Integrating taphonomy into the practice of zooarchaeology in China

With the study of faunal remains (zooarchaeology) emerging as an increasingly prominent component of archaeological studies in China, the importance of studying processes of assemblage formation and preservation (taphonomy) is becoming evident. Remains of animals recovered from an archaeological site are a biased sample of the assemblage that was originally deposited because certain animal parts preserve better than others. Important characteristics of faunal assemblages, such as skeletal element representation and age profiles, can be affected by differential preservation caused by taphonomic agents, both cultural or natural. One primary goal of taphonomic studies is to provide an understanding of differential preservation of bone elements, allowing archaeologists to make more accurate assessments concerning the exploitation of different animal species by past peoples. Recent studies of the faunal assemblages from the Early Paleolithic site of Xujiayao and the Neolithic site of Taosi, both in Shanxi Province, provide examples of the effects that differential preservation can have on archaeological interpretations of skeletal element representation and age profiles, respectively. These examples illustrate how an understanding of taphonomy is critical to the future practice of zooarchaeology in China.     

A pioneering reputation: Assessing Piers Blaikie’s contributions to political ecology

This paper assesses the key contributions made by Piers Blaikie to the field of political ecology. Those contributions relate to the way in which this scholar has sought to dismantle barriers to thought by: (1) integrating the insights of political economy with those from environmental science, (2) opening up theoretical space in political ecology by engaging fruitfully with post-structural critiques, (3) moving beyond a narrow area-studies and development studies focus, and (4) helping to internationalise the research field beyond its core American base. The paper also highlights ambiguity in the role played by Blaikie in political ecology, as stances that he has taken in his work have provoked wider debate over the field’s purpose and coherence. Ensuing tensions over theory and practice as well as single versus multiple truths persist yet, pace Blaikie and others (e.g. Robbins), a robust political ecology is nonetheless able to consider what people ‘do’ from a healthy diversity of theoretical positions. The multiple contributions of Piers Blaikie underpin a reputation for having produced a pioneering body of work that has inspired scholars across theoretical, empirical and disciplinary boundaries, thereby ensuring that his will be a reputation that is interpreted and re-interpreted for many years to come.     

Permeable homes: A historical political ecology of insects and pesticides in US public housing

This paper traces changes in the political ecology of insects and chemicals in US public housing since Congress founded public housing in 1937. Drawing upon the literature of critical geographies of home, urban political ecology, and medical history, it argues that the constitution of “public” and “private” space within public housing was deeply entangled with pest control practices there. Prior to 1945, reformers treated the housing as a commons, in part compelled by the mobility of bedbugs and the pesticide used to combat them, both of which were seen as serious health threats. Managers were also motivated by social welfare ideologies, while residents eagerly assisted with communal control policies in order to achieve freedom from the health insults of bedbugs. Following 1945, however, new synthetic pesticides like DDT seemed to stay safely within one apartment unit, encouraging housing managers to abandon community-oriented pest control practices. Meanwhile, curtailed budgets, particularly after the Housing Act of 1949, left the infrastructure of public housing to decay, rendering units more physically permeable even as managers neglected the communities there. The new pesticides nearly eradicated bedbugs, but tenacious populations of German cockroaches blossomed thanks to the permeable buildings and synthetic pesticides. Residents grew increasingly resistant to pesticide use as they observed that cockroach populations went unabated. The paper serves as a case for applying political ecology frameworks to domestic spaces, and also argues that housing quality and domestic pesticide use are not merely private responsibilities but should be regarded as environmental justice issues.     

Taphonomy and zooarchaeology in the Neotropics: A view from northwestern Patagonian forest and steppe

Modes of faunal exploitation in NW Chubut Province (Patagonia, Argentina) during the last 3500 calibrated years BP are discussed, based on taphonomic and zooarchaeological analyses. Bone assemblages were recovered from archaeological sites of the Sub-Antarctic forests and the extra-Andean Patagonian steppe, where huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) and guanaco (Lama guanicoe) were, respectively, the main staple. In the steppe, lesser rhea (Pterocnemia pennata), a medium-sized flightless bird, also was integrated into the hunter-gatherer diet. Rodents, carnivores, flying birds, and fishes also were recovered. Different processes and agents were involved in the accumulation of small vertebrates bone assemblages (e.g. birds of prey, foxes, and small carnivores). In the steppe, only two taxa of small vertebrates—birds and mountain viscacha (Lagidium viscacia)—can be related with human subsistence activities. These two taxa and all large vertebrates reveal fat-oriented carcass processing.Guanaco bone assemblages associated both with ceramic and non-ceramic technologies do not show changes in carcass processing. Moreover, the similarities in bone grease exploitation suggest boiling prior to the appearance of pottery.     

The contributions of H.N. Fisk to engineering geology in the Lower Mississippi Valley

Fisk's work provided a three-dimensional pattern of occurrence and composition of sediments in the alluvial valley and deltaic plain of the lower Mississippi River. He also interpreted the processes by which the sediments were deposited and the relevance of tectonism in their history. These data provide site characterizations that are basic for all major categories of engineering. His work has found applications in better methods for control of the river, stabilizing its banks, locating sources of aggregate for concrete, management of groundwater, maintenance of wetlands, and generally for more reliable, timely and economical evaluations in selecting optimum site locations and determining foundation conditions. Since then, work in the Lower Mississippi Valley (LMV) has expanded enormously and continues to be greatly indebted to formative interpretations by Fisk.     

New contributions to the Upper Senonian stratigraphy in Northern Iraq

The Upper Senonian sediments are well developed in Northern Iraq and represent three types of facies; elastics, reefal, and open-marine. These sediments are classified stratigraphically depending upon similarities in age and lithology. New groups are proposed for the first time; Ruwanduz Reefal Group comprising Aqra Limestone Formation, Bekhme Limestone Formation and Pilsener Limestone Formation, and Zakho Marl Group including Shiranish Formation, Digma Formation and Jib'ab Formation. It is suggested here that Jib'ab Formation is an extension of the Shiranish Formation and should not be treated as a separate lithostratigraphic unit.     

Crustal contributions to arc magmatism in the Andes of Central Chile

Fifteen andesite-dacite stratovolcanoes on the volcanic front of a single segment of the Andean arc show along-arc changes in isotopic and elemental ratios that demonstrate large crustal contributions to magma genesis. All 15 centers lie 90 km above the Benioff zone and 280±20 km from the trench axis. Rate and geometry of subduction and composition and age of subducted sediments and seafloor are nearly constant along the segment. Nonetheless, from S to N along the volcanic front (at 57.5% SiO₂) K₂O rises from 1.1 to 2.4 wt %, Ba from 300 to 600 ppm, and Ce from 25 to 50 ppm, whereas FeO^*/MgO declines from >2.5 to 1.4. Ce/Yb and Hf/Lu triple northward, in part reflecting suppression of HREE enrichment by deep-crustal garnet. Rb, Cs, Th, and U contents all rise markedly from S to N, but Rb/Cs values double northward — opposite to prediction were the regional alkali enrichment controlled by sediment subduction. K/Rb drops steeply and scatters greatly within many (biotite-free) andesitic suites. Wide diversity in Zr/Hf, Zr/Rb, Ba/Ta, and Ba/La within and among neighboring suites (which lack zircon and alkali feldspar) largely reflects local variability of intracrustal (not slab or mantle) contributions. Pb-isotope data define a limited range that straddles the Stacey-Kramers line, is bracketed by values of local basement rocks, in part plots above the field of Nazca plate sediment, and shows no indication of a steep (mantle+sedimentary) Pb mixing trend. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values rise northward from 0.7036 to 0.7057, and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd values drop from 0.5129 to 0.5125. A northward climb in basal elevation of volcanic-front edifices from 1350 m to 4500 m elevation coincides with a Bougueranomaly gradient from –95 to –295 mgal, interpreted to indicate thickening of the crust from 30–35 km to 50–60 km. Complementary to the thickening crust, the mantle wedge beneath the front thins northward from about 60 km to 30–40 km (as slab depth is constant). The thick northern crust contains an abundance of Paleozoic and Triassic rocks, whereas the proportion of younger arc-intrusive basement increases southward. Primitive basalts are unknown anywhere along the arc. Base-level isotopic and chemical values for each volcano are established by blending of subcrustal and deep-crustal magmas in zones of melting, assimilation, storage and homogenization (MASH) at the mantle-crust transition. Scavenging of mid-to upper-crustal silicic-alkalic melts and intracrustal AFC (prominent at the largest center) can subsequently modify ascending magmas, but the base-level geochemical signature at each center reflects the depth of its MASH zone and the age, composition, and proportional contribution of the lowermost crust.     

The regional ecology of elderly falls in Sweden

The study assesses exploratory the geography of the elderly fall in Sweden in relation to the ecology of the socio-demographic characteristics of the Swedes older population. Kendall Test is used to measure the association between elderly fall rates and demographic, socio-economic characteristics of the population, costs of elderly care and accessibility measures at county level. Results show a number of significant associations: high rates of the elderly fall are associated with high cost of the elderly care but also low rate of elderly fall and good accessibility to basic services (e.g., grocery store, health care and cash machines). The articles finalizes with reflections of the results and suggestions for future research.     

The political ecology of ecosystem services

The dominance of “ecosystem services” as a guiding concept for environmental management – where it appears as a neutral, obvious, taken-for-granted concept – hides the fact that there are choices implicit in its framing and in its application. In other words, it is a highly political concept, and its utility depends on the arena in which it is used and what it is used for. Following a political ecology framework, and based on a literature review, bibliometric analyses, and brief examples from two tropical rainforest countries, this review investigates four moments in the construction and application of the ecosystem services idea: socio-historical (the emergence of the discourse), ontological (what knowledge does the concept allow?), scientific (difficulties in its practical application), and political (who wins, who loses?). We show how the concept is a boundary object with widespread appeal, trace the discursive and institutional context within which it gained traction, and argue that choices of scale, definition, and method in measuring ecosystem services frustrate its straightforward application. As a result, it is used in diverse ways by different interests to justify different kinds of interventions that at times might be totally opposed. In Madagascar, the ecosystem services idea is mainly used to justify forest conservation in ways open to critique for its neoliberalization of nature or disempowerment of communities. In contrast, in the Brazilian Amazon, the discourse of ecosystem services has served the agendas of traditional populations and family farm lobbies. Ecosystem services, as an idea and tool, are mobilized by diverse actors in real-life situations that lead to complex, regionally particular and fundamentally political outcomes.     

Structural and other contributions to the third-law entropies of silicates

The true third-law entropies of many minerals are frequently quite different from those values derived from calorimetric measurements. The discrepancy can usually be attributed to neglected residual or unextracted entropies related either to site-mixing and molecular disorders or to the lack of significant magnetic ordering at those temperatures reached by the heat capacity measurements. A literature review indicates that many silicates present site-mixing and vacancies in one or several of their crystallographic sites. The effect on entropy is well known in feldspars, but residual entropies of similar or greater magnitudes are also present in many amphiboles, micas, chlorites, zeolites, scapolites, feldspathoids, and other silicates. Less conspicuously, disorder in water molecules or hydrogen bonding may be responsible for yet another frequently overlooked entropy contribution. Unextracted entropy results from limited heat capacity measurements so that magnetic ordering effects to be expected in minerals with transition metals are either not registered or only incompletely recorded. In some cases, significant magnetic ordering probably only takes place at temperatures well below 15 K.The discussion in this paper centers on the causes resulting in discrepancies between calorimetric and third-law entropies. A set of tables reproduces the crystallographic information for most important rock-forming silicates and indicates the entropy contribution arising from site-mixing and vacancies, and possible magnetic ordering in those substances with transition metals. In addition, most elements appear in several isotopic forms, and it is this effect that gives rise to isotopic site-mixing and thus to another configurational entropy. It can on the whole be neglected. A discussion centered on the system fayalite-iron oxides (wüstite, hematite, magnetite) indicates the uncertainties involved in deriving third-law entropies from either equilibrium data or calorimetric investigations, which is especially relevant when dealing with substances presenting vacancies (wüstite), transition metals, and the possibility of magnetic ordering. The published entropies of many minerals are probably only approximations to true third-law values and should be checked against structural and magnetic information.     

The invertebrate ecology of the Chalk aquifer in England (UK)

The Chalk is an important water supply aquifer, yet ecosystems within it remain poorly understood. Boreholes (198) in seven areas of England (UK) were sampled to determine the importance of the Chalk aquifer as a habitat, and to improve understanding of how species are distributed. Stygobitic macro-invertebrates were remarkably common, and were recorded in 67 % of boreholes in unconcealed Chalk, although they were not recorded in Chalk that is concealed by low-permeability strata and thus likely to be confined. Most species were found in shallow boreholes (<21 m) and boreholes with deep (>50 m) water tables, indicating that the habitat is vertically extensive. Stygobites were present in more boreholes in southern England than northern England (77 % compared to 38 %). Only two species were found in northern England compared to six in southern England, but overall seven of the eight stygobitic macro-invertebrate species found in England were detected in the Chalk. Two species are common in southern England, but absent from northern England despite the presence of a continuous habitat prior to the Devensian glaciation. This suggests that either they did not survive glaciations in the north where glaciers were more extensive, or dispersal rates are slow and they have never colonised northern England. Subsurface ecosystems comprising aquatic macro-invertebrates and meiofauna, as well as the microbial organisms they interact with, are likely to be widespread in the Chalk aquifer. They represent an important contribution to biodiversity, and may influence biogeochemical cycles and provide other ecosystem services.     

The ecology of hazardousness,the experience of South America

In many parts of South America, the socio-economic condition of the population is such that in many respects the people, because of their vulnerable state, are a disaster waiting to occur. The triggering action of the disaster will be an extreme physical or biophysical event. If any advance is to be made in natural hazard management, then the focus must be upon people first. Halt the process of underdevelopment in South American societies and you have taken a major step forward in natural hazard management. The major concern of this paper is not so much with the competition for first place in hazard proneness in South America, but rather the elaboration of the total ecology of what we commonly designate as disasters, which ordinarily occur at the interface of extreme natural phenomena and vulnerable settlement patterns, and which should be seen, as the extreme situation which is implicit in the everyday condition of the population. Vulnerability is the key concept in this relationship. South American nations vary greatly in their hazard proneness, in the vulnerability of sectors in their societies, in the losses and general repercussions of hazardous events, and in their ability to cope effectively with the post-disaster situation, either alone or with international aid.     

The political ecology of biodiversity conservation on the Malagasy Highlands

During the past two decades biodiversity conservation has become the major focus of international interventions by donor organizations and nongovernment organizations (NGOs) working in Madagascar. Despite these efforts, biodiversity losses continue unabated and the conservation activities undertaken to date appear ineffective. This paper summarizes the findings of a research study conducted on the central highlands of Madagascar that sought to examine possible reasons for the continued erosion of biodiversity in the country. A political ecology research framework is used to identify different social actor groups vying for access to natural resources and the extent to which their actions influence biodiversity on the island. The application of this framework reveals three major findings: (1) the existence of tensions between groups of social actors vying for access to and use of natural resources; (2) the characteristics and role of power differs greatly by actor group and it is the maldistribution of power, and its manifestations of use, that have detrimental effects on regional biodiversity; and (3) there are numerous aspects of the `conventional wisdom' that have permeated the thinking of staff from extralocal actor groups (especially NGOs, donors, and government agencies) and are largely false. Such `wisdom,' perpetrated by discourse and media, lacks understanding of local livelihood patters and local needs. However, endowed with political power and financial influence, this wisdom dominates local knowledge and ultimately leads to the conception and realization of conservation projects that fail to achieve their stated objectives. The behaviors of all of the actors in this situation perpetuate the status quo, including current patterns of biodiversity elimination.     

The use of sediment cores to reconstruct historical trends in contamination of estuarine and coastal sediments

Most studies using sediment cores to reconstruct the contamination history of coastal and estuarine areas around the world have dealt with trace metals, and only a few have focused on organic contaminants. Almost without exception, the studies published up to 1990 have shown that sediment contamination increased in the late 1800s, accelerated in the 1940s, and reached a plateau or a maximum in the 1960–1970s. For some pollutants, such as Pb, a decrease in concentration occurred in the 1980s, following the implementation of new discharge and emission regulations. Little is known, however, about concentration trends from the mid-1980s to present and about the effect of legislation recently passed to protect the environment.     

The ecology of knowledge: Linking the natural and social sciences

In the context of global crisis the Bacon-Descartes model of exact science, with its mechanistic world view and its doctrine of progress in man's mastery of nature, is being replaced by a more coherent philosophy of science based on ecosystem concepts. The late twentieth century, it seems, marks the end of centuries of positivism and the beginning of an age of ecoscience. This paper looks at the origins of the discredited positivist claims for an objective scientific method and proposes the ecology of knowledge as a more appropriate theory, both for the sciences and for ordinary knowledge. From this viewpoint claims for a fundamental division between the natural and social sciences on the basis of method and subject matter can no longer be sustained. Moreover, as the feminist and deep ecology movements join in condemning the tradition of patriarchal, exploitative science, a new conceptual framework is emerging in which science is being directed towards more holistic views and more democratic processes, guided by a more socially and environmentally responsible ethic.     

The historical record of metal enrichment in two Florida estuaries

Historical profiles of metal accumulation have been generated for the lower St. Johns River and Hillsborough Bay, Florida, in cores representing approximately 50 yr of sediment and metal accumulation. These profiles demonstrate that Cd, Pb, and Zn are enriched in these Florida estuarine sediments. Pb enrichment has decreased since the mid 1970s because of reduced use of leaded gasoline. In the St. Johns River, most metals exhibit a trend of increasing enrichment with time. Cd enrichment significantly decreased between 1970 and 1975 as a result of reduced discharges into the river and control of aquatic vegetation. In Hillsborough Bay, enrichment factors for most metals are relatively high and show little change downcore. Cr, Cu, and Ni border on enrichment and Pb, Cd, and Zn are enriched. The results of this study are consistent with other studies of surficial-sediment metal concentration in other Florida estuaries.