Moiapu 3: Settlement on Moiapu Hill at the very end of Lapita, Caution Bay hinterland

The Caution Bay archaeological project on the south coast of mainland Papua New Guinea has excavated 122 sites over a 9 km² area. Lapita ceramics appear at a number of sites at c. 2900 cal. BP. Here we present the results of excavations at Moiapu 3, a site that helps define the end of the dentate-stamped Lapita phase of this region. It is suggested that the decline and ultimate cessation of dentate stamping related to a loss of symbolism during a period of major socioeconomic readjustment and innovation

Predicting attitudinal and behavioral responses to COVID-19 pandemic using machine learning

At the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 became a global problem. Despite all the efforts to emphasize the relevance of preventive measures, not everyone adhered to them. Thus, learning more about the characteristics determining attitudinal and behavioral responses to the pandemic is crucial to improving future interventions. In this study, we applied machine learning on the multinational data collected by the International Collaboration on the Social and Moral Psychology of COVID-19 (N = 51,404) to test the predictive efficacy of constructs from social, moral, cognitive, and personality psychology, as well as socio-demographic factors, in the attitudinal and behavioral responses to the pandemic. The results point to several valuable insights. Internalized moral identity provided the most consistent predictive contribution—individuals perceiving moral traits as central to their self-concept reported higher adherence to preventive measures. Similar results were found for morality as cooperation, symbolized moral identity, self-control, open-mindedness, and collective narcissism, while the inverse relationship was evident for the endorsement of conspiracy theories. However, we also found a non-neglible variability in the explained variance and predictive contributions with respect to macro-level factors such as the pandemic stage or cultural region. Overall, the results underscore the importance of morality-related and contextual factors in understanding adherence to public health recommendations during the pandemic.Peer reviewe

National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic

Changing collective behaviour and supporting non-pharmaceutical interventions is an important component in mitigating virus transmission during a pandemic. In a large international collaboration (Study 1, N = 49,968 across 67 countries), we investigated self-reported factors associated with public health behaviours (e.g., spatial distancing and stricter hygiene) and endorsed public policy interventions (e.g., closing bars and restaurants) during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic (April-May 2020). Respondents who reported identifying more strongly with their nation consistently reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies. Results were similar for representative and non-representative national samples. Study 2 (N = 42 countries) conceptually replicated the central finding using aggregate indices of national identity (obtained using the World Values Survey) and a measure of actual behaviour change during the pandemic (obtained from Google mobility reports). Higher levels of national identification prior to the pandemic predicted lower mobility during the early stage of the pandemic (r = −0.40). We discuss the potential implications of links between national identity, leadership, and public health for managing COVID-19 and future pandemics.publishedVersio

National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic (vol 13, 517, 2022) : National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic (Nature Communications, (2022), 13, 1, (517), 10.1038/s41467-021-27668-9)

Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2022.In this article the author name ‘Agustin Ibanez’ was incorrectly written as ‘Augustin Ibanez’. The original article has been corrected.Peer reviewe

National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic.

Changing collective behaviour and supporting non-pharmaceutical interventions is an important component in mitigating virus transmission during a pandemic. In a large international collaboration (Study 1, N = 49,968 across 67 countries), we investigated self-reported factors associated with public health behaviours (e.g., spatial distancing and stricter hygiene) and endorsed public policy interventions (e.g., closing bars and restaurants) during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic (April-May 2020). Respondents who reported identifying more strongly with their nation consistently reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies. Results were similar for representative and non-representative national samples. Study 2 (N = 42 countries) conceptually replicated the central finding using aggregate indices of national identity (obtained using the World Values Survey) and a measure of actual behaviour change during the pandemic (obtained from Google mobility reports). Higher levels of national identification prior to the pandemic predicted lower mobility during the early stage of the pandemic (r = -0.40). We discuss the potential implications of links between national identity, leadership, and public health for managing COVID-19 and future pandemics

Predicting attitudinal and behavioral responses to COVID-19 pandemic using machine learning

At the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 became a global problem. Despite all the efforts to emphasize the relevance of preventive measures, not everyone adhered to them. Thus, learning more about the characteristics determining attitudinal and behavioral responses to the pandemic is crucial to improving future interventions. In this study, we applied machine learning on the multinational data collected by the International Collaboration on the Social and Moral Psychology of COVID-19 (N = 51,404) to test the predictive efficacy of constructs from social, moral, cognitive, and personality psychology, as well as socio-demographic factors, in the attitudinal and behavioral responses to the pandemic. The results point to several valuable insights. Internalized moral identity provided the most consistent predictive contribution—individuals perceiving moral traits as central to their self-concept reported higher adherence to preventive measures. Similar results were found for morality as cooperation, symbolized moral identity, self-control, open-mindedness, and collective narcissism, while the inverse relationship was evident for the endorsement of conspiracy theories. However, we also found a non-neglible variability in the explained variance and predictive contributions with respect to macro-level factors such as the pandemic stage or cultural region. Overall, the results underscore the importance of morality-related and contextual factors in understanding adherence to public health recommendations during the pandemic

Author Correction: National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic

Correction to: Nature Communications https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27668-9, published online 26 January 2022

Fracture and modification of Patella shells: Distinguishing human working

The role of stone tool production has long been used as a proxy for cognitive development in early human cultures. In the context of South‐east Asia (SEA) and Australia a lack of ‘advanced’ examples of lithic technologies seen elsewhere in the world has led to the labeling of SEA and Australian cultures as simple and undeveloped. Arguments have been raised in an attempt to refute this claim, including the replacement of stone as a medium for artefact production with shell. The differentiation between cultural and taphonomic modification in shell has been problematic, due largely to a lack of understanding of taphonomy the morphologies different species of shell on a micro scale and subsequently the fracture mechanics of molluscan shell under specific forces. The identification of artefactual shell specimens is sometimes based on little more than a hunch. This project attempts to determine the difference between the resulting fracture patterns of cultural and taphonomic damage using high and low powered microscopy. The resulting fracture patterns from use‐wear experimentation was compared to controlled fracture experimentation using low powered light microscopy and high powered scanning electron microscopy. The results show a variety of fracture patterns as well as a distinct difference in fracture patterns between the two sets of experiments. When these results are then compared to archaeological specimens from Golo cave in Gebe Island, a previously excavated site in the Maluku island group in Indonesia, similar fracture patterns are observed indicating the presence of culturally modified shell in the Golo Cave assemblage. This project highlights the significance of micro scale analysis in the identification of shell artefacts as well as providing insight into the differing forms of mechanical failure in molluscan shell as well as depicting the suitability of shell as a medium for artefactual us

Disentangling shell middens: Exploring the complexities of deposit formation and transformation using amino acid racemisation

The archaeological record is a time-averaged palimpsest of material variably influenced by postdepositional processes. The aim of archaeology is to elucidate and inform on past human behaviour, however, the palimpsest nature of the archaeological record limits the potential for events on the scale of the individual and day-to-day life to be preserved. While some perceive this lack of temporal resolution as a hindrance, it rather presents an opportunity to investigate environmental and behavioural processes at a larger, broader scale. The delimiting and constraining of palimpsests to access this spectrum of temporal scales poses methodological and conceptual complications. It is this challenge that forms the focus of this thesis. Shell middens, in many ways, magnify the effects of the palimpsest nature of the archaeological record through aspects such as their porosity and frequent lack of clearly visible stratigraphic differentiation. Complex and variable formation processes blur the spatial and temporal relationships of the material contained within a midden deposit. The vertical displacement of midden shell, the time-averaging of previously temporally distinct layers, as well as the muddying of the depositional patterning behind midden formation are all issues that complicate behavioural and palaeoenvironmental interpretations. The midden within the Brremangurey rockshelter, located in the Kimberley region of Western Australia’s far north, embodies this conundrum. During excavation and analysis of the midden, clues were identified that pointed towards a far more complex formation and transformation history than initially thought. Precisely to what extent, though, would be problematic to determine using conventional techniques. The typical approach to refining the formation processes of shell middens relies on radiocarbon dating. Greater number of samples provide enhanced resolution, but at a considerable cost. Amino acid racemisation (AAR) is a low-cost relative dating technique that has not been widely incorporated into archaeological investigation. In the context of shell midden archaeology, the potential of AAR in resolving issues of site formation and transformation comes from the ability to analyse a large number of samples to establish a high resolution relative chronological sequence of a midden deposit. Recent refinements to the AAR method improve the technique’s accuracy and precision, making it more amenable to the temporal scales at play within these specific archaeological contexts. To test the applicability of this novel use of AAR, this approach was applied to the material excavated from the Brremangurey rockshelter. The use of AAR dating to establish a high resolution relative chronology of the Brremangurey midden deposit managed to address a range of problems commonly encountered in shell midden archaeology. The temporality and spatial origins of vertically displaced shell could be recognised allowing the integration of ex situ material to the archaeological interpretations. A time-averaged layer was disentangled, and the relative contributions of each phase of deposition to be identified, adding more detail to the formation history of the midden deposit. Most importantly, the application of AAR and ‘Temporal Packaging’ presented a detailed picture of the depositional patterning of the Brremangurey midden deposit. A complicating aspect of the archaeological record is that the scales of temporal resolution recorded within a palimpsest are hidden. This denies the investigator the opportunity to appropriately adjust their scale of investigation to the scale of evidence the archaeological record can support. Not only were AAR and Temporal Packaging able to refine the chronology of a midden deposit, but also allowed the previously inaccessible temporal resolution contained within a deposit to be defined