The heritage tourist: an understanding of the visitor experience at heritage attractions

This study seeks to explore the visitor experience at heritage sites pre, during and post visit. A conceptual model depicting the heritage visitor experience was proposed. A self-administered survey (n?=?195) was completed by visitors at six heritage sites across Northern Ireland. Visitor characteristics and pre-experience were analysed and results showed that heritage visitors are primarily motivated by recreation and base their visitation decision on advice from friends and family. Results from the exploratory factor analysis showed that audio and visual communication, atmospherics, on-site engagement, information and heritage preservation were the most influential factors during a visit. Post-experience results indicate that 54% of the sample was satisfied with their visit and 85% would revisit the heritage site. The final model suggests a range of factors which positively contribute to the visitor experience at heritage sites though this requires further testing.     

POLICY ISSUES IN AMERICAN SECURITY POLICY AND POLICY-MAKING USING AND CONTROLLING NEW WEAPONS

NATO may be confronting a crisis over the cruise missiles. Some allies may seek longer-range, nuclear-armed missile which could enable them to strike at Soviet MR/IRBMs and at other targets inside the USSR; others (along with many Americans) aim at restricting both the range and the missions of cruise missiles. The first option could jeopardize detente, inhibit further progress in SALT and conceivably weaken American control over the uses of nuclear weapons in time of war. The second could cause strains between the United States and its European allies. The best policy would seem to be to (1) delay any decision on cruise missile development and deployment in Europe; (2) seek a two-year freeze on all deployment of new nuclear delivery vehicles in Central Europe and of additional Soviet SS-20 IRBMs; (3) use this “breathing space” to seek agreement on the limitation of cruise missiles, MR/IRBMs and other “gray area” weapons in the region “from the Atlantic to the Urals.”     

EVIDENCE FOR THE MIXING OF FATS AND WAXES IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL CERAMICS

Lipid residues from two Late Saxon/early medieval ceramic vessels recovered from excavations at West Cotton, Raunds, Northamptonshire, U.K., have been investigated by high-temperature gas chromatography (GC) and GC/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The solvent extracts of sherds sampled from different points on each vessel (i.e., base, body and rim) were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively and compounds were identified which were characteristic of beeswax and animal fat. Furthermore, by determining the sites of accumulation of the specific lipid types and their concentrations in different parts of the vessels it can be inferred that the beeswax was added to the vessels prior to the addition of the fat. It was concluded that the two vessels performed different functions in antiquity.     

Neolithic cod (Gadus morhua) and herring (Clupea harengus) fisheries in the Baltic Sea,in the light of fine-mesh sieving: a comparative study of subfossil fishbone from the late Stone Age sites at Ajvide,Gotland, Sweden and Jettböle, Åland,Finland

Abstract

During the Late Stone Age, the sites of Ajvide and Jettböle were located on the seashore but in quite different marine environments. Ajvide on Gotland had direct access to the open sea of the central Baltic, while Jettböle in the Åland archipelago was surrounded by islands and skerries in the northern part of the Baltic Sea. Continuous excavations at Ajvide revealed large amounts of Cod (Gadus morhua) while herring (Clupea harengus) was found in small numbers. At Jettböle, as well, cod bones have been observed in large numbers while the skeletal remains of herring were few. In this study, soil samples of fishbone materials from Ajvide and Jettböle were sieved through screens of different mesh-sizes and then osteologically analysed. The finer screens aided the recovery of small herring bones that usually are lost when sieving through a common standard mesh-size of 4 mm. The results of the study confirmed the importance of fine-mesh sieving for the retrieval of the fishbone materials. Additionally, the achieved osteometric data indicated a difference in cod and herring size between the sites. Other factors that form our base for the understanding of Neolithic fishing strategies are: a general knowledge of the behaviour of the retrieved fish species, a reconstruction of the ancient marine environment and the abundance of fish species at each site.     

The Australian Historic Shipwreck Preservation Project: In situ Preservation and Long-Term Monitoring of the Clarence (1850) and James Matthews (1841) Shipwreck Sites

Increasingly, archaeologists are opting for on-site examination, reinterment, and in situ preservation of underwater cultural heritage sites as the first option in the management of sites at risk, as opposed to the more traditional excavation, recovery, conservation, and display/storage methods. This decision will inevitably be based on significance assessment, degree of perceived risk, and resourcing issues. However, long-term monitoring must become an integral part of these management programmes in order to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of the in situ preservation techniques employed. In 2012 the Australian Historic Shipwreck Preservation Project (AHSPP) was awarded a large Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grant, enabling ten partner organizations and three Australian universities to collaborate in one of the largest multi-organizational maritime archaeology projects to be undertaken in Australia to date. One of the major aims of the project is to develop a protocol for the excavation, detailed recording and reburial of significant shipwrecks under threat, fostering a strategic national approach for the management of underwater cultural heritage (UCH) sites at risk. Two historically significant shipwreck sites that are considered under threat were chosen for this longitudinal comparative study — the Clarence (1850) located in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria; and the James Matthews (1841) which lies in Cockburn Sound, Western Australia. Both sites have been preserved in situ using two very different but innovative remediation strategies. More importantly, long-term monitoring programmes have been implemented on both sites, which will characterize changes in the reburial environment and the effect on the reinterred materials. In this way, the efficacy of both in situ preservation techniques will be systematically tested, providing a comparative analysis of practical protocols for the long-term protection and management of underwater cultural heritage.     

Anaemia in the Ancient Indus Valley

The Harappan, or Indus Valley, civilization is considered by many to be among the earliest and most developed of ancient civilizations, with features such as a highly specialized and functionally integrated economy, centralized bureaucratic institutions and a large population base. Two of 29 crania recovered during the most recent cemetery excavations at Harappa display cranial lesions of porotic hyperostosis, suggestive of chronic anaemia. No lesions consistent with the effects of genetic anaemias were exhibited by any of the 92 individuals for which postcranial remains were preserved, however, suggesting that an acquired iron deficiency is the most likely diagnosis. This low prevalence of anaemia may be linked to a good nutritional base in a diverse ecological setting, and few gastrointestinal and other infections due to high standards of personal and community hygiene. A genetic anaemia may be responsible for an apparent higher frequency of porotic hyperostosis at Mohenjo-Daro, a Harappan site that is located in a different environmental zone, but the small samples available for these and other South Asian sites render these conclusions tentative. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. J. Osteoarchaeol., 7 : 115–123 (1997) No. of Figures: 2. No. of Tables: 1. No. of References: 57.     

Transformative landscapes: liminality and visitors’ emotional experiences at German memorial sites

Abstract

The atrocities of Nazi Germany included the radical transformation of natural landscapes. At Ravensbrück (Brandenburg), a lakeside setting became the site of the largest women’s concentration camp in Germany, processing approximately 159,000 inmates until 1945. Similarly, at Flossenbürg (Bavaria), a picturesque valley in the Oberpfälzer Wald housed a large concentration camp with approximately 100,000 inmates over seven years and a granite quarry to support Hitler’s extensive construction programme. After the war, part of Ravensbrück became a Soviet Army base, while large sections of Flossenbürg were removed to make way for a new housing and industrial development. Along with other former camps (particularly Auschwitz-Birkenau), parts of these landscapes were developed into memorial sites that aim to provide a liminal experience for visitors – a ‘rite of passage’. In attempting to regain a sense of place that evokes the trauma of the past, the landscapes of the memorial sites of Ravensbrück and Flossenbürg were recently altered to resemble their appearance in 1945. For visitors, however, the aesthetic experience of these landscapes lies in stark contrast to the narrative they encounter at both sites; they are surprised to see signs of life, objecting to modernisation at Ravensbrück or the existence of a supermarket next to the memorial site in Flossenbürg. This paper examines the transformative processes of these landscapes and explores how their liminality is constructed, experienced and challenged. Through empirical visitor research conducted at both sites, it provides a critical evaluation of the narrative given to visitors and suggests how these important sites can offer a more engaging ‘rite of passage’.     

Database for Earthquake Strong Motion Studies in Italy

We describe an Italian database of strong ground motion recordings and databanks delineating conditions at the instrument sites and characteristics of the seismic sources. The strong motion database consists of 247 corrected recordings from 89 earthquakes and 101 recording stations. Uncorrected recordings were drawn from public web sites and processed on a record-by-record basis using a procedure utilized in the Next-Generation Attenuation (NGA) project to remove instrument resonances, minimize noise effects through low- and high-pass filtering, and baseline correction. The number of available uncorrected recordings was reduced by 52% (mostly because of s-triggers) to arrive at the 247 recordings in the database. The site databank includes for every recording site the surface geology, a measurement or estimate of average shear wave velocity in the upper 30 m (V_s30 ), and information on instrument housing. Of the 89 sites, 39 have on-site velocity measurements (17 of which were performed as part of this study using SASW techniques). For remaining sites, we estimate V_s30 based on measurements on similar geologic conditions where available. Where no local velocity measurements are available, correlations with surface geology are used. Source parameters are drawn from databanks maintained (and recently updated) by Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia and include hypocenter location and magnitude for small events (M < ～5.5) and finite source parameters for larger events.     

Missile defence and the transatlantic security relationship

This article examines the re-emergence of ballistic missile defence (BMD) as a contentious issue in US-European security relations since 1999. It begins by outlining three phases in the recent evolution of US missile defence policy from 1995 to mid-2001. The article then examines five key factors that have dominated European views and concerns in relation to BMD: a divergence between European and American assessments of the emerging ballistic missile threat; concern over the implications for nuclear arms control stemming from Russian and Chinese opposition to BMD; the impact of missile defence on deterrence and the Atlantic alliance; scepticism about the technological feasibility of BMD; and the potential opportunity costs associated with resource allocation to missile defence. It is shown that European anxieties have been exacerbated by a perception of a growing unilateralism in American security policy in recent years. The article proceeds by arguing that the US-European debate over BMD looks set to evolve in one of two directions. The more likely and most desirable scenario would involve the US reaching an understanding with its European allies on the way forward. The less desirable scenario would involve key European countries, such as France and Germany, deciding ultimately to withhold their political support for BMD, which would have the potential of causing significant rifts in both transatlantic and intra-European security relations. In both cases, it is argued that the BMD debate will be defined by the interaction of several key variables. These include the extent to which the Bush administration engages in meaningful consultations with the Europeans; the administration's ability or otherwise to reach an agreement with Russia on the way ahead; the architecture options of a future allied or global BMD system; the related issues of technological feasibility and financial cost; and the evolving missile threat.     

Vegetation,land, and wood use at the sites of Bat and Al‐Khashbah in Oman (fourth–third millennium BC)

About 4200 charcoal fragments have been identified from the fourth‐ to third‐millennium BC archaeological sites of Bat and Al‐Khashbah in order to gain an understanding of plant resources available at the sites. Acacia sp., Ziziphus sp., and Tamarix sp. were the main taxa identified at both sites and indicate a similar vegetation composition as today. Phoenix sp. (date palm) charcoal also has been found at both sites. Whereas the cultivation of date palm for the 2700–2300 BC layers from Bat was likely, given other circumstantial evidence (i.e. local cereal cultivation and floodwater irrigation), it is unclear whether date palm was cultivated at Al‐Khashbah. Especially for the older periods (3300–2700 BC) it is possible that nomadic pastoralists were exploiting and/or managing wild date palms. The find of Avicennia marina at Al‐Khashbah indicates long‐distance contacts with the coast.     

THE ROLE AND MAIN FUNCTIONS OF THE OUTER ZONE IN THE TERRITORIAL STRUCTURE OF THE MOSCOW REGION

The proposed basic functions and structure of the “Outer Zone” of the Moscow Region are outlined as part of a long-term physical planning model. The zone, which includes the Transition Zone, Linear Anti-Cores I and II, and Peripheral Zone I of the original model (Soviet Geography, February 1987), is to serve primarily as a check to territorial growth of the Core (a function once assigned to the more centrally located, but now largely developed Buffer Zone) and a potential base for new economic development in the future. A ranking of sites for limited, more immediate development is included (translated by H. L. Haslett, Birmingham, UK).     

LEAD ISOTOPE ANALYSES OF BRONZE AGE COPPER‐BASE ARTEFACTS FROM AL‐MIDAMMAN,YEMEN: TOWARDS THE IDENTIFICATION OF AN INDIGENOUS METAL PRODUCTION AND EXCHANGE SYSTEM IN THE SOUTHERN RED SEA REGION*

The results of the lead isotope analysis (LIA) of 15 copper‐base artefacts from the Bronze Age site of al‐Midamman, Yemen, are reported. The LIA data suggest the existence of an indigenous Bronze Age metal production and exchange system centred on the southern Red Sea region, distinct from those in neighbouring regions of Arabia and the Levant. These preliminary results are highly significant for the archaeology of the region, suggesting that local prehistoric copper extraction sites have thus far gone unrecorded, and highlighting the need for systematic archaeometallurgical fieldwork programmes in the countries surrounding the southern Red Sea.     

THERMOLUMINESCENT DATING OF COLOMBIAN POTTERY IN THE YOTOCO STYLE

Two contexts from the Colombian sites, Yotoco Ferry and Moralba, had been linked by archaeological similarities in pottery style, and dated by association with ware from other sites at circaa.d. 1000. However, radiocarbon dating of those contexts set Moralba at circa 800 b.c. , some 2000 yr older than Yotoco Ferry. Thermoluminescent dating of pottery from Yotoco Ferry dated it at circaa.d. 900, and pottery from Moralba was dated at circaa.d. 870. In addition a metal-smelting pottery crucible, thought to be prehispanic, was studied by thermoluminescence and dated, on the contrary, at less than 120 yr old.     

Mortuary Variability and Status Differentiation in the Late Jomon of Hokkaido Based on the Analysis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Shuteibo</Emphasis> (Communal Cemeteries)

The shuteibo, a type of communal cemetery characterized by a circular embankment, was constructed in the latter half of the Late Jomon (c. 1520 cal BC–1250 cal BC) in Hokkaido, Japan. Shuteibo at the Kiusu, Misawa-1, Bibi-4 and Kashiwagi-B sites are key to understanding the complex hunter-gatherer societies of the Late Jomon. Elite graves inside the shuteibo and non-elite graves outside them show clear differences in terms of grave goods, red ocher and grave markers at Kiusu-4. These communal cemeteries may have been created and maintained by elites who had access to highly valued materials, such as jadeite, through long-distance trade. Differences in the number of graves and grave goods among shuteibo at the Misawa-1 and Bibi-4 sites indicate differences in group size and intra-site elite differentiation. The Kiusu site has both the largest example and the largest concentration of these cemeteries in Hokkaido. At the inter-site level, differences in the size of these communal cemeteries indicate variability in the number of corporate groups as well as in relative power between sites.     

Assessing Prehispanic Herding Strategies through Stable Isotope Analysis: A Case Study from the Dry Puna of Argentina

ABSTRACT

The main goal of this work is to study the camelid herding and management strategies employed by the human groups that occupied the Dry Puna of Argentina during the late Holocene. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope compositions were measured on bone collagen from domesticated South American camelids (llamas: Lama glama) recovered at two archaeological sites (Huirunpure and Chayal Cave). These results were interpreted using an already published data set of δ ¹³C and δ ¹⁵N values measured on bone collagen from modern herds of llamas managed in a traditional way. Our results showed that even though the archaeological sites of Huirunpure and Chayal Cave are located within different settings – at 4020 and 3700?masl respectively – and present different chronologies – 0–650 and 1300–1500 CE respectively – the llamas from both sites exhibit similar δ ¹³C and δ ¹⁵N values. This pattern was explained considering the characteristics of the vegetation communities that grow in the vicinity of both sites as well as the paleoenvironmental records of the Andean highlands. In sum, this work presents and discusses some preliminary results on the study of prehispanic herding practices in the Dry Puna of Argentina during the first 1500 years of the Common Era through stable isotope analysis.     

Size Estimation of Kingsoldier Bream (Argyrops spinifer) and Evidence of Fishing Strategies

This paper provides regression formulae for size estimation of kingsoldier bream (Argyrops spinifer) from measurements taken on bones enabling the reconstruction of the size of fish present in archaeological samples. Bones of Sparidae are commonly recovered from archaeological sites bordering the Arabian Gulf, and, of the species within this family, kingsoldier bream are relatively abundant with the bones also easily identifiable. The marine environment where this fish occurs varies throughout its life cycle, and therefore the reconstructed size of the fish can be used to infer the types of location where past fishing activities took place. Comparison of the estimated size of fish caught from two Late Islamic sites on the northwest coast of Qatar, in combination with other evidence, has been used to indicate differing frequencies of fishing methods at the two sites. This variation in fishing is caused by the topography of the coast in the immediate vicinity of the sites with shallow waters providing a wide tidal zone at the northern of the two with an environment suitable for fishing with stone‐built intertidal fish traps (known in Arabic as al maskar). The topography of the coast at the southern of the two sites is steeper, and the settlement was an important trading port so the coast was utilised primarily as a harbour rather than a fishing ground. The supply of fish at this settlement was provided by fishermen more commonly using basket traps (gargoor) and handlines with fishing taking place from boats. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dietary Diversity on the Swahili Coast: The Fauna from Two Zanzibar Trading Locales

Occupants of coastal and island eastern Africa—now known as the ‘Swahili coast’—were involved in long‐distance trade with the Indian Ocean world during the later first millennium CE. Such exchanges may be traced via the appearance of non‐native animals in the archaeofaunal record; additionally, this record reveals daily culinary practises of the members of trading communities and can thus shed light on subsistence technologies and social organisation. Yet despite the potential contributions of faunal data to Swahili coast archaeology, few detailed zooarchaeological studies have been conducted. Here, we present an analysis of faunal remains from new excavations at two coastal Zanzibar trading locales: the small settlement of Fukuchani in the north‐west and the larger town of Unguja Ukuu in the south‐west. The occurrences of non‐native fauna at these sites—Asian black rat (Rattus rattus ) and domestic chicken (Gallus gallus ), as well as domestic cat (Felis catus )—are among the earliest in eastern Africa. The sites contrast with one another in their emphases on wild and domestic fauna: Fukuchani's inhabitants were economically and socially engaged with the wild terrestrial realm, evidenced not only through diet but also through the burial of a cache of wild bovid metatarsals. In contrast, the town of Unguja Ukuu had a domestic economy reliant on caprine herding, alongside more limited chicken keeping, although hunting or trapping of wild fauna also played an important role. Occupants of both sites were focused on a diversity of near‐shore marine resources, with little or no evidence for the kind of venturing into deeper waters that would have required investment in new technologies. Comparisons with contemporaneous sites suggest that some of the patterns at Fukuchani and Unguja Ukuu are not replicated elsewhere. This diversity in early Swahili coast foodways is essential to discussions of the agents engaged in long‐distance maritime trade. © 2017 The Authors International Journal of Osteoarchaeology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Can't find a pulse? Celtic bean (Vicia faba L.) in British prehistory

Archaeobotanical research on prehistoric crops in Britain has primarily focussed on cereals and the potential importance of alternative crops, such as pulses, has often been overlooked. This paper reviews evidence for Celtic bean (Vicia faba L.) in British prehistory, using a database of archaeobotanical assemblages from 75 sites. Celtic bean is rare in the Neolithic – Early Bronze Age and it only becomes frequent from the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 1500 cal BC) onwards, particularly in southern England. Though there is a paucity of evidence at many sites, it is suggested that this reflects a preservation bias and in some areas at least, Celtic bean formed an important element of past agricultural systems.     

Pig exploitation in the southern Kanto region,Japan

This study investigates changes in past human and animal relationships by focusing on pig (Sus scrofa) remains excavated from archaeological sites in southern Kanto, Japan. Pigs and humans have had a close relationship since prehistoric times and the process of change in this relationship, including possible domestication, is one of the major issues in Japanese zooarchaeology. This study attempts to gain a better understanding of the nature of past interaction between humans and pigs by investigating their relative importance compared with other vertebrate remains, kill‐off patterns, and changes in their size and shape at these sites. The materials used for this study date from the Earliest to Final Jomon (ca. 10,000–2500 BP), Yayoi (ca. 2500–1700 BP) and Kofun (ca. 1700–1300 BP) periods. The relative proportions of pigs were calculated to show the overall trend of pig exploitation in each site. Age at death was obtained based on the state of tooth eruption. Bucco‐lingual crown measurements were taken on the third and fourth premolars and on each cusp of the first and second molars of the mandible, and the logarithmic ratio technique was then applied to these data. The age structure of Sus varies between different sites in the Jomon Period, and significant changes were observed in the Yayoi and Kofun Periods. A decrease in the relative proportion of pigs in the faunal assemblages was observed from Jomon to Kofun. Three major differences were observed in the size of pigs. The overall size of pigs significantly increased from Early to Middle Jomon, whilst a decrease in size occurred in the Yayoi Period. Finally, overall size increased significantly during the Kofun Period. Together with the archaeological evidence—such as the ritual burial of pigs accompanying human burial—we suggest that the interaction between pigs and humans became gradually stronger at some sites during the Late Jomon Period, and the relationship intensified in the Yayoi Period. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mapping the Australian Duricrusts: Can distribution be derived from terrain maps?

Duricrust distribution patterns can be used to debate the significance. in engineering, geomorphological and palaeoenvironmental terms. of any displayed regional components of variability. An apparently obvious source for such an exercise lies in the duta base fields devoted to duricrust types accompanying the Australia-wide terrain tnups by Grant et al., (1984) and Chan et al., (1986) (published at scales of I:2 1/2 million and 1:5 million respectively). However, curtographic principles indicate that although there are inany attributes in common among the data base fields of these two separately conceived and generated maps (polygon sets), congruent distribution patterns for selected common attributes tire unlikelv. In this case a comparison of patterns shows that they are far from congruent. We conclude that these maps. while fulfilling their original purpose, have limited value in geomorphological debaies about the significance of duricrust distribution patterns.