Karyotype analysis of Aeluropus species (Poaceae)

Aeluropus, a member of Poaceae subfam. Chloridoideae, includes six species, three of which occur in Iran. They are perennial halophytes of deserts and coastal marshlands of Iran. The genus is considered as a rich genetic source for gene manipulation and using it for crop improvement. Previous studies showed that members of Chloridoideae have small chromosomes and the base chromosome number n = 10. There are few chromosome records for Aeluropus species. Somatic metaphases of seven populations of three Aeluropus species were studied. The first chromosome counts (2n = 20) based on Iranian material for three species, A. macrostachyus, A. littoralis and A. lagopoides, are concordant with previous records outside Iran; mitotic number for A. macrostachyus is recorded here for the first time.

POPULATION AND DEMOGRAPHIC SHIFTS ALONG THE COAST OF YUCATAN FROM THE EARLY TO LATE CLASSIC: A VIEW FROM XCAMBO, MEXICO

We take an archaeodemographic approach and provide new insights into the population and demographic shifts of the prehispanic site of Xcambo, Yucatan, Mexico. Located in the coastal marshlands, Xcambo functioned as a salt production locale, administration center, and port during the Early Classic (AD 250–550) and Late Classic (AD 550–750) periods. Sierra-Sosa extensively excavated the settlement, and more than 600 skeletons, representative of all age groups, were recovered. We apply growth simulation models that combine archaeo- and paleodemographic approaches. Our simulation specifically takes into account Wood's (1998) theorem. Results show that Xcambo grew slowly during the Early Classic, with estimated figures ranging from about 860 individuals at the onset of the period to some 1,073 at the end. During the Late Classic, populations ranged from about 1,103 to 1,728 people at its peak occupation (AD 625). Eventually population drastically declined due to out-migration. During this last stage, the settlement had to face the consequences of political and economic shifts in the area. Considered jointly, both approaches provide a new research venue, because their application documents the population profiles and growth of a typical Maya coastal site over its 500 years of occupation.

MAYA COASTAL PRODUCTION, EXCHANGE, LIFE STYLE, AND POPULATION MOBILITY: A VIEW FROM THE PORT OF XCAMBO, YUCATAN, MEXICO

Anchored in archaeological, bioarchaeological, and chemical research conducted at the coastal enclave of Xcambo, this paper examines Classic period Maya coastal saline economic production and exchange, along with the lifestyle, ethnicity, and mobility of the traders. Nestled in the coastal marshlands of the northern Yucatan, Mexico, Xcambo functioned as a salt production center and port during its occupation, maintaining long-reaching ties with other parts of the Maya world and Veracruz. Considered together, the different data sets document a reorientation in Xcambo's exchange routes and connections, which are echoed by increasingly diverse cultural affiliations and an increasing geographic mobility of Xcambo's merchants. This new information confirms the known pattern of gradually intensifying, though still relatively independent, trade dynamics along the Maya coast in the centuries leading up to the so-called “Maya collapse” and the rise of a new merchant league under the control of Chichen Itza. It was this new order that probably led to the swift end of Xcambo soon aftera.d.700.