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One of the ongoing challenges faced by physical and forensic anthropologists when called to sites where remains are commingled is accurately and efficiently re-associating body parts. This is an essential task, which allows for analysis of trauma, potential identification of individuals, and the eventual return of the bodies to their families and communities. However, the conditions in the field, often characterised by a lack of political and economic resources, or the poor condition of the remains themselves, precludes the use of techniques such as DNA analysis. As such, anthropologists rely on more basic re-association techniques. This research examines the potential for mass to be used as one of the variables in the reassociation of commingled human remains, and specifically paired elements; matched humeri and femora. Using two different statistical models from Byrd and Adams (2003, 2009) and Thomas, Ubelaker and Byrd (2013), mass is tested in comparison to more regularly used osteometric measurements in accuracy of pair-matching and exclusionary power. The results demonstrated that mass has significant potential in simplifying and making more efficient some methods of pair-matching. The results for the femora proved to be more consistent, demonstrating potentially greater bi-lateral symmetry in those elements in comparison to the humeri. More testing is needed to confirm and expand these results with a larger sample set, and the expansion of appropriate reference data sets.

A major uncertainty in estimating energy budgets and population densities of extinct animals is the carrying capacity of their ecosystems, constrained by net primary productivity (NPP) and its digestible energy content. The hypothesis that increases in NPP due to elevated atmospheric CO2 contributed to the unparalleled size of the sauropods has recently been rejected, based on modern studies on herbivorous insects that imply a general, negative correlation of diet quality and increasing CO2. However, the nutritional value of plants grown under elevated CO2 levels might be very different for vertebrate megaherbivores than for insects. Here we show plant species?specific responses in metabolizable energy and nitrogen content, equivalent to a two?fold variation in daily food intake estimates for a typical sauropod, for dinosaur food plant analogues grown under CO2 concentrations spanning estimates for Mesozoic atmospheric concentrations. Our results potentially rebut the hypothesis that constraints on sauropod diet quality were driven by Mesozoic CO2 concentration.

Pollen, botanical macrofossils, chemical components and ancient DNA were studied in samples from the rumen of a frozen Yakutian bison (Bison priscus) that lived ca. 10,500 cal a BP. The dialkyl glycerol ether lipid archaeol (2,3-di-O-phytanyl-sn-glycerol) was detected and is interpreted to have been derived from methanogenic Archaea in the rumen. This is the oldest reported occurrence of archaeol attributed to digestive tract Archaea. Remains of shrubs (Alnus, Betula, Salix) and Poaceae indicate that the animal probably lived in a landscape of predominantly dry soils, intermixed with wetlands containing herbaceous plant species, as indicated by remains of Comarum palustre, Caltha palustris, Eriophorum, Sparganium, Menyanthes trifoliata and Utricularia. All recorded taxa still occur in the present-day Yakutian tundra vegetation. We discuss the representativeness in space and time of the methods used. Both the botanical microfossil and the macrofossil records may be biased because of differences in pollen production and dispersal between species, the food choice of the bison, and the season of death of the animal. Similarities and differences are discussed to highlight pitfalls of the individual analytical techniques. We highlight the power of data integration.

Lipid analysis is a relatively new approach to obtaining paleobiological and paleoecological information from coprolites. Lipids in feces are derived from multiple sources, including diet, digestive processes and digestive tract micro-organisms. Feces from herbivorous animals contain a much wider range of lipids than those from carnivores due to the greater diversity of lipids in dietary plants, compared to prey animals, and the more complex digestive systems of herbivores. Depending on their structure and their preservation in fossilized material, fecal lipids can provide general or very specific biological and ecological information. Reports concerning the lipid analysis of coprolites have been scarce until recently, but this approach has the potential to reveal unique information about ancient animals and environments and should therefore be considered as a valuable tool for analysis given suitable specimens.