Engagement in a Public Forum: Knowledge,Action, and Cosmopolitanism

Facing challenges to the civic purpose of higher education, some scholars and administrators turn to the rhetoric of engagement. Simultaneously, the political philosophy of cosmopolitanism has gained intellectual favor, advocating openness to the lived experiences of distant others. We articulate linkages between these two discourses in an extended case study, finding that a cosmopolitan ethos of engagement in a rural context can improve (1) understanding among people ordinarily separated by spatialized social‐ecological differences, (2) prospects for longer term environmental sustainability, and (3) the visionary potential of collaborative inquiry. Despite globalization of food systems and neoliberal shifts in fishery management, an annual fisheries forum facilitates coalitions that overcome dichotomies between technocratic and local knowledge, extending benefits to fishing communities, academia, and public policy. Iterative and loosely structured capacity building expands informally through affective processes of recognition and care, as decentralized leadership supports collective mobilization toward alternate futures.     

Trempealeau’s Little Bluff: An Early Cahokian Terraformed Landmark in the Upper Mississippi Valley

Archaeological and geomorphological investigations of Little Bluff (47Tr32), in Trempealeau, Wisconsin, reveal how and, possibly, why this loess-capped sandstone ridge spur was anthropogenically altered in the mid-eleventh century A.D. Project excavation units and trenches dug in 2010–2011 revealed the timing, rate of completion, structure, symmetry, and orientation of the construction. In addition to delineating construction details and associated archaeological features, our research suggests that Cahokians, by sculpting and rebuilding this ridge spur, were actively positioning themselves vis-à-vis the wider Mississippi Valley landscape, if not the cosmos generally.     

The Fossil Human from Rabat-Kébibat (Morocco): Comparative Study of the Cranial and Mandibular Fragments

As part of the geological and chronological recontextualization of the Rabat-Kébibat quarry performed by a Franco-Moroccan team of geologists, the human remains discovered in the site and already published were reassessed. The human remains assemblage is composed of 23 cranial fragments, a mandible (including on the right I1, P3, P4, the roots of M1, M2, and M3, and of the left I1, I2, C, P3, P4, and M1), and the left half of the maxillary (including I1, I2, P3, P4, M1, and M2). Through a micro-computerized tomography analysis, the internal structure of the parietal fragment (evaluation of the thickness of the compact table and diploe) and the mandible was examined. Geometric morphometrics were applied on the tridimensional model of the mandible to investigate the conformation of the symphyseal outlines. Results were compared to a large reference collection composed of African, Asiatic, and European hominin fossils, from different chronological range. Our results allow us to clarify the phylogenetic position of the human remains from Rabat-Kebibat, in particular their relationship with other North African hominins.     

Necessary for Life: Studies of Ancient and Modern Grinding Stones in Highland Ethiopia

Ethnoarchaeological research combined with morphological analysis of modern and ancient grinding stones was completed in 2013 and 2014 as part of the Eastern Tigrai Archaeological Project (ETAP), based in the Gulo Makeda region of northern Ethiopia. Research focused on investigating the cultural context of grinding, grinding stone morphology, and use-surface area employing low power use-wear analysis of grinding surfaces. In the Gulo Makeda region today, men manufacture grinding stones and women use them in food processing for many hours per day. While grinding, relationships are formed and maintained with other women, and archaeological evidence suggests that women were grinding together in the past. It was discovered through interviews that distinctive grinding surfaces are preferred for processing different cereals based on grain size. Rough surfaces are used to process larger grains such as imported Near Eastern barley (Hordeum vulgare), wheat (Triticum spp.), maize (Zea mays), and the African domesticate sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), while fine/smooth surfaces are used for smaller, locally domesticated African grains including finger millet (Eleusine coracana) and t’ef (Eragrostis tef). Comparing ethnoarchaeological data with evidence of different use-surfaces on ancient Mezber grinding stones suggests that both locally domesticated and imported grains have been processed in the region for thousands of years. Interpretations are made about the use of grinding stones in the past through analogy, supported by evidence of ancient stone tool morphology and surface wear. The archaeological record at the pre-Aksumite site of Mezber indicates that grinding stone sizes have changed through time, with larger grinding surface areas likely reflecting the need for the production of greater amounts of flour.     

Middle Stone Age Technology and Cultural Evolution at Magubike Rockshelter,Southern Tanzania

This paper contributes new information to the body of evidence for Middle Stone Age tool-use in Tanzania. Magubike rockshelter is located in an archaeologically unexplored region of the south-central part of the country, and thus fills a significant geographical gap between sites further to the north and those to the south in Zambia and Mozambique. Early analysis of a portion of the lithic materials demonstrates parallel changes in lithic reduction intensity, raw material preference and typology. This article explores possible explanations for this pattern, including the possibility that they reflect changes to local environment, and suggests avenues for future research.     

Technological parables and iconic illustrations: American technocracy and the rhetoric of the technological fix

This paper traces the role of American technocrats in popularizing the notion later dubbed the ‘technological fix’. Channeled by their long-term ‘chief’, Howard Scott, their claim was that technology always provides the most effective solution to modern social, cultural and political problems. The account focuses on the expression of this technological faith, and how it was proselytized, from the era of high industrialism between the World Wars through, and beyond, the nuclear age. I argue that the packaging and promotion of these ideas relied on allegorical technological tales and readily-absorbed graphic imagery. Combined with what Scott called ‘symbolization’, this seductive discourse preached beliefs about technology to broad audiences. The style and conviction of the messages were echoed by establishment figures such as National Lab director Alvin Weinberg, who employed the techniques to convert mainstream and elite audiences through the end of the twentieth century.