A POWER TO INTRIGUE? EXPLORING THE ‘TIMELESS’ QUALITIES OF THE SO‐CALLED ‘GROTESQUE’ IRON AGE TORC FROM SNETTISHAM,NORFOLK

Sometimes we come across objects that truly intrigue us. Not necessarily because they are great examples of art, or because they are made of precious materials, but because there is some other quality which captures our attention. One of these can be age. Just as age adds character to people’s faces, the patina of an object or visible signs of damage and use instils an object with a certain ‘charisma’ or ‘aura’. This paper examines in detail the so‐called grotesque torc, a neck‐ring dating to the Iron Age which has been extensively repaired. The repairs are crude and obvious, which gives the object its distinctive appearance. It is argued that these signs of age, inscribed onto the artefact through its life, imbued the torc with a timeless ‘anachronic’ quality: its visible age manifests a certain charisma or aura, helping facilitate a plural relationship with time.     

‘Child sacrifice’ in Uganda? The BBC, ‘witch doctors’ and anthropologists (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)

This article discusses both several recent BBC broadcasts on allegations of ‘child sacrifice’ in Uganda and criticisms of the programmes by a number of British anthropologists. It pursues the idea that both the broadcasts and the criticisms raise two sets of crucial questions: the first is in regard to the interpretation of alleged ritual killings in contemporary Africa and the effects of their representation on lay audiences, both non‐African and African; the second concerns media representations of Africa and public anthropology. Anthropologists (and indeed scholars from other disciplines such as history) have a lot of expertise to offer in terms of understanding the occult in many societies, including contextualising this realm in terms of historical processes and material concerns and suggesting links between apparently disparate issues. In this way, they can they can sometimes go beyond surface manifestations, offer alternative explanations and show that things are not always the way they first seem. However, in order to play an effective public role in this regard, anthropologists need to be willing to grapple pro‐actively with such matters of public concern, not least by engaging constructively with the media.     

A long‐wave event. HIV/AIDS,politics, governance and ‘security’: sundering the intergenerational bond?

There is a disharmonious resonance between the lifecycle of the human immunodeficiency virus and that of its human host. In heavily affected countries, many people live long enough to reproduce and then die, leaving behind numerous orphans. This process has implications that we do not understand. While some foresee social disorder arising from legions of poorly socialized and unruly children grown to adulthood, the evidence is far from clear. These arguments and the evidence are reviewed in this article, particularly in relation to the links between premature death and electoral processes in southern Africa.     

THE ACEHÚCHE GOLD TORC: GOLD AND SACRED LAND ON THE SHORES OF THE TAGUS RIVER (CÁCERES,WESTERN SPAIN)

This article describes the important discovery of a Late Bronze Age gold torc that was unearthed in a field of Acehúche (Cáceres, Spain). It was buried underneath some rocks at a site near a river crossing over the Tagus river. In its immediate vicinity, archaeological remains dating from the Copper Age to the Late Bronze Age have been found, which indicates the long use of this crossing. Until recently here, there existed a ferry and a chapel; and the place went by the toponym of the Dehesa de San Cristóbal. Legend too has it that the water from the river had curative properties. All of these components have maintained the sacred nature of the spot, otherwise transformed over the course of time, and reflect an earlier sacred landscape with quite ancient roots.     

Is ‘child placement’ trafficking?: Questioning the validity of an accepted discourse (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)

Within the discursive‐institutional space occupied by organisations working on child protection, child trafficking is often assumed to represent a direct outgrowth of the socio‐cultural custom of ‘child placement’, whereby parents send their children to live (and work) within other households. In Benin, where research for this paper was conducted, the narrative of ‘placement corrupted’ has become so well established that the country's anti‐trafficking law is in fact a law regulating the movement (including placement) of minors, and has in practice resulted in a de facto criminalisation of the intra‐familial mobility that has long formed a normal component of child‐rearing and socialisation within the region. In this paper, I offer a brief overview of this situation, and attempt to question the validity of the discourse on which the anti‐placement law and its attendant policies are based. I will employ the Foucauldian techniques of discursive archaeology and genealogy to unravel the origins of the discourse, and will draw on my own and related empirical research to problematize its conclusions.     

The Khat ban in the UK: What about the ‘scientific’ evidence? (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)

Since the 1920s certain psychoactive substances have been controlled by specially created international agencies. More recently, governments have committed themselves to using evidence in policy‐making. Yet, as the ban on khat in the UK and other countries shows, the assessment process is a perfunctory rather than a decisive component. The Home Secretary set aside scientific advice and bases the decision to ban on considerations outside the health risk ratio, including crime control and counter‐terrorism. However, experience shows that prohibiting substances when demand remains strong is inherently criminogenic. Indeed, the khat ban would appear to play into the hands of radical Islamist organizations. In this article, Axel Klein discusses how political calculations overrule evidence and how this is facilitated by international drug control agencies. Using the term ‘social system’ to explain the relentless extension of bureaucratic remit, he argues that control would now appear inevitable for any substance defined as a drug, regardless of evidence and consequence. As this has implications for other culture‐bound peculiar substances or ‘genussmittel’ he suggests ditching the term ‘drug’ altogether.     

Comments on M. Kuhle and S. Kuhle (2012): ‘Hannibal Gone Astray? A Critical Comment on W. C. Mahaney et al., “The Traversette (Italia) Rockfall: Geomorphological Indicator of the Hannibalic Invasion Route” (Archaeometry, 52, 1 [2010] 156–72)’

The title of Kuhle and Kuhle's (2012) (hereafter K&K 2012) paper in Archaeometry appears to be mostly a tirade against the Traversette Route of Hannibal's Army, as originally favoured by Sir Gavin de Beer—a man possessed of singular scientific experience and near‐singular interest in Carthaginian history—in the mid‐part of the last century. The mere fact that Mahaney et al. (2010a,c) added to de Beer's corpus of evidence that Hannibal followed the southern route appears to have brought K&K (2012) to lodge not only a protest, but one of accusatory tone, stating that Mahaney et al. (2010c) had erroneously misinterpreted historical texts to prove the Col de la Traversette as the Punic Army col of passage into Italia. Aside from the fact that the tone of these allegations rises to a curious level, it is the intention of this discussion to put facts where they belong, rooted in what is known of the Hannibalic Invasion and what is inferred by the prevailing scientific evidence. It is important to note that there is not one preferred route as stated by K&K (2012), but three in fact (see Fig. 1 (a) in Mahaney et al. 2010c), and all have been discussed by a legion of historians (see, e.g., Freshfield 1886, 1899; de Beer 1969; Proctor 1971; Prevas 1998; Mahaney 2008).     

Saving nature or performing sovereignty? Ecuador's initiative to ‘keep oil in the ground’ (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)

The Yasuní‐ITT proposal by the government of Ecuador to “keep the oil in the ground” in the untouched, highly biodiverse Ishpingo‐Tambococha‐Tiputini sector of Yasuni National Park in exchange for compensatory 3.6 billion dollars from the international community, has been interpreted and analyzed by academics and the media alike as a radical environmental intervention. In this article I argue that the ITT initiative it less of a radical environmental plan, and more of a performative articulation of post‐IMF nationalism. I problematize the notion that the ITT initiative heralds a shift to a radical new environmental paradigm, and argue that it should be understood primarily as a critique of Ecuador's experience with foreign debt and neoliberal restructuring.     

A ‘clash of civilizations’ on Mafia Island? The story of a dance festival (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)

This paper considers what happened when it was proposed to hold a large trance‐dance festival, formerly held in Greece, on Mafia Island, one of the poorest and most remote districts of Tanzania. While festival organizers sought to portray Mafia as an exotic, unspoiled and unchanged place, a majority of local people opposed the festival for a number of reasons, the chief one being that the arrival of several thousand young Westerners for an event of this kind would threaten their customs and traditions. Following a lengthy and complex decision‐making process involving actors both on and off the island, official permission to hold the festival was eventually refused, just a month before it was due to start and after many tickets had already been sold.     

THE COMPOSITION AND MANUFACTURE OF EARLY MEDIEVAL COLOURED WINDOW GLASS FROM SION (VALAIS,SWITZERLAND)—A ROMAN GLASS‐MAKING TRADITION OR INNOVATIVE CRAFTSMANSHIP?*

Archaeological excavations between 1984 and 2001 at the early Christian cemetery church in Sion, Sous‐le‐Scex (Rhône Valley, Switzerland), brought to light more than 400 pieces of coloured window glass dating from the fifth or sixth centuries ad . The aims of this paper are threefold: first, to characterize the shape, colour and chemical composition of the glass; secondly, to understand whether the production of the coloured window panes followed traditional Roman glazing techniques or was of a more innovative nature; and, thirdly, to provide some indications as to the overall design of these early ornamental glass windows. Forty samples of coloured glass have been analysed by wavelength‐dispersive X‐ray fluorescence. The results of the chemical and the technological studies showed that most of the glass was produced using recycled glass, particularly as a colouring agent. Some of the glass was made of essentially unmodified glass of the Levantine I type. The results taken together seem to confirm that raw glass from this region was widely traded and used between the fourth and seventh centuries ad . The artisans at Sion were apparently still making use of the highly developed techniques of Roman glass production. The colour spectrum, manufacture and design of the windows, however, suggest that they represent early examples of ornamental coloured glass windows.     

Combination of Primrose Lake (54°N, 110°W) ROCOB winds (20–60 km) and Saskatoon (52°N, 107°W) M.F. radar winds (60–110 km): 1978–1983

Comparisons are made between data from the unique Saskatoon medium frequency radar set, which is continuous from mid 1978–1983 and the ROCOB data from Primrose Lake, which is only 340 km northwest of Saskatoon. Until 1981 there were 2–3 firings per week and now there are 4–5 per month. While the final agreement is satisfactory, special care was required when matching the two regions: particular problems are the low rocket sampling rate and the unexpectedly large amplitude of the diurnal tide. Combination of the two data sets is made.The Canadian zonal winds are quite similar to CIRA 72, especially in the summer months, however, the winter winds show much more systematic variability due to 12- and 6-month periods of oscillation and stratwarms. Canadian meridional winds differ significantly from existing data models.