Regional Settlement Patterns and Political Complexity in the Cinti Valley, Bolivia

Traditionally, scholars investigating prehispanic Andean polities and sociopolitical organization have worked from cross-cultural models of complex societies underlain by concepts of political hierarchy and centralized control. Recently, however, some archaeologists, drawing from ethnohistorical and ethnographic sources, have argued that late prehispanic polities in various parts of the Andes were organized around principles very different from those that underlie traditional constructs of complex societies. This ethnohistoric evidence raises the possibility that the models of political organization often used by archaeologists are not adequate to account for the development and dynamics of all prehispanic Andean polities.Ethnohistoric sources portray the structure and dynamics of the "ethnic kingdoms" as rooted in still poorly understood indigenous principles of organization featuring nested, dual socio-territorial units (ayllus), decentralized political leadership, and confederation as the basis of hierarchy. To date, there has been very little study of what these polities would look like archeologically, or how the supposedly different principles of organization would manifest themselves in a regional settlement structure, wealth and status differentiation, or production and exchange patterns. Ethnohistoric documentation for the existence of ayllu polities in the Cinti region, southern Bolivia, made this area a prime setting for exploration of the archaeological ramifications of traditional and ayllu-based models. Full-scale regional survey and excavation generated data on the long-term evolution of sociopolitical structure and economic processes in the Cinti Valley. The investigation was organized around identifying strategies (economic and social) associated with political leadership, and their role in politico-economic centralization and social differentiation. The research revealed the emergence, by AD 800, of a strongly integrated, regional polity, characterized by a traditional settlement hierarchy, and elite residence at a dominant center. Catchment zone analysis indicated that increasing agricultural production was most closely linked to strategies of political leadership and status differentiation. The Cinti Valley investigation served to refine our understanding of the ayllu polity both as an archaeological model, and as a form of prehispanic political organization. Highlighting the convergence and divergence between emic constructs and empirical regional patterns should contribute to a better understanding of the nature and variability of southern Bolivian prehispanic societies, and how they should be archaeologically approached

The Rodent assemblages from the late Aragonian and the Vallesian (middle to late Miocene) of the Vallès-Penedès basin (Catalonia, Spain)

Consultable des del TDXTítol obtingut de la portada digitalitzadaLa conca del Vallès-Penedès es una àrea clau per a l'estudi de les successions de mamífers del Miocè europeu, donat que el seu abundant registre cobreix gairebé la totalitat d'aquest període. Recentment, degut a les obres d'ampliació de l'Abocador de Can Mata (ACM), al terme municipal de Els Hostalets de Pierola (l'Anoia, Barcelona), el nombre de jaciments coneguts de micro- i macromamífers s'ha duplicat. L'estudi de les faunes de micromamífers de la sèrie estratigràfica de l'ACM ha permès aportar importants dades bioestratigràfiques per a la definició de les biozones MN 7 i MN 8, actualment basades en localitats aïllades de França i Alemanya. També es proposa una correlació bioestratigràfica amb altres conques ibèriques com Calataiud-Terol. Pel que fa als rosegadors de la sèrie de l'ACM, es descriu una nova espècie de castòrid: Chalicomys n. sp. Aquesta espècie ja presenta un mode de locomoció aquàtica molt similar al del castor actual. Durant les obres d'ampliació de l'ACM es localitzà un nou jaciment, Barranc de Can Vila 1 (BCV1), que, a més d'una abundant mostra de micro- i macrofauna, ha lliurat un esquelet remarcablement complet d'una nova espècie de gran antropomorf: Pierolapithecus catalaunicus. L'estudi dels rosegadors de BCV1 ha permès situar cronològicament aquesta localitat a la part baixa de la MN 7+8, entre els 12,5 i els 12 Ma. En conseqüència aquesta localitat representa el registre més antic dels grans antropomorfs a la Península Ibèrica. L'estudi tafonòmic de les restes recuperades a BCV1 revela que diferents agents tafonòmics estigueren involucrats en la gènesi de l'acumulació. Es reconeix la depredació com el principal agent d'acumulació en el cas de l'individu de primat. Per contra l'acumulació de la majoria de la resta de fòssils no sembla estar associada a l'acció de depredadors i/o carronyaires. La fauna de micromamífers de BCV1 ens indica la presència d'un ambient forestal subtropical i humit en oposició a l'ambient clarament més sec i obert imperant a les conques de l'interior d'Espanya. Aquest fet podria explicar l'absència d'antropomorfs a aquestes àrees durant el Miocè. Seguidament es compara la composició i estructura de la taxocenosi de rosegadors de l'Aragonià terminal i del Vallesià de la conca del Vallès-Penedès amb la dues conques ibèriques (Calataiud-Terol i Duero). Els resultats dels anàlisis estadístics multivariants mostren que les paleocomunitats de rosegadors de la conca del Vallès-Penedès són marcadament diferents de les de les conques de l'interior d'Espanya durant la major part de l'interval de temps considerat. L'ambient al Vallès-Penedès sembla que fou més humit i boscós, assimilant-se a l'existent a zones més septentrionals. Al límit entre el Vallesià Inferior i el Superior (vers fa 9,7 milions d'anys) les paleocomunitats de rosegadors canvien bruscament a totes les conques. Aquest període és testimoni d'un canvi vers a associacions menys diverses i dominades per un o uns pocs gèneres. La diferenciació biogeogràfica existent a la Península Ibèrica es manté i fins hi tot incrementa durant el Vallesià Superior. Aquest canvi abrupte es coneix com la Crisi Vallesiana i també afectà a les comunitats de macromamífers, implicant en ambdós casos l'extinció de formes pròpies del Miocè Mitjà adaptades a ambients càlids i boscosos i resultant en un descens en la diversitat. Mitjançant diferents tècniques es mostra que aquest esdeveniment d'extinció no es va estendre a altres àrees d'Europa, on la diversitat es va mantenir estable o fins hi tot va incrementar.The Vallès-Penedès Basin is a crucial area for the study of the mammal succession of the European Miocene, since its abundant record covers nearly the totality of this period. Recently, thanks to the extension works of a rubbish dump, the so-called «Abocador de Can Mata» (ACM) at Els Hostalets de Pierola (l'Anoia, Barcelona), the number of known micro- and macromammal sites has doubled. The study of the micromammal faunas of the stratigraphic series of the ACM has added important data for the definition of the biozones MN 7 and MN 8, which now are based in isolated sites from France and Germany. We have also proposed biostratigraphic correlation for the Late Aragonian of the Vallès-Penedès Basin to other Iberian basins such as Calatayud-Teruel. Concerning the rodents of the ACM series, a new species of castorid is described: Chalicomys n. sp. This species already shows a mode of aquatic locomotion very similar to that of the extant beaver. A new site which has yielded an abundant sample of micro- and macrofauna, Barranc de Can Vila 1 (BCV1), was discovered during the extension works of the ACM. This site has also provided a remarkably complete skeleton of a new species of great ape: Pierolapithecus catalaunicus. The study of the rodents of BCV1 allows us to chronologically place this site in the lower part of MN 7+8, that is between 12.5 and 12 Ma. Accordingly this locality represents the oldest record of great apes in the Iberian Peninsula. The taphonomical study of the remains recovered at BCV1 reveals that different taphonomical agents were involved in the origin of the accumulation. Predation is recognized as the main accumulation agent in the case of the primate individual. In contrast, the accumulation of the rest of the fossils does not seem related to the action of predators and/or scavengers. The micromammal fauna from BCV1 indicates the presence of a humid subtropical forest environment as opposed to the clearly dryer an more open environment dominant in inner Spanish basins. This fact may account for the absence of great apes in those areas during the Miocene. Straight after that the composition and structure of rodent taxocenosis from the latest Aragonian and the Vallesian of the Vallès-Penedès Basin is compared with those of two Iberian basins (Calatayud-Teruel and Duero). The results of the multivariate statistic analyses show that the rodent paleocommunities of the Vallès-Penedès are markedly different from those of the inner Spanish basins during most of the considered time span. The environment in the Vallès-Penedès Basin appears to have been more humid and forested, being similar to that occurring at higher latitudes. At the Early/Late Vallesian boundary (at 9.7 Ma) an abrupt change in the rodent paleocommunities of all the basins is recorded. This period witnesses a shift towards lower-diversity faunas dominated by one or a few genera. The biogeographic differentiation existing in the Iberian Peninsula is retained and even increases during the Late Vallesian. This abrupt change is known as the Vallesian Crisis and also affected the macromammal communities, implying in both cases the extinction of forms of characteristic of the Middle Miocene and adapted to warm forest environments. That ultimately resulted in a decrease of diversity. By the means of different techniques we show that this extinction event did not affected other areas of Europe, where diversity remained stable or even increased

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This paper proposes a set of metrics to evaluate and compare applications in a new but quickly developing field – energy management software (EMS) in residential buildings. The goal of the paper is to highlight tendencies and to detect drawbacks of pre sent applications to develop a new one taking into account the results of previous analysis. It shows a shortlist of applications examined. Provides the conclusion drawing to the metrics and proposes mai n issues to be considered in the development of a new application.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

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