East is East,and West is West? Currency iconography as nation-branding in the wider Europe

This article considers European banknote iconography as an indicator of national branding choices from the early twentieth century up to the present. Systematic quantitative content analysis demonstrates that the values and ontologies expressed on Central/East European banknotes have historically tracked closely with the trends visible on their West European counterparts. This pattern is evident not just since the end of the Cold War, but indeed right from the founding of the modern Central/East European states about a century ago. Even during the Cold War, it did not take long for the trends on Western banknotes to appear on Central/East European banknotes as well. Thus, contrary to the conventional assumption of a deep-rooted normative gulf separating the national identity discourses of so-called “New” and “Old” Europe, the article underscores the fact of intense, longstanding normative cross-pollination between them.     

A comparative geochemical study of bituminous boat remains from H3, As-Sabiyah (Kuwait), and RJ-2, Ra's al-Jinz (Oman)

This paper presents a geochemical analysis of fragments of bituminous amalgam from H3, As‐Sabiyah (Kuwait), and RJ‐2, Ra's al‐Jinz (Oman). The fragments bear barnacles on one side and reed impressions on the other, and are thought to have been part of the coating of reed‐bundle boats. The material from H3 dates to between 5300–4900 BC, while that of RJ‐2 dates to 2500–2100 BC. Samples from both sites were geochemically compared to archaeological and ethnographic material from Kosak Shamali (northern Syria, c.5000–4400 BC), RH‐5 (Oman, 4400–3500 BC) and Baghdad (central Iraq, 1900 AD). The composition of the bituminous amalgams was studied in detail. Rock‐Eval Pyrolysis gave a measure of Total Organic Carbon in the samples, and allowed an initial comparison of the data sets using various parameters. Examination of the proportions of soluble and insoluble organic matter allowed an assessment of the quantity of vegetal matter added to the bitumen to make the bituminous amalgam. The composition of the Ra's al‐Jinz material was studied using X‐Ray Diffraction analysis and thin‐section petrography, in order to assess the proportions of various minerals in the bituminous amalgams. It was concluded that the recipe for the bituminous mixture used to coat reed‐bundle and wooden boats did not differ significantly from that commonly used to make ‘mortar’ for architectural purposes in Mesopotamia. Traces of animal fats or fish oils were not found in the analysed Ra's al‐Jinz material, in contrast to previous hypotheses regarding the composition of the mixture. Comparison of the gross composition of extractable organic matter (the constituents of pure bitumen, soluble in chloroform or dichloromethane) showed the progressive effects of weathering on the samples. The isotopic composition of the bituminous material from H3 and the other sites was then compared to that of bitumen seeps and crude oils from Mesopotamia, Iran and Oman. The most significant result is that the material from As‐Sabiyah originated in Kuwait, at a surface seep at Burgan, while the material from Ra's al‐Jinz had a source in northern Mesopotamia.     

Does a turbulent history lead to turbulent life expectancy trends? Evidence from the Baltic States

After the time of the Great Duchy of Lithuania and that of their inclusion to Russian Empire, the three Baltic countries got their first independence after WWI, but WWII forced them to enter the Soviet Union for almost five decades before getting their second independence and resuming with market economy, to finally join the European Union. Such strong historical changes caused major impacts (either positive or negative) on the implementation of the health transition in the region, quite interesting to document, but they also produced dramatic changes in the quality and the accuracy of information required to compute mortality indicators. The aim of this article is to briefly summarize existing knowledge on mortality in the Baltic region for the past two centuries, but focusing more precisely on the consequences of getting in and then getting out of the Soviet system in terms of health and survival.