Petrology and Provenance of Lithic Raw Materials used to knap stone: A Case Study From the Inner Ionian Sea

Η μελέτη εξετάζει τη λιθολογία και την προέλευση των πρώτων υλών των λαξευμένων λίθινων τεχνέργων από προϊστορικές θέσεις στο Μεγανήσι Λευκάδος, τα οποία εντόπισε και περισυνέλλεξε η αρχαιολογική έρευνα επιφανείας στο Εσωτερικό Αρχιπέλαγος του Ιονίου. Η ερευνητική δραστηριότητα εγγράφεται στην ευρύτερη αρχαιολογική έρευνα με το διεπιστημονικό της χαρακτήρα και είχε διπλό στόχο. Στο πεδίο πραγματοποιήθηκε επιτόπια μελέτη της γεωλογίας του νησιού και συλλογή γεωλογικών δειγμάτων και στο εργαστήριο, πραγματοποιήθηκε πετρολογική εργασία χρησιμοποιώντας τις ενόργανες αναλυτικές μεθόδους LM (οπτική μικροσκοπία), XRD (περιθλασιμετρία ακτίνων-X), SEM (ηλεκτρονική μικροσκοπία σάρωσης) και ICP-MS (φασματοσκοπία μάζης με επαγωγικά συζευγμένο πλάσμα). Το μεγαλύτερο ποσοστό των υλικών που χρησιμοποιήθηκαν για την κατασκευή των εργαλείων συνίστανται σε σχεδόν καθαρό SiO2, με μορφή στρωσιγενών ή κονδυλωδών πυριτολίθων ηλικίας κυρίως Μαλμίου-Τουρωνίου και Ηωκαίνου. Οι πυριτόλιθοι συλλέχθηκαν από προϊστορικούς λιθοξόους από τοπικές πηγές πλησίον των αρχαιολογικών θέσεων. Οι πατίνες που εμφανίζουν τα τέχνεργα είναι κυρίως περιοχές ατελούς πυριτικής διαγένεσης εμπλουτισμένες σε ασβεστιτικό υλικό, και δευτερευόντως προϊόν ύστερης αποσάθρωσης και εξαλλοίωσηςThis paper examines the lithology and raw material provenance of knapped stone artifacts recovered from prehistoric sites on Meganisi in the course of the Inner Ionian Sea Archipelago survey. Research was twofold: in the field to map the geology of the island and collect raw material samples, and in the laboratory to conduct a petrological study using LM, XRD, SEM and ICP-MS techniques. The greater part of the materials used to produce stone tools consists of almost pure SiO2, bedded or nodular cherts mainly of Malm–Turonian and Eocene ages. The cherts were collected by prehistoric knappers from local sources. Patinas present on the artifacts are relatively enriched in calcite material of incomplete silica diagenesis and subsequently a product of late weathering and alteration

Geomorphic Evolution of the Lilas River Fan Delta (Central Evia Island, Greece)

This paper presents the results of geomorphological investigations carried out on the Lilas River fan delta in central Evia Isl., Greece. A geomorphological map has been prepared using Digital Elevation Model analysis, aerial photos and Google Earth image interpretation, a reliable map of 1846, and extensive fieldwork. The Holocene sequence stratigraphy of the fan delta has been studied based on profiles of seven deep cores drilled by the municipal authorities. Two additional shallow boreholes were drilled with a portable drilling set and collected samples were analyzed using micropaleontological and grain size analysis methods while four sediment samples were dated using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) techniques. During the early Holocene, most of the fan delta plain was a shallow marine environment. Between 4530 ± 220 and 3600 ± 240 years BP the depositional environment at the area of Nea Lampsakos changed from shallow marine to a lower energy lagoonal one. The main distributary changed its course several times leading to the building and subsequent abandonment of five fan delta lobes, through which the fan delta advanced during the late Holocene. The eastern part of the Kampos abandoned lobe is retreating with a maximum mean rate of −0.94 m/year for the period 1945–2009, whereas the presently active mouth of the river and its immediate surrounds are prograding with a mean rate of about +3.2 m/year

Genome sequencing of 2000 canids by the Dog10K consortium advances the understanding of demography, genome function and architecture

International audienceBackground: The international Dog10K project aims to sequence and analyze several thousand canine genomes. Incorporating 20 × data from 1987 individuals, including 1611 dogs (321 breeds), 309 village dogs, 63 wolves, and four coyotes, we identify genomic variation across the canid family, setting the stage for detailed studies of domestication, behavior, morphology, disease susceptibility, and genome architecture and function.Results: We report the analysis of > 48 M single-nucleotide, indel, and structural variants spanning the autosomes, X chromosome, and mitochondria. We discover more than 75% of variation for 239 sampled breeds. Allele sharing analysis indicates that 94.9% of breeds form monophyletic clusters and 25 major clades. German Shepherd Dogs and related breeds show the highest allele sharing with independent breeds from multiple clades. On average, each breed dog differs from the UU_Cfam_GSD_1.0 reference at 26,960 deletions and 14,034 insertions greater than 50 bp, with wolves having 14% more variants. Discovered variants include retrogene insertions from 926 parent genes. To aid functional prioritization, single-nucleotide variants were annotated with SnpEff and Zoonomia phyloP constraint scores. Constrained positions were negatively correlated with allele frequency. Finally, the utility of the Dog10K data as an imputation reference panel is assessed, generating high-confidence calls across varied genotyping platform densities including for breeds not included in the Dog10K collection.Conclusions: We have developed a dense dataset of 1987 sequenced canids that reveals patterns of allele sharing, identifies likely functional variants, informs breed structure, and enables accurate imputation. Dog10K data are publicly available

Genome sequencing of 2000 canids by the Dog10K consortium advances the understanding of demography, genome function and architecture

Abstract Background The international Dog10K project aims to sequence and analyze several thousand canine genomes. Incorporating 20 × data from 1987 individuals, including 1611 dogs (321 breeds), 309 village dogs, 63 wolves, and four coyotes, we identify genomic variation across the canid family, setting the stage for detailed studies of domestication, behavior, morphology, disease susceptibility, and genome architecture and function. Results We report the analysis of > 48 M single-nucleotide, indel, and structural variants spanning the autosomes, X chromosome, and mitochondria. We discover more than 75% of variation for 239 sampled breeds. Allele sharing analysis indicates that 94.9% of breeds form monophyletic clusters and 25 major clades. German Shepherd Dogs and related breeds show the highest allele sharing with independent breeds from multiple clades. On average, each breed dog differs from the UU_Cfam_GSD_1.0 reference at 26,960 deletions and 14,034 insertions greater than 50 bp, with wolves having 14% more variants. Discovered variants include retrogene insertions from 926 parent genes. To aid functional prioritization, single-nucleotide variants were annotated with SnpEff and Zoonomia phyloP constraint scores. Constrained positions were negatively correlated with allele frequency. Finally, the utility of the Dog10K data as an imputation reference panel is assessed, generating high-confidence calls across varied genotyping platform densities including for breeds not included in the Dog10K collection. Conclusions We have developed a dense dataset of 1987 sequenced canids that reveals patterns of allele sharing, identifies likely functional variants, informs breed structure, and enables accurate imputation. Dog10K data are publicly available

Funerary Pithoi in Bronze Age Crete: Their Introduction and Significance at the Threshold of Minoan Palatial Society

Toward the end of the third millennium B.C.E., Minoan funerary customs changed, and people began to favor the use of clay receptacles-pithoi or larnakes-for the bodies of the dead. This article offers a comprehensive study of the funerary pithoi of the period, comprising a review of the available material and its classification, distribution, and dating, the relation of container to tomb types, and the specific use of pithoi within funerary ritual. It also assesses the importance of pithoi as an investment in terms of the material wealth that they represent and the knowledge of the complex techniques of handling dead bodies that they require. Finally, it examines the symbolic connotations of the pithos and argues that its wide adoption was part of a general turn toward the concept of the regeneration of life. This concept shifted the emphasis of the funerary realm toward the social dimension-namely, toward the reallocation of the roles and resources of the dead among the living. Such a shift helped people come to terms with contemporary social reality and shaped the agency of emerging elites, which led to the establishment of the first Minoan palaces and transformed Crete from a series of kin-based communities to a group of proto-states