The absorption, translocation, and metabolism of 14C-ethofumesate [(±)-2-ethoxy-2,3-dihydro-3,3-dimethyl-5-benzofuranyl methanesulfonate] in sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris L.), common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.), redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.), and common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album L.) were studied as possible bases for selectivity of preemergence-applied ethofumesate. The sensitive redroot pigweed and common lambsquarters plants translocated more 14C-ethofumesate from nutrient culture to the leaf tissue than did the tolerant sugarbeet and common ragweed. The radioactivity was more highly concentrated in sugarbeet and common ragweed roots. The rapid metabolism of ethofumesate by sugarbeet and common ragweed, particularly that which accumulated in the leaf tissue, appeared related to tolerance.

Absorption, translocation, and metabolism of foliar-applied ethofumesate [(±)-2-ethoxy-2,3-dihydro-3,3-dimethyl-5-benzofuranyl methanesulphonate] were studied to explain field observations showing differences in susceptibility among sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris L.), common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.), redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.), and common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album L.). In laboratory studies, two- to four-leaf seedlings of the highly susceptible species, redroot pigweed and common lambsquarter, absorbed greater amounts of 14C-ethofumesate from foliar application than the moderately susceptible common ragweed and tolerant sugarbeet. Sugarbeet translocated very little 14C from treated foliage to untreated plant tissue. All weed species translocated 14C-ethofumesate to untreated leaf tissue when 14C-ethofumesate was applied to seedlings at the two-leaf stage. Ethofumesate was translocated basipetally to the stem and root of two-leaf redroot pigweed and common lambsquarter seedlings. A high percentage of the 14C was found in the water-soluble fraction in sugarbeet seedlings, indicating inactivation. The amount of metabolites recovered in the non-polar fraction depended on the stage of plant growth. Total photosynthesis and respiration in redroot pigweed was inhibited 4 h after foliar application and did not recover after 96 h. Uptake and evolution of CO2 were also inhibited in sugarbeet leaves, but they recovered rapidly, depending on age of plant at treatment. The stage of plant development was the key factor determining species response to foliar treatments of ethofumesate in terms of absorption, metabolism, and total photosynthesis and respiration.

Differences in susceptibility of sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris L.) to preemergence application of ethofumesate [(±)-2-ethoxy-2,3-dihydro-3,3-dimethyl-5-benzofuranyl methanesulfonate], pyrazon [5-amino-4-chloro-2-phenyl-3(2H)-pyridazinone], and TCA (trichloroacetic acid) were evaluated in several combination treatments. Exposure of plants to ethofumesate severely decreased epicuticular wax deposition on leaf surfaces. Separation of epicuticular wax into major components by gas-liquid chromatography indicated that ethofumesate decreased deposition of alkanes and sec-ketones, but increased the percentage of long-chain waxy esters. TCA also decreased deposition of alkane and ketone components, but not of waxy esters. Waxes were unaffected by pyrazon. Greater foliar absorption of 14C-ethofumesate, 14C-desmedipham [ethyl m-hydroxycarbanilate carbanilate (ester)], and 14C-ethofumesate + 14C-desmedipham was observed in plants that received preemergence treatments of ethofumesate plus TCA compared to pyrazon or a control.

The materiality of ritual performance is a growing focus for archaeologists. In Europe, collective ritual performance is expected to be highly structured and to leave behind a loud archaeological signature. In Australia and Papua New Guinea, ritual is highly structured; however, material signatures for performance are not always apparent, with ritual frequently bound up in the surrounding natural and cultural landscape. One way of assessing long-term ritual in this context is by using archaeology to historicize ethno-historical and ethnographic accounts. Examples of this in the Torres Strait region, islands between Papua New Guinea and mainland Australia, suggest that ritual activities were materially inscribed at kod sites (ceremonial men's meeting places) through distribution of clan fireplaces, mounds of stone/bone and shell. This paper examines the structure of Torres Strait ritual for a site ethnographically reputed to be the ancestral kod of the Mabuyag Islanders. Intra-site partitioning of ritual performance is interpreted using ethnography, rock art and the divergent distribution of surface and sub-surface materials (including microscopic analysis of dugong bone and lithic material) across the site. Finally, it discusses the materiality of ritual at a boundary zone between mainland Australia and Papua New Guinea and the extent to which archaeology provides evidence for Islander negotiation through ceremony of external incursions.

Excavations at the site of Ixlú in northern Guatemala recovered a series of skulls and dismembered postcrania from a Postclassic (ca. A.D. 1000—1525) Maya temple. The current study considers demography, taphonomy (including mortuary processing), cultural modification and biological distance among the remains in light of ethnohistoric and archaeological data. Doing so addresses who made the deposits, why they were made, and who was interred, and informs on the use of ritual violence in the Postclassic Southern Lowlands. Six skulls were arranged in pairs on the east-west midline of the building, and fifteen skulls were placed in rows in the center of the building. All of the skulls faced east. Four postcrania were placed perpendicular to the skull rows. The skulls and postcrania were primarily late adolescent to young adult males. Three of the individuals exhibited a rare dental trait, supernumerary teeth, indicating that at least some of the individuals were related. The most likely scenario to account for the deposits is that the Itzá, a dominant political group in the area, sacrificed enemy combatants drawn from raiding and buried them as a part of a dedicatory ritual in the temple.

Recent attempts to study cranial modification have suggested that the practice was a part of embodiment and socialization among the Maya. Comparison of colonial and modern Maya childbirth and socialization practices supports these arguments. We suggest that the next question to be asked is: “Why was the head specifically targeted for modification among the Maya?” This paper argues that one of the motivations behind cranial modification among the Maya was to protect newborns from injury. We present evidence from colonial documents and ethnographic studies on midwifery showing that animating essences resided in the head and that newborns were particularly at risk for soul loss and injury from evil winds. Further we present data on metaphoric polysemy between the human body and houses to argue that newborn humans were much like newly constructed houses in their susceptibility and that both required ritual ensoulment. The construction of the house roof parallels cranial modification. This likely has parallels in Classic Maya times, with some temple dedications and the construction of vaulted roofs with capstones, and suggests that the need to guard against soul loss has pre-Columbian roots.