Joan M. Gero (26 May 1944-14 July 2016)

This is an appreciation of the life and work of feminist archaeologist Joan Gero

Book Review: The Edge of the Woods: Iroquoia, 1534-1701, by Jon Parmenter

Review of The Edge of the Woods: Iroquoia, 1634-1701, by Jon Parmenter, 2012, Michigan State University Press, 520 pages, black and white illustrations, maps, notes, bibliography, index, $49.95 (cloth)

Bone Cutting, Placement, and Cannibalism? Middle Preceramic Mortuary Patterns of Nanchoc, Northern Peru

Mortuary practices of the Middle Preceramic period (ca. 8500-4000 B.P.) are discussed for the Nanchoc region of the upper Zaña Valley, northern Peru. Careful breaking, cutting, and placement of human bones from adult males during the Las Pircas Phase (8500-6000 B.P. ) gave way to more haphazard breakage and discard during the subsequent Tierra Blanca Phase (6000-5000 B.P.). The evidence of cannibalism is considered. Bone breakage, cutting, and possibly cannibalism is believed to have been part of a broader process of ritualization that mitigated the spiritual danger of the transition from hunting-gathering to horticulture. Este trabajo discute las prácticas mortuorias del Período Precerámico Medio (ca. 8500 - 4000 A.P.) de la región Nanchoc del Valle superior de Zaña del norte de Perú. Rompimiento de huesos en forma cuidadosa, cortes y entierro de huesos de hombres adultos durante la Fase Las Pircas (8500 - 600 A.P.) da lugar a un quebramiento mas al azar de huesos y subsecuente descarte en la Fase Tierra Blanca (6000 - 5000 A. P.). Se considera la posibilidad de canibalismo. Las quebraduras de huesos, cortes y posiblemente el canibalismo podrían haber sido parte importante de un amplio proceso de rituales que mitigaban el peligro espiritual de la transición de los cazadores recolectores a la horticultura

Addressing fluorogenic real-time qPCR inhibition using the novel custom Excel file system 'FocusField2-6GallupqPCRSet-upTool-001' to attain consistently high fidelity qPCR reactions

The purpose of this manuscript is to discuss fluorogenic real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) inhibition and to introduce/define a novel Microsoft Excel-based file system which provides a way to detect and avoid inhibition, and enables investigators to consistently design dynamically-sound, truly LOG-linear qPCR reactions very quickly. The qPCR problems this invention solves are universal to all qPCR reactions, and it performs all necessary qPCR set-up calculations in about 52 seconds (using a pentium 4 processor) for up to seven qPCR targets and seventy-two samples at a time – calculations that commonly take capable investigators days to finish. We have named this custom Excel-based file system "FocusField2-6GallupqPCRSet-upTool-001" (FF2-6-001 qPCR set-up tool), and are in the process of transforming it into professional qPCR set-up software to be made available in 2007. The current prototype is already fully functional

The flote-tech flotation machine: Messiah or mixed blessing?

In their review of the Flote-Tech machine-assisted flotation system, Hunter and Gassner (1998) depict the machine as nearly perfect and present it as a technical marvel. I attempt to present a more balanced view of the Flote-Tech machine, based on four years of direct experience. Rather than being a perfected machine for flotation recovery of archaeological plant remains, the Flote-Tech is a prototype with important design and use problems. It can only be recommended with major caveats and system modifications. Copyright © 1999 by the Society for American Archaeology