The origin of the ancient Egyptian drink Shedeh revealed using LC/MS/MS

Ancient Egyptians were buried with the most precious food and drink as sustenance for their afterlife. One of these was Shedeh, the most valued and appreciated beverage in ancient Egypt. The botanic origin of Shedeh remains unclear as no mention of its raw material has survived. Some scholars have proposed that Shedeh was a pomegranate wine, while others, a grape wine. Presented here is the first ever analytical evidence of Shedeh's origin through the analysis of a sample of a residue from an extraordinarily well preserved Shedeh amphora from King Tutankhamun's collection. The previously developed LC/MS/MS wine markers method for archaeological samples was used and our results reveal Shedeh had a red grape origin.     

Do Regions Make a Difference? Regional Innovation Systems and Global Innovation Networks in the ICT Industry

Access to global innovation networks (GINs) has been unequal across the regions of the world. While certain regions are considered knowledge hubs in GINs, others still remain marginalized; this points to the role of regional innovation systems (RISs) in the emergence and development of GINs. Using firm-level data collected through a survey and case studies in 2009–2010, this paper systematically compares the patterns of global networks in the information and communications technology industry in a selection of European, Chinese and Indian regions. The results show that GINs are more common in regions which are not organizationally and institutionally thick, suggesting that GINs may be a compensatory mechanism for weaknesses in the RIS.     

Pre-Conquest estates in the west Midlands: preliminary thoughts

Pre-Conquest charters from the est Midlands provide evidence which cannot be revealed by archaeological means of the type of administrative organization within the Hwiccan kingdom. Estates comprising a number of parish units may be reconstructed but appear to have been carved out of larger territorial divisions. Nodal areas, frequently in riverine locations, appear to have been linked to areas of secondary development in more heavily wooded countryside. This association between complementary regions gave rise to a system of organization based upon sound economic foundations and the resulting pattern of regional complementarity was still apparent in the landscape at a later period. Fragmentation of administrative units was well-advanced by the mid-Anglo-Saxon period and minor units of parish or subparish size had come into being, many of which were clearly recognized as independent communities. In some areas these units had become well-established early enough for their boundaries to influence those of the ecclesiastical parishes. In the secondary areas subdivision occurred at a later date and yet other areas remained largely undeveloped without lasting demarcation. The charters also show, however, that settlement had been established throughout the Hwiccan kingdom by the later Anglo-Saxon period, with a number of minor settlements in existence beyond any village nucleus.     

Political tourism in the Israeli‐Palestinian space (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)

With the violent clashes that took place in May 2010 during the attempt by the Free Gaza movement flotilla to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip, the remarkable strength of pro‐Palestinian networks became globally apparent. Drawing on an ethnography of political activism in the Israeli‐Palestinian space, we suggest that the striking visibility of these networks does not exclusively derive from the prominence of the Israeli‐Palestinian conflicts, but is also a consequence of the activists’ ability to produce innovative forms of sociality. However, some of the approaches taken can exist in problematic relation to the experiences of people who live with the conflict. In this context, the issue is not so much the precise relationships between indigenous ‘truths’ in Palestine and their foreign representations, but the way in which encounters redefine the conflicts that activist networks seek to represent.