This Master’s thesis solves a design and construction of device for gathering and transfer of data into computer. The device should replace graph plotter, by which is measured the optical intensity of a laser beam. From this characteristic it is possible to determine other parameters of the laser beam, such as halfwidth of the beam, angle of divergence and Rayleigh length. The described device - “data gatherer” - measures two voltage values – voltage detected on photodiode and voltage detected on distance moved by photodiode. Measured values of voltage are processed and sent through a serial line into the computer. A pre-amplifier is connected to the control part for both channels of measured values with possibility of amplification. Computer application, which performs graphic interpretation of the measured values, serves as user control peripheral. The product of this project is compact device operating under OS Windows with graphic output.

In the Powder River Basin of Wyoming, our nation's interest in protecting its cultural heritage collides with the high demand for carbon fuels. "Clinker" deposits dot the basin. These distinctive buttes, created by the underground combustion of coal, are underlain by coal veins; they also provided the main lithic resources for prehistoric hunter-gatherers. These deposits signify both a likelihood of extractable carbon and high archaeological site density. Federal law requires that energy developers must identify culturally significant sites before mining can begin. The research presented here explains the need for and describes a statistical tool with the potential to predict sites where carbon and cultural resources co-occur, thus streamlining the process of identifying important heritage sites to protect them from adverse impacts by energy development. The methods used for this predictive model include two binary logistic regression models using known archaeological sites in the Powder River Basin. The model as developed requires further refinement; the results are nevertheless applicable to future research in this and similar areas, as I discuss in my conclusion.

The Sámi’s past activities have been documented historically from a European perspective, and more recently from an anthropological viewpoint, giving a generalised observation of the Sámi, during the study period of AD200-AD1800, as semi-nomadic hunter gatherers, with several theories suggesting that interaction with Europeans, through trade, led to the adoption of European activities by certain groups of the Sámi (Eiermann, 1923; Paine, 1957; Manker and Vorren, 1962; Bratrein, 1981; Mathiesen et al, 1981; Meriot, 1984). However, there is almost no information on the impact the Sámi had on the landscape, either before or after any adoption of European activities, and none investigating what cultural footprint or indicators would remain from Sámi or European occupation and/or activity within the typically podzolic soils of Northern Sweden. Consequently the thesis aims to contribute to the gap in knowledge through the formation of a podzol model identifying the links between anthropogenic activity and the alteration of podzol soils, and through the creation of soils based models which identify the cultural indicators associated with both Sámi and European activity; formed from the identification of cultural indicators retained within known Sámi and European sites. The methods used to obtain the information needed to achieve this were the pH and magnetic susceptibility from bulk soil samples and micromorphological and chemical analysis of thin section slides through the use of standard microscopy and X-ray fluorescence from a scanning electron microscope. The analysis revealed that the Sámi had an extremely low impact on the landscape, leaving hard to detect cultural indicators related to reindeer herding in the form of reindeer faecal material with corresponding phosphorous peaks in the thin section slides. The European footprint however, was markedly different and very visible even within the acidic soil environment. The European indicators were cultivation based and included phosphorous and aluminium peaks as well as a deepened, highly homogenised plaggen style anthropogenic topsoil rich in ‘added’ materials. An abandoned European site which visibly and chemically shows the formation of a secondary albic horizon within the anthropogenic topsoil also provides an insight into the delicate balance of cultivated soil in northern Sweden, whilst reinforcing the outputs identified in the podzol model. Due to the almost invisible Sámi footprint on the landscape, areas of overlap were impossible to identify however, there was no evidence of the adoption of European cultivation activities at any of the Sámi sites investigated. The only known area of interaction between the two cultures was an official market place which had been a Sámi winter settlement prior to its use as a market site. This site showed none of the reindeer based Sámi indicators or the cultivation based European indicators, but did contain pottery fragments which could be linked to trade or occupation. Overall, the thesis reinforces the low impact expected of the semi-nomadic Sámi and sheds light on the underlying podzolic processes influencing the anthropogenically modified soils of Northern Sweden. The podzol model is reinforced by several findings throughout the thesis and the soils based cultural indicator models for both Sámi and European activity have been successfully tested against independent entomological and palynological data and therefore provide reliable reference material for future studies.

Cette thèse propose une analyse approfondie de la dynamique des changements observés au sein d’une communauté de chasseurs-cueilleurs, les Baka du Gabon. Ce groupe se compose de moins de 1000 individus et parle une langue oubanguienne dans un environnement bantuphone. Une comparaison avec les autres langues du même sous-groupe linguistique met en évidence les spécificités du baka et met au jour des affinités entre cette langue et le monzombo. Ces deux groupes ethnolinguistiques semblent avoir entretenu des relations qui s’inscrivent dans une dynamique d’échange de compétences (chasse-cueillette vs pêche-maîtrise du fer). Ce type de complémentarité se retrouve dans les relations entre les Baka et leurs voisins bantu actuels, dont en particulier les Fang, pour ce qui concerne le Gabon.Le mode de vie des Baka demeure, encore aujourd’hui, largement marqué par la mobilité et la forêt. Toutefois, la sédentarisation imposée par voie gouvernementale, la contigüité avec les Fang de même que l’influence croissante de la mondialisation entraînent des transformations par rapport auxquelles les Baka cherchent à se positionner. Ces dernières touchent la langue (système et utilisation) de même que bon nombre de pratiques socioculturelles (habitat, mobilité, alimentation, subsistance, religion, etc.).La thèse s’efforce d’identifier ces transformations, de les décrire et d’en évaluer l’impact en tenant compte de la diversité des situations. Elle comporte, par ailleurs, une réflexion critique des principes de catégorisation fondée sur l’étude de plusieurs domaines lexicaux (faune, flore, maladie). Certains changements peuvent apparaître en surface sans pour autant remettre en cause, de manière fondamentale, leur attachement à la forêt et à certaines valeurs ancestrales. Toutefois, les différentes pressions exogènes (i.a. sédentarisation, mondialisation) et endogènes (i.a. attitude des individus, transmission) qui déterminent alors le degré d’avancement des différentes transformations, ne doivent pas être sous évaluées en tant qu’elles sont une menace pesant sur la langue, la connaissance de la flore et de la faune et certaines pratiques socioculturelles. / This thesis proposes a detailed analysis on the dynamic of change observed among the Baka from Gabon, a hunter-gatherer community. This group is composed of less than 1000 individuals speaking an Ubangian language inside a Bantu environment. By comparing their language with others from the same linguistic sub-group, some singularities from Baka and some resemblance with the Monzombo sub-group can be seen. These two ethnolinguistic groups, Baka and Monzombo groups, seem to have kept close contact based on skill exchanges (hunting/gathering and fishing/iron skills). This interaction is witnessed in the exchanges the Baka population preserves with their current Bantu neighbors, especially with Fang in Gabon.Nowadays, the Baka way of life is still characterized by their mobility and the forest. Nevertheless, due to a non-migratory lifestyle imposed by the State, the proximity with the Fang group and the growing globalization, dramatic changes are inflicted to the Baka community. Changes at which they are trying to adapt. These constraints do not affect only their language (system and use) but also many sociocultural habits such as settlement, mobility, food and means of support or religion.The aim of this thesis is to identify these ongoing transformations, to describe and to evaluate their impact bearing in mind the singularity of many contexts. An argumentative reflection on categorization principles is also proposed on lexical domains such as fauna, flora and diseases. Certain changes could arise without necessarily questioning their bonds to the forest and ancestral values. Nonetheless, both exogenous (globalization and a sedentary life) and endogenous pressures (individual behavior and culture transmission) determining the progress of different transformations should not be under evaluated as being a threat to the language, to the knowledge of the flora and fauna and to certain sociocultural practices.

This study focuses on the semi-subterranean houses in northern Sweden, specifically in the counties Jämtland, Västerbotten and Västernorrland. The semi-subterranean houses were usedby hunter-gatherers and the houses date to the end of the Mesolithic and the Neolithic. In this study two separate types of semi-subterranean houses are being investigated. Both types of semi-subterranean houses are categorized as ‘settlement embankments’ (Sw. boplatsvall). Within the study one type is called ‘embankments of fire-cracked stones’ (Sw. skärvstensvall) which are situated in the interior part of Norrland, and the other type is called ‘embankmentsof gravel/sand’ (Sw. grusvall) which are mainly found in the coastal areas of Norrland. The purpose of this study is to investigate the number of individuals residing within the semi-subterranean houses. Cross-cultural studies based on ethnographic material is used to calculate how many individuals lived in each house. The cross-cultural study of floor area has resulted in a mean of how much space (6.1 m2) a prehistoric human needs in a dwelling. This number is used to calculate the number of individuals that lived in each house based on the size of the floor area. Another purpose of this study is to investigate if there are any differences between the embankments of fire-cracked stone and the embankments of gravel/sand. Are they simply different construction techniques or are there any other differences between them, such as size, social structure and chronology.