Affective spaces,sensuous engagements: in quest of a synaesthetic approach to ‘dark memorials’

Although relatively recent, the concepts of ‘dark tourism’, ‘difficult heritage tourism’ and ‘Holocaust tourism’ have already been approached from historical, cultural, sociological, anthropological and managerial perspectives. The article offers a philosophical inquiry of ‘dark attractions’, inspired by Deleuze and Guattari’s work on aesthetics, with an aim of divorcing the term ‘dark tourism’ from its typically negative valance. It makes use of a synaesthetic understanding of experience and relies on an enlarged idea of perception conceptualised as a dynamic continuity between bodily/affective and intellectual cognitive faculties that are activated in the vibrant interaction with the architectural landscape of the ‘dark site’. The emphasis on immediate perception necessarily implies formulation of a concept of ‘affective aesthetics’ which refers to bodily process, a vital movement that triggers the subject’s passionate becoming-other, where ‘becoming’ stands for an intensive flow of affective (micro)perceptions. Such an approach sheds a different light on ‘Holocaust tourism’ and the ‘pleasures’ associated therewith, especially because it provides an explanation to a situation (common at many Holocaust memorials) when visitors are pleased, or positively affected, with representation/image/expression of sadness/atrocity. The synaesthetic operations of ‘dark attractions’ will be briefly illustrated with an example of the Holocaust memory site in Be??ec, Poland.     

ANIMAL HISTORY

This review reflects on animal history as a subfield of the discipline of history and presents its main arguments and future tasks. Its main goal is to identify the new research prospects and potentials proposed by the book edited by Susan Nance, The Historical Animal. These include such topics as the problem of “the animal's point of view,” animal agency (animals understood as “historical” agents and actors), the problem of identifying traces of animal actions in “anthropocentric” archives and searching for new historical sources (including animals’ testimonies). It also explores methodological difficulties, especially with the idea of the historicization of animals and the possible merger of the humanities and social sciences with the natural and life sciences. The review considers how studying animals forces scholars to rethink to its foundations history as a discipline. It claims that the most progressive proposals are coming from scholars (many of whom are historians) who advocate radical interdisciplinarity. The authors are not only interested in merging history with specific sciences (such as animal psychology, ecology, ethology, evolutionary biology, and zoology), but also question basic assumptions of the discipline: the epistemic authority claimed by historians for building knowledge of the past as well as the human epistemic authority for creating such knowledge. In this context several questions emerge: can we achieve “interspecies competence” (Erica Fudge's term) for creating a multispecies knowledge of the past? Can research on animals’ perception of change help us to develop nonhistorical approaches to the past? Can we imagine accounts of the past based on multispecies co‐authorship?     

A Probable Case of Thalassemia Intermedia from Tell Masaikh,Syria

In this report, we describe the first potential case of hereditary anaemia from the Middle Euphrates valley (Syria). The skeletal changes identified in the studied specimen were consistent with marrow hyperplasia, and the distribution, especially the involvement of the facial bones, the sternum and ribs, was suggestive of thalassemia. The identified haplotype indicates M4b1 haplogroup suggesting that the analysed specimen was either a newcomer from Asia or a descendent of Asian origin in the maternal line, most likely from the Indian Peninsula where characteristic mutations of mtDNA can be identified today. The genetic data might explain a case of thalassemia in the Syrian lower Euphrates valley. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Age and sedimentological features of fluvial series in the Toruń Basin and the Drwęca Valley (Poland)

The deposits of the Toruń Basin are dominated by a few-metre thick sand series which fill up buried valley-like depressions. In many cases they underlie the Weichselian till which builds up the ice marginal streamway (pradolina) terraces or they are exposed at the basin slopes. As the results of the geological and sedimentological studies, as well as of the dating of the deposits at the sites in the Toruń Basin indicate, the deposits include two fluvial series accumulated before the advancement of the Leszno Phase ice sheet, i.e. in Middle Weichselian and at the beginning of Late Weichselian. The oldest fluvial series connected with the Saalian Glaciation was found at the mouth section of the Drwęca Valley. The fluvial system of the Toruń Basin during Middle Weichselian and at the beginning of Late Weichselian developed in two phases of the sand-bed braided river. During the first one the river channel were dominated by large mid-riverbed sandbars, while during the second phase the water flow was smaller and, as a result, low transverse sandbars and two-dimensional dunes developed. Other active river channel also showed low-energy flows, more intensive meandering than in the case of the braided rivers, as well as sandy side-bars. Analysis of the rounding and frosting of the quartz grains indicate that the studied series of the Weichselian sandy deposits represent alluvia of a river which were fed from two diverse sources. The first one might have represented the alluvia of a warm river which transformed its load, while the other one might have mainly carried the underlying Quaternary deposits.     

Investigations on pre-treatment prior to freeze-drying of archaeological pine wood with abnormal shrinkage anisotropy

The current research is aimed at determining the nature of changes in the dimensions and hygroscopicity of archaeological Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) wood after treatment with polyethylene glycols and vacuum freeze-drying. The research was undertaken on mature sapwood with narrow annual rings and a small percentage of latewood. The experimental material used in a comparative assessment is characterised by a considerable degree of wood degradation, but low tangential and radial shrinkage and relatively high longitudinal shrinkage. The waterlogged samples were treated with aqueous solutions of PEG 300 with final concentrations: 8, 12, 16 and 20% (v/v), to which PEG 4000 with final concentration: 15, 20 and 25% (w/v) was added. After freeze-drying and seasoning of samples in the air at RH 30, 40, 50 and 65%, the water content of the samples and the degree of shrinkage of wood in three anatomical directions were determined. The dimensional stability of the samples was also determined on the basis of ASE values at RH 50%.     

Luminescence dating of bricks from the gothic Saint James Church in Toruń

Saint James Church in Toruń is one of the most important gothic monuments in Poland. The date of the beginning of its construction is known from historical reports but the earlier history of the site remains undiscovered. During the archaeological excavations in years 2010 and 2011 five brick samples were collected for luminescence dating as well as four additional samples from the brick surroundings for the dose rate estimation. The equivalent dose was determined by TL and OSL methods. The TL results differ significantly from the OSL results but the last ones are verified by historical knowledge and radiocarbon dating. Establishing the dose rate from gamma rays needs a special attention because of the complex course of the foundations of the church. The details of the applied approach are presented in the current work. The results obtained indicate that a solid brick construction existed at the site of the presbytery of the Saint James Church before it was build.     

Investigation of lime mortars and plasters from archaeological excavations in Hippos (Israel) using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance

This study presents the preliminary results of investigation of the lime mortars and plasters from archaeological excavations in Hippos (Israel), using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The research was conducted in order to characterize the building material and its reaction to ionizing radiation. The ancient settlement Hippos, situated on the east shore of the Sea of Galilee, functioned from the 3^rd cent. BC until it was destroyed by the earthquake in 749 AD. Lime mortars and plasters show carbonate and locally gypsum character of binder and different kind of aggregate. Samples were γ-irradiated and measured using X-band EPR spectrometer. Computer Resolution Enhancement Method was applied to the complex spectra. Some of the γ-induced EPR signals were attributed to CO₂ ^? and CO₃ ^3? paramagnetic centres. Exponential growth of the dose response curve above 1 kGy and saturation for doses above 20 kGy was observed. For doses lower than 1 kGy the dose response curve has a linear character. The presence of γ-sensitive carbonate paramagnetic centres could indicate that, after further studies, well-chosen samples of mortars and plasters might be suitable for EPR dating, assuming the centres have been sufficiently bleached during the manufacturing process.