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Excavations at Knossos have uncovered faunal and archaeobotanical archives spanning the Neolithic and Bronze Age (7th–2nd millennia bce), during which one of Europe’s earliest known farming settlements developed into its first major urban settlement and centre of one of its oldest regional states. Through stable isotope (δ13C, δ15N) analysis of seeds and bones (as evidence for the growing conditions of cereal and pulse crops and for the types of forage consumed by livestock), land use and, ultimately, political economy are explored. Changing husbandry conditions overwrite any effects of long-term aridification. Early (7th–6th millennium bce) Knossian farmers grew intensively managed cereals and pulses (probably in rotation) that were closely integrated (as manured sources of forage) with livestock. Through the later Neolithic and Bronze Age, settlement growth accompanied more extensive cultivation (eventually with cereals and pulses not in rotation) and greater use of rough graze and, by goats, browse. Pasture on cultivated land remained central, however, to the maintenance of sheep, cattle, and pigs. Variable diet of early sheep suggests management at the household level, while thereafter progressive dietary divergence of sheep and goats implies their separate herding. Until the Old Palace phase (early 2nd millennium bce), urban growth was matched by increasingly extensive and probably distant cultivation and herding but somewhat more intensive conditions during the New and Final Palace phases (mid-2nd millennium bce) perhaps reflect greater reliance on surplus from prime land of previously rival centres that now came under Knossian control.

This paper describes the history of chaplaincy programs in theological education, the content of their curricula, the goals of the programs as described by faculty, and the programs’ approaches to issues of spiritual and religious diversity. It is based on a sample of 21 schools that offer specific chaplaincy education through masters of divinity or masters of arts degrees. We conducted semi-structured interviews with faculty at these schools and reviewed materials from course catalogues and other sources. We found substantial growth in chaplaincy-focused programs in theological schools in the last 20 years as well as the lack of standardization across them that one might expect in a rapidly growing field. The programs mostly developed independent of one another. They have not come to consensus about the skills and competencies chaplains need to do their work and have only engaged in that question across institutions in limited ways. As a group, these programs are also not well connected to clinical chaplaincy training or the day-to-day employment requirements of paid chaplaincy positions. We describe opportunities for collaboration that might strengthen this emerging field and better position it in the changing religious landscape.

In much of Europe, the advent of low-input cereal farming regimes betweenc.ad800 and 1200 enabled landowners—lords—to amass wealth by greatly expanding the amount of land under cultivation and exploiting the labour of others. Scientific analysis of plant remains and animal bones from archaeological contexts is generating the first direct evidence for the development of such low-input regimes. This article outlines the methods used by the FeedSax project to resolve key questions regarding the ‘cerealization’ of the medieval countryside and presents preliminary results using the town of Stafford as a worked example. These indicate an increase in the scale of cultivation in the Mid-Saxon period, while the Late Saxon period saw a shift to a low-input cultivation regime and probably an expansion onto heavier soils. Crop rotation appears to have been practised from at least the mid-tenth century.

The Konya Plain in western Turkey hosted some of the earliest known farming communities beyond the Fertile Crescent. While robust radiocarbon chronologies have elucidated the development of local Neolithic settlement patterns, particularly for Catalhoyuk, the history of occupation at Canhasan sites III and I to the south-east is less clear. Here, the authors present new radiocarbon dates for these sites, demonstrating that these settlements align closely with the occupation sequence to the north. Aceramic Neolithic occupation at Canhasan III further emphasises Catalhoyuk East's isolation for most of the Ceramic Neolithic, while Canhasan I was reoccupied during a phase of dispersed settlement.

In light of questions that have been raised about education for professional healthcare chaplaincy, we examined the skills and knowledge Clinical Pastoral Educators believe students need to perform the essential tasks and responsibilities of a chaplain. At 19 recently re-accredited ACPE centers across the country, we asked educators about the knowledge chaplains need to be effective, the specific content areas they teach, and how didactic education is planned and organized within their programs. Beyond a focus on religious diversity, we found little consensus among educators regarding a core knowledge base that should be taught during CPE. While most respondents in our study recognize the importance of didactic education in preparing students to become chaplains, there is a lack of consistency in didactic curricula across programs. Our findings suggest the need for broader conversation and collaboration among educators, national chaplaincy organizations, and theological schools regarding the goals, priorities, and outcomes of CPE.

The integration of stable isotope analysis of crop remains with the ecological analysis of archaeological weed flora allows for a detailed reconstruction of crop husbandry and arable growing conditions. This paper presents the first such study for developed Neolithic and Chalcolithic Central Anatolia, exploring crop husbandry at the large (8 ha) early 6th millennium BC site of Catalhoyuk West and the last phases of the preceding Neolithic Catalhoyuk East, located on the western end of the Konya Plain, and the small 4th millennium sites of Camlibel Tarlasi (0.25 ha), located in the loop of the Kizilirmak river, and Kurucay Hoyuk (~1 ha), located on the shore of Lake Burdur. The results reveal the mosaic nature of Catalhoyuk cultivation; the complex ecosystem, naturally 15N enriched, was additionally anthropogenically improved, while inhabitants also chose to cultivate barley in drier conditions to the wheats and pulses. The smaller, Late Chalcolithic site of Camlibel Tarlasi cultivated each individual crop species in variable conditions instead of selecting a specific species for cultivation in drier or wetter conditions. Each single species was cultivated in conditions with a wide range of water availabilities while receiving low-level manure application. Variation in water availability is possibly a consequence of the variable topography surrounding the site, with the hills potentially used for cultivation, providing a wide range of conditions due to their slope. Functional weed ecology complements the isotopic data, indicating the wider range of cultivation intensities surrounding Catalhoyuk West, compared with more consistent, narrower ranges of growing conditions at Camlibel Tarlasi and Kurucay Hoyuk. Settlement date, site size and environment seem to be key contributing factors shaping the method used to cultivate crops at these Chalcolithic sites. The larger, earlier community of Catalhoyuk West, located in a complex riverine ecosystem around the dryland anabranching channels of the Carsamba river, cultivated species in different conditions and maintained a range of crop husbandry intensities, potentially reflecting differential access to limited resources. The smaller Late Chalcolithic sites, with communities consisting of one household to several households and located in less complex ecosystems with higher precipitation, maintained more stable crop growing conditions and management intensities. This is plausibly a consequence of equal access and sharing of critical resources for crop cultivation, such as labour, manure and land, coupled with the adequate precipitation rates.

Background and AimsPlants depend fundamentally on establishment from seed. However, protocols in trait-based ecology currently estimate seed size but not seed number. This can be rectified. For annuals, seed number should simply be a positive function of vegetative biomass and a negative function of seed size.MethodsUsing published values of comparative seed number as the ‘gold standard’ and a large functional database, comparative seed yield and number per plant and per m2 were predicted by multiple regression. Subsequently, ecological variation in each was explored for English and Spanish habitats, newly calculated C-S-R strategies and changed abundance in the British flora.Key ResultsAs predicted, comparative seed mass yield per plant was consistently a positive function of plant size and competitive ability, and largely independent of seed size. Regressions estimating comparative seed number included, additionally, seed size as a negative function. Relationships differed numerically between regions, habitats and C-S-R strategies. Moreover, some species differed in life history over their geographical range. Comparative seed yield per m2 was positively correlated with FAO crop yield, and increasing British annuals produced numerous seeds. Nevertheless, predicted values must be viewed as comparative rather than absolute: they varied according to the ‘gold standard’ predictor used. Moreover, regressions estimating comparative seed yield per m2 achieved low precision.ConclusionsFor the first time, estimates of comparative seed yield and number for >800 annuals and their predictor equations have been produced and the ecological importance of these regenerative traits has been illustrated. ‘Regenerative trait-based ecology’ remains in its infancy, with work needed on determinate vs. indeterminate flowering (‘bet-hedging’), C-S-R methodologies, phylogeny, comparative seed yield per m2 and changing life history. Nevertheless, this has been a positive start and readers are invited to use estimates for >800 annuals, in the Supplementary data, to help advance ‘regenerative trait-based ecology’ to the next level.

Investigation of the transition between the Late Neolithic (LN) and Early Chal- colithic (EC) around 6000 cal BC on the two mounds at Çatalhöyük in central Anatolia is hampered by the erosion of the relevant layers on the East Mound and the fact that the corresponding layers on the West Mound are buried under developed EC occupation deposits. This article sheds light on the process drawing on evidence from Trench 7, a 14C-dated deep sounding on the eastern fringe of the West Mound. It appears that Çatal- höyük—an isolated site during the first half of the seventh millennium—is reconnected to the outside world during the second half of the seventh millennium and subsequently reestablishes certain traits characteristic of the central Anatolian Neolithic in the first half of the sixth millennium. Socioeconomic developments characterized by the “Second Neo- lithic Revolution” and “Painted Pottery Revolution” on the one hand, and rapid climate change brought about by the 8.2 event on the other hand, could be the motor behind these developments. What looks like a major change in settlement structure on a regional scale around the site appears to be a gradual shift of the occupation focus rather than a hiatus at Çatalhöyük, while in other parts of the Konya Basin settlements even show continuity.

This article invites theological school educators, clinical pastoral education educators, representatives of the professional healthcare chaplaincy organizations, and social scientists to begin a shared conversation about chaplaincy education. To date, we find that theological educators, clinical educators, professional chaplains, and the healthcare organizations where they work are not operating from or educating toward a common understanding of what makes healthcare chaplains effective. Before we identify five key questions that might help us be in shared conversation and move towards educating the most effective chaplains, we briefly describe the history of education for healthcare chaplaincy. We then describe what we learned in interviews in 2018 with 21 theological and 19 clinical educators who are educating healthcare chaplains in theological schools and clinical pastoral education residency programs, year-long educational programs in hospitals and other settings that focus on preparing people for staff chaplain jobs. Their different approaches and frames inform the five questions with which we conclude.

The early Middle Ages saw a major expansion of cereal cultivation across large parts of Europe thanks to the spread of open-field farming. A major project to trace this expansion in England by deploying a range of scientific methods is generating direct evidence for this so-called ‘Medieval Agricultural Revolution’.

Linear B administrative documents of the late second millennium BC from urban Knossos, Crete, reveal that spatially extensive and centrally monitored sheep flocks and wool production played a fundamental role in Mycenaean palatial economy. Here we employ multi-isotope (δ13C, δ18O, 87Sr/86Sr) analysis of sequentially sampled sheep and goat tooth enamel bioapatite to explore life histories of animals consumed at Knossos. Interpretation of isotopic results incorporates new baseline data on 87Sr/86Sr ratios of bioavailable Sr from modern Cretan plants collected in relevant zones. Results reveal a variety of herding regimes, including seasonal (‘wet/winter’ to ‘dry/summer’) vertical movement of sheep from lowland to highland locations, more restricted mobility for goats in lowland to mid-altitude territories, possible input of fodder to goat diet, and exploitation of a range of plant ecosystems. Results broadly match documentary evidence and ethnographic/ecological expectations for sheep and goat herding at varying scales and underline the role of Knossos in mobilising resources from a range of herding systems and territories.

The analysis of lipids (fats, oils and waxes) absorbed within archaeological pottery has revolutionized the study of past diets and culinary practices. However, this technique can lack taxonomic and tissue specificity and is often unable to disentangle signatures resulting from the mixing of different food products. Here, we extract ancient proteins from ceramic vessels from the West Mound of the key early farming site of Çatalhöyük in Anatolia, revealing that this community processed mixes of cereals, pulses, dairy and meat products, and that particular vessels may have been reserved for specialized foods (e.g., cow milk and milk whey). Moreover, we demonstrate that dietary proteins can persist on archaeological artefacts for at least 8000 years, and that this approach can reveal past culinary practices with more taxonomic and tissue-specific clarity than has been possible with previous biomolecular techniques., Ancient diets have been reconstructed from archaeological pottery based on lipid remains, but these can lack specificity. Here, Hendy and colleagues analyze ancient proteins from ceramic vessels up to 8000 years old to produce a more nuanced understanding of ancient food processing and diet.

Background and Aims While the 'worldwide leaf economics spectrum' (Wright IJ, Reich PB, Westoby M, et al. 2004. The worldwide leaf economics spectrum. Nature428: 821-827) defines mineral nutrient relationships in plants, no unifying functional consensus links size attributes. Here, the focus is upon leaf size, a much-studied plant trait that scales positively with habitat quality and components of plant size. The objective is to show that this wide range of relationships is explicable in terms of a seed-phytomer-leaf (SPL) theoretical model defining leaf size in terms of trade-offs involving the size, growth rate and number of the building blocks (phytomers) of which the young shoot is constructed. Methods Functional data for 2400+ species and English and Spanish vegetation surveys were used to explore interrelationships between leaf area, leaf width, canopy height, seed mass and leaf dry matter content (LDMC). Key Results Leaf area was a consistent function of canopy height, LDMC and seed mass. Additionally, size traits are partially uncoupled. First, broad laminas help confer competitive exclusion while morphologically large leaves can, through dissection, be functionally small. Secondly, leaf size scales positively with plant size but many of the largest-leaved species are of medium height with basally supported leaves. Thirdly, photosynthetic stems may represent a functionally viable alternative to 'small seeds + large leaves' in disturbed, fertile habitats and 'large seeds + small leaves' in infertile ones. Conclusions Although key elements defining the juvenile growth phase remain unmeasured, our results broadly support SPL theory in that phytometer and leaf size are a product of the size of the initial shoot meristem (a parts per thousand... seed mass) and the duration and quality of juvenile growth. These allometrically constrained traits combine to confer ecological specialization on individual species. Equally, they appear conservatively expressed within major taxa. Thus, 'evolutionary canalization' sensu Stebbins (Stebbins GL. 1974. Flowering plants: evolution above the species level. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press) is perhaps associated with both seed and leaf development, and major taxa appear routinely specialized with respect to ecologically important size-related traits.

Intensive archaeobotanical investigations at Çatalhöyük have created a unique opportunity to explore change and continuity in plant use through the ca 1,500-year Neolithic to early Chalcolithic sequence of an early established farming community. The combination of crops and herd animals in the earliest (Aceramic) part of the sequence reflects a distinct and diverse central Anatolian ‘package’ at the end of the eighth millennium cal. BC. Here we report evidence for near continual adjustment of cropping regimes through time at Çatalhöyük, featuring recruitment of minor crops or crop contaminants to become major staples. We use panarchy theory to frame an understanding of Çatalhöyük's long-term sustainability, arguing that its resilience was a function of three key factors: its diverse initial crop spectrum, which acted as an archive for later innovations; its modular social structure, enabling small-scale experimentation and innovation in cropping at the household level; and its agglomerated social morphology, allowing successful developments to be scaled up across the wider community. This case study in long-term sustainability through flexible, changeable cropping strategies is significant not only for understanding so-called boom and bust cycles elsewhere but also for informing wider agro-ecological understanding of sustainable development in central Anatolia and beyond.

Baby shows and baby contests in the late nineteenth century United States, beginning as a form of entertainment at agricultural fairs, were co-opted in the early twentieth century as a public relations vehicle for the eugenics movement. This article connects this history of display of the infant body with white Protestant practices of bodily display in infant baptism as represented etiquette manuals, women's magazines, and works of art. The author argues that infants became unwitting participants in practices of display that marked them as members of affluent white society.