Investigating cross-Gulf trade in the Iron Age III period: chronological and compositional data on Burnished Maroon Slipped Ware (BMSW) in southeastern Arabia and Iran

Recently obtained ceramic compositional data from the late Iron Age sites of Tepe Yahya in Iran and Sharm in the United Arab Emirates is presented in this paper. Analysis of this data suggests that a distinctive ceramic, Burnished Maroon Slipped Ware (BMSW), was produced somewhere in southern Iran and exported across the Gulf to eastern Arabia. That this trade was not limited to any defined historical period, such as that represented by the Achaemenid Empire, is suggested by a series of new AMS C¹⁴ dates from Tepe Yahya. The paper concludes with speculative comments on the possible elite nature of BMSW in societies on either side of the Straits of Hormuz.     

Einstein et «Zweistein»

As the sobriquet «Zweistein» suggests, within the theoretical physics community Wolfgang Pauli came to be regarded as second in eminence only to Albert Einstein. Over a period of thirty-five years, they interacted both intellectually and personally. This paper focuses on four interrelated topics of their discussions. 1) The theory of relativity: at the age of twenty, Pauli prepared the definitive survey of relativity, a survey which he revised near the end of his life and which remains invaluable to physicists and historians of physics. 2) Unified field theories: although initially sympathetic to Einstein's search for a unified theory of electromagnetism and gravitation, and having made important contributions to the subject, Pauli came to regard such efforts as fruitless. 3) Foundations of quantum mechanics: Pauli's negative evaluation of Einstein's program grew out of their sharply differing evaluations of the role that quantum mechanics would play in the future, development of theoretical physics. 4) Quantum gravity: Pauli recognized that, until the achievement of a successful reconciliation of quantum mechanics and general relativity — an achievement that still eludes us — Einstein's challenge to quantum mechanics could not be laid to rest.     

Fotografie als Wissenschaft

Photography as Science: In 1908 the English physicist Arthur Mason Worthington published A Study of Splashes, a treatise on the physical behaviour of falling drops. The photographic experiments were performed by means of an electric spark „in absolute darkness”︁. Worthington's experimental practice dealt with two different areas of knowledge production: an area the operator could perceive control from the outside and a corresponding black-box where the photographic recording itself took place. The paper discusses the epistemic challenges of this specific shift from imperceptible events to their photographic representations. It shows to what extent the information revealed by the photographic apparatus had to be converted, for it did not speak for itself. Thus, Worthington's work went beyond the classical dichotomy between objectivity and imagination.     

Make-Believe rituals: Reflections on the relationship between archaeology and education through the perspective of a group of children in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil

Este ensayo reporta sobre investigaciones entre un grupo de ni?os escolares brasile?os que fueron entrevistados para ver como ellos consideraban la arqueología, como su conocimiento del pasado afecta su comprensión del presente, y como su experiencia del presente les informa su vista del pasado.

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Résumé Ce papier présente des recherches menées parmi un groupe d'écoliers brésiliens afin de savoir comment ils voient l'archéologie, comment leur connaissance du passé affecte leur compréhension du présent et comment leur expérience du présent renseigne leurs vues du passé.

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[T]he miracle that we would hope for from the bottom of our hearts, the school as a preserved universe, island of purity—in which all disparities and social struggles would come to a stop, this miracle does not exist: the school is part of the world. (Snyders 1977:18)     

Archaeology on both sides of the iron bars

La conmemoración anual de la llegada de Colón a América como se experimenta en Argentina proporciona un foco para la definición de preguntas acerca de la comprensión de la arqueología como conocimiento. Para los grupos Indígenas es el aniversario del último día de la independencia de las poblaciones aborígenes. Los arqueólogos deben cuestionarse su posición cuando estudian el mundo y los objetos indígenas. Las interpretaciones de los “pioneros” arqueólogos argentinos son discutidas junto con el concepto de “la ruptura metafísica” sobre la que la arqueología construye su objeto, esa ruptura entre el mundo indígena subjetive y el mundo del conocimiento arqueológico. En el siglo XXI quedan preguntas pendientes acerca de la arqueología que, si es vista como una práctica descolonizadora, debe implicar su propio proceso de descolonización. Proporciona la Arqueología de Un Mundo el contexto para continuar esta tarea descolonizadora?

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Résumé La commémoration annuelle de l'arrivé de Christophe Colomb en Amérique, comme c'est le cas en Argentine, donne l'occasion de se concentrer sur des questions de définition concernant la compréhension de l'archéologie comme source de connaissance. Pour les groupes autochtones, cette journée est la dernière de leur indépendance. Les archéologues devraient se demander comment ils se positionnent quand ils étudient le monde et les objets autochtones. Les interprétations des “pionniers” argentins de l'archéologie sont discutées en lien avec le concept de “d'écart métaphysique” sur lequel l'archéologie construit son objet: cet espace entre la réalité du monde des autochtones et des archéologues qui revendiquent la connaissance à travers la méthode scientifique. Au 21ième siècle, il y a encore des questions à demander concernant l'archéologie, qui même si elle est per?ue comme une pratique décolonisatrice, doit inclure le processus de décolonisation d'elle-même. One World Archaeology procure une contexte pour continuer cette tache de décolonisation?

     

Creating an Imperial Frontier: Archaeology of the Formation of Rome’s Danube Borderland

For investigating the formation of frontier zones, study of changes in small communities that constituted the majority of earlier populations provides a different perspective from a focus on major centers. A network model applied to settlement and cemetery sites on Romes Danube River frontier in Bavaria, Germany, shows that many communities, through participation in regional and long-distance circulation systems, played significant roles in creating the dynamic and culturally heterogeneous character of that landscape. This approach offers a model applicable to analysis of the formation and functioning of frontier regions in all cultural contexts.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Corrales de Indios</Emphasis> (Lithic Structures) in Tandilia,Argentina: A Global Study

In the central-southeastern area of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, lies a mountainous area of low height in Tandilia that contains important outcrops of quartzite and granite. A large number of buildings are made of massive blocks of rock, some of them with a surface of over 1 ha. In addition to these completely artificial constructions are other structures that are semi-natural, having been made in places with special topographical characteristics and complemented with dry-stone walls. Scanty written documents allow us to attribute some of the constructions to an age before the permanent settlement of the Creole population. In the Tandilia Sierras these structures are commonly known as “corrales de indios” (Indian corrals). This designation involves a double prejudice with regard to function and cultural affiliation. Out of a total of 22 structures, we analyze a group of 4 that were excavated to use to review the written documents.     

The US Government’s Role in Deepwater Archaeology: The Deep Gulf Wrecks Project

The deepwater part of the Gulf of Mexico has shown a remarkable increase in oil and gas exploration, development, and production. In part, this is because of the development of new technologies reducing operational costs and risks, as well as the finding of reservoirs with high-production wells. With expanding development in deep water come increasing challenges in managing our nation’s Submerged Cultural Heritage on the Outer Continental Shelf and Slope. To fulfill obligations under Section 106 of the Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (36 CFR 800), managers need a clearer understanding of the size of debris fields expected around deepwater shipwrecks, as well as their state of preservation and future research potential—both cultural and biological. With this in mind, the Minerals Management Service, in partnership with the National Oceanographic Partnership Program and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Ocean Explorations, launched the Deep Gulf Wrecks Project.