The Goldfields’ Sabbath: A Postsecular Analysis of Social Cohesion and Social Control on the Ballarat Goldfields, 1854

The historiography of the Sabbath reflects closely the concerns of its Sabbatarian subjects: the rise or fall in public piety and the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of evangelical moral reform and social control. In this article we step away from the question of how religious or secular goldfields society was, and instead, observe how Sunday functioned on the goldfields. In doing so we eschew a dominant narrative of religious history — secularisation — and deploy a postsecular analysis. Such an analysis reveals a remarkable degree of social cohesion: a diverse, but common, practice of rest on the Sabbath. It was only because of the universal honouring of the goldfields’ Sabbath that government troops were able to so quickly and decisively end the Eureka Stockade on Sunday, 3 December 1854.     

Was He Murdered Or Was He Not?—Part I: Analyses of Mercury in the Remains of Tycho Brahe

World‐renowned Renaissance astronomer Tycho Brahe died on 24 October 1601, after 11 days of illness. Several conspiracy theories regarding his death have been aired, the first shortly after his death by William Shakespeare in the play Hamlet, published in 1603. A key factor in the still lively debate is whether he was administered mercury—as medicine by his own hand, or as poison by an unfriendly hand. In 2010, Brahe's grave was reopened and samples of his bones, hair, teeth and the textiles were procured and analysed. Here, we present evidence that Brahe was not administered lethal doses of mercury.     

Grazing was not mining: managing Victoria's goldfields commons

The great land rush of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries saw vast swathes of temperate grazing land around the world pass into private hands. Commons and common lands, however, provided a vital interim mechanism in this shift from state control to private property ownership. Commons ensured continued and widespread access to natural resources, including water, minerals, soil, grass, and timber, that was integral to the colonial settler project. The gold rush in nineteenth‐century Victoria sheds important light on this process, where almost 250,000 ha of Crown land were set aside as goldfields commons. These reserves maintained auriferous or gold‐bearing land in public hands and provided access to extensive tracts of grazing for the sheep and cattle of gold miners. In this paper, we examine how the traditional English notion of common lands was transferred to a New World environment and draw on the work of economist Elinor Ostrom to evaluate the use and function of Victoria's goldfields commons in terms of management, regulation, and sustainability.     

Exploring chronic arsenic poisoning in pre-Columbian Chilean mummies

This paper explores to what extent arsenic poisoning affected pre-Columbian northern Chile populations living between Arica and Iquique cities. We hypothesize, the pre-Columbian inhabitants of this region, will show arseniasis according to modern geographic endemic levels. Continuous exposure to high levels of arsenic causes serious health problems. Today, in the Camarones valley, where many Chinchorro people lived, arsenic levels are 100 times above the 10 μg/L recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) we determined arsenic levels in a single strand of hair of 45 Arica mummies coming from ten sites (Morro 1, Morro 1/5, Yungay 372, Camarones 8, 9, 15D, and 17 and Azapa 140, Sermenia and Patillos), ranging from Chinchorro (ca. 5000–2000 years B.C.) to the Late Intermediate Period (1000–1400 years A.D.). Each hair was cleaned using distilled ionized water and placed on double sided mounting tape and ablated using a 266 nm Nd-YAG UV laser. Hair samples were also investigated for potential diagenesis.     

Assessing individual systemic stress through cortisol analysis of archaeological hair

As a product of physiological status and the social and physical environments, stress has significant impact on health and well-being in both ancient and contemporary societies. In bioarchaeological research, stress is characterized using an array of skeletal indicators that record stressful periods during childhood and adulthood. In modern clinical research, exposure to stress can be assessed using systemic cortisol levels that have been shown to fluctuate in response to experienced stress. Analysis of cortisol levels in archaeological hair should enable assessment of stress during a short, but critical, period of an individual's life. For this pilot study, we selected hair samples from ten individuals from five different archaeological sites in Peru, and analyzed them in segments to determine cortisol levels. These data demonstrate that it is possible to observe biogenic patterns of cortisol production, and that individual experiences of stress can be reconstructed for the period of time represented by each hair sample. Analysis of cortisol levels in hair has the potential to be a valuable short-term dynamic stress indicator that will complement paleopathological and biochemical studies of health and stress, and permit the reconstruction of increasingly detailed life histories.     

The history of silver refining in New Spain, 16c to 18c: back to the basics

The refining of silver ores in New Spain was defined by the chemical nature of the silver ore. Argentiferous galena (lead sulphide) could only be refined by smelting (36% silver produced), irrespective of silver content, and amalgamation (64%) could only be applied to the silver sulphide ores. Both processes were transferred from Europe, but amalgamation was transformed by local expertise from a recipe of limited application to an industrial-scale solution for refining sulphidic silver ores. Its implementation shaped the environmental history of colonial silver refining in the New World. Mercury was consumed mainly through its chemical conversion into calomel, with minimal emissions of volatile mercury. Waste silt and liquid mercury in the soil and waterways were its main legacy. Smelting created a greater impact on the environment of New Spain, via lead in lead fumes as the main heavy metal issued to the air, and its depletion of woodlands. This article argues that a technical analysis of period refining practices in New Spain reorients our understanding of Spain’s imperial relations with its New World colonies, of the role of local knowledge in a global economy of silver production, and of environmental issues in colonial history. It thus speaks to the problem of unpacking the complex web of relations that composed early European imperialism, in which were enmeshed commodities such as silver, cotton and sugar.     

Element localization in archaeological bone using synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence: identification of biogenic uptake

Trace element analysis related to archaeological bone is viewed as one way to determine levels of element exposure in past populations. This area of research is complex because there is the potential for the incorporation of trace elements from the burial environment into archaeological bone. We tested the hypothesis that matching the spatial distribution of trace elements within cortical bone with the biological structures would provide evidence of biogenic uptake. We examined samples from a non-segregated Royal British Naval cemetery (1793–1822) in Antigua, West Indies. A key historical question related to this population was the extent of exposure to lead and the resulting health effects. Images from conventional light microscopy (histological) analysis of the bone samples were matched with elemental maps of calcium, strontium, and lead that were created through the use of synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence (SR-XRF). Biogenic uptake of both strontium and lead was indicated based on the localization of these trace elements within discreet microstructural elements. The successful integration of histological information with XRF data is a powerful technique for the interpretation of past biological events through trace elements.     

CHANGES IN THE METAL CONTENT OF HUMAN HAIR DURING DIAGENESIS FROM 500 YEARS,EXPOSURE TO GLACIAL AND AQUEOUS ENVIRONMENTS

Scanning electron microscopy, inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy and time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry have been used to examine the extent and possible mechanisms by which the metal content of human hair is altered by exposure to aqueous environments. The results, using both modern hair and samples from 500‐year‐old hair associated with glacier‐entombed remains, show that the metal content has been altered sufficiently so that the interpretation of the metal signature in terms of diet or disease is problematic. While endogenous information is difficult to glean from these data, interesting observations have been made of possible early stages of mineral authigenic deposition. The chemistry of the outer hair surface was found to be consistent with deposition of Fe and Al silicates, as well as other mineral phases. The ancient hair was analysed at the root region and included a comparison of the internal versus external composition to assist in identifying the diagenetic processes.     

Seasonal fluctuations in diet and death during the late horizon: a stable isotopic analysis of hair and nail from the central coast of Peru

The goal of the isotopic analysis of hair and nail from Puruchuco-Huaquerones is to reconstruct short term paleodiet using the stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in one centimetre increments of hair and two discrete points (distal and proximal) on the nail. This sampling method allows for the reconstruction of diet on a monthly basis (hair) and also diet at two periods (nail): four months and two weeks antemortem. The analysis of these two tissues demonstrates that diet varied from month to month and that food was not stored in any significant quantity. The patterning of the isotope data appears to be closely tied to the agricultural cycle, although a vertical economy cannot be rejected as an alternative explanation. Isotope data for both short (e.g., hair and nail) and long term diet (e.g., bone) are similar; this is interpreted as evidence for the continuity of the settlement in this area. There are no significant differences in the season of death between males or females or between the winter and summer months. The slightly higher mortality rate in the summer may be due to crop failure and subsequent food shortages.     

Bruit aérien et équité environnementale dans les quatre plus grandes métropoles canadiennes

Previous environmental equity studies have examined the spatial distribution of aircraft noise across cities. Their findings show that, in several cities, visible minorities and low-income populations are most affected by aircraft noise. In contrast, one study concludes that well-off populations are the most affected. These contradictory findings support the use of a comparative approach for several cities. The aim of this study is twofold. First, we want to identify if there are groups in the population that are in a situation of inequity to aircraft noise exposure in Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, and Calgary. Then, we want to check if the exposure to the aircraft noise of the different groups varies significantly from one metropolis to another. We use the recommended noise exposure contour maps in Canada: the Noise Exposure Forecasts. Next, four variables are extracted from the 2016 Statistics Canada census at a fine-scale level (dissemination areas): that is, the percentages of low-income, visible minorities, 0- to 15-year-old, and 65-year-old and over populations. The results of a mixed effects logistic regression model show that environmental inequities in terms of exposure to aircraft noise for the four population groups are not consistent from city to city.     

The connectivity of pore space in mudstones: insights from high‐pressure Wood's metal injection,BIB‐SEM imaging,and mercury intrusion porosimetry

Study of the pore space in mudstones by mercury intrusion porosimetry is a common but indirect technique and it is not clear which part of the pore space is actually filled with mercury. We studied samples from the Opalinus Clay, Boom Clay, Haynesville Shale, and Bossier Shale Formations using Wood's metal injection at 316 MPa, followed by novel ion beam polishing and high‐resolution scanning electron microscopy. This method allowed us to analyze at high resolution which parts of a rock are intruded by the liquid alloy at mm to cm scale. Results from the Opalinus Clay and Haynesville Shale show Wood's Metal in cracks, but the majority of the pore space is not filled although mercury intrusion data suggests that this is the case. In the silt‐rich Boom Clay sample, the majority of the pore space was filled Wood's metal, with unfilled islands of smaller pores. Bossier Shale shows heterogeneous impregnation with local filling of pores as small as 10 nm. We infer that mercury intrusion data from these samples is partly due to crack filling and compression of the sample. This compaction is caused by effective stress developed by mercury pressure and capillary resistance; it can close small pore throats, prevent injection of the liquid metal, and indicate an apparent porosity. Our results suggest that many published MIP data on mudstones could contain serious artifacts and reliable metal intrusion porosimetry requires a demonstration that the metal has entered the pores, for example by Wood's metal injection, broad ion beam polishing, and scanning electron microscopy.     

Seasonality and paleodiet in the Chiribaya polity of southern Peru

In the Andes, the complex Chiribaya polity, or señorío, was composed of economically specialized groups. Previous carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of archaeological human bone from Chiribaya-affiliated sites have effectively demonstrated socioeconomic specialization and variability in paleodiet among different Chiribaya-affiliated sites. The present study complements earlier paleodietary analyses of Chiribaya populations by supplementing them with carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of archaeological human hair from the two Chiribaya-affiliated sites of Chiribaya Alta and El Yaral. These new data demonstrate that seasonal variability in the consumption of marine products and C₄ plants such as maize was quite high for some individuals buried at Chiribaya-affiliated sites. In addition to elucidating the complex patterns of Chiribaya seasonality, this study contributes to the growing body of knowledge of archaeological analyses of human hair for paleodiet.     

Characterising the potential of sheep wool for ancient DNA analyses

The use of wool derived from sheep (Ovis aries) hair shafts is widespread in ancient and historic textiles. Given that hair can represent a valuable source of ancient DNA, wool may represent a valuable genetic archive for studies on the domestication of the sheep. However, both the quality and content of DNA in hair shafts are known to vary, and it is possible that common treatments of wool such as dyeing may negatively impact the DNA. Using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), we demonstrate that in general, short fragments of both mitochondrial and single-copy nuclear DNA can be PCR-amplified from wool derived from a variety of breeds, regardless of the body location or natural pigmentation. Furthermore, although DNA can be PCR-amplified from wool dyed with one of four common plant dyes (tansy, woad, madder, weld), the use of mordants such as alum or iron leads to considerable DNA degradation. Lastly, we demonstrate that mtDNA at least can be PCR-amplified, cloned and sequenced from a range of archaeological and historic Danish, Flemmish and Greenlandic wool textile samples. In summary, our data suggest that wool offers a promising source for future ancient mitochondrial DNA studies.     

Animal Hair in Medieval Ship Caulking Throws Light on Livestock Types

Abstract

Diameter measurements of nearly 200 samples of hair caulking from medieval boat timbers excavated in London threw light on livestock type and husbandry practices. Cattle hair (440/0) with a primitive coat structure predominated in the earlier centuries, while those with a “modern” coat structure predominated later, and these were mostly black. The goat hair (38%) had only one type of coat and the overall mean fibre diameter of the underwool was 13.4 microns compared with 14.7 microns in surviving feral goats. About half the goat hair samples (again from the later centuries) were black and half grey, with only one white animal. There was evidence that death of the cattle and goats had occurred during autumn and/or winter. Sheeps' wool formed 18% of the samples and there were more hairy fleeces than found in medieval clothing. Most of the wool was grey; there were no black samples and only one white one.     

Routes as latent information—spatial analysis of historical pathways on the peripheries of the Victorian gold fields

Abstract

This article argues that the existing network of roads, arising from socially mediated human behavior, represents a well-preserved feature present across a broad region and contains latent historical information that can be retrieved using appropriate analytical techniques. It presents a method combining iterative cost path modeling and proximity analysis to reconstruct patterns of historical movement, and uses the results of this analysis as a heuristic tool to delineate regional social distinctions evident in characteristics of land appropriation and settlement within an area on the peripheries of the goldfields of central Victoria. The results of the least-cost route and proximity analysis presented in this paper delineate variations in patterns of movement across the study area that suggest distinctions in community development and character, adding depth and nuance to histories of the gold fields and their later years and supporting alternatives to assumptions of linear historical change.     

Mineral commons: Collective claims to territory in the goldfields of Madagascar

This paper examines how artisanal miners in northern Madagascar have contested state-corporate authority and staked claims to subterranean territory through the production and maintenance of goldfields as mineral commons. Drawing on ethnographic evidence collected over 15 months of field-based research, as well as interviews and archival data, I elaborate how community members in the diggings of Betsiaka have used commoning to resist subsoil enclosure, engender local autonomy, and secure collectivized access to gold as a basis for extended social reproduction. Constructing Betsiaka's mineral commons has relied on three overlapping yet distinct components: (1) the materiality or geological character of deposits, mediated through local understandings of gold's occurrence and (in)exhaustibility; (2) the socio-historical construction of discourse around resource access; and (3) the political-economic organization and management of the goldfields via sedimented institutions of governance. The paper's arguments challenge assumptions across varying domains of commons scholarship that tend to exclude resources deemed “nonrenewable” from discussions of commons, demonstrating both that socio-natural particularities can render mineral deposits effectively “inexhaustible,” and that even subsoil resources perceived as finite can be managed by community members to facilitate collective access and broadly-shared benefit. They furthermore contribute to ongoing discussions regarding territorialization and governance in extractive landscapes, adding commons and commoning to the list of tactics and instruments used by mining communities to avoid dispossession, order activities, and sustain livelihoods. Recognizing mineral commons in Betsiaka and beyond thus has significant implications for enhancing our understanding of local mineral politics—and also for rethinking approaches to formalization and decentralization.     

Isotopic Determination of Seasonality in Diet and Death from Nubian Mummy Hair

Sections of human hair from naturally desiccated Sudanese Nubian mummies representing X-Group (AD 350-550) and Christian (AD 550-1300) periods in the Wadi Halfa area have been analysed for their isotope ratios. Because the carbon in hair represents food intake over the growth period of this tissue, analysis comparing segments taken next to the scalp with those further along the shaft can indicate diet just prior to death as well as any recent shift in food consumption. Modern populations in this area practise seasonal crop scheduling which involves the cultivation of C₃ plants (wheat, barley and most fruits and vegetables) in the winter and the hardier C₄ plants (sorghum and millet) in the summer. Shifting isotopic values along the length of hair strands of the ancient inhabitants of this area demonstrate that this practice has its roots at least as far back as the Initial Phase of Intensive Agriculture. The most common season of death appears to have been summer, the time of greatest climatic, nutritional and physiological stress for both ancient and modern inhabitants.     

Making a Home in Gold-rush Victoria: Plain Sewing and the Genteel Woman

In the rush to be rich, contemporary commentators warned that not everyone was suited to life on Victoria’s goldfields. Women unfamiliar with household labour or exertion were cautioned to remain at ‘home’. This article explores the genteel women who migrated to Victoria during the first two decades of the gold rush, and how they negotiated the British ideal of genteel leisure against the demands for domestic labour in the colony. In particular, it interrogates the often-mundane plain sewing practices necessary to make a new home alongside the push for a colonial genteel industriousness, demonstrating how women manipulated standards of living through everyday material practices.