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Have birds ever mattered? An evaluation of the contribution of avian species to the archaeozoological record of Belgium (Iron Age to recent times)
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This preliminary study aims to document general trends in the representation of bird remains in anthropogenic contexts from Belgian archaeological sites. A large dataset is analysed, consisting of 186 faunal assemblages from 79 different sites. The contexts included vary in terms of their taphonomic nature (refuse layers, latrines, pits, etc.) and date, ranging from the Iron Age to the modern period. The characteristics of the study area and the dataset as a whole are described, with a focus on identification rates, past and present avian taxonomic diversity, and relative abundance of bird remains compared with domestic mammal remains. The impact of recovery methods (sieving or hand collecting) on these various aspects is also evaluated. A taxonomic analysis describes the diversity and abundance of the different groups of species that are encountered and shows which habitats were preferentially exploited for the hunting of wild birds. The study shows that there is significant taxonomic diversity across the dataset. However, this diversity is not necessarily present in each separate archaeological context, as the number of remains identified by taxon is generally low. Some species or groups of species are ubiquitous and dominant, in particular domestic fowl. Although this analysis is broad and exploratory, it is believed that it will serve as a sound methodological basis for future, more detailed studies focusing on the role that birds played in past human societies during specific chronological periods
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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Have birds ever mattered? An evaluation of the contribution of avian species to the archaeozoological record of Belgium (Iron Age to recent times)
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This preliminary study aims to document general trends in the representation of bird remains in anthropogenic contexts from Belgian archaeological sites. A large dataset is analysed, consisting of 186 faunal assemblages from 79 different sites. The contexts included vary in terms of their taphonomic nature (refuse layers, latrines, pits, etc.) and date, ranging from the Iron Age to the modern period. The characteristics of the study area and the dataset as a whole are described, with a focus on identification rates, past and present avian taxonomic diversity, and relative abundance of bird remains compared with domestic mammal remains. The impact of recovery methods (sieving or hand collecting) on these various aspects is also evaluated. A taxonomic analysis describes the diversity and abundance of the different groups of species that are encountered and shows which habitats were preferentially exploited for the hunting of wild birds. The study shows that there is significant taxonomic diversity across the dataset. However, this diversity is not necessarily present in each separate archaeological context, as the number of remains identified by taxon is generally low. Some species or groups of species are ubiquitous and dominant, in particular domestic fowl. Although this analysis is broad and exploratory, it is believed that it will serve as a sound methodological basis for future, more detailed studies focusing on the role that birds played in past human societies during specific chronological periods.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
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Healed mid-shaft fracture of an Early Roman bovine femur
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We evaluated a healed fracture that was observed in the shaft of a bovine femur from an Early Roman settlement context at the site of Wange, Belgium. Using external observation and X-ray images, the specimen is described, paying particular attention to displacement of the bone ends, shortening of the bone, and callus formation. Similar fractures seen in femora of a modern Derby’s antelope (Taurotragus derbianus) and of a modern eastern lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla graueri) are described, and we discuss why the incidence of healed femur fractures is so limited in large mammals.
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Hemiptera: Fulgoridae, Lanternflies, Sakondry
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
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Henri J. Dumont, scientist and editor
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Het archeologisch onderzoek in Raversijde (Oostende) in de periode 1992-2005
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Het meest duurzame materiaal van België. Belgisch Porfier.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022
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Het oudheidkundig bodemonderzoek aan de de Schaetzengaarde te Tongeren (prov. Limburg). Eindverslag 2004
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Het oudheidkundig bodemonderzoek aan de Momberstraat te Tongeren (prov. Limburg). Eindverslag 2005
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RBINS Staff Publications
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Hidden biodiversity in an ancient lake: phylogenetic congruence between Lake Tanganyika tropheine cichlids and their monogenean flatworm parasites
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The stunning diversity of cichlid fishes has greatly enhanced our understanding of speciation and radiation. Little is known about the evolution of cichlid parasites. Parasites are abundant components of biodiversity, whose diversity typically exceeds that of their hosts. In the first comprehensive phylogenetic parasitological analysis of a vertebrate radiation, we study monogenean parasites infecting tropheine cichlids from Lake Tanganyika. Monogeneans are flatworms usually infecting the body surface and gills of fishes. In contrast to many other parasites, they depend only on a single host species to complete their lifecycle. Our spatially comprehensive combined nuclear-mitochondrial DNA dataset of the parasites covering almost all tropheine host species (N = 18), reveals species-rich parasite assemblages and shows consistent host-specificity. Statistical comparisons of host and parasite phylogenies based on distance and topology-based tests demonstrate significant congruence and suggest that host-switching is rare. Molecular rate evaluation indicates that species of Cichlidogyrus probably diverged synchronically with the initial radiation of the tropheines. They further diversified through within-host speciation into an overlooked species radiation. The unique life history and specialisation of certain parasite groups has profound evolutionary consequences. Hence, evolutionary parasitology adds a new dimension to the study of biodiversity hotspots like Lake Tanganyika.
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