Urban geo-archaeology in medieval alzira (Prov. Valencia,Spain)

Alzira is situated in a cut-off meander loop of the Rio Júcar. Geo-archaeological study shows that the Islamic city wall was built during the second quarter of the 11th century AD, at a time when the river had a low-amplitude and low-energy flood regime. After mid-century, overbank silts began to invade the city as peak flood discharge increased, with a spate of destructive floods reflected by high-energy deposits during the late 11th century. Urban expansion within the city wall is dated to the later 11th or early 12th century, interrupted by local abandonment and moderate-energy flood silts. Major construction during the mid-12th century was followed by protracted abandonment (after a siege in AD 1171?) and further, moderate-energy flood silts that redistributed occupation and collapse debris. Reoccupation, during the late 14th century, was terminated by catastrophic floods in 1517 and 1571, after which much of the western end of Alzira was not rebuilt. Following further flood catastrophes during the 17th century, parts of the central walled city remained abandoned until the 19th century. with new occupation atop flood sands of yet another disaster in 1864. The change in flood regime after 1150 was a result of deforestation of the watershed, but progradation of a downstream tributary fan after 1517 created an unstable, aggrading floodplain increasingly prone to severe flooding. Climatic anomalies were responsible for periods of recurrent severe floods, archaeologically verified during the 11th and 12th centuries, and historically documented, beginning in 1318. The geo-archaeological methodology illuminates the constructional and settlement history of Alzira, allows distinction of fluvial and cultural components, and provides the necessary microstratigraphic detail and dating control to document the true complexity of alluvial processes during the last 1000 years.     

Lithic use-wear analysis of the Early Gravettian of Vale Boi (Cape St. Vicente,southern Portugal): insights into human technology and settlement in southwestern Iberia

During the Upper Paleolithic, lithic variability is one of the most important keys to recognize hunter-gatherer behavior, technology, ecology, and social dynamics. The origin and expansion of Gravettian populations in Eurasia has been seen as one of the most critical episodes in human evolution, argued to be the first clear evidence of the so-called polymorphism among modern human populations. In the case of southern Iberian Peninsula, recent data have shown a new regional and diachronic organization for the Gravettian occupation in this region. Therefore, the interpretation of such variability is one of the most important questions, and functional analysis is a fundamental proxy to recognize human technological, settlement and ecological adaptations as major factors for this polymorphism. This study focused on lithic use-wear analysis of the Early Gravettian of Vale Boi (southern Portugal), in order to understand lithic technological organization and variability within and between occupations at the site. Results show similar patterns between assemblages, showing that different materials were worked at the site, although showing reduced time of work, low variability and percentage of pieces used. Unlike other Gravettian contexts in southern Iberia, the Early Gravettian from Vale Boi is characterized by some variability of backed points, marked by the predominance of bipointed double-backed bladelets. Functional analysis of the Early Gravettian lithic industries of Vale Boi provide a new insight to interpret human technology and settlement strategy during the onset of Upper Paleolithic industries in western Eurasia.     

山西古村镇类型及社会记忆符号系统研究

社会记忆是依附于社会群体产生的一种趋同性的社会文化符号。本研究利用结构主义符号学的分析方法,通过“要素体-因子层-属性脉”的三维层次构建社会记忆的符号系统,基于中国传统社会生产、生活方式的视角,从地脉、人脉、文脉的“三脉”属性对古村镇的类型及特征进行解读,发现：①“农”型古村镇社会记忆的宜农宜居、望族乡贤、天人合一的三脉属性符号特征明显;②“商”型古村镇具有对外通达的地脉记忆,精致讲究的文脉记忆和名商名士的人脉记忆;③“军”型古村镇的社会记忆在据险扼要、防御之上、将军传奇的三脉属性特征更加突出;④“工”型古村镇具有矿藏丰富、炉旺风顺、匠人传奇的特色社会记忆的符号特征。     

卷轴书画折痕产生的原因及防治对策研究

卷轴是书画艺术的一种独特展示与收藏形式,卷轴书画画芯表面的折痕不仅影响展陈效果,而且降低了书画文物的保存寿命。为此,利用超景深显微镜和扫描电镜分析了卷轴书画折痕的微观结构,探讨了折痕产生的机理,并提出了相应的预防措施。结果表明:小直径收卷是书画产生折痕的重要原因之一;收卷直径越小,书画出现折痕的现象越明显。通过在地杆处加轴管以增大收卷直径,能够有效减少折痕和断裂的产生。该方法保持了中国传统卷轴书画的装裱形式,维持了书画的原貌,并能够有效保存书画展示的传统韵味。研究结果为探讨书画折痕产生的机理和防治对策研究提供科学依据。     

Towards a definition of naval elites: reconsidering social change in Britain,France and Spain,c.1670–1810

Abstract

This work proposes the term ‘naval elites’ in order to provide a new interpretation of social change in the eighteenth century from a comparative perspective. Naval elites, a social group formed by a part of the naval officer corps and midshipmen, are here defined as a historical instrument, the particular and intriguing features of which may be useful in the revision of some perspectives on social change. In particular, the authors analyse shifting power relationships through the reconsideration of naval patronage and bureaucracy, revisit the process of naval professionalization and the transformation of the concept of merit, and suggest that naval elites embodied new notions of social distinction and exclusiveness.     

The Impossible Trinity: Inflation Targeting,Exchange Rate Management and Open Capital Accounts in Emerging Economies

This article contributes to the debate on macroeconomic management and capital account regulations in developing and emerging countries (DECs). It argues that the recommendation by neoclassical economists and international financial institutions (IFIs) to combine an inflation‐targeting regime with exchange rate management, whilst maintaining open capital accounts, is not only impossible but also potentially counterproductive. The article draws on extensive semi‐structured interviews with currency traders in Brazil and London to show that this is due to the particular way such a regime shapes central bank interventions in the money and foreign exchange markets and the destabilizing way these interventions interact with financial market expectations. The interview results also demonstrate that the guidelines issued by IFIs actually undermine, rather than aid, DEC central banks’ initial attempts to manage excessive exchange rate movements. These results support the long‐standing argument by heterodox economists and critical international political economists that DECs need to make the exchange rate an explicit instrument and goal of their macroeconomic policy and complement it with comprehensive capital account regulations to reduce the destabilizing impact of international capital flows. The interview results also give some concrete suggestions on how to achieve this.     

ZONING A CROSS‐BORDER CITY

This paper investigates zoning in a cross‐border linear city that consists of two bordering towns. In each town, a local regulator has a say in the location of the local firm. We find that local regulators may use zoning strategically. The incentive to gain consumers from the other town, or not to lose local consumers, may push regulators to approve only locations for firms close enough to the frontier. When zoning is costly an asymmetric equilibrium may emerge: only one regulator resorts to zoning. In the case of towns of different sizes, the regulator of the larger town is the only one that zones in an asymmetric equilibrium.