Sexual dimorphism in diaphyseal cross‐sectional shape in the medieval Muslim population of Écija,Spain, and Anglo‐Saxon Great Chesterford,UK

Differences in adult male and female activity patterns may influence levels of sexual dimorphism in physical dimensions, including the cross‐sectional shape of long bone diaphyses. Previous studies of archaeological populations have demonstrated significant differences in diaphyseal shape between males and females. In this study, dimorphism in external diaphyseal shape of upper and lower limb bones (reflected in indices of external diaphyseal diameters), and bilateral asymmetry in these indices, were examined in two medieval populations: Muslim Écija (Spain) and Anglo‐Saxon Great Chesterford (UK). Attempts were made to relate observed patterns to documentary and other osteological evidence for differences in male and female activity patterns. While few significant differences in upper limb bone cross‐sectional shape were observed in either population, significant differences in shape were found in the lower limb diaphyses at Écija at the femoral midshaft and tibial foramen and midshaft levels, and at the tibial midshaft for Great Chesterford. Comparison with published data suggests that these differences are marked for Écija, and perhaps fairly high for Great Chesterford compared with other populations with an agriculture‐based economy. This is consistent with documentary and osteological evidence suggesting marked gender differences in behaviour in medieval Muslim Spain. No significant differences in bilateral asymmetry were found, but the effects of small sample size cannot be ruled out. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Implications of climate change for glacier tourism

For more than 100 years, the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers in Westland Tai Poutini National Park have attracted thousands of tourists annually and have emerged as iconic destinations in New Zealand. However, in recent years, the recession of both glaciers has been increasingly rapid and the impacts on, and implications for, visitor experiences in these settings remain relatively unexplored. A mixed-method approach was adopted to investigate visitor experiences and stakeholder perspectives through an assessment of climate-related changes on tourism at the glaciers in Westland Tai Poutini National Park. The bio-physical conditions at both the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers were reviewed in order to assess the magnitude and rate of retreat. Perceptions of climate change risk and awareness of impacts in the National Park were assessed through stakeholder interviews (n = 13) and a visitor survey (n = 500) was used to better understand how impacts at these sites have affected and may continue to affect visitor experiences. Research results were reported to local communities via a series of public talks. Results revealed the fundamental importance of viewing the glaciers as a significant travel motive of visitors, suggesting that there is a ‘last chance’ dimension to their experience. Furthermore, the results demonstrate a high adaptive capacity of local tourism operators under rapidly changing environmental conditions. The implications of altered visitor experiences for tourism operators and protected area managers are discussed in light of these findings.     

Book reviews‐Comptes rendus

B. CUNLIFFE, ed., The Oxford Illustrated Prehistory of Europe, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1994, 532 p., 46 colour plates, numerous line drawings and black & white plates, ISBN 0–19–814385–0.

Carlin A. BARTON, The Sorrows of the Ancient Romans: the Gladiator and the Monster, Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ, 1993, 210 p., ISBN 0–691–45696‐X.

Dominique BARTHELEMY, La société dans le comté de Vendôme de l'an mil au XIVe siècle, Fayard, Paris, 1993, 1118 p.

Colloque international, Les métiers au Moyen Age. Aspects économiques et sociaux, Louvain‐La‐Neuve, 7–9 octobre 1993.

Yuri L. BESSMERTNY, Life and death in the Middle Ages. Essays in the demographic history of France (in Russian), Nauka, Moscow, 1991, 240 p., ISBN 5–020–09052–2.

Ulrich IM HOF, Les Lumières en Europe (traduction de Jeanne Etoré et Bernard Lorthol‐ary), Le Seuil (collection “Faire l'Europe"), Paris, 1993, 316 p.

Antoine DE BAECQUE, Le corps de l'histoire. Métaphores et politique (1770–1800), Calmann‐Lévy, Paris, 1993, 435 p.

Christopher R. BROWNING, Ordinary Men—Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 1992, ISBN 0–060–99506–8.

Traduction française par Elie Barnavi: Des hommes ordinaires. Le 101e bataillon de réserve de la police allemande et la solution finale en Pologne, avec une préface de Pierre Vidal‐Naquet, Les Belles Lettres (Collection “Histoire"), Paris, 1994, ISBN 2–251–38025–6.

Stefan BREUER, Anatomie der konservativen Revolution, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt, 1993, 232 p., ISBN 3–534–11802–2.

Congrès international, Vers une identité et une conscience européennes au XXe siècle, Paris, 1993.

Frédéric DELOUCHE, ed., Histoire de l'Europe, Hachette, Paris, 1992, 380 p., ISBN 2–010–19254–0.

Michel MOLLAT DU JOURDIN, Europa und das Meer, traduction de Ursula Scholz, C.H. Beck'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung (Collection “Europa bauen"), Munich, 1993, 320 p., ISBN 3–406–36726–7.

Henry KOZICKI, ed., Western and Russian Historiography. Recent Views, Macmillan Press, Houndmills, 1993, 218 p., ISBN 0–333–57829–5.

Josep FONTANA LAZARO, La Historia despues del fin de la Historia. Reflexiones acerca de la situación actual de la ciencia historica, Critica, Serie general, no. 255, Barcelone, 1992, 153 p.     

One for the master and one for the dame: stable isotope investigations of Iron Age animal husbandry in the Danebury Environs

Stevens et al. (Oxford J Archaeol 29: 407–428, 2010) speculated that the extensive faunal intra-population isotopic variability at Danebury hillfort was due to the animals being husbanded within various ecological isozones (i.e. microenvironments with distinct natural or anthropogenic isotopic baselines) within the Danebury Environs, and subsequently brought to the hillfort. We test this hypothesis through isotopic analysis of 357 animals from five sites in the Danebury Environs (Suddern Farm, Nettlebank Copse, Houghton Down, New Buildings, Bury Hill). Our results demonstrate that the hypothesis is incorrect as the Environs animals also exhibited extensive intra-site isotopic variability. The observed patterns require considerable human management of herds and flocks, either through animal droving over long distances, or movement restriction through personal attendance or penning/corralling within a landscape containing a mosaic of isozones. Large-scale importation of animals to the Danebury sites from distant regions that have different isotopic baseline values is possible. However, the practical requirements of this model (i.e. long distance trade networks maintained in terms of frequency, proportion and source of animals over 500 years) make this improbable. Rather, we propose a model that includes distinct ecological isozones within the Danebury Environs landscape, with some animals from each of the sites consuming foodstuff from different isozones for most of their lives. This likely involves control of the landscape on a communal probably kinship basis, with individuals having access to certain parts of the landscape at certain times. The landscape could be seen as being made up of numerous interlocking activity-territories, defined in both space and time, remembered and inherited. Irrespective of which model proves to be the most accurate, these results paint a picture of complex land management during the Iron Age.     

Corporate social responsibility in tourism post-2015: a Development First approach

Most large tourism businesses have corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives that advance environmental, economic and social sustainability. Existing research shows that initiatives often tend to be ad hoc, however, and linked to cost-savings and the reputation of the business. We suggest that this approach equates with Tourism First planning. In response to the greater demands being placed on businesses to act responsibly in the post-2015 era, we propose a Development First framework for CSR that is adapted from Peter Burns’ tourism planning model. This framework has a holistic, sustainable and people-centred focus and enables geographers and other social scientists to analyse the potential for initiatives to lead to positive, long-term development outcomes in different localities.     

An Australian geography of unhealthy housing

Housing problems, such as affordability, poor quality of condition, or damp, are key determinants of health and wellbeing. Importantly, though, a growing body of research has shown that unhealthy housing is the combined result of multiple housing problems acting together. Although the spatial distribution of discrete housing problems is well established, little is known of Australia's geography of unhealthy housing. We have previously defined and validated an Australian Index of Housing Insults, which captures the multiple ways in which housing adversely influences individual health—including, but not limited to, people's tenure security, affordability, quality, and neighbourhood characteristics. Using the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) dataset, a nationally representative longitudinal survey of Australian households, this paper describes Australia's geography of unhealthy housing. The analysis examines the prevalence, characteristics, and distribution of the population who are vulnerable to unhealthy housing. Our findings reveal both a worsening landscape of households at risk because of their accommodation and a changing pattern of unhealthy housing in Australia over time. The paper considers how these findings may impact future policy settings and the potential to improve the health of Australia's population through targeted housing interventions.     

The Utility of Discourse Analysis to Heritage Studies: The Burra Charter and Social Inclusion

This paper reviews the methodological utility of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) in heritage studies. Using the Burra Charter as a case study we argue that the way we talk, write and otherwise represent heritage both constitutes and is constituted by the operation of a dominant discourse. In identifying the discursive construction of heritage, the paper argues we may reveal competing and conflicting discourses and the power relations that underpin the power/knowledge relations between expertise and community interests. This identification presents an opportunity for the resolution of conflicts and ambiguities in the pursuit of equitable dialogues and social inclusion.     

Biomechanical insights into activity and long distance trade in the south-central Andes (AD 500–1450)

Long distance trade has been attributed important social and economic roles in the pre-colonial south-central Andes, but how these trade networks were operated and organised, and the roles played by different populations and social groups (e.g. elites), remain uncertain. This study aims to offer new perspective on these questions through biomechanical analyses of human skeletal remains from a probable key site in these networks, San Pedro de Atacama (SPdA). Groups that were more intensively involved in long distance trade are expected to have been more habitually mobile, and thus to show greater robusticity and less circular lower limb bone cross-sections. Lower limb biomechanical properties of elite and non-elite Middle Horizon groups (MH, AD 500–1000) were compared with subsequent transitional MH-Late Intermediate Period (LIP, AD 1000–1450) and LIP groups from SPdA, and with LIP groups from Pica-8 and the Azapa Valley. The results indicate that MH populations from SPdA had less robust lower limbs and were by inference less mobile than their successors, with no differences between elite and non-elite, while robusticity was elevated in the MH-LIP transition group. Alternative explanations for the results, such as changes in herding activities, cannot be entirely discounted based on current evidence, but the results are consistent with hypotheses that SPdA may have served as a hub on long distance trade networks during the MH, before residents became more actively involved in long distance trade following the collapse of key links with the Tiwanaku polity. The results also indicate similar levels of robusticity among LIP populations at SPdA, Pica-8 and in the Azapa Valley, implying they may have been involved in trading activities to a similar extent, and perhaps to a greater extent than SPdA MH groups, as regional intergroup relationships changed.