De Quelques présents latins

Plato and Xenophon ‐ contrary to Dover's interpretation of the Clouds ‐ provide the background to Aristophanes’ caricature of Socrates: viewed against that background, Aristophanes’ jokes in the Clouds lose their obscurity, his comedy gains on poignancy and artistic unity; Plato's and Xenophon's Socrates regains historicity.     

Exceptional preservation of a prehistoric human brain from Heslington,Yorkshire, UK

Archaeological work in advance of construction at a site on the edge of York, UK, yielded human remains of prehistoric to Romano-British date. Amongst these was a mandible and cranium, the intra-cranial space of which contained shrunken but macroscopically recognizable remains of a brain. Although the distinctive surface morphology of the organ is preserved, little recognizable brain histology survives. Though rare, the survival of brain tissue in otherwise skeletalised human remains from wet burial environments is not unique. A survey of the literature shows that similar brain masses have been previously reported in diverse circumstances. We argue for a greater awareness of these brain masses and for more attention to be paid to their detection and identification in order to improve the reporting rate and to allow a more comprehensive study of this rare archaeological survival.     

Framing Electoral Reform in the 2011 UK Alternative Vote Referendum Campaign

The 2011 British referendum on the electoral system offered voters a change within the majoritarian family from single-member plurality to the alternative vote. The alternative vote is not proportional, but the ‘yes’ campaign in the United Kingdom included small parties and ‘democracy sector’ organisations previously associated with advocating proportional representation. This anomalous behaviour can be explained by applying social movement theory, especially interpretations related to political opportunity structures and frame analysis. The Liberal Democrats, Electoral Reform Society and others had previously criticised the alternative vote, yet decided to campaign in favour of it. This led to an unclear framing of their objectives and, ultimately, their failure.

2011年英国就选举制进行的公投为这个多数决体系的选民提供了一种从简单多数到排序复选的变革。排序复选并非比例制,但英国的“yes”运动包括先前主张比例代表制的小党和“民主部门”的组织。这样的缺少一贯之道可以用社会运动的理论特别是政治—机会的结构和框架分析来解释。自由民主派、选举改革学会及其他先前批评排序复选制的组织又决定声援它。这造成其目标的模糊和最终的失败。     

The people and the professors: socialism and the educated middle classes in Italy, 1870–1915

This article examines the role of the educated middle classes in the Italian socialist and syndicalist movements from 1870 to 1915. After discussing the problems of defining the educated middle classes and the intellectuals, this article looks at the role of the creative free-floating intellectuals within the socialist movement of the 1890s. The importance of positivist and 'evangelical' socialism is highlighted and illustrated through the influence of Cesare Lombroso and Edmondo De Amicis. The article then focuses on the role of Filippo Turati and the Italian Socialist Party's Socialist Parliamentary Group, which was largely composed of individuals from the educated middle classes. In this part of the article, the author evaluates the influence of the educated middle classes in the Italian Socialist Party before 1915. This article concludes with a discussion on the nature of Italian intelligentsia socialism and its influence on Gramsci. Questo articolo esamina il ruolo delle borghesie intellettuali nel movimento socialista e sindacalista in Italia tra il 1870 ed il 1915. Dopo aver preso in considerazione le problematiche inerenti alla definizione sia delle borghesie intellettuali che degli intellettuali, l'articolo dedica spazio al ruolo creativo di intellettuali indipendenti all'interno del movimento socialista negli anni intorno al 1890. Si dÀ particolare rilievo all'importanza del socialismo positivista ed 'evangelico' attraverso l'analisi del pensiero di Cesare Lombroso e di Edmondo De Amicis. Si passa, infine, a considerare il ruolo di Filippo Turati e del gruppo parlamentare del Partito socialista, il quale era principalmente composto da personalitÀ di estrazione borghese intellettuale; l'autore valuta l'importanza e l'influenza delle borghesie intellettuali nel Partito socialista, nel periodo che precede il 1915. L'articolo si conclude con un'analisi della natura dell'intellighenzia socialista italiana e della sua influenza su Gramsci.     

Application of lipid biomarker analysis to evaluate the function of ‘slab-lined pits’ in Arctic Norway

Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and bulk carbon isotope determinations have been performed on samples (‘cemented organic residues’, charcoal, sediment and fire-cracked rock) excavated from 12 slab-lined pits from various locations in Arctic Norway to test the premise that these archaeological features were used for the extraction of oil from the blubber of marine mammals, such as seal, whale and walrus. A wide range of lipid compound classes were detected especially in the cemented organic residues and in the charcoal samples. The presence of long-chain unsaturated and isoprenoid fatty acids together with oxidation and thermal alteration products of unsaturated acids such as dicarboxylic acids, dihydroxyfatty acids and ω-(o-alkylphenyl)alkanoic acids suggests that these features were used for marine oil extraction at elevated temperatures. Notably the location of the hydroxyl groups in the dihydroxyfatty acids provides a record of the positional isomer of the precursor fatty acid and allows confirmation that 11-docosenoic (cetoleic) acid, the most abundant C_22:1 isomer in marine oil, was a major component of the original lipid. Further information was provided by the presence of long-chain fatty acyl moieties in surviving triacylglycerols and the presence of cholesterol. A fungal metabolite, mycose (trehalose), was found in all samples apart from a fire-cracked rock and points to microbiological activity in the pits. Bulk isotope analysis conducted on the ‘cemented organic residues’ is consistent with modern reference samples of blubber and oil from seal and whale. These data provide clear analytical evidence of the function of slab-lined pits in the archaeological record and suggest widespread exploitation of marine mammals for producing oil for heating, lighting and myriad other uses in the past.     

Re-examining the Egyptian colonial encounter in Nubia through a compositional,mineralogical, and textural comparison of ceramics

Textural, mineralogical, and X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) analyses are used as a cost effective method to distinguish for the first time ancient Egyptian and Nubian-style ceramics found in Nubia. Textural and mineralogical data suggest that Nubian-style sherds are mixtures of sand, silt, and clay sediment that is generally finer grained and poorer in quartz than is the sediment mixture used to produce Egyptian-style pottery. Chemical data also establish a significant difference in the amount of chemical variation found within each style population, but nonetheless supports a considerable overlap in the possible provenance of both styles. Observations and data obtained during this study indicate that standardized, Egyptian-style manufacturing was introduced into Nubia under colonialism, without substantially altering the diversity of native methods of production.     

Land sales in eighth- and ninth-century Bavaria: legal, economic and social aspects

Based upon an examination of the Bavarian law code and detailed analysis of thirty eighth- and ninth-century deeds from Bavarian cartularies, this article argues that land sales were common in early medieval Bavaria and generally followed codified procedures, derived in part at least, from late-Roman vulgar law. The essential element in the sale was the payment of the purchase price ( pretium ) which established its validity. This purchase price, even when expressed in monetary forms, was seldom executed in specie and was determined by customary social as well as strictly economic considerations. The Church probably was the primary purchaser of land to consolidate properties obtained by gift, and lay men and women sold land to meet public obligations, to obtain necessary stock and to satisfy personal wants.     

On the Spacing of Time: On “The Tide of History”

The author discusses aspects of how time appears and is used by the individual and by society. In focus is what the author calls the ideological time scale as it appears in Western society. The concept of the ideological time scale implies systems of strong, ideological signals transferred through time in the human mind from one generation to another. One such signal is the age-old concept of the hero and the symbolism projected around this concept. The paper ends with an admonition to scholars to be aware of and study the kinds of messages transferred through time by this signal system. These messages carry important information about the ways in which society directs itself in the time continuum.