Aportación de la Arqueoantropología a la interpretación de la dinámica sepulcral de las tumbas megalíticas de Cameros (La Rioja, España)

We attempt to reconstruct the Neolithic and Chalcolithic funerary use of the main megalithic monuments from Cameros (La Rioja): Peña Guerra II, Collado del Mallo, Fuente Morena and Collado Palomero I. The record is analysed through a combination both of diverse archaeoanthropological parameters (osteological profile, anatomical connection, bone refitting, taphonomic alterations, bone handling) and of field data. The results suggest a complex reality where primary inhumations predominate, but where spatial arrangements (nests of skulls and bundles of long bones) and perhaps some isolated bone removal also occurred. Secondary depositions, whether in the form of cremation or not, may also have played a role.Se intentan reconstruir los modos de uso funerario neolíticos y calcolíticos de los principales megalitos de Cameros (La Rioja): Peña Guerra II, Collado del Mallo, Fuente Morena y Collado Palomero I. El análisis del registro combina los diversos parámetros arqueoantropológicos (perfiles osteológicos, conexiones anatómicas, remontajes, alteraciones tafonómicas, manipulaciones) con los datos de campo. Los resultados muestran una realidad compleja donde la inhumación primaria parece predominante, acompañada de labores de reacomodo (nidos de cráneos, haces de huesos) y tal vez de ciertas limpiezas puntuales. No obstante, las deposiciones secundarias, en forma o no de cremaciones, pudieron desempeñar también un papel relevante

Los enterramientos infantiles en contextos domésticos en la Cuenca Alta/Media del Ebro: a propósito de la inhumación del despoblado altomedieval de Aistra (Álava)

Se realiza una revisión sobre el ritual de inhumación en contexto doméstico aplicado a los individuos infantiles hallados en la Cuenca Alta/Media del Ebro (que, grosso modo, incluye Álava, La Rioja y Navarra). Se estudia la evolución de esta práctica, observable desde el Bronce Final hasta el primer cuarto del siglo XX, y se aportan las interpretaciones más plausibles vertidas en torno a ésta. Se procede, finalmente, al estudio antropológico de un lactante procedente del despoblado de Aistra (Álava) localizado en asociación a una estructura de habitación interpretada como una longhause

El papel del fuego en los enterramientos neolíticos finales/ calcolíticos iniciales de los abrigos de la Sierra de Cantabria y sus estribaciones (valle medio-alto del Ebro)

The traces of fire affecting human bones from five Late Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic burial rockshelters of the Sierra de Cantabria and its foothills (Las Yurdinas II, Los Husos I, Los Husos II, Peña Larga and La Peña de Marañón) are analysed through parameters determined by forensic experimentation. The results show that in some burials (Los Husos II, La Peña de Marañón) little time elapsed between the deposit and the cremation of the bodies. This is consistent with in situ burning when bones still were ‘fresh’ and suggests that cremation was related to the intentional closing of burial use of the sites. In other cave deposits, however, fire appears to be applied to dry bones. Unintentional fire cannot be rejected as an explanation of the evidence in the latter cases.Se analizan las evidencias de fuego en los restos humanos de cinco abrigos bajo roca de la Sierra de Cantabria y sus estribaciones utilizados durante el Neolítico final/Calcolítico inicial como lugares de enterramiento (Las Yurdinas II, Los Husos I, Los Husos II, Peña Larga y La Peña de Marañón) a través de parámetros definidos a partir de la experimentación forense. Los resultados muestran una cercanía temporal entre el depósito y la cremación de los cuerpos o restos en las sepulturas de Los Husos II y La Peña de Marañón, observándose características propias de una quema “en fresco” en los huesos. En los demás sitios las evidencias se relacionan con una quema “en seco”. Se propone, al menos para los primeros casos, relacionar el uso del fuego con procesos de clausura de la trayectoria funeraria del lugar. No se descarta en cambio una posible naturaleza accidental del fuego en los demás depósitos

El estudio de la ‘Desamortización de Godoy’ a través de la documentación del Archivo General de Simancas

The Archivo General de Simancas holds in the department Dirección General del Tesoro, a series of accounting control documents on the «Desamortización de Godoy», which are interesting due to their complete and unpublished nature. The function of registration and control executed by the Contaduría General de Valores on the imposition, amortisation and consolidation, within this confiscation process, characterizes the importance of the production context in Archival science. This paper aims to carry out an archival analysis of the aforementioned document, which offer important information on the location of the primary sources for the study of the confiscation carried out during the reign of Carlos IV.El Archivo General de Simancas conserva, en la sección Dirección General del Tesoro, una serie de documentos sobre la «Desamortización de Godoy», interesantes por su carácter completo e inédito. La función de asiento y control llevados a cabo por la Contaduría General de Valores sobre la imposición, amortización y consolidación, dentro de este proceso desamortizador, caracteriza la importancia del contexto de producción en Archivística. Este trabajo pretende un análisis archivístico de la mencionada documentación, que ofrece una importante información sobre la localización de las fuentes primarias para el estudio de la desamortización desarrollada durante el reinado de Carlos IV

Aproximación al patrón alimentario de los inhumados en la cista de la Edad del Bronce de Ondarre (Aralar, Guipúzcoa) a través del análisis de isótopos estables de carbono y nitrógeno sobre colágeno óseo

The results of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis on bone collagen of the individuals interred in the Bronze Age (II millennium cal. BC) cist burial of Ondarre suggest a mixed diet based on C3 plants and mainly domesticated terrestrial animals. As observed in other contemporary sites in Iberia and the Balearic islands, marine and freshwater resources and C4 plants do not seem to have played an important role in everyday life subsistence. The observed high protein consumption may relate to the status of the people interred and/or to a dominant livestock economy where animal products would have a great importance in diet.Se presentan los resultados del análisis de isótopos estables de carbono y nitrógeno sobre colágeno óseo de los individuos depositados en la cista guipuzcoana de la Edad del Bronce (II milenio cal. BC) de Ondarre. Los datos obtenidos sugieren una dieta mixta de origen terrestre basada en el consumo de plantas C3 y sobre todo de animales domésticos. No existen indicios de que los recursos marinos, lacustre-fluviales o las plantas C4 supusieran una contribución significativa a la subsistencia cotidiana, tal y como parece ocurrir en otros yacimientos coetáneos de la Península Ibérica y el archipiélago balear. La elevada ingesta proteica observada podría vincularse con el estatus de los inhumados y/o con la prevalencia de un modelo económico ganadero en que el consumo de productos animales tendría un gran peso

Reproductive Diseases in Farmed Rabbit Does

[EN] In this study, we determined the occurrence of reproductive diseases in does on 1373 visited farms in Spain and Portugal, between 1994 and 2019. The retrospective information obtained was entered in a database classified as follows: apparent infertility (≤70% pregnancy rate), abortions (≥2% of serviced does), high fetal death risk at parturition (≥10%) or dystocia, amongst others. Infertility was the reason for 181 visits. The median of prevalence of apparent infertility in these cases was 35% (minimum to maximum: 25-90%) and the mean, 37.4%. We performed a prospective study to determine risk factors at the individual and farm level, with a second database corresponding to 2014-2019. We carried out pregnancy checks, assessed sanitary status and body condition, and recorded the age of 17, 297 rebred lactating does on 142 farms. The median size of the farms was 800 does, and the examined cohorts, 350 does. Predisposing risk factors for infertility were observed: e.g., mastitis had an effect. During the 5-year study, we made a third database with the results from 190, 508 does palpated by producers in a subset of 134 farms. In this case, the median of the prevalence of apparent infertility was 14.5% (minimum to maximum: 4.1-50%), which could be considered baseline occurrence when monitoring the theriogenology of rabbit doe farms. Reproductive rhythm was an enabling risk factor: does serviced ≤25 d postpartum were less fertile than at ≥32 d. We made a database with the body condition score (BCS) on a linear scale from 1 (emaciated) to 9 (obese). The pregnancy rate (PR) of underweight and borderline does (4/9) was 73.1%. The PR of overweight and borderline does (6/9) was 82.6% and those classified with a mean BCS (5/9): PR = 79.3%. We may infer that the optimum BCS for reproduction is 6/9, rather than 5/9. Some changes in female rabbit health and husbandry to improve reproductive performance and welfare are highlightedSIThis research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sector

The “post-weanling’s conundrum”: exploring the impact of infant and child feeding practices on early mortality in the Bronze Age burial cave of Moro de Alins, north-eastern Iberia, through stable isotope analysis

Producción CientíficaThe relationship between infant and child feeding practices and early mortality is difficult to address in past societies. Here, stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope measurements of bulk bone and sequential dentine samples of deciduous second and/or permanent first molars of four younger children, one older child, one late adolescent, and two young adults (n = 8) from Moro de Alins cave, north-eastern Iberia, are used to explore the potential impact of early-life nutrition on mortality in the Bronze Age. Isotope results are compatible with generally short exclusive breastfeeding and standard weaning periods compared to other pre-modern populations. However, there are differences in exclusive breastfeeding mean δ13C values and in Δ13C trophic shifts between exclusive breastfeeding and immediate post-weaning isotope values for those individuals who survived into adolescence and adulthood and those who did not. While the former seem to be consistent with trophic distances published for modern mother–infant pairs, the latter are above most of them. This may suggest that individuals who consumed similar foods to their mothers or suffered from less physiological stress during or after weaning had greater chances of survival during early childhood and beyond. Post-weaning seems to have been a particularly stressful period of life, where a number of instances of patterns of opposing isotopic covariance compatible with catabolic changes, often preceding death among non-survivors, are detected. This outcome shows the key role of nutritional and/or physiological status in early-life morbidity and mortality among partially and especially fully weaned children from pre-antibiotic, pre-vaccination, and poor sanitation contexts and proposes that adult survival is rooted in early life experiences, in keeping with the developmental origins of health and disease.This work was supported and funded by the British Academy under the Newton International Fellowship NF170854European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 790491Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación under the project (HAR2015-65620-P)Publicación en abierto financiada por el Consorcio de Bibliotecas Universitarias de Castilla y León (BUCLE), con cargo al Programa Operativo 2014ES16RFOP009 FEDER 2014-2020 DE CASTILLA Y LEÓN, Actuación:20007-CL - Apoyo Consorcio BUCL

Tomato STEROL GLYCOSYLTRANSFERASE 1 silencing unveils a major role of steryl glycosides in plant and fruit development

Free and glycosylated sterols localize in the plant cell plasma membrane, where in combination with other lipids regulate its structure and function. The role of glycosylated sterols in regulating membrane-associated biological processes is more relevant in plants like tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), in which glycosylated sterols are the predominant sterols. A proper ratio of free sterols versus glycosylated sterols has proven to be essential for proper plant performance in several species, but almost nothing is known in tomato. To assess the role of glycosylated sterols in tomato plant and fruit development, we generated transgenic lines of tomato cultivar Micro-Tom expressing two different amiRNAs devised to silence STEROL GLYCOSYLTRANSFERASE 1, the most actively expressed of the four genes encoding sterol glycosyltransferases in this plant. STEROL GLYCOSYLTRANSFERASE 1 gene silencing caused moderate plant dwarfism and reduced fruit size. Analysis of the profile of glycosylated sterols throughout fruit development demonstrated that the maintenance of proper levels of these compounds during the early stages of fruit development is essential for normal fruit growth, since reduced levels of glycosylated sterols trigger a transcriptional downregulatory response that affects genes involved in processes that are critical for proper fruit development, such as seed filling, cell wall extension and auxin signaling

Tomato STEROL GLYCOSYLTRANSFERASE 1 silencing unveils a major role of steryl glycosides in plant and fruit development

Free and glycosylated sterols localize in the plant cell plasma membrane, where in combination with other lipids regulate its structure and function. The role of glycosylated sterols in regulating membrane-associated biological processes is more relevant in plants like tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), in which glycosylated sterols are the predominant sterols. A proper ratio of free sterols versus glycosylated sterols has proven to be essential for proper plant performance in several species, but almost nothing is known in tomato. To assess the role of glycosylated sterols in tomato plant and fruit development, we generated transgenic lines of tomato cultivar Micro-Tom expressing two different amiRNAs devised to silence STEROL GLYCOSYLTRANSFERASE 1, the most actively expressed of the four genes encoding sterol glycosyltransferases in this plant. STEROL GLYCOSYLTRANSFERASE 1 gene silencing caused moderate plant dwarfism and reduced fruit size. Analysis of the profile of glycosylated sterols throughout fruit development demonstrated that the maintenance of proper levels of these compounds during the early stages of fruit development is essential for normal fruit growth, since reduced levels of glycosylated sterols trigger a transcriptional downregulatory response that affects genes involved in processes that are critical for proper fruit development, such as seed filling, cell wall extension and auxin signaling