Characterizing Quartz Artefacts: A Case Study from Manitoba's Northern Boreal Forest

Visual and geochemical analyses of 30 pre‐contact quartz tools from the Churchill River basin of northern Manitoba were used to provisionally assess source provenance based on comparison to local quartz quarry data. The results indicate that tools made from quartz acquired from these quarries were transported and eventually deposited into archaeological sites up to 200 km away. Transport of this quartz, which is of relatively moderate quality, over such distances suggests that stone tool–using hunter–gatherer populations that lived in the Churchill River basin of northern Manitoba were highly mobile. It also indicates that higher‐quality raw materials were unavailable in the immediate area.     

The Specialized Cities of the Gulf Cooperation Council: A Case Study of a Distinct Type of Policy Innovation and Diffusion

This article examines a new phenomenon in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) referred to as specialized cities (SC). These cities, in addition to being new towns, implement innovations in selected policy areas. This article goes beyond describing the spread of SC to answering a broader question: what motivates a GCC country to adopt such policy innovation? After a quantitative overview of the phenomenon, three cases have been selected to cover three main policy areas: energy, health care, and education, in Abu Dhabi Masdar City, Dubai Healthcare City, and Qatar Education City. A preliminary analysis of each of the cases is followed by a comparative approach that aims at discovering similarities and differences, as well as developing the basis for a preliminary analytical model that explains the driving factors behind these innovations. The country adoption of a policy innovation and its diffusion are mainly the results of geographical proximity and similarity, as these proximate countries tend to have similar economic aspects and common social problems that lead to similar policy action effects. Regional competition and positive reputational mechanisms are also particularly strong determinants for diffusion. The findings suggest that in the GCC region a diffusion of the phenomena is occurring, rather than that of a specific type of SC.     

Determination of the Fineness of Medieval Coins—Evaluation of Methods in a Case Study of a Medieval Pfennig

The original fineness of coins is very important information that can help us to understand the commercial situation in a wide historical context. This paper deals with a comparison of analytical methods suitable for the evaluation of the actual and original fineness of coins based on a detailed case study of a medieval coin sample. Both non‐destructive (i.e., scanning electron microscopy/energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, X‐ray fluorescence, atomic force microscopy and hydrostatic weighing) and destructive (i.e., inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry and the Volhard titration method) techniques were used. The original fineness can be also deduced from knowledge of the internal structure of the coin (limited miscibility of copper and silver). A new analytical method based on a combination of a micrograph of the metallographic cross‐section with consequent image analysis was developed for determination of the original fineness. The proposed approach is relatively simple and provides reliable values. Sample heterogeneity and its impact on the determination of fineness are also discussed.     

A Case of Identity: The Artefacts of the 1770 Kamay (Botany Bay) Encounter*

Collections of Indigenous artefacts made during the voyages of Captain James Cook have been extensively researched, but significant issues around the provenance and identification of artefacts remain complex and unresolved. This article considers the case of a shield in the British Museum, said for fifty years to have been appropriated by Cook at the time of first contacts with Gweagal in April 1770, and other artefacts associated with the same encounters.     

Lex: A Study on Medieval Terminology for Religion

Medieval Christian authors frequently employed the Latin word lex (“law”) and its vernacular cognates to mean something akin to the modern notion of “religion.” Like a religion, a lex was the collection of observances that marked a particular people‐group, such as Christians or Muslims. This article examines the category of lex in its historical context revealing both its similarities and differences from modern “religion.” It argues that the category of lex borrowed on Roman ethnography and Patristic exegesis and was inseparable from larger Christian ideas about society, human nature, and political order.     

Comparative Craniometry of a Young Eurasian Beaver (Castor fiber L.) from the Medieval Novgorod the Great (Russia): A Case Study

The aim of this study was to investigate the unique find from medieval Novgorod the Great—an almost complete skull of a young Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber L.). Comparisons of the craniometry of this skull with the skulls of the autochthonous and reintroduced populations of beavers from the same and adjacent regions suggest that a type of large beaver once inhabited the Volkhov basin. Further studies are necessary to accept or reject this hypothesis. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A New Application of the Bioarchaeology of Care Approach: A Case Study from the Metal Period,the Philippines

A case of disability in the Metal Period of the Philippines, likely requiring healthcare from others, is presented to explore aspects of group dynamics in this period of antiquity. B243, a middle‐aged man excavated from the Napa site in the central Philippines, suffered severe trauma to the right leg resulting in considerable restrictions to mobility and self‐maintenance of survival‐related behaviours such as food provision and hygiene. It is likely that B243 required assistance from others to survive for some period of time prior to eventual death. The bioarchaeology of care method was applied to assess the types of healthcare that B243 likely required and to consider potential social and biological impacts to both B243 and his community. Provision of healthcare practice in this case suggests that B243's community had access to health‐related resources, knowledge on the treatment of his injuries and underlying values in the group for sustaining human life in the case of injury and disability. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Neutron Activation Analysis of Metal Artefacts from the Moche Site,North Coast of Peru

Neutron activation analysis has been used to characterize 60 metal objects from the Moche site, of which four are associated with the Chimú Period, two with the Early Chimú Period and the others with various Moche IV contexts. Different types of utilitarian and non‐utilitarian objects were analysed to identify the metals present, and to investigate their chemical composition and their eventual source. The results clearly indicate the distinction between Chimú and Moche artefacts and confirm the generalized opinion that arsenic bronze was popular after ad 900. They also indicate that gilding copper objects with gold was already a common practice during the Moche era.     

A New Artefact Typology for the Study of Medieval Arrowheads

ARCHAEOLOGICALLY recovered arrowheads from the British Isles. dated to between the roth and 16th centuries are examined. Hie exisiting arrowhead typology in the London Museum Medieval Catalogue is assessed and a new typology consisting of 28 generic forms, and subdivided into functional groups, is suggested.     

中国民间故事起源研究反思——以天鹅处女型故事为个案

一天鹅处女型故事是指以男子通过窃取仙女羽衣而得妻为核心母题的故事,在我国又称作“毛衣女”、“羽衣仙女”、“孔雀公主”故事。天鹅处女型故事在我国历史悠久,流传广泛,仅笔者搜集的情况来看,在汉族、藏族、瑶族、苗族等33个民族中均有流传,异文多达280篇。天鹅处女型故事的源流问题一度成为中国民间故事研究中的热点问题。钟敬文、汪玢玲、刘守华、君岛久子等民间故事研究专家均对此做过深入研究,相关论文近二十篇。大体说来,关于中国天鹅处女型故事的起源讨论,有本土说、外来说、回流说和多元说四种看法。     

A Comparative Compositional Study of 7th- to 11th-Century Copper-Alloy Pins from Sedgeford,England, and Domburg,the Netherlands

EARLY MEDIEVAL PINS are found in large quantities on both sides of the North Sea and the English Channel, and as a result are one of the few artefact types that can facilitate the exploration of cross-cultural contacts in terms of style, material and manufacture. This paper presents the results of the analyses of two contemporary groups of copper-alloy pins dating from the 7th to the 11th centuries using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. One group of pins considered here was recovered from an excavated Anglo-Saxon settlement at Sedgeford (Norfolk), while the other derives from a coastal settlement at Domburg (Zeeland, the Netherlands). We argue here, on the basis of our results, that while pin production may have been focused around major mercantile, royal or ecclesiastical centres, it was also localised in terms of materials and production methods, suggesting potentially different trajectories in each region for the development and control of specialist production.     

A Polluting Concept of Culture: Native Artefacts Contaminated with Toxic Preservatives

This research examines the practical and theoretical fallout of the toxic methods used by museum conservators to preserve native artefacts and regalia. These conservation practices, dating to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, were undertaken before the age of museum professionalisation and within a larger context of cultural assimilation. Many of these chemical preservatives produce the same harmful effects in humans as they do in the organisms they were designed to eradicate. As these contaminated artefacts are repatriated, members of native communities who attempt to reintegrate them into ceremonial and daily practice are put at significant health risk. Not only do these pollutants undermine the stated goals of repatriation but they also stand as a literal instance of the way in which a hegemonic and interpreting culture has metaphorically contaminated the culture it has purported to preserve and display.     

Shifting Constellations of Actors and Their Influence on Policy Diffusion: A Study of the Diffusion of Drug Courts

The existing studies of policy diffusion have paid insufficient attention to how policy actors in the macroenvironment of local jurisdictions influence the process of policy diffusion, what kind of mechanisms drive the interdependent spread of a policy, and how the diffusion process changes over time. We explore, both theoretically and empirically, the role different go‐betweens can play in policy diffusion, what kind of interactions take place between the micro level and macro level, and how shifts in the constellations of actors in the macroenvironment of a local jurisdiction can influence the mechanisms and rate of policy diffusion. Our empirical study of the diffusion of drug courts in four U.S. states demonstrates that there can indeed be significant interactions between the micro level and the macro level and that these interactions are likely to shape the diffusion process.     

A Provenance Study of Early Bronze Age Artefacts Found in Asturias (Spain) by Means of Metal Impurities and Lead,Copper and Antimony Isotopic Compositions

We describe here the first combined isotopic and impurities study on 27 copper artefacts found in the north‐west of Spain. This study follows previous studies on the lead isotopic composition of copper ores in three local mines that were exploited during the Bronze Age. The levels of impurities found were clearly different from ingots and axes, with ingots having much higher levels of impurities. It was not possible to differentiate the origin of the artefacts only by the impurities present. On the other hand, the lead isotopic composition indicated that all artefacts were prepared from local ores, the ‘La Profunda’ mine being the most probable source for most artefacts that carried out a clear radiogenic lead signature. The copper isotopic composition seemed to be able to differentiate artefacts from the ‘El Aramo’ mine from those from the ‘El Milagro’ and ‘La Profunda’ mines. On the other hand, the antimony isotopic signature was not useful for source allocation.     

中世纪英国城市化水平研究

城市化发端和发展于前工业社会,工业社会只是大大加速了这一历史进程。城市化水平是国际公认和切实可行的前工业时期城市化的测量指标,但如何进行测定又决定于研究者对城市定义的看法。以往的研究者认为中世纪英国是一个低城市化水平的社会,而晚近的研究证明这种认识是不正确的。根据现在对城市化水平的衡量标准,中世纪英国不是城市化的“低水平状态”,很可能从13世纪晚期到14世纪早期起进入了城市化的“一般发展状态”,并在人口锐减的条件下基本保持下来,为工业革命后攀登“中等发展状态”这个城市化的第三个台阶奠定了非常重要的历史基础。     

A Possible Case of Hydrocephalus in a Medieval Child from Doonbought Fort,Co. Antrim,Northern Ireland

Hydrocephalus is a condition that is rarely found in the palaeopathological record. It has been demonstrated in a modern study of untreated cases of hydrocephalus that 50 per cent of children suffering from the disease die within the first 18 months of life. It is probable that the situation was the same in archaeological populations and that the delicate nature of neonatal and infant crania accounts for the paucity of palaeopathological evidence. As far as the author is aware there are approximately 30 possible cases of hydrocephalus known in the archaeological record throughout the world and only two of these cases originated in the British Isles. The following report presents evidence of a case of possible hydrocephalus in a 6–7-year-old juvenile from Northern Ireland. The skeleton was recovered from a post-thirteenth century context during excavations at the secular medieval fort of Doonbought, Co. Antrim. The diagnosis of hydrocephalus has been made on the basis of the abnormal and enlarged morphology and increased cranial capacity of the cranium. The only other palaeopathological lesion present in the remains was cribra orbitalia.