The craniology and relationships of four species of bos 1. Basic craniology: Bos taurus L. and its absolute size

This paper is the first of a series on the craniology of four species of Bos. Here (and in the next paper) Bos taurus in Britain is used to establish a basic craniology for the genus. In the initial sections notes are made on the nomenclature, material available, history, and age assessment of B. taurus. The subsequent section deals with the effects of sex, age and breed on absolute size.The results show that Bos taurus is very variable, particularly in the length of the horncore. Sex influences certain dimensions very greatly, particularly those of breadth. Although the horns of cows are often longer than those of bulls of the same breed the horncores may be shorter in cows. In studying the effects of age it can be seen that growth rates are initially very high, slowing down at about three years of age. Tooth row length decreases with age and hence it is a particularly unreliable indicator of size. Obviously breed affects size and it has been possible to divide the skulls studied into size groups which correspond well with known body weights.     

The Italian Neolithic: A Synthesis of Research

This paper reviews the distinctive economic and social development of Neolithic Italy and its islands, from ca. 6000 B.C. until the emergence of the Copper Age ca. 3500 B.C. Through a synthesis of traditional interpretations and more recent discussions relating to early farming economies, social and technological developments, settlement, and landscape, the complex regional patterns are described. The development of archaeological studies in Italy, the biases in regional and chronological data collection, the regional patterns of cultures and landscapes, and the emergence of distinctive funerary, artistic and economic activities reveal a wealth of varied and intriguing archaeological information from a wide variety of sources that link parallel developments in the Mediterranean and Europe.     

The composition of late Romano-British colourless vessel glass: glass production and consumption

One hundred and twenty-eight colourless glass tablewares from settlement contexts throughout the British Isles, dating from the mid-3rd to 4th century AD, were analysed by ICP-AES spectrometry. Three distinct compositional groups were identified based upon the use of different decolourisers and primary raw materials, with possible sub-groups within these. These compositions have distinct, but overlapping chronological ranges, suggesting colourless glass production in at least three, possibly more, centres in the late Roman period. The compositional analysis highlights the high degree to which recycling of glass was taking place during this late period. The chronological distribution of some of these compositions is more restricted within the British assemblages than is observed in other published assemblages from Western Europe. This distinction may indicate different supply patterns of glass to the Western provinces.     

Towards the application of desorption electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) to the analysis of ancient proteins from artefacts

The detection and identification of protein residues from archaeological artefacts has been the subject of considerable controversy over the past two decades, this controversy spurring the application of a range of different analytical methods. Part of the debate surrounds the ability of the methods to uniquely identify original proteins. Another is the apparent contradiction between the ease of extraction in the laboratory of residues that have managed to survive in sediment over millennia; some studies use simple solvents including water, whilst others claim that efficient extraction requires the destruction of the artefact.Desorption electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) offers the potential to directly analyse proteins bound to the surface of artefacts. The method permits desorption of analytes under ambient conditions directly from a wide range of surfaces with little or no sample preparation. This has already led to its application in a range of areas, including forensic analysis of trace levels of narcotic drugs. It does not require destruction of the artefact (e.g. by drilling or dissolution) and can work in concert with other methods (for instance it could be used as a screening tool prior to lipid extraction).Here we report the construction of a DESI-MS interface and consider the potential of the method to contribute to the debate surrounding the preservation of proteins on artefacts. The DESI-MS interface was fitted to a conventional ion trap mass spectrometer and tested using peptides and proteins artificially applied to the surface of flint flakes and potsherd samples. A range of intact proteins was analysed; the DESI interface identified test proteins up to a maximum molecular weight of approximately 20 kDa. Peptides generated from these and larger proteins could be detected using DESI-MS following tryptic digestion in situ. The collected data allowed identification of the originating proteins. The potential applications to archaeological science of this new analytical tool are discussed.     

Reporting oppression: mapping racial prejudice in Anti-Caste and Fraternity, 1888–1895

This paper presents a close reading of the reports of racial oppression that appeared in issues of two periodicals, Anti-Caste and its successor Fraternity, between 1888 and 1895. Edited in Street, Somerset, these periodicals created an extensive political geographical imagination by mapping international cases of racial prejudice. Although critical of the British empire, neither Anti-Caste nor Fraternity demanded the destruction of the British empire. In a tactic similar to that used by early Pan-Africanists, the papers’ narratives desired an end to the expansion of the British empire and an increase in the respect for and conditions of those who were ruled ‘under the British Flag’. However, Anti-Caste’s focus upon racial inequality across the United States as well as the British empire enabled it to create a distinctive critique of racial prejudice across the English-speaking world. Its criticism of the imperial project combined with support for human brotherhood allowed the paper to develop a framework for debates on racial prejudice that drew together criticisms of labour laws in India, the removal of people from their lands in Southern Africa, the racial segregation of public transport in the United States and the restriction of Chinese labour in Australia.     

‘A Remarkably Patterned Life’: Domestic and Public in the Aztec Household City

This article argues that the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan should be understood as a ‘household’, a structure that gave powerful significance to binary gendered ideologies at every level of city organisation. Male and female roles were configured around ‘public’ and ‘domestic’ spheres, but these concepts were perceived in a broader and more flexible way than traditional public/private dichotomies suggest and might helpfully be understood in political terms as distinguishing between exterior/foreign and interior/domestic realms. Building on understandings of parallelism and complementarity, the article demonstrates that gendered pairings, based on distinctive masculine/public and feminine/domestic spheres, mirrored the household not only in social, economic and political contexts, but also in religious settings, providing space for both male and female power at every level of urban life. Just as a married couple provided the basis to a successful and productive home, so the parallel responsibilities of men and women, structured according to concepts of ‘household’ and reflected throughout the institutions and activities of the city, were believed to form the foundations of a thriving Aztec city.     

Lidar mapping and surface survey of the Izapa state on the tropical piedmont of Chiapas,Mexico

Recent lidar and pedestrian surface surveys have remapped the well-known Mesoamerican site of Izapa and the surrounding Soconusco piedmont. These data document: 1) occupation from the surrounding piedmont environment, 2) significantly larger estimates of the site's size during both the Formative and Classic periods as well as 3) new architectural features from the monumental site core. Methodological issues are outlined for combining high precision lidar mapping with ground truthing and pedestrian survey that focuses on surface collection of temporally diagnostic artifacts. Results are presented for 670 mounds documented in an area of 43.1 sq km in and around the ancient capital of Izapa.     

Birdmen, cemís and duhos: material studies and AMS C dating of Pre-Hispanic Caribbean wood sculptures in the British Museum

This paper presents 19 AMS radiocarbon dates from nine pre-Hispanic Caribbean (Taíno/Lucayan) wooden sculptures in the British Museum collections, provenanced to Jamaica, Hispaniola and the Bahamas. Together with strontium isotope results and wood and resin identifications, these data build a material and chronological context for some of the most recognised examples of Taíno art – from duhos (ceremonial seats) and cemís (free standing depictions of deities, ancestors and spirits) to canopied stands used to hold hallucinogenic drugs during the cohoba ceremony. Each sculpture widens our understanding of Caribbean carving traditions, stylistic variation, chronologies and material resource utilisation. A group of three sculptures recovered from Carpenters Mountains, Jamaica, carved by AD 1300 and brought together as a ceremonial ‘set’, each appear to have had their inlays renewed over a century later, suggesting long-term use. Three key examples of the main Caribbean duho categories (high-back, low-back and extended), provide insights into the diversity of styles present in the region post-AD 1100. The British Museum's corpus enables an exploration of regional styles, and potentially the work of individual artists.