David Warren Sabean. Landbesitz und Gesellschaft am Vorabend des Bauernkriegs: Eine Studie der sozialen Verhältnisse im südlichen Oberschwaben in den Jahren vor 1525

In conventional approaches to computer analysis of historical sources, one must represent the data in structured formats in which content and context are discarded. Extensible markup language (XML), developed for data transfer on the Internet, permits preservation of the full text of irregular historical sources without sacrificing the ability to conduct systematic analysis. Related querying tools offer most functions of a relational database management system, including data transformation facilities for coding, standardizing, and aggregating nominal data. An XML database permits multiple interpretations of the data because the unit of analysis and the coding schemes are not defined at entry. In a case study of probate inventories, the author demonstrates how structured analysis of domestic interiors can be performed and introduces approaches to studying semistructured data.     

Population Estimates from Settlement Area and Number of Residences

Abstract

Using modern data from the Lake Patzcuaro Basin in Mexico, the author evaluates in this paper the correlations between settlement areas and populations in order to assess the possibilities of estimating the size of prehistoric populations on the basis of the extent of occupation areas. The relationship between number of residences and population is similarly explored. Predictions within the defined categories are accurate in nearly two-thirds of the cases. This result suggests that the method has some value for estimating populations in archaeological situations where the required continuity of patterns of residence assures the relevance of historical data.     

Depleted uranium

Abstract

This paper presents a quantitative and qualitative biographical analysis of Nobel prize laureates in physics over the first hundred years of the award. For the quantitative analysis a set of data has been collected from the laureates' biographies, which is used to characterise their education and professional careers. Such an analysis of the biographies of Nobel laureates provides interesting information about the structure and politics of scientific research. Statistical evaluation of the data is of interest from the viewpoint of research and educational policy, and may also be useful for further science historical analysis. In the qualitative analysis, special features of the laureates' biographies are highlighted, with the aim of providing insights into their scientific motivations and the development of their careers.     

An investigation of historical and archaeological evidence for age‐related bone loss and osteoporosis

A growing awareness of the problems caused by osteoporosis‐related fractures has led to increased investigation of the condition in past populations. The present study seeks to examine the ways in which osteoporosis‐related fractures may be explored through different approaches; modern clinical information, historical records of fractures and analysis of archaeological bone may provide fuller information on the condition. The three types of fractures upon which this study focuses are fractures of the femoral neck, Colles' fractures and vertebral compression fractures. The results of the investigation clearly demonstrate the way in which the various sources produce a slightly different picture of the condition. The archaeological significance of the different types of fractures was found to be the reverse of that which would be suspected in the light of information derived from historical sources and the clinical literature. To date vertebral crush fractures have been the most commonly found osteoporosis‐related fracture in archaeological material, but their significance to people in the past is likely to have been minimal. In contrast hip fractures have rarely been reported from archaeological bone material, but historical information makes it clear they were well known, and knowledge derived from clinical sources emphasizes the serious consequences of such a fracture for the affected individuals. The results indicate the value of undertaking a multi‐disciplinary approach where possible. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

History and Anthropology: A Dialogue

Abstract

Mainstream geographical information systems techniques and packaged geographical information systems software are often inappropriate in historical contexts because they use geographical coordinates as a framework around which all other information is organized as “attribute data,” whereas in history locations are often the least certain part of our knowledge. A new and general architecture for documenting administrative units and organizing historical statistics is detailed, which prioritizes named entities and explicit semantic relationships such as “IsPartOf,” while holding coordinate data where available. This architecture is easily aligned with the recent development of geo-semantics by information scientists, meeting the formal requirements for a geo-spatial ontology, but was originally developed to enable the systematic computerization of traditional historical reference works, notably Frederick Youngs’ Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England.     

Determination of a kinship system using ancient DNA,mortuary practice,and historic records in an upper Canadian pioneer cemetery

Recovered and amplified ancient DNA (aDNA), from a historically documented 19th century Upper Canadian pioneer cemetery produced genotypes that were used to infer a past societal kinship system. While the results from multiplex short tandem repeat (STR) amplifications showed an unreliable polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product, a single locus HUMTH01 analysis yielded reproducible data and an allelic frequency pattern not statistically different from modern populations. Mitochondrial (mt) DNA HVR II data showed that a combined cemetery database exhibited reduced haplotype diversity indicators, as well as clusters of probable maternally related burials. The chronological persistence and replacement of mtDNA clusters approximately every two generations suggests a patrilineal/patrilocal kinship structure from a virilocal burial program for the Harmony Road cemetery. Through the integration of the aDNA analysis with archaeological material culture, historic records, and other ethnohistoric sources of information, this conclusion is supported. In this study persisting patrilineally inherited surnames act as a surrogate for aDNA Y‐chromosome haplotype analysis. These results suggest that aDNA applications on aggregate skeletal collections where sparse, or no ethnological or historical documentation exists, may result in incorrect population history inferences if the presence of a kinship interment bias is not considered. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

HISTORIOMETRICS,HISTORICAL AND CARTOGRAPHIC INFORMATION,AND COMPUTERS

Abstract

Accessibility is frequently used in transportation planning to measure the efficiency of new infrastructure in terms of travel time and population served. In this article, the authors apply accessibility concepts based on the geo-historical angle. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between population dynamics and the railway expansion from 1830 to 1930. Their approach considers a local scale composed of some 36,000 French communes for the demographic data and more than 28,000 kilometers for the railway network. The methodological framework of this database is based on historical geographic information systems completed by anamorphosis analysis. In this way, they are able to map the changing contours of accessibility from the local to the regional and national scales for historical time.     

Craniofacial morphology,diet and incisor use in three native American populations

It has been difficult to infer behaviours related to anterior tooth use in fossil hominids owing to a lack of broad‐based comparative studies of the relationships between front tooth use and craniodental features in modern humans. In this study, we seek to establish such a neontological baseline by exploring aspects of craniodental form among populations of recent humans that are inferred to have differed in habitual levels of ingestive and paramasticatory processing using the incisors. Morphometric data are compared among samples from three human populations: Aleutian Islanders (n=25); Arikara from the Mobridge Site, SD (n=19); and a late Woodland Bluff group from Jersey County, IL (n=24). Data for various biomechanically relevant dimensions were collected using standard callipers, while three‐dimensional (3D) coordinate data for 28 cranial landmarks were recorded using a video‐based image analysis system. These data indicate that several aspects of cranial form thought to influence the efficiency of force production on the incisors differ among the examined groups, including the positions and size of the primary masticatory muscles and the position of the dentition. For most dimensions, the Aleut sample exhibits the most mechanically advantageous configuration, the Illinois Bluff group the least advantageous configuration, while the Arikara are intermediate in form. This pattern corresponds to differences in the intensity of incisor loading among these groups, as inferred from both ethnographic reports and incisor microwear data. These results, therefore, suggest that cranial form in humans varies with subsistence‐related differences in masticatory force production and that quantitative studies of masticatory system configuration may provide useful information for studies of hominid palaeobiology. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The United States Manuscript Census as a Teaching Aid

Abstract

This article describes a new approach for analyzing data within national historical geographic information system databases that can be used to explore long-term trends in landscape evolution. The methodology is based on clustering together areas with similar demographic characteristics to define urban agglomerations whose territorial extents and populations vary over time. The resulting database can be used in a wide range of ways that allow the empirical study of urban growth and urban sprawl. The article is based on data for England and Wales but given the increasing availability of national historical geographic information system databases for countries around the world, the approach could be replicated for a wide range of different places.     

Bjarmaland Revisited

The present article is devoted to the enigmatic Bjarmaland of the Old Norse sources. Where was Bjarmaland situated? Was there only one Bjarmaland , or were there several Bjarmalands ? The author approaches these questions by going through the historical sources mentioning Bjarmaland / Biarmonia / Biarmia . Second, she analyses the reception of Bjarmaland in Russian historical literature in the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, and finally, she gives her own opinion on the question of its localization, etymological origin and changing lexical content.     

The Eastern Sámi: A short account of their history and identity

During the last decade there has been a growing interest in the history and culture of the Eastern Sami, but information on this subject is insufficient. In this article the author starts from the quite problematical question about the use of the term Eastern Sámi, and presents further data about the main historical milestones for the Eastern Sami from olden times up to the end of the 20^th century. Among other things, the author considers changes which happened in the structure of Eastern Sami social life, the cultural and linguistic environment and its influence on the Eastern Sami culture and languages, influence of the state borders and state policies, and the relationship between the Sami and the Orthodox Church. Based on this historical background, the author elucidates the issue of Eastern Sami identity and their sense of affinity. Is there still a future for their culture, language and identity? The author, who grew up on Sami land in Russia, has for more than a decade been studying the Eastern Sami culture, folklore and religion. In this presentation, the inner point of view, native Sami terms and place‐names are especially emphasized.     

How Many Household Formation Systems Were There in Historic Europe? A View Across 256 Regions Using Partitioning Clustering Methods

Abstract

This paper reconsiders one of historical demography’s most pertinent research problems: the fiddly concept of historical household formation systems. Using a massive repository of historical census micro-data from the North Atlantic Population Project and the Mosaic project, the four markers of Hajnal’s household formation rules were operationalized for 256 regional rural populations from Catalonia in the west to central Siberia in the east, between 1700 and 1926. We then analyze these data using the Partitioning Around Medoids algorithm in order to empirically derive the “natural groups” based on the similarity and the dissimilarity of their household formation traits. Although regional differences between European household formation systems are readily identifiable, the two statistically most valid clustering solutions (k?=?2; k?=?4) provide a more complex picture of household formation regimes than Hajnal and his followers have been able to compile. Our finding that when regional populations cluster on similar household formation characteristics, they often come from both sides of Hajnal’s “imaginary line,” calls into question strict bipolar divisions of the continent. By and large, we show that the long-lived idea of two household formation systems in preindustrial Europe obscures considerable variability in historical family behavior, and therefore needs to be amended.     

《中国移民史》唐宋湖南移民实例考校

《中国移民史》列有109个唐宋湖南移民实例,本文对其中在史料和史实方面存在诸多问题的65例进行了考校,并归纳了其中存在的主要问题:一是对史料的理解与引用有误。这主要表现为一人误作二人,甲卷引作乙卷,姓名张冠李戴,牵强列入或列之无据,将移民与移民后裔相混淆,以及有关移民迁移的时间和地点等方面的问题。二是没有考察史料的史源。这主要表现在:引用后人史料,没注意到前人文献中已有相同的、甚至更为可靠的史料,没有甄别第一手资料和二手资料;没有考察相关史料,对引用史料中所提供的一些有关移民信息的线索没有追根溯源、旁征侧证。     

Simple strategies for improving inference with linked data: a case study of the 1850–1930 IPUMS linked representative historical samples

Abstract

New large-scale linked data are revolutionizing quantitative history and demography. This paper proposes two complementary strategies for improving inference with linked historical data: the use of validation variables to identify higher quality links and a simple, regression-based weighting procedure to increase the representativeness of custom research samples. We demonstrate the potential value of these strategies using the 1850–1930 Integrated Public Use Microdata Series Linked Representative Samples (IPUMS-LRS)—a high quality, publicly available linked historical dataset. We show that, while incorrect linking rates appear low in the IPUMS-LRS, researchers can reduce error rates further using validation variables. We also show how researchers can reweight linked samples to balance observed characteristics in the linked sample with those in a reference population using a simple regression-based procedure.     

Book Reviews

Abstract

Obsidian studies play an integral part in archaeology around the world, particularly in the Americas, but few archaeologists have employed obsidian studies to understand Native American life at historical archaeological sites. Yet, obsidian sourcing and hydration analysis can provide critical insights into site chronology and use, lithic recycling, and procurement and trade at contact and colonial sites. Obsidian geochemical sourcing and hydration analyses of a 19th-century rancho site in northern California have revealed new information on Native Americans who labored there in the second quarter of the 19th century. The obsidian data indicate a significant amount of lithic manufacture and use, a change in obsidian procurement in the 1800s, and an unprecedented number of obsidian sources represented on-site. The implications for general obsidian studies, as well as for regional archaeological issues, concern the problems with popular sourcing methods in northern California and the need to revisit current understandings of the first micron of hydration rim development.     

Dacura: A new solution to data harvesting and knowledge extraction for the historical sciences

New advances in computer science address problems historical scientists face in gathering and evaluating the now vast data sources available through the Internet. As an example we introduce Dacura, a dataset curation platform designed to assist historical researchers in harvesting, evaluating, and curating high-quality information sets from the Internet and other sources. Dacura uses semantic knowledge graph technology to represent data as complex, inter-related knowledge allowing rapid search and retrieval of highly specific data without the need of a lookup table. Dacura automates the generation of tools to help non-experts curate high quality knowledge bases over time and to integrate data from multiple sources into its curated knowledge model. Together these features allow rapid harvesting and automated evaluation of Internet resources. We provide an example of Dacura in practice as the software employed to populate and manage the Seshat databank.     

Collectivity,Hierarchy and Context: The Theoretical Framework for the Aggregation Problem

ABSTRACT

Ottoman historians have been severely limited by the availability and quality of primary sources from which historical prices can be compiled. This article stresses the potential of inheritance inventories for expanding the field of Ottoman price history and provides a detailed examination of the quality of the valuations in these sources. The results strongly suggest that inventory valuations are generally consistent and were closely related to the conventional prices of the time. Building upon these findings, it is reasonable to assume that the prices contained in Ottoman inheritance inventories can be reliably employed for historical research.