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Analysis of settlement patterns provides valuable insights into hunter‐gatherer activities. Two decades of intensive research in the Gulf of Maine, northeastern North America, has resulted in a number of observations not possible except in a multi‐site, regional approach to archaeology. Efforts concentrated on the littoral of the Gulf of Maine, a highly productive marine environment that supported both hunter‐gatherer‐fishers and horticulturalists in the centuries preceding the arrival of Europeans around ad 1600. Because of sea‐level rise and a subsiding coastline, details on regional exploitation are scant prior to 3000 BP, after which the quality and quantity of data improve significantly. The transgressive nature of the shoreline means that reconstruction of the aboriginal approach to space is an artifact of both human choice and erosion. Attempts to factor in the latter in order to derive the former have combined cultural ecology with marine geology. A general absence of specialized activity...

The essential defining feature of atypical antipsychotic drugs is that they are efficacious against the symptoms of schizophrenia but produce fewer motor side effects (EPS) than classical drugs. In addition, there is evidence that atypical agents may be more effective than classical neuroleptics in treatment resistant patients and patients with predominantly negative symptoms. All currently used antipsychotics, both typical and atypical, have affinity for the D2 family of dopamine receptors, at which they act as antagonists. Nevertheless, because some atypical agents, including clozapine, also bind to receptors for other neurotransmitters, particularly serotonin, it has been proposed that such additional mechanisms may be of particular importance in producing an atypical pharmacological profile. However, there is evidence that selective action at dopaminergic mechanisms in certain brain regions can also give rise to antipsychotic efficacy with a very low risk of EPS. Although most atypical drugs have affinities for a variety of neurotransmitter receptors, two drugs, amisulpride and aripiprazole, have been proposed as selective dopaminergic agents. Amisulpride is a selective antagonist at dopamine D2 and D3 receptors whereas aripiprazole may act through partial agonism at D2 receptors. The good efficacy and safety of these drugs raise questions about the roles of neurotransmitters other than dopamine. Nevertheless, a number of ongoing research programmes are currently underway in the search for the next generation of antipsychotics. While many of these programmes target sites other than dopamine receptors (including receptors for glutamate and neuropeptides), it seems likely that indirect modulation of dopaminergic neurotransmission will play a major role in their mechanisms of action. from International Society on Brain and Behaviour: 2nd International Congress on Brain and Behaviour Thessaloniki, Greece. 17–20 November 2005

A 9200 14C year fossil pollen record from a small kettle lake in central Maine, northeast U.S.A., records the development of nearby upland vegetation throughout the Archaic, Ceramic, and Historic periods of human history. The Early Archaic period (9000 to 8000 B.P.) began as open woodland dominated by Picea, Populus, and Larix, which was replaced by Pinus forest. During the Middle Archaic (8000-6000 B.P.) Tsuga-dominated forest, which developed ca. 7400 B.P., was followed by Pinus forest (ca. 6400 B.P.). The Late Archaic (6000-3000 B.P.) was a period of great transition; Tsuga forest developed again ca. 5700 B.P., but was abruptly replaced by northern hardwood forest ca. 4700 B.P. That Late Archaic expansion of hardwoods would have provided better forage for beaver. Coincidentally, boreal wetland mammals such as beaver (Castor canadensis) and muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) increase in faunal assemblages of local archaeological sites, while remains of anadromous fish decrease. We postulate that the apparent increase in human populations throughout the region during the Late Archaic may be attributed to an increase in the resource base within both upland and wetland areas resulting from the development of hardwood forest in response to climatic cooling.

Huge oyster shell heaps along the banks of the Damariscotta River were accumulated by North American Indians prior to the arrival of Europeans. The presence of the oysters and their eventual demise reflects the history of sea-level rise and attendant changes in the river. Archaeology helps to fix the date of salt water incursion into the river above Newcastle and

Recent excavations in south-central British Columbia have revealed a 7,500 year sequence which indicates cultural relationships with the subarctic and the Canadian Prairie Provinces, but few similarities with Columbia River sites until after A.D. 1000. South-central British Columbia and the Columbia Plateau are considered to have participated in different cultural traditions until the damming of the Columbia River about A.D. 1250 allowed the upriver passage of salmon. The similarities noted between British Columbia and Columbia River sites in late prehistoric times may be attributable to the sudden increase in the resource potential of the Columbia River.

Interest in the use of microscopes for the analysis of lithic technology and functional interpretations has increased in recent years. Some minerals and rocks are more suitable than others for these studies. In order to communicate the observations made through the microscope, the archaeologist can use the microscope to take photomicrographs using relatively simple and inexpensive equipment.

An alternative to photomicrography is suggested for photography of specimens in analysis of technology and artifact functions. The photomacrographic system yields superior results up to 40x, at which point photomicrography is preferred. It is suggested that enlarging, movie camera, or specialized macro lenses coupled to view or press cameras, can duplicate results achieved with expensive commercial systems.

A small collection of obsidian and chalcedony microblades, from a site near Calgary, Alberta, is described and compared with other microblades from the Plains and from the Plateau. Al though the age and cultural affiliations of the microblades are not certain, there is some evidence to suggest that they are early in the Plains sequence. The mi croblades have some distinctive attri butes including ridge flakes, for which a typology i s suggested. A comparison of the High River microblades with a large sample from the Interior Plateau of British Columbia suggests that the stimulus for the Alberta microblades did not derive from the Plateau.

A multidisciplinary study of crustal movements in coastal Maine has shown that parts of the state9s coastal zone are subsiding. This subsidence is associated with seismic activity that has persisted locally since at least the 1800s. Bedrock structural studies have not produced evidence of major Holocene faulting, but measured horizontal rock strains may be related to Mesozoic graben development in the adjacent Gulf of Maine. The crustal down warping is most apparent in eastern Maine, where releveling data indicate a modern subsidence rate of as much as 9 mm/yr. The anomalously rapid sea-level rise resulting from this subsidence has caused erosion and submergence of archeological sites and historical man-made structures. However, the altitudes of glaciomarine deltas and the distribution of dated archeological sites show that the present subsidence rates have not persisted throughout Holocene time.