Upper Cretaceous volcanoclastic deposits from the Haţeg basin,south Carpathians (Romania): K-Ar ages and intrabasinal correlation

In order to constrain the age of the Upper Cretaceous continental Densuş-Ciula Formation from the Haţeg basin, South Carpathians, and correlate it with the other continental unit that occurs in the region, the Sanpetru Formation, we separated and dated by the K-Ar method biotites and amphiboles from volcanoclastic deposits. The mineral phases analysed are from two tuff layers and volcanic bombs cropping out near Rachitova village. Two tuff layers from the Densuş-Ciula Formation give early Maastrichtian ages of 69.8±1.3 and 71.3±1.6 Ma, respectively. The ages determined for the tuff layers constrain the age of deposition for the Densuş-Ciula Formation and enable further correlations with the available palaeomagnetic data from the deposits occurring along the Sibişel Valley that belong to the Sanpetru Formation. The volcanic bombs collected near to Răchitova village are andesites and dacites. The age determined by K-Ar method on hornblende separated from a volcanic bomb is 82.7±1.5 Ma, which is older than the underlying Campanian marine deposits in turbidite facies. This suggests that the volcanic bombs were re-deposited during the early Maastrichtian. Thus, the volcanics found at Răchitova have at least two origins: one type is related to an explosive synsedimentary volcanic activity, and the other type is represented by older andesitic/dacitic bombs, which most probably originate from a volcanic centre situated in the Haţeg region.     

Multi-disciplinary research on the past human ecology of the east Arabian coast: excavations at Hamriya and Tell Abraq (Emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates)

The results of two seasons of research at Hamriya and Tell Abraq (Sharjah, UAE) by an international team of researchers are presented. The research has revealed extensive evidence for occupation from c. 5000 BC to the recent past adjoining lagoon areas that face the Arabian Gulf. C¹⁴ analysis of shells has contributed to understanding the chronology of settlement and also assisted our understanding of species-specific deviation from the global reservoir effect.     

From universal history to globalism: What are and for what purposes do we study European ideas?

Globalism is probably the most frequently used term describing our current age. Found in many contexts, it is often a vague concept referring to a host of different figurations of post-industrial society. European expansion, the growth of the global economy, mass immigration and the planetary expansion of international relations are merely some of the phenomena associated with globalism. Yet globalism taken in its most neutral form of global history is not merely a trendy catch-all phrase for the challenges of our age but has its origins in the efforts of the enlightenment—to rewrite the theological universal histories of the Middle Ages. There is a close relationship between the historiography of universal history and the current ideology of globalism. By juxtaposing the two main strands of universal history (the universal history of mankind vs. the cyclical history of individual peoples) to the problem of European identity, I show that the theoretical problems which caused the demise of universal history continue to plague globalism. Such an analysis of the ideological foundations of globalism is central not only to the current debate on the (re-) construction of European history, but also in the discussion on what constitutes European ideas.