Virtual Sea-Drifting Experiments between the Island of Cyprus and the Surrounding Mainland in the Early Prehistoric Eastern Mediterranean

Seaborne movement underpins frontier research in prehistoric archaeology, including water-crossings in the context of human dispersals, and island colonisation. Yet, it also controls the degree of interaction between locations, which in turn is essential for investigating the properties of maritime networks. The onset of the Holocene (circa 12,000 years ago) is a critical period for understanding the origins of early visitors/inhabitants to the island of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean in connection with the spread of Neolithic cultures in the region. The research undertaken in this work exemplifies the synergies between archaeology, physical sciences and geomatics, towards providing novel insights on the feasibility of drift-induced seaborne movement and the corresponding trip duration between Cyprus and coastal regions on the surrounding mainland. The overarching objective is to support archaeological inquiry regarding the possible origins of these visitors/inhabitants—Anatolia and/or the Levant being two suggested origins

Decadal-scale variations in geomagnetic field intensity from ancient Cypriot slag mounds

© 2015. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. Geomagnetic models based on direct observations since the 1830s show that the averaged relative change in field intensity on Earth's surface over the past 170 years is less than 4.8% per decade. It is unknown if these rates represent the typical behavior of secular variations due to insufficient temporal resolution of archaeomagnetic records from earlier periods. To address this question, we investigate two ancient slag mounds in Cyprus-Skouriotissa Vouppes (SU1, fourth to fifth centuries CE, 21 m in height), and Mitsero Kokkinoyia (MK1, seventh to fifth centuries BCE, 8 m in height). The mounds are multilayered sequences of slag and charcoals that accumulated near ancient copper production sites. We modeled the age-height relation of the mounds using radiocarbon dates, and estimated paleointensities using Thellier-type IZZI experiments with additional anisotropy, cooling rate, and nonlinear TRM assessments. To screen out ambiguous paleointensity interpretations, we applied strict selection criteria at the specimen/sample levels. To ensure objectivity, consistency, and robust error estimation, we employed an automatic interpretation technique and put the data available in the MagIC database. The analyses yielded two independent subcentury-scale paleointensity time series. The MK1 data indicate relatively stable field at the time the mound accumulated. In contrast, the SU1 data demonstrate changes that are comparable in magnitude to the fastest changes inferred from geomagnetic models. We suggest that fast changes observed in the published archaeomagnetic data from the Levant are driven by two longitudinally paired regions, the Middle East and South Africa, that show unusual activity in geomagnetic models

Emergent cellular self-organization and mechanosensation initiate follicle pattern in the avian skin

The spacing of hair in mammals and feathers in birds is one of the most apparent morphological features of the skin. This pattern arises when uniform fields of progenitor cells diversify their molecular fate while adopting higher-order structure. Using the nascent skin of the developing chicken embryo as a model system, we find that morphological and molecular symmetries are simultaneously broken by an emergent process of cellular self-organization. The key initiators of heterogeneity are dermal progenitors, which spontaneously aggregate through contractility-driven cellular pulling. Concurrently, this dermal cell aggregation triggers the mechanosensitive activation of β-catenin in adjacent epidermal cells, initiating the follicle gene expression program. Taken together, this mechanism provides a means of integrating mechanical and molecular perspectives of organ formation

The Sydney Cyprus Survey Project: an interdisciplinary investigation of long-term change in the North Central Troodos, Cyprus

The Sydney Cyprus Survey Project (SCSP) began work in the north central Troodos Mountains of Cyprus in 1992. The aim of the project is to examine the relationships among the exploitation of natural resources (especially copper mining and agriculture), the development of complex social systems, and the changes taking place in the physical landscape. This interim report puts our fieldwork and interpretation into the context of contemporary regional survey practice, and describes our approaches to methodological problems such as sampling strategies, analytical units, and field-walking techniques. We present an integrated discussion of two specific areas of interest and an overview of the main results and conclusions of the project to date

Troodos archaeological and environmental survey project: first preliminary report (June–July 2000)

The Troodos Archaeological and Environmental Survey Project is investigating human activity across the landscape during all time periods, using intensive archaeological and geomorphological survey. TAESP is working in a broad area of the north-central Troodos mountains that includes fertile valleys and plains, copper-bearing foothills, and the northern part of the Troodos Range itself. Other than some rescue excavation of tombs, no systematic archaeological work had been done in this area, and none at all in the mountains. Because of our interdisciplinary research goals and intensive methodology, developed in an earlier, already published project, we are contributing a wide-ranging analysis of the Cypriot landscape for all periods, one that will make a key contribution to landscape archaeology and to regional studies more widely in the Mediterranean. Our research is focused on the dynamic relationship between human society and the environment. We are documenting and analysing settlement patterns, site hierarchies, land use patterns and communication networks across the landscape during all time periods, and relating them to environmental factors such as physical landforms, soils and sediments, vegetation, and water. A particular focus is the nature and development of resource exploitation, in particular agriculture and metallurgical production. Related themes include the production of pottery and stone tools, forest resources and soil management. Within our 159 sq km survey area we carried out fieldwalking transects in five ‘intensive survey zones’ totalling 37 sq km. The rest was sampled by means of a grid of 20 short transects and more purposive survey. Transects are lines of ‘survey units’ traversed by fieldwalkers placed 5 m apart. Throughout the project, they consistently counted and collected a sample of artefacts, and recorded geomorphological and environmental data. We examined clusters of contiguous survey units in broader areas of importance, and employed various gridding and sampling techniques for more intensive investigation of particular foci of human activity

Data for the Heritage Journal Publication 1760103

The data found here are part of the publication HERITAGE 1760103 Phaedon Kyriakidis et al. (2022) Virtual sea-driting experiments between the island of Cyprus and the surrounding mainland in the early prehistroric Eastern Mediterranean Phaedon Kyriakidis, Theodora Moutsiou, Andreas Nikolaidis, Christian Reepmeyer, Georgios Leventis, Stella Demesticha, Evangelos Akylas, Vasiliki Kassianidou, Constantine Michailides, Zomenia Zomeni, Daniella E. Bar-Yosef Mayer, Yizhaq Makovsky, and Carole McCartney Contents Working (Start here) --> Auxiliary data (coastlines, landmask, source regions, and archaeological sites), and Matlab code roms01_xxx.m through roms07_xxx.m where the numbering indicates the order of execution followed 2014_ROMS_DRIFT_OBJ42 2014_ROMS_DRIFT_OBJ42 --> csv files of leeway-simulated drifting trajectories, matlab versions of csv files and of data produced during the analysis of simulated trajectories, as well as associated figures WAVES --> Significant wave height data used to define successful trajectoriesThe data found here are part of the publication HERITAGE 1760103 Phaedon Kyriakidis et al. (2022) Virtual sea-driting experiments between the island of Cyprus and the surrounding mainland in the early prehistroric Eastern Mediterranean Phaedon Kyriakidis, Theodora Moutsiou, Andreas Nikolaidis, Christian Reepmeyer, Georgios Leventis, Stella Demesticha, Evangelos Akylas, Vasiliki Kassianidou, Constantine Michailides, Zomenia Zomeni, Daniella E. Bar-Yosef Mayer, Yizhaq Makovsky, and Carole McCartne