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ABSTRACTSubsistence of the first inhabitants of the New World has been largely debated among researchers interested in past lifeways. In this article, we focus on the subsistence of these early inhabitants using skeletal material excavated at Lagoa Santa, central Brazil. To contextualize these data, we provide a thorough review of Paleoamerican diet, discussing the big-game hunting hypothesis in light of botanical and zooarchaeological data from North and South America. This review shows a diversity of subsistence strategies in the first inhabitants of the New World as responses to variable ecological conditions. Our skeletal study shows that Lagoa Santa has significantly higher prevalence of dental caries than hunter–gatherer series from the Americas. These results strongly suggest that the big-game hunting hypothesis does not hold for central Brazil, showing the importance of plant resources in the subsistence of Paleoamericans.

During the Neolithic, mortuary practices in the Near East sometimes involved intramural burial and often some type of removal or caching of the bony elements of the head. Reports of defleshing are described in the literature, but there is little published evidence for other surface modifications of human remains. In his 1960s publications on the Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük, James Mellaart proposed that individuals were defleshed by vultures prior to intramural interment. This hypothesis was predominantly based on the discovery of wall paintings of large raptorial birds hovering over headless bodies, coupled with the various states of disarticulation of many of the human remains excavated on site, including ‘headless’ bodies (those missing the cranium and mandible), as well as isolated crania and other skeletal elements. Despite these observations, subsequent osteological analysis has failed to show definitive taphonomic evidence of such practices.

The article presents letters to the editor in response to articles in previous issues, including an editorial on the use of literature in schools in volume 11, issue 4, an article on African American soldiers in the Confederate Army during the U.S. Civil War in the June 2009 issue and the article "Utterly Impossible for Man or Horse: The Confederate Raid on Point Lookout, Maryland," by James M. Bartek, in a previous issue.

Alepotrypa Cave, one of the richest and best preserved Neolithic sites in Greece, was occupied by early farmers from ca. 5000 to 3200 BC. Study of human remains from this site contributes important information to the bioarchaeological record for this period. The remains are from the cave's Ossuary II, a secondary deposit containing the disarticulated remains of at least 20 individuals, including adults and sub‐adults. A high frequency of porotic hyperostosis and cribra orbitalia suggests the presence of chronic iron deficiency anaemia. A combination of two possible factors could explain this situation, including reliance on an iron‐deficient cereal diet, and presence of high pathogen and parasitic loads resulting from poor hygiene and contamination of the communal water source. These lesions may also be related to some type of inflammatory process. Some 31% of individuals display healed cranial depressed fractures, indicating evidence of violent (non‐lethal) confrontations. Stable isotope analysis reveals a predominantly terrestrial C3diet, with little evidence of marine food consumption, despite close proximity to coastal resources. The presence of various domesticated plants suggests that these C3foods may have been agricultural. Moreover, a high frequency of dental caries is consistent with a diet involving significant carbohydrate consumption. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Alepotrypa Cave, one of the richest and best preserved Neolithic sites in Greece, was occupied by early farmers from ca. 5000 to 3200 BC. Study of human remains from this site contributes important information to the bioarchaeological record for this period. The remains are from the cave's Ossuary II, a secondary deposit containing the disarticulated remains of at least 20 individuals, including adults and sub-adults. A high frequency of porotic hyperostosis and cribra orbitalia suggests the presence of chronic iron deficiency anaemia. A combination of two possible factors could explain this situation, including reliance on an iron-deficient cereal diet, and presence of high pathogen and parasitic loads resulting from poor hygiene and contamination of the communal water source. These lesions may also be related to some type of inflammatory process. Some 31% of individuals display healed cranial depressed fractures, indicating evidence of violent (non-lethal) confrontations. Stable isotope analysis reveals a predominantly terrestrial C3 diet, with little evidence of marine food consumption, despite close proximity to coastal resources. The presence of various domesticated plants suggests that these C3 foods may have been agricultural. Moreover, a high frequency of dental caries is consistent with a diet involving significant carbohydrate consumption. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

When Haynes and Larsen gathered self-report and official data from burglars, they found the high cost of recidivistic crime causes probation to cost more than prison. Gray and Olson analyzed the data again, arguing that researchers should measure rehabilitation, the difference between priors and recidivism, rather than recidivism alone. They found that prison may generate so much dehabilitation that it costs more than probation. In this study, the four authors analyze their conflicting results and show how cost-benefit analysis can inform policymakers.

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to articles in previous issues, including an article about states' rights and slavery, the article "The Last Battle of the Civil War," by Charles A. Misulia, and a response by author Thomas Sobottke to reader responses to an article he wrote on morality and the U.S. Civil War.

Letters to the editor are presented in response to articles published in previous issues including "Slavery and States' Rights in the Old North State," by Jay Gillespie, "North and South: The Religious Divide," by Elizabeth Young, and an article on Confederate General Robert Rodes.

Letters to the editor are presented in response to articles that appeared in previous issues including "What Caused the Civil War," "Do You Know?," and an article on U.S. investigator Lafayette C. Baker.

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