Stable isotopic analysis of human and animal diets from two pre-Aksumite/Proto-Aksumite archaeological sites in northern Ethiopia

Carbon and nitrogen isotopic analysis was undertaken on well-preserved human and animal skeletal remains from two sites in northern Ethiopia, both of which span the pre-Aksumite and Proto-Aksumite periods. The human remains constitute one individual collected at the site of Etchmare East which was directly radiocarbon dated to 2290 ± 50 BP. In addition 28 animal bone samples were excavated from the nearby site of Mezber, occupied from 2960 ± 60 to 1980 ± 50 BP. These results are consistent with those obtained in palaeoethnobotanical studies, which suggest that some members of pre/Proto-Aksumite society in the Horn of Africa had a diet that favoured the consumption of Near Eastern domesticates over indigenous crops.     

Race to the top: using experiments to understand gender bias towards female politicians

ABSTRACT

Gender balance in political representation is an important goal of governments. In this paper, we ask: Do voters judge female politicians less favourably than male politicians, when given an otherwise identical set of information about their backgrounds? We employ an innovative online experiment (N?=?1933) to measure Australians’ attitudes towards female politicians and examine a series of hypotheses. We find voters see female candidates as more capable and are more likely to vote for them, but they are less likely to expect them to win. Female candidates are seen as more capable in their military and healthcare roles, but gender is perceived to be a major barrier to a female candidate’s success. Women and those aligning with the Labor/Green parties are more supportive of a female candidate, but we find limited evidence that those aligning with the Liberal/Nationals are openly hostile to a female candidate.     

Cortical bone dynamics and age‐related osteopenia in a Longobard archaeological sample from three graveyards of the Veneto region (northeast Italy)

Since the contribution of Brothwell and co‐workers in early 1968, few studies have considered the cortical bone involution in European skeletal series of archaeological interest. The present study concerns the involutive process mechanisms and intra‐ and inter‐sexual variability in femurs of 66 adults belonging to three graveyards of the Longobard era excavated in the Vicenza province (northeast Italy). Cortical thickness and cortical and medullary areas were measured and a correlation matrix was generated for each sex and age class. Intra‐ and inter‐sexual variability were evaluated by two‐tailed t‐tests and a sexual dimorphism index. The results indicate a considerable difference between the sexes, with females showing an earlier and more marked cortical bone loss, as expected. Moreover, comparing the data with the scarce literature available, some discrepancies in cortical bone involution were found in populations with different patterns of adaptation, suggesting the need for further studies in this direction aimed at understanding bone environment dynamics. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.