This book examines how Romans used their pottery and the implications of these practices on the archaeological record. It is organized around a flow model for the life cycle of Roman pottery that ...includes a set of eight distinct practices: manufacture, distribution, prime use, reuse, maintenance, recycling, discard, reclamation. J. Theodore Peña evaluates how these practices operated, how they have shaped the archaeological record, and the implications of these processes on archaeological research through the examination of a wide array of archaeological, textual, representational and comparative ethnographic evidence. The result is a rich portrayal of the dynamic that shaped the archaeological record of the ancient Romans that will be of interest to archaeologists, ceramicists, and students of material culture.
A total of nine representative pottery fragments belonging to ferruginous, carbonate, and thin‐walled wares were recovered in refuse middens outside the fortification wall of Pompeii and subjected to ...a program of multianalytical operations (thermal ionization mass spectrometry, X‐ray fluorescence, X‐ray powder diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscopy–energy‐dispersive spectrometry techniques, optical microscopy). The fragments bear manufacturing defects, indicating their local production in workshops located somewhere at Pompeii. These three groups display a similar volcanic coarse component that exhibits distinct chemical compositions. The volcanic component consists of alkali feldspar, clinopyroxene, plagioclase, minor garnet, and rock fragments (with primarily plagioclase and leucite), pointing to an origin from the Somma‐Vesuvius. The fingerprint of the Sr–Nd isotopes of carbonate ware suggests an affinity with high‐CaO clays from Rufoli, a subdivision of Salerno. Sr–Nd isotopes also suggest that clays from the Sorrentine Peninsula were used: A clay mixture of different argillified pyroclastic materials was employed for the low‐CaO ferruginous ware, whereas the low‐CaO thin‐walled ware was manufactured with a marine varicolored clay. The distribution of materials likely occurred by sea via the port at Salernum and Surrentum. The combination of different types of complementary data obtained through this program of analysis illustrates the importance of combining both quantitative petrographic and chemical characterization in the evaluation of archaeological pottery.
Translational regulation permeates neuronal function. Nociceptors are sensory neurons responsible for the detection of harmful stimuli. Changes in their activity, termed plasticity, are intimately ...linked to the persistence of pain. Although inhibitors of protein synthesis robustly attenuate pain-associated behavior, the underlying targets that support plasticity are largely unknown. Here, we examine the contribution of protein synthesis in regions of RNA annotated as noncoding. Based on analyses of previously reported ribosome profiling data, we provide evidence for widespread translation in noncoding transcripts and regulatory regions of mRNAs. We identify an increase in ribosome occupancy in the 5' untranslated regions of the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP/Calca). We validate the existence of an upstream open reading frame (uORF) using a series of reporter assays. Fusion of the uORF to a luciferase reporter revealed active translation in dorsal root ganglion neurons after nucleofection. Injection of the peptide corresponding to the calcitonin gene-related peptide-encoded uORF resulted in pain-associated behavioral responses in vivo and nociceptor sensitization in vitro. An inhibitor of heterotrimeric G protein signaling blocks both effects. Collectively, the data suggest pervasive translation in regions of the transcriptome annotated as noncoding in dorsal root ganglion neurons and identify a specific uORF-encoded peptide that promotes pain sensitization through GPCR signaling.
RNA stability is meticulously controlled. Here, we sought to determine whether an essential post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism plays a role in pain. Nonsense-mediated decay (NMD) safeguards ...against translation of mRNAs that harbor premature termination codons and controls the stability of ∼10% of typical protein-coding mRNAs. It hinges on the activity of the conserved kinase SMG1. Both SMG1 and its target, UPF1, are expressed in murine DRG sensory neurons. SMG1 protein is present in both the DRG and sciatic nerve. Using high-throughput sequencing, we examined changes in mRNA abundance following inhibition of SMG1. We confirmed multiple NMD stability targets in sensory neurons, including ATF4. ATF4 is preferentially translated during the integrated stress response (ISR). This led us to ask whether suspension of NMD induces the ISR. Inhibition of NMD increased eIF2-α phosphorylation and reduced the abundance of the eIF2-α phosphatase constitutive repressor of eIF2-α phosphorylation. Finally, we examined the effects of SMG1 inhibition on pain-associated behaviors. Peripheral inhibition of SMG1 results in mechanical hypersensitivity in males and females that persists for several days and priming to a subthreshold dose of PGE2. Priming was fully rescued by a small-molecule inhibitor of the ISR. Collectively, our results indicate that suspension of NMD promotes pain through stimulation of the ISR.
Nociceptors undergo long-lived changes in their plasticity which may contribute to chronic pain. Translational regulation has emerged as a dominant mechanism in pain. Here, we investigate the role of a major pathway of RNA surveillance called nonsense-mediated decay (NMD). Modulation of NMD is potentially beneficial for a broad array of diseases caused by frameshift or nonsense mutations. Our results suggest that inhibition of the rate-limiting step of NMD drives behaviors associated with pain through activation of the ISR. This work reveals complex interconnectivity between RNA stability and translational regulation and suggests an important consideration in harnessing the salubrious benefits of NMD disruption.
Injury responses require communication between different cell types in the skin. Sensory neurons contribute to inflammation and can secrete signaling molecules that affect non-neuronal cells. Despite ...the pervasive role of translational regulation in nociception, the contribution of activity-dependent protein synthesis to inflammation is not well understood. To address this problem, we examined the landscape of nascent translation in murine dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons treated with inflammatory mediators using ribosome profiling. We identified the activity-dependent gene, Arc, as a target of translation
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Inflammatory cues promote local translation of Arc in the skin. Arc-deficient male mice display exaggerated paw temperatures and vasodilation in response to an inflammatory challenge. Since Arc has recently been shown to be released from neurons in extracellular vesicles (EVs), we hypothesized that intercellular Arc signaling regulates the inflammatory response in skin. We found that the excessive thermal responses and vasodilation observed in Arc defective mice are rescued by injection of Arc-containing EVs into the skin. Our findings suggest that activity-dependent production of Arc in afferent fibers regulates neurogenic inflammation potentially through intercellular signaling.
Nociceptors play prominent roles in pain and inflammation. We examined rapid changes in the landscape of nascent translation in cultured dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) treated with a combination of inflammatory mediators using ribosome profiling. We identified several hundred transcripts subject to rapid preferential translation. Among them is the immediate early gene (IEG) Arc. We provide evidence that Arc is translated in afferent fibers in the skin. Arc-deficient mice display several signs of exaggerated inflammation which is normalized on injection of Arc containing extracellular vesicles (EVs). Our work suggests that noxious cues can trigger Arc production by nociceptors which in turn constrains neurogenic inflammation in the skin.
This study, in two parts, reviews the evidence from Pompeii for the production and distribution of pottery. Part 1, the present article, considers the production of pottery. Evidence is scant for the ...pre-Roman period but includes a refuse deposit containing Black Gloss Ware wasters, a pottery kiln with associated Black Gloss Ware and commonware wasters, and a mold for the manufacture of Italo-Megarian Ware bowls. There is substantially more material for the Roman period, including two frescoes depicting potters, three graffiti referring to potters, and the excavated remains of two modestly sized pottery production facilities, neither of which has been published in detail. The frescoes suggest that potters at Pompeii used rod-driven, single-wheel potter's wheels. The Via di Nocera facility, which manufactured lamps and commonware, is perhaps the most complete pottery production facility from the Roman world, and it is possible to reconstruct the operations carried out in its various spaces in considerable detail. The Via Superior facility, which manufactured cookwares, was only partially excavated, so it is more difficult to infer its operations. Together, these two facilities may have supplied Roman-period Pompeii with much or all of its locally manufactured cookwares, commonwares, and lamps. Part 2, which will appear in a forthcoming issue of the AJA, examines the material basis for pottery production at Pompeii (i.e., the availability and use of raw materials) and its distribution.
This study, in two parts, reviews the evidence from Pompeii for the production and distribution of pottery. Part 1 ("AJA" 113 2009 57-79) considers the production of pottery. Part 2, the present ...article, examines the material basis for pottery production at Pompeii (i.e., the availability and use of the raw materials) and its distribution. A consideration of the raw materials for pottery production available in the greater Pompeii region and the compositional characteristics of pottery from Pompeii permit some general observations about where these vessels were likely manufactured. While a large portion was probably produced at or near Pompeii, substantial numbers of vessels, including thin-walled wares, lamps, and amphoras, were probably manufactured elsewhere in the region. Non-amphora pottery was probably distributed to consumers at Pompeii by three methods: sale at the workshop, sale at a shop, and sale by a peddler. Some classes of non-amphora pottery imported from outside the region are abundant enough to suggest that they reached Pompeii via regularly functioning distribution mechanisms involving middleman merchants and/or the captains/crews of merchant ships. Other classes of imported non-amphora pottery that occur in only small quantities probably arrived via less regular mechanisms. Wine and fish products originating in the territory of Pompeii were probably packaged in amphoras at facilities located along the coast, and newly manufactured amphoras were probably transported to these establishments for filling from production facilities elsewhere. Pompeii may well be anomalous for the large portion of its pottery that was manufactured beyond the immediate environs of the town.
In this contribution I present a general overview of the reuse of amphorae as packaging containers in the Roman world. After discussing various background considerations relating to the reuse of ...amphorae as packaging containers I review first the archaeological and then the textual evidence for this practice. I then consider three significant questions raised by the reuse of amphorae as packaging containers, indicate research that might be undertaken with a view to improving our understanding of the practice, and conclude by drawing some general conclusions regarding both its incidence and its significance for amphora studies.
I begin by defining what
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