By its availability and deposition dust is a key indicator for past climate variability. Due to the location in the main North African dust corridor, the Canary Islands preserve dust deposits in different geoarchives—for instance in valleys dammed by Quaternary volcanism. These basins act as sediment traps for aeolian, volcanic, and slope-derived material, forming alternating pale, carbonate-enriched (PCLs) and reddish, clay-enriched layers (RCLs). However, the extent to which these sequences retain primary dust signals remains uncertain. We examine the interpretability of locally called vega sediments by disentangling input pathways, post-depositional processes, and geomorphological controls. Two sections on Lanzarote (Teguise, Femés) and the section Vallebrón (Fuerteventura) were investigated using grain-size analysis, XRF and XRD measurements, and IRSL dating. The sequences reveal two dust components: high-intensity dust fall events forming PCLs, and persistent finer dust input preserved in RCLs through kaolinite. Many PCLs originated as loess-like deposits subsequently modified by carbonate redistribution, while clay mineral transformations complicate provenance interpretation. Archive clarity varies with geomorphology, from less distinctly layered, patchy carbonate-enriched succession at Vallebrón to continuous cyclic sequences in Teguise. Overall, these basins preserve both episodic dust events and continuous fine-grained input, offering a valuable framework for reconstructing Late Quaternary dust dynamics.
Abstract Around the middle of the nineteenth century, Italian palaeontologists began to investigate fossils of fishes and reptiles from the Middle Triassic outcrops in the vicinity of Monte San Giorgio (Canton Ticino, Switzerland). In 1924, researchers from the University of Zurich started their scientific excavations on the Swiss side. The many fish fossils found since then have often stood in the shadow of the more spectacular and mostly larger fossils of various aquatic reptiles. Beginning around 1980 the fish fossils in the collection of the Palaeontological Institute and Museum of Zurich University have subsequently been brought out of this shadow. The picture presently emerging is that of a species rich fish fauna located in six different fossiliferous beds of Anisian and Ladinian age with a few chondrichthyan, some coelacanth and a wealth of different actinopterygian taxa, many of them well preserved. The ongoing work not only results in taxonomic and systematic novelties, but gives also new insights into their palaeobiology, palaeoecology and palaeobiogeography.
Matías Alberto Armella, Guido Ezequiel Alonso, Daniel Alfredo García-López
et al.
The fossils of the India Muerta Formation (Neogene, Tucumán Province, Northwestern Argentina) include several vertebrate groups,
mainly metatherian, xenarthran, and notoungulate mammals. Nevertheless, these remains have been scarcely mentioned in the literature, being mostly noted in faunistic lists, without a focus on taxonomic or morphological aspects. Additionally, most of the biostratigraphic or paleobiogeographic considerations, which are based merely on lithostratigraphic inferences, have suggested a correlation mainly with the
Andalhuala (Late Miocene–Pliocene) and the Corral Quemado (Pliocene) formations, both units corresponding to the Santa María sedimentary
basin of the Calchaquí valleys of Northwestern Argentina. Here, we present a study of a notoungulate assemblage recently recovered from levels of the India Muerta Formation, clarifying the geological context and correlating fossil levels with western outcrops. Our study identifies remains grouped systematically as two toxodontids, one mesotheriid, and four hegetotheriids, some of which represent the first records for the unit and/or the region. The sedimentological analysis suggests that this fauna developed in a paleoenvironment corresponding to a complex of braided to meandering fluvial systems. Based on these new data, the fossiliferous levels of the India Muerta Formation reinforce a Late Miocene (Tortonian) age. Consequently, our chronological proposal leads to a closer correlation between the India Muerta Formation and the Las Arcas and Chiquimil formations, which immediately underlie the Andalhuala Formation in western valleys. These inferences agree with previous radioisotopic analyses and, hence, the evidence yielded by the presence of these newly documented notoungulates stands as our most reliable basis for stratigraphic correlation.
Mason L. Manning, Bill Thompson, Thomas J. H. Morgan
The maintenance of cross-cultural variation and arbitrary traditions in human populations is a key question in cultural evolution. Conformist transmission, the tendency to follow the majority, was previously considered central to this phenomenon. However, recent theory indicates that cognitive biases can greatly reduce its ability to maintain traditions. Therefore, we expanded prior models to investigate two other ways that cultural variation can be sustained: payoff-biased transmission and norm reinforcement. Our findings predict that both payoff-biased transmission and reinforcement can enhance conformist transmission's ability to maintain traditions. However, payoff-biased transmission can only sustain cultural variation if it is functionally related to environmental factors. In contrast, norm reinforcement readily generates and maintains arbitrary cultural variation. Furthermore, reinforcement results in path-dependent cultural dynamics, meaning that historical traditions influence current practices, even though group behaviours have changed. We conclude that environmental variation probably plays a role in functional cultural traditions, but arbitrary cultural variation is more plausibly due to the reinforcement of norm compliance.
In this paper, we present a detailed survey on the rodent fauna from the site of Barranco de los Conejos (Guadix-Baza
Basin, southern Spain). Its rodent fauna is composed of three arvicolines (Orcemys giberti, Manchenomys oswaldoreigi,
and Tibericola vandermeuleni) and two murids (Castillomys rivas and Apodemus atavus). The three arvicoline species
present ever-growing molars. Orcemys giberti and Manchenomys oswaldoreigi can be considered as descendants of local
Mimomys species (Mimomys medasensis and Mimomys tornensis, respectively), while Tibericola vandermeuleni is an
eastern inmigrant. Loosening of roots in Orcemys giberti and Manchenomys oswaldoreigi is explained as an adaptation
to a fossorial way of life, in relation to the Early Pleistocene glacial–interglacial dynamics, which led to cooler and drier
conditions. This environmental change would also explain the dispersal of Tibericola from the eastern Mediterranean.
Masashi Taniguchi, Yosuke Yamada, Masahide Yagi
et al.
Abstract Background The primary aim of this study was to investigate whether using the extracellular water/intracellular water (ECW/ICW) index and phase angle combined with segmental-bioimpedance analysis (BIA) improved the model fitting of skeletal muscle volume (SMV) estimation. The secondary aim was to compare the accuracy of segmental-BIA with that of ultrasound for estimating the quadriceps SMV measured with MRI. Methods Seventeen young men (mean age, 23.8 ± 3.3 years) participated in the study. The T-1 weighted images of thigh muscles were obtained using a 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. Thigh and quadriceps SMVs were calculated as the sum of the products of anatomical cross-sectional area and slice thickness of 6 mm across all slices. Segmental-BIA was applied to the thigh region, and data on the 50-kHz bioelectrical impedance (BI) index, ICW index, ECW/ICW index, and phase angle were obtained. The muscle thickness index was calculated as the product of the mid-thigh muscle thickness, determined using ultrasound, and thigh length. The standard error of estimate (SEE) of the regression equation was calculated to determine the model fitting of SMV estimation and converted to %SEE by dividing the SEE values by the mean SMV. Results Multiple regression analysis indicated that the combination of 50-kHz BI and the ECW/ICW index or phase angle was a significant predictor when estimating thigh SMV (SEE = 7.9 and 8.1%, respectively), but were lower than the simple linear regression (SEE = 9.4%). The ICW index alone improved the model fitting for the estimation equation (SEE = 7.6%). The model fitting of the quadriceps SMV with the 50-kHz BI or ICW index was similar to that with the skeletal muscle thickness index measured using ultrasound (SEE = 10.8, 9.6 and 9.7%, respectively). Conclusions Combining the traditionally used 50-kHz BI index with the ECW/ICW index and phase angle can improve the model fitting of estimated SMV measured with MRI. We also showed that the model suitability of SMV estimation using segmental-BIA was equivalent to that on using ultrasound. These data indicate that segmental-BIA may be a useful and cost-effective alternative to the gold standard MRI for estimating SMV.
Елизавета Валентиновна Веселовская, Александр Петрович Гаврилов, Сергей Владимирович Васильев
Археологическая культура Рязано-окских могильников играла важнейшую политическую и культурную роль в формировании ряда финно-угорских народов среднего течения р. Оки. Изучение новых памятников, оставивших носителями этой культуры, проясняет общую картину этнической истории региона. Проведено изучение артефактов и костных останков из погребения воина высшего сословия комплекса Ундрих 2015 яма 90. Анализ инвентаря позволяет датировать погребение самым концом пятого века. Каждый из предметов подробно описан и рассматривается на предмет поиска аналогий с привлечением широкого диапазона публикаций. По находкам в погребении шейной гривны, фибулы, богатой упряжи, крестообразной диадемы, а также двух мечей, характерных для вождеских погребений Восточной Европы, делается вывод о принадлежности воина одному из главенствующих кланов, властной группы Рязано-окского барбарикума периода формирования аутентичной государственности. Различные властные кланы имели свою специфику, которая выражалась как в характере оружия, украшений, так, возможно, и в физическом облике. Антропологическое изучение черепа и позволяет фиксировать черты средиземноморского антропологического типа. Реконструкция внешнего облика, выполненная в графике и скульптуре, дает представление об особенностях антропологического типа погребенного воина. The archaeological culture of the Ryazan-Oka burial grounds played an important political and cultural role in the formation of a number of Finno-Ugric peoples of the middle Oka river. The study of new monuments of this culture clarifies the general picture of the ethnic history of the region. Artifacts and bone remains from the burial of an upper-class warrior from Undrikh 2015 (pit 90) were studied. The archaeological inventory suggests that the burial dates back to the very end of the fifth century. Each of the objects is described in detail and examined for analogies using a wide range of publications. A torc, a fibula, a rich harness, a cruciform diadem and two swords typical for chieftain’s burials in Eastern Europe suggest that the warrior belonged to one of the dominant clans, the ruling group of the Ryazan-Oka barbaricum during the time when authentic statehood was forming. Various power clans had their own specifics expressed both in the weapons, decorations, and, possibly, in physical appearance. Anthropological study of the skull identified traits of the Mediterranean anthropological type. Graphic and sculpted facial reconstructions make it possible to visualize the appearance of the warrior.
What is the problem of language, and how does glossolalia (i.e., speaking in tongues) help us address it? These are two questions readers of Nicholas Harkness’s new monograph are likely to ask upon seeing the title of this short yet ambitious and thoughtful book. The problem of language, at least as the author approaches it with ethnographic material from South Korean Christians, becomes a means to explore glossolalia’s “problematic relation to language” and rests on deciphering “how and why an experience of language is produced through processes of its own negation” (p. 2). This is one of several paradoxes to which Harkness returns throughout the text: viz., how a phenomenon that lies at the “limits of language”—in its seeming lack of denotation, in its posturing as a communicative medium that occludes communication—is nonetheless deeply productive of a Christian language ideology. With careful attention to the elements of narrative, phonology, pitch, cadence, and even the physicality of breath, Harkness offers a multilayered picture of the semiotic significance of language, not just glossolalia, for the Christians with whom he worked. He shifts attention away from asking the perennial questions of whether glossolalia is linguistically or theologically legitimate to consider its intersection with broader language ideologies. In other words, why are people so invested in what counts as language in the first place? Following a clearly pitched introduction, Harkness presents six chapters arranged in three dyads. The first pair offers an ethnographic foray into the trajectories that bring Christians, both Pentecostals and those from denominations less often associated with charismatic gifts, into glossolalic practices (pangŏn in Korean). These are among the book’s most well-developed chapters, as they examine in rich detail how Christians approach the Holy Spirit, at times beginning with trepidation yet evolving in unexpected ways into an ambiguous relationship of trust and uncertainty. Harkness’s portrait of Hyejin, a Presbyterian woman, is exemplary in this regard; his description of her grappling with tongues—along with contrapuntal examples from her family members, each of whom develops a different relationship with the practice— reveals the interaction of social class, generational interests, the cultural value of novelty, and anxieties about syncretic residues from shamanic traditions. Chapter two transitions from the narrative of one Korean family to an institutional study of the Yoido Full Gospel Church, a well-known megachurch that serves as one of the author’s primary field sites and a “ritual center” (p. 37) for the production of glossolalia and related linguistic genres (like t’ongsŏng kido, or cacophonic group prayer). Here the contours of Harkness’s main argument take shape. He draws on phonological, prosodic, and even tonal/musical analysis (a methodological callback to Harkness’s 2014 study of vocal quality in Korean church choirs, Songs of Seoul: An Ethnography of Voice and Voicing in Christian South Korea, University of California Press) to demonstrate the qualities of glossolalia that belie its full identification as language yet still offer unique communicative access to God. The second set of chapters, although conceptually productive, disrupts the argument’s “flow” (h ur um), to use an evangelical term (p. 91). Here Harkness puts sermonic analysis in the service of teasing out how pastors ideologically justify a sense of shared feeling (chapter three) and the deployment of speech as a conduit for the Word of God and thus as a vehicle for global evangelism (chapter four). These points broaden the scope beyond glossolalia proper, and the author takes care to defend such an interlude by highlighting the parallel processes operating in other linguistic genres, some of which likewise operate at the “limits of language.” While a robust study of any “anthropological object” (p. 5) can and ought to extend beyond its formal
Е. Каспарова, Галина Владимировна Скриган, Валерий Иванович Дунай
Цель исследования – оценить изменчивость морфофункциональных показателей маскулинности студенческой молодежи Беларуси во времени и в зависимости от уровня физической подготовки. Исследование проведено в 2016–2021 гг. в г. Минске (Республика Беларусь). Выборку составили 233 студента (102 юноша, 131 девушек) в возрасте от 18 до 21 года. Привлечены также материалы нашего исследования 180 студентов (125 юношей и 65 девушек) Белорусского государственного университета физической культуры. Материалом для сравнения послужили архивные данные отдела антропологии НАН Беларуси 2000–2007 гг.: всего 243 студента г. Минска (98 юношей, 145 девушек). Проведено антропометрическое измерение длины тела, массы тела, ширины плеч и таза, обхватов талии, бедер, плеча напряженного и расслабленного, длины второго и четвертого пальцев обеих рук, кистевой динамометрии правой и левой руки. Рассчитаны морфологические индексы. Выявлено, что у современных юношей обхват талии больше, чем у юношей начала XXI века. У девушек масса тела и обхват талии показали большую стабильность во времени. Ширина таза у представителей обоих полов от начала XXI века к современности уменьшилась. У современных юношей дисгармоничность телосложения за счет избыточности массы тела по отношению к его длине встречается чаще, чем в начале века. Показатели кистевой динамометрии у современной белорусской студенческой молодежи стали меньше по сравнению с началом 2000-х. Юноши и девушки, занимающиеся физической культурой, характеризуются более низкими значениями пальцевого индекса, чем те, кто имеет более низкий уровень физической подготовленности. Таким образом, выявлены особенности изменчивости во времени у студенческой молодежи Беларуси таких показателей как обхват талии, ширина таза и динамометрия (силовые возможности), которые отразились на динамике морфологических индексов маскулинности. The study aims to assess the variability of morphofunctional indicators of masculinity among students in Belarus over time and depending on the level of physical fitness. The research was carried out in 2016–2021 in Minsk (the Republic of Belarus). The sample consisted of 233 students (102 young men, 131 young women) aged 18 to 22. We also used the materials of our earlier study of 180 students (125 young men and 65 young women) of the Belarusian State University of Physical Culture. We compared our data to the archival data of the Department of Anthropology of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus from the period 2000–2007: a total of 243 students in Minsk (98 young men, 145 young women). Anthropometric measurements of body length, body weight, shoulder width, pelvic width, waist circumference, hip circumference, tense shoulder circumference, relaxed shoulder circumference, length of the second and fourth fingers of both hands, wrist dynamometry of the right and left hand were carried out. The morphological indices were calculated. It was revealed that modern young men have more waist circumference than young men of the beginning of the XXI century. In young women, waist circumference and body weight showed greater stability. The width of the pelvis has decreased from the beginning of the 21st century to the present in both sexes. In modern young men, disharmony of physique due to excess body weight in relation to its length occurs more often than at the beginning of the century. The indicators of wrist dynamometry among modern Belarusian students have become lower compared to the beginning of the 2000s. The young men and women involved in physical culture had a significantly lower 2D:4D for the left hand and right hand than those who have a lower level of physical fitness. Thus, the study revealed the temporal variability of waist circumference, pelvic width, and dynamometry (strength capabilities) and the dynamics of morphological indices of masculinity among young students in Belarus.
Статья посвящена актуальной, но слабо разработанной в отечественной гуманитарной науке теме, – визуальной антропологии как форме научного познания, средству фиксации и репрезентации материалов. Как известно, определяющую роль в освоении фронтирных регионов страны в имперский период играли профессиональные исследователи и путешественники, активно использовавшие в своей деятельности фотографическую технику. Многочисленные фотодокументы, собранные ими в научных экспедициях рассредоточены по фондам центральных и региональных музейных и архивных институций. Данное исследование фокусируется на визуально-антропологических материалах из экспедиции известного этнографа Ивана Алексеевича Лопатина 1913 года, хранящихся в архиве Общества изучения Амурского края, и изученных автором статьи в ходе исследовательских работ лета 2020 года. Многие из рассматриваемых фотодокументов, являясь уникальными свидетельствами культурной эволюции народностей Приамурья на рубеже XIX–XX вв., вводятся в научный оборот впервые. Путем сопоставления текстовых и визуальных архивов исследователя выделяются и анализируются ключевые этнографические образы, зафиксированные им среди орочей и гольдов (нанайцев): явления материальной и духовной культуры, промысловые процессы и физические типы. Особо рассматриваются и опережающие свое время методологические открытия И. А. Лопатина в области полевой работы этнографа: проведение параллельной письменной и фотографической фиксации материалов в процессе экспедиционного исследования для последующего использования фотодокументов в качестве иллюстраций к основным положениям научных публикаций. Фотографическое творчество И. А. Лопатина анализируется в историко-антропологическом ключе, в сопоставлении с тематически смежными исследованиями других авторов и академическими парадигмами соответствующего периода. Делается вывод об архивном фотонаследии ученого как информативном историко-этнографическом источнике, визуально отображающем не только культуру снимаемого, но и снимающего; передающем не только этнографическую информацию, но и ее образно-эмоциональный контекст. Исторический опыт И. А. Лопатина показывается в качестве вполне актуального методического примера для сегодняшних визуально-антропологических практик. The article is devoted to a topical but poorly developed topic in the Russian humanities – visual anthropology as a form of scientific knowledge, a means of fixing and representing materials. It is well known, that the decisive role in the development of the frontier regions of the country during the imperial period was played by professional researchers and travelers, who actively used photographic technology in their activities. Numerous photographic documents collected by them during scientific expeditions are scattered among the funds of central and regional museum and archival institutions. This study focuses on visual anthropological materials from the expedition of the famous ethnographer Ivan Alekseevich Lopatin in 1913, stored in the archives of the Society for the Study of the Amur Region, and studied by the author of the article during research work in the summer of 2020. Many of the photographic documents under consideration, being unique evidence of the cultural evolution of the peoples of the Amur region at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries, are introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. By comparing the textual and visual archives of the researcher, the key ethnographic images recorded by him among the Orochs and Golds (Nanai) peoples are distinguished and analyzed: phenomena of material and spiritual culture, fishing processes and physical types. The methodological discoveries of Ivan Lopatin in the field of the ethnographer's field work are also specially considered: parallel written and photographic recording of materials in the process of expeditionary research for the subsequent use of photographic documents as illustrations to the main provisions of scientific publications. The photographic work of Ivan Lopatin is analyzed in a historical and anthropological vein, in comparison with thematically related studies of other authors and academic paradigms of the corresponding period. The conclusion is made about the scientist's archival photographic heritage as an informative historical and ethnographic source, visually reflecting not only the culture of the photograph, but also the one who is filming; transmitting not only ethnographic information, but also its figurative and emotional context. The historical experience of Ivan Lopatin is shown as a completely relevant methodological example for today's visual anthropological practices.
Rodrigo T. Müller , M. Belén Von Baczko, Julia B. Desojo
et al.
rnithosuchidae is one of the most enigmatic clades of Triassic pseudosuchians. The group is composed by three carnivorous species that were excavated from Upper Triassic beds of Scotland and Argentina. We describe the first ornithosuchid from the Upper Triassic sediments of Brazil and explore its phylogenetic affinities and implications for the evolution of the group. Dynamosuchus collisensis gen. et sp. nov. was found as the sister taxon of the Argentinean form Venaticosuchus rusconii. These relationships reject a potential endemic radiation of ornithosuchids from the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin and would better support multiple diversification events. Our findings with ornithosuchids is consistent with the pattern reported for proterochampsid and erpetosuchid archosauriforms from Ischigualasto-Villa Unión and the Paraná basins. In addition, the presence of an ornithosuchid in the Late Triassic of Brazil suggests that ornithosuchids were more widespread than previously thought in the southern hemisphere. The new ornithosuchid further demonstrates a faunistic link between the Argentinean and Brazilian basins during the Carnian. Finally, the discovery of the new species provides the first clue of a putative necrophagous vertebrate from the oldest dinosaur-bearing beds and expands our knowledge regarding the trophic structure of the Late Triassic of Brazil.
Katie Zejdlik, Jonathan D. Bethard, Zsolt Nyárádi
et al.
Interpretation of dental ‘health’ in archaeologically derived skeletal assemblages is challenging due to the lack of patient histories, clearly understood pathological processes, broad etiologies, and cultural perceptions of health. Furthermore, the language used in description of pathological conditions of the oral cavity condition is not consistent across researchers thereby resulting in challenging cross-site comparison. Standardization of terms and description is necessary as proposed by Pilloud and Fancher (2018). This paper demonstrates the challenges associated with cross-site comparisons through an attempt to place medieval Transylvanian Székely peoples’ oral status within a larger medieval cultural and biological framework. To do this, first, a review of medieval perceptions of dental health and treatment is provided. Next, a total of 90 individuals recovered from two medieval Székely cemeteries were analyzed for age, sex, and pathological conditions of the oral cavity. The results of the analysis were then compared to other medieval skeletal assemblages reporting on dental ‘health’. Finally, a discussion of how the Székely compare to other medieval sites and the challenges faced are presented thus supporting Pilloud and Fancher’s (2018) call for standardization.
Abstract Background High-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) is a serious acute mountain sickness that mainly occurs in non-acclimatized individuals after rapid ascent to high altitude. The precise etiology of HAPE remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether NR3C1 gene polymorphism is associated with the susceptibility to HAPE. Methods The exons of NR3C1 gene were sequenced by a ABI 3730 DNA analyzer in 133 HAPE patients and matched 135 healthy Han Chinese controls from the Yushu area in Qinghai (the altitude greater than 3500 m). Results DNA sequencing showed the heterozygous substitutions at codon 588 (rs6194) in exon 6 and 766 (rs6196) in exon 9 of NR3C1 gene. The genotypic distributions and allelic frequencies of NR3C1 SNP rs6194 showed significant differences in two groups (P < 0.05). The frequencies of the C allele were significantly higher in the HAPE group than in the control group (P < 0.05) with an odds ratio of 3.009 (95% CI = 1.250-7.244). There were no differences in genotypic and allelic frequencies in rs6196 polymorphism between the two groups. Conclusions NR3C1 gene rs6194 polymorphism is correlated with HAPE susceptibility. CC genotype and C allele of rs6194 polymorphism might increase the risk of HAPE in Han Chinese.
The anterior part of a medium-sized shark surrounded by hundreds of ostracod shells was found at the end of the last century in a dark limestone nodule from the Kinderscoutian (Bashkirian, Pennsylvanian) near Carsington, Derbyshire (England, UK). The shark is a caseodontoid eugeneodontiform, most probably belonging to Campodus agassizianus. Its dentition is of the crushing type, highly heterodont, but the symphyseal tooth whorl, typical of the most of eugeneodontiforms, was not found. The teeth are symmetrical labio-lingually which is unique in this group. The analysis of the available data leads to the conclusion that neither the tooth whorls of “Campodus variabilis” sensu Eastman, nor the mandibular dentition of “Agassizodus variabilis” sensu St. John and Worthen represent the genus Campodus and that these specimens deserve a new, probably common, name.