857 research outputs found
Stable carbon Isotope evidence for neolithic and bronze age crop water management in the eastern mediterranean and southwest asia
In a large study on early crop water management, stable carbon isotope discrimination was determined for 275 charred grain samples from nine archaeological sites, dating primarily to the Neolithic and Bronze Age, from the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia. This has revealed that wheat (Triticum spp.) was regularly grown in wetter conditions than barley (Hordeum sp.), indicating systematic preferential treatment of wheat that may reflect a cultural preference for wheat over barley. Isotopic analysis of pulse crops (Lens culinaris, Pisum sativum and Vicia ervilia) indicates cultivation in highly varied water conditions at some sites, possibly as a result of opportunistic watering practices. The results have also provided evidence for local land-use and changing agricultural practices
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Excavations at Kilise Tepe 2007-2011: The Late Bronze and Iron Ages
Origin of Life
The evolution of life has been a big enigma despite rapid advancements in the
fields of biochemistry, astrobiology, and astrophysics in recent years. The
answer to this puzzle has been as mind-boggling as the riddle relating to
evolution of Universe itself. Despite the fact that panspermia has gained
considerable support as a viable explanation for origin of life on the Earth
and elsewhere in the Universe, the issue remains far from a tangible solution.
This paper examines the various prevailing hypotheses regarding origin of life
like abiogenesis, RNA World, Iron-sulphur World, and panspermia; and concludes
that delivery of life-bearing organic molecules by the comets in the early
epoch of the Earth alone possibly was not responsible for kick-starting the
process of evolution of life on our planet.Comment: 32 pages, 8 figures,invited review article, minor additio
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Carbon stable isotope analysis of cereal remains as a way to reconstruct water availability: preliminary results
Reconstructing past water availability, both as rainfall and irrigation, is important to answer questions about the way society reacts to climate and its changes and the role of irrigation in the development of social complexity. Carbon stable isotope analysis of archaeobotanical remains is a potentially valuable method for reconstructing water availability. To further define the relationship between water availability and plant carbon isotope composition and to set up baseline values for the Southern Levant, grains of experimentally grown barley and sorghum were studied. The cereal crops were grown at three stations under five different irrigation regimes in Jordan. Results indicate that a positive but weak relationship exists between irrigation regime and total water input of barley grains, but no relationship was found for sorghum. The relationship for barley is site-specific and inter-annual variation was present at Deir ‘Alla, but not at Ramtha and Khirbet as-Samra
The bioactivation procedure for increasing the sulphate-reducing bacteria in a UASB reactor
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