An archaeomagnetic study of the Ishtar Gate, Babylon.

Data from the marriage of paleomagnetism and archaeology (archaeomagnetism) are the backbone of attempts to create geomagnetic field models for ancient times. Paleointensity experimental design has been the focus of intensive efforts and the requirements and shortcomings are increasingly well understood. Some archaeological materials have excellent age control from inscriptions, which can be tied to a given decade or even a specific year in some cases. In this study, we analyzed fired mud bricks used for the construction of the Ishtar Gate, the entrance complex to the ancient city of Babylon in Southern Mesopotamia. We were able to extract reliable intensity data from all three phases of the gate, the earliest of which includes bricks inscribed with the name of King Nebuchadnezzar II (605 to 562 BCE). These results (1) add high quality intensity data to a region relatively unexplored so far (Southern Mesopotamia), (2) contribute to a better understanding of paleosecular variation in this region, and the development of an archaeomagnetic dating reference for one of the key regions in the history of human civilizations; (3) demonstrate the potential of inscribed bricks (glazed and unglazed), a common material in ancient Mesopotamia, to archaeomagnetic studies; and (4) suggest that the gate complex was constructed some time after the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem, and that there were no substantial chronological gaps in the construction of each consecutive phase. The best fit of our data (averaging 136±2.1 ZAm2) with those of the reference curve (the Levantine Archaeomagnetic Curve) is 569 BCE.

The ancient history of kissing.

Sources from Mesopotamia contextualize the emergence of kissing and its role in disease transmission.

Investigation of the relationship of groundwater quality and irrigation: the case of Mardin Kiziltepe Plain (Mesopotamia) in Turkey.

Underground water resources are one of the most valuable vital resources for mankind. Groundwater is used as drinking water and for agricultural irrigation. However, in recent years, it has been exposed to dangerous pollution, mainly due to man-made reasons. The study area is located in the Upper Mesopotamian region, where dry agriculture has been practiced since ancient times, which has semi-arid characteristics and where important civilizations lived. In this direction, the changes in groundwater quality were investigated with seasonal, annual samples taken from selected wells in Mardin Kiziltepe Plain in Upper Mesopotamia region and representing the plain in general and were subjected to water quality classifications. Statistical analyses were carried out on EC and NO3- parameters, which are important in determining the quality of groundwater. The results obtained were interpreted, evaluated in terms of drinking and agricultural uses, and it was observed that there were no non-standard values. In addition, the study area will be opened for irrigation in the near future within the framework of GAP, the largest integrated irrigation project in Turkey. This study, which is the first scientific research to be carried out before intensive irrigation, will be the first memory that will provide a very important data set for the region and will be recorded. In addition, the results of the study will be the basis for the comparison of the research to be carried out after the transition to irrigated agriculture depending on the GAP and the pre-irrigation data.

[Ergotism-a weed from Mesopotamia became an epidemic pathogen in Europe]. / Der Ergotismus ­ ein Ackerunkraut aus Mesopotamien wurde in Europa zum noch immer aktuellen Epidemie-Erreger.

In Mesopotamian wheat fields rye grew as weed and after certain developments rye reached Europe and there became a cultivable plant and the dominant grain in certain regions. With the rye also its parasite, the Claviceps purpurea, reached Europe. This ascomycete infects particular rye grains and in its developmental cycle grows to sclerotia bigger than each grain. These forms, the so-called ergots, contain the poisonous ergotalcaloids. After their intake they produce two characteristic forms of ergotism.The clinical picture of the Ergotismus gangraenosus already before the knowledge of its origin, was known as "Ignis sacer", "Anthony's Fire" and "Cold Gangrene". In this non-febrile affection mostly of the limbs, the muscles were decomposed without bleeding and without pain and thereafter the bones detached. Sooner or later the patients died.The other form, Ergotismus convulsivus, mostly described in the German literature as "Kriebelkrankheit" (Crawly disease), begins with the sensation of running ants upon the limbs and continues with painful contractions of hands and feet. In many cases there is a loss of mind and language. Finally, death occurs.The intake of ergotalcaloids predominantly with products of rye flour and meal but also during processing the harvested rye are discussed as well as the "Carry-over" by meat and milk. It is stressed that the compliance with the legal Austrian and EU regulations for the maximum contents of sclerotia and ergotalcaloids resp. in products for human and animal nourishments only can be guaranteed by continuing the technics of separating the sclerotia and their parts.

Ancient DNA from Mesopotamia suggests distinct Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic migrations into Anatolia.

We present the first ancient DNA data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Mesopotamia (Southeastern Turkey and Northern Iraq), Cyprus, and the Northwestern Zagros, along with the first data from Neolithic Armenia. We show that these and neighboring populations were formed through admixture of pre-Neolithic sources related to Anatolian, Caucasus, and Levantine hunter-gatherers, forming a Neolithic continuum of ancestry mirroring the geography of West Asia. By analyzing Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic populations of Anatolia, we show that the former were derived from admixture between Mesopotamian-related and local Epipaleolithic-related sources, but the latter experienced additional Levantine-related gene flow, thus documenting at least two pulses of migration from the Fertile Crescent heartland to the early farmers of Anatolia.

Detection and identification of Kinetoplastids of zoonotic interest by HRM-qPCR analysis in Canis lupus familiaris from Argentinean Mesopotamia.

This work aimed to conduct a first PCR-based approach for differential diagnosis of kinetoplastidean infections in dogs. Diagnosis of Kinetoplastid infections in domestic animals is difficult, since parasitemia is intermittent and signs are nonspecific; it is mainly based on parasitological smears or concentration techniques, which lack sensitivity and depend on operator` expertise. Dogs are relevant reservoirs in transmission of Kinetoplastids; they function as sentinels to detect active transmission cycles before they involve humans. Trypanosoma cruzi, Trypanosoma evansi, and various species of Leishmania genus are multi-host parasites, capable of parasitizing dogs among a vast number of reservoirs. An algorithm based on sequential Real-Time PCR-High Resolution Melting (HRM) (qPCR-HRM) assays directed at 24S alpha ribosomal DNA, ITS1 and Hsp70 designed to distinguish among T. cruzi, T. rangeli, T. evansi and Leishmania spp. was tested in fourteen dogs with suspicion of kinetoplastid diseases. A qPCR control of DNA integrity in the tested sample, targeted to the mammalian interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP) gene fragment was incorporated to the algorithm. T. evansi was detected in four dogs and L. infantum in one. Two of five qPCR positive cases were smear negative. Smear and T. evansi qPCR positive cases corresponded to animals that died despite being treated, indicating the association of parasitemia with disease severity. This laboratory tool increases the possibility of confirming outbreaks of kinetoplastid diseases with zoonotic potential and identify the etiological agents involved.

Mapping past human land use using archaeological data: A new classification for global land use synthesis and data harmonization.

In the 12,000 years preceding the Industrial Revolution, human activities led to significant changes in land cover, plant and animal distributions, surface hydrology, and biochemical cycles. Earth system models suggest that this anthropogenic land cover change influenced regional and global climate. However, the representation of past land use in earth system models is currently oversimplified. As a result, there are large uncertainties in the current understanding of the past and current state of the earth system. In order to improve representation of the variety and scale of impacts that past land use had on the earth system, a global effort is underway to aggregate and synthesize archaeological and historical evidence of land use systems. Here we present a simple, hierarchical classification of land use systems designed to be used with archaeological and historical data at a global scale and a schema of codes that identify land use practices common to a range of systems, both implemented in a geospatial database. The classification scheme and database resulted from an extensive process of consultation with researchers worldwide. Our scheme is designed to deliver consistent, empirically robust data for the improvement of land use models, while simultaneously allowing for a comparative, detailed mapping of land use relevant to the needs of historical scholars. To illustrate the benefits of the classification scheme and methods for mapping historical land use, we apply it to Mesopotamia and Arabia at 6 kya (c. 4000 BCE). The scheme will be used to describe land use by the Past Global Changes (PAGES) LandCover6k working group, an international project comprised of archaeologists, historians, geographers, paleoecologists, and modelers. Beyond this, the scheme has a wide utility for creating a common language between research and policy communities, linking archaeologists with climate modelers, biodiversity conservation workers and initiatives.

Re-assessing the notion(s) of craft standardization through diversity statistics: A pilot study on Late Chalcolithic pottery from Arslantepe in Eastern Anatolia.

This paper proposes a new range of diversity indexes applicable to ceramic petrographic and geochemical data and potentially to any archaeological data of both metric and non-metric nature in order to assess the degree of craft standardization. The case study is the Late Chalcolithic pottery from Arslantepe in eastern Anatolia, ideal to test the standardization hypothesis, i.e. the assumed correspondence between craft standardization and increased rates of production, which in turn correlate with economic specialization. The results suggest that the procurement and processing of raw materials are more sensible indicators of standardization than vessel shape variability. Higher standardization is connected with the scale of production rather than with the use of the wheel or its rotational speed. The socio-economic centralization marks a process of labor division within the operational sequence and, more generally, a shift from communal to more segregated potting practices. As a result, the variability of both technical procedures and end products increases. In contrast univocal trends towards standardization can be found in coeval contexts from northern Mesopotamia, where the incipient urbanization served to create bonds between vessel makers, favoring the transmission of models and practices regardless of the centralized power.

Alcohol: from Mesopotamia to Modern Iraq.

An understanding of alcohol's place in Iraq's history and society can help inform alcohol policy responses in that country and other Muslim majority countries. This article describes the history of alcohol in Iraq from ancient to modern times, with reflection on the challenges facing Iraqi youth today. A search was undertaken to identify peer-reviewed and gray literature that describes alcohol-related practices, norms, and values across the millennia in Iraq. A historical overview is provided of alcohol's use and context, with more detail on recent times. Alcohol was an important commodity in Iraq until the rise of Islam in the seventh century CE. Despite the subsequent Islamic restrictions on alcohol, alcohol remained present in Iraq's society and cultures. Recent studies provide varying descriptions of the prevalence of alcohol consumption, and there are challenges in researching this sensitive topic. External forces shaping alcohol use in Iraq include direct and indirect alcohol promotion, globalized media, and conflict and violence with its associated stress and trauma. Alcohol research and policy development in Iraq must consider the country's unique cultural, religious, historical, and political context. Iraq's youth may be subject to pressures to increase consumption, and thus policies must be informed by an understanding of the complex set of current perspectives and pressures.

Al-Masa'il fi al-tibb: Hunain ibn Ishaq's historic medical text with a distinctive style of Islamic medical education.

The golden age of Islamic medicine (800 to 1300 CE) is a notable period in medical history. Medical education in this period of time was significant and systematic in Islamic territory. In the early Golden Age of Islamic Medicine, Abu Zayd Hunain ibn Ishaq al-'Ibadi, an exceptional scholar and translator, emerged. He was known as Johannitius in medieval Europe. Al-Masa'il fi al-tibb lil-Mutallimin (Questions on Medicine for Students) was written by Hunain ibn Ishaq. This book remains a definitive text on Islamic medicine and has been printed and published widely in Europe. Al-Masa'il fi al-tibb is written in the style of questions and answers which is distinct from the conventional writing style of medical books on Islamic medicine. The current article reviews Al-Masa'il fi al-tibb and its distinguishing style, the question and answer format. Today, the question-and-answer method is a popular method of medical education, and clinical teachers tend to use it in medical education because of the advantages it offers. The use of this method in Al-Masa'il fi al-tibb for education and examination of medical students by Hunain ibn Ishaq reflects a great improvisation in medical education and introduces him as the leading developer of the question-and-answer method in Islamic medical education.

The origins of criminal law.

Laws against wrongdoing may originate in justice intuitions that are part of universal human nature, according to the adaptationist theory of the origins of criminal law. This theory proposes that laws can be traced to neurocognitive mechanisms and ancestral selection pressures. According to this theory, laypeople can intuitively recreate the laws of familiar and unfamiliar cultures, even when they lack the relevant explicit knowledge. Here, to evaluate this prediction, we conduct experiments with Chinese and Sumerian laws that are millennia old; stimuli that preserve in fossil-like form the legal thinking of ancient lawmakers. We show that laypeople's justice intuitions closely match the logic and content of those archaic laws. We also show covariation across different types of justice intuitions: interpersonal devaluation of offenders, judgements of moral wrongness, mock-legislated punishments and perpetrator shame-suggesting that multiple justice intuitions may be regulated by a common social-evaluative psychology. Although alternative explanations of these findings are possible, we argue that they are consistent with the assumption that the origin of criminal law is a cognitively sophisticated human nature.

The Spiritual Dimensions of Healing Rituals in Ancient Mesopotamia.

The spell formula called the Marduk-Ea incantation from ancient Mesopotamia is unique in history of medicine due to its documented use of almost 3000 years. The incantation was recited in exorcistic healing rituals. The formal structure of the spell is studied from the point of view of neuroscience of doctor-patient relationship and in the context of the decentring mechanism of religious experiences. The incantation structure is also analysed for decentring phenomenology in dreams. The structure of this incantation enables religious and spiritual experiences to occur both to healer and patient. These experiences generated a positive psychosocial context and facilitated placebo effects. The incantation structure is bound to stimulate brain mechanisms in prefrontal cortex that promote both executive functions and placebo responsiveness.

Medicinal plants of the Bible-revisited.

BACKGROUND: Previous lists number from 55 to 176 plant species as "Biblical Medicinal Plants." Modern studies attest that many names on these lists are no longer valid. This situation arose due to old mistranslations and/or mistakes in botanical identification. Many previously recognized Biblical plants are in no way related to the flora of the Bible lands. Accordingly, the list needs revision. METHODS: We re-examine the list of possible medicinal plants in the Bible based on new studies in Hebrew Biblical philology and etymology, new studies on the Egyptian and Mesopotamian medicinal use of plants, on ethnobotany and on archaeobotany. RESULTS: In our survey, we suggest reducing this list to 45 plant species. Our contribution comprises 20 "newly" suggested Biblical Medicinal Plants. Only five species are mentioned directly as medicinal plants in the Bible: Fig (Ficus carica), Nard (Nardostachys jatamansi), Hyssop (Origanum syriacum), balm of Gilead (Commiphora gileadensis) and Mandrake (Mandragora officinarum). No fewer than 18 medicinal plants are mentioned in old Jewish post-Biblical sources, in addition to those in the Bible. Most of these plants (15) are known also in Egypt and Mesopotamia while three are from Egypt only. Seven of our suggested species are not mentioned in the Bible or in the Jewish post-Biblical literature but were recorded as medicinal plants from Egypt, as well as from Mesopotamia. It is quite logical to assume that they can be included as Biblical Medicinal Plants. CONCLUSIONS: All our suggested Biblical Medicinal Plants are known as such in Ancient Egypt and/or Mesopotamia also. Examination of our list shows that all these plants have been in continuous medicinal use in the Middle East down the generations, as well as being used in the Holy Land today. Precisely in King Solomon's words, "That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done. And there is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water and sediment of Hoor Al-Azim wetland, Iran: a focus on source apportionment, environmental risk assessment, and sediment-water partitioning.

The concentration, source, and ecological risk of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water and sediment samples in Hoor Al-Azim wetland, a significant freshwater wetland in Lower Mesopotamia, were evaluated. Total PAHs concentrations varied from 15.3 to 160.15 ng/L, and 15.78 to 410.2 µg/Kg in water and sediment, respectively. PAHs pollution levels in sediments compared with sediment quality guidelines (SQG) were found to be moderate in two stations and low in water and the rest of sediment stations. Based on the diagnostic ratio analysis, cluster analysis (CA), and principal component analysis-multiple linear regression (PCA-MLR), the mean percentage contributions were 62.62% for mixed pyrogenic and petrogenic sources (e.g., unburned and combusted fossil fuels from fishing boats and vehicle engines, incomplete combustion, oil leakage), 20.68% for auto emission, and 16.7% for pyrogenic sources (fossil fuels and biomass combustion). According to the sediment risk assessment indices such as mean effects range-median quotient (M-ERM-Q), the ecological risk of multiple PAHs was low. Risk quotient (RQ) calculation of water samples suggested high ecological risk level for Benzo[a]anthracene (BaA), and low to moderate for other individual PAHs and ΣPAHs. The result of PAHs partitioning between sediment and water phases revealed that most PAHs prefer to accumulate in sediment. Sediments probably act as a secondary source for some PAHs in the oil collection and pumping station.

Preliminary evidence linking complex-PTSD to insomnia in a sample of Yazidi genocide survivors.

Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) is a psychiatric diagnosis that includes three additional symptom clusters beyond those necessary for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis. CPTSD is typically associated with a prolonged trauma exposure in which a person's destiny is under the control of other people and escape is not an option. Insomnia prevalence in women suffering from CPTSD was compared to the prevalence of insomnia in those with no-PTSD and those with only PTSD. Yazidi women (N = 108, age = 24.41 ±â€¯5.71) former captives of the Islamic State terrorist group were queried about captivity variables, psychological distress, resilience, PTSD, CPTSD, and insomnia. CPTSD prevalence was high (>50%) and was highly correlated with insomnia (95% of those with CPTSD had insomnia). A dichotomous insomnia variable was regressed on age and marital-status (Step 1), captivity-duration and number of fellow captives (Step 2), resilience and psychological distress (Step 3), and group (no-PTSD/PTSD/CPTSD) (Step 4). Insomnia was 18 times more likely in the CPTSD group than in the no-PTSD group. There were no differences in insomnia prevalence between the no-PTSD and PTSD groups. Insomnia levels among Yazidi women released from captivity support an understanding of CPTSD as a separate entity than PTSD. Potential factors linking CPTSD to insomnia, beyond those associated with PTSD are discussed.

Liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra): the journey of the sweet root from Mesopotamia to England.

Liquorice is a very ancient plant widely used in the East for millennia. It has often been employed in sweets and confectionery and also for minor ailments including cough, constipation and dyspepsia. It was probably carried to Europe by the Cluniac order of monks. Then, almost by accident, it became established in West Yorkshire at Pontefract after the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s. Abuse of liquorice is not uncommon. It can occur in the anorexia/bulimia syndrome and also in the dangerous condition of pseudoaldosteronism, which is characterised by severe hypertension and hypokalaemia and can lead to death. Liquorice remains a useful sweetener for all sorts of confectionery, including sweets and cakes (together with beer and liqueurs).

Atmospheric pollen spectrum in Stone City, Mardin; the northern border of Mesopotamia/SE-Turkey.

Airborne pollen distribution in Mardin city was measured volumetrically during three consecutive years, 2014-2016. Three thousand eight hundred fifty-seven pollen grains as a mean value belonging to 44 taxa were recorded annually during the study period, and pollen grains from woody plant taxa had the more substantial atmospheric contribution with 62.66% and with 23 taxa. Despite the differences between years, the highest pollen concentration was recorded in April. The main pollen producers of the pollen spectrum were Cupressaceae (27.79%), Poaceae (21.21%), Platanus (10.29%), Morus (6.19%), Olea europaea (5.01%), Quercus (4.91%), Pinus (3.84%), and Amaranthaceae (3.73%) and almost all dominant pollen types in the city atmosphere were previously stated to be allergic. The atmospheric sampling data was characterized by the high presence of woody plants in spring, as well as the high presentation of herbaceous plants in late spring to early winter. The main pollen season (MPS) and durations of dominated pollen types were analyzed and mostly found a little bit earlier or parallel with similar studies in Mediterranean basin, but found earlier than the east. Statistical analyses were performed to compare years with each other and for correlating daily pollen concentrations of dominated pollen types concurrent with the data of meteorological parameters; a number of significant correlations were found.