DISPERSION DIAGRAMS: A NEW APPROACH TO THE DISPLAY OF CARBON-14 DATES

A statistical approach to the display of sets of ¹⁴C dates is suggested. All available dates of any particular culture are used to calculate the two quartiles and the median dates for it. The ‘dispersion’of the dates is then displayed as a bar showing the extreme dates, the quartiles and the median; thus neither individual dates nor their standard deviations are shown. This ‘dispersion diagram’saves much space when the dates of several cultures are to be displayed. The argument is developed that the inter-quartile range, which does not change very much when new dates become available and are added to the set, is a good index of the time span during which a culture flourished, and this range should normally be quoted rather than the mean, median or extreme dates of the culture. With samples of nine or more it can be shown by the Hypergeometric Distribution that there is a 97% chance of two cultures being different if their inter-quartile ranges just fail to overlap, so that this method of display is useful in assessing the overlap of cultures. The fact that the dispersion diagram contains within it a measure of the statistical uncertainties of the individual estimates and therefore can replace the standard deviation of each individual ¹⁴C date is discussed.     

ANOMALOUS CARBON-13 VALUES FOR FIBRE TEMPER IN CERAMICS*

Ceramic vessels from Later Stone Age sites in the Seacow river valley, South Africa, were heavily tempered with C4 grasses. However, most δ¹³C values of the temper fall between the known δ¹³C ranges for C4 and C3 grasses. Among possible C3 additives that could skew the signal, ground bone, animal dung, alpine grass, Karoo scrub ash, and humic acid contamination are eliminated. The sherd surfaces yield fatty chars with C3-like values. Although these are not enough to account for all the skewing, they represent only the final cooking event. They were preceded by many such events in which fat was absorbed into the C4 grass then charred to soot by later periods in the fire. Thus organic carbon with the isotope composition of the fat built up while the vessel remained in use.     

SHEEP IN THE YEAR OF WOOD SHEEP

<正>Editor's Note:During Tibetan New Year celebrations,a colorful sheep head carved with yak butter is always placed in the middle of an altar in each household.The sheep head is pronounced as"Loguo"in Tibetan,similar in sound with"Losar",meaning the Tibetan New Year.As2015 is the Year of the Wood Sheep in the Tibetan calendar,we present this special report on why the sheep holds     

用最短的时间玩上海

<正>上海是中国最开放的城市,有一种任何城市都无法比拟的贵族气质。它仿佛生来就是主角,现在因为世博会,更成为全世界的人都想去的地方。除了逛世博馆,在这里,你还可以徜徉在阳光下树影斑驳的街道,体会它精致的质感;或奔跑过崭新的马路,仰望高耸的建筑;或穿梭于超级购物中心的试衣间,倾己之囊疯狂一把。     

THE POSSIBLE FRACTIONATION OF LEAD ISOTOPES IN ANCIENT METALLURGICAL PROCESSES

The possibility of lead isotope fractionation in ancient lead production is examined. Kinetic theory relating to isotopic fractionation in non-equilibrium evaporation is considered and the feasibility of the alteration of lead isotope abundance ratios in ore roasting and smelting is assessed. Previous experimental work is shown to have been inconclusive and conclusions are drawn on the need for further research to quantify the possible extent of fractionation in practice.     

THE MULTIPLE SEALING SYSTEM of MINOAN CRETE and ITS POSSIBLE ANTECEDENTS IN ANATOLIA

Summary: The Multiple Sealing System ( MSS ) is defined as the habitual stamping of regular combinations of two or three different seal impressions on clay nodules ( bullae ). This system was thought to be peculiar to LM IB Zakro, where it is indeed most fully developed, but a Minoan MSS can now be traced back - via MM IIIB Knossos - to the earliest administrative use of sealings on Crete, at MM IIB Phaistos. This early MSS at Phaistos has close links with a similar administrative use of seals in regular combinations at Karahöyük Level I. We suggest that the MSS is a new and objective factor to be added to the known, if often disputed, glyptic relations between MBA Anatolia and Minoan Crete.     

14TH DALAI LAMA LOSES PUBLIC FAVOR IN TIBET

Recently, a survey was conductedamong 100 Tibetan householdsin the Chengguan District ofLhasa. For security purposes, thesurveyed remained anonymousand they answered questions all in Tibetan. Allthe surveyed returned the questionnaires. whichhad 24 questions concerning family economy,religious belief, the education of children andtheir future employment, political views, etc.In answering the question: "What kind ofPerson is the 14th Dalai Lama in your eyes," 86percent responded: "The Dalai…     

THE HEALTH OF OLDER WOMEN AFTER HIGH PARITY IN TAFT,IRAN

High parity has been hypothesised to lead to a shorter and less healthy life. Using the 2007 Taft Ageing Health and Fertility Survey consisting of 696 women aged 50–79, this paper examines the extent to which women's health in middle and older ages is affected by their childbearing histories. The results show that high parity (>8) is associated with a reduction of GP-rated health by 0.094 points on a scale from 1 to 10. These health reductions are four times as large as those of an extra year of age, and are robust to controlling for birth interval, age, area of residence, education, marital status, work history, economic satisfaction and surviving daughters. There is a positive but curvilinear relationship between shorter birth intervals (<2 years) and GP-rated health accounting for socio-demographic factors. Our analysis suggests that parity and birth intervals, along with socio-demographic characteristics, affect women's well-being in later life.     

THE DISCOVERY OF ANOMALOUSLY HIGH SILVER ABUNDANCES IN POTTERY FROM EARLY ROMAN EXCAVATION CONTEXTS IN JERUSALEM*

This is the first study on the differential distribution and concentrations of silver in ceramics recovered from archaeological excavations. The chemical compositions of 1174 pottery vessels from 38 Roman‐period sites in Israel have been determined. Unusually high and variable abundances of silver were discovered in pottery samples of all vessel types and chemical compositions from four distinct archaeological contexts dating to late first century bce to 70 ce Jerusalem. The large majority of the Jerusalem vessels could be distinguished by their silver abundances from all analysed pottery pieces recovered at rural sites outside Jerusalem, even when the pottery types and chemical compositions, except for silver, of pottery found within and outside Jerusalem were indistinguishable. The evidence is suggestive of a human origin for the high and variable silver abundances, and dispersion of the silver by aqueous transport. The differential silver concentrations found in excavated pottery from Jerusalem and other urban and rural sites suggest that attention to the distribution of silver in pottery from excavated contexts may be helpful for evaluating the nature and function of archaeological remains and patterns of urban contamination.     

CONSTRUCTING CARIBBEAN CHRONOLOGIES: COMPARATIVE RADIOCARBON DATING OF SHELL AND WOOD ARTEFACTS FROM PRE‐COLUMBIAN SITES IN CUBA

The lack of robust chronological frameworks for pre‐Columbian archaeology in the Caribbean limits the interpretive potential of ongoing studies of inter‐site and inter‐island interaction. This paper reviews the dating of 28 wood and shell artefacts from sites in northern Cuba in an attempt to date pre‐Columbian activity in the region and develop dating methodologies for the study of pre‐Columbian interaction in the Caribbean. This research compares dates from wood and shell artefacts from the waterlogged site of Los Buchillones in north‐central Cuba with dates from shell artefacts from sites on eight islands in the Sabana–Camaguey archipelago in the Bahama Channel. In addition to providing a chronological framework based on absolute dates for pre‐Columbian activity in northern Cuba, this paper also considers the methodological issues of using shell for dating pre‐Columbian activity in the Caribbean.     

高寒地区土地资源利用评价的GIS支持研究——以青海海北藏族自治州为例

土地资源是人类生存的基本资料和劳动对象 ,是人地关系系统中一个重要的物质信息载体 ,是评价人类生境的一个重要对象。土地利用是人类在现阶段生产力水平下 ,对区域土地资源的开发程度和利用情况。土地资源的现状评价 ,是反映人地关系协调程度的一个重要手段。本文采用目前广泛使用的GIS先进技术手段 ,对青海省海北藏族自治州土地资源的利用现状进行了评价。表明了GIS技术对该区域土地利用评价起到了缩小工作量 ,提高精确度的作用。并且从土地利用角度对海北州人地关系现状进行了描述。     

FLEXIBLE SPECIALIZATION, UNCERTAINTY, AND THE FIRM: ENTERPRISE STRATEGIES IN THE WOOD REMANUFACTURING INDUSTRY OF THE VANCOUVER METROPOLITAN AREA, BRITISH COLUMBIA

In this paper, we articulate the relationships between strategies of flexible specialization, uncertainty, and the firm in order to emphasize the internal differentiation of flexibly specialized regions. Conceptually, the paper argues that this variability is an implication of uncertainty which has been neglected in the literature. In particular, in response to uncertainty, firms develop different types of flexibility with respect to production, technology, and employment in sometimes novel ways that do not correspond to ideal types. Empirically, the argument is demonstrated through a detailed examination of several case study firms operating in the wood remanufacturing industry of the Vancouver metropolitan area, British Columbia.
Ceffe étude montre comment s'amculent les relations entre les stratégies de spécialisation flexible, les incertitudes du marché et la firme afin de souligner les différenciations à l'intérieur des régions à spécialisation flexible. De façon conceptuelle, on discutera ici du fait que la variabilité découle de l'incertitude du marché, point sur lequel on n'a pas beaucoup écrit. Notamment, pour répondre à l'incertitude, les firmes développent des types différents de flexibilityé portant sur la production, la technologie et la main-d'oeuvre par des moyens quelquefois innovateurs qui ne correspondent pas à des critères idéals. La démonstration est faite, de façon empirique, par un examen détaillé de plusieurs cas de compagnies de I'industrie manufacturière du bois d'oeuvre de la région du Vancouver métropolitain, en Colombie-Britan-nique.
Mots-clés: Spécialisation flexible, incertitudes du marché, industrie manufacturière du bois, stratégic de I'entreprise, Vancouver.     

光绪年间的钱贵银贱与江南制造局铸钱

一清光绪年间,钱贵银贱,银两、银元兑钱数继续减少,成为当时的主要货币问题之一。以上海为例,光绪三年十月初九日(1877年11月13日)鹰洋每元可易制钱1019文;而初六、初七日鹰洋一元的换钱数还不到千文。①光绪二十年中日甲午战争以后,钱价更为高涨。光绪二十一年,鹰洋一元的换钱数,“渐减至九百数十文,甚有减至八百数十文者。无论贫富,咸受亏耗,实为数十年来所仅见。”②用洋钱买物,如不到一元,须要找钱,至少要买到五六百文,卖者才肯找。民间以洋钱换钱,先要用大洋换小洋(银角),再用小洋换钱。“以大洋换小洋,已吃亏数文十余文不等,再以小洋…     

THE IMPACT OF THE WATER ROUTES OF NOVGOROD AND NORTHEASTERN RUS' ON THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE TRANSVOLGA IN THE 12TH-14TH CENTURIES

On the basis of early chronicles, statutes, and maps, as well as toponyms, the author retraces the river routes and portages used by Novgorodian and Rostov-Suzdalian tribute collectors, traders, and soldiers travelling from the upper reaches of the Volga to the White Sea slope in the 12th-14th centuries. He also indirectly assesses the negative and positive impact of these waterways on the physical environment on the basis of artifacts and logic. (The translation was prepared by James R. Gibson of York University, Toronto).