Vertical structure of AGW associated ionospheric fluctuations in the E- and lower F-region observed with EISCAT—a case study

The vertical structure of AGW (atmospheric gravity wave) associated fluctuations of ionospheric plasma parameters for the 100–240 km altitude range in the daytime of 7 September 1988 has been investigated by making use of the data provided by the Tromsø measurements in the EISCAT CP1 observation mode.The wave power profile vs height has been studied by integrating the power spectral density in each altitude. The essential feature of the power variation can be explained in terms of the energy conservation of AGWs propagating in a dissipative thermosphere. Intrinsic propagation parameters of the dominant AGW have been successfully estimated with a method based on the retrieval of the Doppler effect due to the horizontal prevailing wind. From the fluctuation structure analysis in a time-altitude frame, a downcoming AGW has been clearly identified. This downcoming wave might have been reflected from a wind shear at the altitude around 200 km, which is inferred from the meridional prevailing wind profile.     

An African origin for African cattle? — some archaeological evidence

Instead of the usual assumption that the Sanga cattle of Africa arose from the crossing of taurine cattle (Bos taurus) from North Africa or the Middle East with humped cattle (Bos indicus) originating in the Indian sub-continent, it is argued that they are of ancient autochthonous origin and have come to be mixed with taurine and humped cattle probably only in the last few hundred years, which is why they share a mosaic of characters with the other two taxa. Much more work needs to be done on the osteology of Sangas and of cattle remains from archaeological sites in Africa, but if this model proves to be correct African cattle should be regarded as a taxon of equal status toBos taurus andBos indicus.

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Résumé Au lieu de l'hypothèse habituelle selon laquelle le bétail Sanga africain provient du croisement du bétail taurin (Box taurus) d'Afrque du Nord ou du Moyen Orient avec le bétail à bosse (Bos indicus) dont l'origine est le sous-continent indien, nous pensons que ce bétail a une origine autochtone ancienne et que les croisements avec les bétails taurins et à bossus n'ont probablement eu lieu que durant les quelques dernières centaines d'années, ce qui explique pourquoi ils partagent une mosaïque de caractères avec les deux autres taxa. De nombreuses recherches restent à faire sur l'ostéologie des Sanga ainsi que sur les restes de bétail des sites archéologiques africains, mais si ce modèle s'avère correct, le bétail africain devra être regardé comme un taxon équivalent à celui deBos taurus etBos indicus.

     

A past and a future for diversification on farms? Some evidence from large-scale,commercial farms in South East England

Diversification has been identified as a common response to the agricultural crisis of the 1980s and to the changing ethos of agricultural policy in the closing decade of the twentieth century. In particular, farmers operating large-scale farms have been prominent in adopting this approach, just as they were innovative across a range of farming practices in the expansion and modernisation of their agricultural production in earlier decades. Can we identify serial diversifiers within this sector of the farming community, who are disposed to react in an entrepreneurial fashion to the changing fortunes of agriculture? The paper draws on results from a survey of large-scale commercial farmers in South East England and, by examining the sequence in which various forms of diversification were adopted, identifies a temporal pattern as farmers responded to the fluctuating fortunes of the agricultural industry over the past thirty years. But has the potential for diversification been exhausted? The paper also considers future prospects for diversification within the large-scale, commercially oriented sector of the agricultural industry.     

Lessons from Helmand,Afghanistan: what now for British counterinsurgency?

This article analyses the conduct of British operations in Helmand between 2006 and 2010 and discusses the implications for the legacy and future of British counterinsurgency. A number of lessons stand out: first, competence in the field of counterinsurgency is neither natural nor innate through regimental tradition or historical experience. The slow adaptation in Helmand—despite the opportunity to allow the Basra experience to be a leading example of the need for serious changes in training and mindset—is an indication that the expertise British forces developed in past operations is but a distant folktale within the British Armed Forces. Substantially changed training, painful relearning of counterinsurgency principles and changed mindsets are therefore necessary to avoid repeated early failures in the future. Moreover, despite eventually adapting tactically to the situation and task in Helmand, the British Armed Forces proved inadequate in dealing with the task assigned to them for two key reasons. First, the resources of the British military are simply too small for dealing with large‐scale complex engagements such as those in Helmand or southern Iraq. Second, the over‐arching comprehensive approach, and especially the civilian lines of operations that underpinned Britain's historical successes with counterinsurgency, are today missing.     

Good for glaciers,bad for people? Archaeologically relevant climate models developed from reconstructions of glacier mass balance

We present a new climate and vegetation model, and discuss applications with a study of medieval land degradation and settlement abandonment in þórsmörk, Iceland. Existing meteorological data are used as the starting point for modelling glacier snowlines (equilibrium lines), and this is developed to model seasonal snowcover, potential vegetation and growing season. The current status and past fluctuations of glaciers across Iceland provide independent spatial and temporal constraints to the model. In þórsmörk, there was extensive landscape degradation and settlement abandonment in the late Medieval period, with an unclear role for climate change. Modelling of the landscape impacts of a 1 °C fall in temperatures shows that climatically induced degradation through reduced vegetation, growing season, and increased snowcover had limited effects on the once settled area, highlighting the importance of anthropogenically driven change. High resolution modelling offers a significant potential for assessing ‘what if’ questions, and identifying key empirical tests.     

Chemical analyses of organic residues in archaeological pottery from Arbon Bleiche 3, Switzerland – evidence for dairying in the late Neolithic

Fatty acids distribution and stable isotope ratios (bulk δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C of individual fatty acids) of organic residues from 30 potsherds have been used to get further insights into the diet at the Late Neolithic (3384–3370 BC) site of Arbon Bleiche 3, Switzerland. The results are compared with modern equivalents of animal and vegetable fats, which may have been consumed in a mixed ecology community having agrarian, breeding, shepherd, gathering, hunting, and fishing activities. The used combined chemical and isotopic approach provides valuable information to complement archaeological indirect evidence about the dietary trends obtained from the analysis of faunal and plant remains. The small variations of the δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values within the range expected for degraded animal and plant tissues, is consistent with the archaeological evidence of animals, whose subsistence was mainly based on C₃ plants. The overall fatty acid composition and the stable carbon isotopic compositions of palmitic, stearic and oleic acids of the organic residues indicate that the studied Arbon Bleiche 3 sherds contain fat residues of plant and animal origin, most likely ruminant (bovine and ovine). In several vessels the presence of milk residues provides direct evidence for dairying during the late Neolithic in central Europe.     

Wilderness use,conservation and tourism: what do we protect and for and from whom?

For many people today, the idea of wilderness conjures up meanings and images referring to wild, remote, and untrammeled natural areas, which need protection from human presence and utilization. Institutionally, the first Wilderness Act was prescribed in the United States over 50 years ago and the wilderness conservation originates from the establishment of the first national parks in North America in the nineteenth century. First conservation and wilderness areas and related legal acts provided a model on how to organize and manage conservation areas globally. However, this created ‘fortress’ model of global conservation thinking, separating wilderness, and nature from culture and people, has recently been increasingly challenged by views calling for more people-centered approaches in natural resource management. In addition, the tourism industry has become an increasingly important user and socioeconomic element of change in wilderness areas, which has created new kinds of utilization needs for the remaining wild environments. Thus, there are different ways to understand what wilderness is and for and from whom we are protecting those areas. This paper aims to overview some of the key perspectives on how wilderness environment are contextualized, used, and contested: as units of strict conservation; resources for livelihoods and raw materials, and/or tourist products. The purpose is to point out that while we have different and often conflicting understandings of what wilderness is and what it is for, there are also potentially symbiotic relations between different views which could help us to protect the remaining wilderness areas. This is the case especially in the Global South, where the sociopolitical pressures of economic utilization of the remaining wilderness environments are currently the sharpest.     

A charcoal-rich horizon at Ø69, Greenland: evidence for vegetation burning during the Norse landnám?

It is often assumed that the colonisation of Greenland by Norse settlers in c. A.D. 985 had a sudden and dramatic effect on the environment, involving substantial vegetation clearance and environmental degradation. Consequently, it has been argued that charcoal-rich horizons, visible in many sections in Greenland, represent the initial burning of the vegetation by Norse farmers to create land suitable for agriculture. In this study a charcoal-rich layer, visible in a modern drainage ditch beside the Norse farm of Ø69, was analysed using archaeobotany, sedimentary analysis and radiocarbon dating to test the date and formation processes of the horizon. It is demonstrated that the charcoal-rich layer at Ø69 was not derived from in situ vegetation burning in the 10th century and concluded that the layer was probably formed by the addition of midden material to the infields around Ø69 in the 13th and 14th centuries cal AD, perhaps as part of a soil amendment strategy. It is argued that caution must be exercised when interpreting charcoal-rich horizons as time-specific chronological markers in palaeoenvironmental sequences in Greenland.     

How was Bell Beaker economy related to Corded Ware and Early Bronze Age lifestyles? Archaeological,botanical and palynological evidence from the Hegau,Western Lake Constance region

Abstract

The Europe wide spread of what has been called the Bell Beaker phenomenon remains an enigma of European prehistory. While most of the recent research stresses the ideological aspects of using Bell Beaker material culture, here we take a regional and economical perspective. We look for the chronological relationships and the economic choices of the Bell Beaker phase and of its closest neighbours in time and space: the Late Neolithic Corded Ware and the Early Bronze Age. We focus on the regional archaeological settlement history and present the hitherto richest European Bell Beaker-associated collection of palaeobotanical macro-remains, together with our high-resolution palynological work on annually laminated lake sediments. These different lines of evidence are tied together by an absolute chronology derived from new radiocarbon accelerated mass spectrometry (AMS) dates (now more than 200) and from the dendrodates from the World Heritage wet preserved pile dwellings. We show the preceding Late Neolithic, the actual Bell Beaker, and the following Early Bronze age economies each relying on different agricultural strategies that focus on distinct parts of the landscape. There is no link obvious between Late Neolithic and Bell Beaker, but there is between Bell Beaker and Early Bronze Age. Related to different modes of production, differences in ideology become visible in food preferences as well as in other parts of the material culture. We conclude that the Bell Beaker economy represents a re-orientation of the mode of production focusing on single, rather small farmsteads which often do not leave a distinct signal in the archaeological record.     

Action research for tourism planning in rural areas? Examining an experience from the Couto Mixto (Galicia,Spain)

This paper reviews a tourist planning experience developed for the Couto Mixto in 2007–2008. The Couto Mixto is a small territory of three hamlets situated in Galicia (Spain) and bordering Portugal that, until the end of the 19th century, used to be a virtually independent state of 25 km². This tourism planning process is compared and contrasted with the well‐described Action Research (AR) approach. The paper begins by providing the conceptual foundations of tourism planning which were used as a framework for the research. Then, the tourism planning experience is introduced in detail, focussing on the results of the interviews conducted to identify the tourism resources of the area. Therefore, 23 resources were inventoried and further audited to determine their various degrees of potential for the purposes of tourism planning. Previous AR experiences and the tourism planning initiative developed for the Couto Mixto share a common objective to facilitate change in communities in trouble. However, the case‐study tourism planning experience was not fully compliant with genuine AR in several respects. We conclude by recommending AR as a worthy approach for tourism planning as a way to effectively put the local community in focus.     

Preserving which past for whose future? The dilemma of cultural resource management in case studies from Tunisia,Cyprus and Jordan

Abstract

Cultural resource management the world over confronts the perpetual dilemma of deciding which part of the past to preserve for whose future. This dilemma arises from the perpetual tension between the insistent drive to develop for the future and the presumptive need to preserve the past. In the face of constraints imposed by limitations of time, money and personnel, advocates of preservation face difficult choices of which sites to rescue and which to abandon to destruction. There are also other aspects of the dilemma: choosing the criteria on which preservation decisions are to be based; determining who in the end will apply these criteria; and deciding on whose behalf the chosen sites will be preserved and maintained. The dilemma resolves itself into three questions: ‘Which sites?’, ‘What public?’ and ‘Who decides?’. The answers are found, at least provisionally, in an examination of case studies, from Tunisia, Cyprus and Jordan, that typify the dilemma and illustrate the various strategies, successful and otherwise, deployed to confront it.     

Can the Raman spectrum of anatase in artwork and archaeology be used for dating purposes? Identification by Raman microscopy of anatase in decorative coatings on Neolithic (Yangshao) pottery from Henan,China

Scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray analysis has earlier shown that the white background layer (slip) on painted pottery sherds (Yangshao culture, Henan, China, 4200 BC) is composed of kaolinitic clay containing titanium in the assumed form of TiO₂ at just 1 wt%. The same samples of white slip have now been studied by Raman microscopy, revealing bands characteristic of anatase, but none from the majority species, the matrix of kaolinitic clay. These results highlight the extraordinarily intense Raman scattering from even trace amounts of anatase and thus the need to recognise that, although the colours of archaeological artefacts are almost always determined by the nature of the matrix, the Raman spectrum may be determined by a highly scattering trace component such as anatase. The significance of anatase as a potential date-marker pigment on works of art and archaeological artefacts is discussed.     

‘Confessionalisation’ —a useful theoretical concept for the study of religion,politics, and society in early modern East‐Central Europe?

The confessionalisation paradigm, introduced by two German historians in the early 1980s, initiated a fundamental change of perspective in the scholarship of early modern Germany. Taking into account long‐term developments and directing attention to the relatively neglected period between the Peace of Augsburg in 1555 and the end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648, the concept paved the way for historical writing that considers ‘religion’ and ‘church’ as an integral part of societal history (Gesellschaftsgeschichte). This essay discusses the background of the confessionalisation model in German historiography as well as its essential features. Second it offers an overview of the critique and recommendations towards a refinement of the confessionalisation thesis. What follows is a presentation of several ongoing case studies of scholars affiliated with the Humanities Center for the Study of East Central European History and Culture in Leipzig, Germany (Geisteswissenschaftliches Zentrum Geschichte und Kultur Ostmitteleuropas or ‘GWZO’). The relevance of the concept of confessionalisation for these research projects will be explored here, focusing on the Crown Lands of Bohemia, as well as, Poland and Hungary in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.     

Food for eternity? The analysis of a date offering from a 3rd millennium BC grave at Hili N,Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates)

Ever since the early 3rd millennium BC the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) has played an important role in eastern Arabia where its remains, in the form of seeds, fruits and stem fragments, are preserved on numerous archaeological sites. The recent discovery of a carbonised mass of pitted dates in a collective burial pit from the end of the Umm an-Nar period (ca. 2200–2000 BC) at Hili (United Arab Emirates) constitutes the earliest example of a food preparation involving this species. The present paper describes the discovery and identification of this unique offering before addressing the question of its significance in a funeral context in Bronze Age Arabia.     

Results inferred from electron density measurements at Saskatoon,Canada (L = 4.4) by a partial reflection technique—I. Variations of nitric oxide in the D-region during quiet periods

Measurements of electron densities at Saskatoon (52°N, 106° W, L = 4.4) from 1976 to 1979 reveal seasonal variations which cannot be explained solely by solar zenith angle variations. These profiles have been used to infer the variations of nitric oxide density with season and solar activity for quiet-time conditions. It is found that while nitric oxide varies with season, it remains unchanged with the change in solar activity. The summer and spring profiles are much lower than the measured values of Baker et al. (1977) for heights below 85 km, while the winter estimated values show differences from the measured values in the height range 77.5–85 km. Above 85 km the values for all the seasons are close to the measured values. A dip in the nitric oxide distribution is obtained in all the cases around 80–82 km and the values of nitric oxide at the minimum are less than those measured by Baker et al. (1977) or Meira (1971).