A Preliminary Report on the Identification of Mason’s Marks at the Lesser Known Architectural Monuments (13th– 14thCentury CE) of Panchmahal District, Gujarat, India

The present paper deals with the preliminary identification of mason’s marks found in some of the historicalstructures of the Panchmahal district, Gujarat. Unlike other historical and archaeological research fields, mason’smarks represent a less known field in Indian academia. In very general terms, one can define a mason’s mark asany signs ranging from short inscriptions to any form of alpha-numeric values inscribed on architectural elements.In this paper, the authors discuss a series of such marks recorded at isolated historical buildings of the district,trying to explain why inquiry into mason’s marks can be deemed an integral part of architectural studies. A briefdescription of the study area and adapted methodologies is followed by the detailed accounts of the monumentsand the related finds in tabular format

Somatski i metabolički antigeni te imunodominantni proteini larvi Cysticercus cellulosae

The present study shows the characterization of four somatic antigens (Whole Cyst Antigen (WCA), Cystic Fluid Antigen (CFA), Scolex Antigen (SA) and Membrane-Body Antigen (MBA)) and one metabolic antigen (Excretory-Secretory Antigen (ESA)) prepared from Cysticercus cellulosae originated from a naturally infected pig. Immunodominat proteins were determined using hyper immune rabbit sera. The Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate- Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) profile of the antigens revealed different numbers and patterns of protein bands in the range of 11.80 to 176.74 kDa. The electrophoretic pattern of ESA also revealed a number of closely placed indistinct bands in the range of 20-34 kDa.. The proteins in the lower molecular weight range (< 30 kDa) in the case of WCA, CFA, ESA, and the medium molecular weight range (30-60 kDa) in the case of SA and MBA were observed to be immunodominant in the Enzyme-Linked Immunoelectrotransfer Blot (EITB) assay. These immunodominant proteins could be further investigated as potential diagnostic antigens in the serodiagnosis of cysticercosis in pigs, and neurocysticercosis in human patients.U istraživanju je provedena karakterizacija četiriju somatskih antigena (Whole Cyst Antigen - WCA, Cystic Fluid Antigen - CFA, Scolex Antigen - SA i Membrane Body – MBA), te jednog metaboličkog antigena (ekskrecijsko sekrecijski antigen - ESA), pripravljenih od larvi Cysticercus cellulosae, koje potječu od prirodno zaražene svinje. Imunodominantni proteini određivani su upotrebom hiperimunosnog seruma kunića. Profil antigena, određen elektroforezom u natrijevu dodecilsulfatnom poliakrilamidnom gelu (SDS-PAGE), pokazao je različite brojeve i uzorke proteinskih traka u rasponu od 11,80 do 176,74 kDa. Eleketroforetski uzorak ESA također je pokazao niz usko smještenih i nejasnih traka u rasponu od 20 do 34 kDa. Testom EITB (Enzyme-Linked Immunoelectrotransfer Blot), u slučaju WCA-a, CFA-a, ESA-e ustanovljeno je da su imunodominantni proteini manje molekularne mase (< 30 kDa), a u slučaju SA-a i MBA-a imunodominantni su proteini bili srednje molekularne mase (30 – 60 kDa). Ovi se imunodominantni proteini mogu dalje istraživati kao potencijalni dijagnostički antigeni u serološkoj dijagnostici cisticerkoze u svinja i neurocisticerkoze u ljudi

Chondroid Syringoma of Dorsum of the Nose

IntroductionChondroid syrigomas are rare, usually benign tumors occurring predominantly in the head and neck area. These are also known as mixed tumors of skin. Preoperative diagnosis is difficult and generally histopathology examination confirms the diagnosis.  The usual presentation is that of a slowly growing mass.Case ReportA rare case of chondroid syringoma on dorsum of external nose in 30 year old female patient   is presented.DiscussionChondroid syringoma presents as slow‐growing, painless, subcutaneous or intracutaneous nodule in middle‐aged adult males. The tumor is often initially confused with more common dermatologic skin disorders such as sebaceous cysts, dermoid cysts, neurofibromas, dermatofibromas, basal cell carcinoma, histiocytoma and seborrheic keratosis. The treatment of choice is surgical excision with negative margins with follow-up to detect recurrences

Frontoethmoid Mucocele causing Unilateral Proptosis

Introduction  Mucoceles occur most frequently in the frontal and ethmoidal sinuses, without gender prevalence. Presenting symptoms can include facial pain, headache, nasal obstruction, diplopia, decreased visual acuity, orbital globe displacement, facial swelling and meningitis, depending on the anatomic area involved. The gold standard in terms of diagnostic precision is computed tomography scan. Case Report The present study describes case of frontoethmoidal mucocele with orbital involvement that was treated by transnasal endoscopic approach obtaining good outcomes, demonstrating safety and efficacy of this surgical approach. Conclusion  Transnasal endoscopic management of mucoceles is preferred due to minimal trauma and less morbidity

Evidence for Patterns of Selective Urban Migration in the Greater Indus Valley (2600-1900 BC): A Lead and Strontium Isotope Mortuary Analysis

Just as modern nation-states struggle to manage the cultural and economic impacts of migration, ancient civilizations dealt with similar external pressures and set policies to regulate people’s movements. In one of the earliest urban societies, the Indus Civilization, mechanisms linking city populations to hinterland groups remain enigmatic in the absence of written documents. However, isotopic data from human tooth enamel associated with Harappa Phase (2600-1900 BC) cemetery burials at Harappa (Pakistan) and Farmana (India) provide individual biogeochemical life histories of migration. Strontium and lead isotope ratios allow us to reinterpret the Indus tradition of cemetery inhumation as part of a specific and highly regulated institution of migration. Intra-individual isotopic shifts are consistent with immigration from resource-rich hinterlands during childhood. Furthermore, mortuary populations formed over hundreds of years and composed almost entirely of first-generation immigrants suggest that inhumation was the final step in a process linking certain urban Indus communities to diverse hinterland groups. Additional multi disciplinary analyses are warranted to confirm inferred patterns of Indus mobility, but the available isotopic data suggest that efforts to classify and regulate human movement in the ancient Indus region likely helped structure socioeconomic integration across an ethnically diverse landscape

Archaeoparasitological Strategy Based on the Microscopic Examinations of Prehistoric Samples and the Recent Report on the Difference in the Prevalence of Soil Transmitted Helminthic Infections in the Indian Subcontinent

Archaeoparasitology is a study to acquire data concerning the parasite infection of ancient people through the examination of the specimens obtained in the excavation sites. Although this research has achieved many successes worldwide, there has been few noteworthy reports from South Asia countries. In 2011 to 2016, we thus conducted parasite examinations on Indian archaeological specimens (n = 247) collected at excavation sites of Mature Harappan period (4600–3900 BP) and their contemporary rural Chalcolithic sites. To derive effective strategy of archaeoparasitological works in Indian Subcontinent, our data were analyzed together with previous clinical report on the soil transmitted helminth infection in the Indian Subcontinent. We propose that future paleoparasitological studies in India should be conducted more intensely on ancient specimens from the states of Assam, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal etc

Craniofacial reconstruction of the Indus valley civilization individuals found at 4500-year-old Rakhigarhi cemetery

Despite academic efforts to study the Indus Valley civilization (IVC), there have as yet been no successful attempts to unveil the IVC people’s craniofacial appearance. We investigated the IVC cemetery area of Rakhigarhi site, which was estimated to be of 2273 ± 38 and 2616 ± 73 years BCE. By craniofacial reconstruction (CFR) procedure using computed tomography (CT) data of two Rakhigarhi skulls (A1 BR02 and A2 BR36), we successfully reconstructed the faces of the IVC individu-als who were buried about 4500 years ago. This is the first attempt to unveil scientifically accurate representations of IVC people’s actual facial morphology

Editorial

Ancient Asia is the official annual journal of the Society of South Asian Archaeology (SOSAA). The Ancient Asia Editorial Board is pleased to present volume 4 of the journal of the Society of South Asian Archaeology to the scholarly world