Excavations at MR11 on Marawah Island (Abu Dhabi,UAE): new insight into the architecture and planning of Arabian Neolithic settlements and early evidence for pearling

In 1992, an archaeological survey of Marawah Island conducted by the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey identified two significant Neolithic settlements known as MR1 and MR11. Both sites are constructed on prominent rocky platforms located towards the western end of the island. In 2000 and 2003, small-scale excavations took place at MR11, with the first full excavation taking place in 2004. Excavations continued at MR11 between 2014 up to 2019. Radiocarbon dating demonstrates that the site was occupied between the earliest part of the sixth millennium to the mid-fifth millennium BC. Three areas have been so far examined. Area A—a tripartite house (2004 and 2014–2017 excavation seasons); Area B—a partial structure (in 2003 and 2017–2018); and Area C—a series of at least five rooms (in 2017–2019). The results provide a valuable new insight into the architecture and planning of Arabian Neolithic settlements in the region, as well as the earliest known evidence for pearling.     

Comments on Nordic animal style ‐ background and origin

Jernvinna på M?sstrond i Telemark (Bloomery Ironmaking in M?sstrond, Telemark). I. Martens, En studie i teknikk, bosetning og ?konomi. A. M. Rosenqvist, Kjemiske og mineralogiske unders?kelser. Norske Oldfunn XIII. Universitetets Oldsaksamling. Oslo 1988. 189 pp., 55 figs.     

The identity of the poor in urban research

Edwin Eames and Judith Granich Goode. Urban Poverty in a Cross‐Cultural Context. New York: The Free Press, 1973. vii + 299 pp. Notes, references, and index. $8.95.     

Mid-Holocene age obtained for nested diamond pattern petroglyph in the Billasurgam Cave complex,Kurnool District,southern India

India has one of the world's largest and most significant bodies of rock paintings and engravings, yet not a single rock art site or image has been directly and accurately dated using radiometric techniques. Here we report on results from the Billasurgam Cave complex near Kurnool in southern India. Although this cave complex has been investigated archaeologically since the late 1800s, it was not until 2008 that a large petroglyph, consisting of the remains of three nested diamond designs on a stalactite, was noted. In order to determine if this petroglyph had been made recently, flowstone was sampled from on top of and below the engraving. Radiocarbon dating revealed a mid-Holocene age of about 5000 cal BP for the petroglyph, but we cannot rule out the possibility that the engraving is several centuries younger. Similar nested diamond designs at some rock painting sites and on a chert core elsewhere in India have been assumed to be Mesolithic. Our result is consistent with this hypothesis, although we note that it also consistent with the creation of the petroglyph in the early Neolithic. We conclude that the Billasurgam engraved diamond design was probably made by Mesolithic foragers of the Kurnool region and is the oldest surviving form of rock art yet directly dated in southern India.     

Government Support Programmes to Promote Academic Entrepreneurship: A Principal–Agent Perspective

The commercialization of research has become a key task of universities and public research institutions. This development is partly stimulated by an increasing number of government support programmes (GSPs) that are designed to stimulate academic entrepreneurship. Nevertheless, the role that is played by this new type of actor in the innovation system is not very well understood. We use a principal–agent theory to guide our analysis of a Norwegian GSP. The programme contributes to reducing the agency problems of adverse selections and moral hazards in the relationships between the government and the actors that are involved in the commercialization of research. Key tasks include collecting and sharing information, engaging in long-term relationships with principals and agents, developing strategies and specific contractual relationships, taking higher risks for risk-averse agents and using multiple indicators. The programme also plays an institutional role by reducing goal conflicts. This approach requires a long-term effort that is generally less visible for outside stakeholders, and it is under constant pressure from short-term expectations.