Arando el campo de batalla; la guerra Inca, conquista y resiliencia

Inca warfare has been the subject of scholarly interest since the period of the Spanish conquest. Not only were the land and its peoples exotically diff erent from the Spanish interlopers but so were the many aspects of indigenous warfare. Th ough the indigenous population proved quick to adapt their methods and strategies to resist these foreign invaders, many of the underlying fundamentals took some time to adjust. Th is paper seeks to uncover both, aspects of the ideological framework which harnessed indigenous Andean strategies and tactics but also to present some of the more practical considerations with respect to territorial expansion, including how native strategy, tactics and beliefs fi rst developed and then adapted to the Spanish presence in the fi rst few decades of the conquest.La guerra inca ha sido objeto de interés intelectual desde el período de la conquista española. No solo porque la tierra y su gente eran exóticamente diferentes de los intrusos españoles, sino también sus muchos aspectos de la guerra indígena. Aunque la población indígena rápidamente adapto sus métodos y estrategias para resistir a estos invasores extranjeros, muchos de los fundamentos subyacentes tardaron en adaptarse. Este trabajo presentara algunos aspectos del marco ideológico que sustento las estrategias y tácticas indígenas andinas, mientras que igualmente describe algunas de las cuestiones más prácticas con respecto a la expansión territorial, incluyendo la forma en que las estrategias, tácticas y creencias nativas se desarrollaron y adaptaron a la presencia española en las primer décadas de la conquista.Fil: Meddens, Frank M.. University of Reading; Reino UnidoFil: Lane, Kevin John. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Instituto de las Culturas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Instituto de las Culturas; Argentin

Pre-Hispanic terrace agricultural practices and long-distance transfer of plant taxa in the southern-central Peruvian Andes revealed by phytolith and pollen analysis

The archaeological excavation of two abandoned prehispanic agricultural terraces (Infiernillo and Tocotoccasa) in the Chicha-Soras Valley (Apurimac) in southern-central Peru revealed the presence of palaeosols. The palaeosols represent soil that developed following construction of agricultural terraces during the Middle Horizon. The soil profiles at the current surface developed following reconstruction of the terraces during the Late Intermediate Period. Phytolith analysis revealed an unexpected presence of Arecaceae (palm family) and Marantaceae (arrowroot family) in both terraces, which has been attributed to local cultivation and/or transportation and use of soil, dung, plant material or implements (made of Arecaceae) on the terrace surfaces. Pollen analysis of a nearby wetland (Ayapampa) did not provide evidence for Arecaceae or Marantaceae. Both phytolith and pollen analysis of the terraces and wetland (respectively) indicated that Zea mays was cultivated locally during the Middle Horizon and Late Intermediate Period, although phytoliths of maize are absent from the wetland record during the Middle Horizon. The presence of Solanaceae and Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae pollen in the wetland may be indicative of cultivation of further important taxa during the Middle Horizon and Late Intermediate Period, which continued into the Late Horizon together with Zea mays

Polygenic prediction of educational attainment within and between families from genome-wide association analyses in 3 million individuals

We conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of educational attainment (EA) in a sample of ~3 million individuals and identify 3,952 approximately uncorrelated genome-wide-significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). A genome-wide polygenic predictor, or polygenic index (PGI), explains 12-16% of EA variance and contributes to risk prediction for ten diseases. Direct effects (i.e., controlling for parental PGIs) explain roughly half the PGI's magnitude of association with EA and other phenotypes. The correlation between mate-pair PGIs is far too large to be consistent with phenotypic assortment alone, implying additional assortment on PGI-associated factors. In an additional GWAS of dominance deviations from the additive model, we identify no genome-wide-significant SNPs, and a separate X-chromosome additive GWAS identifies 57

Genomic analysis of diet composition finds novel loci and associations with health and lifestyle

Abstract: We conducted genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of relative intake from the macronutrients fat, protein, carbohydrates, and sugar in over 235,000 individuals of European ancestries. We identified 21 unique, approximately independent lead SNPs. Fourteen lead SNPs are uniquely associated with one macronutrient at genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10−8), while five of the 21 lead SNPs reach suggestive significance (P < 1 × 10−5) for at least one other macronutrient. While the phenotypes are genetically correlated, each phenotype carries a partially unique genetic architecture. Relative protein intake exhibits the strongest relationships with poor health, including positive genetic associations with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease (rg ≈ 0.15–0.5). In contrast, relative carbohydrate and sugar intake have negative genetic correlations with waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, and neighborhood deprivation (|rg| ≈ 0.1–0.3) and positive genetic correlations with physical activity (rg ≈ 0.1 and 0.2). Relative fat intake has no consistent pattern of genetic correlations with poor health but has a negative genetic correlation with educational attainment (rg ≈−0.1). Although our analyses do not allow us to draw causal conclusions, we find no evidence of negative health consequences associated with relative carbohydrate, sugar, or fat intake. However, our results are consistent with the hypothesis that relative protein intake plays a role in the etiology of metabolic dysfunction

Genome-wide association study identifies 74 loci associated with educational attainment

Educational attainment is strongly influenced by social and other environmental factors, but genetic factors are estimated to account for at least 20% of the variation across individuals1. Here we report the results of a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for educational attainment that extends our earlier discovery sample1,2 of 101,069 individuals to 293,723 individuals, and a replication study in an independent sample of 111,349 individuals from the UK Biobank. We identify 74 genome-wide significant loci associated with the number of years of schooling completed. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with educational attainment are disproportionately found in genomic regions regulating gene expression in the fetal brain. Candidate genes are preferentially expressed in neural tissue, especially during the prenatal period, and enriched for biological pathways involved in neural development. Our findings demonstrate that, even for a behavioural phenotype that is mostly environmentally determined, a well-powered GWAS identifies replicable associated genetic variants that suggest biologically relevant pathways. Because educational attainment is measured in large numbers of individuals, it will continue to be useful as a proxy phenotype in efforts to characterize the genetic influences of related phenotypes, including cognition and neuropsychiatric diseases

Inca sacred space, platforms and their potential Soundscapes, preliminary observations at usnu from Ayacucho

International audienceInca platforms forming part of an architectural complex commonly defined by the term usnu are in ethnohistorical sources described as being associated with ritual events involving performances of speech, music and dance. This paper reviews the performance role, its relevance and function and discusses their effectiveness with respect to the use of sound, based on experimental use of the human voice, the drum and a shell trumpet at a number of these sites. It is demonstrated that sound was a factor of some importance in the planning of the site of Usccunta and indeed that a particular instrument, the shell trumpet or pututu may have been considered in the layout of the largest communal space here.Las fuentes etnohistóricas refieren que los usnus, estructuras arquitectónicas incaicas que consisten básicamente en una plataforma, están asociados con eventos rituales que incluyen aspectos como discursos, música y danzas. El presente artículo examina el rol teatral de los usnus, basado en una investigación experimental del sonido: de la voz humana, del tambor y del pututo, en Usccunta, Ayacucho. Demostraremos que el sonido fue un factor importante en la planificación de este sitio y que la trompeta o el pututo fue tomado en cuenta al momento de elegir la localización espacial de este usnu