Report on the Progress of the Excavations at Wroxeter,the Roman Urioconium

An evaluation exercise, involving geophysical survey and limited excavation, was undertaken on a site where aerial photography indicated the presence of a number of substantial timber buildings. The work demonstrated that the site was of the early medieval period and that the buildings possessed structural characteristics comparable to those found on other excavated high status sites of the sixth to seventh centuries. Following the evaluation exercise the site was designated as a monument of national importance (Wilts 917).     

Psychologists on culture and thought

Michael Cole and Sylvia Scribner. Culture and Thought: A Psychological Introduction. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1974. vii + 227 pp. Figures, references, and indexes. $8.95 (paper).

J. W. Berry and P. R. Dasen, eds. Culture and Cognition: Readings in Cross‐Cultural Psychology London: Methuen (New York: Barnes & Noble), 1974. xiv + 487 pp. Figures, tables, references, and indexes. $17.00 (cloth), $8.50 (paper).     

Journeys of resilience: the emotional geographies of refugee women

This article considers the emotional geographies of a highly vulnerable demographic: refugee women. As a marginalised and ontologically fragile group, refugees have developed rich and perceptive insight on space and place, by developing a critical vigilance that reflects forward and back on their life journeys, real and metaphorical. Through participation in a psycho-educational course designed by the author, nine women produced their own images of resilience, in creative exercises that provided ‘landmarks’ of recognition for other participants. Via participation in this temporary ‘community of practice’, therefore, another journey was taken; this article will also consider the epistemology of that itinerary using interdisciplinary insights from geography, cultural studies, cognitive behavioural therapy and gender studies.     

Carbon and nitrogen isotope signals in eel bone collagen from Mesolithic and Neolithic sites in northern Europe

Carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis was undertaken on collagen extracted from eel bone from six Mesolithic and Neolithic sites in northern Europe. The results were compared with data obtained on other archaeological fish remains and modern eel caught in fresh and brackish water and from the sea. The possibility of discriminating between freshwater, brackish and marine signals in archaeological eel bone is evaluated and the implications for archaeology discussed. Our data suggest that eel found at coastal Mesolithic and Neolithic sites have carbon isotope signals consistent with a marine origin with no evidence of freshwater residency. The sample of eel bone from one inland site is small but indicates carbon isotope values more consistent with freshwater residency or at least values intermediate between freshwater and marine carbon pools.     

How to Make an Unfired Clay Cooking Pot: Understanding the Technological Choices Made by Arctic Potters

Between about 500 a.d. and the late nineteenth century, clay cooking pots associated with the Thule culture were produced in the Arctic region. Ethnographic and archaeological records indicate that these vessels were typically underfired (often even unfired), highly porous, and easily broken. Despite these characteristics, the evidence indicates that they were used to heat water over open fires. In this paper, we examine how Arctic potters were able to produce unsintered vessels capable of holding liquids without disintegrating. We conclude that the application of seal oil and seal blood to the pot’s surface was the key to their success.

ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY WITHIN AND BETWEEN EUROPEAN NATIONS: THE ROLE OF MARKET POTENTIAL AND DENSITY ACROSS SPACE AND TIME*

ABSTRACT In explaining the uneven spatial distribution of economic activity, urban economics, and new economic geography (NEG) dominate recent research in economics. A main difference between these two approaches is that NEG stresses the role of spatial linkages whereas urban economics does not do so. We estimate simple versions of these two views on economic geography and also establish if the relevance of spatial linkages varies across aggregation levels or time. For our sample of 14 European countries and 213 corresponding regions, we find that spatial linkages are more important at the country level and that its relevance varies across time.