, havsstränder och på savanner, i bergsmassiv, tempererade lövskogar och i arktiska klimat. Mänskliga samhällen har en osedvanligt hög grad av anpassningsförmåga (i jämförelse med de flesta andra arter) och utöver detta har människan även tillgång till förmågan att omskapa sin omgivande natur för att bättre passa hennes syften. Detta fenomen är inte okänt bland andra arter, i princip bidrar alla livsformer i varierande grad till en omskapning av sin omkringliggande miljö, både bland individuella arter (till exempel bäver, barkborre) och i och med de koevolutionära processer som ständigt pågår mellan olika arter i våra ekosystem. Människan intar heller inte en utpräglad särställning ifråga om skalan på hennes omskapande av naturmiljön: cyanobakteriernas (Cyanobacteria) syresättning av jordens atmosfär för cirka 3 miljarder år sedan torde än så länge toppa listan i detta avseende. Ur human- och samhällsvetenskaplig synvinkel är det dock de mänskliga samhällena som står i fokus, och medan de encelliga cyanobakteriernas livscykel, spridningssätt och miljöpåverkan relativt enkelt dechiffrerats av den moderna biologiska forskningen återstår ännu ett stort arbete med att kartlägga de mekanismer mänskliga samhällen genom historien utvecklat för att anpassa naturen till sin fördel. Därav föreliggande studie