Developing baseline data to understand environmental change: a geochemical study of archaeological otoliths from the Coorong,South Australia

Otoliths are calcium carbonate structures found in the inner ear of teleost fish. While they are routinely studied by marine scientists, analyses of otoliths recovered from archaeological sites in Australia and the Pacific have generally been restricted to identification of species and sometimes the fish age. Otoliths can also provide information on the season of catch, and, through trace element analysis, allow the reconstruction of environmental conditions experienced by fish. In this study, we use otoliths from mid- to late Holocene aged archaeological shell middens at the Coorong (South Australia) to examine species present, season of catch, age of fish and environmental conditions experienced by fish. Results demonstrate that the majority of the fish (identified as Argyrosomus japonicus and Acanthopagrus butcheri) were caught in freshwater environments during the warm season, and had grown to an age and size indicative of their having reached sexual maturity. This study provides data indicating fluctuating levels of salinity in the estuary, which are significantly lower than the hypersaline conditions experienced today. Ultimately, this project highlights the usefulness of conducting more detailed investigations of otoliths, including geochemical analyses, to address a wide range of research questions in archaeology and palaeoenvironmental research.     

The estimation of live fish size from archaeological cranial bones of the New Zealand blue cod Parapercis colias

Twenty-four measurements were taken on five of the paired cranial bones and the otoliths of a modern sample of 177 blue cod. Parapercis colias. Regression analysis was performed on these measurements to estimate live fork length and ungutted weight. A number of regression models were examined (linear, logarithmic, exponential and power curve) to work out the optimum estimator for each bone measurement. It was found that live fork length of this species can be estimated with a standard error of less than ±28 mm, and the weight to less than ±140 g. Coefficients are provided for 48 equations linking bone size to live characteristics. This is followed by a study of blue cod from an archaeological site at Waihora in the Chatham Islands. Measurements were made on 8036 archaeological bones with a minimum number of individuals of 2547. It was found that the blue cod catch had near normal characteristics, with a mean fork length of 327 mm and SD of 57 mm. The mean body weight was estimated at 569 g. The usable meat weight represented by these fish is estimated to be 1.0 t. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Ethics of Gender and Globalization: Military Madness and Ecological Stress

Abstract

Globalization has an impact on gender relations in complex and contradictory ways. The consequences are neither solely detrimental nor the same everywhere. Globalization may offer new opportunities to women, but overall globalization from above has exacerbated gender inequality. Globalization disperses local and national decision-making powers. Flexible labor laws weaken worker protections and job security. All of these threaten advancement in women's interests. The oft-accompanying environmental degradation directly affects women responsible for domestic necessities and caring labor, which is the situation of most women within the Pacific Rim. Military activities around the Pacific Rim continually erode women's rights. This paper discusses the ethics of globalization, adopting micro, macro and global categories.     

Seasonality of human site occupation based on stable oxygen isotope ratios of cod otoliths

Oxygen isotope ratios (δ¹⁸O) were measured in micromilled samples of cod otoliths recovered from two Stone Age sites, one from Skoklefald, southeastern Norway and five from Skipshelleren, southwestern Norway. Discrete samples of otolith material were milled from the edge of the otolith towards the centre, each sample representing 3–4 weeks of growth. The δ¹⁸O values showed seasonal signals, covering a period 1–2 years prior to the time of capture. Isotope ratios at the edge of the otoliths, which is the material deposited at the time of fish capture, corresponded to the coldest seasonal water temperatures, in late winter or early spring. These data provide independent evidence for the season of use of the Skoklefald and Skipshelleren sites.     

MARKETING VANCOUVER'S SERVICES TO THE ASIA PACIFIC

Over the last two decades the metropolitan Vancouver economy has evolved from its traditional role as a provincial higher-order service centre to a place in a network of increasingly interdependent cities of the Pacific Rim. Exports of producer services from the metropolitan region to destinations in the Asia Pacific are supported by a number of government initiatives and are expanding. Results of a survey undertaken by the authors of 251 producer service firms are reported. The findings focus on the extent and destination of producer service exports to the Asia Pacific and the marketing approaches adopted to further these economic ties. Implications of the findings for public-sector policy are considered.
Au cows des deux dernières décennies, L'économie du Vancouver métropolitain a évolué de son rôle traditionnel de centre provincial pour services sophistiqués à une position dans un réseau marqué par une interdépendance croissante des villes du 'Pacific Rim.' Dans la région métropolitaine, les services à la production sont de plus en plus exporté vers I'Asie orientale et les efforts à cet égard sont appuyés par un bon nombre d'initiatives gouvernementales. Les résultats d'un sondage entrepris par ies deux auteurs sur 251 entreprises de services à la production sont rapportés. Les constatations se concentrent sur l'éendue et la destination des exportations des services à la production, et aussi sur les approches de marketing adoptées pour renforcer ces liaisons économiques. Deplus, les implications de ces constafations sur la politique du secteur public sont considérés.     

Alteration of Otolith Aragonite: Effects of Prehistoric Cooking Methods on Otolith Chemistry

Geochemical analyses of fish otoliths from archaeological sites are a valuable source of paleoclimate data. A common assumption in such research is that the otolith chemistry is unaltered from the time of capture until excavation. Although post-depositional diagenesis will vary between sites according to local burial conditions, the effects of common pre-depositional treatment such as cooking or trash disposal can be evaluated experimentally. Six Atlantic croaker (Micropogonius undulatus) and six gafftopsail catfish (Bagre marinus) were treated using five different methods to simulate cooking and trash disposal. The left sagittal otolith was removed as an experimental control prior to cooking or burning each fish. After cooking or burning, the remaining otolith was removed and each otolith pair was tested to measure changes in crystallography, carbon and oxygen isotope content, and elemental chemistry. Recrystallization and changes in isotope chemistry only occurred in burned otoliths. In contrast, elemental composition was altered during each treatment method. These experiments validate the use of carbon and oxygen isotope analyses of unburned otoliths in paleoclimate research, but suggest caution in the interpretation of elemental data.     

Detecting the medieval cod trade: a new method and first results

This paper explores the potential of stable isotope analysis to identify the approximate region of catch of cod by analysing bones from medieval settlements in northern and western Europe. It measures the δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values of cod bone collagen from medieval control samples collected from sites around Arctic Norway, the North Sea, the Kattegat and the Baltic Sea. These data were considered likely to differ by region due to, for example, variation in the length of the food chain, water temperature and salinity. We find that geographical structuring is indeed evident, making it possible to identify bones from cod caught in distant waters. These results provide a new methodology for studying the growth of long-range trade in dried cod and the related expansion of fishing effort—important aspects of the development of commercialisation in medieval Europe. As a first test of the method, we analyse three collections of cod bones tentatively interpreted as imported dried fish based on a priori zooarchaeological criteria. The results tentatively suggest that cod were being transported or traded over very long distances since the end of the first millennium AD.     

Estimating meagre (Argyrosomus regius) size from otoliths and vertebrae

This study presents a method for predicting meagre (Argyrosomus regius) body size (total length) from otoliths and vertebrae recovered from archaeological sites. The method involves regression equations calculated from a reference collection of 36 meagre skeletons and 113 meagre otoliths (sagitta) and allows the simultaneous estimation of original body size and minimum number of individuals (MNI) from archaeological bone structures. We selected the following measurements to predict meagre body size: greatest dorso-ventral height, greatest mediolateral breadth, and greatest anteroposterior length of the vertebrae centra; maximum anteroposterior length, medial anteroposterior length, and dorso-ventral height of the sagitta. Our results show that the original body size of meagre can be accurately predicted from many bone measurements (r² range: 0.921–0.992). We exemplify the use of the regressions in the assessment of size variation and MNI of meagre from four Portuguese Mesolithic sites. We show that regression results provide additional insight into the significant role that this fish played in the subsistence of coastal fisher-hunter-gatherers, who targeted medium-sized animals but were also capable of acquiring rather larger specimens.     

Species specific marine radiocarbon reservoir effect: a comparison of ΔR values between Patella vulgata (limpet) shell carbonate and Gadus morhua (Atlantic cod) bone collagen

A number of recent studies of the UK coastal environment have assessed the ¹⁴C marine radiocarbon reservoir effect (MRE) via quantification of ΔR values for several periods throughout the Holocene using marine mollusc shells. However, none have employed fish bone as the marine sample, and the importance of being able to use this material as a reliable dating tool is evident when considering the boom in the British fish trade during the first millennium AD, the so-called ‘fish event horizon’, and the corresponding volume of fish remains that appear in the archaeological record from this time. This study compares ΔR values derived using the multiple paired sample approach employing burnt cereal grain (Hordeum sp.) as the terrestrial sample and either fish bone [North Sea cod (Gadus morhua)] or marine shell [limpet (Patella vulgata)] as the marine sample. The results show a general trend of increasing ΔR for the fish bone compared to shell, however, the differences are not statistically significant when the standard error for predicted values is used as the measure of variability in the ΔR values.     

Reconstructing age distribution,season of capture and growth rate of fish from archaeological sites based on otoliths and vertebrae

The growth increments of otoliths and vertebrae of plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) derived from a 15th century single depositional event at Raversijde (Belgium) are analysed with the aim of reconstructing (a) the age distribution of the population, (b) the season of capture, and (c) the growth rate. Otoliths and vertebrae give slightly different age distributions but it is possible to arrive at similar seasonality estimations in both structures when information from the literature and our own data from monthly captures of plaice from the North Sea are taken into account. These modern data show that the timing of annulus formation in otoliths and vertebrae is more or less similar. Back‐calculations on vertebrae and otoliths yield similar growth curves. The age distribution, the edge condition of both vertebrae and otoliths, and the growth rate obtained on the material from Raversijde all show that the plaice from the studied assemblage were captured during spring in the southern part of the North Sea. Vertebrae are commonly preserved in archaeological sites whereas otoliths rarely survive. Although they are more difficult to read than otoliths, vertebrae of plaice can be used for growth increment analyses, and the growth rates obtained from vertebrae from archaeological sites can, therefore, be compared in the future to growth data from modern otoliths studied in sea fisheries research. Archaeozoological material predating industrialized fishing since the 19th century can hence serve as a reference in the study of the compensatory response of commercially important species to heavy exploitation. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Ecology of Command: U.S. Pacific Command and the Environment of the Pacific Rim

Abstract

Environmental ethicists speak fervently about the impact of human activity on the sustainability and survivability of Earth's community. But often these discussions fail to acknowledge one human activity more powerful and with the potential for greater destruction than any other— the United States military and its "empire of bases" encircling the globe. Military operations, both peacetime missions and contingency operations, and military installations stamp a large footprint on the earth's environment. From the atmospheric nuclear tests in the Bikini Atoll to the removal of the coral reef at Diego Garcia, the environment of the Pacific Rim has been shaped by the demands of U.S. national security. This paper examines the environmental footprint of U.S. Pacific Command. Secondly, it suggests that the exigencies of U.S. military presence need to be included in discussions of environmental ethics.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed: James Bennett , Rats and Revolutionaries: The Labour Movement in Australia and New Zealand 1890–1940. Otago University Press, 2004. 176 pp Raymond B Craib, Cartographic Mexico: A History of State Fixations and Fugitive Landscapes. Durham: Duke University Press, 2004. 300 + xviii pp. $22.95 pbk, $79.95 hbk Katharyne Mitchell , Crossing the Neoliberal Line: Pacific Rim Migration and the Metropolis. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2004. 280 pp     

New Zealand and Chile: partnership for the Pacific century?

The research note investigates the growing economic and political interaction between two important Pacific Rim players, Chile and New Zealand, and analyses the rationale for the Closer Economic Partnership that is currently under discussion. Having analysed the data on trade between the countries it suggests that a mixture of strategic and symbolic geopolitical/geo‐economic factors are driving the agreement rather than the desire to increase bilateral commodity exchange. As it is presently constructed, the agreement is likely to bestow disproportionate benefits on specific corporate actors in certain sectors. A research agenda for monitoring the broader impacts of the agreement is offered.     

MULTICULTURALISM,OR THE UNITED COLORS OF CAPITALISM?

In this paper I examine the political manipulation of the meanings of “race” and nation in the context of increasing Pacific Rim ties and multinational capitalist development in Vancouver. As many wealthy Hong Kong Chinese move to Vancouver in advance of 1997, racist incidents and urban social movements aimed at preserving neighborhood “character” have increased, thus discouraging international business activity and blocking capital flow into and through the city. As racism and localism hinder the social networks necessary for the integration of global capitalisms, businesspeople and politicians interested in increasing Vancouver's integration have sought to counter these processes through ideological production. The liberal doctrine of multiculturalism has become linked with the attempt to smooth racial friction and reduce resistance to the recent changes in the urban environment and experiences of everyday life in Vancouver. In this sense, the attempt to shape multiculturalism can be seen as an attempt to gain hegemonic control over concepts of race and nation in order to further expedite Vancouver's integration into the international networks of global capitalism.     

Seasonality only works in certain parts of the year: the reconstruction of fishing seasons through otolith analysis

Seasonality estimations using incremental data usually suffer from small sample sizes and from the lack of comparison with sufficiently large modern samples. The present contribution reports on incremental studies carried out on large assemblages of plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) and haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) from a late medieval fishing village (Raversijde, Belgium) on the North Sea coast. In an attempt to refine previous seasonality estimates made for this site, and to expand conclusions concerning general methodology, extensive monthly samples of modern otoliths of these species, caught within the North Sea, have also been investigated. The modern material shows that the timing of the seasonal changes in the edge type (hyaline or opaque) of the otoliths is extremely variable and that it is dependent on the fishing ground, the year considered, and the age of the fish. It also appears that the increase of the marginal increment thickness is highly variable, to such an extent that the thickness of the last increment of a single otolith is mostly useless for seasonality estimation. Where large archaeological otolith assemblages can be studied, preferably from single depositional events, seasonality determination becomes possible on the condition, however, that the archaeological assemblage corresponds to fish that were captured during their period of fast growth. The growth ring study on the otoliths from Raversijde shows that plaice fishing took place in spring and that it was preceded by a haddock fishing season, probably in late winter/early spring. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Paradigmatic City: Postindustrial Illusion and the Los Angeles School

In the 1980s a group of geographers known informally as the Los Angeles School proclaimed Los Angeles as the paradigmatic metropolis of the late-twentieth century. The postmodern/flexible specialization model Los Angeles School adherents developed to explain Los Angeles and validate its paradigmatic status is critiqued theoretically and empirically. The unfortunate timing of their claims of Los Angeles' suzerainty over the Pacific Rim is discussed, and the development and status of its propulsive industrial sectors, such as armaments, aerospace, entertainment, finance, and real estate, are examined. The armaments industry receives special attention because of its critical role in postwar Los Angeles' growth and subsequent decline and because the Los Angeles School devoted considerable research and even praise to this particular type of government "warfare" spending as a key constituent of the area's technopole. The entertainment industry is not sufficient to extract Los Angeles from its continuing crisis. At the moment, Los Angeles lacks any credible plan for overcoming the contemporary malaise. The difficulties in the Los Angeles School's analysis are held to stem from their theoretical synthesis of postmodernism and flexible specialization, a natural but unfortunate Ptolemaic perspective expressed in the belief that one's particular locale is paradigmatic and a lack of recognition of the malignant aspects of defense-spurred economic development.     

关于建立国内馆藏文物防震应急管理体系的探讨

我国地处环太平洋地震带和欧亚地震带间,因地震导致的馆藏文物损毁现象时有发生。近年来,我国馆藏文物防震技术研究取得了不少成果,并在部分博物馆成功进行了一体化防震示范应用。但总体而言,馆藏文物防震风险预防和应急管理水平仍相对滞后,部分博物馆存在防震措施不合理、日常管理匮乏、应急能力不足等现象,亟待健全馆藏文物防震应急管理体系,其中应急预案的编制尤为重要。通过建立完善的应急管理体系,博物馆能够全面提高防震意识和应急处置能力,合理利用各类防震措施降低潜在风险,更好地保护馆藏文物。     

Reviews

P.J. Rimmer (ed.)Pacific Rim Development: Integration and Globalisation in the Asia-Pacific Economy I.H. Burnley, P.A. Murphy and R.H. Fagan Immigration and Australian Cities A. Deville and R. Harding Applying the Precautionary Principle B. O'Neil, J. Raftery and K. Round (eds) Playford's South Australia Essays on the History of South Australia, 1933–1968 G. Seddon Landprints: Reflections on Place and Landscape E.K. Webb Windows on Meteorology: Australian Perspective     

Trade and inequality: Australia's textile, clothing, and footwear industries, 1986-1996

Beginning in the mid 1980s, the Australian government cut protectionof the Australian textile, clothing, and footwear sector, whilethe global TCF industry was embracing a new form of organization,the commodity chain. Some Australian TCF producers were forcedout of business, but others followed a variety of strategies,thereby restructuring the TCF labour force. In a process structuredby age, gender, and ethnicity, skilled and semi-skilled productionjobs have been lost, partially replaced by jobs in design, marketing,and management. Factory jobs in Australia have been replacedby outwork in Australia and factory jobs in the Pacific Rim.These restructurings have contributed to increased occupationalinequality within theTCF sector.     

Starch analysis reveals prehistoric plant translocations and shell tool use,Marquesas Islands,Polynesia

Starch analysis is proving particularly useful in tropical regions like the central Pacific where crop inventories are often dominated by starchy fruits and tubers and recovery of macrobotanical remains is rare. Analysis of 23 shell tools from the Marquesas Islands provides direct evidence for translocation of five traditional crop plants. Four taxa derive from the western Pacific, including Artocarpus altilis (breadfruit), Piper methysticum (kava), Colocasia esculenta (taro), and one or more species of Dioscorea (yam). The fifth taxon, the South American Ipomoea batatas (sweet potato), dates from the 14th century AD onward and constitutes the earliest record of this cultigen in the archipelago. The occurrence of sweet potato starch suggests that this crop plant may have been more important than usually is assumed, while the limited recovery of breadfruit starch, the main Marquesan food plant at western contact, requires further investigation. The starch residues also inform on tool use, demonstrating that shell tools ethnographically associated with specific crops (e.g., “breadfruit peelers”) had more generalised functions. This study is a further demonstration of the potential of starch analysis to provide important information on the history of crop introductions, on-site activities, and artefact use.