Investigation of mass graves in the Churchyard of St. Gertrude’s, Riga, Latvia

What determines the magnitude of attentional capture by deviant sound events? We combined the cross-modal oddballdistraction paradigm with sequence learning to address this question. Participants responded to visual targets, eachpreceded by tones that formed a repetitive cross-trial standard sequence. In Experiment 1, with the standard tone sequence…-660-440-660-880-… Hz, either the 440 Hz or the 880 Hz standard was occasionally replaced by one of two deviant tones(220 Hz and 1100 Hz), that either differed slightly (by 220 Hz) or markedly (by 660 Hz) from the replaced standard. InExperiment 2, with the standard tone sequence …-220-660-440-660-880-660-1100-… Hz, the 440 Hz and the 880 Hzstandard was occasionally replaced by either a 220 Hz or a 1100 Hz pattern deviant. In both experiments, a high-pitchdeviant was more captivating when it replaced a low-pitch standard, and a low-pitch deviant was more captivating when itreplaced a high-pitch standard. These results indicate that the magnitude of attentional capture by deviant sound eventsdepends on the discrepancy between the deviant event and the expected event, not on perceived local change

Latvijas iedzivotaju paleodemografija (7.-18. gs.)

Separate summary in Latvian and English, 60 p.Available from Latvian Academic Library / LAL - Latvian Academic LibrarySIGLELVLatvi

Antropologe profesore Dr. habil. hist. LZA goda locekle Raisa Denisova Biobibliografija, darbabiedru veltijumi 70 gadu jubileja

Available from Latvian Academic Library / LAL - Latvian Academic LibrarySIGLELVLatvi

Life histories at stone age Zvejnieki based on stable isotope profiles of tooth dentine

The timing of infant weaning in the past is important for its implications for birth-spacing and infant survival, and hence for population maintenance or growth under different socio-economic regimes. Prior to the adoption of agriculture, breastfeeding is believed to have been more prolonged amongst hunter-gatherers due, at least partly, to the lack of suitable weaning foods that are available to agriculturalists. The introduction of pottery possibly also changed weaning patterns due to shifts in food preparation even prior to the adoption of domesticated foods. Here we apply stable carbon and nitrogen isotope sequential samples on dentine to explore differences in diet relating to weaning age, social roles and food sharing between children and adults in a well-preserved Mesolithic/Neolithic population from the cemetery of Zvejnieki, Latvia. We address whether there are differences in diet between the Mesolithic and the Neolithic periods, defined here by the appearance of pottery rather than the adoption of agriculture. Considerable variability in weaning patterns was observed, but in general individuals tended to be breastfed from birth, with the contribution of breast milk declining after the age of 6–12 months, and completely withdrawn by the age of 3 years. We note a difference in δ15N dentine profiles between the Mesolithic and Neolithic, which may be linked to the introduction of pottery. We also assess differences in diets in relation to identities marked in death, specifically the presence or absence of animal tooth pendants. The carbon and nitrogen isotope profiles for sequentially sampled first molars show that adults who were buried without animal tooth pendants as grave goods consumed more freshwater resources during their childhoods than those buried with animal tooth pendants. We conclude that infant and childhood diet reflected different societal roles or identities within the population that continued into adulthood