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We studied the transformation of a middle-to-late Holocene forested ecosystem using the highly indicative remains of land snails. The study areas were sandstone landscapes of northern Bohemia (Czech Republic) that provide extremely rich terrestrial fossil records. As far as we know, nowhere else in the world does such a type of sedimentary environment provide Holocene records of snail shells. Currently, these sandstone landscapes are covered by low productivity coniferous forests with very low species pools. In sharp contrast, in the middle Holocene, they were dominated by species-rich productive woodland communities. Such ecosystems were then supported by a favourable warm and wet climate and by nutrient-rich, calcareous substrata formed of late Pleistocene aeolian dust (loess). A radical transformation of this temporal ecological equilibrium began in the third millennium BC. Over the next millennia, the species-rich canopy forest mollusc assemblages almost completely disappeared, together with calciphilous rock dwellers. The main driving force of this transformation was gradual soil leaching that resulted in the loss of calcium carbonate and principal nutrients (like P and N) and subsequent ecosystem retrogression. Synergistically with this background trend, the unstable climatic regime of the late Holocene, along with long-term anthropogenic pressure that peaked for the first time during the late Bronze Age, accelerated the transformation.

The Amazon Basin is one of the most productive regions in the world and an important carbon sink. However, lake productivity has varied throughout the Holocene, as preserved in lacustrine sedimentary records. Concentrations of chlorophyll pigmented derivatives that are mainly derived from phytoplankton and macrophyte populations can be used to infer lake production levels. Here we use the chlorophyll derivatives concentrations analyzed by spectrophotometer in sediment cores from nine lakes distributed throughout the Brazilian Amazon Basin to document the continental-scale changes in lake production during the Holocene. Chlorophyll derivatives have varied with changes in precipitation rate throughout the last 10,000 years, similar to other climate records in tropical South America, including Ti concentration from the Cariaco Basin, δ13C from Lake Titicaca, and refractory black carbon in Nevado Illimani. Increasing precipitation is responsible for increasing the nutrient supply into the lake, which stimulates primary production. Our analysis was compared to climate-related parameters, suggesting an increasing trend of lake production rates during the wetter Late and Early Holocene, while lower production rates characterized the dry phase of the Middle Holocene. Therefore, the chlorophyll derivatives concentrations generally follow precipitation changes in the Amazon Basin during the Holocene.

This WG2 New Deliverable developed by Task Force 3 is a table summarising complementary methods (linked to D2.15) divided into 3 groups: -less applied geophysical methods in archaeology -airborne/remote sensing -geochemical & geotechnical methods AIM: Linked to WG2_D15 (review paper/white paper/integration in database) TASK Leader: Ekhine Garcia-Garcia TEAM: Jeroen, George, Jan, Andrei & Mahmut PROGRESS: The first draft was developed during the SAGA working group meeting and completed on 14 Feb 2020

This paper presents a study of the accuracy of two-dimensional (2D) finite-element predictions of a displacement field of retaining structures supporting the excavation next to the Komořany tunnel in Prague, Czech Republic. The ground material is a Komořany sand, which is a sand with some gravel and almost no fines. Two different constitutive models were used to represent the mechanical behavior of Komořany sand, namely the standard Mohr–Coulomb model and a hypoplastic model for sands with intergranular strain. High-quality laboratory investigation was performed and used for calibrating the model parameters. In addition, good-quality displacement field measurements were used as a benchmark for the models’ predictions. The simulation results suggest that the hypoplastic model predicts both the laboratory and field measurement results with more accuracy. A discussion about the importance of the correct selection of the constitutive model on the prediction of boundary value problems is also presented.

AbstractCraniovascular traits in the endocranium (traces of middle meningeal vessels and dural venous sinuses, emissary foramina) provide evidence of vascular anatomy in osteological samples. We investigate the craniovascular variation in four South American samples and the effect of artificial cranial modifications (ACM). CT scans of human adult crania from four archeological samples from southern South America (including skulls with ACM) are used for the analyses. The craniovascular features in the four samples are described, skulls with and without ACM are compared, and additionally, South Americans are compared to a previously analyzed sample of Europeans. Of the four South American samples, the Southern Patagonian differs the most, showing the most distinct cranial dimensions, no ACM, and larger diameters of the emissary foramina. Unlike previous studies, we did not find any major differences in craniovascular features between modified and non‐modified skulls, except that the skulls with ACM present somewhat smaller foramina. South Americans significantly differed from Europeans, especially in the anteroposterior dominance of the middle meningeal artery, in the pattern of sinus confluence, in the occurrence of enlarged occipito‐marginal sinuses, and in foramina frequencies and diameters. Craniovascular morphology is not affected by the cranial size, even in skulls with ACM, indicating a minor or null influence of structural topological factors. Concerning the samples from distinct geographic and climatic environments, it must be evaluated whether the craniovascular morphogenesis might be partially influenced by specific functions possibly associated with thermoregulation, intracranial pressure, and the maintenance of intracranial homeostasis.

In the text, the authors demonstrate that a Czech open-air museum was founded in Prague in 1895, well ahead other European countries. It was the first open-air museum in the then Europe south of Scandinavia. It was far ahead of its time also through the connection with a large collection museum. The original exhibition village changed into a permanent open-air museum. The Czech „skansen”, likewise the Swedish one, meant an inspiration for further exhibition and museum projects. From the very beginning of the existence of an ethnographic village at the Czechoslavic Ethnographic Exhibition, it was planned to maintain it. For subsequent six years, the village was used for ethnographic and cultural purposes, just as current open-air museums are. Its spaces were not closed and non-functional. For this reason, we could consider the ethnographic village to be „wooden heritage ̋, which does no longer exist now. Despite its uniqueness, and scholar, social and cultural benefits, the ethnographic village from the year 1895 has not survived. Its extinction in the year 1901 was caused by a wood-decay fungus. The authors believe there is still a possibility of renewing this ethnographic village.

Special Interest Tourism is often seen as a form of ‘alternative’, ‘ethical’ or ‘environmentally responsible’ tourism and it occurs when the tourists’ motivation and decision-making are primarily determined by a particular special interest with a focus either on activities and/or destinations and settings and search for novel experiences (Novotná et al. 2019). \nOne of the types of sites are called geocultural sites (Reynard and Giusti 2018). Geoarcheological sites can be considered a type of geocultural sites and can be defined as sites where geological aspects are accompanied and closely related to archaeological issues. \nThe Holedná Hill (Brno, Czech Republic) can be considered an example of such geoarcheological site. It is important from the Earth-science point of view and it includes specific archaeological issues that are closely related to the geodiversity. This paper briefly sums the natural and cultural values of Holedná Hill and based on the geomorphosite assessment and SWOT analysis.\n

At the Kamenný rybník locality, it was possible to palynologically detect a significant settlement in the Mesolithic period with such a degree of deforestation that was not recorded throughout prehistoric times. Although according to archaeological evidence, it seems that the settlement could have been denser, palynological research did not confirm this (Hůrka bog, Merklín, Kamenný rybník). Poor sandy soils and peaty biotops were not attractive for settlement. Today's nutrient- and species-poor pine-oak forests developed in dependence on human settlement. The relict taiga, which would have persisted since the last Ice Age, was not confirmed in the case of the Pilsen Basin.

Phoebe Apperson Hearst měla velmi úspěšného vlastního syna Williama, který byl ale více jako jeho otec: tvrdý obchodník. Našla však jemnou, uměleckou duši v malíři Orrinu Peckovi (1860–1921), který byl údajně gay a který ji, ještě za života své vlastní matky, začal oslovovat „má druhá mámo.“ Na základě podrobného výzkumu jejich vzájemné korespondence v Peckově pozůstalosti se můžeme ptát, jak moc si byla progresivní, bohatá žena 19. století, jakou byla Phoebe Hearst, vědoma Peckovy sexuality a pokud ano, jestli s tím neměla problém, nebo šlo o nevyřčené tajemství mezi nimi? Jejich příběh představí historik umění Ladislav Zikmund-Lender. Phoebe Apperson Hearst had a very successful son of William, but he was more like his father: a tough businessman. However, she found a delicate, artistic soul in the painter Orrin Peck (1860–1921), who was allegedly gay and who, while still his own mother's life, began to address her as “my second mother.” Based on a detailed study of their correspondence in Peck's estate, we may ask how much a progressive, rich 19th-century woman like Phoebe Hearst was aware of Peck's sexuality, and if so, if she had no problem with it, or was it an unspoken secret between them? Their story will be presented by art historian Ladislav Zikmund-Lender.