Geophysical Measurements on Glacial Soils - A Challenge in the Detection, Identification and Reconstruction of Archaeological Targets

The archaeological investigation of Bronze Age features in glacial soils in geophysical data is a great challenge and will be the focus of three distinct chapters of this thesis. Glacial soils are characterised by a high proportion of boulder stones but also by the occurrence of iron oxide concretions and are thus very heterogeneous. One of the challenges is to identify stony archaeological features in the stony environment. The first two chapters deal with the improvement of the detection and identification of archaeological features in radar and magnetic data. Subject of the investigations are burial mounds and their near surroundings. The third chapter attempts to reconstruct the shape and height of an almost eroded burial mound. Extensive geophysical measurement campaigns were carried out over Bronze Age sites in the region of northern Germany, with a strong focus on radar and magnetic measurements. To be able to estimate how much archaeological features are detected in the geophysical data the archaeological documentation was included. Soil analyses were used to estimate soil conditions with the help of numerical modelling. To estimate the height of the former mound geometric shapes, such as bell shape, cone, and spherical section were used. This study demonstrates that the detectability of stony archaeological features can be improved if the measurement campaign is conducted in the wet months, whereas the improved detectability of pit-like features will be improved if one measures in the drier months. The identification of archaeological features can be improved if one combines radar with magnetic data and by the development of a pattern recognition tool by additionally use the signal strength. The minimum height of the former burial mound could be determined, based on the usage of the ditch material from each phase and ranges between 2.1 m and 3.4 m

Adaptations and transformations of hunter-gatherers in forest environments: New archaeological and anthropological insights

Like any other living being, humans constantly influence their environment, be it intentionally or unintentionally. By extracting natural resources, they shape their environment and also that of plants and other animals. A great difference setting people apart from all other living beings is the ability to construct and develop their own niche intentionally, and the unique tool for this is cultural behaviour. Here, we discuss anthropogenic environmental changes of hunter-gatherers and present new palaeoecological and palynological data. The studies are framed with ethnoarchaeological data from Western Siberia to gain a better understanding of how different triggers lead to coping mechanisms. For archaeological implication, we use two Mesolithic case studies from Germany: One of them focuses on hazelnut economy around ancient Lake Duvensee, and the other broaches the issue of selective roe deer hunt and its consequences at the site of Friesack. We address the archaeological evidence from the perspective of active alteration and its consequences, starting our argumentation from a perspective of niche construction theory. This approach has rarely been applied to early Holocene hunter-gatherers in Northern Europe even though the available data render possible to discuss human–environment interaction from such a perspective. It is demonstrated that archaeological research has tools at hand that enables to detect anthropogenic niche construction. However, the ethnoarchaeological example shows limitations and archaeologically invisible triggers and consequent results of human adaptations. The critical revision of such perspectives based on empirical data provides a better understanding of social and environmental transformations in the early- and mid-Holocene

Bis(4-hydroxy-2H-chromen-2-one): Synthesis and effects on leukemic cell lines proliferation and NF-kappa B regulation

Synthesis of the bis-4-hydroxycoumarin-type compound, 3,3'-[3-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-3-oxopropane-1,1-diyl] bis(4-hydroxy-2H-chromen-2-one), was performed by two alternative pathways, either involving a basic organocatalyzed 1,4-conjugate addition tandem reaction of 4-hydroxycoumarin on chromone-3-carboxylic acid, or a double condensation of 4-hydroxycoumarin on omega-formyl-2'-hydroxyacetophenone. The anti-proliferative effects of the bis-4-hydroxycoumarin-type compound on human K-562 (chronic myeloid leukaemia) and JURKAT (acute T-cell leukaemia) cell lines using trypan blue staining, as well as its involvement in nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) regulation analyzed by luciferase reporter gene assay, gene expression analysis and western blots were analysed. This compound inhibited TNF alpha-induced NF-kappa B activation in K-562 (IC50 17.5 mu M) and JURKAT (IC50 19.0 mu M) cell lines, after 8 h of incubation. Interestingly, it exerted mainly cytostatic effects at low doses on both cell lines tested, whereas it decreased JURKAT cell viability starting at 50 mu M from 24 h of treatment. Importantly, it did not affect the viability of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy donors, even at concentrations above 100 mu M. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved