Effect of Scale on the Links between Walking and Urban Design

Studies of the relationship between walking and urban form consistently show that pedestrian‐friendly neighbourhoods encourage local walking. However, the geographic scale of measurement of the built environment for developing walkability indices and their relationship with different types of walking (e.g. for transport and recreation) has not been fully examined. In this study, objective measures of the built environment were developed at three geographic scales: suburb, census collection district, and 15 min walk neighbourhood for each participant. Walking for transport and recreation within the neighbourhood was measured using the Neighbourhood Physical Activity Questionnaire. The likelihood of walking at all (yes/no) and as recommended for health benefit (150 min per week) were assessed using logistic regression. The walkability index captured a strong positive relationship between urban form and walking for transport, but found no relationship at any scale for recreational walking. Participants walking for transport and living in high versus low walkable areas were 63% more likely to walk at the suburb scale (odds ratio 1.63; 95% confidence interval 1.22–2.18), twice as likely to walk at the census collection district scale, and nearly three times more likely to walk at the 15 min walk scale (odds ration 2.79; 95% confidence interval 2.09–3.73). The scale at which environmental data are measured influenced the strength of the relationship, showing that the neighbourhood 15 min from home was most predictive of transport walking. This has research and policy implications. Standardised scales across studies would both improve comparability of results and enhance understanding of the influences on walking.     

Protecting aquatic ecosystems in heavily allocated river systems: the case of the Oldman River Basin,Alberta

Initiatives aimed at protecting aquatic ecosystems often prove difficult to implement—particularly in water‐stressed, semi‐arid regions where the demand for water for human consumption is high. This article reports on an investigation of the factors that shaped the development and implementation of policies for aquatic ecosystem protection in the Oldman River Basin (ORB), a crucial watershed in semi‐arid southern Alberta. The analysis reveals critical cultural and historical considerations that confront those attempting to protect and restore aquatic ecosystems in the ORB and highlights specific factors that influence implementation of measures to protect it. In addition to the most basic consideration—demand for water exceeds supplies—eight specific factors that influenced aquatic ecosystem protection in this region are identified and evaluated. These include (1) clarity of actors’ roles/ jurisdictional responsibilities; (2) communication; (3) definition of key terms; (4) funding and organizational capacity; (5) leadership; (6) legal standing; (7) data and monitoring; and (8) public education. We argue that while these factors are important, critical cultural and historical considerations that influence water policy in the province also must be addressed in any efforts to protect aquatic ecosystems in southern Alberta.     

CHARACTERIZING THE MICROMORPHOLOGY OF SEDIMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH CHINCHORRO MUMMIFICATION IN ARICA,CHILE USING SEM AND EDS

We use scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy‐dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) to analyse clay sediments used during the mummification process of Chinchorro mummies from northern Chile. The significance of this study is that no prior work has characterized the sediment used by the Chinchorro during mortuary preparation and this approach offers a necessary preliminary step towards identifying modern equivalents for the materials used by the Chinchorro. Understanding the unique characteristics of this material may also help understand why they are so well preserved and aid in the future curation of Chinchorro mummies.     

MANGANESE STAINING OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL GLASS: THE CHARACTERIZATION OF Mn‐RICH INCLUSIONS IN LEACHED LAYERS AND A HYPOTHESIS OF ITS FORMATION

During the study of a large number of archaeological glass fragments, manganese‐rich inclusions in leached layers were observed in a limited number of cases. This phenomenon occurs only in black‐coloured leached layers. Since the formation mechanism of such manganese‐rich inclusions is still unclear, a combination of several analytical techniques was used in order to investigate this phenomenon and, more specifically, to obtain more information on (a) the composition and morphology of the inclusions, (b) the chemical state of Mn and (c) the 3D morphology of the inclusions. A mechanism that might explain the formation of these inclusions is proposed.     

TESTING ANALOGICAL TAPHONOMIC SIGNATURES IN BONE BREAKING: A COMPARISON BETWEEN HAMMERSTONE‐BROKEN EQUID AND BOVID BONES

Current analogical data used to infer prehistoric human bone breakage rely on a plethora of experimental hammerstone‐broken bovid bone sets. Several criteria have been argued to be diagnostic of bone breakage by humans, among which the most important are: a specific range of broken specimens bearing percussion marks, a specific distribution of different percussion mark types, metric properties of notches, differential notch type distribution, and the angle of oblique breakage planes. The present work shows that those properties derived from the breakage of bovid bones cannot be universally applied to all types of animals. As an example, here it is experimentally demonstrated that hammerstone‐broken equid bones (with different thickness and structural properties compared to bovid bones) show different values in all these variables and some of them overlap with criteria documented in bones broken by static loading. This suggests that the agents of equid bone breakage are more difficult to identify, and that the number of variables that can be successfully used to that end is smaller than in bovid bones.     

A new Mexican nationalism? Indigenous rights,constitutional reform and the conflicting meanings of multiculturalism*

ABSTRACT. This article focuses on the recent Mexican controversy about the legal status of the indigenous population and the nature of nationalism, which is linked to recent constitutional amendments and new policy strategies. Changes in legislation and policy are examined in the context of a widespread economic and political crisis of the populist regime after 1982, which radically affected the previous indigenist discourse; but they are also seen as having been motivated by Indian demands and mobilisations against the official vision of citizenship as a function of cultural homogeneity and mestizaje. The article analyses the implications of the new constitutional amendments and the heated debates that they have provoked among different political actors, including indigenous organisations. In particular, it examines two areas of disagreement. The first concerns the multiple meanings of multiculturalism – as a threat of fragmentation and fundamentalism, a new form of state control or a strategy for indigenous national participation and empowerment. The second concerns the definition and levels of implementation of indigenous political autonomy. Negotiation over such disagreements, leading to inclusive citizenship, constitute a great challenge for ethnic intellectuals and theoreticians of Mexican nationalism.     

CHARACTERIZING THE SEDIMENTARY HISTORY OF CAVE DEPOSITS,USING ARCHAEOMAGNETISM AND ROCK MAGNETISM,ATAPUERCA (NORTHERN SPAIN)

We use a combination of rock magnetism (anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility, AMS) and magnetic polarity to characterize cave deposits and as a proxy for sedimentary fabric. In three localities at the Atapuerca archaeological site (Galeria, Gran Dolina and Sala de los Cíclopes), magnetic foliation (K_max/K_int) is always greater than lineation (K_int/K_min), consistent with a primary, depositional, sedimentary fabric. Our results, although preliminary, reveal a higher degree of anisotropy in autochtonous deposits compared to allochthonous deposits, possibly indicative of a higher hydrodynamic regime in the former. At two localities the magnetic lineation (K_max) defines a cluster, which is thought to be antipodal to the palaeocurrent direction. Hence we are able to retrieve palaeoflow directions in deposits that otherwise lack any other sedimentary structure. We conclude that AMS is a powerful tool for determining the hydrodynamic character of depositional environments in cave sediments at the Atapuerca archaeological site. A better understanding of the depositional environment and how sedimentation occurred allows reconstruction of the karst evolution and ultimately a better definition of human interaction with the environment.     

SHAFT‐HOLE AXES FROM SLOVENIA AND NORTH‐WESTERN CROATIA: A FIRST ARCHAEOMETRIC STUDY ON ARTEFACTS MANUFACTURED FROM META‐DOLERITES*

A group of Copper Age shaft‐hole axes from Caput Adriae (northeastern Italy, western Slovenia and northwestern Croatia) manufactured using meta‐dolerite have been analysed for major and trace elements. All the samples show magmatic textures and well recognizable relicts of primary mineralogical phases. Petrographic observations suggest an ophiolitic provenance of the protolithic source(s) while geochemical data indicate that the original magmas originated in a fore arc or pre arc tectonic setting. Strong similarity has been found with several lithotypes from the Banija Ophiolite Complex (Croatia), here indicated as the most probable source area. Considering the available archaeometric data about shaft‐hole axes found in northern Italy and Caput Adriae in comparison to those of axe blades discovered in the same area, it emerges that there is a utilization of different rock types, the source of which appears to be quite close to the discovery sites. In the investigated area the shaft‐hole axes are largely made from ophiolitic‐related rocks which are associated with copper deposits. Consequently there may have been a relation between the localization of the geological sources of shaft‐hole axes and the development of metallurgical activities.