Beeswax remnants,phase and major element chemical composition of the bronze age mould from Gaj Oławski (SW Poland)

The recently found metal casting mould from Gaj O?awski (SW Poland) was designed for the production of socketed axes typical for later stages of the Bronze Age in Poland (ca. 1100–900 bc). This unique artefact is a half of a durable, two-piece wedge-shaped mould and measures 17.5?×?7.2?×?4.0 cm. The surface of the mould is covered copper oxides and carbonates, and the remnant of beeswax was found on its inner surface. The metal forming mould consists of cored dendrites of Cu-dominated (Cu >96.5 wt%, up to 2.2 wt% Sn) and Cu impoverished (Cu ~86.0 wt%, Sn ~9.4 wt%, some Sb, As and Ag) end compositions and volumetrically subordinate α?+?δ eutectoid. The “as cast” structure of the metal shows that the mould was never used for molten metal casting. Since this kind of moulds was used for mass casting of metal, the Gaj O?awski one was probably never used, and the beeswax is the remain of its coating. This is the first remain of the Bronze Age beeswax described in metallurgical context in Europe.     

A spotted hyaena den in the Middle Palaeolithic of Grotta Paglicci (Gargano promontory,Apulia, Southern Italy)

The Palaeolithic sequence of Grotta Paglicci (Gargano promontory, Apulia, Southern Italy) is one of the most important in the Mediterranean area: It comprises the whole Upper Palaeolithic cultural sequence known for the region, as well as Early Middle Palaeolithic and Lower Palaeolithic levels. These earlier phases are best represented in a collapsed room located outside the present-day cave (the so called “external rock shelter”). In this area, a new excavation, started in 2004, brought to light Middle Palaeolithic animal remains associated with evidence of spotted hyaena (SU 64 and 53). The spatial distribution analysis of remains from SU 53 revealed the presence of a bone accumulation area and a wider dispersal of hyaena coprolites. Three main ungulate species (aurochs, fallow deer and red deer) as well as carnivores (spotted hyaena, wolf, fox, wild cat and lynx) and lagomorphs have been identified. The majority of aurochs remains are located in the main accumulation; among these specimens, a complete metatarsal connected with three tarsal bones has been found; a talus and a complete tibia, probably belonging to the same limb, have also been identified. The multidisciplinary study carried out in this paper highlights a specific bone accumulation and scattering pattern in a spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) den. In addition, taphonomy of lagomorph remains indicates the presence of other depositional agents.     

Finding the Past in the Landscape: <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sambaqui</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Kaizuka</Emphasis> Amid Appropriation and Construction of Identities (Brazil and Japan)

In a comparative analysis, it is possible to discuss how sambaqui and kaizuka appear as objects of scientific investigation and also as part of the social imaginary and the cultural landscape. Archaeology, in its trajectory as a scientific field, is influenced or even directed by the different moments of construction of a national identity and discourse. While in Brazil there is a clear cut between the past and the building of a nation, situating sambaqui in the realm of the other, in Japan, the continuum from a past beyond records encompasses and situate the kaizuka within the social imaginary as part of the national narrative.     

Towards a history of the geometric foundations of mathematics

Many XIX^th century «geometers»—such as Bernhard Riemann, Hermann von Helmholtz, Felix Klein, Riccardo De Paolis, Mario Pieri, Henri Poincaré, Federigo Enriques, and others—played an important role in the discussion about the foundations of mathematics. But in contrast to Euclid's ideas, they did not simply identify “physical space» with the «space of the senses». On the basis of our experience in space, they intended to determine the main properties of space and put them at the very foundation of geometry. The axioms of geometry were hence based on active knowledge of space and were not aa priori, as in the case according to kantian philosophy. Moreover, in the last decade of the century some Italian mathematicians—De Paolis, Gino Fano, Pieri, and others—founded the concept of number itself on geometry, by using results of projective geometry. Arithmetic, was then founded on geometry and not reversely, as David Hilbert tried—without success—to do some years later.     

Une vie de cellule

The «cellular theory», elaborated during the 19^th century by researchers such as Lorenz Oken, Matthias Schleiden, Theodor Schwann and Rudolf Virchov, greatly modified the conception of life that Man had had up to then, since it asserted that the cell is the basic organic unit of all living beings and that every living being stems from a cell. Indeed, the study of the unicellular paramecium shows that a cell must be considered as a complete living form insofar as it illustrates by feeding, growing, defending and reproducing the general fate of all living creatures. Its living-space, generated by its movements, is relative to its needs and therefore to its behaviour.     

Stand der Internationalisierung von kleineren Unternehmen aus den Ziel-2-Gebieten Nordrhein- Westfalens

Das Projekt "Europa-Fit" unterstützt kleinere Unternehmen aus den Ziel-2-Gebieten in Nordrhein-Westfalen bei der Erschließung neuer Absatz-, Beschaffungs- und Kooperationsmöglichkeiten innerhalb der Europäischen Union. Durch Beratung, Qualifizierung und Coaching werden ausgewählte Kleinbetriebe auf ihrem Weg in den EU-Binnenmarkt individuell begleitet. Zur Bedarfsermittlung und Auswahl geeigneter Betriebe wurde im Vorfeld von den Partnerorganisationen—dem Rationalisierungs- und Innovationszentrum Nordrhein-Westfalen e.V. (RKW NRW), der Landesgewerbeförderungsstelle des nordrhein-westfälischen Handwerks e.V. (LGH) und dem Zentrum für Innovation und Technik in Nordrhein- Westfalen GmbH (ZENIT)—im November 2001 eine schriftliche Unternehmensbefragung von kleineren Unternehmen bis ca. 70 Mitarbeitern durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse dieser Befragung sollen in dem folgenden Artikel zusammenfassend dargestellt werden. Den Abschluß bildet ein kurzer Abriss der ersten Erfahrungen, die im Projekt Europa-Fit gemacht wurden.

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La fabrique de la perpétuité

TheTrésor des chartes is probably one of the best preserved single collection of archives of the ancient French monarchy. Paradoxically, however, it was never part of a central record office in the modern sense. This large and confused mass of documentation slowly emerged as a records collection during the XIII^th century. Although it seemed to follow the construction of a State administration, it was already inactive by the middle of the XIV^th century. Its records and charters, prestigious and inaccessible, were kept in the Sainte-Chapelle of Paris, close to the relics of the Passion bought by Louis the Ninth. As a record of the past it played a crucial role in the social construction of a notion of «perpetuity» suitable to the domanial and dynastic ideals of the monarchy. The ambiguities of this medieval heritage became obvious in the early modern period. Although there were a large number of inventories and classifications of theTrésor des chartes, it was never able to incorporate the other State records. The Republic inherited a majestic sanctuary which can certainly be described as a piece of shared memory, but which is unable to summarize the genesis of the Nation.