Discovering the invisible Puerto Rican slave family: demographic evidence from the eighteenth century

Traditional notions that family life among slaves during the pre-plantation period in the non-Hispanic Caribbean was necessarily unstable are fading in light of new research. Although marriage among this segment of the population in Caguas, Cayey, San Germán, and Yauco--rural parishes in Puerto Rico--involved only a fraction of the overall number of marriages in these communities, the marriage of slaves was much more frequent than previously assumed. Family life among the eighteenth-century Puerto Rican slave population appears to have been quite stable, as shown by the reconstruction of birth intervals for both married and unmarried mothers. Married and unmarried mothers exhibited similar reproductive behavior. These results strongly suggest that a majority of the unmarried slave mothers lived in unions that were not institutionally recognized, but that were nevertheless stable, as indicated by the high percentage of their children born at intervals comparable to those of married mothers. If unmarried mothers were living in stable consensual unions, then our understanding of these slave family units during the colonial period must be reassessed not only for Puerto Rico but possibly for the rest of the Caribbean and Latin America.     

Microfinance and poverty reduction: evidence from a village study in Bangladesh

To evaluate the competing claims on the impact of microfinance programs on multidimensional poverty, a village study in Bangladesh was conducted where three microfinance programs had been operating for more than five years. The study found that microfinance has resulted in a moderate reduction in the poverty of borrowers, as measured by a variety of socio-economic indicators, but has not reached many of the poorest in the village. To make microfinance a more effective means of poverty reduction other services such as skills training, technological support, education and health related strategies should be included with microfinance.     

Regional demographic trends in France: an examination at the level of the "zones d'emploi"

"The paper studies the regional demographic trends in France from 1968 to 1990.... The study follows two main objectives: (1) Analysis of the main regional migration and population trends over the three census periods from 1968 to 1990. (2) Analysis of the growth trends of different types of regions on the basis of typifying the ?zones d'emploi' (labour market regions) according to economic criteria and settlement structure criteria. The large-scale patterns of the population and migration trends seem to be relatively stable in comparison to the massive change in the general economic and political framework in France and Western Europe.... The different region types, however, show more distinct changes." (SUMMARY IN ENG AND FRE AND RUS)     

Sex, politics, and social change in the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries: evidence from the Swiss Alps

The eighteenth-century "sexual revolution" cannot simply be explained as a consequence of economic or institutional factors -- industrialization, agricultural revolution, secularization, or legal hindrances to marriages. The example of western Valais (Switzerland) shows that we have to deal with a complex configuration of factors. The micro-historical approach reveals that in the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century sexuality -- and above all illicit sexuality -- was a highly subversive force that was considerably linked to political innovation and probably more generally to historical change. Nonmarital sexuality was clearly tied to political dissent and to innovative ways of behavior, both among the social elites and the common people. This behavior patterns influenced crucial evolutions in the social, cultural, and economic history of the region.     

Metriorhynchid crocodylomorphs from the lower Kimmeridgian of Southern Germany: evidence for a new large-bodied geosaurin lineage in Europe

Abstract

Over the last two centuries, numerous exquisitely preserved thalattosuchian crocodylomorph skeletons have been found in the Jurassic strata of Southern Germany. While the majority of these specimens occur in Toarcian and upper Kimmeridgian–lower Tithonian deposits, thalattosuchian remains are otherwise rare in strata representing different stages of the Jurassic. Here, we describe skeletal elements from two large-bodied thalattosuchians attributable to the family Metriorhynchidae – these were recovered from lower Kimmeridgian sediments in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, respectively. These new metriorhynchid fossils are closely comparable in both stratigraphic age and dental morphology, and thus may be congeneric. Furthermore, our phylogenetic analysis suggests affinity with metriorhynchid remains from France, Switzerland, and the UK. We interpret these taxa as members of an as-yet unnamed geosaurine metriorhynchid lineage (herein termed the ‘E-clade’) from the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian of Europe, which appears to be related to species of Torvoneustes from England and Mexico, and Purranisaurus potens from Argentina, collectively contributing to ‘Subclade T’ of the tribe Geosaurini. Finally, the metriorhynchid material described herein suggests preservation as a ‘bloat and float’ carcass that underwent diagenetic dispersal within a limestone-marl-alternation deposited in an off-shore epicontinental marine environment.

Pascal Abel [pascal.abel@senckenberg.de], Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, Eberhard-Karls-University Tübingen, Sigwartstraße 10, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; Sven Sachs [sachs.pal@gmail.com], Naturkunde-Museum Bielefeld, Abteilung Geowissenschaften, Adenauerplatz 2, 33602 Bielefeld, Germany; Mark T. Young [marktyoung1984@gmail.com], School of GeoSciences, Grant Institute, University of Edinburgh, James Hutton Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3FE, UK.     

Some churches of the Anglo-Saxon missionaries in southern Germany: a review of the evidence

An historical introduction outlines the main events in the lives of the principal missionaries – Willibald, Wynnebald, Waldburga, Sola – during the central years of the eighth century, and argues that Willibald was consecrated bishop of Erfurt. A review of the topographical and archaeological evidence concentrates on Eichstätt, whose street pattern reveals the layout of the early town and monastery; new interpretations are suggested for unusual features uncovered by excavation at the cathedral/monastery site. The excavations at Solnhofen are similarly re-examined. Overall, no substantial evidence is found for Anglo-Saxon influence on the church archaeology of the area.     

The Early Mesolithic Haverbeck site,Northwest Germany: evidence for Preboreal settlement in the Western and Central European Plain

Archaeological sites dating from the Preboreal are of special interest since they mark the turning point in the transition between the cultures of the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene. In spite of their relevance only few sites in the Western and Central European Plain have become known, thus providing an inhomogeneous basis for further hypotheses. In particular, sites in the widespread aeolian landscapes have been neglected for a long time due to their uncertain genesis, dating problems and obviously insufficient preservation. Our investigations of the Haverbeck site, situated in sandy aeolian substrate, seek to enhance knowledge about the Preboreal Mesolithic. The well-preserved archaeological spatial, technological and functional patterns and the geoarchaeological site formation were studied. Sedimentological and palaeopedological analyses, supported by ¹⁴C and OSL dating results, revealed that artefacts were deposited during the Preboreal on sands which had accumulated during the Younger Dryas and were reactivated in subsequent periods (Atlantic, Subboreal, Subatlantic). In spite of these processes, the artefacts remained unimpaired in their relative horizontal positions, enabling spatial analyses, which show a zonal differentiation and a prevalence of retooling and replacing activities. These results offer an insight into spatial and functional differentiations of the local Early Mesolithic subsistence, evidently including particular places for gathering and processing raw material. A comparison between the microlithic spectrum left behind and the number of points produced as concluded from the microburins indicates a greater typological differentiation than previously assumed for the Early Mesolithic. The remarkable variability of scraper forms obviously intentionally abandoned in a high number and replaced by new tools emphasizes the strong influence of functional elements on the typological assemblage composition. It is suggested that Early Mesolithic assemblages could display rather functional requirements or tasks performed than significant chronological or regional influences.     

Early Neolithic diet and animal husbandry: stable isotope evidence from three Linearbandkeramik (LBK) sites in Central Germany

The first appearance of the Neolithic Linearbandkeramik (LBK) in Central Germany occurred during the 6th millennium BC. However, though LBK sites are abundant in the German loess areas, there are only a few studies that reconstruct the diet of these first farmers using biochemical methods. Here we present the largest study undertaken to date on LBK material using stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen to reconstruct human diet and animal husbandry strategies. We analyzed the bone collagen of 97 human individuals and 45 associated animals from the sites of Derenburg, Halberstadt and Karsdorf in the Middle Elbe–Saale region of Central Germany. Mean adult human values are ?19.9 ± 0.4‰ for δ¹³C and 8.7 ± 0.8‰ for δ¹⁵N. The δ¹³C values are typical for terrestrial, temperate European regions, whereas the δ¹⁵N values fall within an expected range for farming societies with a mixed diet consisting of products from domestic animals and plants. The consumption of unfermented dairy products is unlikely as there is direct palaeogenetic evidence of lactose intolerance available for one of the sites. There are no clear indications for dietary differences in sex. Young children under three years of age are enriched in δ¹⁵N due to breastfeeding indicating that weaning likely occurred around the age of three years. The fauna exhibit mean δ¹³C values of ?20.9 ± 0.8‰ and mean δ¹⁵N values of 7.0 ± 0.9‰ respectively. Variation in the δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N in the domestic animals is probably caused by different livestock managements.     

Perimortem mutilation of human remains in an early village in the American Southwest: A case for ethnic violence

Recent excavations at the Sacred Ridge Site, just south of the town of Durango, Colorado, have uncovered the single largest deposit (to date) of mutilated and processed human remains in the American Southwest. This deposit dates to the very late eighth or very early ninth century A.D. and therefore represents an incidence of large-scale violence and perimortem mutilation dating to the Pueblo I period (A.D. 700–900), when initial village formation occurred in the northern San Juan Region of the Southwest. Expectations for various interpretations for the Sacred Ridge assemblage are generated based on previous research and cross-cultural data on cannibalism, warfare, and human bone processing. Based on a lack of fit with previous models developed to account for extreme processing (EP) events, including starvation cannibalism, warfare and social intimidation, and witch-craft accusations, it is proposed that the Sacred Ridge massacre was the result of ethnic conflict during the Pueblo I period.     

Isotopic evidence for the reconstruction of diet and mobility during village formation in the Early Middle Ages: Las Gobas (Burgos,northern Spain)

Strontium, carbon, and nitrogen isotopes of human bone and tooth remains have been used to reconstruct residential mobility and diet of early medieval populations at Las Gobas from the sixth to eleventh centuries. Most non-local individuals correspond to the tenth to eleventh centuries and were mostly women and infants. This residential mobility coincided with the formation of Laño village and the abandonment of artificial cave settlement. Carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of bone collagen indicate an omnivorous homogenous diet based on terrestrial plant resources, with few animal-derived proteins from livestock. Millet consumption was restricted to an earlier period of time (seventh to ninth centuries); and in later periods (tenth to eleventh centuries), mainly C₃ plants such as wheat and barley were consumed. In general, there were no dietary differences between individuals according to sex or age. Sex-related dietary differences have only been observed in the tenth to eleventh centuries, when females consumed a more vegetarian diet and less animal protein. The higher δ ¹⁵N values in infants reflect the weaning effect, while the differences in δ ¹⁵N values between young adult men and young adult women can be explained as a physiological factor related to pregnancy or different origins. In a comparison with contemporaneous medieval populations in the northern Iberian Peninsula, both δ ¹³C and δ ¹⁵N values suggest similar foodstuff resources and diet among Christian and Muslim populations.     

Seismic evidence for fluid migration pathways from an overpressured system in the South China Sea

Overpressured systems and intense, anomalously hot fluid expulsion in the Yinggehai Basin of the South China Sea offer an opportunity to understand the history of fluid flow and the process of hydrocarbon accumulation in overpressured environments. Fluid migration pathways from overpressured compartments in the basin are largely controlled by the distribution of faults and fractures. Episodic opening of these faults are related to the dynamics of an overpressured system and tectonic movements during basin evolution. At the crests of diapiric structures, fluid expulsion is seismically imaged as chimney‐ or plume‐like features, low to middle seismic amplitudes, and intermittently chaotic and blank reflecting seismic facies. These fluid pathways are controlled by vertical faults, which commonly penetrate overpressured and overlying normally pressured zones. Fluid expulsion is also observed near the main faults, such as the No. 1 Fault at the north‐eastern margin of the basin. Investigation by sidescan sonar on onshore and offshore Hainan Island indicates that there are more than 100 gas seepages adjacent to the No. 1 Fault. Migration pathways in the diapiric structures are controlled by three types of fault and fracture. Penetrative faults formed by dextral strike‐slip movement of the Red River faults commonly occur in the centre of the diapirs, and may have been a triggering factor for the diapirism, and controlled their distribution. Hydrofractures occur in certain mud‐rich layers and may have been generated by hydraulic fracturing. Radial normal faults occur at the top of diapirs and were formed by the intrusive process. These fluid migration pathways played an important role in regional hydrocarbon accumulation.