Cal BP Research Articles

An Upper Paleolithic horse mandible with an embedded lithic projectile: Insights into 16,500 cal BP hunting strategies through a unique case of bone injury from Cantabrian Spain

AbstractEmbedded artifacts in osteoarchaeological remains may be key to approaching hunting strategies and other behavioral‐related issues such as technological development. However, that kind of evidence is not common within the archaeological record and often not well‐characterized, especially for faunal remains from prehistoric sites. Here, we present and discuss a unique case of a horse (Equus caballus) mandible with an embedded lithic remains from the Upper Paleolithic (ca. 17,300–16,200 cal BP) from La Garma cave in Cantabria, Spain. Our macro‐ and microscopic faunal and lithic integrated analysis suggests that the case presented here is a potential perimortem hunting lesion, representing an uncommon hunting strategy during the Magdalenian period. Furthermore, this study, representing the first case of its kind in the Iberian Peninsula, emphasizes the importance of the taphonomic analysis of bone surfaces to approach the understanding of past human behaviors.

Big Data Analytics Based Data Driven Public Health Care System For Heart Disease Detection

Everyone should be more conscious of their lifestyle choices in order to live a healthy life. This can be done by following appropriate eating plans, being aware of healthcare issues, and knowing how to maintain good health. The health sector produces enormous amounts of electronic data every second in the present digital era, making it extremely difficult to store and manage the data using traditional software and technology. Additionally, the impending data is generated in varied forms, such as semi-structured, unstructured, and/or structured. The rate at which data are evolving and their abundance necessitate an overwhelming amount of health care data. Thus, it appears that health-related data can be handled using big data. This study demonstrates how quickly things are evolving, resulting in the creation of several approaches and continuous research into fixes for issues that crop up in a range of industries.

Late Holocene morphosedimentary and palaeoenvironmental study of the Middle Drâa river basin (southeastern Morocco)

The alluvial filling of the middle basin of the Drâa River (southeastern Morocco) has recorded hydrogeomorphological responses to environmental changes. A systematic study of the Holocene fluvial terraces along an upstream-downstream section of about a hundred kilometers, combined with a sedimentary multiproxy study, was carried out on the alluvial archives of the Drâa's river. The stratigraphic field studies, combined with granulometric and geochemical X-ray Fluorescence analyses and radiocarbon dating, enable us to propose, for the first time, a reconstruction of the major stages in the morpho-hydrodynamic and paleo-environmental evolution of the middle Drâa river over the past 3500 years. Our results highlight six morpho-hydrodynamic and paleoenvironmental phases. Between 3500–2700 and 1800–1600 cal BP, the Drâa river was highly active, associated with torrential activity, reflecting arid climatic conditions. The lack of sedimentary record observed between 2800 and 2350 cal BP points either to a phase of erosion, or to a minimal and discontinuous activity that left no traces in the studied archives. The periods 2350–1800 (Roman Warm Period) and 1600–550 cal BP (Medieval Climate Anomaly) are characterized by strong fine and more regular alluviation punctuated by episodes of low energy of the Drâa floodplain, sometimes favoring fluviosols development that showed similar characteristics in the three outcrops studied. Finally, from 550 cal BP the fluvial records generally shows signs of anthropization, marked by the formation of anthrosols characteristic of fluvial oasis construction, and associated with the presence of ceramics and hearths, in which eolization features are frequent. The comparison of Drâa evolution in a broader paleohydrological and climatic context, integrating other Moroccan studies and regional data, shows solid connection with the river, lakes, and marine archives from the southern Mediterranean to the Western Sahelian steppe zones, revealing a clear response of this large hydrosystem to regional climatic variations.

MLAFP-XN: Leveraging neural network model for development of antifungal peptide identification tool

Infectious fungi have been an increasing global concern in the present era. A promising approach to tackle this pressing concern involves utilizing Antifungal peptides (AFP) to develop an antifungal drug that can selectively eliminate fungal pathogens from a host with minimal toxicity to the host. Accordingly, identifying precise therapeutic antifungal peptides is crucial for developing effective drugs and treatments. This study proposed MLAFP-XN, a neural network-based strategy for accurately detecting active AFP in sequencing data to achieve this objective. In this work, eight feature extraction techniques and the XGB feature selection strategy are utilized together to present an enhanced methodology. A total of 24 classification models were evaluated, and the most effective four have been selected. Each of these models demonstrated superior accuracy on independent test sets, with respective scores of 97.93 %, 99.47 %, and 99.48 %. Our model outperforms current state of the art methods. In addition, we created a companion website to demonstrate our AFP recognition process and use SHAP to identify the most influential properties.

Expansion of C4 plants in the tropical Leizhou Peninsula during the Last Glacial Maximum: Modulating effect of regional sea-level change

Due to the lack of relatively long-term, high-resolution terrestrial records in tropical southern China, there is limited published research on terrestrial vegetation changes and their responses to regional and/or global climate forcings since the last glacial period. In this study, a 170-cm-long peat core (covering the interval from ~44.1 to 9.3 cal kyr BP) recovered from the Xialu peatland in Leizhou Peninsula, South China, was analyzed for organic carbon isotope (δ13Corg), along with total organic carbon, total nitrogen, and bulk dry density, to investigate past vegetation and hydroclimatic changes. Our results showed that C4 plants dominated the study region during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2 (29–14 cal kyr BP), indicating generally cooler and drier conditions during MIS 2 relative to late MIS 3 (~ 44.1–29 cal kyr BP) and early MIS 1 (14–9.3 cal kyr BP). In particular, the driest conditions occurred during the Last Glacial Maximum (~ 25–19 cal kyr BP) when sea level was at its lowest. In addition, several millennial-scale climatic events associated with the expansion of C4 plants were clearly identified. Our record is sensitive to a variety of glacial-interglacial forcings, including regional processes and global forcing, among which the inundation history of Beibu Gulf due to sea-level change during the late Quaternary, which has been neglected in previous studies, may have played an important role in modulating paleo-hydroclimatic changes in tropical southern China.

Challenges Faced by Indian Democracy

Democracy is almost a perfect system in which common people can play an important role directly or indirectly. India is a democratic state. It is the largest democracy in the world. Democracy has many features and characteristics (rule of law, equality, justice, transparency, accountability, promoting individual rights and liberties, etc.). India is also trying to follow these features or characteristics. Democracy is gradually changing its nature day by day. Democracy in present era is not same as it was before. Democracy is redefining its definition. The democracy of India is also changing and facing many problems and challenges. Democracy is a form of government in which people either directly or indirectly participate in the decision-making process through a system of representation involving periodically held free elections. The Democracy of India is considered as the largest democracy in the world. In a democracy, authority is enjoyed by the people or their representatives and people are the final authority in every field of system of governance. However, in modern India, democracy has faced a lot of challenges like social and economic inequalities, poverty and unemployment, Illiteracy, Casteism, communalism, corruption, terrorism, population explosion. It is required to be addressed to sustain true parliamentary democracy in India. This paper tries to examine and analyse the existing democratic system in India & its implication towards the democratic system of the world. It also suggests certain possible measures or institutional reforms in order to ensure a healthy and sustainable democracy for India. I would like to discuss mainly the problems and challenges with some examples that Indian democracy is facing.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE “HOSPITAL PLAYLIST 2” MOVIE POSTERS: A VISUAL GRAMMAR APPROACH

In the present digital era, movie posters have gained increased significance; hence, it is crucial to understand the significance of each component in movie posters in effectively communicating the overarching message (Ashari & Rochmawati, 2022). Previous research in this field often focused solely on only one out of the three meanings proposed in the Visual Grammar framework, developed by Kress and van Leeuween in 1996 or centered around a few movie posters. To address these gaps, this study was conducted to analyze all three meanings proposed in the framework and expand the scope of analysis beyond a single poster in a movie. The researchers identified certain findings about creating effective movie posters via the application of the framework. From the results, it is recommended that visual promotion should be carefully analyzed for better audience engagement.

AHARA VIDHI VIDHAN: A DISCIPLINED DIETARY GUIDELINES BY AYURVEDA

Ahara Vidhi vidhan which describes in Ayurveda classics includes the right way to consume food for the proper digestion and assimilation of food. it is believed that a person's diet and lifestyle have a significant impact on a healthy life as well as in diseased condition. Ayurveda focuses a lot on Ahara (food), and of course, a balanced diet feeds the body, mind, and soul, but an interesting fact is that Ayurveda also focuses on the way that should be taken, posture of the body, calmness of the mind, surrounding everything together, which determines the nutritive value of food. In Ayurveda, Ahara is regarded as one of the fundamental pillars (Upsthambhas) of existence. The change in eating habits of the present era plays a major role in several ailments for example taking without concentration result in indigestion, laughing in between causes nasal regurgitation etc. keeping aware for these facts and properly practices ahara Vidhi vidha can assure better health and healthier longer life too. This article will outline the dos and don’ts regarding food intake so that a healthier society can be established.

Signals of soil formation during pre-glacial maximum on the byers peninsula (maritime antarctica)

The Maritime Antarctic is one of the most sensitive regions on Earth to warming, recording permafrost degradation and glacial retreat in the last 10 kyr. The timing of deglaciation and the pedological implications are still poorly elucidated in many ice-free areas of the Antarctic. The severity of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) across the Maritime Antarctic has limited paleoenvironmental records of pre-LGM terrestrial signals, constraining knowledge of climate trends in the Late Pleistocene. Byers Peninsula is one of the most extensive ice-free areas in the Maritime Antarctic. So, we hypothesized that soils in Byers Peninsula host Pleistocene sedimentological and pedological evidence of landscape evolution. This study investigated soil genesis in Byers Peninsula. Radiocarbon and OSL dates provided a chronology of nine soil profiles. Morphological, physical, and chemical analysis characterized soil formation. Isotopic composition of organic matter tracked the main photosynthetic processes. Endolithic soil organic matter in a pre-LGM soil indicates soil genesis at 31,690 cal yr BP, much earlier than the common age models of approximately 10,000 cal yr BP in previous studies. Burial and 14C ages in Cryosols formed on beach sediments above 70 m and on cliffs suggest marine terrace uplift and soil genesis in cliffs during the Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene. Younger Cryosols and Leptosols soils formed on raised beaches in Late Holocene. These findings suggest an older glacial retreat in the Maritime Antarctic. Soil proxies in potential pre-LGM ice-free areas are promising tools for paleoenvironmental reconstructions of the Maritime Antarctic.

Beachrock: A chronological benchmark for Late Holocene build-up on the coast of Israel

Beachrock formations are proxies of coastal morphodynamics, and are thus commonly utilized for paleoenvironment interpretations. Linear beachrock outcrops parallel to the shoreline are typical of the Mediterranean coastline of Israel. A new geomorphic and sedimentological analysis of beachrock, integrated with relative and absolute geochronology, characterizes their clastic composition and determines their ages. In-situ beachrock outcrops in the sandy beaches of the Sharon coast of central Israel are composed of quartz sand, shells and shell fragments, and show a significant contribution of fragmented rocks from the coastal cliff. Sections of beachrocks analyzed using portable Optically Stimulated Luminescence (pOSL) provided a relative chronological framework within and between the sections. The results show a moderate optic signal accumulation, indicating a gradual beach build-up during initial beachrock formation stages. Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) ages indicate deposition of unconsolidated beach sediments dated to about 1600–800 years before present (BP). The sediment burial at the former foreshore enabled rapid consolidation in the intertidal zone.

Analysis of Library Building Design from the Concept of Green Building

Library is a symbol of urbanization in the present era. The external shape of the library is more elegant and solemn, and the interior also pays more attention to the convenience and comfort. In the design, we need to pay attention to the enjoyment of architectural art beauty, and at the same time, we need to make the layout of the library more scientific and applicable, and meet the needs of the public reading. As a public building with huge flow of people, the library needs to consume a lot of energy when it is open, which is not in line with the characteristics of green building advocated at present. Therefore, in order to implement the concept of environmental protection, it is necessary to integrate the design of library building with the concept of green building. At the same time, the library is also a cultural building, and it needs to reflect the scientific concept of humanistic care and people- oriented. Therefore, this paper mainly analyzes and discusses the library design under the concept of green building.

Assessment of Groundwater Age in the Upper Chao Phraya River Basin Using Tritium and Carbon-14 Isotope Analysis

Groundwater is a critical resource in the Upper Chao Phraya basin, providing consistent water supplies for agricultural, domestic, and industrial activities, especially during the dry season. This study utilized tritium and carbon-14 dating techniques to investigate groundwater age, analyzing 273 samples collected in 2021 from various wells and depths across the basin. Tritium and carbon-14 were measured using liquid scintillation counting (LSC). The results revealed a wide range of groundwater ages, including recently recharged water with tritium concentrations up to 2.4 TU, corresponding to groundwater ages ranging from a few months to 44.17 years BP (Before Present), with an average of 18.26 years BP. Older groundwater was identified with carbon-14 concentrations as low as 3.22 pMC, indicating ages of up to 22,899 years, with a mean age of 6687 years BP. Correlation analysis showed a positive relationship between tritium and carbon-14 concentrations (r = 0.52). Spatial distribution patterns indicated that tritium concentrations were higher in northern and mountainous areas, identifying these as critical recharge zones. In contrast, lower carbon-14 concentrations in the central and southern areas suggested the presence of older groundwater, emphasizing the need for careful management of these ancient water reserves. The spatial variation in tritium and carbon-14 concentrations highlights differences in groundwater circulation and recharge patterns, enabling the identification of key recharge zones in the northern and highland regions. This highlights the importance of conserving these areas from pollution and over-extraction. The presence of old groundwater in the central and southern areas further emphasizes the need for ongoing monitoring to sustainably manage these long-term water resources. This study enhances the understanding of groundwater dynamics in the Upper Chao Phraya basin and provides valuable insights for improving water resource management strategies.

From Halos to Galaxies. IX. Estimate of Halo Assembly History for SDSS Galaxy Groups

The properties of the galaxies are tightly connected to their host halo mass and halo assembly history. Accurate measurement of the halo assembly history in observation is challenging but crucial to the understanding of galaxy formation and evolution. The stellar-to-halo mass ratio (M */M h) for the centrals has often been used to indicate the halo assembly time t h,50 of the group, where t h,50 is the lookback time at which a halo has assembled half of its present-day virial mass. Using mock data from the semi-analytic models, we find that M */M h shows a significant scatter with t h,50, with a strong systematic difference between the group with a star-forming central (blue group) and passive central (red group). To improve the accuracy, we develop machine learning models to estimate t h,50 for galaxy groups using only observable quantities in the mocks. Since star formation quenching will decouple the co-growth of the dark matter and baryon, we train our models separately for blue and red groups. Our models have successfully recovered t h,50, within an accuracy of ∼1.09 Gyr. With careful calibrations of individual observable quantities in the mocks with Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) observations, we apply the trained models to the SDSS Yang et al. groups and derive the t h,50 for each group for the first time. The derived SDSS t h,50 distributions are in good agreement with that in the mocks, in particular for blue groups. The derived halo assembly history, together with the halo mass, make an important step forward in studying the halo–galaxy connections in observation.

Reconstruction of human dispersal during Aurignacian on pan-European scale

The Aurignacian is the first techno-complex related with certainty to Anatomically Modern Humans in Europe. Studies show that they appeared around 43-42 kyr cal BP and dispersed rapidly in Europe during the Upper Palaeolithic. However, human dispersal is a highly convoluted process which is until today not well understood. Here, we provide a reconstruction of the human dispersal during the Aurignacian on the pan-European scale using a human dispersal model, the Our Way Model, which combines archaeological with paleoclimate data and uses the human existence potential as a unifying driver of human population dynamics. Based on the reconstruction, we identify the different stages of the human dispersal and analyse how human demographic processes are influenced by climate change and topography. A chronology of the Aurignacian human groups in Europe is provided, which is verified for locations where archaeological dating records are available. Insights into highly debated hypotheses, such as human dispersal routes, are provided.

Fire drives major Holocene vegetation shifts between subtropical and Mediterranean‐type ecosystems: a case study from a biodiversity hotspot in South Africa

Fire plays a pivotal role in driving ecological shifts between Mediterranean‐type vegetation and subtropical ecosystems in South Africa. This study investigates long‐term environmental dynamics and ecological regime changes at the Mediterranean‐type vegetation /subtropical boundary using a 6000‐year palaeoecological sequence from the Baviaanskloof – a region of South Africa characterized by high levels of biodiversity and climate dynamism. Combining fossil pollen and microcharcoal data from a rock hyrax Procavia capensis midden, we analyse vegetation responses to environmental changes. Our findings reveal that Mediterranean‐type vegetation resilience prevailed until ca 2800 cal year BP when a major fire event triggered a transition to a subtropical thicket‐dominated environment. This abrupt ecological turnover underscores the significance of fire as a major driver of vegetation change at the Mediterranean‐type vegetation /subtropical boundary. Our study emphasizes the vulnerability of Mediterranean‐type vegetation ecosystems to global environmental change, suggesting potential implications for similar biome boundaries worldwide. By integrating multi‐proxy palaeoecological evidence, we gain insights into the resilience and vulnerability of these ecosystems, aiding in understanding future responses to climate change scenarios.

Stable Isotope Analysis and Chronology Building at the Hokfv-Mocvse Cultural Site, the Earliest Evidence for South Atlantic Shell-Ring Villages

Abstract Circular shell rings along the South Atlantic coast of the United States are vestiges of the earliest sedentary villages in North America, dating to 4500–3000 BP. However, little is known about when Indigenous communities began constructing these shell-ring villages. This article presents data from the Hokfv-Mocvse Shell Ring on Ossabaw Island, Georgia. Although shell rings are often associated with the earliest ceramics in North America, no ceramics were encountered in our excavations at Hokfv-Mocvse, and the only materials recovered were projectile points similar to points found over 300 km inland. Bayesian modeling of radiocarbon dates indicates that the ring was occupied between 5090 and 4735 cal BP (95% confidence), making it the earliest dated shell ring in the region. Additionally, shell geochemistry and oyster paleobiology data suggest that inhabitants were living at the ring year-round and had established institutions at that time to manage oyster fisheries sustainably. Hokfv-Mocvse therefore provides evidence for Indigenous people settling in year-round villages and adapting to coastal environments in the region centuries before the adoption of pottery. The establishment of villages marks a visible archaeological shift toward settling down and occupying island ecosystems on a more permanent basis and in larger numbers than ever before in the region.

Mangrove dynamics driven by Late Holocene drought at Laguna Bacalar, Mexico

Laguna Bacalar, one of Mexico's most significant near-coast lakes, remains underexplored in the context of its Late Holocene paleoecology. A 2,40 m long core was retrieved in northern Laguna Bacalar. Palynological and geochemical proxies were isolated and analyzed. Our findings reveal the intricate paleoecological dynamics and hydrodynamic shifts of this vital area in southeastern Mexico. Climate and ecological changes delineate three pivotal phases during the Late Holocene at Laguna Bacalar: (i) a period between 3600 and 3250 cal BP mirroring current climatic conditions with seasonal dry tropical forest and mangroves as the dominant vegetation and evidence of human activities indicated by the presence of fossil maize pollen, (ii) a relatively arid phase from 3250 to 2600 cal BP, influenced by heightened ENSO-driven precipitation variability and sea level rise favoring an estuarine environment at Laguna Bacalar, and (iii) a period between 2600 and 2200 cal BP, exhibiting hydrological conditions akin to contemporary conditions with wetland forest mangrove vegetation. These data ultimately underscore the region's susceptibility to regional climatic fluctuations and ecological resilience, providing a case study from which to predict future conditions and establish modern conservation policy for Laguna Bacalar and similar environments.

A Study on the Integration of Big Data With Information Retrieval Technology in the Construction of Translation Talent Pools

This paper conducts a corresponding study on the construction of a translation talent pool internally through the context of information retrieval technology. It first discusses the current state of development of information retrieval technology in various countries in the present era and the current social development of information retrieval technology. A model of the system is constructed by basing it on information retrieval technology. The system model of information retrieval technology combined with the optimisation problems associated with translation talent pools is also investigated, incorporating a factorisation algorithm. The results of the study show that the system model of big data combined with information retrieval technology has good application in concrete practical applications after modelling and performing internal upgrading.

Millennial-aged organic matter preservation in anoxic and sulfidic mangrove soils: Insights from isotopic and molecular analyses

Mangrove forests are known as coastal carbon sinks, but the long-term (millennium-scale) preservation processes of organic matter (OM) in their soils and the role of sulphur in these processes are still not fully understood. These processes are crucial for better estimating the impact of sea-level variations on the carbon dynamics in mangrove forests, which are particularly sensitive to sea-level changes due to their direct hydrological interactions with coastal waters. This study focuses on a soil layer enriched in mangrove-derived OM that accumulated during a stable sea-level period of the Holocene in New Caledonia (South Pacific). Radiocarbon dating situates this enriched layer at approximately 4000 cal BP. The aim of this study is to characterize the enriched OM layer using bulk (Rock-Eval), isotopic (δ13C and δ15N), and molecular (lignin and neutral carbohydrates) analyses. This OM has undergone diagenetic processes such as dehydrogenation, and the loss of components such as the main neutral carbohydrates: glucose, xylose, and galactose. However, some Rock-Eval parameters, the total lignin content, and carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios are characteristic of well-preserved OM, suggesting differential decomposition/preservation processes. In addition, SEM observations highlighted the presence of pyrite associated to preserved root material. Along with high Sorg/TOC ratio, these results suggest potential processes of OM sulfurization preserving it from decomposition. Prolonged sea-level stability in addition to anoxic and sulfidic soil conditions enhanced OM accumulation and long-term sequestration in mangrove soils.

Temperature changes of the Mid-Late Holocene transition in North China and their implications for regional cultural succession

Evaluating the influence of temperature on cultural successions in North China during the Mid-Late Holocene transition (MLHT) is a significant research problem. We used a lacustrine sedimentary profile (BG-2019) from Lake Baiyangdian, in the hinterland of the North China Plain, to quantitatively reconstruct temperature changes during the MLHT, using branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs). We then integrated this record with selected quantitative paleotemperature records from North China to explore the effects of temperature change on the evolution of Neolithic cultures in this region. The results show that the mean annual temperature (MAT) in the hinterland of the North China Plain during the MLHT averaged ∼15.7 °C (∼3.6 °C higher than today); and that three significant cooling events occurred (the 5.3 ka event, 4.8 ka event, and 4.2 ka event), at ∼5300-5100 cal yr BP, 4800 cal yr BP, and ∼4500-4300 cal yr BP, respectively, with cooling between −2.1 °C and −3.4 °C. Integration of our results with other regional quantitative paleotemperature records shows that these three cooling events are well documented in North China, with spatial consistency in their magnitude and onset of cooling. These cooling events are temporally correlated to two cultural transitions in North China: the cooling event at ∼5300-4800 cal yr BP corresponds to the decline of the Yangshao culture in the Central Plains region, and the decline of the Hongshan culture in the Yanliao region, which evolved into the Xiaoheyan culture. Additionally, we suggest that the cooling event at ∼5300-4800 cal yr BP, combined with the weakening of the summer monsoon, contributed to the end of the Yangshao culture and the rise of the Longshan culture in the Central Plains region, and that it accelerated the end of the Xiaoheyan culture and the rise of the Xiajiadian Lower Culture in the Yanliao region.