Between Horror and Obscene Beauty: The Passion of Photojournalism during the War on Drugs in Mexico (2006–2012)

This article examines a group of photographs bearing a strong violent content that were published in print and digital media as part of the coverage of the ‘war against drugs’ in Mexico: an armed conflict initiated by the central government in December 2006. This military action was the first step in a process of militarization affecting several states, in which an attempt was made to dismantle territorial pacts between cartels, to control the illegal traffic in drugs and, supposedly, to put an end to the use and production of drugs among the population. This war gave rise to one of the bloodiest episodes of contemporary Mexico in which drug cartels reproduced and invented new methods of torture that were used not only upon the gunmen of rival cartels but also on a significant number of civilians. In the coverage of these events, not all photojournalists reacted to this upsurge in violence in a ‘sensationalist’ manner; several set out to produce images from unusual points of view. In particular, I shall analyze how certain images represent violence in a tense relationship with artistic iconography, upsetting parameters of horror and beauty in the public sphere.     

A Cost-Based Ripley’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">K</Emphasis> Function to Assess Social Strategies in Settlement Patterning

Most quantitative approaches to distributional analysis in archaeology assume a homogeneous study surface that is amenable to easy generalisations. This framework has been widely used to describe settlement processes, disregarding the spatial heterogeneity inherent to geographic reality. In other words, researchers have often assumed that the correlation between the elements of a spatial distribution is a function of the Euclidean distance (i.e. straight line distance) between them. Other archaeological studies have tested alternative measures to Euclidean distances, such as cost-based ones, both to describe optimal routes and to assess spatial autocorrelation in a point pattern. Nevertheless, until now there has been no suitable model to introduce these measures into spatial statistical equations. In order to overcome this obstacle, we approach the implementation problem inversely by embedding the spatial pattern under study into a Euclidean frame of reference based on its cost-distance pairwise matrix. This paper describes the application of this methodology on one of the main tools used by archaeologists to assess settlement patterns: Ripley’s K function. We present two case studies, covering both macroscale and mesoscale, with significant variations in the results depending on the use of the Euclidean or cost-based approach. Data, functions and results have been R-packaged for the sake of reproducibility and reusability, allowing other researchers to build upon our methods.     

Protection of the State of Prehistoric Mounds in Hungary: Law as a Conservation Measure

According to the Act of 1996 on nature protection, mounds (kurgans) are natural monuments protected nationally in Hungary. According to the law, all kurgans in Hungary were to be surveyed by 2002, and 1692 were included in the cadastre. Fewer than half of the kurgans remained intact due to numerous anthropogenic impacts. A high number of disturbing artificial buildings together with soil erosion, soil removal, and afforestation have significantly reduced the landscape value of kurgans. In 2002, 51.5% of the surveyed kurgans still represented some kind of a value and thus their protection became one of the most urgent tasks of nature conservation and archaeology. According to a Hungarian ministerial decree, established on the basis of an EU Council decree, the area of kurgans under cultivation must be removed from cultivation. By 2015, in the area of 90% of the kurgans under cultivation this land use, which caused significant erosion, was terminated.     

The Phoenicians and the Ocean: trade and worship at La Caleta,Cadiz, Spain

The area of La Caleta, north‐west of Cadiz, is a key location for studies of the relationship between the Phoenician city of Gadir and the ocean. The port channel and the small islets that characterize the area was one the busiest sectors of the city, and there are abundant underwater remains attesting to past commercial activities. The area also had an important religious role: two sanctuaries were located at the western end of the rocky promontories that surround the channel, and many items identified as offerings have been found. This article synthesizes previous research and provides an overview of the results of a recent project (2008–2010), which enables a thorough review of the development of the seascape and its use during the 1st millennium BC.     

Talking to others: analysing tourists’ communications on cultural heritage experiences

In the area of cultural heritage, tourists’ experiences emphasise not only the moment and its personal nature but also socio-cultural traits. These experiences when expressed (social communications) are an important gateway to knowledge about tourists’ sense-making processes. This paper reports on the mediation between tourists and heritage sites via comments on a digital platform (TripAdvisor) about two Spanish tourist destinations with opposing characteristics and four heritage sites, which are analysed. The methodology used seeks to transcend the individual and anecdotal aspects of tourists’ comments. Indeed, the results obtained show the relevance of the humanisation and the discursive weight of heritage contexts in emotional/personal stories. Tendencies observed in non-regulated contexts confirm the role of a complex negotiation at cultural heritage sites and highlight the need to explore possible exchanges of sense in tourists’ encounters with such sites.     

Restoration of paintings on domes with non-developable geometry (Los Santos Juanes Church in Valencia)

The restoration of paintings on elements in cultural heritage buildings (fundamentally, churches) involves two structural problems: capturing the geometry of the construction element and its development. In many cases, the geometries are regular (e.g., cylinders, spheres, elliptical domes). However, there are cases in which the elements cannot be adapted to any known geometry, much less one that can be mathematically developed. The development of surfaces becomes essential for the restoration of paintings over “flat elements” (over which work is performed on the ground) that are subsequently transferred to the real surface (ceilings). The mathematical transformations that allow regular geometries to be developed are widely known (cartographic projections). However, when the geometry is irregular, there is no development. This study presents a new methodology based on differential rectification and its application for the development of oculi in the Los Santos Juanes Church (Valencia), whose geometry is completely irregular both in shape and as a result of construction defects (and damage caused by fire). The present study focuses on the restoration of paintings damaged by fire.     

Clamming Up: An Ethnoarchaeological Study of a Costa Rican Artisanal Clam Fishery

A vibrant artisanal fishery of the brackish water marsh clam (Polymesoda acuta) is located in the lower Río Tempisque, Costa Rica. Fishermen harvest clams from shoals according to tidal and lunar cycles. They take most clams directly to riverside processing stations to be cooked and sold as salted meat, although some cooked clams are dried, and others sold live. Processing activities result in the formation of shellmounds that share significant similarities and some differences with ancient marsh clam shellmounds of coastal Chiapas, Mexico. In this study, procurement and processing activities are described and quantified, revealing the substantial amount of labor and skill involved in the modern fishery. Implications for archaeological preservation and predictions from optimal foraging theory are evaluated.     

Evaluation of Structural Intervention in the Quartel das Esquadras,Almeida (Portugal)

ABSTRACT

The “Quartel das Esquadras” is an 18th century infantry barrack located within the limits of the bulwarked fortress of Almeida, in Portugal. An ongoing adaptive reuse project of the building aims to recover its full capacity and also its importance, by implementing a variety of new uses. The architectural intervention results in the need of the structure to withstand new and diverse imposed loads. As the current configuration of the structure will be altered, the main objective of this article is to evaluate the suitability of some of the proposed structural interventions. The current condition has been characterized following a multidisciplinary approach comprising historical research, visual inspection, non-destructive testing, and structural analysis to identify the possible sources of major structural problems. A portion of the building particularly affected by the alterations has been selected to carry out structural analysis. A comparative safety assessment of the selected area in both current and altered condition has been done through finite element modelling and nonlinear static analysis, resulting in an identification of the weaker points against the new implemented loads and alterations. Finally, proposals for the implementation of the studied intervention, as well as recommendations for future research and analyses, have been given.     

San Juan,the Fragile City: Finance Capital,Class, and the Making of Puerto Rico's Economic Crisis

This paper narrates Puerto Rico's fiscal and financial crisis through a reading of San Juan's urban landscape. We underscore the role of capital in the city, primarily embodied by the local capitalist class (the Criollo bloc) and foreign capitalists. Historically excluded from the manufacturing sector (dominated by US capitalists), the Criollo bloc accumulates its wealth by concentrating financial assets in the city. In times of crisis, the Criollo bloc resorts to the acquisition of new assets and asset exchange with foreign capitalists to remain solvent and provide short‐term solutions to the state's fiscal and financial limits. The survival of the local capitalist class, we demonstrate, is dependent on asset stripping. Drawing on Clyde Woods, we document how asset stripping unevenly redistributes wealth and risks along class and racial lines within a colonial economy. The finance capital/asset stripping basis of San Juan's economy renders it an extremely fragile city, we contend.