Liva 1 – The First Medieval Sámi Site with Rectangular Hearths in Murmansk Oblast (Russia)

In 2017–2018, the Kola Archaeological Expedition of the Institute of the History of Material Culture (IHMC) RAS carried out excavations at the medieval site of Liva 1 (a hearth-row site)in the Kovdor District of Murmansk Oblast. Sites of this type are fairly well studied in the western part of Sapmi – the area inhabited by the Sámi – but until now they have not beenknown in Russia. The site was found by local residents in 2010. Some of the structures there were destroyed or damaged when searching for artefacts with a metal detector. A total ofnine archaeological structures have been discovered (7 rectangular stone hearths, 1 mound, 1 large pit). Four hearths were excavated. They are of rectangular shape, varying in size from 2.0 x 1.15 to 2.5 x 1.7 metres. The fireplaces are lined with large stone blocks in one course, and the central part is filled with small stones in 2–3 layers. Animal bones, occasionallyforming concentrations, were found near the hearths. Throughout the area of the settlement, numerous iron objects (tools or their fragments) and bronzes were collected includingornaments made in manufacturing centres of Old Rus’, Scandinavia and the Baltic countries. The settlement is dated with radiocarbon analysis and the typology of the ornaments to the11th – 14th centuries

Early Metal Age Dwellings in Eastern Lapland: Investigations of the Kola Archaeological Expedition (IHMC) in 2004–2014

After 10 years of field investigation by the Kola Archaeological Expedition (Institute for the History of Material Culture, Russian Academy of Sciences; IHMC RAS) it is now evident that a single archaeological culture (phase) prevailed on the Arctic coast from Tromsø (Norway) to Yokanga (Russia) during the Younger Stone Age and Early Metal Period. A close similarity between the assemblages of this culture is recognised in stone and bone artefacts, as well in dwelling constructions. This paper presents the results of the fieldwork in 2004–2014 and discusses the dwellings excavated at the Zavalishina 5 site

Kharlovka 1-6 on the Kola Peninsula: One of the Oldest Gressbakken House Sites in Northern Fennoscandia

The remains of a semi-subterranean house were discovered at the Kharlovka 1-6 site on the Barents Sea coast of the Kola Peninsula, Russia. Despite suffering from erosion, features such as a double stone-boarded hearth and chimney pipe together with diagnostic finds allow us to attribute the house to the so-called Gressbakken type. The artefact assemblage includes stone tools, bone and antler tools and adornments, asbestos-tempered pottery, an amber pendant and a copper tubular bead. Numerous faunal remains are primarily represented by marine species of mammals and birds. Radiocarbon dates on charcoal point to the period 2600–2300 calBC, which is also supported by the artefact types, elevation of the cultural layer and construction type of the house. When accounting for the early dates of Kharlovka 1-6 and several other dwellings, it can be assumed that the Gressbakken house tradition emerged around 2600–2300 calBC. This date is somewhat earlier than previously thought

Kola Oleneostrovskiy Grave Field: A Unique Burial Site in the European Arctic

The Kola Oleneostrovskiy grave field (KOG) is the main source of information for the physical and cultural anthropology of the Early Metal Period population of the Kola Peninsula and the whole northern Fennoscandia.1 Excavations were conducted here in 1925, 1928, 1947–1948, and 2001–2004 by A. Shmidt, N. Gurina, and V. Shumkin. Altogether 32 burials containing the remains of 43 individuals were investigated. During the excavations, also remains of wooden grave constructions were found. The site is exceptionally rich in burial goods, including numerous bone, antler, stone, ceramic, and bronze items. Grave goods differ slightly between male and female burials. There is some evidence of long-distance contacts between the local population and southern and western Scandinavia, most notably in the chemical composition of bronze items and in some types of bone tools. Anthropological data, including the analysis of paleoDNA, suggests that people from geographically more eastern areas took part in the genesis of the ancient population of the northern Kola Peninsula. These people belonged to a specific physical type associated with modern Siberian anthropological groups

First encounters in the north : cultural diversity and gene flow in Early Mesolithic Scandinavia

Population genetic studies often overlook the evidence for variability and change in past material culture. Here, the authors use a Mesolithic example to demonstrate the importance of integrating archaeological evidence into the interpretation of the Scandinavian hunter-gatherer genetic group. Genetic studies conclude that this group resulted from two singleevent dispersals into Scandinavia before 7500 BC. Archaeological evidence, however, shows at least six immigration events pre-dating the earliest DNA, and that the first incoming groups arrived in Scandinavia before 9000 BC. The findings underline the importance of conducting careful archaeological analysis of prehistoric human dispersal in tandem with the study of ancient population genomics.Population genetic studies often overlook the evidence for variability and change in past material culture. Here, the authors use a Mesolithic example to demonstrate the importance of integrating archaeological evidence into the interpretation of the Scandinavian hunter-gatherer genetic group. Genetic studies conclude that this group resulted from two single-event dispersals into Scandinavia before 7500 BC. Archaeological evidence, however, shows at least six immigration events pre-dating the earliest DNA, and that the first incoming groups arrived in Scandinavia before 9000 BC. The findings underline the importance of conducting careful archaeological analysis of prehistoric human dispersal in tandem with the study of ancient population genomics.Peer reviewe

An overview of the approaches for automotive safety integrity levels allocation

YesISO 26262, titled Road Vehicles–Functional Safety, is the new automotive functional safety standard for passenger vehicle industry. In order to accomplish the goal of designing and developing dependable automotive systems, ISO 26262 uses the concept of Automotive Safety Integrity Levels (ASILs), the adaptation of Safety Integrity Levels. ASILs are allocated to the components and subsystems that can cause system failure and malfunctions that lead to hazards. ASILs allocation is a hard problem consists of finding the optimal allocation of safety levels to the system architecture which must guarantee that the highest safety requirements are met while development cost of the automotive system is kept minimum. There were many successful attempts to solve this problem using different techniques. However, it is worth pointing out that there is an absence of a review that provides an in-depth study of all the existing methods and highlights their merits and demerits. This paper presents an overview of different approaches that were used to solve ASILs allocation problem. The review provides an overview of safety requirements including the related standards followed by a study of the resolution methods of the existing approaches. The study of each approach provides a detailed explanation of the used methodology and a discussion of its strength and weaknesses including the main open challenges

Severe plastic deformation for producing superfunctional ultrafine-grained and heterostructured materials: An interdisciplinary review

Ultrafine-grained and heterostructured materials are currently of high interest due to their superior mechanical and functional properties. Severe plastic deformation (SPD) is one of the most effective methods to produce such materials with unique microstructure-property relationships. In this review paper, after summarizing the recent progress in developing various SPD methods for processing bulk, surface and powder of materials, the main structural and microstructural features of SPD-processed materials are explained including lattice defects, grain boundaries and phase transformations. The properties and potential applications of SPD-processed materials are then reviewed in detail including tensile properties, creep, superplasticity, hydrogen embrittlement resistance, electrical conductivity, magnetic properties, optical properties, solar energy harvesting, photocatalysis, elec- trocatalysis, hydrolysis, hydrogen storage, hydrogen production, CO$_ 2$ conversion, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. It is shown that achieving such properties is not limited to pure metals and conventional metallic alloys, and a wide range of materials are currently processed by SPD, including high-entropy alloys, glasses, semiconductors, ceramics and polymers. It is particularly emphasized that SPD has moved from a simple metal processing tool to a powerful means for the discovery and synthesis of new superfunctional metallic and nonmetallic materials. The article ends by declaring that the borders of SPD have been extended from materials science and it has become an interdisciplinary tool to address scientific questions such as the mechanisms of geological and astronomical phenomena and the origin of life

Working of Reindeer’s Antlers at the Neolithic – Bronze Age Settlement Mayak 2 (Murmansk region)

The article presents the preliminary results of the traceological analysis of the artefacts made of reindeer antler (Rangifer tarandus) found at the settlement Mayak 2 (Murmansk region). The site, excavated in 1979–1984 by N. N. Gurina, has been dated to the Neolithic – Bronze Age. The unique collection includes more than 1800 various implements made of hard organic materials. The study of methods of reindeer’s antlers processing according to the data of macro- and microscopic analysis of technological traces was carried out for the first time. Among the 250 artefacts selected for the study were production waste, preforms and completed items. It was obtained that two technological methods of the antler`s fragmentation to create a preform were used. The first method involved longitudinal and transverse chopping of the antler, which could be made with stone or metal tools. The second method based on carving of longitudinal and transverse grooves with subsequent division along them. It was found that the basal part of the antler was not actually used (one case was found). The medial part – the rod – were used for creating of the vast majority of implements and ornaments. Antler tines were rarely used for a limited set of items

Fatigue Properties of Ultra-Fine Grained Al-Mg-Si Wires with Enhanced Mechanical Strength and Electrical Conductivity

This paper focuses on the mechanical properties, electrical conductivity and fatigue performance of ultra-fine-grained (UFG) Al-Mg-Si wires processed by a complex severe plastic deformation route. It is shown that the nanostructural design via equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) Conform followed by heat treatment and cold drawing leads to the combination of enhanced tensile strength, sufficient ductility, enhanced electrical conductivity, and improved fatigue strength compared to the wires after traditional T81 thermo-mechanical treatment used in wire manufacturing. The Processing-microstructure-properties relationship in the studied material is discussed