Palaeolithic radiocarbon chronology: quantifying our confidence beyond two half-lives

It is now three decades since Waterbolk introduced evaluation criteria to ¹⁴C chronology. Despite this, and other subsequent attempts to introduce quality control in the use of ¹⁴C data, no systematic procedure has been adopted by the archaeological community. As a result, our databases may be significantly weakened by questionable dates and/or questionable associations between dated samples and the archaeological phenomena they are intended to represent. As the use of chronometric data in general becomes more ambitious, we must pause and assess how reliable these data are. Here, we forward a set of evaluation criteria which take into account archaeological (e.g. associational, stratigraphic) and chronometric (e.g. pre-treatment and measurement) criteria. We intend to use such criteria to evaluate a large ¹⁴C dataset we have assembled to investigate Late Glacial settlement in Europe, the Near East and North Africa, supported by the Leverhulme Trust. We suggest that the procedure presented here may at least form the basis of the development of more rigorous, scientific use of ¹⁴C dates.     

Gender and the Family in Pre‐industrial Europe

P. Fleming, Family and Household in Medieval England A. Lynn Martin, Alcohol, Sex and Gender in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe N. J. Menuge (ed.), Medieval Women and the Law P. Skinner, Women in Medieval Italian Society, 500–1200 F. A. Underhill, For Her Good Estates: The Life of Elizabeth de Burgh     

解读土族装脏仪式

在三川土族地区最能体现土族民间宗教文化特色的是那些遍布村寨的种类繁多、具有浓郁地域色彩的地方性神灵。凡是土族聚居的村子,都有一所小庙,庙里都供有一两个或三四个地方保护神。这些神灵中必然要有一个是本村庙中所特有,其他村庙中所没有的神灵。例如:龙王爷、娘娘爷、摩羯爷、大王爷、四郎爷、缩脊大帝、没脚龙王、黑虎大神、变化     

Exploration of Basel Mission Company shipwreck remains at St George's Reef off Goa, West Coast of India: impact of the Basel Mission Co. on society and culture

A systematic exploration of shipwrecks has been carried out in Goa waters since 1997. Exploration off St George's Reef has brought to light the remains of a shipwreck at a depth of 15 m, containing various types of terracotta artefacts intended for house construction. Basel Mission Tile Works 1865' is impressed on bricks, roof and floor tiles. Study shows that the company was active in manufacturing terracotta and exported it to Africa, Australia, Borneo, Sumatra, and other countries. It has been renamed 'Comtrust', and is still producing terracotta using the same techniques. The impact of the Basel Mission Co. on society and culture is discussed. A study of finds of wrecks in the Mangalore and Calicut areas was undertaken.     

Restructuring the US-South Korea alliance to deal with the second Korean nuclear crisis

As the US-South Korea alliance faces the second Korean nuclear crisis, Seoul and Washington no longer share a common unifying threat perception of North Korea. This divide has allowed North Korea to advance its interests by playing a 'South Korea card' against the United States in the nuclear standoff. The divide is not a transient problem that can be ignored or addressed with ad hoc fixes but a secular phenomenon rooted in South Korea's growing wealth and deepening democracy. What is needed now is more distance in the alliance. The alliance must be restructured to reflect the reality that South Korea can defend itself against North Korea without the help of the United States. For both Seoul and Washington, the restructured alliance would produce a more complete and robust set of options to advance their respective North Korea policies.     

Markets,Transaction Costs and Institutions: Compensating for Nuclear Risk in Japan

This article explores the nature, role and effectiveness of compensation mechanisms in managing the political constraints to the siting or development of nuclear projects in Japan. Statistical analysis reveals that the relationship between compensation and income is a key dynamic characterising the history of the marketplace for nuclear facilities in Japan. The commodification and trading of risks for benefits is governed by a sophisticated institutional and policy framework which acts to lower the transaction costs of market exchange. The interaction between the market and the institutional dynamic has generated a curious pattern of both NIMBY ('not in my backyard') and YIMBY ('yes, in my backyard') responses to nuclear development in Japan.     

Lead ingots from a shipwreck Off Poompuhar, Tamil Nadu, East Coast of India: evidence for overseas trade and their significance

Various types of lead ingots have been reported from a number of shipwrecks from different parts of the world. In 1991 exploration of a wreck off Poompuhar, Tamil Nadu, East Coast of India, at a depth of 19 m yielded a gun, rudder gudgeon, gunpowder boxes and a variety of lead ingots. The most significant ingots are those marked W: Blackett and D with a crown symbol on the obverse and 1791, 1792 and some merchant marks on the reverse. These are similar to Blackett lead ingots found in England, the Netherlands and Sumatra. Pb-isotopic analysis has revealed their source as the North Pennine lead mines of England. Further, the lead used was of high purity -93%. Records show that Blackett was a well-known lead-exporting company in England since 1694. The wreck off Poompuhar may be a Toni type cargo ship carrying traded lead ingots of different manufacturers.     

Infiltration of basinal fluids into high-grade basement, South Norway: sources and behaviour of waters and brines

Quartz veins hosted by the high‐grade crystalline rocks of the Modum complex, Southern Norway, formed when basinal fluids from an overlying Palaeozoic foreland basin infiltrated the basement at temperatures of c. 220°C (higher in the southernmost part of the area). This infiltration resulted in the formation of veins containing both two‐phase and halite‐bearing aqueous fluid inclusions, sometimes with bitumen and hydrocarbon inclusions. Microthermometric results demonstrate a very wide range of salinities of aqueous fluids preserved in these veins, ranging from c. 0 to 40 wt% NaCl equivalent. The range in homogenization temperatures is also very large (99–322°C for the entire dataset) and shows little or no correlation with salinity. A combination of aqueous fluid microthermometry, halogen geochemistry and oxygen isotope studies suggest that fluids from a range of separate aquifers were responsible for the quartz growth, but all have chemistries comparable to sedimentary formation waters. The bulk of the quartz grew from relatively low δ¹⁸O fluids derived directly from the basin or equilibrated in the upper part of the basement (T < 200°C). Nevertheless, some fluids acquired higher salinities due to deep wall‐rock hydration reactions leading to salt saturation at high temperatures (>300°C). The range in fluid inclusion homogenization temperatures and densities, combined with estimates of the ambient temperature of the basement rocks suggests that at different times veins acted as conduits for influx of both hotter and colder fluids, as well as experiencing fluctuations in fluid pressure. This is interpreted to reflect episodic flow linked to seismicity, with hotter dry basement rocks acting as a sink for cooler fluids from the overlying basin, while detailed flow paths reflected local effects of opening and closing of individual fractures as well as reaction with wall rocks. Thermal considerations suggest that the duration of some flow events was very short, possibly in the order of days. As a result of the complex pattern of fracturing and flow in the Modum basement, it was possible for shallow fluids to penetrate basement rocks at significantly higher temperatures, and this demonstrates the potential for hydrolytic weakening of continental crust by sedimentary fluids.     

Seismic constraints on the effects of gas hydrate on sediment physical properties and fluid flow: a review

The formation of gas hydrates in marine sediments changes their physical properties and hence influences fluid flow. Here, we review seismic indicators of gas hydrates and relate these indicators to gas hydrate formation and fluid migration. Analyses of seismic data from sediments containing gas and gas hydrates in a variety of locations have shown that the characteristic bottom‐simulating reflector (BSR), which commonly marks the hydrate phase boundary is caused mainly by the presence of gas beneath the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ). The amplitude of the BSR is also dependent on the hydrate concentration and on the porosity of the sediment. The presence of gas hydrate alters the elastic properties of sediments, particularly if it cements sediment grains. However, multifrequency studies in various geological provinces show that any loss of reflectivity or blanking observed within the GHSZ is dependent on both the nature of the sediments and concentration of hydrate present. Gas beneath the BSR may cause amplitude anomalies and may result in bright spots and enhanced reflections. The presence of gas beneath the BSR is the primary cause of observed amplitude versus offset (AVO) anomalies, but the amplitude of these anomalies is also dependent on the amount of cementation brought by the gas hydrates within the GHSZ. Fluid migration appears to play an important role in the formation and dissociation of gas hydrates in both active and passive margin settings. Fluid migration in accretionary prisms influences hydrate accumulation and may therefore control the spatial distribution of BSRs. Fluid migration may influence also the type of hydrate formed by bringing thermogenic gas containing higher order hydrocarbons to the GHSZ from below. Fluid advection may cause local dissociation of gas hydrates by bringing heat from below, thus shifting the gas hydrate phase boundary. Fluid flow within the GHSZ is limited by the formation of hydrate in the pore space, which reduces the permeability of the sediment. Features such as pockmarks, acoustic masking and acoustic turbidity are indirect indicators of fluid flow and identification of these features in seismic sections within and beneath the GHSZ may also suggest the formation of gas hydrate.