Ancestral memories and early medieval landscapes: the case of Sierra de Ávila (Spain)

This paper focuses on early medieval funerary practices from a landscape perspective in central Iberia. Rock‐dug graves constitute the most conspicuous remains in this region, but their informative potential has not yet been realized. The preliminary outcomes of an ongoing research project are presented here. This aims to contextualize such funerary cases by examining a mid‐altitude mountain study‐area. Through the use of intensive archaeological surveying and geographic information systems, the paper characterizes two basic funerary types: isolated graves and rural disordered cemeteries, which responded to two social strategies led by local households. By recalling ancestorship, they constituted effective mnemonic resources, contributing to claiming rights and forging identities among these dispersed and predominantly small‐scale herding communities.     

Thermoluminescence Dating of Surface Lithic Artefacts from the Chacabuco Valley,Chilean Patagonia

This work presents several thermoluminescence (TL) dates of six archaeological sites located in the Andean valley of the Chacabuco River, central Patagonia. We discuss the advantages of this method to assess the chronology of human occupations, employing samples of lithic artefacts with evidence of fire exposure from surface contexts in the area. We compare the results with stratigraphic archaeological dating by ¹⁴C. We discuss these results in the context of previously formulated hypotheses on the past behaviour of the human population in this area.     

Fossil marsupial predators of South America (Marsupialia,Borhyaenoidea): bite mechanics and palaeobiological implications

Borhyaenoids were marsupial predators that inhabited South America during the Cenozoic. They were very significant because no other mammals rivaled them as terrestrial hunters of large prey. Here we estimate the bite force of three species of borhyaenoids by two different methods to infer predatory behaviour in extinct taxa. One of the methods uses mainly the skull and only some simple measurements of the mandible; the other uses several measurements within the dentary. The results show that bite forces are very high in comparison to predators of the order Carnivora, a feature manifest by several other living and extinct marsupial predators. Differences in size, bite mechanics and special adaptations among the borhyaenoids suggest a very wide range of predatory behaviours that rival those represented in the extant families of the Order Carnivora.     

Sonorous Specters: On Some Recent Histories and Economies of Afro-Latin Jazz

This essay examines the shifts and recalibrations in the Latin Americanist musical production at stake in the relation between Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, institutions sharing an abiding commitment to the past but differing in how they conceive and enact time, space, and place. I identify a set of figures consistently and constantly invoked by contemporary actors to create symbolic and material economies grounded less in a tradition than in the differing relations that the living held with their specters, past, present, and future.     

Geologic constraints on rain-fed Qocha reservoir agricultural infrastructure,northern lake Titicaca Basin,Peru

This paper reports new data on qocha ponds from the Rio Pucara–Azángaro interfluvial zone, northern Lake Titicaca Basin, Peru. Qocha are a little known form of Andean agriculture that developed around 800–500 B.C. and remain in use today. Prior estimates suggested that in the study area, there were more than 25,000 qocha. While most Andean sunken beds are excavated to reach groundwater, qocha are rain-fed ponds. How these rain-fed ponds functioned has been an open question, but one that is answered in part by research presented in this paper. We suggest that a thick impermeable stratum of clay that was possibly deposited by paleolake “Minchin” created a perched water table that makes rain-fed qocha reservoir agriculture possible. Field geology shows that within the study area, this stratum only exists under Terrace E. Based on this model, we hypothesized that persistently used qocha should only be found on Terrace E. To test this hypothesis we used remotely sensed data to inventory qocha and to determine their distribution by each terrace present. We identified 11,737 qocha. By area 93.77% and by count 94.33% of the qocha are located on Terrace E. These results strongly supported our hypothesis. This case study illustrates that the long term viability of this form of agriculture is made possible by a physical context that is beyond human control.     

War stories: British and American writers in/on the Italian front (1915–18)

In 1919 the British historian G. M. Trevelyan complained about the ‘not very large stock of English literature on Italy’s part in the war’ that had just ended, a phenomenon he attributed to ‘the mutual ignorance of the English-speaking and Italian peoples’. Nearly a hundred years later the situation seems to be no better. Secondary sources as there are devote only passing mention (if any) to the war stories that were put together by British and American writers who visited, served or worked as volunteers in the Italian front between 1915 and 1918. This article intends to give some details about the Italian front writing of these committed individuals, whose praiseworthy contribution to the war effort was, indeed, fighting the above-mentioned ignorance.     

Built environment and tourism as road safety determinants in Benidorm (Spain)

The rise in the number of urban road accidents is a challenge shared by all European cities, which seek to improve mobility while reducing transport problems. In recent years, urban road accidents in Spain have been constantly increasing and now account for a larger share of the total number of road accidents. This paper aims to analyse the impact of urban factors on road accidents. For this purpose, a small-scale analysis of land use and road infrastructure has been conducted in the town of Benidorm, one of the main tourist destinations in Spain. In addition, a regression analysis has been carried out using a Negative Binomial distribution. The results show that factors such as the level of mixed land uses, population density and road infrastructure are related to urban road accidents. The findings also reveal that tourism environments have a positive impact on pedestrian road safety. Small-scale analyses, particularly those related to exclusively-oriented environments, such as tourism developments, should be studied in detail in order to promote safety, liveability and sustainability in our cities.