Calculable territory and the West German census boycott movements of the 1980s

This paper argues that recent signs of a hesitant convergence between discourses on sovereignty and territory and discourses on power/knowledge point to ways in which both discourse of power are linked to calculable territory. Both sovereignty and power/knowledge are based upon intervention, and intervention in turn presupposes these two general forms of power. But intervention is also inherently territorial. The historical context for these claims is set through a brief account of the general sciences of order emerging in the early modern period. The theoretical argument is then given a platform by means of a heuristic model of calculable territory, which, while incomplete and partly counter-factual, provides an overarching framework for understanding a range of recent studies of spatial power relations as contributions to a collective genealogy of calculable territory. An important recent change in the genealogy of calculable territory was brought on by the widespread adoption of electronic information and communications technologies in state institutions and other large organizations over the past quarter century. Both the continued relevance of calculable territory and recent changes in its composition and significance for power relations are illustrated by chronicling one important early set of controversies in the emergence of the ‘information age’: the mass boycott movements in West Germany in 1983 and 1987 aimed at blocking the federal census in that country. These boycotts clearly show the links between sovereignty, power/knowledge, intervention and calculable territory.     

北斗星是古人心目中的历书和钟表

年、月、日、时,是人类生活、生产,生存最重要的时间概念。五、六千年以前科学推算的历法和钟表还没有产生以前,我国先民依靠对日月星辰运行规律的观测来确定年月日时等时间概念。北斗七星则是一部摆在天空的历书和时钟。凭着对北斗柄指向变化的观测,人们便可以精确得知春夏秋冬四季及其月、日和一日的具体时间。     

Mangkunegoro VII and Rabindranath Tagore: A brief meeting of like minds

From youth Mangkunegoro VII (1885–1944) fought to preserve the Javanese language and its literature. Later in life, and particularly after he became ruler, he strove to give a prominent place to Javanese art and culture. Through education and politics he sought to prevent the Javanese language from becoming second to Malay. Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) played a similar role for the Bengali culture and language. In both cases the requisite for playing a role on the world stage was the actors' awareness of their respective cultures.     

Seeing into hearts and minds: Part 2. ‘Big data’, algorithms,and computational counterinsurgency

In this second of his two‐part article, the author analyzes the rise of ‘predictive policing’ and its Pentagon connections, reviews two programmes, and poses these in the context of scientists' concerns over artificial intelligence and long‐term human survival.     

Identification of urate crystals in gouty individuals

In paleopathology cases of gout have traditionally been identified using the character of erosive bony lesions, but in clinical medicine identification of monosodium urate crystals in joint fluid plays a central role in diagnosis. Work undertaken on three skeletal individuals who had been buried, demonstrates that crystals can be identified using polarising microscopy. The crystals were identified as monosodium urate. Results from this study appear to demonstrate that identification of monosodium urate crystals could be used to assist in the diagnosis of gout in paleopathology. Further work is required to establish the full range of spatial and temporal contexts from which such crystals might be found.     

Votes and markets: Designing policies to increase the influence of individuals

The design of public policies is usually carried out from the perspective of policymakers. This paper views policy design from the perspective of ordinary individuals, seeking to identify ways in which policy design may increase the capacity of citizens to influence the provision of welfare services of significance to their everyday lives. The first section demonstrates that the phrase ‘welfare state’ is a constricting misnomer; welfare in society is the sum of activities in the household, the market and the state. Secondly, the paper considers characteristic consequences of the allocation of welfare by the state, the market and the household. On this basis, the third section reviews the implications for individual influence on public policies of policy designs that are intended to provide more popular participation; bring the state further in; and the use of market alternatives.     

Tuberculosis among Iron Age individuals from Tyva,South Siberia: palaeopathological and biomolecular findings

The study focuses on the evidence for tuberculosis apparent in an Iron Age population recovered from the cemetery of Aymyrlyg, Tyva (Tuva), South Siberia. A recent wholly molecular study of five of the cases confirmed the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) complex DNA in four of the individuals. In all cases the disease was caused by strains of Mycobacterium bovis rather than Mycobacterium tuberculosis and represents the first positive identification of the bovine form of the disease in archaeological human remains. Details of the palaeopathological characteristics of the cases are provided in the current paper, while the molecular observations are extended to include a quantitative evaluation of the surviving mycobacterial DNA using real-time PCR. The observation that bovine tuberculosis was the pathogen responsible is discussed in terms of current understanding of the evolution of the MTB complex as well as the implications for future ancient DNA studies in this area.     

Characterization of faunal assemblages and the minimum number of individuals determined from paired elements: Continuing problem in archaeology

A number of problems associated with the calculation and use of indices for the minimum number of individuals are discussed. Special attention is directed to two of the methods currently in use based on the counting of paired skeletal elements. These methods are described, their ranges of variation determined, and the results of application of each to the same hypothetical faunal sample are described and compared. It is urged that caution be exercised in the application of any of these methods and that the imposition of standardized methods be delayed until a more adequate understanding of the behaviour of even the currently existing measures is available.     

Early history of Chinese domestic sheep indicated by ancient DNA analysis of Bronze Age individuals

China has a long history of sheep husbandry, and has several indigenous sheep breeds. However, the exact geographic origin of Chinese domestic sheep remains unclear. To provide valuable genetic information for origin of Chinese domestic sheep, we performed an ancient DNA study on 22 sheep excavated from four Bronze Age archaeological sites in Northern China. Two lineages (A and B) were observed in ancient Chinese sheep, of which lineage A was predominant reaching a frequency of 95.5%. Furthermore, phylogenetic network showed that the most frequent haplotype in ancient sheep was the founder of lineage A. These results suggest that Lineage A may hold the key to understanding the origin of Chinese domestic sheep. Sequence sharing and principal component analysis showed that the ancient Chinese sheep had a close affinity to modern Chinese sheep. However, there was no significant breed structure among three modern Chinese sheep groups, making it difficult to determine their relationship to ancient Chinese sheep. Lastly, our results imply that ancient DNA analysis could provide a new way to investigate prehistoric East-West contact.     

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of bone collagen: Variations within individuals,between sexes,and within populations raised on monotonous diets

The stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of collagen of seven bones from each of three rabbits raised on a monotonous diet, and of two bones from each of eight female and seven male mink raised on another monotonous diet, were determined. The ranges of δ¹³C values and δ¹⁵N values were 0·5‰ and 0·6‰ for the rabbit bones and 1·0‰ and 1·4‰ for the mink bones. Uncertainties in the δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values for prehistoric human diets estimated from the isotopic composition of collagen from the small numbers of bones which are typically available for analysis, and thus likely to be of the order of ±1‰.     

Dietary differences in individuals buried in a multiethnic neighborhood in Teotihuacan: stable dental isotopes from Teopancazco

This study examines the diet consumed by the population at the neighborhood center of Teopancazco, Teotihuacan, in the basin of Mexico. We used stable isotope analysis of δ13C and δ15N of the dentine collagen as well as the δ13C from enamel bioapatite from teeth (M2 and M3) of 39 of excavated burials. The results show that the diet consumed by the majority of the population during childhood and adolescence had high 13C enriched values in both dietary components: δ13C enamel_bioapatite = ?2.0 ‰ ± 1.5 for the whole diet and δ13C dentine_collagen = ? 9.4 ‰ ± 2.1 for the protein component. According to the bi-variable and multivariable models, some individuals consumed higher amounts of C4/CAM resources than those specified in cluster #2 (70 % C4 diet; ≥50 % C4/CAM protein). An inter-tissue adjustment of 2.3 ‰ was used to relate the enamel bioapatite data to the bone bioapatite of the models. Average δ15Ndentine_collagen was 10.2 ‰ ± 2.8 with high variability especially for four individuals, three of which belong to special burials, suggesting different access to meat or marine products due to their social or migration status and/or to pathological conditions. The data suggest that maize was the staple crop of the population not only at Teopancazco but for Teotihuacan as a whole, in the form of tortillas, tamales, atole, and protein from maize-fed animals with the inclusion of other CAM, C4, and C3 resources probably from the bountiful ecosystem of the basin of Mexico or from the wide trade system that Teotihuacan had with Mesoamerica.     

Critical review of the MNI (minimum number of individuals) as a zooarchaeological unit of quantification

The use of minimum number of individuals (MNI) in the analysis of mammal archaeofaunal assemblages has received intense criticism for its derived nature and its dependence of biasing variables. Some authors have argued that similar taxonomic variability as documented by MNI can be achieved with other less biased measuring units, such as number of identified specimens (NISP) and derivates thereof. The present study is the first experimentally controlled test that shows the degree of bias of estimates of MNI and NISP by different analysts. It shows that the margins of error of both measuring units are independent and that MNI can be more accurately estimated than NISP, despite its “derived” inferential nature.     

Stable isotope analysis of 14 individuals from the Mesolithic cemetery of Vasilyevka II,Dnieper Rapids region,Ukraine

Bone collagen extracted from 14 humans from the Mesolithic cemetery of Vasilyevka II was analysed for their δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N ratios. This cemetery is one of only two later Mesolithic cemeteries from the Dnieper Rapids region, being dated to 7300–6220 cal BC on the basis of three radiocarbon determinations. This analysis provides insights into the nature of the diet of the Dnieper populations at the very end of the Mesolithic period, prior to the adoption of pottery in the region, and the assumed shift towards the exploitation of domesticates in the economies of the populations of the Dnieper region, and considers these in relation to broader temporal indicators of diet in the region.     

Seeing into hearts and minds: Part 1. The Pentagon's quest for a ‘social radar’ (Respond to this article at https://www.therai.org.uk/publications/anthropology-today/debate)

In this two‐part article, explored are the many funded programmes by which security agencies and private companies mine ‘big data’ and attempt to measure the sociocultural and psychological states of whole populations. How is failure or success measured? What kinds of new institutions/practices might these give rise to? Part 1 ‘The Pentagon's quest for a “social radar”’, published in this issue, comes to terms with today's many sociocultural modelling and forecasting efforts, looks in detail at one company in particular, and ends up reviewing the role of anthropologists in their development and critique. Part 2 ‘“Big data”, algorithms, and computational counterinsurgency’, to be published in a future issue, will analyze the rise of ‘predictive policing’ and its Pentagon connections, reviews two programmes, and poses these in the context of scientists' concerns over artificial intelligence and long‐term human survival.     

我和我的兄弟姐妹

1938年．我出生在金沙江畔一个叫巴塘的小县城里。生在哪一天．至今不知道．因此．六十多年过去了．我从来也没有过过生日。