In this paper, we analyse a certain stirrup type that is rare in Central and Eastern Europe. It is characterized by a flat, narrow platform, strongly curved arms, and a rectangular eye. Based on the examination of the assemblages, these stirrups most likely developed in the Balkans in the first decades of the 7th century and were in use in the first half of the century.
Carlos Viscasillas Vázquez, Giada Casali, Laura Magrini
et al.
Chemical clocks, based on age-sensitive stellar abundance ratios, offer a powerful and scalable approach to reconstruct the formation history of the Milky Way. This white paper outlines how wide-field, high-resolution spectroscopy can transform chemical clocks into precise and broadly applicable stellar age estimators when combined with astrometry and asteroseismology. We summarize the current limitations, including calibration across Galactic environments and the impact of internal stellar evolution, and define the observational requirements needed to overcome them. The Wide-field Spectroscopic Telescope (WST), with its large field of view, high multiplex, and broad wavelength coverage at high spectral resolution, is uniquely suited to deliver the homogeneous datasets required to map the age structure of the Galaxy at unprecedented scale. Such a capability will enable decisive progress in Galactic archaeology and stellar evolution studies.
Carlos A. Álvarez, Marcos M. Cueli, Alessandro Bressan
et al.
Cosmic chronometers offer a model-independent way to trace the expansion history of the Universe via the dating of passively evolving objects. This enables testing the validity of cosmological models without concrete assumptions of their energy content. The main goal of this work is to derive model-independent constraints on the Hubble parameter up to $z \sim 0.4$ using stellar ages from the fitting of Lick index absorption lines in passively evolving galaxies. Contrary to recent related works that rely on finite differences to obtain a discrete measurement of the expansion of the Universe at an average redshift, our goal is to perform a cosmographic fit of $H(z)$ in terms of the Hubble constant ($H_0$) and the deceleration ($q_0$) and jerk ($j_0$) parameters. We carefully select spectra of massive and passively evolving galaxies from the SDSS Legacy Survey. After applying a stacking procedure to ensure a high signal-to-noise ratio, the strength of Lick indices is fit using two stellar population models (TMJ and Knowles) to derive stellar population parameters. A cosmographic fit to the stellar ages is performed, which in turn enables the sampling of the Hubble parameter within the considered redshift range. The baseline result comes from using the TMJ-modelled ages, and it yields a value of $H_0 = 70.0^{+4.1}_{-7.6} \text{ km s}^{-1} \text{ Mpc}^{-1}$ for the Hubble constant, where uncertainties refer only to the statistical treatment of the data. The sampling of the Hubble parameter at $0.05 < z < 0.35$ is competitive with discreet model-independent measurements from the literature. We finally draw attention to an unexpected oscillating pattern in a number of critical indices with respect to redshift, which translates into a similar behaviour in the $t-z$ relations. These features have never been discussed before, although they are present in previous measurements.
This essay explores a techno-artistic experiment that reanimates a 1980s East German typewriter using a contemporary AI language model. Situated at the intersection of media archaeology and speculative design, the project questions dominant narratives of progress by embedding generative AI in an obsolete, tactile interface. Through public exhibitions and aesthetic intervention, we demonstrate how slowness, friction, and material render artificial intelligence not only visible but open to critical inquiry. Drawing on concepts such as zombie media, technostalgia, and speculative design, we argue that reappropriating outdated technologies enables new forms of critical engagement. Erika - the AI-enabled typewriter - functions as both interface and interruption, making space for reflection, irony, and cultural memory. In a moment of accelerated digital abstraction, projects like this foreground the value of deliberate slowness, experiential materiality, and historical depth. We conclude by advocating for a historicist design sensibility that challenges presentism and reorients human-machine interaction toward alternative, perceived futures.
Prenatal chemical exposure has frequently been associated with fetal growth, although the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. This study aims to explore the potential mediating role of hormones in the association between prenatal chemical mixture exposure and birth weight.We used data of 432 newborns from two Flemish birth cohorts. The common set of available and detectable exposure biomarkers and hormones analyzed in cord plasma are: 6 metals/trace elements, 3 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners, hexachlorobenzene, dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene and 2 perfluoroalkyl substances; and 3 thyroid, 3 reproductive and 2 metabolic hormones. Mixtures analyses were performed to assess each of the bilateral associations in the path exposures-hormones-birth weight, including mediation analysis.Combining all exposures, we found an inverse association between PCB 180 and birth weight. PCB 180 was positively associated with sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and negatively associated with leptin and insulin. Similarly, thallium was positively associated with testosterone, estradiol, and SHBG, and negatively with insulin. Lead was positively associated with insulin. Higher free thyroxine (FT4), insulin, and leptin were associated with higher birth weight, whereas higher SHBG was associated with lower birth weight. Mediation analysis for PCB 180 indicated that 94% of the effect of this exposure on birth weight is mediated by FT4, SHBG, leptin, and insulin.Assessing the health risk of chemical mixture exposure reflects better real-world situations, thereby allowing more effective risk assessment. Our results suggest that hormonal markers are on the causal path in the association between environmental exposure and birth weight, adding interesting insights for mechanistic research.
D. J. Fritzewski, C. Aerts, J. S. G. Mombarg
et al.
Galactic archaeology largely relies on precise ages of distant evolved stars in the Milky Way. Nowadays, asteroseismology can deliver ages for many red giants observed with high-cadence, high-precision photometric space missions. Our aim is to quantify age uncertainties of slowly-rotating red giants due to the cumulative effect of their fast rotation during core-hydrogen burning. Their rotation in earlier evolutionary phases caused mixing resulting in heavier helium cores and the prolongation of their main sequence. These rotational effects are usually ignored when age-dating red giants, despite our knowledge of fast rotation for stars with $M\ge1.3\,$M$_\odot$. We use a sample of 490 $γ$ Doradus pulsators with precise asteroseismic estimates of their internal rotation rate and with luminosity estimates from Gaia. For this sample, which includes stars rotating from nearly 0 to about 60% of the critical rate, we compute the cumulative effect on the age in their post-main sequence evolution caused by rotational mixing on the main sequence. We use stellar model grids with different physical prescriptions mimicking rotational mixing to assess systematic uncertainties on the age. With respect to non-rotating models, the sample of 490 stars, as red giant progenitors, reveals age differences up to 5% by the time they start hydrogen-shell burning when relying on the theory of rotationally induced diffusive mixing as included in the MIST isochrones. Using rotational mixing based on an advective-diffusive approach including meridional circulation leads to an age shift of 20% by the time of the TRGB. Age-dating of red giants is affected by the cumulative effect of rotational mixing during the main sequence. Such rotationally-induced age shifts should be taken into account in addition to other effects if the aim is to perform Galactic archaeological studies at the highest precision. (abridged)
Philipp Erler, Lizeth Fuentes, Pedro Hermosilla
et al.
3D surface reconstruction from point clouds is a key step in areas such as content creation, archaeology, digital cultural heritage, and engineering. Current approaches either try to optimize a non-data-driven surface representation to fit the points, or learn a data-driven prior over the distribution of commonly occurring surfaces and how they correlate with potentially noisy point clouds. Data-driven methods enable robust handling of noise and typically either focus on a global or a local prior, which trade-off between robustness to noise on the global end and surface detail preservation on the local end. We propose PPSurf as a method that combines a global prior based on point convolutions and a local prior based on processing local point cloud patches. We show that this approach is robust to noise while recovering surface details more accurately than the current state-of-the-art. Our source code, pre-trained model and dataset are available at: https://github.com/cg-tuwien/ppsurf
Adam K. Taras, J. Gordon Robertson, Josh Carter
et al.
The Asgard instrument suite proposed for the ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) brings with it a new generation of instruments for spectroscopy and nulling. Asgard will enable investigations such as measurement of direct stellar masses for Galactic archaeology and direct detection of giant exoplanets to probe formation models using the first nulling interferometer in the southern hemisphere. We present the design and implementation of the Astralis-built Heimdallr, the beam combiner for fringe tracking and stellar interferometry in K band, as well as Solarstein, a novel implementation of a 4-beam telescope simulator for alignment and calibration. In this update, we verify that the Heimdallr design is sufficient to perform diffraction-limited beam combination. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Solarstein presents an interface comparable to the VLTI with co-phased, equal intensity beams, enabling alignment and calibration for all Asgard instruments. In doing so, we share techniques for aligning and implementing large instruments in bulk optics.
Pavel Burgert, Petr Šída, František Trampota
et al.
In the 20 years since the important discovery of metabasite quarrying in the Jizerské hory Mountains (northern Bohemia, Czech Republic) a wealth of knowledge has been gathered on this raw material used to make Neolithic polished stone tools. A synthesis of these results now gives a more comprehensive view of how this raw material was employed in different periods and extracted directly at the source sites. The overview is at the same time a springing board for further research. Exploitation of metabasite and its widest spatial distribution was in the Linear Pottery culture (LBK; 5400–5000/4900 BC). In the post-LBK period of regionalisation, the sources of raw materials for the production of polished tools were diversified and the degree of utilisation of Jizera Mountains-type metabasite is demonstrably varied by region.
Auxiliary sciences of history, Prehistoric archaeology
Historical emphasis on writing mastery has shifted with advances in generative AI, especially in scientific writing. This study analysed six AI chatbots for scholarly writing in humanities and archaeology. Using methods that assessed factual correctness and scientific contribution, ChatGPT-4 showed the highest quantitative accuracy, closely followed by ChatGPT-3.5, Bing, and Bard. However, Claude 2 and Aria scored considerably lower. Qualitatively, all AIs exhibited proficiency in merging existing knowledge, but none produced original scientific content. Inter-estingly, our findings suggest ChatGPT-4 might represent a plateau in large language model size. This research emphasizes the unique, intricate nature of human research, suggesting that AI's emulation of human originality in scientific writing is challenging. As of 2023, while AI has transformed content generation, it struggles with original contributions in humanities. This may change as AI chatbots continue to evolve into LLM-powered software.
El sector norte del golfo San Matías posee loci arqueológicos y fechados radiocarbónicos con ocupaciones humanas correspondientes al Holoceno medio y tardío. Los resultados obtenidos previamente sugieren que la interacción entre procesos eólicos (corrasión, transporte y depositación) y las características del conjunto (composición granulométrica artefactual) influyen sobre las configuraciones del registro arqueológico que hallamos actualmente. En este trabajo se presentan y comparan los resultados obtenidos del análisis tafonómico de los conjuntos líticos de superficie recuperados en cuatro localidades arqueológicas. Estas se emplazan principalmente en dos tipos de geoformas (dunas y antiguas terrazas marinas), con características de preservación diferencial. Asimismo, se presentan e integran los resultados del análisis tecno-morfológico que son relevantes para la evaluación de la historia postdepositacional de los artefactos y los potenciales sesgos tafonómicos existentes. Los resultados obtenidos permiten identificar tendencias generales. A partir del análisis tafonómico se evidencian condiciones de mayor estabilidad relativa para aquellos conjuntos recuperados en dunas, y una menor estabilidad para los conjuntos sobre terrazas. En relación con el aspecto tecnológico, se retoman estudios previos y se pone énfasis en determinados atributos y su frecuencia en los distintos muestreos. Un análisis integrador de estas dos dimensiones analíticas permitió reconstruir las diversas trayectorias postdepositacionales de estos conjuntos vinculadas a las distintas localizaciones, estimar su representación diferencial y contextualizar las ocupaciones humanas en los distintos espacios costeros en el tiempo.
In the last decades the rapid development of technologies and methodologies in the field of digitization and 3D modelling has led to an increasing proliferation of 3D technologies in the Cultural Heritage domain. Despite the great potential of 3D digital heritage, the "special effects" of 3D may often overwhelm its importance in research. Projects and consortia of scholars have tried to put order in the different fields of application of these technologies, providing guidelines and proposing workflows. The use of computer graphics as an effective methodology for CH research and communication highlighted the need of transparent provenance data to properly document digital assets and understand the degree of scientific quality and reliability of their outcomes. The building and release of provenance knowledge, consisting in the complete formal documentation of each phase of the process, is therefore of fundamental importance to ensure its repeatability and to guarantee the integration and interoperability of the generated metadata on the Semantic Web. This paper proposes a methodology for documenting the planning and creation of 3D models used in archaeology and Cultural Heritage, by means of an application profile based on the CIDOC CRM ecosystem and other international standards.
Belem Zúñiga-Arellano, Alejandra Aguirre Molina, Israel Elizalde Mendez
Como parte de las excavaciones del Proyecto Templo Mayor en el centro de la Ciudad de México, entre 2008 y 2013 fueron recuperados cientos de artefactos elaborados con caracoles y conchas. En este texto estudiamos 479 objetos de concha procedentes de cuatro ofrendas que fueron utilizados para la elaboración de atavíos empleados para ornamentar 46 cuchillos de pedernal y, a una loba mexicana (Canis lupus baileyi). Se trabajó desde tres diferentes perspectivas: biológica, arqueológica e iconográfica. Estos enfoques se integran y complementan para dar una mejor interpretación de los contextos rituales. Además, nos apoyamos en el uso de herramientas digitales como el programa AutoCAD, para visualizar con mayor facilidad, las asociaciones contextuales que había entre los objetos depositados en las ofrendas. Finalmente, encontramos patrones distintivos entre las especies de moluscos y su uso; Un ejemplo es el uso de caracoles del género Olivella para la fabricación de pendientes.
The setting up of a mobile laboratory by a conservator-restorer within a collaboration with Inrap made it possible to respond to the needs expressed by archaeologists and metal furniture specialists. In direct contact with the excavation team, the presence of the restorer creates a favorable synergy to the research (determination of intervention strategies, participation in study and preventive conservation issues, sharing of knowledge). By following the operating chain of metal furniture analysis, from the field to post-excavation, the relevance and scope of this close collaborative work is illustrated by several examples from preventive archaeology.
Clifford Seth Parker, William Brent Seales, Pnina Shor
Non-invasive volumetric imaging can now capture the internal structure and detailed evidence of ink-based writing from within the confines of damaged and deteriorated manuscripts that cannot be physically opened. As demonstrated recently on the En-Gedi scroll, our "virtual unwrapping" software pipeline enables the recovery of substantial ink-based text from damaged artifacts at a quality high enough for serious critical textual analysis. However, the quality of the resulting images is defined by the subjective evaluation of scholars, and a choice of specific algorithms and parameters must be available at each stage in the pipeline in order to maximize the output quality.
Owing to their simplicity and ease of application, seismic scaling relations are widely used to determine the properties of stars exhibiting solar-like oscillations, such as solar twins and red giants. So far, no seismic scaling relations for determining the ages of red giant stars have been developed. Such relations would be desirable for galactic archaeology, which uses stellar ages to map the history of the Milky Way. The ages of red giants must instead be estimated with reference to grids of theoretical stellar models, which can be computationally intensive. Here I present an exhaustive search for scaling age relations involving different combinations of observable quantities. The candidate scaling relations are calibrated and tested using more than 1,000 red giant stars whose ages were obtained via grid-based modeling. I report multiple high-quality scaling relations for red giant branch stars, the best of which are shown to be approximately as accurate as grid-based modeling with typical uncertainties of 15%. Additionally, I present new scaling mass and radius relations for red giants as well.