International journal of medicinal mushrooms, 2017
This study evaluated the protective effect of Lentinus edodes in rats with streptozotocin-induced... more This study evaluated the protective effect of Lentinus edodes in rats with streptozotocin-induced gestational diabetes mellitus (STZ-GDM) when administered orally. The rats received from the 1st to the 19th day of gestation daily doses of 100 or 200 mg/kg of lyophilized and reconstituted L. edodes; the animals in the saline control group and diabetic control group received a saline solution (DS). Gestational diabetes mellitus was induced by streptozotocin (80 mg/kg, administered intraperitoneally) on the fourth day of pregnancy; blood glucose > 180 mg/dL was considered to indicate STZ-GDM. L. edodes reduced catalase in plasma. We also observed reduced glucose in plasma, urea, triglycerides, and aspartate aminotransferase. There was a decrease in preimplantation loss when compared with the DS group. The doses of L. edodes used here had a protective effect on the preimplantation parameters in STZGDM. However, the mushroom was not able to reverse the deleterious effects caused by st...
ABSTRACT This work present results of an analysis of supply, use, and production of obsidian arti... more ABSTRACT This work present results of an analysis of supply, use, and production of obsidian artifacts in Tepeticpac and Metepec, two settlements of Late Postclassic (a.d. 1250/1300–1519) Tlaxcallan. The first sample (n = 9222) was recovered in two architectural compounds at Tepeticpac, a first-order settlement and part of the Tlaxcallan urban core. Tepeticpac materials exhibit a strong focus on prismatic blade production intended mainly for ceremonial or ritual use. The second sample (n = 14,915) comes from an architectural compound and a nearby obsidian discard area in Metepec, a peripheral second-order site. Metepec artifacts focused on the production of blades and bifacials, with greater evidence of different phases of obsidian processing indicating the presence of a nearby obsidian workshop. Comparison of obsidian craft production from both sites points towards decentralized craft production at Tlaxcallan and an open market economy for obsidian acquisition and consumption but also to marked political and socioeconomic hierarchies within the polity.
This study investigates the impact of the Aztec Triple Alliance on trade and economic activity in... more This study investigates the impact of the Aztec Triple Alliance on trade and economic activity in the region of Puebla-Tlaxcala during the Late Postclassic period (AD 1200–1519). Ethnohistorical sources describe the Aztec Triple Alliance as constantly at war with settlements in the Tlaxcala region. To weaken their Tlaxcalteca rivals, the Aztecs imposed a trade blockade to reduce the flow of resources into Puebla-Tlaxcala. This article uses archaeological evidence to evaluate the effectiveness of this blockade. It compares the types of obsidian used to manufacture lithic tools from Aztec-controlled sources with those used within Puebla-Tlaxcala. Information from the large center of Tepeticpac and the small obsidian workshop site of Cinco Santos II, both in the Tlaxcala domain, are compared to other sites in Central Mexico prior to and during the height of Aztec influence. The results show little difference in regional trade patterns: obsidian from Sierra de las Navajas and Otumba was...
In reviewing the archaeological literature from 1995 to 2005, Michael Smith and Katharina Schreib... more In reviewing the archaeological literature from 1995 to 2005, Michael Smith and Katharina Schreiber (2005) note that, " For the Classic Maya, studies of sacred landscapes are dominated by research on caves " and they go on to say, " In contrast to the empirically grounded cave research, other work on Classic Maya sacred landscapes is highly speculative in nature. " The more speculative studies are often attempts to read meaning onto the built environment by drawing on plans from traditional archaeological investigations that were conducted with little or no interest in sacred landscape. Furthermore, these sacred landscape studies rarely engage the physical landscape as an experiential process as suggested by Christopher Tilly (1994). In general, non-cave Maya archaeologists appear to be at a loss on how to engage sacred landscapes because they lack a model of the nature of sacred landmarks. An underappreciated aspect of the Petexbatun Regional Cave Project was its articulation of an explicit model of the general principles on which ancient Maya landscape was conceptualized (Brady 1997:602-604). The model recognized Earth as a sacred and animate entity and adopted an indigenous understanding of the term cave to approximate the Maya word ch'een which refers to almost any part of the environment that penetrates the earth and includes a range of natural features such as caves, canyons, cenotes, sinkholes, springs, crevices, and any number of other holes (Laughlin 1975:132). Brady (1997:603) has noted, " it appears that the most sacred locations are those that combine the fundamental elements of earth and water into a single sacred expression of the power of the earth. " The importance of having an explicit model of ancient Maya sacred landscape became clear in the course of the project described below.
International journal of medicinal mushrooms, 2017
This study evaluated the protective effect of Lentinus edodes in rats with streptozotocin-induced... more This study evaluated the protective effect of Lentinus edodes in rats with streptozotocin-induced gestational diabetes mellitus (STZ-GDM) when administered orally. The rats received from the 1st to the 19th day of gestation daily doses of 100 or 200 mg/kg of lyophilized and reconstituted L. edodes; the animals in the saline control group and diabetic control group received a saline solution (DS). Gestational diabetes mellitus was induced by streptozotocin (80 mg/kg, administered intraperitoneally) on the fourth day of pregnancy; blood glucose > 180 mg/dL was considered to indicate STZ-GDM. L. edodes reduced catalase in plasma. We also observed reduced glucose in plasma, urea, triglycerides, and aspartate aminotransferase. There was a decrease in preimplantation loss when compared with the DS group. The doses of L. edodes used here had a protective effect on the preimplantation parameters in STZGDM. However, the mushroom was not able to reverse the deleterious effects caused by st...
ABSTRACT This work present results of an analysis of supply, use, and production of obsidian arti... more ABSTRACT This work present results of an analysis of supply, use, and production of obsidian artifacts in Tepeticpac and Metepec, two settlements of Late Postclassic (a.d. 1250/1300–1519) Tlaxcallan. The first sample (n = 9222) was recovered in two architectural compounds at Tepeticpac, a first-order settlement and part of the Tlaxcallan urban core. Tepeticpac materials exhibit a strong focus on prismatic blade production intended mainly for ceremonial or ritual use. The second sample (n = 14,915) comes from an architectural compound and a nearby obsidian discard area in Metepec, a peripheral second-order site. Metepec artifacts focused on the production of blades and bifacials, with greater evidence of different phases of obsidian processing indicating the presence of a nearby obsidian workshop. Comparison of obsidian craft production from both sites points towards decentralized craft production at Tlaxcallan and an open market economy for obsidian acquisition and consumption but also to marked political and socioeconomic hierarchies within the polity.
This study investigates the impact of the Aztec Triple Alliance on trade and economic activity in... more This study investigates the impact of the Aztec Triple Alliance on trade and economic activity in the region of Puebla-Tlaxcala during the Late Postclassic period (AD 1200–1519). Ethnohistorical sources describe the Aztec Triple Alliance as constantly at war with settlements in the Tlaxcala region. To weaken their Tlaxcalteca rivals, the Aztecs imposed a trade blockade to reduce the flow of resources into Puebla-Tlaxcala. This article uses archaeological evidence to evaluate the effectiveness of this blockade. It compares the types of obsidian used to manufacture lithic tools from Aztec-controlled sources with those used within Puebla-Tlaxcala. Information from the large center of Tepeticpac and the small obsidian workshop site of Cinco Santos II, both in the Tlaxcala domain, are compared to other sites in Central Mexico prior to and during the height of Aztec influence. The results show little difference in regional trade patterns: obsidian from Sierra de las Navajas and Otumba was...
In reviewing the archaeological literature from 1995 to 2005, Michael Smith and Katharina Schreib... more In reviewing the archaeological literature from 1995 to 2005, Michael Smith and Katharina Schreiber (2005) note that, " For the Classic Maya, studies of sacred landscapes are dominated by research on caves " and they go on to say, " In contrast to the empirically grounded cave research, other work on Classic Maya sacred landscapes is highly speculative in nature. " The more speculative studies are often attempts to read meaning onto the built environment by drawing on plans from traditional archaeological investigations that were conducted with little or no interest in sacred landscape. Furthermore, these sacred landscape studies rarely engage the physical landscape as an experiential process as suggested by Christopher Tilly (1994). In general, non-cave Maya archaeologists appear to be at a loss on how to engage sacred landscapes because they lack a model of the nature of sacred landmarks. An underappreciated aspect of the Petexbatun Regional Cave Project was its articulation of an explicit model of the general principles on which ancient Maya landscape was conceptualized (Brady 1997:602-604). The model recognized Earth as a sacred and animate entity and adopted an indigenous understanding of the term cave to approximate the Maya word ch'een which refers to almost any part of the environment that penetrates the earth and includes a range of natural features such as caves, canyons, cenotes, sinkholes, springs, crevices, and any number of other holes (Laughlin 1975:132). Brady (1997:603) has noted, " it appears that the most sacred locations are those that combine the fundamental elements of earth and water into a single sacred expression of the power of the earth. " The importance of having an explicit model of ancient Maya sacred landscape became clear in the course of the project described below.
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