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Species determination based on genetic evidence is an indispensable tool in archaeology, forensics, ecology, and food authentication. Most available analytical approaches involve compromises with regard to the number of detectable species, high cost due to low throughput, or a labor-intensive manual process. Here, we introduce “Species by Proteome INvestigation” (SPIN), a shotgun proteomics workflow for analyzing archaeological bone capable of querying over 150 mammalian species by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Rapid peptide chromatography and data-independent acquisition (DIA) with throughput of 200 samples per day reduce expensive MS time, whereas streamlined sample preparation and automated data interpretation save labor costs. We confirm the successful classification of known reference bones, including domestic species and great apes, beyond the taxonomic resolution of the conventional peptide mass fingerprinting (PMF)-based Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) method. In a blinded study of degraded Iron-Age material from Scandinavia, SPIN produces reproducible results between replicates, which are consistent with morphological analysis. Finally, we demonstrate the high throughput capabilities of the method in a high-degradation context by analyzing more than two hundred Middle and Upper Palaeolithic bones from Southern European sites with late Neanderthal occupation. While this initial study is focused on modern and archaeological mammalian bone, SPIN will be open and expandable to other biological tissues and taxa. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Documenting the first appearance of modern humans in a given region is key to understanding the dispersal process and the replacement or assimilation of indigenous human populations such as the Neanderthals. The Iberian Peninsula was the last refuge of Neanderthal populations as modern humans advanced across Eurasia. Here we present evidence of an early Aurignacian occupation at Lapa do Picareiro in central Portugal. Diagnostic artifacts were found in a sealed stratigraphic layer dated 41.1 to 38.1 ka cal BP, documenting a modern human presence on the western margin of Iberia ∼5,000 years earlier than previously known. The data indicate a rapid modern human dispersal across southern Europe, reaching the westernmost edge where Neanderthals were thought to persist. The results support the notion of a mosaic process of modern human dispersal and replacement of indigenous Neanderthal populations. BCS-1420299 / BCS-1724997 / BCS-1420453 / BCS-1725015 / SGS-2020-017 / DL 57/2016/CP1361/CT0026 / IF/01075/2013 info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The organization of past urban space continues to be an important focus of archaeological research in sub-Saharan Africa where the methods of space syntax now offer new interpretations of the built environment. Traditionally, space syntax uses access analysis graphs for buildings and axial maps for towns to represent and analyze the configuration of space as a network. Using perspectives from neuroscience and the social sciences, this paper presents several case studies to illustrate how space syntax can be adapted to provide a multisensory “synaesthetic” perspective on African urban environments while also addressing their cultural contexts. These case studies, which focus on historic towns from East and West Africa, incorporate analyses of visibility and movement as tactile perception to examine house layout, street networks, and the socio-spatial role of urban quarters. This demonstrates how the graphic representation of space syntax analyses can help us better understand spatial partitioning and material dimensions of urban space as cultural heritage that affects sensory perceptions such as vision and kinaesthetics.

This article utilises skeletal evidence (n = 57) from settlement features and graves at Unterhautzenthal, Lower Austria, to outline our methodological approach to researching motherhood in prehistory. Unterhautzenthal includes the grave of a pregnant teenager, a triple burial of a woman with two children and a family grave of a man, woman and baby; additional women’s graves include remains of neonates and young children. Comparing archaeological context information with osteobiographical data allows us to draw inferences about the social status of women and the ways Bronze Age motherhood was conceptualised. The archaeological approach includes a gender and age analysis of material culture and Social Index calculations. The osteological analyses include age at death, sex, body height, health indicators, and pathologies, with an emphasis on pelvic changes. Physical traces that may relate to strain through pregnancy and childbirth were explored in detail. In addition to morphological assessment of the entire skeletal collection, we applied tooth cementum annulation analysis, 14C dating, and δ13C/δ15N isotope analysis to selected individuals. These data, in conjunction with demographic modelling, enable us to draw conclusions about women’s age at first pregnancy and the average number of children per woman, as well as the cultural and social context of motherhood.

Optical emission spectroscopy studies are reported of laser ablation plasma from an iron sulphide (FeS) target in vacuum. The plasma emission is characterized with spatial and tempoal resolution. The spectral observations are used to calculate the electron plasma parameters. The electron temperature is calculated by the Boltzmann plot method and the electron number density, by the Stark broadening of the emission lines. Předmětem této studie je optická emisní spektroskopická studie plasmy vzniklé laserovou ablací sulfidu železnatého (FeS) ve vakuu. Emise plasmy byla charakterizována časovým a prostorovým rozlišením. Spektroskopické měření bylo použito pro kalkulaci parametrů plasmy. Elektronová teplota byla počítána pomocí Boltzmanovy metody a hustota elektronů Starkovým rozšířením emisních linií.

Procedural modeling is a technique to describe 3D objects by a constructive, generative description. In order to tap the full potential of this technique the content creator needs to be familiar with two worlds - procedural modeling techniques and computer graphics on the one hand as well as domain-specific expertise and specialized knowledge on the other hand. This article presents a JavaScript-based approach to combine both worlds. It describes a modeling tool for generative modeling whose target audience consists of beginners and intermediate learners of procedural modeling techniques. Our approach will be beneficial in various contexts. JavaScript is a wide-spread, easy-to-use language. With our tool procedural models can be translated from JavaScript to various generative modeling and rendering systems.

Subdivision surfaces are an established modeling tool in computer graphics and computer-aided design. While the theoretical foundations of subdivision surfaces are well studied, the correlation between a control mesh and its subdivided limit surface still has some open-ended questions: Which topology should a control mesh have? Where should control vertices be placed? A modeler - human or software - is confronted with these questions and has to answer them. In this paper we analyze four characteristic situations. Each one consists of an analytical reference surface S and several variants of control meshes Ci. In order to concentrate on the topology of the control meshes, the geometrical positions of their control vertices have been determined and optimized automatically. As a result we identified the best topology of all Ci to represent the given surface S. Based on these results we derived heuristics to model with subdivision surfaces. These heuristics are beneficial for all modelers.