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The Early Neolithic complexes located in Western Siberia are characterized by the following common determinant features: chronological position within the end of 7,000 – turn of 6,000 cal BC, flat-bottomed vessels, design layouts of vessel necks (lips, rims, collars), and geometric and tree-like ornamental elements. The ceramic complexes are distinguished by different qualitative and quantitative ratios of the types of pottery (Boborykino, Koshkino, Satyga (with rims), comb ceramics, etc.) identified by researchers. When found in the same occupation layer, such a variety of ceramics might be evidence of an unequal sociocultural structure of the Neolithic population groups. The author stand for the concept that ceramic production and new stone processing skills and technologies were introduced (Zach, 2018, 2020) to the indigenous groups with Mesolithic traditions. It resulted in the interaction of autochthonous groups and newcomers and the subsequent merging of their structures, which ran differently in different territories. The author tend to consider the development of “syncretistic” societies in the first stages of such interaction in the Tobol-Ishim Rivers area as a process of transition from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic. Various types of pottery have been recorded at Boborykino complexes. The variety increases at Koshkino complexes, in different settlements and different proportions, which apparently reflects the formation of a new stable cultural tradition. The Kozlovo ceramics became such a tradition, being characterized by round-bottomed vessels with sags in the interior of the rim and a combination of ornaments in mainly incised-receding and comb techniques.

Lack of contextual evidence for the use of small personal ornaments means that much of our understanding of ornamentation traditions within archaeological cultures is reconstructed from ethnographic comparisons. New in situ finds from the areas around the ears and mouth in burials at Boncuklu Tarla, a Neolithic settlement in Turkiye, add a novel dimension to the interpretation of stone 'tokens' or 'plugs'. This article presents a new typology for these artefacts and argues for their use as ear ornaments or labrets in a practice involving significant and lasting corporal alteration. Keywords: South-west Asia, Neolithic, body augmentation, perforation, ornamentation, labret, Introduction Small, disc or nail-like objects similar to modern and ethnographic examples of labrets--worn through piercings beneath the lower lip--are well documented in the material culture of Neolithic South-west Asia [...]

Outstanding representative of the classical music composed in the transition period from XVIIIth to XIXth centuries, Ludwig van Beethoven remains memorable in the history of music through the strength, audacity, and remarkable rhetoric of his musical discourse. With the mastery of a demiurge, he coalesces in the texture of his thematic ideas’ heroic, pathetic or pastoral configurations, making the most of the technical-expressive possibilities of the epoch’s instruments into a authentic instrumental-interpretative manner. Advocate of a prevailingly monumental interpretation, Beethoven will perfect his instrumental style through authentic details which are the subject of the varied attack modes, of ornamentation, articulation, pedaling, etc., which are the personalized elements of a challenging technique. Approaching the aspect of Beethoven’s ornamentation, the present article will bring into focus the identification of the dominant ornamental components and their treatment from an interpretative viewpoint with emphasis on the authenticity of the artistic representation.

In the XIV–XV centuries decorative art is being revived in Rus, based on pre-Mongol samples. The main support remained Byzantine samples, where lush floral patterns and Arabic calligraphy continued to be used. The masters observed new oriental ornaments from the rich arsenal collected in the Golden Horde. Despite the analogies with oriental ones, Russian ornaments retain their originality and find the closest analogies with each other. Own ornamentation system with new compositions of wicker and spiral ornaments was created. Similarity with the Eastern arabesque arises from the logic of ornamental development, striving for mobility. Russian art independently reacts to phenomena topical to the period. XIV–XV centuries – a period of experiments with various ornaments, some of them were rejected during the consolidation of Russian ornamentalism in the XVI century.

Common wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) in Italy show a striking variation in body coloration across the landscape, with highly exaggerated black and green colors in hot and dry climates and brown and white colors in cool and wet climates. Males are more intensely colored than females, and previous work has suggested that the maintenance of variation in coloration across the landscape reflects climatic effects on the strength of male-male competition, and through this sexual selection. However climatic effects on the intensity of male-male competition would need to be exceptionally strong to fully explain the geographic patterns of color variation. Thus, additional processes may contribute to the maintenance of color variation. Here we test the hypothesis that selection for green and black ornamentation in the context of male-male competition is opposed by selection against ornamentation because the genes involved in the regulation of coloration have pleiotropic effects on thermal physiology, such that ornamentation is selected against in cool climates. Field observations revealed no association between body coloration and microhabitat use or field active body temperatures. Consistent with these field data, lizards at the extreme ends of the phenotypic distribution for body coloration did not show any differences in critical minimum temperature, preferred body temperature, temperature-dependent metabolic rate, or evaporative water loss when tested in the laboratory. Combined, these results provide no evidence that genes that underlie sexual ornamentation are selected against in cool climate because of pleiotropic effects on thermal biology., (© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological and Integrative Physiology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Mate choice is posited to explain the evolution and maintenance of numerous secondary sexual traits, including ornamentation. This study explores the role of ornamentation in the mating success of two sister-species of wolf spider with divergent ornamentation. Mature male Schizocosa crassipalpata lack ornamentation while males of its closest living relative, S. bilineata, express both dark pigmentation and foreleg brushes. Following phenotypic manipulations of foreleg ornamentation – i.e. adding ornamentation in the form of dark pigment to non-ornamented males (S. crassipalpata, Aim 1) and removing ornamentation in varying degrees from highly ornamented males (S. bilineata, Aim 2 – shaving brushes; Aim 3 – shaving brushes and painting over dark pigment in vibration present/absent environments) – we found no evidence that ornamentation alone improves male mating success in either species, regardless of the vibratory signaling environment. In both S. bilineata experiments, however, higher courtship rates resulted in higher mating success, suggesting selection for courtship performance. Furthermore, females were more likely to turn, a presumed receptivity display, in response to males that courted at a higher rate. Also, similar to findings in another relative (S. stridulans), we found indications that ornamentation may function to ease a male’s reliance on courtship performance – i.e., at low courtship rates, only ornamented males can secure a mating. Our phenotypic manipulations also influenced courtship behavior in S. bilineata. Shaved males began courting earlier and courted more often over a longer time than intact males, yet ultimately acquired similar matings. This increased courtship effort likely compensated for reduced ornamentation. Finally, the vibratory environment appears crucial for female–male dialogue in S. bilineata, as vibratory absent environments resulted in increased female attacks and decreased male courtship rates. Together, our data suggest that S. crassipalpata females do not possess a preference for ornamentation and that S. bilineata females do not use ornamentation alone in mating decisions. Instead, our results are consistent with a hypothesis that ornamentation in Schizocosa evolved, and is likely maintained, due to its interactions with dynamic movement displays (i.e. leg movements), which can themselves be plastically altered based on the signaler’s phenotype as well as the signaling environment.

This article sums up the results of our study on shell ornamentation of 13 conchostracan species. Their fossil remains were sampled from the Middle and Upper Permian, Induan, and Olenekian (Lower Triassic) deposits of different zoogeographical provinces. Careful examination of the samples revealed different ornamentation patterns of the outer and middle shell layers: the linear elements of the two layers are set in different directions and together create an intersected structure stiffening the shell. Considering the differences in the number and arrangement of ornamental elements on the growth bands and the shells, three types of ornamentation were singled out: simple (one ornamental element), transitional (two ornamental elements alternating on the shell surface), and complex (more than two ornamental elements arranged in a complex pattern). It was concluded that the combination and arrangement of ornamental elements should be regarded as a valid diagnostic feature of fossil conchostracans at the species and genus ranks. Interestingly, the ornamentation patterns of conchostracans tend to become more complex with time: the shells of Late Permian conchostracans have more twisted ornamentation than Middle Permian ones, but it is less complex than that of Olenekian conchostracans; accordingly, the ornamentation of Early Induan conchostracans is simpler than that of Late Permian and Olenekian ones. This can be explained by the fact that the most opportunistic eurytopic species were more likely to survive in the early phases of the biota recovery after the Great Permian Extinction.

Cyprus with its rich cultural heritage has been the showcase of ornamentation throughout history with a rich variety of materials, details, and narratives. Integrating ornamentation with its body architecture can be seen as one of the storytellers of these narratives through design elements. After the mid-1990s when casinos had been banned in Turkey, five-star casino hotels became one of the main investment areas in North Cyprus. Together with this new building type and new users’ expectations with a new understanding of holidays, the 21st century brought the changing use of ornamentation in hotel interiors and, hence, decoration came to the fore more than before. Hotel lobbies welcoming the users to their second homes and introducing the hotels’ identities have always been seen as the most important area of hotels by investors, designers, and hotel managers. Sometimes the reception areas were perceived as the living room of the hotel customers where they feel attached culturally, socially, or economically, and sometimes it could be a place where they can feel themselves as one of the characters of ancient history, a king or a queen for a while. Hence, hotel interiors, in general, and hotel lobbies, in particular, acted as a cultural representative, a social status symbol, and a political image of the story told. The aim of this paper is to examine five-star hotel lobbies within the framework of ornamentation through a reading model created with the concepts used by theoreticians. Together with the site visits and visual recordings, the analysis conducted in this paper is based on qualitative data incorporated by a rich theoretical background on ornamentation. The paper tries to highlight the representational value of ornamentation that can help to understand and interpret the spatial transformation of hotel interiors.

Skin structure of the slow worm lizard Anguis fragilis (Anguidae, Sauria, Reptilia) with emphasis on the epidermal micro‐ornamentation in relation to the animal movements (Acta Zoologica, Stockholm). The structure of the skin and superficial micro‐ornamentation in the slow worm Anguis fragilis, a limbless lizard with a fossorial activity, was examined using histology, immunofluorescence, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The scales, with a triangular to trapezoidal shape, are very overlapped and interlocked to form a smooth surface and are reinforced by osteoderms. The epidermis shows a thin Oberhautchen layer merged with a thicker beta‐layer that contains corneous beta‐proteins. The SEM survey detects a smooth surface made of tile‐like patterned Oberhautchen cells with irregular perimeters that form an interlocking surface. Disk‐like sensory organs of 15–20 μm diameter are observed only on the head scales, the first to sense the environment and contact the ground. Numerous Oberhautchen denticles, namely corneous thorns of about 0.2–0.3 μm, adorn the caudally directed perimeter of Oberhautchen cells in the ventral scales of the trunk and tail. This microstructure may determine gripping and increased friction with the substrate during the lateral undulating and forward movements of the slow worm. TEM observations reveal sparse short serrated protrusions of Oberhautchen cells that are largely merged with the underlying beta‐cells. Altogether, the scale surface of the slow worm efficiently suites this limbless lizard to its environment and lifestyle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gregarious mammals interact to varying degrees and in a variety of ways with neighboring groups. Since navigating this wider social environment via conventional means (social knowledge) may be challenging, we hypothesize that between-group socio-spatial dynamics have exerted strong selection on phenotypic markers of individual identity, quality, and competitive ability. Ornaments are sexually selected decorative traits with far-reaching signaling potential. Here, we examined the links between sexual dimorphism in ornamentation, home range use and encounter rates across 144 primate species in a Bayesian framework. We show that home range overlap (shared space among neighbors), an indicator of the complexity of between-group interactions (but not necessarily male-male competition), is positively associated with dimorphism in ornamentation. We find no clear effect for between-group encounter rates. We also find that inter-group interactions were less agonistic when there was greater home range overlap. Taken together, these findings indicate that ornaments play a hitherto underappreciated role in signaling to conspecifics outside the realms of their home groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differential migration strategies favour different sets of characteristics, including sexually selected ornamentation. Such phenotypic variation is particularly evident in a population with partial migration, where migrants and nonmigrants co-exist. Partial migration provides insights into the link among migration, local environment, and ornamentation, although empirical studies remain scarce. Here, we studied the plumage traits of barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) in southern Japan, where both winterings and migrants breed sympatrically. We further examined this relationship with multiple isotopes (δ2H, δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S), which provides insight into their moulting habitat. Among males, winterings and migrants differed in their morphological traits: wintering males had shorter wings, which suggests the high demand for flight apparatus in migratory birds. Moreover, wintering males had larger white tail spots and less colourful throat patches than migratory males, indicating ornament divergence between them. Wintering males had a significantly smaller isotopic space when examining the combinations of δ34S with the other isotopes compared to migratory males, which indicates a differential geographic range between them, perhaps because of the limited variation in the distance to the sea in wintering males. As in males, wintering females had a significantly smaller isotopic space than migrant females, but there were few morphological differences between migratory and wintering females. Instead, some morphological traits were related to isotope values in females. These results indicate sex-specific linkage among migration, local environment, and ornamentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Offspring ornamentation typically occurs in taxa with parental care, suggesting that selection arising from social interactions between parents and offspring may underlie signal evolution. American coot babies are among the most ornamented offspring found in nature, sporting vividly orange-red natal plumage, a bright red beak, and other red parts around the face and pate. Previous plumage manipulation experiments showed that ornamented plumage is favored by strong parental choice for chicks with more extreme ornamentation but left unresolved the question as to why parents show the preference. Here we explore natural patterns of variation in coot chick plumage color, both within and between families, to understand the context of parental preference and to determine whose fitness interests are served by the ornamentation. Conspecific brood parasitism is common in coots and brood parasitic chicks could manipulate hosts by tapping into parental choice for ornamented chicks. However, counter to expectation, parasitic chicks were duller (less red) than nonparasitic chicks. This pattern is explained by color variation within families: Chick coloration increases with position in the egg-laying order, but parasitic eggs are usually the first eggs a female lays. Maternal effects influence chick coloration, but coot females do not use this mechanism to benefit the chicks they lay as parasites. However, within families, chick coloration predicts whether chicks become "favorites" when parents begin control over food distribution, implicating a role for the chick ornamentation in the parental life-history strategy, perhaps as a reliable signal of a chick's size or age.

This paper reports on the results of the analysis of the form and ornamentation of the pottery vessels of the Late Bronze Age Alakul Culture from the burial mounds 1 and 14 of the Alakul burial ground (the Trans-Urals). The study was carried out within the framework of the historical-cultural approach developed by A.A. Bobrinsky. The work is aimed at the identification of pottery-making traditions of creating the form and ornamentation of pottery vessels amongst the population who built the burial mounds 1 and 14. In the result of the analysis, there has been identified the cultural core of the traditions of the form-making of the pottery vessels in the population who built the burial mounds 1 and 14. The vessels are primarily of medium proportions and quinquepartite structure — ‘lip + neck + brachium + body + base’. Also, the dominant parameters of the functional parts appeared to be similar amongst the vessels from the different burial mounds. These data indicate relatively high uniformity of the composition of the consumers of the ware. The study of the ornamentation revealed that smooth stamp, which was used in the techniques of stamping and drawing, served as a traditional tool for the application of ornament. Toothed stamp was less frequently used in the techniques of stamping and drawing. The main ornamental elements were a ‘short straight line’ and a ‘long straight line’. Twenty two ornamental patterns have been identified; the widespread ones were the ‘horizontal zigzag, ‘horizontal straight line’, ‘cross-hatched isosceles triangle with point upwards’, and ‘cross-hatched isosceles triangle with point downwards’. Most of the identified leading and infrequent ornamental patterns functioned as a main motif. In the complementary motif, the widespread one was the pattern ‘horizontal straight line’. In the composition of the ornament, traditional was the placement of the ornamental motifs in the upper part of the neck and on the upper and lower parts of the body, with the allocation of a “free band” in the lower part of the neck and brachium. In the result of the correlation of the obtained data on the pottery vessels from the burial mounds 1 and 14, certain dissimilarities have been noted. In the burial mound 14, a large quantity of the vessels have a relatively higher neck; the vessels with the lowest index of the proportionality and the slope angle of the body are also present; in the ornamentation, toothed stamp was employed more frequently in the technique of drawing, which was used to apply only ‘horizontal zigzag’ and ‘horizontal straight lines’ patterns. The correlation of the data on the form and ornamentation of the vessels for the burial mounds 1 and 14 revealed that toothed stamp in the technique of drawing was used to apply ornaments mainly to the vessels with lower indices of proportionality and angel of the body. A hypothesis has been put forward on the increasing complexity of the composition of the studied group of the Alakul Culture population during the period of construction of the burial mound 14, which may explain the noted nonuniformity of the pottery-making skills.

Ornamentation is a source of beauty and uniqueness for each Lagu Melayu Asli singer. The ornamentation in Lagu Melayu Asli is better known as lenggok, bunga lagu, air lagu (Suflan, 2015; Rosny, 2018), cengkok, grenek, or gerenek (Silitonga, 2011; Zulaikha, 2008; Suflan, 2015; Rosny, 2018), and some researchers are more comfortable naming it melismatic (Ritawati, 2017). Although Lagu Melayu Asli music in the Malay world is rich in the beauty of ornamentation, guidelines on ornamentation are not specifically stated but rather are to be played or sung by heart and by improvising on the basis of knowledge learned verbally from their idols or teachers (Rosny, 2018; Suflan, 2015; Rizaldi, 2010; Zulaikha, 2008). The systematic distillation in this writing uses a qualitative literature study methodology derived from the articles and interviews of Lagu Melayu Asli. In general, a literature review can be thought of as a more or less methodical method of compiling and analyzing earlier studies (Baumeister & Leary, 1997; Tranfield, Denyer, & Smart, 2003). This study provides literature reviews and concludes guidelines for singers by placing specific categories of ornamentation in Lagu Melayu Asli.

The phylogenetic studies of clam shrimps (Branchiopoda, Crustacea) demonstrated that the significance of several morphological characters for classification of branchiopod shells should be critically re-evaluated. Such a venture is particularly important for integrating the taxonomy of fossil and extant branchiopods. One of the shell characters widely used in the branchiopod classification is the carapace ornamentation pattern. This character might, however, be significantly influenced by intraspecific variability and in particular the sexual dimorphism. In this study we investigate the pattern of ornamentation in extant branchiopods—including differences resulting from sexual dimorphism—in order to assess its value for branchiopod taxonomy. We examined 184 individuals representing 10 living species belonging to 7 genera, 5 families, and 2 suborders from China, and compared with the results of previous studies. Although some differences in ornamentation were related to reproductive modes, the basic ornamentation patterns or combinations were stable within each extant species. We found out that some taxa indeed display sexually dimorphic ornamentations, but their basic ornamentation patterns or combinations are stable within each species so they do not significantly influence the taxonomic identification. Integration of data on fossil and extant taxa indicates that similar ornamentation patterns can be observed on familial level of fossil spinicaudatan branchiopods and indicates therefore that characteristic ornamentation patterns can help to identify these taxa in the fossil record. In light of the new molecular phylogeny, we re-evaluated the phylogenetic relationship between fossil and extant spinicaudatan taxa. The resulting tree suggests: (i) paraphyly of the traditional Eosestherioidea, (ii) an affinity between Ozestheria and Triglypta, and (iii) an affinity between Cyzicus and Diestheria or Aquilonoglypta.

Archaeological materials and data from written sources indicate that Khorezm had recovered from the consequences of the Mongol conquest by the second half of the 13th century. The economic life of Khorezm, which became part of the new Mongol state, the Golden Horde, began to stabilize as early as the middle of the 13th century. The left bank part of Khorezm, which became a part of the Ulus of Jochi and was at the crossroads of the world trade, was mainly experiencing growth. The left bank of the Amu Darya River saw the revival of cities and unfortified settlements. Some right bank cities located near the Amu Darya River were also rising. During the Golden Horde period, pockets of sedentary farming culture also emerged in the south of Khorezm. Ceramics production of the entire Golden Horde state developed under the strong influence of Khorezm, which played a huge role in creating the Golden Horde culture. Pottery ornamentation also changed. A characteristic feature is abundant use of underglaze greenish-black or dark turquoise painting. Ornamental motifs of medieval Khorezm material culture completely differ from ceramics of the previous periods in terms of their artistic interpretation. It was enriched by new pictorial subjects and decorating techniques, and the originality of subject compositions. The ceramics of the period under study are divided into plant, geometric, zoomorphic and epigraphic types.

Abstract Males in many vertebrate species have colorful ornaments that evolved by sexual selection. The role of androgens in the genesis and maintenance of these signals is unclear. We studied 21 adult high-ranking male rhesus macaques from nine social groups in the free-ranging population on Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico, and analyzed facial and genital skin luminance and redness, fecal androgens, rates of mating behaviors, and offspring sired. Facial and genital coloration varied in relation to age, mating behavior, reproductive success, and testosterone concentration. Our results indicate that skin coloration in high-ranking male rhesus macaques is a sexually-selected trait mediated by androgens. These results add to the growing literature on the proximate and ultimate causes of male sexual signals and highlight the need to examine how these characteristics change with age in other species.

Abstract Life‐history theory predicts that reproductive investments are traded‐off against self‐maintenance. Telomeres, the protective caps on the ends of chromosomes, offer a promising avenue for assessing life‐history trade‐offs, as they shorten in response to stressors and are predictive of the remaining lifespan. In males, testosterone frequently mediates life‐history trade‐offs, in part, through its effects on sexual ornamentation, which is an important aspect of reproductive investment. However, studies of within‐individual associations between telomere dynamics and sexual ornamentation are limited in number and have produced mixed results. Furthermore, most such studies have been observational, making it difficult to discern the nature of any causal relationship. To address this, we used short‐acting testosterone implants in free‐living male superb fairy‐wrens (Malurus cyaneus) to stimulate the production of a sexual ornament: early moult into a costly blue breeding plumage. We found no evidence that elevated testosterone, and the consequent earlier moult into breeding plumage, accelerated telomere shortening. We therefore followed up with a systematic review and two meta‐analyses (28 studies, 54 effect sizes) exploring the associations between telomeres and (1) testosterone and (2) sexual ornamentation. In line with our experimental findings, neither meta‐analysis showed an overall correlation of testosterone or sexual ornamentation with telomere length or telomere dynamics. However, meta‐regression showed that experimental, compared to observational, studies reported greater evidence of trade‐offs. Our meta‐analyses highlight the need for further experimental studies to better understand potential responses of telomere length or telomere dynamics to testosterone or sexual ornamentation.

The Hui-style architecture exhibits distinct regional characteristics, with the quintessence of its carved ornamentation deriving from traditional carving techniques and material selection. The carved ornamentations of Hui-style architecture amalgamate influences from a multitude of artistic domains, including various schools of painting and the integration of Chinese ethnic artistry. This research endeavors to comprehensively examine and discern the artistic forms of carved ornamentation within Hui-style architecture. This objective is pursued through a combined approach of on-site investigations of historic Hui-style architectural sites and a synthesis of relevant literature. By analyzing the regional characteristics, production techniques, and material application pertaining to Hui-style carved ornamentation, the intention is to deepen the understanding of the intricate artistry behind these ancient architectural embellishments. Finally, based on the actual challenges of Hui-style architecture in the field of regional art, this study provides preservation guidelines for carved ornamentation of Hui-style architecture with regard to the three aspects of physical preservation, managerial oversight and inheritance strategies in order to maintain the preservation of the art of carved ornamentation of Hui-style architecture and to promote its flourishing development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]