Sealing Economy : Exploring seals as resources in the Åland Islands ca. 1100-1700 CE through zooarchaeology and account books

Peer reviewe

Late Iron Age Whaling in Scandinavia

The use of bone from marine mammals as raw material in the manufacturing of gaming pieces in the Scandinavian late Iron Age have been observed and discussed during the last few years. New empirical studies have created a chronology as well as a typology showing how the design of the gaming pieces is tightly connected to different choices of raw material from antler in the roman and migration period, to whalebone in the 6 th century and walrus in the 10th century. The ocular examination of the whalebone can, however, rarely go beyond a determination of bone from cetaceans. The following article presents the results from 68 samples of whalebone gaming pieces that have been species determined using ZooMSms. The results show a consistent use of bones from North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) and is thus a strong argument for there being an active and largescale hunt for this type of whale starting inthe 6 h century. However, the manufacturing of gaming pieces was most likely not the reason for hunting whales, but merely a by-product that has survived in the archaeological record. Of greater importance was probably baleen, meat and the blubber that could be rendered into oil. The oil might have been an additional trading product on the far-reaching trade networks developing during the period

Whalebone Gaming Pieces : Aspects of Marine Mammal Exploitation in Vendeland Viking Age Scandinavia

Discussions of pre-Viking trade and production have for many decades focused on products made of precious metals, glass and, to some degree, iron. This is hardly surprising considering the difficulties in finding and provenancing products made of organic matter. In this article we examine gaming pieces made from bone and antler, which are not unusual in Scandinavian burials in the Vendel and Vikingperiod (c. AD 550–1050). A special emphasis is placed on whalebone pieces that appear to dominate after around AD 550, signalling a large-scale production and exploitation of North Atlantic whale products.In combination with other goods such as bear furs, birds of prey, and an increased iron and tar production, whalebone products are part of an intensified large-scale outland exploitation and indicate strong, pre-urban trading routes across Scandinavia and Europe some 200 years before the Viking period and well before the age of the emporia

Folates as adjuvants to anticancer agents: Chemical rationale and mechanism of action

AbstractFolates have been used with cytotoxic agents for decades and today they are used in hundreds of thousands of patients annually. Folate metabolism is complex. In the treatment of cancer with 5-fluorouracil, the administration of folates mechanistically leads to the formation of [6R]-5,10-methylene-tetrahydrofolate, and the increased concentration of this molecule leads to stabilization of the ternary complex comprising thymidylate synthase, 2′-deoxy-uridine-5′-monophosphate, and [6R]-5,10-methylene-tetrahydrofolate. The latter is the only natural folate that can bind directly in the ternary complex, with other folates requiring metabolic activation. Modulation of thymidylate synthase activity became central in the study of folate/cytotoxic combinations and, despite wide use, research into the folate component was neglected, leaving important questions unanswered. This article revisits the mechanisms of action of folates and evaluates commercially available folate derivatives in the light of current research. Better genomic insight and availability of new analytical techniques and stable folate compounds may open new avenues of research and therapy, ultimately bringing increased clinical benefit to patients

Late Iron Age Whaling in Scandinavia

The use of marine mammal bone as a raw material in the manufacturing of gaming pieces in the Scandinavian late Iron Age has been observed and discussed in recent years. New empirical studies have created a chronology as well as a typology showing how the design of the gaming pieces is tightly connected to different choices of raw material; from antler in the Roman and Migration periods, to whale bone in the sixth century, and walrus in the tenth century. Macroscopic examination can, however, rarely go beyond determining that the material is ‘cetacean bone’. The following article presents the taxonomic identifications of 68 samples of whale bone gaming pieces, determined using Zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry analysis. The results demonstrate the consistent use of bones from Balaenidae sp. most probably the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis). This paper presents strong evidence for active, large-scale hunting of whales in Scandinavia, starting in the sixth century. The manufacture of gaming pieces was probably not the driver for the hunt, but merely a by-product that has survived in the archaeological record. Of greater importance were probably baleen, meat, and blubber that could be rendered into oil. This oil might have been an additional trading product in the far-reaching trade networks that were developing during the period. This study supports previous studies suggesting that Iron Age and medieval trade and resource exploitation had a much more severe influence on ecosystems than previously expected. It adds additional insights into anthropogenic impact on mammal populations in prehistory.Viking phenomenon projec