The end of the PPNA in southern Jordan: Insights from a preliminary analysis of chipped stone from WF16

Research on the PPNA of southern Jordan at WF16 suggests that a distinct Late PPNA phase develops at this site. It is visible in changes in lithic assemblages and architecture. Similar changes appear to occur at other sites in southern Jordan dated late in the PPNA. At WF16, the one site that appears to be occupied throughout the PPNA, the chipped stone assemblage appears to evolve during the later stages of the occupation, confirming that the process of transition is locally derived. The main features of the transition visible in the chipped stone at WF16 are a technological change, with an increasing focus on blade manufacture, and some evidence for the development of a bi-directional knapping strategy, and a change in typology. The earlier PPNA material contains both microliths and el-Khiam points. By the Late PPNA both artefact types have completely disappeared from the assemblage. While the difference between early and Late PPNA assemblages are clear, part of the evidence for a local transition is the presence of an assemblage that is intermediary in character, and always stratified between the early and late material. The chipped stone from WF16 has never supported the division of the southern Levantine PPNA into a short Khiamian followed by a long Sultanian phase that is associated with the development of sedentism. At WF16, the early phase appears to encompass the greater part of the PPNA, and to be associated with architecture from its outset, while the Late phase is a relatively short lived. The chipped stone from this Late PPNA phase is sufficiently similar to the preceding PPNA, and dissimilar to the EPPNB elsewhere to continue to describe it as form of PPN. Some of the distinctive traits of this phase, especially in blade production, parallel EPPNB developments elsewhere, and indicate that the southern Jordanian trajectory does not occur in isolation, but is informed by wider processes. We argue that this Late PPNA develops, with influences from elsewhere in the Levant, in particular the incorporation of Naviform technology, into the distinctive MPPNB of southern Jordan and that very early MPPNB dates from Beidha and Shkarat Msaiad support this local trajectory

Cultural hybridity in central and southern Jordan at the end of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A

Our understanding of the transition from the PPNA to the PPNB in central and southern Jordan has undergone significant changes in recent decades. Initially, it appeared that the PPNB arrived in the region fully formed during the Middle PPNB, expressed at sites such as Beidha. Yet it retained features like circular architecture associated with the PPNA, and was thus presumed to indicate a time lag in its arrival from the north, where such structures had largely disappeared by the Middle PPNB. Fieldwork has uncovered a rich PPNA record in Jordan, but a marked cultural gulf between the PPNA and PPNB remains visible, for example visible in the contrast between pisé semi-subterranean PPNA architecture and the aboveground stone PPNB buildings, and in the appearance of naviform technology in PPNB chipped stone repertoires. Ongoing research has narrowed this gap, documenting a shift from semi-subterranean pisé constructions to circular free-standing stone structures during the Late PPNA, as well as the cessation of el-Khiam point manufacture and the emergence of an opposed platform blade technology that appears to echo parallel Early PPNB developments in chipped stone technology to the North. There is now no chronological gap between the Late PPNA and the Middle PPNB, and it appears that this central and southern Jordanian Late PPNA is an indigenous trajectory that developed into a local Middle PPNB while simultaneously adopting further external influences such as true naviform technology. However, recent work on the western edges of the Badia has identified a fully developed Early PPNB roughly contemporaneous with Late PPNA settlements in the adjacent wadi systems to the west. Out of sync with local developments, this Early PPNB presence suggests the arrival of a distinct group in the western Badia who maintained their identity, adding to the mix of local, already highly diverse, early Neolithic communities of central and southern Jordan. Interactions between these populations continued and through a process of cultural hybridisation formed the characteristic Middle and Late PPNB of the area. Notre compréhension de la transition entre le PPNA et le PPNB dans le centre et le sud de la Jordanie a significativement évolué au cours des dernières décennies. Initialement, le PPNB était perçu comme complètement développé lors de son arrivée dans la région au cours du PPNB moyen, ce dont témoigneraient des sites comme Beidha. Ce PPNB ayant cependant conservé des caractéristiques associées au PPNA (architecture circulaire par ex.), il a été supposé qu’il s’agissait d’un décalage chronologique dans son arrivée depuis le nord où de telles structures avaient largement disparu au PPNB moyen. Les fouilles ont permis de souligner l’importance du PPNA en Jordanie, pour autant une rupture culturelle marquée entre le PPNA et le PPNB restait visible comme dans le contraste entre l’architecture semi-souterraine en pisé du PPNA et les bâtiments en pierre du PPNB, ainsi que dans l’apparition du débitage naviforme dans les répertoires lithiques du PPNB. Les recherches actuelles ont permis d’atténuer cette rupture en documentant le passage des constructions semi-souterraines en pisé aux structures circulaires en pierre, isolées les unes des autres, au PPNA récent, ainsi que l’arrêt de la production de pointes d’el-Khiam et, finalement, l’émergence du débitage laminaire à plates-formes opposées qui semble faire écho aux développements parallèles de l’industrie lithique au cours du PPNB ancien. Par ailleurs, il n’y a pas d’écart chronologique entre le PPNA tardif et le PPNB moyen, et il semble que ce PPNA récent de Jordanie centrale et méridionale suive un développement local au cours du PPNB moyen, tout en adoptant des influences externes telles que le débitage naviforme. Cependant, des travaux récents menés sur les bords occidentaux de la Badia ont permis d’identifier un PPNB ancien développé, approximativement contemporain des installations du PPNA récent situées immédiatement à l’ouest, dans un système d’oueds. En décalage avec les développements locaux, la présence du PPNB ancien suggère l’arrivée d’un groupe distinct ayant conservé son identité dans la Badia occidentale, ajoutant encore au mélange des premières communautés néolithiques locales, déjà très diversifiées, du centre et du sud de la Jordanie. Les interactions entre ces populations se sont poursuivies et, par le biais d’un processus d’hybridation culturelle, ont formé le PPNB moyen et récent caractéristique de la région

Sea, sickness and cautionary tales: a multi-isotope study from a post-mediaeval hospital at the city-port of Gibraltar (AD 1462–1704)

Abstract: During the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, Spanish ships sailed around the globe connecting Spain to its colonies. While documentary records offer rich details concerning life on board ship, archaeological information is essential to generating a full picture of the past. The cemetery at Old St Bernard’s Hospital, Gibraltar, provides an opportunity to study the skeletal remains of sailors. Following previous osteological research, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and strontium isotope analyses were undertaken on thirty-three of these individuals. The results show that the, largely male, individuals had various different diets during life and came from several different places. Diets were largely based on C3 food chains; some individuals consumed C3 foods with low δ13C values; others consumed some marine foods, and a few individuals had a high trophic level diet, through the consumption of either freshwater resources or a high proportion of animal protein. The individuals spent their childhoods in several different places, although these homelands do not correlate simply with dietary variation. This variety in diets and homelands is consistent with our expectations for this hospital site given its location in a post-mediaeval entrepôt. The interpretation of these results are greatly helped by the available historical information and this has broader implications for the interpretation of isotope data elsewhere where the historical context of the site and the mobility patterns of the individuals are less well known

Feasibility of preoperative chemotherapy for locally advanced, operable colon cancer: The pilot phase of a randomised controlled trial

Summary: Background Preoperative (neoadjuvant) chemotherapy and radiotherapy are more eff ective than similar postoperative treatment for oesophageal, gastric, and rectal cancers, perhaps because of more eff ective micrometastasis eradication and reduced risk of incomplete excision and tumour cell shedding during surgery. The FOxTROT trial aims to investigate the feasibility, safety, and effi cacy of preoperative chemotherapy for colon cancer. Methods In the pilot stage of this randomised controlled trial, 150 patients with radiologically staged locally advanced (T3 with ≥5 mm invasion beyond the muscularis propria or T4) tumours from 35 UK centres were randomly assigned (2:1) to preoperative (three cycles of OxMdG [oxaliplatin 85 mg/m², l-folinic acid 175 mg, fl uorouracil 400 mg/m² bolus, then 2400 mg/m² by 46 h infusion] repeated at 2-weekly intervals followed by surgery and a further nine cycles of OxMdG) or standard postoperative chemotherapy (12 cycles of OxMdG). Patients with KRAS wild-type tumours were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive panitumumab (6 mg/kg; every 2 weeks with the fi rst 6 weeks of chemotherapy) or not. Treatment allocation was through a central randomisation service using a minimised randomisation procedure including age, radiological T and N stage, site of tumour, and presence of defunctioning colostomy as stratifi cation variables. Primary outcome measures of the pilot phase were feasibility, safety, and tolerance of preoperative therapy, and accuracy of radiological staging. Analysis was by intention to treat. This trial is registered, number ISRCTN 87163246. Findings 96% (95 of 99) of patients started and 89% (85 of 95) completed preoperative chemotherapy with grade 3–4 gastrointestinal toxicity in 7% (seven of 94) of patients. All 99 tumours in the preoperative group were resected, with no signifi cant diff erences in postoperative morbidity between the preoperative and control groups: 14% (14 of 99) versus 12% (six of 51) had complications prolonging hospital stay (p=0·81). 98% (50 of 51) of postoperative chemotherapy patients had T3 or more advanced tumours confi rmed at post-resection pathology compared with 91% (90 of 99) of patients following preoperative chemotherapy (p=0·10). Preoperative therapy resulted in signifi cant downstaging of TNM5 compared with the postoperative group (p=0·04), including two pathological complete responses, apical node involvement (1% [one of 98] vs 20% [ten of 50], p<0·0001), resection margin involvement (4% [ four of 99] vs 20% [ten of 50], p=0·002), and blinded centrally scored tumour regression grading: 31% (29 of 94) vs 2% (one of 46) moderate or greater regression (p=0·0001). Interpretation Preoperative chemotherapy for radiologically staged, locally advanced operable primary colon cancer is feasible with acceptable toxicity and perioperative morbidity. Proceeding to the phase 3 trial, to establish whether the encouraging pathological responses seen with preoperative therapy translates into improved long-term oncological outcome, is appropriate

Genomic investigations of unexplained acute hepatitis in children

Since its first identification in Scotland, over 1,000 cases of unexplained paediatric hepatitis in children have been reported worldwide, including 278 cases in the UK1. Here we report an investigation of 38 cases, 66 age-matched immunocompetent controls and 21 immunocompromised comparator participants, using a combination of genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and immunohistochemical methods. We detected high levels of adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) DNA in the liver, blood, plasma or stool from 27 of 28 cases. We found low levels of adenovirus (HAdV) and human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B) in 23 of 31 and 16 of 23, respectively, of the cases tested. By contrast, AAV2 was infrequently detected and at low titre in the blood or the liver from control children with HAdV, even when profoundly immunosuppressed. AAV2, HAdV and HHV-6 phylogeny excluded the emergence of novel strains in cases. Histological analyses of explanted livers showed enrichment for T cells and B lineage cells. Proteomic comparison of liver tissue from cases and healthy controls identified increased expression of HLA class 2, immunoglobulin variable regions and complement proteins. HAdV and AAV2 proteins were not detected in the livers. Instead, we identified AAV2 DNA complexes reflecting both HAdV-mediated and HHV-6B-mediated replication. We hypothesize that high levels of abnormal AAV2 replication products aided by HAdV and, in severe cases, HHV-6B may have triggered immune-mediated hepatic disease in genetically and immunologically predisposed children

Spatial heterogeneity for bistable figure-ground perception

Data, materials, and code from this stud

Settlement choices_mlogit_input_file

Data in spreadsheet format for multinomial modelling of settlement choices by male agile antechinus. Dispersal events were identified by comparing the locations of animals captured at the juvenile and adult stages, and identified by genotype matching (parentage analysis and assignment tests were used for some individuals). Column headers are explained with comments boxes. Data are formatted for the mlogit R package ('long' format)

On the edge: Southern Levantine Epipalaeolithic–Neolithic chronological succession

The broad picture of the cultural and chronological succession from the Epipalaeolithic to the Neolithic in the southern Levant is generally well understood. However, at a more detailed, local level, many questions remain unanswered. In this paper we examine the archaeological record of cultural developments in southern Jordan and the Negev. Focusing on a series of 14C dates from the early occupation of the PPNA site of WF16, we provide a critical review of dating evidence for the region. This review suggests that while the 14C chronology is ambiguous and problematic there is good evidence for a local historical development from the Harifian variant of the Natufian to the early PPNA, well to the south of any core Mediterranean woodland zone. This stresses the importance of considering developments at local scales of analysis, and that the Neolithic transition occurred within a framework of many interacting sub-regional provinces

A new method for mapping perceptual biases across visual space

Data and stimulus materials for our paper using Multiple Alternatives Perceptual Search to study the effect of attentional cueing on perceptual biases for size judgments, and comparing the results of MAPS with those of the traditional method of constant stimuli