Kings and commoners at Copan: Isotopic evidence for origins and movement in the Classic Maya period

Eight human interments were excavated in the 1990s beneath the Acropolis at the Classic Maya site of Copan in Honduras, which was the capital of a Maya kingdom from ca. AD 400 to 800. These human remains come from both royal tombs and less elaborate burials dating to the early part of this period and lie deep in the accumulated architectural layers of the Acropolis. We present a brief summary of the context, contents, and external links represented by these interments. Several lines of evidence point to connections between early Copan and Teotihuacan in the Central Highlands of Mexico, and Tikal in the central Maya lowlands of the Petén in Guatemala.     

A bioarchaeological study of a Western Basin tradition cemetery on the Detroit River

Archaeological monitoring of construction in a Windsor city park on the Detroit River led to the discovery of an isolated cemetery containing the remains of eight individuals assigned to the Late Woodland Western Basin Tradition. At the request and consent of the contemporary First Nation community, tissue samples from five individuals were subjected to radiocarbon dating, mtDNA, and stable isotope analysis to confirm cultural affiliation and further understand the subsistence practices of these people. Radiocarbon dating placed the cemetery at the transition from the Younge phase (AD 900–1200) to the Springwells phase (AD 1200–1400). The stable carbon and nitrogen isotope results provide an unexpected but fuller understanding of Late Woodland Western Basin Tradition subsistence. All individuals were as enriched in carbon as those found on Iroquoian horticulturalist sites to the east, suggesting a very high reliance on maize. Nitrogen isotope values indicate that the protein component of the diet was comprised largely of high trophic level food sources, likely fish. An in situ osteological analysis identified a high number of carious lesions in the visible teeth, also suggesting a diet high in carbohydrates. The mtDNA findings support the antiquity of the Western Basin presence in Northeast North America through genetic links with the Hind Site, an Archaic site in southern Ontario. These results underscore the importance of such studies for providing novel insight into the archaeological histories and lifeways of this distinct Late Woodland tradition. This study also emphazises the need to work with descendant communities to provide them with information on the past that reflects their distinct heritage in the lower Great Lakes region.     

Geochemical and mineralogical analysis of stone anchors from west coast of India: provenance study using thin sections,XRF and SEM-EDS

Stone anchors have been recovered along the Indian coast as a part of the maritime archaeological studies at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa. Study of stone anchors provides clues to understand the ancient maritime trade contacts of India with other countries. These anchors resemble those found in the Mediterranean Sea, Persian Gulf and Red Sea Coast. Underwater explorations at Bet Dwarka, Dwarka, Goa, Visawada and Somnath have yielded stone anchors of widely varying shapes, sizes and weights ranging between 16 and 410 kg. Sixteen (10 Indo-Arabian, 4 Ringstone and 2 Single hole type) of the total of 269 stone anchors have been studied to determine provenance of rock through petrographic analysis using thin section studies, X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), and Scanning Electron Microscope – Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (SEM-EDS).     

MICRO-CREDIT AND DEVELOPMENT IN NORTHERN VIETNAM

Geographical development economics as reflected in the recent report by World Bank (2009) Reshaping Economic Geography (henceforth WDR-2009) and Sachs' (2005) End of Poverty has placed geographical factors of distance and density at the core of economic development. However, development geography has largely moved beyond a paradigm of modernity. This article seeks to narrow the above disciplinary divide and suggests that explanations of distance and density are not irrelevant but will need to be better integrated to local knowledge, practices and power relations in development schemes which are valued by development geographers. The latter is examined in the context of micro-credit programmes in two lagging areas, Soc Son and Vinh Loc, in northern Vietnam. Drawing from interviews and surveys of 160 female participants, we show that micro-credit, WDR-2009 and Sachs' geographical variables significantly affect poverty levels. However, qualitative interviews also reveal that the effects of distance, density and micro-credit schemes are constituted differently in the two areas. Relative to their Vinh Loc counterparts, Soc Son's participants experience less distance and density problems but are confronted with greater vulnerability to coercive relations of rule. In contrast, the approach to rule in the more geographically distressed area of Vinh Loc is underscored by flexibility and compromise which seek to cultivate conditions that sustain local livelihoods.     

Urban and Rural Definitions in Regional Context: A Case Study on Turkey

Transformations in the urban and rural areas under the effects of global economic, social and political circumstances have rendered their boundaries more blurring. It has become increasingly difficult to make a clear distinction between urban and rural. This paper intends to bring definitions of urban–rural into discussion in the context of Turkey. It reveals the results of a research project (conducted by Hürriyet G. Ö?dül with Serkan Öngel and Habip Uluçay from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul, Turkey, in 2007 and financed by the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey and Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University Research Fund), aiming at revealing the degrees of the urbanity and rurality throughout the country, with an emphasis on the diversification of regions in the urban–rural context. The study is conducted at the NUTS 4 level. Districts are classified as “dominantly rural, dominantly urban and transitional” through the factor analysis based on six structures: agricultural production, non-agricultural production, employment, demography, education and flows of money, goods and people. The urban–rural profile of the country is found as rural and transitional. It is possible to observe some areas displaying deep rural characters in well-developed western regions and some “prosperity spots” dispersed throughout the less-developed eastern regions. Then, regional classifications ranging from “concentrated urban regions” to “rural regions” are made at the NUTS 1 level. Finally, the results are evaluated in perspectives of spatial planning of Turkey and entering process to the EU.     

动态的变化管理与景观文化遗产的可持续性

城镇景观和自然景观是室外环境中非常重要的两个方面,他们之间是既相互关联又相互区别的。景观似乎是既简单又熟悉的概念,在许多文化中,景观有着各种宜人的事物关联性,比如与天堂和美丽,诗歌及绘画等观念。也许这种情形的后果之一就是人们很容易去认为与景观相联系的所有问题也都是简单、熟悉、好看和相对容易的。当人们把景观与通常被看作是景观对应物的城镇和工业环境相比较时,这种态度又得到了进一步的加强。可是在经过较长时间的实践和更仔细的考察以后显示,即使不如城镇和工业环境那样复杂,景观仍然是非常复杂的;这些景观是动态的,也是活生生的。除此以外,它们也常常是城市和城市化、工业和工业化地区中非常重要的组成部分。