Molecular and morphological analyses of avian eggshell excavated from a late thirteenth century earth oven

Using ancient DNA (aDNA) extracted from eggshell of the extinct moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes) we determined the species composition and number of eggs found in a late thirteenth century earth oven feature at Wairau Bar (South Island, New Zealand) – one of New Zealand’s most significant archaeological sites. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA signatures confirmed this oven feature contained fragments of at least 31 moa eggs, representing three moa genera: Emeus; Euryapteryx; Dinornis. We demonstrate through the genetic identification of 127 moa eggshell fragments that thickness is an unreliable character for species assignment. We also present a protocol for assessing the preservation likelihood of DNA in burnt eggshell. This is useful because eggshell fragments found in archaeological contexts have often been thermally modified, and heat significantly increases DNA fragmentation. Eggshell is widely used in radiocarbon dating and stable isotope research, this study showcases how aDNA can also add to our knowledge of eggshell in both archaeological and palaeoecological contexts.     

Estimating original flake mass from 3D scans of platform area

This study confirms the increased capacity to predict flake mass that arises from more accurately measuring surface area in three dimensions using a digital scanner. We also reveal the existence of significantly different relationships between platform area and flake mass for flakes with different platform types and ventral and dorsal morphologies. These different relationships between platform surface area and mass have not been previously identified, and reveal the complexity of platform/mass relationships. Using multivariate regression of 3D platform surface area and external platform angle we improve the accuracy of predictions of original flake mass. We propose a method for studying reduction intensity on retouched flakes, based on comparing predictions of the initial mass of the flake with measurements of the mass following retouching to estimate the amount of mass removed through retouching. We name this approach the Initial-/Terminal-Mass Comparison, or ITMC. Our experiments demonstrate that the capacity of the 3D platform scans to predict flake mass, and by implication the capacity of the ITMC to estimate mass loss, rivals or exceeds the capacity demonstrated for existing reduction measures.     

The Violence of Poverty: Theology and Activism in an “Age of Austerity”

ABSTRACT

Faith groups are in the front line of the struggle to defeat poverty in breadline Britain. Given their roots in local communities Churches and Christian NGOs are well-placed to challenge economic policies that have resulted in the spiraling of food poverty, homelessness, personal debt and child poverty. By framing poverty as a political choice, a form of structural violence and systemic sin this paper brings peace studies and political theology into a constructive dialogue. In the face of ongoing “austerity” the paper demonstrates that poverty represents a clear and present danger to the social fabric of the UK and argues that only a re-imagined interdisciplinary theology of liberation can provide academics and activists with the tools needed to defeat systemic poverty and the cultural violence upon which it rests.     

Peatland conservation in Buchan,north‐east Scotland: The historic context and contemporary issues

Scottish peatlands are now recognised as important habitats for conservation, and are increasingly protected by both national and international designations. This paper examines peatland conservation in north‐east Scotland, using recently published data to assess habitat quality, and relating this to longer‐term historical trends in attitudes towards peatlands, and their utilisation. The historical data indicates that peatland losses in northeast Scotland have been extensive, and occurred rapidly during the 18th and 19th centuries, when peatlands were regarded as fuel sources, or wastelands which could be converted to agricultural use. Threats have lessened in the second half of the 20th century, and many sites are now protected by conservation designations. However, historical attitudes towards peatlands often persist, and this can pose problems which must be addressed if conservation management is to be successful.     

New maps and charts

Note on The Lake‐Dwellings of Europe.

The Realm of Nature—An Outline of Physiography. By Hugh Robert Mill, D.Sc., Edin., F.R.S.E. London : John Murray, 1892. Price 5s.

Galloway in Ancient and Modern Times. By P. H. M'Kerlie. Edinburgh : William Blackwood and Sons, 1891. Price 7s. 6d.

The Trade Policy of Imperial Federation from an Economic Point of View. By Maurice H. Hervey, Principal of Illawarra College, New South Wales. London : Swan Sonnenschein and Co., 1892. Pp. x. + 182. Price 2s. 6d.

Two Happy Years in Ceylon. By C. F. Gordon Cumming. Illustrated, in 2 vols. Edinburgh and London : W. Blackwood and Sons, 1892. Price 30s.

Travels in the Mogul Empire, 1656–1668. By François Bernier. Edited by Archibald Constable, M.As. Soc. Beng., F.S.A. Scot. Vol. I. of Constable's Oriental Miscellany. Westminster : Archibald Constable and Co., 1891. Pp. li + 498. Price 6s. net.

The Real Japan : Studies of Contemporary Japanese Manners, Morals, Administration, and Politics. By Henry Norman. London : T. Fisher Unwin, 1892.

Japanese Girls and Women. By Alice Mabel Bacon. London : Gay and Bird, 1891. Pp. 333. Price 5s.

Coomassie and Magdala. The Story of Two British Campaigns in Africa. By Henry M. Stanley. New Edition. Pp. x + 402. Price 3s. 6d

The Great Lone Land: A Narrative of Travel and Adventure in the North‐West of America. By Colonel W. F. Butler, C.B., F.R.G.S. Fourteenth Edition. Pp. x + 386. Price 3s. 6d. London : Sampson Low, Marston, &; Company, Limited, 1891.

Untrodden Jamaica. By Herbert J. Thomas. Kingston : Aston W. Gardner and Co., 1890. Pp. 90.

The New Jamaica. By Edgar Mayhew Bacon and Eugene Murray Aaron, Ph.D. New York : Walbridge and Co. Kingston: Aston W. Gardner and Co., 1890. Pp. xi + 243.

The Statesman's Year‐Book, 1892. Edited by J. Scott Keltie, Assistant‐Secretary to the Royal Geographical Society. Pp. 1151. Price 10s. 6d.

The Northern Counties Red Book and Chronicle Almanac for 1892. Inverness: Northern Chronicle Office. Pp. 88. Price 3d.

Smith American Railways. Argentina and Uruguay. By J. K. Carter, F.G.S. London : Fred. C. Mathieson &; Sons, 1891. Pp. xii.+ 204. Price 2s. net.

Britannic Confederation : A Series of Papers by Sir John Colomb, Professor Edward A. Freeman, George G. Chisholm, Professor Shield Nicholson, Maurice H. Hervey, and the Bight Honourable Lord Thring. Edited, with an Introduction, by Arthur Silva White, Secretary and Editor, Eoyal Scottish Geographical Society. With a new map of the British Empire. London: George Philip and Son, 1892. Pp. 180. Price 3s. 6d.     

“A Permanent and Even European Reputation”: The Lost Work of the Reverend Walter Gregor

Vincent Thomas Sternberg's The Dialect and Folk-Lore of Northamptonshire appeared in March 1851 and was the first book to make use of W. J. Thoms' coinage of folklore (dating from 1846) in its title. It was sufficiently successful a publication to call for a second edition that same year, although with the title changed to The Dialect and Folk-Lore of Northamptonshire with Warwickshire Legends and Traditions. The content, however, remains the same. This second edition has hitherto not been noticed by bibliographers of English folklore and copies are scarce; for instance, COPAC records just a single copy of this book at the University of Liverpool.