First Obsidian in the Northern French Alps during the Early Neolithic

An exceptional discovery was made in 2013 in the northern French Alps, at the Grande Rivoire site in Sassenage (Isère department): an obsidian bladelet from Sardinia was found in a cultural horizon dated to about 5360–5210 cal b.c. The abundant arrowheads found with it are characteristic of the Early Neolithic in the South of France (Cardial/Epicardial). Yet there was no pottery or domestic fauna, and only discrete markers of farming. The typological, technological and micro-wear analysis of this bladelet, as well as the determination of the origin of the raw material, open new avenues of reflection for the neolithization of the northern Alps, in particular concerning the role played by the Early Neolithic cultures of northern Italy.     

England's interwar suburban landscapes: myth and reality

An investigation of suburbs created by private enterprise in interwar England reveals that their development was more problematic, and their physical characteristics were more diverse, than has been widely assumed. Differences between initial proposals for the development of an area and the reality that eventually emerged on the ground were widespread. Though architectural styles, building types and road patterns were generally distinct from those of the period before World War I, they varied considerably both within and between cities. Two main types of process affecting the landscape can be recognized. The first is systemic change, exemplified by the practically universal adoption, during the course of the 1920s, of the garden-suburb ethos and the creation of markedly different landscapes from those that existed previously. The second is adaptive change, involving adjustments, usually piecemeal, before, during and after developments, but conforming to the dominant period characteristics of the layouts; for example, reductions in plot sizes associated with increases in land values. Though conceptually fairly distinct, the two types of change may not in practice be separable.     

An Integrated isotopic study of Early Intermediate Period camelid husbandry in the Santa Valley,Perú

ABSTRACT

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope compositions were determined for camelid bone collagen, hair, and wool (fibre) sampled from textiles from archaeological sites in the Santa Valley (north coast of Perú) occupied during Moche III (El Castillo, A.D. 300?500) and Moche IV (Guadalupito, A.D. 500?700) phases; a small number of camelid bone collagen samples were also analysed from the Late Suchimancillo Phase (A.D. 0?300). These data suggest that localised camelid husbandry was practiced in the Santa Valley from at least the Moche III phase. The nature of camelid husbandry likely involved animals being kept spatially segregated and fed a diverse range of fodder. The isotopic compositions of the bone collagen and wool textiles were very similar, which suggests that the wool that was used to produce the textiles was derived from local camelids rather than being acquired from the highlands. The transition from Moche III to Moche IV, which saw a significant increase in Mochica presence in the Santa Valley, was not accompanied by major changes in camelid husbandry practices. Localised camelid husbandry continued through this transition with minimal change; the prolonged droughts of the sixth century A.D. had no discernable effect on camelid husbandry, probably due to the special hydraulic conditions unique to the Santa Valley.     

The art of displacement – curating a preschool context in a public transport system

ABSTRACT

This article discusses ways of enabling the youngest children at preschool (1–3 years) to participate in creating space in the public transport system. One researcher, two preschool educators and six preschool toddlers travelled on foot, by bus and by underground train to the Brunkeberg tunnel, a pedestrian tunnel in the centre of Stockholm, Sweden. Drawing on artistic site-specific methods of displacement, this article details three propositions for how to ‘do’ preschool in the public transport system: locations, dimensions and positions. By placing the routines and rhythms of a preschool practice into the urban spaces of transport, the ‘miniature preschool’ comes to curate context. The article proposes methods for a preschool practice to curate context through activating mobile but particular locations within a specific place; creating a vocal mobile architecture; and enabling multiple and mobile positions within one specific situation.     

Publicizing insecurity,privatizing security: Chinese wholesalers' surveillance cameras in a Paris suburb (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)

Since the early nineties, several hundreds of Chinese immigrants have settled in what has become known as the ‘Chinese wholesalers area’. For the past two years, Chinese wholesalers in Aubervilliers have been calling on public authorities to address the problem of street robberies and violent thefts, which they experience on a daily basis. Yet, they have been encouraged by the authorities to ensure their own protection, by – amongst other things – installing surveillance cameras to film the streets. This is illegal according to French legislation on camera surveillance. Knowing this, why have surveillance cameras been adopted as a solution? This question guides the ethnographic analysis presented here of a situation where the installation of surveillance cameras was locally negotiated by the main actors involved – namely, the wholesalers’ representatives and the police.