Local area farming Plans — a common reality for farmers and conservationists in the Scottish Highlands?

This paper supports the need for new policy developments to produce farm conservation plans specific to local areas. It explores attitudes to land management for conservation and economic goals, and presents views of fanners and local conservationists, who are directly involved in agri‐environmental and farm woodland schemes, in three regions of the Highlands of Scotland. It reviews the current state of Scottish agri‐environmental schemes, and presents results of on‐farm workshops conducted with farmers and conservationists and discusses common management plan approaches for environmental action. It concludes that farmers and conservationists are already considering the advantages of local area planning at a local area level and agree that there should be focus on addressing local site specific issues which take into account both the whole farm and its wider environment.     

Chihr de l’encens (Yémen)

Frankincense burners found in al‐Shihr’s excavations in Yemen, a frankincense harbour during the Islamic period, represent a rare corpus of this type, which is an indication of both specific use and goods from South Arabia. Although associated with the pre‐Islamic South Arabian kingdoms, the frankincense burner evolved throughout the Islamic period. This is proved by the long chronological sequence of the al‐Shihr site (780–1996). Texts quoting the presence of frankincense, its use and its trade in al‐Shihr are cited in this article to support the reputation of this harbour‐town, which is part of the maritime trade networks of medieval Islam. The aim of this article is to create a renewal of interest in future archaeological research about this object, which is so often neglected in spite of its importance as a testimony of the customs and exchanges that are deeply rooted in Arabian civilisation.     

Human Ecology of Shellfish Exploitation at a Prehistoric Fishing-Farming Village on the Pacific Coast of Mexico

ABSTRACT

Shellfish remains excavated from an early agricultural village on the Pacific Coast of Mexico (Guerrero) indicate a dietary shift from locally obtained estuarine shellfish (1400–1100 BC) to a greater diversity of mollusks collected from more distant marine environments (900–500 BC). The timing of this shift suggests that it occurred as human populations increased and impacted the availability of local estuarine resources. We argue that this prompted the incorporation of a more diverse array of shellfish species harvested at greater distances or obtained via trade, possibly with the use of boats to transport shellfish and other resources back to the village.     

Re-evaluating the Monitoring of the Shardlow Log Boat

Following the discovery of a Bronze Age log boat in Shardlow Quarry, Derbyshire in 2003, a scheme was devised to preserve this boat in situ. This included a monitoring programme to ensure that reducing conditions were maintained. This solution was agreed by the mineral planning authority Derbyshire County Council, with input and advice from English Heritage.

Monitoring lasted ten years, during which time gravel deposits surrounding the boat were extracted. The boat was protected from dewatering during this time by a clay cut-off, installed around the area containing the boat before extraction begun. After extraction the adjacent areas were backfilled with on-site soils and inert waste.

Data indicate that a reducing environment has been largely sustained during this period. Following careful and considered discussion, the monitoring programme ceased as there was unlikely to be further impacts to site hydrology, making additional data collection redundant.     

The World Archaeological Congress: Extending the vision

Este artículo resume la historia reciente, los logros y las trayectorias futuras del World Archaeological Congress. Tras esbozar la estructura organizativa del WAC, cuyos miembros son elegidos a partir de 14 regiones globales, la autora recoge el programa de publicaciones del WAC y los fúturos inter-congresos, animando a individuos de todo el mundo a participar. Se?ala asimismo que el WAC ha tomado un papel del liderazgo a la hora de respaldar a los arqueólogos locales para apoyar la conservación y la práctica ética de la arqueología. Además, ha secundado la nutrición y el crecimiento de comunidades y valores arqueológicos en áreas en las que las condiciones económicas y políticas dificultan su sustentación. El compromiso del WAC de ser multi-vocal se evidencia en la diversidad de personas que asisten a las conferencias del WAC—por ejemplo, al WAC-5 celebrado en Washington asistieron participantes de 75 países. Estas ramificaciones no son sólo en términos de la diversidad global, sino también en términos de desarrollar una habilidad de escuchar y una voluntad de respetar las voces de grupos dispares dentro de los diversos países, como por ejemplo las voces de las poblaciones Indígenas. El compromiso del WAC de ser multivocal es ampliado por medio de su dedicación a la justicia social, evidente no sólo en los puestos políticos del WAC sino también en la forma en que WAC hace frente a tales cuestiones en la teoría, el método y la práctica arqueológica. Trabajando juntos, los miembros de WAC logran una arqueología más rica, mejor, más erudita y más equitativa. Más aun, WAC sirve como un modelo para la descolonización de otras disciplinas. Durante su período de vigencia, el Ejecutivo actual espera ayudar al WAC a ser más cohesivo, a conseguir mejor financiación y a ser más efectivo políticamente, así como a ser más capaz de poner en contacto a arqueólogos de todo el mundo y apoyarlos con medidas prácticas que beneficien a sus comunidades regionales. DE este modo, esperan ampliar las miras de los fundadores del WAC.