A possible eighteenth to nineteenth century example of a popliteal aneurysm from Leicester

Examples of the impressions made on bones by arterial aneurysms are rare in the archaeological record. One such specimen was found in a collection of 5000 pieces of disarticulated human bone from a disturbed eighteenth to nineteenth century graveyard in Leicester. The distal end of an adult femur shows a lesion on the posterior surface that has been identified as that made by an aneurysm of the popliteal artery, by comparison with an authenticated museum specimen of that condition, also of eighteenth century data. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reconciling Economic and Cultural Explanations for Participation in Alternative Consumption Spaces

ABSTRACT With the cultural turn in economic geography, the emphasis on economic necessity when explaining participation in alternative consumption spaces (i.e. informal and/or second‐hand retail channels) has been contested by an agency‐orientated cultural reading that views engagement in such spaces as about the search for fun, sociality, distinction, discernment, the spectacular and so forth, and more recently by a geographically sensitive approach that ascribes agency to affluent populations and economic rationales to deprived populations. Drawing upon evidence collected during 120 face‐to‐face interviews in the English city of Leicester, however, this paper finds that people's reasons for engaging in such practices cannot be reduced simply to either economic necessity or agency. Instead, it reveals that such either/or thinking obfuscates how both co‐exist in people's explanations for engagement and combine in contrasting ways in different neighbourhood types, modes of goods acquisition and according to the type of good sought. The outcome of this paper is thus to transcend and reconcile previous reductive explanations using a both/and approach that recognises the varying ways in which economic necessity and choice are entangled in rationales for participation in alternative consumption spaces.     

伪蒙疆政权的绵羊改良活动

日本树立伪蒙疆政权后,为了掠夺该地区丰富的畜产资源,实行畜产统制政策。羊毛统制是畜产统制的核心,即对绵羊的增产改良、羊毛的收购、对外输出等,实行强制性的政府指导、控制措施。其中,绵羊改良是羊毛统制政策的重点之一。为了获取重要战略资源羊毛,日本将该地域作为大陆绵羊改良的基地,通过伪蒙疆政府、日系企业、蒙古绵羊协会等组织对肉、皮兼用型的蒙古原种绵羊进行改良,实质是为日本的对外侵略扩张提供羊毛这一急需的战略资源。     

The wools in the Swedish bocksten costume

Wool fibre measurements defining fleece type are described from the cloth in the Bocksten costume dated about 1350 and kept in the Varbergs Museum, Sweden. Over 80% belonged to hairy types, the remainder coming from the modern true medium or primitive generalised medium types. Three quarters of the wools had natural pigment giving a grey colour.The findings accord with the fleece of the native Swedish Landrace sheep, but fibre diameter measurements were closer to those of the 17th century Wasa textiles, than to fleece measurements of the surviving Goth remnant of the Swedish Landrace.     

Making the Lancastrian capital at Leicester: the battle of Boroughbridge,civic diplomacy and seigneurial building projects in fourteenth-century England

Though a community of some note throughout the Middle Ages, Leicester really came to the forefront of England's consciousness following a series of political and economic crises in the first decades of the fourteenth century. Thereafter the relationship between the town and its Lancastrian lords was forced to shift from one of sometimes indifferent, sometimes overwhelming, clientage to a more balanced and mutually beneficial association. This increasingly positive relationship found physical expression in two projects in particular: the renovation of Leicester Castle and the foundation of the Newarke Hospital and College. This building programme gave the Lancastrian dynasty not only a place to stay, entertain and pray in southern England, but also a solid base from which to face the political and economic turmoil of the fourteenth century. This fact, along with Leicester's growing connection to the English royal family, would distinguish the town, and bequeath it an importance even once its Lancastrian lords had become kings of England. Leicester exemplifies important themes in later-medieval urban history. The town not only derived concord out of conflict with its lords in the face of difficult economic circumstances; it also brought some of the most potent aspects of both the English and continental traditions of urban-seigneurial relations together, especially in terms of the lord's political and physical connections with the town under his control.     

Studies on Amerindian dogs, 2: Variation in early peruvian dogs

Remains of dogs have been discovered in Peru for over a hundred years, but relatively little information is available on them. Dating evidence, especially by the radiocarbon method, suggests that the skulls of dogs considered in detail here range from 1030 BC to 1324 AD, with the majority belonging to the past two millennia. Craniometric information is presented on a series of early Peruvian specimens now preserved in Lima and London, representing the majority of material as yet unpublished, and the largest sample so far studied. Additional Peruvian data were also collected from the literature, as well as comparable information on some other Amerindian dog series. It has been possible to indicate that two distinct forms are represented in the Peruvian material.     

《寻羊冒险记》的艺术开拓——村上春树小说论

《寻羊冒险记》是村上春树青春三部曲的压轴之作,为作家带来了不可动摇的文坛地位。《且听风吟》和《1973年的弹子球》先后奠定了村上小说文本的语言风格,这部作品则在语言的叙事性与作品的故事性有机结合的领域,显示了作家的艺术开拓与创造精神。“羊”所体现的象征意义尤为读者和批评界所称道。     

传闻入史号性爱内涵：“竹叶羊车”考

“竹叶羊车”典出《晋书》,《南史》也有类似记载,反映帝王生活荒淫。“羊车”并非驾羊。该故事实出于民间传说,是竹、羊生殖崇拜与帝王荒淫生活的结合。这种传闻入史,保留了一定历史时期的民间传说,成为后人认识该时期文化的宝贵资料。“竹叶羊车”在后代成为文学典故,广泛用于宫廷、闺情等题材。通过考察其传闻入史的生成过程及情爱内涵,有助于理解诗文中的用典。     

Seasonal and Spatial patterns in sheep grazing on a high‐level plateau in the Grampian Mountains,Scotland

Sheep usage of part of the summit of Glas Maol was monitored by pellet‐group counts to determine impact on Carex bigelowii‐Racomitrium lanuginosum moss heath. The effects of a fenced skiing corridor in giving shelter and disrupting ranging movements were assessed. Dung deposition was appreciable only from June to September each year, and heaviest in July and August; occupance seemed to depend on the presence of substantial quantities of green herbage. Dung deposition was much greater within 5 m of the fence, probably because of its sheltering effect. The estimated May‐October stocking of 1.1 sheep ha^‐1 on the main plateau is surprisingly heavy for the altitude, whereas usage by red deer was negligible.     

Mesolithic domestic sheep in West Mediterranean Europe

Domestic ovicaprine specimens, some attributed specifically to Ovis aries L., have been recovered at two Mesolithic sites in the western Languedoc region of France, and two sites in southeastern France. The sites are typical late Mesolithic occupations, firmly dated between 7300 BP and 8000 BP, and stratigraphically precede the appearance of other domestic animals, cultivated plants, pottery, and the establishment of settled villages in their regions. They seem to represent early steps in the adoption of animal husbandry by hunter-gatherer societies in the western Mediterranean. Evidence from the Aude valley sites is presented for the gradual development of animal herding over a period of 1000 years or more, which spans the Mesolithic-Neolithic boundary. The evidence suggests that indigenous Mesolithic societies may have played a formative role in the development of settled farming communities in this area, and that the availability of domestic species may not have led rapidly to major changes in settlement, economy and society.     

A re-assessment of bronze age wool

Measurements of twelve new samples of Danish Bronze Age wool showed them to be hairy medium fleeces. Supporting evidence was obtained that a high proportion of fine fibres in a yarn results from the plucking of wool during the moult before the hairy fibres have been released from the skin. The fine fibres were closer in diameter to the underwool of the wild ancestor than to those of the Soay sheep (supposedly a Bronze Age survivor), indicating a more primitive fleece. The samples described include the first white Bronze Age wool. Those with natural pigmentation in every fibre could be black or brown, while those with pigmented and white fibres are thought to be a mixture of brown and white (by analogy with the Soay) rather than grey, which is unknown in the Soay.     

Doing gender and development: understanding empowerment and local gender relations

A major dilemma in Gender and Development (GAD) work is why it is that sometimes women may feel better off colluding with gendered structures that ensure their continued subordination rather than seeking approaches that will allow them to break free of this. Kandiyoti (1988 Gender and Society 2 274–90) has identified this apparent collusion as 'patriarchal bargains', which offer women greater advantages than they perceive can be achieved by challenging the prevailing order. Such women are therefore reluctant to engage in empowering activities that may challenge their gendered bargain. This paper explains this dilemma in the context of GAD work undertaken with Bedouin women in Southern Egypt.     

DNA analysis of archaeological sheep remains from China

Recent research has thrown considerable light on the history of the domestic sheep, but has not extended to ancient sheep specimens. In the present study, ancient DNA analysis was carried out on eight archaeological sheep remains recovered from Erlitou archaeological site in Henan Province (ca. 2100–1800 B.C.) to explore the genetic structure of ancient sheep and the phylogenetic relationship between ancient and modern sheep. We analyzed the control region sequences and coding regions of mitochondrial DNA from the remains by direct sequencing and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, respectively. Our results reveal that all ancient sheep belong to lineage A defined by modern sheep sequences. Phylogenetic analysis shows that neither argali (Ovis ammon) nor urial (Ovis vignei) mtDNA is closely related to Erlitou ancient sheep. In addition, our results suggest that ancient DNA analysis can serve as a powerful tool in tracing prehistoric population movement.