Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Archaeological Studies (archaeological + studies)
Selected AbstractsOlive oil production on bronze age Crete: nutritional properties, processing methods and storage life of Minoan olive oilOXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 1 2002F.R. Riley Archaeological studies on olive oil produced in Crete in the Bronze Age focus primarily on aspects such as the period when olive cultivation became widespread, the number of olive trees cultivated, or the quantity of oil stored in the Minoan palaces. Olive oil is however an organic substance, a perishable product, the nutritional and storage properties of which are determined by environmental, agronomic, processing and storage conditions. In this paper archaeological, environmental and biochemical evidence is combined to present a comprehensive picture of the potential quality, nutritional and storage properties of Minoan olive oil. The comparative evidence presented suggests that Minoan olive oil was equal in quality to the cold-pressed virgin olive oils produced today, and as such, the oil was nutritionally important in the Bronze Age and a valuable trade commodity. [source] Dietary variation and stress among prehistoric Jomon foragers from JapanAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 4 2007Daniel H. Temple Abstract Current archaeological evidence indicates that greater dietary reliance on marine resources is recorded among the eastern Jomon, while plant dependence prevailed in western/inland Japan. The hypothesis that the dietary choices of the western/inland Jomon will be associated with greater systemic stress is tested by comparing carious tooth and enamel hypoplasia frequencies between the eastern and western/inland Jomon. Demographic collapse coincides with climate change during the Middle to Late Jomon period, suggesting dwindling resource availability. It is hypothesized that this change was associated with greater systemic stress and/or dietary change among the Middle to Late Jomon. This hypothesis is tested by comparing enamel hypoplasia and carious tooth frequencies between Middle to Late and Late to Final Jomon foragers. Enamel hypoplasia was significantly more prevalent among the western/inland Jomon. Such findings are consistent with archaeological studies that argue for greater plant consumption and stresses associated with seasonal resource depletion among the western/inland Jomon. Approximately equivalent enamel hypoplasia frequencies between Middle to Late and Late to Final Jomon foragers argues against a demographic collapse in association with diminished nutritional returns. Significant differences in carious tooth frequencies are, however, observed between Middle to Late and Late to Final Jomon foragers. These results suggest a subsistence shift during the Middle to Late Jomon period, perhaps in response to a changed climate. The overall patterns of stress documented by this study indicate wide-spread environmentally directed biological variation among the prehistoric Jomon. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Difference in the Length of the Medial and Lateral Metacarpal and Metatarsal Condyles in Calves and Cows , A Post-Mortem StudyANATOMIA, HISTOLOGIA, EMBRYOLOGIA, Issue 6 2007S. Nacambo Summary Measurements were taken in the metacarpal and metatarsal bones in 42 calves and 10 dairy cows post-mortem to determine whether there are anatomical differences in bone length. Manual and digital measurements of various bone length parameters were taken. There was a significant difference in the mean length of the condyles of the metacarpal and the metatarsal bones in calves and cows, the lateral condyle being longer than the medial. In all but one metatarsal bone (98.8%), the lateral condyle was longer than the medial. In the metacarpal bones, the lateral condyle was longer in only 52.4% of the bones, in 21.2%, they had the same length and in 27.4% the medial condyle was longer. These intrinsic anatomical differences can help distinguish between the left and right metacarpal and metatarsal bones, for instance, in anatomical and archaeological studies. Knowledge of these differences might be useful for studies on digit function and on the possible predisposition of cattle to claw diseases in the lateral claws of the hind limbs. [source] 3 Hearths, Grinding Stones, and Households: Rethinking Domestic Economy in the AndesARCHEOLOGICAL PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, Issue 1 2008Robin Coleman Goldstein ABSTRACT This case study of Andean house remains in central Peru adopts a gendered perspective and, on the basis of archaeological evidence, challenges the normalized domestic model of "lo Andino." Although most Andean archaeological studies equate economically independent households with independent structures, this analysis reexamines the accuracy of this convention. The presence of a grinding stone, an essential tool of an economically independent unit, varies among house structures, which suggests that multiple houses shared labor on a daily basis. [source] | |||||||||||||