The Structural Funds in Andalusia for the Programming Period 2014–2020: Time for Tightening Belts

During the period 2014–2020 it will be the first time since Spain joined the European Economic Community that the Southern region of Andalusia will not be considered as one of the Objective 1 priority areas for the European Regional Policy. This paper analyses the economic impact of the foreseeable withdrawal of an important amount of European Structural Funds in the region. Our point is to develop a dynamic general equilibrium model to assess, under different simulation scenarios, the effects of the removal of this funding on the main regional economic indicators, specially focusing on GDP growth, a key variable for the future of the region.     

Charismatic Healers on Iberian Soil: An Autopsy of a Mythical Complex of Early Modern Spain

The saludadores, charismatic healers specialised in the curing of hydrophobia, represent one of the most exceptional mythical complexes of the Iberian Peninsula. The myth emerged abruptly in the last decades of the fifteenth century. The evidence suggests that the complex of the Iberian saludador refers to an archaic substratum of Mediterranean beliefs, related to the immunity to poisonous animals attributed to certain ethnic groups or charismatic healers. In the western Mediterranean, at some later moment, the belief fused with the cult of the saints, thus acquiring its original traits. This combination with Christian mythology endowed the saludador healers with some characteristics typical of European folk possession-systems. Once the belief in the Iberian saludadores' complex was firmly in place at the beginning of the sixteenth century, many local cunning-men succumbed to the temptation of trying to incorporate the mythical subject of the saludador. By assuming some of the most spectacular features of the mythical subject, they sought to legitimise the various services they rendered to the rural communities.     

Writing violence in Seventeenth-Century Yucatan: Fray Bernardo de Lizana's Devocionario de nuestra Señora de Izamal y Conquista espiritual de Yucatán (1633)

Although long considered a minor work, Franciscan friar Bernardo de Lizana's Devocionario de nuestra Señora de Izamal y Conquista espiritual de Yucatán (1633) is key for understanding what the author himself termed the ‘spiritual conquest’ of colonial Yucatan. Deploying José Rabasa's concept of ‘writing violence,’ this essay shows how this text works to promote a culture of forceful spiritual conquest, reminiscent of the culture of spiritual conquest of the primitive Yucatecan church (1545–1562), in order to complete the conquest of the last independent Maya on the peninsula.     

Fossil wood of the Mimosoideae from the early Paleocene of Patagonia,Argentina

Brea, M., Zamuner, A.B., Matheos, S.D., Iglesias, A. & Zucol, A.F., December, 2008. Fossil wood of the Mimosoideae from the early Paleocene of Patagonia, Argentina. Alcheringa 32, 427–441. ISSN 0311-5518.

An anatomically preserved mature stem from the Salamanca Formation (early Paleocene) at Palacio de Los Loros, central Patagonia, Argentina, is described and assigned to Paracacioxylon frenguellii sp. nov. The material was preserved by siliceous permineralization and shows features of the secondary xylem typical of subfamily Mimosoideae. This species represents the oldest record of the genus and of the Leguminosae along the western border of Gondwana, and is the world's second oldest record of Leguminosae wood. The species is characterized by ring-porous to semi-ring-porous vessels that are solitary, in multiples of 2–4 and clustered, simple perforation plates, alternate and vestured inter-vessel pitting, homocellular 1–6 seriate rays, tyloses, crystals and diffuse apotracheal, vasicentric paratracheal and confluent axial parenchyma. Paracacioxylon frenguellii has anatomical similarities to Acacia Miller. The presence of Paracacioxylon frenguellii associated with pulvinate leaves suggests that the legumes might have been a component of mesothermal forests developed along the western margin of the Golfo San Jorge Basin during the early Paleocene.     

The Ba/Sr ratio,carious lesions,and dental calculus among the population buried in the church La Concepción (Tenerife,Canary Islands)

Certain trace elements may accumulate in bone in relation to dietary habits, so some of them are of interest in paleodietary analysis. This is the case with strontium (Sr) and barium (Ba), whose potential value as paleodietary indicators is enhanced by their relatively inert metabolic behaviour. The presence of carious lesions may indicate consumption of sugar and vegetables, whereas the etiology of dental calculus deposition is multifactorial, although some authors consider this as an indicator of protein consumption. Based on these facts we analysed (1) Ba, Sr, and calcium (Ca) content of inner cortical bone obtained from the ramus mandibularis, by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, (2) presence of teeth with carious lesions, and (3) presence of teeth with calculus deposition in 62 mandibles. All samples were obtained from the church La Concepción, an 18th century burial place in Tenerife. Gender was assessed by analysing genetic expression of amelogenin in some cases (14), and by inspection of pelvic bones when available (41 cases). We found (1) Carious lesions in 32 cases, and dental calculus, in 39; no association was observed between sex and presence of dental caries or calculus deposition, nor between the sex and the proportion of carious teeth nor the proportion of teeth with calculus deposition; (2) people buried near the altar (priests and individuals of the highest social class) showed a significantly higher proportion of teeth with dental calculus deposition (χ² = 5.36, p = 0.021); (3) bone Sr and bone Ba were significantly higher than the values observed in a control group of 10 modern omnivorous individuals; the lowest Sr values were observed among people buried near the altar; and (4) the Ba/Sr ratio was directly related with the proportion of teeth with carious lesions. These data suggest that there were differences in dietary pattern among the individuals belonging to different social classes; overall, consumption of vegetables was widespread, as shown by the high proportion of carious lesions, in relation with raised Ba/Sr ratio, whereas consumption of marine products was scarce.     

Fires at Neumark-Nord 2, Germany: An analysis of fire proxies from a Last Interglacial Middle Palaeolithic basin site

Few sites with evidence for fire use are known from the Last Interglacial in Europe. Hearth features are rarely preserved, probably as a result of post-depositional processes. The small postglacial basins (<300?m in diameter) that dominate the sedimentary context of the Eemian record in Europe are high-resolution environmental archives often containing charcoal particles. This case study presents the macroscopic charcoal record of the Neumark-Nord 2 basin, Germany, and the correlation of this record with the distinct find levels of the basin margin that also contain thermally altered archaeological material. Increased charcoal quantities are shown to correspond to phases of hominin presence—a pattern that fits best with recurrent anthropogenic fires within the watershed. This research shows the potential of small basin localities in the reconstruction of local fire histories, where clear archaeological features like hearths are missing.