Pollen and dung mites
Mar. 27th, 2007 06:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brdgt
Two articles in honor of my favorite scientist, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
antarcticlust!
Pollen clue to clay army origins
Ancient pollen could lead scientists to the kilns where the figures in China's terracotta army were made.
BBC NEWS
The 2,200-year-old clay army of 8,000 soldiers, 300 horses and 200 chariots guards the tomb of Qin Shihuang, the first emperor of China.
Soils from different regions contain distinct pollen "signatures", reflecting variations in vegetation.
This could help solve the mystery of where the clay figures were made, says the Journal of Archaeological Science.
Hu Ya-Qin from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing and colleagues crushed fragments of terracotta from a horse and a soldier, digested the ground-up bits of clay with acid and spun the mix to separate out the different components.
The team looked at the resulting residues under a microscope and identified 32 types of pollen.
They found the horse and soldier had different pollen signatures.
Transportation problem
Pollen from the terracotta horse came mainly from trees; a similar pollen signature is found in soil taken from pits in the emperor's mausoleum.
Pollen from the terracotta warrior came mainly from herbaceous plants.
The researchers argue that the horses were made near the mausoleum. Dr Hu told Chemistry World magazine that this made a lot of sense.
The horses were heavier than the soldiers, with more fragile legs. Making them locally would have minimised the effort involved in transporting them and reduced breakages, he explained.
Several ancient kilns have previously been found in this region of China, but it has been difficult to determine whether any were used to make the terracotta army. The research may help scientists trace an origin for the clay figures.
Dr Arlene Rosen, from the Institute of Archaeology at University College London, UK, said the research was "one important step towards solving the mystery of where the clay army came from".
But she added: "Using pollen has its advantages and disadvantages."
For example, if the clay came from an area near a river or stream, it could contain pollen from many sources washed in by the water. And if the clay was from a very old source, it could preserve information about vegetation that existed long before the time of the terracotta army.
Dr Rosen said there were more accurate ways to trace the source of clay used in archaeological artefacts. These include analysis of the temper - coarse-grained material added to stop the clay from cracking as it dries - through X-ray diffraction.
Llama dung mites track Inca fall
By Christine McGourty, BBC science correspondent
Scientists believe they have found a new way to track the rise and fall of some ancient civilisations - by studying fossilised mites that thrive in the dung of their livestock.
A team from America, France and Britain have been studying mites from the soil in the Andes in Peru and say the tiny creatures can provide clues to changing patterns of trade and of disease epidemics through history.
The researchers made the discovery, announced in the Journal of Archaeological Science, while studying mud cores from a lake near the town of Cuzco, the heart of the former Inca Empire.
Dr Mick Frogley, of Sussex University, UK, said: "We were looking at the lake sediments for evidence of climate change, but we found so many of these mites it piqued our interest."
The tiny bugs - not much more than a millimetre across - are related to domestic dust mites often found in carpets or mattresses.
Some species live exclusively in moist grassland and pastures where they break down vegetable matter, including the droppings of grazing animals.
When the scientists started to record the numbers of mites, they obtained a plot with a very distinctive pattern.
Spanish signature
"It couldn't have been better if we'd made it up," Dr Frogley told BBC News. "It was that good."
They found a huge increase in the number of fossil mites as the empire expanded from the Cuzco area in the early 1400s. A sudden drop in numbers corresponded with the collapse of the native population after the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors.
Historical accounts from the time also document that two-thirds of the llamas in the Cuzco area died of skin diseases.
Studying ancient civilisations can be difficult when they have left no detailed written records behind. But the researchers say they now have a new tool for examining the fortunes of native populations in the Andes.
The mite methodology could have more wide-ranging applications in the study of economic and social changes in other cultures through history.
"The Inca were a test-bed," said Dr Frogley. "Now, the findings have given us confidence to look further back into the past at civilisations that pre-date the Inca.
"A lot less is known about their economic and social structures and why these other cultures disappeared from the archaeological record. The technique could help find some answers."
He said it could also be used to study the Viking occupation of Greenland, which was also an animal-based economy.
antarcticlust!Pollen clue to clay army origins
Ancient pollen could lead scientists to the kilns where the figures in China's terracotta army were made.
BBC NEWS
The 2,200-year-old clay army of 8,000 soldiers, 300 horses and 200 chariots guards the tomb of Qin Shihuang, the first emperor of China.
Soils from different regions contain distinct pollen "signatures", reflecting variations in vegetation.
This could help solve the mystery of where the clay figures were made, says the Journal of Archaeological Science.
Hu Ya-Qin from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing and colleagues crushed fragments of terracotta from a horse and a soldier, digested the ground-up bits of clay with acid and spun the mix to separate out the different components.
The team looked at the resulting residues under a microscope and identified 32 types of pollen.
They found the horse and soldier had different pollen signatures.
Transportation problem
Pollen from the terracotta horse came mainly from trees; a similar pollen signature is found in soil taken from pits in the emperor's mausoleum.
Pollen from the terracotta warrior came mainly from herbaceous plants.
The researchers argue that the horses were made near the mausoleum. Dr Hu told Chemistry World magazine that this made a lot of sense.
The horses were heavier than the soldiers, with more fragile legs. Making them locally would have minimised the effort involved in transporting them and reduced breakages, he explained.
Several ancient kilns have previously been found in this region of China, but it has been difficult to determine whether any were used to make the terracotta army. The research may help scientists trace an origin for the clay figures.
Dr Arlene Rosen, from the Institute of Archaeology at University College London, UK, said the research was "one important step towards solving the mystery of where the clay army came from".
But she added: "Using pollen has its advantages and disadvantages."
For example, if the clay came from an area near a river or stream, it could contain pollen from many sources washed in by the water. And if the clay was from a very old source, it could preserve information about vegetation that existed long before the time of the terracotta army.
Dr Rosen said there were more accurate ways to trace the source of clay used in archaeological artefacts. These include analysis of the temper - coarse-grained material added to stop the clay from cracking as it dries - through X-ray diffraction.
Llama dung mites track Inca fall
By Christine McGourty, BBC science correspondent
Scientists believe they have found a new way to track the rise and fall of some ancient civilisations - by studying fossilised mites that thrive in the dung of their livestock.
A team from America, France and Britain have been studying mites from the soil in the Andes in Peru and say the tiny creatures can provide clues to changing patterns of trade and of disease epidemics through history.
The researchers made the discovery, announced in the Journal of Archaeological Science, while studying mud cores from a lake near the town of Cuzco, the heart of the former Inca Empire.
Dr Mick Frogley, of Sussex University, UK, said: "We were looking at the lake sediments for evidence of climate change, but we found so many of these mites it piqued our interest."
The tiny bugs - not much more than a millimetre across - are related to domestic dust mites often found in carpets or mattresses.
Some species live exclusively in moist grassland and pastures where they break down vegetable matter, including the droppings of grazing animals.
When the scientists started to record the numbers of mites, they obtained a plot with a very distinctive pattern.
Spanish signature
"It couldn't have been better if we'd made it up," Dr Frogley told BBC News. "It was that good."
They found a huge increase in the number of fossil mites as the empire expanded from the Cuzco area in the early 1400s. A sudden drop in numbers corresponded with the collapse of the native population after the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors.
Historical accounts from the time also document that two-thirds of the llamas in the Cuzco area died of skin diseases.
Studying ancient civilisations can be difficult when they have left no detailed written records behind. But the researchers say they now have a new tool for examining the fortunes of native populations in the Andes.
The mite methodology could have more wide-ranging applications in the study of economic and social changes in other cultures through history.
"The Inca were a test-bed," said Dr Frogley. "Now, the findings have given us confidence to look further back into the past at civilisations that pre-date the Inca.
"A lot less is known about their economic and social structures and why these other cultures disappeared from the archaeological record. The technique could help find some answers."
He said it could also be used to study the Viking occupation of Greenland, which was also an animal-based economy.
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that's where i live!
Date: 2007-03-28 12:35 am (UTC)COOL!
no subject
Date: 2007-03-28 12:27 pm (UTC)Oh, and speaking of contract work - Jeremy got an interview transcript from the gentleman you recommended, so thank you! We're thinking we should start advertising his services as a transcriber around the departments that use interviews (Geography, too, I suppose!).
no subject
Date: 2007-03-28 12:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-28 12:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-28 12:40 pm (UTC)And Warwick is a great guy, btw. He always forgets who you are, because he doesn't teach much (being the chair), but he's still always friendly and unpretentious.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-28 12:44 pm (UTC)Heh.