Research Reports from the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project, Volume Three

Table of Contents : Archaeological Investigations of the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project: An Introduction to Volume Three / by Fred Valdez, Jr. and Rissa M. Trachman (p.1-6) -- Mount Allison University: The 2008 Archaeological Program in Northwest Belize / by Grant Aylesworth and Brent Suttie (p.7-14) -- Excavations (2008) at the Los Pisos Courtyard, La Milpa, Belize / by Maria Martinez (p.15-34) -- Investigations (2008) at La Milpa, Belize: Plaza A, Structure 4 / by Rissa M. Trachman (p.35-40) -- An Overview of Archaeological Investigations at Plaza B, La Milpa: The 2008 Field Season / by Brett Houk, Débora Trein, and Gregory Zaro (p.41-60) -- Excavations at La Milp, Belize: Structure 22 / by Gregory Zaro (p.61-70) -- Overview of the 2008 Excavations at Structures 23 and 27, Plaza B, La Milpa, Belize / by Antonio Padilla and Shannon M. Smith (p.71-80) -- Preliminary Investigations East and West of the Acropolis, La Milpa, Belize: The 2008 Field Season / by Brandon S. Lewis (p.81-84) -- The 2008 Field Season at Group A of the Medicinal Trail Site, Northwestern Belize / by David M. Hyde (p.85-96) -- A Late Preclassic Burial at Medicinal Trail: Excavation and Analysis of Burial 3 / by Angeliki Kalamara Cavazos (p.97-110) -- Group B of the Medicinal Trail Site: Select Excavations at Operation 12 / by Deanna M. (p.111-114) -- Group B of the Medicinal Trail Site: Operation 12 (Lots A, Q, and R) / by Lauri McInnis Martin (p.115-120) -- Operation 15: Berm Structures and Water Management at Medicinal Trail (RB 62), Belize / by Erin E. Gill (p.121-126) -- Medicinal Trail Archaeology: Investigations at Operation 13 / by Maia Dedrick (p.127-142) -- Excavations at the Medicinal Trail Site (2008): Operation 14 / by Madelyn Percy (p.143-144) -- RB 70: The 2008 Investigations (p.145-148) -- Excavations at La Milpa Easts and the Aguada Lagunita Elusiva: The 2008 Field Season / by Estella Weiss-Krejci (p.149-168) -- Plan for Phase Two Research at Wari Camp (RB 56): Household, Neighborhood, and Ward in the Prehispanic Maya City / by Laura Levi (p.167-176) -- Experimental Pottery Studies in Belize / by Sharon Hankins (p.177)Texas Archeological Research Laborator

Excavated households excavated lives : social reproduction, identity, and everyday life for the ancient Maya in northwestern Belize

textThe primary aim of the dissertation research presented in this dissertation was a deeper understanding of ancient Maya households. A microscale analytical approach was employed towards an understanding of how households participated in and contributed to social reproduction, social identity construction, and social and economic organization, primarily for the Late Classic period (A.D. 600-900). How is/are ideology/ies reflected in ancient Maya households? Are microscale production and consumption patterns articulated to the larger society economically? Can identity be evaluated materially for the Maya at the microscale? How is Maya society reproduced? Are identities constructed at the microscale and passed from generation to generation? Excavations were conducted in the settlement areas near the site of Dos Hombres, Belize. Using an activity based approach to investigating households in the field, both architectural and non-architectural contexts were investigated in order to acquire as great a variety of data as possible including that towards subsistence activities, economic activities, everyday domestic activity such as food preparation, special domestic ritual activity, mortuary behavior, and architecture. The resulting archaeological data provided an important opportunity to consider the ways that identities were expressed materially and spatially for the ancient Maya. Identity is clearly manifest in these Maya households materially in costume elements, the use of space, and ritual symbolism. All of which are not only aspects of identity expression, they are also material mechanisms for the socialization of gender, age, and status, an important social function of the household. This research establishes that domestic social reproduction, production, consumption, ritual, and symbolism all are a part of a dynamic social system in which these Maya actors practiced everyday life not separate from or necessarily subjugated to the larger Maya universe but as an integral part of it. The study also uncovered that each household had diverse ways identity and social relationships were practiced and expressed materially. I propose a notion concerning a form of ideology born and elaborated at the microscale which allows for this fluid participation in Maya society specifically as was feasible or desired at a given moment based on a host of considerations in each household.Anthropolog

Less than Bargained for: The Use of Force and the Declining Relevance of the United Nations

This essay criticizes the United Nations Charter\u27s standard for the use of force, and outlines a different but still constructive role for the UN in some critical domains. In Part II, we point to serious flaws inherent in the structure of the United Nations Charter rules, particularly the ex ante requirements that nations must satisfy prior to engaging in the use of force. Parts III and IV suggest more modest types of roles that the United Nations could occupy, and how the organization can help promote international security without endangering the security interests of its respective members

A THERMODYNAMIC DESCRIPTION OF CATION-RNA INTERACTIONS WITH DIFFERING ION ATMOSPHERE COMPOSITION

The charged nature of nucleic acids imposes a strong relationship between cations and RNA structure. As a result, RNA folding efficiency is highly dependent on the quantity and types of cations in solution. In vivo, there are a multitude of cations available to interact with RNA. The principal monovalent cation, K+, serves to neutralize most of the negative charges derived from nucleic acids. In addition, there are cations of higher valence that perform a number of important functions. Many studies have confirmed the ability of Mg2+ to promote native RNA structure. In addition to K+ and Mg2+, organic cations (polyamines) such as putrescine2+, spermidine3+, and spermine4+ are believed to be important for the process of RNA folding. All of these cations, both organic and inorganic, differ dramatically in both structural and physical properties. The purpose of the current work is to i) determine if organic and inorganic divalent cations stabilize the same folded state, ii) determine how different divalent ions interact with RNA to promote folding, and iii) develop an understanding of how the ion atmosphere is organized in the presence of three distinct types of cations (K+, Mg2+ and putrescine2+). To pursue these goals, a set of RNAs, all characterized at atomic resolution, were selected to represent a range of selectivity for inorganic ions. This structural information, combined with thermodynamic analyses looking at Mg2+ excess, thermal stability, ligand binding, and folding efficiency provide a comprehensive look at how ions stabilize the native state of RNA. We find that RNAs with Mg2+ chelation sites require either Mg2+ or Ca2+ to properly fold, while putrescine2+ can stabilize the native state of non-chelators, albeit to a lesser degree than Mg2+. Measurement of Mg2+ excess with the native and intermediate states shows that Mg2+ is more effective at stabilizing native structure due to a closer approach to the RNA surface. Therefore, organization of the ion atmosphere is dependent on the types of ions in solution as well as the conformation of the RNA

Co-crystal structure of the Fusobacterium ulcerans ZTP riboswitch using an X-ray free-electron laser.

Riboswitches are conformationally dynamic RNAs that regulate gene expression by binding specific small molecules. ZTP riboswitches bind the purine-biosynthetic intermediate 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide riboside 5\u27-monophosphate (ZMP) and its triphosphorylated form (ZTP). Ligand binding to this riboswitch ultimately upregulates genes involved in folate and purine metabolism. Using an X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL), the room-temperature structure of the Fusobacterium ulcerans ZTP riboswitch bound to ZMP has now been determined at 4.1 Å resolution. This model, which was refined against a data set from ∼750 diffraction images (each from a single crystal), was found to be consistent with that previously obtained from data collected at 100 K using conventional synchrotron X-radiation. These experiments demonstrate the feasibility of time-resolved XFEL experiments to understand how the ZTP riboswitch accommodates cognate ligand binding

Book Reviews

Minimum Standards of Judicial Administration Edited by Arthur T. Vanderbilt Published by The Law Center of New York University for The National Conference of Judicial Councils, 1949. Pp. xxxii,752. $7.50 reviewer: William J. Bowa ================================= Availability for Work By Ralph Altman Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1950. Pp. 350.$4.50 reviewer: Emmett Conner, Charles K. Cosner ================================== Forrester\u27s Edition of Dobie and Ladd\u27s Cases and Materials on Federal Jurisdiction and Procedure By Ray Forrester St. Paul: West Publishing Co., 1950, Pp. vii, 990. $8.50 reviewer: Charles E. Clark ====================================== Life Insurance and Estate Tax Planning By William J. Bowe Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 1950. Pp. 90.$2.10 reviewer: Joseph Trachma