La Playa Research Articles

Application of the Bioarchaeology of Care Framework to an Individual from an Early Agricultural Community in Sonora, Mexico

New evidence suggests that social ties within Early Agricultural period communities (2100 BCE-CE 50) were particularly strong, as it appears people were caring for each other in the face of potentially life-changing injury. An individual recovered from the site of La Playa in northern Sonora, Mexico represents a 40–50-year-old female with a right hand/forearm amputation and extreme disuse atrophy of the right humerus and clavicle. In clinical terms, healing both physically and mentally after amputation requires an immense amount of time and support from medical specialists and close family/friends. The severe disuse atrophy of the upper limb indicates that she lived for some time after the injury and suggests that she not only had people to care for her through the initial clinical stages associated with amputation, but that she also had emotional support from her family and/or community throughout the healing process.

The bay of La Isabela, Dominican Republic: The first enclave for the shelter, reception, construction and maintenance of ships in the New World, 1494–1498

La Isabela emerged as the first node or point of commercial connection between the ancient kingdoms of Spain and the Caribbean. This achievement was due to the meticulous spatial arrangement and planning of the settlement in the Isabeline cove, designed to facilitate interaction with both the surrounding environment and the maritime routes. Christopher Columbus achieved effective intercommunication between resource-rich areas strategically located for both maritime and river navigation. The subsidiary station of Marta, located in the Bajabonico Valley, played a crucial role as a complement to the residential centre of El Castillo, providing the basic inputs necessary for the functioning of the settlement and the shipbuilding industry. Additionally, the adjacent bay, with its arched configuration, served as a resting and recuperation place for the crew. At the opposite end, to the north-east, the shipyard was located in the La Playa area, equipped with personnel, resources and sufficient infrastructure for the construction, outfitting and repair of vessels.

Trincheras Tradition Plant Use Practices from ∼400 to 1450 CE

The Trincheras tradition thrived in the Altar, Magdalena, and Asunción-Concepción valleys from 400 to 1450 CE. In the early twentieth century, archaeologists proposed that the Trincheras people were hunter-gatherers until around 1300 CE. This study investigates whether the plant use practices of the Trincheras tradition remained consistent across different regions and through time. I compare archaeological and macrobotanical data recovered at three Altar Valley Trincheras sites dated to ∼750–1300 CE (El Póporo, La Potranca, and San Martin) and integrate data from La Playa (400–650 CE) and Cerro de Trincheras (1300–1450 CE). The results revealed that the Trinchereños were agriculturalists from 400 to 1450 CE, disproving twentieth-century archaeologists' hypothesis. Between 1050 and 1300 CE, the ubiquity values of maize were the greatest at Trincheras Altar Valley sites. However, after relocating to the Magdalena Valley around 1300 CE, the percent presence of maize decreased, while that of agave and foraged foods increased.

Stable Isotope Analysis of La Playa and Broader Impacts

Knowledge of the Early Agricultural period (4100 to 1900 BP) has been saturated with data from sites spanning Northwestern Mexico and the American Southwest. As our understanding of the role of maize in Early Agricultural populations has grown, our understanding of the behavioral changes has also been affected. As a result, the methodologies of this study requires more than site level analyses, and integration into other crucial sites of the Early Agricultural period such as La Playa, Cerro Juanaqueña, and Casas Grandes. To understand the transition from mixed subsistence to the reliance on maize, multiple variables must be considered: ecology, stable isotope analysis, dietary variability, and behavioral changes. This article seeks to highlight the site of La Playa, in Northern Sonora, Mexico by focusing on the dependence on maize with δ13Ccollagen and δ13Capatite isotopes to evaluate the reduction of variability throughout the Early Agricultural period.

Using Unmanned Aerial System Photogrammetry to Map La Playa, Sonora, Mexico (SON F:10:3)

La Playa is a significant archaeological site in Northwest Mexico that contains deposits from over 10,000 years of continuous occupation. Significantly, it contains the earliest definable Trincheras Tradition deposits as well as one of the best-preserved deposits from the Early Agricultural Period. The Proyecto La Playa, a long-term collaborative research project between archaeologists from the U.S. and Mexico, has worked at the site since 1995. One of the project priorities has been to document features in danger of the severe erosion currently affecting the site. To better document site components and support spatial analysis of the features, I used Unmanned Aerial System photogrammetry to create several geospatial datasets for La Playa. With this data I identified a part of the site that appears to have mound features in an area that has not yet been surveyed. This article documents the process of using new technologies to develop these spatial datasets.

Technical and economic feasibility study of a solar plant on a commercial surface in Azogues, Ecuador.

The submitted paper deals with the shopping mall project that will be supplied with solar power. The selected location was "La Playa Store" shopping center located in the city of Azogues, south of Ecuador. This type of building has at least two characteristics worth studying i) the available surface on the roof, ii) the characteristics of the energy demand curve. This evaluation process establishes the energy requirement of the installation; that is, the energy potential available depending on the surface of its roof, to design a solar plant according to international standards and local ARCONEL 003/18 regulations. The tools used for the involving simulation were the Lumion software, an IFC file created and imported into the Solarius Pv energy simulator, a software specialized in the design of photovoltaic systems. The designed photovoltaic system has a projected annual energy generation of 9,3695.26 kWh; an installed price per watt of $1.1 with viable results at the end of the fifth year of implementation with an IRR of 7.33% and NPV of $390.51. As this is a commercial facility, a constant and flat consumption throughout the day is expected, so implementing solar energy would reduce the actual power requirements by 32.63%

El paisaje y las referencias cultas en La playa de los locos de Elena Soriano

This article focuses on the work of the insufficiently known writer Elena Soriano and more specifically on her novel La playa de los locos. The main objective is to analyze the cultured references present in the work, both from Judeo-Christianity and from classical culture or other literary texts. Likewise, the allusions to the famous fairy tales present in the novel have been studied. Given the disavowal of the publication of the novel by censors, the first part of this paper explains the context surrounding its publication and its repercussions on the author's career.

A coupled approach for planning in vulnerable coastal landscapes

One of the most problematic steps in planning and management of vulnerable coastal systems under high level of uncertainties is anticipating potential design scenarios where multiple spatial scales interact. The mutual interference between beach morphodynamics and infrastructural needs of the wide territory poses several questions to urban planners and architects. In this study we assess the ability of the proposed coupled approach of MIKE 21 Spectral Wave and XBeach to significantly improve our understanding of vulnerable barrier beaches in urbanized areas, and hence to contribute to improved system design and management. Specifically, to improve the result accuracy and the time-computational efficiency of the proposed coupled approach, an additional module was developed. Located in the West Metropolitan Area of Cagliari city (Sardinia, IT), the barrier beach of La Playa is an important evacuation route that has experienced a coastal squeeze process under the increase in magnitude and frequency of sea storms. From an extensive beach survey, the “whole model composition” supports the selection of the territorial scale as the reference for defining a potential design scenario at the local scale in La Playa beach. While ordinary (10-year return time) storms create a nearshore sand berm with a protective function for the barrier beach and evacuation route against future storms, extreme (140-year return time) storms significantly erode the beach with a shoreline moving approximately 15 m landward and an overwash of Qcrest >20 l/m/s. Acting as a rigid impermeable obstacle against landward barrier migration, the evacuation route is destroyed. Urban planners and architects should consider the downgrade of the evacuation route as a part of a design potential scenario capable of minimizing the territorial vulnerability and reducing the local vulnerability. Rebuilt with environment-friendly functional road materials, this design scenario can also define a new flexible landward limit of the barrier beach and restore an eventual migration.

Nivel de conocimiento sobre agroecología de agricultores de noventa fincas del Norte de Santander, Colombia

The objective of this work is to present the results of the initial diagnosis that was carried out to determine the level of knowledge about agroecology that the farmers of ninety farms in the municipalities Arboledas, Convencion, La Playa, La Esperanza, Ocaña and Mutiscua had incorporated into a project agroecological. Fifteen farms and their families were selected by municipality and a survey was conducted with 24 closed questions (yes or no) grouped into five topics. The level of knowledge about agroecology was not high among the farmers of the project, nor was it similar between the municipalities, nor within them for the different topics. The major knowledge problems were concentrated on integrated pest management and biofertilizers, and in particular on seed conservation in Mutiscua and Arboledas. Some municipalities were grouped according to the answers to some questions because the farmers had a similar level of knowledge on certain topics.

Quality Assessment of the English Subtitles in Five International Award-Winning Colombian Films

The Colombian film industry is growing and gaining relevance in the international market, which demands products that comply with the highest quality standards. Consequently, a study was designed to analyze the current English subtitle quality of five Colombian films that participated in different international film festivals from 2012 to 2018 and won at least one award: La sirga by William Vega (2012), La playa D.C. by Juan Andrés Arango (2013), Tierra en la lengua by Rubén Mendoza (2014), La tierra y la sombra by César Augusto Acevedo (2015), and Niña errante by Rubén Mendoza (2018). The subtitles were examined using Pedersen’s (2017) far model to have a general overview of their quality. The results evidenced a weakness in the functional equivalence category by presenting mistranslations in many of the cultural references and idiomatic expressions, potentially affecting the audience’s reception and, therefore, jeopardizing the international success of the films. Additionally, the readability category included many segmentation and spotting errors. In general, the subtitles comply with the subtitling guidelines regarding reading speed and line length but need to improve the transmission of idiomatic expressions and the segmentation of the subtitles.

Impacts of climate change on the tourist-carrying capacity at La Playa beach (Sardinia, IT)

It is largely acknowledged that global mean sea level is rising and accelerating increasing low-lying coastal communities’ exposure and vulnerability. The IPCC AR5 identified the Mediterranean Sea as one of the semi-enclosed seas with projected high rate. Impacts of sea level rise (SLR) at local scale affect the number of visitors in highly vulnerable beaches and previous paper have quantified these adverse effects. In this paper we want to say that coastal climate change is not just sea level rise and other climatic factors can affect the optimal beach carrying capacity in complex and uncertain ways. Specifically, the paper shows that the effects of selected climatic factors as wave, rainfall and wind can be opposite to that of SLR and the beach management could even benefit from those trends.

New Absolute Chronological Constraints to La Playa (Sonoran Desert) Archaeology between the American Southwest and Mesoamerica—From Long Period Human Resilience to Apparent Abandonment

Sonoran Desert archaeological settlement is one of the most representative sites in Northwestern Mexico/Southwestern United States of the Early Agriculture period because of various cultural processes involved, such as the introduction of the first cultigens and the construction of Pit Houses. These early desert village settlements used geomorphological features of the local landscape to facilitate their sophisticated form of agriculture. Most of the features and artifacts at the site are associated with the Early Agricultural period of 3150-1900 cal B.P., while most occupation dates are in the Cienega phase (2800-1900 cal B.P.). Later stages are poorly documented because of the apparent reduction in population, less marked archaeological features, and extreme erosion processes. Systematic archaeological excavation revealed evidence of completely burned Pit Houses. We analyzed 56 samples belonging to four Pit Houses and one different combustion feature (Kiln or Horno, as they are locally known) in different areas of the settlement. The experimental procedure included continuous susceptibility vs. temperature measurements and step-wise alternating field demagnetizations. Only 36 samples yielded technically acceptable determinations that allowed the determination of archaeomagnetic directions. Statistically indistinguishable results were obtained from all five studied features. This finding reinforces archaeological evidence of ritual-related paraphernalia and/or apparent abandonment or, at least, migration.

All Buzzed Off: The Ambiguities of Black Masculinity in Pelo malo (2013) and La playa D.C. (2012)

All Buzzed Off: The Ambiguities of Black Masculinity in Pelo malo (2013) and La playa D.C. (2012)

The Potential Role of S-and Fe-Cycling Bacteria on the Formation of Fe-Bearing Mineral (Pyrite and Vivianite) in Alluvial Sediments from the Upper Chicamocha River Basin, Colombia

S- and Fe-cycling bacteria can decisively affect the crystallization of Fe-bearing minerals in sediments from fluvial environments. We have studied the relationships between the Fe-bearing mineral assemblage and the bacterial community composition in the sediments rich in organic matter from the upper Chicamocha river basin (Colombia). Rapid flowing sections of the river contain sediments that have a high redox potential, are poor in organic matter and are enriched in kaolinite and quartz. On the other hand, the mineral assemblage of the sediments deposited in the La Playa dam with a high content in organic matter is enriched in Fe-bearing minerals: (a) vivianite and pyrite in the permanently flooded sediments of the dam and (b) pyrite and goethite in the periodically emerged sediments. The bacterial community composition of these sediments reveals anthropic organic matter pollution processes and biodegradation associated with eutrophication. Moreover, periodically emerged sediments in the La Playa dam contain bacterial groups adapted to the alternation of dry and wet periods under oxic or anoxic conditions. Cell-shaped aggregates with a pyritic composition suggest that sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) communities were involved in the precipitation of Fe-sulfides. The precipitation of vivianite in the flooded sediments was favored by a greater availability of Fe(II), which promoted the iron-reducing bacteria (IRB) enrichment of the sediments. The presence of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (SOB) in the flooded sediments and the activity of iron-oxidizing bacteria (IOB) in the periodically emerged sediments favored both pyrite crystallization under a high sulfide availability and the oxidation of microbially precipitated monosulfides. Moreover, IOB enhanced goethite formation in the periodically emerged sediments.

Radiogenic heat production in granitoids from the Sierras de C\xf3rdoba, Argentina

One of the most important processes of heat generation from the Earth's interior is the radioactive decay of isotopes. The main hosts of the major radiogenic elements U, Th and K in the crust are granitoids. The Sierras de Córdoba are formed of dissimilar granitic intrusions emplaced by a series of magmatic events that occurred during the Paleozoic. The different granitoids are classified as A-type, I-type, and S-type, and there is also a magmatic expression corresponding to the Famatinian period which exhibits TTG-type characteristics. In this work, the geochemical concentrations of the radiogenic elements of the granitic intrusions making up the Sierras de Córdoba were compiled in a single database. The radiogenic heat production of the Sierras de Córdoba granitoids was evaluated, making this the first study of radiogenic heat generation in the area. The radiogenic heat production showed variability for the different events, with the highest values found in Achalian magmatism and early Carboniferous magmatism, which are represented by A-type granitoids. The Capilla del Monte pluton has the highest heat production rate, with a value of 4.54 ± 1.38 µW/m3. The lowest values were found in the TTG-type granitoids and in the S-type granitoids, all of which belong to the Famatinian magmatic event. The range of values for this magmatic event goes from 0.26 ± 0.05 µW/m3 for the San Agustin pluton to 1.19 ± 0.50 µW/m3 for the La Playa pluton. An empirical ternary model is presented for the Sierras de Córdoba that involves the concentrations of the elements U, Th and K, and the radiogenic heat production, with a distinction for the petrogenetic types according to the S-I-A-M classification. The thermal manifestations located on the Capilla del Monte pluton could be related to the radioactive heat generation of the intrusion, involving both the neotectonic activity of the area and the radiogenic heat production. The results provide new opportunities for studying temperature variation within some of these intrusions and to evaluate the geothermal potential of the granitoids of Córdoba.

Abundance and diversity of soil mesofauna in six municipalities of Norte de Santander, Colombia

Introduction- The edaphic mesofauna intervenes in the decomposition processes of organic matter, constituting an important characteristic of soil quality. Objective-. Characterize the soil mesofauna in six municipalities of Norte de Santander Methodology. The present study was developed in 15 farms of the municipalities; Arboledas, Convencion, La Playa, La Esperanza, Ocaña and Mutiscua in the Department of Norte de Santander where 18 agroecological models would be established (3 / municipality). The abundance and diversity of the mesofauna were characterized before establishing the crops, comparing the situation of the main groups by municipalities. Results- In Arboledas the highest abundance of mesofauna was observed, with the presence of six classes, with detritive habits Crustacea, Collembola, Anelida, Symphyla and Arachnia: Oribatida, while in Esperanza and Mutiscua there were four classes; Insecta, Collembola, Symphyla and Arachnida and in the rest, the last three, which gives a measure of the processes of decomposition of organic matter and recycling of nutrients in these farms. Conclusions: In five municipalities, the highest abundance of mesofauna corresponded to the Collembola class, while Insecta was more abundant in Esperanza and ranked second in Mutiscua, Symplyla was second in Convencion, and La Playa and Arachnida in Ocaña and Arboledas. The specific richness varied from 5.0 for Convencion and Ocaña to 28 for Arboledas and the diversity of species from 0.91 in Convencion to 3.54 in Arboledas, a municipality that was statistically separated from the rest, leaving Mutiscua and Esperanza intermediate concerning the rest.

Colour Ageing in Acrylic Resin Plates and Natural Minerals on the Façade after 10 Years of Sun Exposure in the Marine Environment

The synthetic material developed by Dupont in 1963 for solid surfaces has been used since its origin for numerous applications. One of the most popular ones in the last decade is as a finishing layer on façades. The first references that contemplated this use on the outside were the Seeko’o hotel in Bordeaux executed in 2007 and the refurbishment of the 7700 m2 shell of the Hôtel Ivoire congress centre in Abidjan (Ivory Coast) in 2009. In Spain, the first example of the installation of this material is the rehabilitation of the main building of the La Rotonda de la Playa de San Juan urbanisation in Alicante, designed in 1965 by the architect Juan Guardiola Gaya and rehabilitated in 2010 by Miguel Salvador Landmann. Ten years later, our research is focused on the study of the colour ageing of the acrylic resin and natural mineral sheets on each of its façades, with different orientations and exposure to sea and wind. To this end, it has been studied the solar radiation of the surfaces, the wind exposure of their façades and tests with a tele-spectroradiometer has been carried out. The study makes it possible to quantify the differences in colour in all of them and to state that the combination of wind and radiation is the main atmospheric agent causing the degradation.

A new species and first record of Trichorhina Budde-Lund, 1908 (Isopoda, Oniscidea, Platyarthridae) from the Department of Norte de Santander, Colombia

The genus Trichorhina Budde-Lund, 1908 includes 70 species distributed mainly in tropical regions, of which three species have been recorded from Colombia: Trichorhina bermudezae Carpio-Díaz, López-Orozco and Campos-Filho, 2018, Trichorhina heterophthalma Lemos de Castro, 1964, and Trichorhina papillosa (Budde-Lund, 1893). The present work aims at describing Trichorhina navasi n. sp. from La Playa de Belén, Department of Norte de Santander. In addition, it provides the first record of terrestrial isopods in the Department of Norte de Santander.

Preliminary Diagnostic of the Tourist Potential of a Heritage Town in Colombia

ABSTRACT A tourism planning process is a valuable tool that allows us to anticipate the problems that the activity generates in local destinations. Therefore, the present study is based on a proposal of the preliminary diagnosis of the tourist potential of the Colombian municipality of La Playa de Belén. This town is home to a unique lush natural park as well as an unparalleled historical center of the country. Moreover, its total tourism potential is currently little known. The results of the diagnosis showed the potential for the development of rural tourism. Tourism is a crucial economic in studied area stake based on the political perspective of the local administration. Likewise, the tourist inventory allowed the identification of thirty-two tourist resources. Most of them are cultural heritage, showing in addition to the natural wealth, and new tourist specialties could potentialize in this municipality in the Colombian northeast.

Electron Microscopy Evidence of Zn Bioauthigenic Sulfides Formation in Polluted Organic Matter-Rich Sediments from the Chicamocha River (Boyacá-Colombia)

Electron microscopy and sediment geochemical data from a river basin (the upper Chicamocha river basin, UCRB, Boyacá province, Colombia) affected by anthropogenic activities (wastewater discharges, smelting and agricultural activities) showed the existence of heterogeneously distributed Zn particles in the sediments and sediments with Zn contents above the regional background (42 mg/kg). The objective of this study was to evidence the ZnS sedimentary neoformation in organic matter rich sediments deposited in anthropogenic reservoirs to reveal the processes involved in the sedimentary uptake of Zn from potential pollution sources. The highest Zn concentrations are found in clay minerals and organic matter-rich sediments (up to 427 mg/kg) deposited in slow-flowing reaches of the river associated to La Playa dam. Quartz-rich sediments poor in organic matter deposited in fast flowing segments of the river show very low Zn contents (1–12 mg/kg). Electron microscopy images showed ZnS nanoparticles forming cell-shaped aggregates suggesting that sulfate-reducing microorganisms acted as templates for the partial binding of Zn and for the nucleation and growth of zinc sulfide minerals. A good correlation of Zn with total organic carbon (r = 0.936) and the low potential redox of these sediments (−233 mV) suggest that organic matter was able to maintain oxygen depleted conditions appropriate to the Zn accumulation in the sediments. Our results demonstrate that potentially toxic Zn, originating from anthropic activities, was partially immobilized in organic matter-rich sediments through the precipitation of sulfides.