On the stability of the ozone layer at Tromsø

Long-term measurements of the thickness of the ozone layer in Tromsø since 1935 show that the annual mean value can vary by as much as 18%. However, no decreasing trend of the ozone content and no correlation with the increasing amount of chlorine and halogen compounds of the atmosphere are found in the Scandinavian sector of the Arctic.     

On the Side of Light: Performing Morality at Rwanda’s Genocide Memorials

Abstract

In Rwanda, numerous memorials have arisen to remember the 1994 genocide and its victims. This paper considers the effect of the national genocide memorials on Western tourist visitors, in the context of research on ‘dark tourism’ and Western attitudes toward death and the dead. It draws on the idea that, in a Western context, viewing the remains of violent death can be a kind of ‘soft murder’, and on the concept that the act of witnessing violence creates a community of witnesses implicated in that violence. Western visitors to Rwandan genocide memorials therefore form a community, and their responses are guided by a set of community rules regarding behaviour and experiences during and after the visit. These rules, this paper argues, are rooted in pressures to assert oneself as a properly moral individual through performing morality in a morally ambiguous setting.     

On the Identification of Ænon

Abstract

Combined archaeological data from the Central Jordan Valley indicates that small agricultural villages and a few public buildings occupied the area during the first half of the 10^th century BC, all grouped along well-organised irrigation systems. A regional conflagration ended the occupation around 950 BC, after which most of the Central Jordan Valley was deserted for approximately one century. This occupational gap coincided with a period of decreased precipitation. During this arid phase the area was visited by mobile groups who used the summits of the settlement mounds for animal holding and sparse industrial activities. According to the topographical list of Shoshenq I, there were at least four settlements in the Central Jordan Valley: Adamah, Succoth, Penuel and Mahanaim. These places were apparently important enough in c. 925 BC for the Egyptians to neutralise them. But where are the remains of these settlements? This study deals with the intriguing disjunction between archaeological and textual evidence.     

On the nighttime increase of NmF2 at Jicamarca on 2–3 February 1965

The conditions of the nighttime increase in NmF2 at the geomagnetic equator are investigated. It is shown that, in an altitude region above 250 km, after 2100 LT, the increase is due to a downward electromagnetic drift when the compression of the plasma associated with the drift overcomes the chemical loss rate.     

On the Spacing of Time: On “The Tide of History”

The author discusses aspects of how time appears and is used by the individual and by society. In focus is what the author calls the ideological time scale as it appears in Western society. The concept of the ideological time scale implies systems of strong, ideological signals transferred through time in the human mind from one generation to another. One such signal is the age-old concept of the hero and the symbolism projected around this concept. The paper ends with an admonition to scholars to be aware of and study the kinds of messages transferred through time by this signal system. These messages carry important information about the ways in which society directs itself in the time continuum.     

On the Grounds of the Fresh Water Pond: The Free-Black Community at Five Points, 1810–1834

During the first few decades of the nineteenth century a sizable African American community thrived in lower Manhattan. This district was centered near the Fresh Water or Collect Pond just north of the heavily settled city. By 1840 much of the original community was gone and almost forgotten in the lore surrounding the later and more notorious Five Points. Evidence of the vibrant neighborhood may be found in the presence of social and religious structures including the original A.M.E. Zion Church and the African Mutual Relief Society, located for a brief period of time near the Fresh Water Pond. In this paper documentary sources are used to illuminate the lives of Five Points' early residents. These are lives and struggles not necessarily visible in the archaeological record.     

On the ＂Middle Way＂ of the Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama has, in recent years, been telling the world he has stopped seeking ＂Tibetan independence＂ and turned towards a ＂middle way＂. By this, he says, he means ＂high-level autonomy＂ or ＂real autonomy＂ in Tibet and other Tibetan-inhabited areas within the framework of the Chinese Constitution. Only by doing so, he has argued, can Tibet best protect its unique traditional culture, religion and eco-environment, and can the unification and unity of China be maintained. （On March 10, 1959, the reactionary upper class in Tibet staged a counter-revolutionary armed rebellion. When it was suppressed,     

Quantifying the Consumption of Obsidian at Neolithic Çatalhöyük,Turkey

Abstract

Archaeological studies of consumption are hampered by the lack of quantified data. New data from the Neolithic site of Catalhiiyiik in Turkey allows the annual consumption of obsidian at the site to be calculated as a minimum of between 116 to 318 kg. The method employed is simple and can be employed at other sites provided appropriate sampling, topographic survey, and dating strategies are implemented.     

On the Use of the Term ‘Non-Anglo Archaeologists’

Many universities in India teach in both English and Hindi to separate classes—the students have an option to choose their language of instruction. Thus the claim of non-Anglo archaeologists as being co-opted raises the double question of being co-opted by whom and for what purpose? If it is the case that there are co-opted third and fourth world archaeologists, then who is to blame and how may this situation be rectified. I feel every-one has the answer to this question and nothing more needs be said about it. My sympathies rest with the co-opted.