Sign Language made Easy:
Technology comes to help those who sign (deaf/Deaf and hearing) to communicate more completely.
A unique and fun way to learn sign language wearing special gloves and working with an interactive technology program.
Includes a phone app to help people discover ASL words they may have forgotten.
Experts say learning sign language is on par with an English speaker trying to learn Japanese. It's not easy. And for this reason about 75% of hearing parents can't sign fluently to their deaf children.
http://www.livescience.com/common/media/video/player.php?videoRef=LS_100923_signing
___________________
References:
2010. "Sign Language Made Easy". Live Science. Posted: Available online: http://www.livescience.com/common/media/video/player.php?aid=38501
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Lost language unearthed in a letter
Archaeologists say scrawl on the back of a letter recovered from a 17th century dig site reveals a previously unknown language spoken by indigenous peoples in northern Peru.
A team of international archaeologists found the letter under a pile of adobe bricks in a collapsed church complex near Trujillo, 347 miles north of Lima. The complex had been inhabited by Dominican friars for two centuries.
"Our investigations determined that this piece of paper records a number system in a language that has been lost for hundreds of years," Jeffrey Quilter, an archaeologist at Harvard's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, told Reuters.
A photograph of the letter recently released by archaeologists shows a column of numbers written in Spanish and translated into a language that scholars say is now extinct.
"We discovered a language no one has seen or heard since the 16th or 17th century," Quilter said, adding that the language appears to have been influenced by Quechua, an ancient tongue still spoken by millions of people across the Andes.
He said it could also be the written version of a language colonial-era Spaniards referred to in historical writings as pescadora, for the fishermen on Peru's northern coast who spoke it.
So far no record of the pescadora language has been found.
The letter, buried in the ruins of the Magdalena de Cao Viejo church at the El Brujo Archaeological Complex in northern Peru, was discovered in 2008.
But Quilter said archaeologists decided to keep their discovery secret until the research showing evidence of the lost language was published this month in the journal American Anthropologist.
"I think a lot of people don't realize how many languages were spoken in pre-contact times," Quilter said. "Linguistically, the relationship between the Spanish conquistadors and the indigenous was very complex."
See a related story: Lost language unearthed in a letter found in Peru at MSNBC.
________________
References:
Schmall, Emily. 2010. "Lost language unearthed in a letter". Reuters. Posted: September 23, 2010. Available online: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68M40S20100923
A team of international archaeologists found the letter under a pile of adobe bricks in a collapsed church complex near Trujillo, 347 miles north of Lima. The complex had been inhabited by Dominican friars for two centuries.
"Our investigations determined that this piece of paper records a number system in a language that has been lost for hundreds of years," Jeffrey Quilter, an archaeologist at Harvard's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, told Reuters.
A photograph of the letter recently released by archaeologists shows a column of numbers written in Spanish and translated into a language that scholars say is now extinct.
"We discovered a language no one has seen or heard since the 16th or 17th century," Quilter said, adding that the language appears to have been influenced by Quechua, an ancient tongue still spoken by millions of people across the Andes.
He said it could also be the written version of a language colonial-era Spaniards referred to in historical writings as pescadora, for the fishermen on Peru's northern coast who spoke it.
So far no record of the pescadora language has been found.
The letter, buried in the ruins of the Magdalena de Cao Viejo church at the El Brujo Archaeological Complex in northern Peru, was discovered in 2008.
But Quilter said archaeologists decided to keep their discovery secret until the research showing evidence of the lost language was published this month in the journal American Anthropologist.
"I think a lot of people don't realize how many languages were spoken in pre-contact times," Quilter said. "Linguistically, the relationship between the Spanish conquistadors and the indigenous was very complex."
See a related story: Lost language unearthed in a letter found in Peru at MSNBC.
________________
References:
Schmall, Emily. 2010. "Lost language unearthed in a letter". Reuters. Posted: September 23, 2010. Available online: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68M40S20100923
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Long-Sought Viking Settlement Found
The Vikings, the famed Scandinavian warriors, started raiding Ireland in 795 and plundered it for decades, before establishing two Irish outposts, according to the Annals of Ulster, a 15th century account of medieval Ireland. One outpost, Dúbh Linn, became Dublin, the other, Linn Duchaill, was lost in time. Perhaps until now. A team of archaeologists announced on Friday that it has found the lost Viking settlement near the village of Annagassan, 70 kilometers north of Dublin. "We are unbelievably delighted," said archaeologist and team leader, Mark Clinton, an independent archaeological consultant.The Annagassan locals have long believed they lived near an ancient Viking town or fort. The stories of Viking raids were told to local children by schoolteachers, and there were also occasional finds that underscored this story. For example, a few years ago, a set of handcuffs once used to shackle Viking slaves was found by a farmer ploughing land. The modern search for Linn Duchaill began 5 years ago when a local filmmaker named Ruth Cassidy, a member of the Annagassan and District Historical Society, enlisted the help of Clinton, a family friend, to find the lost Viking town. They searched through 2005, 2006, and 2007 and were on the point of despair when they came across a flat area—ideal for lifting boats out of the water for shipbuilding and repairs—a couple of kilometers up the River Glyde. They managed to secure funding to pay for a geophysicist, John Nicholls, to survey the site. Nicholls found a series of defensive ditches about 4 meters deep, running in lines. The pattern of ditches does not seem compatible with the typical Irish structure of the period, a ring fort, and no evidence of a Norman settlement, such as moat or castle remains, was found. That left just one other option: Vikings.
Despite this evidence, the researchers struggled to secure funding for excavation work. But the local Louth County Museum eventually offered funds to excavate at three locations. The team found 200 objects in 3 weeks, convincing them that they had found a major Viking shipbuilding town. There is evidence of impressive engineering, with an artificial island constructed out of the landscape to offer protection from attacks by the indigenous Irish. There is evidence of carpentry, smelting, and ship repair, with ship rivets dotted around the site. These features alone would make the site significant as few Viking longphorts—or shipbuilding towns—have been excavated. The team also found hacked coins, which Clinton says were a typical "calling card" of the Vikings, but there is also a total absence of pottery—the Vikings used wooden bowls. There are "high status" early Christian objects, too, probably stolen from the Irish.
Other Viking experts are cautiously optimistic that the long-lost Viking outpost has been found but emphasize the settlement needs to be solidly dated before the case is closed. "If the settlement found can be identified as Linn Duchaill, its value for linking archaeology to the written sources is very important," says Peter Pentz, an archaeologist at the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen. "In addition, it appears that the site is almost untouched by later activity, unlike those of Dublin—some longphorts developed into urban settlements—and thus it might provide important knowledge of this particular type of settlement."
"It's really, really exciting," adds Christina Lee of the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, an expert in Viking studies of Ireland and Britain. "I'm looking forward to hearing about the finds and the dating of the finds. It's a really important step in thinking about the westward expansion of the Vikings, and the importance that Ireland had for the Viking world is something that hasn't been recognized. Ireland in the Viking age is of strategic importance."
One lingering question is why Linn Duchaill was abandoned while Dublin thrived. One theory is that because Dublin has better 24-hour access to the sea, it meant that the Vikings there could take to their ships and head out when they were under attack. At Linn Duchaill, tidal fluctuations would cut off access for several hours a day.
_____________
References:
Duke, Sean. 2010. "Long-Sought Viking Settlement Found". Science Magazine. Posted: September 22, 2010. Available online: http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2010/09/long-sought-viking-settlement-fo.html
Monday, October 4, 2010
Volcanoes Killed Off Neanderthals, Study Suggests
Catastrophic volcanic eruptions in Europe may have culled Neanderthals to the point where they couldn't bounce back, according to a controversial new theory.
Modern humans, though, squeaked by, thanks to fallback populations in Africa and Asia, researchers say.
About 40,000 years ago in what we now call Italy and the Caucasus Mountains, which straddle Europe and Asia, several volcanoes erupted in quick succession, according to a new study to be published in the October issue of the journal Current Anthropology.
It's likely the eruptions reduced or wiped out local bands of Neanderthals and indirectly affected farther-flung populations, the team concluded after analyzing pollen and ash from the affected area. (See volcano pictures.)
The researchers examined sediments layer from around 40,000 years ago in Russia's Mezmaiskaya Cave and found that the more volcanic ash a layer had, the less plant pollen it contained.
"We tested all the layers for this volcanic ash signature. The most volcanic-ash-rich layer"—likely corresponding to the so-called Campanian Ignimbrite eruption, which occurred near Naples (map)—"had no [tree] pollen and very little pollen from other types of plants," said study team member Naomi Cleghorn. "It's just a sterile layer."
The loss of plants would have led to a decline in plant-eating mammals, which in turn would have affected the Neanderthals, who hunted large mammals for food.
"This idea of an environmental cause for the Neanderthals' demise has been out in the literature. What we're trying to do is point out a specific mechanism," said Cleghorn, an anthropologist at the University of Texas, Arlington.
Other theories propose that modern humans played a vital role in the fall of the Neanderthals, either through competition, warfare, or interbreeding. (See "Neanderthals, Humans Interbred—First Solid DNA Evidence.")
If the volcanoes theory is correct, the Neanderthals' end was much more tragic: dying slowly in a cold and desolate landscape bereft of food sources.
"It's hard to say what it would have been like to be the last few groups out there, seeing other groups less and less over the years," Cleghorn said.
Uniquely Powerful Eruption
The Neanderthals were a hardy species that lived through multiple ice ages and would have been familiar with volcanoes and other natural calamities. But the eruptions 40,000 years ago were unlike anything Neanderthals had faced before, Cleghorn and company say.
For one thing, all the volcanoes apparently erupted around the same time. And one of those blasts, the Campanian Ignimbrite, is thought to have been the most powerful eruption in Europe in the last 200,000 years.
"It's much easier to adapt to something that's happening over a couple of generations," Cleghorn said. "You can move around, you can find other places to live, and your population can rebound.
"This is not that kind of event," she said. "This is unique."
Neanderthals Had Short Bench?
There may also have been small bands of Homo sapiens living in Europe at the time, Cleghorn said. They too would have been affected by the eruptions.
But modern humans likely avoided extinction because they had larger populations in Africa and Asia, she said, while most Neanderthals were in Europe around this time. (Related: "Neanderthals Ranged Much Farther East Than Thought.")
"With their small population groups, Neanderthals did not really have a great source population," Cleghorn said.
"They didn't really have the numbers and the density" to rebuild their populations after the eruptions.
"Not Convinced" by Volcanoes Theory
The researchers acknowledge that there are gaps in the volcanoes theory. For instance, the time line needs to be better defined—did the volcanic eruptions occur in a period of months, years, or decades?
"At this point, it's impossible to pin down a reliable date" for the eruptions, Cleghorn said. "We can't say, This eruption happened 50 years before the next eruption. We just don't have that kind of resolution."
It's also unknown exactly how long it took the Neanderthals to die out—or how long after the eruptions modern humans began settling Europe in force, she said.
Anthropologist John Hoffecker, though, suggests that modern humans had already begun crowding out Neanderthals in Europe long before the eruptions in question.
Judging from discoveries of modern-human artifacts in former Neanderthal strongholds, Hoffecker said, "Neanderthals were clearly in trouble well before 40,000 years ago, because modern humans were occupying certain places, such as Italy, where Neanderthals had been present. So something clearly had gone wrong there."
Perhaps, he added, the volcanic eruptions just dealt the final blow.
"I'm not entirely convinced that's the case either," said Hoffecker, of the University of Colorado. "But at least that's a plausible scenario that's consistent with the chronology."
Study co-author Cleghorn counters that the modern human populations living in Europe 40,000 years ago were small and isolated, and only after the Neanderthals were gone did Homo sapiens populations explode.
"If modern humans were making any forays into European Neanderthal territory prior to this, they were doing it only on the very margins," Cleghorn said.
"What was keeping them from moving very quickly into the heart of Europe? We think Neanderthals were still holding their own and might have held out for much longer, if it hadn't been for the devastating impact of these eruptions."
_________________
References:
Than, Ker. 2010. "Volcanoes Killed Off Neanderthals, Study Suggests". National Geographic News. Posted: September 22, 2010. Available online: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/01/100922-volcanoes-eruptions-neanderthals-science-volcanic-humans/
Modern humans, though, squeaked by, thanks to fallback populations in Africa and Asia, researchers say.
About 40,000 years ago in what we now call Italy and the Caucasus Mountains, which straddle Europe and Asia, several volcanoes erupted in quick succession, according to a new study to be published in the October issue of the journal Current Anthropology.
It's likely the eruptions reduced or wiped out local bands of Neanderthals and indirectly affected farther-flung populations, the team concluded after analyzing pollen and ash from the affected area. (See volcano pictures.)
The researchers examined sediments layer from around 40,000 years ago in Russia's Mezmaiskaya Cave and found that the more volcanic ash a layer had, the less plant pollen it contained.
"We tested all the layers for this volcanic ash signature. The most volcanic-ash-rich layer"—likely corresponding to the so-called Campanian Ignimbrite eruption, which occurred near Naples (map)—"had no [tree] pollen and very little pollen from other types of plants," said study team member Naomi Cleghorn. "It's just a sterile layer."
The loss of plants would have led to a decline in plant-eating mammals, which in turn would have affected the Neanderthals, who hunted large mammals for food.
"This idea of an environmental cause for the Neanderthals' demise has been out in the literature. What we're trying to do is point out a specific mechanism," said Cleghorn, an anthropologist at the University of Texas, Arlington.
Other theories propose that modern humans played a vital role in the fall of the Neanderthals, either through competition, warfare, or interbreeding. (See "Neanderthals, Humans Interbred—First Solid DNA Evidence.")
If the volcanoes theory is correct, the Neanderthals' end was much more tragic: dying slowly in a cold and desolate landscape bereft of food sources.
"It's hard to say what it would have been like to be the last few groups out there, seeing other groups less and less over the years," Cleghorn said.
Uniquely Powerful Eruption
The Neanderthals were a hardy species that lived through multiple ice ages and would have been familiar with volcanoes and other natural calamities. But the eruptions 40,000 years ago were unlike anything Neanderthals had faced before, Cleghorn and company say.
For one thing, all the volcanoes apparently erupted around the same time. And one of those blasts, the Campanian Ignimbrite, is thought to have been the most powerful eruption in Europe in the last 200,000 years.
"It's much easier to adapt to something that's happening over a couple of generations," Cleghorn said. "You can move around, you can find other places to live, and your population can rebound.
"This is not that kind of event," she said. "This is unique."
Neanderthals Had Short Bench?
There may also have been small bands of Homo sapiens living in Europe at the time, Cleghorn said. They too would have been affected by the eruptions.
But modern humans likely avoided extinction because they had larger populations in Africa and Asia, she said, while most Neanderthals were in Europe around this time. (Related: "Neanderthals Ranged Much Farther East Than Thought.")
"With their small population groups, Neanderthals did not really have a great source population," Cleghorn said.
"They didn't really have the numbers and the density" to rebuild their populations after the eruptions.
"Not Convinced" by Volcanoes Theory
The researchers acknowledge that there are gaps in the volcanoes theory. For instance, the time line needs to be better defined—did the volcanic eruptions occur in a period of months, years, or decades?
"At this point, it's impossible to pin down a reliable date" for the eruptions, Cleghorn said. "We can't say, This eruption happened 50 years before the next eruption. We just don't have that kind of resolution."
It's also unknown exactly how long it took the Neanderthals to die out—or how long after the eruptions modern humans began settling Europe in force, she said.
Anthropologist John Hoffecker, though, suggests that modern humans had already begun crowding out Neanderthals in Europe long before the eruptions in question.
Judging from discoveries of modern-human artifacts in former Neanderthal strongholds, Hoffecker said, "Neanderthals were clearly in trouble well before 40,000 years ago, because modern humans were occupying certain places, such as Italy, where Neanderthals had been present. So something clearly had gone wrong there."
Perhaps, he added, the volcanic eruptions just dealt the final blow.
"I'm not entirely convinced that's the case either," said Hoffecker, of the University of Colorado. "But at least that's a plausible scenario that's consistent with the chronology."
Study co-author Cleghorn counters that the modern human populations living in Europe 40,000 years ago were small and isolated, and only after the Neanderthals were gone did Homo sapiens populations explode.
"If modern humans were making any forays into European Neanderthal territory prior to this, they were doing it only on the very margins," Cleghorn said.
"What was keeping them from moving very quickly into the heart of Europe? We think Neanderthals were still holding their own and might have held out for much longer, if it hadn't been for the devastating impact of these eruptions."
_________________
References:
Than, Ker. 2010. "Volcanoes Killed Off Neanderthals, Study Suggests". National Geographic News. Posted: September 22, 2010. Available online: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/01/100922-volcanoes-eruptions-neanderthals-science-volcanic-humans/
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Clues to child sacrifices found in Inca Building
Bodies buried with artifacts offer peek at poorly understood practice
The remains of seven children apparently killed in a ritual and buried beneath a 500- to 600-year-old building in Peru’s Cuzco Valley have given scientists new glimpses of the sketchily understood Inca practice of sacrificing select children in elaborate ceremonies.
The children were buried at the same time, apparently after having been killed in a sacrificial rite that honored Inca deities and promoted political unity across the far-flung empire, say anthropologist Valerie Andrushko of Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven and her colleagues.
Chemical analyses of the bones indicate that at least two of the children came from distant parts of the Inca realm, Andrushko’s group reports in a paper published online September 15 in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
Archaeological evidence of Inca child sacrifices has come mainly from youngsters’ naturally mummified bodies found frozen on several Andean peaks. Human figurines and other valuable objects lay near those bodies.
“It was surprising that figurines and other artifacts found with children buried at this low-altitude site are nearly identical to finds at high-altitude child sacrifices,” Andrushko says.
Items surrounding the remains of six youngsters buried together in the Inca structure included gold and silver female figurines, red shell figurines of females and llamas, fancy pottery and a piece of clothing covered in gilded metal discs.
An additional child interred about 3 meters from the others lay near a silver figurine of a man adorned with a shell headdress and cloth fragments. Miniature gold, silver and shell figurines of men and llamas surrounded the larger figurine.
Accounts of Inca life written by Spanish conquerors described a ritual in which children from throughout the kingdom were selected for sacrifice based on their physical perfection. Those chosen were brought to the capital city of Cuzco for special ceremonies and then escorted to sometimes distant sacrificial sites.
In a 2007 study, isotopic analyses of hair samples from four Inca youths found more than a decade ago on two Andes summits indicated that they had eaten increasing amounts of maize for about four months before death, apparently at mountain way stations.
Such investigations are rare, remarks anthropologist Tamara Bray of Wayne State University in Detroit. “We have so little scientific information about who these children were or where they may have come from,” she says.
The new report focuses on an apparent child sacrifice discovered during a 2004 dig directed by study coauthors Arminda Gibaja of the National Institute of Culture in Cuzco, Peru, and Gordon McEwan of Wagner College in Staten Island, N.Y. Excavations took place at an Inca site called Choquepukio, located about 30 kilometers east of the Inca capital.
Children buried in the Choquepukio building ranged in age from 3 to 12, based on their tooth development. Not enough skeletal material survived to make sex determinations. The researchers measured ratios of strontium isotopes in children’s teeth to determine if they had grown up locally. Strontium isotopes get absorbed by teeth to varying extents during childhood depending on concentrations of different forms of strontium in local soils and water.
Comparisons to strontium signatures for Inca adults from the Cuzco region indicated that two children definitely had not been raised there. Preliminary strontium data from other Inca sites suggests that one child came from southern Peru and the other from northwestern Bolivia, Andrushko notes.
Further research is needed to establish whether residents of other parts of the Inca realm possessed a strontium signature like that of Cuzco-region natives, she adds.
Her team could not determine how the Choquepukio children died. Spanish accounts described strangulation of sacrificed youngsters. A neck bone called the hyoid often fractures when adults are strangled but rarely fractures in children because it hasn’t fully formed.
______________
References:
Bower, Bruce. 2010. "Clues to child sacrifices found in Inca building". Science News. Posted: September 22, 2010. Available online: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/63574/title/Clues_to_child_sacrifices_found_in_Inca_building
The remains of seven children apparently killed in a ritual and buried beneath a 500- to 600-year-old building in Peru’s Cuzco Valley have given scientists new glimpses of the sketchily understood Inca practice of sacrificing select children in elaborate ceremonies.
The children were buried at the same time, apparently after having been killed in a sacrificial rite that honored Inca deities and promoted political unity across the far-flung empire, say anthropologist Valerie Andrushko of Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven and her colleagues.
Chemical analyses of the bones indicate that at least two of the children came from distant parts of the Inca realm, Andrushko’s group reports in a paper published online September 15 in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
Archaeological evidence of Inca child sacrifices has come mainly from youngsters’ naturally mummified bodies found frozen on several Andean peaks. Human figurines and other valuable objects lay near those bodies.
“It was surprising that figurines and other artifacts found with children buried at this low-altitude site are nearly identical to finds at high-altitude child sacrifices,” Andrushko says.
Items surrounding the remains of six youngsters buried together in the Inca structure included gold and silver female figurines, red shell figurines of females and llamas, fancy pottery and a piece of clothing covered in gilded metal discs.
An additional child interred about 3 meters from the others lay near a silver figurine of a man adorned with a shell headdress and cloth fragments. Miniature gold, silver and shell figurines of men and llamas surrounded the larger figurine.
Accounts of Inca life written by Spanish conquerors described a ritual in which children from throughout the kingdom were selected for sacrifice based on their physical perfection. Those chosen were brought to the capital city of Cuzco for special ceremonies and then escorted to sometimes distant sacrificial sites.
In a 2007 study, isotopic analyses of hair samples from four Inca youths found more than a decade ago on two Andes summits indicated that they had eaten increasing amounts of maize for about four months before death, apparently at mountain way stations.
Such investigations are rare, remarks anthropologist Tamara Bray of Wayne State University in Detroit. “We have so little scientific information about who these children were or where they may have come from,” she says.
The new report focuses on an apparent child sacrifice discovered during a 2004 dig directed by study coauthors Arminda Gibaja of the National Institute of Culture in Cuzco, Peru, and Gordon McEwan of Wagner College in Staten Island, N.Y. Excavations took place at an Inca site called Choquepukio, located about 30 kilometers east of the Inca capital.
Children buried in the Choquepukio building ranged in age from 3 to 12, based on their tooth development. Not enough skeletal material survived to make sex determinations. The researchers measured ratios of strontium isotopes in children’s teeth to determine if they had grown up locally. Strontium isotopes get absorbed by teeth to varying extents during childhood depending on concentrations of different forms of strontium in local soils and water.
Comparisons to strontium signatures for Inca adults from the Cuzco region indicated that two children definitely had not been raised there. Preliminary strontium data from other Inca sites suggests that one child came from southern Peru and the other from northwestern Bolivia, Andrushko notes.
Further research is needed to establish whether residents of other parts of the Inca realm possessed a strontium signature like that of Cuzco-region natives, she adds.
Her team could not determine how the Choquepukio children died. Spanish accounts described strangulation of sacrificed youngsters. A neck bone called the hyoid often fractures when adults are strangled but rarely fractures in children because it hasn’t fully formed.
______________
References:
Bower, Bruce. 2010. "Clues to child sacrifices found in Inca building". Science News. Posted: September 22, 2010. Available online: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/63574/title/Clues_to_child_sacrifices_found_in_Inca_building
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Genocide Wiped Out Native American Population
Crushed leg bones, battered skulls and other mutilated human remains are likely all that's left of a Native American population destroyed by genocide that took place circa 800 A.D., suggests a new study.
The paper, accepted for publication in the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, describes the single largest deposit to date of mutilated and processed human remains in the American Southwest.
The entire assemblage comprises 14,882 human skeletal fragments, as well as the mutilated remains of dogs and other animals killed at the massacre site -- Sacred Ridge, southwest of Durango, Colo.
Based on the archaeological findings, which include two-headed axes that tested positive for human blood, co-authors Jason Chuipka and James Potter believe the genocide occurred as a result of conflict between different Anasazi Ancestral Puebloan ethnic groups.
"It was entirely an inside job," Chuipka, an archaeologist with Woods Canyon Archaeological Consultants, told Discovery News.
"The type of event at Sacred Ridge is on the far end of the conflict spectrum where social relations completely melt down," he added, mentioning that the Sacred Ridge "occupants were targeted to take the blame."
Chuipka and Potter analyzed objects excavated at Sacred Ridge, which was a multiple habitation site of 22 pit structures, some of which may have operated as communal ritual facilities for a population that extended beyond the immediate site inhabitants. This suggests the residents at one point exerted some social control in the area.
The unearthed bones and artifacts indicate that when the violence took place, men, women and children were tortured, disemboweled, killed and often hacked to bits. In some cases, heads, hands and feet appear to have been removed as trophies for the killers. The attackers then removed belongings out of the structures and set the roofs on fire.
"I think that the major event was preceded by social stress within the community that may have been exacerbated by a period of drought," Chuipka said. "The scale of the mutilations suggests that it was planned and organized in the preceding days or weeks, and that the violence took place in a relatively short period of time -- a few days."
"All evidence points to a rapid event, which is only possible with coordination and complicity within the community," he added.
The researchers ruled out other possible explanations, such as starvation cannibalism, traditional preparation of the deceased, and even individuals targeted for practicing witchcraft. Cannibalism, for example, usually involves bone marrow processing. Witch roundups tend to affect a relatively small number of victims.
In this case, a large group of people was dispatched at one time.
For a separate study, John McClelland, lab manager of osteology at Arizona State Museum, analyzed teeth from human remains within the Ridges Basin region, including Sacred Ridge.
He found that the population at Sacred Ridge in the early 800s was distinct from others in the area.
"The individuals at Sacred Ridge whose remains were disarticulated and processed were not a random selection from among the overall population of Ridges Basin," McClelland determined. "In addition to the biological differences, they appear to have had a somewhat different diet and may have experienced a higher level of juvenile growth disruption."
At least two other separate studies have come to similar conclusions, suggesting the genocide victims at Sacred Ridge belonged to an ethnic group that was different from that of other nearby populations.
Given basic established patterns from more recent ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia, Iraq and Rwanda, the researchers think political structures that had been keeping ethnic conflict at bay probably broke down at Sacred Ridge.
"What we can learn from Sacred Ridge is that archaeological sites are not simply piles of rock and refuse, but that they were occupied by people that were involved in complex webs of social relations," Chuipka said. "Sacred Ridge is a case where social relations melted down and the solution chosen was absolute and shocking."
_________________
References:
Viegas, Jennifer. 2010. "Genocide Wiped Out Native American Population". Discovery News. Posted: September 20, 2010. Available online: http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/genocide-native-americans-ethnic-cleansing.html
Friday, October 1, 2010
Cousin marriages: a question of understanding
A lot has been said on the issue of marriages between cousins and its potential genetic risks since the airing of Channel 4's Dispatches: When Cousins Marry last month. Feedback has been both positive and negative, but different extrapolations of the true picture have complicated understanding around this issue by stigmatising certain communities and highlighting unrelated issues such as immigration, religion or politics.
The fact remains that this is a health issue, which has lead to a higher than normal infant and perinatal mortality in cities such as Birmingham and Bradford. The extent of the morbidity is not yet known, but a fair indication can be found in the rise in the number of applications for disability living allowances for children in these areas. A disproportionate number of cases occur among those of south Asian, and especially Pakistani descent, but it can affect all ethnicities and should be a concern for all. It is time to discuss it rationally so we can enable informed reproductive choices.
The genetics of cousin marriages are fairly simple. There is a 2-3% risk of rare recessive genetic disorders in unrelated couples for every pregnancy. This risk rises to 4-6% in first-cousin marriages but higher if there is persistent practice of first-cousin marriages over the generations. We all carry mutations in our genome – the genetic code that carries the blueprints for our body, half of which we get from our fathers and the other half from our mothers. The chances of both carrying the same mutations is low, but is higher in first cousins and those marrying in very close-knit communities. If they both have the same mutations, there is a one in four chance of having an affected child – which can mean anything from a mild to a catastrophic illness, or even a miscarriage. More importantly, there is a one in two chance of having children who, while unaffected themselves, are also carriers.
Cousin couples who do have a healthy baby can be the victims of a false sense of genetic security, which could encourage unions without premarital or preconception testing. The best prevention strategy, together with counselling, is to avoid first-cousin marriages or those within insular communities, as we can't test for all rare genetic conditions.
As GPs, we see the consequences of such unions. They are distressing not only to the affected child, but also to the siblings, parents and extended family. One of the parents often becomes a full-time carer, which leads to financial difficulties and related emotional ailments. This is in addition to the anguish of being given such devastating news during pregnancy and the numerous hospital treatments the child has to undergo. No one questions the right of individuals to make their own reproductive choices, but these should be informed.
With the above in mind, Birmingham has embarked on an initiative to provide education to our residents. The Enhanced Genetics Services Project aims to provide a multi-strand approach to reduce the increasing infant mortality in the city. The initiative will look at reviewing past patients and new technologies available to deal with their illness, as well as developing new tests for such conditions. However, the paramount concern is the education of patients, healthcare professionals and the community as a whole.
Three practices across Birmingham currently offer screening for the blood disorders thalassaemia and sickle cell anaemia to all patients over 16 years of age. Those found to be carriers are counselled and a more detailed discussion of genetic risk undertaken. They are also searching records for patients known to have genetic diseases, in order to offer them counselling. It is at this stage that the education of genetic risk is undertaken, and this has also led to the development of a genetic register, which aids identifying families who would benefit from such services.
As GPs, our rapport and trust with patients, whose family dynamics we are often familiar with, puts us in a unique position to impart such education in a nonpolitical and effective manner. When we take into account the sensitivities and feelings of our patients and community, this education is likely to be more effective. There are, however, several barriers to such services, including some cultural beliefs and political arguments. Within the communities most affected there are often concepts of fate or the will of God, which can be discussed on an individual basis. A non-judgmental approach is the key to this process, as is the support of other community leaders such as clergy, community workers and so on.
Success is hard to gauge at such an infancy stage, and often requires a few decades, as it involves a cultural shift. We are, however, seeing more willingness to participate in genetic risk assessments, counselling and an interest in taking up genetic testing in pregnancy. This is a small measure of progress so far, but the time for action is now.
__________________
References:
Alidina, Rizwan, Walji, Mohamed. 2010. "Cousin marriages: a question of understanding". Guardian. Posted: September 17, 2010. Available online: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/17/cousin-marriages-understanding-health-risks
The fact remains that this is a health issue, which has lead to a higher than normal infant and perinatal mortality in cities such as Birmingham and Bradford. The extent of the morbidity is not yet known, but a fair indication can be found in the rise in the number of applications for disability living allowances for children in these areas. A disproportionate number of cases occur among those of south Asian, and especially Pakistani descent, but it can affect all ethnicities and should be a concern for all. It is time to discuss it rationally so we can enable informed reproductive choices.
The genetics of cousin marriages are fairly simple. There is a 2-3% risk of rare recessive genetic disorders in unrelated couples for every pregnancy. This risk rises to 4-6% in first-cousin marriages but higher if there is persistent practice of first-cousin marriages over the generations. We all carry mutations in our genome – the genetic code that carries the blueprints for our body, half of which we get from our fathers and the other half from our mothers. The chances of both carrying the same mutations is low, but is higher in first cousins and those marrying in very close-knit communities. If they both have the same mutations, there is a one in four chance of having an affected child – which can mean anything from a mild to a catastrophic illness, or even a miscarriage. More importantly, there is a one in two chance of having children who, while unaffected themselves, are also carriers.
Cousin couples who do have a healthy baby can be the victims of a false sense of genetic security, which could encourage unions without premarital or preconception testing. The best prevention strategy, together with counselling, is to avoid first-cousin marriages or those within insular communities, as we can't test for all rare genetic conditions.
As GPs, we see the consequences of such unions. They are distressing not only to the affected child, but also to the siblings, parents and extended family. One of the parents often becomes a full-time carer, which leads to financial difficulties and related emotional ailments. This is in addition to the anguish of being given such devastating news during pregnancy and the numerous hospital treatments the child has to undergo. No one questions the right of individuals to make their own reproductive choices, but these should be informed.
With the above in mind, Birmingham has embarked on an initiative to provide education to our residents. The Enhanced Genetics Services Project aims to provide a multi-strand approach to reduce the increasing infant mortality in the city. The initiative will look at reviewing past patients and new technologies available to deal with their illness, as well as developing new tests for such conditions. However, the paramount concern is the education of patients, healthcare professionals and the community as a whole.
Three practices across Birmingham currently offer screening for the blood disorders thalassaemia and sickle cell anaemia to all patients over 16 years of age. Those found to be carriers are counselled and a more detailed discussion of genetic risk undertaken. They are also searching records for patients known to have genetic diseases, in order to offer them counselling. It is at this stage that the education of genetic risk is undertaken, and this has also led to the development of a genetic register, which aids identifying families who would benefit from such services.
As GPs, our rapport and trust with patients, whose family dynamics we are often familiar with, puts us in a unique position to impart such education in a nonpolitical and effective manner. When we take into account the sensitivities and feelings of our patients and community, this education is likely to be more effective. There are, however, several barriers to such services, including some cultural beliefs and political arguments. Within the communities most affected there are often concepts of fate or the will of God, which can be discussed on an individual basis. A non-judgmental approach is the key to this process, as is the support of other community leaders such as clergy, community workers and so on.
Success is hard to gauge at such an infancy stage, and often requires a few decades, as it involves a cultural shift. We are, however, seeing more willingness to participate in genetic risk assessments, counselling and an interest in taking up genetic testing in pregnancy. This is a small measure of progress so far, but the time for action is now.
__________________
References:
Alidina, Rizwan, Walji, Mohamed. 2010. "Cousin marriages: a question of understanding". Guardian. Posted: September 17, 2010. Available online: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/17/cousin-marriages-understanding-health-risks
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