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Umhlatuzana rockshelter has an occupation sequence spanning the last 70,000 years. It is one of the few sites with deposits covering the Middle to Later Stone Age transition (~40,000–30,000 years BP) in southern Africa. Comprehending the site's depositional history and occupation sequence is thus important for the broader understanding of the development of Homo sapiens' behavior. The rockshelter was first excavated in the 1980s by Jonathan Kaplan. He suggested that the integrity of the late Middle Stone Age and Later Stone Age sediments was compromised by large-scale sediment movement. In 2018, we initiated a high-resolution geoarchaeological study of the site to clarify the site formation processes. Here, we present the results of the excavation and propose a revised stratigraphic division of the Pleistocene sequence based on field observations, sedimentological (particle size) analyses, and cluster analysis. The taphonomy of the site is assessed through phytolith and geochemical (pH, loss on ignition, stable carbon isotope) analyses. The results indicate a consistent sedimentological environment characterized by in situ weathering. The analysis of the piece-plotted finds demonstrates semihorizontal layering of archaeologically dense zones and more sterile ones. There was no indication of large-scale postdepositional sediment movement. We show that the low-density archaeological horizons in the upper part of the Pleistocene sequence are best explained by the changing patterns of sedimentation rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Nazi occupation of Norway from 1940 to 1945, Norwegian society was exposed to comprehensive Nazification measures. Considered racially equal, it was intended that the "Germanic" Norwegians would be transformed into a National Socialist people's community. With the establishment of the so-called new order on 25 September 1940, the Nazification of Norwegian society became the main task of the local collaboration party, Nasjonal Samling. An integral part of the Nazification was the reform of schools in accordance with National Socialist educational principles. However, the Norwegian education sector had played a crucial role during the process of democratisation. Because Nasjonal Samling was challenging a sector considered a democratic stronghold of the nation, it needed to develop educational concepts and reforms that had the potential to win teachers, pupils, and parents over to National Socialism. However, the party never succeeded in this ambition. Attempts to reform Norwegian schools were met with disapproval almost from day one and grew into a nationwide protest in 1942, which forced the party to put aside most of its reform plans. This article investigates the concepts for National Socialist schooling in Norway, and explains why the attempts to Nazify Norwegian schools were doomed to failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Habitat characteristics are primary determinants of nearshore marine communities. However, biological drivers like predation can also be important for community composition. Sea otters (Enhydra lutris ssp.) are a salient example of a keystone species exerting top‐down control on ecosystem community structure. The translocation and subsequent population growth and range expansion of the northern sea otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) in Washington State over the last five decades has created a spatio‐temporal gradient in sea otter occupation time and density, and acts as a natural experiment to quantify how sea otter population status and habitat type influence sea otter diet. We collected focal observations of sea otters foraging at sites across the gradient in varying habitat types between 2010 and 2017. We quantified sea otter diet composition and diversity, and long‐term rates of energy gain across the gradient. We found that sea otter diet diversity was positively correlated with cumulative sea otter density, while rate of energy gain was negatively correlated with cumulative density. Additionally, we found that habitat type explained 1.77 times more variance in sea otter diet composition than sea otter cumulative density. Long‐term diet studies can provide a broader picture of sea otter population status in Washington State. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We excavated active and abandoned Adélie Penguin ( Pygoscelis adeliae) colonies at Seymour Island and Hope Bay, Antarctic Peninsula, to determine an occupation history for this species at these sites. Previous research at Hope Bay has indicated an occupation there since the middle Holocene, based on a sediment record from Lake Boeckella. Excavations revealed only shallow and relatively fresh ornithogenic soils in the active colonies at the two localities. At least 53 abandoned pebble mounds were located at Hope Bay of which nine were excavated and four were sampled by probing to recover organic remains to determine their age. Radiocarbon dating of egg membrane, feather, and bone from both sites revealed a young occupation dating to less than ~600 years after correcting for the marine carbon reservoir effect. The mismatch in the geologic record of Adélie Penguin occupation in the northern Antarctic Peninsula, including Lake Boeckella sediments and geologic deposits and lake sediments on King George Island, with more direct evidence of breeding colonies from ornithogenic soils from active and abandoned colonies is hereby referred to as the 'northern enigma' as it does not occur in other regions of Antarctica including the southern Antarctic Peninsula, East Antarctica, or the Ross Sea, where the penguin record extends to the early to middle Holocene and matches well with the geologic record of deglaciation and penguin occupation. As yet, there is no convincing explanation for the 'northern enigma'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of limited food supplies left its mark on Germany and the Nazi regime during World War II. The Germans faced diminishing food rations and to a great extent had to rely on supplies from occupied Europe. To a small state like Denmark, with its precarious geo-political position, this turned out to be crucial. Thanks to its advanced agricultural production and fisheries and a generous German price policy, Germany was able to extract a maximum of food from Denmark without damaging the structure of Danish agricultural production. Deliveries culminated in 1943–1945, as Denmark supplied German big cities with 14% of their consumption of meat and pork and more than 20% of the Wehrmacht’s consumption, while Danish butter constituted nearly 9% of consumption in big cities and as much as one third of the Wehrmacht’s consumption during the same period. On this account, Denmark obtained a certain political freedom of action. In internal reports, German authorities in Copenhagen and in the Foreign Ministry repeatedly pointed to the fact that any attempt at changing the occupation regime in Denmark would rid Denmark of its democratically based government and jeopardize the abundant food supplies to Germany. The article argues that Danish food supplies to Germany provided the main reason why democratic Denmark was allowed to maintain its political system despite the German occupation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

During the Second World War, Germany's National Socialist regime mobilized German universities in order to support the war efforts through academic collaboration and a number of publications that were meant to legitimize Germany's territorial ambitions. The rector of the University of Kiel, Dr Paul Ritterbusch, was put in charge of the operation, which became known as the Aktion Ritterbusch. While earlier accounts have focussed on the Aktion Ritterbusch's endeavours in Germany itself and its ambitions in Western and Eastern Europe, this article shows how Ritterbusch also extended his efforts to Denmark. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Prostate cancer is the most common non-cutaneous malignancy in men. Its etiology likely involves environmental exposures and demographic factors. Objective: Investigate the potential relationship between occupation history and prostate cancer risk in a population-based, case–control study (n=1365). Methods: The variables: race, age group, smoking status, income, marital status, education and the first 15 years of employment history were examined by sequential odds ratio analysis then compared to a neural network consensus model. Results: Both the sequential odds ratio method and the neural network consensus model identified a similar hypothetical case of greatest risk: a Black, married man, older than 60 years, with at best a high school diploma who made between $25,000–$65,000. The work history determined by odds ratio analysis consisted of 10 years in the chemical industry with 3yrs in the processing plant. Neural network analysis showed a similar work history with 8 years in the chemical industry and 2 years in the processing plant. Discussion: Neural network outcomes are similar to sequential odds ratio calculations. This work supported previous studies by finding well known demographic risk factors for prostate cancer including certain processing jobs and chemical related jobs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Well-preserved remains of bone, tissue, and eggshell of Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) have been recovered from numerous abandoned colonies in the Ross Sea region, Antarctica. Radiocarbon dates on these remains provide an occupation history for this species ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands of years ago. We completed 62 new radiocarbon dates on these remains, which now indicate that an open-water marine environment existed in the Ross Sea from ca. 45,000 to 27,000 14C yr before present (B.P.) and provide constraints for the timing of the last advance of the Ross Ice Sheet. Penguins did not recolonize the Ross Sea until ca. 8000 calendar years (cal yr) B.P., after the early Holocene retreat of the Ross Ice Sheet. Two subsequent periods of abandonment at 5000–4000 and 2000–1100 cal yr B.P. correlate with cooling episodes that caused unfavorable marine conditions for breeding penguins. Most modern colonies were established only within the past 2000 yr. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the last 4000 years of coastal evolution and settlement in Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony). Due to a decrease in the rate of sea-level rise during the later Holocene, regressions took place, which included calmer phases, during which intercalated peat developed. The first marked regression started at ca. 1500 BC (calibr.). As a result, peats formed which can be traced into the tidal flats far beyond the present coastline. During the following Dunkirk I transgression period, several bays were created and the coast took on its present-day outline. Shortly before the Birth of Christ, a second pronounced regression occurred, which resulted in soil formation and led to a far-reaching human occupation in the Clay District, i.e. the so-called Marsch. For this time, and also for the period around AD 800 as well as for around AD 1500, the entire coastlines have been reconstructed. Increase in storm-flood level from the 1st century AD onwards was responded to by the local population by the construction of dwelling mounds, i.e. Wurten. Diking started in the 11th century and by the 13th century a continuous system of winter dikes had been created. The cutting-off of the hinterland by diking resulted in higher storm-flood levels. Severe breaches of the Medieval dikes led to the formation of large bays such as the Dollart, Ley Bay, and Jade Bay as a result of higher storm-flood levels which, in turn, were caused by diking. The formation of these new bays resulted in large-scale changes in hydrographic conditions in the hinterland and, as a consequence, existing bays sometimes silted up. The consequences of short-term storm flood events are compared with the long-term effects of the changing drainage system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The early vegetation history of the island Hailuoto, Finland, was investigated by means of pollen analysis. Pollen diagrams from three shallow peat profiles close to the postulated A.D. 1150 shoreline are interpreted with reference to modern pollen rain values, features indicative of occupation, routeways and cultivation being delimited. The differing settlement histories of the western and eastern parts of the present farmed area are distinguished and explained in terms of the changing coastline and availability of cultivable land. The historical evidence for changes in forest and farming conditions since the 16th century is also compared with the pollen evidence for the same period. Emphasis is placed on methodology and the development of investigation techniques applicable in sparsely settled boreal forest situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]