Dating Historical Buildings: An Update on the Possibilities of Absolute Dating Methods

The reconstruction of the history of a building represents a difficult task, as written information is not usually available or incomplete. Some building materials (e.g., bricks, wood) have been classically used for absolute dating while on others has been considered unreliable (e.g., stone). However, developments and tests performed in the last 20 years have shown important advances on the use of such methods, increasing the possibilities of successful reconstruction of building chronologies, although most of these advances are still scarcely known by the community involved in the site management (e.g., archaeologists, architects). Both, radiocarbon and luminescence dating have been the most successful techniques but others, such as archaeomagnetism, can also be used. Even, some important events such as fires could be dated. The purpose of this work is to provide an overview of the last achievements of absolute dating techniques available in building materials.     

Archaeometrical characterization of pigments and paintings on Pre-Hispanic pottery from the regions of Fiambalá and Chaschuil (Catamarca,Argentina)*

The results of an analysis of pigments used in slips and designs deployed in ceramic assemblages recovered from archaeological sites located in different environments, expressing the socio-historical process developed in the regions of Fiambalá and Chaschuil (Catamarca, Argentina) during the last 1500 years are presented. The sample, formed by fragments of different ceramic styles and natural pigments, was analysed via Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Results indicate the continuity in use of certain pigments (mainly hematite for red hues and Mn oxides in combination with magnetite for black paints) within the different socio-political organizations that inhabited the region from the first to the 14th centuries ce , in spite of the diverse shades of colour, which suggests an intentional search linked with their cultural conventions. For the Inca Period, this scenery of continuities in minerals employed for reds and blacks is complemented by the use of new compounds (Ti oxide, apatite and gypsum) in order to generate the ‘cream’ tones applied as slips, all of which have not been identified for previous moments.     

Domestic Impact of the Korean War

Book reviewed in this article:
Paul G. Pierpaoli, Truman and Korea: The Political Culture of the Early Cold War     

A perfect storm? Welfare, care, gender and generations in Uruguay

This article claims that welfare states modelled on a contributory basis and with a system of entitlements that assumes stable two-parent families, a traditional breadwinner model, full formal employment and a relatively young age structure are profoundly flawed in the context of present-day challenges. While this is true for affluent countries modelled on the Bismarckian type of welfare system, the costs of the status quo are even more devastating in middle-income economies with high levels of inequality. A gendered approach to welfare reform that introduces the political economy and the economy of care and unpaid work is becoming critical to confront what may very well become a perfect storm for the welfare of these nations and their peoples. Through an in-depth study of the Uruguayan case, the authors show how the decoupling of risk and protection has torn asunder the efficacy of welfare devices in the country. An ageing society that has seen a radical transformation of its family and labour market landscapes, Uruguay maintained during the 1980s and 1990s a welfare state that was essentially contributory, elderly and male-oriented, and centred on cash entitlements. This contributed to the infantilization of poverty, increased the vulnerability of women and exacerbated fiscal stress for the system as a whole. Furthermore, because of high levels of income and asset inequality, the redistribution of risk between upper- and lower-income groups presented a deeply regressive pattern. The political economy of care and welfare has begun to change in the last decade or so, bringing about mild reforms in the right direction; but these might prove to be too little and too late.     

Catholic students at war: the Federazione Universitaria Cattolica Italiana, 1940–43

Abstract

This article deals with the religious experience of the Federazione Universitaria Cattolica Italiana during the Second World War. Since many of the future Christian Democrat leaders that would rule the country after the conflict were formed in the ranks of the organization, most of the existing literature has tended to focus on the formation of this ruling class and their political trajectory and, has tended to overstate the origins and character of their anti-fascist departure, neglecting the initial support for many aspects of the Regime's war effort. This article contends, instead, that the most salient features of the war experience of the university students are to be located in the spiritual dimension and in their effort to contrive a religiosity adapted to warfare and modernity in general, interlaced with the powerful myth of a Catholic Italy that, at least in the early stages of the conflict, fuelled the expectations of many in the federation of a primordial role to be played by Italy in a new world order.     

Archaeological microgravimetric prospection inside don church (Valencia, Spain)

The microgravimetric surveying technique is applicable to the detection of shallow subsurface structures if a lateral density contrast is presented, and thus, it is a valid technique for archaeological prospection. In this paper, this technique has been revealed to be an efficient tool for archaeological studies, such as those performed inside Don Church (18th century), located in the urban area of Alfafar town, Valencia (Spain), where a buried crypt, suggested by different boreholes drilled during the second restoration process in 1993, is expected. Details of the site’s characteristics, topographic survey procedures, microgravimetric field operations, data collection and gravity reduction operations (where the inner building effect of walls, pillars and the altar is confirmed as one of the most important) are also presented. Finally, the results confirm the buried crypt.     

Pitted stone cobbles in the Mesolithic site of Font del Ros (Southeastern Pre-Pyrenees,Spain): some experimental remarks around a controversial tool type

The presence of cobbles with activity-related marks in the Mesolithic site of Font del Ros (Berga, Spain), and in particular one group of artefacts – pitted stones – raises problematic issues associated with the characterization of percussion activities. Although these artefacts have generated an extensive bibliography on ethological, ethnographic, ethnoarchaeological and archaeological levels, various questions persist in relation to their possible contextual function. In this paper we present the results of an experimental programme in which three types of activities that could create pitted stones are reproduced: bipolar knapping of vein quartz, hazelnut cracking, and hazelnut grinding. The aim of this experimental programme is to describe marks and use-wear traces related to such activities.     

Maritime Archaeology in Uruguay: Towards a Manifesto

We report a collaborative maritime archaeological project in Uruguay, one of several Latin American countries where the subject is undergoing review in terms of the ways it is practised and managed. Uruguay is typical of many states where there has been a tension between a heritage-based approach in which the results of investigations are viewed as publicly owned, as opposed to the profit motive in which commercial and personal gain is the underlying ethic. This project was conceived both as a way of assisting the Uruguayan Heritage Commission in promoting the former approach as well as advancing a programme of research into the age of global exploration. This paper sets out the rationale of the initial field season and reflects on subsequent developments.