Analysis of New Artifact Collections from Archaic to Ancestral Caddo Sites in the Saline Creek Basin in Northern Smith County, Texas

This article concerns the continued documentation of prehistoric and/or historic artifacts from four sites in the Saline Creek drainage basin in the Post Oak Savannah in northern Smith County, Texas. Perttula and Walters discussed an earlier analysis of a set of collections from these same sites. Saline Creek is a northward-flowing tributary to the Sabine River. The sites are ca. 10 km south of the confluence of Saline Creek with the Sabine River. Saline Creek enters into the Sabine River about 6 km east (downstream) of the confluence of another major tributary, Lake Fork Creek, with the river

Dating Medieval Masonry Buildings by Radiocarbon Analysis of Mortar-Entrapped Relict Limekiln Fuels-a Buildings Archaeology

This paper considers how the data returned by radiocarbon analysis of wood-charcoal mortar-entrapped relict limekiln fuels (MERLF) relates to other evidence for the construction of medieval northern European masonry buildings. A review of previous studies highlights evidence for probable residuality in the data and reflects on how this has impacted on resultant interpretations. A critical survey of various wood-fired mortar materials and lime-burning techniques is then presented, to highlight evidence suggesting that a broad spectrum of different limekiln fuels has been exploited in different periods and that growth, seasoning, carriage and construction times are variable. It is argued that radiocarbon analysis of MERLF fragments does not date building construction directly and the heterogeneity of the evidence demands our interpretations are informed by sample taphonomy. A framework of Bayesian modelling approaches is then advanced and applied to three Scottish case studies with contrasting medieval MERLF assemblages. Ultimately, these studies demonstrate that radiocarbon analysis of MERLF materials can generate reasonably precise date range estimates for the construction of medieval masonry buildings which are consistent with other archaeological, historical and architectural interpretations. The paper will highlight that these different types of evidence are often complementary and establish that radiocarbon dated building materials can provide an important focus for more holistic multidisciplinary interpretations of the historic environment in various periods

Student Role Supports for Younger and Older Middle- Aged Women: Application of a Life Event Model

This paper is a report on a study of 276 women aged 35 to 64 who have re-entered university. We used the life-event framework to focus on the stress of university life, on the methods these women use to cope with stress and on their adaptations to the demands of school. We compared the re-entry experience of two sub-groups in our population: students aged 35 to 44 (with young families) and those aged 45 to 64 (with mature families). We found that each group had different motives for attending school, each group felt different strains during the school year and each group used different methods and resources to cope with the demands of student life. The paper concludes with a review of the literature on programs that meet the needs of re-entry women. We note the applicability of these programs to the distinct needs of younger and older re-entry women and we encourage the development of more programs to meet both groups' needs.Cet article rend compte d'une étude menée à partir du témoignage de 276 femmes de 35 à 64 ans qui ont repris des études universitaires. Nous avons eu recours à une approche tenant compte des cycles de la vie pour analyser le montant de stress généré chez ces femmes par la vie universitaire et pour mettre en lumière les méthodes que celles-ci utilisent pour faire face à ce stress et s'adapter aux exigences propres aux études universitaires. Nous avons ce faisant comparé cette expérience au sein de deux sous-groupes: d'une part les étudiantes âgées de 35 à 44 ans, mères de jeunes enfants, et d'autre part celles de 45 à 64 ans dont les enfants avaient atteint l'âge adulte. Nous avons découvert que les raisons qui poussaient les personnes de ces deux groupes à reprendre des études étaient très différentes de même que les difficultés qu'elles éprouvaient pendant l'année scolaire et les moyens qu'elles utilisaient pour être à la hauteur de ce qu'on exigeait d'elles en tant qu'étudiantes. Cet article présente ensuite un éventail de programmes parmi ceux qui répondent le mieux aux besoins des femmes qui reprennent des études. Nous y soulignons dans quelle mesure ces programmes conviennent aux besoins spécifiques soit des femmes les plus jeunes soit des femmes les plus âgées et nous sollicitons la création d'un plus grand nombre de programmes susceptibles de répondre aux besoins des deux groupes

Additional Collections of Woodland to Caddo Period Artifacts from the Alligator Pond Site (41SM442), Smith County, Texas

The Alligator Pond site is a substantial multi-component prehistoric and historic archaeological site (ca. 1.5 acres) on an upland ridge on the east side of Saline Creek. Saline Creek is a northward-flowing tributary to the Sabine River, and the site is ca. 10 km south of the confluence of Saline Creek with the Sabine River, in the Post Oak Savannah in northern Smith County, Texas. This is the third article that reports on the artifact assemblages from the site. Previous analyses of the artifact assemblages indicate that the principal component is a pre-A.D. 1200 Caddo habitation site, but there is also evidence from temporally diagnostic ceramic sherds and dart points that the site was used to some extent during the Woodland (ca. 500 B.C.-A.D. 800), Late Archaic (ca. 3000-500 B.C.), and Middle Archaic (ca. 6000-3000 B.C.) periods. Finally, there is an early 19th century historic component at the Alligator Pond site that is marked by blade gunflints, glass seed beads, refined earthenware rim and body sherds, possibly pearlware, that have hand-painted floral decorations, and an alkaline-glazed stoneware crock sherd

Modelling medieval masonry construction: taxa-specific and habitat-contingent Bayesian techniques for the interpretation of radiocarbon data from Mortar-Entrapped Relict Limekiln Fuels

Using data from simulated and actual case studies, this paper assesses the accuracy and precision of Bayesian estimates for the constructional date of medieval masonry buildings, generated from the radiocarbon evidence returned by different assemblages of wood-charcoal mortar-entrapped relict limekiln fuel (MERLF). The results from two theoretical studies demonstrate how Bayesian model specifications can be varied to generate a chronologically continuous spectrum of distributions from radiocarbon datasets subject Inbuilt Age (IA). Further analysis suggests that the potential for these distributions to contain the date of the constructional event depends largely upon the accuracy of the latest radiocarbon determination within each dataset, while precision is predicated on dataset age range, dataset size and model specification. These theoretical studies inform revised approaches to the radiocarbon evidence emerging from six culturally important Scottish medieval masonry buildings, each of which is associated with a wood-charcoal MERLF assemblage of different botanical character. The Bayesian estimates generated from these radiocarbon datasets are remarkably consistent with the historical and archaeological evidence currently associated with these sites, while age range distributions suggest the IA of each MERLF assemblage has been constrained by the taxa-specific and environmentally contingent lifespans and post-mortem durabilities of the limekiln fuel source. These studies provide further evidence that Bayesian techniques can generate consistently accurate chronological estimates for the construction of medieval masonry buildings from MERLF radiocarbon data, whatever the ecological provenance of the limekiln fuel source. Estimate precision is contingent upon source ecology and craft technique but can be increased by a more informed approach to materials analysis and interpretation

Medieval buildings and environmental change: chronology, ecology and political administration at Castle Sween, Knapdale

This paper presents results from an integrated programme of landscape, buildings and materials analysis undertaken at Castle Sween under the aegis of the Scottish Medieval Castles & Chapels C14 Project (SMCCCP). A suite of petrographic, archaeobotanical and radiocarbon analyses are employed to present the first independent dating evidence relating to the construction of three phases of the castle complex, including a primary phase curtain-walled enclosure widely regarded as mainland Scotland’s earliest surviving medieval masonry castle. This data is generally consistent with previous interpretations of the building’s stratigraphy and architectural style, although an earlier than expected determination for the northeast tower draws further attention the contrasting character of this particular structure. Archaeobotanical analysis of the largest assemblage of mortar-entrapped relict limekiln fuel fragments undertaken by the project, thus far, also hints at wider changes in the surrounding environment. Correlating this buildings evidence with palynological and other data associated with the political, vegetational and climate history of the surrounding lordship, and across Argyll more widely, is beginning to align the construction of Castle Sween with broader ecological processes from which the surrounding environment has emerged

Digital Toolkits for Teachers

Challenging students to create digital documentary films in history courses engages students in both mastery of content knowledge and higher order thinking experiences. Teachers considering this type of work must contend with the focus on standards- based testing, a wide breadth of content to be covered, the challenge of finding relevant primary source materials, and restrictions related to copyright and Fair Use. This paper explores a resource site for teachers, Digital Docs in a Box, that attempts to mediate some of these concerns and support their students in the creation of digital documentaries. First, we explore the rationale for student creation of digital media, the challenges inherent in these endeavors, and the creation of the resource site. We then overview the structure and use of the site, with an illustration of how a practicing teacher would use one of the documentary kits in the classroom

Comparing Simulations of AGN Feedback

We perform adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) and smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) cosmological zoom simulations of a region around a forming galaxy cluster, comparing the ability of the methods to handle successively more complex baryonic physics. In the simplest, non-radiative case, the two methods are in good agreement with each other, but the SPH simulations generate central cores with slightly lower entropies and virial shocks at slightly larger radii, consistent with what has been seen in previous studies. The inclusion of radiative cooling, star formation, and stellar feedback leads to much larger differences between the two methods. Most dramatically, at z=5, rapid cooling in the AMR case moves the accretion shock well within the virial radius, while this shock remains near the virial radius in the SPH case, due to excess heating, coupled with poorer capturing of the shock width. On the other hand, the addition of feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGN) to the simulations results in much better agreement between the methods. In this case both simulations display halo gas entropies of 100 keV cm^2, similar decrements in the star-formation rate, and a drop in the halo baryon content of roughly 30%. This is consistent with AGN growth being self-regulated, regardless of the numerical method. However, the simulations with AGN feedback continue to differ in aspects that are not self-regulated, such that in SPH a larger volume of gas is impacted by feedback, and the cluster still has a lower entropy central core.Comment: 22 pages, 20 figures, 3 tables, Accepted to ApJ, comments welcom