Town and countryside in northeastern Catalonia, 1267–c. 1450: the sobreposats de la horta of Perpignan

The study of the relationship between town and countryside in medieval Catalonia is still in an early stage. This article examines how Perpignan, the second most populous Catalonian town by the second half of the fourteenth century, extended its influence over the countryside of northeastern Catalonia through the sobreposats de la horta. Although they were the heads of the guild of Perpignan's agricultural labourers, the sobreposats de la horta acquired a broad jurisdiction over cases involving damage to property, and thus became responsible for protecting the rural interests of Perpignan's citizens more generally. First mentioned in 1339, the sobreposats de la horta continually encountered seigniorial and other opposition, but their powers steadily increased between their initial appearance and the 1380s, as did the control of Perpignan's consuls over them. However, the very success of the sobreposats de la horta necessitated a series of reforms, largely the work of Perpignan's consuls, from the 1380s onwards. These reforms attempted to restore the earlier efficiency of the sobreposats de la horta, to eliminate abuses of office, and even to limit the power of the sobreposats de la horta, whose growth the consuls had done so much to foster previously.     

二十世纪后半期《二十四史》系列古籍整理出版述略及思考

本文主要介绍了我国20世纪后半期《二十四史》系列古籍整理和出版情况。文章从《二十四史》原籍的重印;补充、订正;配套索引、书目等检索工具的编制;普及本的整理和数字化五方面进行了系统的叙述。最后,笔者对二十世纪50年代以来二十四史系列古籍整理出版工作进行了总结和思考。     

Morphological changes in domestic cattle in Gaul,from the second century BC to the fifth century AD: diversity of herds in the Seine valley (France) and northern Gaul

In Western Europe the transition from the Iron Age to the Roman period is the scene of a rapid economic and agro-pastoral evolution characterized in particular by a modification in the shape of the cattle. Understanding this phenomenon, its implementation mechanisms and development dynamics represents a major challenge in archaeozoology. In our study a local and regional approach of the evolution in cattle morphology is carried out first on the scale of the middle Seine valley, then of the northern Gaul. Its purpose is to observe and compare the evolution rates in domestic cattle between Middle La Tène and the fifth century AD, and with the help of a tight chronological and geographical grid, to estimate to what extent the shape of the cattle has been influenced by the indigenous cultures, the Roman economic pattern or even the environment. This osteometrical study is based on the Log Size Index method and on a measurement corpus of 12,969 bones collected on sites located on 117 communes in France (for most of them), Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The results we obtained show local specificities in terms of breeding methods and animal morphologies, observed on a very fine scale and taking place long before the Conquest. Moreover the growth patterns of the various herds happen to be different and to evolve under the impetus of the developing Roman economic pattern. This work thus points out an essential aspect of the agro-pastoral turmoil that took place in Gaul at the turning point of our era. The Roman pattern is not the cause of the morphological changes of the cattle, nor of the diversity in cattle shapes in Gaul, but it provokes a reshaping of the agricultural systems and a redefining of the breeding strategies which boost and completely change the cattle growth patterns.     

Hunting,gathering, fishing and herding: Animal exploitation in Sandy Flanders (NW Belgium) during the second half of the fifth millennium BC

Abstract

At Doel, in the lower basin of the river Scheldt, excavations have revealed camp sites of the Swifterbant culture dating back to the second half of the fifth millennium BC. They document the transition period from the Late Mesolithic to the Early Neolithic in Sandy Flanders (NW Belgium). The sites were situated on the top of sandy ridges which were covered with an alluvial hardwood forest vegetation and surrounded by wetlands. Only burnt animal remains survived at the sites, illustrating (seasonal) fishing and hunting. In addition, botanical evidence indicates the herding of domestic mammals. The finds are of importance for the reconstruction of the chronological development of the food economy of the Swifterbant culture.     

Variability in the lithic and faunal record through 10 reoccupations of a XIX century Yamana Hut

The excavation of Tunel VII, a Yamana site dating to the indigenous/European contact period was part of a long term research project based on the north coast of the Beagle channel (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina). The aim was to evaluate the theory and methodologies and devise an archaeological method that would enable a complete picture of subsistence strategies to be constructed. At Tunel VII (a site with shell middens), we were able to analyse these strategies through 10 successive occupation events on a single location. Archaeozoological analysis of the faunal remains and use-wear analysis of lithic material were used to examine the management of resources. Production and consumption are two very useful concepts, and together they have been used to create a methodology, which, together with spatial analysis using significant variables, has enabled identification of recurrent or significant tendencies in relation to alteration or continuity in subsistence strategies. In the case of Tunel VII, we know that the people who continually occupied the hut were all from the same group.     

A century of “Hate and Coarse Thinking”: anti-Machiavellian Machiavellism in H.G. Wells’ The New Machiavelli (1911)

Wells's The New Machiavelli (1911) offers an excellent case study of the use of anti-Machiavellian Machiavellism as both a philosophical and a rhetorical strategy. In Remington, Wells creates a protagonist who follows Machiavellian rules of behaviour and denounces those who do likewise. The novel is structured to show Remington's progress from an idealist refutation of Machiavellism, through a recognition of its necessity, to the formulation of a private and political method for the necessary pursuit of Machiavellian principles under the disguise of anti-Machiavellism, including trenchant criticisms of Fabians as anti-Machiavellian Machiavellians. These stages, culminating in complete personal and public failure, are reflected in Remington's party allegiances, and broadened by Wells into an account of British party ideologies around the turn of the twentieth century. Wells's rhetorical design for mapping and assessing anti-Machiavellian Machiavellism is paralleled by an exploration of that technique in himself, attested by the predominance of autobiographical elements in The New Machiavelli, and by similarities between Remington's and Wells's own deception of others and themselves. Far from incidental, anti-Machiavellian Machiavellism is the motif that unites the shifting party allegiances, political conceits and moral hypocrisies, and private and public failures of Wells, Remington, and of the period of British politics that they intend to encapsulate.     

Subjects,citizens and others: the handling of ethnic differences in the British and the Habsburg Empires (late nineteenth and early twentieth century)

This article focuses on the role of ethnic inclusions and exclusions in administering citizenship and nationality within the British and the Habsburg Empires. The analysis discerns three ways of dealing with ethnically heterogenous populations. One follows the nation-state model and aims for internal ethnic homogeneity and legal equality. This model coined developments in Canada and Hungary. The second obeys an imperialistic pattern and implements legal discrimination between different ethnic groups. It played a decisive role in East Africa and in Bosnia to a certain degree. The third model follows a statist logic and enforces either supra-ethnic neutrality or a politics of recognition. It was most influential in Austria and India. In the British as well as in the Habsburg context ethnic differences gained significance around 1900. This ethnicising of law and administrative practice produced different results, though, in both cases, mainly due to the empires' divergent political structures. Whereas within the Habsburg Empire the three models were juxtaposed, British law and administration came to be dominated by the imperialistic pattern of ethnic discrimination against ‘non-white’ subjects. Thus, the customary distinction between a politically inclusive nationalism in Western Europe and an ethnically exclusive one in the continent's Eastern half – sometimes linked with the difference between ius soli and ius sanguinis – cannot be upheld.     

Reduction of topography effect in inductive electromagnetic profiles: application on coastal sambaqui (shell mound) archaeological site in Santa Catarina state, Brazil

We present results of electrical conductivity profiles obtained with inductive electromagnetic geophysical method in Santa Marta archaeological site, Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil. This site is a sambaqui (shell mound), in which several human occupation remains are found during pre-colonial period such as buried lithic and bone artifacts, fire-place, etc. Most of these mounds include as well many human burials, which, in many cases, point to funerary ritual as a main agency for mound building. A set of profiles of apparent electrical conductivity and magnetic susceptibility was acquired in two sites aiming the identification of geophysical anomalies with potential interest for excavation. To enhance conductivity data, we applied an effective procedure to remove topographical effects in the apparent conductivity measurements, which are rather conditioned by the presence of a variable water table depth or conductive sediment layer. A linear dependence among conductivity values and the site elevation provided a simple linear model to remove the influence of topography. Corrected electric conductivity maps substantially improved the definition of anomalies, many of them rather subtle in raw data images. Corrected maps also show a better adherence with magnetic susceptibility maps, both of them identifying archaeological structures of interest: a well-structured fire-place and a concentration of ceramic fragments.     

《云笈七签》卷113（上）所收14则仙传归属置疑

《云笈七签》卷——三(上)收录的14则仙传,通常以为《逸史》佚文,李剑国先生《唐五代志怪传奇叙录》虽曾怀疑为《神仙感遇传》内容,但经过分析,还是归为《逸史》佚文。本文在此基础上进一步对比考察,认为这14则仙传乃是杜光庭改编自《逸史》的篇目,与《逸史》原文已经有很大差别,应属在《神仙感遇传》名下。     

Pollen analysis of 15th century cesspits from the palace of the dukes of Burgundy in Bruges (Belgium): evidence for the use of honey from the western Mediterranean

Pollen analysis of two late medieval cesspits from the palace of the dukes of Burgundy in Bruges (Belgium) revealed the presence of pollen from several food plants and their associated weeds. Also a large amount of exotic taxa was found, most of which are not commonly used as food plants. This last group of taxa shows 4 common characteristics: (1) their distribution is restricted to the Mediterranean region, (2) no macrobotanical remains from these taxa have been found (3) they are insect-pollinated and (4) most of these taxa are important elements in pollen assemblages from modern honeys from SW-Spain and S-Portugal. The presence of these pollen types can therefore most probably be attributed to the use of honey originating from this region. The consequences for the palynological analysis and interpretation of pollen assemblages of medieval and post-medieval cesspits and other types of waste deposits are discussed.     

An early illustrated comparative anatomy of the brain: Samuel Collins' A Systeme of Anatomy (1685) and the emergence of comparative neurology in 17th century England

The concept of comparing of the brains of various animals and of individual human brains was launched in the last half of the 17th century in England and was much influenced by the formation of the European scientific societies and their attempts to guide naturalist observations into a new systematics. An ambitious attempt to document this trend in an extensively illustrated work of encyclopedic pretensions was the singular publication of Samuel Collins (1618-1710), an energetic anatomist and president of the Royal College of Physicians. His little known tow-volume folio presentation, written in teh vernacular for broad acceptance, contains the seeds of a science of comparative neurology with the largest collection of brain illustrations (as well as of other organ systems) attempted in his era. Although lacking the conceptual insight that might derive from a true "comparative" anatomy and an understanding of the relations of different animals, the handsome engravings exemplified the new direction of the 'enlightenment' of the scientific revolution and are discussed in teh context of relevant events of this period.     

Limits of incremental growth in seasonality studies: The example of the clariid pectoral spines from the Byzantino-Islamic site of Apamea (Syria; sixth to seventh century AD)

An evaluation is given of the value for seasonality studies of incremental growth in the pectoral spines of the Nile catfish Clarias gariepinus. The subfossil spines used for this study are from a Byzantino-Islamic site in Syria, and probably all derive from animals captured on the floodplain during the yearly inundation of the nearby Orontes river, although only 45 per cent of the spines could be recognized as deriving from fish captured during that period. It is believed that the inability to date accurately the season of capture of the other specimens is due to disadvantages inherent in the growth cycle of the fish. For the moment it is possible to determine the season of death only of individuals that were taken during a period of rapid growth.     

The painting of the Etruscan “Tomba della Quadriga Infernale” (4th century BC), in Sarteano (Siena, Italy): technical features

This work presents the results of an investigation of the painting technique used in the Etruscan tomb “Tomba della Quadriga Infernale”. This tomb was discovered in Sarteano (Siena, Italy) in October 2003 and dated back to the second half of the 4th century BC. Red, dark red, pink, yellow, white, black, and grey colours were used in the tomb in order to create paintings, which now represent a very precious record of the Etruscan art of wall painting in a hypogeal environment. The technical features of the painting were revealed by stratigraphy using optical and electronic microscopy. The components and preparatory layers of the painted areas were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). XRD, SEM-EDS, and optical microscopic techniques were also used for mineralogical analysis of the rock substrate. The SEM-EDS and FTIR analyses showed that red and yellow ochre, calcite, and vegetable charcoal were used to paint the walls of the tomb: the pigments, either alone or mixed together, were utilized to produce pure colours (red, yellow, white, and black) and intermediate tonalities (pink, dark red, and grey). SEM-EDS, FTIR, and XRD highlighted that the painting was made on a preparatory layer of calcite, applied onto a levelling material made up of calcite, clay minerals, quartz, and iron oxides. GC/MS analyses revealed that egg was used as an organic binder to disperse the pigments.     

Emergence,collapse and continuity of the first political system in the Guadalquivir Basin from the fourth to the second millennium BC: The long-term sequence of Úbeda (Spain)

Over the last decade, a long-running archaeological project in the Guadalquivir Basin (Spain) has identified the emergence (c. 3000 BC) and collapse (between c. 2500 and c. 2300 BC) of a regional inter-settlement hierarchical system centred on the south-western Pyrite Belt and the Lower Guadalquivir Basin.     

Wild and domesticated forms of rice (Oryza sp.) in early agriculture at Qingpu, lower Yangtze, China: evidence from phytoliths

Rice cultivation in parts of the Yangtze valley, eastern China, is thought to date to at least the early Holocene. Using phytolith analysis, sediments from an exposed profile at Qingpu in the lower Yangtze were examined in detail in order to contribute to the growing body of information relating to the history of rice agriculture in the Yangtze delta area. The presence of phytoliths from domesticated rice, Oryza sativa, indicates that rice agriculture was well developed at Qingpu by ca. 2350 BP and may have increased in intensity from ca. 2100 BP. Rice cultivation at Qingpu was comparatively late in relation to other areas in the Yangtze valley, possibly due to the seasonal intrusion of saline waters, while the cultivation of wild rice remained a prominent feature of food production in the area to at least as late as ca. 1800 BP. Results presented here support the existence of a period of overlap, during which both wild and domesticated forms of rice were cultivated, rather than a linear transition from wild to domesticated rice cultivation and the possible influence of environmental factors over farming in an area subjected to frequent flooding.     

Phytolith taphonomy: a comparison of dry ashing and acid extraction on the breakdown of conjoined phytoliths formed in Triticum durum

Durum wheat plants grown under optimum irrigation conditions in Jordan were processed in three different ways: 1) using a dry ashing method, 2) using acid extraction and 3) using both these methods, first dry ashing and then acid extraction. The aim was to determine if the laboratory processing method employed has an impact on the number of conjoined phytoliths recovered. This is important because it has been proposed that the number of conjoined phytoliths, or multi cells, can be an indication of water availability in arid and semi-arid regions (Rosen and Weiner 1994). The results showed that the processing method does have an impact on the resulting assemblage, with dry ashing producing a greater number of multi-cells than acid extraction. It is proposed that either the more violent oxidation of organic matter during acid extraction causes the breakup of conjoined phytoliths, or that the silica dehydrates during dry ashing resulting in a slight fusion between the individual phytoliths and hence more conjoined forms.     

Chemical analysis of 17th century Millefiori glasses excavated in the Monastery of Sta. Clara-a-Velha,Portugal: comparison with Venetian and façon-de-Venise production

A set of ten Millefiori glass fragments dating from the 17th century, originated from archaeological excavations carried out at the Monastery of Sta. Clara-a-Velha (Coimbra, Portugal), were characterized by X-ray electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), Raman microscopy and UV–Visible absorption spectroscopy. All glasses are of soda-lime-silica type. The use of coastal plant ash is suggested by the relatively high content of MgO, K₂O and P₂O₅, as well as by the presence of chlorine. Tin oxide or calcium antimonate were the opacifiers used in the opaque glasses, cobalt in the blue glasses, copper in the turquoise glasses, iron in the yellow and greenish glasses, and iron and copper were found in the opaque red and aventurine glasses. Based on the concentrations of alumina and silica four different sources of silica were identified, allowing the classification of the glasses into the following compositional groups: low alumina (<2 wt%), which includes a sub-group of cristallo samples with SiO₂ > 70 wt%, medium alumina (2–3 wt%), high alumina (3–6 wt%) and very high alumina (>6 wt%). Comparison with genuine Venetian and façon-de-Venise compositions showed that two fragments are of Venetian production, one of Venetian or Spanish production and the remaining are of unknown provenance. In two fragments the glass of the decoration is probably Venetian or Spanish but the glass used in the body is also of unknown provenance.     

Spatial variation of biologically available strontium isotopes (Sr/Sr) in an archipelagic setting: a case study from the Caribbean

This paper presents the results of strontium (Sr) isotope analysis of modern and archaeological animal remains and modern plant samples from the Caribbean region. The goal is to assess if patterns of human mobility can be determined from the archaeological record in an archipelagic setting. The range of variability and spatial distribution of biologically available strontium isotope signatures is reported and data evaluated to determine if sufficient heterogeneity exists to permit the identification of mobility despite the presence of potentially large contributions of marine strontium in island and coastal ecosystems. The (is)landscape is divided into several sub-regions based on the age and lithology of underlying geology and the variability of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios is reported as; mean ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ± 2 standard deviations, number of samples: 1) Volcanic and Intrusive rocks (0.7077 ± 0.0019; n = 162); 2) Cretaceous–Miocene Limestone (0.7085 ± 0.0009; n = 50); 3) Pliocene–Quaternary Limestone (0.7091 ± 0.0004; n = 54); 4) Sedimentary Deposits (0.7094 ± 0.0015; n = 16); 5) Metamorphic Deposits (0.7104 ± 0.0014; n = 6). There are substantial differences between expected ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values based on associated geology and measured ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr in flora and fauna samples. These differences emphasize the importance of focusing on bioavailable strontium, as opposed to geological proxies, for estimations of Sr isotope ranges, especially in archipelagic environments. While some overlap exists between the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ranges of certain sub-regions, other sub-regions possessed limited variation and could be distinguished based on strontium isotope data. This spatial patterning of biologically available strontium indicates that strontium isotope analyses can be successfully applied to the archaeological study of human mobility within the Caribbean region.     

Shell-gathering from mangroves and the seasonality of the Southeast Asian Monsoon using high-resolution stable isotopic analysis of the tropical estuarine bivalve (Geloina erosa) from the Great Cave of Niah, Sarawak: methods and reconnaissance of molluscs of early Holocene and modern times

This paper describes a reconnaissance, high-resolution, study of stable isotopes (δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C) from modern shells of the estuarine bivalve Geloina erosa, and those dated to the early Holocene that were harvested by people from mangroves near the Great Cave of Niah on the north coast of Borneo. This reconnaissance study provides high-resolution palaeoclimatic-palaeohydrological information concerning early human activity in the region and the past character of the Southeast Asian Monsoon. Laser ablation continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry (LA-CF-IRMS) on modern shells of Geloina erosa revealed ‘saw-tooth’ stable isotopic profiles that bear a close resemblance to peaks and troughs of trends in recent local rainfall, including the 1998 El Niño drought, highlighting the potential of Geloina erosa for reconstructing seasonality of the Southeast Asian Palaeomonsoon. LA-CF-IRMS analysis of prehistoric shells of Geloina erosa held in the Harrisson Archives of the Sarawak Museum revealed cyclical shifts in δ¹⁸O with similar amplitudes of variation as found in modern shells of Geloina erosa. As at the present day, this probably reflects the changing seasonality of the monsoon rains with shifts to negative δ¹⁸O values during periods of high runoff. Lighter mean δ¹⁸O values of the prehistoric shells, however, may indicate a greater annual surplus of rainfall and possibly consistent with the early Holocene strengthening of the summer monsoon at that time. The similarity of the last growth increment δ¹⁸O of the prehistoric shells to their mean δ¹⁸O profile values suggests that gathering took place during times of moderate runoff.