"Now if you have only sons you are dead": migration, gender, and family economy in twentieth century northwestern Ghana

This article explores the interconnectedness between labor migration, gender, and the family economy in northwestern Ghana in the 20th century. It focuses specifically on the Dagaaba of the Nadowli and Jirapa administrative districts of what is now the Upper West Region (UWR). It examines how the relationships between men and women in terms of roles, status, access to productive resources and inheritance, changed in tandem with broader changes in society in the 20th century; changes that over time produced enhanced value and elevated status for women in the family. These changes in gender relations are reflected increasingly in the belief among elderly men that ‘now if you have only sons, you are dead’. By focusing on the lived experiences of ordinary women and men in the migration process, it argues that even though indigenous social structures privileged men over women in almost all spheres of life, Dagaaba women were nonetheless significantly active in shaping the history of their communities and that gender relations in Dagaaba communities were not static — they changed over time and generation. This article contributes to the ongoing discussion of the internal migration phenomenon in West Africa, which has so far attracted scant historical analysis.     

J.W. Burrow: A personal history

The late John Burrow, one of the most stimulating promoters of the distinctively interdisciplinary enterprise that is Intellectual History, was a vital member of what has become known as the ‘Sussex School’. In exploring the resonances of his singular and richly idiosyncratic contribution, this article places his unique historical sensibility within a series of interpretative contexts, demonstrating the vitality of writings that will continue to inspire and inform scholarship in the field for decades to come.     

Lead isotope analyses of gold–silver ores from Roşia Montană (Romania): a first step of a metal provenance study of Roman mining activity in Alburnus Maior (Roman Dacia)

The Ro?ia Montan? ore deposit (Apuseni Mountains, Romania) is Europe’s largest Au–Ag deposit. It also corresponds to the Roman Alburnus Maior mining site, known by historians and archaeologists due to the discovery of dozens of Roman wooden wax tablets during the underground works carried out during the 18th and 19th centuries.     

The technological development of stonepaste ceramics from the Islamic Middle East

The microstructures and chemical compositions of stonepaste bodies from the Islamic Middle East, typically produced from a mixture of ten parts crushed quartz, one part crushed glass and one part white clay, are investigated using analytical scanning electron microscopy. For comparison, replicate stonepaste bodies are produced in the laboratory at firing temperatures in the range 900–1200 °C, and are similarly examined. The stonepaste bodies are divided into four primary microstructural groups that reflect the increasing reaction during firing of the glass fragments with the clay and quartz particles. The observed microstructures are then used to assess the geographical and chronological variations in the production technology of stonepaste ceramics from Egypt, Syria, Iran, Uzbekistan and Turkey, spanning the period from 11th to 17th centuries AD.     

Anthropological neurology: symptoms and their meanings according to Joseph Prick (1909-1978)

This article describes the life and work of the Dutch neurologist Joseph Prick (1909-1978) and his idea of an anthropological neurology. According to Prick, neurological symptoms should not only be explained from an underlying physico-chemical substrate but also be regarded as meaningful. We present an outline of the historical and philosophical context of his ideas with a focus on the theory of the human body by the French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961) and the concept of anthropology-based medicine developed by Frederik Buytendijk (1887-1974). We give an overview of anthropological neurology as a clinical practice and finally we discuss the value of Prick's approach for clinical neurology today.     

Implications of Reappraising the Iron‐Deficiency Anemia Hypothesis

In 2009, Walker and colleagues questioned the validity of the iron‐deficiency anemia hypothesis as an explanatory mechanism for the presence of porotic hyperostosis (PH) and cribra orbitalia. They presented evidence demonstrating that iron deficiency inhibits, rather than promotes, marrow hypertrophy and argued a link between both PH and hemolytic or megaloblasic anemias (including vitamin B₁₂ deficiency). This paper suggests that dismissing the iron‐deficiency anemia hypothesis may be premature, but, if dismissed, may result in unforeseen consequences. Vitamin B₁₂ deficiency and iron deficiency often result from similar proximate causes, i.e. lack of animal protein in the diet and sanitation problems that lead to parasitic or diarrheal diseases, thereby promoting nutrient losses. As a result, vitamin B₁₂ deficiency and iron deficiency commonly co‐occur. In individuals with a co‐occurrence of iron deficiency and vitamin B₁₂ deficiency, a possible inhibition of marrow hypertrophy caused by iron deficiency may prevent the development of PH, despite the presence of (vitamin B₁₂) nutritional deficiency. The implications of dismissing the iron‐deficiency anemia hypothesis are that many skeletal populations may exhibit hidden heterogeneity, i.e. individuals who are the most nutritionally stressed, with multiple nutrient deficiencies, would mimic the non‐stressed individuals and neither would show evidence of PH. However, the inclusion of multiple stress indicators and greater understanding of biocultural context in bioarchaeological analyses may mitigate the potential impacts of hidden heterogeneity in the expression of PH. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.