Temporal and structural genetic variation in reindeer () associated with the pastoral transition in Northwestern Siberia.

Just as the domestication of livestock is often cited as a key element in the Neolithic transition to settled, the emergence of large-scaled reindeer husbandry was a fundamental social transformation for the indigenous peoples of Arctic Eurasia. To better understand the history of reindeer domestication, and the genetic processes associated with the pastoral transition in the Eurasian Arctic, we analyzed archaeological and contemporary reindeer samples from Northwestern Siberia. The material represents genealogies spanning from 15,000 years ago to the 18th century, as well as modern samples from the wild Taĭmyr population and from domestic herds managed by Nenetses.

Comparison of two fixation methods for arthrodesis of the calcaneocuboid joint: a biomechanical study.

Background: The traditional fixation for a calcaneocuboid (CC) arthrodesis in triple arthrodesis is with a 6.5-mm cancellous screw. This procedure can be technically challenging.

Finding the way: a critical discussion of anthropological theories of human spatial orientation with reference to reindeer herders of northeastern Europe and western Siberia.

In anthropology, research on human spatial orientation (wayfinding) has centered on two conflicting theories: the "mental map," whereby humans build abstract cognitive representations of the spatial relations between objects, and "practical mastery," which rejects the idea that such abstract representations exist and, in its most developed form, suggests that wayfinding is a process of moving from one recognized visual perspective (vista) to another (transitions between vistas). In this paper we reveal, on the basis of existing psychology and geography research, that both wayfinding theories are in fact complementary: humans rely on mental maps but also memorize vistas while navigating, and an individual's navigation method, ability, and the form of the mental map is likely to depend on a situation as well as on factors such as age, sex, familiarity with the environment, and life history. We demonstrate (using research material obtained during fieldwork carried out among Komi and Nenets reindeer herders) that anthropology can contribute to human spatial cognitive research, which has traditionally been an interdisciplinary endeavor, by identifying differences in spatial representation between different people and peoples.

Genetic analyses reveal independent domestication origins of Eurasian reindeer.

Although there is little doubt that the domestication of mammals was instrumental for the modernization of human societies, even basic features of the path towards domestication remain largely unresolved for many species. Reindeer are considered to be in the early phase of domestication with wild and domestic herds still coexisting widely across Eurasia. This provides a unique model system for understanding how the early domestication process may have taken place.

Sampling and modeling for the quantification of adventitious genetically modified presence in maize.

The coexistence of genetically modified (GM) and non-GM crops is an important economic and political issue in the European Union. We examined the GM content in non-GM maize crops in Spain in 2005. Both the standing crop and the harvest were tested, and the %GM DNA was quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction.