The 'folded flan' coinage of eastern Arabia: Some preliminary comments

In recent years a small number of peculiar coins has emerged from the southern shores of the Persian/Arabian Gulf imitating Athenian tetradrachms of the old style and sharing the oddity of being struck on a flan that had been folded before striking. This paper contains an overview of the pieces known so far and attempts to present some preliminary conclusions, while still awaiting a comprehensive study of this and related ancient coinages of the Arabian peninsula.     

A Report on the late 1st–2nd‐century‐AD Venice Lido III Sewn Timber Assemblage

In 2012, fragments of hull planking bearing the signs of a Roman‐era sewn vessel, with holes drilled along the plank edges, washed ashore on Venice Lido, the barrier island separating the Venice Lagoon from the Adriatic Sea. This paper describes the construction features of this timber assemblage and places it within the context of other excavated sewn boats of the Upper Adriatic. The assemblage presented here best fits into the north‐western Adriatic sewn tradition and likely represents either a fluvial‐maritime or maritime watercraft.     

Chert sources and distribution patterns in the stone age of West Finnmark,North Norway: A preliminary view

A preliminary analysis of chert sources and distribution patterns in west Finnmark is described. Three small quarries and a fourth possible source area are situated on the coast west of Alta. Petrographic and geochemical analyses lend tentative support to the proposition that chert from these coastal sources was distributed inland during the Late Stone Age and Early Metal Periods.     

Sewn Boats of Southeast Asia: the stitched‐plank and lashed‐lug tradition

This article updates research into the sewn‐boat traditions of Southeast Asia with recent finds that provide evidence of the transition from stitched planks with lashed‐lug frames to planks fastened with dowels and locked dowels alongside lashed‐lug frames. The differences between Southeast Asian, East Asian, and Indo‐Arabic boatbuilding are discussed and the meaning of anomalies, such as the Maldivian dhonis, examined. Considering the known history of trade and exchange throughout the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean, the lack of hybridization between boatbuilding traditions is noted.     

Red deer land use in the northern highlands. Part 1: The resource

The exploitation of natural populations of red deer forms an important land use in large areas of the Scottish Highlands, especially the highest and most rugged parts of the region. Despite its areal significance red deer land use has been the subject of very little geographical investigation.

The ecology of red deer is an important factor in the Highland land use situation, and environmental controls on the characteristics of the red deer resource are strong. Wide spatial variations exist both in deer population densities and in stag weights. Considerable difficulties arise in regard to the availability of comprehensive population and weight data, but despite these difficulties certain areas, particularly in the borderlands between Inverness‐shire and Ross‐shire, stand out as the most productive deer areas.     

The dynamics of family farming in North Huron County, Ontario. Part I. Development trajectories

Recent structural shifts towards enlargement and intensification in the farm sector in Canada have drawn attention to the changing relationship between farming and the rural community. While some developments in farming are implicated in increasing conflict with communities, others may be fostering the need for stronger linkages. A more nuanced understanding of change in both the family farm and community sectors would contribute to a better appreciation of these evolving linkages. This paper explores contemporary change on the farm side, with attention to the nature and causes of diversity in a local family farming system. Data from a survey of family farms in northern Huron County, Ontario, were used to document variations in farm development trajectories and to explore the interactive importance of factors relating to the farm economy, the farm business and the household. The research invokes a pathways conceptualisation and the theory of business and family life cycles in attempting to characterise and attribute change. Revealed trajectories range from aggressive engagement in expansion, diligent efforts to 'hang on' and forced or voluntary contraction. In addition, the paper presents two brief farm history case studies as a means of demonstrating the interaction of farm business and household factors through the lived experience of farm families. Revealed diversity in family farm business trajectories suggests an increasingly differentiated set of linkages and dependencies between farm and community.     

Masonry Italian Code-Conforming Buildings. Part 1: Case Studies and Design Methods

ABSTRACT

Several architectural configurations of unreinforced masonry residential buildings are designed according to the different methods proposed in the Italian code: rules for the so-called simple masonry buildings, linear and nonlinear static analyses. Always complying with code requirements, for each building-site combination, the design was made, as much as possible, without an excessive margin of safety. The different design methods provided buildings with very different levels of safety, being linear static analysis largely overconservative with respect to the nonlinear static approach. These buildings were then analyzed in the companion paper.     

The dynamics of family farming in North Huron County, Ontario. Part II. Farm–community interactions

In Canada and elsewhere, there is a growing belief that farming and rural communities have become effectively disconnected from one another. While attention to recent media reporting suggests that incidences of conflict are now as common as examples of support and collaboration, it is suggested that many examples of complementarity remain. These evolving relationships may, however, be linked to the nature of specific farm development trajectories. Such possibilities warrant empirical examination, with attention to known diversity in the family farm sector. This paper reports on an empirical investigation of farm and community linkages in North Huron County, Ontario. The paper builds upon a recent investigation of change in family farming in this region and seeks to document the ways in which local farmers continue to look to their rural communities for support of various kinds. Data are drawn from a survey of farmers in Ashfield and Colborne Townships in 1999. The research explores community linkages around three dominant themes: participation in organisations, purchasing and perceptions and experiences of community support for farming. The findings indicate the persistence of strong linkages between farms and local communities in the study region but point to a potential tendency for disconnection between farms pursuing aggressive expansion and local community organisations and businesses. There is some evidence that jobs and a variety of farm household considerations may form key linkage points between the two sectors, with the importance of these mediated by farm business trajectories and the family life course.     

Archaeological,Historical, and Ethnographic Approaches to the Study of Sewn Boats: past,present, and future

Sewn‐plank vessels have been a pervasive form of ship construction since antiquity. This paper provides an introductory overview of the current state of the field of sewn‐plank studies, with a particular focus on the Indian Ocean. It describes the basic function of sewn‐plank techniques, and then discusses textual references and historical approaches to the topic. The relevant archaeological evidence is reviewed, and prior ethnographic work relating to the topic is outlined. It summarizes numerous experimental sewn‐plank reconstructions that have been undertaken and concludes with a discussion of the current directions of the field and suggestions for the future.     

The Pleistocene Peopling of the North: Paleolithic Milestones and Thresholds Horizons in Northern Eurasia: Part I: Lower Paleolithic Antecedents

Human occupation of northern Eurasia high latitudes entailed coping with severe bioclimatic circumstances and Ice Age cycle fluctuations. Resolving this “adaptability paradox” required depending on cultural, rather than biological means. Paleolithic evidence indicates culture historical developments of considerable time depth, long-term adaptive stages, and thresholds in the “peopling of the North.” It began with Lower Paleolithic populations expanding into temperate and continental Eurasia, becoming fully actualized during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic. The Middle Paleolithic formative stage constituted a human biogeographic realm overlapping significantly with the Mammoth-Steppe Biome faunal complex. Part I identifies issues, time perspectivism, culture, foraging adaptation, and human biogeography concepts. Lower Paleolithic occurrences, initial occupation episodes are surveyed and discussed.