The microstratigraphy of middens: capturing daily routine in rubbish at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey

Microstratigraphy — the sequencing of detailed biological signals on site — is an important new approach being developed in the Çatalhöyük project. Here the authors show how microscopic recording of the strata and content of widespread middens on the tell are revealing daily activities and the selective employment of plants in houses and as fuel. Here we continue to witness a major advance in the practice of archaeological investigation.</jats:p

A Survey of Elementary and Secondary Music Educators’ Professional Background, Teaching Responsibilities and Job Satisfaction in the United States

The focus of this exploratory study was to examine the current trends of K – 12 music educators in the United States regarding their (a) professional background, (b) classroom teaching responsibilities, and (c) job satisfaction. Participants included seven thousand four hundred and sixty-three (N = 7,463) currently employed music teachers who were members of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) during the 2015 – 2016 academic year. To assess the variables, participants responded to a researcher created 49-item Music Educator Survey for K – 12 Teachers. Results indicate that overall, K – 12 music educators were predominately Caucasian (90.9%) and have been teaching less than 20 years (74.4%). The majority of music teachers hold bachelor’s degrees (98.1%) with 56.2 % holding masters’ degrees. 96.8 % held music teaching certification for their state and work in the public-school systems (89.4%). Overall, music educators were satisfied in their teaching positions indicating reasons related to student engagement and relationships. Results of this study can serve to aid in music education advocacy, designing music teacher professional development, and enhancing the effectiveness of music teacher education programs

Current investigations into the early Neolithic of the Zagros foothills of Iraqi Kurdistan

This article summarises multiple seasons of fieldwork at the Early Neolithic sites of Bestansur and Shimshara in Iraqi Kurdistan

Evidence of resilience to past climate change in Southwest Asia: early farming communities and the 9.2 and 8.2 ka events

Climate change is often cited as a major factor in social change. The so-called 8.2 ka event was one of the most pronounced and abrupt Holocene cold and arid events. The 9.2 ka event was similar, albeit of a smaller magnitude. Both events affected the Northern Hemisphere climate and caused cooling and aridification in Southwest Asia. Yet, the impacts of the 8.2 and 9.2 ka events on early farming communities in this region are not well understood. Current hypotheses for an effect of the 8.2 ka event vary from large-scale site abandonment and migration (including the Neolithisation of Europe) to continuation of occupation and local adaptation, while impacts of the 9.2 ka have not previously been systematically studied. In this paper, we present a thorough assessment of available, quality-checked radiocarbon (14C) dates for sites from Southwest Asia covering the time interval between 9500 and 7500 cal BP, which we interpret in combination with archaeological evidence. In this way, the synchronicity between changes observed in the archaeological record and the rapid climate events is tested. It is shown that there is no evidence for a simultaneous and widespread collapse, large-scale site abandonment, or migration at the time of the events. However, there are indications for local adaptation. We conclude that early farming communities were resilient to the abrupt, severe climate changes at 9250 and 8200 cal BP

Instructional Decision-Making among Expert Choral and Instrumental Directors: How Musical Setting Influences Pedagogy

In large music ensembles, directors make countless instructional decisions on a daily basis that indicate their learning priorities and guide student learning. In particular, expert music directors (i.e., those having earned a master’s degree and/or National Board Certification) have advanced problem-solving strategies and effective means of fostering student learning in their ensembles. To explore the influence of musical setting on directors’ instructional decision-making, the authors examined expert choral and instrumental directors’ perspectives on instructional decision-making. Forty experienced music teachers employed as either a choral or instrumental ensemble music teachers wrote open-ended responses to three scenarios, each representing different instructional challenges. Three main themes emerged related to instructional challenges: (1) Pedagogy, (2) Student Motivation, and (3) Classroom Management. Within each theme, the authors articulated multiple topics that revealed similarities and differences between the choral and instrumental settings. Understanding these comparisons and contrasts by musical setting is essential to enhancing teacher education programs. Implications include improving teachers’ self-awareness and advancing professional development opportunities for both choral and instrumental music directors

Early animal management strategies during the Neolithic of the Konya Plain, Central Anatolia: integrating micromorphological and microfossil evidence

This paper examines the contribution of microscopic multi-proxy approaches to the study of early husbandry practices and animal diet by integrated micromorphological, phytolith, and calcitic dung spherulite analyses of midden deposits at the three neighbouring Neolithic sites of Boncuklu (9th-8th millennium cal BC), Pınarbaşı (7th millennium cal BC) and Çatalhöyük (8th-6th millennium cal BC) in the Konya Plain, Central Turkey. The results reveal considerable chronological and contextual variation in human-animal inter-relations in open areas between different communities and sites. At Boncuklu, middens display well-defined areas where phytoliths and substantial accumulations of omnivore faecal matter low in spherulite content have been identified. By contrast, open spaces at the Late Neolithic campsite of Pınarbaşı comprise large concentrations of herbivore dung material associated with neonatal ovicaprine remains from spring birthing. Here, the deposits represent repeated dung-burning events, and include high concentrations of dung spherulites and phytoliths from wild grasses, and leaves and culms of reeds that, we suggest here, derive from fodder and fuel sources. Late middens at Çatalhöyük are characterised by thick sequences derived from multiple fuel burning events and rich in ashes, charred plants, articulated phytoliths – mainly from the husk of cereals, as well as the leaves and stems of reeds and sedges – and omnivore/ruminant coprolites, the abundance of the latter declining markedly in the latest levels of occupation. The application of this integrated microscopic approach to open areas has contributed to unravelling the complexity of formation processes at these sites, providing new insights into herding practices, diet, and the ecological diversity of Neolithic communities in Central Anatolia

'Seasonal rhythms' of a rural Kurdish village: ethnozooarchaeological research in Bestansur, Iraq

This paper presents results from an ethnoarchaeological study of animal husbandry in a modern rural village situated in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan

Livestock faecal indicators for animal management, penning, foddering and dung use in early agricultural built environments in the Konya Plain, Central Anatolia

Livestock dung is a valuable material for reconstructing human and animal inter-relations and activity within open areas and built environments. This paper examines the identification and multi-disciplinary analysis of dung remains from three neighbouring sites in the Konya Plain of Central Anatolia, Turkey: Boncuklu (9th-8th millennium cal BC), the Çatalhöyük East Mound (8th-6th millennium cal BC), and the Late Neolithic occupation at the Pınarbaşı rockshelter (7th millennium cal BC). It presents and evaluates data on animal management strategies and husbandry practices through the simultaneous examination of plant and faecal microfossils and biomarkers with thin-section micromorphology and integrated phytolith, dung spherulite, and biomolecular analyses, together with comparative reference geo-ethnoarchaeological assemblages. Herbivore dung and other coprogenic materials have been identified predominantly in open areas, pens and midden deposits through micromorphology and the chemical signatures of their depositional contexts and composition. Accumulations of herbivore faecal material and burnt remains containing calcitic spherulites and phytoliths have provided new information on animal diet, fodder and dung fuel. Evidence from phytoliths from in situ penning deposits at early Neolithic Çatalhöyük have provided new insights into foddering/grazing practices by identifying highly variable herbivorous regimes including both dicotyledonous and grass-based diets. This review illustrates the variability of dung deposits within early agricultural settlements and their potential for tracing continuity and change in ecological diversity, herd management strategies and foddering, health, energy and dung use, as well as the complexity of interactions between people and animals in this key region during the early Holocene