Remote Sensing and Archaeological Prospection in Apulia,Italy

Abstract

When deployed in combination with ground control, archaeological surface survey, and environmental research, remote sensing based upon high-resolution multispectral satellite imagery allows large areas to be evaluated efficiently by a small team of researchers and contributes to a better understanding of an archaeological landscape. In 2007 and 2008, we analyzed ca. 100 sq km of imagery centered on L'Amastuola, Italy. Combining the evaluation of high-resolution multispectral imagery with concurrent ground control led to the discovery of 29 sites and significant off-site scatters during about four weeks of fieldwork. Our analysis indicates that most of the detected features reflect geological conditions amenable to past human habitation rather than subsurface archaeological remains. Earlier fieldwork by the Murge Tableland Survey (MTS) provided independent definitions for various types of sites and a large sample of sites and off-site scatters in the study area. Comparison of our remote-sensing guided efforts with the results of that survey suggests that our success rate is too high to be explained by random association and also illuminates the strengths and weaknesses of the respective methods, underscoring the need to integrate satellite image analysis with ground control and surface survey.     

Cultural Niche Construction and Remote Sensing of Ancient Anthropogenic Environmental Change in the North Coast of Peru

Archaeological land use results in the modification of natural environments according to cultural templates and strategies. Deeply entrenched environmental legacies can result from such “niche construction,” influencing subsequent cultures and continuing to resonate in modern ecological function. These changes can be better understood through archaeological remote sensing.Here, I describe spectral responses of densely vegetated sugarcane fields in the Chicama Valley (north coast of Peru) to archaeological features and associated anthropogenic soils (anthrosols). Ongoing satellite remote sensing documents approximately 440 previously unrecorded major archaeological monuments and smaller features within a 310 km² sample of the Chicama Valley The majority of these date to the Moche–Chimu periods (ca. AD 300–1400), with others dating to the Cupisnique–Colonial periods. The newly recorded features are significant for accurately reconstructing the socio-ecological history of anthropogenic environmental change in the region.In addition to advancing analyses of archaeological settlement, these results reveal how prehispanic land use legacies result in persistent anthropogenic niches that can affect modern agricultural potentials. The relationships between anthropogenic features and sugarcane development can be directly evaluated through vegetation indices and physically based image transforms. Phenological response is linked to long-term alterations in soil texture, organic-matter content, and moisture capacity. Past land use thus has a significant impact upon contemporary ecological function, resulting in anthropogenic microenvironments. As sugarcane increasingly is an important industrial crop, these results have the potential to be widely applied to archaeological and agronomic problems, including reconstructions of archaeological landscapes, understanding persistent anthropogenic environments, and mitigating heritage loss while potentially improving precision agriculture.     

An Experimental Act: Formations of Wildness and Indigeneity in Far North Queensland

In this article, I focus upon the recent Wild Rivers Act controversy in Queensland, Australia, as an ‘experimental event’ that drew together a diverse cast of actors – including Indigenous traditional owners, state politicians, bureaucrats, environmentalists, mining companies, the late Steve Irwin, and waterways – to contest the future of a region historically (over)coded as ‘wild’. In attending to these actors, and the discourses and arguments mobilised, I argue that this controversy reveals emergent trends in the imaginaries of wildness and indigeneity surrounding indigenous lands and waters in contemporary settler colonial nations. Critical insight into such issues, I show, requires reconceptualising the static ‘matters of being’ through which indigenous territory is often captured – such as tradition and development – as contingent and contested ‘matters of becoming’. It is precisely in events such as the Act controversy that the contemporary politics of indigenous territory, and its contingent and contested foundations, becomes visible.     

Islands,extraction and violence: Mining and the politics of scale in Island Melanesia

Set against the backdrop of past, contemporary and possible future mining-related violence on islands in the western Pacific, this article explores how scholarship on the politics of scale, as well as strands of the burgeoning island studies literature, might sharpen our understanding of the political economic and violent effects of extractive resource enclaves in Island Melanesia. Drawing upon field research in Bougainville and Solomon Islands, I argue that just as Melanesian islands were produced as a scale of struggle in the context of the introduction of capitalist social relations under colonialism, so too have they emerged as a critical, albeit problematic, scale of struggle in contemporary contestations around extractive resource capitalism under the current round of globalisation and accumulation by dispossession. I suggest that this politics of scale lens enriches our understanding of how “islandness” can be an important variable in social and political economic processes. When the politics of scale is imbricated with the well-established idea of the island as the paradigmatic setting for territorialising projects, including the nation-state and sub-national jurisdictions, islandness emerges as a potentially powerful variable in the political economic struggles that attend extractive resource enclaves. I also highlight, in the cases considered here, how islands can become containers for internal socio-spatial contradictions that can be animated by extractive enclaves and can contribute to the island scale becoming violent and “ungovernable”. The article advances recent efforts to bring the island studies literature into closer conversation with political and economic geography.     

In Defense of "Geopolitical Remote Sensing": Reply to Moisio and Harle

The author of a recently published paper on Finland's identity politics and national identity (Antonsich, 2005) responds to comments presented in the preceding paper in this issue of Eurasian Geography and Economics (Moisio and Harle, 2006). The rejoinder focuses on the nature of place knowledge acquired "in place" versus "at distance" as well as on more specific differences in perspective (e.g., use of sources, terminology, critical geopolitcs). Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: O52, Z13, 14 references.     

Heritage,Tourism and Museums: the case of the North Atlantic islands of Skye,Scotland and Prince Edward Island,Canada

Heritage tourism, and the products and experiences related to it, represent a growing attraction in international tourism and the museum is a potential partner in the development of heritage activities for tourists. This paper explores the relationship between tourism and museums and analyses their roles in relation to heritage. It recognises that the shared characteristics of tourism and museums provide a basis for the two to work together in the development of heritage tourism. This exploration is illustrated by the comparison of case studies of legislated museum provision and their relation to tourism on two North Atlantic islands. In conclusion, the paper argues that while in some cases museums may be seen as somewhat reluctant partners in the process of heritage tourism they are in fact constrained by traditional roles and responsibilities and influenced by both differing jurisdictional contexts and views as to their functions.     

Preservation of Earthen Sites in Remote Areas: the Buddhist Monastery of Ajina Tepa,Tajikistan

Abstract

The Buddhist monastery of Ajina Tepa is one of the most significant in Central Asia as it was fully excavated using up-to-date archaeological methods and was extensively documented. The site is a sophisticated blend of earthen architectural forms, sculptural detail and wall painting decoration, all of which are unique in the area. The site is located in south Tajikistan along the Vahsh valley, about 13 km east from the modern city of Kurgan Tybe.

The aim of the paper is to give an overview of the UNESCO/Japan Trust Fund project 'Preservation of the Buddhist Monastery of Ajina Tepa, Tajikistan (Heritage of the Ancient Silk Roads)'. The paper describes the historical background, the main conservation threats, the analytical work in the selection of repair material, the preparatory work before conservation, the documentation activities, and the conservation work carried out at the site.     

Prehistoric hand stencils at Fern Cave, North Queensland (Australia): environmental and chronological implications of Raman spectroscopy and FT-IR imaging results

Raman spectroscopy and FT-IR imaging analyses of cave wall pigment samples from north Queensland (Australia) indicate that some hand stencils were undertaken during a dry environmental phase indicating late Holocene age. Other, earlier painting episodes also took place during dry environmental periods of the terminal Pleistocene and/or early Holocene. These results represent a rare opportunity to attain chronological information for rock art in conditions where insufficient carbon is present for radiocarbon dating.     

Cost,price, and revenue differentials in electricity supply: Queensland and Australia

Queenslanders consume relatively less but pay more for electricity than most Australians, a penalty surprising in a State with the nation's largest sources of energy. An explanation lies in the industry's relative youth and dynamic performance, strong post-war capitalisation, inherent monopoly organisation and the issue of product differentiation expressed in peak/off-peak pricing. Such matters pose particular problems in the Queensland market which is numerically small and areally dispersed. Examination of production and distribution economics reveals that Queensland fuel is presently not cheap and that some of the penalty derives from the strong capitalisation which the system is undergoing. Further pressures lie in the lack of scale economies and in financial policies of supply authorities such as spatial price equalisation. Many factors bear on future prices and predictions are difficult. Nevertheless Queensland's energy advantages should ensure that unless major change transforms the economic environment the price of electricity relative to that in other States falls during the next two decades.     

论1938-1949年华北抗日根据地,解放区的农贷

１９３８－１９４９年,华北抗日根据地、解放区的政府、银行非常重视农贷工作,为此颁布了许多办法和条令;农贷的组织系统,是以银行为中心,党、政、民、合作社相互配合的贷放网络;以贫苦农民为主要农贷对象,以扶助生产为主要农贷用途,是农贷的基本原则之一,并基本上得到了贯彻和实施;低利率是农贷工作的另一重要方针,大部分年度的名义货币利率是很低的,如与贷币发行、物价波动因素联系起来考察,则多为亏本利率;回收农贷     

Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems: A Compendium edited by WILLIAM J. RIPPLE, American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Bethesda, MD

Trans-boundary Air Quality Relations by John E. Carroll, Canadian-American Public Policy Borderlands Reflections: The United States and Canada by LAUREEN MCKINSEY and VICTOR KONRAD, Borderlands Monograph Series Canada as a Borderlands Society by ROGER GIBBINS, Borderlands Monograph Series, no. 2 North American Cultures: Values and Institutions in Canada and the United States by SEYMOUR MARTIN LIPSET, Borderlands Monograph Series The Border as Fiction by CLARK BLAISE Borderlines and Borderlands in English Canada: The Written Line by RUSSELL BROWN, Borderlands Monograph Series, Lost Harvests: Prairie Indian Reserve Farmers and Government Policy by SARAH CARTER, McGill-Queen's University Press The Land That Became Israel: Studies in Historical Geography edited by RUTH KARK, The Magnes Press, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, and Yale University Press Geographic Information Systems: An Introduction by JEFFREY STAR and JOHN ESTES, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs Geographic Information Systems for Urban and Regional Planning edited by HENK J. SCHOLTEN and JOHN C.H. STILLWELL, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht Geographic information Systems: Developments and Applications edited by LES WORRALL, Belhaven Press, London Geographic Information Systems and Cartographic Modeling by C. DANA TOMLIN, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs Analytical and Computer Cartography by KEITH C. CLARKE, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs ISPRS Commission II/VII international Workshop Proceeding: Advances in Spatial Information Extraction and Analysis for Remote Sensing edited by MANFRED EHLERS, American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Bethesda Protecting Natural Resources with Remote Sensing: Proceedings of the Third Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications Conference edited by JERRY D. GREER Global Natural Resource Monitoring and Assessments: Preparing for the 21st Century-Proceedings of the International Conference and Workshop Représentations et aménagement du territoire Par H. GAMUCHIAN, Paris, Economica Remaking Human Geography edited by AUDREY KOBAYASHI and S. MACKENZIE, Unwin Hyman, Boston The Retail Environment by Ken Jones and Jim Simmons, Routledge, London A Country So Interesting: The Hudson's Bay Company and Two Centuries of Mapping, 1670–1870 by RICHARD I. RUGGLES, McGill-Queen's University Press     

The Herbert River,Queensland, Tropical Australia: Community Perception and River Management

There is a widespread perception amongst the community of Ingham and surrounding areas that the Herbert River in tropical Queensland has aggraded since the time of European settlement. Yet this perception is not supported by such evidence as historical accounts of the river and river trade, changes at the Ingham gauging station since 1940 and comparison of channel cross-sections surveyed since 1968. No reason has been identified for this divergence, but experience elsewhere teaches us that ignoring local perception is likely to result in an incomplete understanding of environmental issues. Unless the challenge of reconciling popular perception and deductive interpretation of the evidence is met, the potential for conflict will remain. Community proposals for strategies will struggle for support from the ‘rationalists’ and the community will oppose ‘rational’ strategies if they are not seen to be addressing the ‘real’ problems.     

Reef,Range and Red Dust: Behind the Atlas of Queensland

Reef, range and red dust are the ‘three Rs’ which sum up the geography of Queensland. The recently-completed state atlas, a joint venture of the Premier's and Lands Departments, was charged with capturing the physical and human aspects of this vast area. This paper recounts the background, decisions, controversies and some technicalities inherent in its production. No human hands, save those of graphic artists, touched the paper of the atlas: it was completely computer drawn and composed. Over 80 external authors were involved. The project took four and a half years and follows a series of other Australian state atlases. In a departure from their tradition, it adopts a ‘popular’ format using techniques more commonly associated with business magazines.     

Texts and Contexts in the Globalizing Academic Marketplace: Comments on the Debate on Geopolitical Remote Sensing

A prominent political geographer adds to the exchange of views presented in the two preceding papers in this issue of Eurasian Geography and Economics (Antonsich, 2006; Moisio and Harle, 2006). His comments extend beyond the debate on geopolitical remote sensing (a term originated by the author) to the need to more fully contextualize concepts and practices in human geographic research and to examine more closely the role played by internationalizing (and English language-dominated) publishing markets in the review and publication of papers that increasingly cross the borders of linguistic contexts. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: O52, Z13.     

Monitoring the Environmental Risks Around Medinet Habu and Ramesseum Temple at West Luxor,Egypt, Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques

Today, the preservation of cultural heritage is a pressing issue especially for territories subjected to a long period of human action that could adversely influence environment and heritage properties, thus producing a deterioration of archaeological features and alteration of historical landscape. In this paper, the environmental risks and their effects on preservation issues are investigated for the archaeological area of the Luxor city (south of Egypt) where the most famous Temples in Egypt are located. A comprehensive analysis has been conducted for the Ramesseum and Medinet Habu temples considering their building material and characteristics, environmental (geological and hydrological) setting, and past and ongoing changes around the monument areas. Satellite multitemporal images have been used to detect all the changes mainly linked to the expansion of urban and agriculture areas. Results from the analysis conducted along with in situ investigations have suggested that many of the environmental problems around the archaeological areas are coming as a result of urban and agriculture sprawling. Both of them strongly influence the distribution in the levels of groundwater which along with temperature are considered as the main causes of the deterioration process affecting the Medinet Habu and Ramesseum temple. The degree of weathering damage appears to be much more dependent on exposure characteristics of the investigation areas, especially as related to salt weathering processes. Innovative solutions to support the preservation of these temples are herein presented and discussed.     

Split parties finish last: Preferences,pluralities and the 1957 Queensland election

The 1957 election is a watershed in Queensland politics. Coming after the Labor split, the election saw the end of over 40 years of almost uninterrupted Labor rule in Queensland. Often overlooked in discussions of this key period is that the 1957 election was conducted under plurality rule, or as it is more commonly known, ‘first‐past‐the‐post’. Had the 1957 election been held under preferential voting, preferences would have been distributed in 46 of the 71 contested seats. Through simulations of distributions of hypothetical second preferences I assess the effects of the Labor split on the fates of the respective parties. Contrary to some interpretations of the 1957 election I find that plurality rule saved Labor from even greater electoral losses than those they would have sustained under preferential voting. Single‐member constituency electoral systems deal harsh punishment to small parties, or, as in 1957, split parties: a point well known by astute political leaders. Preferential voting may have given Labor leaders even more powerful incentives to heal the split of 1957, and perhaps even avoid it in the first place.     

Crannogs and Island Duns: Classification, Dating and Function

A recent paper, Islets through Time (OJA 17, 2, 227--44) , by Jon Henderson highlighted the fact that the majority of dated crannogs were occupied in the later prehistoric or early historic period, and offered a new classification of artificial islets. This paper addresses consequential issues of definition and classification and urges that artificial islets, whether classed hitherto as crannogs or island duns, should be seen as complementary elements within a spectrum of settlement types, in particular for the Early Iron Age and the early historic periods. Comparison shows that studies of crannogs and their land-based counterparts have faced similar problems of interpretation and that typological compartmentalization has acted to the detriment of a proper understanding of both.     

Teachers All: Samoan, Fijian, and Queensland Melanesian Missionaries in Papua, 1884–1914

Pacific Islands mission teachers were powerful agents of culture change in Oceania, and the Christianity they taught is part of the ideological and constitutional under-pinnings of several independent Pacific Island states. Their fullest impact was felt in the period between the 1880s and 1914, when vast distances were being crossed and diverse populations reached by evangelists from half a dozen Pacific nationalities. Below the common religious motivations professed by the Islands teachers there were sharp contrasts in expectations and behaviour. This paper compares the Samoan, Fijian, and Queensland Melanesian missionaries in Papua, a colony where Islanders were concentrated in larger numbers than elsewhere. The Samoans are given the greater balance of analysis in the paper, because the 187 male Samoans outnumbered both the Fijians (110 males) and Queensland Melanesians (46), and because the Samoans' expectations diverged more sharply from those of their Euro-pean colleagues than was the case with their Fijian and Queensland Melanesian contemporaries.