Back to the Grindstone? The Archaeological Potential of Grinding-Stone Studies in Africa with Reference to Contemporary Grinding Practices in Marakwet, Northwest Kenya

This article presents observations on grinding-stone implements and their uses in Elgeyo-Marakwet County, northwest Kenya. Tool use in Marakwet is contextualized with a select overview of literature on grinding-stones in Africa. Grinding-stones in Marakwet are incorporated not only into quotidian but also into more performative and ritual aspects of life. These tools have distinct local traditions laden with social as well as functional importance. It is argued that regionally and temporally specific studies of grinding-stone tool assemblages can be informative on the processing of various substances. Despite being common occurrences, grinding-stone tools are an under-discussed component of many African archaeological assemblages. Yet the significance of grinding-stones must be reevaluated, as they hold the potential to inform on landscapes of past food and material processing

Human IFT52 mutations uncover a novel role for the protein in microtubule dynamics and centrosome cohesion

Mutations in genes encoding components of the intraflagellar transport (IFT) complexes have previously been associated with a spectrum of diseases collectively termed ciliopathies. Ciliopathies relate to defects in the formation or function of the cilium, a sensory or motile organelle present on the surface of most cell types. IFT52 is a key component of the IFT-B complex and ensures the interaction of the two subcomplexes, IFT-B1 and IFT-B2. Here, we report novel IFT52 biallelic mutations in cases with a short-rib thoracic dysplasia (SRTD) or a congenital anomaly of kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT). Combining in vitro and in vivo studies in zebrafish, we showed that SRTD-associated missense mutation impairs IFT-B complex assembly and IFT-B2 ciliary localization, resulting in decreased cilia length. In comparison, CAKUT-associated missense mutation has a mild pathogenicity, thus explaining the lack of skeletal defects in CAKUT case. In parallel, we demonstrated that the previously reported homozygous nonsense IFT52 mutation associated with Sensenbrenner syndrome [Girisha et al. (2016) A homozygous nonsense variant in IFT52 is associated with a human skeletal ciliopathy. Clin. Genet., 90, 536-539] leads to exon skipping and results in a partially functional protein. Finally, our work uncovered a novel role for IFT52 in microtubule network regulation. We showed that IFT52 interacts and partially co-localized with centrin at the distal end of centrioles where it is involved in its recruitment and/or maintenance. Alteration of this function likely contributes to centriole splitting observed in Ift52(-/-) cells. Altogether, our findings allow a better comprehensive genotype-phenotype correlation among IFT52-related cases and revealed a novel, extra-ciliary role for IFT52, i.e. disruption may contribute to pathophysiological mechanisms

Pourquoi le décorer ?Quelques observations sur le décor céramique en Afrique

Depuis le fameux ‘Why pots are decorated’ (David et al. 1988), le décor céramique est passé à l’arrière plan des préoccupations des archéologues africanistes, au profit d’autres aspects comme les techniques de fabrication ou les modes de consommation. A l’époque, l’article sonnait le glas d’un interminable débat sur le style dominé par la question du marquage des frontières sociales. En illustrant la dimension religieuse des pratiques ornementales, David et al. (1988) n’ouvraient pas seulement de nouvelles pistes d’interprétation: ils ramenaient également le décor parmi les autres éléments de la chaîne opératoire, dont les dimensions symboliques commençaient alors à être mises en avant par un nombre croissant d’anthropologues. Cette théorie semble aujourd’hui aussi problématique que celle qu’elle visait à remplacer. Le temps est venu de remettre le décor sur la sellette, mais dans une perspective plus large que par le passé. C’est ce que vise cet article, basé sur des observations ethnographiques effectuées à travers le continent. Dans un premier temps, quelques aspects classiques de l’analyse des décors sont évoqués, afin d’illustrer la complexité des pratiques ornementales et les dangers d’interprétations trop univoques. Dans un second temps, de nouvelles perspectives d’interprétation sont illustrées, liées à la spatialisation et aux dynamiques de constitution des mondes sociaux.SCOPUS: cp.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedArchaeological Research in Afric

Pottery production at Tell Arqa (Lebanon) during the 3rd millennium BC: preliminary results of petrographic analysis

International audienceStudying well-documented assemblages is key to enhancing our understanding of the long-term evolution of pottery production and distribution in Bronze Age Levant. As a contribution to this effort, this paper presents, for the first time, the results of petrographic analysis undertaken on the Early Bronze (EB) pottery assemblage from Tell Arqa (northern Lebanon). Macroscopic and thinsection analyses were performed on a large set of samples. Beyond the characterization of eight petrographic groups, the study discusses the provenance of the raw materials and, taking advantage of the precise stratigraphic and typo-chronological sequence, gives a detailed vision of temporal change in ceramic production. It highlights a disruption at the end of the EB II-Early Central Levant (ECL) 2 and then a continuous evolution towards the homogenization of production both petrographically and technicallyuntil the end of the EBA. Finally, through comparison with other evidence, it is possible to contextualize the evidence from Tell Arqa within regional Levantine pottery traditions existing during the 3rd millennium BC