Use of robust methods to determine quadratic surfaces: application to heritage

3D surveys of archaeological elements and the construction of virtual models enable us to reconstruct historical sites. They provide useful data to select specific building processes.Photogrammetry and Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) are the most common techniques to obtain synthetically heritage models. These techniques provide massive data which can only be managed by replacing them by primitive shapes, thereby obtaining more simple models and the explicit geometry of the element. Statistical and robust methods are used for this substitution, thereby avoiding the common errors due to measuring. Of these methods, the most widely used are the least-median-of-squares (LMedS) and the RANSAC method.Another computation method consists in recursive processes based on evolutive-type algorithms to adjust the model to the data captured.This paper describes two surface computation methodologies to determine the modelling of a column shaft located in temple G of the archaeological park of Selinunte (Sicily).     

3D electrical prospection in the archaeological site of El Pahñú, Hidalgo State,Central Mexico

The implementation of a 3D Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT-3D) survey was carried out in El Pahñú archaeological site, Hidalgo State, Central Mexico. A combination of a new ERT arrays allowed studying the subsoil beneath the Main Pyramid built near the edge of a plateau, along with another important structure (the Tecpan), which was a smaller structure that lodged the governmental council in pre-Hispanic times. The recorded information was acquired through the combination of several electrodic designs: L-Corner (LC), Equatorial (Eq), and Minimum Coupling (MC). For the Main Pyramid, the electrodes were set up around the perimeter of the structure, since they were not permitted to be inserted over the edifice, thus preventing damages to the architectonic elements. The second structure allowed inserting electrodes on selected spots within the architectonic space. The combination of the different arrays made possible the acquisition of 1204 apparent resistivities beneath the Main Pyramid and 2460 resistivity data beneath the Tecpan. The apparent resistivity data were inverted to obtain a three dimensional display of the subsoil electrical resistivity beneath the archaeological structure. The interpreted resistivity model under the Main Pyramid displayed a highly resistive structure towards its northern face that could be associated with infill. Such material was employed by the ancient constructors to level the terrain close to the edge of the cliff. Another interesting anomaly was found towards the central portion of the structure that could be associated to a foundation offer. The interpretation of data beneath the Tecpan identified the structural foundations and other interesting anomalies related to the different occupational times. The investigation supported the archaeological investigation of the site, suggesting areas of potential geological risk and of archaeological interest. For example, the Main Pyramid presents serious stability problems, indicating that the infill has weakened, producing cracks threatening long-term pyramid integrity.     

Technology Transfer at the Periphery of the Mycenaean World: The Cases of Mycenaean Pottery Found in Central Macedonia (Greece) and the Plain of Sybaris (Italy)*

The study of technology transfer in pottery production to the periphery of the Mycenaean world has been addressed by considering two different areas, southern Italy and central Macedonia. Technological features such as ceramic paste, decoration and firing have been determined for different ceramic groups established according to provenance criteria. The studies of technology and provenance have been performed following an archaeometric approach, using neutron activation analysis, petrographic analysis, X‐ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The results have revealed the existence of two different models. On the one hand, southern Italy seems to exhibit a more organized pottery production, which follows a Mycenaean‐like technology, while in central Macedonia production is probably more varied, being based in part on the technology of the local tradition.     

The archaeology and paleoenvironment of an Upper Pleistocene hyena den: An integrated approach

Data of high resolution for reconstructions of archaeological site formation processes can be obtained only by the use of precise excavation methods and comprehensive recovery techniques using fine-mesh water screening, followed by meticulous sorting and quantitative studies of all the small organic components from the screens. These methods are generally used at human occupation sites, but are not often employed at paleontological or mixed human-carnivore sites. At the site of Bois Roche, an Upper Pleistocene hyena den, we have used these meticulous recovery techniques in combination with absolute dating, geoarchaeological observations, taphonomic analyses, studies of microvertebrates and pollen analysis. Correlation of the site environmental data from pollen and microvertebrate assemblages with the vegetation record of a deep-sea core taken in the Bay of Biscay have allowed us to constrain the ages provided by ESR dating of bovid teeth and to reconstruct the physical environment of the site with a degree of confidence rarely achieved by the use of fossil remains from archaeological sites alone.     

An Exceptional Response? Security,Development and Civil Society in Spanish Policy after 11‐M

This article considers the ways in which Spanish state institutions responded to the Madrid bombings of 11 March 2004 in the context of the global ‘War on Terror’. It examines three inter‐related arenas of Spanish policy after 9/11 in which security and civil society are invoked in ways that impact upon the country's development agenda toward its southern Mediterranean partners. The first relates to Spain's external relations with its North African neighbours, and in particular the place of migration in shaping these relations over the last decade. The second concerns Spain's political relations with the representative organizations of its own Muslim populations. A third area of analysis pertains to the juridical‐institutional reactions of the state to the 11 March attacks: how have public authorities and civil society been affected and refashioned in the face of jihadist terrorism on the peninsula? The author argues that in each of these domains, the post‐9/11 context generally, and the 11 March attacks in particular, have elicited a securitization of civil society, which has in turn been associated with the country's international relations and domestic politics. Such securitization, however, has only been partially successful, thus vindicating the continuation of ‘politics as usual’ among Spain's state officials and its civil society.     

Mungiki,Vernacular Organization and Political Society in Kenya

This article uses the concept of ‘political society’ as unfolded by the ‘subaltern studies’ in India to shed new light on present‐day political actors and democratic transitions in Africa. It discusses the political practices and discursive terrains of organizations within ‘really existing’ civil society that are based on identities and regarded as outside legitimate civil society. It looks at politics from below, taking the example of the 2007 elections in Kenya, and the role of Mungiki, an organization characterized by the intersection of class, generation, religion and ethnicity. Mungiki builds on Kenya's history and rich archive of indigenous popular culture. It originated in the early 1990s’ turmoil of ‘ethnic clashes’ and population displacement and now operates in rural and poor urban areas, providing income opportunities, service delivery and extortion/protection. During elections, sections of Mungiki have been recruited by political leaders and functioned as violent militia; concurrently, it seeks representation in formal and parliamentary politics. The organization is distinct from ‘respectable’ segments of Kenya's civil society who participate in NGO activities and mainstream churches. The article ends by calling for an inclusive and non‐normative approach to the study of state–civil society engagement that recognizes culturally based discourses and organizations when analysing the transitions to and the broadening of democracy in post‐colonial societies.     

Revolution and policy failure: the 1910s Portuguese Republic

The Portuguese revolution of October 1910 instituted a civilian revolutionary and ‘progressive’ Republic within the background of a conservative and monarchist Europe, whose core was located in the countries of the Triple Alliance. Since its very beginning, the regime fell short of any foundational consensus and was caught by a wave of conspiracies, upheavals, social protests and civil war menaces. This article sheds light on the shortcuts adopted to overcome the political instability examining political procedures like legislative coups, wishful thinking and ad hoc planning. The final part broadens the debate through the assessment of the time frames and the types of effects that policy failure is able to bring about.     

The reconstruction of past environments through small mammals: from the Mousterian to the Bronze Age in El Mirón Cave (Cantabria,Spain)

El Mirón is a large cave in the Cantabrian Cordillera of northern Spain that presents a long archaeostratigraphic sequence radiocarbon-dated by over 60 assays to between 41,000 and 2000 BP. The sediments, collected from four areas within the cave and sieved-washed with fine wire meshes, contain microvertebrate remains of fish, frogs, lizards, birds and mammals, of which the latter are most abundant. Preliminary taphonomic analysis suggests that the microvertebrates were naturally collected by owls and (less) small carnivores. Small mammal assemblages are useful for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction because they are linked to particular habitats and are sensitive to environmental changes. The small mammals from El Mirón are ideal for this because sample sizes are large, bone preservation is good, and the stratigraphic sequence is long. In this paper we reconstruct the late Quaternary environments in the Cantabrian region of Spain using small-mammal assemblages from El Mirón Cave. On the basis of the ecologic adaptations of this suite of fauna, the majority still extant, we have identified seven habitat types, which are plotted through time. The evolution of the small mammal assemblages at El Mirón reveals seven major climatic shifts that correspond closely to the climatic changes recognized in the Iberian Peninsula during the last 41 kyr.     

Sedimentological and archaeological fabrics in Palaeolithic levels of the South-Eastern Pyrenees: Cova Gran and Roca dels Bous Sites (Lleida, Spain)

The comparative study of sedimentary fabrics in relation to archaeological fabrics in various levels of the sites of Cova Gran de Santa Linya (Middle and Early Upper Palaeolithic) and the Roca dels Bous (Middle Palaeolithic) has made it possible to analyse the formation dynamics of the deposits and determine the extent of disturbance of the archaeological levels by natural processes. To achieve this, diagrams and two- and three-dimensional indices were calculated from the azimuth and dip angle of natural clasts and artefacts. The results indicate that the sedimentary levels were formed mainly by planar fabric shape gravitational processes (low depositional angles), which differ notably from the archaeological fabrics they contain, characterised by a greater degree of isotropy. This difference in the fabrics would reflect human activity and indicates that the archaeological levels both in Cova Gran and Roca dels Bous have not been subject to significant natural modifications, and are preserved in situ.     

DO LOCAL AMENITIES AFFECT THE APPEAL OF REGIONS IN EUROPE FOR MIGRANTS?*

ABSTRACT This paper delves into the factors, which determine the attractiveness of regions in Europe for migrants. Contrary to the literature on the United States, which has increasingly focused on the role of amenities, existing research in Europe tends to highlight the predominance of economic conditions as the main drivers of migration. Differentiating between economic, sociodemographic and amenity‐related territorial features, we examine the appeal of various regional characteristics for migrants by analyzing net migration data for 133 European regions between 1990 and 2006. Our results show that, in addition to economic, human capital‐related and demographic aspects, network effects and—in contrast to existing literature—different types of regional amenities exert an important influence on the relative attractiveness of sub‐national territories across the European Union. Our findings therefore indicate that locational choices in Europe may be much more similar to place‐based preferences in the United States than originally thought.