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Thompson JC, Wright DK, Ivory SJ. The emergence and intensification of early hunter-gatherer niche construction. Evol Anthropol 2020; 30:17-27. [PMID: 33341104 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2019] [Revised: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 08/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Hunter-gatherers, especially Pleistocene examples, are not well-represented in archeological studies of niche construction. However, as the role of humans in shaping environments over long time scales becomes increasingly apparent, it is critical to develop archeological proxies and testable hypotheses about early hunter-gatherer impacts. Modern foragers engage in niche constructive behaviors aimed at maintaining or increasing the productivity of their environments, and these may have had significant ecological consequences over later human evolution. In some cases, they may also represent behaviors unique to modern Homo sapiens. Archeological and paleoenvironmental data show that African hunter-gatherers were niche constructors in diverse environments, which have legacies in how ecosystems function today. These can be conceptualized as behaviorally mediated trophic cascades, and tested using archeological and paleoenvironmental proxies. Thus, large-scale niche construction behavior is possible to identify at deeper time scales, and may be key to understanding the emergence of modern humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica C Thompson
- Department of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - David K Wright
- Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.,State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, China
| | - Sarah J Ivory
- Department of Geosciences and Earth and Environmental Sciences Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
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2
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Otero XL, Atiaga O, Estrella R, Tierra W, Ruales J, Zayas L, Souza V, Ferreira TO, Nóbrega GN, Oliveira DP, Queiroz HM, Nunes LM. Geographical variations in arsenic contents in rice plants from Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula in relation to soil conditions. ENVIRONMENTAL GEOCHEMISTRY AND HEALTH 2020; 42:3351-3372. [PMID: 32350805 DOI: 10.1007/s10653-020-00581-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 04/17/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Arsenic is a ubiquitous, toxic element that is efficiently accumulated by rice plants. This study assessed the spatial variability in the total As (tAs) contents and organic and inorganic forms in different types of rice, plant parts (husk, stem, leaves and phytoliths) and residues. Samples were collected in different countries in Latin America (Ecuador, Brazil and Peru) and the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal). The tAs content in commercial polished rice from the Latin American countries was similar (0.130-0.166 mg kg-1) and significantly lower than in the rice from the Iberian countries (0.191 ± 0.066 mg kg-1), and together, the tAs concentration in brown rice (236 ± 0.093 mg kg-1) was significantly higher than in polished and parboiled rice. The inorganic As (iAs) content in rice was similar in both geographical regions, and the aforementioned difference was attributed to dimethylarsinic acid (DMA). The relative abundance of organic species increased as the tAs content in rice grain increased. A meta-analysis of our and previously reported data confirmed the negative correlation between iAs/tAs and tAs. At low tAs concentrations, inorganic forms are dominant, while at higher values (tAs > 0.300 mg kg-1) the concentration of organic As increases substantially and DMA becomes the dominant form in rice grain. On the contrary, inorganic arsenic was always the dominant form, mainly as arsenate [As(V)], in leaves and stems. The presence in soils of high concentrations of amorphous Fe and Al oxides and hydroxides, which are capable of strongly adsorbing oxyanions (i.e. arsenate), was associated with low concentrations of As in rice plants. In addition, the presence of high concentrations of As(V) in stems and leaves, low concentration of As in phytoliths, and the As associated with organic matter in stems and husk, together suggest that rice plants take up more As(V) than As(III).
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Affiliation(s)
- X L Otero
- Departamento de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Facultade de Bioloxía, CRETUS Institute, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus Sur, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
| | - O Atiaga
- Departamento de Edafoloxía e Química Agrícola, Facultade de Bioloxía, CRETUS Institute, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Campus Sur, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra y la Construcción, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE, Av. General Rumiñahui s/n, P.O. Box 171-5-231B, Sangolquí, Ecuador
| | - R Estrella
- Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra y la Construcción, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE, Av. General Rumiñahui s/n, P.O. Box 171-5-231B, Sangolquí, Ecuador
| | - W Tierra
- Departamento de Ciencia de los Alimentos y Biotecnología, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito, Ecuador
| | - J Ruales
- Departamento de Ciencia de los Alimentos y Biotecnología, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito, Ecuador
| | - L Zayas
- Departamento de Ciência do Solo, Escola Superior de Agronomia Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ), Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - V Souza
- Departamento de Agronomia, Área de Solo, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - T O Ferreira
- Departamento de Ciência do Solo, Escola Superior de Agronomia Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ), Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - G N Nóbrega
- Departamento de Geoquímica, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Outeiro de São João Batista s/nº, Campus do Valonguinho, Centro, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, 24020-14, Brazil
| | - D P Oliveira
- Graduate Course in Ecology and Natural Resources, Department of Biology, Federal University of Ceará - UFC, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
| | - H M Queiroz
- Departamento de Ciência do Solo, Escola Superior de Agronomia Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ), Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
| | - L M Nunes
- Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, CERIS, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, Portugal
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Wadley L, Esteban I, de la Peña P, Wojcieszak M, Stratford D, Lennox S, d'Errico F, Rosso DE, Orange F, Backwell L, Sievers C. Fire and grass-bedding construction 200 thousand years ago at Border Cave, South Africa. Science 2020; 369:863-866. [PMID: 32792402 DOI: 10.1126/science.abc7239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Early plant use is seldom described in the archaeological record because of poor preservation. We report the discovery of grass bedding used to create comfortable areas for sleeping and working by people who lived in Border Cave at least 200,000 years ago. Sheaves of grass belonging to the broad-leafed Panicoideae subfamily were placed near the back of the cave on ash layers that were often remnants of bedding burned for site maintenance. This strategy is one forerunner of more-complex behavior that is archaeologically discernible from ~100,000 years ago.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lyn Wadley
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein 2001, Johannesburg, South Africa.
| | - Irene Esteban
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein 2001, Johannesburg, South Africa.,African Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape 6031, South Africa
| | - Paloma de la Peña
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein 2001, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Marine Wojcieszak
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein 2001, Johannesburg, South Africa.,Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage, Jubelpark 1, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Dominic Stratford
- Archaeology Division, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein 2001, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Sandra Lennox
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein 2001, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Francesco d'Errico
- PACEA UMR 5199, University of Bordeaux, CNRS, Allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 33600 Pessac, France.,SFF Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapienCE), University of Bergen, Øysteinsgate 3, 5020 Bergen, Norway
| | - Daniela Eugenia Rosso
- CNRS - CEPAM UMR 7264, Université Côte d'Azur, 24, Avenue des Diables Bleus, 06300 Nice, France.,Università degli Studi di Ferrara, Dipartimento degli Studi Umanistici, Sezione di Scienze Preistoriche e Antropologiche, Corso Ercole I d'Este 32, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - François Orange
- Université Côte d'Azur, Centre Commun de Microscopie Appliquée (CCMA), 28, Avenue Valrose, 06108 Nice, France
| | - Lucinda Backwell
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein 2001, Johannesburg, South Africa.,Instituto Superior de Estudios Sociales (ISES-CONICET), San Lorenzo 429, San Miguel de Tucumán, CP4000, Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Christine Sievers
- Archaeology Division, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein 2001, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Nawaz MA, Zakharenko AM, Zemchenko IV, Haider MS, Ali MA, Imtiaz M, Chung G, Tsatsakis A, Sun S, Golokhvast KS. Phytolith Formation in Plants: From Soil to Cell. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2019; 8:E249. [PMID: 31357485 PMCID: PMC6724085 DOI: 10.3390/plants8080249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2019] [Revised: 07/22/2019] [Accepted: 07/23/2019] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Silica is deposited extra- and intracellularly in plants in solid form, as phytoliths. Phytoliths have emerged as accepted taxonomic tools and proxies for reconstructing ancient flora, agricultural economies, environment, and climate. The discovery of silicon transporter genes has aided in the understanding of the mechanism of silicon transport and deposition within the plant body and reconstructing plant phylogeny that is based on the ability of plants to accumulate silica. However, a precise understanding of the process of silica deposition and the formation of phytoliths is still an enigma and the information regarding the proteins that are involved in plant biosilicification is still scarce. With the observation of various shapes and morphologies of phytoliths, it is essential to understand which factors control this mechanism. During the last two decades, significant research has been done in this regard and silicon research has expanded as an Earth-life science superdiscipline. We review and integrate the recent knowledge and concepts on the uptake and transport of silica and its deposition as phytoliths in plants. We also discuss how different factors define the shape, size, and chemistry of the phytoliths and how biosilicification evolved in plants. The role of channel-type and efflux silicon transporters, proline-rich proteins, and siliplant1 protein in transport and deposition of silica is presented. The role of phytoliths against biotic and abiotic stress, as mechanical barriers, and their use as taxonomic tools and proxies, is highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Amjad Nawaz
- Education and Scientific Center of Nanotechnology, Far Eastern Federal University, 690950 Vladivostok, Russia
| | | | | | - Muhammad Sajjad Haider
- Department of Forestry, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, 40100 Sargodha, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Amjad Ali
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of Agriculture, 38040 Faisalabad, Pakistan
- Center of Agricultural Biochemistry and Biotechnology (CABB), University of Agriculture, 38040 Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Imtiaz
- Soil and Environmental Biotechnology Division, National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, 38040 Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Gyuhwa Chung
- Department of Biotechnology, Chonnam National University, 59626 Yeosu-Si, Korea
| | - Aristides Tsatsakis
- Department of Toxicology and Forensics, School of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion GR-71003, Crete, Greece
| | - Sangmi Sun
- Department of Biotechnology, Chonnam National University, 59626 Yeosu-Si, Korea.
| | - Kirill Sergeyevich Golokhvast
- Education and Scientific Center of Nanotechnology, Far Eastern Federal University, 690950 Vladivostok, Russia.
- Pacific Geographical Institute, FEB RAS, 7 Radio street, Vladivostok 690014, Russia.
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Williams AC, Hill LJ. Nicotinamide as Independent Variable for Intelligence, Fertility, and Health: Origin of Human Creative Explosions? Int J Tryptophan Res 2019; 12:1178646919855944. [PMID: 31258332 PMCID: PMC6585247 DOI: 10.1177/1178646919855944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2019] [Accepted: 05/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Meat and nicotinamide acquisition was a defining force during the 2-million-year evolution of the big brains necessary for, anatomically modern, Homo sapiens to survive. Our next move was down the food chain during the Mesolithic 'broad spectrum', then horticultural, followed by the Neolithic agricultural revolutions and progressively lower average 'doses' of nicotinamide. We speculate that a fertility crisis and population bottleneck around 40 000 years ago, at the time of the Last Glacial Maximum, was overcome by Homo (but not the Neanderthals) by concerted dietary change plus profertility genes and intense sexual selection culminating in behaviourally modern Homo sapiens. Increased reliance on the 'de novo' synthesis of nicotinamide from tryptophan conditioned the immune system to welcome symbionts, such as TB (that excrete nicotinamide), and to increase tolerance of the foetus and thereby fertility. The trade-offs during the warmer Holocene were physical and mental stunting and more infectious diseases and population booms and busts. Higher nicotinamide exposure could be responsible for recent demographic and epidemiological transitions to lower fertility and higher longevity, but with more degenerative and auto-immune disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian C Williams
- Department of Neurology, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK
| | - Lisa J Hill
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Clinical Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
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Larbey C, Mentzer SM, Ligouis B, Wurz S, Jones MK. Cooked starchy food in hearths ca. 120 kya and 65 kya (MIS 5e and MIS 4) from Klasies River Cave, South Africa. J Hum Evol 2019; 131:210-227. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.03.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2018] [Revised: 03/13/2019] [Accepted: 03/14/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
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FTIR-Based Crystallinity Assessment of Aragonite–Calcite Mixtures in Archaeological Lime Binders Altered by Diagenesis. MINERALS 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/min9020121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Lime plaster and mortar are pyrotechnological materials that have been employed in constructions since prehistoric times. They may nucleate as calcite and/or aragonite under different environmental settings. In nature, aragonite and calcite form through biogenic and geogenic processes that lead to different degrees of atomic order. The latter is a result of defects in the crystal lattice, which affect the properties of crystals, including their interaction with infrared light. Using Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) with the KBr pellet method, it is possible to exploit these differences and assess the degree of atomic order of aragonite and calcite crystals and thus their mechanisms of formation. Here we use FTIR to characterize the degree of short-range atomic order of a pyrogenic form of aragonite recently observed in experimental and archaeological lime binders. We show that pyrogenic aragonite has a unique signature that allows its identification in archaeological sediments and lime binders of unknown origin. Based on these results, we developed a new FTIR-based method to assess the integrity and degree of preservation of aragonite and calcite when they occur together in the same material. This method allowed a better assessment of the diagenetic history of an archaeological plaster and finds application in the characterization of present-day conservation materials, such as lime plaster and mortar, where different polymorphs may nucleate and undergo recrystallization processes that can alter the mechanical properties of binders.
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