p3k14c, a Synthetic Global Database of Archaeological Radiocarbon Dates

Archaeologists increasingly use large radiocarbon databases to model prehistoric human demography (also termed paleo-demography). Numerous independent projects, funded over the past decade, have assembled such databases from multiple regions of the world. These data provide unprecedented potential for comparative research on human population ecology and the evolution of social-ecological systems across the Earth. However, these databases have been developed using different sample selection criteria, which has resulted in interoperability issues for global-scale, comparative paleo-demographic research and integration with paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental data. We present a synthetic, global-scale archaeological radiocarbon database composed of 180,070 radiocarbon dates that have been cleaned according to a standardized sample selection criteria. This database increases the reusability of archaeological radiocarbon data and streamlines quality control assessments for various types of paleo-demographic research. As part of an assessment of data quality, we conduct two analyses of sampling bias in the global database at multiple scales. This database is ideal for paleo-demographic research focused on dates-as-data, bayesian modeling, or summed probability distribution methodologies

Repatriation, doxa, and contested heritages: the return of the Altai princess in an international perspective

Using Pierre Bourdieu's concepts of habitus and doxa, the authors analyze the contested heritage debates surrounding the sensational Scythian burial discovery of the Altai Princess, also called the Ice Maiden, on the Ukok plateau. Her 2012 repatriation to a special Gazprom-funded museum in the Altai Republic of Russia is politically contextualized and compared to cases of the Kennewick Man in the United States and the Lake Mungo Burials of Australia. The authors stress the importance of "heritage in the making" and conclude that diverse approaches to the Altai Princess must be understood through the historically constituted dispositions of various agents and their interaction with the structures governing society

Direct Evidence for Geophyte Exploitation in the Wyoming Basin

In the Wyoming Basin, archaeological sites dating from the Early Archaic to Late Prehistoric are often found associated with or adjacent to dense populations of Cymopterus bulbosus (springparsley), a nutritious geophyte that would have been an important food source for prehistoric humans living in the region. Experimental data have shown that the caloric return rates of C. bulbosus were enough to support seasonal exploitation by foragers, yet there has been no direct evidence for the use of this geophyte from the archaeological record. In this study, we examine starch granules from 10 ground stone tools excavated from two stratified, multicomponent archaeological sites in the Wyoming Basin to determine if C. bulbosus was collected and consumed in the past. Taproots of C. bulbosus were collected from two populations in the immediate vicinity of the archaeological sites in order to develop a modern starch reference. Identification of Cymopterus starch granules is based on a systematic study of those reference granules. The presence of Cymopterus starch on the ground stone artifacts suggests that prehistoric foragers were collecting and consuming these geophytes. These findings support previous hypotheses about geophyte use in southern Wyoming and therefore have implications for increasing human populations as well as settlement and subsistence decisions

The Importance of Spatial Data to Open - Access National Archaeological Databases and the Development of Paleodemography Research

With generous support from the National Science Foundation, we have spent the past four years developing an archaeological radiocarbon database for the United States. Here, we highlight the importance of spatial data for open-access, national-scale archaeological databases and the development of paleodemography research. We propose a new method for analyzing radiocarbon time series in the context of paleoclimate models. This method forces us to confront one of the central challenges to realizing the full potential of national-scale databases: the quality of the spatial data accompanying radiocarbon dates. We seek to open a national discussion on the use of spatial data in open-source archaeological databases

The 8.2 ka BP Holocene climate change event and human population resilience in northwest Atlantic Europe

The 8.2 ka BP event may represent the largest, most abrupt Holocene climate event. This paper examines the impact of this event on human activity in the middle Mesolithic. It produces Bayesian statistical models for the chronology of anthropogenic sites in northwest Atlantic Europe for a 1000 year time window around the event to explore evidence for human responses to climate change or resilience in the face of this climate change event. By approaching evidence for activity at sites in Denmark, Belgium, France, Ireland and Britain we explore evidence for differential temporally- and spatially-transgressive local responses to climate change in this period to move to sub-continental scales of activity

Increasing social complexity, climate change, and why societies might fail to cope

The PEOPLE 3000 working group focuses on integrating archaeological and paleoecological case studies with mathematical modeling. We seek to understand how coevolving human societies and ecosystems can successfully cope with the interrelated forces of population growth, increasing social complexity and climate change, and the diversity of trajectories of reorganization that social-ecological systems follow.Fil: Byers, David A.. State University of Utah; Estados UnidosFil: Lima, M.. State University of Utah; Estados UnidosFil: Gil, Adolfo Fabian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; Argentina. Universidad Tecnologica Nacional. Facultad Regional San Rafael; ArgentinaFil: Gayo, E.. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Latorre, C.. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Robinson, Erick. University Of Wyoming; Estados UnidosFil: Villalba, R.. Universidad Tecnologica Nacional. Facultad Regional San Rafael; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; Argentin

Synchronization of Energy Consumption By Human Societies Throughout the Holocene

We conduct a global comparison of the consumption of energy by human populations throughout the Holocene and statistically quantify coincident changes in the consumption of energy over space and time—an ecological phenomenon known as synchrony. When populations synchronize, adverse changes in ecosystems and social systems may cascade from society to society. Thus, to develop policies that favor the sustained use of resources, we must understand the processes that cause the synchrony of human populations. To date, it is not clear whether human societies display long-term synchrony or, if they do, the potential causes. Our analysis begins to fill this knowledge gap by quantifying the long-term synchrony of human societies, and we hypothesize that the synchrony of human populations results from (i) the creation of social ties that couple populations over smaller scales and (ii) much larger scale, globally convergent trajectories of cultural evolution toward more energy-consuming political economies with higher carrying capacities. Our results suggest that the process of globalization is a natural consequence of evolutionary trajectories that increase the carrying capacities of human societies

Synchronization of Energy Consumption By Human Societies Throughout the Holocene

We conduct a global comparison of the consumption of energy by human populations throughout the Holocene and statistically quantify coincident changes in the consumption of energy over space and time—an ecological phenomenon known as synchrony. When populations synchronize, adverse changes in ecosystems and social systems may cascade from society to society. Thus, to develop policies that favor the sustained use of resources, we must understand the processes that cause the synchrony of human populations. To date, it is not clear whether human societies display long-term synchrony or, if they do, the potential causes. Our analysis begins to fill this knowledge gap by quantifying the long-term synchrony of human societies, and we hypothesize that the synchrony of human populations results from (i) the creation of social ties that couple populations over smaller scales and (ii) much larger scale, globally convergent trajectories of cultural evolution toward more energy-consuming political economies with higher carrying capacities. Our results suggest that the process of globalization is a natural consequence of evolutionary trajectories that increase the carrying capacities of human societies

Evaluación de un filtro biológico de flujo ascendente anóxico a escala de laboratorio para remoción de nitrato

El filtro biológico fue diseñado para trabajar en un ambiente anóxico en donde la masa bacteriana procedente de la materia orgánica dentro del filtro, descompone el nitrato para obtener el nitrógeno y la energía requerida para su desarrollo. Los químicos usados fueron: la fuente de nitrato (140 mg/L de nitrato de potasio), control de oxígeno (250 ml de bisulfato de sodio) y control del potencial de hidrógeno (150 mL de difosfato de potasio). El agua mediante un flujo ascendente alimenta a tres fltros con un volumen de 8 litros c/u, en donde el primer filtro contiene un promedio de 450 tusas de maíz de la especie A, el segundo filtro contiene aproximadamente 600 tusas de maíz de la especie B y el tercer filtro contiene tusas trituradas proveniente de la especie A, las tusas actúan como donantes de electrones y fuente de carbono orgánico para los microorganismos anóxicos. La Evaluación del Sistema consiste en determinar la eficiencia de remoción a través de los parámetros de DQO, DBO, sólidos totales, sólidos volátiles y fjos, sólidos suspendidos y disueltos, temperatura, pH, turbiedad, oxígeno disuelto, análisis microbiológico (tinción de Gram, Coliformes totales y fecales, observación microscópica), nitrato, conductividad y aforos