Pottery Use-Alteration as an Indicator of Socioeconomic Status: An Ethnoarchaeological Study of the Gamo of Ethiopia

The use of a pottery vessel leaves markers on the ceramic wall that can inform archaeologists how the vessel functioned in the past. At present, archaeologists have little information for understanding how use-alteration reflects the complex nature of ceramic function and socioeconomic status. I conducted a 2-year ethnoarchaeological research project among the Gamo people of southwestern Ethiopia, who continue to produce and use pottery on a daily basis. This research indicates that interior surface attrition occurs primarily on pottery vessels used in wealthy households because of fermentation processes from high-status foods. Thus, the Gamo example suggests that there is a relationship between ceramic use-alteration and household socioeconomic status.     

一个外国人心目中的陈云

1935年遵义会议后,陈云帮助中共与共产国际保持着良好关系。在延安,他建立起 一套人事制度,培养了党内的一批青年知识分子。在东北,第二次世界大战后他在小城市和农村建 立了共产党的根据地,对赢得东北的军事胜利发挥了重大作用。1949-1952年,他主持恢复了国 民经济秩序。1953-1957年,他成功地制定和执行了第一个五年计划,从事建设和工业发展。尽 管他作了努力,但仍未能阻止"大跃进",但是当毛泽东给他施展才能的机会时,他使国家从严重 的政策错误中恢复过来。1978年后,他的谨慎与专长使改革置于坚实的基础之上,他致力于平反 干部的冤假错案从而有助于改革开放的成功。陈云受到很多党员的爱戴,这不仅是因为他的巨大成 就,而且是因为他对国家和党的鞠躬尽瘁的精神和无限忠诚,对其他党员的真诚和爱护以及他朴素 谦逊的生活作风。     

Atlantic salmon, archaeology and climate change in New England

A paucity of archaeological remains of Atlantic salmon in Northeast North America has been cited as evidence that the species may have been present in the region only during and after the Little Ice Age (ca. 1450–1850 AD), one of coldest periods of the Holocene. However, significant problems of preservation, recovery and identification remain. Here, improved methods of identification use vertebra structure to distinguish salmon from trout, and strontium/calcium ratios to differentiate sea-run from landlocked salmon. In addition to the Little Ice Age, Atlantic salmon is identified in tightly dated contexts at 7000–6500 and 3500–3000 calendar years BP, during climate periods that were comparatively warm and wet.     

Spatial Weights Matrices

The impetus for Cliff and Ord's landmark article, "The Problem of Spatial Autocorrelation," was to avoid the problem of topological invariance in the spatial weights matrix. The problem and three points of view on it – theoretical, topological, and empirical – are discussed.