Editorial: Two Years at the Top

The results of the ISI 2005 Journal Citation Reports, releasedin June 2006, are once again extremely encouraging for the Journal.As shown in Table 1, on the basis of the citation ‘impactfactor’ rankings, Journal of Economic Geography retainedboth its No. 1 position in geography (out of 38 geography journalscovered by the SSCI) and No. 3 position in economics (out of175 journals covered by the SSCI). The Journal's impact factorincreased marginally to 3.22, indicating that articles publishedin the Journal in 2003 and 2004 were cited on average more thanthree times each in 2005 and, in geography, the gap betweenthe Journal and its major competitors widened slightly. Papersfrom these years achieving significantly higher levels of citationthan the Journal's average in 2005 included Martin and Sunley     

Recovering traditions in the digital era: the use of blimps for modelling the archaeological cultural heritage

Driven by progress in sensor technology, algorithms and data processing capabilities, the recording and 3D virtual modelling of complex archaeological sites is currently receiving much attention. Nevertheless, the problem remains the huge effort and costs that have to be invested to obtain realistic models. Besides on-site measurements, much time is often spent in manually rebuilding the whole site with a CAD package or a 3D-modelling tool.     

Geoarchaeological insights from a Roman age incineration feature (ustrinum) at Enconsta de Sant'Ana (Lisbon,Portugal)

Ustrina are incineration funerary structures that are relatively common in Roman age cemeteries. Salvage excavations at Encosta de Sant'Ana (Lisbon, Portugal) in 2002 brought to light a part of the necropolis of the Roman town of Olisipo, including some ustrina. One of them, designated Burial 1 during fieldwork, is analyzed here from a geoarchaeological viewpoint to understand the formation processes of such an archaeological feature, namely its construction technique, use and function. The study of site context and subsurface pedofeatures, and the application of archaeological soil micromorphology, revealed that the ustrinum was constructed digging a hollow in bedrock and building a mud-brick ridge around it, with raw material taken from the local bedrock. The structure was used at various times and remodelled at least once, and its base was not always thoroughly cleaned – according to the custom called “pars pro toto” by Roman authors – and probably left open when not in use.     

Neolithic occupation and mid-Holocene soil formation at Encosta de Sant'Ana (Lisbon,Portugal): a geoarchaeological approach

Excavations at the archaeological site of Encosta de Sant'Ana (Lisbon, Portugal) uncovered a mid-Holocene buried alluvial soil associated with early Neolithic occupation layers. Routine laboratory analyses and micromorphological observations were undertaken on the soil material. Humic acids from its Ab horizon, as well as Neolithic ecofacts, were radiocarbon dated. The dates obtained indicate that soil was formed between c. 8.0 and 6.0 cal ka BP and that the pedological evidence fits the record of the North Atlantic Holocene IRD events (“Bond events”) and the so-called “Holocene climate optimum”. The geoarchaeological record reveals that Neolithic inhabitants settled upon a stable surface, still affected by soil formation that was suddenly interrupted by slope wasting, probably in correspondence to Bond event 4, at c. 6.0 cal ka BP.     

Deism,freethinking and toleration in Enlightenment England

ABSTRACT

Focusing on John Toland, Anthony Collins and Matthew Tindal, this article argues that the English deists’ tolerationist ideas played a significant role in their religious thinking, which consisted of their ‘religious thoughts’ and their ‘thoughts about religion’. As regards their ‘religious thoughts’, those deists regarded rationality as the highest state of human existence, because only the proper use of reason could lead humanity to true morality, happiness and (at least in Tindal’s case) eternal salvation. Thus, they considered toleration, entailing freedom of conscience, thought and expression, as a necessary means to enable humankind to pursue ‘true religion’, namely rationality. As to their ‘thoughts about religion’, they appropriated and rethought the foundational sources and tenets of the Judeo-Christian tradition (and, in Toland’s case, of Islam as well) for a twofold purpose: they attempted to debunk the divine right system of power, which opposed toleration and was widely considered to be based on Christian texts and principles; moreover, they aimed at assimilating the original versions of the three major Abrahamic religions, which in their opinion taught morality and toleration, into their own deistic worldviews, which they tried to prove truer and historically more reliable than the positive religions of their time.     

Burning damage and small-mammal human consumption in Quebrada del Real 1 (Cordoba, Argentina): an experimental approach

The zooarchaeological study of small-vertebrate consumption requires a taphonomical approach to differentiate animal bones that were incidentally incorporated from those that were intentionally exploited in the past human subsistence. In order to make this distinction, the relationship between archaeological small-rodent burned bones and prehistoric human behavior was explored using an experimental cooking study as a modern analogue. During the cooking experiment the entire carcasses of three guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) and two yellow-toothed cavies (Galea leucoblephara) were placed in the coals of an open fire that simulate a real campfire, rotating their positions until the meat was completely cooked. Subsequently, the intensity of burning damage and the loss of skeletal elements were analyzed at macroscopical levels. The data was used to identify cooking evidence in the Ctenomyidae and Caviidae rodent bones recovered from Quebrada del Real 1 (ca. 6000-300 BP, Córdoba, Argentina). Remarkable similarities between the archaeological and analogical records were found, including the distinctive burning pattern on the distal extremities of the unmeaty long bones (e.g, radii and tibiae), the high frequency of broken incisor teeth and the loss of autopodium elements. Based on these comparative results, it is suggested that the small-rodent assemblages of QR1 were primary accumulated by humans though butchery, cooking and consumption related activities. Extending this study to other archaeological sites in South America may help to identify the prehistoric bone collectors of these small-animals.     

An Ancient and Common Tradition: Funerary Rituals and Society in Equatorial Guinea (First–Twelfth Centuries ad)

In this article, we present the results of the 2011 field season at the Iron Age burial site of Nandá, on the Island of Corisco, located between Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. The excavations followed a survey conducted in 2009, which evinced the extraordinary interest of the site and suggested its funerary nature. The excavations documented three levels of occupation belonging to two different phases, which are known in the region as Oveng (ad 1–600) and Group II (ad 600–1100). The first phase was characterized by secondary burials with rich metallic offerings, which were sealed by a settlement at the end of the period; the second phase witnessed the establishment of a large burial site with primary interments. Similar burials are known from Cameroon and Gabon, but the number of features identified at Nandá and the funerary sequence are quite unique in the region. Here, the evidence will be interpreted in light of Jan Vansina’s theories, where he postulates a common political tradition in Equatorial Africa from which later developments stem.     

The Past is Tomorrow. Towards an Archaeology of the Vanishing Present

This paper arises from a dissatisfaction with the ‘Great Divides’ created between past and present, self and others, people and material culture in the context of ethnoarchaeology. While conducting ethnoarchaeological research in Spain, Ethiopia and Brazil, I have been faced with the theoretical and practical shortcomings of this field, which is too deeply rooted in modernist concerns and prejudices. I propose a reconsideration of ethnoarchaeology as archaeology tout court – an archaeology of the present – which has to be symmetrical in character. This means that present and past must not be hierarchically conceived – the former in the service of the latter or vice versa – nor strictly separated ontologically, and the relations between humans and things have to be properly problematized.     

The rhetoric of reform revealed (or: If you bite the ballot it may bite back)

The article assesses the effects, direct and indirect, intended and unintended, of the 1993 national electoral reform and the results of the 1994 general elections in Italy. It shows that the new system is not an eccentric compromise, and that those who forecast either its unworkability or its evil consequences were mistaken. However, in evaluating the success of the reform with respect to the ambitions which were held for it, it concludes that the reform was a predictable failure. The article then explores the role played by the electoral reform in the unexpected electoral success of the Polo della Libertà, the emergence of Forza Italia, and the ability of Berlusconi to strike a compromise with two such different parties as La Lega and the AN.