Dating of 4th millennium BC pile-dwellings on Ljubljansko barje,Slovenia

We present absolute dates of seven late Neolithic pile-dwellings on Ljubljansko barje, Slovenia. They were settled from ca. 3600 to 3332 (±10) and from 3160 to 3071 (±14) cal BC, as shown by investigations of wood using dendrochronology and radiocarbon wiggle-matching. We defined eleven periods of intensive tree felling (and building activities) and one major settlement gap (when no trees were felled) from 3332 to 3160 cal BC. A major settlement gap presumably also followed after 3071 cal BC (i.e., after the end date of the investigated sites). Our investigations included over 2500 pieces of wood, mainly from the piles on which the dwellings were built. Among important wooden artefacts were a wheel with axle (one of the oldest preserved wheels in the world) and two dugout canoes, all from the settlement phase from 3160 to 3100 cal BC. As shown by parallel studies, the economy in the sites was characterized by copper metallurgy, skilful wood processing and use, cultivation of domestic plants, gathering of wild plants, animal husbandry, hunting and fishing. The settlements were contemporaneous with a number of sites in the north of the Alps, the younger ones coincided with the lifetime of the Neolithic Iceman (Ötzi). Since Ljubljansko barje has a strategic position at the crossroads between western central and (south) eastern Europe the presented absolute dates provide a basis for their comparison with other dated contemporaneous sites (in the west), to revise the chronology of similar sites in the (south) east (which are not yet exactly dated), and to evaluate their interconnection and roles in cultural development in prehistory.     

Growth responses of Norway spruce (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Picea abies</Emphasis> (L.) Karst.) to the climate in the south-eastern part of the Českomoravská Upland (Czech Republic)

The research was conducted in selected 80- to 110-year-old spruce stands in the south-eastern part of the Českomoravská Upland at altitudes from 350 m a.s.l. to 465 m a.s.l. The regional standard tree-ring chronology shows very low increments for years 1974, 1976 and 1992. After 1992, there is a sharp rise in increments with a climax in 1997. Afterwards, increments gradually decrease, reaching minima in 2003 and 2008. The years with low increments were also confirmed by the analysis of negative pointer years when over 80% of the analysed trees responded by a sharp decrease in increment, mainly in years 1976 and 1992. We can usually find values of monthly precipitation or monthly temperature average which can explain or help explain these falls in the radial growth. The correlations of diameter increments with average monthly precipitation gain only positive statistically significant values, namely for the months of May, June, July and August of the particular year. The correlations of diameter increments with average monthly temperatures gain only negative statistically significant values, namely for the months of June, July and September of the previous year and January and August of the particular year. In the examined area there is a significant negative correlation between average temperatures and monthly precipitation in July, August and September. The results of the habitual diagnostics show that with respect to the climatic conditions the health condition of the monitored stands is relatively good. On average, the defoliation does not exceed the values ascertained in different territories of the Czech Republic.     

La Quintrala's Confessions: The Contesting of Female Agency and Indigeneity in Two Popular Chilean Visual Narratives

Doña Catalina de los Ríos y Lisperguer, known as ‘La Quintrala,’ a seventeenth-century aristocratic woman of mixed ancestry accused of torture, witchcraft, and murder, has persisted as a recurring figure in the Chilean imaginary. While literary representations of this figure have been well explored, this article contributes an examination of two visual narratives, paying particular attention to the manner in which genre and context influence the repurposing of this violent woman: the 1986 teleserie La Quintrala, produced by Chile's state-owned television station (TVN), and the Chilean newspaper Las últimas noticias's 2008 comic ‘La Quintrala y el Cristo de Mayo.’ The teleserie, a product of the Pinochet era, positions her as an antithesis to the ideal Chilean woman, simultaneously denying her agency and condemning her. The comic echoes the rhetoric of the Concertación governments as it prominently links La Quintrala's downfall and redemption to the genesis of modern Chile at the cost of her distinctive racial and gendered characteristics. Ultimately, each work employs the structure of confession to recall her crimes while rejecting the female agency and racially mixed heritage La Quintrala represents.     

The Cold War's cultural ecosystem: angry young men in British and Soviet cinema, 1953–1968

Using examples from postwar British and Soviet cinema, this article interprets European Cold War culture within the framework of a shared cultural ecosystem. The case study of reformist movements in 1950s and 1960s British and Soviet cinema makes clear that analogous sociopolitical and economic developments across postwar Europe inspired film heroes, narratives, and aesthetics that transcended national and ideological borders. The concept of a continent-wide cultural ecosystem elucidates how and why specific cultural phenomena—such as the figure of the “angry young man”—reflect an existence of a dynamic trans-systemic Cold War culture.     

浅析我国的家务劳动补偿制度

我国《婚姻法》第40条规定：“夫妻书面约定婚姻关系存续期间所得的财产归各自所有,一方因抚育子女、照顾老人、协助另一方工作等付出较多义务的,离婚时有权向另一方请求补偿,另一方应当予以补偿。”该紊规定首次从法律上肯定了家务劳动的价值,使经济地位较弱而付出较多家庭义务的家庭成员在离婚时享有了经济上的补偿,填补了我国婚姻法在这一领域的空白。但由于该制度自身存在的不足,致使实践中可操作性不强,就此本文从家务劳动补偿的适用范围、家务劳动的量化标准等方面提出几点建议。     

从信仰到信：美国民俗学的民间宗教研究

从记录整理零碎片段的迷信观念,到把握民间信仰的文化整体,再到关注民众日常生活中的活态宗教实践,美国民俗学的民间宗教研究在过去60年中发生了根本性变化。作为民俗研究的一个重要领域,这和民俗学学科研究范式从文本到表演,到实践的整体转型密切相关,和代表性的表演理论既本质关联又有所差异。通过分析不同时期代表性学者对民间宗教信仰的界定与研究,可以勾勒出该领域基本理论视角和方法论变迁的学术史轨迹。     

Multi-element soil prospection aiding geophysical and archaeological survey on an archaeological site in suburban Sagalassos (SW-Turkey)

In order to take full advantage of the archaeological information contained within buried archaeological sites, it is important to apply an integrative approach combining complementary prospection methods. In this study, geochemical prospection data are combined with archaeological and geophysical survey results on an unexcavated site in suburban Sagalassos (SW-Turkey), with the aim of obtaining better insights into the structural shapes and past functionalities of the area. Spatial and multivariate statistical analyses of the chemical data reveal anomalies of K, P and Zn on a location where archaeological and geophysical results suggest the presence of ceramic producing kilns. These elemental enrichments are thought to result from burning wood or dung as fuel for the detected kilns. In addition, local anomalies of Co, Cr, Fe, Mg, Mn and Ni were found to reflect the working and storage of ophiolitic clays, employed as a raw material for ceramic production. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal in a 2.5 m deep drill core in this zone provides ages between AD 120 and 350 at depths of 50 and 60 cm. Al, As, Ba, Ca, Na, Sr, Ti and Pb are considered geogenic elements in this study. The present study supports the theory that geochemical prospection holds potential as a surveying technique, as it was found that chemical data facilitate the interpretation of structures detected by geophysical and archaeological methods, thereby creating an extra dimension to the interpretation of survey data. The results further argue in favour of using strong-acid extractions and the consideration of a large suite of elements when applying chemical soil survey as an archaeological prospection technique, and highlight the importance of considering site lithology. Multivariate statistics proved to be invaluable in distinguishing anthropogenic from lithological soil patterns.     

夜市，城市的一门“生意”

对于一个城市．旅游业应该讲求商机的“务实”,夜市其实是一门“生意”,而且．可以是门庞大的生意。台湾旅游观光协会曾做过一项调查:“旅客对台湾印象最深,最流连忘返的去处并非华丽的购物商场或是名山胜水,而是夜市。”的确．台湾从北部到南部,大大小小的夜市不计其数．其夜市文化自成一格．很具地方特色．既是小吃的集散地．也聚集着各种各样售卖流行服饰、手工艺品的摊贩。