Making a Mountain Out of a Molehill? A Low-Cost and Time-Efficient Molehill Survey of the Lost Medieval Harbor Site of Monnikerede,Belgium

Grasslands pose a particular problem for archaeological survey involving artifact assessment, as no material is plowed up to the surface. Although finds in molehills are often the only source of information available on sites with such low visibility, an archaeology of molehills has thus far been largely disregarded. Yet, by applying a low-cost and time-efficient methodology, both the potential and the pitfalls of molehill archaeology come to the forefront. At the medieval harbor site of Monnikerede, it was possible to assess material culture and to locate certain structural elements. However, when artifact densities were compared with the underlying geophysical anomalies, a more complex relationship appeared at the level of individual features.     

Garumele Revisited: Retracing Vanished Fired-Brick Elite Constructions and New Data on Settlement Foundation

Some of the most notable and largely endangered archaeological remains from the Lake Chad area consist of the ruins of fired-brick elite constructions connected to the Kanem-Borno Empire (ca. eighth–nineteenth century AD). In the course of the last 200 years, several of the elite structures known west of the lake were destroyed as a consequence of war, later having their fired-bricks looted for constructions elsewhere. One of the largest and most thoroughly plundered of those structures once stood within the walled settlement of Garumele, SW Niger Republic. In the scope of an experimental field study at that location and with a view to future work at related sites, we demonstrate that it is still possible to retrace the ground plans of Kanem-Borno fired-brick structures, even if these have been already completely pillaged. In addition, we present new chronological evidence suggesting that Garumele—as a walled urban settlement—was founded sometime between the mid-fifteenth and mid-seventeenth centuries, but most probably between the late sixteenth to mid-seventeenth centuries AD.     

From Aterian Notch to Aterian Tang: How to Make a Technological Invention

The Aterian lithic techno-complex that characterizes the late Middle Stone Age in North Africa is well known especially for its tanged or stemmed points. Recent techno-morphological and use-wear analyses have added new data to support the identification of the tang as the hafted portion of an artifact. They have also highlighted the presence of this attribute on tools other than projectile points, in contrast with the widespread idea that the tanged point is the Aterian fossile directeur. The design of this specific device, the tang, for hafting purposes is regarded as a great technical innovation that underlines a modern behavior. Our work provides new use-wear and experimental data, aiming at discussing the cognitive preconditions of this technical innovation that could have originated from a specific functional unit: the notch. Notches are quite abundant in the Aterian techno-complex. Our systematic study of this tool category from Aterian sites of the Jebel Gharbi allowed defining the notch per se as a techno-morpho-functional unit that was “applied” to different types of blanks, including “reused blanks,” which show a heavy patina on their surface. This functional unit has been used for various types of activities and can be found either alone on a blank or with multiple other units on the same blank, creating different tool morphologies. According to this interpretation, the tang could have been considered by Aterian populations as a new resulting variant of various possible combinations of notches, for defining and/or transforming the shape of a tool.     

Adaptations and Dispersals of Anatomically Modern Humans in the Changing Environments of North Africa: the Contribution of Microvertebrates

There is limited available data on the environmental context of the arrival of the first anatomically modern humans (AMH) in North Africa, and subsequent Paleolithic and Neolithic occupations within this region. Microvertebrates such as rodents, shrews, amphibians, and squamates are known to be good indicators of climate and landscape changes. They also represent continental paleoecological records that can be directly related to human occupations. Moreover, faunas and humans have been subjected to several dispersal waves through similar routes, and some rodents may present anthropophilous behavior. Therefore, by understanding the dispersal pattern and pathways of these microvertebrates, it is possible to propose scenarios for human dispersal events. In this study we took the rich microfaunal assemblages from the Témara region, Atlantic Morocco (El Harhoura 2 and El Mnasra Caves), and placed them within a broader synthesis, in order to highlight the role of microvertebrates in providing a better understanding of the human-environment relationship during the Late Quaternary in North Africa.     

The Pleistocene of Rabat (Morocco): Mollusks,Coastal Environments and Human Behavior

The Rabat-Témara region of the Moroccan Atlantic coast reveals a succession of Quaternary palaeobeaches. This coastal area is dotted with numerous prehistoric caves. The study of the Upper Pleistocene coastal landscape associated with these caves is of paramount importance in the knowledge of human population subsistence. During the Upper Pleistocene, the ocean level changes drastically influenced the coastal geomorphology as well as the fauna assemblages. The chrono-lithostratographical analysis of the coastal sedimentary formations allows the distinction of three sequences rich in marine fauna. These sequences date from MIS 11 to MIS 5. The identification of malacofauna species from these deposits revealed 39 species, along with Bryozoans, Crustaceans, and Echinoids. These assemblages show a constant fauna cortege highlighted by the dominance of the amphi-Atlantic species Stramonita haemastoma. This species shows an increase in the number of specimens in the uppermost part of marine deposits, probably in relation with a climate warming in the MIS 5. This fauna of both intertidal rocky substrates and sandy substratum indicates environmental conditions close to the present-day Rabat-Témara coastline. As in other coastal locations of Africa from MIS 5, the Middle Stone Age Homo sapiens population benefitted from a littoral environment rich in coastal resources. Comparison between thanatocenoses and archaeological records allows us to identify both species available for Middle Stone Age population and those preferred for human use.     

Thermal and Petrographic Characterization of Herculaneum Wall Plasters

Roman plasters sampled from different houses at the archaeological site of Herculaneum, Italy, (2010–12) were studied by means of petrography, thermal analysis and X‐ray fluorescence. Herculaneum plasters are composed by preparatory layers (arriccio) with a thickness of several centimetres and are based on a calcitic binder and volcanic scoriae as aggregates, covered by a thin final layer characterized by a low granulometry. Most of the sampled plasters can be placed into two groups based on the aggregate composition and classified as marmorino or intonachino. However, a similar aggregate composition did not induce superimposable thermal behaviour, thus suggesting that the samples underwent different ageing/weathering processes, with a consequent change of the ratio among the components.     

Radon Predictions with Geographical Information System Covariates: From Spatial Sampling to Modeling

Radon (Rn) is a potentially toxic gas in soil which may affect human health. Assessing Rn levels in soil gas usually requires enormous efforts in terms of time and costs, since the sampling protocol is very complex. In most cases, the variable under study is sparsely sampled over the domain and this could affect the reliability of the spatial predictions. For this reason, it is useful to incorporate, into the estimation procedure, some auxiliary variables, correlated with the in soil gas Rn concentrations (primary variable) and more densely available over the domain. On the basis of this latter aspect, it is even better if the covariates are derived from a geographical information system (GIS). In this article, the Rn sampling protocol used during a measurement campaign planned over a risk area is described and the process of deriving GIS covariates considered as secondary information for predicting the primary variable is clarified. Then, multivariate modeling and prediction of the Rn concentrations over the domain of interest are discussed and a comparative study regarding the performance of the prediction procedures is presented. Rn prone areas are also analyzed with respect to urban and school density. All these aspects can clearly support decisions on environmental and human safeguard.     

SKILL POLARIZATION IN LOCAL LABOR MARKETS UNDER SHARE‐ALTERING TECHNICAL CHANGE

This paper considers the “share‐altering” technical change hypothesis in a spatial general equilibrium model where individuals have different levels of skills. Building on a simple Cobb‐Douglas production function, our model shows that the implementation of skill‐biased technologies requires a sufficient proportion of highly educated individuals. Moreover, when technical progress disproportionately replaces middle‐skill jobs, the local distribution of skills will exhibit “fat‐tails,” where the proportion of both highly skilled and low‐skilled workers increases. These and several other predictions of the model are consistent with recent existing evidence, and avoid some major criticism against the “canonical” CES framework.     

Einstein et «Zweistein»

As the sobriquet «Zweistein» suggests, within the theoretical physics community Wolfgang Pauli came to be regarded as second in eminence only to Albert Einstein. Over a period of thirty-five years, they interacted both intellectually and personally. This paper focuses on four interrelated topics of their discussions. 1) The theory of relativity: at the age of twenty, Pauli prepared the definitive survey of relativity, a survey which he revised near the end of his life and which remains invaluable to physicists and historians of physics. 2) Unified field theories: although initially sympathetic to Einstein's search for a unified theory of electromagnetism and gravitation, and having made important contributions to the subject, Pauli came to regard such efforts as fruitless. 3) Foundations of quantum mechanics: Pauli's negative evaluation of Einstein's program grew out of their sharply differing evaluations of the role that quantum mechanics would play in the future, development of theoretical physics. 4) Quantum gravity: Pauli recognized that, until the achievement of a successful reconciliation of quantum mechanics and general relativity — an achievement that still eludes us — Einstein's challenge to quantum mechanics could not be laid to rest.     

Methodological aspects of SANS and TOF neutron diffraction measurements on pottery: the case of Miseno and Cuma

Small angle neutron scattering and neutron phase analysis techniques have been for the first time jointly employed to extract microscopic parameters of ceramic samples prepared under controlled conditions, in an attempt to establish a protocol for deriving information on the firing process. Data have also been collected on two series of early medieval samples from the Italian regions of Cuma and Miseno. The variation of the microscopic features observed on these samples could mirror some technological evolution in the period spanning from the 6th to the 12th century AD.