Description,significance and frequency of the acetabular crease of the hip bone

The acetabular crease is a linear indentation located in the antero‐superior quadrant of the surface of the acetabulum at the level of the Byers Feature 17. Considered by palaeoanthropologists as a discrete trait, it has received scarce attention and the mechanisms underlying its formation and variations according to sex and age remain largely unclear. The purpose of this study, carried out on a large sample from a historic population in France, was to (i) analyse variations according to side, sex and estimated age at death; (ii) assess diachronic variations; and (iii) compare prevalence in various prehistoric and historic populations. Hip bones from a total of 425 subjects of both sexes and all ages were studied. Specimens were from two French historic samples dating from the 11th to 13th centuries and 16th to 17th centuries. The proportion of subjects that died young was higher in the 11th to 13th century group, but the prevalence of the acetabular crease was comparable between the two groups regardless of site or laterality (unilateral or bilateral). No sexual dimorphism or correlation with age was noted at either period. The acetabular crease appears to be a stable anatomical trait throughout adult life, with no predominant side and no correlation with sex. The significantly higher prevalence of the acetabular crease in some historic French samples and in prehistoric native Canadian populations could be linked to greater biomechanical stress during childhood in rural medieval populations and in the prehistoric period. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Environmental changes in the Maryut lagoon (northwestern Nile delta) during the last ∼2000 years

Here, we interpret the evolution of Maryut lagoon (Egypt) during the past ∼2000 years. Chronostratigraphy and laboratory analyses have enabled us to identify four main phases since the 3rd century AD: (1) a fluvial-dominated lagoon between the 2nd–3rd and the 8–9th centuries cal. AD; (2) a gradual desiccation of the lagoon toward a sebkha-like environment from the 9–10th to the 13th centuries cal. AD; (3) a fluvial-dominated lagoon from the 13th century cal. AD; and (4) a second gradual desiccation between the 17th and the 18th centuries cal. AD. The general aridification trend described throughout the study period may be linked to the gradual decline of the Canopic branch, which supplied the Maryut lagoon with freshwater. Nonetheless, at shorter timescales, the different phases of lagoon aridification and flooding coincide with land abandonment and irrigation works in the region. It is suggested that the history of the Alexandria countryside has been a key driver in shaping the environmental history of the Maryut during the past ∼2000 years.     

近代欧洲早期农业革命考察

在17、18世纪之际的“农业革命”发生之前,欧洲农业生产就已出现了许多关键性的技术进步,可把16、17世纪的这种进步称为“早期农业革命”,而14、15世纪则可视为早期农业革命的准备阶段。通过对中世纪欧洲农业的低技术起点,14、15世纪的农业技术进步,16、17世纪的早期农业革命等三方面的考察,我们发现欧洲农业技术进步中的连续性特点远超过其突变性。     

海贸与移民互动:17-18世纪闽南人移民海外原因分析--以闽南人移民台湾为例

17-18世纪是闽南人海外移民的高潮时期,也是台湾移民社会形成和发展时期.台湾移民以闽南人为主,可说是闽南社会在海峡对岸的延伸.推动闽南人移民海外的内因是明中叶以来的人口压力,而16世纪中叶欧人东来以后带动的商贸和东亚、东南亚沿海地区的开发使对中国商贩和劳力的需求大增,则是吸引闽南移民的拉力.在整个17-18世纪,始终存在着华人海上商贸和海外移民的互动.闽南人冒险、重商的人文精神,则是使这种推力与拉力作用得以实现的主观原因.17世纪20年代以来,由泉籍郑氏集团主导的海外华商网络和台湾开发则是台湾泉籍人多于漳籍人和泉籍人主导台湾商贸的主要原因,这与17-18世纪海外华商网络和华人社会以闽南人为主、闽南籍者又以泉府人居多是相一致的.     

YNYSPENLLWCH: THREE CENTURIES OF TIN MAKING IN SOUTH WALES

Abstract

This paper reviews three centuries of tin making at Ynyspenllwch. As the first tin works in Glamorgan, established in the 17th century, and one of the oldest in South Wales, the development of the site from 1647 down to its closure in the early 20th century is an instructive example of the power requirements and output for this type of metalworking complex. The study takes the form of a landscape and historical assessment of the site, supported by detailed analysis of the main wheel pit.     

English Peasant Buildings in the Later Middle Ages (1200–1500)

FROM A SYNTHESIS OF evidence for late medieval peasant buildings this article argues that their size, quality and complexity have frequently been underestimated. Documentary evidence from the West Midlands is used to define the main features of peasant buildings—agricultural buildings as well as houses—in the period 1350–1500. Similar characteristics are found in the same period in other regions, in the context of their own building traditions. The origins of durable vernacular houses must be sought in the 13th century with the move away from earth fast construction. A series of changes began long before the ‘Great Rebuilding’ of the 16th and 17th centuries, and connected with that process in an evolutionary pattern.     

The use of radiocarbon-derived ΔC as a paleoclimate indicator: applications in the Lower Alentejo of Portugal

Values of δ¹³C are frequently reported with radiocarbon dates from organic materials. In C₃ plants δ¹³C values have been linked to changes in water use efficiency as a response to arid conditions. By calculating ¹³C discrimination (Δ¹³C) from ¹³C isotopic composition (δ¹³C), archaeologists can gain potentially valuable inference into past climate conditions. Values of Δ¹³C reflect the process of discrimination against heavier ¹³C isotopes of carbon by comparing the δ¹³C of samples to that of the atmosphere, and can be calculated when records of atmospheric δ¹³CO₂ are available. The present study examines a 1300 year history of radiocarbon-derived Δ¹³C from the Lower Alentejo of Portugal using charcoal recovered from excavations of a series of medieval habitation sites in the study area. To calculate Δ¹³C, the posterior means generated from Bayesian change-point analysis of δ¹³CO₂ records were used. Archaeological data were then compared to contemporary ecological studies of Δ¹³C of the same taxa against instrumental records of climate. Values of Δ¹³C fell within mean ranges for the taxa through a period of population growth between the 7th and 10th centuries AD. During the height of the Medieval Warm Period in the 11th century AD Δ¹³C values frequently fell to low levels associated with arid conditions. At this time environmental degradation and erosion were documented. Values of Δ¹³C increased for a brief period in the early 12th century AD before the rural Lower Alentejo was largely abandoned for nearly two centuries. Another period of aridity occurred in the 16th and 17th centuries AD. Radiocarbon-derived Δ¹³C is a potentially useful paleoclimate proxy for archaeologists provided that results can be paired with observed Δ¹³C variation in studies that pair these data with instrumental climate records.     

A graph-based analysis for generating geographical context from a historical cadastre in Spain (17th and 18th centuries)

Abstract

The cabreves are notarial documents prepared between the 13th and 19th centuries in the Catalan and Valencian regions of Spain. These historical records were published before the first cadastral maps and contain geographical information that could help spatially reconstruct historical landscapes. However, these documents have not been used to their full potential mainly because of their semi-structured and complex nature. In this article, we propose a new graph-based interactive methodology for partially reconstructing historical landscapes. We have successfully applied this methodology for reconstructing the historical landscape of the Barony of Sella in the 18th century and the methodology has also helped us locate “El Poblet,” a previously unknown archeological site abandoned after the expulsion of the Moriscos in 1609.     

Tell el-Hesi: A type site for reevaluating so-called ‘Egyptian Governors’ Residencies’ of the south

In 1984 Eliezer Oren identified a series of structures found at 13th and 12th centuries BCE sites of southern Canaan, calling them Egyptian Governors’ Residencies. He identified Bliss’s City IV as a defining site. In 2000 Blakely identified Petrie’s Pilaster Building as a second example from Tell el-Hesi. It is now clear that Bliss’s City IV dates to the 13th century and that some of its architectural elements were salvaged after its destruction to build Petrie’s Pilaster Building in the 12th century. All of the southern examples are found in an agricultural zone of uncertainty where there is no clear likelihood of a harvestable crop in any given normal year. As it happens, the 13th and especially the 12th centuries BCE were far from normal, being a period of drought and extreme drought. Thus no crops could have been expected. This suggests the structures could not have been centres for the collection of a grain harvest tax, the accepted view. Rather, one wonders if the sites did not monitor a large pasturage.     

Mechanical Performance of Historical Wrought Iron Rods

Historical masonry buildings are often reinforced with ferrous tie rods. Before the late 18th century, such rods were hot formed by using wrought iron deriving from either the bloomery or the finery process; thereafter, the puddling process was introduced and gradually became prevalent. Several such tie rods are still in service in cultural‐heritage buildings; their analysis can shed light on historical production processes and building techniques, and knowledge of their mechanical performance can be valuable for architectural conservation purposes. Four steel tie rods, which were retrieved from a 17th century masonry building in Turin, Italy, and are dated to the late 17th and early 19th centuries, are examined here, by means of chemical and microstructural analyses, tensile tests and fractographic examinations, and both the material fabrication procedure and its mechanical performance are discussed.     

THE DYNAMICS OF SUBCENTER FORMATION: MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, 1861–1906

Midtown Manhattan is the largest business district in the country. Yet only a few miles to the south is another district centered at Wall Street. This paper aims to investigate when and why midtown emerged as a separate business district. We have created a new data set from historical New York City directories that provide the employment location, residence, and job type for several thousand residents in the late‐19th and early‐20th centuries. We supplement this data with additional records from historical business directories. The evidence suggests that early midtown firms appeared there in order to be closer to local residential customers who had been moving north on the island throughout the 19th century. Once several industries appeared in midtown, it triggered a spatial equilibrium readjustment in the 1880s, which then promoted the rise of skyscrapers in midtown around the turn of the 20th century. This process occurred several years before the opening of Grand Central Station in 1913.     

Analytical investigation on Renaissance Venetian enamelled glasses from the Louvre collections

Venetian enamelled glass is one of the most significant subjects of the art and technology of Renaissance glassmaking. These items were made in Venice from the second half of the 15th through the 17th centuries and were imitated in other European glassmaking centers during this period and again in Murano during the 19th century. Only a limited number of analyses of these masterpieces have been published up to now.     

洞庭湖变迁的历史过程再探讨

关于洞庭湖的历史变迁过程问题,学术界一直没有取得共识。本文认为,今洞庭湖地区在先秦两汉时期尚处于河网沼泽平原阶段,没有形成大型湖泊;进入魏晋南朝隋唐时期,今洞庭湖地区的湖泊水体得到快速扩展;唐后期至清前期,今洞庭湖地区的湖泊水体面积处于全盛阶段;自清中期以来,随着长江来沙量的日益增加,湖泊进入明显的萎缩阶段。历史时期洞庭湖的形成与变迁主要取决于洞庭湖区的沉降速度和长江干流的来沙量。     

Interpreting diachronic osteological variation at the medieval necropolis of the Sant Pere Churches (Terrassa,Spain)

The purpose of this study is to analyse the diachronic variation in the skeletal sample exhumed from the medieval necropolis of Sant Pere Churches, interpreting the results using the archaeological and historical evidence. The Sant Pere Churches are a monumental Romanic complex located in Terrassa (Spain) and built over the earlier Episcopal Cathedral of Egara from the Visigoth period. Egara has traditionally been considered the precursor of the current city of Terrassa; however this name disappeared from historical documentary sources after the period of Muslim incursions into Hispania (8th century). An archaeological excavation undertaken recently at the Sant Pere Churches provided us with the opportunity to study the population that was interred in this complex during that epoch. In total, the skeletal remains of 208 individuals were examined. In order to analyse the diachronic variation, the sample was divided into two periods, that of the Cathedral of Egara (4th–8th centuries; N = 128) and that of the Parish Churches of Terrassa (9th–13th centuries; N = 80). Both periods of the complex exhibited a similar skeletal age distribution, including under‐representation of non‐adult individuals. Nevertheless, a bias towards males in terms of sex distribution, sex differences in the mortality level and greater sexual dimorphism were observed in the population interred at the Cathedral of Egara. Moreover, analysis of the prevalence of skeletal disorders also provided evidence of higher differences between sexes for the period of the Episcopal Cathedral of Egara, the female population exhibiting the lower prevalence. Additionally, diachronic variation in both postcranial and dental disease patterns was observed, suggesting different activity patterns and food consumption between the periods. Overall, the results suggested that diachronic osteological variation observed in the Sant Pere Churches skeletal sample was most probably linked with the changes in the role of the complex following the Muslim incursion of the 8th century. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Black Death in the rural cemetery of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse Aude-Languedoc,southern France, 14th century: immunological evidence

An excavation carried out in 2007 in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse (Aude-Languedoc, southern France), revealed a medieval rural cemetery used during the 8th–14th centuries. One hundred and forty nine graves were identified. Amongst those, three burials radiocarbon dated to the 14th century contained the remains of several individuals. No paleotraumatological evidences of violence due to warfare or to a civil massacre were identified in the exhumed skeletons. Therefore, we hypothesized that the simultaneous inhumations could have occurred during the “Black Death” outbreak or during one of its resurgences. A rapid diagnostic test for the detection of Yersinia pestis F1 antigen was applied to the nine putative plague victims to authenticate the cause of their death. Seven of the nine individuals tested from the three graves were positive to Y. pestis F1 antigen. We additionally tested fourteen skeletons from single graves archaeologically dated to the 13th–14th centuries. Four of them were positive to Y. pestis F1 antigen, thus showing a higher mortality rate due to plague than originally expected. The Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse plague victims are the oldest samples from which Y. pestis F1 antigen has been, hitherto, identified. Few rural French cemetery containing plague victims have previously been identified and amongst them, only one dates to the 14th century. In the present report, we provide suggestive evidence of a second rural cemetery from southern France where victims of Y. pestis infection were buried. Our findings provide new information about the management of the plagued corpses during the “Black Death” in small rural communities.     

Re-establishment of Achaemenid History and its Development in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

Iranians were aware of Sasanian history through traditional historical writings, but they knew nothing about Achaemenid history. Following European travelers to Persia from the fifteenth century, who were well prepared by reading the classical and biblical texts, Persepolis and Pasargadae were rediscovered and Achaemenid history re-established in the nineteenth century. The rise of Reza Khan to power and his grand emphasis on nationalism and ancient Iran that characterized his reign also left a deeper impact on Achaemenid studies in this period. In this paper the re-establishment of Achaemenid history and its development in nineteenth and twentieth centuries are discussed and reviewed.     

Did Children in Medieval and Post‐medieval Poland Suffer from Scurvy? Examination of the Skeletal Evidence

Late‐medieval and post‐medieval writings report that scurvy was a widespread condition in medieval and early historical Poland. Archaeological and historical data indicate that the diet of children was based on foods poor in vitamin C and contained small amounts of raw plant products. Also, historians emphasise that in medieval and post‐medieval Poland, there were seasonal fluctuations in food availability, frequently accompanied by poor harvests. Both resulted in long periods of poor nutrition, which affected children most severely. The aim of this study was to investigate skeletal manifestations of scurvy in subadult remains from medieval and post‐medieval Poland. Following standards described by Ortner and colleagues, anatomical sites pathognomonic of scurvy in subadults (<17 years) were assessed for abnormal porosity and hypertrophic bone among skeletons excavated from three sites: Ostrów Lednicki (dated to the 11th–14th centuries AD), Cedynia (10th–14th centuries AD) and Słaboszewo (14th–17th centuries AD). In total, 3.6% of all examined children were found to bear traces of vitamin C deficiency. The prevalence of scorbutic lesions was 4.5% for Cedynia, 2.6% for Ostrów Lednicki and 3.6% for Słaboszewo. The majority of affected children were less than 7 years of age. Scurvy was likely more widespread in the living populations than it appears from the calculation of skeletal markers, because some individuals might have recovered or died before obvious traces became apparent. Also, in some children, scurvy might not have reached an advanced stage, identifiable in the skeletal material. The prevalence of scurvy reflects not only dietary patterns but also food storage and preparation techniques adopted in the Polish territories during the Middle Ages, which contributed to low intakes of vitamin C. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Resinous Paying Materials in the French Atlantic, AD 1500–1800. History, Technology, Substances.

Resinous paying materials of the 16th−18th centuries are divided into pitch and tar products. In the 15th century a pitch industry developed in south-west France and a tar industry in the Baltic. The French Marine encouraged both industries in France and New France from the 1660s. Pitch products were derived from live pines, tar products from dead pinewood, both in a range of viscosity. To improve their paying quality, materials were often mixed before application. Archaeological examples from several wrecks, from the Landes, Normandy, Rochefort, Québec and the Basque Country, can provide evidence towards an identification scheme for paying materials.
© 2005 The Nautical Archaeology Society