Discerning geological and geographical sources of Belgian Upper Paleolithic fluorites by rare earth elements and Sr-isotopic geochemistry

Fragments of fluorite (CaF₂) have been found at five Belgian Upper Paleolithic sites (Spy, Chaleux, Trou Magritte, Trou du Frontal and Verlaine caves), primarily of Magdalenian age. These sites are located in a large geographical area. The aim of this study is to isolate one or more primary sources where the mineral could have been quarried prehistorically, and hence try to deduce if time and effort were put into obtaining it, or if it was simply a useful nearby raw material. In order to achieve this objective, isotopic ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and REE ratios are used. A total of four archaeological samples from the Chaleux, Spy and Trou Magritte sites along with geological samples were analyzed (new results and data from the literature), obtained from two distinct stratigraphical units in Belgium: the Givetian limestones (mainly from the Calestian Band), and the Dinantian limestones.     

Development vs. Reform: Attempts at Modernisation During the Twilight of British Influence in Iraq, 1946–58

This study analyses British and local Iraqi elites’ efforts to avoid social revolution through promotion of economic development during the last years of the Iraqi monarchy. Discussing the complex set-up of domestic Iraqi elites and their ambiguous relations with British officials in Iraq, it argues that the structural composition of the Iraqi state itself is an important explanatory factor for the swift overthrow of the old regime in 1958. Using British archival records, this article analyses the politics of avoiding reform and promoting economic development to which Iraqi elites and the British were privy. It shows how economistic ideas of ‘modernisation’ and economic growth were believed to be the solution to Iraq's endemic problems of social unrest and politicisation of large parts of the population. Arguing that increased wealth through oil-fuelled development programmes would ultimately trickle down to all strata of the population and thus stave off the danger of revolution, the British failed to realise that Iraq's structural setup with its unscrupulous politicians and wealthy landowners at the apex of power, along with an all-permeating patronage system, effectively hampered any dispersal of what little new wealth was generated through these projects.     

Cables in Cipher,the Raoul Wallenberg Case and Swedish–Soviet Diplomatic Communication 1944–1947

In 2011, the Russian government, in order to mark the 100th anniversary of Swedish Diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, decided to allow one Swedish researcher to go through the diplomatic correspondence in cipher between the Soviet Embassy in Stockholm and the Soviet Foreign Ministry during the years 1944–1947. This article presents some of the major findings on Wallenberg and discusses whether parallel paths of Soviet encrypted communication between Moscow and Stockholm may still be harbouring additional information on his case. The ciphers cannot provide us with any conclusive answers on the Soviet motives for arresting Wallenberg, or his ultimate fate. They do, however, provide us with unique insights into how the matter was handled on both the Soviet and Swedish sides.     

Connecting Municipal and Regional Level Planning: Analysis and Visualization of Sustainability Indicators in Bergslagen,Sweden

Sustainable development as a process towards sustainability requires collaboration among societal actors and stakeholders at multiple levels. A key issue is to provide them with that they have comprehensive and transparent knowledge base representing the state and trends of different dimensions of sustainability. This study addresses the need to analyse and present data of sustainability as a foundation for the sustainable development process within municipalities, and among them. As a case study, we focus on 18 municipalities in the crisis-struck Bergslagen region in Sweden and compare them with 101 surrounding municipalities. Data from 2001 and 2006 on 15 indicators representing ecological, economic and social sustainability criteria were transformed to a common scale through normalization around the median, and summarized. Bergslagen region municipalities performed poorer than the surrounding ones for all dimensions in 2006. The change from 2001 to 2006 was positive for economic and social criteria, while the ecological dimension developed negatively in all municipalities. We stress the need for municipalities to collaborate with each other and other actors both at municipal and regional levels, and to use sustainability indicators as a base for informed planning processes. We propose visualization of indicators using maps to support decision-making and social learning.     

Involutions of Materiality

The neo-materialist ontology outlined by the philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Manuel DeLanda has several implications for archeology. This text primarily discusses their replacement of the general and the specific with universal and individual singularities which creates emergent properties. This is both a process of evolution and involution where materialities create multi-scalar assemblages. Causeway assemblages from two sites, Ichmul and Yo’okop in the northern Maya lowlands in southern Mexico, are used to operationalize this perspective. Rather than focusing on a human-centered perspective, the text sees the causeways as parts of technologies that can help us to reach an anorganic perspective where we can become-materiality.