Metallurgical Characteristics of North American Prehistoric Copper Work

1968 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 162-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
David L. Schroeder ◽  
Katharine C. Ruhl
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
North American ◽  
Lake Superior ◽  
Native Metal ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Native Copper ◽  
Metallurgical Properties

AbstractThe use of native copper in some prehistoric cultures of North America was both extensive and technically skillful. The remains of pits sunk into every major native copper lode in the Lake Superior region (Griffin 1961; Drier and DuTemple 1961: 16; Quimby 1960: 52-63; West 1929) show that the material was mined in quantity. Float copper, found on the surface, was also used. The Indians appreciated some of the properties of copper and made use of these in shaping tools, weapons, and ornaments of high-quality workmanship. Figure 1 shows typical examples of the thousands of beautifully shaped native copper artifacts which have been found in mid-North America. The development of metallurgical techniques is usually supposed to follow a progression of hammering, annealing, melting the native metal, smelting ores, casting, and alloying. Curiously enough, the techniques of copper working in North America evolve only through the hammering and annealing stages, and apparently they remained at this level for centuries. In this paper the authors examine some of the metallurgical properties of the artifacts and the native copper from which they were made.

scholarly journals New Population of the Rare Dragonfly Ophiogomphus howei (Odonata: Gomphidae) in Southern Michigan, United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie A Craves ◽  
Darrin S O’Brien ◽  
David A Marvin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
North America ◽  
North American ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Urban Watershed ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Global Conservation ◽  
New Location

Abstract Ophiogomphus howei Bromley is a rare North American dragonfly, given a global conservation rank of Vulnerable by NatureServe. This species inhabits localized stretches of a limited number of typically undisturbed, high-quality, forested rivers in two disjunct regions in North America. We describe a new population in between the known ranges from an impaired river in a largely urban watershed in southern Michigan, United States. We also report a previously overlooked specimen from a new location in Pennsylvania, United States, and provide current occurrence and conservation status of the species in North America.

scholarly journals Population genomic analyses reveal a highly differentiated genetic cluster of northern goshawks (Accipiter gentilis laingi) in Haida Gwaii

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Armando Geraldes ◽  
Kenneth K. Askelson ◽  
Ellen Nikelski ◽  
Frank I. Doyle ◽  
William L. Harrower ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
North American ◽  
Morphological Traits ◽  
Accipiter Gentilis ◽  
Haida Gwaii ◽  
Genetic Structuring ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Genetic Cluster ◽  
Northern Goshawk ◽  
Northern Goshawks

AbstractAccurate knowledge of geographic ranges and genetic relationships among populations is important when managing a species or population of conservation concern. In the western Canadian province of British Columbia, a subspecies of the northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis laingi) is designated as Threatened under the Canadian Species at Risk Act. Historically, the range of this bird of prey has been ambiguous and its genetic distinctness from the other North American subspecies (Accipiter gentilis atricapillus) has not been well established. Given the uncertainty in using morphological traits to assign individual goshawks to these two subspecies, we analyzed genomic relationships in tens of thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms identified using genotyping-bysequencing of high-quality genetic samples. This genome-wide analysis revealed a genetically distinct population of northern goshawks on the archipelago of Haida Gwaii and subtle genetic structuring among the remainder of our sampling sites within North America. Following from this analysis, we developed targeted genotyping assays for ten loci that are highly differentiated between the two main genetic clusters, allowing the addition of hundreds of low-quality samples to our analysis. This additional information confirmed that the distinct genetic cluster on Haida Gwaii is restricted to that archipelago. As the laingi form was originally described as being based in Haida Gwaii, where the type specimen of that form is from, further study (especially of morphological traits) may indicate a need to restrict this name to the Haida Gwaii genetic cluster. Regardless of taxonomic treatment, our finding of a distinct Haida Gwaii genetic cluster along with the small and historically declining population size of the Haida Gwaii population suggests a high risk of extinction of an ecologically and genetically distinct form of northern goshawk. Outside of Haida Gwaii, sampling regions along the coast of BC and southeast Alaska (often considered regions inhabited by laingi) show some subtle differentiation from other North American regions. We anticipate that these results will increase the effectiveness of conservation management of northern goshawks in northwestern North America. More broadly, other conservation-related studies of genetic variation may benefit from the two-step approach we employed that first surveys genomic variation using high-quality samples and then genotypes low-quality samples at particularly informative loci.

scholarly journals Lead Isotope Analysis of Geological Native Copper: Implications for Archaeological Provenance Research in the North American Arctic and Subarctic

Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 667
Author(s):  
H. Kory Cooper ◽  
Antonio Simonetti
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
North American ◽  
Lead Isotope ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Isotope Ratios ◽  
Pb Isotope ◽  
Native Copper ◽  
Lead Isotope Analysis ◽  
Innovation And Diffusion ◽  
Trade And Exchange

The Indigenous inhabitants of Arctic and Subarctic North America had been using native copper for several centuries prior to sustained interaction with Europeans beginning in the 18th century. The connection, if any, between the use of copper in these two adjacent regions is, at present, unclear. The ability to determine the source of native copper artifacts found in greater northwestern North America would inform on the movement of copper via trade and exchange between, and aid in understanding the innovation and diffusion of native copper metallurgy among, ancestral Dene and Inuit People. This paper provides the results of a Lead Isotope Analysis (LIA) pilot study examining Pb isotope ratios of native copper samples from multiple locations in the northern regions of North America. The results from this preliminary study indicate some overlap in Pb isotope ratios between Arctic and Subarctic sources of native copper, and these nonetheless record distinct isotope signatures relative to those associated with other North American native Cu deposits.

Nucleotide polymorphisms in three genes support host and geographic speciation in tree pathogens belonging toGremmeniellaspp.

2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (11) ◽  
pp. 1151-1159 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Dusabenyagasani ◽  
G Laflamme ◽  
R C Hamelin
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Dna Sequences ◽  
North American ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Host Specialization ◽  
Rrna Genes ◽  
Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
Group I ◽  
Geographic Separation ◽  
Pinus Spp

We detected nucleotide polymorphisms within the genus Gremmeniella in DNA sequences of β-tubulin, glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase, and mitochondrial small subunit rRNA (mtSSU rRNA) genes. A group-I intron was present in strains originating from fir (Abies spp.) in the mtSSU rRNA locus. This intron in the mtSSU rRNA locus of strains isolated from Abies sachalinensis (Fridr. Schmidt) M.T. Mast in Asia was also found in strains isolated from Abies balsamea (L.) Mill. in North America. Phylogenetic analyses yielded trees that grouped strains by host of origin with strong branch support. Asian strains of Gremmeniella abietina (Lagerberg) Morelet var. abietina isolated from fir (A. sachalinensis) were more closely related to G. abietina var. balsamea from North America, which is found on spruce (Picea spp.) and balsam fir, and European and North American races of G. abietina var. abietina from pines (Pinus spp.) were distantly related. Likewise, North American isolates of Gremmeniella laricina (Ettinger) O. Petrini, L.E. Petrini, G. Laflamme, & G.B. Ouellette, a pathogen of larch, was more closely related to G. laricina from Europe than to G. abietina var. abietina from North America. These data suggest that host specialization might have been the leading evolutionary force shaping Gremmeniella spp., with geographic separation acting as a secondary factor.Key words: Gremmeniella, geographic separation, host specialization, mitochondrial rRNA, nuclear genes.

scholarly journals Progress in Diagnosing Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia: The North American Perspective

Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1278
Author(s):  
Michael Glenn O’Connor ◽  
Amjad Horani ◽  
Adam J. Shapiro
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Testing ◽  
North America ◽  
North American ◽  
Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia ◽  
Clinical Phenotype ◽  
The United States ◽  
Diagnostic Process ◽  
The North ◽  
Diagnostic Guideline ◽  
Ciliary Dyskinesia

Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD) is a rare, under-recognized disease that affects respiratory ciliary function, resulting in chronic oto-sino-pulmonary disease. The PCD clinical phenotype overlaps with other common respiratory conditions and no single diagnostic test detects all forms of PCD. In 2018, PCD experts collaborated with the American Thoracic Society (ATS) to create a clinical diagnostic guideline for patients across North America, specifically considering the local resources and limitations for PCD diagnosis in the United States and Canada. Nasal nitric oxide (nNO) testing is recommended for first-line testing in patients ≥5 years old with a compatible clinical phenotype; however, all low nNO values require confirmation with genetic testing or ciliary electron micrograph (EM) analysis. Furthermore, these guidelines recognize that not all North American patients have access to nNO testing and isolated genetic testing is appropriate in cases with strong clinical PCD phenotypes. For unresolved diagnostic cases, referral to a PCD Foundation accredited center is recommended. The purpose of this narrative review is to provide insight on the North American PCD diagnostic process, to enhance the understanding of and adherence to current guidelines, and to promote collaboration with diagnostic pathways used outside of North America.

scholarly journals Framing Forest Carbon for Policy in Temperate North America: Baby Steps toward National Carbon Goals

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 1033
Author(s):  
Lloyd C. Irland ◽  
John Hagan
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
North America ◽  
North American ◽  
American Options ◽  
Forest Carbon ◽  
Special Issue

Why have a special issue on North American options for reducing national CO2 footprints through forest management [...]

scholarly journals Inter- and Intra-Continental Genetic Variation in the Generalist Conifer Wood Saprobic Fungus Phlebiopsis gigantea

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 751
Author(s):  
Francesco Dovana ◽  
Paolo Gonthier ◽  
Matteo Garbelotto
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Genetic Differentiation ◽  
Dna Sequences ◽  
North American ◽  
Fungal Species ◽  
Coniferous Forests ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Western North America ◽  
Phlebiopsis Gigantea ◽  
Conifer Wood

Phlebiopsis gigantea (Fr.) Jülich is a well-known generalist conifer wood saprobe and a biocontrol fungus used in several world countries to prevent stump infection by tree pathogenic Heterobasidion fungal species. Previous studies have reported the presence of regional and continental genetic differentiation in host-specific fungi, but the presence of such differentiation for generalist wood saprobes such as P. gigantea has not been often studied or demonstrated. Additionally, little information exists on the distribution of this fungus in western North America. The main purposes of this study were: (I) to assess the presence of P. gigantea in California, (II) to explore the genetic variability of P. gigantea at the intra and inter-continental levels and (III) to analyze the phylogeographic relationships between American and European populations. Seven loci (nrITS, ML5–ML6, ATP6, RPB1, RPB2, GPD and TEF1-α) from 26 isolates of P. gigantea from coniferous forests in diverse geographic distribution and from different hosts were analyzed in this study together with 45 GenBank sequences. One hundred seventy-four new sequences were generated using either universal or specific primers designed in this study. The mitochondrial ML5–ML6 DNA and ATP6 regions were highly conserved and did not show differences between any of the isolates. Conversely, DNA sequences from the ITS, RPB1, RPB2, GPD and TEF1-α loci were variable among samples. Maximum likelihood analysis of GPD and TEF1-α strongly supported the presences of two different subgroups within the species but without congruence or geographic partition, suggesting the presence of retained ancestral polymorphisms. RPB1 and RPB2 sequences separated European isolates from American ones, while the GPD locus separated western North American samples from eastern North American ones. This study reports the presence of P. gigantea in California for the first time using DNA-based confirmation and identifies two older genetically distinct subspecific groups, as well as three genetically differentiated lineages within the species: one from Europe, one from eastern North America and one from California, with the latter presumably including individuals from the rest of western North America. The genetic differentiation identified here among P. gigantea individuals from coniferous forests from different world regions indicates that European isolates of this fungus should not be used in North America (or vice versa), and, likewise, commercially available eastern North American P. gigantea isolates should not be used in western North America forests. The reported lack of host specificity of P. gigantea was documented by the field survey and further reinforces the need to only use local isolates of this biocontrol fungus, given that genetically distinct exotic genotypes of a broad generalist microbe may easily spread and permanently alter the microbial biodiversity of native forest ecosystems.

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