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For 15 years, the University of Idaho has conducted chemical testing of excavated materials from historical sites throughout North America. The most common artifacts tested are sealed containers. Some come from current excavations, but most are from repository shelves. The immediate purpose of the archaeochemistry work is twofold: to identify the contents of the containers for researchers and to provide training for students in analytical chemistry. After testing more than 500 items, project personnel have recognized some unexpected outcomes that have implications for institutions housing the artifacts. Specifically, tested materials identified the small, yet consistent, presence of certain artifacts that can have health implications for personnel working with the items. The article concludes with general guidance on identifying and assessing those risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modified teeth and jaws have long been recognized as important ceremonial objects during the Middle Woodland period of eastern North America. Direct evidence for the manufacture of the objects is exceedingly rare because they are typically recovered from mortuary contexts or ceremonial caches. Here, we present multiple lines of evidence pointing to the manufacture of modified teeth and jaws at the Moorehead Circle post enclosure within the Fort Ancient Earthworks. The convergence of protein residue, lithic use-wear, and faunal data indicate that bear and likely canid bones were modified by artisans working within the Moorehead Circle. These findings add an important new layer of understanding to our knowledge of these objects, human-animal relations, and craft production in the Middle Woodland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

En este trabajo se aborda la denominada perspectiva del análisis integral de artefactos líticos, una aproximación metodológica múltiple que articula diferentes estrategias analíticas de sus memorias impresas, variables según el caso, para un entendimiento comprehensivo y cabal de la historia de vida de los artefactos formatizados tallados, manufacturados por picado, abrasión e incisión y/o modificados por uso, aportando a la comprensión de las prácticas sociales en las que se integraron. Las líneas de evidencia y las líneas analíticas que se combinan en esta perspectiva son diversas y situacionales, a saber, análisis tecno-tipológico de detalle; análisis de residuos; análisis de huellas de uso; estudios tafonómicos y contextuales; entre otros posibles. La propuesta parte de la base de considerar a estas múltiples líneas como complementarias, es decir, carentes de relación jerárquica, que se interpelan y dialogan entre sí, en un abordaje no destructivo o microdestructivo de bajo impacto, donde la información contextual es relevante. A este respecto se desarrollan una serie de conceptos, experiencias y conocimientos acumulados a través de diversas colaboraciones destinadas al estudio integral de artefactos líticos correspondientes a cazadores-recolectores y grupos agro-pastoriles del Sur de Sudamérica.

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Introduction: Lactation perturbation is defined as the period between an initial decrease in test day milk yield (TDMY) and its subsequent recovery, as this decrease is understood as a drop in TDMY that is not due to normal physiological processes. The number of perturbations (NP) during lactation generates negative impacts on milk production systems. Identifying factors associated with higher NP is crucial for designing strategies aimed at improving milk yield. Objective: To identify factors affecting the number of perturbations in Lucerna cow lactation, using multiple correspondence analysis. Methods: TDMY of 2493 first lactations of Lucerna cows were analyzed. The Wood model was used to estimate lactation curve parameters (a, b, and c). In multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), quantitative variables were categorized: initial production (a) and milk yield drop rate (PL), cow age at calving, and lactation duration categorized as low (less than 1 standard deviation), medium (between -1 and 1 standard deviation), and high (greater than 1 standard deviation), according to the distribution of each variable. The factors Farm (F), calving season (CS), and calving year (CY) categorized into two groups (calvings before (A) and after (B) CY 2000, marking before and after the establishment of agrosilvopastoral systems), were also included in the analyses. The FactoMineR and ca packages from the R Project were used to generate the perceptual map and residual analyses. Results and Discussion: The first two principal components explained 71.4% of the total variability. In the perceptual map, it was possible to observe that factor BY, farm A, and older ages were the factors most associated with a higher presentation of NP (p <0.05). Year A, farm B, and younger ages are more associated with a lower presentation of NP (p <0.05). Conclusion: Lucerna breed producers should pay attention to cows calving on farm A, at older ages, and under conditions similar to those presented after 2000, seeking to reduce the occurrence of NP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]