Seeing into hearts and minds: Part 2. ‘Big data’, algorithms,and computational counterinsurgency

In this second of his two‐part article, the author analyzes the rise of ‘predictive policing’ and its Pentagon connections, reviews two programmes, and poses these in the context of scientists' concerns over artificial intelligence and long‐term human survival.     

Image‐Based Modelling from Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Photogrammetry: An Effective,Low‐Cost Tool for Archaeological Applications

The recording and 3D modelling of complex archaeological sites is usually associated with high capital and logistical costs, because the data acquisition must be performed by specialists using expensive surveying sensors (i.e., terrestrial laser scanners, robotic total stations and/or ground‐penetrating radar). This paper presents a novel, low‐cost, user‐friendly photogrammetric tool for generating high‐resolution and scaled 3D models of complex sites. The results obtained with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry of an archaeological site indicate that this approach is semi‐automatic, inexpensive and effective, and that it guarantees quality.     

Plasters from Different Buildings of the Sacred Precinct of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City): Characterization And Provenance

In this work, we present the results of the characterization of 20 lime plaster samples taken from the Sacred Precinct of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City), the ancient capital of the Aztec empire. The samples come from different buildings of this precinct (A, B and D) and from the west façade of phase VI of the Templo Mayor pyramid. The objective of the work is to characterize the plaster samples, to understand the raw materials used, and to evaluate the presence of similarities and differences among the samples in the building techniques and raw materials employed. All the samples were studied with OM, SEM–EDS and LA–ICP–MS. The study provided evidence of the plastering and replastering practice in the same constructive phases. The results of the analyses showed the existence of important similarities and differences among buildings and constructive phases in the Sacred Precinct. In order to understand the provenance of the limestone used in the plasters, the lumps and the binder of the samples were analysed. The results were compared with those of the limestone outcrops located in central Mexico. The provenance study showed that all the limestone used in the construction of the analysed buildings of Tenochtitlan's Sacred Precinct comes from the Tula region.     

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.     

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.     

Cruel and unusual

From early April to late June 2018, the nearly 2,600 immigrant children – mostly refugees fleeing violence and poverty in Central America – were forcibly taken from their parents at the United States’ southern border following implementation of the Trump administration's ‘zero tolerance’ policy. The policy took effect when the US Justice Department began aggressively prosecuting undocumented immigrants crossing the US‐Mexico border. Following a public outcry and growing protests, President Trump issued an executive order declaring an end to family separations on 20 June. Several days later, a federal court mandated that the government reunite those immigrant families affected by the ‘zero tolerance’ policy. In mid‐August, more than 550 children who had been detained following the implementation of the policy remained in federal custody. Thousands more ‘unaccompanied minors’ – typically teenagers who were caught crossing the border without adults –remain in indefinite detention. This editorial analyzes this situation from an anthropological perspective by reviewing relevant ethnographic literature on undocumented Latin American immigrants in the US.     

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.     

Determination of the Fineness of Medieval Coins—Evaluation of Methods in a Case Study of a Medieval Pfennig

The original fineness of coins is very important information that can help us to understand the commercial situation in a wide historical context. This paper deals with a comparison of analytical methods suitable for the evaluation of the actual and original fineness of coins based on a detailed case study of a medieval coin sample. Both non‐destructive (i.e., scanning electron microscopy/energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, X‐ray fluorescence, atomic force microscopy and hydrostatic weighing) and destructive (i.e., inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry and the Volhard titration method) techniques were used. The original fineness can be also deduced from knowledge of the internal structure of the coin (limited miscibility of copper and silver). A new analytical method based on a combination of a micrograph of the metallographic cross‐section with consequent image analysis was developed for determination of the original fineness. The proposed approach is relatively simple and provides reliable values. Sample heterogeneity and its impact on the determination of fineness are also discussed.     

SOCIAL CHANGE AND METALWORKING IN THE EARLY IRON AGE: AN APPROACH FROM NORTH-WEST IBERIA

This paper analyses social transformations in the Early Iron Age based on a holistic and longue durée approach applied to the first fortified habitats in the Iberian north-west. Through a comprehensive review of two paradigmatic settlements of the EIA in the province of A Coruña (Galicia, north-west Iberia), Punta de Muros and A Graña, a comparison is drawn between the social and territorial dynamics of this period by means of an in-depth analysis of the main characteristics of both settlements. Accordingly, a greater level of social complexity during the phases of occupation of the settlement of Punta de Muros has been identified, in contrast to the resistance to change observed in A Graña. Based on these conclusions, the role of metalworking and its symbolic value in fostering and legitimizing these social and territorial transformations and in the development of Iron Age communities are analysed.     

When DNA can't help: The osteobiographical profile and stable isotope analysis as auxiliary tools for refining genealogical relationships,on the example of the Swéerts-Sporck family

Research into the family of the Counts Swéerts-Sporck raised doubts regarding their biographical data, particularly concerning a child who died in 1817, later identified as Philipp Swéerts-Sporck, and his siblings Joseph and Barbara. These were alleged to include a pair of dizygotic twins, but DNA could not be used to clarify their relationships. Carbon and nitrogen isotopes were therefore measured in their first permanent molars, whereas Philipp's biological age was estimated based on his skeleton. Philipp died at an older age than the written sources claim; an isotopic similarity was found between Joseph and Barbara, but Philipp differed.