Pigs in Sight:Late Bronze Age Pig Husbandries in the Aegean and Anatolia

This paper explores pig husbandry across the Aegean and Anatolia based on zooarchaeological data and ancient texts. The western Anatolian citadel of Kaymakçı is the departure point for discussion, as it sits in the Mycenaean-Hittite interaction zone and provides a uniquely large assemblage of pig bones. NISP, mortality, and biometric data from 38 additional sites across Greece and Anatolia allows observation of intra- and interregional variation in the role of pigs in subsistence economies, pig management, and pig size characteristics. Results show that, first, pig abundance at Kaymakçı matches Mycenaean and northern Aegean sites more closely than central, southern, and southeastern Anatolian sites; second, pig mortality data and biometry suggest multiple husbandry strategies and pig populations at Kaymakçı, but other explanations cannot yet be excluded; and, third, for the Aegean and Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age more generally, pig data suggests pluriformity, which challenges the use of “pig principles” in this region

Controle automático da umidade do solo com energia solar para pequenos produtores.

Esse trabalho tem por objetivo apresentar um protótipo autônomo de irrigação energizado por uma célula fotovoltaica de 5 W, baseado na plataforma Arduino (código e hardware aberto). O sistema consiste de um sensor de umidade do solo que ao atingir um dado sinal elétrico aciona um dispositivo solenoide de liberação do fluxo de água em uma rede de irrigação. O sistema tem custo aproximado de R$240, é de fácil manipulação e manutenção, e funciona de maneira autônoma durante o dia quando há energia solar disponível. O emprego do sistema pode aumentar a produtividade de pequenos produtores pela redução do estresse em períodos de seca

Neurenteric cyst at the dorsal craniocervical junction in a child: Case report

Neurenteric cysts, also known as enterogenous cysts, are uncommon, benign, congenital lesions that usually occur in the posterior mediastinum but can be seen at any level of the neuraxis. Here, we report a pediatric patient with a neurenteric cyst in the dorsal craniocervical junction as the only third reported pediatric case in the literature in this rare location, and describe the clinical course and pathologic findings with a review of the literature on this rare entity

Floristic diversity, composition and dominance across Amazonian forest types respond differently to latitude

Aim: The latitudinal biodiversity gradient is considered a first-order biogeographical pattern for most taxonomic groups. Latitudinal variation in plant diversity is not always consistent, and this could be related to the particular characteristics of different forest types. In this study, we compare latitudinal changes in floristic diversity (alpha diversity), composition (beta diversity) and dominance across different tropical forest types: floodplain, terra firme and submontane forests. Location: Western Amazonia (Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia). Taxon: Woody plants. Methods: We inventoried 1978 species and 31,203 individuals of vascular plants with a diameter at breast height ≥ 2.5 cm in 118 0.1-ha plots over an 1800 km latitudinal gradient in three different forest types. The relationships between alpha diversity, latitude and forest type were analysed using generalised linear mixed models. Semi-parametric permutational multivariate analysis of variance was used to investigate the effects of latitude and forest type on beta diversity. Dominant species abundances were correlated with non-metric multidimensional scaling ordination axes to reflect their contributions in shaping changes in beta diversity. Results: Alpha diversity increased towards equatorial latitudes in terra firme and submontane forests but remained relatively constant in floodplains. Beta diversity of all forest types changed with latitude, although less clearly in floodplains. Also, in floodplain forests, there were fewer dominant species contributing to beta diversity and more species homogeneous along the gradient. Main Conclusions: Latitudinal diversity patterns are manifested in alpha and beta diversity since latitude summarizes climatic and edaphic changes. However, we found different responses of each forest type. In floodplain forests, inundation regime is a stronger predictor than latitude, limiting floristic diversity and composition. Changes in dominant species abundance over gradients explained species composition, but floodplain forests harboured more homogeneous dominant species than well drained forests. It is key to study environmental trends and habitat characteristics of each forest type to understand their species diversity and dominance pattern

Agropastoral economies and land use in Bronze Age Western Anatolia

Published versio

An Anthropocene Without Archaeology—Should We Care?

For more than a decade, a movement has been gathering steam among geoscientists to designate an Anthropocene Epoch and formally recognize that we have entered a new geological age in which Earth’s systems are dominated by humans. Chemists, climatologists, and other scientists have entered the discussion, and there is a growing consensus that we are living in the Anthropocene. Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen (2002a, 2002b; Crutzen and Stoermer 2000) coined the term, but the idea that humans are a driver of our planet’s climate and ecosystems has much deeper roots. Italian geologist Antonio Stoppani wrote of the “anthropozoic era” in 1873 (Crutzen 2002a), and many others have proposed similar ideas, including journalist Andrew Revkin’s (1992) reference to the “Anthrocene” and Vitousek and colleagues (1997) article about human domination of earth’s ecosystems. It was not until Crutzen (2002a, 2002b) proposed that the Anthropocene began with increased atmospheric carbon levels caused by the Industrial Revolution in the late eighteenth century (including the invention of the steam engine in A.D. 1784), however, that the concept began to gain serious traction among scientists and inspire debate