Characterization of dyestuffs in ancient textiles from Xinjiang

Extraordinarily well-preserved organic remains from mortuary and settlement sites, including mummified bodies, are scattered along the outer, oasis-laden rim of the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang Province, China, ranging in date from about 1400 BC to the late first millennium BC. Specimens of textile finds from Chärchän, dated at about 1000 BC were selected for dye analysis using newly developed protocols employing high performance liquid chromatography with spectrophotometric and mass spectrometric detection. A single blue (from an indigo plant), a red (from madder, a Rubia species) and two yellow dyes were detected, although the exact plant source for none of them could be identified with certainty. This research offers new insights in the interpretation of textile finds from prehistoric Xinjiang, and more generally, of early Bronze Age Eurasia.     

How Does Economic Development in Eastern Europe Affect Austria's Regions? A Multiregional General Equilibrium Framework

The paper quantifies regional welfare effects arising from the increasing trade flows between Austria and its Eastern neighbors after the opening up of Eastern Europe. We calibrate a static multiregional Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model with benchmark data from 1994 for Austria, subdivided into nine Federal Provinces. The regions are linked by trade flows with the four Eastern neighboring countries and with the rest of the world. We simulate the effects of the increase of trade interpenetration as observed between 1989 and 1999 in a comparative static analysis. Regional welfare effects under fixed and flexible wages are presented. We also compare national CGE results with estimates obtained in a simple partial equilibrium approach.     

City-Management – Eine Erfolgsstory?!

Seit geraumer Zeit wird das Thema Innenstadt kontrovers diskutiert. Neben dem Niedergang der City und der Konkurrenz zur „Grünen Wiese” werden zugleich die europ?ische urbane Stadt heraufbeschworen und zahlreiche Aktivit?ten zur (Re-)Vitalisierung unternommen. Von privaten Initiativen, H?ndlergemeinschaften über public-private-partnership-Projekte, wie z.B. „Ab in die Mitte” in Nordrhein-Westfalen, bis zum st?dtischen City-Manager und Landesf?rderung für Innenstadtprojekte reicht das Repertoire. City-Management ist dabei ein wesentliches Instrument. Wie City-Management in Deutschland aussieht und wie es sich entwickelt, zeigt der folgende Beitrag.     

Affe und delphin

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Balance of power across the Channel: reassessing Frankish hegemony in southern England (sixth–early seventh century)

Relations between southern Britain and the Merovingian kingdoms in the sixth and early seventh centuries have largely been understood in terms of a Frankish hegemony extending across the Channel. However, a re-examination of the small group of written sources on which this idea is based shows that they do not necessarily imply such overlordship. Sixth-century archaeological evidence points to a different and more complex picture of Frankish influence: displaying links with the Franks was crucial for the self-representation of elites in southern England, and should be understood in the context of extensive transmarine contacts.