Infancy and childhood in the pre‐Columbian North American Southwest–first results of the palaeopathological investigation of the skeletons from the Grasshopper Pueblo,Arizona

Infant and child skeletons (n = 369) from the pre‐Columbian Grasshopper Pueblo site in east‐central Arizona (US) dating from the 14^th century AD were examined macroscopically and with low‐power microscopy. They were studied as a representative example of a typical Mogollon community with respect to frequencies of deficiency and inflammatory diseases. First results revealed very poor living conditions, which are characteristic for this time period in the North American Southwest because of lack of food due to climatic and political changes. Thus, non‐specific stress indicators were frequently observed. In the group of deficiency diseases, anaemia was found in more than 50% of individuals, and in the group of inflammatory diseases, meningeal irritations were diagnosed in more than 70%. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Novellierung des Bundesnaturschutzgesetzes vom 3. April 2002

Bereits das Ma? der übereinstimmung ist auch für den unbefangenen Betrachter ein Hinweis auf das Fehlen wirklicher überraschungen. Das Gesetz stellt sich als Destillat der naturschutzfachlichen Diskussion der letzten Jahrzehnte dar und bringt keine wirklich grunds?tzlichen ?nderungen mit sich. Vorherrschend ist eine St?rkung der Programms?tze, neben wenigen Verbesserungen auf der Vollzugsebene. Kernstücke der ?nderung sind die Neufassung der Leitbestimmungen (§§ 1, 2 BNatSchG), die Einführung eines l?nderübergreifenden Biotopverbunds (§ 3 BNatSchG), die Normierung von Grunds?tzen guter fachlicher Praxis in der Landwirtschaft (§ 5 Abs. 1 BNatSchG), die St?rkung der Landschaftsplanung (§§ 12ff. BNatSchG), die Neufassung der Eingiffsregelung (§§ 19ff. BNatSchG) sowie die St?rkung der Beteiligungsrechte anerkannter Naturschutzvereine in Verbund mit der bundesgesetzlichen Einführung der Verbandsklage. Diese Aspekte der Neuregelung werden im folgenden dargestellt.     

Information Technology and Public Policy

Douglas Rushkoff, Cyberia: Life in the Trenches of Hyper space
Douglas Rushkoff, Media Virus: Hidden Agendas in Popular Culture
Douglas Rushkoff, Coercion: Why We Listen to What "They" Say     

Analyzing Fertility and Attraction in the Paleolithic: The Venus Figurines

Countless hypotheses have focused on the enigmatic “Venuses”, but most are not testable. The current authors investigate a hypothesis suggested by R.D. Guthrie involving the waist-to-hip ratio. This measurement determines fertility, beauty, and health in modern females; a 0.7 indicates cross-cultural beauty and fertility. Guthrie argued that the statuettes share an average waist-to-hip ratio of 0.655, indicating that Paleolithic males preferred curvier women. We sought to test this and analyze regional data. Our mean was significantly different than Guthrie's and we found evidence for regional differences. While some statuettes may have served as Paleo-erotica, it seems unlikely that they all did.     

Denmark,Scandinavia and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions in the early Cold War

This article analyses the role of the Danish and Scandinavian labour movements in the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) in 1950–1955. First, it is demonstrated that although the Scandinavians were critical towards the communist regimes in eastern Europe and supported the Marshall Plan, they only joined the ICFTU as a result of the British break-up of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU). Next, the Scandinavians, on the one hand, allied with the British and other west Europeans and rejected the ‘negative’ anticommunism of the Americans, while, on the other hand, they supported the establishment of an intelligence network behind the Iron Curtain, gave financial aid to the campaign against communists in west European unions, and supported victims of the East German uprising in 1953. In short, the Scandinavians closely followed the British, remained critical towards the Americans, and challenged the Soviets.