Automated classification of starch granules using supervised pattern recognition of morphological properties

Image analysis techniques have been used to investigate the likelihood of being able to classify and assign a probability regarding the plant origin of individual starch granules in a collection of granules. Quantifiable variables were used to characterize the granules, and the assignments and probabilities were calculated objectively. We consider the classification of images containing granules of a single species and of mixed species and the possibility of assigning a class to granules of unknown species in an image of a slide obtained from the dental calculus of chimpanzees.     

Destruction of microstructure in archaeological bone: a case study from Portugal

Sampling of archaeological human bone may not be justified, contrary to former high expectations regarding adult age assessment based on histomorphometry. The alterations in buried bone as a result of bacterial action are readily visible in the scanning electron microscope (SEM). An understanding of the chemical and structural changes to cortical bone requires work at the level of a few microns. This paper reports on problems encountered during analyses of samples of human bone from Mesolithic (ca. 8000 calbp) shell midden sites at Muge in central Portugal, and the methods used to try and overcome these problems. We believe we have shown that these Mesolithic bones are partly comprised of bacterially reprecipitated mineral, which has had collagen removed, with consequent obliteration of bone microstructure. We conclude that microbial destruction of the structure of archaeological bone can be a serious impediment to analysis of the characteristics of the population represented by those skeletal remains. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The trouble with truth: Anthropology's epistemological hypochondria

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the AAA meeting in November 2003, in a panel on 'Anthropological evidence and its uses', sponsored by the Wenner-Gren Foundation. My thanks to Jane Cowan, Nigel Rapport and an anonymous reviewer for their comments.     

Disseminating the policy narrative of ‘Heritage under threat’ in China

ABSTRACT

Originating from within the UNESCO, narratives on ‘heritage under threat’ tell the story of how and why intangible cultural heritage (ICH) practices are valuable, why are they disappearing, and how they can be protected from destruction. Focusing on PR China, this paper conducts a frame analysis to identify narratives on ‘heritage under threat’ as employed by the UNESCO, the Chinese party-state, and academics. The study argues that while policy narratives in any country undergo a process of congruence-building, circulation, and implementation, these processes take distinctive forms in authoritarian countries due to the states’ discursive and political monopoly: While non-state actors are involved, the state primarily steers the appropriation process. Nevertheless, once established, the policy narrative transforms across time and space, enabling local actors to use it to pursue their own interests.