The identification of poultry processing in archaeological ceramic vessels using in-situ isotope references for organic residue analysis.

Poultry products are rarely considered when reconstructing pottery use through organic residue analysis, impinging upon our understanding of the changing role of these animals in the past. Here we evaluate an isotopic approach for distinguishing chicken fats from other animal products. We compare the carbon isotopes of fatty acids extracted from modern tissues and archaeological bones and demonstrate that archaeological bones from contexts associated with pottery provide suitable reference ranges for distinguishing omnivorous animal products (e.g. pigs vs. chickens) in pots. When applied to pottery from the Anglo-Saxon site of Flixborough, England, we succeeded in identifying residues derived from chicken fats that otherwise could not be distinguished from other monogastric and ruminant animals using modern reference values only. This provides the first direct evidence for the processing of poultry or their products in pottery. The results highlight the utility of ‘in-situ’ archaeological bone lipids to identify omnivorous animal-derived lipids in archaeological ceramic vessels

Primeros resultados de la excavación del sitio de cazadores recolectores de La Represa: Oriente, partido de Coronel Dorrego, provincia de Bs. As., Argentina

Los estudios realizados en la Provincia de Buenos Aires tienden a establecer desde hace varios años, secuencias cronológicas y modelos de estrategias adaptativas de los grupos cazadores recolectores que habitaron la región durante el transcurso del Holoceno. El establecimiento de dichos modelos solo puede realizarse a través de una clara definición de la funcionalidad de los sitios cazadores recolectores pampeanos. El objetivo de este articulo es de presentar los primeros resultados de la excavación del sitio La Represa. Este sitio perteneciente a la transición entre el Holoceno medio y el Holoceno tardío esta siendo excavado siguiendo una metodología de excavación en extensión en relación con el área ocupada por las actividades humanas dentro de las múltiples actividades que pueden realizar los grupos de cazadores a lo largo de dicho ciclo anual. Se pretende así poner en practica una serie de estudios particulares tendientes a determinar la funcionalidad de los sitios de cazadores recolectores para luego integrarla dentro del ciclo anual de actividades.Studies conducted for several years in the Province of Buenos Aires tend to establish chronological sequences and models of adaptive strategies of hunter-gatherer groups that inhabited the region during the course of the Holocene. The establishment of such models can only be done through a clear defi nition of the functionality of the Pampean hunter-gatherer sites. The aim of this paper is to present the fi rst results of the excavation of La Represa site. This site belongs to the transition between the mid-Holocene and Holocene and is being excavated following an “excavation in extension” methodology related to the area occupied by human activities that can make hunting groups along the annual cycle. The aim is to implement a series of special studies designed to determine the functionality of the sites of hunter-gatherers and then integrate it into their annual cycle of activities.Os estudos realizados no estado de Buenos Aires tendem a estabelecer por vários anos sequências cronológicas e modelos de estratégias adaptativas de caçadores-coletores que habitaram na região durante o transcurso do Holoceno. O estabelecimento de tais modelos só pode ser feito através de uma defi nição clara da funcionalidade de sitios pampeanos caçadores-coletores. O objetivo deste artigo é apresentar os primeiros resultados da escavação do local da Barragem. Este local pertence à transição entre o Holoceno médio e Holoceno tardio que está sendo escavado utilizando uma metodologia de escavação na área em relação à área ocupada por atividades humanas nas muitas actividades que podem ser realizadas pelos grupos de caçadores ao longo do dito ciclo anual. O objetivo é colocar em prática uma série de estudos especiais para determinar a funcionalidade dos sítios de caçadores-coletores e depois integrá-la no ciclo anual de atividades.Fil: March, R. J.. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; FranciaFil: Rodríguez Loredo, C.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Hoguin, Rodolphe Gregory. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; FranciaFil: Foisset, S.. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; FranciaFil: Joly, D.. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; FranciaFil: Lucquin, A.. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Franci

How the central domain of dystrophin acts to bridge F-actin to sarcolemmal lipids

Dystrophin is a large intracellular protein that prevents sarcolemmal ruptures by providing a mechanical link between the intracellular actin cytoskeleton and the transmembrane dystroglycan complex. Dystrophin deficiency leads to the severe muscle wasting disease Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and the milder allelic variant, Becker Muscular Dystrophy (DMD and BMD). Previous work has shown that concomitant interaction of the actin binding domain 2 (ABD2) comprising spectrin like repeats 11 to 15 (R11-15) of the central domain of dystrophin, with both actin and membrane lipids, can greatly increase membrane stiffness. Based on a combination of SAXS and SANS measurements, mass spectrometry analysis of cross-linked complexes and interactive low-resolution simulations, we explored in vitro the molecular properties of dystrophin that allow the formation of ABD2-F-actin and ABD2-membrane model complexes. In dystrophin we identified two subdomains interacting with F-actin, one located in R11 and a neighbouring region in R12 and another one in R15, while a single lipid binding domain was identified at the C-terminal end of R12. Relative orientations of the dystrophin central domain with F-actin and a membrane model were obtained from docking simulation under experimental constraints. SAXS-based models were then built for an extended central subdomain from R4 to R19, including ABD2. Overall results are compatible with a potential F-actin/dystrophin/membrane lipids ternary complex. Our description of this selected part of the dystrophin associated complex bridging muscle cell membrane and cytoskeleton opens the way to a better understanding of how cell muscle scaffolding is maintained through this essential protein

Unraveling Island Economies through Organic Residue Analysis: The Case of Mocha Island (Southern Chile)

Biophysical conditions played a fundamental role in early human colonization of insular territories, particularly in food-producing societies dealing with limited resources and the challenges of maintaining a sustainable carrying capacity. Studies on past human colonization of small oceanic islands thus offer insights into economic plasticity, ecological impacts, and adaptation of early food-producing groups. On the coast of southern Chile, early evidence is dated to 950 cal BP of island colonization by coastal populations with mainland subsistence systems based on the exploitation of marine resources, along with gathering, managing, and cultivating plants and hunting terrestrial animals. Strikingly, the extent to which these mixed economies contributed to insular colonization efforts is largely unknown. Here we used organic residue analysis of ceramic artifacts to shed light on the subsistence of populations on Mocha Island in southern Chile. We extracted and analyzed lipids from 51 pottery sherds associated with the El Vergel cultural complex that flourished in southern Chile between 950 and 400 cal BP. Chemical and stable isotope analysis of the extracts identified a range of food products, including C3 and C4 plants and marine organisms. The results reveal the central role of mixed subsistence systems in fueling the colonization of Mocha Island

Kinetic Theory of Plasmas: Translational Energy

In the present contribution, we derive from kinetic theory a unified fluid model for multicomponent plasmas by accounting for the electromagnetic field influence. We deal with a possible thermal nonequilibrium of the translational energy of the particles, neglecting their internal energy and the reactive collisions. Given the strong disparity of mass between the electrons and heavy particles, such as molecules, atoms, and ions, we conduct a dimensional analysis of the Boltzmann equation. We then generalize the Chapman-Enskog method, emphasizing the role of a multiscale perturbation parameter on the collisional operator, the streaming operator, and the collisional invariants of the Boltzmann equation. The system is examined at successive orders of approximation, each of which corresponding to a physical time scale. The multicomponent Navier-Stokes regime is reached for the heavy particles, which follow a hyperbolic scaling, and is coupled to first order drift-diffusion equations for the electrons, which follow a parabolic scaling. The transport coefficients exhibit an anisotropic behavior when the magnetic field is strong enough. We also give a complete description of the Kolesnikov effect, i.e., the crossed contributions to the mass and energy transport fluxes coupling the electrons and heavy particles. Finally, the first and second principles of thermodynamics are proved to be satisfied by deriving a total energy equation and an entropy equation. Moreover, the system of equations is shown to be conservative and the purely convective system hyperbolic, thus leading to a well-defined structure

Latitudinal gradient in dairy production with the introduction of farming in Atlantic Europe

International audienceThe introduction of farming had far-reaching impacts on health, social structure and demography. Although the spread of domesticated plants and animals has been extensively tracked, it is unclear how these nascent economies developed within different environmental and cultural settings. Using molecular and isotopic analysis of lipids from pottery, here we investigate the foods prepared by the earliest farming communities of the European Atlantic seaboard. Surprisingly, we find an absence of aquatic foods, including in ceramics from coastal sites, except in the Western Baltic where this tradition continued from indigenous ceramic using hunter-gatherer-fishers. The frequency of dairy products in pottery increased as farming was progressively introduced along a northerly latitudinal gradient. This finding implies that early farming communities needed time to adapt their economic practices before expanding into more northerly areas. Latitudinal differences in the scale of dairy production might also have influenced the evolution of adult lactase persistence across Europe

Molecular and isotopic evidence for the processing of starchy plants in Early Neolithic pottery from China

Organic residue analysis of ancient ceramic vessels enables the investigation of natural resources that were used in daily cooking practices in different part of the world. Despite many methodological advances, the utilization of plants in pottery has been difficult to demonstrate chemically, hindering the study of their role in ancient society, a topic that is especially important to understanding early agricultural practices at the start of the Neolithic period. Here, we present the first lipid residue study on the Chinese Neolithic pottery dated to 5.0 k - 4.7 k cal BC from the Tianluoshan site, Zhejiang province, a key site with early evidence for rice domestication. Through the identification of novel molecular biomarkers and extensive stable isotope analysis, we suggest that the pottery in Tianluoshan were largely used for processing starchy plant foods. These results not only highlight the significance of starchy plants in Neolithic southern China but also show a clear difference with other contemporary sites in northern Eurasia, where pottery is clearly orientated to aquatic resource exploitation. These differences may be linked with the early development of rice agriculture in China compared to its much later adoption in adjacent northerly regions

Lipid residues in ancient pastoralist pottery from Kazakhstan reveal regional differences in cooking practices

The Bronze Age—Iron Age transition in Central Asia (ca. 800 BCE) was a period of significant cultural change that was heavily influenced by greater population interaction and mobility. Indeed, scholars have increasingly emphasized the role that “food globalization in prehistory” has played in defining this period. In the mountain foothills of Kazakhstan, culinary traditions from across Eurasia were combined through the use of Southwest Asian wheat, barley, and livestock (cattle, sheep, and goats) with East Asian foxtail and broomcorn millets. The development of food cultures during this period has been investigated by archaeobotanical and isotopic analysis, yet lipid residues from pottery, which directly represent culinary practices, have not been adequately examined. In this study, lipid residue analysis was conducted on 72 pottery sherds, excavated from three burial mounds and one non-burial, ritual site located in Kazakhstan, dating to ca. 700–200 BCE. A particularly informative observation was the frequency of miliacin, a biomarker of broomcorn millet, detected in residues that corresponded well with previously published regional differences observed in carbon isotope ratios of human remains that indicate the consumption of C4 plants. This study also demonstrates continuity of Bronze Age dairying traditions into the Iron Age. Finally, this study sheds new light on the diversity of food cultures and mortuary practices in this region, which were not uniform across either space or time

The use of early pottery by hunter-gatherers of the Eastern European forest-steppe

The Eastern European steppe and forest-steppe is a key region for understanding the emergence of pottery in Europe. The vast region encompasses the basins of two major waterways, the Don and the Volga rivers, and was occupied by hunter-gatherer-fisher communities attracted to highly productive forest/aquatic ecotones. The precise dates for the inception of pottery production in this region and the function of pottery is unknown, but such information is vital for charting the pan-Eurasian dispersal of pottery technology and whether there were common motivations for its adoption. To investigate, we conducted AMS dating, including a re-evaluation of legacy radiocarbon dates together with organic residue analysis and microscopy. The dating programme was able to clarify the sequence and show that hunter-gatherer pottery production was unlikely in this region before the 6th millennium BC. Regarding use, stable isotope and molecular analysis of 160 pottery samples from 35 sites across the region shows that terrestrial animal carcass fats were preferentially processed in pots at Middle Volga sites whereas aquatic resources dominate the residues in pottery from the Middle and Upper Don basin. This is supported by fragments of fish, legumes and grasses in the available charred deposits adhering to the inside of pottery from the Don basin. Since the sites from both river basins had similar environmental settings and were broadly contemporaneous, it is posited that pottery use was under strong cultural control, recognisable as separate sub-regional culinary traditions. The ‘aquatic hypothesis’, previously suggested to explain the emergence of Eurasian pottery, cannot be substantiated in this context

Chemical analysis of pottery demonstrates prehistoric origin for high-altitude alpine dairying

The European high Alps are internationally renowned for their dairy produce, which are of huge cultural and economic significance to the region. Although the recent history of alpine dairying has been well studied, virtually nothing is known regarding the origins of this practice. This is due to poor preservation of high altitude archaeological sites and the ephemeral nature of transhumance economic practices. Archaeologists have suggested that stone structures that appear around 3,000 years ago are associated with more intense seasonal occupation of the high Alps and perhaps the establishment of new economic strategies. Here, we report on organic residue analysis of small fragments of pottery sherds that are occasionally preserved both at these sites and earlier prehistoric rock-shelters. Based mainly on isotopic criteria, dairy lipids could only be identified on ceramics from the stone structures, which date to the Iron Age (ca. 3,000 - 2,500 BP), providing the earliest evidence of this practice in the high Alps. Dairy production in such a marginal environment implies a high degree of risk even by today’s standards. We postulate that this practice was driven by population increase and climate deterioration that put pressure on lowland agropastoral systems and the establishment of more extensive trade networks, leading to greater demand for highly nutritious and transportable dairy products