Palaeontology of the Cerros Bayos section,Roca Formation (Danian), La Pampa Province,Argentina

Palynofloras from an outlier of Tertiary sediments in the One Tree Hill area north of Adelaide are nonmarine and correlate with similar assemblages from Middle Eocene North Maslin Sands from Maslin Bay and Golden Grove. Although there are similarities with time-equivalent Lower Nothofagidites asperus Zone palynofloras in the Gippsland Basin, a number of species in the South Australian palynofloras do not extend below the Late Eocene in the Gippsland sequences. This indicates earlier appearances for these species in southcentral Australia. The sediments overlie a highly weathered bedrock palaeosurface, indicating that a phase of significant weathering occurred prior to the Middle Eocene. A number of selected taxa are illustrated and their distribution in the palynofloras is discussed. Two new species, Proteacidites mildenhallii and Proteacidites parrawirrensis, are described and one species, Rhoipites byfieldensis, is emended.     

Taphonomic analysis of rodent bone accumulations produced by Geoffroy's cat (Leopardus geoffroyi, Carnivora,Felidae) in Central Argentina

Rodent prey remains recovered from Geoffroy's cat (Leopardus geoffroyi) scats were analyzed in order to identify taphonomic features produced by this predator. The analysis includes a year-long sampling discriminated by the seasons. Modifications produced by digestion are heavy. Taphonomic variables in samples discriminated by the seasons did not show major differences with respect to the total sample; thus, scats collected in any season clearly show the modifications on the bones of prey rodents made by Geoffroy's cats. The results presented here and its interpretation could be extrapolated to an analysis of zooarchaeological or paleontological assemblages.     

Archaeology, Development and Conflict: A Case Study from the African Continent

Apart from wars, other contexts of social conflict have recently become a setting in which archaeologists are faced with acute, sometimes armed, violence. On the African continent, a region often overlooked in discussions of “archaeology in conflict”, rapid economic development has led to several such scenes. The paper discusses a particularly poignant example from the Middle Nile valley in Sudan, where large dam projects have been met with various levels of opposition by affected populations. Local communities opposing the construction of further planned dams on the Nile are increasingly stressing ‘cultural survival’ and fear of ‘developmental genocide’ as two of their major motivations for fighting these projects. Assuming a close link between the developer and archaeological salvage missions, affected people have started to use the expulsion of salvage teams from their territory as a strategy of resistance—posing an ethical dilemma for the archaeologists who struggle to find a position in the increasingly violent controversies accompanying these contested development projects.     

Landscapes of Desire: Tourists, Touts and Sexual Encounters at the World Heritage Site of Thebes

Cultural tourism capitalises on archaeological sites with World Heritage status on a global scale. The encounters of visitors from all over the world with local residents and other stakeholder groups, like local and international entrepreneurs, set off complex processes of interaction in which the physical and social space of the heritage site is negotiated, shaped and consumed. In a case study from Luxor/Egypt, this paper investigates a particular facet of these interactions, namely sexual encounters between tourists and members of the local community. It delineates the economic and social conditions of this phenomenon and discusses the role it takes in the production, perception and use of the World Heritage site of Thebes.     

Human Rights and Multilateral Lending: The World Bank,Argentina, and the United States, 1976–1978

Abstract

Since its establishment at the Bretton Woods Conference of 1944, the World Bank (WB) has been expected to follow a self-imposed and vaguely defined principle of ‘neutrality.’ According to this principle, the decisions made by the WB and its officers were expected to be based purely on economic criteria, with no input from political considerations. By focusing on the generous support that the WB provided to the dictatorship that ruled Argentina between 1976 and 1983, especially during its formative period (1976–1978), the article examines the concrete aspects of this neutrality and the different ways in which each party involved interpreted and used it. Drawing on never previously consulted WB documents and additional primary sources, it maintains that at a time when the US, the strongest member-state in the WB, strove to make multilateral lending contingent on improvements in the human rights arena, the WB’s alleged ‘neutrality’ provided it with the means and justification to support a regime that egregiously violated those rights. Whatever the exact nature of this so-called neutrality, what is clear is that it was used to enable the WB and member states to ignore US instructions and support a right-wing regime determined to substantially liberalize Argentina’s economy.     

Examining Indigenous perspectives on the health implications of large‐scale agriculture in Jalisco,Mexico

In Mexico, as in many other parts of the world, industrial agriculture is dramatically changing rural landscapes and altering relationships with the land. This paper draws on community‐based research from a collaborative international research project that examined the perceived health implications of the agricultural industry for Indigenous peoples in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. Thirty interviews were conducted in a Nahuas community experiencing expanding agribusiness industries. The results of this study show that the implications of export‐oriented agricultural industry for this Nahuas community are complex and, at times, contradictory: employment in the agricultural industry provides community members with much‐needed sources of income, but it is precarious work. At the same time, community members are concerned about the long‐term health and environmental implications, such as increased exposure to chemicals, depletion of the soil and water, and loss of traditional food and lifeways. These results suggest that to better understand the costs and benefits of large‐scale agriculture for Indigenous health, a broad lens of health that is situated in the context of colonial legacies and the particularities of relationships with the land is required.     

Professor Camillo Negro’s Neuropathological Films

Camillo Negro, Professor in Neurology at the University of Torino, was a pioneer of scientific film. From 1906 to 1908, with the help of his assistant Giuseppe Roasenda and in collaboration with Roberto Omegna, one of the most experienced cinematographers in Italy, he filmed some of his patients for scientific and educational purposes. During the war years, he continued his scientific film project at the Military Hospital in Torino, filming shell-shocked soldiers. In autumn 2011, the Museo Nazionale del Cinema, in partnership with the Faculty of Neurosciences of the University of Torino, presented a new critical edition of the neuropathological films directed by Negro. The Museum’s collection also includes 16 mm footage probably filmed in 1930 by Doctor Fedele Negro, Camillo’s son. One of these films is devoted to celebrating the effects of the so-called “Bulgarian cure” on Parkinson’s disease.     

On the Grounds of the Fresh Water Pond: The Free-Black Community at Five Points, 1810–1834

During the first few decades of the nineteenth century a sizable African American community thrived in lower Manhattan. This district was centered near the Fresh Water or Collect Pond just north of the heavily settled city. By 1840 much of the original community was gone and almost forgotten in the lore surrounding the later and more notorious Five Points. Evidence of the vibrant neighborhood may be found in the presence of social and religious structures including the original A.M.E. Zion Church and the African Mutual Relief Society, located for a brief period of time near the Fresh Water Pond. In this paper documentary sources are used to illuminate the lives of Five Points' early residents. These are lives and struggles not necessarily visible in the archaeological record.     

„Eine für Alles“

Die zunehmende Nachfrage nach kulturtouristischen Angeboten und steigende Besucherzahlen in entsprechend aufgestellten Orten und Regionen sind sichtbare Zeichen der wirtschaftlichen und profilbildenden Bedeutung des Faktors Kultur im Tourismusmarketing. Nicht nur in den Ballungszentren, sondern insbesondere auch im ländlichen Raum werden zunehmend Anstrengungen unternommen, um die Attraktivität für Nah- und Fernreisende zu steigern und einen ansprechenden und zur jeweiligen Region passenden Angebotsmix zu schaffen. In der Folge sehen sich Kommunalvertreter und Tourismusfachleute mit einer Vielzahl für sie neuer Fragen konfrontiert: Wie sind kulturelle Projekte einer großen Öffentlichkeit näher zu bringen? Wie lassen sich gleichzeitig Ansprüche an Qualität, Seriosität und Wirtschaftlichkeit aufrechterhalten? Wie kann der einzigartige Charakter einer ländlichen Region dabei erhalten werden?