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Feasting emerges from the pages of this book as far more than gustatory and social diversions from daily work routines. Instead, feasting in tribal societies plays a critical role in village social, political, and economic dynamics. Alliances are brokered by feasts, debts created, political battles waged, and large amounts of food are produced. A main argument of the book is that feasting has been one of the most important forces in creating cultural changes since the end of the Paleolithic. Enormous pressures are created by feasts and their promoters to increase food and prestige item production to achieve social and political goals. The domestication of plants and animals probably resulted from such feasting pressures. This volume documents the dynamics of traditional feasting and the ways in which the bewildering array of feasts benefits hosts. It argues that people’s abilities to marry, reproduce, defend themselves against threats and attacks, and to defend their interests in village politics all depend on their ability to engage in feasting networks. As such feasting in these societies has important survival and fitness consequences. To be excluded from feasting networks means to be subject to attack from social predators, in some cases leading to enslavement.

We present an analysis of 15 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) at redshift z > 1 (9 at 1.5 < z < 2.3) recently discovered in the CANDELS and CLASH Multi-Cycle Treasury programs using WFC3 on the Hubble Space Telescope. We combine these SNe Ia with a new compilation of 1050 SNe Ia, jointly calibrated and corrected for simulated survey biases to produce accurate distance measurements. We present unbiased constraints on the expansion rate at six redshifts in the range 0.07 < z < 1.5 based only on this combined SN Ia sample. The added leverage of our new sample at z > 1.5 leads to a factor of ~3 improvement in the determination of the expansion rate at z = 1.5, reducing its uncertainty to ~20%, a measurement of H(z=1.5)/H0=2.67 (+0.83,-0.52). We then demonstrate that these six measurements alone provide a nearly identical characterization of dark energy as the full SN sample, making them an efficient compression of the SN Ia data. The new sample of SNe Ia at z > 1 usefully distinguishes between alternative cosmological models and unmodeled evolution of the SN Ia distance indicators, placing empirical limits on the latter. Finally, employing a realistic simulation of a potential WFIRST SN survey observing strategy, we forecast optimistic future constraints on the expansion rate from SNe Ia., Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, 7 tables; submitted to ApJ

Ecological speciation – whereby an ancestral founder species diversifies to fill vacant niches – is a phenomenon characteristic of newly formed ecosystems. Despite such ubiquity, ecosystem-level effects of such divergence remain poorly understood. Here, we compared the trophic niche of European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) and their predators in a series of contrasting subarctic lakes where this species had either diversified into four ecomorphologically distinct morphs or instead formed monomorphic populations. We found that the trophic niche of whitefish was almost three times larger in the polymorphic than in the monomorphic lakes, due to an increase in intraspecific specialisation. This trophic niche expansion was mirrored in brown trout (Salmo trutta), a major predator of whitefish. This represents amongst the first evidence for ecological speciation directly altering the trophic niche of a predator. We suggest such mechanisms may be a common and important – though presently overlooked – factor regulating trophic interactions in diverse ecosystems globally.

We compile a sample of spectroscopically- and photometrically-selected cluster galaxies from four high-redshift galaxy clusters ($1.59 < z < 1.71$) from the Spitzer Adaptation of the Red-Sequence Cluster Survey (SpARCS), and a comparison field sample selected from the UKIDSS Deep Survey. Using near-infrared imaging from the \textit{Hubble Space Telescope} we classify potential mergers involving massive ($M_* \geq 3\times 10^{10}\mathrm{M}_\odot$) cluster members by eye, based on morphological properties such as tidal distortions, double nuclei, and projected near neighbors within 20 kpc. With a catalogue of 23 spectroscopic and 32 photometric massive cluster members across the four clusters and 65 spectroscopic and 26 photometric comparable field galaxies, we find that after taking into account contamination from interlopers, $11.0 ^{+7.0}_{-5.6}\%$ of the cluster members are involved in potential mergers, compared to $24.7^{+5.3}_{-4.6}\%$ of the field galaxies. We see no evidence of merger enhancement in the central cluster environment with respect to the field, suggesting that galaxy-galaxy merging is not a stronger source of galaxy evolution in cluster environments compared to the field at these redshifts., Accepted by ApJ

We present ALMA CO (2-1) detections in 11 gas-rich cluster galaxies at z~1.6, constituting the largest sample of molecular gas measurements in z>1.5 clusters to date. The observations span three galaxy clusters, derived from the Spitzer Adaptation of the Red-sequence Cluster Survey. We augment the >5sigma detections of the CO (2-1) fluxes with multi-band photometry, yielding stellar masses and infrared-derived star formation rates, to place some of the first constraints on molecular gas properties in z~1.6 cluster environments. We measure sizable gas reservoirs of 0.5-2x10^11 solar masses in these objects, with high gas fractions and long depletion timescales, averaging 62% and 1.4 Gyr, respectively. We compare our cluster galaxies to the scaling relations of the coeval field, in the context of how gas fractions and depletion timescales vary with respect to the star-forming main sequence. We find that our cluster galaxies lie systematically off the field scaling relations at z=1.6 toward enhanced gas fractions, at a level of ~4sigma, but have consistent depletion timescales. Exploiting CO detections in lower-redshift clusters from the literature, we investigate the evolution of the gas fraction in cluster galaxies, finding it to mimic the strong rise with redshift in the field. We emphasize the utility of detecting abundant gas-rich galaxies in high-redshift clusters, deeming them as crucial laboratories for future statistical studies., 8 pages, 3 figures, published in ApJ Letters; updated to match published version

Source at https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1753 . Trophic transfer and retention of dietary compounds are vital for somatic development, reproduction, and survival of aquatic consumers. In this field study, stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes, and fatty acids (FA) contents in invertebrates and fishes of pre-alpine Lake Lunz, Austria, were used to (1) identify the resource use and trophic level of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus), pike (Esox lucius), perch (Perca fluviatilis), brown trout (Salmo trutta), roach (Rutilus rutilus), and minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus) and (2) examine how polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA; i.e., omega-3 and -6 PUFA) are related to total lipid status, littoral–pelagic reliance, and trophic position. Stable isotope data suggest that pike, perch, and minnow derived most of their energy from littoral resources, but minnows differed from pike and perch in their trophic position and PUFA composition. The co-occurrence of cyprinids, percids, and pike segregated these fishes into more lipid-rich (roach, minnow) and lipid-poor (pike, percids) species. Although the relatively lipid-poor pike and percids occupied a higher trophic position than cyprinids, there was a concurrent, total lipid-dependent decline in omega-3 and -6 PUFA in these predatory fishes. Results of this lake food-web study demonstrated that total lipids in fish community, littoral–pelagic reliance, and trophic position explained omega-3 and -6 PUFA in dorsal muscle tissues. Omega-3 and -6 PUFA in these fishes decreased with increasing trophic position, demonstrating that these essential FAs did not biomagnify with increasing trophic level. Finally, this lake food-web study provides evidence of fish community-level relationship between total lipid status and PUFA or stable isotope ratios, whereas the strength of such relationships was less strong at the species level.

Organizational structure for the proposed IsoBank. A central executive group would oversee four subcommittees (SC): Information technology, integrative disciplinary, education and training, and analytical expertise. GNIP, Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation; IAEA, International Atomic Energy Association; QA/QC, quality assurance/quality control.

Hot, Dust-Obscured Galaxies, or "Hot DOGs", are a rare, dusty, hyperluminous galaxy population discovered by the WISE mission. Predominantly at redshifts 2-3, they include the most luminous known galaxies in the universe. Their high luminosities likely come from accretion onto highly obscured super massive black holes (SMBHs). We have conducted a pilot survey to measure the SMBH masses of five z~2 Hot DOGs via broad H_alpha emission lines, using Keck/MOSFIRE and Gemini/FLAMINGOS-2. We detect broad H_alpha emission in all five Hot DOGs. We find substantial corresponding SMBH masses for these Hot DOGs (~ 10^{9} M_sun), and their derived Eddington ratios are close to unity. These z~2 Hot DOGs are the most luminous AGNs at given BH masses, suggesting they are accreting at the maximum rates for their BHs. A similar property is found for known z~6 quasars. Our results are consistent with scenarios in which Hot DOGs represent a transitional, high-accretion phase between obscured and unobscured quasars. Hot DOGs may mark a special evolutionary stage before the red quasar and optical quasar phases, and they may be present at other cosmic epochs., 15 pages, 9 figures. Accepted by ApJ

Throughout the European Union, the EC Habitats Directive requires that member states undertake national surveillance of designated species. Despite biological connections between-populations across-borders, national assessments need not be co-ordinated in any way. We conducted a trans-boundary assessment of the status of Eurasian otters ( Lutra lutra ) aimed at providing consistency across a single biogeographical unit, i.e. the island of Ireland, comprising two states, i.e. the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland). Our aim was to ensure consistency with previous assessments conducted separately in each state, and permit each Government to fulfil their separate statutory reporting commitments. The species range increased by 23% from 1996–2006 and 2007–11. The population estimate of 9400 [95%CI 8700–12,200] breeding females during 2010/11 was not significantly different from 8300 [95%CI 7600–9800] breeding females established as a baseline during 1981–82. Modelling of species-habitat associations suggested that available habitat was not limiting and no putative pressures recorded at sites surveyed negatively affected species occurrence. Thus, under the statutory parameters for assessing a species’ conservation status, i.e. range, population, habitat and future prospects, the otter was judged to be in ‘Favourable’ status throughout Ireland and in both discrete political jurisdictions. Thus, we provide a trans-boundary test case for EU member states that share habitats and species across ecoregions, ensuring conservation assessment data are standardised, synchronised, spatially consistent and, therefore, biologically relevant without compromising legal and administrative autonomy within separate jurisdictions.

Stable isotope and gut content analyses, in conjunction with backcalculated length-at-age estimates of growth, were employed to examine the relationship between trophic ecology and growth rate of a successful invader, Rutilus rutilus, in eight lakes in Ireland. The data revealed that R. rutilus was a trophic generalist in Irish lakes. It utilized a greater proportion of pelagic resources in mesotrophic lakes than in eutrophic lakes, potentially due to a greater density of benthic macroinvertebrates in eutrophic systems. The species was characterized by a large dietary and isotopic niche width and high temporal and spatial variations in diet. Growth rates were typical of those found in the native range of the species and were unrelated to either lake productivity or fish's diet. A generalist trophic ecology confers significant advantages on an invasive species, allowing it to exploit a variety of novel resources and fluctuations in prey availability.

We present a detailed high-resolution weak-lensing (WL) study of SPT-CL J2106-5844 at z=1.132, claimed to be the most massive system discovered at z > 1 in the South Pole Telescope Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SPT-SZ) survey. Based on the deep imaging data from the Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3 on-board the Hubble Space Telescope, we find that the cluster mass distribution is asymmetric, composed of a main clump and a subclump ~640 kpc west thereof. The central clump is further resolved into two smaller northwestern and southeastern substructures separated by ~150 kpc. We show that this rather complex mass distribution is more consistent with the cluster galaxy distribution than a unimodal distribution as previously presented. The northwestern substructure coincides with the BCG and X-ray peak while the southeastern one agrees with the location of the number density peak. These morphological features and the comparison with the X-ray emission suggest that the cluster might be a merging system. We estimate the virial mass of the cluster to be $M_{200c} = (10.4^{+3.3}_{-3.0}\pm1.0)~\times~10^{14}~M_{\odot}$, where the second error bar is the systematic uncertainty. Our result confirms that the cluster SPT-CL J2106-5844 is indeed the most massive cluster at z>1 known to date. We demonstrate the robustness of this mass estimate by performing a number of tests with different assumptions on the centroids, mass-concentration relations, and sample variance., Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures, 2 tables; Resubmission to ApJ after first referee revision

We present measurements of the stellar mass fractions ($f_\star$) for a sample of high-redshift ($0.93 \le z \le 1.32$) infrared-selected galaxy clusters from the Massive and Distant Clusters of WISE Survey (MaDCoWS) and compare them to the stellar mass fractions of Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect-selected clusters in a similar mass and redshift range from the South Pole Telescope (SPT)-SZ Survey. We do not find a significant difference in mean $f_\star$ between the two selection methods, though we do find an unexpectedly large range in $f_\star$ for the SZ-selected clusters. In addition, we measure the luminosity function of the MaDCoWS clusters and find $m^*= 19.41\pm0.07$, similar to other studies of clusters at or near our redshift range. Finally, we present SZ detections and masses for seven MaDCoWS clusters and new spectroscopic redshifts for five MaDCoWS clusters. One of these new clusters, MOO J1521+0452 at $z=1.31$, is the most distant MaDCoWS cluster confirmed to date., Comment: Accepted to ApJ

Climate change is increasing ambient temperatures in Arctic and subarctic regions, facilitating latitudinal range expansions of freshwater fishes adapted to warmer water temperatures. The relative roles of resource availability and interspecific interactions between resident and invading species in determining the outcomes of such expansions has not been adequately evaluated. Ecological interactions between a cool-water adapted fish, the perch (Perca fluviatilis), and the cold-water adapted European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus), were studied in both shallow and deep lakes with fish communities dominated by (1) monomorphic whitefish, (2) monomorphic whitefish and perch, and (3) polymorphic whitefish and perch. A combination of stomach content, stable-isotope, and invertebrate prey availability data were used to identify resource use and niche overlap among perch, the trophic generalist large sparsely rakered (LSR) whitefish morph, and the pelagic specialist densely rakered (DR) whitefish morph in 10 subarctic lakes at the contemporary distribution limit of perch in northern Scandinavia. Perch utilized its putative preferred littoral niche in all lakes. LSR whitefish utilized both littoral and pelagic resources in monomorphic whitefish-dominated lakes. When found in sympatry with perch, LSR whitefish exclusively utilized pelagic prey in deep lakes, but displayed niche overlap with perch in shallow littoral lakes. DR whitefish was a specialist zooplanktivore, relegating LSR whitefish from pelagic habitats, leading to an increase in niche overlap between LSR whitefish and perch in deep lakes. Our results highlight how resource availability (lake depth and fish community) governs ecological interactions between native and invading species, leading to different outcomes even at the same latitudes. These findings suggest that lake morphometry and fish community structure data should be included in bioclimate envelope-based models of species distribution shifts following predicted climate change.

The European Commission Habitats Directive requires that changes in the conservation status of designated species are monitored. Nocturnal and elusive species are difficult to count directly and thus population trajectories are inferred by variation in the incidence of field signs. Presence/absence techniques are, however, vulnerable to Type II errors (false negatives). The Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra), listed by the IUCN as ‘near threatened’, is monitored throughout Europe using the ‘Standard Otter Survey’ method. We explored the reliability of this approach by analysing species incidence at 1,229 sites throughout Ireland. Naive species incidence was 72 % [95 % confidence interval (CI), 69–75 %] with variation affected significantly by survey team and, at running freshwater sites, the number of bridges present and rainfall during the month, and most notably during the 7 days, prior to survey. Rainfall had no effect on static freshwater sites or the coast. Marginal estimated mean species incidence derived from a GLM assuming the β coefficient of the survey team associated with the highest prevalence, no rainfall in the week prior to survey and sites that had multiple bridges, was 94 % [95 %CI 78–97 %]. We demonstrate that bias and error in binary wildlife surveys can have a major impact on a conservation assessment even when conducted on an apparently well-known species in a developed country with good infrastructure and a long history of similar ecological studies. Our results provide empirical evidence for further criticisms of the Standard Otter Survey method calling into question its value in monitoring changes in otter populations throughout Europe.

The objective of this paper is to formulate methods that can be used to estimate the amount of display luminance required based on: • Display geometry conditions • Display reflection components

SUMMARY 1. Many species are expanding their distribution towards higher latitudes and altitudes in response to climate change. These range shifts are expected to change fish community structure and alter food-web dynamics in subarctic lakes. However, the impacts of invading species on native fish and invertebrate prey communities remain understudied. 2. The trophic ecology of invasive species determines the likelihood of direct resource competition with native taxa. In Northern Europe, perch (Perca fluviatilis), a trophic generalist, and ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernuus), a benthic specialist, are expanding their distribution ranges northwards, colonising lakes inhabited by a native generalist, whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus). We predicted that increased fish diversity and density would deplete the invertebrate community and increase resource competition between native and invasive species. 3. To assess the degree of resource competition between native and invasive species, we compared (i) fish and invertebrate community structure; (ii) diet and stable carbon and nitrogen ratios of whitefish, ruffe and perch and (iii) growth, condition and relative population size of whitefish in two noninvaded lakes with two lakes containing one and two lakes containing both invasive species. Each lake was sampled on a single occasion between August and September. 4. Benthic macroinvertebrate density and community structure were unaffected by increased consumer diversity, while top-down control of pelagic zooplankton density and size was evident in lakes with increased fish diversity. 5. Differences in diet and stable isotope ratios were evident between all whitefish populations, although these were not directly related to the presence of invasive species. Specialised adaptations of invasive species may confer a competitive advantage in invaded lakes; ruffe dominated the profundal niche, while perch displayed an ontogenetic shift to piscivory, reducing niche overlap with native whitefish. 6. Growth rate and population density of whitefish were largely independent of fish community structure and were governed by local variations in lake productivity. However, there was a sign of lowered condition of whitefish in invaded systems. Shallow and more productive lakes with higher food availability supported populations of native and invasive species. 7. Our findings indicate that trophic specialisations of invasive species play a key role in determining their impacts on the systems they invade. This study focussed on early stages of invasion, and the outcome of species interactions may change following the establishment of new species. In addition, these impacts will not be uniform across the invaded landscape as lake-specific variations in

The Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra L.) is a top predator in aquatic systems and plays an important role in ecosystem functioning. However, it has undergone dramatic declines throughout Europe as a result of environmental degradation. We examine the putative role of the otter as a bioindicator in Ireland which remains a stronghold for the species and affords a unique opportunity to examine variation in its ecological niche. We describe diet, using spraint contents, along rivers during 2010 and conduct a review and quantitative meta-analysis of the results of a further 21 studies. We aimed to assess variation in otter diet in relation to river productivity, a proxy for natural nutrification and anthropogenic eutrophication, and availability of salmonid prey (Salmo trutta and Salmo salar), to test the hypothesis that otter diet is related to environmental quality. Otter diet did not vary with levels of productivity or availability of salmonids whilst Compositional Analysis suggested there was no selection of salmonid over non-salmonid fish. There was a distinct niche separation between riverine and lacustrine systems, the latter being dominated by Atlantic eel (Anguilla anguilla). Otters are opportunistic and may take insects, freshwater mussels, birds, mammals and even fruit. Otters living along coasts have a greatest niche breath than those in freshwater systems which encompasses a wide variety of intertidal prey though pelagic fish are rarely taken. It is concluded that the ability of the otter to feed on a wide diversity of prey taxa and the strong influence of habitat type, renders it a poor bioindicator of environmental water quality. It seems likely that the plasticity of the habitat and dietary niche of otters, and the extent of suitable habitat, may have sustained populations in Ireland despite intensification of agriculture during the 20th century.

Correction of Type Ia Supernova brightnesses for extinction by dust has proven to be a vexing problem. Here we study the dust foreground to the highly reddened SN 2012cu, which is projected onto a dust lane in the galaxy NGC 4772. The analysis is based on multi-epoch, spectrophotometric observations spanning 3,300 - 9,200 {\AA}, obtained by the Nearby Supernova Factory. Phase-matched comparison of the spectroscopically twinned SN 2012cu and SN 2011fe across 10 epochs results in the best-fit color excess of (E(B-V), RMS) = (1.00, 0.03) and total-to-selective extinction ratio of (RV , RMS) = (2.95, 0.08) toward SN 2012cu within its host galaxy. We further identify several diffuse interstellar bands, and compare the 5780 {\AA} band with the dust-to-band ratio for the Milky Way. Overall, we find the foreground dust-extinction properties for SN 2012cu to be consistent with those of the Milky Way. Furthermore we find no evidence for significant time variation in any of these extinction tracers. We also compare the dust extinction curve models of Cardelli et al. (1989), O'Donnell (1994), and Fitzpatrick (1999), and find the predictions of Fitzpatrick (1999) fit SN 2012cu the best. Finally, the distance to NGC4772, the host of SN 2012cu, at a redshift of z = 0.0035, often assigned to the Virgo Southern Extension, is determined to be 16.6$\pm$1.1 Mpc. We compare this result with distance measurements in the literature., Comment: 48 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal. The spectral time series data presented in this article can be found at http://snfactory.lbl.gov/snf/data/

This chapter addresses the question of why people spend lavishly to host feasts, and what they hope to gain from doing so. Ephemeral status is contrasted with practical benefits. The role of ideology in hill tribe behavior is reviewed as well. Constraints are discussed especially for acquiring the wealth necessary to underwrite lavish feasts. The acquisition of domestic animals is pivotal in understanding the ability to host feasts in Southeast Asia, and this feature has wide ranging consequences for the development of socioeconomic inequalities in supposedly “egalitarian” hill tribe communities. Other aggrandizer strategies are discussed, especially the charging of high prices for marriage alliances and for respectable funerals. Feasting is but one aggrandizer strategy, and it plays a critical role in the creation of political power at the village level. Archaeological patterning is reviewed, and issues that require further investigation are presented.

This introduction discusses why feasts are important to study for both archaeologists and ethnographers, especially at the transegalitarian level. It sets out the major concepts of transegalitarian societies, aggrandizers, feast definitions, feast types, functions and benefits of feasts, and feasting characteristics. It reviews some of the major works previously published that discuss traditional feasting in Southeast Asia. Explanations of feasts from different theoretical schools are presented together with the political ecology framework used in this study. Important issues are highlighted and methods used in original fieldwork are presented.

The Akha constitute the relatively poor end of the hill tribe spectrum, but they have a wide range of feasts that employ the available surplus production. This chapter shows how Akha feasts support the economic, ritual, and sociopolitical organization of communities. The role of taboos as aggrandizer strategies is explored and the internal dynamics of the ritual-political structure of villages is examined. Examples of the range of Akha feasts are described and explanations provided in terms of how they dovetail with various levels of sociopolitical groups, including household, clan, administrative, and village levels, but especially lineages. The important issue of why some households do not participate in feasts is raised. Material patterning of feasts is again discussed.

This chapter provides an overview of the range of variation in hill tribes in the Southeast Asia culture area. It examines commonalities and differences in subsistence, village and kinship organization, corporate vs. nuclear households, ancestor cults, conflicts, ideology, and political organization. Sources of power and benefits of office holding are explored. A common hill tribe sociopolitical baseline is proposed, and feasts are situated within a holistic context involving all of these factors. The implications of material patterning from feasts are explicitly addressed.

The villages in Tana Toraja, Sulawesi, host some of the most lavish feasts in Southeast Asia, especially for funerals or memorials. In addition megaliths were raised for the wealthiest deceased family members. There is also considerable variability in economics, sociopolitical organization, and feasting within the Torajan area. This chapter discusses and tries to explain some of this variability, from low level transegalitarian villages in poor mountainous areas to the proto- or real chiefdom levels of the valley bottoms where paddy rice produces major surpluses. The corporate kindred with its ancestral house as the center of ritual and feasting activities is a distinctive feature of Torajan societies. Slavery was very developed, and secondary burials were strongly associated with elites in order to provide enough time to amass as much wealth as possible for proper funeral feasts. Why funeral feasts feature so prominently in Southeast Asia tribal societies is discussed. Other feasts were hosted by households, reciprocal work groups, lineages, corporate kindreds, villages, districts, and village alliances.

Several exploratory survey trips to Laos revealed relatively poorly developed feasting traditions apparently due to very low levels of food production and wealth. However, a number of ritual structures and pilgrimage sites were observed with associated feasting areas and events. These had clear archaeological consequences in their material patterns. The broader question of the benefits that such activities served was more problematic. Remnant long houses were observed but conditions did not seem to correspond to traditional contexts.

Vietnam has an unusual number and diversity of hill tribe groups. Some of these still lived in long houses until recently. These groups provided important information on how feasting differed in communities dominated by corporate groups. Residential corporate groups constitute important phenomena in prehistoric archaeology. This chapter tries to address reasons for corporate group formation, variability in corporate group organization and dynamics, and reasons for abandoning residential corporate group lifestyles. Defense and elder control via bridewealth are viewed as the main proximate reasons for creating corporate groups, while aggrandizer strategies based on self-interest provide the ultimate reasons for their creation. This chapter describes the dynamics of corporate groups and the way in which feasting patterns help create these organizations among the Rhadé, Monong, and Ta Oi. Benefits for member families are also discussed.

The most active and still vibrant megalithic tradition in Southeast Asia is probably found in Sumba. Given the importance of megaliths and their interpretation in prehistoric archaeology, and given the intimate association of megaliths and feasting in the Torajan area, we focused considerable attention on the feasting traditions of Sumba, especially as they related to megaliths. The megaliths are also associated spatially and behaviorally with ancestral corporate lineage houses. The logic of megalithic construction is discussed together with benefits sought by hosts for sponsoring feasts. The range of major feasting types is described.

Lakes in Arctic and subarctic regions display extreme levels of seasonal variation in light, temperature and ice cover. Comparatively little is known regarding the effects of such seasonal variation on the diet and resource use of fish species inhabiting these systems. Variation in the diet of European whitefish Coregonus lavaretus (L.) during periods of ice cover in this region is often regarded as 'common knowledge'; however, this aspect of the species' ecology has not been examined empirically. Here, we outline the differences in invertebrate community structure, fish activity, and resource use of monomorphic whitefish populations between summer (August-September) and winter (February-March) in three subarctic lakes in Finnish Lapland. Benthic macroinvertebrate densities did not exhibit measurable differences between summer and winter. Zooplankton diversity and abundance, and activity levels of all fish species (measured as catch per unit effort) were lower in winter. The summer diet of C. lavaretus was typical of a generalist utilising a variety of prey sources. In winter, its dietary niche was significantly reduced, and the diet was dominated by chironomid larvae in all study sites. Pelagic productivity decreases during winter, and fish species inhabiting these systems are therefore restricted to feeding on benthic prey. Sampling time has strong effect on our understanding of resource utilisation by whitefish in subarctic lakes and should be taken into account in future studies of these systems.

It has long been speculated that increasing demands for cereals for the purposes of brewing beer led to domestication in the Near Eastern Natufian cultures. While the question of whether cereals were being used in beer production is an important issue, it has remained a difficult proposition to test. We present some new perspectives on traditional brewing techniques relevant to this issue, on archaeological remains, and on the paleoecology of the Near East. Taken together, these observations provide more compelling circumstantial evidence that makes it increasingly likely that brewing of beer was an important aspect of feasting and society in the Late Epipaleolithic.

Summary The cognitive and social capacities of Neandertals have been questioned by a number of authors, while others suggest that such capacities did not differ markedly from those of anatomically modern humans in the last 30,000 years. What does the material evidence indicate? The information that can be gleaned from Middle Palaeolithic sites indicates that there were Neandertal bands of about 12–24 people that formed alliances with 10–20 other bands and had enemy relationships as well. Rituals probably helped hold alliances together. These conclusions indicate that there were language or dialect groups that were probably ethnically self-conscious. Some of the postulated band ranges and population densities in the literature appear unrealistic. Sexual division of labour was probably pronounced and Neandertals appear to have used rudimentary status markers, including predator pelts, bird wings or claws, colorants, and a range of speciality items.

The study of feasting has gradually emerged from early descriptions and bewilderment to more sophisticated attempts to understand the logic and reasons behind the often lavish displays. We chart the various models that have been, and still are, used by anthropologists and archaeologists to explain this unique human behavior. Acquiring prestige is a popular explanation used by ethnographers, while coping with social conflicts is commonly invoked by archaeologists. However, more practical benefits behind feasts have also been proposed, as well as experiential motivations. Whichever explanation is endorsed, there is widespread agreement that feasts play important roles in establishing social identities and memories, creating political power and inequalities, gender identities, accomplishing work, and developing prestige technologies, possibly including domesticates.

Beginning with Alexander Marshack's interpretation of engraved lines as lunar calendrical notations, a number of highly controversial claims have been made concerning the possible astronomical significance of Upper Palaeolithic images. These claims range from lunar notations, to solstice observances in caves, to constellation representations. Given the rare nature of artefacts and images that lend themselves to such interpretations, these claims are generally difficult to evaluate on the basis of archaeological data alone. However, comparative ethnology can provide at least a way of assessing the plausibility of such astronomical claims. If the premise is accepted that at least some of the Upper Palaeolithic groups were complex hunter-gatherers, then astronomical observances, or the lack of them, among ethnographic complex hunter-gatherers can help indicate whether astronomical observations were likely to have taken place among Upper Palaeolithic complex hunter-gatherers. A survey of the literature shows that detailed solstice observances were common among complex hunter-gatherers, often associated with the keeping of calendars and the scheduling of major ceremonies. Moreover, aggrandizers in complex hunter-gatherer societies often form ‘secret societies’ in which esoteric astronomical knowledge is developed. The existence of calendrical notations and secluded meeting places for secret-society members are suggested to be at least plausible interpretations for a number of Upper Palaeolithic caves and images.

SUMMARY 1. Recent proliferation of hybridisation in response to anthropogenic ecosystem change, coupled with increasing evidence of the importance of ancient hybridisation events in the formation of many species, has moved hybridisation to the forefront of evolutionary theory. 2. In spite of this, the mechanisms (e.g. differences in trophic ecology) by which hybrids co-exist with parental taxa are poorly understood. A unique hybrid zone exists in Irish freshwater systems, whereby hybrid offspring off two non-native cyprinid fishes often outnumber both parental species. 3. Using stable isotope and gut content analyses, we determined the trophic interactions between sympatric populations of roach (Rutilus rutilus), bream (Abramis brama) and their hybrid in lacustrine habitats. 4. The diet of all three groups displayed little variation across the study systems, and dietary overlap was observed between both parental species and hybrids. Hybrids displayed diet, niche breadth and trophic position that were intermediate between the two parental species while also exhibiting greater flexibility in diet across systems.

We present the Massive and Distant Clusters of WISE Survey (MaDCoWS), a search for galaxy clusters at 0.7-30 degrees) and the remainder of the southern extragalactic sky at Dec, Comment: 26 pages, 17 figures, submitted to The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. Machine readable versions of tables 3-6 are included with the source files in the arXiv submission

From the late nineteenth century to the present, social scientists and archaeologists have been intrigued by village-level corporate groups living under a single roof. Yet remarkably little is known ethnographically about the internal economic and social dynamics of these groups or why such groups emerge at certain time periods or places. My research focuses on some of the last indigenous corporate groups in mainland Southeast Asia. I document the advantages corporate organizations provide for members (mainly risk reduction), the high costs often involved for members, the range of status and wealth within such groups, and the probable motivations of individuals for organizing corporate groups. I contrast the communitarian models with aggrandizer models for the creation of corporate groups, but note considerable variability within the corporate residential phenomenon. I postulate that residential corporate groups were probably much more widespread in the Neolithic and Metal Ages of Southeast Asia than historically was the case.

Niche variation between hybrid taxa and their parental species has been deemed imperative to the persistence of hybrid populations in nature. However, the ecological factors promoting hybrid establishment remain poorly understood. Through the application of a multidisciplinary approach integrating genetics, morphometry, life-history, and trophic ecology, we studied the hybrids of roach (Rutilus rutilus L.) and bream (Abramis brama L.), and their parental species inhabiting an Irish lake. The roach × bream hybrid exhibited a body shape intermediate of that of the parental species. Diet analyses depicted the hybrid as a generalist, feeding on all prey items consumed by either parental species. Stable isotope data confirm the trophic niche breadth of hybrids. A significant correlation between body shape and diet was detected, suggesting that the intermediate phenotype of hybrids might play a role in their feeding abilities, resulting in the utilization of a broader trophic spectrum than the parental species. Growth and age class structure analyses also yielded a scenario that is consistent with the ecological success of hybrids. Genetic analyses suggest that the majority of hybrids result from first-generation crosses between the parental species; however, a potentially significant proportion of back-crosses with bream were also detected. The recent introduction of roach and bream into Irish waters, as well as the climatic and ecological features of the colonized habitats, can explain the remarkable success of the roach × bream hybrid in Ireland. The adaptive significance of hybridization and its demographic consequences for the parental species are discussed. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010, 99, 768–783.

After 10 years of pursuing sexy handaxes it is probably time to put these coquettish creatures to bed. Readers wishing to continue the debate are courteously directed to our Project Gallery.

Feasting has been proposed as the major context and impetus behind the intensification of production leading to the domestication of plants and animals. This article examines the way feasting contributes to fitness in traditional societies through the reduction of risks involving subsistence, reproduction, and violent confrontations. As other authors have noted, the risk-reduction strategies used by simple foragers differ significantly from risk-reduction strategies used by transegalitarian hunter-gatherers and horticulturalists. These differences are examined in more detail and are related to the emergence of feasting in transegalitarian societies. Surplus-based feasting is proposed as an entirely new element in community dynamics, probably first developed during the Upper Paleolithic in Europe, but becoming much more widespread in the world with the development of Mesolithic technology. Because feasting entails survival and risk-reduction benefits, it creates inherently inflationary food-production forces. These elements first appear among complex hunter-gatherers and logically lead to the intensification of food production, ultimately resulting in the domestication of plants and animals.

The available evidence, limited and uneven as it is, suggests that over wide areas of Australia the tame dingo was by no means an effective hunting dog and that it contributed relatively little to the Aborigines' larder. It seems that only in ecologically specialized regions where particular kinds of game were abundant (as in the tropical rain forest) was the tame dingo a significant economic adjunct to the family hunting unit. (Meggitt, 1965:24.)

Extremely lavish funeral feasts are common and expensive in many village and chiefdom societies. Anthropologists and politicians often explain such apparently economically irrational expenditures in terms of culture values or traditions. However, viewed from the broader perspective of other types of promotional feasts in transegalitarian or more complex societies (including marriages and house feasts), overtly competitive funeral feasts are used to advertise the success of the surviving family and kin groups. This socioeconomic promotion is important for attracting powerful/successful/wealthy families as affines and allies. Such allies are critical for defending family and individual self-interests in village political and economic struggles that are endemic. Funerals are especially apt contexts for these displays and political manoeuvres.

This study applied ancient DNA techniques to achieve accurate species identifications for the archaeological salmon remains recovered from the prehistoric pithouse village of Keatley Creek in British Columbia, Canada. Previous archaeological studies indicate that economic stratification within the community might have resulted in differential access to some preferred salmon species, such as sockeye and chinook. Unambiguous ancient DNA species identification now makes it possible to more accurately address the issue of early salmon resource utilization in the region. This study analyzed 60 salmon remains from two specialized structures and two residential structures in order to identify any species differences among bony salmon remains found within the structure. Although high success rates (over 90%) were obtained for ancient DNA tests, only three species (chinook, sockeye and coho salmon) were identified from the remains. Pink salmon was not identified among the tested sample, despite the fact that it was originally assumed to be a staple species for the site's native inhabitants. The absence of pink salmon in our sample significantly altered the picture of early salmon fishing activities in the region. As a result, the effects of economic stratification on differential access to the remaining so-called preferred species of sockeye and chinook within the four structures studied were not as dramatic as previously thought, although differences among the structures could still be observed.

Prentiss et al. (2003) have argued for a relatively recent, short (1600–1100 B.P.), and noncontinuous occupation of large villages and large housepits on the British Columbian Plateau. They argue that these developments resulted from climatically induced resource impoverishment in the region. I maintain that their database is inadequate for such conclusions and that their interpretations are in conflict with dates that I obtained from large housepits as well as with the distribution of early point styles (dating from 1200–4800 B.P.) that concentrate in the rim middens of large and medium-sized housepits. These data indicate that large villages and housepits that emerged by 2600 B.P., or earlier, were continuously occupied and corresponded more to the development of collector-based technologies rather than any climatic deteriorations or the introduction of the bow and arrow.

Debates over the origin and influences of Indo-European languages and societies have fueled nationalistic passions over ancestral homelands as well as more recent attempts to categorize Indo-European language speaking societies as patriarchal, violent, and disruptive of a Neolithic utopia in Old Europe. While archaeological data is generally not abundant or refined enough to explain the distribution of Indo-European languages, it is possible to generalize that religions of herding societies demonstrate surprising similarities, be they the Nuer or the Masai in East Africa and the historical Indo-European cattle herders of the steppes. Their warrior groups adopt powerful wild animals as totems and form exclusive and independent social groups or classes, with their own deities, rituals, myths, and ritual leaders. Priestly elites also form a separate class, which strives to maintain dominant control over raids, spells, and initiations. Thus, in the pastoral nomad type of society, there is an evident conflict of interest between the major power-wielding sectors (warriors versus priestly elites) resulting in problems of integrating both social groups together, not to mention the people that do most of the herding and gardening. In this respect, religion can be adaptive in both defining special interest groups within a society and in integrating groups together. This represents a further politicization of religion, a tendency that began in the Upper Paleolithic. This article is reprinted with permission from Shamans, Sorcerers, and Saints: A Prehistory of Religion (Washington, DC:Smithsonian Institution Press, 2003).

Using ethnographic parallels the authors identify ‘bark peelers’ used in Ice Age Europe. They suggest that Palaeolithic Europeans used these to extract edible and nourishing new growth from the trunks of spring trees.

We previously suggested that the abandonment of large housepit villages along the Mid-Fraser River ca. 1200 B.P. was due to landslides that decimated salmon stocks and the main subsistence staples of the villages. Kuijt has questioned the plausibility of such a scenario. However, he confuses the two landslide episodes we discuss and raises unrealistic expectations about lake formation, migration behavior, and residual populations. He also confuses the lacustrine vs. fluvial effects of landslide blockages. While he attributes to us specific interpretations to which we are not tied and which are not critical for our basic argument, he offers no real alternative explanation for why the large Mid-Fraser villages were abandoned.