The foreign policy of First Republic Italy: new approaches

This introductory article deals with the most recent contributions by Italian historians on the Italian Republic's international role. It aims mainly to demonstrate that a new generation of younger Italian historians is successfully offering new views and interpretations on First Republic Italy's role in the international system, and is also focusing on aspects such as the culture of Italy's political parties, the economic dimension, the role of public opinion, and the influence of external actors on domestic Italian politics – in short, that there has been a turn away from traditional diplomatic history based upon the archives of the Foreign Ministry.     

Problems of doing research at home: research on child witches in London (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)

In this narrative, Jean La Fontaine recounts her experiences trying to do fieldwork in London on the topic of witchcraft accusations involving children.     

A Comprised Archaeological History of Taiwan through the Long-Term Record of Heping Dao,Keelung

We present the results of six years of archaeological work carried out in Heping Dao, Keelung, northern Taiwan. The site has revealed a rich archaeological record spanning a sequence that comprehends most of the history of Taiwan, including the most salient historical landmarks in it. The study of this long-term sequence of habitation in Heping Dao throughout prehistory to current times, allows us to attempt a historical archaeology of the longue duree of the place that in turn enables the establishment of comparisons between periods and raising of specific questions, among them: the general understanding of cultural transformation along the Neolithic and the Iron Age, and in turn the transition Iron Age/Aboriginal historic times in Taiwan, which in our view has to be observed as a history of continuity rather than of interruptions; the recognition of the Chinese presence in Taiwan in the pre-European period; the implantation of the European colony and its effects on the local populations; the differing material remains and impacts caused by the presence of pre-European Chinese and the Qing occupation; and the potential for a comparison between the European and the Japanese colonial projects as seen in the material record.     

Layers of religious and political iconoclasm under the Islamic State: symbolic sectarianism and pre-monotheistic iconoclasm

This article examines the heritage destruction undertaken by the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria. To date, their iconoclasm has been mostly characterised either as acts of wanton barbarism devoid of religious or political justification, or as a cynical performance designed as a mass media spectacle. Drawing on a systematic analysis of two key IS propaganda outlets – their on-line magazine, Dabiq, and the various slick films released by Al-Hayat – this article argues that the heritage destruction perpetrated by the IS are not only situated within a carefully articulated theological framework and key to the creation of a new and ideologically pure ‘Islamic State’, but that they are also constituted by several complex layers of religious and political iconoclasm. To demonstrate, this article documents the iconoclasm undertaken by the IS along two key axes: Symbolic Sectarianism (Shia and Sufi mosques and shrines); and Pre-Monotheistic Iconoclasm (ancient polytheistic sites). Attacks on key sites within these categories, such as the Sayyida Zaynab shrine in Damascus or the Mosul Museum, not only adhere to their religious and political framework but also serve broader geo-political agendas and are attacked as proxy targets for their physical and ideological opponents.     

Persistence of Crime Hot Spots: An Ordered Probit Analysis

The temporal persistence of crime hot spots is recognized as a valuable indicator of consistent problem areas. The current literature has not adequately addressed the mechanisms that perpetuate or interrupt persistent crime hot spots. Investigating the persistence of violent crime hot spots in Columbus, Ohio, from 1994 to 2002, this study fills a gap in the literature by identifying neighborhood structural correlates that drive the persistence of hot spots. Specifically, this study identifies yearly crime hot spots, and estimates an ordered probit model to explore the neighborhood structural determinants. The results indicate that socio‐economic factors, identified from a synthesis of social disorganization theory and routine activity theory, significantly correlate with persistent patterns of violent crime hot spots. This gives evidence that a combination of the two ruling spatial theories of crime provides an applicable framework for understanding the temporal dimension of violent crime hot spots. By identifying the factors that contribute to the persistence of hot spots of crime, insights gained from the results can help to inform focused crime prevention efforts.     

A Multidisciplinary Approach for the Archaeometric Study of Pozzolanic Aggregate in Roman Mortars: The Case of Villa dei Quintili (Rome,Italy)

This contribution focuses on the study of historical mortars from a Roman archaeological site known as Villa dei Quintili, a monumental villa located in the south‐eastern part of Rome (Italy). The study was carried out on 38 mortar samples, collected from several edifices within the complex. A multi‐analytical approach, including polarized optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy‐dispersive system and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, was used to analyse the pozzolanic material used for the preparation of mortars. Data obtained on both major and trace elements were compared with the compositions of Pozzolana Rossa, Pozzolana Nera and Pozzolanella samples from the Alban Hills volcanic district, collected from a historic quarry nearby, as well as with literature data. The results of such a multidisciplinary approach allowed us to recognize the use of all three pozzolan types for the aggregate fraction of examined mortars from the Villa dei Quintili.     

Identifying high-status foods in the archeological record

More than providing simply nutritive value, food in human societies can be endowed with great social weight. Aspects of any given food system inform, and are informed by, a variety of social, economic, religious, historical, ecological, cultural, and political processes. Moreover, food systems are often intentionally designed and executed to communicate key aspects of a consumer’s identity including class or social status. The manipulation of food systems on the part of socio-political elites or high status individuals is but one example of this phenomenon, the appearance of which is a correlate of increased socio-political hierarchy. As food can come to be used by elites as a socio-political tool in stratified societies, the temptation to use archeologically recognizable differences in foodways as a means of understanding the origin, nature, and functioning of processes of stratification is strong. The obvious difficulty lies in developing theoretically informed methods that reckon food system differences in ways that enable scholars to identify those foods that may have been particularly imbued with social meaning. In this paper, we propose a metric for the identification of elite foods (or, indeed, socially valued foods) using the types of data typically available to archeologists. Based on these proposed criteria, we attempt to unravel the complex and politically charged food system of the stratified societies of the pre-Columbian Greater Antilles with an eye towards refining our understanding of the development and maintenance of prestige and institutionalized power therein.