Review of Archaeological Research in Angola

This article examines the historical processes that shaped the development of archaeological practice in Angola during the Portuguese colonial period and the aftermath of political independence. Using published works, unpublished reports, and photographic records, we examine the research themes, actors, scholars, and institutions that influenced archaeological research in the country. We also used documents and museum collections in Angola and Portugal to create a GIS database of Angola’s archaeological findings. This study highlights the events, personalities, and priorities that motivated earlier investigations, and the geographical distribution of prehistoric sites. We hope this study will be a resource for guiding future archaeological research in Angola.

     

The Emergence of Ornaments and Art: An Archaeological Perspective on the Origins of “Behavioral Modernity”

The earliest known personal ornaments come from the Middle Stone Age of southern Africa, c. 75,000 years ago, and are associated with anatomically modern humans. In Europe, such items are not recorded until after 45,000 radiocarbon years ago, in Neandertal-associated contexts that significantly predate the earliest evidence, archaeological or paleontological, for the immigration of modern humans; thus, they represent either independent invention or acquisition of the concept by long-distance diffusion, implying in both cases comparable levels of cognitive capability and performance. The emergence of figurative art postdates c. 32,000 radiocarbon years ago, several millennia after the time of Neandertal/modern human contact. These temporal patterns suggest that the emergence of “behavioral modernity” was triggered by demographic and social processes and is not a species-specific phenomenon; a corollary of these conclusions is that the corresponding genetic and cognitive basis must have been present in the genus Homo before the evolutionary split between the Neandertal and modern human lineages.     

Girls’ perspectives on the ideal school playground experience: an exploratory study of four Australian primary schools

ABSTRACT

Based on research conducted as part of the Sydney Playground Project, this paper provides an exploratory investigation of the perspectives of girls relating to the ideal school playground experience, and whether their perspectives are influenced by a loose-parts playground intervention. The focus is on the play behaviours of 22 girls aged 8–10 years, from the perspective that school playgrounds are generally designed in ways that are more suited to the play behaviours of boys. The research is based on a qualitative analysis of children’s drawings, interviews and focus groups, exploring meanings associated with desired play experiences. Findings indicate that girls’ views of the ideal school playground are influenced by the geographies of the spaces they play in, and that girls highly valued changes provided by a loose-parts intervention.     

Inaccessible childhoods: evaluating accessibility in homes,schools and neighbourhoods with disabled children

Accessible built environments are a critical component of Canada’s commitment to disabled children’s ‘right to enjoy full and decent lives’ [United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. 1989. Convention on the Rights of the Child. New York. [Google Scholar]. Convention on the Rights of the Child. New York.] . Although valid, reliable research data about the accessibility of built environments are key to developing related policies, these data currently do not exist. To begin to redress this gap, we conducted a case study series followed by a survey to determine the accessibility of schools, homes and neighbourhoods directly from disabled children (The ScHaN Project). To present a concise summary of the findings that can inform equitable, evidence-based policies, we developed a scoring system for their homes, schools and neighbourhoods. Although our findings illustrate that eliciting and interpreting data from these children were complex undertakings, it is clear that none of these central environments met Canada’s obligation to enhance equity by enabling their access, inclusion and participation.     

Spurious weather effects

Rainfall is exogenous to human actions and hence popular as an exogenous source of variation. But it is also spatially correlated. This can generate spurious relationships between rainfall and other spatially correlated outcomes. As an illustration, rainfall on almost any day of the year has seemingly high predictive power of electoral turnout in Norwegian municipalities. In Monte Carlo analyses, I find that standard tests reject true null hypotheses in as much as 99% of cases. Standard approaches to estimating consistent standard errors do not solve the problem. Instead, I suggest controlling for spatial and spatiotemporal trends using multidimensional polynomials.     

Plot by Plot: Plotting Urbanism as an Ordinary Process of Urbanisation

With this paper, we analyse an ordinary urban process, which has received little attention so far, and propose a new concept to take account of it: plotting urbanism. It is usually subsumed under terms like “urban informality” or “incremental urbanism” and not studied as a distinct process. In comparing Lagos, Istanbul and Shenzhen we captured four defining features of plotting urbanism: first, it unfolds in a piecemeal fashion with limited comprehensive planning. Second, it emerges from specific territorial compromises often resulting from conflicts between overlapping modes of territorial regulation, land tenure and property rights. Third, plotting is based on commodification of housing and land, which might accentuate socio-economic differentiations between property-owners, who often live in the same area, and their tenants. The term “plotting” highlights the key role of the plot in the process. It also alludes to strategic acts of collaboration for individual and collective benefit.     

Mapping the Stone Age of Mozambique

Under the auspices of the Portuguese colonial government, Lereno Barradas and Santos Júnior (coordinator of the Anthropological Mission of Mozambique) carried out several archaeological field surveys from 1936 to 1956 that resulted in a data set that includes a total of close to 90 sites, mostly attributed to the Stone Age. This early research added to the previous work of Van Riet Lowe in the Limpopo Valley of southern Mozambique. With the new millennium, Mozambique has emerged as a crucial geographic area in which to understand the various hypotheses about recent human evolution. Specifically, its coastal location between southern and eastern Africa is ideal for testing ideas about the link between early coastal adaptations and the appearance of anatomically modern humans (AMH). Except for the recent work by Mercader’s team in northern Mozambique, the number of researchers and projects on this topic in Mozambique is still limited because of the general predominance of interest in later periods among archaeologists working in the country, mainly due to their focus on issues related to precolonial heritage and national identity. Based on the early maps from Santos Júnior and more recent data acquired through various projects, we present a series of maps for the Stone Age prehistory of Mozambique. The maps are also based on a critical evaluation of the sites and a review of some of the materials that are presently curated at the Instituto de Investigação Científica e Tropical (IICT) in Lisbon, Portugal, as well as the materials stored at the Department of Archaeology of Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo. The sites are also presented in an online database with the information on all sites used in this study. This database is open to all and will be updated continuously. A preliminary interpretation of the regional distribution of the sites is also attempted, linking aspects that include region, topography and altitude, geomorphology, and cultural phase. These results will be the first step for research and knowledge in Mozambique on Stone Age prehistory and the emergence and settlement pattern of AMH.     

Nature Humaine et Complexion du Corps Chez les Médecins Italiens de la Fin du Moyen Âge

Is it possible to apprehend man from a medical standpoint without offering a purely materialistic definition ? Such was the question raised by Italian physicians at the end of the Middle Ages when they developed a full scale theory of the idea of complexion, which they saw as a “substantial quality” specific to man, but one that also depended on hereditary traits, food, age, or even climate and mores. Practicing their art, some of these physicians could thus contemplate improving not simply the health, but also the well being of each individual.