Western Mediterranean sourcing

Although we attributed artifacts to each of the four major western Mediterranean sources, our focus here is on artifacts attributed to Monti Arci, Sardinia. Figure 2 illustrates the use of elemental ratios to discriminate the major island obsidian groups by INAA. By projecting these data as logged ratios of samarium/barium on the X-axis and iron/cesium on the Y-axis, we have maximized the differences between the various Sardinian subgroups in a manner... 

For Sardinia, the exploitation of multiple sources was noted prior to the actual identification and characterization of each outcrop. The obsidian sources in the Monte Arci region of Sardinia have now been thoroughly documented and geochemically characterized 18, 19), while the results of recent fieldwork by this author on the other islands are expected to add significantly to earlier studies on Lipari 20), Palmarola 21, 22), and Pantelleria 23, 24). The western Mediterranean sources are briefly described here ... 

Until recently, there was no systematic survey, documentation, and chemical and physical analyses of western Mediterranean obsidian sources. Recently, Tykot completed an extensive survey and documentation of western Mediterranean obsidian sources on the islands of Sardinia, Palmarola, Lipari, and Pantelleria (24-27) for a more detailed discussion. Samples from these sources were analyzed at MURR by INAA and/or XRF and LA-ICP-MS. As expected, INAA (and XRF and LA-ICP-MS) of geologic samples from these sources demonstrated that obsidian from each island had a unique chemical signature(s). In the case of Sardinia, six compositional groups were identified. Because of the analytical cost and semi-destructive nature of INAA, artifacts were analyzed by LA-ICP-MS rather than INAA. XRF would have provided a viable analytical alternative, but many of the artifacts were smaller than the minimum size required for this analysis on a standard laboratory-based stationary XRF instrument... 

Figure l. Comparison ofINAA elemental ratios for the four major western Mediterranean Island obsidian sources. Only geologic source samples are... 

Diet and stable isotopes, western Mediterranean prehistory, 118-120 Dietary reconstruction from coprolites, human mtDNA extraction, Hinds Cave, Texas, 81 Dietary research through stable isotopes, principles and interpretation, 115-117 Dikgatlampi workings, Botswana, specularite sourcing, 465 Discriminant function analysis, INAA geochemical data, 466,469-477/... 

Rodriguez S, Querol X, Alastuey A, Plana F (2002) Sources and processes affecting levels and composition of atmospheric aerosol in the Western Mediterranean. J Geophys Res 107 (D24) 4777... 

Pey J, Querol X, Alastuey A, Rodriguez S, Putaud JP, Van Dingenen R (2009) Source apportionment of urban fine and ultra-fine particle number concentration in a Western Mediterranean city. Atmos Environ 43 4407 (415... 

The monitoring network in EMB compared to those established in Central and North Europe or even with the Western Mediterranean Basin (e.g. Spain) is rather insufficient. Particularly there is a lack of data on continuous or long-term monitoring of the chemical composition of particulate matter [12], For some substances (e.g. carbonaceous aerosol), the variability is expected to be much larger than can be resolved by integrating the available measurements and the research studies need to be supported by assessment of the local scale variability. In order to understand the temporal evolution (trends) there is also a particular need for aerosol measurements at additional sites with little influence from local and regional emission sources. 

Burnham, Braun (1990) Development of a detailed model of petroleum formation, destruction, and expulsion from lacustrine and marine source rocks. Org Geochemistryi6(i-3) 27-39 Burollet PF (1969) Petroleum geology of the western Mediterranean basin. In Inst Petroleum Brighton Proc. The exploration for petroleum in Europe and North Africa, p 19-30 Burollet PF (1971) La Tunise, in Tectonics of Africa. Paris, UNESCO, p 91-100... 

Middleton N, Yiallouros P, Kleanthous S et al (2008) A 10-year time-series analysis of respiratory and cardiovascular morbidity in Nicosia, Cyprus the effect of short-term changes in air pollution and dust storms. Environ Health 7 39 Millan M, Salvador R, Mantilla E et al (1997) Photo-oxidant dynamics in the Mediterranean basin in summer results from European research projects. J Geophys Res 102 8811-8823 Millan MM, Sanz Ml, Salvador R et al (2002) Atmospheric dynamics and ozone cycles related to nitrogen deposition in the western Mediterranean. Environ Pollut 118 167-186 Mostafa AR, Hegazi AH, El-Gayar MS et al (2009) Source characterization and the environmental impact of urban street dusts from Egypt based on hydrocarbon distributions. Fuel 88 95-104... 

The most complete characterizations currently available for the western Mediterranean obsidian sources have been accomplished using XRF and the... 

Only a few species of coral have a combination of beauty, hardness, and luster, such the black coral species of Hawaii (Antipathes dichotoma and Antipathes grandis). These are highly valued by the jewelry trade. There are also a few red. pink. gold, and bamboo varieties that are in demand. Black coral also occurs in the Gulf of California and in the Pacific Ocean off Baja California, plus a few scattered locations in the Pacific Ocean east of Australia and north of New Zealand. Traditional sources of red and pink corals have been the Mediterranean Sea, various locations in the western... 

The sources of obsidian exploited by prehistoric peoples were almost entirely restricted to more recent volcanic eruptions due to the hydration process. Few obsidian sources are greater than 10 million years old, and many are less than 100,000 years of age. In addition to the Andes Mountains of South America, obsidian is found in the Mediterranean, Turkey, Africa, central Europe, central Mexico, western United States, Alaska, Japan, and the islands of the South Pacific. 

Lycopene was introduced into the Western world after the Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortes was offered some tomatoes by the Aztec emperor Montezuma. Cortes disregarded this courteous gesture and went on to conquer Mexico from 1529 to 1531. In the states bordering Mexico — Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California — tomatoes and other Mexican-Indian foods soon began to be adopted but also made their way to Europe. In Italy, tomatoes were mentioned as early as in 1554 and were then slowly assimilated. Their initial color was yellow (porno d oro) they obtained their red appearance only after years of cultivation. Today, tomatoes, the major source of lycopene, are an important part of the Mediterranean diet. 

Mediterranean countries in which olive oil (a major source of oleic add) is the primary source of dietary fat have very low rates of CHD compared with most Western countries. These data suggest beneficial cardiovascular effects from monounsaturated fats, yet few data are available to support that hypothesis. Conversely, Posner et al. and Esrey et al. report a relation between higher intakes of monounsaturated fat and increased risk of CHD in yoimger subjects. However, these stndies did not adjust for other types of fats. 

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