Pests and Diseases of Prehistoric Crops: A Yield ‘Honeymoon’ for Early Grain Crops in Europe?

Before the agricultural improvements of recent centuries, grain yields in medieval Europe appear to have been extremely low: well below the full potential of the crops. If yields were similarly low in prehistory, the adoption of cereal cultivation could have conveyed few benefits in terms of productivity. Consideration of the key constraints on cereal yield highlights the previous neglect of the role of pests and diseases. It is suggested that these may have been particularly damaging in the medieval period, but much less so during the early stages of the adoption of agriculture.
Textual and archaeological evidence for the past occurrence of pests and diseases is discussed and, combined with consideration of the development of pest and pathogen problems of recent crop introductions, used to provide a possible outline of the early development of the pest/disease burden. It is suggested that when grain crops were first introduced into temperate Europe there may have been a 'honeymoon period' with high yields: pests and diseases which had been endemic on cereals in semi-arid, continental, or Mediterranean climates did not thrive in the temperature climate, while species native to north-west Europe may not have been adapted to attack cereals. Subsequently, however, some pests and diseases evolved to attack cereals in this environment. These may have prompted changes in grain production methods to reduce the risk of damage. Pests and diseases must have been a driving force in agrarian change for several millennia, and cannot be ignored in attempts to understand the history of agriculture.     

Does the History of Medicine Begin where the History of Philosophy Ends? An Example of Interdisciplinarity in the Early Modern Era

Abstract

A popular saying attributed to Aristotle states that ‘medicine begins where philosophy ends’—but this principle does not seem entirely valid for the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, when medicine and philosophy were considered to be integral parts of the same branch of knowledge. For this reason, although today medicine and philosophy are clearly distinct disciplines, historians of ideas cannot study them entirely separately. Indeed, since the early modern era was a period of profound revision of knowledge, probably only a truly interdisciplinary investigation can identify the conceptual shifts and transfers capable of reinstating medicine in its fundamental role in the development of civilisation and modern thought, in particular as a model of a rational knowledge aimed at improving the social good through a fitting interpretation of experience. This article intends to offer arguments in support of such a historiographical approach, and to illustrate certain interesting methodological ideas that emerge from a study in which the history of philosophy and history of medicine cross-pollinate.     

The Istanbul Modern Art Museum: An Urban Regeneration Project?

Abstract

In the 2000s, contemporary art institutions have flourished in Istanbul. New museums (mostly private) and art galleries have been created; biennials and fairs of contemporary art have attracted a growing number of visitors. To what extent could this fostering of culture be linked with the “Bilbao effect”? To what extent are the promoters of these cultural investments betting on economic development and urban regeneration through these projects? Focusing on the Istanbul Modern Art Museum (IM), this article analyses the process of its creation and its potential impact on its environment. It argues that the development of culture investments in modern arts in Turkey is mainly due to the private initiatives of large industrial groups and the wealthiest families, most of the time with political support. More than the expected economic impact of cultural investments, the main reason for these public–private collaborations is the symbolic dimension that contemporary art provides to a country which strives to be perceived as modern, developed and European. From the IM to Istanbul European Capital of Culture 2010, cultural investments are a means of strengthening an international image in the context of the “membership” negotiations between “Turkey and the European Union”.