The chronology of epiphyseal union in the hand and foot from dry bone observations

Dry bone data for epiphyseal union at the hand and foot are scarce, incomplete or inexistent. This study documents the timing of fusion of secondary ossification centres at the hand and foot in a sample of known‐age human skeletons. The sample comprises 92 individuals (49 females and 43 males), between the ages of 9 and 22 years, from the identified skeletal collection curated at the National Museum of Natural History in Lisbon, Portugal. Epiphyseal union was recorded on the right and left side at the long bones of the hand (metacarpus and phalanges) and foot (metatarsus and phalanges), and also at the talus and calcaneus, using a three stage scheme (non‐fused; partially fused and completely fused). In the hand, intra‐observer agreement was 99% and inter‐observer agreement was 98%. In the foot, both intra‐ and inter‐observer agreement reached 100%. Lateral asymmetry was not significant and only 1.1% of the individuals in the sample were found to be asymmetric in the stage of epiphyseal fusion (1.8% in the hand and 0.3% in the foot). A minimum mean advancement of 1–2 years in females relative to males was observed. In the hand bones, epiphyseal union occurred between 12–18 years in females and 16–18 years in males. Comparatively, in the foot bones, epiphyseal union occurred slightly later, with the exception of the talus and calcaneus, which are the earliest bones to mature. Data in this study can be used to estimate the age of unidentified skeletal remains, either directly or by aiding in the modification of incomplete or imprecise data that have been collected over the years. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Changes in survival of cattle (Bos taurus) during Medieval times in two Norwegian cities

Abstract

Bones (diaphyses) have epiphyses that fuse at a given age. This indicates if the animal was older or younger than the age of fusion for that specific epiphysis at death. In this short contribution, we present a new methodology to calculate survival/mortality of cattle on the basis of epiphysial fusion. We used cattle bones, excavated in two Norwegian cities, Oslo and Trondheim, to calculate survival and changes in mortality for cattle during the period from AD1000 to AD1624. This is based on standard logistic regression models, using a complementary log–log link and the log of age of fusion of the epiphyses as independent variable, an approach recognised as a ‘Weibull-model for current-status-data’. Mortality of cattle was higher in the city of Trondheim than in Oslo. For both cities the mortality of cattle decreased, and the life-span increased, during the period from the AD1000 until AD1350. In Oslo, mortality after 1350 was similar to that between 1150 and 1250, while in Trondheim, it was similar to the mortality in the period from 1250 to 1350. We have shown that mortality curves can be calculated using epiphysial fusion data, and using this approach have demonstrated a change in cattle mortality which corresponds to significant historic events during the medieval period.     

From union clinics to barefoot doctors: healers,medical pluralism,and state medicine in Chinese villages, 1950–1970

This paper explores the dynamic differentiation and reorganization of healers within a plural medical system from the birth of the union clinics in the early 1950s to the popularization of barefoot doctors in Chinese villages in 1970. After 1949, the state started to mobilize individual medical practitioners to form union clinics that implemented a system of fees for services, individual accounting, self‐responsibility for profits and losses, democratic management, and distribution according to each contribution. The union clinics became the township‐level medical agencies following the establishment of county hospitals. These developments indicated the beginning of the dynamic differentiation of a plural medical system and formed the basic structure of the state medical system in 1950s–60s. Through the complete reshuffling of healers within the plural medical system, by 1970 barefoot doctors were embedded in the reorganized rural medical world of Chinese villages.     

CLIENT GROUP ATTITUDES TOWARD ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF INDUSTRIAL SAFETY REGULATION*

A sample of local union officers was surveyed to determine the degree to which they supported the current approach to industrial safety regulation (the setting of safety standards under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970) as opposed to an alternative scheme (the imposition of an injury tax). Personal characteristics of the members of the sample were also obtained. These data were matched with the injury frequency rates of the industries in which the officers’ constituents were employed. Individuals surveyed tended to believe OSHA to have been an effective injury deterrent, although there were significant differences among groups within the sample. The establishment of safety standards was strongly supported as the “best” means to control industrial accidents.     

Biochemical and physical correlates of DNA contamination in archaeological human bones and teeth excavated at Matera,Italy

The majority of ancient DNA studies on human specimens have utilised teeth and bone as a source of genetic material. In this study the levels of endogenous contamination (i.e. present within the sample prior to sampling for the DNA analysis) are assessed within human bone and teeth specimens sampled from the cemetery of Santa Lucia alle Malve, Matera, Italy. This site is of exceptional interest, because the samples have been assayed for 18 measures of biochemical and physical preservation, and it is the only one identified in a study of more than 107 animal and 154 human bones from 43 sites across Europe, where a significant number of human bones was well preserved. The findings demonstrate several important issues: (a) although teeth are more resilient to contamination than bone, both are readily contaminated (presumably through handling or washing), and (b) once contaminated in this way, both are difficult (if not impossible) to decontaminate. Furthermore, although assessed on bone samples, several of the specific biochemical and physical characteristics that describe overall sample preservation, levels of microbial attack and related increases in sample porosity directly correlate with the presence of observable contamination in both bone and teeth samples from individual samples. While we can only speculate on the cause of this relationship, we posit that they provide useful guides for the assessment of whether samples are likely to be contaminated or not.     

Sample-specific (universal) metric approaches for determining the sex of immature human skeletal remains using permanent tooth dimensions

In this paper, three approaches for developing sample-specific sex determination methods of immature skeletal remains based on permanent tooth dimensions are proposed and tested using a sample of identified skeletons. The sample comprises adult and subadult individuals selected from the Lisbon documented skeletal collection, housed at the National Museum of Natural History in Lisbon, Portugal. Faciolingual and mesiodistal diameters were the tooth dimensions utilized. In the first approach, sex-specific logistic regression formulae based on adult tooth dimensions are developed and then used to determine the sex of the subadult sample. The second and third approaches are based on the sectioning point procedure, which uses the overall mean of a measurement (tooth diameter) collected from the sample as the discriminant criteria for determining the sex of the individuals in that sample. While in the second approach the adult overall mean of each dimension is used as the discriminant criteria for determining the sex of the subadults, in the third approach it is the subadult overall mean of each dimension that comprises the discriminant criteria that is applied back to the subadults for determining sex. Results show that the canines are the teeth with the highest sexual dimorphism and methods of sex determination based on canine dimensions provide correct allocation accuracies between 58.8% and 100% depending on the diameter and the approach that is being used. Canine faciolingual dimensions provide the best overall results. Combinations of measurements from the same and different teeth do not increase significantly the accuracy of the methods and approaches. Some of the problems of subadult sex determination methods based on adult tooth dimensions result from differing levels of sexual dimorphism between the adult and subadult segment of the sample. Mortality or cultural bias may increase or decrease the sexual dimorphism of the subadults compared to the adults. Small subadult samples utilized in this study may also raise questions regarding the accuracy of the three different sample-specific approaches. However, high consistency of results using the canine and different approaches, suggests that adult and subadult canine dimensions can be reliable sex discriminators of immature skeletal remains in archaeological samples. The major advantage of the approaches presented here is that they can be used to derive sample-specific methods and, therefore, eliminate the problem of applying morphological or metric methods to individuals originating from a population that differs from the one that contributed to the development of the method.     

Embedded Internationalisms: Building Transnational Solidarity in the British and Norwegian Trade Union Movements

There has been growing interest in the prospects for a new trade union internationalism in recent years, following the end of the Cold War and the coming together of the main national union organisations into one confederation, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). For the first time in decades, geopolitical straitjackets and defensive nationalistic postures are giving way to more open, internationalist perspectives as unions attempt to get to grips with global capitalism. However, despite some well‐publicised grassroots globalisation campaigns, effective international labour organising and networking remains thin on the ground. One of the reasons for this is that, despite the rhetoric of globalisation and the reality of multi‐layered governance, the "national" space remains the critical scale at which unions operate. Variations in both union organisation and the politico‐institutional context within which unions operate nationally continue to shape international solidarity activities. This theme is pursued in this paper through the contrasting cases of the UK and Norwegian trade union movements. Although both union movements have been subject to similar problems in recent years, in terms of membership decline and the pressures of increasing global economic integration, the different national political and economic contexts within which unions are embedded have been important in facilitating or constraining international strategies.     

Frequency of Complete Cleft Sacra in a Native American Sample

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the current understanding of the variability of complete sacral clefts in human populations by presenting new data on a large prehistoric and historic Native American skeletal sample (n = 1943). Results are examined by age, sex, time period, and regional distribution and compared with reported frequencies of complete sacral clefts in other modern, historic, and ancient populations. In all, 1.6% of the sample exhibited complete sacral clefts, including 2.1% of males and 1.1% of females. Although males exhibit a frequency twice as high as females, this difference is not statistically significant. However, within the Alaskan sample, the sex difference was significant (p = 0.002), with 3.4% of males and 0.5% of females exhibiting complete clefts; these differences may be related to mechanical influences during growth and development in males. Differences among age groups are not significant. Regional comparisons among Alaska, Eastern Woodlands, Great Basin/Northwest/California, Great Plains, and Southwest showed no significant differences overall, but Alaska (2.2%) and Great Plains (0.5%) do show a significant difference (p = 0.024). No significant differences were found between prehistoric, protohistoric, and historic/recent samples, suggesting a lack of a secular trend in frequency of complete sacral clefts in Native American populations. One individual exhibited an enlarged canal, which may be indicative of a more severe condition. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tending and drive hunting: A density-mediated attrition model can explain age profiles of white-tailed deer at Iroquoian village sites

In a 1993 paper, Noble and Crerar suggested, based on the age and sex distribution of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) longbones from four Attawandaron Iroquoian sites around the western end of Lake Ontario, that the contact-period Attawandaron were managing local deer populations, in response to the aboriginal trade in hides. Having observed similar patterns of differential preservation of elements and epiphyseal fusion at nearby Iroquoian sites that are not ascribed to the Attawandaron, and which pre-date the hypothesised trading period, we argue that these patterns may instead relate to bone density and/or vulnerability to taphonomic effects of late-fusing epiphyses. We further support our argument through age profiles based on dental eruption and wear.     

Diaphyseal growth in a nineteenth century skeletal sample of subadults from St Thomas' church,Belleville, Ontario

This study presents skeletal growth data for a nineteenth century church cemetery sample from Belleville, Ontario. Skeletal growth profiles (SGPs), plotting measurements of growth against age estimated by tooth formation, were constructed for the sample. Means and confidence intervals for 1-year cohorts up to 12 years of age are presented for each of the long bones, the ilium and scapula. Comparison of the SGPs created for this sample with modern and archaeological samples demonstrates that the nineteenth century Belleville children followed a growth pattern similar to their modern counterparts, at least until 12 years of age. It is recommended that these data can be used by other investigators as a comparative sample of nineteenth century children; they can also be used as standards of growth for the purpose of estimating age from diaphyseal lengths for other archaeological samples of similar temporal context and population affinities. It is argued that confidence intervals rather than standard deviations be used to report variation, as the former controls for sample size as well as variance.     

Public and Private Policy Change: Pension Reform in Four Countries

This article offers a comparative, qualitative analysis of the changing nature of—and relationship between—public and private old age pensions in the United States, Canada, Britain, and Japan. Stressing the impact of institutional legacies on policy change, the article explains why these countries have taken contrasting paths toward the restructuring of public and private pension policies. The study finds that the four countries fall into two distinct clusters. On the one hand are Canada and the United States, which have essentially witnessed policy drift toward a greater reliance on private savings. On the other hand are Britain and Japan, which have reshaped their pension systems largely through legislative revision. The last section explains the differences between and within these two country clusters. The article concludes that institutional forces explain the distinctive policy patterns between the two country clusters but that it is necessary to bring in other factors (i.e., demographic aging, union density, and the role of ideas) to account for differences within each of these clusters.     

Trade unions,the Australian Labor Party and the Trade–Labour Rights Debate

This paper examines the Australian trade union movement's campaign to convince the Australian Labor Party (ALP) to support the inclusion of core labour standards in international trade agreements. Despite historical affiliations, the Australian union movement has been unsuccessful in its attempts to influence the ALP. In contrast, the US union movement has convinced both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party to accept that core labour standards should be a part of the trade negotiating agenda. The reasons for the US unions' success on this issue are examined within the context of the changing relationship between the respective union movements and their traditional parliamentary allies. The need for Australian unions to examine and reassess their strategies by drawing lessons from the US experience, including the possibility of a changed relationship with the ALP, is discussed.     

Schmidt hammer rebound hardness tests for the characterization of ancient fired clay bricks

This article presents results of non-destructive Schmidt hammer tests performed on ancient fired clay bricks sampled from historical masonry. These tests were carried out in order to evaluate, and compare, the different degrees of degradation, depending on the bricks’ specific exposures and locations within a wall. The results indicate that this technique is sensitive enough to distinguish sample locations and measure weathering differences, even for different surfaces of a particular sample. For each case study, referenced surfaces were tested for bricks from a facade or interior wall. Each surface was tested with a Schmidt hammer type LB at ten different points of measurement, and these measurements were repeated ten times. For each impact at a particular point, a mean rebound value was calculated to provide an index of the degree of brick-surface microweathering.     

Reconstructing patterns of systemic stress in a Jomon period subadult using incremental microstructures of enamel

This study reconstructs systemic stress patterning using incremental microstructures of enamel in a subadult from the Yoshigo cemetery (3200 through 2800 BP), Aichi Prefecture, Japan, with the goal of providing an improved methodological and theoretical framework for interpreting systemic stress among Jomon people. High resolution impressions and replicas were collected for each anterior maxillary tooth. Each replica was studied under 50, 100, or 200× magnification on a measuring microscope. Perikymata spacing and enamel surface profiles were recorded using specialized software. Linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) defects were identified as accentuated spacing in perikymata combined with a depression in the enamel surface. Each defect was placed within a chronological sequence based on decile location. Stress duration was estimated by counting the perikymata in the occlusal wall of each defect and multiplying that value by the modal periodicity for striae formation. Percentage of enamel growth disruption was estimated by dividing the number of perikymata within the occlusal wall of each matched defect by the total number of perikymata within the imbricational enamel. Eight LEH defects were chronologically matched. Chronology of LEH defects ranged between 1.2 through 3.5 years. Number of perikymata located within the occlusal wall of each defect ranged from one through 20. Estimated durations of stress ranged from 12 through 129.6 days. These durations overlapped with Neandertals, though Point Hope foragers had greater durations of stress with no overlap in interquartile ranges. Disrupted enamel growth ranged from 8.1% in the maxillary left canine to 50.7% in the maxillary right central incisor.     

Institutionalising Future Geographies of Financial Inclusion: National Legitimacy Versus Local Autonomy in the British Credit Union Movement

In Great Britain, financial infrastructure withdrawal and community economic decline have focused attention on the capacity of locally "alternative" financial institutions to combat social and financial exclusion. This paper examines one such institution, the residential or "community" credit union, which provides a low-cost source of credit for members drawn from a common bond area usually based upon place of residence and/or work. Although community credit unions have traditionally been seen as providing individuals and communities with the opportunity to access credit and savings facilities in areas where there has been contraction in bank and building society provision (the financial "mainstream"), ongoing attempts exist to move away from the traditional role of community credit unions. This transition has set up three main challenges for the British credit union movement, discussed in this paper as follows: (1) a struggle over the attempt to redefine the "model" credit union within the national credit union movement; (2) the changing regulatory context for credit union development, including attempts to embrace credit unions within New Labour policies on social exclusion; and (3) a "local" challenge, including the incorporation of credit unions into community economic development initiatives. The paper considers how these challenges feed into wider understandings about the social relations, categorisation and autonomy of locally "alternative" financial institutions. We argue that future research on geographies of financial inclusion focusing on "alternative" institutions and their relationship to the financial mainstream needs to pay close critical attention to potential contradictions and tensions operating at different, yet intersecting spatial scales.     

Genuine Renewal or Pyrrhic Victory? The Scale Politics of Trade Union Recognition in the UK

There is an ongoing debate within radical geography concerned with the trade union response to the hegemony of business interests apparent under neoliberal capitalism. In this paper, I contribute to this debate by exploring recent attempts to renew trade union organisation in the UK following decades of decline. I argue that, despite recent successes in stemming falling membership numbers and signing new recognition agreements, closer inspection reveals flaws in the renewal process that reflect the underlying nature of scale politics within the union movement itself. In particular, centralised strategies at the national level are failing to re‐energise local‐level union organisation leading to a rather hollow and pyrrhic renewal process. Drawing upon both macro‐level analysis and evidence from a particular industry case study, I suggest that unions rethink their organisational geographies and scalar relations if they wish to re‐connect with the grassroots and at a broader level remain a progressive force in the changing economic landscape.     

The History and Composition of the Identified Human Skeletal Collection of the Certosa Cemetery (Bologna,Italy, 19th–20th Century)

The purpose of this paper is to present the identified skeletal collection (by age, sex, cause of death, occupation and preservation state) from the Certosa Cemetery of Bologna (Italy), which was reviewed and checked through a consultation of the cemetery archives. The collection consists of 425 skeletons of individuals (from newborn to 91 years old) who died in Bologna between 1898 and 1944. The personal details associated with the skeletons were cross‐checked with the data contained in the cemetery and municipal archives. For each skeleton, the biological profile was assessed using current anthropological methods in order to confirm its correct identification. Four hundred and eighteen skeletons (98.4%), mostly complete and well preserved, are identified at least for sex, and for 95% of these, the age is known. The distribution of sexes in the various age groups is fairly well balanced. The cause of death is known in 93% of the individuals. Approximately 30% of the individuals died from infectious diseases. The occupation is known for more than 92% of the individuals. Most of the women were housewives, while the men were employed in various jobs. The cross‐check between archival data with the anthropological analysis of the remains enabled a reliable identification of the skeletons. The sexes and various age groups are well represented, and the sample is substantially uniform as far as geographical origin and socio‐economic conditions (lower social classes) are concerned. Thanks to the reliability of the information collected, the Certosa collection is an excellent anthropological tool for the development and validation of osteobiographic methods. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Emphasizing the Daughter of Pharaoh

ABSTRACT

A woman mentioned as “the daughter of Pharaoh” reappears six times in the OT, five in 1Kings and once in 2Chronicles. Because of her mentioning several times in the OT as King Solomon's woman scholars came to the conclusion that the union between this woman and the King was of a great importance. These scholars, however, have ignored the development concerning her status in King Solomon's palace and the cause for this devel-opment. The changing position of this woman in the palace of King Solomon is one of the indications to a change in power of the kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Solomon.     

The variation in δ13C values in bone collagen for two wild herbivore populations: Implications for palaeodiet studies

The δ¹³C values for un-defatted bone gelatin of individual members of wild populations of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus) and field vole (Microtus townsendii) have been measured to determine the variability within each population. Means and standard deviations for the mule deer sample (N=55) and vole sample (N=22) are −20·6±0·5‰ and −23·2±0·6‰, respectively. The distributions of δ¹³C values for each of these populations are normal and we observed no correlation in δ¹³C values with age or sex.