Pierre de Villars: An Ormiste after the Fronde

The historiography of the Fronde (1648-1653) suffers from apaucity of social studies, such that the civil war which toreFrance apart during the minority of Louis XIV is usually presentedas a vain reaction against the rise of absolutism. What canthe fate of the Frondeurs after 1653 tell us in this regard?Pierre de Villars was of the main leaders of the Orméeof Bordeaux. The reconstruction of his career, reflected inthe social connotations of the titles he bore, proves that inspite of the solidity and strength of the protection he enjoyed,he had to pay for defeat by abandoning his earlier ambitions.This outcome alters the perspectives and modifies the analysesthat have traditionally been advanced where these events areconcerned.     

Geoarchaeology of Beirut's ancient harbour,Phoenicia

This paper presents geoarchaeological results from the ancient harbour of Beirut (Lebanon). As at Sidon, knowledge of Beirut's ancient tell has advanced significantly over the past decade, thanks namely to redevelopment of the city centre and excavations centred on the modern port. In spite of this research, understanding of the city's coastal palaeoenvironments during antiquity is poor. Buried Iron Age harbourworks presently 300 m from the sea attest to pronounced coastal changes during the past 3000 years. These processes have been significantly accentuated during the last two centuries by redevelopment of the port, which remains in use some 5000 years after its foundation. Here we elucidate the coastal stratigraphy east and west of the Bronze Age tell to yield new insights into the evolution of the Beirut seaboard, in addition to the complex history of human–environment interactions. These chronostratigraphic data are subsequently used to (1) precisely locate the main anchorage haven during antiquity; and (2) propose a chronology for its evolution.     

Why Do Firms Relocate? Lessons from a Regional Analysis

In recent years, the qualitative evolution of relocations (from low-cost offshoring to more technologically intensive relocations) has become a new concern in political debate. Focusing on these new trends, the aim of this paper is to better understand relocations from the firms’ point of view. The concept of relocation is reformulated by adopting a broad definition considering it as a specific dimension of firms’ mobility options. We consider three analytical dimensions: relocation as a productive problem (“relational space” for coordination), relocation in a territorial dimension (“geographical space”) and relocation as a complex decision-making process (“political space”). On this basis, we combine two strands of literature (economics of proximity and institutional approaches of the firm) for a better understanding of the decision-making process and the resulting diversity of situations. The framework is finally applied to the specific case of the Aquitaine region of southwest France in order to identify the conditions of anchoring and mobility of firms in spatial terms. Our aim is to show that the decision-making process of relocations cannot be reduced to a simple cost calculation, leaving room for local public policies.     

Environmental changes in the Maryut lagoon (northwestern Nile delta) during the last ∼2000 years

Here, we interpret the evolution of Maryut lagoon (Egypt) during the past ∼2000 years. Chronostratigraphy and laboratory analyses have enabled us to identify four main phases since the 3rd century AD: (1) a fluvial-dominated lagoon between the 2nd–3rd and the 8–9th centuries cal. AD; (2) a gradual desiccation of the lagoon toward a sebkha-like environment from the 9–10th to the 13th centuries cal. AD; (3) a fluvial-dominated lagoon from the 13th century cal. AD; and (4) a second gradual desiccation between the 17th and the 18th centuries cal. AD. The general aridification trend described throughout the study period may be linked to the gradual decline of the Canopic branch, which supplied the Maryut lagoon with freshwater. Nonetheless, at shorter timescales, the different phases of lagoon aridification and flooding coincide with land abandonment and irrigation works in the region. It is suggested that the history of the Alexandria countryside has been a key driver in shaping the environmental history of the Maryut during the past ∼2000 years.     

Publications received 1984–1985

José Manuel Sánchez Ron (1997): INTA. 50 años de ciencia y técnica aeroespacial (Madrid: INTA)

Dieter Hoffmann and Kristie Macrakis (eds.), Naturwissenschaft und Technik in der DDR (Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1997), pp. 410.

Monika Renneberg and Mark Walker (eds.), Science, Technology and National Socialum (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), pp. 422.

Keith Wailoo, Drawing Blood: Technology and Disease Identity in Twentieth‐Century America, (Baltimore &; London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997), xii+288 pp., ill.

Richard H. Grove, Green Imperialism: Colonial Expansion, Tropical Islands and the Origins of Environmentalism. 1660–1860 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995 (HB) and 1996 (PB)), pp. xiv+540.

Peter Galison, Image and Logic. A Material Culture of Mkrophysics. (Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1997) pp. xxv+955.     

Testing the human factor: radiocarbon dating the first peoples of the South Pacific

Archaeologists have long debated the origins and mode of dispersal of the immediate predecessors of all Polynesians and many populations in Island Melanesia. Such debates are inextricably linked to a chronological framework provided, in part, by radiocarbon dates. Human remains have the greatest potential for providing answers to many questions pertinent to these debates. Unfortunately, bone is one of the most complicated materials to date reliably because of bone degradation, sample pre-treatment and diet. This is of particular concern in the Pacific where humidity contributes to the rapid decay of bone protein, and a combination of marine, reef, C₄, C₃ and freshwater foods complicate the interpretation of ¹⁴C determinations. Independent advances in bone pre-treatment, isotope multivariate modelling and radiocarbon calibration techniques provide us, for the first time, with the tools to obtain reliable calibrated ages for Pacific burials. Here we present research that combines these techniques, enabling us to re-evaluate the age of burials from key archaeological sites in the Pacific.