On-site data cast doubts on the hypothesis of shifting cultivation in the Late Neolithic (c. 4300-2400 cal. BC): Landscape management as an alternative paradigm

This article brings together in a comprehensive way, and for the first time, on- and off-site palaeoenvironmental data from the area of the Central European lake dwellings (a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site since 2011). The types of data considered are as follows: high-resolution off-site pollen cores, including micro-charcoal counts, and on-site data, including botanical macro- and micro-remains, hand-collected animal bones, remains of microfauna, and data on woodland management (dendrotypology). The period considered is the late Neolithic (c. 4300–2400 cal. BC). For this period, especially for its earlier phases, discussions of land-use patterns are contradictory. Based on off-site data, slash-and-burn – as known from tropical regions – is thought to be the only possible way to cultivate the land. On-site data however show a completely different picture: all indications point to the permanent cultivation of cereals (Triticum spp., Hordeum vulgare), pea (Pisum sativum), flax (Linum usitatissimum) and opium-poppy (Papaver somniferum). Cycles of landscape use are traceable, including coppicing and moving around the landscape with animal herds. Archaeobiological studies further indicate also that hunting and gathering were an important component and that the landscape was manipulated accordingly. Late Neolithic land-use systems also included the use of fire as a tool for opening up the landscape. Here we argue that bringing together all the types of palaeoenvironmental proxies in an integrative way allows us to draw a more comprehensive and reliable picture of the land-use systems in the late Neolithic than had been reconstructed previously largely on the basis of off-site data

Fish exploitation in medieval and early modern Switzerland: evidence from the ichthyoarchaeological record and historical sources

In Switzerland, fish played a substantial role in people's diets both in medieval times and in the early modern period. In this paper, we present an overview of ichthyoarchaeological data from 20 years of research, mainly from the northern and eastern regions of Switzerland. The integration of results of faunal analyses from 20 archaeological sites and the study of historical sources provided information on different modes of fish exploitation during these periods. This study shows that the fish remains from archaeological sites correspond with the descriptions in the written records: both sources point to local fisheries within Swiss freshwater systems. These fisheries were strongly regulated and often selective. Large freshwater fish of high quality were mainly caught by professional fishermen and eaten by the aristocratic and clerical classes, whereas small or young specimens were caught by all social classes even though their catch was strongly restricted. Furthermore, both sources provide evidence for an inland freshwater fish trade of selected species and for the import of herring, and suggest the practice of different freshwater fish cultivation methods

New data about the consumption of fish from the Alsace Region, France

International audienceThis study provides an overview of 11 archaeological sites that yielded fish boneremains from the Roman period through medieval to modern contexts. It bringsnew knowledge about the consumption of fish for the Alsace region. Although thenumbers of remains vary greatly, some diachronic comparisons are possible. Themajority of the species represented in the assemblages from the inland sites sampledwere freshwater fishes, together with a few migratory fishes. Most individuals weresmall‐sized fishes, which may explain the type of structure analysed, for instance,latrines. Two wels catfish vertebrae indicate the presence of this species in France.European marine fishes such as cod and flatfish are very rare, and the importationof marine fish began more recently. However, some herring bones found in theRoman and early medieval period make a straightforward interpretation moredifficult

Umwelt-, Landschaft- und Besiedlungsgeschichte

Zürich-Parkhaus Opéra übertrifft vergleichbare Fundstellen deutlich an Fläche und Fundmenge und erlaubt dank der Repräsentativität und hohen Datendichte Einblicke in die Gesellschaft, Wirtschaft und Umwelt der damaligen Bevölkerung. Der vorliegende Band präsentiert die Ergebnisse der naturwissenschaftlichen Analysen – erstmals in der Feuchtbodenarchäologie unter Einbezug der Chironomiden- und Cladocerenfossilien sowie ausführlicherer Mykologie – und führt die Erkenntnisse der gesamten Auswertung dieser vor allem horgenzeitlichen Fundstelle in einer Synthese zusammen. Die taphonomischen Resultate aller Disziplinen belegen, dass die Ablagerung der Kulturschichten auf dem grössten Teil der Grabungsfläche ganzjährig unter Wasser erfolgte. Die archäobiologischen Ergebnisse bestätigen die eminente wirtschaftliche Bedeutung von Getreide und Rindern, zeigen aber auch, dass die Rolle von Erbsen und Sammelpflanzen bislang unterschätzt wurde. Pollenuntersuchungen, Dendrotypologie und Archäobotanik zeichnen ein detailliertes Bild der menschlichen Eingriffe in die Naturlandschaft. So erhöhten die Siedler zu Beginn einer Siedlungsphase die Produktivität ihrer Umgebung durch gezielte Eingriffe. Das Optimum war nach frühestens 15 bis 20 Jahren erreicht, dann sank die Produktivität und nach etwa 250 Jahren wurde eine neue Region vorbereitet. Vieles deutet darauf hin, dass wirtschaftlich spezialisierte Nebensiedlungen zusammen einen komplexeren Siedlungsverbund bildeten. Die Siedler bedienten sich über weite Teile Europas verbreiteter Symbole, nahmen aber viele Entwicklungen der Westschweiz und am Bodensee nicht auf. Die Fundverteilungen und -typologie sowie die Siedlungsstruktur lassen auf verschiedene soziale Einheiten innerhalb von Parkhaus Opéra schliessen. Diesen dritten und letzten Band zu Zürich-Parkhaus Opéra runden ein kritischer Rückblick auf Organisation und Ablauf von Grabung und Auswertung, Empfehlungen für künftige Grabungen sowie Ausblicke auf weiterführende Forschungsfragen a

Assessment of cortisol response with low-dose and high-dose ACTH in patients with chronic fatigue snydrome and healthy comparison subjects

A reduced secretion of cortisol has been proposed as a possible explanation of the symptoms in chronic fatigue syndrome. However, the evidence of hypocortisolism in chronic fatigue syndrome is conflicting. In order to simultaneously assess possible alterations in adrenocortical sensitivity and secretory adrenal reserve, the authors administered both low-dose and high-dose ACTH to a group of 18 chronic fatigue syndrome patients and 18 age- and gender-matched healthy comparison subjects. No response differences for salivary and plasma cortisol were detectable after administration of either low-dose or high-dose ACTH, indicating that primary adrenal insufficiency is unlikely to play a significant role in the etiology of chronic fatigue syndrome

Endocrine stress responses in chronic fatigue syndrome

Subtle alterations of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) have been proposed as a shared pathway linking numerous etiological and perpetuating processes with symptoms and observed physiological abnormalities. Because the HPA axis is involved in the adaptive responses to stress and CFS patients experience a worsening of symptoms after physical and psychological stress, we tested HPA axis functioning with three centrally acting stress tests. We employed two procedures mimicking real life stressors and compared them with a standardized pharmacological neuroendocrine challenge test. A total of 21 CFS patients were compared with 25 healthy controls regarding their cardiovascular and endocrine reactivity in a psychosocial stress test and a standardized exercise test and their endocrine response in the insulin tolerance test (ITT). Controlling for possible confounding variables, we found significantly lower ACTH responses in the psychosocial stress test, the exercise test and in the ITT, with no differences in plasma total cortisol responses. In all tests, CFS patients had significantly reduced basal ACTH levels. Cardiovascular responses were not significantly different between the groups in the psychosocial stress test and the exercise test. These results suggest that CFS patients are capable of mounting a sufficient cortisol response under different types of stress, but that on a central level subtle dysregulations of the HPA axis exist. Interestingly, the observed extent of the endocrine alterations was significantly associated with the duration of the syndrome. A postulated deficient hypothalamic CRH secretion could serve as a neuroendocrine substrate of the observed fatigue and pain symptomatology in CFS. Furthermore, these endocrine alterations could be secondary to chronicity of the syndrome