The History and Archaeology of Vindija Cave

Vindija Cave is a stratified paleontological and archaeological site in Croatia, which has several occupations associated with both Neanderthals and Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH). Vindija includes a total of 13 levels dated between 150,000 years ago and the present, spanning the upper part of the Lower Paleolithic, Middle Paleolithic, and Upper Paleolithic periods. Although several of the levels are sterile of hominin remains or have been disturbed primarily cryoturbations ice wedging, there are some stratigraphically separated hominin levels at Vindija Cave associated with humans and Neanderthals. Although the earliest recognized hominid occupations date to ca. 45,000 bp, deposits at Vindija include strata that comprise a huge number of animal bones, including tens of thousands of specimens, 90% of which are cave bears, over a period of more than 150,000 years. This record of animals in the region has been used to establish data about the climate and habitat of northwest Croatia during that period. The site was first excavated in the first half of the 20th century, and more extensively excavated between 1974 and 1986 by Mirko Malez of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts. In addition to archaeological and faunal remains, numerous archaeological and faunal remains, with over 100 hominin discoveries have been found at Vindija Cave. Specimens in Level G3 (38,000-45,000 years bp), the lowest hominin-bearing level, are Neanderthals and are associated with exclusively Mousterian artifacts.Specimens in Level G1 (32,000-34,000 years bp) represent the most recent Neanderthals at the site and are associated with both Mousterian and Upper Paleolithic stone tools.Hominins in Level F (31,000-28,000 years bp) are associated with Aurignacian and according to researchers look a little like both AMH and Neanderthal.Hominins in Level D (less than 18,500 years bp, the uppermost hominid-bearing strata in the cave, are associated with Gravettian culture artifacts  and represent only anatomically modern humans. Vindija Cave and mtDNA In 2008, researchers reported that a complete mtDNA sequence had been retrieved from a thigh bone of one of the Neanderthals recovered from Vindija Cave. The bone (called Vi-80) comes from level G3, and it was direct-dated to 38,310  ± 2130 RCYBP. Their research suggests that the two hominins who occupied Vindija Cave at different times--early modern Homo sapiens and Neanderthals--were clearly separate species. Even more interestingly, Lalueza-Fox and colleagues have discovered similar DNA sequences--fragments of sequences, that is--in Neanderthals from Feldhofer Cave (Germany) and El Sidron (northern Spain), suggesting a common demographic history among groups in eastern Europe and the Iberian peninsula. In 2010, the Neanderthal Genome Project announced that it had finished a complete DNA sequence of Neanderthal genes, and discovered that between 1 and 4 percent of the genes that modern humans carry around with them come from Neanderthals, directly contradicting their own conclusions just two years ago. Read more about the latest findings about Neanderthal and Human Interbreeding The Last Glacial Maximum and Vindija Cave A recent study reported in Quaternary International (Miracle et al. listed below) describes the climate data recovered from Vindija Cave, and Veternica, Velika pecina, two other caves in Croatia. Interestingly, the fauna indicate that during the period between 60,000 and 16,000 years ago, the region had a moderate, broadly temperate climate with a range of environments. In particular, there seems to have been no significant evidence for what was thought to be a shift to cooler conditions at the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum, about 27,000 years bp. Sources Each of the links below leads to a free abstract, but payment is needed for the full article unless otherwise noted. Ahern, James C. M., et al. 2004 New discoveries and interpretations of hominid fossils and artifacts from Vindija Cave, Croatia. Journal of Human Evolution 4627-4667. Burbano HA, et al. 2010. Targeted Investigation of the Neandertal Genome by Array-Based Sequence Capture. Science 238:723-725. Free download Green RE, et al. 2010. A Draft Sequence of the Neandertal Genome. Science 328:710-722. Free download Green, Richard E., et al. 2008 A Complete Neandertal Mitochondrial Genome Sequence Determined by High-Throughput Sequencing. Cell 134(3):416-426. Green, Richard E., et al. 2006 Analysis of one million base pairs Neanderthal DNA. Nature 444:330-336. Higham, Tom, et al. 2006 Revised direct radiocarbon dating of the Vindija G1 Upper Paleolithic Neandertals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 10(1073):553-557. Lalueza-Fox, Carles, et al. 2006 Mitochondrial DNA of an Iberian Neandertal suggests a population affinity with other European Neandertals. Current Biology 16(16):R629-R630. Miracle, Preston T., Jadranka Mauch Lenardic, and Dejana Brajkovic. in press Last glacial climates, Refugia, and faunal change in Southeastern Europe: Mammalian assemblages from Veternica, Velika pecina, and Vindija caves (Croatia). Quaternary International in press Lambert, David M. and Craig D. Millar 2006 Ancient genomics is born. Nature 444:275-276. Noonan, James P., et al. 2006 Sequencing and Analysis of Neanderthal Genomic DNA. Science 314:1113-1118. Smith, Fred. 2004. Flesh and Bone: Analyses of Neandertal Fossils Reveal Diet was High in Meat Content Free press release, Northern Illinois University. Serre, David, et al. 2004 No Evidence of Neandertal mtDNA Contribution to Early Modern Humans. PLoS Biology  2(3):313-317.

Social Networks and Social Networking Sites Essay

Introduction The world has evolved into a technologically savvy and dependent society with the Internet readily available to many. Convenience and connection are vital to individuals, especially within the United States. Social networking sites have progressed to fit the demanding desires of today’s technological era (Albarran 118). The progression from the first social networking sites, such as Friendster or instant messaging, to the sites used today, such as Facebook and Twitter, has made a significant impact on society. Fifteen years ago it was unimaginable the advancements the world has made in many areas, especially in technology and the worldwide web. Remaining behind a computer screen for hours was once a foreign concept, but†¦show more content†¦Families and friends across the nation are able to stay connected by talking or viewing profiles on social networking sites. Overall, the original intentions of social networks were meant to be beneficial to society. Social networks are extremely prevalent in today’s society. Most people have some sort of social networking site, usually Facebook, by at least early adolescence. However, with these great new advancements within the last couple decades, new concerns surfaced especially for those who have grown up in the technological era, the millennials. Adolescents and young adults have been bombarded during their critical years of development with the readily available online social networking sites, along with the undeniable slogans plastered on almost every advertisement, such as â€Å"Like us on Facebook† or â€Å"Follow us on Twitter.† The younger generations have been faced with many different issues than previous generations. 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Market Failure Kelloggs Cereal-Mates Free Essays

A Study on Market Failure: Kellogg Cereal-Mates First, I must begin by saying that as most Americans would agree – cereal and milk go together hand-in-hand. However, how would the general public feel about a combination of the two sold pre-mixed? This was essentially the case when Kellogg’s decided to introduce Breakfast Mates. Breakfast Mates included a small box of Kellogg’s cereal packaged with a container of milk and eating utensil. We will write a custom essay sample on Market Failure: Kelloggs Cereal-Mates or any similar topic only for you Order Now While the product was right in step with the accelerating trend of convenience foods, a fickle and demanding public found the new packaging less than ideal. Essentially the choice that Kelloggs was giving consumers was that you could eat your Kellogg’s Corn Flakes refrigerator cold and pour cold milk over them, or eat your flakes at room temperature with warm milk. This led to a dilemma that would ultimately be proven as a scar on the company’s record of wonderful products and marketing campaigns. Kellogg’s believe that this would be a popular concept due to increased working hours in the United States combined with the rise of the fast-food industry led the false belief that the product would be successful. Kellogg’s launched the concept on a national basis in ‘kit form’–a four oz. ox of cereal, a four oz. container of aseptically packaged milk [no refrigeration required] and a plastic spoon. The line consisted of four popular Kellogg’s brands; Corn Flakes; Fruit Loops; Mini Wheats; and Frosted Flakes. Although the milk did not require refrigeration, Kellogg’s placed Breakfas t Mates in the refrigerated dairy case alongside cheese, yogurt, Jell-O pudding, and other refrigerated desserts. The company believed that this would be the best choice since Americans liked to pour their milk over cereal. This caused much confusion, however, because most individuals wouldn’t be searching for breakfast cereals in the dairy case. I feel that there were 5 main factors that actually led to this marketing and product failure. The first problem I feel was the fact that Kellogg’s believed that providing a â€Å"aseptically packaging†. This meant that the product would require no refrigeration for the milk. Consumers were revolted by the idea of warm milk. The second issue was when Kellogg’s tried to market in a different fashion and use cool milk as the basis by putting the product in the refrigerator section. This actually caused more confusion because the product was not in a location that you would expect cereal at. They company spent too much of what profit money they had received in trying to re-educate consumers into looking in the dairy aisle for cereal. The third factor that led to the products unsuccessful stint into the marketplace was their advertising campaign. In these ads Kelloggs chose to market the product to young kids so they could prepare meals for themselves without their parents’ help. This would have been fine, but the packaging was not child-friendly. Taste was also a serious problem for the Kellogg’s convenience line. Reportedly (according to personal experience), the milk was usually consumed at work or away from home. The warm milk tasted absolutely terrible. Finally, the biggest nail in the coffin for this product was that the price. The cereal was selling for over one dollar per serving, which was considered too expensive by most consumers for a 4 oz cereal. The product survived two years on the market before Kelloggs’ pulled the plug. According to the February 2000 article in the Newsweek on the food, they stated that the product simply wasn’t convenient enough. This is because with increased commute times and busy schedules people wanted a product they could eat on the go. With cereal mates they were required to still pour a liquid milk over the cereal which was not possible to do safely while commuting to work. Most customers also were adults, so the small spoon that was supplied with the cereal was too hard to use. I feel that this was a good product in concept, but the complexity of the concept made this product non-attractive to those who not only were needing a convenient and healthy food, but also one they could consume in a hurry. This idea later evolved to the milk and cereal bars they would later introduce around 2004 – which have been wildly more successful than the original cereal mates ever were. How to cite Market Failure: Kelloggs Cereal-Mates, Essay examples