Problems and pitfalls in the diagnosis of linear enamel hypoplasia in cheek teeth of cattle

Prevalence and intensity of enamel hypoplasia have been used as markers of generalized physiological stress during dental development in a wide range of mammalian taxa. We studied cattle (Bos taurus) cheek teeth exhibiting morphological characteristics that are of relevance to the diagnosis of enamel hypoplasia in this and other bovid species. These characteristics were multiple, more or less horizontally arranged (waveform) lines or grooves in the cementum of the tooth crown and the adjacent root area, leading to an imbricated appearance of the cementum. On macroscopic examination of tooth surfaces, these lines resembled linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH). Microscopic analysis of tooth sections, however, revealed that the lines occurred in the cementum only, and that the underlying enamel did not exhibit morphological irregularities. In cheek teeth of older cattle, a thick cementum layer is regularly found in the cervical crown portion and the adjacent root area. Apposition of this cementum is related to the uplifting of the teeth from their alveoli, a process that compensates for the shortening of the tooth crowns due to occlusal wear. In the studied specimens, a pronounced periodic nature of tooth uplifting and the related deposition of cementum is the likely cause for the observed imbricated appearance of the cementum. While this phenomenon may be misinterpreted as representing a case of LEH, presence of enamel hypoplasia in bovid teeth may be overlooked when the defects become filled with coronal cementum and are therefore not apparent on external inspection. This was the case in one of the cattle teeth analyzed by us, in which the hypoplastic enamel defects were, however, clearly discernible in ground sections. Microscopic analysis of tooth sections is recommended for recording of LEH in bovid teeth in cases where macroscopic examination of tooth surfaces alone does not produce unequivocal results.     

Late third‐millennium elite burials in Bahrain

Studies of old aerial photographs of the Bahrain burial mound fields have revealed that a small number of both Early Type (c. 2200–2050 BC) and Late Type (c. 2050–1750 BC) mounds are encircled by an outer ring wall, apparently marking out the mound as belonging to an elite. Four of these mounds have been excavated, and the results are presented. The geological differences between the Early Type and the Late Type mound landscapes are discussed.     

Gunnar Karlsson,Iceland's 1100 Years: The History of a Marginal Society, (London: Hurst, 2001). 418 pp. ISBN 1-85065-420-4.

This paper explores the role of personal networks and social capital in the assimilation of individuals into the elite of 18th‐century England. In it, I draw on the letterbooks of two merchants from north‐west England to assess the ways in which individuals accessed established networks and thus augmented their social status and business opportunities. In particular, I examine how networks were articulated, and consider their impact on both the social standing of the individual merchant and the construction of a shared culture amongst merchants. It is therefore possible to see business networking as an important counterpart to polite sociability in the construction of an expanded elite.     

The Penitentiary as a Well of Grace in the Late Middle Ages: The Example of Uppsala 1448-1527

This paper offers an introduction to the following papers, which represent the results of a round table at the Nordiska Historikermöte 2004 in Stockholm. It discusses the renewed interest in the study of diplomacy and international politics. This revival during the past few decades is sometimes not more than a reinvention of the old diplomatic history. However, it is also influenced by the history of ideas, as elaborated by Anglo‐American historians, and modern cultural sociology. The history of diplomacy seen from the perspective of cultural transfer offers new insights into early modern diplomacy based on a new reading of well‐known material.     

Why are cultural policy decisions communicated in cool cash?

In this article, we analyze the role of the economic rationale in modern cultural policy decision communication and ask why it remains such an important factor, even though research has argued against it. Based on Luhmann’s system theory, we show how the economic rationale manifests itself in the cultural political communication as parasitic and complementary couplings, and how different communication forms are in play: the indirect, direct, and the both-and form. The point is to construct communicative positions in cultural policy. The positions involve the economic rationale in their own particular way and each of them offers themselves as a communicative platform which the culture politician can optionally step into and out of. The arts system stands out from other systems by not distinguishing itself in one single distinction and coding. In exactly this issue lies the communicative complexity which the communicating cultural politician faces and must handle. As our analysis shows, this complexity is handled by communicating within the economic rationale and coding, with the result that complexity is reduced.