New Late Permian rugose corals from Pahang,peninsular Malaysia

Aye Ko Aung, Ng Tham Fatt, Kyaw Kyaw Nyein & Myo Htut Zin, 2013. New Late Permian rugose corals from Pahang, peninsular Malaysia. Alcheringa 37, 422–434. ISSN 0311-5518.

Late Permian rugose corals are described from a limestone unit of the Gua Musang Formation at Selborne Estate, Padang Tengku area, Pahang, peninsular Malaysia. These include one genus, Iranophyllum, which is reported for the first time from Malaysia, with two new species Iranophyllum aequabilis and I. pahangense belonging to Waagenophyllidae. A Late Permian age is confirmed by a Paleofusulina–Colaniella–Reichelina foraminiferal fauna co-preserved with the corals.

Aye Ko Aung [akaung.mm@gmail.com], Ng Tham Fatt [thamfatt@gmail.com], Kyaw Kyaw Nyein [konyein@gmail.com], Department of Geology, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Myo Htut Zin [myohtutgreat@googlemail.com], Lab. Services, Pte. Co. Ltd., Singapore. Received 16.10.2012; revised 5.1.2013; accepted 17.1.2012.     

Coping with inflation: a fourteenth- century example

In England, between 1305 and 1311, all prices rose significantly. Historians have generally assumed that these high prices led to high profits that enabled landlords to enjoy a period of unparalleled prosperity. A detailed study, however, of the manorial and central accounts of Canterbury Cathedral Priory suggets that this traditional view may not be altogether correct.Inflation did bring with it increased revenues and stimulated extensive investment in agriculture and building. But the priory's regular expenses increased as fast, and, at times, even faster than the extra revenues. Consequently the financial situation of the priory slowly deteriorated. Before the inflation set in, the priory had more than one year's revenue in hand. By 1318 this surplus had been wiped out. Financial equilibrium was finally restored only by the massive sale of relics and the high receipts from oblations. Yet, once prices began to fall after 1326 the priory found that, although its receipts dropped, so did its expenses and it was able to keep within its income.     

Coping with inflation: a fourteenth- century example

In England, between 1305 and 1311, all prices rose significantly. Historians have generally assumed that these high prices led to high profits that enabled landlords to enjoy a period of unparalleled prosperity. A detailed study, however, of the manorial and central accounts of Canterbury Cathedral Priory suggets that this traditional view may not be altogether correct.Inflation did bring with it increased revenues and stimulated extensive investment in agriculture and building. But the priory's regular expenses increased as fast, and, at times, even faster than the extra revenues. Consequently the financial situation of the priory slowly deteriorated. Before the inflation set in, the priory had more than one year's revenue in hand. By 1318 this surplus had been wiped out. Financial equilibrium was finally restored only by the massive sale of relics and the high receipts from oblations. Yet, once prices began to fall after 1326 the priory found that, although its receipts dropped, so did its expenses and it was able to keep within its income.     

Large carnivore attacks on hominins during the Pleistocene: a forensic approach with a Neanderthal example

Interaction between hominins and carnivores has been common and constant through human evolution and generated mutual pressures similar to those present in worldwide modern human-carnivore conflicts. This current interaction is sometimes violent and can be reflected in permanent skeletal pathologies and other bone modifications. In the present paper, we carry out a survey of 124 forensic cases of dangerous human-carnivore encounters. The objective is to infer direct hominin-carnivore confrontation during the Pleistocene, which is important to understand behavioral changes during human evolution. In addition, the case of Neanderthals is analyzed in order to find evidence of past attacks using forensic observations. The results obtained pose that Neanderthals could potentially have been involved in dangerous encounters during the Pleistocene, validating our methodology to approach past attacks from a forensic perspective.     

Genes, language, and culture: an example from the tarim basin

Summary. The Tarim Basin ‘mummies’ of western China continue to fascinate scholars and the general public alike due to their ‘Caucasoid’ features, well‐preserved material culture, and putative ‘European’ origins. However, there have been some uncritical efforts to link these archaeological cultures to those of other ancient Eurasian groups (e.g. the Celts) by applying syllogistic reasoning to multi‐disciplinary evidence. In an attempt to provide a more cautious synthesis of the prehistory of the Tarim Basin, this paper will briefly summarize the archaeological, physical, and linguistic evidence that has been used to model human settlement of this region. These data will then be related to recent molecular anthropology research on modern populations of Central Asia, focusing especially on the Uighur in relation to their neighbours. While the genetic history of the modern peoples of a particular region is not necessarily related to their prehistoric antecedents, it is argued that the Tarim Basin experienced a surprising cultural and biological continuity despite immigration from both east and west into Xinjiang Province. This conclusion has a number of possible political ramifications in the present day that must be addressed in future literature on the subject.     

文化的继承与创新:一个博物馆的例子

１９９７年开放的西班牙毕尔巴鄂的古根海姆博物馆，是两个公共组织和古根海姆基金会合作的结果，它为拥有大约一百万人口的毕尔巴鄂地区提供了一个主要的艺术设施。而这个博物馆从设计到两年来的运作，都无可争辩地说明了文化设施可以产生经济效益，能够为当地的经济和社会协调发展作出贡献。 对于从事文博工作的人来说，最重要的一点是理解这个博物馆怎样被纳入到一个适当的概念框架中的。该博物馆的设计者认为，博物馆的建立首先是基于这样一种信念：文化是发展的工具，当然也可以用于推动经济的发展。最近几年，许多人已经开始认真地研…     

An example of a severe neck injury with survival seen in a Bronze Age burial

We present a paleopathological analysis of an adult male from the Bronze Age site of Motilla del Azuer (Daimiel, Ciudad Real) from the Spanish region of La Mancha. The hyoid bone from this individual exhibits a healed fracture. This is an exceptional archaeological find. This injury is extremely rare apart from hanging and strangulation, and it is even rarer since the individual survived this injury to his neck. This injury was probably produced by a direct impact to the neck. This event could have been the result of an accident or that of intentional aggression. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The charophyte Lamprothamnium succinctum as an environmental indicator: a Holocene example from Tom Thumbs Lagoon,eastern Australia

The palaeobiota from a middle to late Holocene succession in Tom Thumbs Lagoon, N.S.W., Australia, reflects a range of environmental conditions caused by sea-level changes and active estuarine sedimentation. At the base of the succession (～ ?0.4 m AHD) a thin bed, containing molluscs dated at 6.7 ka B.P. by radiocarbon and amino acid racemisation, and foraminifers is indicative of open estuarine conditions. From +0.35 m AHD towards the top of the sequence the charophyte Lamprothamnium succinctum occurs in subrecent deposits. This species is characterised here by statistical measurements, and new characters are described and illustrated. The charophytes record a drop in sea level and the establishment of a lower salinity artificial wetland. The investigation has also established that decalcification in charophytes can be related to acidification produced by the release of organic acids, aggravated after 1928 by anthropogenic pollution.     

Using provenance data to assess archaeological landscapes: an example from Calabria, Italy

Ceramic provenance studies have helped archaeologists examine trade and exchange in multiple scales, the organization of production, and even vessel function. Yet, they may go even further, to provide a venue for the examination of past people’s perception of their landscape. To do so, a methodology is needed that links the choices prehistoric potters made, as reflected in their ceramics, with the choices their landscape could afford them, as reflected in the extent and distribution of local clays, and the physical, chemical and mineralogical characteristics of these clays. Using the region of Bova Marina in southwestern Calabria as a case study, we have combined a raw materials survey with field and laboratory experiments, along with chemical and mineralogical analyses of the collected sediments to understand the distribution and the physical, chemical and mineralogical variability of locally available clays and provide baseline data against which prehistoric ceramic materials from the region may be compared. We show that the local sediments can be divided into three major units, based on their macroscopic, mineralogical and chemical characteristics, that correspond well with the major geological units outcropping in the study area. While two of these units have internally consistent properties, the third is variable.     

Maritime Site Protection and the Fetch Method: an example from Rogaland,Norway

Predictions of future requirements for the protection of maritime archaeological sites are made using the fetch method which has been developed to evaluate the quality of landing‐places and navigable channels. The very useful method may explain why archaeological sites along the coast are rare in some areas, but numerous in others. Many of them are vulnerable to destruction by the effects of climate change, especially rising sea‐levels, based on the IPCC scenarios. The objective fetch method can be used worldwide to predict where new finds of sites close to sea‐level can be expected, and also to predict a site's vulnerability.     

Landscapes, land use, and the history of territory formation: An example from the Puebloan southwest

Territories are spatial units that encompass the broadest range of a society's land-use behaviors as well as the history of human interactions with the natural landscape. Drawing from published documents pertaining to the North American Indian Land Claims and to the prehistory and history of land use among the Hopi Indians of Arizona, this paper integrates spatial, material, and historical variables of land use behavior (1) to formulate an empirical definition of territory and (2) to develop a generalized life history of territory formation that can be applied explicitly to the archaeological record.     

Identifying pottery clay from rice fields: an example from southern Luzon,the Philippines

The general type of clay used by potters can often be identified from attributes of the finished ceramic vessel or sherd. This information is important for compositional and sourcing studies and may also shed light on the variables influencing clay choice such as social, economic, and landscape use patterns. Rice paddies are one type of clay source that are readily identifiable in archaeological ceramics. This paper describes rice paddy clays gathered during ethnoarchaeological studies of traditional potters in Paradijon, southern Luzon, the Philippines. We analyze the effects of clay processing and vessel manufacture on these clays and find that the most diagnostic attribute of paddy soils, the iron oxide mottling, is retained in finished vessels.     

Evaluating human skeletal growth: An Anglo-Saxon example

Cross-sectional growth data were obtained from the skeletal remains of non-adults from the Raunds Anglo-Saxon site. Standard measurements of the diaphyseal lengths of the long bones of the upper and lower limbs and the maximum breadth of the ilium were recorded in order to construct skeletal growth profiles (SGP). In addition regression equations were used to estimate diaphyseal length from proximal and distal shaft widths, and epiphyseal breadth data for fragmentary remains. The skeletal measurements were then plotted against age estimates determined by the dental formation standards of Moorrees, Fanning and Hunt, and Anderson, Thompson and Popovich. The growth data were compared with sixth to seventh century German, ninth century Slavic and modern Caucasian data. With the exception of the ancient Slavic material, the Anglo-Saxon remains demonstrated the smallest rates of growth. Diaphyseal ageing curves derived from the Anglo-Saxon sample were tested for applicability on the non-adult cohorts of the Berinsfield and Exeter Anglo-Saxon/Early Medieval samples. Differences were observed between diaphyseal age as determined from the skeletal growth profiles for Raunds and calcification age assessed for individuals within the test samples. It is proposed that variation in long bone growth as well as dental age confounds consistent and reliable ageing of skeletal remains based on diaphyseal length. Assessment of changes in health and evaluation of methodological problems inherent to studies of skeletal growth from archaeological populations are discussed. Population comparisons for changes in general health are recommended over individual assessments.     

Societal repercussions of the rise of large-scale traditional iron production: a West African example

Numerous scholars have outlined what they believed to be the consequences of the advent of iron technology in sub-Saharan Africa: increased food production using more efficient bush clearing tools; increased population densities; larger and more stable communities; increased trade, specialization and social differentiation; and the embryonic rise of modern politics. (Davidson 1974.) However, little has been demonstrated in the field.A regional study of the Bassar iron industry of northern Togo has shown that the rise of large-scale iron production may lead to higher population densities, larger and more stable communities, a more aggregated settlement pattern in the ore zone, and increased craft specialization and trade. However, it does not necessarily result in a significant increase in the degree of political centralization. The Bassar data also suggest that even the appearance of relatively small scale iron production may generate similar trends, albeit at more modest levels.

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Résumé De nombreux auteurs ont décrit ce qu'ils proposent d'avoir été les conséquences de l'adoption de la technologie de fer dans l'Afrique au sud du Sahara: augmentation de la production de nourriture à l'aide des outils plus efficaces pour débroussailler le paysage; augmentation des densités de population; communautés plus grandes et plus stables; croissance de la commerce, de la specialisation artisanale et de la differentiation sociale; et naissance embryonique de la politique moderne (Davidson 1974). Cependant il n 'y a que très peu de ce schéma qui a été validé par les recherches sur le terrain.Une étude régionale de l'industrie du fer des Bassar du nord de Togo a montré que l'essor de la production de fer à grande échelle peut aboutir à des densités de population plus hauts, des communautés plus grands et plus stables, une répartition de l'habitat plus agrégée dans la zone des minerais de fer, et l'augmentation de la specialisation artisanale et du commerce. Cependant il n'aboutit pas obligatoirement à une centralisation importante au niveau politique. Les résultats fournis par cette étude des Bassar nous amènt à proposer aussi que même l'apparition de la production modeste de fer peut donner naissance à des développements comparables, mais d'un ampleur plus restreint.

     

The identification of employment centres in Canadian metropolitan areas: the example of Montreal, 1996

The intrametropolitan distribution of economic activities and, specifically, the formation of suburban employment centres has become a major research and policy issue. In spite of an increasing number of detailed analyses of the geography of employment in individual metropolitan areas, no generally accepted and systematic methodology for identifying employment centres exists. Comparisons between metropolitan areas have been highly limited due to both a lack of consistent and comparable data and a plethora of methods. We first present an overview of various methods that have been used to identify employment centres. Using Montreal as a case study, we then evaluate the suitability of various methods in the light of available data on job location in Canadian metropolitan areas. The method that yields the best results is one based upon dual criteria applied at the census tract level: a total employment threshold and the ratio of employment to the resident workers. We use this method to identify the form of the Montreal space-economy in 1996. The identification of a suitable, although imperfect, method represents a first step towards being able to more objectively and systematically examine a wide range of issues concerning metropolitan economic structure.     

Size prediction in archaeomalacology: the Common Mussel,Mytilus edulis L., as an example

There are numerous size prediction formulae in archaeomalacology but (like almost all zooarchaeological formulae) only a few account for allometric growth (shape change with size change, which is almost universal in complex animals) and employ the standard methods developed by statisticians to ensure reliable predictions. A general technique for generating formulae that predict organism size from dimensions of their archaeological remains is presented, using an organism that is badly preserved archaeologically (the Common Mussel Mytilus edulis). Allometric growth is fully accommodated, and standard statistical methods and software are used. Several dimensions can be used for prediction, and poor predictors are identified and discarded. Predictions can be tested for consistency between heterogeneous conditions, for statistical soundness, and whether prediction errors are within tolerable limits.